Targeting the BMP Pathway in Prostate Cancer Induced Bone Disease

From the 33,000 men in the U.S. who die from prostate cancer each year, the majority of these patients exhibit metastatic disease with bone being the most common site of metastasis. Prostate cancer bone metastases are commonly blastic, exhibiting new growth of unhealthy sclerotic bone, which can cause painful skeletal related events. Patient’s current care entails androgen deprivation therapy, anti-resorptive agents, radiation, and chemotherapy to help control the spread of the cancer but little intervention is available to treat blastic bone disease. The transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathways are known to regulate bone growth and resorption of destructive lytic bone lesions, yet the role of TGFβ/BMP signaling in prostate cancer blastic vs lytic bone lesions are not fully understood. We hypothesized that to target the BMP/TGFβ pathway, a useful biomarker of bone lytic or blastic pathology would have superior response. We show distinct BMP vs. TGFβ signaling in clinical samples of human prostate cancer bone metastases with either lytic or blastic pathologies. BMPs exhibit distinct effects on bone homeostasis, so to examine the effect of BMP inhibition on healthy bone, we treated mice with the BMP receptor small molecule antagonist DMH1 and saw a modest temporary improvement in bone health, with increased trabecular bone. We next sought to use the BMP inhibitor DMH1 to treat bone metastasis engraftment seeded by a caudal artery injection of the lytic human prostate cell line PC3 in immunodeficient mice. The colonization by PC3 cells to the bone were restricted with DMH1 treatment and bone health was importantly preserved. We next proceeded to test BMP inhibition in an injury model of established bone metastasis via intratibial injection of the MYC-CaP mouse prostate cell line into FVBN syngeneic mice. DMH1 treated mice had a modest decrease in trabecular bone and reduced lymphocytes in circulation without affecting tumor growth. Taken together we show unique responses to BMP inhibition in metastatic prostate cancer in the bone. These studies suggest that profiling bone lesions in metastatic prostate cancer can help identify therapeutic targets that not only treat the metastatic tumor but also address the need to better treat the distinct tumor induced bone disease.

A 20-year retrospective study of osteoarticular tuberculosis in a pediatric third level referral center

Purpose The objective of the present study is to describe the clinical, diagnostic, radiological and therapeutic aspects of osteoarticular tuberculosis (OATB) in patients in a tertiary pediatric hospital, to know if the diagnosis of OATB in pediatrics is a challenge due to its insidious clinical presentation. Methods A retrospective, descriptive study of the cases of Tuberculosis (TB) in children was carried out. A total of 159 cases met the condition for the analysis. Results The most frequent TB modality was extrapulmonary in 85%. Out of this, only 29% was OATB. The mean age was 4.9 years (range 8 months–16 years). Eighty-six per cent of cases received Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination at birth. Median time of symptoms prior to diagnosis was 8 months. Microbiological confirmation was achieved only in five cases, with a high sensitivity to the antimicrobial treatment. Mycobacterium bovis BCG strain Tokio 172 was confirmed in three cases. Mortality rate was 0% during the time of study Conclusion Our study describes the epidemiological characteristics of OATB cases in Mexican children. This data revealed a high prevalence of bone and joint TB infection. Pediatric OATB should be considered in cases with lytic bone lesions, fever and local pain. In countries with BCG immunization program, M. bovis should not be forgotten as an etiological agent. The low detection rate with one technique approach highlights the urgent need for more sensitive test to diagnose OATB in children.

Management of Lytic Bone Disease in Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Waldenström Macroglobulinemia (WM)/lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) is often differentiated from myeloma based on the presence of lytic bone lesions (LBL). However, WM/LPL can present with LBL and management is poorly understood. We describe a case of an 81-year-old woman with LPL who presented with LBL and was successfully treated with chemoimmunotherapy.

Quantitative Imaging and Radiomics in Multiple Myeloma: A Potential Opportunity?

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is the second most common type of hematological disease and, although it is rare among patients under 40 years of age, its incidence rises in elderly subjects. MM manifestations are usually identified through hyperCalcemia, Renal failure, Anaemia, and lytic Bone lesions (CRAB). In particular, the extent of the bone disease is negatively related to a decreased quality of life in patients and, in general, bone disease in MM increases both morbidity and mortality. The detection of lytic bone lesions on imaging, especially computerized tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), is becoming crucial from the clinical viewpoint to separate asymptomatic from symptomatic MM patients and the detection of focal lytic lesions in these imaging data is becoming relevant even when no clinical symptoms are present. Therefore, radiology is pivotal in the staging and accurate management of patients with MM even in early phases of the disease. In this review, we describe the opportunities offered by quantitative imaging and radiomics in multiple myeloma. At the present time there is still high variability in the choice between various imaging methods to study MM patients and high variability in image interpretation with suboptimal agreement among readers even in tertiary centers. Therefore, the potential of medical imaging for patients affected by MM is still to be completely unveiled. In the coming years, new insights to study MM with medical imaging will derive from artificial intelligence (AI) and radiomics usage in different bone lesions and from the wide implementations of quantitative methods to report CT and MRI. Eventually, medical imaging data can be integrated with the patient’s outcomes with the purpose of finding radiological biomarkers for predicting the prognostic flow and therapeutic response of the disease.

