Citations

Abstract Objectives Surface the urgent dilemma that healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs) face navigating the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) final guidance on the use of clinical decision support (CDS) software. Materials and Methods We use sepsis as a case study to highlight the patient safety and regulatory compliance tradeoffs that 6129 hospitals in the United States must navigate. Results Sepsis CDS remains in broad, routine use. There is no commercially available sepsis CDS system that is FDA cleared as a medical device. There is no public disclosure of an HDO turning off sepsis CDS due to regulatory compliance concerns. And there is no public disclosure of FDA enforcement action against an HDO for using sepsis CDS that is not cleared as a medical device. Discussion and Conclusion We present multiple policy interventions that would relieve the current tension to enable HDOs to utilize artificial intelligence to improve patient care while also addressing FDA concerns about product safety, efficacy, and equity.

Abstract Background: Identifying pts with HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer (BC) who benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) has been a major research focus over the past 20 years. Development and clinical application of genomic classifiers such as the 21-gene recurrence score (RS) has contributed to the biologic understanding of BC and has refined pt selection for ACT. The TAILORx and RxPONDER clinical trials demonstrated that RS identifies many postmenopausal pts with node-negative and node-positive BC and RS < 25, who do not benefit from the addition of ACT to endocrine therapy (ET). However, both trials also showed that certain subsets of premenopausal pts (node-negative/high clinical risk/RS 16-20, node-negative/RS 21-25, and node-positive/RS < 25) benefited from the addition of ACT to ET. Most premenopausal pts in these two trials did not receive ovarian function suppression (OFS) as part of their ET regimen. Given the observed benefit from OFS in high-risk premenopausal pts with HR-positive/HER2-negative BC in the SOFT and TEXT trials, many questioned whether all or part of the observed ACT benefit in the TAILORx/RxPONDER trials may have been the result of chemotherapy-induced OFS. To address this question, OFSET is a Phase III, multicenter clinical trial evaluating the addition of ACT to OFS+ET vs. OFS+ET alone. Methods: We hypothesize that the addition of ACT to OFS+ET is superior to OFS+ET in improving invasive breast cancer-free survival (IBCFS) among premenopausal, early-stage BC pts with HR-positive/HER2-negative tumors, and a 21-gene RS between 16-25 (for pN0 pts) and 0-25 (for pN1 pts). Secondary objectives include invasive disease-free survival (IDFS), overall survival (OS), distant recurrence-free interval (DRFI), breast cancer-free interval (BCFI), and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Eligible pts must be node-negative with RS 16-20 (plus high clinical risk), or RS 21-25, or have 1-3 positive nodes with RS < 25. Stratification is by nodal status/RS status (pN0 RS 16-25 vs pN1 RS 0-15 and pN1 RS 16-25), intent to receive CDK4/6 inhibitor (yes; no), and age (18-39 vs ≥40). Pts are randomized after surgery to either OFS+ET or ACT followed by OFS+ET. ET is an aromatase inhibitor per investigator discretion, but tamoxifen is allowed if pts do not tolerate the AI or if OFS is incomplete. Radiation therapy will be administered per investigator discretion according to protocol guidelines. The HRQOL sub-study will assess differences in severe menopausal symptoms, measured by the FACT ESS-19 score, between the arms, as well as increased pain severity (PROMIS) during ACT+OFS+ET compared to OFS+ET. Blood and tumor specimens will be collected for future research. The accrual of 3,960 pts is anticipated to be completed in seven years and seven mos. Based on data from NSABP B-28 and RxPONDER, the 5-year IBCFS of pN1 pts on the ACT+OFS+ET arm is estimated at 92.3%. Based on data from TAILORx, the 5-year IBCFS of pN0 pts on the ACT arm is ~95%. Assuming 56% of the pts to be pN0 and 44% pN1, a 0.5% annual loss-to-follow-up rate, the definitive analyses to detect a hazard ratio: 0.75 with ACT+OFS+ET vs. OFS+ET, with one-sided alpha of 0.025 and 80% power will require 380 IBCFS events, which are expected to occur ~11 years after study initiation. The OFSET study is expected to be activated in the third quarter of 2023. Current accrual (06-19-2023) is 0/3,960 Support: U10CA180868, U10CA180822, UG1CA189867, U24CA196067. NCT05879926. Citation Format: Eleftherios Mamounas, Gong Tang, Shannon Puhalla, Sandra Swain, Patricia Ganz, N. Lynn Henry, Reena Cecchini, Sonya Reid, Priya Rastogi, Charles Geyer, Julia White, Amy Clark, Tufia Haddad, Gregory Vidal, Norman Wolmark. NRG-BR009: Phase III Trial Evaluating Addition of Adjuvant Chemotherapy to Ovarian Function Suppression + Endocrine Therapy in Premenopausal Women with pN0-1, HR+/HER2- Breast Cancer and Oncotype Recurrence Score ≤25 (OFSET) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO2-19-02.

Abstract Background: In patients with micro- and macrometastases in the sentinel lymph node (SLN) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), additional positive nodes are found in >60% of cases and axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is currently considered standard of care. The likelihood of finding additional positive lymph nodes in patients with residual isolated tumor cells (ITCs) is unknown, and the benefit of ALND is unclear. As a consequence, surgical management of the axilla in these patients is not standardized. We sought to evaluate how often additional positive lymph nodes are found, to determine factors associated with ALND, and to compare oncological outcomes in patients treated with and without ALND after identification of residual ITCs in the SLN. Methods: Data were collected from 42 centers: 20 in the Oncoplastic Breast Consortium (OPBC) and EUBREAST networks, and 22 in North and South America. We included patients with cT1-4 N0-3 breast cancer at diagnosis who underwent NAC followed by axillary staging with either SLN biopsy (SLNB) or targeted axillary dissection (TAD) and were found to have residual ITCs [ypN0(i+)]. Single-tracer mapping was allowed for cN0 patients, while dual mapping or TAD was required for cN+ cases. Axillary treatment included completion ALND and/or nodal radiotherapy (RT). Competing risk analysis was performed to assess the cumulative incidence rates of any axillary recurrence (AR), locoregional recurrence (LRR), and any invasive (locoregional or distant) recurrence. Five-year cumulative incidence rates were compared between patients who underwent ALND and those who did not using the Gray’s test. Type I error rate was set to 0.05 (α). Results: We included 412 patients treated with NAC followed by surgery from 01/2009-05/2022. 146 (35.4%) had completion ALND and 266 (64.6%%) did not. Median patient age was 48 years. The majority (57%) of patients had clinical T2 tumors, and 68% had biopsy-proven N1 disease. Most were HR+/HER2- (41%) or HER2+ (39%). Most patients (80%) received anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapy regimens. Nodal RT was administered to 83% of patients. The median number of SLNs with ITCs was 1. Patients treated with ALND were more likely to have ITCs detected on frozen section (61% v 6.7%, p< 0.001), to have N2/3 disease at presentation (15.1% v 5.6%, p=0.001) and to have LVI (40% v 26%, p=0.004) (Table 1). There was no significant trend over time in the proportion of patients undergoing completion ALND during the study period (p=0.5). In the ALND group, additional positive nodes were found in 43/146 (29.5%) of cases, and consisted of macrometastases in 11/146 (7.5%), micrometastases in 9/146 (6.2%), and ITCs in 23/146 (15.8%). 5-year rates of any AR, LRR, and any invasive recurrence in the entire cohort were 2.7% (95% CI 1.2-5.4), 2.8% (95% CI 1.2-5.4) and 16% (95% CI 11-21), respectively. There was no statistical difference between patients who underwent ALND and those who did not in any of the 3 endpoints (2.2% v 3.1%, p=0.6), (2.6% v 3.0%, p=0.4) and (14% v 18%, p=0.12), respectively. Conclusion: The likelihood of finding additional positive lymph nodes in patients with ITCs after NAC is lower than in patients with residual micro- and macrometastases, and in the majority of cases, they contain ITCs. Nodal recurrence after omission of ALND is rare in this population. Overall, these results do not support routine ALND in patients with residual ITCs. Table 1. Clinicopathological Features of the Study Cohort, Stratified by Type of Axillary Surgery Frequency (row percent) reported for categorical variables, and median (IQR) reported for continuous variables. SLNB sentinel lymph node biopsy; TAD targeted axillary dissection; SLNs sentinel lymph nodes; LNs lymph nodes; pCR pathologic complete response; ACT anthracycline and taxane; AC anthracycline; H Herceptin, HP, Herceptin and Perjeta; TC taxol (or Taxotere) and carboplatinum; LVI lymphovascular invasion; BCS breast-conserving surgery. ^ Applied to HER2- tumors only (n=252). ^^ Applies to HER2+ tumors only (n=160). # LVI was present on core biopsy or final pathology. * Applies to BCS patients only (n=175). ** Applies to mastectomy patients only (n=237). Citation Format: Giacomo Montagna, Alison Laws, Massimo Ferrucci, Mary Mrdutt, Natália Polidorio, Varadan Sevilimedu, Tracy-Ann Moo, Andrea Barrio, Marissa K. Boyle, Flavia Vidal Cabero, Daniela Cocco, Fabio Corsi, Angelena Crown, Meghan R. Flanagan, Mehmet Ali Gulcelik, Callie Hlavin, Justyna Jelinska, Hasan Karanlik, Susan Kesmodel, Henry Kuerer, Sherko Küemmel, Cornelia Leo, Tehillah Menes, Melissa Pilewskie, Nina Pislar, Nicola Rocco, Jai Min Ryu, Leonardo Soares, Christoph Tausch, M. Umit Ugurlu, CICERO URBAN, Astrid Botty van de Bruele, Denise Vorburger, Fredrik Wärnberg, Anna Weiss, Austin Williams, Stephanie Wong, Steven G. Woodward, Susie X. Sun, Jennifer Q. Zhang, M. Firdos Ziauddin, Guldeniz Karadeniz Cakmak, Nuran Bese, Thorsten Kühn, Judy Boughey, Tari King, Nina Ditsch, Maggie Banys-Paluchowski, Monica Morrow, Walter Weber. Are nodal ITCs after neoadjuvant chemotherapy an indication for axillary dissection? The OPBC05/EUBREAST-14R/ICARO study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr GS02-02.

