Socioeconomic inequality in prostate cancer diagnostics, primary treatment, rehabilitation, and mortality in Sweden.

We designed a nationwide study to investigate the association between socioeconomic factors (household income and education) and different aspects of prostate cancer care, considering both individual- and neighbourhood-level variables. Data were obtained from Prostate Cancer data Base Sweden (PCBaSe), a research database with data from several national health care registers including clinical characteristics and treatments for nearly all men diagnosed with prostate cancer in Sweden. Four outcomes were analysed: use of pre-biopsy magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 2018-2020 (n = 11,843), primary treatment of high-risk non-metastatic disease in 2016-2020 (n = 6633), rehabilitation (≥2 dispensed prescriptions for erectile dysfunction within 1 year from surgery in 2016-2020, n = 6505), and prostate cancer death in 7770 men with high-risk non-metastatic disease diagnosed in 2010-2016. Unadjusted and adjusted odds and hazard ratios (OR/HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Adjusted odds ratio (ORs) comparing low versus high individual education were 0.74 (95% CI 0.66-0.83) for pre-biopsy MRI, 0.66 (0.54-0.81) for primary treatment, and 0.82 (0.69-0.97) for rehabilitation. HR gradients for prostate cancer death were significant on unadjusted analysis only (low vs. high individual education HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.17-1.70); co-variate adjustments markedly attenuated the gradients (low vs. high individual education HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.90-1.35). Generally, neighbourhood-level analyses showed weaker gradients over the socioeconomic strata, except for pre-biopsy MRI. Socioeconomic factors influenced how men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in Sweden but had less influence on subsequent specialist care. Neighbourhood-level socioeconomic data are more useful for evaluating inequality in diagnostics than in later specialist care.

Accuracy of gross tumour volume delineation with [68Ga]-PSMA-PET compared to histopathology for high-risk prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: The delineation of intraprostatic lesions is vital for correct delivery of focal radiotherapy boost in patients with prostate cancer (PC). Errors in the delineation could translate into reduced tumour control and potentially increase the side effects. The purpose of this study is to compare PET-based delineation methods with histopathology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 15 patients with confirmed high-risk PC intended for prostatectomy. [68Ga]-PSMA-PET/MR was performed prior to surgery. Prostate lesions identified in histopathology were transferred to the in vivo [68Ga]-PSMA-PET/MR coordinate system. Four radiation oncologists manually delineated intraprostatic lesions based on PET data. Various semi-automatic segmentation methods were employed, including absolute and relative thresholds, adaptive threshold, and multi-level Otsu threshold. RESULTS: The gross tumour volumes (GTVs) delineated by the oncologists showed a moderate level of interobserver agreement with Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of 0.68. In comparison with histopathology, manual delineations exhibited the highest median DSC and the lowest false discovery rate (FDR) among all approaches. Among semi-automatic approaches, GTVs generated using standardized uptake value (SUV) thresholds above 4 (SUV > 4) demonstrated the highest median DSC (0.41), with 0.51 median lesion coverage ratio, FDR of 0.66 and the 95th percentile of the Hausdorff distance (HD95%) of 8.22 mm. INTERPRETATION: Manual delineations showed a moderate level of interobserver agreement. Compared to histopathology, manual delineations and SUV > 4 exhibited the highest DSC and the lowest HD95% values. The methods that resulted in a high lesion coverage were associated with a large overestimation of the size of the lesions.

Ki67 and prostate specific antigen are prognostic in metastatic hormone naïve prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: For metastatic hormone naïve prostate cancer patients, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with escalation therapy including docetaxel and/or androgen targeting drugs is the standard therapy. However, de-escalation is preferable to avoid unnecessary side effects, especially from docetaxel, but markers to identify these patients are lacking. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the potential of PSA and Ki67 immunoreactive scores as prognostic and treatment-predictive markers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Prostate biopsies from 92 patients with metastatic hormone naïve PC (PSA > 80 ng/mL or clinical metastases) were immunohistochemically evaluated for PSA and Ki67. Gene expression analysis was performed with Clariom D microarrays to identify the phenotypic profile associated with the immunohistochemistry scores of biopsies. Cox regression analysis for progression free survival after ADT adjustment for age, ISUP, and serum PSA and Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to assess prognostic values of Ki67, PSA, and the Ki67/PSA ratio. RESULTS: The immunohistochemical score for PSA was the strongest prognostic factor for progression-free and overall survival after ADT. Consequently, the ratio between Ki67 and PSA displayed a stronger prognostic value than Ki67 itself. Further, mRNA expression data analysis showed an association between high Ki67/PSA ratio, cell-cycle regulation, and DNA damage repair. In an exploratory sub-analysis of 12 patients treated with early docetaxel as addition to ADT and matched controls, a high Ki67/PSA ratio showed potential to identify those who benefit from docetaxel. CONCLUSION: PSA and Ki67 immunoreactive scores are prognostic in the metastatic hormone-sensitive setting, with PSA being superior. The combination of Ki67 and PSA did not give additional prognostic value. The results suggest immunohistochemical scoring of PSA to have potential to improve identification of patients responding well to ADT alone.