Bilateral orbital metastasis as an initial presentation of hepatocellular carcinoma

Purpose: To describe a case of biopsy-confirmed bilateral orbital metastasis of previously undiagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma, presenting with bilateral proptosis. Case description: A 57-year-old man presented with painless bilateral proptosis over 2 months. At presentation, the best-corrected visual acuity was 20/60 in the right eye and 20/20 in the left eye. Ocular examination revealed bilateral asymmetrical non-axial proptosis with Hertel exophthalmometer reading of 24 mm in the right eye and 22 mm in the left eye. There was mild inferior displacement in both eyes. Apart from mild exposure keratopathy in the right eye, both anterior and posterior segment examinations were not remarkable. Orbital computerized tomography (CT) scan showed soft tissue masses in the superotemporal quadrants of both orbits associated with lytic bone lesions. An orbital biopsy confirmed that it was metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Ultrasound abdomen revealed multifocal HCC with underlying cirrhosis. We planned for further investigations such as hepatitis serology, alfa-fetoprotein, and CT abdomen, but he refused to proceed with investigations and treatment. Conclusion: Orbital metastasis, more so as a bilateral involvement, is a rare phenomenon. It may present as an initial manifestation of undiagnosed systemic cancer. Orbital metastasis should be considered when diagnosing patients with bilateral proptosis, and orbital biopsy is crucial for histopathological diagnosis.

Cystic Hygroma with Multiple Benign bone Lymphangiomas in an Adult Patient: a rare Entity in the Differential Diagnosis of Multiple Osseous Lesions in Oncology Practice

: Cystic lymphangioma presenting with multiple bone lesions in an adult patient is a rare occurrence, with a limited number of reported cases in the literature. In this case report, we describe a 32-year old female patient with chronic neck and pelvic pain, and multiple lytic bone lesions on radiological imaging, which were eventually discovered to originate from cystic hygroma and widespread bone lymphangiomas that were present for more than 10 years. It should be kept in mind that there may be benign causes in the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with findings suggestive of diffuse bone metastasis.Because misdiagnosis may cause the patient to receive unnecessary treatments, especially radiotherapy. In this case, we reached the diagnosis of benign disease, diffuse bone lymphangiomatosis, and the long and stable medical history of the patient with the findings of BT, ultrasound and bone scintigraphy. We think that as long as there are no stable and serious results in the company with the clinical and radiological findings of the patient, it should be approached with medical follow-up without treatment.

Quantitative Imaging and Radiomics in Multiple Myeloma: opportunity or hype?

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is the second most common type of hematological disease and, although it is rare among patients under 40 years of age, its incidence rises in elderly subject. MM manifestations are usually known with the abbreviation CRAB (hyperCalcemia, Renal failure, Anaemia, and lytic Bone lesions). In particular, the extent of the bone disease is negatively related to a decreased patients’ quality of life and, in general, bone disease in MM increases both morbidity and mortality. The detection of lytic bone lesions on imaging, especially CT and MRI, is becoming crucial from the clinical viewpoint to separate asymptomatic from symptomatic MM patients and the detection of focal lytic lesion in these imaging data is becoming relevant even when no clinical symptoms are present. Therefore, radiology is pivotal in the staging and accurate management of patients with MM even in early phases of the disease. In this review we describe the opportunities offered by quantitative imaging and radiomics in multiple myeloma. At present time there is still high variability in the choice between various imaging methods to study MM patients and high variability in image interpretation with suboptimal agreement among readers even in tertiary centres. Therefore, the potential of medical imaging for patients affected by MM is still to be completely unveiled. In the next years, new insights to study MM with medical imaging will derive from artificial intelligence (AI) and radiomics usage in different bone lesions and from the wide implementations of quantitative methods to report CT and MRI. Eventually, medical imaging data can be integrated with the patient's outcomes with the purpose to find radiological biomarkers for predicting the disease prognostic flow and its therapeutic response.

Comparison of Conventional Xrays with CT Based Approaches for Detection of Lytic Lesions in Multiple Myeloma

Background: Lytic bone lesions are one of the most common clinical characteristics of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and identification of bone lesions help distinguish between patients with smoldering multiple MM and active MM. Given this, the most recent update of the diagnostic criteria for MM incorporates advanced imaging approaches for distinguishing between the two entities. Several small retrospective studies have compared conventional skeletal survey (SS) with whole-body low dose computed tomography (WBLDCT) scan or the CT portion of a positron emission tomography (PET) scan. Conducting prospective studies comparing these two modalities side by side is limited by the radiation exposure. We undertook this study to provide a comparison between these two imaging modalities in terms of their ability to recognize lytic bone lesions in patients with MM. Patients and methods: This was a retrospective study of consecutive patients with the diagnosis of MM treated at Mayo Cinic Hospital during 2004- 2018. Patients were included if they had a conventional skeletal survey no more than 3 months before MM diagnosis or any time after diagnosis and also had a WBLDCT or PET-CT within a 12-month period following the skeletal survey. We chose this approach since it is unlikely that a patient would have had both modalities done at the same time as part of standard of care (SOC). This approach was also facilitated by a gradual change in our SOC for skeletal imaging from conventional skeletal survey to WBLDCT. To measure the robustness of our findings, we performed a sensitivity analysis in patients who had the exam ≤6 months apart. Proportions were compared using a chi-square test and survival estimates were calculated using the Kaplan- Meier methodology and compared using log rank test. Results: The overall study cohort had 1040 patients, median age was 62 years at diagnosis (range, 24-94), 61% were male and 39% were female. The median time to the skeletal survey was 8 months from diagnosis (range, 0-160) and the median time to WBLDCT or PET-CT from SS was 2 months (0-12). A PET-CT was available in 789 (76%) of patients and WBLDCT in 251 (24%) of patients. Among the 300 patients with no lesions identified by SS, 188 (63%) had lytic lesions identified by CT, while in 60/740 (8%) patients with a positive SS did not have lytic lesions observed on the CT (p<0.0001). Overall, CT identified lytic lesions in 868 (84%) patients compared with 740 (71%) patients with lytic lesions seen on SS. Although the proportion of lytic lesions was slightly higher with PET compared to WBLDCT, the analysis did not reach statistical significance (65% vs. 56%; p = 0.17; Table 1a). After restricting the analysis to those with ≤6 months gap between low dose CT and SS (n=737), the result did not change (Table 1b). Further examination demonstrated that presence of lytic lesions by SS had no impact on OS from diagnosis, detection of lesions on the CT exam was associated with an inferior survival (112 vs. 81 months, p<0.0001). (Figure 1) Conclusion: Skeletal survey has been the screening technique of choice for evaluation of bone involvement in MM for decades. However, CT based approaches have higher sensitivity with lytic lesions identified in a higher proportion of patients. The prognostic value of lytic disease is evident with CT based detection, again suggesting that this provides a more accurate estimate of the skeletal disease burden. Low dose CT rather than conventional radiographs should be the modality of choice for monitoring disease-progression and diagnosing active multiple myeloma. Disclosures Kapoor: Cellectar: Consultancy; Janssen: Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy, Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding; GlaxoSmithKline: Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria. Gertz:Abbvie: Other; Celgene: Other; Physicians Education Resource: Other: personal fee; Medscape: Other: personal fee, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Other: personal fee; Spectrum: Other: personal fee, Research Funding; Johnson and Johnson: Speakers Bureau; Teva: Speakers Bureau; Annexon: Other: personal fee; Research to Practice: Other; Sanofi: Other; Proclara: Other; DAVA oncology: Speakers Bureau; Springer Publishing: Patents & Royalties; Appellis: Other: personal fee; Amgen: Other: personal fee; Prothena: Other: personal fee; Aurora Bio: Other; Alnylam: Other: personal fee; Ionis/Akcea: Other: personal fee. Dispenzieri:Takeda: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Intellia: Research Funding; Alnylam: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding. Dingli:Alexion: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Sanofi-Genzyme: Consultancy; Millenium: Consultancy; Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Rigel: Consultancy; Apellis: Consultancy; Karyopharm Therapeutics: Research Funding. Lin:Merck: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Legend BioTech: Consultancy; Juno: Consultancy; Bluebird Bio: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy; Vineti: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; Sorrento: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gamida Cells: Consultancy. Kumar:Dr. Reddy's Laboratories: Honoraria; AbbVie: Other: Research funding for clinical trials to the institution, Consulting/Advisory Board participation with no personal payments; Takeda: Other: Research funding for clinical trials to the institution, Consulting/Advisory Board participation with no personal payments; Sanofi: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Janssen Oncology: Other: Research funding for clinical trials to the institution, Consulting/Advisory Board participation with no personal payments; Genentech/Roche: Other: Research funding for clinical trials to the institution, Consulting/Advisory Board participation with no personal payments; Merck: Consultancy, Research Funding; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy; Celgene/BMS: Other: Research funding for clinical trials to the institution, Consulting/Advisory Board participation with no personal payments; Amgen: Consultancy, Other: Research funding for clinical trials to the institution, Consulting/Advisory Board participation with no personal payments, Research Funding; Carsgen: Other, Research Funding; Cellectar: Other; MedImmune: Research Funding; Karyopharm: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Tenebio: Other, Research Funding; Genecentrix: Consultancy; Oncopeptides: Consultancy, Other: Independent Review Committee; IRC member; Kite Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding.