Citations

ABSTRACT Background While vaccination is a key strategy to mitigate the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in children, the risk factors for symptomatic, medically attended (hereon referred to as “symptomatic”) COVID‐19 and the impact of vaccination are not well defined among pediatric solid organ transplant recipients (PSOTR). Methods PSOTR aged six months through 21 years at 11 centers in the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Transplant Network (PIDTRAN) were analyzed retrospectively for symptomatic COVID‐19 between July 2021 and May 2023. Using a Cox proportional hazards model, risk factors associated with COVID‐19‐associated hospitalization, in‐hospital oxygen use, mechanical ventilation, and the impact of COVID‐19 vaccination were analyzed. Results Of 1370 PSOTR, 410 (29%) had symptomatic COVID‐19 infection. Among those with symptomatic infection, 115 (28%) were hospitalized, 35 required in‐hospital oxygen, and three required mechanical ventilation. In the study, 45% were unvaccinated against COVID‐19. Compared to unvaccinated PSOTR, incompletely vaccinated PSOTR had 56% lower hazard (95% CI 0.26, 0.72, p = 0.001) of COVID‐19‐associated hospitalization whereas completely vaccinated did not have a statistically significant difference in hazard of hospitalization. Receipt of at least one dose of the bivalent vaccine was also associated with 92.5% lower hazard (95% CI 0.010, 0.55, p = 0.011) of hospitalization. Risk factors for hospitalization included chronic kidney disease, underlying heart disease, neurodevelopmental delay, and lymphocytopenia. Conclusions Most PSOTR with symptomatic COVID‐19 did not require hospitalization or respiratory support. Several comorbidities and lymphocytopenia are associated with severe COVID‐19 in PSOTR. COVID‐19 vaccination, mostly, protected PSOTR against COVID‐19‐associated hospitalization, but vaccine uptake among PSOTR was low. image

Abstract Unvetted scientific claims about vaccines can spread rapidly and undermine decades of progress in immunization and public trust. A recent non-peer-reviewed analysis, promoted at political hearings, in the documentary “An Inconvenient Study,” and on social media, has been used to suggest that vaccinated children experience higher rates of chronic illness than unvaccinated peers. Despite standard regression models, critical flaws - uncontrolled confounding, exposure misclassification, unequal follow-up, and outcome multiplicity, invalidate causal inference. An independent group of international experts critically appraises this analysis and contrast its claims with the consistent evidence confirming vaccine safety and effectiveness. We also show how poorly designed studies can distort public discourse, amplify misinformation, and fuel vaccine hesitancy. We outline actions to strengthen research integrity, such as transparent data sharing, labeling of non-peer-reviewed content, and evidence-based communication. Safeguarding public health demands that vaccine evidence be methodologically sound, reviewed, and interpreted by qualified experts.

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives Converging evidence hints at neurodevelopmental effects in genetic frontotemporal degeneration (FTD). In cross-sectional studies, for some genes, young adult FTD variant carriers show differences in brain volumes and cognition compared to familial non-carriers. However, longitudinal trajectories may more sensitively capture FTD-related neurodevelopmental vs. neurodegenerative changes than cross-sectional approaches. This study examined longitudinal trajectories of brain volumes, executive function, and plasma biomarkers in young adult carriers compared to familial non-carriers, as measures of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative outcomes of FTD-causing variants. Methods This longitudinal cohort study comprised participants, aged 18-30 years, from the FTD Prevention Initiative across Europe, Canada, and the USA. Genetic groups included C9orf72 (47%), MAPT (30%), and GRN (23%). Linear mixed-effects models were computed to assess longitudinal outcomes across age between groups, controlling for sex, scanner (for brain volumes), and education (for executive function); random effects accounted for between-subject variability nested within family membership. Results Variant carriers ( n =147) and familial non-carriers ( n =113) did not differ in age (mean±SD, 25.9±3.2 years), sex (53% female), or number of visits (2.1±1.7). Young adult C9orf72 repeat expansion carriers exhibited smaller thalamic volumes than non-carriers at the reference age of 26 years ( b =-982.8mm 3 , SE=317.0, p= 0.0046, f 2 =0.32), with relatively stable trajectories across ages 18-30 (i.e., no change over time). Trajectories of rostral anterior cingulate volumes differed in C9orf72 carriers and non-carriers across age, where carriers showed relatively stable trajectories and non-carriers showed age-appropriate declines ( b =64.4mm 3 , SE=29.9, p= 0.035, f 2 =0.07). For MAPT and GRN , there were little to no differences in total brain, cortical, or subcortical volumes between groups and over time. No longitudinal differences were observed between carriers and non-carriers in executive function, or plasma NfL or GFAP for any genetic group. Discussion C9orf72 repeat expansions were linked to smaller average thalamic volumes and stable trajectories between ages 18 to 30, supporting potential neurodevelopmental origins. The modest evidence supporting an absence of difference in neurodegenerative biomarkers and executive function suggests minimal early neurodegeneration and functional preservation in young adulthood.