Risk of severe late toxicity after radiotherapy following radical prostatectomy - a nationwide study.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the long-term risks of severe late toxicities for radiation therapy (RT) following radical prostatectomy (RP) in an unselected nationwide cohort, as severe side-effects are rare but may occur years later. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population comprised all men undergoing RP between 1997 and 2016 in the Prostate Cancer database Sweden (PCBaSe) (n = 40 962). By (1:2) matching, two cohorts were created: 2789 men exposed to postoperative RT and 5578 unexposed men with comparable age, comorbidities, and year of surgery. Cumulative incidences and rate ratios were calculated for the following outcomes: symptoms and interventions of the urinary or intestinal tract demanding inpatient care, secondary malignancies, and non-prostate cancer mortality. RESULTS: The largest differences were seen for late toxicities affecting the urinary tract. The 10-year cumulative incidences among those exposed to postoperative RT vs the RP-only group were: 17.8% vs 10.5% for procedures of the urinary tract (difference 7.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.4 to 10.3; relative risk [RR] 1.74, 95% CI 1.47 to 2.05); 6.0% vs 1.2% for haematuria (difference 4.8%, 95% CI 3.1 to 6.5; RR 6.50, 95% CI 4.31 to 10.10); and 2.4% vs 1.1% for bladder cancer (difference 1.4%, 95% CI 0.4 to 2.3; RR 2.71, 95% CI 1.72 to 4.33). The groups were similar regarding intestinal toxicity, other secondary malignancies, and non-prostate cancer mortality. Adjustments for preoperative tumour risk factors did not importantly affect the rate ratios. CONCLUSION: Severe late toxicity after postoperative RT following RP predominately affects the bladder and can appear many years after RT.

Expression Levels of hgcAB Genes and Mercury Availability Jointly Explain Methylmercury Formation in Stratified Brackish Waters.

Neurotoxic methylmercury (MeHg) is formed by microbial methylation of inorganic divalent Hg (HgII) and constitutes severe environmental and human health risks. The methylation is enabled by hgcA and hgcB genes, but it is not known if the associated molecular-level processes are rate-limiting or enable accurate prediction of MeHg formation in nature. In this study, we investigated the relationships between hgc genes and MeHg across redox-stratified water columns in the brackish Baltic Sea. We showed, for the first time, that hgc transcript abundance and the concentration of dissolved HgII-sulfide species were strong predictors of both the HgII methylation rate and MeHg concentration, implying their roles as principal joint drivers of MeHg formation in these systems. Additionally, we characterized the metabolic capacities of hgc+ microorganisms by reconstructing their genomes from metagenomes (i.e., hgc+ MAGs), which highlighted the versatility of putative HgII methylators in the water column of the Baltic Sea. In establishing relationships between hgc transcripts and the HgII methylation rate, we advance the fundamental understanding of mechanistic principles governing MeHg formation in nature and enable refined predictions of MeHg levels in coastal seas in response to the accelerating spread of oxygen-deficient zones.

Hysterectomy after uterus transplantation and detailed analyses of graft failures.

INTRODUCTION: The first live birth after uterus transplantation occurred in Sweden in 2014. Uterus transplantation has repeatedly, and at many centers worldwide, proven to be a feasible treatment for absolute uterine factor infertility. Hysterectomy in live donors and transplantation are well described in numerous reports. However, there are no reports of hysterectomy in the recipient after uterus transplantation, which will occur at either graft failure, after childbirth, or after numerous failed pregnancy attempts. We present the first report of hysterectomy in recipients after uterus transplantation with detailed analyses of findings in conjunction with graft failures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An analysis of recipient hysterectomies (n = 10), performed in 2012-2020, was conducted. Data from the international uterus transplantation registry (ISUTx registry) were extracted, and medical records were systematically reviewed, to collect and compile characteristics of recipients and donors, as well as pre-, per-, and postoperative data, including clinical course of graft failures. RESULTS: Hysterectomy in recipients was performed in conjunction with cesarean section (n = 3), 3-6 months after cesarean section (n = 3), or after failed pregnancy attempts (n = 1) or graft failure (n = 3). The durations of anesthesia (2 h 36 min to 7 h 35 min) and hysterectomy surgery (1 h 42 min to 5 h 52 min) ranged widely, with long perioperative interruptions for insertion of ureteral catheters in two cases. Adhesions to the uterus were abundant, the majority being mild. Three uteri that subsequently showed graft failure (hysterectomy at 1, 3, and 8 months post transplantation) showed histological signs of ischemia in biopsies taken 1-week post-transplant and early signs of central hypoperfusion by Doppler ultrasound. In these graft failure explants, there were no epithelial linings in the uterine cavity or in the cervix. The inner uterine wall was severely ischemic and/or necrotic, whereas outer parts were partly viable. There were signs of moderate atherosclerosis of uterine arteries but no rejection. Mild postoperative complications were frequent (6/10), with one supravaginal hematoma requiring surgical drainage. CONCLUSIONS: Hysterectomy after uterus transplantation is a complex and time-consuming procedure, and perioperative ureteral catheters may be helpful. Histopathology of early cervical biopsies showing ischemic signs may indicate subsequent irreversible damage, leading to graft failure.

