Citations

Abstract Although eosinophils as a group are readily identified by their unique morphology and staining properties, flow cytometry provides an important means for identification of subgroups based on differential expression of distinct surface Ags. Here, we characterize an eosinophil subpopulation defined by high levels of expression of the neutrophil Ag Gr1 (CD45+CD11c−SiglecF+Gr1hi). SiglecF+Gr1hi eosinophils, distinct from the canonical SiglecF+Gr1− eosinophil population, were detected in allergen-challenged wild-type and granule protein-deficient (EPX−/− and MBP-1−/−) mice, but not in the eosinophil-deficient ΔdblGATA strain. In contrast to Gr1+ neutrophils, which express both cross-reacting Ags Ly6C and Ly6G, SiglecF+Gr1hi eosinophils from allergen-challenged lung tissue are uniquely Ly6G+. Although indistinguishable from the more-numerous SiglecF+Gr1− eosinophils under light microscopy, FACS-isolated populations revealed prominent differences in cytokine contents. The lymphocyte-targeting cytokines CXCL13 and IL-27 were identified only in the SiglecF+Gr1hi eosinophil population (at 3.9 and 4.8 pg/106 cells, respectively), as was the prominent proinflammatory mediator IL-13 (72 pg/106 cells). Interestingly, bone marrow-derived (SiglecF+), cultured eosinophils include a more substantial Gr1+ subpopulation (∼50%); Gr1+ bmEos includes primarily a single Ly6C+ and a smaller, double-positive (Ly6C+Ly6G+) population. Taken together, our findings characterize a distinct SiglecF+Gr1hi eosinophil subset in lungs of allergen-challenged, wild-type and granule protein-deficient mice. SiglecF+Gr1hi eosinophils from wild-type mice maintain a distinct subset of cytokines, including those active on B and T lymphocytes. These cytokines may facilitate eosinophil-mediated immunomodulatory responses in the allergen-challenged lung as well as in other distinct microenvironments.

Objective: The Lung Injury Prediction Score identifies patients at risk for acute respiratory distress syndrome in the emergency department, but it has not been validated in non-emergency department hospitalized patients. We aimed to evaluate whether Lung Injury Prediction Score identifies non-emergency department hospitalized patients at risk of developing acute respiratory distress syndrome at the time of critical care contact. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Five academic medical centers. Patients: Nine hundred consecutive patients (≥ 18 yr old) with at least one acute respiratory distress syndrome risk factor at the time of critical care contact. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Lung Injury Prediction Score was calculated using the worst values within the 12 hours before initial critical care contact. Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome at the time of initial contact were excluded. Acute respiratory distress syndrome developed in 124 patients (13.7%) a median of 2 days (interquartile range, 2–3) after critical care contact. Hospital mortality was 22% and was significantly higher in acute respiratory distress syndrome than non-acute respiratory distress syndrome patients (48% vs 18%; p < 0.001). Increasing Lung Injury Prediction Score was significantly associated with development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (odds ratio, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.21–1.42) and the composite outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome or death (odds ratio, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.18–1.34). A Lung Injury Prediction Score greater than or equal to 4 was associated with the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (odds ratio, 4.17; 95% CI, 2.26–7.72), composite outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome or death (odds ratio, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.68–3.49), and acute respiratory distress syndrome after accounting for the competing risk of death (hazard ratio, 3.71; 95% CI, 2.05–6.72). For acute respiratory distress syndrome development, the Lung Injury Prediction Score has an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.70 and a Lung Injury Prediction Score greater than or equal to 4 has 90% sensitivity (misses only 10% of acute respiratory distress syndrome cases), 31% specificity, 17% positive predictive value, and 95% negative predictive value. Conclusions: In a cohort of non-emergency department hospitalized patients, the Lung Injury Prediction Score and Lung Injury Prediction Score greater than or equal to 4 can identify patients at increased risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome and/or death at the time of critical care contact but it does not perform as well as in the original emergency department cohort.

