Predicting pathologic complete response (pCR) from clinicopathologic variables and HER2DX genomic test in stage II/III HER2+ breast cancer treated with taxane, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab (THP): Secondary results from the EA1181/CompassHER2 pCR trial.
501 Background: EA1181 (NCT04266249) is a single-arm trial of neoadjuvant THP for patients with clinical anatomic stage II/III HER2+ breast cancer; patients with cT4 or cN3 disease were excluded . Assessing the primary endpoint, 3-year recurrence-free survival in patients with a pCR (ypT0/Tis, ypN0), requires longer follow-up. Here, we present results for the secondary objective of pCR rate and its relation to clinicopathologic factors and the HER2DX pCR likelihood score (Reveal Genomics) derived from gene expression and clinical features. Methods: Patients received 4 cycles of trastuzumab and pertuzumab (HP) with weekly paclitaxel (12 weeks) or docetaxel (q3w x 4), followed by surgery. Clinicopathologic features were assessed for all patients and HER2DX pCR score (stratified by ER status) was determined using the diagnostic biopsy in a representative subset of study participants. Results: 2175 patients were enrolled. Median age was 55 years (range 22-88 years); 58% had clinical stage IIA, 33% stage IIB, and 9% stage III. 45% had nodal involvement (mostly cN1). 781 tumors were HER2+/ER- and 1394 HER2+/ER+ (locally tested ). 2141 patients started THP, for whom the pCR rate was 44% overall, 63.7% in HER2+/ER- and 32.4% in HER2+/ER+ tumors. Disease progressed during THP in 16 patients (0.7%). The pCR rate varied inversely to the proportion of cells staining for ER among patients with HER2+/ER+ breast cancer: 1-10%+, 62.5%; 11-69%, 51.6%; ≥70%, 22.5% (p <0.001). The pCR rate was significantly associated with higher grade, especially in HER2+/ER+ disease. T and N stage did not significantly affect pCR rate. Among 569 patients assessed for the HER2DX pCR score, the pCR rate was significantly greater for patients with a higher vs lower score, regardless of ER status (Table). Further correlations and interactions will be presented. Conclusions: Neoadjuvant THP resulted in pCR in nearly two-thirds of pts with clinical stage II/III HER2+/ER- and in one-third with HER2+/ER+ breast cancer. There was no association with clinical stage. Lower ER expression and higher grade were associated with higher pCR rates. The HER2DX pCR score was a significant predictor of pCR, regardless of ER status. Clinical trial information: NCT04266249 . All Participants HER2+/ER- HER2+/ER+ # patients enrolled pCR rate (95% CI) # patients enrolled pCR rate (95% CI) # patients enrolled pCR rate (95% CI) Evaluable Cohort 2141 44%(42-46%) 774 64%(60-67%) 1367 32%(30-35%) HER2DX Cohort 569 48%(44- 52%) 230 69% (63-75%) 339 34%(29-39%) HER2DX pCR-high score 182 (32%) 68%(60-74%) 147 (64%) 70% (62-77%) 36 (11%) 58%(41-74%) HER2DX pCR-medium score 161 (28%) 67% (59- 74%) 70 (30%) 74%(62- 84%) 89 (26%) 61%(50-71%) HER2DX pCR-low score 226 (40%) 19%(14- 25%) 13 (6%) 31%(9-61%) 214 (63%) 18%(13-24%) P-value HER2DX score <0.001 0.010 <0.001
Effects of Ricinoleic Acid (Castor Oil) on Gut Permeability in Healthy Participants: Provocative Test for Treatments Aimed at Restoring Barrier Function
INTRODUCTION: Altered intestinal permeability (IP) is implicated in multiple gastrointestinal and systemic disease conditions; an experimental model of perturbed IP in healthy subjects is needed. Traditional approaches to perturbing IP include use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. METHODS: We conducted a single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study of dose-related effects of castor oil (CO) (and its ingredient ricinoleic acid) at 750, 1,500, or 3,000 mg daily doses on IP. Permeability was assessed using validated 13 C-mannitol and lactulose urine excretion at 0–2, 8–24, and 0–24 hours after oral administration. RESULTS: Permeability analysis across all groups demonstrated significant difference among the groups for 0–2 hours 13 C-mannitol, 0–24 hours 13 C-mannitol, and borderline significant difference for 2–8 hours 13 C-mannitol ( P = 0.060) and 0–24 hours lactulose ( P = 0.056). Direct comparison of 3,000 mg CO vs placebo ( t test) demonstrated higher excretion of 13 C-mannitol and lactulose at 0–2, and 0–24 hours, and lactulose at 2–8 hours. DISCUSSION: CO may perturb small intestinal and colonic permeability in healthy adults.
Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcomas (LG-ESS) are the second most common malignant uterine mesenchymal tumors, but in contrast to the more common leiomyosarcomas, they are often characterized by a prolonged and relatively indolent course. However, a subset of patients experience significant morbidity or die of disease, and it is difficult to predict which tumors will behave aggressively, with most published studies limited in either the number of tumors or the depth of pathologic parameters evaluated. Thus, we studied the clinicopathologic features of LG-ESS in 102 patients ranging from 21 to 74 (median: 47) years. All were treated with hysterectomy and staged according to both the FIGO 2018 system (stage IA=22, IB=36, I-not otherwise specified=5, II=16, III=13, IV=10) and the FIGO 1988 system (stage I=62, II=1, III=17, IV=22). Tumors measured 1.2-49 (median: 7) cm. Microscopically, 69 involved the endometrium while 33 were centered in the myometrium. Thirteen showed only minimal infiltration of the myometrium while the rest displayed the typical extensive myometrial permeation. The cervical stroma was involved in 18, the uterine serosa in 27, and the parametrium in 22. Conventional morphology resembling proliferative endometrial stroma was seen in 95, fibroblastic appearance in 35, smooth muscle differentiation in 23, sex cord-like differentiation in 21, stromal hyalinization in 21, and myxoid stroma in 9. Less common features included glandular differentiation resembling adenomyosis (n=5), pseudopapillary pattern (n=1), deciduoid appearance (n=2), adipocytic differentiation (n=2), multinucleated cells (n=2), and rhabdomyoblastic differentiation (n=1). Mitoses ranged from <1 to 20 per 10 high-power fields (median=3). Lymphovascular invasion and infarct-type necrosis were present in 64 and 23, respectively. Follow-up was available in all patients ranging from 16 to 358 (median: 79) months. Forty-six received adjuvant treatment as hormonal therapy (n=34), radiation (n=4), radiation and hormonal therapy (n=4), chemotherapy (n=3), or chemotherapy and radiation (n=1). Three patients had persistent unresected tumor following surgery, and an additional 34 had recurrences at intervals of 3 to 272 (median: 79) months, including 2 tumors with minimal infiltration. At last follow-up, 75 patients were alive with no evidence of disease, 14 were alive with disease, and 9 died of disease at intervals of 16 to 167 (median=70) months. Four died of unrelated causes without recurrence. Five-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) were 80% and 94%, while 10-year RFS and DSS were 51% and 87%, respectively. On statistical analysis, cervical stromal involvement ( P =0.018) and myxoid stroma ( P <0.001) were associated with shorter recurrence-free survival. Tumors lacking a conventional component had worse disease-specific survival ( P =0.048). All other clinical and morphologic features, including stage, were not significantly associated with outcome. On multivariate analysis, only cervical stromal involvement remained an independent predictor of recurrence-free survival ( P =0.047; HR: 16.939) and no factors were independently predictive of disease-specific survival. Our findings highlight the difficulty in predicting outcomes in these tumors, likely due to slow progression and frequent treatment responses even in the recurrent setting. We confirm the potential for recurrence even in tumors initially showing minimal infiltration. Cervical stromal involvement and lack of conventional morphology are potential novel risk factors that should be further evaluated in subsequent studies.
