Geyer, Susan

OBJECTIVE We assessed whether Index60, a composite measure of fasting C-peptide, 60-min C-peptide, and 60-min glucose, could improve the metabolic staging of type 1 diabetes for progression to clinical disease (stage 3) among autoantibody-positive (Ab+) individuals with normal 2-h glucose values (<140 mg/dL). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We analyzed 3,058 Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet Pathway to Prevention participants with 2-h glucose <140 mg/dL and Index60 <1.00 values from baseline oral glucose tolerance tests. Characteristics associated with type 1 diabetes (younger age, greater Ab+, higher HLA DR3-DQ2/DR4-DQ8 prevalence, and lower C-peptide) were compared among four mutually exclusive groups: top 2-h glucose quartile only (HI-2HGLU), top Index60 quartile only (HI-IND60), both top quartiles (HI-BOTH), and neither top quartile (LO-BOTH). Additionally, within the 2-h glucose distribution of <140 mg/dL and separately within the Index60 <1.00 distribution, comparisons were made between those above or below the medians. RESULTS HI-IND60 and HI-BOTH were younger, with greater frequency of more than two Ab+, and lower C-peptide levels, than either HI-2HGLU or LO-BOTH (all P < 0.001). The cumulative incidence for stage 3 was greater for HI-IND60 and HI-BOTH than for either HI-2HGLU or LO-BOTH (all P < 0.001). Those with Index60 values above the median were younger and had higher frequency of two or more Ab+ (P < 0.001) and DR3-DQ2/DR4-DQ8 prevalence (P < 0.001) and lower area under the curve (AUC) C-peptide levels (P < 0.001) than those below. Those above the 2-h glucose median had higher AUC C-peptide levels (P < 0.001), but otherwise did not differ from those below. CONCLUSIONS Index60 identifies individuals with characteristics of type 1 diabetes at appreciable risk for progression who would otherwise be missed by 2-h glucose staging criteria.

OBJECTIVE We aimed to test whether type 2 diabetes (T2D)–associated TCF7L2 genetic variants affect insulin sensitivity or secretion in autoantibody-positive relatives at risk for type 1 diabetes (T1D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We studied autoantibody-positive TrialNet Pathway to Prevention study participants (N = 1,061) (mean age 16.3 years) with TCF7L2 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) information and baseline oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to calculate indices of insulin sensitivity and secretion. With Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, P values < 0.0086 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS None, one, and two T2D-linked TCF7L2 alleles were present in 48.1%, 43.9%, and 8.0% of the participants, respectively. Insulin sensitivity (as reflected by 1/fasting insulin [1/IF]) decreased with increasing BMI z score and was lower in Hispanics. Insulin secretion (as measured by 30-min C-peptide index) positively correlated with age and BMI z score. Oral disposition index was negatively correlated with age, BMI z score, and Hispanic ethnicity. None of the indices were associated with TCF7L2 SNPs. In multivariable analysis models with age, BMI z score, ethnicity, sex, and TCF7L2 alleles as independent variables, C-peptide index increased with age, while BMI z score was associated with higher insulin secretion (C-peptide index), lower insulin sensitivity (1/IF), and lower disposition index; there was no significant effect of TCF7L2 SNPs on any of these indices. When restricting the analyses to participants with a normal OGTT (n = 743; 70%), the results were similar. CONCLUSIONS In nondiabetic autoantibody-positive individuals, TCF7L2 SNPs were not related to insulin sensitivity or secretion indices after accounting for BMI z score, age, sex, and ethnicity.

