Adenylate kinase 4 promotes neuronal energy metabolism and mitophagy in early cerebral ischemia via Parkin/PKM2 pathway

Mitochondrial dysfunction is closely related to brain injury and neurological dysfunction in ischemic stroke. Adenylate kinase 4 (AK4) plays a critical role in energy metabolism and mitochondrial homeostasis. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated an important role of AK4 in mitochondrial dysfunction in the early cerebral ischemia. Early focal cerebral ischemia induced decrease of AK4 protein expression in ischemic hemispheric brain tissue in mice. Exposure of cultured primary neuron to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) also induced AK4 downregulation. Overexpression of AK4 in neuron using adeno-associated virus (AAV-AK4) in mice promoted neuronal survival reflected by decreased infarction volume and TUNEL staining. AK4 overexpression inhibited mitochondrial decline and downregulation of energy metabolism-associated proteins (p-AMPK and ATP1A3) induced by MCAO. Moreover, AK4 knock-in using lentivirus carried AK4 vector (LV-AK4) induced energy metabolism shift from glycolysis to oxidation in neuron. Using transmission electron microscope and western blot, we revealed that AK4 overexpression promoted mitophagy and mitophagy-associated proteins expression PINK1 and Parkin after MCAO. Mass spectrometry and co-immunoprecipitation revealed an interaction between AK4 and PKM2. Mechanistically, AK4 indirectly decreased PKM2 expression via enhancing its ubiquitination by increasing the interaction between PKM2 and its ubiquitin E3 ligase Parkin, and inhibits Parkin downregulation. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that AK4/ Parkin /PKM axis prevents cerebral ischemia damage via regulation of neuronal energy metabolism model and mitophagy. AK4 was a new target for intervention of early ischemic neuron injury.

A machine-learning model based on dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI for preoperative differentiation between hepatocellular carcinoma and combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma

AIM

To establish a machine-learning model based on dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to differentiate combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC) from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) before surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Clinical and MRI data of 194 patients with histopathologically diagnosed cHCC-CC (n=52) or HCC (n=142) were analysed retrospectively. ITK-SNAP software was used to delineate three-dimensional (3D) lesions and extract high-throughput features. Feature selection was carried out based on Pearson's correlation coefficient and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis. A radiomics model (radiomics features), a clinical model (i.e., clinical-image features), and a fusion model (i.e., radiomics features + clinical-image features) were established using six machine-learning classifiers. The performance of each model in distinguishing between cHCC-CC and HCC was evaluated with the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the area under the ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity.

RESULTS

Significant differences in liver cirrhosis, tumour number, shape, edge, peritumoural enhancement in the arterial phase, and lipid were identified between cHCC-CC and HCC patients (p<0.05). The AUC of the fusion model based on logistic regression was 0.878 (95% CI: 0.766-0.949) in the arterial phase in the test set, and the sensitivity/specificity was 0.844/0.714; however, the AUC of the clinical and radiomics models was 0.759 (95% CI: 0.663-0.861) and 0.838 (95% CI: 0.719-0.921) in the test set, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The fusion model based on DCE-MRI in the arterial phase can significantly improve the diagnostic rate of cHCC-CC and HCC as compared with conventional approaches.

Body mass index growth trajectories and body composition influencing factors: An ambidirectional preschooler cohort

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the present study was to explore the latent growth trajectory of body mass index (BMI) from birth to 24 months and comprehensively analyze body composition development influencing factor in preschool children.

METHODS

This ambidirectional cohort study was conducted in Tianjin, China, from 2017 to 2020, and children's regular medical check-up data from birth to 24 months were retrospectively collected. The growth models were used to fit BMI z-score trajectories for children aged 0-24 months. Crossover analysis and interaction model were used to explore the interaction of influencing factors.

RESULTS

We analyzed the growth trajectories of 3217 children, of these, 1493 children with complete follow-up data were included in the influencing factors analysis. Trajectories and parental prepregnancy BMI (ppBMI) were independent factors influencing children's body composition. When paternal ppBMI ≥24 kg/m2, regardless of maternal ppBMI, the risk of overweight and obesity in senior-class children was increased. The high trajectories played a partial mediating role in the association between paternal ppBMI and body composition in preschool children.

CONCLUSIONS

BMI growth in children aged 0-24 months can be divided into three latent trajectories: low, middle, and high. These trajectories and parental ppBMI were independent and interactive factors influencing children's body composition. The high trajectories played a partial mediating role in the association between paternal ppBMI and body composition in preschool children. It is necessary to pay attention to the BMI growth level of children aged 0-24 months, which plays an important role in the development of body fat in the future.

