The Impact of Radiation Therapy in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis and Head and Neck Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is considered a relative, or in some cases, absolute contraindication for radiation therapy for various cancers; however, radiation is the standard of care and the best option for tumor control for locally advanced head and neck (H&N) cancer. We present a case series to document postradiation outcomes in patients with SSc and H&N cancer. METHODS: Patients with SSc and H&N cancer treated with radiation were identified from the Johns Hopkisn Scleroderma Center and the University of Pittsburgh Scleroderma Center research registries. Through chart review, we identified whether patients developed predetermined acute and late side effects or changes in SSc activity from radiation. We further describe therapies used to prevent and treat radiation-induced fibrosis. RESULTS: Thirteen patients with SSc who received radiation therapy for H&N cancer were included. Five-year survival was 54%. Nine patients (69%) developed local radiation-induced skin thickening, and 7 (54%) developed reduced neck range of motion. Two patients required long-term percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy use due to radiation therapy complications. No patients required respiratory support related to radiation therapy. Regarding SSc disease activity among the patients with established SSc before radiation therapy, none experienced interstitial lung disease progression in the postradiation period. After radiation, one patient had worsening skin disease outside the radiation field; however, this patient was within the first year of SSc, when progressive skin disease is expected. Treatment strategies to prevent radiation fibrosis included pentoxifylline, amifostine, and vitamin E, while intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) was used to treat it. CONCLUSION: Although some patients with SSc who received radiation for H&N cancer developed localized skin thickening and reduced neck range of motion, systemic flares of SSc were uncommon. This observational study provides evidence to support the use of radiation therapy for H&N cancer in patients with SSc when radiation is the best treatment option.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in patients with cancer and pre-existing systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies have dramatically improved outcomes in multiple cancers. ICI's mechanism of action involves immune system activation to augment anti-tumor immunity. Patients with pre-existing autoimmune diseases, such as systemic sclerosis (SSc), were excluded from initial ICI clinical trials due to concern that such immune system activation could precipitate an autoimmune disease flare or new, severe immune related adverse events (irAE). In the present study, we report our experience with ICIs in patients with pre-existing SSc. METHODS: Patients with SSc who received ICI therapy for cancer were identified from the Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center Research Registry. Through chart review and prespecified definitions, we identified whether patients experienced worsening SSc activity or new irAEs. SSc disease activity worsening was pre-defined as an increase in modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS), new scleroderma renal crisis, progression of interstitial lung disease (ILD) on CT scan, increased Raynaud's phenomenon frequency or severity, new pulmonary hypertension, or myositis flare. IrAEs also included active inflammatory arthritis and dermatitis. RESULTS: Eight patients with SSc who received ICI therapy for cancer were included. Overall, SSc symptoms remained stable during and after ICI therapy. None of the patients with long-standing sine or limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc) had progressive skin thickening after ICI therapy. One patient, who was early in his diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) disease course, experienced worsening skin thickening and renal crisis. Three patients (38 %) experienced a total of five irAEs (grade 2: diarrhea, mucositis and dermatitis; grade 3: pneumonitis, and grade 4: nephritis). The patient with grade 4 nephritis developed scleroderma renal crisis and immune checkpoint related nephritis simultaneously. There were no deaths due to irAEs. CONCLUSION: In this study, ICI therapy was well tolerated in patients with longstanding, sine or lcSSc. IrAE were common but generally manageable. Patients with early, active SSc may be at greater risk from ICI therapy, but more research is needed.

Association between anti-SSSCA1 antibodies and cancer in systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To define the clinical phenotype of SSc patients with antibodies against Sjogren's syndrome (SS)/scleroderma autoantigen 1 (SSSCA1), and to examine the association between these antibodies and cancer in SSc patients. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study using data from 209 patients with SSc and cancer, and 205 SSc patients without cancer. All were randomly selected from the Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center Research Registry. Antibodies against SSSCA1 were assayed by immunoprecipitation of 35S-methionine-labelled protein generated by in vitro transcription and translation. We performed logistic regression analysis to examine the relationship between anti-SSSCA1 antibodies and cancer. RESULTS: Among the 414 study patients, 31 (7%) were anti-SSSCA1 antibody positive. Antibody-positive patients were more likely to have severe RP, a lower minimum ejection fraction, a trend towards more severe heart involvement and a lower baseline diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide percent predicted than anti-SSSCA1-negative patients. Patients with cancer were significantly more likely to be anti-SSSCA1 positive compared with those without cancer [22/209 (11%) vs 9/205 (4%), respectively; P = 0.018]. Among patients with cancer, there was a trend towards longer cancer-SSc interval in anti-SSSCA1-positive patients compared with anti-SSSCA1-negative patients. Patients with anti-SSSCA1 antibodies had an increased adjusted risk of cancer (odds ratio 2.46, 95% CI 1.06, 5.70) compared with anti-SSSCA1-negative patients. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest anti-SSSCA1 antibody status may be of utility as a cancer biomarker in SSc. Anti-SSSCA1-positive patients with SSc may be more likely to have severe Raynaud's and cardiac involvement.

Telemedicine in Adult Rheumatology: In Practice and in Training.

Many rheumatology providers, including fellows-in-training, responded to the immediate need for maintaining patient access to care via telerheumatology during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapidity of this transition did not permit an intentional approach to integrating fellow education and training into virtual patient care. Virtual patient care has since become an integrated, and perhaps, an embedded part of rheumatology practice that will likely endure beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the development of best practices in telerheumatology, including those for fellow education and training as these new entrants prepare to enter our workforce, will benefit the entire specialty. In this work, we seek to describe current models for training learners in virtual patient care, characterize existing barriers to virtual care models, and offer strategies to integrate telerheumatology into curriculum development and training.

Efficacy of Tocilizumab in Patients Hospitalized with Covid-19.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of interleukin-6 receptor blockade in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) who are not receiving mechanical ventilation is unclear. METHODS: We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving patients with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, hyperinflammatory states, and at least two of the following signs: fever (body temperature >38°C), pulmonary infiltrates, or the need for supplemental oxygen in order to maintain an oxygen saturation greater than 92%. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive standard care plus a single dose of either tocilizumab (8 mg per kilogram of body weight) or placebo. The primary outcome was intubation or death, assessed in a time-to-event analysis. The secondary efficacy outcomes were clinical worsening and discontinuation of supplemental oxygen among patients who had been receiving it at baseline, both assessed in time-to-event analyses. RESULTS: We enrolled 243 patients; 141 (58%) were men, and 102 (42%) were women. The median age was 59.8 years (range, 21.7 to 85.4), and 45% of the patients were Hispanic or Latino. The hazard ratio for intubation or death in the tocilizumab group as compared with the placebo group was 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38 to 1.81; P = 0.64), and the hazard ratio for disease worsening was 1.11 (95% CI, 0.59 to 2.10; P = 0.73). At 14 days, 18.0% of the patients in the tocilizumab group and 14.9% of the patients in the placebo group had had worsening of disease. The median time to discontinuation of supplemental oxygen was 5.0 days (95% CI, 3.8 to 7.6) in the tocilizumab group and 4.9 days (95% CI, 3.8 to 7.8) in the placebo group (P = 0.69). At 14 days, 24.6% of the patients in the tocilizumab group and 21.2% of the patients in the placebo group were still receiving supplemental oxygen. Patients who received tocilizumab had fewer serious infections than patients who received placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Tocilizumab was not effective for preventing intubation or death in moderately ill hospitalized patients with Covid-19. Some benefit or harm cannot be ruled out, however, because the confidence intervals for efficacy comparisons were wide. (Funded by Genentech; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04356937.).

Ambient Fine Particulate Matter, Outdoor Temperature, and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome.

Ambient air pollution and temperature have been linked with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Metabolic syndrome and its components-abdominal obesity, elevated fasting blood glucose concentration, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, hypertension, and hypertriglyceridemia-predict cardiovascular disease, but the environmental causes are understudied. In this study, we prospectively examined the long-term associations of air pollution, defined as particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 µm (PM2.5), and temperature with the development of metabolic syndrome and its components. Using covariate-adjustment Cox proportional hazards models, we estimated associations of mean annual PM2.5 concentration and temperature with risk of incident metabolic dysfunctions between 1993 and 2011 in 587 elderly (mean = 70 (standard deviation, 7) years of age) male participants in the Normative Aging Study. A 1-µg/m3 increase in mean annual PM2.5 concentration was associated with a higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 1.52), an elevated fasting blood glucose level (HR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.39), and hypertriglyceridemia (HR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.30). Our findings for metabolic syndrome and high fasting blood glucose remained significant for PM2.5 levels below the Environmental Protection Agency's health-safety limit (12 µg/m3). A 1°C increase in mean annual temperature was associated with a higher risk of developing elevated fasting blood glucose (HR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.56). Men living in neighborhoods with worse air quality-with higher PM2.5 levels and/or temperatures than average-showed increased risk of developing metabolic dysfunctions.