Abstract: On behalf of the Hokusai VTE Cancer Investigators The treatment of cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) is challenging because these patients are at increased risk of both recurrent VTE and major bleeding. Low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) treatment is standard care for these patients, but requires daily subcutaneous injections. Guidelines recommend LMWH treatment for 6 months, but the risk-benefit beyond this time is uncertain. Direct oral anticoagulants are used for the treatment of VTE in patients without cancer, but their role in patients with cancer- associated VTE is uncertain. In this randomized, open-label non-inferiority trial, cancer patients with acute symptomatic or incidental VTE were assigned to receive LMWH for a minimum of 5 days followed by the oral factor Xa inhibitor edoxaban at a dose of 60 mg once daily (or 30 mg once daily in patients with a creatinine clearance of 30 to 50 ml per minute or a body weight below 60 kg), or subcutaneous dalteparin 200 units per kg once daily for one month followed by 150 units per kg thereafter. Patients received these regimens for up to 12 months. The primary outcome was the composite of the first recurrent VTE or major bleeding event during follow-up for 12 months. Secondary outcomes included recurrent VTE and major bleeding analyzed separately, and survival free of recurrent VTE or major bleeding. The study hypothesis was that edoxaban would be noninferior to dalteparin for the primary outcome with an upper 95% confidence interval [CI] for the hazard ratio below 1.5, and a two-sided alpha of 0.05. All outcomes were independently adjudicated by a committee without knowledge of treatment allocation. This committee also assessed the clinical severity of major bleeding events using categorical criteria defined a priori (categories 1 to 4). From July 2015 through December 2016 a total of 1050 patients were enrolled at 114 centers in 13 countries; 525 were randomized to edoxaban and 525 to dalteparin. At entry, pulmonary embolism with or without deep-vein thrombosis was present in 657 patients (63%) while the remainder had isolated deep-vein thrombosis. Of the 1050 patents, 706 (67%) had symptomatic VTE and the rest were incidental. Active cancer at entry was present in 97% of the patients and 53% had metastatic disease. 1046 patients were included in the modified-intention-to-treat analysis. The primary outcome occurred in 67 of 522 patients (12.8%) in the edoxaban group compared with 71 of 524 patients (13.5%) in the dalteparin group (hazard ratio with edoxaban, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.70 to 1.36; P = 0.0056 for noninferiority) for a risk difference (edoxaban minus dalteparin) of - 0.7% (95% CI, - 4.8 to 3.4). The difference in risk for recurrent VTE was -3.8 % (95% CI, -7.1 to -0.4), whereas the corresponding difference in risk for major bleeding was 3.1% (95% CI, 0.5 to 5.7). The frequencies of severe major bleeding events (categories 3 and 4) were similar during treatment with edoxaban or dalteparin (12 patients in each group respectively). Survival at 12 months free of recurrent VTE and major bleeding in the edoxaban and dalteparin groups was similar (55.0% and 56.5% respectively). Oral edoxaban for up to 12 months is noninferior to subcutaneous dalteparin for the treatment of cancer-associated VTE. Disclosures Raskob: BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Eli Lilly: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Johnson and Johnson: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Portola: Consultancy; Boehringer-Ingelheim: Consultancy; Medscape: Honoraria; Bayer Healthcare: Consultancy; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria. Van Es:Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria. Verhamme:Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Bayer Healthcare: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Boehringer Ingelheim: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Portola: Consultancy; Medscape: Honoraria; Leo: Honoraria, Research Funding; Sanofi Aventis: Research Funding; Medtronic: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Carrier:Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Leo: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria. Di Nisio:Daiichi: Consultancy, Honoraria. Garcia:Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy; Boehringer Ingelheim: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Medscape: Honoraria; Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Grosso:Daiichi Sankyo: Employment. Kakkar:Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bayer Healthcare: Consultancy, Research Funding; Boehringer Ingelheim: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi SA: Consultancy, Honoraria; Verseon: Consultancy, Honoraria. Kovacs:Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bayer: Honoraria; Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding. Mercuri:Daiichi Sankyo: Employment, Patents & Royalties: pending properties of edoxaban . Meyer:BMS Pfizer: Research Funding; Leo: Other: travel support; Stago: Other: travel support. Segers:Ionis: Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding. Shi:Daiichi Sankyo: Employment. Wang:Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria. Yeo:Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bayer Healthcare: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Boehringer Ingelheim: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria; Leo: Consultancy, Honoraria. Zhang:Daiichi Sankyo: Employment. Zwicker:Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria; Quercegen Pharma: Research Funding; Parexel: Consultancy. Weitz:Daiichi-Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Ionis Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria; Merck & Co., Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer, Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria; Portola Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria; Medscape: Consultancy, Honoraria; Boehringer Ingelheim: Consultancy; Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria. Büller:Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bayer: Consultancy, Honoraria; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Boehringer Ingelheim: Consultancy, Honoraria; Portola: Consultancy; Medscape: Honoraria; Eli Lilly: Consultancy; Sanofi Aventis: Consultancy; Ionis: Consultancy.

