Citations

Abstract Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in United States with a 5-year survival rate of only 8%. Inherited predisposition plays an important role in PDAC risk. Rare, moderately to highly penetrant mutations in hereditary cancer and pancreatitis genes, identified in families with a high incidence of disease, account for a small fraction of cases. At the other end of the spectrum, common risk variants of low penetrance have been discovered through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Currently, over 20 common PDAC risk signals have been identified through GWAS in populations of European ancestry. However, these loci explain only a small fraction of genetic heritability for PDAC, and the causal genes for the large majority of these are unknown. Most susceptibility alleles discovered through GWAS are located in noncoding regions of the genome and are likely to function through allele specific regulation of gene expression. Transcriptome-wide association studies integrate expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) with GWAS data to discover genes whose cis-regulated expression is associated with complex traits. To identify novel susceptibility loci and likely causal genes, we applied this approach to PDAC. Firstly, we used two reference datasets generated from histologically normal pancreatic tissue samples from individuals of European ancestry, the DCEG/LTG (n=95) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx v7, n=174), to build robust predictors for gene expression (n=2,872-5,906; r2>0.01), using 5 different models (Top1, Lasso, Enet, Blup and Bslmm) in FUSION and PrediXcan. Gene expression predictors (n=2,043-21,422) were also generated by Enet in 48 different tissues (n=74-421 samples) from 608 individuals of European ancestry (GTEx). We then applied these predictor models to PDAC GWAS summary statistics from 9,040 PC cases and 12,496 controls. We discovered 24 genes whose genetically predicted expression is significantly associated with PDAC risk (FDR < 0.05), including 13 candidate genes at 10 novel loci (CELA3B, SMC2, SMC2-AS1, RP11-80H5.9, SMUG1, BTBD6, RCCD1, PNMT, CDK12, PGAP3, SUPT4H1, RP11-888D10.3 and PGPEP1) and 11 at 5 known risk loci (TERT, CLPTM1L, ZDHHC11B, INHBA, ABO, PDX1, KLF5, WDR59, CFDP1, BCAR1 and TMEM170A). Pathway enrichment analysis for genes differentially expressed in the top vs. bottom quartile of CELA3B expression highlighted higher expression of inflammatory and immune response genes in both the DCEG/LTG and GTEx pancreatic transcriptome datasets, indicating that low expression of this gene may be associated with an inflammatory state in the pancreas. Our findings showcase the utility of integrating multiple datasets to generate hypotheses and provide novel clues for the genetic mechanisms underlying pancreatic cancer risk. Citation Format: Jun Zhong, Ashley Jermusyk, Lang Wu, Jason W. Hoskins, Irene Collins, Mingfeng Zhang, Song Lei, Charles C. Chung, Tongwu Zhang, Wenming Xiao, Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon, Alison P. Klein, Brian M. Wolpin, Xiao-Ou Shu, Stephen J. Chanock, Sara Olson, Nilanjan Chatterjee, Jill Smith, Jianxin Shi, Peter Kraft, Gloria M. Petersen, Wei Zheng, Laufey T. Amundadottir. Large-scale transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) identifies novel candidate susceptibility genes for pancreatic cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1591.

AbstractCerebral amyloidomas, characterized by localized amyloid deposits in the nervous system in the absence of systemic disease, are rare. These typically consist of immunoglobulin light chain (AL)-type, predominantly lambda. Trigeminal nerve involvement is exceptionally rare with only 21 previously reported cases, three with bilateral disease. We report two additional cases of amyloid localized to Meckel’s cave with secondary involvement of the trigeminal nerves bilaterally, with protein characterization by mass spectrometry. The patients, both females, 39 and 49-years-old, respectively, presented with the insidious onset of progressive trigeminal neuropathy, including pain and numbness with sensory loss, refractory to medical therapy. One patient experienced bilateral symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated abnormal thickening and contrast enhancement along Meckel’s cave bilaterally in both cases. The clinical differential diagnosis included benign neoplasms and inflammatory disorders. At the time of biopsy, the trigeminal nerve was noted to be enlarged and multinodular in one case and associated with abnormal soft tan tissue in the other case. Microscopically, the nerve biopsies showed extensive Congo red-positive amyloid deposits. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry demonstrated that the amyloid was of (AL)-type in both cases (AL [kappa] in one case and AL [lambda] in the other). After extensive evaluation, there was no evidence of systemic involvement. Both patients received localized radiotherapy for their refractory symptoms. One patient has stable symptomatology and imaging. No follow-up is available for the other patient.

Abstract Aims Pathogenic gain-of-function variants in CACAN1C cause type-8 long QT syndrome (LQT8). We sought to describe the electrocardiographic features in LQT8 and utilize molecular modelling to gain mechanistic insights into its genetic culprits. Methods and results Rare variants in CACNA1C were identified from genetic testing laboratories. Treating physicians provided clinical information. Variant pathogenicity was independently assessed according to recent guidelines. Pathogenic (P) and likely pathogenic (LP) variants were mapped onto a 3D modelled structure of the Cav1.2 protein. Nine P/LP variants, identified in 23 patients from 19 families with non-syndromic LQTS were identified. Six variants, found in 79% of families, clustered to a 4-residue section in the cytosolic II–III loop region which forms a region capable of binding STAC SH3 domains. Therefore, variants may affect binding of SH3-domain containing proteins. Arrhythmic events occurred in similar proportions of patients with II–III loop variants and with other P/LP variants (53% vs. 48%, P = 0.41) despite shorter QTc intervals (477 ± 31 ms vs. 515 ± 37 ms, P = 0.03). A history of sudden death was reported only in families with II–III loop variants (60% vs. 0%, P = 0.03). The predominant T-wave morphology was a late peaking T wave with a steep descending limb. Exercise testing demonstrated QTc prolongation on standing and at 4 min recovery after exercise. Conclusion The majority of P/LP variants in patients with CACNA1C-mediated LQT8 cluster in an SH3-binding domain of the cytosolic II–III loop. This represents a ‘mutation hotspot’ in LQT8. A late-peaking T wave with a steep descending limb and QT prolongation on exercise are commonly seen.

