Gastroenterology

The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of larsucosterol, as determined by transplant-free survival through Day 90 in participants with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) with pre-treatment Maddrey Discriminant Function (MDF) score greater than or equal to (\>=) 32 and Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores 21-30, inclusive.

This phase III trial compares the effect of using lanreotide before surgery to surgery alone in preventing pancreatic fistulas in patients with pancreatic cancer or a pancreatic lesion that could become cancerous. Lanreotide, a type of somatostatin analog similar to somatostatin (a hormone made by the body), and is used to treat certain types of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, and carcinoid syndrome. It may help stop the body from making extra amounts of certain hormones, including growth hormone, insulin, glucagon, and hormones that affect digestion. It may also help keep certain types of tumor cells from growing. Patients with pancreatic cancer or pancreatic lesions may undergo surgery to remove parts of the pancreas, also called a distal pancreatectomy. Patients may experience complications after surgery, including pancreatic fistulas. A pancreatic fistula occurs when there is a small leak from the pancreas, causing fluids to collect. This can often lead to infection and other problems. Giving lanreotide before undergoing distal pancreatectomy may be more effective than surgery alone in preventing the development of a pancreatic fistula in patients with pancreatic cancer or a pancreatic lesion that could become cancerous.

This phase III trial compares the effect of dose-escalated radiation therapy to usual care in patients with locally advanced unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who have received an initial 4-6 months of chemotherapy. Usual care options include additional chemotherapy, observation, or standard lower-dose radiation therapy. These treatments may delay tumor growth but have not been shown to improve survival. Radiation therapy uses high energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Dose-escalated radiation therapy involves the precise delivery of higher doses to the tumor, often over a shorter period of time. This trial assesses whether using dose-escalated radiation therapy can prolong survival.

The liver produces a protein called alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT). AAT is normally released into the bloodstream. In some people, the liver makes an abnormal version of the AAT protein, called Z-AAT. Making an abnormal version of the AAT protein can result in liver disease as Z-AAT builds up in liver cells, which leads to liver problems such as liver scarring (fibrosis), continuing liver damage (cirrhosis), and eventually end stage liver disease. Fazirsiran is a medicine that reduces the creation of the Z-AAT protein and thus the build-up of this abnormal protein in the liver. People with this type of liver disease who already have mild liver scarring will take part in the study. They will be treated with fazirsiran or a placebo for about 2 years. This study will check the long-term safety of fazirsiran, whether participants tolerate the treatment and if there are any effects on liver scarring. A liver biopsy, a way of collecting a small tissue sample from the liver, will be taken twice during the study.

The overarching hypothesis is that CF carriers are at increased risk for developing most of the extrapulmonary conditions associated with CF compared to the general population. Specifically, it is hypothesized that this pilot data will detect subclinical evidence of pancreatic and kidney disorders among CF carriers. This will be determined by bringing CF carriers and controls to the CRU for one visit where they will answer survey questions and undergo laboratory testing. Additionally, they will collect urine and stool samples at home that will be sent to outside laboratories for testing.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common complication of obesity which can progress to deadly complications like end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. In the wake of the obesity epidemic, NAFLD is becoming the main etiology of liver transplantation in the US. Currently, there are no FDA approved pharmacological treatments for NAFLD. Weight loss through lifestyle modifications, pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery can be effective strategies for the management of NAFLD. Even though substantial weight loss and improvement in NAFLD can be achieved with bariatric surgery, only a small proportion of patients with obesity undergo surgery. Very-low calorie diets (VLCD) are replacement meals manufactured to substitute natural foods and limited total intake of 800-960 kcal in divided meals. Very low-calorie diets can produce substantial weight loss of 10% over 2 to 3 months. We hypothesize that VLCD reduce liver steatosis and, fibrosis measured non-invasively with transient elastography. Our main aim is #1 to assess the effect of VLCD on liver fatty infiltration and fibrosis. We also have three exploratory aims exploring novel pathogenic factors that mediate the improvement of NAFLD by VLCD: #2 assess the effect of VLCD on micro RNAs (miRs) associated with pathophysiology of NAFLD: #3 assess the effect of VLCD on changes of salivary and fecal microbiome in the setting of NAFLD: #4 to determine the effect of VLCD on platelet function. This pilot project will produce preliminary data for the development of a larger grant application to study the efficacy of VLCD in the management of NAFLD. Furthermore, it will potentially identify factors that mediate improvement of NAFLD after VLCD. We will treat 10 subjects with obesity and NAFLD for 8 weeks with VLCD or lower calorie diet (control group) and obtain transient elastography before and after the interventions along with other measurements of interest. Our project may have significant impact by establishing VLCD as a clinically effective option for the improvement of liver steatosis and fibrosis in patients with obesity and NAFLD ineligible or without access to bariatric surgery.

This is a prospective, multi-center observational study. The study is designed to measure the clinical effectiveness of elexacaftor, tezacaftor and ivacaftor (ETI) triple combination therapy in people with one or more copies of the F508del mutation, study the effects of ETI across a number of CF disease manifestations, and collect specimens for future research. Subjects in the study will have one "before TCT" visit within 30 days before initiation of the therapy and five "after TCT" visits over a 30-month follow-up period. Participants who have participated in the original PROMISE cohort have the option of participating in a long-term extension with annual visits performed at the 42- and 54-month timepoints. The durability of the clinical and biological changes in PROMISE can be assessed with extended follow-up, which would enable the sub-studies to consider potential clinical consequences of the biological or physiological effects being studied. This work will help to inform long term prognosis and feasibility of certain clinical trials outcomes for interventional studies and may be useful when considering research priorities in drug development. Most participating sites have been divided into sub-study groups; each sub-study group has specific non-optional procedures conducted in addition to the "Core" procedures. Finally, there is one optional procedure (transient elastography) that will be offered to subjects at certain sites. The duration of participation for each subject is 30 months (with an additional 24 months if participants agree to the optional long-term extension). NOTE: FDA has reviewed the New Drug Application (NDA) for elexacaftor, tezacaftor and ivacaftor and has granted approval.

This partially randomized phase II/III trial studies how well, in combination with surgery, cisplatin and combination chemotherapy works in treating children and young adults with hepatoblastoma or hepatocellular carcinoma. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, doxorubicin, fluorouracil, vincristine sulfate, carboplatin, etoposide, irinotecan, sorafenib, gemcitabine and oxaliplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving combination chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells than one type of chemotherapy alone.