Abstract: Background and objective: There is persistent men-dominated gender disparity in medical academia. Predominance of men in the editorial makeup of medical journals might contribute to this inequity. This retrospective study (2014 & ndash;2019) sought to evaluate gender representation in reviewers, editors, and members of the editorial boards in 15 leading medical journals from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Methods: We surveyed lists of reviewers, editors, and editorial board members from seven journals of internal medicine, a specialty dominated by men; three journals & nbsp; of obstetrics and gynaecology and two of paediatrics, specialties dominated by women; and three journals of psychiatry, a gender-balanced specialty. Information from publicly available resources was used to infer gender, and the percentages of women were calculated. Trends over time were characterized by changes in these percentages from year to year through the linear regression line fitted to the data for each journal. Results: Journals of women-dominated specialties had significantly higher proportions of women reviewers than those of men-dominated or gender-balanced specialties, with mean percentages (95% confidence interval) of 45.8% (40.5% & ndash;51.1%), 28.0% (22.3% & ndash;33.7%), and 33.8% (27.6% & ndash;40.1%), respectively (p 〈 0.001). The proportion of women editors and editorial board members showed no statistically significant differences across the three specialties, and the percentage of women reviewers, editors, and editorial board members increased only slightly over time. Conclusion: These results suggest that the fifteen journals are yet to achieve gender parity in their reviewers, editors, and editorial board members, and continued efforts are needed to achieve gender balance in those three groups of medical academia.

Abstract: Zinc released from activated platelets binds fibrin(ogen) and attenuates fibrinolysis. Although zinc also affects clot formation, the mechanism and consequences are poorly understood. To address these gaps, the effect of zinc on clot formation and structure was examined in the absence or presence of factor (F) XIII. Zinc accelerated a) plasma clotting by 1.4-fold, b) fibrinogen clotting by 3.5- and 2.3-fold in the absence or presence of FXIII, respectively, c) fragment X clotting by 1.3-fold, and d) polymerisation of fibrin monomers generated with thrombin or batroxobin by 2.5– and 1.8-fold, respectively. Whereas absorbance increased up to 3.3-fold when fibrinogen was clotted in the presence of zinc, absorbance of fragment X clots was unaffected by zinc, consistent with reports that zinc binds to the αC-domain of fibrin(ogen). Scanning electron microscopic analysis revealed a twofold increase in fibre diameter in the presence of zinc and in permeability studies, zinc increased clot porosity by 30-fold with or without FXIII. Whereas FXIII increased clot stiffness from 128 ± 19 Pa to 415 ± 27 Pa in rheological analyses, zinc reduced clot stiffness by 10– and 8.5-fold in the absence and presence of FXIII, respectively. Clots formed in the presence of zinc were more stable and resisted rupture with or without FXIII. Therefore, zinc accelerates clotting and reduces fibrin clot stiffness in a FXIII-independent manner, suggesting that zinc may work in concert with FXIII to modulate clot strength and stability.

Abstract: We show that the nonlinear mechanical response of networks formed from un–cross-linked fibrin or collagen type I continually changes in response to repeated large-strain loading. We demonstrate that this dynamic evolution of the mechanical response arises from a shift of a characteristic nonlinear stress–strain relationship to higher strains. Therefore, the imposed loading does not weaken the underlying matrices but instead delays the occurrence of the strain stiffening. Using confocal microscopy, we present direct evidence that this behavior results from persistent lengthening of individual fibers caused by an interplay between fiber stretching and fiber buckling when the networks are repeatedly strained. Moreover, we show that covalent cross-linking of fibrin or collagen inhibits the shift of the nonlinear material response, suggesting that the molecular origin of individual fiber lengthening may be slip of monomers within the fibers. Thus, a fibrous architecture in combination with constituents that exhibit internal plasticity creates a material whose mechanical response adapts to external loading conditions. This design principle may be useful to engineer novel materials with this capability.

Abstract: This multicentre dose-finding study compared TAK-442, an oral factor Xa inhibitor, with enoxaparin for thromboprophylaxis after knee arthroplasty. In this parallel group study, patients were randomised to oral TAK-442 (40 or 80 mg once-daily [QD] or 10, 20, 40, or 80 mg twice-daily [BID] started 6–8 hours postoperatively), which was blinded as to dose, or to open-label subcutaneous enoxaparin (30 mg BID starting 12–24 hours postoperatively) for 10 days. Treatments were continued until bilateral venography was performed (maximum of 14 days). The primary efficacy endpoint was the composite of any deep-vein thrombosis, non-fatal pulmonary embolism or all-cause mortality, while the primary safety endpoint was major bleeding. Of 1,038 patients randomised who received at least one dose of study drug, 949 completed the study and 730 (76.9%) were evaluable for the primary efficacy analysis. Recruitment into the 10 and 20 mg BID dose groups was stopped early because the incidences of the primary efficacy endpoint were significantly higher than that with enoxaparin. The primary efficacy endpoint occurred in 22.0% of patients given enoxaparin and in 39.0%, 38.4%, 23.5%, 21.4%, 26.8%, and 14.3% of those receiving TAK-442 10 mg BID, 20 mg BID, 40 mg QD, 40 mg BID, 80 mg QD, and 80 mg BID, respectively. The incidences of major and clinically relevant non-major bleeding with TAK-442 were not dose-dependent or different from that with enoxaparin. All TAK-442 doses except 10 and 20 mg BID displayed similar efficacy and safety profiles to enoxaparin.