BACKGROUND: Medication Therapy Management (MTM) is a strategy for developing a variety of non-dispensing clinical pharmacy services to patients which aim to optimize therapeutic outcomes by identifying and resolving drug therapy problems. We conducted a pilot study to see if MTM could serve as a measurable value-add as demonstrated by improved outcomes for IBD injectable biologic patients and reduced disease management burden for clinicians and office staff. METHODS: Adult patients with either UC or CD prescribed new self-injectable biologic agents (adalimumab [ADA], certolizumab pegol [CTZ], golimumab [GOL], or ustekinumab [USTE]) were recruited from outpatient clinics at Mayo Clinic Rochester, Arizona, Florida or Health System. Exclusion criteria included prescriptions that were refills, patients with need for urgent hospitalization, pregnant patients, those without a reliable and confirmed shipping address or reliable telephone access, or patients residing outside of the United States. Patients were randomized to receive standard care or be enrolled in a collaborative, high-touch MTM program administered by Curant Health PharmD's. Patients randomized to MTM were further stratified to either having medications filled by Curant Health or specialty pharmacy as dictated by insurance plan. Patients receiving standard care were managed as per discretion of the treating physician. Patients receiving MTM arms were contacted per a defined protocol with calls at specified time points. The primary outcome of interest was number of unsolicited calls/messages from patients to practice sites during the study time period along with total time spent on the managing of those messages either electronically or via telephone. Secondary outcomes of interest included medication adherence as defined by percent of patients with a score of >6 at week 24 (MMAS-8) and disease activity as measured by relevant disease indices. RESULTS: 20 patients were randomized to MTM and 19 to standard care. There was no difference in median age or sex distribution among groups. The majority of patients were started on ADA, 1 CTZ and 1 USTE. One patient was enrolled twice with different medications to the standard group. Nine MTM patients required additional support to optimize therapy with 1 patient requiring 6 additional calls. The majority of calls involved injection administration, how to treat injection site reaction, pain and misfiring. The number of unsolicited calls overall in the MTM arm were significantly higher than standard care: 3 vs 1 ( P < 0.05). The overall adherence to medication at week 24 was significantly higher with MTM; scores ranged from 7.5–8 vs 5.5–6 in the standard care group ( P < 0.05). The median disease score of the MTM group also improved significantly for both diseases by >50% at week 24 for 13/20 patients compared with 10/19 for standard group. CONCLUSION(S): Patients in the high-touch, collaborative MTM arm received additional engagement as evidenced by the significant increase in unsolicited patient calls. MTM patients also showed improved adherence and improved disease outcomes to injectable therapy. This suggests that MTM services are an effective mechanism to relieve burden of office staff while improving patient care.

Background: Open surgical closure and small-bore suture-based preclosure devices have limitations when used for transcatheter aortic valve replacement, percutaneous endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, or percutaneous thoracic endovascular aortic aneurysm repair. The MANTA vascular closure device is a novel collagen-based technology designed to close large bore arteriotomies created by devices with an outer diameter ranging from 12F to 25F. In this study, we determined the safety and effectiveness of the MANTA vascular closure device. Methods and Results: A prospective, single arm, multicenter investigation in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement, percutaneous endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, or thoracic endovascular aortic aneurysm repair at 20 sites in North America. The primary outcome was time to hemostasis. The primary safety outcomes were accessed site-related vascular injury or bleeding complications. A total of 341 patients, 78 roll-in, and 263 in the primary analysis cohort, were entered in the study between November 2016 and September 2017. For the primary analysis cohort, transcatheter aortic valve replacement was performed in 210 (79.8%), and percutaneous endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair or thoracic endovascular aortic aneurysm repair was performed in 53 (20.2%). The 14F MANTA was used in 42 cases (16%), and the 18F was used in 221 cases(84%). The mean effective sheath outer diameter was 22F (7.3 mm). The mean time to hemostasis was 65±157 seconds with a median time to hemostasis of 24 seconds. Technical success was achieved in 257 (97.7%) patients, and a single device was deployed in 262 (99.6%) of cases. Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 major vascular complications occurred in 11 (4.2%) cases: 4 received a covered stent (1.5%), 3 had access site bleeding (1.1%), 2 underwent surgical repair (0.8%), and 2 underwent balloon inflation (0.8%). Conclusions: In a selected population, this study demonstrated that the MANTA percutaneous vascular closure device can safely and effectively close large bore arteriotomies created by current generation transcatheter aortic valve replacement, percutaneous endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, and thoracic endovascular aortic aneurysm repair devices. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT02908880.

AbstractAccurate pathologic diagnoses and molecularly informed treatment decisions for a wide variety of cancers depend on robust clinical molecular testing that uses genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic-based tools. Nowhere is this more essential than in the workup of brain tumors, as emphasized by the incorporation of molecular criteria into the 2016 World Health Organization classification of central nervous system tumors and the updated official guidelines of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Despite the medical necessity of molecular testing in brain tumors, access to and utilization of molecular diagnostics is still highly variable across institutions, and a lack of reimbursement for such testing remains a significant obstacle. The objectives of this review are (i) to identify barriers to adoption of molecular testing in brain tumors, (ii) to describe the current molecular tools recommended for the clinical evaluation of brain tumors, and (iii) to summarize how molecular data are interpreted to guide clinical care, so as to improve understanding and justification for their coverage in the routine workup of adult and pediatric brain tumor cases.