Citations

Background The treatment of depression in children and adolescents is a substantial public health challenge. This study examined artificial intelligence tools for the prediction of early outcomes in depressed children and adolescents treated with fluoxetine, duloxetine, or placebo. Methods The study samples included training datasets ( N = 271) from patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) treated with fluoxetine and testing datasets from patients with MDD treated with duloxetine ( N = 255) or placebo ( N = 265). Treatment trajectories were generated using probabilistic graphical models (PGMs). Unsupervised machine learning identified specific depressive symptom profiles and related thresholds of improvement during acute treatment. Results Variation in six depressive symptoms (difficulty having fun, social withdrawal, excessive fatigue, irritability, low self‐esteem, and depressed feelings) assessed with the Children’s Depression Rating Scale‐Revised at 4–6 weeks predicted treatment outcomes with fluoxetine at 10–12 weeks with an average accuracy of 73% in the training dataset. The same six symptoms predicted 10–12 week outcomes at 4–6 weeks in (a) duloxetine testing datasets with an average accuracy of 76% and (b) placebo‐treated patients with accuracies of 67%. In placebo‐treated patients, the accuracies of predicting response and remission were similar to antidepressants. Accuracies for predicting nonresponse to placebo treatment were significantly lower than antidepressants. Conclusions PGMs provided clinically meaningful predictions in samples of depressed children and adolescents treated with fluoxetine or duloxetine. Future work should augment PGMs with biological data for refined predictions to guide the selection of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatment in children and adolescents with depression.

Abstract Roughly 50% of newly diagnosed breast cancer is stage 1, the majority being ER/PR positive, HER2- negative. Genomic assays such as Oncotype DX® have identified patients with reduced distant metastasis and lack of chemotherapy benefit, allowing patients to avoid excess toxicity. These genomic assays have been shown to be prognostic for local-regional recurrence (LRR). The de-escalation of therapy is of interest to patients, providers, and payers. Low risk, as identified by both the use of Oncotype and Mammaprint® is associated with low LRR after lumpectomy and breast radiotherapy. TRIAL DESIGN: In the DEBRA trial, we hypothesized that breast-conserving surgery (BCS) alone is non-inferior to BCS plus radiotherapy for in-breast cancer control and breast preservation in women intending appropriate endocrine therapy for stage 1 (ER and/or PR-positive, HER2-negative, and Oncotype DX Recurrence Score [RS] low) breast cancer. Stratification is by age (<60; ≥60), tumor size (≤1 cm; >1-2 cm), and RS <11, RS 11-18. Patients are randomized to either breast radiotherapy (RT) plus endocrine therapy (arm 1) or to observation and endocrine therapy (arm 2). Arm 1 therapy is post-lumpectomy breast RT using standard methods (hypo- or conventional-fractionated whole breast irradiation with or without boost, accelerated partial breast irradiation) and at least 5 years of endocrine therapy (tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitor). In arm 2, at least 5 years of endocrine therapy (tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitor) will be given. The specific regimen of endocrine therapy in both arms is at the treating physician’s discretion. ELIGIBLITY: Patients who are stage 1: pT1 (2 cm), pN0, age ≥50 to <70 years, status post (s/p) lumpectomy with negative margins (no ink on tumor ), s/p axillary nodal staging (SNB or AND), ER and/or PR positive by ASCO/CAP, HER2-negative by ASCO/CAP, and Oncotype DX RS of ≤18 on diagnostic core biopsy or resected specimen. ENDPOINTS: Primary: In-breast recurrence (IBR). Secondary: Breast conservation rate, invasive in-breast recurrence (IIBR), relapse free interval (RFI), distant disease-free survival (DDFS), overall survival (OS), patient-reported breast pain, patient-reported worry about recurrence, and adherence to endocrine therapy. STATISTICS: We assume a clinically acceptable difference in IBR of 4% at 10 years to judge omission of RT as non-inferior (10-year event-free survival for RT group is 95.6% versus 91.6% for the omission of RT group). To be able to detect non-inferiority with 80% power and a one sided α=0.025, and assuming that there would be a ramp-up in accrual in the first two years of the study (leveling off in Years 3-5), 1,670 (835 per arm) patients are required to be randomized. This conservatively assumes loss to follow-up will be 1% per year. Some of the T1a patients accrued to this study will have oncotype DX scores >18, making them ineligible for the study. An extra step in the accrual process will require us to register 1,714 patients to ensure our final randomized cohort is 1,670 patients. Accrual: Screen 1,714 to randomize 1,670 into the study. Contact information: Protocol: CTSU member website: https://www.ctsu.org. NRG Oncology Pgh Clinical Coordinating Dpt: 1-800-477-7227 or ccd@nsabp.org. Support: U10CA180868, U10CA180822. NCT04852887. Citation Format: Julia White, Stewart J Anderson, Eleanor ER Harris, Eleftherios P Mamounas, Daniel G Stover, Patricia A Ganz, Reshma Jagsi, Reena S Cecchini, Carmen Bergom, Valerie Theberge, Mahmoud El-Tamer, Rich C Zellars, Dean A Shumway, Guang-Pei Chen, Thomas B Julian, Norman Wolmark. Evaluating de-escalation of breast radiation (DEBRA) following lumpectomy for breast conservative treatment of stage 1, hr+, HER2-, RS ≤18 breast cancer: NRG-BR007 a phase III trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-18-04.