The Accumulative Effect of Multiple Postnatal Risk Factors with the Risk of Being Overweight/Obese in Late Childhood

Most past studies focused on the associations of prenatal risk factors with the risks of childhood overweight/obesity. Instead, more postnatal risk factors are modifiable, with less knowledge of their cumulative effects on childhood obesity. We analyzed data of 1869 children in an Australian birth cohort. Key postnatal risk factors included: maternal and paternal overweight/obesity during the child's infancy, tobacco exposure, low family socioeconomic score, breastfeeding duration < 6 months, early introduction of solid foods, and rapid weight gain during infancy. The risk score was the sum of the number of risk factors. The primary outcome is overweight/obesity in late childhood (11-12 years); secondary outcomes are high-fat mass index (FMI), body fat percentage (BF%), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Poisson regression models were used in the analyses. Children with higher risk scores had higher risks of overweight/obesity (p-for-trends < 0.001). After adjusting covariates, compared with those with 0-1 risk factors, children with 4-6 risk factors had 4.30 (95% confidence interval: 2.98, 6.21) times higher risk of being overweight/obesity; the relative risks for high FMI, BF%, and WHtR were 7.31 (3.97, 13.45), 4.41 (3.00, 6.50), and 6.52 (3.33, 12.74), respectively. Our findings highlighted that multiple postnatal risk factors were associated with increased risks of being overweight/obesity in late childhood.

A real-world observation on thrombopoietic agents for patients with cancer treatment-induced thrombocytopenia in China: A multicenter, cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Studies on various thrombopoietic agents for cancer treatment-induced thrombocytopenia (CTIT) in China are lacking. This study aimed to provide detailed clinical profiles to understand the outcomes and safety of different CTIT treatment regimens.

METHODS

In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, 1664 questionnaires were collected from 33 hospitals between March 1 and July 1, 2021. Patients aged >18 years were enrolled who were diagnosed with CTIT and treated with recombinant interleukin 11 (rhIL-11), recombinant thrombopoietin (rhTPO), or a thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-RA). The outcomes, compliance, and safety of different treatments were analyzed.

RESULTS

Among the 1437 analyzable cases, most patients were treated with either rhTPO alone (49.3%) or rhIL-11 alone (27.0%). The most common combination regimen used was rhTPO and rhIL-11 (10.9%). Platelet transfusions were received by 117 cases (8.1%). In multivariate analysis, rhTPO was associated with a significantly lower proportion of platelet recovery, platelet transfusion, and hospitalization due to chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia (CIT) than rhIL-11 alone. No significant difference was observed in the time taken to achieve a platelet count of >100 × 109/L and chemotherapy dose reduction due to CIT among the different thrombopoietic agents. The outcomes of thrombocytopenia in 170 patients who received targeted therapy and/or immunotherapy are also summarized. The results show that the proportion of platelet recovery was similar among the different thrombopoietic agents. No new safety signals related to thrombopoietic agents were observed in this study. A higher proportion of physicians preferred to continue treatment with TPO-RA alone than with rhTPO and rhIL-11.

CONCLUSIONS

This survey provides an overview of CTIT and the application of various thrombopoietic agents throughout China. Comparison of monotherapy with rhIL-11, rhTPO, and TPO-RA requires further randomized clinical trials. The appropriate application for thrombopoietic agents should depend on the pretreatment of platelets, treatment variables, and risk of bleeding.

PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY

To provide an overview of the outcome of cancer treatment-induced thrombocytopenia in China, our cross-sectional study analyzed 1437 cases treated with different thrombopoietic agents. Most of the patients were treated with recombinant interleukin 11 (rhIL-11) and recombinant thrombopoietin (rhTPO). rhTPO was associated with a significantly lower proportion of platelet recovery and platelet transfusion compared with rhIL-11.

Pneumonitis After Concurrent Chemoradiation and Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in Patients with Locally Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

AIMS

Pneumonitis is a common and potentially deadly complication of combined chemoradiation and immune checkpoint inhibition (CRT-ICI) in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC). In this study we sought to identify the risk factors for pneumonitis with CRT-ICI therapy in LA-NSCLC cases and determine its impact on survival.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a retrospective chart review of 140 patients with LA-NSCLC who underwent curative-intent CRT-ICI with durvalumab between 2018 and 2021. Pneumonitis was diagnosed by a multidisciplinary team of clinical experts. We used multivariable cause-specific hazard models to identify risk factors associated with grade ≥2 pneumonitis. We constructed multivariable Cox proportional hazard models to investigate the impact of pneumonitis on all-cause mortality.

RESULTS

The median age of the cohort was 67 years; most patients were current or former smokers (86%). The cumulative incidence of grade ≥2 pneumonitis was 23%. Among survivors, 25/28 patients had persistent parenchymal scarring. In multivariable analyses, the mean lung dose (hazard ratio 1.14 per Gy, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.25) and interstitial lung disease (hazard ratio 3.8, 95% confidence interval 1.3-11.0) increased the risk for pneumonitis. In adjusted models, grade ≥2 pneumonitis (hazard ratio 2.5, 95% confidence interval 1.0-6.2, P = 0.049) and high-grade (≥3) pneumonitis (hazard ratio 8.3, 95% confidence interval 3.0-23.0, P < 0.001) were associated with higher all-cause mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Risk factors for pneumonitis in LA-NSCLC patients undergoing CRT-ICI include the mean radiation dose to the lung and pre-treatment interstitial lung disease. Although most cases are not fatal, pneumonitis in this setting is associated with markedly increased mortality.

Protocol in a Day: An Educational Institutional Workshop for Protocol Development

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

The Protocol-in-a-Day (PIAD) workshop was developed to support junior faculty and residents with clinical trial protocol design, with the main goal of providing initial feedback during development to reduce time for review and approval from institutional oversight committees. Our objectives are to mentor and educate participants and to evaluate the time to institutional approval by oversight committees.

