METHODS: PEPT2 polymorphisms were screened from a cohort of 96 Chinese, 96 Malay and 96 Asian Indian subjects. Cephalexin (1000 mg, orally) pharmacokinetics was characterized in an additional 15 Chinese and 15 Asian Indian healthy subjects. These 30 subjects were subsequently genotyped for their PEPT2 polymorphisms.
RESULTS: In total, ten common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in the three populations, forming two PEPT2 haplotypes. There were significant ethnic differences in PEPT2 haplotype distribution: the frequencies of the *1 and *2 alleles were 0.307 and 0.693 in the Chinese population, 0.495 and 0.505 in the Malay population and 0.729 and 0.271 in Asian Indian population, respectively. The C (max) of cephalexin was significantly lower in the Chinese (29.80 +/- 4.09 microg ml(-1)) population than in the Asian Indian one (33.29 +/- 4.97 microg ml(-1); P = 0.045). This difference could be explained by the higher average body weight of the Chinese population. There was no other significant difference in cephalexin pharmacokinetics between either ethnic or PEPT2 genotype groups.
CONCLUSION: PEPT2 polymorphism distributions differ significantly between Chinese, Malay and Asian Indian populations. However, cephalexin pharmacokinetics is not meaningfully different between Chinese and Asian Indians. The association between the PEPT2 haplotype and cephalexin pharmacokinetics could not be confirmed, and future studies under better controlled conditions are needed.
METHODS: We designed a questionnaire, including 50 questions related to debulking surgery for advanced ovarian cancer. The questionnaire was sent to Gynecologic Oncologic Groups in Asia from December 2016 to February 2017.
RESULTS: A total of 253 gynecologic oncologists from Japan (58.9%), the Republic of Korea (19%), Taiwan (12.6%), and the other counties including China (7.5%), Malaysia (0.8%), Indonesia (0.8%), and Thailand (0.4%) participated in this E-survey. The median number of debulking surgeries per year was 20, and 46.8% of the respondents preferred <1 cm as the criterion for optimal debulking surgery (ODS). The most common barrier and surgical finding precluding ODS were performance status (74.3%) and disease involving the porta hepatis (71.5%). Moreover, 63.2% had a fellowship program, and only 15% or less had opportunities to receive additional training courses in general, thoracic, or urologic surgery. The median percentage of patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) was 30%, and the achieved rate of ODS in primary debulking surgery (PDS) and interval debulking surgery (IDS) was 65% and 80%, respectively. Most of the respondents required three to 6 h for PDS (48.6%) and IDS (58.9%). Moreover, more than 50% depended on ultra-radical surgery conducted by specialists.
CONCLUSIONS: The ODS criteria are relatively lenient with a preference for NAC in 30% of the respondents in Asia. This trend might be associated with the dependence on aggressive surgery performed by specialists.