Atlantic Health System

About: Atlantic Health System is a healthcare organization based out in Morristown, New Jersey, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Health care & Medicine. The organization has 277 authors who have published 299 publications receiving 6594 citations.

Outcomes of retreatment with anti-PD-1 monotherapy after response to first course in patients with cutaneous melanoma.

Abstract: Aim: To determine outcomes of retreatment with anti-PD-1 monotherapy for melanoma. Materials & methods: This retrospective study included adults with unresectable cutaneous melanoma who achieved stable disease (SD) or better after anti-PD-1 monotherapy and were retreated with anti-PD-1 monotherapy after ≥90-day gap. We determined overall survival and real-world tumor response. Results: For 21 eligible patients, from retreatment initiation, median follow-up was 14.4 months (range, 2.6-34.5); median overall survival was 30.0 months (95% CI: 14.4-not reached); 1-year survival was 100% (95% CI: 100-100%); 2-year survival was 83% (48-96%). Of 16 patients with recorded best real-world tumor response, ten (63%) responded (complete/partial response); three achieved SD; three had progressive disease. Conclusion: Patients with advanced melanoma achieving SD/better after first-course anti-PD-1 monotherapy may benefit from retreatment.

Pseudoparkinsonism: A review of a common nonparkinsonian hypokinetic movement disorder

Abstract: This article reviews the syndrome pseudoparkinsonism, a movement disorder described in the literature that resembles parkinsonism but differs qualitatively. Patients with this disorder have apraxic slowness, paratonic rigidity, frontal gait disorder and elements of akinesia that, taken together, may be mistaken for true parkinsonism. Pseudoparkinsonism appears to be common and is most often due to Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia. It seems that patients with even mild cognitive deficits can present with pseudoparkinsonism and that the primary dementing disorder may be overlooked. The authors emphasize the importance of pseudoparkinsonism and implications for clinical diagnosis, treatment and research.

Please don't shoot me: I'm only the change agent.

Abstract: The change agent is a necessity rather than an option for a hospital's future success in the volatile managed care environment. While his or her message may be unpopular and tactics unconventional, the change agent had the extraordinary confidence and capacity to move an organization from analysis to synthesis. This article describes the change agent's makeup and method of operation as well as the 10 most potent tools and insights for effecting sustainable change.

Is chemotherapy beneficial in the treatment of locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Abstract: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma holds an important place in the debate regarding whether adjuvant chemotherapy is beneficial in the treatment of head and neck cancers. This is because 1) nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a very chemoresponsive tumor, and there are reports of long-standing complete responses for patients with distant metastasis who are given adequate chemotherapies; 2) of all the squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck, nasopharyngeal carcinoma has the highest incidence (30 – 40%) of distant metastasis; and 3) numerous retrospective or single-arm studies have reported excellent and promising results with the addition of chemotherapy in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Because the theoretic basis of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is to enhance locoregional control by tumor debulking or sensitizing the tumor to radiation and to decrease distant metastasis by treating occult micrometastasis, nasopharyngeal carcinoma appears to be the perfect head and neck malignancy for chemotherapy to display its potential, given the considerations just listed. In this issue of Cancer, Chua et al. report the preliminary results of the Asian-Oceanian Clinical Oncology Association’s randomized trial comparing cisplatin and epirubicin followed by radiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone in the treatment of patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The authors reported no significant gain in relapse free and overall survival with the addition of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and concluded that they could not recommend the routine administration of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for this group of patients. The results and conclusion of this article will surely add to the current debate regarding the role of chemotherapy in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and possibly other head and neck cancers. This article is important because of 1) the large number of patients involved and 2) the small number of centers involved, which indicate that the physicians are familiar with the disease. Given the recent publication from the Intergroup Study, many physicians in the Western Hemisphere had accepted the importance of chemotherapy in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. However, as this article’s data and the data from the International Nasopharynx Can2255