Incidence, survival, pathology, and genetics of adult Latino Americans with glioblastoma.

Latino Americans are a rapidly growing ethnic group in the United States but studies of glioblastoma in this population are limited. We have evaluated characteristics of 21,184 glioblastoma patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute. This SEER data from 2001 to 2011 draws from 28% of the U.S. POPULATION: Latinos have a lower incidence of GBM and present slightly younger than non-Latino Whites. Cubans present at an older age than other Latino sub-populations. Latinos have a higher incidence of giant cell glioblastoma than non-Latino Whites while the incidence of gliosarcoma is similar. Despite lower rates of radiation therapy and greater rates of sub-total resection than non-Latino Whites, Latinos have better 1 and 5 year survival rates. SEER does not record chemotherapy data. Survivals of Latino sub-populations are similar with each other. Age, extent of resection, and the use of radiation therapy are associated with improved survival but none of these variables are sufficient in a multivariate analysis to explain the improved survival of Latinos relative to non-Latino Whites. As molecular data is not available in SEER records, we studied the MGMT and IDH status of 571 patients from a UCLA database. MGMT methylation and IDH1 mutation rates are not statistically significantly different between non-Latino Whites and Latinos. For UCLA patients with available information, chemotherapy and radiation rates are similar for non-Latino White and Latino patients, but the latter have lower rates of gross total resection and present at a younger age.

Temporal Association of Reduced Serum Vitamin D with COVID-19 Infection: Two Single-Institution Case-Control Studies.

(1) Background: Vitamin D supplementation has been proposed for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, but it is not clear if reduced serum vitamin D predisposes individuals to COVID-19 and/or is a secondary consequence of infection. This study assessed the temporal association between serum vitamin D and COVID-19 with two single-institution case-control studies through the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Health System. (2) Methods: This study included patients who tested positive for COVID-19 from 1 January to 30 September 2020 with serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) measured within 180 days of diagnosis. Patients were separated based on whether 25(OH)D was measured before (n = 107 cases, 214 controls) or after (n = 203 cases, 406 controls) COVID-19 diagnosis. COVID-19 infection status was the outcome variable in the pre-diagnosis study, whereas serum 25(OH)D level was the outcome variable in the post-diagnosis study. (3) Results: Serum 25(OH)D levels were not associated with the odds of subsequent COVID-19 infection (OR 1.0, 95% CI: 1.0 to 1.0, p = 0.98). However, COVID-19-positive individuals had serum 25(OH)D measurements that were 2.7 ng/mL lower than the controls (95% CI: -5.2 to -0.2, p = 0.03). (4) Conclusions: In our study population, serum 25(OH)D levels were not associated with the risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection but were reduced in subjects after COVID-19 infection. These results support the possibility that reduced serum 25(OH)D is a consequence and not a cause of COVID-19 infection.

Case series of outcomes in advanced cancer patients with single pathway alterations receiving N-of-One therapies.

Though advanced cancers generally display complex molecular portfolios, there is a subset of patients whose malignancies possess only one genomic alteration or alterations in one oncogenic pathway. We assess how N-of-One therapeutic strategies impact outcomes in these patients. From 12/2012 to 9/2018, 429 therapy-evaluable patients with diverse treatment-refractory cancers were presented at Molecular Tumor Boards at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego. The clinical benefit rate, defined by RECIST1.1, was assessed for patients with solid tumors who underwent next-generation sequencing (NGS) profiling revealing one genomic or pathway alteration, subsequently managed with N-of-One therapies. Nine of 429 patients (2.1%) met evaluation criteria. Using matched therapy indicated by NGS, the clinical benefit rate (stable disease ≥ 6 months/partial/complete response) was 66.7%. Median progression-free survival was 11.3 months (95% CI: 3.4-not evaluable). Thus, a small subset of diverse cancers has single pathway alterations on NGS testing. These patients may benefit from customized therapeutic matching.

Orientation and Training of New Biobank Personnel.

The personnel who operate a biomedical biobank should function as a unit to efficiently manage the numerous types of biospecimens that are to be utilized for both clinical and research purposes. Therefore, new staff must be appropriately trained before becoming fully integrated into the work environment. This chapter focuses on several key aspects to this training that should be completed by all personnel. This first step is an orientation where the new trainee is provided with the priorities and expectations of the biobank. The next and perhaps most important step is training on the various safety precautions. The trainee should learn how to protect patient privacy if human biospecimens are involved. They should gain a basic understanding of different types of biospecimens and their vulnerabilities to suboptimal storage conditions. The trainee must learn the various aspects of the day to day work which encompasses the methods and equipment needed for procuring, labeling, handling, tracking, storing, disbursing, and shipping biospecimens. They should become familiar with aspects of quality assurance.