1024 Background: Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is a distinct breast cancer (BC) subtype with dissemination patterns differing from invasive breast carcinoma of no special type (IBC-NST). While genomic differences between ILC and IBC-NST have been described, the extent to which molecular and immune profiles vary by metastatic organ and histology is poorly characterized. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis to evaluate organ- and histology-specific molecular features of metastatic BC (mBC). Patients with metastatic IBC-NST or pure ILC underwent NGS (592, NextSeq; WES/WTS, NovaSeq; Caris Life Sciences). Tumor mutational burden (high ≥10 mut/Mb), PD-L1 expression (22C3), and immune cell fractions (RNAseq deconvolution, quanTIseq) were assessed. Analyses were restricted to sites with ≥10 biopsies per histology. Comparisons used chi-square or Mann–Whitney U tests with multiple testing correction (q < 0.05). Results: A total of 2645 mBC biopsies (605 ILC; 2040 IBC-NST) were analyzed (Table). In ILC, ERBB2 mut frequency differed by metastatic site (q<0.01), with higher prevalence in liver (32.7%) and lower in gastrointestinal (GI) lesions (3.7%). In IBC-NST, ESR1 and GATA3 mut and FGFR1 amplification were enriched in liver metastases, whereas PD-L1 expression was highest in skin (20.7%) and lowest in liver (5.0%). No organ-specific differences were observed for PIK3CA, AKT, PTEN, BRCA1/2 or RB1 . Across metastatic sites, both ILC and IBC-NST showed differences in B cells, macrophages (M1/M2), neutrophils, NK cells, dendritic cells, CD8+ T cells, and Tregs (all q < 0.05); CD4+ T-cell differences were observed only in IBC-NST (q = 0.002). In organ-specific ILC vs IBC-NST comparisons, CDH1 mut were more frequent in ILC across sites, along with higher PIK3CA mut in skin (ILC 51.3% vs IBC-NST 34.4%) and higher ERBB2 mut in liver (32.7% vs 3.3%), whereas a higher TP53 mut frequency was observed in IBC-NST in skin (28.5% vs 52.3%) and lymph nodes (LND) (23.5% vs 55.5%) (all q < 0.01). Conclusions: mBC exhibits marked organ-specific molecular and immune heterogeneity that differs by histology. These findings support histology- and site-aware interpretation of metastatic biopsies and may inform biomarker assessment and treatment decisions in advanced disease. BC-NST ILC Skin LND Bone Breast Liver Perit. CNS q-value Skin LND Bone Breast GI Liver GYN Perit. CNS q-value N (specimens) 785 401 109 361 220 15 44 - 172 84 62 56 56 54 43 37 11 - ERBB2 mut (%) 3.2 3.1 3.2 2.3 3.3 7.1 2.5 1.0 7.1 7.4 16.4 15.4 3.7 32.7 2.4 5.7 11.1 <0.01 ESR1 mut (%) 9.4 5.2 8.3 16.0 28.2 7.1 2.4 0.0 7.8 7.2 8.9 9.8 16.7 26.0 4.9 20.0 0.0 0.9 FGFR1 amp (%) 10.1 6.6 5.6 12.8 16.5 0.0 9.7 0.02 4.4 3.4 6.7 6.1 2.4 5.6 7.7 18.5 0.0 1.0 IHC-PD-L1 (%) 20.7 - 5.3 16.0 5.0 11.1 10.3 0.02 8.9 - 5.0 5.7 6.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 14.3 1.0 TMB-High (%) 10.7 10.1 8.8 8.8 8.5 14.3 21.4 0.8 27.6 11.0 19.6 28.0 11.3 19.6 9.8 32.4 22.2 0.8 Perit: peritoneum; CNS: central nervous system; GYN: genital tract.

