The role of endobronchial ultrasound in central early lung cancer

Central early lung cancers (CELC) are tumors arising from the central airways, roentgenographically occult, which are usually diagnosed by bronchoscopy after a positive sputum cytology. Most CELCs are undetectable for conventional white light bronchoscopy (WLB) but can be identified under autofluorescence bronchoscopy (AFB). Although AFB increases the sensitivity of WLB in detecting CELC, its low specificity remains a problem. Surgery has been the most accepted treatment for CELCs; however 20-30% of patients suffering CELC tend to have multicentricities and usually present with poor cardiopulmonary status. Therefore, surgery is not suitable in most of the cases and other therapeutic options such as bronchoscopic treatments should be considered. Because most endoscopic treatments are unlikely to be curative if the tumor has spread beyond the bronchial cartilage, accurate evaluation of CELC bronchial wall invasion is critical before selecting a bronchoscopic treatment. Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) is a relatively new technique that has proven to be useful in the evaluation of the normal and cancer-invaded bronchial wall. Some authors have demonstrated that after adding EBUS assessment to AFB in autofluorescence-positive lesions the specificity increases from 50 to 90%. Other studies have focused on the ability of EBUS to detect bronchial wall invasion in patients with CELCs. They compared the EBUS images with pathological findings of surgical specimens of patients that underwent surgery; in most of the cases the correlation between EBUS and pathological findings increased over 90%. Furthermore, in patients not eligible for surgery, EBUS has proven to predict patients expected response to endoscopic treatments.

Anemia is a mortality predictor in hospitalized patients for COPD exacerbation

BACKGROUND

Anemia is a recognized prognostic factor in many chronic illnesses, but there is limited information about its impact on outcomes in patients hospitalized for acute COPD exacerbation (AECOPD).

AIM

To investigate whether anemia exerts an effect on mortality in patients admitted for AECOPD after one year of follow-up. Methods. From November 2007 to November 2009 we recruited 117 patients who required hospitalization due to an AECOPD. Clinical, functional and laboratory parameters on admission were prospectively assessed. Patients were followed up during one year. Mortality and days-to-death were collected.

RESULTS

Mean age 72 (SD ± 9); FEV₁ 37.4 (SD ± 12); mortality after 1 year was 22.2%. Mean survival: 339 days. Comparing patients who died to those who survived we found significant differences (p < 0,000) in hemoglobin (Hb) (12.4 vs 13.8 mg/dl) and hematocrit (Ht) (38 vs 41%). Anemia (Hb < 13 g.dl⁻¹) prevalence was 33%. Those who died had experienced 3.5 exacerbations in previous year vs 1.5 exacerbations in the case of the survivors (p = 0.000). Lung function and nutritional status were similar, except for percentage of muscle mass (%) (35 vs 39%; p = 0.015) and albumin (33 vs 37 mg/dl; p = 0.039). These variables were included in a Multivariate Cox Proportional Hazards Model; anemia and previous exacerbations resulted as independent factors for mortality. Mortality risk for patients with anemia was 5.9(CI: 1.9-19); for patients with > 1 exacerbation in the previous year was 5.9(CI: 1.3-26.5).

CONCLUSION

Anemia and previous exacerbations were independent predictors of mortality after one year in patients hospitalized for AECOPD.

Contribution of cell blocks obtained through endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration to the diagnosis of lung cancer

Background

Conventional smears of samples obtained by endobronchial ultrasound with real-time transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) have proven useful in lung cancer staging, but the value of additional information from cell-block processing of EBUS-TBNA samples has only been marginally investigated. This study focussed on the contribution of cell block analysis to the diagnostic yield in lung cancer.

Methods

Patients referred for lung cancer diagnosis and/or staging by means of EBUS-TBNA were enrolled, the adequacy of the obtained samples for preparing cell blocks was assessed, and the additional pathologic or genetic information provided from cell block analysis was examined.

