Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome: a study of 577 patients defines the genotype as a biomarker for disease severity and survival.

ABSTRACT: Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is a multifaceted monogenic disorder with a broad disease spectrum and variable disease severity and a variety of treatment options including allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and gene therapy (GT). No reliable biomarker exists to predict disease course and outcome for individual patients. A total of 577 patients with a WAS variant from 26 countries and a median follow-up of 8.9 years (range, 0.3-71.1), totaling 6118 patient-years, were included in this international retrospective study. Overall survival (OS) of the cohort (censored at HSCT or GT) was 82% (95% confidence interval, 78-87) at age 15 years and 70% (61-80) at 30 years. The type of variant was predictive of outcome: patients with a missense variant in exons 1 or 2 or with the intronic hot spot variant c.559+5G>A (class I variants) had a 15-year OS of 93% (89-98) and a 30-year OS of 91% (86-97), compared with 71% (62-81) and 48% (34-68) in patients with any other variant (class II; P < .0001). The cumulative incidence rates of disease-related complications such as severe bleeding (P = .007), life-threatening infection (P < .0001), and autoimmunity (P = .004) occurred significantly later in patients with a class I variant. The cumulative incidence of malignancy (P = .6) was not different between classes I and II. It confirms the spectrum of disease severity and quantifies the risk for specific disease-related complications. The class of the variant is a biomarker to predict the outcome for patients with WAS.

Estimands for overall survival in clinical trials with treatment switching in oncology.

An addendum of the ICH E9 guideline on Statistical Principles for Clinical Trials was released in November 2019 introducing the estimand framework. This new framework aims to align trial objectives and statistical analyses by requiring a precise definition of the inferential quantity of interest, that is, the estimand. This definition explicitly accounts for intercurrent events, such as switching to new anticancer therapies for the analysis of overall survival (OS), the gold standard in oncology. Traditionally, OS in confirmatory studies is analyzed using the intention-to-treat (ITT) approach comparing treatment groups as they were initially randomized regardless of whether treatment switching occurred and regardless of any subsequent therapy (treatment-policy strategy). Regulatory authorities and other stakeholders often consider ITT results as most relevant. However, the respective estimand only yields a clinically meaningful comparison of two treatment arms if subsequent therapies are already approved and reflect clinical practice. We illustrate different scenarios where subsequent therapies are not yet approved drugs and thus do not reflect clinical practice. In such situations the hypothetical strategy could be more meaningful from patient's and prescriber's perspective. The cross-industry Oncology Estimand Working Group (www.oncoestimand.org) was initiated to foster a common understanding and consistent implementation of the estimand framework in oncology clinical trials. This paper summarizes the group's recommendations for appropriate estimands in the presence of treatment switching, one of the key intercurrent events in oncology clinical trials. We also discuss how different choices of estimands may impact study design, data collection, trial conduct, analysis, and interpretation.

Real-world efficacy of docetaxel plus nintedanib after chemo-immunotherapy failure in advanced pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

Aim: This real-world analysis evaluated docetaxel plus nintedanib in patients with advanced pulmonary adenocarcinoma after chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitor failure, for whom treatment options are limited. Methods: Data were sourced retrospectively from seven German centers. Results: Of 93 patients, overall response rate was 41.4% (disease control rate: 75.9%). Of 57 patients given third-line docetaxel plus nintedanib, overall response rate was 50.0% (disease control rate: 82.7%). Median overall survival following third-line docetaxel plus nintedanib was 8.4 months. Adverse events were consistent with the known safety profile of docetaxel plus nintedanib. Conclusion: To date, this was the largest retrospective, real-world analysis of docetaxel plus nintedanib after chemotherapy-immunotherapy failure, indicating that docetaxel plus nintedanib offers meaningful clinical benefits in this setting.

Lay abstract The standard of care for patients with lung adenocarcinoma has advanced with the introduction of immunotherapy in the first-line setting. However, limited clinical data are available to help guide treatment decisions after failure of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Nintedanib is an oral antiangiogenic agent that is approved in the EU and other countries in combination with docetaxel for the treatment of patients with advanced/metastatic lung adenocarcinoma after first-line chemotherapy. This study is a retrospective, real-world analysis of docetaxel plus nintedanib in 93 patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma who progressed on immunotherapy (either in sequence or in combination with chemotherapy). The results suggest that docetaxel plus nintedanib offers a meaningful clinical benefit in this setting. Safety findings were generally consistent with the known safety profile of docetaxel plus nintedanib.

Haemolysis risk in methylene blue treatment of G6PD-sufficient and G6PD-deficient West-African children with uncomplicated falciparum malaria: a synopsis of four RCTs.

PURPOSE: Methylene blue (MB), which was recently tested in a number of clinical malaria studies in Burkina Faso, is currently investigated for its benefit when added to artemisinin-based combination therapy. Together with a number of other antimalarials, MB is on the list of drugs which potentially induce haemolysis in patients with G6PD deficiency. Ruling out safety concerns is of major importance during drug development. METHODS: A pooled analysis was performed with patient data from four clinical studies conducted in West African children with falciparum malaria between 2003 and 2007. The primary endpoints were haemoglobin levels over time as well as haemolysis in G6PD-deficient (n = 199) and G6PD-sufficient (n = 806) children treated with MB-containing (n = 844) compared to children without MB-containing (n = 161) drug regimens. RESULTS: In the chosen model, the haemoglobin time course was significantly influenced by the G6PD genotype and the MB dose. In children with hemi- or homozygous G6PD (A-) deficiency, MB treatment with 15 mg/kg per day was associated with a significant reduction in Hb values which reached a minimum of 8.5 g/dl. Two episodes of haemolysis occurred (out of 1005 children); one in a girl heterozygous for G6PD deficiency and one in a hemizygous boy, both had received MB. CONCLUSIONS: MB treatment of malaria in Africa is associated with slightly reduced haemoglobin values in children with a full G6PD defect compared to non-G6PD deficient children. This effect appears to be of limited clinical relevance but needs to be monitored.

Comparison Between 5-Azacytidine Treatment and Allogeneic Stem-Cell Transplantation in Elderly Patients With Advanced MDS According to Donor Availability (VidazaAllo Study).

PURPOSE: In contrast to 5-azacytidine (5-aza), allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) represents a curative treatment strategy for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), but therapy-related mortality (TRM) limits its broader use in elderly patients with MDS. The present prospective multicenter study compared HSCT following 5-aza pretreatment with continuous 5-aza treatment in patients with higher-risk MDS age 55-70 years. METHODS: One hundred ninety patients with a median age of 63 years were enrolled. Patients received 4-6 cycles of 5-aza followed by HLA-compatible HSCT after reduced-intensity conditioning or by continuous 5-aza if no donor was identified. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients did not fulfill inclusion criteria (n = 20), died (n = 2) withdrew informed consent (n = 5), or were excluded for an unknown reason (n = 1). 5-aza induction started in 162 patients, but only 108 (67%) were eligible for subsequent allocation to HSCT (n = 81) or continuation of 5-aza (n = 27) because of disease progression (n = 26), death (n = 12), or other reasons (n = 16). Seven percent died during 5-aza before treatment allocation. The cumulative incidence of TRM after HSCT at 1 year was 19%. The event-free survival and overall survival after 5-aza pretreatment and treatment allocation at 3 years were 34% (95% CI, 22 to 47) and 50% (95% CI, 39 to 61) after allograft and 0% and 32% (95% CI, 14 to 52) after continuous 5-aza treatment (P < .0001 and P = .12), respectively. Fourteen patients progressing after continuous 5-aza received a salvage allograft from an alternative donor, and 43% were alive at last follow-up. CONCLUSION: In older patients with MDS, reduced-intensity conditioning HSCT resulted in a significantly improved event-free survival in comparison with continuous 5-aza therapy. Bridging with 5-aza to HSCT before is associated with a considerable rate of dropouts because of progression, mortality, and adverse events.

