The Application of Clinical and Molecular Diagnostic Techniques to Identify a Rare Haemoglobin Variant.

Haemoglobin disorders represent a heterogeneous group of inherited conditions that involve at least one genetic abnormality in one or more of the globin chains, resulting in changes in the structure, function, and/or amount of haemoglobin molecules, which are very important for their related clinical aspects. Detecting and characterizing these disorders depends primarily on laboratory methods that employ traditional approaches and, when necessary, newer methodologies essential for solving a number of diagnostic challenges. This review provides an overview of key laboratory techniques in the diagnosis of haemoglobinopathies, focusing on the challenges, advancements, and future directions in this field. Moreover, many haemoglobinopathies are benign and clinically silent, but it is not uncommon to find unexpected variants during routine laboratory tests. The present work reported a rare and clinically interesting case of identification of haemoglobin fractions in an adult man by the determination of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) during a routine laboratory assessment, highlighting how the correct use of laboratory data can modify and improve the patient's clinical management.

The role of hypoxia and inflammation in the regulation of iron metabolism and erythropoiesis in COVID-19: The IRONCOVID study.

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) can be considered as a human pathological model of inflammation combined with hypoxia. In this setting, both erythropoiesis and iron metabolism appear to be profoundly affected by inflammatory and hypoxic stimuli, which act in the opposite direction on hepcidin regulation. The impact of low blood oxygen levels on erythropoiesis and iron metabolism in the context of human hypoxic disease (e.g., pneumonia) has not been fully elucidated. This multicentric observational study was aimed at investigating the prevalence of anemia, the alterations of iron homeostasis, and the relationship between inflammation, hypoxia, and erythropoietic parameters in a cohort of 481 COVID-19 patients admitted both to medical wards and intensive care units (ICU). Data were collected on admission and after 7 days of hospitalization. On admission, nearly half of the patients were anemic, displaying mild-to-moderate anemia. We found that hepcidin levels were increased during the whole period of observation. The patients with a higher burden of disease (i.e., those who needed intensive care treatment or had a more severe degree of hypoxia) showed lower hepcidin levels, despite having a more marked inflammatory pattern. Erythropoietin (EPO) levels were also lower in the ICU group on admission. After 7 days, EPO levels rose in the ICU group while they remained stable in the non-ICU group, reflecting that the initial hypoxic stimulus was stronger in the first group. These findings strengthen the hypothesis that, at least in the early phases, hypoxia-driven stimuli prevail over inflammation in the regulation of hepcidin and, finally, of erythropoiesis.

SARS-CoV-2 serology in 4000 health care and administrative staff across seven sites in Lombardy, Italy.

Lombardy is the Italian region most affected by COVID-19. We tested the presence of plasma anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in 3985 employees across 7 healthcare facilities in areas of Lombardy with different exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. Subjects filled a questionnaire to self-report on COVID-19 symptoms, comorbidities, smoking, regular or remote working, and the exposure to COVID-infected individuals. We show that the number of individuals exposed to the virus depended on the geographical location of the facility, ranging between 3 and 43%, consistent with the spatial variation of COVID-19 incidence in Lombardy, and correlated with family interactions. We observed a higher prevalence of females than males positive for IgG, however the level of antibodies was similar, suggesting a comparable magnitude of the anti-spike antibody response. IgG positivity among smokers was lower (7.4% vs 13.5%) although without difference in IgG plasma levels. We observed 11.9% of IgG positive asymptomatic individuals and another 23.1% with one or two symptoms. Interestingly, among the IgG positive population, 81.2% of subjects with anosmia/dysgeusia and fever were SARS-CoV-2 infected, indicating that these symptoms are strongly associated to COVID-19. In conclusion, the frequency of IgG positivity and SARS-CoV-2 infection is dependent on the geographical exposure to the virus and primarily to family rather than hospital exposure.

The antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 infection persists over at least 8 months in symptomatic patients.

BACKGROUND: Persistence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 viral infection may depend on several factors and may be related to the severity of disease or to the different symptoms. METHODS: We evaluated the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 in personnel from 9 healthcare facilities and an international medical school and its association with individuals' characteristics and COVID-19 symptoms in an observational cohort study. We enrolled 4735 subjects (corresponding to 80% of all personnel) for three time points over a period of 8-10 months. For each participant, we determined the rate of antibody increase or decrease over time in relation to 93 features analyzed in univariate and multivariate analyses through a machine learning approach. RESULTS: Here we show in individuals positive for IgG (≥12 AU/mL) at the beginning of the study an increase [p = 0.0002] in antibody response in paucisymptomatic or symptomatic subjects, particularly with loss of taste or smell (anosmia/dysgeusia: OR 2.75, 95% CI 1.753 - 4.301), in a multivariate logistic regression analysis in the first three months. The antibody response persists for at least 8-10 months. CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 infection induces a long lasting antibody response that increases in the first months, particularly in individuals with anosmia/dysgeusia. This may be linked to the lingering of SARS-CoV-2 in the olfactory bulb.

Association between cardiac troponin I and mortality in patients with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Severe pneumonia is pathological manifestation of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), however complications have been reported in COVID-19 patients with a worst prognosis. Aim of this study was to evaluate the role of high sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-TnI) in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: we retrospectively analysed hs-TnI values measured in 523 patients (median age 64 years, 68% men) admitted to a university hospital in Milan, Italy, and diagnosed COVID-19. RESULTS: A significant difference in hs-TnI concentrations was found between deceased patients (98 patients) vs discharged (425 patients) [36.05 ng/L IQR 16.5-94.9 vs 6.3 ng/L IQR 2.6-13.9, p < 0.001 respectively]. Hs-TnI measurements were independent predictors of mortality at multivariate analysis adjusted for confounding parameters such as age (HR 1.004 for each 10 point of troponin, 95% CI 1.002-1.006, p < 0.001). The survival rate, after one week, in patients with hs-TnI values under 6 ng/L was 97.94%, between 6 ng/L and the normal value was 90.87%, between the normal value and 40 ng/L was 86.98, and 59.27% over 40 ng/L. CONCLUSION: Increase of hs-TnI associated with elevated mortality in patients with COVID-19. Troponin shows to be a useful biomarker of disease progression and worse prognosis in COVID-19 patients.

Circulating biomarkers and cardiac function over 3 years after chemotherapy with anthracyclines: the ICOS-ONE trial.

AIMS: A multicentre trial, ICOS-ONE, showed increases above the upper limit of normality of cardiac troponin (cTn) in 27% of patients within 12 months after the end of cancer chemotherapy (CT) with anthracyclines, whether cardiac protection with enalapril was started at study entry in all (prevention arm) or only upon first occurrence on supra-normal cTn (troponin-triggered arm). The aims of the present post hoc analysis were (i) to assess whether anthracycline-based treatment could induce cardiotoxicity over 36 month follow-up and (ii) to describe the time course of three cardiovascular biomarkers (i.e. troponin I cTnI-Ultra, B-type natriuretic peptide BNP, and pentraxin 3 PTX3) and of left ventricular (LV) function up to 36 months. METHODS AND RESULTS: Eligible patients were those prescribed first-in-life CT, without evidence of cardiovascular disease, normal cTn, LV ejection fraction (EF) >50%, not on renin-angiotensin aldosterone system antagonists. Patients underwent echocardiography and blood sampling at 24 and 36 months. No differences were observed in biomarker concentration between the two study arms, 'prevention' vs. 'troponin-triggered'. During additional follow-up 13 more deaths occurred, leading to a total of 23 (9.5%), all due to a non-cardiovascular cause. No new occurrences of LV-dysfunction were reported. Two additional patients were admitted to the hospital for cardiovascular causes, both for acute pulmonary embolism. No first onset of raised cTnI-Ultra was reported in the extended follow-up. BNP remained within normal range: at 36 months was 23.4 ng/L, higher (N.S.) than at baseline, 17.6 ng/L. PTX3 peaked at 5.2 ng/mL 1 month after CT and returned to baseline values thereafter. cTnI-Ultra peaked at 26 ng/L 1 month after CT and returned to 3 ng/L until the last measurement at 36 months. All echocardiographic variables remained stable during follow-up with a median LVEF of 63% and left atrial volume index about 24 mL/m2 . CONCLUSIONS: First-in-life CT with median cumulative dose of anthracyclines of 180 mg/m2 does not seem to cause clinically significant cardiac injury, as assessed by circulating biomarkers and echocardiography, in patients aged 51 years (median), without pre-existing cardiac disease. This may suggest either a 100% efficacy of enalapril (given as preventive or troponin-triggered) or a reassuringly low absolute cardiovascular risk in this cohort of patients, which may not require intensive cardiologic follow-up.

Circulating MicroRNAs as Potential Predictors of Anthracycline-Induced Troponin Elevation in Breast Cancer Patients: Diverging Effects of Doxorubicin and Epirubicin.

Anthracyclines are anti-neoplastic drugs presenting cardiotoxicity as a side effect. Cardiac troponins (cTn) and echocardiography are currently used to assess cardiac damage and dysfunction, but early biomarkers identifying patients in need of preventive treatments remain a partially met need. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) represent good candidates, so we investigated their possible roles as predictors of troponin elevation upon anthracycline treatment. Eighty-eight female breast cancer patients administered with doxorubicin (DOX) or epirubicin (EPI) were divided into four groups basing on drug type and cTn positive (cTn+) or negative (cTn-) levels: DOX cTn-, DOX cTn+, EPI cTn- and EPI cTn+. Blood was collected at baseline, during treatment, and at follow-up. We identified plasma miRNAs of interest by OpenArray screening and single assay validation. Our results showed miR-122-5p, miR-499a-5p and miR-885-5p dysregulation in DOX patients at T0, identifying a signature separating, with good accuracy, DOX cTn- from DOX cTn+. No miRNAs showed differential expression in EPI subjects. Conversely, an anthracycline-mediated modulation (regardless of cTn) was observed for miR-34a-5p, -122-5p and -885-5p. Our study indicates specific circulating miRNAs as possible prediction markers for cardiac troponin perturbation upon anthracycline treatment. Indeed, our findings hint at the possible future use of plasma miRNAs to predict the cardiac responsiveness of patients to different anticancer agents.

Neutrophil, Platelets, and Eosinophil to Lymphocyte Ratios Predict Gleason Score Upgrading in Low-Risk Prostate Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: Several biochemical and clinical markers have been proposed for selecting patients for active surveillance (AS). However, some of these are expensive and not easily accessible. Moreover, currently about 30% of patients on AS harbor aggressive disease. Hence, there is an urgent need for other tools to accurately identify patients with low-risk prostate cancer (PCa). PATIENTS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 260 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy and were eligible for AS according to the following criteria: clinical stage T2a or less, prostate-specific antigen level < 10 ng/mL, 2 or fewer cores involved with cancer, Gleason score (GS) ≤6 grade, and prostate-specific antigen density < 0.2 ng/mL/cc. METHODS: Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the association of patient and tumor characteristics with reclassification, defined as upstaged (pathological stage >pT2) and upgraded (GS ≥7) disease. A base model (age, prostate-specific antigen, prostate volume, and clinical stage) was compared with models considering neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) or platelets to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte to lymphocyte (MLR), and eosinophil to lymphocyte ratio (ELR). OR and 95% CI were calculated. Finally, a decision curve analysis was performed. RESULTS: Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that NLR, PLR, and ELR upgrading were significantly associated with upgrading (ORs ranging from 2.13 to 4.13), but not with upstaging except for MLR in multivariate analysis, showing a protective effect. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that NLR, PLR, and ELR are predictors of Gleason upgrading. Therefore, these inexpensive and easily available tests might be useful in the assessment of low-risk PCa, when considering patients for AS.

Acute kidney injury after lung cancer surgery: Incidence and clinical relevance, predictors, and role of N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) frequently occurs in several medical and surgical settings, and it is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In patients undergoing lung cancer surgery, AKI has not been fully investigated. We prospectively evaluated the incidence, clinical relevance, and risk factors of AKI in patients undergoing lung cancer surgery. Moreover, we estimated the accuracy of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in the prediction of AKI. METHODS: Patients undergoing lung cancer surgery were included in the study. Plasma NT-proBNP was measured before and soon after surgery. Postoperative AKI was defined according to the Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) classification. RESULTS: A total of 2179 patients were enrolled. Of them, 222 (10%) developed AKI and had a more complicated in-hospital clinical course (overall complication rate: 35% vs. 16%; P < 0.0001), and a longer hospital stay (10 ± 7 vs. 7 ± 4 days; P < 0.0001). The incidence of AKI increased in parallel with the extent of lung resection. Among the independent predictors of AKI, serum creatinine (area under the curve [AUC] 0.70 [95% CI 0.67-0.74]) and NT-proBNP (AUC 0.71 [95% CI 0.67-0.74]) provided the highest predictive accuracy, and their combination further significantly improved AKI prediction (AUC 0.74 [95% CI 0.71-0.77]). No difference in AKI prediction was observed between preoperative and postoperative NT-proBNP (P = 0.84). CONCLUSIONS: Acute kidney injury occurs in 10% of patients undergoing lung cancer surgery, and it is associated with a high incidence of postoperative complications. The risk of AKI can be accurately predicted by the combined evaluation of preoperative serum creatinine and NT-proBNP.

Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity: A multicenter randomised trial comparing two strategies for guiding prevention with enalapril: The International CardioOncology Society-one trial.

BACKGROUND: Troponin changes over time have been suggested to allow for an early diagnosis of cardiac injury ensuing cancer chemotherapy; cancer patients with troponin elevation may benefit of therapy with enalapril. It is unknown whether a preventive treatment with enalapril may further increase the benefit. METHODS: The International CardioOncology Society-one trial (ICOS-ONE) was a controlled, open-label trial conducted in 21 Italian hospitals. Patients were randomly assigned to two strategies: enalapril in all patients started before chemotherapy (CT; 'prevention' arm), and enalapril started only in patients with an increase in troponin during or after CT ('troponin-triggered' arm). Troponin was assayed locally in 2596 blood samples, before and after each anthracycline-containing CT cycle and at each study visit; electrocardiogram and echocardiogram were done at baseline, and at 1, 3, 6 and 12-month follow-up. Primary outcome was the incidence of troponin elevation above the threshold. FINDINGS: Of the 273 patients, 88% were women, mean age 51 ± 12 years. The majority (76%) had breast cancer, 3% had a history of hypertension and 4% were diabetic. Epirubicin and doxorubicin were most commonly prescribed, with median cumulative doses of 360 [270-360] and 240 [240-240] mg/m2, respectively. The incidence of troponin elevation was 23% in the prevention and 26% in the troponin-triggered group (p = 0.50). Three patients (1.1%) -two in the prevention, one in the troponin-triggered group-developed cardiotoxicity, defined as 10% point reduction of LV ejection fraction, with values lower than 50%. INTERPRETATION: Low cumulative doses of anthracyclines in adult patients with low cardiovascular risk can raise troponins, without differences between the two strategies of giving enalapril. Considering a benefit of enalapril in the prevention of LV dysfunction, a troponin-triggered strategy may be more convenient.

Using biomarkers to predict and to prevent cardiotoxicity of cancer therapy.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiotoxicity is a common complication that may compromise the clinical effectiveness of anticancer therapy. The current standard for monitoring cardiac function detects cardiotoxicity only when a functional impairment has already occurred, not allowing for any early preventive strategy. Areas covered: A novel approach, based on the use of biomarkers has recently emerged, resulting in a very effective tool for early, real-time identification, and monitoring of cardiotoxicity. In particular, cardiac troponin elevation during chemotherapy allows to identify patients more prone to develop myocardial dysfunction and cardiac events. In these patients, use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, such as enalapril, has shown to be effective in improving clinical outcomes, giving the chance for cardioprotective strategies in a selected population. The authors reviewed the currently available data about the role of biomarkers in this setting. Expert commentary: Early identification of patients at high risk of cardiotoxicity by cardiac biomarkers - in particular troponin - provides a rationale for targeted preventive strategies against cancer therapy-induced left ventricular dysfunction and its associated clinical complications, with the advantage of limiting prophylactic therapy only to a restricted number of patients. Although the major international oncologic societies encourage this approach, some limitations to a routinely use of biomarkers still exist.

Squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) during follow-up of cervical cancer patients: Role in the early diagnosis of recurrence.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the potential benefit of routine squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) assessment during follow-up of patients after treatment for early cervical cancer with regard to early diagnosis of cancer recurrence before clinical signs and symptoms occur. METHODS: All clinical, pathological, and serological data of patients referred to the Department of Gynecologic Oncology between July 1999 and June 2014, were retrospectively collected and analyzed. The SCC-Ag levels of 197 patients with diagnosis of stage I or II cervical squamous carcinoma, were performed. RESULTS: In the univariate analysis, serum SCC-Ag was not significantly associated with grading (p=0.85), LVSI (p=0.95) and FIGO stage (p=0.83) but it was significantly associated with recurrence of disease (p<0.001). The Cox multivariate analyses showed that serum SCC-Ag level was an independent and statistically significant prognostic factor for OS and PFS. The median time interval between SCC-Ag test and diagnosis of recurrence were 0.3 and 1.8months for positive and negative SCC-Ag groups respectively (p=0.01). Considering patients with recurrence, no significant difference in terms of DFS and OS was found between women with high or low SCC-Ag levels. CONCLUSIONS: Serum SCC-Ag reflects the response to treatment, and rising antigen levels often precede the clinical detection of recurrent disease, and may lead to early diagnosis. However such an advantage does not seem to improve the cure rate of patients with elevated SCC-Ag levels, most likely due to the lack of curative salvage treatments.

Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation in High-risk Patients Undergoing Lung Cancer Surgery: The PRESAGE Trial.

OBJECTIVE: We performed a prospective, randomized clinical study to assess whether prophylactic treatment with metoprolol or losartan, initiated soon after lung cancer surgery in patients with elevated N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, reduces the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation. BACKGROUND: Postoperative atrial fibrillation is a well recognized complication after lung cancer surgery, with an incidence as high as 30%. Perioperative increase of NT-proBNP has been demonstrated to be a strong independent predictor of postoperative atrial fibrillation in this setting. METHODS: NT-proBNP concentration was measured 24 hours before surgery and soon after surgery in 1116 patients. Three hundred twenty (29%) patients showed a high NT-proBNP value and were enrolled: 108 were assigned to the metoprolol group, 102 to the losartan group, and 110 to the control group. RESULTS: Overall, the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation was 20% (n = 64); it was significantly lower in the metoprolol and losartan groups compared with the control group [6%, 12%, and 40%, respectively; relative risk 0.19, 95% confidence intervals (CIs), 0.09-0.37; P < 0.001 in the metoprolol group; and 0.29, 95% CI, 0.16-0.52; P < 0.001 in the losartan group). No significant difference was found when the metoprolol and losartan groups were directly compared (P = 0.21). CONCLUSIONS: A prophylactic treatment with metoprolol or losartan, initiated soon after lung cancer surgery in patients with high NT-proBNP levels, significantly reduced the occurrence of postoperative atrial fibrillation.

Identifying cancer patients at risk for cardiotoxicity.

Improvements in therapies have significantly changed survival of cancer patients. However, the clinical history and oncologic treatment put cancer patients at higher risk for developing cardiovascular problems. Anthracyclines, but also the targeted therapy and angiogenesis inhibitors, are all treatments associated with cardiotoxicity. The most common adverse event is a reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction that may progress to overt heart failure. Recognition of a cardiac impairment during or after a potential cardiotoxic treatment requires a stringent assessment of clinical symptoms and signs of heart failure associated with an evaluation of the left ventricular ejection fraction, which, however, detects the damage already installed. Circulating cardiac biomarkers are promising in detecting cardiotoxicity and will likely change the approach for identifying patients at risk.

Cardiac complications of chemotherapy: role of biomarkers.

OPINION STATEMENT: Both conventional and novel antineoplastic drugs may cause damage to the heart, ultimately affecting patients' survival and quality of life. In fact, the most frequent and typical clinical manifestation of cardiotoxicity, asymptomatic or symptomatic left ventricular dysfunction, may be induced not only by conventional cancer therapy, like anthracyclines, but also by new antitumoral targeted therapy such as trastuzumab. At present, left ventricular ejection fraction assessment represents the main standard practice for cardiac monitoring during cancer therapy, but it detects myocardial damage only when a functional impairment has already occurred, not allowing for early preventive strategies. In the last decade, a newer approach based on the measurement of cardiospecific biomarkers has been proposed, proving to have higher prognostic value than imaging modalities. In particular, cardiac troponin elevation during chemotherapy allows us to identify patients who are more prone to develop myocardial dysfunction and cardiac events during follow up. In these patients, the use of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, such as enalapril, has shown to be effective in improving clinical outcome, giving the chance for a cardioprotective strategy in a selected population.

TnI-Ultra assay measurements in cancer patients: comparison with the conventional assay and clinical implication.

The serial monitoring of cardiac troponin represents an effective approach for the early identification, assessment, and monitoring of chemotherapy-induced cardiac injury. Over the last few years new generations of troponin assays, referred to as sensitive and high sensitivity assays, able to detect very low concentrations of troponin, have been progressively released on different platforms. Some studies have assessed the comparability of the cTnI measurements with the new assays versus the conventional ones, but none of these in the oncological population. We compared the cTnI results determined on Stratus CS and ADVIA Centaur CP System in 70 breast cancer patients, for a total of 327 samples collected during different cycles of treatment. Correlation (Spearman = 0.732) and agreement (91.4%) between the assays were good (244 concordant negatives and 55 concordant positives), with a frequency of 8.6% discordant results among the cTnI measurements. Despite the well-known lack in the harmonization and standardization of the currently commercially available cTnI methods, we found a good clinical concordance of cTnI determination on both systems.

