0000000000332077
AUTHOR
Kai Michael Beeh
Randomised controlled trial of montelukast plus inhaled budesonide versus double dose inhaled budesonide in adult patients with asthma
Background: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) affect many inflammatory pathways in asthma but have little impact on cysteinyl leukotrienes. This may partly explain persistent airway inflammation during chronic ICS treatment and failure to achieve adequate asthma control in some patients. This double blind, randomised, parallel group, non-inferiority, multicentre 16 week study compared the clinical benefits of adding montelukast to budesonide with doubling the budesonide dose in adults with asthma. Methods: After a 1 month single blind run in period, patients inadequately controlled on inhaled budesonide (800 µg/day) were randomised to receive montelukast 10 mg + inhaled budesonide 800 µg/day (n…
c-erbB-2 expression in small-cell lung cancer is associated with poor prognosis.
Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) carries a bad prognosis despite good initial response to chemotherapy. It is therefore important to identify molecular markers that influence survival as potential new therapeutic targets. In our study, expression of the tyrosine kinase c-erbB-2 (HER2/neu) receptor in tumor tissues of 107 consecutive newly diagnosed patients with primary SCLC was quantified using a monoclonal antibody directed against the c-terminal domain of c-erbB-2. A clear-cut positive expression of c-erbB-2 was observed in 13% of patients. Surprisingly, c-erbB-2 was an independent prognostic factor (RR = 2.16; p = 0.014) when a proportional-hazard model was adjusted to stage (limited vs. e…