Citations

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is routinely used to establish predictive antibiotic resistance metrics to guide the treatment of bacterial pathogens. Recently, a novel phenotype termed “bicarbonate (NaHCO3)-responsiveness” was identified in a relatively high frequency of clinical MRSA strains, wherein isolates demonstrate in vitro “susceptibility” to standard β-lactams (oxacillin [OXA]; cefazolin [CFZ]) in the presence of NaHCO3, and in vivo susceptibility to these β-lactams in experimental endocarditis models. We investigated whether a targeted phenotypic-genotypic screening of MRSA could rule in or rule out NaHCO3 susceptibility upfront. We studied 30 well-characterized clinical MRSA bloodstream isolates, including 15 MIC-susceptible to CFZ and OXA in NaHCO3-supplemented Mueller–Hinton Broth (MHB); and 15 MIC-resistant to both β-lactams in this media. Using a two-tiered strategy, isolates were first screened by standard disk diffusion for susceptibility to a combination of amoxicillin-clavulanate [AMC]. Isolates then underwent genomic sequence typing: MLST (clonal complex [CC]); agr; SCCmec; and mecA promoter and coding region. The combination of AMC disk susceptibility testing plus mecA and spa genotyping was able to predict MRSA strains that were more or less likely to be NaHCO3-responsive in vitro, with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity. Validation of this screening algorithm was performed in six strains from the overall cohort using an ex vivo model of endocarditis. This ex vivo model recapitulated the in vitro predictions of NaHCO3-responsiveness vs. nonresponsiveness above in five of the six strains.

Abstract While the average human life span continues to increase, there is little evidence that this is leading to a contemporaneous increase in “healthy years” experienced by our aging population. Consequently, many scientists focus their research on understanding the process of aging and trialing interventions that can promote healthspan. The 2021 Midwest Aging Consortium consensus statement is to develop and further the understanding of aging and age-related disease using the wealth of expertise across universities in the Midwestern United States. This report summarizes the cutting-edge research covered in a virtual symposium held by a consortium of researchers in the Midwestern United States, spanning topics such as senescence biomarkers, serotonin-induced DNA protection, immune system development, multisystem impacts of aging, neural decline following severe infection, the unique transcriptional impact of calorie restriction of different fat depots, the pivotal role of fasting in calorie restriction, the impact of peroxisome dysfunction, and the influence of early life trauma on health. The symposium speakers presented data from studies conducted in a variety of common laboratory animals as well as less-common species, including Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, mice, rhesus macaques, elephants, and humans. The consensus of the symposium speakers is that this consortium highlights the strength of aging research in the Midwestern United States as well as the benefits of a collaborative and diverse approach to geroscience.

Objective: We aimed to investigate eligibility for breast conserving surgery (BCS) pre- and post-neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST), and trends in the surgical treatment of young breast cancer patients. Background: Young women with breast cancer are more likely to present with larger tumors and aggressive phenotypes, and may benefit from NST. Little is known about how response to NST influences surgical decisions in young women. Methods: The Young Women's Breast Cancer Study, a multicenter prospective cohort of women diagnosed with breast cancer at age ≤40, enrolled 1302 patients from 2006 to 2016. Disease characteristics, surgical recommendations, and reasons for choosing mastectomy among BCS-eligible patients were obtained through the medical record. Trends in use of NST, rate of clinical and pathologic complete response, and surgery were also assessed. Results: Of 1117 women with unilateral stage I-III breast cancer, 315 (28%) received NST. Pre-NST, 26% were BCS eligible, 17% were borderline eligible, and 55% were ineligible. After NST, BCS eligibility increased from 26% to 42% (P < 0.0001). Among BCS-eligible patients after NST (n = 133), 41% chose mastectomy with reasons being patient preference (53%), BRCA or TP53 mutation (35%), and family history (5%). From 2006 to 2016, the rates of NST (P = 0.0012), clinical complete response (P < 0.0001), and bilateral mastectomy (P < 0.0001) increased, but the rate of BCS did not increase (P = 0.34). Conclusion: While the proportion of young women eligible for BCS increased after NST, many patients chose mastectomy, suggesting that surgical decisions are often driven by factors beyond extent of disease and treatment response.

