1.Doctor Consultation through Mobile Applications in India: An Overview, Challenges and the Way Forward
Healthcare Informatics Research 2020;26(2):153-158
To layout mHealth (mobile health) applications operating in India with the facility of either online doctor consultation or offline doctor appointment booking. A cross-sectional, observational and web-based study was conducted. We searched the Google Play Store with the search strategy “health apps in India”. In the results, 250 applications (apps) appeared. Out of 250 apps, finally, 22 apps were found to be providing online doctor consultation and/or doctor appointment booking-related services. Among the selected mHealth apps operating in India and providing doctor consultation-related services online/offline, Practo, mfine, DocsApp, 1mg, Netmeds, Lybrate, MediBuddy, and Medlife were found to be the eight most popular ones with over a million downloads and on average four-plus user rating out of five. Practo, mfine, and Lybrate offer doctor consultation through chat, audio, and video calling. Netmeds and DocsApp offer doctor consultation through both chat and audio call. 1mg offers free chat consultation, while MediBuddy and Medlife offer audio call consultation only. Considering booking doctor appointments for offline consultation, Practo, mfine, 1mg, and Lybrate only offer this facility among the eight most popular selected mHealth apps. mHealth apps providing doctor consultation are gaining popularity in India, and they have enormous potential in the country. The government should make enabling policies to facilitate and popularise mHealth apps.
2.Bone-targeted therapies to reduce skeletal morbidity in prostate cancer.
Tanya B DORFF ; Neeraj AGARWAL
Asian Journal of Andrology 2018;20(3):215-220
Bone metastases are the main driver of morbidity and mortality in advanced prostate cancer. Targeting the bone microenvironment, a key player in the pathogenesis of bone metastasis, has become one of the mainstays of therapy in men with advanced prostate cancer. This review will evaluate the data supporting the use of bone-targeted therapy, including (1) bisphosphonates such as zoledronic acid, which directly target osteoclasts, (2) denosumab, a receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B (RANK) ligand inhibitor, which targets a key component of bone stromal interaction, and (3) radium-223, an alpha-emitting calcium mimetic, which hones to the metabolically active areas of osteoblastic metastasis and induces double-strand breaks in the DNA. Denosumab has shown enhanced delay in skeletal-related events compared to zoledronic acid in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Data are mixed with regard to pain control as a primary measure of efficacy. New data call into question dosing frequency, with quarterly dosing strategy potentially achieving similar effect compared to monthly dosing for zoledronic acid. In the case of radium-223, there are data for both pain palliation and improved overall survival in mCRPC. Further studies are needed to optimize timing and combination strategies for bone-targeted therapies. Ongoing studies will explore the impact of combining bone-targeted therapy with investigational therapeutic agents such as immunotherapy, for advanced prostate cancer. Future studies should strive to develop biomarkers of response, in order to improve efficacy and cost-effectiveness of these agents.
Bone Density Conservation Agents/therapeutic use*
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Bone Neoplasms/secondary*
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Denosumab/therapeutic use*
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Diphosphonates/therapeutic use*
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Endothelins/antagonists & inhibitors*
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Humans
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Male
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Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology*
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Protein Kinase Inhibitors/therapeutic use*
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Radioisotopes/therapeutic use*
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Radiopharmaceuticals/therapeutic use*
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Radium/therapeutic use*
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Samarium/therapeutic use*
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Strontium Radioisotopes/therapeutic use*
3.Apalutamide for metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer: final analysis of the Asian subpopulation in the TITAN trial.
Byung Ha CHUNG ; Jian HUANG ; Hiroji UEMURA ; Young Deuk CHOI ; Zhang-Qun YE ; Hiroyoshi SUZUKI ; Taek Won KANG ; Da-Lin HE ; Jae Young JOUNG ; Sabine D BROOKMAN-MAY ; Sharon MCCARTHY ; Amitabha BHAUMIK ; Anildeep SINGH ; Suneel MUNDLE ; Simon CHOWDHURY ; Neeraj AGARWAL ; Ding-Wei YE ; Kim N CHI ; Hirotsugu UEMURA
Asian Journal of Andrology 2023;25(6):653-661
The final analysis of the phase 3 Targeted Investigational Treatment Analysis of Novel Anti-androgen (TITAN) trial showed improvement in overall survival (OS) and other efficacy endpoints with apalutamide plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) versus ADT alone in patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC). As ethnicity and regional differences may affect treatment outcomes in advanced prostate cancer, a post hoc final analysis was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of apalutamide in the Asian subpopulation. Event-driven endpoints were OS, and time from randomization to initiation of castration resistance, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression, and second progression-free survival (PFS2) on first subsequent therapy or death. Efficacy endpoints were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional-hazards models without formal statistical testing and adjustment for multiplicity. Participating Asian patients received once-daily apalutamide 240 mg ( n = 111) or placebo ( n = 110) plus ADT. After a median follow-up of 42.5 months and despite crossover of 47 placebo recipients to open-label apalutamide, apalutamide reduced the risk of death by 32% (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.68; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.42-1.13), risk of castration resistance by 69% (HR: 0.31; 95% CI: 0.21-0.46), PSA progression by 79% (HR: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.13-0.35) and PFS2 by 24% (HR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.44-1.29) relative to placebo. The outcomes were comparable between subgroups with low- and high-volume disease at baseline. No new safety issues were identified. Apalutamide provides valuable clinical benefits to Asian patients with mCSPC, with an efficacy and safety profile consistent with that in the overall patient population.
Male
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Humans
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Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology*
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Androgen Antagonists/therapeutic use*
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Prostate-Specific Antigen
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Castration
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Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant/drug therapy*