Citations

Abstract Genome wide association studies (GWAS) in 9,013 pancreatic cancer patients and 12,452 controls of European ancestry have discovered over 20 risk loci in the human genome. Here, we fine mapped one such locus on chromosome 16q23.1 in the vicinity of two Chymotrypsinogen precursor genes, CTRB1 and CTRB2. We fine-mapped this locus to rs72802365 (P=2.51x10-17, OR=1.36, 95% CI=1.31-1.40) and identified colocalization (PP=87%) with aberrant exon 5→7 CTRB2 splicing in pancreatic tissues. Imputation of a 584 bp insertion/deletion variant overlapping exon 6 of CTRB2 into the GWAS datasets resulted in a highly significant association with pancreatic cancer risk (P=2.83x10-16, OR=1.36, 95% CI=1.31-1.42), indicating that it may underlie this signal. Exon skipping attributable to the deletion (risk) allele introduces a premature stop codon in exon 7 of CTRB2, yielding a truncated chymotrypsin B2 protein that lacks chymotrypsin activity, is poorly secreted, and accumulates intracellularly in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The intracellular accumulation of a nonfunctional chymotrypsinogen B2 protein may lead to ER stress and pancreatic inflammation, which in turn, may explain the increased pancreatic cancer risk in carriers of CTRB2 exon 6 deletion alleles. Citation Format: Ashley Jermusyk, Jun Zhong, Naomi Gordon, Katelyn Connelly, Sumeth Perera, Ehssan Abdolalizadeh, Tongwu Zhang, Aidan O'Brien, Jason Hoskins, Irene Collins, Daina Eiser, Chen Yuan, Harvey Risch, Eric J. Jacobs, Donghui Li, Mengmeng Du, Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon, Alison P. Klein, Jill P. Smith, Brian M. Wolpin, Stephen J. Chanock, Jianxin Shi, Gloria M. Petersen, Christopher Westlake, Laufey T. Amundadottir. An exception to the rule: A coding functional variant at a pancreatic cancer GWAS locus [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2020 Sep 29-30. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(22 Suppl):Abstract nr IA-11.

Background: Previous cross-sectional studies analyzing quality of life (QOL) outcomes in patients with sporadic vestibular schwannoma (VS) have shown surprisingly little difference among treatment modalities. To date, there is limited prospective QOL outcome data available comparing baseline to posttreatment scores. Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study using the disease-specific Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality of Life (PANQOL) scale. Setting: Large academic skull base center. Patients: Patients diagnosed with unilateral VS who completed a baseline survey before treatment and at least one posttreatment survey. Main Outcome Measures: Change in PANQOL scores from baseline to most recent survey. Results: A total of 244 patients were studied, including 78 (32%) who elected observation, 118 (48%) microsurgery, and 48 (20%) stereotactic radiosurgery. Patients who underwent microsurgery were younger (p < 0.001) and had larger tumors (p < 0.001) than those who underwent observation or radiosurgery; there was no significant difference in duration of follow-up among management groups (mean 2.1 yrs; p = 0.28). When comparing the total PANQOL score at baseline to the most recent survey, the net change was only –1.1, –0.1, and 0.3 points on a 100-point scale for observation, microsurgery, and radiosurgery, respectively (p = 0.89). After multivariable adjustment for baseline features, there were no statistically significant changes when comparing baseline to most recent scores within each management group for facial function, general health, balance, hearing loss, energy, and pain domains or total score. However, the microsurgical group experienced a 10.8-point improvement (p = 0.002) in anxiety following treatment, compared with 1.5 (p = 0.73) and 5.3 (p = 0.31) for observation and radiosurgery, respectively. Conclusions: In this prospective longitudinal study investigating differences in QOL outcomes among VS treatment groups using the disease-specific PANQOL instrument, treatment did not modify QOL in most domains. Microsurgery may confer an advantage with regard to patient anxiety, presumably relating to the psychological benefit of “cure” from having the tumor removed.

Objective: To describe bullying experiences throughout childhood of people with and without childhood ADHD and co-occurring learning and psychiatric disorders from a population-based birth cohort. Methods: In a secondary data analysis of 199 childhood ADHD cases and 287 non-ADHD referents ( N = 486), reported experiences of peer interactions during elementary, middle, or high school were classified as “bully,” “victim,” “neither,” or “both.” Associations were assessed with multinomial logistic regression. Results: Adjusted for male sex, the odds of classification as victim-only, victim/bully, or bully- only (vs. neither) were 3.70 (2.36–5.81), 17.71, and 8.17 times higher for childhood ADHD cases compared to non-ADHD referents. Victim-bullies (62.5%) and bullies (64.3%) had both childhood ADHD and other psychiatric disorders versus 38.4% of victims-only and 17.3% of those classified as “neither.” Conclusion: The list of serious lifetime consequences of having ADHD also includes bullying. We offer future research directions for determining potential causal pathways.