2000 Background: Craniopharyngiomas, a rare brain tumor along the pituitary-hypothalamic axis, can cause significant clinical sequelae. Surgery and radiation, the only effective treatments, can cause significant morbidity. Genetic analysis of craniopharyngiomas revealed that 95% of papillary craniopharyngiomas (PCP) have BRAF V600E mutations (Brastianos et al. Nature Genetics 2014). We evaluated the efficacy of BRAF/MEK inhibition in patients (pts) with previously untreated PCP. Methods: Eligible pts without prior radiation whose PCP screened positively for BRAF mutations were treated with oral vemurafenib/cobimetinib in 28-day cycles. The primary endpoint of response rate (RR) based on centrally determined volumetric data was evaluated in 16 pts, where a partial response was defined as >20% decrease in volume. This single arm, Simon two-stage phase 2 trial had 89% power to detect a true RR of at least 30% (vs. the null RR 5%; alpha=0.04). In this design, 3 or more observed volumetric responses in 16 evaluable pts would be considered promising activity. Results: In the 16 pts evaluated, 56% were female, and the median age was 49.5 years. Median follow-up was 22 months (95% CI: 16-26.5) and median number of treatment cycles was 8. Three patients progressed after therapy was discontinued and none have died. Based on volumetric response criteria, 14 of 15 pts with volumetric data available for central review had response to therapy (93%; 95% CI: 68% to 99.8%). Of 16 patients evaluable based on local review, 15 had response to therapy (93.75%; 95% CI: 70% to 99.8%). The median tumor reduction was -83% (range: -52% to -99%). The one nonresponder received 2 days of treatment before coming off therapy due to toxicity. Median progression-free survival was not reached. Grade 3 toxicities at least possibly related to treatment occurred in 12 pts (rash in 6 pts). Grade 4 toxicities were observed in two pts: hyperglycemia (n=1) and increased CPK (n=1). Three pts discontinued treatment for adverse events. Conclusions: Vemurafenib/cobimetinib resulted in an objective response in all pts who received 1 or more cycles of therapy. Our study indicates that BRAF/MEK inhibitors could be a powerful tool in the treatment of previously untreated PCP and warrants further evaluation in larger studies. A second arm of this study is enrolling pts with progressive PCP after prior radiotherapy. Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882; U24CA196171, U10CA180868 (NRG); Genentech; https://acknowledgments.alliancefound.org. Clinical trial information: NCT03224767.

Teplizumab treatment of nondiabetic relatives at high risk for T1D induces partially exhausted CD8 + T cells and improves beta cell function.

Abstract Background: Several studies suggest that smoking and obesity may increase the risk of developing NHL, but the impact of these factors on survival is relatively unexplored. One recent population-based Italian study found that smoking may negatively impact overall survival. Methods: We evaluated the association of body mass index (BMI) and cigarette smoking on overall survival in 1,286 patients who participated in a population-based case-control study conducted through the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registries in Detroit, Iowa, Seattle and Los Angeles. BMI (on 1189 participants) and a smoking history (on 471 participants) were obtained through in-person interviews. Histology, stage, presence of B symptoms, first course of therapy, date of last follow-up, and vital status were derived from linkage to registry databases at each study site in the spring of 2005. Hazard Ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models, while adjusting for demographic and clinical factors. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 58 years (range: 16 – 74), and the most common histologies were DLBCL (33%), follicular (25%), SLL/CLL (12%), marginal zone (9%), mantle cell (4%) and Peripheral T-cell (3%). The median BMI was 26.6 (range: 16.2 – 47.3), and 26% of patients were classified as obese (i.e. BMI >30). Of patients with a smoking history, 47% had never smoked, 19% were active smokers at diagnosis, and 34% were former smokers. No significant differences were observed between those with and without tobacco use data in terms of primary lymphoma characteristics. Overall survival (OS) was defined as time from diagnosis to death due to any cause. Median follow-up on all living patients was 58 months (range: 4 – 78), and 333 patients had died. When BMI was assessed as a continuous measure, it was borderline significantly associated with OS (p=0.050). An indicator of whether or not BMI > 30 was also significantly associated with OS (HR=1.30; 95% CI: 1.01 – 1.68; p=0.042). Ever vs. never smokers also exhibited a survival disadvantage (HR=1.66; 95% CI: 1.12 – 2.44; p=0.011). When broken down further, former smokers who had smoked for >10 years (HR=1.61; 95% CI: 1.02 – 2.52; p=0.039) and current smokers (HR=1.79; 95% CI: 1.07 – 3.02; p=0.028) were at a survival disadvantage over those who had never smoked. When both smoking and BMI status were included in the model, only the indicator of being a current smoker remained statistically significant (p=0.031), with a trend toward decreased survival for former smokers who had smoked >10 years (p=0.061) and those with BMI >30 (p=0.058). Conclusions: NHL patients who smoke or are obese had a poorer overall survival. These observations warrant further investigation, including whether interventions for smoking cessation or weight loss can impact NHL survival.

