Participant hopes and expectations regarding outcomes of genomic sequencing research in pediatric oncology.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 10020-10020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan M Marron ◽  
Emily Quach ◽  
Yana Pikman ◽  
Katherine A. Janeway ◽  
Jennifer W. Mack ◽  
...  

10020 Background: Tumor genomic sequencing is rapidly becoming more integrated into pediatric oncology, but for only a minority of individuals does sequencing identify new treatment options or impart an increased chance of cure. Retrospective data show that participants have high hopes for this promising technology, but patient/parent hopes and expectations for the outcomes of genomic sequencing have not previously been evaluated prospectively. Methods: Surveys were administered prospectively to eligible enrollees (young adult patients ≥18y with relapsed/recurrent cancer, rare cancers, and those with poor prognoses, or parents of patients < 18y) prior to return of sequencing results in two clinical sequencing studies through the GAIN (NCT02520713) and LEAP (NCT02670525) Consortia, across 18 pediatric cancer centers. Using previously validated measures, participants were queried about what they most hoped for and thought most likely to happen (most expected) as a result of participating in the sequencing study. Comparisons were made between hopes and expectations using McNemar’s test. Separate multivariate models assessed predictors of most hoping for, and most expecting, increased chance of cure as a result of participating. Models were adjusted for gender, race, disease (leukemia/solid tumor), highest education level achieved, and survey participant (patient/parent). We present interim survey results for 124 participants (67% response rate) who completed surveys between 10/15/17 (GAIN) or 9/1/16 (LEAP) and 1/15/19. Results: 58% (70/121) of respondents selected increased chance of cure as their greatest hope in participating; only 21% (25/119) reported cure as their greatest expectation (p < 0.005). 28% (34/121) most hoped their participation would help cure future patients, and 45% (54/119) most expected this result (p < 0.005). Only 8% (10/121) most hoped to learn more about their/their child’s cancer, but 21% (25/119) most expected this result (p = 0.006). In multivariate analyses, education beyond college level was associated with most hoping for cure as a result of sequencing (OR 2.7 95% CI [1.2, 5.8], p = 0.016). A solid tumor diagnosis was associated with most expecting cure in this setting (OR 2.7 [1.0, 7.2], p = 0.048). Conclusions: Participants derive great hope from participating in pediatric cancer genomic sequencing research, but expectations are more tempered. Some subgroups express heightened expectations of cure, however, potentially identifying target populations for educational intervention.

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i14-i14
Author(s):  
Rachael Aubin ◽  
Emma Troisi ◽  
Adam Alghalith ◽  
MacLean Nasrallah ◽  
Mariarita Santi ◽  
...  

Abstract Childhood ependymoma is a cancer of the central nervous system with a chronic relapsing pattern. In children, 90% of ependymal tumors occur intracranially where prognosis is grim. Standard care for this disease includes surgical resection followed by radiation. Despite several clinical trials, adjuvant chemotherapies have yet to extend patient survival, highlighting a need for more effective treatment options. Ependymal tumors have been stratified into nine molecular subgroups based on their DNA methylation profile. The most prevalent and aggressive pediatric subgroup is known as posterior fossa ependymoma type A (PFA) which represents approximately 60% of pediatric cases and has a 5-year progression free survival rate of 30%. Whole genome sequencing studies have revealed that PFA tumors rarely harbor recurrent mutations. To inform the potential development of new treatment options for this disease, we sought to decipher the specific mechanisms leading to the tumorigenesis, progression, and metastasis of PFA tumors. By means of single-nuclei RNA-seq and an array of computational methods, we show that the expression profile of PFA tumor cells recapitulate the developmental lineages of radial glia in neurogenic niches, and is consistent with an origin in LGR+ stem cells and a pro-inflammatory environment. In addition, our analysis reveals the abundance of a mesenchymal cell population expressing TGF-β signaling, reactive gliosis, and hypoxia-related genes in distal metastases from PFA tumors. Taken together, our results uncover the cell ecosystem of pediatric posterior fossa ependymoma and identify WNT/β-catenin and TGF-β signaling as candidate drivers of tumorigenesis for this cancer.


VASA ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weidenhagen ◽  
Bombien ◽  
Meimarakis ◽  
Geisler ◽  
A. Koeppel

Open surgical repair of lesions of the descending thoracic aorta, such as aneurysm, dissection and traumatic rupture, has been the “state-of-the-art” treatment for many decades. However, in specialized cardiovascular centers, thoracic endovascular aortic repair and hybrid aortic procedures have been implemented as novel treatment options. The current clinical results show that these procedures can be performed with low morbidity and mortality rates. However, due to a lack of randomized trials, the level of reliability of these new treatment modalities remains a matter of discussion. Clinical decision-making is generally based on the experience of the vascular center as well as on individual factors, such as life expectancy, comorbidity, aneurysm aetiology, aortic diameter and morphology. This article will review and discuss recent publications of open surgical, hybrid thoracic aortic (in case of aortic arch involvement) and endovascular repair in complex pathologies of the descending thoracic aorta.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-144
Author(s):  
Evelin Szabó ◽  
Zsolt Parajkó ◽  
Diana Opincariu ◽  
Monica Chițu ◽  
Nóra Raț ◽  
...  

Abstract Atherosclerosis is the elemental precondition for any cardiovascular disease and the predominant cause of ischemic heart disease that often leads to myocardial infarction. Systemic risk factors play an important role in the starting and progression of atherosclerosis. The complexity of the disease is caused by its multifactorial origin. Besides the traditional risk factors, genetic predisposition is also a strong risk factor. Many studies have intensively researched cardioprotective drugs, which can relieve myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury, thereby reducing infarct size. A better understanding of abnormal epigenetic pathways in the myocardial pathology may result in new treatment options. Individualized therapy based on genome sequencing is important for an effective future medical treatment. Studies based on multiomics help to better understand the pathophysiological mechanism of several diseases at a molecular level. Epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic research may be essential in detecting the pathological phenotype of myocardial ischemia and ischemic heart failure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Van-An Duong ◽  
Jeeyun Ahn ◽  
Na-Young Han ◽  
Jong-Moon Park ◽  
Jeong-Hun Mok ◽  
...  

Background: Diabetic Retinopathy (DR), one of the major microvascular complications commonly occurring in diabetic patients, can be classified into Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR) and Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR). Currently available therapies are only targeted for later stages of the disease in which some pathologic changes may be irreversible. Thus, there is a need to develop new treatment options for earlier stages of DR through revealing pathological mechanisms of PDR and NPDR. Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterize proteomes of diabetic through quantitative analysis of PDR and NPDR. Methods: Vitreous body was collected from three groups: control (non-diabetes mellitus), NPDR, and PDR. Vitreous proteins were digested to peptide mixtures and analyzed using LC-MS/MS. MaxQuant was used to search against the database and statistical analyses were performed using Perseus. Gene ontology analysis, related-disease identification, and protein-protein interaction were performed using the differential expressed proteins. Results: Twenty proteins were identified as critical in PDR and NPDR. The NPDR group showed different expressions of kininogen-1, serotransferrin, ribonuclease pancreatic, osteopontin, keratin type II cytoskeletal 2 epidermal, and transthyretin. Also, prothrombin, signal transducer and activator of transcription 4, hemoglobin subunit alpha, beta, and delta were particularly up-regulated proteins for PDR group. The up-regulated proteins related to complement and coagulation cascades. Statherin was down-regulated in PDR and NPDR compared with the control group. Transthyretin was the unique protein that increased its abundance in NPDR compared with the PDR and control group. Conclusion: This study confirmed the different expressions of some proteins in PDR and NPDR. Additionally, we revealed uniquely expressed proteins of PDR and NPDR, which would be differential biomarkers: prothrombin, alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein, hemoglobin subunit alpha, beta, and transthyretin.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guanghui Xu ◽  
Yuhao Wang ◽  
Hushan Zhang ◽  
Xueke She ◽  
Jianjun Yang

Neuroendocrine neoplasias (NENs) are a heterogeneous group of rare tumors scattered throughout the body. Surgery, locoregional or ablative therapies as well as maintenance treatments are applied in well-differentiated, low-grade NENs, whereas cytotoxic chemotherapy is usually applied in high-grade neuroendocrine carcinomas. However, treatment options for patients with advanced or metastatic NENs are limited. Immunotherapy has provided new treatment approaches for many cancer types, including neuroendocrine tumors, but predictive biomarkers of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the treatment of NENs have not been fully reported. By reviewing the literature and international congress abstracts, we summarize the current knowledge of ICIs, potential predicative biomarkers in the treatment of NENs, implications and efficacy of ICIs as well as biomarkers for NENs of gastroenteropancreatic system, lung NENs and Merkel cell carcinoma in clinical practice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Anh Thu Nguyen ◽  
Ki-young Kim

Acne is an inflammatory skin disorder; although some anti-inflammatory medicines for treating acne are available in a market, they have considerable side effects; therefore, new treatment options are needed. In the present study, among the 16 aqueous extracts of plants collected from Jeju Island in Korea which are used to test anti-inflammatory activity, B. davidii showed the strong decline of the proinflammatory cytokine expression against the inflammatory process caused by C. acnes in Human HaCaT keratinocyte cells. B. davidii downregulated the expression of 57% of COX-2, 41% of iNOS, and proinflammatory cytokines 29% of TNF-α, 32% of IL-1β, 21% of IL-6, and 35% of IL-8. Furthermore, B. davidii inhibited NF-κB and MAPK signaling cascades in keratinocytes that activated by toll-like receptor 2 (TLR-2) in response to C. acnes. Given those results, B. davidii is a potential agent to reduce the proinflammatory cytokine expression against C. acnes-induced inflammation and might provide an alternative to the current medications.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 623
Author(s):  
Brigida Anna Maiorano ◽  
Giovanni Schinzari ◽  
Davide Ciardiello ◽  
Maria Grazia Rodriquenz ◽  
Antonio Cisternino ◽  
...  

Background: In the last years, many new treatment options have widened the therapeutic scenario of genitourinary malignancies. Immunotherapy has shown efficacy, especially in the urothelial and renal cell carcinomas, with no particular relevance in prostate cancer. However, despite the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors, there is still high morbidity and mortality among these neoplasms. Cancer vaccines represent another way to activate the immune system. We sought to summarize the most recent advances in vaccine therapy for genitourinary malignancies with this review. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Database for clinical trials conducted in the last ten years, focusing on cancer vaccines in the prostate, urothelial and renal cancer. Results: Various therapeutic vaccines, including DNA-based, RNA-based, peptide-based, dendritic cells, viral vectors and modified tumor cells, have been demonstrated to induce specific immune responses in a variable percentage of patients. However, these responses rarely corresponded to significant survival improvements. Conclusions: Further preclinical and clinical studies will improve the knowledge about cancer vaccines in genitourinary malignancies to optimize dosage, select targets with a driver role for tumor development and growth, and finally overcome resistance mechanisms. Combination strategies represent possibly more effective and long-lasting treatments.


2021 ◽  
pp. 107815522199553
Author(s):  
Joshua Richter ◽  
Vamshi Ruthwik Anupindi ◽  
Jason Yeaw ◽  
Suneel Kudaravalli ◽  
Stojan Zavisic ◽  
...  

Introduction Real-world evidence on later line treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) is sparse. We evaluated clinical outcomes among RRMM patients in the 1-year following treatment with pomalidomide or daratumumab and compared economic outcomes between RRMM patients and non-MM patients. Patient and Methods Adult patients with ≥1 claim of pomalidomide or daratumumab were identified between January 2012 and February 2018 using IQVIA PharMetrics® Plus US claims database. Patients were required to have a diagnosis or treatment for MM and a claim of any immunomodulatory drugs and proteasome inhibitors before the index date. Mean time to new therapy, overall survival (OS) using Kaplan-Meier curve and adverse events (AEs) were reported over the 1-year post-index period. RRMM patients were also matched to a non-MM comparator cohort and economic outcomes were compared between the two cohorts. Results 289 RRMM patients were matched to 1,445 patients without MM. Most prevalent hematological AE was anemia (72.0%) and non-hematological AE was infections (75.4%). Mean (SD) time to a new treatment was 4.7 (5.3) months and median OS was 14.6 months. RRMM patients had significantly higher hospitalizations and physician office visits (Both P < .0001) compared to non-MM patients. Adjusting for baseline characteristics, patients with RRMM had 4.9 times (95% CI 3.8-6.4, P < .0001) the total healthcare costs compared with patients without MM. The major driver of total costs among RRMM patients was pharmacy costs (67.3%). Conclusion RRMM patients showed a high frequency of AEs, low OS, and a substantial economic burden suggesting need for effective treatment options.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiangqiang Zhao ◽  
Duanfeng Jiang ◽  
Xiaoying Sun ◽  
Qiuyu Mo ◽  
Shaobin Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) is a malignant disease of lymphoid tissue. At present, chemotherapy is still the main method for the treatment of NHL. R-CHOP can significantly improve the survival rate of patients. Unfortunately, DOX is the main cytotoxic drug in R-CHOP and it can lead to adverse reactions. Therefore, it is particularly important to uncover new treatment options for NHL. Results In this study, a novel anti-tumor nanoparticle complex Nm@MSNs-DOX/SM was designed and constructed in this study. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) loaded with Doxorubicin (DOX) and anti-inflammatory drugs Shanzhiside methylester (SM) were used as the core of nanoparticles. Neutrophil membrane (Nm) can be coated with multiple nanonuclei as a shell. DOX combined with SM can enhance the anti-tumor effect, and induce apoptosis of lymphoma cells and inhibit the expression of inflammatory factors related to tumorigenesis depending on the regulation of Bcl-2 family-mediated mitochondrial pathways, such as TNF-α and IL-1β. Consequently, the tumor microenvironment (TME) was reshaped, and the anti-tumor effect of DOX was amplified. Besides, Nm has good biocompatibility and can enhance the EPR effect of Nm@MSNs-DOX/SM and increase the effect of active targeting tumors. Conclusions This suggests that the Nm-modified drug delivery system Nm@MSNs-DOX/SM is a promising targeted chemotherapy and anti-inflammatory therapy nanocomplex, and may be employed as a specific and efficient anti-Lymphoma therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Jaime E. Hale ◽  
Basil T. Darras ◽  
Kathryn J. Swoboda ◽  
Elicia Estrella ◽  
Jin Yun Helen Chen ◽  
...  

Massachusetts began newborn screening (NBS) for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) following the availability of new treatment options. The New England Newborn Screening Program developed, validated, and implemented a screening algorithm for the detection of SMA-affected infants who show absent SMN1 Exon 7 by Real-Time™ quantitative PCR (qPCR). We screened 179,467 neonates and identified 9 SMA-affected infants, all of whom were referred to a specialist by day of life 6 (average and median 4 days of life). Another ten SMN1 hybrids were observed but never referred. The nine referred infants who were confirmed to have SMA were entered into treatment protocols. Early data show that some SMA-affected children have remained asymptomatic and are meeting developmental milestones and some have mild to moderate delays. The Massachusetts experience demonstrates that SMA NBS is feasible, can be implemented on a population basis, and helps engage infants for early treatment to maximize benefit.


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