Abstract Purpose: In preclinical studies, the PARP inhibitor veliparib enhanced the antileukemic action of temozolomide through potentiation of DNA damage. Accordingly, we conducted a phase 1 study of temozolomide with escalating doses of veliparib in patients with relapsed, refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or AML arising from aggressive myeloid malignancies. Experimental Design: Patients received veliparib [20–200 mg once a day on day 1 and twice daily on days 4–12 in cycle 1 (days 1–8 in cycle ≥2)] and temozolomide [150–200 mg/m2 daily on days 3–9 in cycle 1 (days 1–5 in cycle ≥2)] every 28 to 56 days. Veliparib pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics [ability to inhibit poly(ADP-ribose) polymer (PAR) formation and induce H2AX phosphorylation] were assessed. Pretreatment levels of MGMT and PARP1 protein, methylation of the MGMT promoter, and integrity of the Fanconi anemia pathway were also examined. Results: Forty-eight patients were treated at seven dose levels. Dose-limiting toxicities were oral mucositis and esophagitis lasting &gt;7 days. The MTD was veliparib 150 mg twice daily with temozolomide 200 mg/m2 daily. The complete response (CR) rate was 17% (8/48 patients). Veliparib exposure as well as inhibition of PAR polymer formation increased dose proportionately. A veliparib-induced increase in H2AX phosphorylation in CD34+ cells was observed in responders. Three of 4 patients with MGMT promoter methylation achieved CR. Conclusions: Veliparib plus temozolomide is well tolerated, with activity in advanced AML. Further evaluation of this regimen and of treatment-induced phosphorylation of H2AX and MGMT methylation as potential response predictors appears warranted. Clin Cancer Res; 23(3); 697–706. ©2016 AACR.

OBJECTIVE Historically, performing neurosurgery with the patient in the sitting position offered advantages such as improved visualization and gravity-assisted retraction. However, this position fell out of favor at many centers due to the perceived risk of venous air embolism (VAE) and other position-related complications. Some neurosurgical centers continue to perform sitting-position cases in select patients, often using modern monitoring techniques that may improve procedural safety. Therefore, this paper reports the risks associated with neurosurgical procedures performed in the sitting position in a modern series. METHODS The authors reviewed the anesthesia records for instances of clinically significant VAE and other complications for all neurosurgical procedures performed in the sitting position between January 1, 2000, and October 8, 2013. In addition, a prospectively maintained morbidity and mortality log of these procedures was reviewed for instances of subdural or intracerebral hemorrhage, tension pneumocephalus, and quadriplegia. Both overall and specific complication rates were calculated in relation to the specific type of procedure. RESULTS In a series of 1792 procedures, the overall complication rate related to the sitting position was 1.45%, which included clinically significant VAE, tension pneumocephalus, and subdural hemorrhage. The rate of any detected VAE was 4.7%, but the rate of VAE requiring clinical intervention was 1.06%. The risk of clinically significant VAE was highest in patients undergoing suboccipital craniotomy/craniectomy with a rate of 2.7% and an odds ratio (OR) of 2.8 relative to deep brain stimulator cases (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2–70, p = 0.04). Sitting cervical spine cases had a comparatively lower complication rate of 0.7% and an OR of 0.28 as compared with all cranial procedures (95% CI 0.12–0.67, p < 0.01). Sitting cervical cases were further subdivided into extradural and intradural procedures. The rate of complications in intradural cases was significantly higher (OR 7.3, 95% CI 1.4–39, p = 0.02) than for extradural cases. The risk of VAE in intradural spine procedures did not differ significantly from sitting suboccipital craniotomy/craniectomy cases (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.09–5.4, p = 0.7). Two cases (0.1%) had to be aborted intraoperatively due to complications. There were no instances of intraoperative deaths, although there was a single death within 30 days of surgery. CONCLUSIONS In this large, modern series of cases performed in the sitting position, the complication rate was low. Suboccipital craniotomy/craniectomy was associated with the highest risk of complications. When appropriately used with modern anesthesia techniques, the sitting position provides a safe means of surgical access.