Abstract The prognostic power of immunoglobulin (Ig) somatic mutation status in B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) is widely appreciated and has served as the rationale to systematically determine this molecular feature in B-CLL patients. Consistent with other reports, our study of Ig mutation status in a large cohort of B-CLL patients (n=599) found the most commonly used Ig heavy chain variable (VH) region gene was VH 1–69. The VH1–69 gene is of particular interest as there are numerous reports demonstrating that VH1–69 expressing B-CLL cells predominantly express the 51p1-like allele in an unmutated (UM) form and it is frequently associated with use of the D gene segment, D3-3; the J gene segment, JH6; and a relatively long third, complementarity-determining region (CDR3). Despite molecular definition of a commonly used form of VH1–69 in B-CLL, the clinical significance of CLL B cell usage of this prototypic form of VH1–69 remains to be determined. The goal of this study, therefore, was to perform a molecular and clinical analysis on our cohort of B-CLL patients expressing the VH1–69 gene. Our cohort consisted of 19 females and 55 males, with 89.5% expressing UM Ig VH. The 51p1-like allele was present in 75.7% of patients and the predominant D region used was D3 (64.7%). Patients in our cohort were classified by Rai risk as follows: 20 low (28.2%), 40 intermediate (56.3%), and 11 high (15.5%). For those patients with Rai stage available, analysis of specific D and J regions resulted in 16 D3-3/JH6 (26.7%); 14 D3-3/non-JH6 (23.3%); 16 non-D3-3/JH6 (26.7%); and 14 non-D3-3/non-JH6 (23.3%). Despite observing an overwhelming majority of leukemic cells with UM Ig VH, and the known relationship between mutation status and disease progression, it is interesting that our cohort included almost 30% with a low Rai risk. Of note, Ig VH mutation status did not segregate with Rai risk group or VH1–69 allele use (although few patients overall were mutated). However, an UM Ig VH status was associated with a CDR3 length >20 (p = 0.001) and with use of the JH6 segment (p = 0.003). When mutation status was analyzed in concert with specific use of the D3-3 allele, no relationship emerged; however, when this D region allele was analyzed for JH6 vs non-JH6 usage, combination of the D3-3 allele with JH6 was significantly associated with an UM Ig VH status (p = 0.004). Moreover, when J and D segment usage was analyzed in concert with Rai stage group, a significant (p = 0.019) relationship emerged between paired use of D3-3 and a JH6 segment and advanced (intermediate/high) Rai stage. Strikingly, only 1 of 18 VH1–69 patients with low Rai risk for whom D and J data were available expressed the specific combination of D3-3 and JH6. Although analysis of a larger cohort is clearly required to more formally and fully evaluate these relationships, to our knowledge, this is the first suggestion that D and J usage in VH1-69 expressing B-CLL patients correlates with advanced stages of disease. Because Ig VH usage is not believed to change over the course of disease, it is tempting to speculate that VH1–69 B-CLL patients that do not express the prototypic VH1–69 receptor may have a more favorable disease course. In summary, these data add further support to the notion that there is selection for specific Ig receptors in B-CLL and that the antigenic specificity of certain receptors may be associated with risk of progression.

