TY - JOUR A1 - Hofmann, Elisabeth A1 - Weibel, Stephanie A1 - Szalay, Aladar A. T1 - Combination treatment with oncolytic Vaccinia virus and cyclophosphamide results in synergistic antitumor effects in human lung adenocarcinoma bearing mice N2 - Background The capacity of the recombinant Vaccinia virus GLV-1h68 as a single agent to efficiently treat different human or canine cancers has been shown in several preclinical studies. Currently, its human safety and efficacy are investigated in phase I/II clinical trials. In this study we set out to evaluate the oncolytic activity of GLV-1h68 in the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line PC14PE6-RFP in cell cultures and analyzed the antitumor potency of a combined treatment strategy consisting of GLV-1h68 and cyclophosphamide (CPA) in a mouse model of PC14PE6-RFP lung adenocarcinoma. Methods PC14PE6-RFP cells were treated in cell culture with GLV-1h68. Viral replication and cell survival were determined by plaque assays and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays, respectively. Subcutaneously implanted PC14PE6-RFP xenografts were treated by systemic injection of GLV-1h68, CPA or a combination of both. Tumor growth and viral biodistribution were monitored and immune-related antigen profiling of tumor lysates was performed. Results GLV-1h68 efficiently infected, replicated in and lysed human PC14PE6-RFP cells in cell cultures. PC14PE6-RFP tumors were efficiently colonized by GLV-1h68 leading to much delayed tumor growth in PC14PE6-RFP tumor-bearing nude mice. Combination treatment with GLV-1h68 and CPA significantly improved the antitumor efficacy of GLV-1h68 and led to an increased viral distribution within the tumors. Pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were distinctly elevated in tumors of GLV-1h68-treated mice. Factors expressed by endothelial cells or present in the blood were decreased after combination treatment. A complete loss in the hemorrhagic phenotype of the PC14PE6-RFP tumors and a decrease in the number of blood vessels after combination treatment could be observed. Conclusions CPA and GLV-1h68 have synergistic antitumor effects on PC14PE6-RFP xenografts. We strongly suppose that in the PC14PE6-RFP model the enhanced tumor growth inhibition achieved by combining GLV-1h68 with CPA is due to an effect on the vasculature rather than an immunosuppressive action of CPA. These results provide evidence to support further preclinical studies of combining GLV-1h68 and CPA in other highly angiogenic tumor models. Moreover, data presented here demonstrate that CPA can be combined successfully with GLV-1h68 based oncolytic virus therapy and therefore might be promising as combination therapy in human clinical trials. KW - Vaccinia virus KW - Chemotherapy KW - Combination therapy KW - Cyclophosphamide KW - Lung cancer Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-110168 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schäfer, Simon A1 - Weibel, Stephanie A1 - Donat, Ulrike A1 - Zhang, Qian A1 - Aguilar, Richard J. A1 - Chen, Nanhai G. A1 - Szalay, Aladar A. T1 - Vaccinia virus-mediated intra-tumoral expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 enhances oncolysis of PC-3 xenograft tumors N2 - Background: Oncolytic viruses, including vaccinia virus (VACV), are a promising alternative to classical mono-cancer treatment methods such as surgery, chemo- or radiotherapy. However, combined therapeutic modalities may be more effective than mono-therapies. In this study, we enhanced the effectiveness of oncolytic virotherapy by matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9)-mediated degradation of proteins of the tumoral extracellular matrix (ECM), leading to increased viral distribution within the tumors. Methods: For this study, the oncolytic vaccinia virus GLV-1h255, containing the mmp-9 gene, was constructed and used to treat PC-3 tumor-bearing mice, achieving an intra-tumoral over-expression of MMP-9. The intra-tumoral MMP-9 content was quantified by immunohistochemistry in tumor sections. Therapeutic efficacy of GLV-1h255 was evaluated by monitoring tumor growth kinetics and intra-tumoral virus titers. Microenvironmental changes mediated by the intra-tumoral MMP-9 over-expression were investigated by microscopic quantification of the collagen IV content, the blood vessel density (BVD) and the analysis of lymph node metastasis formation. Results: GLV-1h255-treatment of PC-3 tumors led to a significant over-expression of intra-tumoral MMP-9, accompanied by a marked decrease in collagen IV content in infected tumor areas, when compared to GLV-1h68-infected tumor areas. This led to considerably elevated virus titers in GLV-1h255 infected tumors, and to enhanced tumor regression. The analysis of the BVD, as well as the lumbar and renal lymph node volumes, revealed lower BVD and significantly smaller lymph nodes in both GLV-1h68- and GLV-1h255- injected mice compared to those injected with PBS, indicating that MMP-9 