Publications by authors named "Mohammad Azab"

Hypomethylating agents (HMA) are indicated in the treatment of higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). The combination of hypomethylating agents with venetoclax (Ven) has demonstrated promising results in these diseases, although randomized clinical trials are needed for validation. In this retrospective study, we compared two matched cohorts of patients with MDS or CMML: one receiving oral decitabine-cedazuridine (DEC-C, n = 73) and one receiving DEC-C and Ven (DEC-C-Ven, n = 51), in three contemporary clinical trials.

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Objective: The effect of the cGAS/STING pathway on antitumor immunity and its connection to senescence in vivo necessitates further investigation.

Introduction: Cellular senescence and its secretory phenotype (the SASP) are implicated in modulating the immune microenvironment of cancer possibly through the cGAS/STING pathway.

Methods: Gene expression data from paired colon cancer and adjacent non-malignant mucosa (98 patients,  = 196 samples; 65 patients,  = 130 samples) were analyzed for cGAS/STING and a senescence signature.

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A series of benzoquinoline-employing heterocycles was synthesized by treating 3-chlorobenzo[f]quinoline-2-carbaldehyde with N-phenyl-3-methylpyrazolone, 4-aminoacetophenone, 1,2-diaminoethane, and 2-cyanoethanohydrazide. Also, pyridine, chromene, α,β-unsaturated nitrile, thiosemicarbazone, and 1,2-bis-aryl hydrazine derivatives were prepared from the cyanoethanohydrazone obtained. The DFT calculations and experiment outcomes were consistent.

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Guadecitabine is a novel hypomethylating agent (HMA) resistant to deamination by cytidine deaminase. Patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were randomly assigned to guadecitabine or a preselected treatment choice (TC) of high-intensity chemotherapy, low-intensity treatment with HMAs or low-dose cytarabine, or best supportive care (BSC). The primary end point was overall survival (OS).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the safety and pharmacokinetics of oral decitabine combined with cedazuridine versus intravenous decitabine in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes or chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia.
  • It involved a phase 3 multicentre trial with participants randomly assigned to receive either oral or IV treatment in a crossover design, allowing for direct comparison of the two methods.
  • The primary goal was to measure and compare total decitabine exposure over a 5-day period for both formulations to determine the effectiveness of the oral treatment option.
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To characterize the genomic landscape and leukemogenic pathways of older, newly diagnosed, non-intensively treated patients with AML and to study the clinical implications, comprehensive genetics analyses were performed including targeted DNA sequencing of 263 genes in 604 patients treated in a prospective Phase III clinical trial. Leukemic trajectories were delineated using oncogenetic tree modeling and hierarchical clustering, and prognostic groups were derived from multivariable Cox regression models. Clonal hematopoiesis-related genes (ASXL1, TET2, SRSF2, DNMT3A) were most frequently mutated.

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This phase 3 study evaluated the efficacy and safety of the new hypomethylating agent guadecitabine (n = 408) vs a preselected treatment choice (TC; n = 407) of azacitidine, decitabine, or low-dose cytarabine in patients with acute myeloid leukemia unfit to receive intensive induction chemotherapy. Half of the patients (50%) had poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (2-3). The coprimary end points were complete remission (19% and 17% of patients for guadecitabine and TC, respectively [stratified P = .

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Conventional cancer detection and treatment methodologies are based on surgical, chemical and radiational processes, which are expensive, time consuming and painful. Therefore, great interest has been directed toward developing sensitive, inexpensive and rapid techniques for early cancer detection. Optical biosensors have advantages in terms of high sensitivity and being label free with a compact size.

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Article Synopsis
  • The modified lateral orbitotomy approach (mLOA) offers a less invasive way to access important areas in the skull, like the orbit and cavernous sinus, while minimizing damage to nearby structures.
  • A study involved eight patients who underwent mLOA for various brain and orbital tumors, and results showed that their visual functions remained stable or improved after surgery, although one patient had a cerebrospinal fluid leak.
  • Analysis of CT scans indicated that the anatomy relevant to the mLOA is fairly consistent across patients, which supports its use for targeted interventions in these challenging areas.
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Objective: Electric scooters (e-scooters) are an increasingly popular form of transportation, but their use has also resulted in increased incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Previous reports have predominantly described mild TBI with limited attention to other injury patterns. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of e-scooter use on rates of severe TBI.