Abstract Aims To develop quality indicators (QIs) that may be used to evaluate the quality of care and outcomes for adults with atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods and results We followed the ESC methodology for QI development. This methodology involved (i) the identification of the domains of AF care for the diagnosis and management of AF (by a group of experts including members of the ESC Clinical Practice Guidelines Task Force for AF); (ii) the construction of candidate QIs (including a systematic review of the literature); and (iii) the selection of the final set of QIs (using a modified Delphi method). Six domains of care for the diagnosis and management of AF were identified: (i) Patient assessment (baseline and follow-up), (ii) Anticoagulation therapy, (iii) Rate control strategy, (iv) Rhythm control strategy, (v) Risk factor management, and (vi) Outcomes measures, including patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). In total, 17 main and 17 secondary QIs, which covered all six domains of care for the diagnosis and management of AF, were selected. The outcome domain included measures on the consequences and treatment of AF, as well as PROMs. Conclusion This document defines six domains of AF care (patient assessment, anticoagulation, rate control, rhythm control, risk factor management, and outcomes), and provides 17 main and 17 secondary QIs for the diagnosis and management of AF. It is anticipated that implementation of these QIs will improve the quality of AF care.

Abstract In clinical cancer treatment, genomic alterations would often affect the response of patients to anticancer drugs. Studies have shown that molecular features of tumors could be biomarkers predictive of sensitivity or resistance to anticancer agents, but the identification of actionable mutations are often constrained by the incomplete understanding of cancer genomes. Recent progresses of next-generation sequencing technology greatly facilitate the extensive molecular characterization of tumors and promote precision medicine in cancers. More and more clinical studies, cancer cell lines studies, CRISPR screening studies as well as patient-derived model studies were performed to identify potential actionable mutations predictive of drug response, which provide rich resources of molecularly and pharmacologically profiled cancer samples at different levels. Such abundance of data also enables the development of various computational models and algorithms to solve the problem of drug sensitivity prediction, biomarker identification and in silico drug prioritization by the integration of multiomics data. Here, we review the recent development of methods and resources that identifies mutation-dependent effects for cancer treatment in clinical studies, functional genomics studies and computational studies and discuss the remaining gaps and future directions in this area.

Abstract Background Young women are more likely than older women to present with higher stage breast cancer (BC) and may benefit to a greater extent from downstaging with neoadjuvant systemic treatment (NST). Young age is also associated with greater likelihood of pathologic complete response (pCR). Using a large prospective cohort of young women with BC, we investigated response to neoadjuvant therapy, eligibility for breast conserving surgery (BCS) pre- and post-NST, and surgical treatment. Methods The Young Women's Breast Cancer Study (YWS) is a multi-center cohort of women diagnosed with BC at age ≤40, that enrolled 1302 patients from 2006 to 2016. Disease characteristics and treatment information were obtained through medical record and central pathology review. Surgical recommendation before and after NST, conversion from BCS borderline/ineligible to BCS eligible, surgery, documented reasons for choosing mastectomy (MTX) among BCS eligible women, and final pathologic response were independently reviewed. Results Among 1302 women enrolled in YWS, 801 (62%) presented with unilateral stage I-III breast cancer and 317(40%) received NST. Median age was 36 years old (22-40). Pre-NST, 85/317 (27%) were BCS eligible, 49 (15%) were borderline, and 169 (53%) were not eligible (16 inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), 88 large tumor size /cosmetic, 48 diffuse calcifications, and 83 multicentricity). Among the 218 patients who were BCS ineligible/borderline pre-NST, 82 (38%) became eligible for BCS after NST. 4 patients who were BCS eligible pre-NST became ineligible. Of all patients eligible for BCS post-NST (n=163), 80 (49%) attempted BCS, 74 (93%) of whom were successful, and 83 (51%) chose MTX. Reasons for choosing MTX included: patient preference (38/83 (46%)), BRCA or TP53 mutation (31 (37%)), family history (3 (4%)), unknown (11 (13%)). On final pathology, 75 (24%) patients had pCR. Among patients who achieved a pCR, 48 (64%) underwent MTX, fewer than half (21/48 (44%)) were for anatomic indications (IBC, large tumor at diagnosis, diffuse calcifications, multicentric disease). Conclusion While NST doubled the proportion of young women eligible for BCS, nearly half chose MTX regardless of response to NST, mostly for personal preference or high-risk preventative reasons. These data highlight that surgical decision making among young women with breast cancer is often driven by factors beyond extent of disease and clinical response to therapy. Table 1.Clinical-pathologic characteristicsCharacteristicsNumber%Pre NST surgical recommendation BCS eligible8526.8Borderline4915.5BCS ineligible16953.3Unknown144.4Clinical Response Complete20263.7Partial9229.0Stable30.9Progressing72.2Unknown134.1Pathologic Response pCR (No invasive or DCIS)7524No pCR24276Post NST Surgical recommendation BCS eligible16351.4BCS ineligible14445.4Unknown103.2Attempted surgery BCS8025.2MTX23674.1Unknown20.6Final Surgery BCS7423.3MTX24176unknown20.6 Citation Format: Kim HJ, Dominici L, Rosenberg S, Pak LM, Poorvu PD, Ruddy K, Tamimi R, Schapira L, Come S, Peppercorn J, Borges V, Warner E, Vardeh H, Collins L, King T, Partridge A. Surgical treatment after neoadjuvant systemic therapy in young women with breast cancer: Results from a prospective cohort study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr GS6-01.

Abstract Background: Synchronous bilateral breast cancer is rare, with reported incidence from 0.3-12%; the incidence and pattern of bilateral breast cancer among younger women is unknown. Here we report the incidence and phenotypes of bilateral breast cancer in women ≤40 years of age enrolled in the Young Women's Study (YWS) cohort. Methods: The YWS is a multi-center, prospective cohort study that enrolled women with newly diagnosed breast cancer at age ≤40 years from 2006-2016. Those with synchronous bilateral breast cancer (in-situ and/or invasive) formed our study cohort. Disease characteristics and treatment were obtained by medical record review. Central pathology review was performed to capture histologic features and categorize the tumor phenotype as either luminal A (hormone receptor (HR)+, HER2-, grade 1 or 2), luminal B (HR+, HER2+, or HER2- and grade 3), HER2-type (HR-, HER2+), or triple negative (TNC; HR/HER2-). Tumor phenotypes of bilateral breast cancers were compared and evaluated for concordance. Results: Among 1302 patients enrolled in the YWS, 20 (1.5%) patients presented with bilateral disease, with median age of diagnosis of 38 years (range 18-40). The majority of patients (13 (65%)) presented with unilateral symptoms and contralateral disease was identified on subsequent imaging. 12 (60%) reported a positive family history of breast cancer and 17 (85%) underwent genetic testing; resulting in the identification of 6 mutation carriers (2 BRCA1, 3 BRCA2, 1 TP53). The majority of patients (15 (75%)) underwent bilateral mastectomy, 1 underwent unilateral mastectomy with contralateral lumpectomy, and 4 underwent bilateral lumpectomy. On pathology, 2 patients had bilateral in-situ disease, 5 had unilateral invasive and contralateral in-situ disease, and 13 had bilateral invasive disease. Of those with bilateral invasive disease, all had concordant tumor histology (92% ductal, 8% ductal and lobular), 10 (77%) patients had bilateral luminal tumors and when fully characterized 6 were of the same luminal type. Only one patient had bilateral basal-like breast cancer. Patient ID ERPRHer2 amplifiedGradePhenotype1Left++-2Luminal A Right++-3Luminal B3Left++-3Luminal B Right++-3Luminal B6Left++-3Luminal B Right++-3Luminal B9Left++-2Luminal A Right++-2Luminal A10Left+++3Luminal B Right++-2Luminal A12Left+--3Luminal B Right+--2Luminal A13Left---NABasal-like Right++-NALuminal A or B14Left+++2Luminal B Right++-3Luminal B15Left++-3Luminal B Right+++3Luminal B16Left+++3Luminal B Right--+NAHEr2-type17Left---3Basal-like Right---3Basal-like19Left++-2Luminal A Right++-3Luminal B20Left++-1Luminal A Right++-2Luminal A Conclusions: Among a large cohort of young women, only 20 (1.5%) had bilateral disease, and the majority of the invasive tumors were of the luminal phenotype, yet frequently differed by grade or HER2 status; supporting the need for thorough pathologic evaluation of bilateral disease to determine risk and tailor treatment. Overall the low incidence of bilateral disease and preponderance of the luminal phenotype in this population is reassuring. Citation Format: Pak LM, Rosenberg SM, Ruddy KJ, Tamimi RM, Peppercorn J, Schapira L, Borges VF, Come SE, Warner E, Snow C, Collins L, King TA, Partridge AH. Tumor phenotype and concordance in synchronous bilateral breast cancer in young women [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-22-03.