Prognostic value of BRCA1 promoter methylation for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE

BRCA1 promoter methylation (BRCA1pm) is suspected to alter prognosis of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). We aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of this epigenetic modification.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective, monocentric study from 11/2006 to 08/2018. Patients with EOC and available status concerning somatic BRCA1/2 mutation and BRCA1pm were included. Three groups were defined: patients without BRCA1/2 mutation or BRCA1pm, patients with BRCA1/2 mutation and patients with BRCA1pm. BRCA1/2 mutations were analyzed in current care settings by next-generation sequencing (NGS). BRCA1pm analysis was assessed and quantified from bisulfite converted DNAs using fluorescent methylation specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and fragment analysis. All patients signed a consent form and the study was authorized by a Personal Protection Committee. Descriptive statistics were used to describe groups. Multivariate analysis was performed using the logistic regression model and including the variables that could be known at the time of diagnosis and that were significant at univariate analysis. Survival was compared between the groups. Kaplan-Mayer curves were used to express the differences in survival that were compared using log rank tests.

RESULTS

145 patients were included: 95 (65.5%) patients without BRCA1/2 mutation or BRCA1pm, 32 (22.1%) patients with BRCA1/2 mutation, 18 (12.4%) patients with BRCA1pm. Median survival was decreased in patients with BRCA1pm. Comparison of survival revealed a significant difference in overall survival (p = 0.0078) with a worse prognosis for patients with a BRCA1pm.

CONCLUSION

BRCA1pm in patients with EOC is an independent factor associated with a decreased overall survival.

SYNOPSIS

BRCA1 promotor methylation in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer is an independent factor associated with a decreased overall survival.

Spindle cell tumor with CD34 and S100 co-expression and distinctive stromal and perivascular hyalinization showing EML4-ALK fusion

Recently, a novel group of CD34+ and S100+ spindle cell tumors with distinctive stromal and perivascular hyalinization showing recurrent gene fusions involving RAF1, BRAF, NTRK1/2/3, and RET has been identified. ALK rearrangements have been rarely reported in this group of tumors. We report a 24-year-old woman with a 1.5-cm pink mass of the scalp. The tumor was made of spindle cells organized in fascicles or haphazardly arranged in a patternless architecture, with areas of stromal and perivascular hyalinization. The tumor cells diffusely expressed CD34 and S100, without SOX-10 expression. The tumor showed diffuse immunopositivity for ALK. RNA sequencing using next-generation sequencing (NGS) detected an EML4-ALK fusion. This case extends the spectrum of this newly described group of CD34+/S100+ spindle cell tumors at the molecular-genetic level. Dermatopathologists should be aware of this recent entity, as it may fall in the differential diagnosis of many other spindle cell tumors with CD34 expression. NGS-based techniques should be performed when facing spindle cell tumors with similar morphology and immunophenotype. Identification of kinase fusions is essential for the precise classification and better knowledge of these tumors, and for targeted therapy in rare aggressive cases.

RV Pacing Percentage

Introduction

Chronic right ventricular pacing (RVP) has been associated with dyssynchrony, leading to increased mortality. However, there have been discrepancies in previous reports in the effect of RVP levels.

Objective

To sub-stratify mortality risk by age for different RVP level groups within a large real-world ICD cohort.

Methods

Optum® de-identified electronic health records were linked to the Medtronic Carelink data to identify dual chamber ICD recipients (2007–2017). RVP level was based on median daily pacing during the first 90 days post-implant and categorized either into groups with a cutoff of 40%, or with groups of 0–9%, 10–19%, 20–29%, 30–39%, 40–49%, and 50–100%. The endpoint was death more than 90 days post-implant. Kaplan-Meier survival curves, log-rank tests, and Cox regression were used to analyze the relationship between RVP and risk of death.

Results

Among 14,832 ICD patients (median age 67; 74.0% male), there were 2,602 deaths within 10 years after implant. In unadjusted comparisons, high RVP (>40%) increased the risk of death relative to low RVP (≤40%) (p<0.001). This effect remained significant in older cohort (≥67 years old at implant) (p<0.001), but not in younger cohort (<67 years old) (p=0.955) (Figure). After controlling for age, gender, pacing mode, MI, SCA, HF hospitalization, diabetes, and renal dysfunction, similar or increased risk was associated with higher pacing groups relative to the 0–9% pacing group in the older cohort, but not in the younger cohort.