MATERIALS/METHODS

PIAD provided concurrent educational feedback on 6 key elements of trial design. These included: (1) regulatory aspects; (2) institutional scientific review committee (SRC) and institutional review board (IRB); (3) clinical research and data coordination (including nursing); (4) statistics; (5) correlatives including imaging, biospecimens, and health services research/patient-reported outcomes; and (6) operations. The average number of days from submission to IRB approval or study activation for PIAD protocols was compared to other protocols submitted between January 2018 - January 2022 within the Division of Radiation Oncology. Participants were also given a 15-question survey to assess their perspective of the impact of the workshop.

RESULTS

A total of 25 protocols went through the PIAD workshop between January 2018-January 2022. Of the 25 protocols, 7 (28%) were excluded from this study due to not being submitted possibly after participants benefited from education on the limitations of their design. Eighteen protocols were included in our final analyses. These protocols included phase II (n = 11), phase 1 (n = 5), and phase III (n = 2). At the time of this report, all protocols (n = 18) have received IRB approval and have been activated. Protocol elements that could impact study activation included protocols requiring investigational new drug (IND) approval (n = 8) and multicenter studies (n = 1). Analyzing the time of submission to request for activation showed a decrease in time for protocols that went through PIAD vs those that did not [PIAD protocols, 254 days vs All other protocols, 262 days]. Likewise, those who attended PIAD had a lower average time from submission to IRB Approval [ PIAD protocols, 40 days vs All other protocols, 59 days]. All participants (100%) of the PIAD workshop responded that the educational program "improved the overall quality of the study design." The most commonly cited changes were protocol language (n = 17), statistics (n = 15), consent language (n = 8), and study design (n = 8). Aspects participants identified as the most educational included mentorship from regulatory, clinical research finance, and IRB review.

CONCLUSION

PIAD from participant surveys provided high educational value in the areas of improving trial quality, language and statistical design. When analyzing the average time, from 'submission to IRB initial approval' and 'submission to activation', PIAD protocols had a shorter time for approval, and thus suggests PIAD is effective in improving the overall design of protocols.

Effectiveness and safety of human type 5 recombinant adenovirus (H101) in malignant tumor with malignant pleural effusion and ascites: A multicenter, observational, real-world study

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to analyze the effectiveness and safety of H101 in Chinese patients with malignant pleural effusion and ascites (MPE/MA) in the real world.

METHODS

This multicenter, observational, real-world study recruited patients with MPE/MA caused by malignant tumor receiving H101-containing treatment between January 2020 and June 2022. Effectiveness was evaluated by overall remission rate (ORR), and safety was evaluated based on adverse events (AEs). Subgroup analysis was performed on patients grouped according to tumor type, the volume of MPE and MA, and dosage of H101.

RESULTS

A total of 643 eligible patients were enrolled, and 467 received H101 monotherapy and 176 received H101 combined with chemotherapy. The ORR of total patients was60.3% with 388 case of PR. In the H101 monotherapy group, the decrease of MPE or MA was achieved in 282 (60.4%, PR) patients, 176 (37.7%, NC) patients showed no change in volume of MPE or MA, and nine (1.9%, PD) patients showed an increase, yielding an ORR of 60.4% (282/467). The ORR for the combination therapy group was 60.2% (106/176), with 106 cases of PR, 69 cases of NC and one case of PD. Subgroup analyses based on tumor type, volume of MPE and MA, and dosage of H101 all showed high ORR, approximately 60%. The main AEs associated with H101-containing regimens were fever, nausea and vomiting. No serious AEs occurred in both groups.

CONCLUSION

Encouraging clinical benefits and manageable toxicity of H101 against MPE/MA were preliminarily observed in the real-world clinical setting, indicating that the H101-containing regimen is reliable, safe, and feasible, providing a novel and effective option for the treatment of this disease.

Definitive Radiotherapy for Oligometastatic and Oligoprogressive Thyroid Cancer

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Local consolidative radiotherapy (LCT) for oligometastatic disease is a promising paradigm improving outcomes for various malignancies but has been underexplored for metastatic thyroid cancer. We hypothesize that LCT to distant sites with definitive RT doses can yield favorable outcomes and defer systemic therapy escalation for these patients.

MATERIALS/METHODS

We reviewed 96 thyroid cancer patients who received 175 LCT courses from 2010-2022 to 228 metastatic sites, including: thorax (45%), bone (40%), brain (6%), head/neck (5%), and abdomen (3%). Common prescriptions were 50-55Gy/4-5fxs or 56-70Gy/8-10fxs for lung; 52.5-60Gy/15fxs for mediastinum; and 18-24Gy/1fx or 27-30Gy/3fxs for bone. RECIST v1.1 and CTCAE v5.0 were used to define progression and toxicities, respectively. Outcomes were evaluated via Kaplan-Meier and associations examined via Cox proportional hazards modeling.

