A Mobile App to Support Self-Management in Patients with Multiple Myeloma or Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Patients with blood cancer experience serious physical and emotional symptoms throughout their cancer journey. OBJECTIVE: Building on previous work, we aimed to develop an app designed to help patients with multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia self-manage symptoms and test it for acceptability and preliminary efficacy. METHODS: We developed our Blood Cancer Coach app with input from clinicians and patients. Our 2-armed randomized controlled pilot trial recruited participants from Duke Health and nationally in partnerships with the Association of Oncology Social Work, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and other patient groups. Participants were randomized to the attention control (Springboard Beyond Cancer website) arm or the Blood Cancer Coach app intervention arm. The fully automated Blood Cancer Coach app included symptom and distress tracking with tailored feedback, medication reminders and adherence tracking, multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia education resources, and mindfulness activities. Patient-reported data were collected at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks for both arms through the Blood Cancer Coach app. Outcomes of interest were global health (Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global Health), posttraumatic stress (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5), and cancer symptoms (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System Revised). Among participants in the intervention arm, satisfaction surveys and usage data were used to evaluate acceptability. RESULTS: Among 180 patients who downloaded the app, 49% (89) of them consented to participate and 40% (72) of them completed baseline surveys. Of those who completed baseline surveys, 53% (38) of them completed week 4 surveys (16 intervention and 22 control) and 39% (28) of them completed week 8 surveys (13 intervention and 15 control). Most participants found the app at least moderately effective at helping manage symptoms (87%), feeling more comfortable seeking help (87%), increasing awareness of resources (73%), and reported being satisfied with the app overall (73%). Participants completed an average of 248.5 app tasks over the 8-week study period. The most used functions within the app were medication log, distress tracking, guided meditations, and symptom tracking. There were no significant differences between the control and intervention arms at week 4 or 8 on any outcomes. We also saw no significant improvement over time within the intervention arm. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our feasibility pilot were promising in which most participants found the app to be helpful in managing their symptoms, reported satisfaction with the app, and that it was helpful in several important areas. We did not, however, find significantly reduced symptoms or improved global mental and physical health over 2 months. Recruitment and retention were challenging for this app-based study, an experience echoed by others. Limitations included a predominantly White and college educated sample. Future studies would do well to include self-efficacy outcomes, target those with more symptoms, and emphasize diversity in recruitment and retention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05928156; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05928156.

Advances in Immunology: A Cornerstone in Diagnosis and Therapy of Merkel Cell Carcinoma.

Merkel cell cancer (MCC) is a rare cutaneous malignancy arising from neuroendocrine cells. This rare but lethal malignancy (mortality greater than 30%) has also tripled in incidence over the last two decades. The role of immunodeficiency in pathogenesis of this rare malignancy is well established, with elucidation of viral pathogenesis by Merkel cell polyoma virus (MCPyV), a novel polyoma virus, in a majority of patients. Viral neoantigens while playing an important role in oncogenesis can also aid in early immunologic detection of recurrent disease. Viral neoantigens can also be targets for immunotherapy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have established role in frontline therapy in addition to recurrence of metastatic MCC. ICI therapy is being explored in adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings as well. We would like to illustrate curative potential of early diagnosis of recurrence and prompt use of ICI in treatment of oligometastatic disease in our case presentation.

From hybrid to fully remote clinical trial amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: Strategies to promote recruitment, retention, and engagement in a randomized mHealth trial.