Abstract Background: Pathologic complete response (pCR) is an established prognostic biomarker for aggressive HER2+ breast cancer (BC). Improving pCR rates may identify new therapies that improve survival. T-DM1 and pertuzumab have established benefits in metastatic HER2+ BC. We tested their ability when combined, without paclitaxel, to improve pCR rates (ypT0ypN0) over standard therapy in the randomized, phase 2, I-SPY 2 neoadjuvant trial. Methods: Enrolled patients (pts) had invasive breast cancer ?2.5 cm in HER2-positive subsets. Pts were adaptively randomized to 12 wkly cycles of paclitaxel+trastuzumab (TH, control) or T-DM1+pertuzumab (T-DM1+P) without T, followed by doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC) x 4 and surgery. We utilized all TH control pts accrued over the course of the trial, adjusting for potential differences due to time period treated, which were informed by the several other treatment arms that have been in the trial. Adaptive assignment to the various experimental arms in the trial was based on current Bayesian probabilities of superiority vs. control. “Graduation” by signature and futility stopping were based upon Bayesian predictive probability of success in a future 2-arm, N = 300 neoadjuvant Phase 3 randomized 1:1 trial of T-DM1+P vs. control with pCR endpoint. Results: T-DM1+P met the predictive probability criterion and graduated from I-SPY 2 in 3 signatures: all HER2+, HER2+/HR+, HER2+/HR- (Table 1). Final accrual: 52 T-DM1+P and 31 TH. Safety data will be shown. Conclusions: I-SPY 2's standing platform trial mechanism efficiently evaluates agents in biomarker-defined pt subsets. T-DM1+P (w/o T) -&gt; AC substantially improves pCR rates over standard TH -&gt; AC in all 3 HER2+ signatures, including HR+ and HR- subsets. These findings warrant further investigation of these agents without paclitaxel in a neoadjuvant trial powered for survival endpoints. Table 1Signature*Estimated pCR Rate (95% probability interval)Probability T-DM1+P Is Superior to Control**Predictive Probability of Success in Phase 3T-DM1+PControl (TH)HER2+52% (36%-68%)22% (5%-39%)99.5%94%HER2+/HR+46% (26%-66%)17% (0% - 34%)99.1%93%HER2+/HR-64% (39%-88%)33% (6%-59%)98%90%*HR = Hormone Receptor Citation Format: Angela M. DeMichele, Stacy Moulder, Meredith Buxton, Douglas Yee, Anne Wallace, Jo Chien, Claudine Isaacs, Kathy Albain, Judy Boughey, Kathleen Kemmer, Barbara Haley, Julie Lang, Henry Kaplan, Susan Minton, Andres Forero, Anthony Elias, Rita Nanda, Larissa Korde, Richard Schwab, Michelle Melisko, Ashish Sanil, Michael Hogarth, Nola Hylton, Melissa Paoloni, Fraser Symmans, Jane Perlmutter, Julia Lyandres, Christina Yau, Don Berry, Laura Esserman, I-SPY 2 TRIAL Investigators. Efficacy of T-DM1+pertuzumab over standard therapy for HER2+ breast cancer: Results from the neoadjuvant I-SPY 2 TRIAL. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr CT042.

Abstract Background Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of clonal hematologic disorders that result in ineffective hematopoiesis. Individuals with MDS have a high risk of progressing to leukemia, with approximately 30% expected to develop acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Benzene exposure is one of the few well-established risk factors for AML, and recent studies suggest it is also a risk factor for MDS. Exposure to other occupational and residential chemicals has been inconsistently associated with hematologic malignancies. In this analysis, we evaluated occupational and residential chemical exposures as risk factors for AML and MDS using population-based data. Methods AML and MDS cases were identified by rapid case ascertainment through the Minnesota Cancer Surveillance System (MCSS). Centralized pathology and cytogenetics reviews were conducted to confirm diagnosis and classify by subtypes. Controls were identified through the Minnesota State driver's license/identification card list. Chemical exposures were measured by self-report and included occupational and residential exposure to a variety of chemicals. Unconditional logistic regression with adjustment for age, sex, previous cancer treatment, income, and farm or rural residence was used to calculate crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Smoking, obesity and physical activity were considered as potential confounders but did not change effect estimates by 10% or more. Results We included 265 MDS cases, 420 AML cases, and 1388 controls in this analysis. As expected, we observed significant associations between benzene and both MDS and AML (OR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.17, 2.67 and OR = 2.03, 95% CI 1.45, 2.83, respectively). Exposure to vinyl chlorides was associated with MDS (OR = 2.25, 95% CI 1.32, 3.81) but not with AML (OR = 1.36, 95% CI 0.83, 2.21). Exposure to fertilizers (OR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.11, 2.59), soot (OR = 2.64, 95% CI 1.59, 4.39), creosote (OR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.08, 3.51), inks, dyes and tanning solutions (OR = 1.63, 95% 1.02, 2.60), and coal dust (2.64, 95% CI 1.30, 5.39) were associated with AML, while no association was seen between any of these exposures and MDS (range ORs = 0.78-1.25). No significant associations were observed for occupational pesticide exposures in either group. Discussion These data confirm the importance of benzene as a risk factor for myeloid malignancy and provide risk estimates in a population-based sample. A number of other significant associations with occupational and residential chemicals were observed for AML; however, all exposures were reported by only a small percentage of cases (≤10%). While chemical exposures play a clear role in the etiology of myeloid malignancy, these exposures do not account for the majority of cases. Citation Format: Jenny N. Poynter, Michaela Richardson, Michelle Roesler, Cindy K. Blair, Betsy Hirsch, Phuong Nguyen, Adina Cioc, James R. Cerhan, Erica Warlick. Chemical exposures and risk of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes in a population-based study. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3427.