RESULTS

Median age was 63 years (range: 26-92), with 62 oligometastatic cases (total 1-5 sites) and 34 oligoprogressive (with 1-5 growing sites). Primary disease was controlled in all patients, with 39% receiving post-op RT and 66% prior RAI. Histologies included papillary (40%), anaplastic (25%), follicular (12%), medullary (9%), Hurthle (7%), and poorly-differentiated (7%). Median time from initial diagnosis to LCT was 3 yrs (IQR 1-8), and median follow-up from 1st LCT was 21 mos (IQR 9-51). Patients received an average 2 LCT courses (range 1-8) treating 1-4 sites. Median survival (OS) from 1st LCT was 9 yrs (95% CI = 5-14). On multivariable analysis (MVA), worse OS was associated with anaplastic histology (HR 4.6, p<.01), but longer OS was associated with prior RAI (HR 0.33, p = .02) and oligometastatic disease (HR 0.3, p = .01). For anaplastic histology, median OS was 1.2 years vs. 9.3 years for non-anaplastic; 3-yr OS was 36% vs. 88% (log-rank, p<.01). Five-year OS for oligometastatic cases was 75% vs 53% for oligoprogressive (log-rank, p = .04). Median progression free survival (PFS) from 1st LCT was 15.5 mos (95% C I = 11-20). On MVA for all LCT courses, time to any progression (TTP) was negatively associated with anaplastic histology (HR 1.7, p = .02) and 2nd or higher LCT course (HR 1.45, p = .05), but favorably associated with thoracic site (HR 0.49, p<.01). Following later LCT courses, median TTP was 11 mos vs 17 mos for initial LCT course (log-rank, p = .03). After LCT to lung/chest, TTP was 18.6 mos vs 9.5 mos for non-thoracic sites (log-rank, p<.01). Only 6% of failures occurred at previously treated lesions. Most LCT courses (67%) were without ongoing chemotherapy, while 25% entailed continuing the same regimen and 9% had planned treatment post-RT. There were 2 Grade 3 toxicities (pneumonitis and esophagitis) and no Grade 4-5 events.

CONCLUSION

With high local control rates and minimal toxicity, LCT can be a feasible strategy to defer systemic therapy escalation for oligometastatic and oligoprogressive thyroid cancer.

Long-Term Outcomes and Toxicity in Esophageal Cancer Patients after Neoadjuvant or Definitive Concurrent Chemotherapy with Proton Beam Therapy

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Proton-beam therapy (PT) is increasingly utilized over three dimensional-conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) photon irradiation for the treatment of various malignancies due to better toxicity reduction. We investigated the long-term outcomes and toxicity in esophageal cancer (EC) patients treated with PT as part of their neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiation followed by surgery (nCRT) or definitive concurrent chemoradiation (dCRT) treatment regimen.

MATERIALS/METHODS

All consecutively treated, American Joint Committee on Cancer 7th edition clinical stage I-IV EC patients from 2006 to 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Standard RT dose for most patients was 50.4 Gy/28 fractions. nCRT patients had surgery within 4 months post-RT. Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine overall survival (OS), locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) and distant metastatic-free survival (DMFS). Acute and chronic RT-related toxicities were graded with Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0.

RESULTS

There were 510 EC PT patients: 204 (40%) had nCRT and 306 (60%) had dCRT. Most lesions were located in the lower esophagus, of adenocarcinoma histology and treated with passive scatter PT. Overall median follow-up was 72 months. Median, 3- and 5-year OS for all patients were 43 months, 54.1% and 44.9%, respectively. Median LRRFS and DMFS were not reached. Esophagitis was the most common grade ≥3 (G3+) toxicity (59 patients; 28.9%, including a G4 and a G5 toxicity), followed by nausea (29 patients; 14.2%) and esophageal stricture (26 patients, 12.7%). With nCRT, median, 3- and 5-year OS were 80 months, 64.7% and 56.1%, respectively, while the median LRRFS and DMFS were not reached again. Their most common G3+ toxicity was esophagitis in 14 patients (6.9%) followed by nausea (8 patients; 3.9%). An nCRT patient developed G4 RT pneumonitis. Pathological complete response (pCR) was observed in 58 patients (28.4%). Surgery-related pulmonary, cardiac and gastrointestinal complications were reported in 38 (18.6%), 40 (19.6%) and 43 (21.1%) patients, respectively. dCRT patients had a median follow-up of 65 months, and median, 3- and 5-year OS of 32 months, 46.7% and 37.0%, respectively. Although the median LRRFS was not reached, the median DMFS was 74 months. The most observed dCRT G3+ toxicity was esophagitis (45 patients, 22.1%: including both G4 and G5 patients) and then esophageal stricture (23 patients, 11.3%). A dCRT patient developed G4 fistula.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, this is the largest single-institutional study on EC long-term outcomes and toxicity using PT. Our cohort reveals good outcomes and mostly mild CRT-related toxicities. Trimodality nCRT with protons demonstrates excellent outcomes relative to the CROSS trial (49.4 months) with identical pCR rate (29% in CROSS) and similar toxicity profile. nCRT with protons should be studied rigorously in the current randomized phase III trial NRG GI006.

Comorbidities and Their Impact on Treatment Tolerance and Outcome in Elderly NSCLC Patients Treated with Concurrent Chemoradiation Using Proton or Photon Followed by Immunotherapy

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

To investigate comorbidities and their impact on treatment tolerance and survival for elderly NSCLC patients treated with concurrent chemoradiation using proton beam therapy (PBT) or intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) followed by immunotherapy (IO).