Tracking Daily Variations in Rest-Wake to Guide Personalized Timing of Temozolomide for High-Grade Glioma Patients
High-grade gliomas, like glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), are the most common malignant brain tumors in adults and are treated with the chemotherapy drug temozolomide (TMZ). In humans, a retrospective analysis of patients’ overall survival suggests that morning dosing may confer a benefit over evening dosing. Circadian variation in O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) gene expression and promoter methylation has been implicated in increased tumor cell sensitivity to TMZ in the morning. Although patient compliance with timed oral administration of TMZ was high in a prospective trial, it is not known whether differences in daily sleep patterns of patients impact the biological time of drug administration or overall survival. Using wrist actigraphy collected from 10 high-grade glioma patients, we quantified the moment of oral TMZ delivery in terms of wall clock time and internal biological time during the months after surgical tumor resection. We found that variation of daily rhythms within and between individuals caused dosing times to vary more in their internal biological time than wall clock time so that, for example, some doses taken by patients assigned for the evening (2000 h) were closer to the patient’s internal biological morning. We conclude that wrist actigraphy provides a reliable and non-invasive estimate of personal circadian time that could improve efficacy and precision of TMZ delivery. These findings may inform personalized circadian medicine and optimized times for TMZ delivery in the clinic.
BJS
commission on the surgical management of the axilla in breast cancer
Characteristics of Daily Walking Bouts as Valid and Reliable Indicators of Exercise Capacity in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Insights From the Randomized Controlled Study With Selexipag (TRACE)
ABSTRACTThere is a need for objective, continuous and remote assessment of exercise capacity in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Using data from the TRACE study, in which 108 adult patients with PAH were continuously monitored with a wrist‐worn accelerometer, we evaluated whether actigraphy can facilitate continuous monitoring of exercise capacity. Distributions of step rate, distance and duration of patient's walking bouts were estimated at baseline, Week 16 and Week 24 using 2‐week periods of actigraphy data. Twenty‐one metrics per walking bout characteristic were described (mean, standard deviation, 19 percentiles [5th–95th]). The relationships between these metrics and the 6‐min walk distance (6MWD), Borg dyspnea index (BDI), and the PAH Symptoms and Impact questionnaire (PAH‐SYMPACT) Physical Impact domain score were assessed at the three timepoints. Test‐retest reliability, and discriminant and known‐group validity of each metric were also evaluated. All metrics of step rate and bout distance were significantly correlated with 6MWD (Pearson's correlation coefficients: 0.34–0.67; p < 0.005) and the PAH‐SYMPACT Physical Impact domain score (Pearson's correlation coefficients: −0.51 to −0.32; p < 0.05) at all timepoints. Negative correlations were also observed with the BDI and the actigraphy‐derived metrics, with the majority reaching significance. Strong test‐retest reliability was demonstrated (intra‐class correlation coefficient ≥ 0.70). The metrics differentiated well between patients with varying disease severity levels. In conclusion, actigraphy‐derived metrics of patients' walking bouts correlate significantly with 6MWD, BDI and physical impacts of PAH, indicating the utility of actigraphy in facilitating continuous monitoring of exercise capacity in adult patients with PAH.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03078907; URL: clinicaltrials.gov.
Global, Regional, and National Burden of Nontraumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Importance Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) represents the third most common stroke type with unique etiologies, risk factors, diagnostics, and treatments. Nevertheless, epidemiological studies often cluster SAH with other stroke types leaving its distinct burden estimates obscure. Objective To estimate the worldwide burden of SAH. Design, Setting, and Participants Based on the repeated cross-sectional Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study, the global burden of SAH in 1990 to 2021 was estimated. Moreover, the SAH burden was compared with other diseases, and its associations with 14 individual risk factors were investigated with available data in the GBD 2021 study. The GBD study included the burden estimates of nontraumatic SAH among all ages in 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2021. Exposures SAH and 14 modifiable risk factors. Main Outcomes and Measures Absolute numbers and age-standardized rates with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) of SAH incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) as well as risk factor–specific population attributable fractions (PAFs). Results In 2021, the global age-standardized SAH incidence was 8.3 (95% UI, 7.3-9.5), prevalence was 92.2 (95% UI, 84.1-100.6), mortality was 4.2 (95% UI, 3.7-4.8), and DALY rate was 125.2 (95% UI, 110.5-142.6) per 100 000 people. The highest burden estimates were found in Latin America, the Caribbean, Oceania, and high-income Asia Pacific. Although the absolute number of SAH cases increased, especially in regions with a low sociodemographic index, all age-standardized burden rates decreased between 1990 and 2021: the incidence by 28.8% (95% UI, 25.7%-31.6%), prevalence by 16.1% (95% UI, 14.8%-17.7%), mortality by 56.1% (95% UI, 40.7%-64.3%), and DALY rate by 54.6% (95% UI, 42.8%-61.9%). Of 300 diseases, SAH ranked as the 36th most common cause of death and 59th most common cause of DALY in the world. Of all worldwide SAH-related DALYs, 71.6% (95% UI, 63.8%-78.6%) were associated with the 14 modeled risk factors of which high systolic blood pressure (population attributable fraction [PAF] = 51.6%; 95% UI, 38.0%-62.6%) and smoking (PAF = 14.4%; 95% UI, 12.4%-16.5%) had the highest attribution. Conclusions and Relevance Although the global age-standardized burden rates of SAH more than halved over the last 3 decades, SAH remained one of the most common cardiovascular and neurological causes of death and disabilities in the world, with increasing absolute case numbers. These findings suggest evidence for the potential health benefits of proactive public health planning and resource allocation toward the prevention of SAH.
RAS mutation identifies a poor prognostic molecular subtype of therapy-related myeloid neoplasm
Background Right ventricular (RV) maladaptation to elevated pulmonary afterload is the primary determinant of outcomes in pulmonary artery (PA) hypertension; however, the pathobiological mechanisms underlying RV decompensation remain poorly understood. Methods We performed global untargeted metabolomics on plasma from 55 patients who underwent gold‐standard RV‐PA coupling measurements using multibeat pressure volume loop assessment in a single‐center cohort and from 1027 patients with coupling surrogate measurements in a larger multicenter cohort, the PVDOMICS (Pulmonary Vascular Disease Phenomics) study. Age and sex‐adjusted linear regression was performed to identify associations between metabolites and coupling metrics. Additionally, we performed a metabolic flux analysis using gene expression data from RV tissue in an independent cohort of 32 patients. Partial least squares–discriminant analysis was used to identify metabolites and reactions characteristic of the decompensated RV. Results RV‐PA coupling was negatively associated with tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediate levels. Specifically, plasma α‐ketoglutarate and fumarate were significantly associated with all coupling metrics in both cohorts. Metabolic flux analysis indicated that decompensated RVs exhibited aberrant TCA cycle activity, including reduced acetyl coenzyme A entry and increased lactate elimination, suggesting a shift from the TCA cycle toward glycolysis at the RV tissue level. Conclusions We identify an association between circulating TCA cycle intermediate levels and RV‐PA uncoupling in 2 independent cohorts, and dysregulated TCA cycle metabolism in decompensated PA hypertension RVs, suggesting that aberrant TCA cycle metabolism could represent a hallmark of RV maladaptation in PA hypertension. Further study of this pathway is warranted to develop novel biomarkers of RV function or RV‐targeted therapies.
A multicenter, propensity score-matched analysis of functional outcomes and recanalization success with or without Trevo for Medium and distal vessel occlusion
Background Endovascular therapy (EVT) for stroke due to distal or medium vessel occlusion (DMVO) is safe. Due to the distinct anatomical characteristics of DMVOs, further evaluation of EVT is crucial to determine which devices may yield better outcomes. Methods A retrospective analysis of adults with DMVO treated in 37 centers (11 countries) was queried. The primary outcome of favorable shift in 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was compared between patients treated with Trevo versus other devices on first pass using 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) with multivariable adjustment. Secondary outcomes included the number of pass attempts, final thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) score 2b-3, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), improvement in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at 24h, and 90-day mortality. Results Of the 1115 included patients, 264 (24%) were treated with Trevo (PSM cohort of 261 per group). Trevo use was not associated with a favorable 90-day mRS shift (proportional odds ratio [OR] 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.80–1.51). Trevo was associated with fewer passes (adjusted β=-0.25, 95% CI −0.48 - −0.03), higher odds of TICI 2b-3 (adjusted OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.11–3.49), and a greater 24h NIHSS improvement (adjusted β= −1.74, 95% CI −3.11 - −0.36), with no difference in sICH or mortality (p>0.05). Results were similar in sensitivity analyses. Conclusions We observed no safety concerns with Trevo as compared to other EVT devices for DMVO recanalization. There was a signal of better technical efficacy and early clinical improvement.