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Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) are clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders. Complex disease biology has posed significant challenge to the development of novel therapeutics. Despite myriad clinical trials, none have been superior to azacitidine and decitabine (DEC) therapy.

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Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. The nature of healthcare providers' occupation puts them at an increased risk of getting any contagious disease, including COVID-19. They are on the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak response and as such are at risk of contracting this virus.

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This phase 2 study was designed to compare systemic decitabine exposure, demethylation activity, and safety in the first 2 cycles with cedazuridine 100 mg/decitabine 35 mg vs standard decitabine 20 mg/m2 IV. Adults with International Prognostic Scoring System intermediate-1/2- or high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) were randomized 1:1 to receive oral cedazuridine/decitabine or IV decitabine in cycle 1, followed by crossover to the other treatment in cycle 2. All patients received oral cedazuridine/decitabine in subsequent cycles.

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Background: DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis) improve survival for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and those with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) unable to receive standard cytotoxic chemotherapy and are, accordingly, the backbone of standard-of-care treatment for these conditions. Standard regimens with DNMTIs, decitabine (DEC) or azacitidine (AZA) include daily subcutaneous (s.c.

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Purpose: Platinum resistance in ovarian cancer is associated with epigenetic modifications. Hypomethylating agents (HMA) have been studied as carboplatin resensitizing agents in ovarian cancer. This randomized phase II trial compared guadecitabine, a second-generation HMA, and carboplatin (G+C) against second-line chemotherapy in women with measurable or detectable platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

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Purpose: The immunomodulatory activity of DNA hypomethylating agents (DHAs) suggests they may improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies. The phase Ib NIBIT-M4 trial tested this hypothesis using the next-generation DHA guadecitabine combined with ipilimumab.

Patients And Methods: Patients with unresectable stage III/IV melanoma received escalating doses of guadecitabine 30, 45, or 60 mg/m/day subcutaneously on days 1 to 5 every 3 weeks, and ipilimumab 3 mg/kg intravenously on day 1 every 3 weeks, starting 1 week after guadecitabine, for four cycles.

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Article Synopsis
  • Guadecitabine is a new medication designed to inhibit DNA methyltransferase that shows promise for some patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (r/r AML), but identifying those who will benefit is challenging.
  • In a study involving 128 patients, guadecitabine had a response rate of 17% in the phase I and 23% in the phase II components, with no strong predictors identified for treatment response based on mutations or methylation.
  • Approximately 20% of patients are unlikely to respond to guadecitabine, while the remaining 80% show potential benefits, with median survival rates of 8 months and a 21% survival rate at 2 years.
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Article Synopsis
  • Guadecitabine is a new hypomethylating agent with a longer exposure time than traditional decitabine, aimed at improving treatment for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
  • The study involved a randomized trial with patients aged 18 or older who had intermediate to high-risk MDS, comparing two doses of guadecitabine (60 mg/m and 90 mg/m) to assess its effectiveness and safety.
  • The primary outcome was overall response rates, examining the effects on patients who had previously been treated with or were naive to hypomethylating agents, with 105 patients enrolled over a two-year period.
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Background: Decitabine, a DNA methyltransferase 1 inhibitor or DNA hypomethylating compound, is not readily orally bioavailable because of rapid clearance by cytidine deaminase (CDA) in the gut and liver. This dose-escalation study, guided by pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic observations, evaluated whether simultaneous oral administration with the novel CDA inhibitor cedazuridine increases decitabine bioavailability for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes.

Methods: In this phase 1 study, we enrolled patients aged 18 years or older with myelodysplastic syndromes or chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia.

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A new series of 5-(3,5-dinitrophenyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives were prepared and evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial, antitumor, and DHFR inhibition activity. Compounds , , , and showed strong and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity comparable to Amoxicillin and Fluconazole as positive antibiotic and antifungal controls, respectively. Compounds , , and exhibited antitumor activity against four human cancer cell lines, CCRF-CEM leukemia, HCT-15 colon, PC-3 prostate, and UACC-257 melanoma cell lines using Doxorubicin as a reference drug.

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In this case-control study, the influence of waterpipe tobacco smoking on the plasma and saliva levels of cadmium, lead and zinc was examined in participants who were waterpipe tobacco smokers (WS) or never-smokers (NS). The concentration of metals was higher in WS relative to NS. The mean (SEM) cadmium concentration in plasma was 3.

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