The influence of complexity, chance and change on the career crafting strategies of SIEs

Purpose

Externalities influence the career trajectories of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) and their respective career crafting. This study aims to explore the international career crafting of SIEs (encompassing their proactive career reflection and construction), taking the combined external influences of complexity, chance and change into consideration.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a qualitative (interpretative) approach, combining career crafting and the chaos theory of careers (CTC) to further understand, from an individual standpoint, the impact of externalities on the career crafting strategies of 24 SIEs who have relocated within the European Union.

Findings

The authors show that SIEs' proactively craft their careers to varying degrees and with varying frequency. The CTC – incorporating complexity, chance and change – allows for a more nuanced understanding of SIEs' career crafting.

Originality/value

This paper applies the concept of career crafting to an international context, exploring the impact of externalities on SIEs' careers. In this way, the authors combine two previously separate theories, extend the application of career crafting to an international career context and emphasise the role of temporality and the whole-life view of career in SIEs’ career crafting approach.

Tumor fraction in cell-free DNA as a biomarker in prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Tumor content in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is a promising biomarker, but longitudinal dynamics of tumor-derived and non-tumor-derived cfDNA through multiple courses of therapy have not been well described.

METHODS

CfDNA from 663 plasma samples from 140 patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) was subject to sparse whole genome sequencing. Tumor fraction (TFx) estimated using the computational tool ichorCNA was correlated with clinical features and responses to therapy.

RESULTS

TFx associated with the number of bone metastases (median TFx = 0.014 with no bone metastases, 0.047 with 1-3 bone metastases, 0.190 for 4+ bone metastases; P < 0.0001) and with visceral metastases (P < 0.0001). In multivariable analysis, TFx remained associated with metastasis location (P = 0.042); TFx was positively correlated with alkaline phosphatase (P = 0.0227) and negatively correlated with hemoglobin (Hgb) (P < 0.001), but it was not correlated with prostate specific antigen (PSA) (P = 0.75). Tumor-derived and non-tumor-derived cfDNA track together and do not increase with generalized tissue damage from chemotherapy or radiation at the time scales examined. All new treatments that led to ≥30% PSA decline at 6 weeks were associated with TFx decline when baseline TFx was >7%; however, TFx in patients being subsequently maintained on secondary hormonal therapy was quite dynamic.

CONCLUSION

TFx correlates with clinical features associated with overall survival in CRPC, and TFx decline is a promising biomarker for initial therapeutic response.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) protocol no. 18-135.

FUNDING

Wong Family Award in Translational Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute Medical Oncology grant, Gerstner Family Foundation, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Koch Institute Support (core) grant P30-CA14051 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Tumor fraction in circulating free DNA as a biomarker of disease dynamics in metastatic prostate cancer

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Background: Quantification of circulating free DNA (cfDNA) has been proposed both as a prognostic biomarker and as a biomarker of response and resistance to therapy. However, dynamics of cfDNA derived from both tumor and non-cancerous tissues through dense longitudinal monitoring over the course of treatment with multiple therapeutic modalities have not been well described. Methods: CfDNA isolated from banked and prospectively collected plasma samples from pts with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) was subject to ultra-low pass (~0.1x coverage) whole genome sequencing (ULP-WGS). The fraction of cfDNA derived from tumor rather than non-cancerous tissues (i.e. the tumor fraction, or TFx) in each sample was estimated using a novel computational tool called ichorCNA, and was correlated with clinical features and response to therapy. Results: 663 plasma samples from 140 pts were included (median 3 samples/pt; range 1-20). TFx was correlated with the number of bone metastases (median TFx = 0.014 with no bone mets, 0.047 with 1-3, 0.190 for 4+), and with the presence of distant visceral mets (p < 0.0001). In multi-variate analysis, TFx was positively correlated with Alk Phos (p = 0.0227) and negatively correlated with Hgb (p < 0.001), but was not correlated with PSA (p = 0.75). All new treatment starts leading to > = 30% PSA decline at > = 6 weeks were associated with a decline in TFx from baseline when baseline TFx was > 7% (median TFx change -92.2%, range -70.3% to -100%); however, TFx in patients being subsequently maintained on secondary hormonal therapy without radiographic progression was quite dynamic. The total yield of cfDNA derived from both tumor and non-cancerous tissues tracked closely with TFx, and did not markedly change with initiation of therapies expected to lead to generalized tissue damage, such as chemotherapy and radiation, over the time scales examined. Conclusions: Decline in TFx is a promising biomarker for initial response to therapy, but subsequent temporary rises in TFx do not necessarily indicate the cessation of clinical benefit from secondary hormonal therapies. Analysis of cfDNA may allow a window into short-term tumor dynamics not easily assayed through other methods.

The association between germline BRCA2 variants and sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy among men with metastatic prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer 2 (BRCA2)-associated breast and ovarian cancers are sensitive to platinum-based chemotherapy. It is unknown whether BRCA2-associated prostate cancer responds favorably to such treatment.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of a single-institution cohort of men with castration-resistant, metastatic prostate cancer was performed to determine the association between carrier status of pathogenic BRCA2 germline variants and prostate-specific antigen response to carboplatin-based chemotherapy. From 2001 through 2015, 8081 adult men with prostate cancer who had a consultation and/or underwent treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute provided blood samples and consented to analyses of biologic material and clinical records. A subgroup of 141 men received at least 2 doses of carboplatin and docetaxel for castration-resistant disease (94% were also taxane refractory). These patients were categorized according to the absence or presence of pathogenic germline mutations in BRCA2 based on DNA sequencing from whole blood. The primary outcome was the response rate to carboplatin/docetaxel chemotherapy, defined according to a decline in prostate-specific antigen that exceeded 50% within 12 weeks of initiating this regimen. Associations between BRCA2 mutation status and response to carboplatin-based chemotherapy were tested using the Fisher exact test, with a 2-sided P value < .05 as the threshold for significance.

RESULTS

Pathogenic germline BRCA2 variants were observed in 8 of 141 men (5.7%; 95% confidence interval, 2.5%-10.9%). Six of 8 BRCA2 carriers (75%) experienced prostate-specific antigen declines >50% within 12 weeks, compared with 23 of 133 noncarriers (17%; absolute difference, 58%; 95% confidence interval, 27%-88%; P < .001). Prostate cancer cell lines functionally corroborated these clinical findings.

CONCLUSIONS

BRCA2-associated, castration-resistant prostate cancer is associated with a higher likelihood of response to carboplatin-based chemotherapy than non-BRCA2-associated prostate cancer. Cancer 2017;123:3532-9. © 2017 American Cancer Society.