Predicting individual outcomes after radical cystectomy: an external validation of current nomograms.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether published nomograms, i.e. The International Bladder Cancer Nomogram Consortium (IBCNC) and the Bladder Cancer Research Consortium (BCRC) statistical models for predicting disease recurrence and survival of patients after radical cystectomy, are feasible for routine use in intermediate-volume institutions in Europe, as although these nomograms had high accuracy by internal validation tests, they stem from high-volume centres and have not been validated elsewhere and thus their general applicability remains unproven. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We externally validated the published nomograms. Information about treatments, pathological details, and recurrence and survival status was retrospectively collected from 246 patients. The expected survival according to the nomograms was calculated. The predictive accuracy of the proposed models was calculated by Harrell's concordance indices. To assess the independent prognostic value of the variables proposed by IBCNC and BCRC, stepwise multivariable Cox regressions based on Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) for the different endpoints were used. A best model for prediction was created on the basis of our data. RESULTS: The IBCNC and the BCRC nomograms showed an improvement in the predictive accuracy of recurrence, all-cause and bladder-cancer-specific survival after radical cystectomy of up to 4% compared to Tumour-Node-Metastasis stage-based predictions. According to the calculated AIC values for the different models, all nomograms performed better than the TNM classification. CONCLUSIONS: The BCRC and IBCNC nomograms provided accurate predictions when they were applied to an external cohort of patients from low- to intermediate-volume centres. The prediction of recurrence and survival based on the addressed nomograms is better than TNM stage-based prediction. The application of such nomograms can be supported on a sound basis, but further amendments are warranted.

Action limit outlier test: a novel approach for the identification of outliers in bioassay dose-response curves.

Aim/Materials & methods: Guidelines like United States Pharmacopeia 1032 [1] and pharm.Eur. [2] acknowledge that cell-based bioassays are complex methods and thus prone to outliers. However, investigations into root causes of outliers are often inconclusive. We have established a procedure (including quality control and documentation) implemented in a freely available software application which includes not only the experience of the analyst but also information of historical data. Results: This action limit outlier test is unique to our knowledge. Action limit outlier test allows the determination of outliers efficiently which lead to a significant reduction of false positives in comparison with the traditional outlier test ROUT [3] or Rosner [4] alone as shown by our simulated data (58 and 44% reduction of false positives for ROUT and Rosner, respectively).

Non-interventional LUME-BioNIS study of nintedanib plus docetaxel after chemotherapy in adenocarcinoma non-small cell lung cancer: A subgroup analysis in patients with prior immunotherapy.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of nintedanib plus docetaxel in patients with advanced adenocarcinoma non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) previously treated with both chemo- and immunotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: LUME-BioNIS is a European, prospective, multicenter, non-interventional study of patients with advanced adenocarcinoma NSCLC, who initiated nintedanib plus docetaxel after first-line chemotherapy in routine practice according to the approved nintedanib EU label. The primary objective is to explore whether molecular biomarkers can predict overall survival (OS). Information on clinical or radiologic progression and death, and adverse drug reactions (ADRs)/fatal adverse events (AEs) was collected during follow-up. Here, we report a subgroup analysis evaluating outcomes in immunotherapy-pretreated patients. RESULTS: Of 260 enrolled patients, 67 (25.8%) had prior immunotherapy and were included in this subgroup analysis. Prior immunotherapy was administered in first-line in 20 patients (29.9%; combined with chemotherapy in 4 patients [6.0%]) and later-lines in 47 patients (70.1%), and most commonly comprised nivolumab (39 patients; 58.2%), atezolizumab (14 patients; 20.9%) and pembrolizumab (11 patients; 16.4%). Nintedanib plus docetaxel was given in second-line in 10 patients (14.9%) and in later-lines in 57 patients (85.1%). Median OS was 8.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.0-11.5) and median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.6 months (95% CI: 3.5-5.7). Among 55 patients with available data, rates of objective response and disease control were 18.2% and 78.2%, respectively. In 65 patients evaluable for safety, the most common on-treatment ADRs/AEs were malignant neoplasm progression (19 patients; 29.2%), diarrhea (21 patients; 32.3%) and nausea (10 patients; 15.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Used according to the approved nintedanib label in routine practice, nintedanib plus docetaxel demonstrated clinical effectiveness, with no unexpected safety findings, in patients with prior chemotherapy and first- or later-line immunotherapy. These data add to the real-world evidence that can inform clinical decisions in the changing therapeutic landscape.