over-expression does not alter the metastasis-reducing effect of oncolytic VACV. Conclusions: Taken together, these results indicate that a GLV-1h255-mediated intra-tumoral over-expression of MMP-9 leads to a degradation of collagen IV, facilitating intra-tumoral viral dissemination, and resulting in accelerated tumor regression. We propose that approaches which enhance the oncolytic effect by increasing the intra-tumoral viral load, may be an effective way to improve therapeutic outcome. KW - Biochemie Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-78220 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Szalay, Aladar A A1 - Weibel, Stephanie A1 - Hofmann, Elisabeth A1 - Basse-Luesebrink, Thomas Christian A1 - Donat, Ulrike A1 - Seubert, Carolin A1 - Adelfinger, Marion A1 - Gnamlin, Prisca A1 - Kober, Christina A1 - Frentzen, Alexa A1 - Gentschev, Ivaylo A1 - Jakob, Peter Michael T1 - Treatment of malignant effusion by oncolytic virotherapy in an experimental subcutaneous xenograft model of lung cancer JF - Journal of Translational Medicine N2 - Background Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is associated with advanced stages of lung cancer and is mainly dependent on invasion of the pleura and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by cancer cells. As MPE indicates an incurable disease with limited palliative treatment options and poor outcome, there is an urgent need for new and efficient treatment options. Methods In this study, we used subcutaneously generated PC14PE6 lung adenocarcinoma xenografts in athymic mice that developed subcutaneous malignant effusions (ME) which mimic pleural effusions of the orthotopic model. Using this approach monitoring of therapeutic intervention was facilitated by direct observation of subcutaneous ME formation without the need of sacrificing mice or special imaging equipment as in case of MPE. Further, we tested oncolytic virotherapy using Vaccinia virus as a novel treatment modality against ME in this subcutaneous PC14PE6 xenograft model of advanced lung adenocarcinoma. Results We demonstrated significant therapeutic efficacy of Vaccinia virus treatment of both advanced lung adenocarcinoma and tumor-associated ME. We attribute the efficacy to the virus-mediated reduction of tumor cell-derived VEGF levels in tumors, decreased invasion of tumor cells into the peritumoral tissue, and to viral infection of the blood vessel-invading tumor cells. Moreover, we showed that the use of oncolytic Vaccinia virus encoding for a single-chain antibody (scAb) against VEGF (GLAF-1) significantly enhanced mono-therapy of oncolytic treatment. Conclusions Here, we demonstrate for the first time that oncolytic virotherapy using tumor-specific Vaccinia virus represents a novel and promising treatment modality for therapy of ME associated with advanced lung cancer. KW - Oncolytic virotherapy KW - Malignant effusion KW - Lung cancer KW - VEGF KW - Lungenkrebs KW - Vascular endothelial Growth Factor Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96016 UR - http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/11/1/106 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmid, Benedikt A1 - Griesel, Mirko A1 - Fischer, Anna-Lena A1 - Romero, Carolina S. A1 - Metzendorf, Maria-Inti A1 - Weibel, Stephanie A1 - Fichtner, Falk T1 - Awake prone positioning, high-flow nasal oxygen and non-invasive ventilation as non-invasive respiratory strategies in COVID-19 acute respiratory failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis JF - Journal of Clinical Medicine N2 - Background: Acute respiratory failure is the most important organ dysfunction of COVID-19 patients. While non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen are frequently used, efficacy and safety remain uncertain. Benefits and harms of awake prone positioning (APP) in COVID-19 patients are unknown. Methods: We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing HFNC vs. NIV and APP vs. standard care. We meta-analyzed data for mortality, intubation rate, and safety. Results: Five RCTs (2182 patients) were identified. While it remains uncertain whether HFNC compared to NIV alters mortality (RR: 0.92, 95% CI 0.65–1.33), HFNC may increase rate of intubation or death (composite endpoint; RR 1.22, 1.03–1.45). We do not know if HFNC alters risk for harm. APP compared to standard care probably decreases intubation rate (RR 0.83, 0.71–0.96) but may have little or no effect on mortality (RR: 1.08, 0.51–2.31). Conclusions: Certainty of evidence is moderate to very low. There is no compelling evidence for either HFNC or NIV, but both carry substantial risk for harm. The use of APP probably has benefits although mortality appears unaffected. KW - respiratory failure KW - non-invasive ventilation KW - high-flow nasal cannula KW - awake prone positioning KW - COVID-19 KW - systematic review Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-255225 SN - 2077-0383 VL - 11 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weibel, Stephanie