LINKED CONTENTThis article is linked to Danese et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16753 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16761

Psoriasiform dermatoses represent a wide array of skin diseases commonly encountered by clinicians and pathologists. While they may present a diagnostic challenge, thorough observation coupled with proper interpretation of subtle additional clinical or histopathologic features provide clues to the correct diagnosis. In this review, we provide updates on emerging entities and develop a systemic approach to establish the pathologic diagnosis, with emphasis on the importance of clinicopathologic correlation.

AbstractBackgroundThe reliability to non‐invasively identify features of inflammatory dermatoses by reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) remains unknown. Lack of formal training among RCM readers can result in inconsistent assessments, limiting clinical utility. Specific consensus terminology with representative images is necessary to ensure consistent feature‐level interpretation among RCM readers.Objectives(1) Develop a glossary with representative images of RCM features of cutaneous acute graft‐versus‐host disease (aGVHD) for consistent interpretation among observers, (2) assess the interobserver reproducibility among RCM readers using the glossary, and (3) determine the concordance between RCM and histopathology for aGVHD features.MethodsThrough an iterative process of refinement and discussion among five international RCM experts, we developed a glossary with representative images of RCM features of aGVHD. From April to November 2018, patients suspected of aGVHD were imaged with RCM and subsequently biopsied. 17 lesions from 12 patients had clinically and pathologically confirmed cutaneous aGVHD. For each of these lesions, four dermatopathologists and four RCM readers independently evaluated the presence of aGVHD features in scanned histopathology slides and 1.5 × 1.5 mm RCM submosaics at 4 depths (blockstacks) respectively. RCM cases were adjudicated by a fifth RCM expert. Interobserver reproducibility was calculated by mean pairwise difference (U statistic). Concordance between modalities was determined by fraction of assignments with agreement.ResultsWe present a glossary with representative images of 18 aGVHD features by RCM. The average interobserver reproducibility among RCM readers (75%, confidence interval, CI: 71–79%) did not differ significantly from dermatopathologists (80%, 76–85%). The concordance between RCM and histopathology was 59%.ConclusionsBy using the glossary, the interobserver reproducibility among RCM readers was similar to the interobserver reproducibility among dermatopathologists. There was reasonable concordance between RCM and histopathology to visualize aGVHD features. The implementation of RCM can now be advanced in a variety of inflammatory conditions with a validated glossary and representative image set.