Objective:To address variance in clinical care surrounding sporadic vestibular schwannoma, a modified Delphi study was performed to establish a general framework to approach vestibular schwannoma care. A multidisciplinary panel of experts was established with deliberate representation from key stakeholder societies. External validity of the final statements was assessed through an online survey of registered attendees of the 8th Quadrennial International Conference on Vestibular Schwannoma.Study Design:Modified Delphi method.Methods:The panel consisted of 16 vestibular schwannoma experts (8 neurotology and 8 neurosurgery) and included delegates representing the AAOHNSF, AANS/CNS tumor section, ISRS, and NASBS. The modified Delphi method encompassed a four-step process, comprised of one prevoting round to establish a list of focus areas and three subsequent voting rounds to successively refine individual statements and establish levels of consensus. Thresholds for achieving moderate consensus, at ≥67% agreement, and strong consensus, at ≥80% agreement, were determined a priori. All voting was performed anonymously via the Qualtrics online survey tool and full participation from all panel members was required before procession to the next voting round.Results:Through the Delphi process, 103 items were developed encompassing hearing preservation (N = 49), tumor control and imaging surveillance (N = 20), preferred treatment (N = 24), operative considerations (N = 4), and complications (N = 6). As a result of item refinement, moderate (4%) or strong (96%) consensus was achieved in all 103 final statements. Seventy-nine conference registrants participated in the online survey to assess external validity. Among these survey respondents, moderate (N = 21, 20%) or strong (N = 73, 71%) consensus was achieved in 94 of 103 (91%) statements, and no consensus was reached in 9 (9%). Of the four items with moderate consensus by the expert panel, one had moderate consensus by the conference participants and three had no consensus.Conclusion:This modified Delphi study on sporadic vestibular schwannoma codifies 100% consensus within a multidisciplinary expert panel and is further supported by 91% consensus among an external group of clinicians who regularly provide care for patients with vestibular schwannoma. These final 103 statements address clinically pragmatic items that have direct application to everyday patient care. This document is not intended to define standard of care or drive insurance reimbursement, but rather to provide a general framework to approach vestibular schwannoma care for providers and patients.

Uveal melanoma is a rare form of melanoma with particularly poor outcomes in the metastatic setting. In contrast with cutaneous melanoma, uveal melanoma lacks BRAF mutations and demonstrates very low response rates to immune-checkpoint blockade. Our objectives were to study the transcriptomics of metastatic uveal melanoma with the intent of assessing gene pathways and potential molecular characteristics that might be nominated for further exploration as therapeutic targets. We initially analyzed transcriptional data from The Cancer Genome Atlas suggesting PI3K/mTOR and glycolysis as well as IL6 associating with poor survival. From tumor samples collected in a prospective phase II trial (A091201), we performed a transcriptional analysis of human metastatic uveal melanoma observing a novel role for epithelial-mesenchymal transition associating with survival. Specifically, we nominate and describe initial functional validation of neuropillin-1 from uveal melanoma cells as associated with poor survival and as a mediator of proliferation and migration for uveal melanoma in vitro. These results immediately nominate potential next steps in clinical research for patients with metastatic uveal melanoma.

The NCCN Guidelines for Central Nervous System (CNS) Cancers focus on management of adult CNS cancers ranging from noninvasive and surgically curable pilocytic astrocytomas to metastatic brain disease. The involvement of an interdisciplinary team, including neurosurgeons, radiation therapists, oncologists, neurologists, and neuroradiologists, is a key factor in the appropriate management of CNS cancers. Integrated histopathologic and molecular characterization of brain tumors such as gliomas should be standard practice. This article describes NCCN Guidelines recommendations for WHO grade I, II, III, and IV gliomas. Treatment of brain metastases, the most common intracranial tumors in adults, is also described.

