Citations

OBJECTIVE We characterized annual trends of severe hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic crises (diabetic ketoacidosis/hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state) in patients with diabetes and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a nationwide, retrospective study of adults (≥18 years old) with diabetes/ESKD, from the United States Renal Data System registry, between 2013 and 2017. Primary outcome was annual rates of emergency department visits or hospitalizations for hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic crises, reported as number of events/1,000 person-years. Event rates and risk factors were adjusted for patient age, sex, race/ethnicity, dialysis modality, comorbidities, treatment regimen, and U.S. region. RESULTS Among 521,789 adults with diabetes/ESKD (median age 65 years [interquartile range 57–73], 56.1% male, and 46% White), overall adjusted rates of hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic crises were 53.64 and 18.24 per 1,000 person-years, respectively. For both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia crises, respectively, the risks decreased with age and were lowest in older patients (≥75 vs. 18–44 years old: incidence rate ratio 0.35, 95% CI 0.33–0.37, and 0.03, 0.02–0.03), women (1.09, 1.06–1.12, and 1.44, 1.35–1.54), and those with smoking (1.36, 1.28–1.43, and 1.71, 1.53–1.91), substance abuse (1.27, 1.15–1.42, and 1.53, 1.23–1.9), retinopathy (1.10, 1.06–1.15, and 1.36, 1.26–1.47), and insulin therapy (vs. no therapy; 0.60, 0.59–0.63, and 0.44, 0.39–0.48). For hypoglycemia, specifically, additional risk was conferred by Black race (1.11, 1.08–1.15) and amputation history (1.20, 1.13–1.27). CONCLUSIONS In this nationwide study of patients with diabetes/ESKD, hypoglycemic crises were threefold more common than hyperglycemic crises, greatly exceeding national reports in nondialysis patients with chronic kidney disease. Young, Black, and female patients were disproportionately affected.

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to evaluate the association between self‐identified race and overall survival (OS), progression‐free survival (PFS), and response to therapy among patients enrolled in the randomized Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB)/SWOG 80405 trial.MethodsPatients with advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer who were enrolled in the CALGB/SWOG 80405 trial were identified by race. On the basis of covariates (treatment arm, KRAS status, sex, age, and body mass index), each Black patient was exact matched with a White patient. The association between race and OS and PFS was examined using a marginal Cox proportional hazard model for matched pairs. The interaction between KRAS status and race was tested in the model. The association between race and response to therapy and adverse events were examined using a marginal logistic regression model.ResultsIn total, 392 patients were matched and included in the final data set. No difference in OS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73‐1.16), PFS (HR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.78‐1.20), or response to therapy (odds ratio [OR], 1.00; 95% CI, 0.65‐1.52) was observed between Black and White patients. Patients with KRAS mutant status (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.02‐1.67), a performance statusscore of 1 (reference, a performance status of 0; HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.18‐1.88), or ≥3 metastatic sites (reference, 1 metastatic site; HR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.22‐2.28) experienced worse OS. Black patients experienced lower rates and risk of grade ≥3 fatigue (6.6% vs 13.3%; OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.24‐0.91) but were equally likely to be treated with a dose reduction (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.72‐1.65).ConclusionsNo difference in OS, PFS, or response to therapy was observed between Black patients and White patients in an equal treatment setting of the CALGB/SWOG 80405 randomized controlled trial.Lay Summary Despite improvements in screening and treatment, studies have demonstrated worse outcomes in Black patients with colorectal cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a difference in cancer‐specific outcomes among Black and White patients receiving equivalent treatment on the CALGB/SWOG 80405 randomized clinical trial. In this study, there was no difference in overall survival, progression‐free survival, or response to therapy between Black and White patients treated on a clinical trial. These findings suggest that access to care and differences in treatment may be responsible for racial disparities in colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE New technology might pose problems for older patients with cancer. This study sought to understand how a trial in older patients with cancer (Alliance A171603) was successful in capturing electronic patient-reported data. METHODS Study personnel were invited via e-mail to participate in semistructured phone interviews, which were audio-recorded and qualitatively analyzed. RESULTS Twenty-four study personnel from the 10 sites were interviewed; three themes emerged. The first was that successful patient-reported electronic data capture shifted work toward patients and toward study personnel at the beginning of the study. One interviewee explained, “I mean it kind of lost all advantages…by being extremely laborious.” Study personnel described how they ensured electronic devices were charged, wireless internet access was up and running, and login codes were available. The second theme was related to the first and dealt with data filtering. Study personnel described high involvement in data gathering; for example, one interviewee described, “I answered on the iPad, whatever they said. They didn't even want to use it at all.” A third theme dealt with advantages of electronic data entry, such as prompt data availability at study completion. Surprisingly, some remarks described how electronic devices brought people together, “Some of the patients, you know, it just gave them a chance to kinda talk about, you know, what was going on.” CONCLUSION High rates of capture of patient-reported electronic data were viewed favorably but occurred in exchange for increased effort from patients and study personnel and in exchange for data that were not always patient-reported in the strictest sense.