Results

In 270 lung cancer patients referred for EBUS-TBNA (mean age, 63.3 SD 10.4 years) 697 aspirations were performed. Cell blocks could be obtained from 334 aspirates (47.9%) and contained diagnostic material in 262 (37.6%) aspirates, providing information that was additional to conventional smears in 50 of the 189 samples with smears that were non-diagnostic, corresponding 21 of these blocks to malignant nodes, and allowing lung cancer subtyping of 4 samples. Overall, cell blocks improved the pathologic diagnosis attained with conventional smears in 54 of the 697 samples obtained with EBUS-TBNA (7.7%). Cell blocks obtained during EBUS-TBNA also made epithelial growth factor receptor mutation analysis possible in 39 of the 64 patients with TBNA samples showing metastatic adenocarcinoma (60.1%). Overall, cell blocks provided clinically significant information for 83 of the 270 patients participating in the study (30.7%).

Conclusions

Cell-block preparation from EBUS-TBNA samples is a simple way to provide additional information in lung cancer diagnosis. Analysis of cell blocks increases the diagnostic yield of the procedure by nearly seven per cent and allows for genetic analysis in a sixty per cent of the patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma.

Representativeness of nodal sampling with endobronchial ultrasonography in non-small-cell lung cancer staging

The objective of our study was to determine the procedure-related requirements of mediastinal node sampling with endobronchial ultrasonography with real-time transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) that would provide negative predictive value (NPV) for the identification of stage III disease in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) high enough to consider the technique equivalent to cervical mediastinoscopy. Representative EBUS-TBNA was defined as a sampling procedure obtaining satisfactory samples from normal nodes in regions 4R, 4L and 7 or diagnosing malignancy in mediastinal nodes. NPV was estimated using the results of postsurgical staging in patients who underwent surgery as a reference. Two-hundred ninety-six patients staged with EBUS-TBNA were included. Representative samples from regions 4R, 4L and 7 showing nonmalignant cytology were obtained from 98 patients (33.1%) and EBUS-TBNA detected N2/N3 disease in 150 (50.7%). Accordingly, an EBUS-TBNA procedure accomplishing the representativeness criteria required for sampling was attained in 248 of the participating patients (83.8%). The NPV of the procedure in this setting was 93.6%, with false-negative results only found in 5 patients, four of them with nodal metastasis out of the reach of EBUS-TBNA (regions 5, 8 and 9). In conclusion, representative sampling of regions 4R, 4L and 7 is achieved in more than 80% of patients staged using EBUS-TBNA, and in the procedures that attain this requirement a NPV >90% for mediastinal malignancy is reached, a figure equivalent to cervical mediastinoscopy.

A phase I/II trial of non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, docetaxel and trastuzumab as first-line treatment in HER-2-positive locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer

AIM

To assess the activity and safety of non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Myocet®) in combination with docetaxel and trastuzumab as first-line treatment of patients with HER-2/neu-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The maximum tolerated dose of the combination was defined in the phase I part of the study. In the phase II part, 45 HER-2/neu-positive MBC patients were enrolled to receive 6-8 cycles of Myocet® 50 mg/m2 (day 1), docetaxel 30 mg/m2 (days 2 and 9) plus trastuzumab (day 2, 4 mg/kg followed by 2 mg/kg/week) every 21 d until unacceptable toxicity or progression occurred. Objective response (primary end-point) and treatment tolerability were assessed according to World Health Organisation criteria. Cardiotoxicity was defined as signs and/or symptoms of congestive heart failure and/or a decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

RESULTS

The overall response rate was 55.6% (complete response 8.9%, partial response 46.7%), with a median time-to-progression of 10.9 months (C.I. 8.7-15.0). Median overall survival was not reached. The most frequent grade 3-4 adverse events were granulocytopaenia (60.0%), leukocytopenia (43.2%) and alopecia (35.6%). Grade 3-4 diarrhoea, pain, oral and skin toxicity (4.4%, each) and nausea/vomiting, thrombocytopenia and elevated alkaline phosphatase (2.2%, each) were also reported. In 2 patients LVEF fell to <50%, with a decrease from baseline>15%. LVEF median values remained stable from baseline to the end of the study (60%).

