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Abstract Background Diagnosis of breast cancer in young women has been shown to affect their decision‐making with regard to fertility and family planning. Limited data are available from populations across the U.S. regarding this issue; thus, we sought to describe fertility concerns and efforts to preserve fertility in a national clinical trial population of young breast cancer patients. Methods The young and strong study was a cluster‐randomized controlled trial testing an intervention program for young women with breast cancer. Patients were surveyed within 3 months after diagnosis and at 3, 6, and 12 months after. Surveys asked about sociodemographics, psychosocial domains, fertility concerns, and fertility preservation strategies. Univariable and multivariable models were used to investigate sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial predictors of fertility concerns. Results Of 467 women from 54 clinical sites across the U.S. (14 academic, 40 community), 419 were evaluable regarding fertility concerns. Median age was 40 years (range 22–45), 11% were Black, 6% Hispanic, and 75% had children. Tumor stage was I (35%), II (51%), or III (14%); 82% received chemotherapy. At time of the treatment decision, 133 (32%) participants had fertility concerns, among whom 47% indicated this affected their treatment decisions. Sixty percent of participants reported having discussed fertility with their physician. Twenty percent of those with fertility concerns used fertility preservation strategies. History of difficulty becoming pregnant and younger age were associated with higher odds of fertility concerns in multivariable modeling. Conclusion Many young women with newly diagnosed breast cancer are concerned about fertility in a way that impacts their treatment decisions. Concerns were discussed, but few used fertility preservation strategies. These findings have implications for counseling young patients.

PURPOSE There is strong evidence that leisure-time physical activity is protective against postmenopausal breast cancer risk but the association with premenopausal breast cancer is less clear. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of physical activity with the risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer. METHODS We pooled individual-level data on self-reported leisure-time physical activity across 19 cohort studies comprising 547,601 premenopausal women, with 10,231 incident cases of breast cancer. Multivariable Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for associations of leisure-time physical activity with breast cancer incidence. HRs for high versus low levels of activity were based on a comparison of risk at the 90th versus 10th percentiles of activity. We assessed the linearity of the relationship and examined subtype-specific associations and effect modification across strata of breast cancer risk factors, including adiposity. RESULTS Over a median 11.5 years of follow-up (IQR, 8.0-16.1 years), high versus low levels of leisure-time physical activity were associated with a 6% (HR, 0.94 [95% CI, 0.89 to 0.99]) and a 10% (HR, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.85 to 0.95]) reduction in breast cancer risk, before and after adjustment for BMI, respectively. Tests of nonlinearity suggested an approximately linear relationship ( Pnonlinearity = .94). The inverse association was particularly strong for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–enriched breast cancer (HR, 0.57 [95% CI, 0.39 to 0.84]; Phet = .07). Associations did not vary significantly across strata of breast cancer risk factors, including subgroups of adiposity. CONCLUSION This large, pooled analysis of cohort studies adds to evidence that engagement in higher levels of leisure-time physical activity may lead to reduced premenopausal breast cancer risk.

Introduction Patients (pts) with multiple myeloma (MM) have a higher risk of progression/death following an inadequate response to frontline ASCT (van de Velde Eur J Haematol 2017). Therapies (Tx) with novel mechanisms of action may further improve response outcomes. Ide-cel previously demonstrated frequent, deep, and durable responses in KarMMa (Munshi N Engl J Med 2021) and significantly improved median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall response rate (ORR) versus standard regimens in KarMMa-3 (Rodríguez-Otero N Engl J Med 2023) in pts with triple-class-exposed relapsed and refractory MM. KarMMa-2 (NCT03601078) is a multicohort, phase 2, multicenter trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of ide-cel in pts with MM; cohort 2c included pts with NDMM who had an inadequate response to frontline Tx with ASCT. In cohort 2c, with a median follow-up of 27.9 months, ide-cel demonstrated deep and durable responses; complete response (CR) rate was 74.2% (ORR, 87.1%), with a 24-month PFS rate of 83.1% (Dhodapkar Blood 2022). Here, we report results with an additional 11.5 months of median follow-up for updated efficacy and safety data, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes in cohort 2c. Methods Eligible pts had NDMM, received ≥ 3 cycles of induction Tx (including a proteasome inhibitor, an immunomodulatory agent, and dexamethasone), had < very good partial response (VGPR) 70-110 days after ASCT (single/tandem), and had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≤ 1. Pts received a single infusion of ide-cel (dose range: 150-450 × 10 6 CAR+ T cells) after lymphodepletion and could receive maintenance Tx post-infusion at investigator's discretion. The primary endpoint CR rate and secondary endpoints ORR, duration of response (DOR), PFS, overall survival (OS), safety, and patient-reported outcomes on HRQoL, assessed via European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Core 30 Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) and EORTC Quality of Life Multiple Myeloma Module 20 Questionnaire (QLQ-MY20), are reported. The exploratory endpoint of minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity (sensitivity, 10 -5) is also reported. Results At data cutoff (May 3, 2023), with a median follow-up of 39.4 (range, 31.6-44.7) months, all 31 pts who were infused with ide-cel were alive; 28 (90.3%) remained in follow-up, with 3 (9.7%) having discontinued due to disease progression. The ORR and CR rates were 87.1% and 77.4%, respectively ( Table); best overall response in 1 pt improved from VGPR to stringent CR. The median DOR was not reached (NR; 95% CI, NR-NR), neither was median PFS (95% CI, 38.0-NR) or median OS (95% CI, NR-NR); the 36-month event-free rates were 80.9%, 76.8%, and 100.0%, respectively. In pts who did not receive lenalidomide (LEN) maintenance, 9 (29.0%) had disease progression; of the 8 pts who received LEN maintenance post ide-cel infusion, none experienced disease progression. At 36 months, MRD negativity was confirmed in 9/14 (64.3%) evaluable pts; all 9 achieved ≥ CR. In this extended follow-up, safety results were generally consistent with the previous data cutoff. All pts experienced ≥ 1 any-grade adverse event (AE), most commonly hematologic, including neutropenia (80.6%), anemia (38.7%), leukopenia (32.3%), and thrombocytopenia (29.0%); infection and infestation AEs occurred in 74.2% of pts. No grade 5 AEs were reported. Incidence of any-grade cytokine release syndrome (58.1%; no grade ≥ 3) was unchanged and there were no additional reports of parkinsonism since the previous report. Overall, HRQoL improved ( Figure) and MM disease symptoms were stable over time based on the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-MY20, respectively, following ide-cel treatment; by month 3, > 75% of pts had improved or stable global health status/QoL. Conclusions Ide-cel continued to demonstrate deep, durable responses in pts with an inadequate response to frontline ASCT, no new safety signals were observed with extended follow-up, and no deaths were reported. No pts who received LEN maintenance post ide-cel experienced disease progression. Ide-cel treatment resulted in stable or improved HRQoL. Overall, ide-cel continued to demonstrate a favorable clinical benefit-risk profile in NDMM after ASCT. Study support 2seventy bio and Celgene, a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

Background There is limited prospective or comparative data evaluating the HRQoL impact of intensive chemotherapy (IC) in older adults (age ≥60 years) with AML. In the recent EA E2906 phase 3 study of '7&3' (daunorubicin & cytarabine) vs. clofarabine (CLO), a putative lower intensity therapy, we incorporated a prospective patient-reported outcomes (PRO) assessment of HRQoL and fatigue to understand treatment impact from the patients' (pts) perspective. Methods E2906 study design and results have been presented previously [n=727, med. age 68 years (range 60-86), randomized 1:1 to ‘standard’ ‘7&3‘ & high dose cytarabine (Arm A) vs. single agent CLO (Arm B), as remission induction (Step 1) and consolidation (Step 2), respectively]. There was no difference in composite complete remission (CCR, 50%) or 30-day mortality rates (8.5%), and in primary analysis CLO was inferior for Overall Survival. HRQoL was a key secondary protocol endpoint. PROs assessed HRQoL and leukemia-specific symptoms and concerns using Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Leukemia scale (FACT-Leu), & Fatigue using FACT-Fatigue subscale. PROs were administered at prespecified time points: (1) Baseline; (2) Cycle 1 at nadir (approx. Day 15); (3) End of Step 1 restaging (approx. D 40); (4) Beginning of Step 2 (1 st consolidation, approx. D 45); and (5) 2 nd cycle consolidation/End Step 2 (approx. D 60). The FACT-Leu Trial Outcome Index ( TOI) was calculated by summing physical well-being, functional well-being, and leukemia-specific concerns subscales to create a single composite score. Higher TOI scores correspond to better HRQoL. The primary endpoint was to evaluate TOI difference from randomization to day 30 after induction therapy between