PURPOSE This study determined whether an electronic version of the geriatric assessment is feasible in a multi-institutional, diverse setting. METHODs Ten sites within the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology participated. Patients who had active cancer or a history of cancer and were 65 years of age or older were eligible. The geriatric assessment was completed with an electronic data capture system that had been loaded onto iPads. Feasibility was defined a priori as completion in at least 70% of patients either with or without help. To enhance racial diversity, the original sample size was later changed and augmented by 50% with the intention of increasing enrollment of older minority patients. RESULTS A total of one hundred fifty-four patients were registered with a median age of 72 years (range, 65-91 years). Forty-three (28%) identified themselves as African American or Black. One hundred forty-one patients (92%) completed the electronic geriatric assessment. Feasibility was observed across all subgroups, regardless of race, education, performance status, comorbidities, and cognition; 124 patients (81%) completed the geriatric assessment without help. Reasons for not completing the geriatric assessment are as follows: clinic visit did not occur (n = 6), no iPad connection to the Internet (n = 3), patient declined (n = 2), prolonged hospitalization (n = 1), and patient died (n = 1). Reasons for needing help, as reported by study personnel, were as follows: the patient preferred that research personnel ask the questions (n = 9), vision problem (n = 3), lack of comfort with the iPad (n = 2), questions were not clear (n = 1), less proficient in English (n = 1), and challenge in pressing the green button to go to the next question (n = 1). CONCLUSION The electronic geriatric assessment is feasible in a multi-institutional setting that includes a notable proportion of African American or Black patients.

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States, and additional treatment strategies are needed for patients with advanced disease. Prospective therapeutic studies based on tissue-detected genomic targets such as ERBB2 (HER2), BRAF V600E, gene rearrangements/fusions, and microsatellite instability (MSI) have demonstrated clinical benefit for mCRC patients. Although correlative studies and/or retrospective case series utilizing circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) next generation sequencing (NGS) have shown that plasma detection of these genomic targets shows promise in mCRC, prospective studies are lacking. We hypothesize that comprehensive genomic profiling of cfDNA will identify actionable targets and improve outcomes for patients with mCRC. Methods: COLOMATE (Colorectal Cancer and Liquid Biopsy Screening Protocol for Molecularly Assigned Therapy; NCT03765736) is a phase II umbrella screening protocol sponsored by the Academic and Community Cancer Research United (ACCRU) consortium. This study utilizes Guardant360™ (Guardant Health, Redwood City, CA) - a blood-based targeted NGS panel - to identify actionable genomic alterations in mCRC patients and to assess the impact of molecularly assigned therapy accordingly under its individual companion studies. Eligible mCRC patients must have progressed on, been intolerant to, or have a contraindication to treatment with a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, irinotecan, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mAbs if RAS wild-type. Companion studies are dynamic and currently include those for patients whose tumors are either RAS/BRAF wild-type, HER2 amplified, FGFR altered, RAS mutated, or without any known actionable alteration. Additional companion studies are under active development. The primary objectives of this study are to perform blood-based genomic profiling on patients with treatment refractory mCRC to facilitate accrual to molecularly assigned therapies, and to obtain patient-matched tumor tissue and cell free DNA from peripheral blood to facilitate clinically annotated genomic analyses. Secondary correlative objectives are to explore mechanisms of acquired resistance to molecularly assigned therapy and to explore the correlation between cfDNA mutational burden (allele frequency, copy number) and clinical outcomes such as objective response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival. Citation Format: Kristen K. Ciombor, Fang-Shu Ou, Andrew Dodge, Tyler Zemla, Christina Wu, Kimmie Ng, Katrina Pedersen, Shumei Kato, Pashtoon M. Kasi, Daniel Ahn, Rebecca Nagy, Richard Lanman, Scott Kopetz, John H. Strickler, Tanios Bekaii-Saab. COLOMATE: Colorectal cancer and liquid biopsy screening protocol for molecularly assigned therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-235.