Background: Tobacco smoking during pregnancy is associated with metabolic dysfunction in children, but mechanistic insights remain limited. Hypomethylation of cg05575921 in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AHRR) gene is associated with in utero tobacco smoke exposure. In this study, we evaluated whether AHRR hypomethylation mediates the association between maternal smoking and metabolic dysfunction in children. Methods: We assessed metabolic dysfunction using liver fat content (LFC), serum, and clinical data in children aged 7–12 years (n=78) followed since birth. Maternal smoking was self-reported at 12 weeks gestation. Methylation was measured by means of pyrosequencing at 3 sequential CpG sites, including cg05575921, at birth and at ages 7–12. Regression models were used to evaluate whether AHRR methylation mediated the association between maternal smoking and child metabolic dysfunction. Results: Average AHRR methylation at birth was significantly higher among children of nonsmoking mothers compared with children of mothers who smoked (69.8% ± 4.4% vs. 63.5% ± 5.5, p=0.0006). AHRR hypomethylation at birth was associated with higher liver fat content (p=0.01), triglycerides (p=0.01), and alanine aminotransferase levels (p=0.03), and lower HDL cholesterol (p=0.01) in childhood. AHRR hypomethylation significantly mediated associations between maternal smoking and liver fat content (indirect effect=0.213, p=0.018), triglycerides (indirect effect=0.297, p=0.044), and HDL cholesterol (indirect effect = -0.413, p=0.007). AHRR methylation in childhood (n=78) was no longer significantly associated with prenatal smoke exposure or child metabolic parameters (p>0.05). Conclusions: AHRR hypomethylation significantly mediates the association between prenatal tobacco smoke exposure and features of childhood metabolic dysfunction, despite the lack of persistent hypomethylation of AHRR into childhood. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings and to explore their causal and long-term significance.

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1 *04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1 *04:04 and HLA-DRB1 *04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1 *04:01 and HLA-DRB1 *04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1 *04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1 *04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues.

Abstract Background Despite clinically demonstrated accuracy in next generation sequencing (NGS) data, many clinical laboratories continue to confirm variants with Sanger sequencing, which increases cost of testing and turnaround time. Several studies have assessed the accuracy of NGS in detecting single nucleotide variants; however, less has been reported about insertion, deletion, and deletion-insertion variants (indels). Methods We performed a retrospective analysis from 2015–2022 of indel results from a subset of NGS targeted gene panel tests offered through the Mayo Clinic Genomics Laboratories. We compared results from NGS and Sanger sequencing of indels observed in clinical runs and during the intra-assay validation of the tests. Results Results demonstrated 100% concordance between NGS and Sanger sequencing for over 490 indels (217 unique), ranging in size from 1 to 68 basepairs (bp). The majority of indels were deletions (77%) and 1 to 5 bp in length (90%). Variant frequencies ranged from 11.4% to 67.4% and 85.1% to 100% for heterozygous and homozygous variants, respectively, with a median depth of coverage of 2562×. A subset of indels (7%) were located in complex regions of the genome, and these were accurately detected by NGS. We also demonstrated 100% reproducibility of indel detection (n = 179) during intra-assay validation. Conclusions Together this data demonstrates that reportable indel variants up to 68 bp can be accurately assessed using NGS, even when they occur in complex regions. Depending on the complexity of the region or variant, Sanger sequence confirmation of indels is usually not necessary if the variants meet appropriate coverage and allele frequency thresholds.