MATERIALS/METHODS

This is a retrospective study in senior patients (≥ 65 years) with inoperable locally advanced- NSCLC (LA-NSCLC) who received concurrent chemoradiation (CRT) therapy followed by adjuvant IO. Comorbidities are listed in table 1 and scored according to hazard ratios (HRs) of death. Treatment tolerance and comorbidities were compared between modalities using Fisher's exact test. Association between comorbidities and treatment tolerance was analyzed using logistic regression; association between comorbidities and survival was analyzed by Cox proportional hazards regression.

RESULTS

Total 218 patients were included with median age of 72 (range 65-86) years. Fifty-three (24.3%) were PBT and 165 (75.7%) were IMRT. Majority patients were white ethnics, had stage III adenocarcinoma disease and good performance score, and received RT dose 60-66 Gy. The median follow-up time for the whole group was 23 months. A 97% of patients had ≥1, and 62% had ≥4 comorbidities. The combined comorbidity scores ranged from 0 to 25. No significant difference in comorbidities between modalities except IMRT had more patients with COPD (36% vs. 51%, p = 0.047). Rates of hospitalization and ER visit during CRT+IO were 28% and 5%, respectively. Rates of IO discontinuation and interruption were 55% and 8%, respectively. Patients received >6 months IO had significantly lower risk of death (HR: 0.25, p<0.001). No significant difference in treatment tolerance between modalities. In multivariable analysis, atrial fibrillation, pulmonary disease, and depression were the comorbidities associated with hospitalization during CRT+IO (p<0.05); dementia was the comorbidity associated with IO interruption (p = 0.042); heart failure, COPD, asthma, osteoporosis and HIV were the comorbidities associated with poor OS (p<0.05). Combined comorbidity score was associated with OS with HR of 1.13 (p<0.001) with adjustment of race, GTV and induction chemotherapy.

CONCLUSION

Comorbidities were associated with hospitalization and IO interruption during the whole course of CRT and IO therapy, with increased IO discontinuation which negatively impacted survival. Evaluating and scoring comorbidities at diagnosis could be a useful method to predict risk of death before treatment start.

Comparing 90-Day Post-Operative Mortality after Neoadjuvant Proton-Based vs. Photon-Based Chemoradiotherapy for Esophageal Cancer

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Standard of treatment for locally advanced esophageal cancer consists of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by surgery. Evidence suggests that proton beam therapy (PBT) results in lower toxicity and fewer post-operative complications compared to photon-based radiotherapy (RT). Mortality in the first 90 days after surgery is a rare event occurring in 2-8% of patients, with higher reported rates (of up to 17%) in older patients. This 90-day mortality (90DM) rate is an important measure of post-operative (non-oncologic) mortality as a proxy of quality of care. We hypothesize that PBT could reduce the incidence of 90DM compared to photon-based RT.

MATERIALS/METHODS

From a single-center retrospectively acquired database patients with esophageal cancer treated with neoadjuvant CRT and esophagectomy in 1998-2022 were selected. Univariable logistic regression analyses were used to study the associations of RT modality and other patient- and treatment-related characteristics with 90DM. Subsequently, 3 separate methods were applied to adjust for confounding bias. These included multivariable logistic regression, 1:1 nearest-neighbor propensity score matching (PSM), and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). Finally, stratified analyses for patient groups aged ≥67 vs. <67 years were performed.

RESULTS

A total of 894 eligible patients were included (PBT, n = 202; photon-based RT, n = 692). PBT patients had a significantly higher age, better performance score, and a higher number of comorbidities. The 90DM rate was 5 (2.5%) in the PBT group and 29 (4.2%) in the photon-based RT group (p = 0.262). Significant univariable predictors of 90DM included higher age and tumor location. After multivariable adjustment, PBT vs. photon therapy was not significantly associated with 90DM (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.18-1.31). The 90DM rates in the PSM cohort (n = 181 vs. n = 181) were 2.8% for PBT and 3.3% for photon-based RT (p = 0.379). The 90DM rates in the IPTW cohort were 2.8% for PBT and 4.1% for photon-based RT (p = 0.427). In the full cohort, stratified analysis for age groups revealed that in patients aged ≥67 years, PBT was associated with a decreased risk of 90DM compared to photon-based RT (1.3% vs. 8.8%; p = 0.046), which was not the case in patients aged <67 years. In the PSM cohort, a comparable (but non-significant) difference was observed in favor of PBT in patients aged ≥67 years (i.e., 1.5% vs. 7.5%; p = 0.099). Within-group analyses in the original cohort demonstrated that a higher age significantly increased the risk of 90DM within the photon-based RT group (8.8% vs. 2.7% for age ≥67 vs. <67 years; p = 0.001), but not within the PBT group (1.3% vs. 3.2%; p = 0.398).

CONCLUSION

Post-operative 90DM after esophagectomy for cancer was not significantly different between PBT and photon-based neoadjuvant CRT. However, among older patients we observed a signal that PBT may reduce the risk of 90DM. Higher age increased the risk of 90DM in patients who underwent photon-based RT, but not in patients who underwent PBT.