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of Myocet®, docetaxel and trastuzumab is safe and shows promising activity as first-line treatment of HER-2-positive MBC.

Abstract P1-13-04: Immunohistochemical Evaluation of RANK/RANKL/OPG Axis and CXCR4 in Primary Breast Cancer and Their Role in Bone Metastasization

Background: The RANK/RANKL/OPG axis plays an important role in the bone metastasization process. CXCL12 is overexpressed in bone and, like its receptor, CXCR4, is a determinant of organ tropism. The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether the expression of these markers in primary breast cancer can predict the onset of bone metastases. Methods: Marker expression was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining in paraffin-embedded sections of primary breast cancers from 40 individuals: 10 patients (median age 64 years, range 48-78) showed no evidence of disease (NED — control group) at a median of 9.8 (range 6.9-11.5) years, while 30 (median age 67 years, range 42-87) had relapsed. In the latter group, 10 (median age 66 years, range 42-87) had visceral metastases (VM — control group) and 20 (median age 69 years, range 42-87) had bone metastases (BM — case group), both confirmed radiologically. The 3 patient subgroups (NED, visceral lesions, bone lesions) were matched for age classes (≥60 years, &gt; 60 years). The study design was reviewed and approved by the local ethics committee.

Results: In the overall series, 17.5% of tumors were positive for RANK, 22.5% for OPG and 25% for CXCR4. None of the patients expressed RANKL. RANK and OPG resulted equally expressed in 20% of NED patients, while CXCR4 was expressed in only 10% of this group. OPG was expressed in 20% of VM patients, whereas RANK or CXCR4 were not detected. RANK and OPG positivity was present in 25% of BM patients, while CXCR4 was expressed in 45% of cases. CXCR4 was the only marker with a significantly higher frequency of expression in bone metastases than in visceral lesions (p=0.013). Taking into consideration all the patients without bone involvement (NED plus VM patients), it was observed that CXCR4 expression, alone and in combination with RANK, significantly discriminated between BM patients and the control group (p=0.008 and P&lt;0.001, respectively). ER-positivity and HER2-negative status were observed in 80% and 95% of BM patients, respectively, but neither discriminated between cases and controls. Conclusions: In our study, ER-positivity and HER2- negativity identified a high percentage of bone relapse patients, but also highlighted patients who did not have bone involvement. RANK and CXCR4 expression, on the other hand, would appear to be a more accurate predictor of bone relapse. Such evidence could help to identify patients with a high probability of developing bone metastases, which can be treated with bisphosphonates or other bone-targeted therapies, such as denosumab, in an attempt to prevent distant metastases. Our results are currently being validated in a larger series of breast cancer patients.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-13-04.

Film-free laser forward printing of transparent and weakly absorbing liquids

A laser-based technique for printing transparent and weakly absorbing liquids is developed. Its principle of operation relies in the tight focusing of short laser pulses inside the liquid and close to its free surface, in such a way that the laser radiation is absorbed in a tiny volume around the beam waist, with practically no absorption in any other location along the beam path. If the absorbed energy overcomes the optical breakdown threshold, a cavitation bubble is generated, and its expansion results in the propulsion of a small fraction of liquid which can be collected on a substrate, leading to the printing of a microdroplet for each laser pulse. The technique does not require the preparation of the liquid in thin film form, and its forward mode of operation imposes no restriction concerning the optical properties of the substrate. These characteristics make it well suited for printing a wide variety of materials of interest in diverse applications. We demonstrate that the film-free laser forward printing technique is capable of printing microdroplets with good resolution, reproducibility and control, and analyze the influence of the main process parameter, laser pulse energy. The mechanisms of liquid printing are also investigated: time-resolved imaging provides a clear picture of the dynamics of liquid transfer which allows understanding the main features observed in the printed droplets.