Conclusions

Our data from a large contemporaneous real-world source suggests that older age or characteristics associated with age make patients more sensitive to chronic RVP effects. These results help reconcile differences observed in prior studies.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Private company. Main funding source(s): Medtronic, Inc.

P1879Characterization of cardiac diagnostic care pathways by indication and physician specialty in a real-world dataset of 314,554 patients

Background

A variety of modalities exist for diagnosing cardiac arrhythmias via ambulatory ECG recording. These can range from short-term (i.e. ≤48 hours) holter monitoring, medium-term external monitoring for up to 30 days, and long-term monitoring via an implantable cardiovascular monitor (ICM).

Purpose

To quantify the prevalence of different diagnostic care pathways for cardiac arrhythmias in a large, real-world dataset.

Methods

A de-identified database of aggregated EHR data from 2015–2017 was used to identify patients with any procedure or service received for an ambulatory cardiac diagnostic monitor. Three categories of diagnostic monitoring technologies were identified: (1) Holter monitoring for up to 48 hours, (2) External ECG and event monitoring for up to 30 days via external loop recorder, mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT), or other external ECG recording device, and (3) ICMs. Patients with their first monitor in 2015 or later were selected. The number of patients that had their initial monitor in each of the different categories were quantified, as well as the number that followed a care pathway progression from shorter-term to longer-term monitoring. Patients were grouped by clinical history (syncope or ischemic stroke diagnosis codes in the 6 months prior) as well as by whether they had a clinical interaction with an electrophysiologist (EP) at any point in their care pathway.

Results

A total of 314,554 patients were identified with a mean follow-up duration of 340.1±232.5 days. The initial monitor type used across all patients was 68.8% holter, 27.7% extended holter/MCT/external loop recorder, and 3.5% ICMs. 5.1% of all patients received multiple categories of monitoring. 50,812 patients had a prior history of syncope, 46.4% of which were seen by an EP. 28,374 patients had a prior history of ischemic stroke, with 50.9% seen by an EP. The figure shows that patients seen by an EP are more likely to receive ICMs than those not seen by an EP (20.6% vs. 3.8% for syncope; 25.3% vs. 5.7% for stroke; both p<0.001). Patients seen by an EP are also more likely to receive multiple categories of progressively-longer monitoring than those not seen by an EP (10.4% vs. 4.6% for syncope; 8.3% vs. 4.0% for stroke; both p<0.001).

Conclusion

Cardiac diagnostic care pathways for syncope and ischemic stroke are significantly different between those patients that are seen by an EP versus those that are not. Relatively few patients overall received multiple types of cardiac diagnostic monitoring.

Acknowledgement/Funding

Medtronic

Identification of Positively and Negatively Selected Driver Gene Mutations Associated With Colorectal Cancer With Microsatellite Instability

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Recent studies have shown that cancers arise as a result of the positive selection of driver somatic events in tumor DNA, with negative selection playing only a minor role, if any. However, these investigations were concerned with alterations at nonrepetitive sequences and did not take into account mutations in repetitive sequences that have very high pathophysiological relevance in the tumors showing microsatellite instability (MSI) resulting from mismatch repair deficiency investigated in the present study.

METHODS

We performed whole-exome sequencing of 47 MSI colorectal cancers (CRCs) and confirmed results in an independent cohort of 53 MSI CRCs. We used a probabilistic model of mutational events within microsatellites, while adapting pre-existing models to analyze nonrepetitive DNA sequences. Negatively selected coding alterations in MSI CRCs were investigated for their functional and clinical impact in CRC cell lines and in a third cohort of 164 MSI CRC patients.

