Before novel combinations can be compared with HDT in a randomised setting as part of induction therapy, the response rates and lengths of remission need to be firmly established; however, such a comparison is tempting as intensive therapy involves periods in hospital with a long period of recovery.
In a randomised setting, clinical efficacy of oxaliplatin doublets were similar to those with carboplatin in two phase II studies (Bidoli et al, 2007, gemcitabine combination; Scagliotti et al, 2005, pemetrexed combination) and had a more favourable toxicity profile.
The initial values search method in Su (2007b, 2007a) uses an extensive randomised search across the parameters using quasi random number generators such as the Sobol or Halton sequence and this article chooses the best randomised set of parameters in terms of the largest likelihood value to initiate the optimisation process.
As it was impossible to find the global minimum for the objective function in that method, estimation procedures were repeated many times, starting from any initial point, i.e. from the randomised set of initial parameter values A[1, 2, …, x], B[1,2, …, y] and C[1,2, …, z].
We intend to use more sophisticated techniques including microarrays in a group of patients undergoing treatment in a randomised setting, with the ultimate hope of being able to further sub-classify bladder tumours into clinically homogenous groups.
Hence, these results must await repetition in a randomised setting.
"Disappointingly, we found no difference in the number of new infections between these two randomised sets of clusters," says Deenan Pillay, director of the Africa Centre and professor of virology at University College London.
10 Only two of 10 randomised sets of data had been published, and Hayashi was concerned that information was insufficient to assess methods, reliability, and applicability of the eight remaining datasets.
During the study, 1278 patients (76% of the randomised set) received at least one concomitant treatment for osteoarthritis, mainly propionic acid derivatives (25%), acetic acid derivatives (18%) and anilides (39%).
The predictive variables identified in these randomised studies have been shown to be associated with response and remission in other datasets and outside of a randomised controlled setting, which lends support to the external validity of the model.