Abstract Background: Primary systemic amyloidosis (AL) is an incurable plasma cell disorder. Lenalidomide, especially in conjunction with dexamethasone, has been shown to be highly active in patients with multiple myeloma. Methods: We studied the toxicity and efficacy of lenalidomide in patients with symptomatic AL. Patients received single agent lenalidomide. If progression by 3 months or no evidence of hematologic response after 3 cycles, dexamethasone was added. Originally, twenty-three patients (Cohort 1) were enrolled according to study design. Because of a significant early drop out rate and notable activity of the regimen, the trial was modified to include an additional 15 patients (Cohort 2). Baseline characteristics and adverse events are available for all enrolled patients, but at the time of this writing, response data are available for Cohort 1 patients due to short follow-up of Cohort 2, but will be updated by the time of the meeting. Results: Median age was 64 years, with 69% male. Twenty-three were previously treated. Organ involvement was cardiac (67%), renal (64%), hepatic (17%), nerve (17%). Thirty-three, twenty-two, and forty-four percent of patients were cardiac biomarker stage 1, 2, and, 3 respectively. Of the 37 patients, one was a cancel, and 6 have not yet made it through 3 months of protocol treatment and event monitoring. The respective median follow-ups for Cohorts 1 and 2 are 17 and 3.4 months. Of the remaining, 30 patients, within the first 3 cycles of therapy fifteen patients discontinued treatment: 7 early deaths and 8 adverse events or other causes. Three additional patients died 0.5 to 2 months after stopping treatment. The best predictor for early withdrawal and/or death was baseline NT-proBNP and cardiac biomarker staging system (cut-offs for serum troponin T <0.035 ng/ml and NT-proBNP <332 pg/ml--Stage I neither above cut-off; Stage III, both above cut-off; and Stage II, one above cut-off). Figure1 Figure1. Figure 2 Figure 2. Of the twenty 22 patients assessed for response ten patients responded to treatment for an overall response rate of 45%, including 23% organ responders. Among the patients with organ responses, there were four renal responses, two cardiac responses and two liver responses. All but one of the responders had dexamethasone added to their treatment program. The most common grade 3−4 adverse events at least possibly attributable to lenalidomide were neutropenia (38%), thrombocytopenia (21%), fatigue (15%), and rash (12%). Conclusions: Lenalidomide and dexamethasone has significant activity in patients with AL with an overall response rate of 45%. Baseline NT−proBNP may be an effective eligibility screening strategy for subsequent trials.

Abstract Patients during cancer treatment and cancer survivors frequently utilize complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. While the beliefs and knowledge regarding CAM of many cancer-specific patient groups have been well studied such as breast cancer patients and prostate cancer patients, no specific evaluation of lymphoma survivors and their beliefs and knowledge about CAM has been undertaken. Because CAM can yield both risks such as toxicity and displacement of efficacious therapy as well as potential benefits such as improvement in quality of life and mood, we surveyed lymphoma survivors in a pilot study to ascertain their current beliefs, knowledge, and utilization of CAM. Using the Mayo Tumor Registry, we identified eligible patients who were 16 years or older at diagnosis, U.S. residents, first diagnosed with Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma from 1984–1998, diagnosed and/or initially treated at Mayo Clinic Rochester, and survived for 5 to 20 years (N=2,485). In October of 2004, we mailed a 23-page survey to 95 randomly selected patients; 7 were found to be ineligible (deceased or too ill). Of the 88 remaining patients, we were able to find a correct address for 82, and 57 completed a survey for a 70% participation rate. Complete data were available on 54 patients at the time of this analysis. The mean age at completion of the questionnaire was 60.8 years (26.1–86.7). The mean time since diagnosis was 12.0 years (6.3–19.9), and 52% survived more than 11 years. The histologies included 22 (39%) Hodgkin lymphoma, 21 (38%) diffuse large B-cell, 3 (5%) follicular, 1 (1%) high grade, 5 (9%) peripheral T-cell lymphoma, and 4 (7%) other. A majority of patients expressed no knowledge about the use of CAM cancer care, while only 4% of patients responded that CAM could both cure cancer and that it was perfectly safe. Ten to twenty percent of patients felt that CAM could assist other therapeutic interventions, relieve symptoms, assist the body to heal or increase quality of life. Fifteen percent of patients reported that CAM utilization increased the feeling of control, and 24% reported that CAM could have side effects. With respect to CAM utilization, overall 32% of patients had ever used CAM, but no patients reported that CAM usage was directed specifically towards their lymphoma. The most commonly used CAM modalities were chiropractic (39%), massage (21%), relaxation therapy (7%), meditation (5%) and acupuncture (5%). Overall usage of dietary supplements was relatively low, with green tea, garlic, flax seed, and echinacea being the only dietary supplements used by more than 10% of respondents. Five percent had used St. John’s Wort and 7% had used shark cartilage. In conclusion, lymphoma long-term survivors appear to use CAM at a rate similar to the general population, which does not follow the typical pattern seen in other cancer survivorship populations. The use of St. John’s Wort has potential risks if not identified prospectively. At the same time, lack of access to potentially beneficial modalities was also identified, and these observations suggest the opportunity for further study of targeted educational interventions regarding the use of CAM in this population.