First Report of Citrus viroid V in Moro Blood Sweet Orange in Iran

Viroids are nonencapsidated, small, circular, single-stranded RNAs that replicate autonomously when inoculated in their host plants in which they may elicit diseases (sensitive hosts) or replicate as latent infections (tolerant hosts). Citrus viroid V (CVd-V) was initially identified in Spain (1) and later found to be present in the United States, Nepal, and the Sultanate of Oman (2). CVd-V is a member of the Apscaviroid genus within the Pospiviroidae family. Like other members of this genus, CVd-V has a restricted host range but it is able to infect a wide range of citrus and citrus related species (1,2). Within the framework of a comprehensive survey of the sanitary status of the citrus industry in Iran, a sample from a private orchard of symptomless Moro blood sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) trees grafted on Mexican lime (C. aurantifolia) located at Javanan in the southern inland region was found to be infected with CVd-V. Briefly, RNAs of nucleic acid preparations from bark tissues were separated by 5% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), electrotransferred to positively charged nylon membranes, immobilized by UV cross-linking, and hybridized with a full length CVd-V specific digoxigenin (DIG)-labeled DNA probe (2). A positive identification of CVd-V was made in these extracts. This positive detection of CVd-V was confirmed by reverse transcription-PCR using CVd-V specific primers of opposite polarity (5'-GACGAAGGCCGGTGAGCAGTAAGCC-3') and (5'-GACGACGACAGGTGAGTACTTTC-3') corresponding to CVd-V positions 90 to 114 and 69 to 89, respectively. Analysis of the sequence of the 293-bp amplicon (Genbank Accession No. GQ466068) revealed 99% identity with the reference sequence (Genbank Accession No. NC010165) of CVd-V. The rod-like predicted minimum free energy secondary structure of this new variant has 68.3% paired nucleotides. The changes with respect to the reference CVd-V variant are: (i) a deletion (48→-U) located in a loop of the V domain; (ii) a substitution (155A→C) located in a loop of the T_R domain of the viroid secondary structure; and (iii) two compensatory substitutions located in the upper (46A→G) and lower (244U→C) strands of the viroid secondary structure. As shown earlier, the genome of CVd-V allows little variation with a large loop located in the segment I of the secondary structure (2) being the most amenable for mutations/changes. Among the viroids that have been found naturally infecting citrus, the members of the genus Apscaviroid are not associated with specific diseases but they cause a reduction of tree size and fruit harvest (3), an effect that is enhanced when several viroids coinfect the same plant (4). Therefore, the presence of CVd-V should be considered in further indexing tests aimed at the production and distribution of pathogen-free plants in Iran. References: (1) P. Serra et al. Virology 370:102, 2008. (2) P. Serra et al. Phytopathology 98:1199, 2008. (3) C. Vernière et al. Plant Dis. 88:1189, 2004. (4) C. Vernière et al. Phytopathology 96:356, 2006.

Relevance of Traditional CEA and CA15-3 and Bone Turnover Markers in Predicting Bone Relapse in Breast Cancer Patients

Background: Over 50% of breast cancer patients who relapse systemically develop bone metastases. The RANK/RANKL/OPG axis governs osteoclastogenesis and bone reabsorption. In particular, osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a decoy receptor of RANK-L (receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand) and seems to prevent bone destruction by blocking the binding of RANKL with its receptor. We studied the efficacy of circulating OPG compared to the traditional markers CEA and CA15-3 for the early detection of bone lesions.Methods: The study was carried out on peripheral blood from 72 patients with breast cancer, of whom 33 were disease-free and 39 had bone metastases. The OPG transcript was determined using quantitative PCR analysis, and the traditional markers were quantified by immunoenzymatic assays.Results: The OPG median value was higher in disease-free patients (median = 1.7, 0.4-8.9) than in bone-relapse patients (median = 0.6, 0.1-5.2) (p&lt;0.001). CEA and CA15-3 median values were 1.3 (0.0-8.3) ng/ml and 10.6 (0-45.7) U/ml, respectively, in disease-free patients and 4.8 (0.0-90.6) ng/ml and 69.8 (7-1538) U/ml, respectively, in patients with bone metastases (p&lt; 0.0001 for both markers). Considering 0.9 as cut off of OPG relative expression, our analyses revealed a specificity of 88% with respect to 97% for CEA and 94% for CA15-3. OPG sensitivity was 73% compared to only 49% for CEA and 67% for CA15-3. When OPG was considered in combination with the traditional markers, sensitivity increased from 49% to 83% for CEA and from 67% to 88% for CA15.3.Conclusions: Our results on a preliminary series of breast cancer patients indicate that the bone turnover marker OPG greatly increases CEA and CA15-3 sensitivity in predicting bone metastases.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 3027.