Abstract Background Central nervous system (CNS) metastases are a major clinical concern in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The PATINA phase III study showed improved PFS with palbociclib added to maintenance anti-HER2/endocrine therapy (44.3 vs. 29.1 months; hazard ratio 0.75; 95% CI 0.59-0.96; 1-sided P=0.0109). Preclinical and early clinical data suggest palbociclib may have CNS activity. We conducted a pre-specified secondary analysis to evaluate the incidence and timing of CNS progression. Methods CNS progression was defined as the emergence of new intracranial lesions per investigator assessment. Baseline CNS imaging was not mandated but recommended if symptomatic. Competing risks analyses evaluated time from registration to first CNS progression or death (CNS PFS), treating non-CNS progression as a competing event. All randomized patients were included in the primary analysis, regardless of known baseline CNS involvement. Patients with baseline CNS metastases were not censored if progression involved the CNS. A secondary analysis excluded patients with CNS metastases present at baseline. Cumulative incidence functions were estimated and compared using 2-sided Gray’s test. Results Data cutoff for this analysis was on October 15, 2024. 518 participants were enrolled between June 2017 and July 2021, 261 to the palbociclib arm and 257 to the control arm. CNS metastases at baseline were present in 11 patients in the palbociclib arm and 9 patients in the control arm. Among all randomized patients, CNS progression occurred in 35 of 261 (13.4%; 95% CI: 9.5-18.2) in the palbociclib arm and 50 of 257 (19.5%; 95% CI: 14.8-24.8) in the control arm. When excluding patients with CNS metastases at baseline, CNS progression was observed in 32 of 250 (12.8%; 95% CI: 8.9-17.6) in the palbociclib arm and 47 of 248 (19.0%; 95% CI: 14.3-24.4) in the control arm. The median follow-up for patients who were alive and progression-free was 53.5 months. At 36 months, the cumulative incidence of CNS PFS was 13.4% vs. 19.9% for palbociclib versus control (Gray’s test p=0.0386). Importantly, when the analysis was restricted to pts without evidence of CNS disease at baseline (Table 1), —the CNS benefit with palbociclib was maintained (13.0% vs. 19.2% at 36 months, Gray’s test p = 0.0378). Conclusion The addition of palbociclib to anti-HER2 and endocrine therapy was associated with a lower incidence of CNS metastases. Among patients without known baseline CNS involvement, the absolute reduction in CNS progression at 36 months was 6.2% in favor of palbociclib. This benefit was observed at 12 months and sustained over 3 years (Table 1). These findings suggest that palbociclib may help delay or prevent CNS involvement in HR+/HER2+ MBC, warranting confirmation in future studies. Citation Format: O. Metzger, S. Mandrekar, T. Dockter, L. Gianni, E. Ciruelos, A. De Michele, J. Gligorov, E. Lim, S. Loibl, X. Gonzàlez Farré, F. Lynce, J. Lanzillotti, L. Carey, S. Goel, A. Partridge, E. Winer. Central Nervous System Outcomes from the Phase III PATINA Trial (AFT-38) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr RF4-01.