A1 - Popp, Maria A1 - Reis, Stefanie A1 - Skoetz, Nicole A1 - Garner, Paul A1 - Sydenham, Emma T1 - Identifying and managing problematic trials: A research integrity assessment tool for randomized controlled trials in evidence synthesis JF - Research Synthesis Methods N2 - Evidence synthesis findings depend on the assumption that the included studies follow good clinical practice and results are not fabricated or false. Studies which are problematic due to scientific misconduct, poor research practice, or honest error may distort evidence synthesis findings. Authors of evidence synthesis need transparent mechanisms to identify and manage problematic studies to avoid misleading findings. As evidence synthesis authors of the Cochrane COVID-19 review on ivermectin, we identified many problematic studies in terms of research integrity and regulatory compliance. Through iterative discussion, we developed a research integrity assessment (RIA) tool for randomized controlled trials for the update of this Cochrane review. In this paper, we explain the rationale and application of the RIA tool in this case study. RIA assesses six study criteria: study retraction, prospective trial registration, adequate ethics approval, author group, plausibility of methods (e.g., randomization), and plausibility of study results. RIA was used in the Cochrane review as part of the eligibility check during screening of potentially eligible studies. Problematic studies were excluded and studies with open questions were held in awaiting classification until clarified. RIA decisions were made independently by two authors and reported transparently. Using the RIA tool resulted in the exclusion of >40% of studies in the first update of the review. RIA is a complementary tool prior to assessing “Risk of Bias” aiming to establish the integrity and authenticity of studies. RIA provides a platform for urgent development of a standard approach to identifying and managing problematic studies. KW - COVID-19 pandemic KW - systematic review KW - research integrity KW - randomized controlled trial KW - good clinical practice KW - evidence synthesis Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-318236 VL - 14 IS - 3 SP - 357 EP - 369 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Riemer, Manuel A1 - Kranke, Peter A1 - Helf, Antonia A1 - Mayer, Debora A1 - Popp, Maria A1 - Schlesinger, Tobias A1 - Meybohm, Patrick A1 - Weibel, Stephanie T1 - Trial registration and selective outcome reporting in 585 clinical trials investigating drugs for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting JF - BMC Anesthesiology N2 - Background: Selective outcome reporting in clinical trials introduces bias in the body of evidence distorting clinical decision making. Trial registration aims to prevent this bias and is suggested by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) since 2004. Methods: The 585 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published between 1965 and 2017 that were included in a recently published Cochrane review on antiemetic drugs for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting were selected. In a retrospective study, we assessed trial registration and selective outcome reporting by comparing study publications with their registered protocols according to the ‘Cochrane Risk of bias’ assessment tool 1.0. Results: In the Cochrane review, the first study which referred to a registered trial protocol was published in 2004. Of all 585 trials included in the Cochrane review, 334 RCTs were published in 2004 or later, of which only 22% (75/334) were registered. Among the registered trials, 36% (27/75) were pro- and 64% (48/75) were retrospectively registered. 41% (11/27) of the prospectively registered trials were free of selective outcome reporting bias, 22% (6/27) were incompletely registered and assessed as unclear risk, and 37% (10/27) were assessed as high risk. Major outcome discrepancies between registered and published high risk trials were a change from the registered primary to a published secondary outcome (32%), a new primary outcome (26%), and different outcome assessment times (26%). Among trials with high risk of selective outcome reporting 80% favoured at least one statistically significant result. Registered trials were assessed more often as ‘overall low risk of bias’ compared to non-registered trials (64% vs 28%). Conclusions: In 2017, 13 years after the ICMJE declared prospective protocol registration a necessity for reliable clinical studies, the frequency and quality of trial registration in the field of PONV is very poor. Selective outcome reporting reduces trustworthiness in findings of clinical trials. Investigators and clinicians should be aware that only following a properly registered protocol and transparently reporting of predefined outcomes, regardless of the direction and significance of the result, will ultimately strengthen the body of evidence in the field of PONV research in the future. KW - clinical trial KW - postoperative nausea and vomiting KW - selective outcome reporting KW - systematic review KW - trial registration Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265518 VL - 21 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weibel, Stephanie A1 - Pace, Nathan L. A1 - Schaefer, Maximilian S. A1 - Raj, Diana A1 - Schlesinger, Tobias A1 - Meybohm, Patrick A1 - Kienbaum, Peter A1 - Eberhart, Leopold H. J. A1 - Kranke, Peter T1 - Drugs for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting in adults after general anesthesia: An abridged Cochrane network meta-analysis JF - Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine N2 - Objective In this abridged version of the recently published Cochrane review on antiemetic drugs, we summarize its most important findings and discuss the challenges and the time needed to prepare what is now the largest Cochrane review with network meta-analysis in terms of the number of included studies and pages in its full printed form. Methods We conducted a systematic review with network meta-analyses to compare and rank single antiemetic drugs and their combinations belonging to 5HT₃-, D₂-, NK₁-receptor antagonists, corticosteroids, antihistamines, and anticholinergics used to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting in adults after general anesthesia. Results 585 studies (97 516 participants) testing 44 single drugs and 51 drug combinations were included. The studies’ overall risk of bias was assessed as low in only 27% of the studies. In 282 studies, 29 out of 36 drug combinations and 10 out of 28 single drugs lowered the risk of vomiting at least 20% compared to placebo. In the ranking of treatments, combinations of drugs were generally more effective than single drugs. Single NK1 receptor antagonists were as effective as other drug combinations. Of the 10 effective single drugs, certainty of evidence was high for aprepitant, ramosetron, granisetron, dexamethasone, and ondansetron, while moderate for fosaprepitant and droperidol. For serious adverse events (SAEs), any adverse event (AE), and drug-class specific side effects evidence for intervention effects was mostly not convincing. Conclusions There is high or moderate evidence for at least seven single drugs preventing postoperative vomiting. However, there is still considerable lack of evidence regarding safety aspects that does warrant investigation. KW - systematic review, KW - antiemetics KW - network meta-analysis KW - postoperative nausea and vomiting KW - vomiting Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-259470 VL - 14 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schlesinger, Tobias A1 - Weibel, Stephanie A1 - Steinfeldt, Thorsten A1 - Sitter, Magdalena A1 - Meybohm, Patrick A1 - Kranke, Peter T1 - Intraoperative management of combined general anesthesia and thoracic epidural analgesia: A survey among German anesthetists JF - Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica N2 - Background Evidence concerning combined general anesthesia (GA) and thoracic epidural analgesia (EA) is controversial and the procedure appears heterogeneous in clinical implementation. We aimed to gain an overview of different approaches and to unveil a suspected heterogeneity concerning the intraoperative management of combined GA and EA. Methods This was an anonymous survey among Members of the Scientific working group for regional anesthesia within the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI) conducted from February 2020 to August 2020. Results The response rate was 38%. The majority of participants were experienced anesthetists with high expertise for the specific regimen of combined GA and EA. Most participants establish EA in the sitting position (94%), prefer early epidural initiation (prior to skin incision: 80%; intraoperative: 14%) and administer ropivacaine (89%) in rather low concentrations (0.2%: 45%; 0.375%: 30%; 0.75%: 15%) mostly with an opioid (84%) in a bolus-based mode (95%). The majority reduce systemic opioid doses intraoperatively if EA works sufficiently (minimal systemic opioids: 58%; analgesia exclusively via EA: 34%). About 85% manage intraoperative EA insufficiency with systemic opioids, 52% try to escalate EA, and only 25% use non-opioids, e.g. intravenous ketamine or lidocaine. Conclusions Although, consensus seems to be present for several aspects (patient's position during epidural puncture, main epidural substance, application mode), there is considerable heterogeneity regarding systemic opioids, rescue strategies for insufficient EA, and hemodynamic management, which might explain inconsistent results of previous trials and meta-analyses. KW - analgesics KW - enhanced recovery after surgery KW - multimodal treatments KW - perioperative care KW - epidural analgesia Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-258286 VL - 65 IS - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reis, Stefanie A1 - Popp, Maria A1 - Schmid, Benedikt A1 - Stegemann, Miriam A1 - Metzendorf, Maria-Inti A1 - Kranke, Peter A1 - Meybohm, Patrick A1 - Weibel, Stephanie T1 - Safety and efficacy of intermediate- and therapeutic-dose anticoagulation for hospitalised patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis JF - Journal of Clinical Medicine N2 - Background: COVID-19 patients are at high thrombotic risk. The safety and efficacy of different anticoagulation regimens in COVID-19 patients remain unclear. Methods: We searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing intermediate- or therapeutic-dose anticoagulation to standard thromboprophylaxis in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 irrespective of disease severity. To assess efficacy and safety, we meta-analysed data for all-cause mortality, clinical status, thrombotic event or death, and major bleedings. Results: Eight RCTs, including 5580 patients, were identified, with two comparing intermediate- and six therapeutic-dose anticoagulation to standard thromboprophylaxis. Intermediate-dose anticoagulation may have little or no effect on any thrombotic event or death (RR 1.03, 95% CI 0.86–1.24), but may increase major bleedings (RR 1.48, 95% CI 0.53–4.15) in moderate to severe COVID-19 patients. Therapeutic-dose anticoagulation may decrease any thrombotic event or death in patients with moderate COVID-19 (RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.38–1.07), but may have little or no effect in patients with severe disease (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.86–1.12). The risk of major bleedings may increase independent of disease severity (RR 1.78, 95% CI 1.15–2.74). Conclusions: Certainty of evidence is still low. Moderately affected COVID-19 patients may benefit from therapeutic-dose anticoagulation, but the risk for bleeding is increased. KW - anticoagulant therapy KW - coronavirus disease 2019 KW - thrombosis KW - bleeding KW - death Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-252285 SN - 2077-0383 VL - 11 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hackenbroich, Samantha A1 - Kranke, Peter A1 - Meybohm, Patrick A1 - Weibel, Stephanie T1 - Include or not to include conference abstracts in systematic reviews? Lessons learned from a large Cochrane network meta-analysis including 585 trials JF - Systematic Reviews N2 - Background Systematic reviews attempt to gather all available evidence. Controversy exists regarding effort and benefit of including study results presented at conferences only. We recently published a Cochrane network meta-analysis (NMA) including 585 randomized controlled trials comparing drugs for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Studies published as conference abstracts only were excluded. This study aimed to include all eligible studies published as abstracts only, assessing their added value regarding reporting quality and effect on the review’s interpretation. Methods Conference abstracts were searched in the review’s excluded studies and conference proceedings of anaesthesiologic societies. We assessed their reporting quality regarding review’s eligibility criteria, Cochrane ‘risk of bias’ assessment tool 1.0, and adherence to CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) for abstracts. Abstracts were included in sensitivity NMA, and impact on the NMA structure was investigated. Results We identified 90 abstracts. A total of 14% (13/90) were eligible. A total of 86% (77/90) are awaiting classification due to insufficient reporting of review’s eligibility criteria. In abstracts awaiting classification, sufficient information was missing on standardization of anaesthesia in 71% (55/77), age of participants in 56% (43/77), and outcome details in 46% (36/77). A total of 73% (66/90) of abstracts lacked sufficient information on 15/25 data extraction items. Reported study characteristics of abstracts were comparable to included studies of the review. A total of 62% (56/90) of abstract trials were assessed as overall high risk of bias due to poor reporting. Median adherence to CONSORT for abstracts was 24% (IQR, 18 to 29%). Six of the 13 eligible abstracts reported relevant outcome data in sufficient detail for NMA on seven outcomes of the Cochrane review. Inclusion of abstracts did not substantially change the network structure, network effect estimates, ranking of treatments, or the conclusion. Certainty of evidence for headache on palonosetron use was upgraded from very low to low. Conclusions Most conference abstracts on PONV were insufficiently reported regarding review’s narrow inclusion criteria and could not be included in NMA. The resource-intensive search and evaluation of abstracts did not substantially extent the full-text evidence base of the review, given the few adequately reported abstracts. Conferences should oblige authors to adhere to CONSORT for abstracts. KW - systemic reviews KW - conference abstracts KW - meta-analysis Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-299660 VL - 11 IS - 1 ER -