Making Informed Choices On Incorporating Chemoprevention into carE (MiCHOICE, SWOG 1904): Design and methods of a cluster randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Women with atypical hyperplasia (AH) or lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) have a significantly increased risk of breast cancer, which can be substantially reduced with antiestrogen therapy for chemoprevention. However, antiestrogen therapy for breast cancer risk reduction remains underutilized. Improving knowledge about breast cancer risk and chemoprevention among high-risk patients and their healthcare providers may enhance informed decision-making about this critical breast cancer risk reduction strategy. METHODS/DESIGN: We are conducting a cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of patient and provider decision support tools to improve informed choice about chemoprevention among women with AH or LCIS. We have cluster randomized 26 sites across the U.S. through the SWOG Cancer Research Network. A total of 415 patients and 200 healthcare providers are being recruited. They are assigned to standard educational materials alone or combined with the web-based decision support tools. Patient-reported and clinical outcomes are assessed at baseline, after a follow-up visit at 6 months, and yearly for 5 years. The primary outcome is chemoprevention informed choice after the follow-up visit. Secondary endpoints include other patient-reported outcomes, such as chemoprevention knowledge, decision conflict and regret, and self-reported chemoprevention usage. Barriers and facilitators to implementing decision support into clinic workflow are assessed through patient and provider interviews at baseline and mid-implementation. RESULTS/DISCUSSION: With this hybrid effectiveness/implementation study, we seek to evaluate if a multi-level intervention effectively promotes informed decision-making about chemoprevention and provide valuable insights on how the intervention is implemented in U.S. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04496739.

miR-21 and miR-155 are associated with mitotic activity and lesion depth of borderline melanocytic lesions.

BACKGROUND: Expression of microRNAs (miRs) has been shown to be altered in many solid tumours and is being explored in melanoma. The malignant potential of some melanocytic lesions is difficult to predict. We hypothesised that characterisation of miR expression in borderline melanocytic proliferations would lead to the identification of a molecular profile that could be used with known prognostic factors to differentiate lesions with high malignant potential. METHODS: The miR expression profile of melanocytic lesions (benign naevi, malignant melanoma and borderline melanocytic tumours) was evaluated by real-time PCR. RESULTS: PCR analysis revealed primary cutaneous melanomas had an 8.6-fold overexpression of miR-21 and a 7.5-fold overexpression of miR-155 compared with benign naevi (P<0.0001). In situ hybridisation confirmed these results. miR-21 and miR-155 were significantly overexpressed within borderline lesions (P=0.0011 and P=0.0048, respectively). When borderline lesions were categorised by mitotic activity and Breslow thickness, miR-21 was associated with mitotic activity and miR-155 was associated with thickness (P<0.025). Among 14 patients with borderline lesions who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), positive SLNB was associated with increased miR-21 and miR-155 in the primary lesion compared with lesions with a negative SLNB. CONCLUSION: MicroRNA expression profiles can be used to characterise atypical melanocytic lesions.

Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion injury in transgenic mice overexpressing copper-zinc superoxide dismutase.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) scavenges oxygen radicals that are implicated in the pathogenesis of intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury. The effect of intestinal ischemia and reperfusion was investigated in transgenic mice overexpressing human Cu-Zn SOD. Ischemia was induced by occluding the superior mesenteric artery. Myeloperoxidase activity was determined as an index of neutrophil infiltration, and malondialdehyde levels were measured as an indicator of lipid peroxidation. Forty-five minutes of intestinal ischemia followed by 4 h of reperfusion caused an increase in intestinal levels of malondialdehyde in both nontransgenic and transgenic mice, but the concentration of malondialdehyde was significantly greater in nontransgenic mice. Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion also caused an increase in intestinal and pulmonary myeloperoxidase activity in nontransgenic and transgenic mice, but the transgenic mice had significantly lower levels of myeloperoxidase activity than nontransgenic mice. Transgenic mice had higher levels of intestinal SOD activity than nontransgenic mice. There were no significant differences in the catalase or glutathione peroxidase activities. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that the overexpression of SOD protects tissues from neutrophil infiltration and lipid peroxidation during intestinal ischemia-reperfusion.