Abstract Background PALLAS trial compared palbociclib plus endocrine therapy (ET) vs. ET alone in stage II-III HR+/HER2- breast cancer. SETER/PR index quantifies transcriptional activity related to estrogen and progesterone receptors and serves as a measure of endocrine sensitivity. In CALGB 9741, low SETER/PR (&lt; 0.75) - reflecting endocrine resistance - predicted survival benefit from adjuvant anthracycline/taxane-based treatment. In PALLAS low SETER/PR was associated with worse prognosis and early recurrence. Early recurrences driven by endocrine-resistant tumors may obscure the benefit of palbociclib by disproportionately contributing events from a more resistant population. We hypothesized that palbociclib efficacy might vary by endocrine sensitivity and prior chemotherapy regimen, with greatest benefit in patients with intermediate SETER/PR index. Methods Invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) was summarized with Kaplan-Meier plots and the treatment arms were compared with a log-rank test. Cox models estimated the hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI) (significance level used was a two-sided 0.05). SETER/PR index was successfully obtained for 3,090 PALLAS patients (TransPALLAS ITT cohort, Metzger et al. ASCO 2024). SETER/PR index cut points (0.75 and 1.50) were proposed from previous studies comparing different adjuvant chemotherapy regimens. Results Table 1 summarizes the efficacy of adjuvant palbociclib by prior (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy regimen. Palbociclib was associated with longer iDFS in the group who received prior anthracycline-paclitaxel chemotherapy (AC-P), though the chemo regimen x palbociclib interaction term was not significant (Table 1). In the 1,132 patients from the TransPALLAS cohort who received AC-P chemotherapy, the 518 (46%) patients with intermediate SETER/PR (0.75≤ SETER/PR &lt;1.50) had longer iDFS with palbociclib (HR 0.58; 95% CI: 0.40-0.84; p=0.004; 7-yr iDFS 80.2% vs. 68.4%), but this subset did not predict palbociclib benefit relative to all others, i.e., 206 (18%) patients with low SETER/PR (&lt;0.75) and 408 (36%) high SETER/PR (≥1.50); P interaction=0.11. Exploratory analysis of SETER/PR index as a continuous variable in patients who received prior AC-P chemotherapy revealed a non-linear relationship with the hazard ratio favoring palbociclib observed in the subset with SETER/PR values between 1.1 and 1.8, compared to all others (P interaction=0.01). Conclusions In PALLAS, we observed a numerical benefit favoring palbociclib among pts treated with adjuvant AC-P; in this subset a moderate level of endocrine transcriptional activity (SETER/PR index between 1.1 and 1.8) predicted palbociclib benefit. These results are hypothesis-generating. Citation Format: O. Metzger, P. O'Brien, K. Ballman, M. Gnant, M. Watson, E. Chen, K. Tran, D. Hlauschek, M. Martin, J. Balko, Z. Nowecki, O. Hahn, C. Denkert, C. Curtis, F. Liu, A. Dueck, C. Fesl, E. Mayer, A. De Michele, W. Symmans. Exploratory analysis of palbociclib benefit in the PALLAS trial by SETERPR index and prior chemotherapy regimens (ABCSG-42/AFT-05/BIG-14-13) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS3-08-13.

Abstract Background: Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the second most common breast cancer (BC) subtype, accounting for up to 15% of cases. Although several biologic differences between ILC and invasive carcinoma of no special type (NST) have been described, most data are derived from primary tumors. In contrast, the biology of metastatic ILC remains poorly defined. This study aimed to investigate the unique genomic, transcriptomic, and immune landscapes of metastatic ILC using a multi-omic approach. Methods: This real-world study included patients with confirmed NST or pure ILC who had a biopsy of a metastatic lesion or a breast lesion in the setting of known metastatic disease. Tumors underwent whole exome sequencing (NGS 592, NextSeq; WES, NovaSeq), whole transcriptome sequencing (WTS, NovaSeq) (Caris Life Sciences, Phoenix, AZ). Demographic and baseline molecular features were compared across histologic subtypes. Tumor mutational burden (TMB; high ≥10 mut/MB) was assessed by NGS. Immune cell populations were estimated by RNAseq deconvolution (quanTIseq). Pathway enrichment analysis was determined by GSEA. Overall survival (OS) was defined from the date of biopsy to death from any cause using Kaplan-Meier estimates. Statistical tests included chi-square and Mann-Whitney U with multiple testing correction (q&lt;0.05). Results: Among 2,651 metastatic BC samples (ILC n = 608; NST n = 2,043), patients with ILC were older (median 67 vs 63 yrs) and more likely white (81.5% ILC vs 73.1% NST), all