Prospective Trial of Using Imaging to Predict Pathologic Response and Clinical Outcomes in Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Trimodality therapy with chemoradiation (CRT) followed by esophagectomy is the standard of care for locally advanced esophageal cancer. An unresolved question is whether pathologic complete response (pCR) can be assessed non-invasively for patients post-CRT. In this study, we assessed whether diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with MRI or PET can be used as predictors of pCR and other clinical outcomes after CRT.

MATERIALS/METHODS

Patients were enrolled on a single-arm institutional trial (PA13-0380) assessing the role of imaging in predicting outcomes in potentially resectable esophageal patients undergoing trimodality therapy. All patients received neoadjuvant CRT, and 29 patients had subsequent surgery. DWI MRI and PET scans were obtained at baseline, 2 weeks after the start of CRT (interim) and 4 to 6 weeks after completion of CRT (follow up). Apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) were calculated based on DWI images. Circulating tumor DNA was obtained for 27 patients post-radiation using CAPP-Seq. Mann-Whitney tests compared imaging changes associated with pCR. Discrimination of pCR by imaging changes was quantified by received operating characteristics. Youden's index was applied to select optimal thresholds. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to assess differences in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) by changes in DWI, PET, and ctDNA parameters.

RESULTS

Our cohort of 60 patients had a median follow up of 42.7 months, age of 65.4 yrs, and ECOG of 1 at completion of CRT. 90% were male, 58% had a history of smoking, and 85% were white. 83% had adenocarcinoma with the rest squamous cell carcinoma. Stages of the patients ranged from IIA to IIIB. All had moderately (47%) or poorly (53%) differentiated disease. All received 41.4-50.4 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions with the majority receiving 50.4 Gy (95%). 29 patients underwent surgery after CRT of which 8 (27.6%) had pCR. Mean ΔADC from baseline to mid-treatment was most associated with pCR (AUC = 0.98, p<0.001) for patients undergoing surgery. Max ΔADC from baseline to first follow-up was most associated with OS (p = 0.002) and PFS (p<0.001) for the whole cohort. 27 patients had ctDNA analyzed after RT with the presence of ctDNA significantly associated with worse OS (HR = 0.12, p = 0.05) and PFS (HR = 0.10, p = 0.002). Combining ctDNA and max ΔADC generated a model that was more predictive of OS and PFS than either alone. We found that neither the PET parameters of TLG or SUV max at baseline or changes in these parameters from baseline to mid-treatment or first follow-up were as predictive as DWI.

CONCLUSION

We show that changes in DWI is associated with pCR, OS, and PFS in resectable esophageal cancer patients undergoing CRT. DWI was more predictive than PET and a model combining DWI and ctDNA was the most predictive of clinical outcomes. This study shows the significant promise of using DWI in potentially guiding treatment decisions in esophageal cancer patients and will require validation in a larger cohort.

A comparison of bioelectrical impedance analysis and air displacement plethysmography to assess body composition in children

Background

Accurate assessment of body composition (BC) is important to investigate the development of childhood obesity. A bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) device is portable and inexpensive compared with air displacement plethysmography (ADP) for the assessment of BC and is widely used in children. However, studies of the effectiveness of BIA are few and present different results, especially in pediatric populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the agreement between BIA and ADP for estimating BC.

Methods

The BC of 981 Chinese children (3-5 years) was measured using the BIA device (SeeHigher BAS-H, China) and ADP (BOD POD).

Results

Our results showed that BIA underestimated fat mass (FM) and overestimated fat-free mass (FFM) in normal weight children (P < 0.05), but the opposite trend was shown in children with obesity (P < 0.05). The agreement between FM and FFM measured by the two methods was strong (CCC > 0.80). The linear regression equation of 5-year-old children was constructed.

Conclusion

The SeeHigher BAS-H multi-frequency BIA device is a valid device to evaluate BC in Chinese preschool children compared with ADP (BOD POD), especially in 5-year-old children or children with obesity. Further research is needed to standardize the assessment of BC in children.

Impact of Early Life Factors on Metabolic Phenotypes of Obesity in Preschool Children

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the impact of factors in the first 1,000 days of life on metabolic phenotypes of obesity in preschool children in a cohort study.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We recruited 3-year-old children for the study. Early life factors included maternal age at delivery, maternal education, prepregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, gravidity, history of gestational diabetes mellitus, delivery mode, gestational age, family history of metabolic disorders, paternal education, annual family income, child sex, birth weight, and breastfeeding duration. According to BMI and metabolic status, children were classified as metabolically healthy (no metabolic risk factors) with normal weight (MHNW), metabolically unhealthy (one or more metabolic risk factors) with normal weight (MUNW), metabolically healthy with overweight or obesity (MHO), and metabolically unhealthy with overweight or obesity (MUO).