arms, evaluated using Wilcoxon rank sum test. We also compared Clinically Meaningful differences (CMiD) in TOI (defined as patient change ≥½ standard deviation from baseline TOI) between arms, using the X2 test. Pts not completing at least 2 assessment forms (including baseline) were excluded. Testing of constructs of Physical Well-being (PWB), Functional, Leukemia & Fatigue scales demonstrated high Cronbach's a values (a >0.7) except for PWB (a=0.672) at a single time point (End of Step 2). Results Baseline TOI was available for n=489, and 364 pts (n=182 each Arm) were evaluable in this planned analysis. Evaluating CMiD during Cycle 1 induction, pts in Arm B were less likely to experience ‘Worse’ TOI score (32% vs. 40.7%, Arm A), more likely to maintain stable TOI scores (49.1% vs. 39%, Arm A), and had a similar proportion of ‘Better’ TOI scores (20.3%, A vs. 18.9%, B) although differences were not significant (p=0.1389). Conversely in cycle 1 consolidation, more patients in Arm A experienced Better TOI (45.1% vs. 29.2%, Arm B), fewer had stable TOI (45.1% vs. 58.3%, Arm B), and rates of ‘Worse’ TOI were similar (9.8%, A vs 12.5%, Arm B), again differences were not significant (p=0.2616). There was no difference in Fatigue scores between Arms (p=0.49). We evaluated whether TOI and Fatigue scores could predict the ability to complete protocol therapy. In univariate analysis baseline TOI (p=0.0059) and Fatigue (p=0.0057) were associated with Step 1 completion, however on multivariate analysis (adjusting for age, sex, and Arm) were no longer significant [TOI, Odds Ratio (OR) 1.03 (0.98-1.08, p=0.27); Fatigue, OR 1.03 (0.96-1.11, p=0.42)]. There was a borderline association of TOI with Step 2 completion [TOI OR 1.10 (1.00-1.23, p=0.06)]. Using a multivariable linear mixed effects model, we observed similar and significant changes in TOI scores in both Arms, demonstrating the effect of IC & CLO on HRQoL (Figure). Comparing to baseline, TOI scores decreased significantly at C1 induction nadir (-4.0873, p<0.0001), and increased by 5.0762 (p=0.0004) at end Step 1, by 6.9047 at cycle 1 consolidation (p<0.0001), and by 11.4601 (p<0.0001) at end Step 2. Differences were mainly apparent in those who achieved CCR, and there was significant attrition in PRO responses in non-CCR pts. Conclusions Older adults experienced significant improvement in HRQoL after nadir regardless of therapy, and those achieving CCR report significantly higher scores. We did not observe differences in leukemia specific HRQoL or fatigue between treatment Arms (7&3 vs. CLO). Patient-reported HRQoL & Fatigue was not predictive of completion of protocol therapy. These results serve as a benchmark for expectations with IC in older adults.

Background One reason patients with cancer cannot benefit from immunotherapy is the lack of immune cell infiltration in tumor tissues. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are emerging as central players in immune regulation that shapes tumor microenvironment (TME). Earlier we reported that integrin α5 was enriched in CAFs in colorectal cancer (CRC), however, its role in TME and cancer immunotherapy remains unclear. Here, we aimed to investigate the role for integrin α5 in fibroblasts in modulating antitumor immunity and therapeutic efficacy combined with checkpoint blockade in CRC. Methods We analyzed the CRC single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) database to define the expression of ITGA5 in CRC tumor stroma. Experimentally, we carried out in vivo mouse tumor xenograft models to confirm the targeting efficacy of combined α5β1 inhibition and anti-Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) blockade and in vitro cell-co-culture assay to investigate the role of α5 in fibroblasts in affecting T-cell activity. Clinically, we analyzed the association between α5 expression and infiltrating T cells and evaluated their correlation with patient survival and immunotherapy prognosis in CRC. Results We revealed that ITGA5 was enriched in FAP -CAFs. Both ITGA5 knockout fibroblasts and therapeutic targeting of α5 improved response to anti-PD-L1 treatment in mouse subcutaneous tumor models. Mechanistically, these treatments led to increased tumor-infiltrating CD8 + T cells. Furthermore, we found that α5 in fibroblasts correlated with extracellular matrix (ECM)-related genes and affected ECM deposition in CRC tumor stroma. Both in vivo analysis and in vitro culture and cell killing experiment showed that ECM proteins and α5 expression in fibroblasts influence T-cell infiltration and activity. Clinically, we confirmed that high α5 expression was associated with fewer CD3 + T and CD8 + T cells, and tissues with low α5 and high CD3 + T levels correlated with better patient survival and immunotherapy response in a CRC cohort with 29 patients. Conclusions Our study identified a role for integrin α5 in fibroblasts in modulating antitumor immunity by affecting ECM deposition and showed therapeutic efficacy for combined α5β1 inhibition and PD-L1 blockade in CRC.