Context.— The diagnosis and clinical management of patients with diffuse gliomas (DGs) have evolved rapidly over the past decade with the emergence of molecular biomarkers that are used to classify, stratify risk, and predict treatment response for optimal clinical care. Objective.— To develop evidence-based recommendations for informing molecular biomarker testing for pediatric and adult patients with DGs and provide guidance for appropriate laboratory test and biomarker selection for optimal diagnosis, risk stratification, and prediction. Design.— The College of American Pathologists convened an expert panel to perform a systematic review of the literature and develop recommendations. A systematic review of literature was conducted to address the overarching question, “What ancillary tests are needed to classify DGs and sufficiently inform the clinical management of patients?” Recommendations were derived from quality of evidence, open comment feedback, and expert panel consensus. Results.— Thirteen recommendations and 3 good practice statements were established to guide pathologists and treating physicians on the most appropriate methods and molecular biomarkers to include in laboratory testing to inform clinical management of patients with DGs. Conclusions.— Evidence-based incorporation of laboratory results from molecular biomarker testing into integrated diagnoses of DGs provides reproducible and clinically meaningful information for patient management.

Abstract Background Validation of the 2016 RANO MRI scorecard for leptomeningeal metastasis failed for multiple reasons. Accordingly, this joint EORTC Brain Tumor Group and RANO effort sought to prospectively validate a revised MRI scorecard for response assessment in leptomeningeal metastasis. Methods Coded paired cerebrospinal MRI of 20 patients with leptomeningeal metastases from solid cancers at baseline and follow-up after treatment and instructions for assessment were provided via the EORTC imaging platform. The Kappa coefficient was used to evaluate the interobserver pairwise agreement. Results Thirty-five raters participated, including 9 neuroradiologists, 17 neurologists, 4 radiation oncologists, 3 neurosurgeons, and 2 medical oncologists. Among single leptomeningeal metastases-related imaging findings at baseline, the best median concordance was noted for hydrocephalus (Kappa = 0.63), and the worst median concordance for spinal linear enhancing disease (Kappa = 0.46). The median concordance of raters for the overall response assessment was moderate (Kappa = 0.44). Notably, the interobserver agreement for the presence of parenchymal brain metastases at baseline was fair (Kappa = 0.29) and virtually absent for their response to treatment. 394 of 700 ratings (20 patients x 35 raters, 56%) were fully completed. In 308 of 394 fully completed ratings (78%), the overall response assessment perfectly matched the summary interpretation of the single ratings as proposed in the scorecard instructions. Conclusion This study confirms the principle utility of the new scorecard, but also indicates the need for training of MRI assessment with a dedicated reviewer panel in clinical trials. Electronic case report forms with “blocking options” may be required to enforce completeness and quality of scoring.

AbstractBackgroundOral lichen planus confers a 1% risk of transformation to oral squamous cell carcinoma. While prior exome sequencing studies have identified multiple genetic mutations in oral squamous cell carcinoma, mutational analyses of lichen planus‐derived OSCC are lacking. We sought to clarify genomic events associated with oral lichen planus transformation.MethodsUsing rigorous diagnostic criteria, we retrospectively identified patients with non‐transforming oral lichen planus (i.e., known to be non‐transforming with 5 years of clinical follow‐up; n = 17), transforming oral lichen planus (tissue marginal to oral squamous cell carcinoma, n = 9), or oral squamous cell carcinoma arising in lichen planus (n = 17). Gene mutational profiles derived from whole‐exome sequencing on fixed mucosal specimens were compared among the groups.ResultsThe four most frequently mutated genes in transforming oral lichen planus and oral squamous cell carcinoma (TP53, CELSR1, CASP8, and KMT2D) identified 12/17 (71%) of oral squamous cell carcinomas and 5/9 (56%) of transforming oral lichen planus but were absent in non‐transforming oral lichen planus. We identified other known oral squamous cell carcinoma mutations (TRRAP, OBSCN, and LRP2) but also previously unreported mutations (TENM3 and ASH1L) in lichen planus‐associated oral squamous cell carcinomas.ConclusionsThese findings suggest alterations in DNA damage response and apoptosis pathways underlie lichen planus‐related oral squamous cell carcinoma transformation and are supported by mutational signatures indicative of DNA damage. This study characterized patterns of mutational events present in oral lichen planus associated with squamous cell carcinoma and in squamous cell carcinoma associated with oral lichen planus but not in non‐transforming oral lichen planus.