Ultra-hypofractionated versus conventionally fractionated radiotherapy for prostate cancer (HYPO-RT-PC): patient-reported quality-of-life outcomes of a randomised, controlled, non-inferiority, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: The HYPO-RT-PC trial compared conventionally fractionated radiotherapy with ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy in patients with localised prostate cancer. Ultra-hypofractionation was non-inferior to conventional fractionation regarding 5-year failure-free survival and toxicity. We aimed to assess whether patient-reported quality of life (QOL) differs between conventional fractionation and ultra-hypofractionation up to 6 years after treatment in the HYPO-RT-PC trial. METHODS: HYPO-RT-PC is a multicentre, open-label, randomised, controlled, non-inferiority, phase 3 trial done in 12 centres (seven university hospitals and five county hospitals) in Sweden and Denmark. Inclusion criteria were histologically verified intermediate-to-high-risk prostate cancer (defined as T1c-T3a with one or two of the following risk factors: stage T3a; Gleason score ≥7; and prostate-specific antigen 10-20 ng/mL with no evidence of lymph node involvement or distant metastases), age up to 75 years, and WHO performance status 0-2. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to conventional fractionation (78·0 Gy in 39 fractions, 5 days per week for 8 weeks) or ultra-hypofractionation (42·7 Gy in seven fractions, 3 days per week for 2·5 weeks) via a minimisation algorithm with stratification by trial centre, T-stage, Gleason score, and prostate-specific antigen. QOL was measured using the validated Prostate Cancer Symptom Scale (PCSS) and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) at baseline, the end of radiotherapy, months 3, 6, 12, and 24 after radiotherapy, every other year thereafter up to 10 years, and at 15 years. The primary endpoint (failure-free survival) has been reported elsewhere. Here we report QOL, a secondary endpoint analysed in the per-protocol population, up to 6 years after radiotherapy. The HYPO-RT-PC trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN45905321. FINDINGS: Between July 1, 2005, and Nov 4, 2015, 1200 patients were enrolled and 1180 were randomly assigned (conventional fractionation n=591, ultra-hypofractionation n=589); 1165 patients (conventional fractionation n=582, ultra-hypofractionation n=583) were included in this QOL analysis. 158 (71%) of 223 patients in the conventional fractionation group and 146 (66%) of 220 in the ultra-hypofractionation group completed questionnaires at 6 years. The median follow-up was 48 months (IQR 25-72). In seven of ten bowel symptoms or problems the proportion of patients with clinically relevant deteriorations at the end of radiotherapy was significantly higher in the ultra-hypofractionation group than in the conventional fractionation group (stool frequency [p<0·0001], rush to toilet [p=0·0013], flatulence [p=0·0013], bowel cramp [p<0·0001], mucus [p=0·0014], blood in stool [p<0·0001], and limitation in daily activity [p=0·0014]). There were no statistically significant differences in the proportions of patients with clinically relevant acute urinary symptoms or problems (total 14 items) and sexual functioning between the two treatment groups at end of radiotherapy. Thereafter, there were no clinically relevant differences in urinary, bowel, or sexual functioning between the groups. At the 6-year follow-up there was no difference in the incidence of clinically relevant deterioration between the groups for overall urinary bother (43 [33%] of 132 for conventional fractionation vs 33 [28%] of 120 for ultra-hypofractionation; mean difference 5·1% [95% CI -4·4 to 14·6]; p=0·38), overall bowel bother (43 [33%] of 129 vs 34 [28%] of 123; 5·7% [-3·8 to 15·2]; p=0·33), overall sexual bother (75 [60%] of 126 vs 59 [50%] of 117; 9·1% [-1·4 to 19·6]; p=0·15), or global health/QOL (56 [42%] of 134 vs 46 [37%] of 125; 5·0% [-5·0 to 15·0]; p=0·41). INTERPRETATION: Although acute toxicity was higher for ultra-hypofractionation than conventional fractionation, this long-term patient-reported QOL analysis shows that ultra-hypofractionation was as well tolerated as conventional fractionation up to 6 years after completion of treatment. These findings support the use of ultra-hypofractionation radiotherapy for intermediate-to-high-risk prostate cancer. FUNDING: The Nordic Cancer Union, the Swedish Cancer Society, and the Swedish Research Council.