p&lt;0.05. By IHC, ILC were more frequently HR+/HER2- (83.6% vs 55.9%), less commonly triple-negative (11.9% vs 29.8%) or HER2+ (4.6% vs 14.3%), all p&lt;0.05. PAM50 subtypes differed between ILC and NST: luminal A (Lum A) (31.1% vs 13.7%) and luminal B (Lum B) (44.9% vs 43.8%) intrinsic subtypes were enriched in ILC, while NST was more frequently basal (1.2% vs 22.4%) and HER2-enriched (19.8% vs 22.2%), all p&lt;0.05. Within luminal BC, Lum B was more common than Lum A in both histologies, but Lum A was proportionally more frequent in ILC (ILC: 40.3% Lum A vs 59.7% Lum B; NST: 23.4% Lum A vs 76.6% Lum B), p&lt;0.0001. Comparative multi-omic analysis focused on the 922 HR+/HER2- tumors (ILC n = 275; NST n = 647). Compared to NST, ILC had higher frequency of CDH1 (87.3% vs 6.1%), PIK3CA (52.7% vs 38.5%), FOXA1 (9.0% vs 3.4%), ERBB2 (7.1% vs 2.0%), ARID1A, and NF1 (both q &lt; 0.05) mutations and TMB high (17.7% vs 9.9%), but lower frequency of TP53 (15.7% vs 33.3%), ESR1 (10.9% vs 18.1%) and GATA3 (2.3% vs 14.9%) mutations along with FGFR1 amplifications (15.3% vs 6.7%), all q&lt;0.05. ILC had higher expression of androgen receptor (91.2% vs 83.5%, q&lt;0.05) and higher MAPK activation score (-0.81 vs -1.19, q&lt;0.05), consistent with a luminal, hormone-driven phenotype. NST tumors demonstrated enrichment of pathways involved in the cell cycle and metabolic activity, including E2F targets, G2M checkpoint, MYC targets, mTORC1 signaling, glycolysis, and unfolded protein response (NES: 1.5-2.7, FDR&lt;0.25). ILC tumors had higher infiltration of B cells, dendritic cells, neutrophils, NK cells and M2 macrophages, but lower M1 macrophages, all q&lt;0.05. ILC had differential expression of immune checkpoint genes (upregulation: CD274 (PD-L1), PDCD1 (PD-1), TNFSF14, CEACAM1, CD160, fold change (FC): 1.2-1.5; down: HAVCR2 (TIM-3): FC: 1.2), all q&lt;0.05. Median OS (mOS) was similar between luminal ILC and NST (33.8 vs 35.4 months (mo); HR 1.0, 95% CI 0.91-1.3). No mOS difference was seen between Lum A ILC and NST (47.4 vs 50.5 mo; HR 1.0, 0.84-1.43), while Lum B ILC had worse mOS than NST (27.4 vs 35.3 mo; HR 1.3, 1.1-1.6). Conclusions: This study represents the largest cohort to date with multi-omic characterization of metastatic ILC, revealing distinct genomic, transcriptomic, and immune features compared to NST. These findings highlight the unique biology of ILC and may inform future subtype-specific therapeutic strategies. Citation Format: G. Nader-Marta, S. Kumar Deshmukh, K. Fanucci, P. Tarantino, S. Schnitt, A. Lee, S. Oesterreich, S. Wu, J. Xiu, P. Advani, M. Lustberg, N. Lin, S. Tolaney, E. Mayer, O. Metzger, G. Sledge Jr., R. Jeselsohn. The Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Immune Hallmarks of Metastatic Lobular Breast Cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD9-07.

Objective Age of symptom onset is highly variable in familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration (f‐FTLD). Accurate prediction of onset would inform clinical management and trial enrollment. Prior studies indicate that individualized maps of brain atrophy can predict conversion to dementia in f‐FTLD. We used a Bayesian linear mixed‐effect (BLME) prediction method for identifying accelerated brain volume loss to predict conversion to dementia. Methods Participants included 234 asymptomatic or prodromal carriers of C9orf72 , GRN , or MAPT mutations (including 21 dementia converters) with ≥3 longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T1‐weighted scans. The BLME models established individual voxel‐wise gray matter trajectories using the first 2 scans. Person‐specific clusters of accelerated volume loss were estimated in subsequent scans and tested as predictors of dementia conversion compared with other approaches in time‐varying Cox proportional hazard models covarying for age. Receiver‐operating characteristic (ROC) curves estimated utility of cluster volume in discriminating which participants converted to dementia within 24 months. Results The BLME cluster volume predicted conversion to dementia in f‐FTLD mutation carriers overall and separately in C9orf72 , GRN , and MAPT , with comparable hazard ratios observed for atrophy W‐maps and regional volumes. Within a 24‐month timeframe, BLME cluster volume discriminated dementia converters from non‐converters with larger areas under the curve (AUCs) than other approaches. Interpretation Bayesian‐modeled individualized atrophy scores predict dementia progression among asymptomatic f‐FTLD mutation carriers and may have increased utility compared with other structural imaging methods when studying individuals over shorter timeframes that align with clinical trial design. ANN NEUROL 20269999:n/a–n/a