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an important cause of sudden cardiac death associated with heterogeneous phenotypes, but there is no systematic framework for classifying morphology or assessing associated risks. Here, we quantitatively survey genotype-phenotype associations in HCM to derive a data-driven taxonomy of disease expression. METHODS: We enrolled 436 patients with HCM (median age, 60 years; 28.8% women) with clinical, genetic, and imaging data. An independent cohort of 60 patients with HCM from Singapore (median age, 59 years; 11% women) and a reference population from the UK Biobank (n=16 691; mean age, 55 years; 52.5% women) were also recruited. We used machine learning to analyze the 3-dimensional structure of the left ventricle from cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and build a tree-based classification of HCM phenotypes. Genotype and mortality risk distributions were projected on the tree. RESULTS: Carriers of pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants for HCM had lower left ventricular mass, but greater basal septal hypertrophy, with reduced life span (mean follow-up, 9.9 years) compared with genotype negative individuals (hazard ratio, 2.66 [95% CI, 1.42–4.96]; P <0.002). Four main phenotypic branches were identified using unsupervised learning of 3-dimensional shape: (1) nonsarcomeric hypertrophy with coexisting hypertension; (2) diffuse and basal asymmetrical hypertrophy associated with outflow tract obstruction; (3) isolated basal hypertrophy; and (4) milder nonobstructive hypertrophy enriched for familial sarcomeric HCM (odds ratio for pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants, 2.18 [95% CI, 1.93–2.28]; P =0.0001). Polygenic risk for HCM was also associated with different patterns and degrees of disease expression. The model was generalizable to an independent cohort (trustworthiness, M 1 : 0.86–0.88). CONCLUSIONS: We report a data-driven taxonomy of HCM for identifying groups of patients with similar morphology while preserving a continuum of disease severity, genetic risk, and outcomes. This approach will be of value in understanding the causes and consequences of disease diversity.

AbstractBackgroundAppropriate time for ejection fraction (EF) reassessment after revascularization in patients with left ventricular dysfunction has not been investigated comprehensively, although 3 months after revascularization is recommended to stratify the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD).HypothesisEF reassessed within different timeframe after revascularization may have incosistent contribution for risk stratification of SCD.MethodsPatients who had EF ≤ 40% before revascularization and had EF reassessment at least once during follow‐up were included. The role of early (<3 months) versus late (3–12 months) EF measurements in prediction of all‐cause mortality and SCD were compared.ResultsA total of 1589 patients were identified. EF reassessed <3 months was lower than EF reassessed within 3–12 months (42.1 ± 9.7% vs. 45.8 ± 10.8%; p < .01). Among 1069 patients who had EF reassessed <3 months, EF ≤ 35% was associated with a higher risk of all‐cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22–2.29; p < .01), but had no association with the risk of SCD (HR, 1.44; 95% CI, 0.84–2.48; p = .18). By contrast, among 595 patients who had EF reassessed within 3–12 months, EF ≤ 35% was associated with higher risks of both all‐cause death (HR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.06–3.10; p = .03) and SCD (HR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.31–5.61; p < .01). The relative contribution of SCD to all‐cause death was higher in patients with EF ≤ 35% than patients with EF > 35% when EF was reassessed within 3–12 months (p = .04). However, when EF was reassessed <3 months, the mode of death was similar in patients with EF ≤ 35% versus >35% (p = .85).Conclusions3 to 12 months after revascularization may be appropriate for cardiac function reassessment and SCD risk stratification.