Abstract It has been well-documented in cardiac patients and in the general population that physical activity improves physical and mental health. Physical activity could also improve the health and quality of life of long-term lymphoma survivors, but little is known about physical activity in this group of patients. Using the Mayo Tumor Registry, we identified eligible patients who were 16 years or older at diagnosis, U.S. residents, first diagnosed with Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma from 1984–1998, diagnosed and/or initially treated at Mayo Clinic Rochester, and survived for 5 to 20 years (N=2,485). In October of 2004, we mailed a 23-page survey to 95 randomly selected patients; 7 were found to be ineligible (deceased or too ill). Of the 88 remaining patients, we were able to find a correct address for 82, and 57 completed a survey for a 70% participation rate. Physical activity was self-reported using the Godin (1985) Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire. Of the 54 patients with complete data for this report, the mean age at completion of the questionnaire was 60.8 years (26.1–86.7). The mean time since diagnosis was 12.0 years (6.3–19.9), and 52% survived more than 11 years. The histologies included 22 (39%) Hodgkin lymphoma, 21 (38%) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, 3 (5%) follicular lymphomas, 1 (2%) high-grade lymphoma, 5 (9%) peripheral T-cell lymphomas, and 4 (7%) other. Regular fitness was reported by 21% of the respondents. This is lower than a recent report of adults aged 50 years and older, where approximately 40% of those free of chronic disability were attaining recommended daily physical activity levels. It is also lower than the expected 30% in patients with disabilities from the Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (Brown DR et al., Med Sci Sports Exerc2005;37:620–9). In addition, although not statistically significant, there were effect sizes observed suggesting that sedentary responders had higher levels of depression, higher anxiety levels, more distress, and lower quality of life (QOL) compared to physically active respondents. These finding need to be verified in a larger sample to obtain better estimates. In conclusion, levels of physical activity were lower than general population samples. These results also suggest that physical activity level may be related to improved mood and QOL in this population.

Abstract Purpose: Clinical trials in APL have generally reported similar outcomes for children and adults. However, sub-group analysis of pediatric patients treated on 2 consecutive trials of the European APL group demonstrated that children <5 years (yr) had an increased risk of relapse (Bally et al., JCO, 2012). Here we report the effect of age < 5 yr on outcome for the North American Intergroup Study C9710. Methods: Outcomes were compared among young children (age <5 yr, n=16) to those of older age (5-12 yr, n=25 and 13-18 yr, n=45) enrolled on C9710. Treatment on C9710 included induction with daunorubicin, cytarabine and ATRA followed by two consolidation cycles with daunorubicin and ATRA and maintenance for one year with ATRA +/- mercaptopurine and methotrexate. Patients of age ≥15 yr were randomized to receive or not receive two 5-week cycles of arsenic trioxide (ATO) before the chemotherapy consolidation. However, analysis in this study of young children compared to those of older age was restricted to patients who did not receive ATO. Results: Clinical remission (CR) rates were similar between the 3 age groups (age <5 yr= 88%, age 5-12 yr= 80%, age 13-18 yr= 82%; P=0.93). Overall survival (OS) Kaplan-Meier estimates were not significantly different (log rank P=0.84), and 5 yr OS rates were 77% (age <5 yr), 80% (age 5-12 yr), and 84% (age 13-18 yr). Similarly, event-free survival (EFS) Kaplan-Meier estimates were not significantly different (log rank P=0.48), and 5 yr EFS rates were 56% (age <5 yr), 47% (age 5-12 yr), and 59% (age 13-18 yr). Young children did not have a higher relapse rate (5-yr cumulative incidence of relapse by age: <5 yr=29%, 5-12 yr=49%, 13-18 yr=29%). Conclusions: Results of this intergroup trial demonstrate that ATRA administration during induction, consolidation and maintenance leads to CR rates >80% and 5 yr OS rates >75%. These results are superior to recently published results of pediatric non-APL acute myeloid leukemia and confirm results from the prior APL intergroup trial (INT0129) that demonstrated that ATRA in induction and/or maintenance significantly improved outcomes for pediatric APL (Gregory et al., Ped Blood and Cancer, 2009). Our sub-group analysis showed no association of age with outcomes in children treated with this regimen. Disclosures Off Label Use: Daunorubicin- labeled for use in AML for adults and for pediatric ALL (not pediatric AML) Arsenic Trioxide- labeled for use in relapsed/refractory APL (not de novo APL) Mercaptopurine and Methotrexate- labeled for use in pediatric ALL (not APL).