Chan, Katrina

Abstract BACKGROUND Cognitive symptoms are common among cancer patients treated with intracranial radiation but inadequately assessed and suboptimally treated, owing in part to the time-consuming and resource-intensive nature of formal neuropsychological testing. Through remote administration of brief cognitive assessments and symptom-directed interventions, decentralization uniquely addresses this problem. METHODS In this single-site phase 2 fully decentralized clinical trial (NCT06377696), patients treated with radiation therapy (RT) for primary or metastatic brain tumors undergo cognitive evaluations with the application, Mayo Test Drive, and the Short Test of Mental Status (STMS; via telehealth or in person), at baseline and every three months for one year. Participants are provided wearable devices for health promotion. Half the participants are randomized to metformin to evaluate this agent’s efficacy in treating RT-related cognitive symptoms. Target enrollment is 100 participants. RESULTS Seventy-three patients (median age 45.5, 46% female) with brain tumors who received RT were enrolled May 2024 to May 2025. In this unplanned interim analysis, we evaluated the impact of decentralization on study participation. Thirty-six participants (49%) reported a primary residence greater than 150 miles from our institution. Seven patients were consented remotely, the remainder in person. Of 380 study-related visits (201 STMS, 179 treatment toxicity checks) 216 (57%) were completed by telehealth. Thirty-two of 336 (9.5%) study-related lab draws were completed at locations outside our institution. Wearable device data was continuously collected, with median 3022 steps tracked per patient per day on study. 190/250 (76%) quality-of-life surveys sent digitally were completed to date. CONCLUSION Decentralization implemented as part of this clinical trial enabled participation despite significant distance from our institution and facilitated study-related assessments through digital solutions, eliminating the need for travel. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of conducting a fully decentralized supportive care trial in neuro-oncology, which can increase participation and accelerate evaluation of novel therapeutics.

e13891 Background: Most patients with central nervous system (CNS) malignancy develop cognitive impairment, fatigue, and mood-related symptoms that are impacted by cancer and treatment, including radiation therapy. We currently have limited therapies to mitigate neurocognitive toxicity. It is important to accurately assess neurocognitive function and symptom burden when working to establish therapeutics. The objective of this trial is to assess the effectiveness of therapies aimed at improving neurocognitive function and quality of life by leveraging a decentralized approach incorporating an established digital neurocognitive assessment tool and development of a remote symptom collection/medication log to improve capture of longitudinal neurocognitive data. Methods: This is an open-label decentralized clinical trial (NCT06377696) that randomizes patients who have received intracranial radiation for primary and secondary brain tumors in a 1:1 allocation to health promotion with a wearable device +/- metformin (targeting radiation-related toxicity). Remote symptom collection is reported through digital patient surveys. Medication adherence is being monitored through a digital medication log developed for the study. Remote neurologic examination is performed by clinical neuro-oncologists at telehealth visits. Participants perform serial remote cognitive assessments with an established digital neurocognitive testing platform – Mayo Test Drive (MTD). Cognitive assessments and symptom surveys were designed to be completed on a smartphone, tablet, or computer device. Results: The study started enrollment on May 31, 2024. As of January 27, 2025, 54 of 100 planned participants have enrolled (27 on each arm). 51 participants remain active on trial; 3 withdrew from trial participation (2 prior to treatment, 1 after treatment). The overall completion rate for a quality-of-life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) is 85.0%, and each dose of metformin logged is 78.5%. The overall completion rate for virtual neurologic examination and short test of mental status is 94.7%. For MTD, the overall completion rate is 97.9%. The average MTD session duration was 16 minutes. Most participants completed MTD testing using a smartphone (90.5%) at home (89.1%). Conclusions: These results provide preliminary support that a decentralized trial assessing neurocognitive outcomes is feasible in patients with CNS malignancy. The completion rates of questionnaires and objective cognitive evaluation are comparable or higher than expected with historic norms. Final study results will provide real-world cognitive and quality-of-life data for patients with CNS tumors while providing preliminary data on the effectiveness of device-based health promotion +/- metformin for treatment related cognitive decline. Clinical trial information: NCT06377696 .

TPS1647 Background: The majority of patients with primary and secondary central nervous system (CNS) malignancy develop cognitive impairment, fatigue, and mood-related symptoms. Radiotherapy has been shown to contribute to symptom burden often limiting quality of life and functional status. The development of interventions mitigating neurocognitive toxicity requires an accurate assessment of function and symptom burden. Formal neuropsychological evaluation is resource and time intensive, and often challenging to incorporate in routine clinical practice. There is a critical need to accurately assess cognition without causing undue burden to cancer patients while evaluating the efficacy of interventions that can be scaled and implemented at a population level. Methods: To adequately assess the neurocognitive function and related symptoms in patients with CNS malignancy we have designed an open-label decentralized clinical trial that will randomize patients who received intracranial radiation for primary or metastatic brain tumors in a 1:1 allocation to a therapy targeting radiation-related toxicity (metformin shipped to patient home) plus health promotion with a wearable device vs. health promotion with a wearable device alone. Participants will be stratified based on tumor type (glioblastoma vs. other glioma vs. brain metastases vs. meningioma) and age (<70 vs. 70+ years). Participants will be provided a wearable device for monitoring health status. Participants will undergo serial remote cognitive assessments with the Mayo Test Development Through Rapid Iteration, Validation and Expansion platform (Mayo Test Drive). Remote reported symptom collection via patient surveys and remote neurologic examination by telehealth will also be incorporated. Cognitive assessments and symptom surveys will be designed for completion on a smartphone, tablet, or computer device. Health data will be collected from the wearable device, including the number of steps per day and sleep quality/duration. Participants receiving metformin will utilize device apps to report medication adherence and adverse events. Study-related laboratory assessments will be completed remotely and transmitted electronically. This decentralized clinical trial will provide real-world cognitive and quality-of-life data for patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors while providing preliminary data on the effectiveness of device-based health promotion with or without metformin for treating radiation-related cognitive decline. Results gained from this study will guide future trials in neuro-oncology and other fields. This study is expected to open in March 2024.

The kidney is among the best characterized developing tissues, with the genes and signaling pathways that regulate embryonic and adult kidney patterning and development having been extensively identified. It is now widely understood that DNA methylation and histone modification patterns are imprinted during embryonic development and must be maintained in adult cells for appropriate gene transcription and phenotypic stability. A compelling question then is how these epigenetic mechanisms play a role in kidney development. In this review, we describe the major genes and pathways that have been linked to epigenetic mechanisms in kidney development. We also discuss recent applications of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) techniques in the study of kidney development. Additionally, we summarize the techniques of single-cell epigenomics, which can potentially be used to characterize epigenomes at single-cell resolution in embryonic and adult kidneys. The combination of scRNA-seq and single-cell epigenomics will help facilitate the further understanding of early cell lineage specification at the level of epigenetic modifications in embryonic and adult kidney development, which may also be used to investigate epigenetic mechanisms in kidney diseases.