Clinical trials worldwide were disrupted when the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. Most intervention trials moved to some form of remote implementation due to restrictions on in-person research activities. Although the proportion of remote trials is growing, they remain the vast minority of studies in part due to few successful examples. Our team transitioned Goals for Reaching Optimal Wellness (GROWell), an NIH-funded (R01NR017659) randomized control trial (RCT; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04449432) originally designed as a hybrid intervention, into a fully remote clinical trial. GROWell is a digital dietary intervention for people who enter pregnancy with overweight or obesity. Primary outcomes include gestational weight gain and six-month postpartum weight retention. Strategies that we have tested, refined, and deployed include: (a) use of a HIPAA-compliant, web-based participant recruitment and engagement platform; (b) use of a HIPAA-compliant digital health platform to disseminate GROWell and conduct study visits (c) interconnectivity of these two platforms for seamless recruitment, consent, enrollment, intervention delivery, follow-up, and study team blinding; (d) detailed SMS messages to address initial challenges with protocol adherence; (e) email notifications alerting the study team about missed participant surveys so they can follow-up; (f) remuneration using email gift cards with recipient choice of vendor; and (g) geotargeting social media campaigns to improve participation of Black Indigenous and People of Color Communities. These strategies have resulted in screen failure rates improving by 7%, study task adherence improving by an average of 20-30% across study visits, and study completion rates of 82%. Researchers may consider some or all of these approaches in future remote mHealth trials.

Lifestyle, glucose regulation and the cognitive effects of glucose load in middle-aged adults.

Interventions aimed at improving glucose regulatory mechanisms have been suggested as a possible source of cognitive enhancement in the elderly. In particular, previous research has identified episodic memory as a target for facilitation after either moderate increases in glycaemia (after a glucose drink) or after improvements in glucose regulation. The present study aimed to extend this research by examining the joint effects of glucose ingestion and glucose regulation on cognition. In addition, risk factors associated with the development of poor glucose regulation in middle-aged adults were considered. In a repeated measures design, thirty-three middle-aged adults (aged 35-55 years) performed a battery of memory and non-memory tasks after either 25 g or 50 g glucose or a sweetness matched placebo drink. To assess the impact of individual differences in glucose regulation, blood glucose measurements were taken on four occasions during testing. A lifestyle and diet questionnaire was also administered. Consistent with previous research, episodic memory ability benefited from glucose ingestion when task demands were high. Blood glucose concentration was also found to predict performance across a number of cognitive domains. Interestingly, the risk factors associated with poor glucose regulation were linked to dietary impacts traditionally associated with poor health, e.g. the consumption of high-sugar sweets and drinks. The research replicates earlier work suggesting that task demands are critical to the glucose facilitation effect. Importantly, the data demonstrate clear associations between elevated glycaemia and relatively poor cognitive performance, which may be partly due to the effect of dietary and lifestyle factors.

An anti-insulin-like growth factor I receptor antibody that is a potent inhibitor of cancer cell proliferation.

An antagonistic monoclonal antibody, designated EM164, has been developed which binds specifically to the human insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGF-IR) and inhibits the proliferation and survival functions of the receptor in cancer cells. EM164 was initially selected by a rapid cell-based screen of hybridoma supernatants to identify antibodies that bind to IGF-IR but not to the homologous insulin receptor and that show maximal inhibition of IGF-I-stimulated autophosphorylation of IGF-IR. EM164 binds tightly to IGF-IR with a dissociation constant K(d) of 0.1 nM, inhibits binding of IGF-I and antagonizes its effects on cells completely, and has no agonistic activity on its own. EM164 inhibits IGF-I-, IGF-II-, and serum-stimulated proliferation and survival of diverse human cancer cell lines in vitro, including breast, lung, colon, cervical, ovarian, pancreatic, melanoma, prostate, neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and osteosarcoma cancer lines. It also suppresses the autocrine or paracrine proliferation of several cancer cell lines. EM164 was the most potent antagonistic anti-IGF-IR antibody tested when compared with several commercially available antibodies. The in vitro inhibitory effect could be extended to in vivo tumor models, where EM164 caused regression of established BxPC-3 human pancreatic tumor xenografts in SCID mice. The antitumor effect of treatment with EM164 could be enhanced by combining it with the cytotoxic agent gemcitabine. These data support the development of EM164 as a candidate therapeutic agent that targets IGF-IR function in cancer cells.

Suicide Risk Assessment Training for Psychology Doctoral Programs: Core Competencies and a Framework for Training.

Clinical and counseling psychology programs currently lack adequate evidence-based competency goals and training in suicide risk assessment. To begin to address this problem, this article proposes core competencies and an integrated training framework that can form the basis for training and research in this area. First, we evaluate the extent to which current training is effective in preparing trainees for suicide risk assessment. Within this discussion, sample and methodological issues are reviewed. Second, as an extension of these methodological training issues, we integrate empirically- and expert-derived suicide risk assessment competencies from several sources with the goal of streamlining core competencies for training purposes. Finally, a framework for suicide risk assessment training is outlined. The approach employs Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) methodology, an approach commonly utilized in medical competency training. The training modality also proposes the Suicide Competency Assessment Form (SCAF), a training tool evaluating self- and observer-ratings of trainee core competencies. The training framework and SCAF are ripe for empirical evaluation and potential training implementation.

A protocol for a systematic review of research on managing behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia for community-dwelling older people: evidence mapping and syntheses.

BACKGROUND: Non-cognitive behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia affect up to 90% of people with dementia during the disease course and result in distress, increased carer burden, high service utilization and unwanted moves to care homes. Research has focused on long-term settings and has not considered people with dementia living at home and at different stages of the disease trajectory. Our aim is to review systematically the evidence concerning non-pharmacological strategies to minimise behavioural and psychological symptoms in community-dwelling older people with dementia. METHODS/DESIGN: Our approach is a two-stage co-design: a systematic mapping of the broad evidence around behavioural and psychological symptoms followed by an in-depth systematic review of studies of non-pharmacological interventions for behavioural and psychological symptoms from the perspective of their impact on community-dwelling older people with dementia and their carers. The review will include published literature involving a wide range of electronic databases using sensitive and comprehensive searches and lateral searching including checking citations.We will produce a descriptive map of the studies by design and by the focus of interventions and apply further inclusion criteria, developed in conjunction with lay experts, to select studies for an in-depth systematic review that will include independent quality assessment and detailed data extraction by two reviewers.The review process will be integrated with stakeholder meetings and a multidisciplinary expert advisory group to guide the review parameters and shape the research questions on the management of behavioural and psychological symptoms in people with dementia. Because studies are likely to be diverse in methodology and interventions, we will conduct a narrative synthesis of the in-depth systematic review. If appropriate, we will pool studies in a meta-analysis. We will explore review findings at both stages through focus groups and interviews with service providers, practitioners, people with dementia and carers. DISCUSSION: This integrated review in collaboration with key stakeholders will synthesise research evidence to identify appropriate interventions for effective management of behavioural and psychological symptoms that supports people with dementia living at home and their carers, and which reflects their priorities. It will make recommendations for research and practice. STUDY REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number: CRD42013004344.

Preliminary evidence that glucose ingestion facilitates prospective memory performance.

Previous research has found that the ingestion of glucose boosts task performance in the memory domain (including tasks tapping episodic, semantic, and working memory). The present pilot study tested the hypothesis that glucose ingestion would enhance performance on a test of prospective memory. In a between-subjects design, 56 adults ranging from 17 to 80 years of age performed a computerized prospective memory task and an attention (filler) task after 25 g of glucose or a sweetness-matched placebo. Blood glucose measurements were also taken to assess the impact of individual differences on glucose regulation. After the drink containing glucose, cognitive facilitation was observed on the prospective memory task after excluding subjects with impaired fasting glucose level. Specifically, subjects receiving glucose were 19% more accurate than subjects receiving a placebo, a trend that was marginally nonsignificant, F1,41 = 3.4, P = .07, but that had a medium effect size, d = 0.58. Subjects receiving glucose were also significantly faster on the prospective memory task, F1,35 = 4.8, P < .05, d = 0.6. In addition, elevated baseline blood glucose (indicative of poor glucose regulation) was associated with slower prospective memory responding, F1,35 = 4.4, P < .05, d = 0.57. These data add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that both memory and executive functioning can benefit from the increased provision of glucose to the brain.