Deep learning-based classification and structure name standardization for organ at risk and target delineations in prostate cancer radiotherapy.

Radiotherapy (RT) datasets can suffer from variations in annotation of organ at risk (OAR) and target structures. Annotation standards exist, but their description for prostate targets is limited. This restricts the use of such data for supervised machine learning purposes as it requires properly annotated data. The aim of this work was to develop a modality independent deep learning (DL) model for automatic classification and annotation of prostate RT DICOM structures. Delineated prostate organs at risk (OAR), support- and target structures (gross tumor volume [GTV]/clinical target volume [CTV]/planning target volume [PTV]), along with or without separate vesicles and/or lymph nodes, were extracted as binary masks from 1854 patients. An image modality independent 2D InceptionResNetV2 classification network was trained with varying amounts of training data using four image input channels. Channel 1-3 consisted of orthogonal 2D projections from each individual binary structure. The fourth channel contained a summation of the other available binary structure masks. Structure classification performance was assessed in independent CT (n = 200 pat) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (n = 40 pat) test datasets and an external CT (n = 99 pat) dataset from another clinic. A weighted classification accuracy of 99.4% was achieved during training. The unweighted classification accuracy and the weighted average F1 score among different structures in the CT test dataset were 98.8% and 98.4% and 98.6% and 98.5% for the MRI test dataset, respectively. The external CT dataset yielded the corresponding results 98.4% and 98.7% when analyzed for trained structures only, and results from the full dataset yielded 79.6% and 75.2%. Most misclassifications in the external CT dataset occurred due to multiple CTVs and PTVs being fused together, which was not included in the training data. Our proposed DL-based method for automated renaming and standardization of prostate radiotherapy annotations shows great potential. Clinic specific contouring standards however need to be represented in the training data for successful use. Source code is available at https://github.com/jamtheim/DicomRTStructRenamerPublic.

Marked response to cabazitaxel in prostate cancer xenografts expressing androgen receptor variant 7 and reversion of acquired resistance by anti-androgens.

BACKGROUND: Taxane treatment may be a suitable therapeutic option for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer and high expression of constitutively active androgen receptor variants (AR-Vs). The aim of the study was to compare the effects of cabazitaxel and androgen deprivation treatments in a prostate tumor xenograft model expressing high levels of constitutively active AR-V7. Furthermore, mechanisms behind acquired cabazitaxel resistance were explored. METHODS: Mice were subcutaneously inoculated with 22Rv1 cells and treated with surgical castration (n = 7), abiraterone (n = 9), cabazitaxel (n = 6), castration plus abiraterone (n = 8), castration plus cabazitaxel (n = 11), or vehicle and/or sham operation (n = 23). Tumor growth was followed for about 2 months or to a volume of approximately 1000 mm3 . Two cabazitaxel resistant cell lines; 22Rv1-CabR1 and 22Rv1-CabR2, were established from xenografts relapsing during cabazitaxel treatment. Differential gene expression between the cabazitaxel resistant and control 22Rv1 cells was examined by whole-genome expression array analysis followed by immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, and functional pathway analysis. RESULTS: Abiraterone treatment alone or in combination with surgical castration had no major effect on 22Rv1 tumor growth, while cabazitaxel significantly delayed and in some cases totally abolished 22Rv1 tumor growth on its own and in combination with surgical castration. The cabazitaxel resistant cell lines; 22Rv1-CabR1 and 22Rv1-CabR2, both showed upregulation of the ATP-binding cassette sub-family B member 1 (ABCB1) efflux pump. Treatment with ABCB1 inhibitor elacridar completely restored susceptibility to cabazitaxel, while treatment with AR-antagonists bicalutamide and enzalutamide partly restored susceptibility to cabazitaxel in both cell lines. The cholesterol biosynthesis pathway was induced in the 22Rv1-CabR2 cell line, which was confirmed by reduced sensitivity to simvastatin treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Cabazitaxel efficiently inhibits prostate cancer growth despite the high expression of constitutively active AR-V7. Acquired cabazitaxel resistance involving overexpression of efflux transporter ABCB1 can be reverted by bicalutamide or enzalutamide treatment, indicating the great clinical potential for combined treatment with cabazitaxel and anti-androgens.

