COVID-19 Pandemic Causing Acute Kidney Injury and Impact on Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease and Renal Transplantation

Cancer immunotherapy comprises different therapeutic strategies that exploit the use of distinct components of the immune system, with the common goal of specifically targeting and eradicating neoplastic cells. These varied approaches include the use of specific monoclonal antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors, cytokines, therapeutic cancer vaccines and cellular anticancer strategies such as activated dendritic cell (DC) vaccines, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and, more recently, genetically engineered T cells. Each one of these approaches has demonstrated promise, but their generalized success has been hindered by the paucity of specific tumor targets resulting in suboptimal tumor responses and unpredictable toxicities. This review will concentrate on recent advances on the use of engineered T cells for adoptive cellular immunotherapy (ACI) in cancer.

COVID-19 and Renal Failure: Challenges in the Delivery of Renal Replacement Therapy

Background: Bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the United States. Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the current standard of care in stage IV bladder cancer. It has increased overall survival but rarely results in complete remission, with an overall survival of 14–15 months. The most significant breakthrough in cancer therapy over the last decade was the development of immunotherapy. Data sources: KEYNOTE-045, IMvigor211, CheckMate275, Javelin Solid Tumor, MEDI4736, and KEYNOTE-0528 clinical trials. Areas of Uncertainty: There are ongoing clinical trials using combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy as first line of therapy in the setting of metastatic urothelial cancer and also to determine the duration of treatment. Therapeutic Advances: Immunotherapy is approved as a second-line treatment for metastatic urothelial cancer. Their use as a first-line agent is only limited to patients who are ineligible for cisplatin-based treatments. Five drugs are approved by Food and Drug Administration for metastatic urothelial cancer including 3 Programmed cell-death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors and 2 programmed cell-death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors in patients who have progressed during or after platinum-based therapy. Pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and atezolizumab are PD-1 inhibitors. Durvalumab and avelumab are PD-L1 inhibitors. However, only 2 drugs were approved based on phase III clinical trials—pembrolizumab and atezolizumab, of which only KEYNOTE study performed with pembrolizumab showed overall survival difference. Atezolizumab and pembrolizumab are the Food and Drug Administration–approved checkpoint inhibitors in cisplatin-ineligible patients. Conclusion: This review article summarizes the significance of immunotherapy in treatment of bladder cancer, its side effects, and limitations.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease that has resulted in a global pandemic and is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Zoonotic diseases are infections that are transmitted from animals to humans. COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 most likely originated in bats and transmitted to humans through a possible intermediate host. Based on published research so far, pangolins are considered the most likely intermediate hosts. Further studies are needed on different wild animal species, including pangolins that are sold at the same wet market or similar wet markets before concluding pangolins as definitive intermediate hosts. SARS-CoV-2 is capable of reverse zoonosis as well. Additional research is needed to understand the pathogenicity of the virus, especially in companion animals, modes of transmission, incubation period, contagious period, and zoonotic potential. Interdisciplinary one health approach handles these mosaic issues of emerging threats by integrating professionals from multiple disciplines like human medicine, veterinary medicine, environmental health, and social sciences. Given that the future outbreak of zoonotic diseases is inevitable, importance must be given for swift identification of the pathogen, source, and transmission methods. Countries should invest in identifying the hot spots for the origin of zoonotic diseases, enhance diagnostic capabilities, and rapid containment measures at local, regional, and national levels. The threat posed by emerging infectious diseases in modern-days also needs combined efforts internationally where a single discipline or nation cannot handle the burden alone.