Leflunomide Confers Rapid Recovery from COVID-19 and is Coupled with Temporal Immunologic Changes
Background: Vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 have been considerably effective in reducing rates of infection and severe COVID-19. However, many patients, especially those who are immunocompromised due to cancer or other factors, as well as individuals who are unable to receive vaccines or are in resource-poor countries, will continue to be at risk for COVID-19. We describe clinical, therapeutic, and immunologic correlatives in two patients with cancer and severe COVID-19 who were treated with leflunomide after failing to respond to standard-of-care comprising remdesivir and dexamethasone. Both patients had breast cancer and were on therapy for the malignancy.
Methods: The protocol is designed with the primary objective to assess the safety and tolerability of leflunomide in treating severe COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Leflunomide dosing consisted of a loading dose of 100 mg daily for the first three days, followed by daily dosing, at the assigned dose level (Dose Level 1: 40 mg, Dose Level -1, 20 mg; Dose Level 2, 60 mg), for an additional 11 days. At defined intervals, serial monitoring of blood samples for toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and immunologic correlative studies were performed, as well as nasopharyngeal swabs for PCR analysis of SARS-CoV-2.
Results: Preclinically, leflunomide impaired viral RNA replication, and clinically, it led to a rapid improvement in the two patients discussed herein. Both patients completely recovered, with minimal toxicities; all adverse events experienced were considered unrelated to leflunomide. Single-cell mass-cytometry analysis showed that leflunomide increased levels of CD8+ cytotoxic and terminal effector T cells and decreased naïve and memory B cells.
Conclusions: With ongoing COVID-19 transmission and occurrence of breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals, including patients with cancer, therapeutic agents that target both the virus and host inflammatory response would be helpful despite the availability of currently approved anti-viral agents. Furthermore, from an access to care perspective, especially in resource-limited areas, an inexpensive, readily available, effective drug with existing safety data in humans is relevant in the real-world setting.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1241 View / Download PdfPoor Prognosis in HBV-associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Successful Viral Suppression: A Case Series Highlighting a Need for a Cure
Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection being an important risk factor for HCC. While nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) therapy has succeeded in suppressing HBV replication and decreasing the risk of HCC in patients with HBV infection, there remains a persistent risk of HCC in those patients. Furthermore, previous studies have highlighted worse survival in patients who developed HCC while on successful NA therapy compared to those who developed HCC without previous NA treatment.
We conducted a long-term, retrospective case study in 5 patients observed between 10 and 25 years, to further explore the poor outcomes in patients with HBV-associated HCC with or without previous NA therapy. Our study highlights the aggression and recurrence of HCC in patients with HBV infection, well-suppressed on NA therapy. The results of our observation emphasize the need for early referral for liver transplantation in these select patients.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1242 View / Download PdfNatriuretic Peptides in Clinical Practice: A Current Review
Heart failure is a major clinical problem affecting 64 million people worldwide with a 5-year mortality rate of around 50%. Patients present to the emergency department with inability to breathe properly. Heart failure is an important condition not to be missed as accurate and early diagnosis or exclusion is crucial for timely intervention. Conventionally heart failure was regarded as congestion consequent to fluid accumulation. Currently heart failure is viewed as a complex heterogeneous entity encompassing severity (clinical versus sub-clinical), onset (acute versus chronic), vascular compartment involved (intra- versus extra-vascular), besides fluid accumulation (cardiopulmonary versus generalized). There is a myriad of biomarkers that reflect different parts of heart failure pathophysiology. However, only natriuretic peptides remain as the “gold standard” against which other biomarkers are compared. This review provides a current update on the utility of natriuretic peptides in clinical practice. We will provide a brief overview of natriuretic peptides, the assays, their clinical use in heart failure, some caveats for their use (age, chronic kidney disease, obesity, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction) and highlight some emerging applications.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1245 View / Download PdfA Brief Review of the Monkeypox Outbreak: Transmission, Presentation, and Developments in Treatment and Vaccines
The medical response to monkeypox(mpox) is a key demonstration of how COVID-19 remodeled the global response to viruses in the medical field. As a result of the 2019 pandemic, the 2022 mpox outbreak was met with mass production of vaccines, widely available PCR testing, and increased public health and research efforts. Easy access to vaccines such as the ACAM2000 and the JYNNEOS vaccines bolstered prevention while antivirals alleviated symptoms and shortened viral duration in at-risk patients. Various methods of detection have been developed for mpox over a short period with PCR currently being used in an attempt to isolate specific strains of the virus. In this brief review, we discuss its classical presentation, and detection and treatment strategies adapted to mitigate this public health risk.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1246 View / Download Pdf