RESULTS

We recruited 3,822 children for the study, with 3,015 analyzed. Accelerated BMI z score growth rate between 6 and 24 months was associated with MHO (β = 0.022; 95% CI 0.009, 0.036) and MUO (β = 0.037; 95% CI 0.018, 0.056). Maternal overweight (odds ratio [OR] 3.16; 95% CI 1.55, 6.42) and obesity (OR 8.14; 95% CI 3.73, 17.76) before pregnancy and macrosomia (OR 2.47; 95% CI 1.32, 4.59) were associated with MHO, and maternal obesity before pregnancy (OR 6.35; 95% CI 2.17, 18.52) increased the risk of MUO.

CONCLUSIONS

Early life factors, such as maternal obesity and accelerated BMI growth rate between 6 and 24 months, were related not only to MHO but also to MUO. Children with these early life factors should be given interventions for weight control to prevent metabolic abnormalities.

HNF4G accelerates glioma progression by facilitating NRP1 transcription

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4γ (HNF4G) is considered to be a transcription factor and functions as an oncogene in certain types of human cancer. However, the precise functions and the potential molecular mechanisms of HNF4G in glioma remain unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to elucidate the role of HNF4G in glioma and the underlying mechanism. Western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) demonstrated that HNF4G was highly expressed in glioma tissues and cell lines. The overexpression of HNF4G in LN229 and U251 glioma cells promoted cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, and inhibited apoptosis, while the knockdown of HNF4G suppressed cell proliferation, cell cycle progression and tumor growth, and induced apoptosis. A significant positive association was detected between HNF4G and neuropilin-1 (NRP1) mRNA expression in glioma tissues. Bioinformatics analysis, chromatin immunoprecipitation-RT-qPCR and promoter reporter assays confirmed that HNF4G promoted NRP1 transcription in glioma by binding to its promoter. NRP1 overexpression facilitated glioma cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, and suppressed apoptosis in vitro, while the knockdown of NRP1 inhibited cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, and facilitated apoptosis. NRP1 overexpression reversed the effects induced by HNF4G knockdown on glioma cell proliferation, cell cycle progression and apoptosis. In summary, the present study demonstrated that HNF4G promotes glioma cell proliferation and suppresses apoptosis by activating NRP1 transcription. These findings indicate that HNF4G acts as an oncogene in glioma and may thus be an effective therapeutic target for glioma.

Validation of different personalized risk models of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: results of a randomized, double-blind, phase III trial of fosaprepitant for cancer patients treated with high-dose cisplatin

BACKGROUND

Highly emetogenic chemotherapy induces emesis in cancer patients without prophylaxis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a fosaprepitant-based triple antiemetic regimen for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients with solid malignant tumors, determine risk factors and externally validate different personalized risk models for CINV.

METHODS

This phase III trial was designed to test the non-inferiority of fosaprepitant toward aprepitant in cancer patients who were to receive the first cycle of single-day cisplatin chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was complete response (CR) during the overall phase (OP) with a non-inferiority margin of 10.0%. Logistic regression models were used to assess the risk factors of CR and no nausea. To validate the personalized risk models, the accuracy of the risk scoring systems was determined by measuring the specificity, sensitivity and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), while the predictive accuracy of the nomogram was measured using concordance index (C-index).

RESULTS

A total of 720 patients were randomly assigned. CR during the OP in the fosaprepitant group was not inferior to that in the aprepitant group (78.1% vs. 77.7%, P = 0.765) with a between-group difference of 0.4% (95% CI, -5.7% to 6.6%). Female sex, higher cisplatin dose (≥ 70 mg/m² ), no history of drinking and larger body surface area (BSA) were significantly associated with nausea. The AUC for the acute and delayed CINV risk indexes was 0.68 (95% CI: 0.66-0.71) and 0.66 (95% CI: 0.61-0.70), respectively, and the C-index for nomogram CINV prediction was 0.59 (95% CI, 0.54-0.64). Using appropriate cutoff points, the three models could stratify patients with high- or low-risk CINV. No nausea and CR rate were significantly higher in the low-risk group than in the high-risk group (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Fosaprepitant-based triple prophylaxis demonstrated non-inferior control for preventing CINV in patients treated with cisplatin-base chemotherapy. Female cancer patients without a history of alcohol consumption, with larger BSA and received high-dose cisplatin might be more vulnerable to CINV. Three personalized prediction models were well-validated and could be used to optimize antiemetic therapy for individual patients.

Radiation Therapy Decision Making Process and Operations for COVID-19 Positive Patients

Purpose/Objective(s)

A challenging clinical dilemma during the COVID-19 pandemic is management of cancer patients who test positive for COVID. Given the need to balance the risk of disease progression with the risk of transmission to other patients and staff, radiation therapy for these patients requires careful consideration and modification of standard workflows. It is also critical to develop processes to mitigate radiation treatment interruption, which can affect patient outcomes. The objective of this study was to report the clinical operations and outcomes for COVID positive patients receiving radiation therapy during the pandemic at a tertiary cancer center including 2 network locations.

Materials/Methods

During March 2020 to March 2022, the Radiation Oncology COVID committee (RO COVID) developed an integrated process to triage patients, provide treatment recommendations, and implement infection control procedures to safely deliver radiation therapy to COVID positive patients. Policies were created for each center with multidisciplinary input from infectious disease, radiation oncology, radiation therapy, and nursing. All COVID positive patients were presented to the RO COVID group and evaluated for clinical urgency, benefit with radiation, and life expectancy. If deemed necessary, a limited planned break or hypofractionated regimen was recommended to minimize staff exposure. We conducted a retrospective review of COVID positive patients with different primary malignancies treated through the COVID positive pathway.

