Citations

61 Background: Patients with cancer often have complex symptoms and morbidity that prompt frequent Emergency Department visits. The length of stay in the ED for cancer patients exceeds that of patients without cancer. Patients with cancer are also more likely to be admitted, but are often discharged within 72h. Protracted ED visits, extensive investigations, and the burdens of even a short admission may be distressing and may not be aligned with patients’ care goals and preferences. Furthermore, the healthcare resources dedicated to these patients is considerable and has economic implications. We recently established a Supportive Care Infusion Center (SCIC), an on-campus outpatient unit where patients can receive treatments for symptom relief and comfort; they are assured integrated palliative care with routine oncologic care. We believe there is a subset of cancer patients who can be safely transferred from the ED to the SCIC for appropriate care. Methods: We are retrospectively evaluating cancer patients admitted through the ED to validate clinical parameters likely to lead to admission, and also identify any differences between patients admitted for <72h vs >72h. Patients are analyzed based on symptoms, cancer type, prior cancer therapies, performance status, comorbidities, and presence/absence of advance care planning as well as previous contact with Palliative Care. Data are also being gathered on patient outcomes, including mortality within 60d of admission. Results: Previously established indicators predictive of admission included shortness of breath and SIRS criteria, which our current review validates. We also observe that patients admitted for >72h have greater symptom burden and comorbidities and have received multiple lines of therapy. They also less frequently have advance care planning in place. Data analysis is ongoing. Conclusions: There exists a difference between cancer patients admitted >72h and those discharged within 72h. Awareness of these characteristics may lead to improved workflow in the ED. Identifying patients who may be suitable for transfer to an outpatient supportive care unit rather than short-term admission will also facilitate cost-effectiveness. Future direction includes evaluation of outcomes such as mortality, quality of life, and patient-caregiver satisfaction.

391 Background: Prior economic analysis of a 12-gene assay (Oncotype DX), compared with patterns of care reported in the NCCN database of patients with stage II, T3, DNA mismatch repair proficient (MMR-P) colon cancer, predicted that the assay would save medical costs and improve patient well-being (Hornberger et al., Value Health, 2012). This study assessed the validity of those findings with actual adjuvant chemotherapy (aCT) recommendations. Methods: Outcomes and costs were estimated for patients with stage II, T3, MMR-P colon cancer using a Markov model. A study of 141 patients from 17 sites in the Mayo Clinic Cancer Research Consortium collected data on aCT recommended before and after knowledge of the 12-gene assay results (Srivastava et al. abstract). Quality-adjusted life years (QALY) and medical resource use after recurrence were computed using guideline-validated state-transition probability estimation methods. Risk of progression and incidence of adverse events with different aCT regimens were based on published literature. Drug and administration costs for aCT were obtained from 2012 Medicare fee schedules. One-way sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate parameter influence on economic impact. Results: After receiving the 12-gene assay results, physician recommendations in favor of aCT decreased 22% (95% CI 11%-32%; McNemar test p<0.001) from 73 (52%) to 42 (30%) patients. Oxaliplatin aCT and 5-FU monotherapy recommendations each declined 11%. Average aCT costs decreased $5,738 for drugs, $668 for administration, and $3,268 for adverse events management. Overall, average total direct medical costs decreased $4,203. The net effect on average patient well-being was a gain of 0.083 QALYs. Total medical costs are most influenced by change in aCT recommendations, 5-FU monotherapy efficacy, and oxaliplatin drug acquisition cost. Savings are expected to persist even if the cost of oxaliplatin dropped by >75% due to generic substitution. Conclusions: The 12-gene assayhas been shown to alter aCT recommendations for patients with stage II, T3, MMR-P colon cancer. This study provides real-world confirmation that these changes in aCT reduce direct medical costs and improve patient well-being.

LBA2 Background: Docetaxel (D) improves OS of men with mPrCa who have progressed on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). We aimed to assess the benefit of upfront chemohormonal therapy for metastatic PrCa. Methods: 1:1 randomization to ADT alone or ADT + D dosed 75mg/m2 every 3 weeks for 6 cycles within 4 month (mos) of starting ADT. Stratification factors: high volume (HV) vs. low volume (LV) disease (HV: visceral metastases and/or 4 or more bone metastases); anti-androgen use beyond 30 days; Age ≥70 vs. < 70 years; ECOG PS 0-1 vs. 2; Prior adjuvant ADT > 12 vs. ≤ 12 mos; FDA approved drug for delaying skeletal related events. Key eligibility criteria: suitable organ and neurological function for D; adjuvant ADT ≤ 24 mos and no progression within 12 mos of adjuvant ADT. OS was the primary endpoint and the study was powered to assess for a 33.3% improvement in median OS (80% power and 1-sided alpha=2.5%). Projected median OS for ADT alone: HV-33 mos; LV-67 mos. Results: 790 men were accrued from 7/28/06 to 11/21/2012: ADT N=393; ADT + D: N=397; balanced for demographic, stratification and disease factors. Median age: 63 years (range: 36 to 91); 98% ECOG PS 0 or 1; 89% Caucasian; 24% prior radiotherapy, 24% prior prostatectomy; HV 64% on ADT and 67% on ADT + D. Data released after 4th interim analysis in Sept 2013 when O’Brien Fleming upper boundary was crossed with 53.1% information. This report reflects 1/16/2014 data with median follow-up of 29 mos with 137 deaths on ADT alone vs. 104 deaths on ADT+D. ADT+D: Grade (G) 3/4 Neutropenic fever: 4%/2%; G3 neuropathy: 1% sensory, 1% motor; 1 death due to treatment (no deaths due to treatment on ADT). Efficacy data is in the table below. After disease progression, 123 pts on ADT alone and 45 pts on ADT + D received docetaxel. Conclusions: ADT + D improves OS over ADT alone in men with HV mPrCa. Longer follow-up is needed for men with LV mPrCa. Clinical trial information: NCT00309985. [Table: see text]

295 Background: Patients (pts) with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC) progressing after first-line chemotherapy have limited treatment options. Ramucirumab (Ram), a human VEGFR2-targeted mAb, has demonstrated clinical activity in several solid tumors. Preclinical testing supports a role for Ram-taxane combinations in UC. Study JCDC is an open-label, multicenter, randomized phase 2 study of docetaxel (Doc) alone or combined with Ram or icrucumab (Icr) in locally advanced or metastatic platinum-resistant UC. We report on a planned interim analysis for Doc + Ram vs Doc; Icr results will be reported later. Methods: Eligible pts with advanced UC and ECOG PS 0-1 who relapsed ≤ 1 year from a platinum-regimen were randomized to receive Doc 75 mg/m2IV alone or with Ram 10mg/kg IV on Day 1 of repeating 21-day cycles. A sample size of 46 pts per arm enabled 71% power to demonstrate statistical significance of 4.5 mo (Doc + Ram) vs 3 mo (Doc) at a 1-sided α= 0.1. Treatment continued until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint is investigator-assessed PFS with RECIST v1.1, analyzed by K-M methods. A planned interim analysis was performed after 75% of the PFS events. Results: 44 pts received Doc and 46 received Doc + Ram. Study arms were well matched with a mean age of 67 yr (29-84), and a 4:1 male to female ratio. 58.7% (Doc + Ram) vs 61.4% (Doc) had ECOG PS 1. 58.7% (Doc + Ram) vs 52.3% (Doc) had visceral metastases. Doc + Ram reduced the risk of disease progression, stratified HR = 0.388; 95% CI: 0.222, 0.677; log-rank p = 0.0005, improving median PFS (5.1 vs 2.4 mo). The ORR for Doc + Ram was 19.6 vs 4.5% for Doc (p= 0.0502), and the disease control rate was 67.4 vs 43.2%. OS maturity is pending. The most common adverse events in the Doc + Ram arm (all grades) were fatigue (80.4% Doc + Ram v 75.0% Doc), decreased appetite (54.3 v 43.2%), nausea (54.3 v 25.0%), and neuropathy (50.0 v 38.6%). Grade (G) ≥3 febrile neutropenia (19.6 v 11.4%), pneumonia (13 v 9.1%), hypertension (4.3 v 0%) were higher with Doc + Ram. One G3 hematuria was observed in each arm. Conclusions: Results support a statistically significant improvement in PFS for Doc + Ram in second-line UC. Final results are expected in 2015. Clinical trial information: NCT01282463.

Background and purpose The HydroSoft coil was developed as a finishing coil, ideally to be placed along the aneurysm neck to enhance intracranial aneurysm healing. The GEL THE NEC (Gaining Efficacy Long Term: Hydrosoft, an Emerging, New, Embolic Coil) multicenter registry was developed to assess the safety and efficacy of HydroSoft coils in treating intracranial aneurysms. We report angiographic and clinical results of this prospective registry. Materials and methods GEL THE NEC was performed at 27 centers in five countries. Patients aged 21–90 years with a ruptured or unruptured aneurysm 3–15 mm in size were eligible for enrollment. The following variables were obtained: demographics/comorbidities, aneurysm geometry, adjunctive devices used, proportion of patients in whom HydroSoft coils were successfully placed, and long-term angiographic outcomes (graded by an independent core laboratory using the Modified Raymond Scale), and procedure-related adverse events. Predictors of good angiographic outcome were studied using χ2 and t-tests. Results A total of 599 patients with 599 aneurysms were included in this study. HydroSoft coils were successfully deployed in 577 (96.4%) patients. Procedure-related major morbidity and mortality were 0.5% (3/599) and 1.3% (8/599), respectively. The most common perioperative complications were iatrogenic vasospasm (30/599, 5.0%), thromboemboli (27/599, 4.5%), and aneurysm perforation (16/599, 2.7%). At last angiographic follow-up (mean 9.0±6.3 months), the complete occlusion rate was 63.2% (280/442) and near complete occlusion rate was 25.2% (107/442). The core laboratory read recanalization rate was 10.8% (46/425) and the retreatment rate was 3.4% (20/599). Conclusions Endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms with HydroSoft coils resulted in complete/near complete occlusion rates of 88% and a major complication rate of 1.8%. Trial registration number NCT01000675.

Significance Antigen recognition by the immune system triggers rapid, specific, and protective responses, which are counterbalanced by inhibitory checkpoints to minimize potentially harmful immunity. The programmed death-1/ programmed death ligand-1 (PD-1/PD-L1) checkpoint is overreactive in cancer patients, curbing antitumor immunity. Whether a failing PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint contributes to spontaneous autoimmune disease in humans is unknown. Here, we found that in patients with the autoimmune vasculitis giant cell arteritis, antigen-presenting cells provide insufficient negative signaling; unleashing highly activated T cells to infiltrate and damage the walls of large arteries. Thus, immunoinhibitory signals protect large arteries against inflammatory attack and checkpoint activation may be a suitable strategy to treat autoimmune vasculitis.

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an important driver of mortality after kidney transplantation. Its broader impact on posttransplant health care utilization in US hospitals is unknown. Methods We used administrative claims data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey to identify hospitalizations for kidney transplant patients with a cardiovascular diagnosis from 2005 to 2011. CVD hospitalizations were stratified by transplant hospital status to characterize patterns in inpatient health care utilization and outcomes. Based on these analyses, the domestic burden of treatment for posttransplant CVD (myocardial infarction, stroke, congestive heart failure, dysrhythmia, cardiac arrest, malignant hypertension) was estimated. Results The total domestic burden of post-kidney transplant hospitalization between 2005 and 2011 is estimated at 389 138 of which 26.5% of episodes were related to CVD (n = 103 118). CVD was responsible for a growing proportion of post-transplant hospitalizations over time (24.4%-30.4%, P < 0.001). Compared with nontransplant hospitals, transplant hospitals had similar length of stay (median length of stay, 3.7 days), higher median costs per hospitalization (US $10 364 vs US $8606, overall US $9324), and lower adjusted mortality (3.2% vs 3.9%, overall 3.6%; P = 0.003). Conclusions Inpatient CVD care is increasing over time for kidney transplant patients, accounting for 30% of all post-transplant hospitalizations. Variation exists in the inpatient care, outcomes, and costs between by hospital type. Further studies are needed to better understand the mechanisms behind these phenomena.