Ultra-hypofractionated versus conventionally fractionated radiotherapy for prostate cancer: 5-year outcomes of the HYPO-RT-PC randomised, non-inferiority, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: Hypofractionated radiotherapy for prostate cancer has gained increased attention due to its proposed high radiation-fraction sensitivity. Recent reports from studies comparing moderately hypofractionated and conventionally fractionated radiotherapy support the clinical use of moderate hypofractionation. To date, there are no published randomised studies on ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy. Here, we report the outcomes of the Scandinavian HYPO-RT-PC phase 3 trial with the aim to show non-inferiority of ultra-hypofractionation compared with conventional fractionation. METHODS: In this open-label, randomised, phase 3 non-inferiority trial done in 12 centres in Sweden and Denmark, we recruited men up to 75 years of age with intermediate-to-high-risk prostate cancer and a WHO performance status between 0 and 2. Patients were randomly assigned to ultra-hypofractionation (42·7 Gy in seven fractions, 3 days per week for 2·5 weeks) or conventional fractionated radiotherapy (78·0 Gy in 39 fractions, 5 days per week for 8 weeks). No androgen deprivation therapy was allowed. The primary endpoint was time to biochemical or clinical failure, analysed in the per-protocol population. The prespecified non-inferiority margin was 4% at 5 years, corresponding to a critical hazard ratio (HR) limit of 1·338. Physician-recorded toxicity was measured according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) morbidity scale and patient-reported outcome measurements with the Prostate Cancer Symptom Scale (PCSS) questionnaire. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN45905321. FINDINGS: Between July 1, 2005, and Nov 4, 2015, 1200 patients were randomly assigned to conventional fractionation (n=602) or ultra-hypofractionation (n=598), of whom 1180 (591 conventional fractionation and 589 ultra-hypofractionation) constituted the per-protocol population. 1054 (89%) participants were intermediate risk and 126 (11%) were high risk. Median follow-up time was 5·0 years (IQR 3·1-7·0). The estimated failure-free survival at 5 years was 84% (95% CI 80-87) in both treatment groups, with an adjusted HR of 1·002 (95% CI 0·758-1·325; log-rank p=0·99). There was weak evidence of an increased frequency of acute physician-reported RTOG grade 2 or worse urinary toxicity in the ultra-hypofractionation group at end of radiotherapy (158 [28%] of 569 patients vs 132 [23%] of 578 patients; p=0·057). There were no significant differences in grade 2 or worse urinary or bowel late toxicity between the two treatment groups at any point after radiotherapy, except for an increase in urinary toxicity in the ultra-hypofractionation group compared to the conventional fractionation group at 1-year follow-up (32 [6%] of 528 patients vs 13 [2%] of 529 patients; (p=0·0037). We observed no differences between groups in frequencies at 5 years of RTOG grade 2 or worse urinary toxicity (11 [5%] of 243 patients for the ultra-hypofractionation group vs 12 [5%] of 249 for the conventional fractionation group; p=1·00) and bowel toxicity (three [1%] of 244 patients vs nine [4%] of 249 patients; p=0·14). Patient-reported outcomes revealed significantly higher levels of acute urinary and bowel symptoms in the ultra-hypofractionation group compared with the conventional fractionation group but no significant increases in late symptoms were found, except for increased urinary symptoms at 1-year follow-up, consistent with the physician-evaluated toxicity. INTERPRETATION: Ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy is non-inferior to conventionally fractionated radiotherapy for intermediate-to-high risk prostate cancer regarding failure-free survival. Early side-effects are more pronounced with ultra-hypofractionation compared with conventional fractionation whereas late toxicity is similar in both treatment groups. The results support the use of ultra-hypofractionation for radiotherapy of prostate cancer. FUNDING: The Nordic Cancer Union, the Swedish Cancer Society, and the Swedish Research Council.

Re-treatment with radium-223: 2-year follow-up from an international, open-label, phase 1/2 study in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer and bone metastases.

BACKGROUND: Radium-223 dichloride (radium-223) is approved for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), symptomatic bone metastases, and no visceral disease using a dosing regimen of 6 injections (55 kBq/kg intravenously; 1 injection every 4 weeks). Early results from international, open-label, phase 1/2 study NCT01934790 showed that re-treatment with radium-223 was well tolerated with favorable effects on disease progression. Here we report safety and efficacy findings from 2-year follow-up of the radium-223 re-treatment study. METHODS: Patients with CRPC and bone metastases who completed 6 initial radium-223 injections with no disease progression in bone and later progressed were eligible for radium-223 re-treatment (up to 6 additional radium-223 injections), provided that hematologic parameters were adequate and chemotherapy had not been administered after the initial course of radium-223. Concomitant cytotoxic agents were not allowed during re-treatment but were allowed at the investigator's discretion during follow-up; other concomitant agents for prostate cancer (including abiraterone acetate or enzalutamide) were allowed at investigator's discretion. The primary objective was safety. Exploratory objectives included time to radiographic bone progression, radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS), time to total alkaline phosphatase (tALP), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression, overall survival (OS), time to first symptomatic skeletal event (SSE), and SSE-free survival, all calculated from re-treatment start. Evaluation of safety and exploratory efficacy objectives included active 2-year follow-up. Safety results from active follow-up and updated efficacy are reported. RESULTS: Overall, 44 patients were re-treated with radium-223; 29 (66%) completed all 6 injections, and 34 (77%) entered 2-year active follow-up, during which no new safety concerns and no serious drug-related adverse events were noted. rPFS events (progression or death) occurred in 19 (43%) of 44 patients; median rPFS was 9.9 months. Radiographic bone progression occurred in 5 (11%) of 44 patients. Median OS was 24.4 months. Median times to first SSE and SSE-free survival were 16.7 and 12.8 months, respectively. Median time to tALP progression was not reached; median time to PSA progression was 2.2 months. CONCLUSIONS: Re-treatment with radium-223 in this selected patient population was well tolerated, led to minimal hematologic toxicity, and provided continued disease control in bone at 2-year follow-up.

Platelets harbor prostate cancer biomarkers and the ability to predict therapeutic response to abiraterone in castration resistant patients.

BACKGROUND: Novel therapies for castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) have been introduced in the clinic with possibilities for individualized treatment plans. Best practice of those expensive drugs requires predictive biomarker monitoring. This study used circulating biomarker analysis to follow cancer-derived transcripts implicated in therapy resistance. METHOD: The isolated platelet population of blood samples and digital-PCR were used to identify selected biomarker transcripts in patients with CRPC prior chemo- or androgen synthesis inhibiting therapy. RESULTS: Fifty patients received either docetaxel (n = 24) or abiraterone (n = 26) therapy, with therapy response rates of 54% and 48%, respectively. Transcripts for the PC-associated biomarkers kallikrein-related peptidase-2 and -3 (KLK2, KLK3), folate hydrolase 1 (FOLH1), and neuropeptide-Y (NPY) were uniquely present within the platelet fraction of cancer patients and not detected in healthy controls (n = 15). In the abiraterone treated cohort, the biomarkers provided information on therapy outcome, demonstrating an association between detectable biomarkers and short progression free survival (PFS) (FOLH1, P < 0.01; KLK3, P < 0.05; and NPY, P < 0.05). Patients with biomarker-negative platelets had the best outcome, while FOLH1 (P < 0.05) and NPY (P = 0.05) biomarkers provided independent predictive information in a multivariate analysis regarding PFS. KLK2 (P < 0.01), KLK3 (P < 0.001), and FOLH1 (P < 0.05) biomarkers were associated with short overall survival (OS). Combining three biomarkers in a panel (KLK3, FOLH1, and NPY) made it possible to separate long-term responders from short-term responders with 87% sensitivity and 82% specificity. CONCLUSION: Analyzing tumor-derived biomarkers in platelets of CRPC patients enabled prediction of the outcome after abiraterone therapy with higher accuracy than baseline serum PSA or PSA response.

U-CAN: a prospective longitudinal collection of biomaterials and clinical information from adult cancer patients in Sweden.

BACKGROUND: Progress in cancer biomarker discovery is dependent on access to high-quality biological materials and high-resolution clinical data from the same cases. To overcome current limitations, a systematic prospective longitudinal sampling of multidisciplinary clinical data, blood and tissue from cancer patients was therefore initiated in 2010 by Uppsala and Umeå Universities and involving their corresponding University Hospitals, which are referral centers for one third of the Swedish population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients with cancer of selected types who are treated at one of the participating hospitals are eligible for inclusion. The healthcare-integrated sampling scheme encompasses clinical data, questionnaires, blood, fresh frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue specimens, diagnostic slides and radiology bioimaging data. RESULTS: In this ongoing effort, 12,265 patients with brain tumors, breast cancers, colorectal cancers, gynecological cancers, hematological malignancies, lung cancers, neuroendocrine tumors or prostate cancers have been included until the end of 2016. From the 6914 patients included during the first five years, 98% were sampled for blood at diagnosis, 83% had paraffin-embedded and 58% had fresh frozen tissues collected. For Uppsala County, 55% of all cancer patients were included in the cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Close collaboration between participating hospitals and universities enabled prospective, longitudinal biobanking of blood and tissues and collection of multidisciplinary clinical data from cancer patients in the U-CAN cohort. Here, we summarize the first five years of operations, present U-CAN as a highly valuable cohort that will contribute to enhanced cancer research and describe the procedures to access samples and data.

Proinflammatory signaling regulates voluntary alcohol intake and stress-induced consumption after exposure to social defeat stress in mice.

Proinflammatory activity has been postulated to play a role in addictive processes and stress responses, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we examined the role of interleukin 1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in regulation of voluntary alcohol consumption, alcohol reward and stress-induced drinking. Mice with a deletion of the IL-1 receptor I gene (IL-1RI KO) exhibited modestly decreased alcohol consumption. However, IL-1RI deletion affected neither the rewarding properties of alcohol, measured by conditioned place preference (CPP), nor stress-induced drinking induced by social defeat stress. TNF-α signaling can compensate for phenotypic consequences of IL1-RI deletion. We therefore hypothesized that double deletion of both IL-1RI and TNF-1 receptors (TNF-1R) may reveal the role of these pathways in regulation of alcohol intake. Double KOs consumed significantly less alcohol than control mice over a range of alcohol concentrations. The combined deletion of TNF-1R and IL-1RI did not influence alcohol reward, but did prevent increased alcohol consumption resulting from exposure to repeated bouts of social defeat stress. Taken together, these data indicate that IL-1RI and TNF-1R contribute to regulation of stress-induced, negatively reinforced drinking perhaps through overlapping signaling events downstream of these receptors, while leaving rewarding properties of alcohol largely unaffected.

Melanin-Concentrating Hormone and Its MCH-1 Receptor: Relationship Between Effects on Alcohol and Caloric Intake.

BACKGROUND: Reward and energy homeostasis are both regulated by a network of hypothalamic neuropeptide systems. The melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and its MCH-1 receptor (MCH1-R) modulate alcohol intake, but it remains unknown to what extent this reflects actions on energy balance or reward. Here, we evaluated the MCH1-R in regulation of caloric intake and motivation to consume alcohol in states of escalated consumption. METHODS: Rats had intermittent access (IA) to alcohol and were divided into high- and low-drinking groups. Food and alcohol consumption was assessed after administration of an MCH1-R antagonist, GW803430. Next, GW803430 was evaluated on alcohol self-administration in protracted abstinence induced by IA in high-drinking rats. Finally, the effect of GW803430 was assessed on alcohol self-administration in acute withdrawal in rats exposed to alcohol vapor. Gene expression of MCH and MCH1-R was measured in the hypothalamus and nucleus accumbens (NAc) in both acute and protracted abstinence. RESULTS: High-drinking IA rats consumed more calories from alcohol than chow and GW803430 decreased both chow and alcohol intake. In low-drinking rats, only food intake was affected. In protracted abstinence from IA, alcohol self-administration was significantly reduced by pretreatment with GW803430 and gene expression of both MCH and the MCH1-R were dysregulated in hypothalamus and NAc. In contrast, during acute withdrawal from vapor exposure, treatment with GW803430 did not affect alcohol self-administration, and no changes in MCH or MCH1-R gene expression were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest a dual role of MCH and the MCH1-R in regulation of alcohol intake, possibly through mechanisms involving caloric intake and reward motivation. A selective suppression of alcohol self-administration during protracted abstinence by GW803430 was observed and accompanied by adaptations in gene expression of MCH and MCH1-R. Selective suppression of escalated consumption renders the MCH1-R an attractive target for treatment of alcohol use disorders.

Parental exposure to natural mixtures of persistent organic pollutants (POP) induced changes in transcription of apoptosis-related genes in offspring zebrafish embryos.

Apoptosis is an integral element of development that may also be initiated by environmental contaminants. The aim of the present study was to assess potential changes in the regulation of apoptotic genes in zebrafish embryos following parental exposure to two natural mixtures of persistent organic pollutants (POP). The mixture from Lake Mjøsa contained exceptionally high concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), as well as relatively high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). The mixture from Lake Losna contained background concentrations of POP. Genes involved in the apoptotic machinery were screened for their expression profile at four time points during embryonic development. Thirteen and 15 genes involved in apoptosis were found to be significantly upregulated in the high-exposure and background exposure groups, respectively, compared with controls. Modulation of apoptotic genes was restricted only to the first time point, which corresponds with the blastula stage. Although there were substantial differences in POP concentrations between mixtures, genes underlying the apoptosis process showed almost similar responses to the two mixtures. In both exposure groups the main executors of apoptosis p53, casp 2, casp 6, cassp 8, and BAX displayed upregulation compared to controls, suggesting that these POP induce apoptosis via a p53-dependent mechanism. Upregulation of genes that play a critical role in apoptosis suggests that disturbance of normal apoptotic signaling during gametogenesis and embryogenesis may be one of the central mechanisms involved in adverse reproductive effects produced by POP in zebrafish.

Loss of metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 escalates alcohol consumption.

Identification of genes influencing complex traits is hampered by genetic heterogeneity, the modest effect size of many alleles, and the likely involvement of rare and uncommon alleles. Etiologic complexity can be simplified in model organisms. By genomic sequencing, linkage analysis, and functional validation, we identified that genetic variation of Grm2, which encodes metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (mGluR2), alters alcohol preference in animal models. Selectively bred alcohol-preferring (P) rats are homozygous for a Grm2 stop codon (Grm2 *407) that leads to largely uncompensated loss of mGluR2. mGluR2 receptor expression was absent, synaptic glutamate transmission was impaired, and expression of genes involved in synaptic function was altered. Grm2 *407 was linked to increased alcohol consumption and preference in F2 rats generated by intercrossing inbred P and nonpreferring rats. Pharmacologic blockade of mGluR2 escalated alcohol self-administration in Wistar rats, the parental strain of P and nonpreferring rats. The causal role of mGluR2 in altered alcohol preference was further supported by elevated alcohol consumption in Grm2 (-/-) mice. Together, these data point to mGluR2 as an origin of alcohol preference and a potential therapeutic target.

The effects of PPAR-γ inhibition on gene expression and the progression of induced osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can differentiate into several cell types, such as osteoblasts and adipocytes, both in vitro and in vivo. Although these two differentiation pathways are distinct from each other, cross-communication between cells of the two lineages exists both systemically and peripherally in the tissue. The transcription factor PPAR-γ, the main switch in adipogenic differentiation of MSCs, has previously been described to have a negative effect on osteogenic differentiation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of PPAR-γ inhibition on osteogenic differentiation of human MSCs, in vitro. Extracellular matrix analysis and quantification of osteogenic markers, revealed how these cells respond when the adipogenic differentiation pathway is blocked during induction of osteogenic differentiation. The inhibition leads to a significant increase in mineralization of the extracellular matrix, as well as an increased activity or up-regulated gene expression of alkaline phosphatase, the key enzyme involved in matrix mineralization. Furthermore, it was also demonstrated by microarray analysis, that PPAR-γ inhibition during osteogenic induction leads to a significant up-regulation of a number of genes related to both osteogenesis and adipogenesis such as c10orf10, leptin, GDF5 and KLF15. In conclusion, inhibition of PPAR-γ during induction of osteogenesis leads to increased osteogenic differentiation of human MSCs.

Aflibercept versus placebo in combination with docetaxel and prednisone for treatment of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (VENICE): a phase 3, double-blind randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Docetaxel plus prednisone is standard first-line chemotherapy for men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer. Aflibercept is a recombinant human fusion protein that binds A and B isoforms of VEGF and placental growth factor, thereby inhibiting angiogenesis. We assessed whether the addition of aflibercept to docetaxel and prednisone would improve overall survival in men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer compared with the addition of placebo to docetaxel and prednisone. METHODS: VENICE was a phase 3, multicentre, randomised double-blind placebo-controlled parallel group study done in 31 countries (187 sites). Men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, adequate organ function, and no prior chemotherapy were treated with docetaxel (75 mg/m(2) intravenously every 3 weeks) and oral prednisone (5 mg twice daily) and randomly allocated (1:1) to receive aflibercept (6 mg/kg) or placebo, intravenously, every 3 weeks. Treatment allocation was done centrally via an interactive voice response system, using a computer-generated sequence with a permuted-block size of four and stratified according Eastern Co-operative Group performance status (0-1 vs 2). Patients, investigators, and other individuals responsible for study conduct and data analysis were masked to treatment assignment. Aflibercept or placebo vials were supplied in identical boxes. The primary endpoint was overall survival using intention-to-treat analysis. This is the primary analysis of the completed trial. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00519285 FINDINGS: Between Aug 17, 2007, and Feb 11, 2010, 1224 men were randomly allocated to treatment: 612 to each group. At final analysis, median follow-up was 35 months (IQR 29-41) and 873 men had died. Median overall survival was 22·1 months (95·6% CI 20·3-24·1) in the aflibercept group and 21·2 months (19·6-23·8) in the placebo group (stratified hazard ratio 0·94, 95·6% CI 0·82-1·08; p=0·38). We recorded a higher incidence of grade 3-4 gastrointestinal disorders (182 [30%] vs 48 [8·0%]), haemorrhagic events (32 [5·2%] vs ten [1·7%]), hypertension (81 [13%] vs 20 [3·3%]), fatigue (97 [16%] vs 46 [7·7%]), infections (123 [20%] vs 60 [10%]) and treatment-related fatal adverse events (21 [3·4%] vs nine [1·5%]) in the aflibercept group than in the placebo group. INTERPRETATION: Aflibercept in combination with docetaxel and prednisone given as first-line chemotherapy for men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer resulted in no improvement in overall survival and added toxicity compared with placebo. Docetaxel plus prednisone remains the standard treatment for such men who need first-line chemotherapy. FUNDING: Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.