Results

A total of 68 COVID positive patients were treated with the COVID positive pathway (HN 15, Breast 9, CNS 8, GU 8, GYN, 7, Thoracic 6, GI 5, HEME 5, PED 3, SARC 2). The median age was 57.1 years (IQR 45.8-63.4) and 47% were female. There were 39 patients (57%) who were asymptomatic and were tested for routine pre-radiation screening or due to concerns of COVID exposure. Twenty-three (34%) patients were treated with palliative intent and 8 (12%) were treated for an emergent indication (i.e., spinal cord compression, bleeding). Thirteen (19%) patients were receiving radiation treatment, had a treatment break (7-21 days), and then resumed their radiation course. All treatments were successfully completed without known nosocomial spread of COVID to staff or other patients. Among this heterogenous group of patients, 58 (85%) were alive with a median follow up of 2 months (IQR 0.5-7.5). COVID infection may have contributed to 3 out of 10 deaths (4% of total cohort). The remaining deaths were due to progression of disease or other non-COVID causes.

Conclusion

In this study, COVID positive patients were safely treated with radiation therapy through a comprehensive decision making and clinical operations pathway taking into account evolving COVID guidelines for three different variant surges. Although limited in follow up, patient outcomes are promising with few COVID-related deaths and low overall mortality rates, even with hypofractionated regimens.

Cardiovascular disease risk prediction via machine learning using mental health data

Background

Robust and accurate risk prediction models are much needed in cardiovascular disease. It is well-known that mental health is associated with the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. It is unknown whether mental health markers can enhance existing risk prediction models for cardiovascular disease.

Purpose

The main purpose of this study was to assess capability of mental health factors along with traditional risk factors to be used in cardiovascular predictive machine learning models, and to develop a combined machine learning approach using both traditional risk and psychological factors in 375,145 participants of the UK Biobank.

Methods

A comprehensive Pearson correlation analysis is carried out on UK Biobank data. Subsequently, an ensemble model containing decision tree, random forest, XGBoost, support vector machine (SVM), and deep neural network (DNN) classification approaches was built to predict cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in UK Biobank participants. The model was first trained using traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and subsequently trained using a combination of cardiovascular risk and psychological factors.

Results

The correlation analysis revealed that there is a correlation between CVD and mental health factors suggesting the potential of mental health application for machine learning models. Our ensemble machine learning model was able to predict CVD with an accuracy of 73.49% using CVD risk factors alone. However, by combining psychological factors with CVD risk factors in the training data, an improved accuracy of 95.70% was achieved. The accuracy and robustness of ensemble machine learning model outperformed any of five constituent learning algorithms alone.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that mental health assessment data along with traditional risk factors provides a powerful, safe and affordable machine learning model enrichment that can be used for state-of-the-art prediction of CVD.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.

Analysis and Comparison of Early Childhood Nutritional Outcomes Among Offspring of Chinese Women Under the Chinese 2021 and US 2009 Gestational Weight Gain Guidelines

IMPORTANCE

In 2009, the US National Academy of Medicine (NAM) released revised gestational weight gain (GWG) guidelines, which were established primarily for White North American women and may be unsuitable for Asian women. In 2021, the Chinese Nutrition Society (CNS) released its GWG guidelines, but their applicability requires re-examination.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the differences between the CNS and NAM recommendations for GWG in association with health outcomes in the offspring of Chinese women.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

In this bidirectional cohort study, children in China were recruited at age 3 years from 2017 to 2018, with 2 follow-up visits over the next 2 years (between September 2017 and September 2020). Information during pregnancy was retrieved from medical records. Data analysis was performed from October 2021 to January 2022.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

GWG was classified as insufficient, appropriate, or excessive according to the CNS and NAM guidelines separately. Children's height, weight, fat mass, fat-free mass, and percentage of body fat were measured at each visit. Body mass index, fat mass index, fat-free mass index, weighted κ score, risk ratio values, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of 3822 children (1996 boys and 1826 girls; mean [SD] age, 3.79 [0.30] years) were enrolled; after exclusions, 3170 term singleton children were recruited and were followed at 4 and 5 years of age. According to the CNS guidelines, the prevalence rates were 14.1% for insufficient GWG, 48.1% for appropriate GWG, and 37.9% for excessive GWG, whereas the rates according to NAM guidelines were 39.7% for insufficient GWG, 37.2% for appropriate GWG, and 23.1% for excessive GWG. The weighted κ value for the classification agreement between the 2 guidelines was 0.530 (95% CI, 0.510-0.550). For the appropriate GWG group, the rates for low nutritional levels did not differ between the 2 guidelines, but the rates for high nutritional levels were significantly lower under CNS guidelines than under NAM guidelines. When the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV with respect to the mothers who maintained appropriate GWG were used to estimate the nonhigh nutritional status of their offspring, generally higher values based on the CNS guidelines were found compared with those based on the NAM recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

These findings suggest that the GWG recommendations promulgated by the NAM are higher than the CNS guidelines, with the latter more suitable for Chinese women.