Recovery and time to growth of isolates in blood culture bottles: comparison of BD Bactec Plus Aerobic/F and BD Bactec Plus Anaerobic/F bottles.

BACKGROUND: This study was done to compare the growth of pathogens in paired aerobic/anaerobic blood culture bottles versus the use of only aerobic bottles, and to analyze the time to growth in both atmospheres. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the results of all blood cultures collected over a 2-y period for the diagnosis of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections or other severe infections in oncology patients. RESULTS: Among the 487 isolates, 174 (35.7%), all aerobic, grew only in the aerobic bottle; 250 (51.3%), all aerobic, grew in both bottles; and 63 (12.9%) grew only in the anaerobic bottle, of which 24 were anaerobic and 39 were aerobic microorganisms (8% of positive blood cultures). Of these 39 aerobic microorganisms, 12 were Gram-negative, 17 staphylococci (4 were Staphylococcus aureus), 5 streptococci, 2 Gram-positive bacilli, and 3 mixed growth. Though the mean time to positivity of pathogens grown in both atmospheres was significantly lower in the aerobic bottle than in the anaerobic bottle, in 71 cases (28.4%) the pathogens developed earlier in the anaerobic bottle than in the aerobic bottle - in 36 of these cases at least 1 h earlier, which is significant for starting targeted therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The use of paired aerobic/anaerobic blood culture bottles allowed the diagnosis of a percentage of bacteraemia due to either anaerobic or aerobic pathogens that would have been missed, as they grew only in the anaerobic atmosphere. Moreover in 8% of bacteraemia we identified a significant decrease in the time to detection, resulting in the opportunity to better manage the infections without an increase in costs.

Detection of squamous cell carcinoma antigen with two systems in the follow-up of patients with cervical cancer.

Since squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) testing became commercially available on the Architect platform, the previously established method on the Abbott IMx platform has been progressively replaced. Aim of this work was to compare SCC-Ag values obtained with the 2 methods. Clinical and laboratory data of 188 patients for whom SCC-Ag determination was requested, were reviewed. IMx was used to determine the levels of SCC-Ag from June 2007 to May 2009, while the Architect system was used from June 2009 to April 2011. Only patients consistently diagnosed with no evidence of disease, for whom at least 2 determinations with each analyzer were available were used. Comparison of the results obtained with the 2 systems was then performed. Mean values for SCC-Ag were 0.56 ng/mL (Standard Error (SE): 0.08) with the IMx method, and 1.08 ng/mL (SE 0.10) with Architect (p<0.0001). False positive results were found in 4.8% of patients with the IMx method and in 9.5% of patients with Architect (p=0.049). The values of SCC-Ag determined on the Architect platform are higher than those obtained on the IMx, with a higher percentage of false positive results.

The pitfalls of CA19-9: routine testing and comparison of two automated immunoassays in a reference oncology center.

We evaluated CA19-9 as a marker of various malignancies and compared the results of 2 commercial immunoassays. The Abbott ARCHITECT i2000 and Roche cobas 410 immunoassays were used on 500 consecutive samples to evaluate the frequency of positive results by cancer type and the correlation between assays. The patients were tested before or after surgery and/or during chemotherapy. The rate of results exceeding conventional thresholds was 92.3% in pancreatic cancer, 36.8% in gastric cancer, and ranged from 3.0% to 35.9% in other tumors. Agreement (90.6%) and correlation (R(2) = 0.865) between the 2 assays were good and the frequency of highly discordant results was low (6/500). In some cases, interference by heterophilic antibodies was demonstrated. The 2 methods were comparable in diagnostic accuracy and had good correlation but are not interchangeable. Patients should always be monitored for CA19-9 with the same method and it should be indicated in the report.

Role of biomarkers in cardioncology.

Cardiotoxicity is a serious adverse effect of anticancer drugs, impacting on quality of life and overall survival of cancer patients. According to the current standard for monitoring cardiac function, cardiotoxicity is usually detected only when a functional impairment has already occurred, precluding any chance of preventing its development. Over the last decade, however, a new approach, based on the use of cardiac biomarkers, has emerged, and has proven to be an effective alternative strategy for early detection of subclinical cardiac injury. In particular, the role of troponin I in identifying patients at risk of cardiotoxicity and of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in preventing left ventricular ejection fraction reduction and late cardiac events represent an effective tool for the prevention of this complication.