Afamin and apolipoprotein A-IV: novel protein markers for ovarian cancer.

Comparative proteomics identified the vitamin E-binding plasma protein afamin as a potential novel tumor marker for ovarian cancer. In addition, we observed in a previous small study decreased plasma concentrations of apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV) in preoperative patients with kidney cancer. The aim of this study was therefore to analyze afamin and apoA-IV in a large case-control study to evaluate the diagnostic utility of the two potential novel tumor markers in ovarian cancer patients. We measured plasma concentrations of afamin and apoA-IV by means of a specific sandwich-type ELISA using affinity-purified polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies in 181 ovarian cancer patients of various clinical stages, 399 patients with benign gynecologic diseases, including endometriosis, and 177 controls and compared results with those for the conventional ovarian cancer tumor marker cancer antigen 125 (CA125). Afamin concentrations decreased from a median of 70.7 mg/L (range, 34.6-116.1 mg/L) in healthy controls to 65.2 mg/L (range, 20.2-206.6 mg/L) in patients with benign gynecologic diseases to 56.0 mg/L (range, 4.7-96.0 mg/L) in ovarian cancer patients (P < 0.001 for all pairwise comparisons). Similar results were obtained with apoA-IV concentrations decreasing from 13.0 mg/dL (range, 5.5-34.0 mg/dL) in controls to 11.7 mg/dL (range, 2.0-32.3 mg/dL) in benign conditions to 9.4 mg/dL (range, 0.3-29.5 mg/dL) in ovarian cancer (all P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis for differentiating ovarian cancer patients from healthy controls revealed for a specificity of 90% sensitivity values of 92.4%, 42.4%, and 40.8% for CA125, afamin, and apoA-IV, respectively. Afamin, but not apoA-IV, added independent diagnostic information to CA125 and age for differentiating ovarian cancer from benign and healthy samples; the odds ratio of ovarian cancer was reduced by 44% for each doubling of afamin (P = 0.032). The relatively low sensitivity, however, clearly indicates that afamin and apoA-IV alone are not sufficiently suitable as diagnostic markers for ovarian cancer. Afamin contributes, however, independent diagnostic information to CA125, thus establishing its potential as an adjunct marker to CA125.

Change in non-small-cell lung cancer tumor size in patients treated with nintedanib plus docetaxel: analyses from the Phase III LUME-Lung 1 study.

BACKGROUND: Nintedanib in combination with docetaxel is approved in the European Union and other countries for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) of adenocarcinoma histology after first-line chemotherapy, based on the overall survival findings of Phase III LUME-Lung 1 study. Change in target lesion size over time as a treatment effect was assessed in patients from this study. METHODS: Tumor size was evaluated using predefined tumor measurements. Mixed-effects models were used to quantify individual relationships between time from randomization and tumor burden, measured as the sum of longest diameter (SLD) of target lesions and assessed by an independent review (Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors [RECIST] v1.0). Exploratory analyses were conducted on the overall adenocarcinoma population, adenocarcinoma patients with time from start of first-line therapy <9 months (TSFLT <9), adenocarcinoma patients who had progressive disease as best response to first-line therapy (PD-FLT), and in squamous cell carcinoma patients. RESULTS: Estimated mean baseline SLD was 82.5 mm in the adenocarcinoma (n=658), 88.3 mm in the TSFLT <9 (n=405), 98.1 mm in the PD-FLT (n=117), and 94.3 mm in the squamous cell carcinoma (n=555) populations. Treatment with nintedanib/docetaxel showed a significant reduction in tumor size over time (P<0.0001) in patients with adenocarcinoma compared with placebo/docetaxel, and in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (P=0.0049). Treatment difference at 6 months was 9.7 mm in the overall adenocarcinoma population, 16.8 mm in the TSFLT <9 population, 19.7 mm in the PD-FLT population, and 6.8 mm in the squamous cell carcinoma population. SLD at 2 months post-randomization was identified as a surrogate endpoint for overall survival, in addition to progression-free survival, for all except the PD-FLT population. CONCLUSION: Treatment with nintedanib/docetaxel significantly decreased tumor burden and decelerated tumor size over time compared with placebo/docetaxel in the overall adenocar-cinoma population, including in patients with the poorest prognosis due to aggressive tumor dynamics.

Cooking and season as risk factors for acute lower respiratory infections in African children: a cross-sectional multi-country analysis.

BACKGROUND: Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) are a leading cause of death among African children under five. A significant proportion of these are attributable to household air pollution from solid fuel use. METHODS: We assessed the relationship between cooking practices and ALRI in pooled datasets of Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 2000 and 2011 in countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The impacts of main cooking fuel, cooking location and stove ventilation were examined in 18 (n = 56,437), 9 (n = 23,139) and 6 countries (n = 14,561) respectively. We used a causal diagram and multivariable logistic mixed models to assess the influence of covariates at individual, regional and national levels. RESULTS: Main cooking fuel had a statistically significant impact on ALRI risk (p<0.0001), with season acting as an effect modifier (p = 0.034). During the rainy season, relative to clean fuels, the odds of suffering from ALRI were raised for kerosene (OR 1.64; CI: 0.99, 2.71), coal and charcoal (OR 1.54; CI: 1.21, 1.97), wood (OR 1.20; CI: 0.95, 1.51) and lower-grade biomass fuels (OR 1.49; CI: 0.93, 2.35). In contrast, during the dry season the corresponding odds were reduced for kerosene (OR 1.23; CI: 0.77, 1.95), coal and charcoal (OR 1.35; CI: 1.06, 1.72) and lower-grade biomass fuels (OR 1.07; CI: 0.69, 1.66) but increased for wood (OR 1.32; CI: 1.04, 1.66). Cooking location also emerged as a season-dependent statistically significant (p = 0.0070) determinant of ALRI, in particular cooking indoors without a separate kitchen during the rainy season (OR 1.80; CI: 1.30, 2.50). Due to infrequent use in Africa we could, however, not demonstrate an effect of stove ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: We found differential and season-dependent risks for different types of solid fuels and kerosene as well as cooking location on child ALRI. Future household air pollution studies should consider potential effect modification of cooking fuel by season.

The vitamin E-binding protein afamin increases in maternal serum during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Afamin is a liver-derived plasma glycoprotein with vitamin E-binding properties and a putative function in fertility. This study evaluated serum afamin concentrations during and postpartum to uncomplicated pregnancies and investigated a potential association between afamin concentrations and pregnancy outcome. METHODS: Afamin serum concentrations were measured in women with uncomplicated pregnancies in a retrospective cohort (n=466) at different gestational ages and a prospective observational study (n=76) in the first, second and third trimester. Furthermore, afamin was determined in the first trimester in a cross-sectional pilot study including women with preeclampsia (PE), pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and women without pregnancy complications (n=13 each). Finally, expression of afamin was investigated in human placental tissue by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Afamin concentrations increased linearly almost two-fold during pregnancy in both retrospective and prospective studies in women without pregnancy complications with median afamin serum concentrations of 61.9 mg/l, 79.6 mg/l, and 98.6 mg/l in the first, second, and third trimester, respectively. After delivery, median afamin concentrations decreased to baseline values of 54.6 mg/l. In the pilot study with pregnancy complications, women with PE displayed significantly higher median afamin concentrations than did women with uncomplicated pregnancy (70.0 mg/l vs. 55.4 mg/l, P=0.007). Expression analyses revealed no placental afamin expression at either mRNA or protein level in uncomplicated pregnancy. CONCLUSION: A linear increase in the maternally expressed glycoprotein afamin during pregnancy may serve as basic reference for subsequent investigations of afamin in pregnancy-related disorders.

The vitamin E-binding protein afamin is altered significantly in the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis.

The objective of this case-control study of 242 reproductive-age women was to determine the concentration of afamin in the serum and peritoneal fluid of women with and without endometriosis and to test afamin as a diagnostic marker of endometriosis. Afamin levels were altered significantly in the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis compared with disease-free controls, correlated with vitamin E levels, and are consistent with increased oxidative stress in the peritoneal cavity of women with endometriosis.

Multicolor FISH (UroVysion) facilitates follow-up of patients with high-grade urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.

The aim of the present prospective study was to assess the diagnostic benefit of UroVysion (Vysis-Abbott Laboratories, Downers Grove, IL) in the follow-up of patients with a history of high-grade non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (NMIBC). An unselected cohort of 25 patients with a history of high-grade NMIBC was prospectively followed up by office-based cystoscopy, cytology, and UroVysion in 210 events. The sensitivity and specificity for standard combined cystoscopy and cytology were 78% and 83%, respectively. UroVysion yielded a considerably higher detection rate with 94% and 93%, respectively. In 89% of the follow-up events of patients with a history of previous carcinoma in situ (CIS) and negative cystoscopy but a positive UroVysion finding, CIS recurrence was noticed within 5 months. UroVysion is a worthwhile approach in patients with previous CIS, a high risk for the development of CIS, or previous unequivocal cytology suggestive of CIS, especially during or shortly after instillation therapy.

Application of a time-varying covariate model to the analysis of CA 19-9 as serum biomarker in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

PURPOSE: The clinical relevance of CA 19-9 as surrogate biomarker in advanced pancreatic cancer is a matter of debate. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: This retrospective multicenter study included patients with histologically confirmed advanced pancreatic cancer treated with first-line therapy. Analysis of CA 19-9 was done using the Elecsys assay (Roche Diagnostics). For an analysis of CA 19-9 kinetics, at least three measurements during first-line chemotherapy had to be available. The effect of pretreatment CA 19-9 levels on time-to-progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) was modeled by Cox proportional hazards regression. The effect of CA 19-9 kinetics was also modeled by Cox proportional hazards regression where CA 19-9 was treated as a time-varying covariate. RESULTS: One hundred and fifteen patients from five German centers were included; 73% of them were treated within prospective clinical trials. Median TTP was 4.4 months and median OS was 9.4 months; univariate analysis indicated that pretreatment CA 19-9 [as continuous variable, log (CA 19-9)] was significantly associated with TTP [hazard ratio (HR), 1.24; P < 0.001] and OS (HR, 1.16; P = 0.002). These associations remained significant within multivariate analysis. For CA 19-9 kinetics during chemotherapy, data from 69 patients (TTP) and 84 patients (OS) were available, respectively; log (CA 19-9) kinetics after start of treatment were found to be a significant predictor for TTP in univariate (HR, 1.48; P < 0.001) and multivariate (HR, 1.45; P < 0.001) analyses, and also for OS (univariate: HR, 1.34; P < 0.001; multivariate: HR, 1.38; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Pretreatment CA 19-9 and CA 19-9 kinetics may serve as a useful serum biomarker in advanced pancreatic cancer.