Successful Treatment of Disseminated Cerebritis Complicating Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Endocarditis Unresponsive to Vancomycin Therapy with Linezolid

A unique case of community acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) sepsis, with endocardial and cerebral metastatic seeding, caused by a strain representative of the Italian clone, is described. The patient was a 47-y-old man without apparent risk factors for endocarditis and for MRSA infection who developed coma with multiple cerebritis lesions under vancomycin plus amikacin therapy. He was eventually cured with the addition of linezolid to the initial antimicrobial regimen. This observation seems to confirm previous reports of the efficacy of linezolid for the treatment of central nervous system infections caused by multidrug resistant Gram-positive bacteria. To our knowledge, this is the first report of MRSA disseminated cerebritis, a nearly always fatal disease, cured with this oxazolidinone drug. The increase in community acquired MRSA may have some impact on empirical treatment of serious infections caused by this organism.

Effect of a Field-Source Mixture of Citrus Viroids on the Performance of 'Nules' Clementine and 'Navelina' Sweet Orange Trees Grafted on Carrizo Citrange

A field-source mixture of citrus viroids was characterized and shown to contain Citrus exocortis viroid (CEVd), Hop stunt viroid (HSVd), Citrus bent leaf viroid (CBLVd), and Citrus dwarfing viroid (CDVd). Sequencing results showed that: (i) CEVd contained the P_L and P_R characteristic of class A variants; (ii) HSVd was a noncachexia variant; (iii) CBLVd was related to CVd-Ia variants; (iv) CDVd was a mixture of two types (CVd-IIIa and CVd-IIIb) of variants. The presence of the same type of variants in inoculated clementine (Citrus clementina 'Nules') and sweet orange (C. sinensis 'Navelina') trees on Carrizo citrange (Poncirus trifoliata × C. sinensis) rootstocks was confirmed. The effect of infection was determined by assessing the performance of infected and noninfected trees growing in the field. Infection resulted in small trees with reduced canopy, yielding a reduced crop. Fruit characteristics were also affected: (i) clementine and sweet orange fruits from infected trees were larger than those from noninfected trees; (ii) clementine fruits from infected trees differed in shape from those of noninfected trees; (iii) sweet orange fruits from infected trees had maturity indexes and juice contents higher than those from noninfected trees; (iv) in both species, the density of the juice, the amount of soluble solids, and the acidity of the fruits from infected trees were lower than those of fruits from noninfected trees. Infected trees had a poorly developed root system with fibrous roots containing fewer amyloplasts than noninfected trees. The results of an in vitro assay on the induction and development of roots in cultured explants are discussed.

Molecular and biological characterization of natural variants of Citrus dwarfing viroid

Citrus dwarfing viroid has been proposed as an agent to control tree size in high-density plantations. Thirty-three field isolates have been characterized, and the most frequent sequence/s have been identified. Five distinct variants were selected for biological characterization. Symptom expression analysis demonstrated a good correlation between leaf/stem symptoms and plant growth. The discriminating nucleotide sequence differences included two deletions and an insertion resulting in a reorganization of the base pairing of the terminal left loop, two (G42 --> A and C52 --> U) changes found in one of the variants, and as many as thirteen changes located in the right and left regions flanking the CCR.

Randomized phase III trial of adjuvant epicirubicin (E) followed by cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF) or CMF followed by E in patients with N- or ≤ 3 N+ rapidly proliferating breast cancer (RPBC)

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Background: Antimetabolites are active in proliferating cells, and the adjuvant schedule CMF is highly effective in RPBC, whereas the sequential administration of doxorubicin (D) and CMF is superior to CMF–>D, especially in indolent tumors. In a phase III study, we evaluated whether adjuvant E followed by CMF is superior to the inverse sequence in RPBC. Methods: Patients with N-, T > 1 cm or ≤ 3 N+ and any T RPBC (defined by thymidine labeling index or grade or S-phase or Ki67/MIB1) were randomized to receive E (100 mg/m2 i.v. d 1, q 21 days for 4 cycles) followed by CMF (600, 40, 600 mg/m2 i.v. d 1 and 8, q 28 days for 4 cycles) (arm A) or CMF followed by E (arm B) or CMF (600, 40, 600 mg/m2 i.v. d 1 and 8, q 28 days for 6 cycles) (arm C). Arm C was closed after the EBCTCG 2000 meta-analysis (data not shown). The main endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the study had 80% power to detect a 7% absolute increase in 5-year OS with 400 patients per arm. Results: From November 1997 to December 2004, 1066 patients were enrolled (arms A/B/C: 440/438/188): N- 53%, estrogen receptor positive 63%, grade 3, 77%. At a median follow up of 69 months, 5-year disease-free survival was 80% in both arms (A and B) (p = 0.93, logrank test), with adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) 0.99 (95% CI 0.73–1.33, Cox model), and OS was 91% in arm A and 93% in arm B (p = 0.66, logrank), with AHR 0.88 (95% CI 0.58–1.35, Cox model). Adverse events were similar, apart from a small increase in grade 4 neutropenia in arm B. Conclusions: No relevant differences in clinical outcome were observed with the 2 different sequences. Further subgroup analyses are ongoing to verify the efficacy of each sequence as a function of biomolecular and hormonal profiles.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Potential usefulness of OPG, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, for the early diagnosis of bone metastasis in breast cancer patients

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Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent tumor in women. About 80% of patients with metastatic disease present bone involvement, in which the OPG/RANKL/RANK system would seem to play an important role. Our aim was to evaluate the potential usefulness of OPG bone marker for the early diagnosis of bone metastases. Methods: The study was carried out on 120 individuals: 30 healthy donors, with a median age of 40 years (21–76) and 90 breast cancer patients, with a median age of 57 years (30–86). Among patients, 49 were disease-free (median age 52 years) and 41 were at first diagnosis of bone metastases (median age 63 years). OPG transcript was determined in peripheral blood samples using quantitative PCR analysis. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the diagnostic accuracy of the marker. Results: OPG values were not correlated with age in any of the subgroups. The OPG median value was not statistically different in healthy donors (median=1.9; range 0.6–4.7) and disease-free patients (median=1.7; range 0.4–8.9), whereas it was threefold higher than that observed in relapsed patients (median=0.6; range 0.1–5.2; p<0.001), regardless of the number of metastatic sites. The area under the curve (AUC) in disease-free patients was 0.82 for OPG, with 71% sensitivity and 88% specificity, using a cut off ≤ 0.8. In a parallel analysis of 37 patients (14 disease-free and 23 with bone metastases) for whom CEA and CA15.3 information was available, specificity for each marker was 100%, whereas sensitivity was only 61% and 59%, respectively. When these markers were considered in combination with OPG, an increase in sensitivity, albeit not statistically significant, was observed for CEA (83%) and CA15.3 (82%). Conclusions: Our preliminary data show a potential role of the OPG bone turnover marker for the early diagnosis of bone metastases. Results now need to be confirmed in a larger case series.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.