RESULTS

Both positive and negative selection of somatic mutations in DNA repeats was observed, leading us to identify the expected true driver genes associated with the MSI-driven tumorigenic process. Several coding negatively selected MSI-related mutational events (n = 5) were shown to have deleterious effects on tumor cells. In the tumors in which deleterious MSI mutations were observed despite the negative selection, they were associated with worse survival in MSI CRC patients (hazard ratio, 3; 95% CI, 1.1-7.9; P = .03), suggesting their anticancer impact should be offset by other as yet unknown oncogenic processes that contribute to a poor prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS

The present results identify the positive and negative driver somatic mutations acting in MSI-driven tumorigenesis, suggesting that genomic instability in MSI CRC plays a dual role in achieving tumor cell transformation. Exome sequencing data have been deposited in the European genome-phenome archive (accession: EGAS00001002477).

Use of moral discussion as an intervention with delinquents

Delinquents participated in 7 weekly small group discussions of their judgments in response to Kohlberg-type moral dilemmas. 13 boys' and 6 girls' stages of moral reasoning were assessed before and after these discussions. Premoral thought was reduced; most subjects either achieved or were in transition to stage 3 reasoning. Groups who stimulated strong participant involvement produced the most change in moral judgment. Data did not confirm the expectation that high levels of participation would lead to above average gains by individual subjects.

Angiographic features of malignant fibrous histiocytomas

The angiographic findings in 2 cases of metastatic fibrous histiocytoma are discussed. A lesion in the brain was completely avascular and displaced the surrounding vessels, whereas the renal lesions were hypovascular, usually well demarcated, sometimes exhibited beak formation, and demonstrated fine, corkscrew-like tumor vessels with delayed emptying but no tumor blush or early draining veins.

Kinetics and imaging characteristics of 99mTC-labled complexes used for bone imaging

Activity levels of 99TC-labeled compounds, 18F, and 85Sr were obtained at 1, 3, and 5 hr. postinjection in normal and healing fractured bone and in soft-tissue rat specimens. Serial diagnostic bone images and blood and urine kinetics were obtained in patients with each of the TC-labeled compounds. Computer-processed images were used to evaluate in vivo kinetics. 99mTC pyrophosphate provides the best overall characteristics for bone imaging. Improved quality and bioassay procedures are required, however, before any one agent can be designated the radiopharmaceutical of choice for diagnostic bone imaging.

[The radiological manifestations of fibroxanthosarcomas (author's transl)]

The radiological findings in eight patients with fibroxanthosarcomas are described. In seven patients the primary tumour was in the soft tissues of the extremities or of the trunk. Infiltration of the primary tumour into a neighbouring bone, producing a "motheaten" appearance on the radiograph was seen in one case. A primary tumour in the mediastinum (one case cannot be distinguished radiologically from malignant lymphoma. Pulmonary metastases were found radiologically in five patients; in two they were solitary and in three patients there were multiple round foci measuring up to 8 cm. in diameter. Metastases in the lung hila and mediastinum were found only in the presence of pulmonary metastases (three cases). Pleural effusions developed in an advanced stage of the disease only (three cases). A solitary, purely osteolytic bone deposit was seen in two patients. Multiple metastases in the kidneys were hypo- or avascular, but some showed fine corkscrew vessels. On intravenous urography they could be demonstrated after reaching a considerable size (one case). A deposit in the jejunum presented as a small polyp. Two fibroxanthosarcomas developed as a second tumour within the operative field of a previous malignancy; one of these had been irradiated with 4,500 rads. All primary and secondary tumours showed extremely rapid growth. The palliative effect of radiation and chemotherapy was very variable.

Bronchial brush biopsy and primary lung carcinoma

Bronchial brush biopsy was performed on 100 patients with pulmonary lesions suspected of being malignant. Of 61 cases of proved carcinoma of the lung, in 44 or 72-1% brush biopsy yielded positive results. The technique used is described and an analysis of the results is presented.

Comparison of bronchial brushing and percutaneous needle aspiration biopsy in the diagnosis of malignant lung lesions

The results of 100 bronchial brushings and 80 percutaneous needle aspiration biopsies of the lung performed in the same department were analyzed for their accuracy in the diagnosis of pulmonary neoplasms. While both procedures have a high degree of reliability, the aspiration needle biopsy appears to be the procedure of choice in smaller, more peripheral lesions, in Pancoast tumors, and whenever a metastatic neoplasm is suspected.