The most common associated malignancies with BRCA mutations include breast and ovarian cancers. Less common malignancies associated with BRCA mutation include: pancreatic, prostate, colon, gastric, and biliary cancers. Esophageal cancer, particularly squamous cell carcinoma, has rarely been reported to harbor BRCA mutations. Here we report, to our knowledge, the first case of germline BRCA1 mutated associated esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Lenalidomide combined with rituximab (R2) has shown complimentary clinical activity and is a tolerable regimen in both untreated and relapsed or refractory (R/R) patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Patients with advanced age at diagnosis are considered to be high risk, supporting post-hoc subgroup analyses by age, with a focus on patients aged ≥ 70 years from the MAGNIFY study. Methods: MAGNIFY is a multicenter, phase IIIb trial in patients with R/R follicular lymphoma (FL) grades 1-3b, transformed FL (tFL), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), or mantle cell lymphoma (MCL; NCT01996865) exploring optimal lenalidomide duration. Lenalidomide 20 mg on days 1-21 of a 28-day cycle + rituximab 375 mg/m2/week cycle 1 and then every 8 weeks starting with cycle 3 (R2) are administered for 12 cycles followed by 1:1 randomization in patients with stable disease, partial response, or complete response/complete response unconfirmed (CR/CRu) to R2 vs rituximab maintenance for 18 months. Data presented here focus on induction R2 in efficacy-evaluable FL grade 1-3a and MZL patients (FL grade 3b, tFL, and MCL not included) receiving ≥ 1 treatment with baseline/postbaseline assessments. The primary end point is progression-free survival (PFS) by 1999 International Working Group criteria. Post-hoc analyses were performed by analyzing data from patients aged ≥ 70 years at time of study entry. Results: As of November 30, 2019, 393 patients have enrolled and 152 (39%) were aged ≥ 70 years. Baseline characteristics including histology, disease status, and prior treatments of patients ≥ 70 and the overall population are shown in the table. Median PFS in the ≥ 70 subgroup was 36.0 months (95% CI, 28.3-NR). Overall response rate and CR/CRu were 75% and 38%, with a median duration of response that was not reached (95% CI, 27.1-NR). Efficacy results for the overall population are shown in the table. In patients ≥ 70 the most common (≥ 20%) any-grade treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were fatigue (44%), neutropenia (41%), diarrhea (34%), constipation (34%), and nausea (27%). Neutropenia (35%) was the only grade 3/4 TEAE occurring in &gt; 10% of patients (febrile neutropenia occurred in 3 patients [2%]). TEAEs led to lenalidomide dose reduction in 69 patients (46%) and discontinuation in 40 patients (26%). Seventy-eight patients ≥ 70 (51%) completed all 12 cycles of induction treatment, and 72 (47%) have entered the maintenance phase. Sixty-one patients ≥ 70 (40%), compared to 35% of patients in overall population, prematurely discontinued both lenalidomide and rituximab, due to TEAEs (n = 26; 17%), progressive disease (n = 15; 10%), patient withdrawal (n = 12; 8%), death (n = 5; 3%), and other reasons (n = 3; 2%). Neutropenia was the only TEAE leading to discontinuation of lenalidomide in more than 2 patients (n = 10; 7%). Conclusions: Similar to findings in the overall population, R2 treatment in advanced-age patients with R/R FL and MZL resulted in encouraging efficacy, and with close attention to dose reduction there is a tolerable safety profile. Table Disclosures Lansigan: BMS Steering Committee for MAGNIFY Program: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Spectrum Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy. Andorsky:AstraZeneca: Research Funding; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; CTI: Research Funding. Coleman:Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.: Research Funding; Boston BIoMedical, Inc.: Research Funding; BeiGene: Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; Innocare: Research Funding; ARCUS Biosciences: Research Funding; AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP (Acerta Pharma BV Trials): Research Funding; AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP: Research Funding; BMS (Celgene Corporation): Research Funding; Eli Lilly and Company: Research Funding; EMD Serono Research and Development Institute Inc.: Research Funding; Genetech (F. Hoffman-LaRoche Ltd): Research Funding; Hutchinson MediPharma, LTD: Research Funding; Incyte Corporation: Research Funding; Ipsen Group: Research Funding; Karyopharma Therapeutics, Inc.: Research Funding; Klus Pharma, Inc.: Research Funding; MeiPharma, Inc.: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Yacoub:Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Agios: Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Speakers Bureau; Hylapharm: Current equity holder in private company; Cara therapeutics: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Ardelyx: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Dynavax: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Melear:AstraZeneca: Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Speakers Bureau. Fanning:Prisma Health: Current Employment; Abbvie: Consultancy; TG Therapeautics: Consultancy; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi Aventis: Speakers Bureau. Kolibaba:Compass Oncology: Ended employment in the past 24 months; Atara Biotech: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Oncology: Consultancy, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company; AbbVie: Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Verastem: Honoraria; Janssen: Research Funding; Novartix: Research Funding. Reynolds:IHA Hematology/Oncology Consultants: Current Employment. Nowakowski:Ryvu: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other; Nanostrings: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Curis: Consultancy; MorphoSys: Consultancy, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding; Kymera: Consultancy; Denovo: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy; Celgene/BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding. Gharibo:Bayer: Ended employment in the past 24 months; Bristol Myers Squibb: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Ahn:BMS: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Li:BMS: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Rummel:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Amgen GmbH: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria; Novartis Pharma GmbH: Honoraria. Sharman:Bristol Meyers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding; Acerta: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; BeiGene: Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding.