Spatial effects of infiltrating T cells on neighbouring cancer cells and prognosis in stage III CRC patients.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequently occurring cancers, but prognostic biomarkers identifying patients at risk of recurrence are still lacking. In this study, we aimed to investigate in more detail the spatial relationship between intratumoural T cells, cancer cells, and cancer cell hallmarks as prognostic biomarkers in stage III colorectal cancer patients. We conducted multiplexed imaging of 56 protein markers at single-cell resolution on resected fixed tissue from stage III CRC patients who received adjuvant 5-fluorouracil (5FU)-based chemotherapy. Images underwent segmentation for tumour, stroma, and immune cells, and cancer cell 'state' protein marker expression was quantified at a cellular level. We developed a Python package for estimation of spatial proximity, nearest neighbour analysis focusing on cancer cell-T-cell interactions at single-cell level. In our discovery cohort (Memorial Sloan Kettering samples), we processed 462 core samples (total number of cells: 1,669,228) from 221 adjuvant 5FU-treated stage III patients. The validation cohort (Huntsville Clearview Cancer Center samples) consisted of 272 samples (total number of cells: 853,398) from 98 stage III CRC patients. While there were trends for an association between the percentage of cytotoxic T cells (across the whole cancer core), it did not reach significance (discovery cohort: p = 0.07; validation cohort: p = 0.19). We next utilised our region-based nearest neighbour approach to determine the spatial relationships between cytotoxic T cells, helper T cells, and cancer cell clusters. In both cohorts, we found that shorter distance between cytotoxic T cells, T helper cells, and cancer cells was significantly associated with increased disease-free survival. An unsupervised trained model that clustered patients based on the median distance between immune cells and cancer cells, as well as protein expression profiles, successfully classified patients into low-risk and high-risk groups (discovery cohort: p = 0.01; validation cohort: p = 0.003). © 2024 The Author(s). The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

AZGP1 deficiency promotes angiogenesis in prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Loss of AZGP1 expression is a biomarker associated with progression to castration resistance, development of metastasis, and poor disease-specific survival in prostate cancer. However, high expression of AZGP1 cells in prostate cancer has been reported to increase proliferation and invasion. The exact role of AZGP1 in prostate cancer progression remains elusive. METHOD: AZGP1 knockout and overexpressing prostate cancer cells were generated using a lentiviral system. The effects of AZGP1 under- or over-expression in prostate cancer cells were evaluated by in vitro cell proliferation, migration, and invasion assays. Heterozygous AZGP1± mice were obtained from European Mouse Mutant Archive (EMMA), and prostate tissues from homozygous knockout male mice were collected at 2, 6 and 10 months for histological analysis. In vivo xenografts generated from AZGP1 under- or over-expressing prostate cancer cells were used to determine the role of AZGP1 in prostate cancer tumor growth, and subsequent proteomics analysis was conducted to elucidate the mechanisms of AZGP1 action in prostate cancer progression. AZGP1 expression and microvessel density were measured in human prostate cancer samples on a tissue microarray of 215 independent patient samples. RESULT: Neither the knockout nor overexpression of AZGP1 exhibited significant effects on prostate cancer cell proliferation, clonal growth, migration, or invasion in vitro. The prostates of AZGP1-/- mice initially appeared to have grossly normal morphology; however, we observed fibrosis in the periglandular stroma and higher blood vessel density in the mouse prostate by 6 months. In PC3 and DU145 mouse xenografts, over-expression of AZGP1 did not affect tumor growth. Instead, these tumors displayed decreased microvessel density compared to xenografts derived from PC3 and DU145 control cells, suggesting that AZGP1 functions to inhibit angiogenesis in prostate cancer. Proteomics profiling further indicated that, compared to control xenografts, AZGP1 overexpressing PC3 xenografts are enriched with angiogenesis pathway proteins, including YWHAZ, EPHA2, SERPINE1, and PDCD6, MMP9, GPX1, HSPB1, COL18A1, RNH1, and ANXA1. In vitro functional studies show that AZGP1 inhibits human umbilical vein endothelial cell proliferation, migration, tubular formation and branching. Additionally, tumor microarray analysis shows that AZGP1 expression is negatively correlated with blood vessel density in human prostate cancer tissues. CONCLUSION: AZGP1 is a negative regulator of angiogenesis, such that loss of AZGP1 promotes angiogenesis in prostate cancer. AZGP1 likely exerts heterotypical effects on cells in the tumor microenvironment, such as stromal and endothelial cells. This study sheds light on the anti-angiogenic characteristics of AZGP1 in the prostate and provides a rationale to target AZGP1 to inhibit prostate cancer progression.

Antiseptic Functions of CGK012 against HMGB1-Mediated Septic Responses.

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a protein with important functions, has been recognized as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of sepsis. One possible mechanism for this is that inhibiting HMGB1 secretion can exert antiseptic effects, which can restore the integrity of the vascular barrier. (7S)-(+)-cyclopentyl carbamic acid 8,8-dimethyl-2-oxo-6,7-dihydro-2H,8H-pyrano[3,2-g]chromen-7-yl-ester (CGK012) is a newly synthesized pyranocoumarin compound that could function as a novel small-molecule inhibitor of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. However, no studies have yet determined the effects of CGK012 on sepsis. We investigated the potential of CGK012 to attenuate the excessive permeability induced by HMGB1 and enhance survival rates in a mouse model of sepsis with reduced HMGB1 levels following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. In both LPS-stimulated human endothelial cells and a mouse model exhibiting septic symptoms due to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), we assessed proinflammatory protein levels and tissue damage biomarkers as indicators of reduced vascular permeability. CGK012 was applied after induction in human endothelial cells exposed to LPS and the CLP-induced mouse model of sepsis. CGK012 effectively mitigated excessive permeability and suppressed HMGB1 release, resulting in improved vascular stability, decreased mortality, and enhanced histological conditions in the mouse model of CLP-induced sepsis. In conclusion, our findings indicate that CGK012 treatment in mice with CLP-induced sepsis diminished HMGB1 release and increased the survival rate, suggesting its potential as a pharmaceutical intervention for sepsis.

FLINO: a new method for immunofluorescence bioimage normalization.

MOTIVATION: Multiplexed immunofluorescence bioimaging of single-cells and their spatial organization in tissue holds great promise to the development of future precision diagnostics and therapeutics. Current multiplexing pipelines typically involve multiple rounds of immunofluorescence staining across multiple tissue slides. This introduces experimental batch effects that can hide underlying biological signal. It is important to have robust algorithms that can correct for the batch effects while not introducing biases into the data. Performance of data normalization methods can vary among different assay pipelines. To evaluate differences, it is critical to have a ground truth dataset that is representative of the assay. RESULTS: A new immunoFLuorescence Image NOrmalization method is presented and evaluated against alternative methods and workflows. Multiround immunofluorescence staining of the same tissue with the nuclear dye DAPI was used to represent virtual slides and a ground truth. DAPI was restained on a given tissue slide producing multiple images of the same underlying structure but undergoing multiple representative tissue handling steps. This ground truth dataset was used to evaluate and compare multiple normalization methods including median, quantile, smooth quantile, median ratio normalization and trimmed mean of the M-values. These methods were applied in both an unbiased grid object and segmented cell object workflow to 24 multiplexed biomarkers. An upper quartile normalization of grid objects in log space was found to obtain almost equivalent performance to directly normalizing segmented cell objects by the middle quantile. The developed grid-based technique was then applied with on-slide controls for evaluation. Using five or fewer controls per slide can introduce biases into the data. Ten or more on-slide controls were able to robustly correct for batch effects. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The data underlying this article along with the FLINO R-scripts used to perform the evaluation of image normalizations methods and workflows can be downloaded from https://github.com/GE-Bio/FLINO. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Stratification of chemotherapy-treated stage III colorectal cancer patients using multiplexed imaging and single-cell analysis of T-cell populations.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has one of the highest cancer incidences and mortality rates. In stage III, postoperative chemotherapy benefits <20% of patients, while more than 50% will develop distant metastases. Biomarkers for identification of patients at increased risk of disease recurrence following adjuvant chemotherapy are currently lacking. In this study, we assessed immune signatures in the tumor and tumor microenvironment (TME) using an in situ multiplexed immunofluorescence imaging and single-cell analysis technology (Cell DIVETM) and evaluated their correlations with patient outcomes. Tissue microarrays (TMAs) with up to three 1 mm diameter cores per patient were prepared from 117 stage III CRC patients treated with adjuvant fluoropyrimidine/oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) chemotherapy. Single sections underwent multiplexed immunofluorescence staining for immune cell markers (CD45, CD3, CD4, CD8, FOXP3, PD1) and tumor/cell segmentation markers (DAPI, pan-cytokeratin, AE1, NaKATPase, and S6). We used annotations and a probabilistic classification algorithm to build statistical models of immune cell types. Images were also qualitatively assessed independently by a Pathologist as 'high', 'moderate' or 'low', for stromal and total immune cell content. Excellent agreement was found between manual assessment and total automated scores (p < 0.0001). Moreover, compared to single markers, a multi-marker classification of regulatory T cells (Tregs: CD3+/CD4+FOXP3+/PD1-) was significantly associated with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.049 and 0.032) of FOLFOX-treated patients. Our results also showed that PD1- Tregs rather than PD1+ Tregs were associated with improved survival. These findings were supported by results from an independent FOLFOX-treated cohort of 191 stage III CRC patients, where higher PD1- Tregs were associated with an increase overall survival (p = 0.015) for CD3+/CD4+/FOXP3+/PD1-. Overall, compared to single markers, multi-marker classification provided more accurate quantitation of immune cell types with stronger correlations with outcomes.

Impact of UGT1A1 genotype on the efficacy and safety of irinotecan-based chemotherapy in metastatic colorectal cancer.

The phase III AXEPT study showed the noninferiority of modified capecitabine plus irinotecan (mXELIRI) with or without bevacizumab relative to fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) with or without bevacizumab as a second-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. We evaluated the associations between the UGT1A1 genotype linked to adverse events-caused by irinotecan-and the efficacy and safety of mXELIRI and FOLFIRI. The UGT1A1 genotype was prospectively determined and patients were categorized into three groups according to WT (*1/*1), single heterozygous (SH; *28/*1 or *6/*1), and double heterozygous or homozygous (DHH; *28/*28, *6/*6, or *28/*6). Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival, response rate, and safety were assessed. The UGT1A1 genotype was available in all 650 randomized patients (WT, 309 [47.5%]; SH, 291 [44.8%]; DHH, 50 [7.7%]). The median OS was 15.9, 17.7, and 10.6 months in the WT, SH, and DHH groups, respectively, with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.53 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-2.09; P = .008) for DHH vs WT or SH. The median OS in the mXELIRI and FOLFIRI arms was 18.1 vs 14.3 months (HR 0.80; 95% CI, 0.62-1.03) in the WT group, 16.3 vs 18.3 months (HR 1.04; 95% CI, 0.79-1.36) in the SH group, and 13.0 vs 9.1 months (HR 0.71; 95% CI, 0.39-1.31) in the DHH group, respectively. Modified capecitabine plus irinotecan with or without bevacizumab could be a standard second-line chemotherapy in terms of efficacy and safety regardless of the UGT1A1 genotype.

Multi-protein spatial signatures in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of breast.

BACKGROUND: There is limited knowledge about DCIS cellular composition and relationship with breast cancer events (BCE). METHODS: Immunofluorescence multiplexing (MxIF) was used to image and quantify 32 cellular biomarkers in FFPE DCIS tissue microarrays. Over 75,000 DCIS cells from 51 patients (median 9 years follow-up for non-BCE cases) were analysed for profiles predictive of BCE. K-means clustering was used to evaluate cellular co-expression of epithelial markers with ER and HER2. RESULTS: Only ER, PR and HER2 significantly correlated with BCE. Cluster analysis identified 6 distinct cell groups with different levels of ER, Her2, cMET and SLC7A5. Clusters 1 and 3 were not significant. Clusters 2 and 4 (high ER/low HER2 and SLC7A5/mixed cMET) significantly correlated with low BCE risk (P = 0.001 and P = 0.034), while cluster 6 (high HER2/low ER, cMET and SLC7A5) correlated with increased risk (P = 0.018). Cluster 5 (similar to cluster 6, except high SLC7A5) trended towards significance (P = 0.072). A continuous expression score (Escore) based on these 4 clusters predicted likelihood of BCE (AUC = 0.79, log-rank test P = 5E-05; LOOCV AUC = 0.74, log-rank test P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: Multiplexed spatial analysis of limited tissue is a novel method for biomarker analysis and predicting BCEs. Further validation of Escore is needed in a larger cohort.

Association between ALDH2 polymorphism and esophageal cancer risk in South Koreans: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for esophageal cancer; however, a high incidence of esophageal cancer is observed particularly among Eastern Asians, although they consume relatively less alcohol, presumably due to the high frequency of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) rs671 polymorphisms. Nevertheless, the association between ALDH2 polymorphisms and esophageal cancer remains under debate. In the present study, we evaluated the association between ALDH2 rs671 polymorphisms and the risk of esophageal cancer in the South Korean population. METHODS: This study included 783 hospital based-cases and 8732 population-based controls. Information on smoking history and alcohol consumption was obtained from the medical records or interview questionnaires. Age-adjusted logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between ALDH2 rs671 polymorphisms and esophageal cancer. RESULTS: Odds ratios (ORs) for esophageal cancer in men with GA and AA genotypes were 2.75 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.34-3.23) and 0.08 (95% CI: 0.00-0.35), respectively; whereas, in women, these ratios were 2.99 (95% CI: 1.43-6.34) and 6.18 (95% CI: 1.40-19.62), respectively, taking subjects with the ALDH2 GG genotype as a reference. In men, the association between ALDH2 polymorphisms and esophageal cancer was modified by alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION: In Eastern Asians, ALDH2 rs671 polymorphisms are associated with esophageal cancer, which may be linked to acetaldehyde accumulation.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 increases epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling by inducing amphiregulin expression and attenuates response to EGFR inhibitors in colon cancer.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) is known to induce cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and antiapoptosis through activation of RAS/RAF/ERK and PI3K/AKT pathways, which are also known as major molecular bases of colon cancer carcinogenesis related with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling. However, the interaction between FGFR4 and EGFR signaling in regard to colon cancer progression is unclear. Here, we investigated a potential cross-talk between FGFR4 and EGFR, and the effect of anti-EGFR therapy in colon cancer treatment. To explore the biological roles of FGFR4 in cancer progression, RNA sequencing was carried out using FGFR4 transfected colon cell lines. Gene ontology data showed the upregulation of genes related to EGFR signaling, and we identified that FGFR4 overexpression secretes EGFR ligands such as amphiregulin (AREG) with consequent activation of EGFR and ErbB3. This result was also shown in in vivo study and the cooperative interaction between EGFR and FGFR4 promoted tumor growth. In addition, FGFR4 overexpression reduced cetuximab-induced cytotoxicity and the combination of FGFR4 inhibitor (BLU9931) and cetuximab showed profound antitumor effect compared to cetuximab alone. Clinically, we found the positive correlation between FGFR4 and AREG expression in tumor tissue, but not in normal tissue, from colon cancer patients and these expressions were significantly correlated with poor overall survival in patients treated with cetuximab. Therefore, our results provide the novel mechanism of FGFR4 in connection with EGFR activation and the combination of FGFR4 inhibitor and cetuximab could be a promising therapeutic option to achieve the optimal response to anti-EGFR therapy in colon cancer.

Prevalence and predictors of major depressive disorder in bereaved caregivers at 6 and 13 months.

OBJECTIVE: Depressive symptoms are common in bereaved caregivers; however, there have been few prospective studies using a structured interview. This study investigated the prevalence and preloss predictors of major depressive disorder (MDD) in bereaved caregivers of patients in a palliative care unit. METHOD: This prospective cohort study collected caregiver sociodemographic and psychological data before the death of a palliative care unit patient, including MDD, care-burden, coping style, and hopeful attitude. Postloss MDD was assessed 6 and 13 months after death, and a multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify its predictors.ResultOf 305 caregivers contacted, 92 participated in this study. The prevalence of preloss MDD was 21.8%; the prevalences of postloss MDD were 34.8% and 24.7% at 6 and 13 months, respectively. Preloss MDD predicted postloss MDD at 6 months (odds ratio [OR] = 5.38, 95% confidence interval [CI95%] = 1.29, 22.43); preloss nonhopeful attitude and unemployment status of caregivers predicted postloss MDD at 13 months (OR = 8.77, CI95% = 1.87, 41.13 and OR = 7.10, CI95% = 1.28, 39.36, respectively).Significance of resultsApproximately 35% of caregivers suffered from MDD at 6 months postloss, but the prevalence of MDD decreased to about 25% at 13 months. Preloss MDD significantly predicted postloss MDD at 6 months, whereas hopeful attitude and unemployment at baseline were significantly associated with postloss MDD at 13 months.

Modified XELIRI (capecitabine plus irinotecan) versus FOLFIRI (leucovorin, fluorouracil, and irinotecan), both either with or without bevacizumab, as second-line therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer (AXEPT): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, non-inferiority, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: Studies of a modified XELIRI (mXELIRI; capecitabine plus irinotecan) regimen suggest promising efficacy and tolerability profiles in the first-line and second-line settings. Therefore, we aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of the mXELIRI regimen with that of standard FOLFIRI (leucovorin, fluorouracil, and irinotecan), with or without bevacizumab in both regimens, as a second-line therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer. METHODS: We did a multicentre, open-label, randomised, non-inferiority, phase 3 trial. We enrolled patients from 98 hospitals in Japan, China, and South Korea who were aged 20 years or older with histologically confirmed and unresectable colorectal adenocarcinoma, and who had withdrawn from first-line chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer. We randomly assigned patients (1:1) to receive either mXELIRI with or without bevacizumab (irinotecan 200 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1 plus oral capecitabine 800 mg/m2 twice daily on days 1-14, repeated every 21 days, with or without bevacizumab 7·5 mg/kg intravenously on day 1) or FOLFIRI with or without bevacizumab (irinotecan 180 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1, leucovorin 200 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1, fluorouracil 400 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1, and a 46-h continuous intravenous infusion of fluorouracil [2400 mg/m2], repeated every 14 days, with or without the addition of bevacizumab 5 mg/kg intravenously on day 1) via a centralised electronic system. We used the minimisation method to stratify randomisation by country, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, number of metastatic sites, previous oxaliplatin treatment, and concomitant bevacizumab treatment. Patients and clinicians were not masked to the allocated treatment. The primary endpoint was overall survival analysed on an intention-to-treat basis with a non-inferiority upper margin of 1·30 for the hazard ratio (HR). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01996306, and is ongoing but no longer recruiting participants. FINDINGS: Between Dec 2, 2013, and Aug 13, 2015, 650 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive mXELIRI with or without bevacizumab (n=326) or FOLFIRI with or without bevacizumab (n=324). After a median follow-up of 15·8 months (IQR 8·7-24·9), a total of 490 patients had died (242 in the mXELIRI with or without bevacizumab group and 248 in the FOLFIRI with or without bevacizumab group) and the median overall survival was 16·8 months (95% CI 15·3-19·1) in the mXELIRI group and 15·4 months (13·0-17·7) in the FOLFIRI group (HR 0·85, 95% CI 0·71-1·02; pnon-inferiority<0·0001). In the per-protocol safety population, the most common grade 3-4 adverse event was neutropenia (affecting 52 [17%] of 310 patients in the mXELIRI group and 133 [43%] of 310 in the FOLFIRI group). Incidences of grade 3-4 diarrhoea were higher in the mXELIRI group (22 [7%]) than in the FOLFIRI group (ten [3%]). Serious adverse events were reported in 46 (15%) of 310 patients in the mXELIRI group and 63 (20%) of 310 in the FOLFIRI group. Two treatment-related deaths (one pneumonitis and one lung infection) were observed in the mXELIRI group and there was one treatment-related death (lung infection) in the FOLFIRI group. INTERPRETATION: mXELIRI with or without bevacizumab is well tolerated and non-inferior to FOLFIRI with or without bevacizumab in terms of overall survival. mXELIRI could be an alternative to FOLFIRI as a standard second-line backbone treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer, at least for Asian patient populations. FUNDING: Chugai Pharmaceutical and F Hoffmann-La Roche.

The role of interim FDG PET-CT after induction chemotherapy as a predictor of concurrent chemoradiotherapy efficacy and prognosis for head and neck cancer.

PURPOSE: Induction chemotherapy (ICT) with docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (TPF) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) has the advantages of organ preservation and systemic control in head and neck cancer (HNC). Early prediction of CCRT efficacy may help identify patients who will benefit more from surgery than from CCRT. We investigated the role of interim 18-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose positron emission tomography computed tomography (FDG PET-CT) after ICT to predict the efficacy of CCRT and clinical outcomes. METHODS: Tumor responses were retrospectively reviewed after CCRT based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. FDG PET-CT imaging was performed before and after three cycles of TPF. We examined the associations between the metabolic response (percentage decrease in the maximum standardized uptake value [SUVmax] and total metabolic tumor volume [MTV]) after ICT and complete response (CR) to CCRT, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: We studied 43 HNC patients with a median follow-up of 32.7 months. Lymph node (LN) SUVmax and total MTV decreases from baseline after ICT were greater in patients with a CR to CCRT than in non-CR patients (LN SUVmax, 88.8% vs. 62.5%, respectively; total MTV, 99.7% vs. 89.9%, respectively). Decreases in total MTV ≥ 78% and LN SUVmax ≥73% after ICT predicted CR to CCRT and longer OS and PFS. CONCLUSIONS: Using interim FDG PET-CT to measure SUVmax and total MTV after three cycles of ICT may be a useful technique for identifying HNC patients who will benefit from CCRT and predicting survival outcomes.

Targeting CD46 Enhances Anti-Tumoral Activity of Adenovirus Type 5 for Bladder Cancer.

CD46 is generally overexpressed in many human cancers, representing a prime target for CD46-binding adenoviruses (Ads). This could help to overcome low anti-tumoral activity by coxsackie-adenoviral receptor (CAR)-targeting cancer gene therapy viruses. However, because of scarce side-by-side information about CAR and CD46 expression levels in cancer cells, mixed observations of cancer therapeutic efficacy have been observed. This study evaluated Ad-mediated therapeutic efficacy using either CAR-targeting Ad5 or CD46-targeting Ad5/35 fiber chimera in bladder cancer cell lines. Compared with normal urothelia, bladder cancer tissue generally overexpressed both CAR and CD46. While CAR expression was not correlated with disease progression, CD46 expression was inversely correlated with tumor grade, stage, and risk grade. In bladder cancer cell lines, expression levels of CD46 and CAR were highly correlated with Ad5/35- and Ad5-mediated gene transduction and cytotoxicity, respectively. In a human EJ bladder cancer xenograft mouse model, with either overexpressed or suppressed CD46 expression levels, Ad5/35-tk followed by ganciclovir (GCV) treatment significantly affected tumor growth, whereas Ad5-tk/GCV had only minimal effects. Overall, our findings suggest that bladder cancer cells overexpress both CAR and CD46, and that adenoviral cancer gene therapy targeting CD46 represents a more suitable therapy option than a CAR-targeting therapy, especially in patients with low risk bladder cancers.

Efficacy and Safety of FOLFIRI Regimen in Elderly Versus Nonelderly Patients with Metastatic Colorectal or Gastric Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Irinotecan-based chemotherapy is a standard backbone of therapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) or gastric cancer (GC). However, there is still a paucity of information concerning the efficacy and safety of irinotecan-based regimens in elderly patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using the patient cohort (n = 1,545) from the UGT1A1 genotype study, we compared the efficacy and safety between elderly and nonelderly patients with metastatic CRC (n = 934) or GC (n = 611) who received first- or second-line FOLFIRI (irinotecan, leucovorin, and 5-fluorouracil) chemotherapy. RESULTS: Despite lower relative dose intensity in elderly patients, progression-free survival and overall survival were similar between elderly (age ≥70 years) and nonelderly (<70 years) patients in the CRC cohort (hazard ratio [HR], 1.117; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.927-1.345; p = .244, and HR, 0.989; 95% CI, 0.774-1.264; p = .931, respectively) and the GC cohort (HR, 1.093; 95% CI, 0.854-1.400; p = .479, and HR, 1.188; 95% CI, 0.891-1.585; p = .241, respectively). In both cohorts, febrile neutropenia (22.1% vs. 14.6% in CRC cohort and 35.2% vs. 22.5% in GC cohort) and asthenia (grade 3: 8.4% vs. 1.7% in CRC cohort and 5.5% vs. 2.9% in GC cohort) were more frequent in elderly patients. In the CRC cohort, mucositis and anorexia were more frequent in elderly patients. In the GC cohort, nausea and vomiting were less frequent in elderly patients. CONCLUSION: The efficacy of the FOLFIRI regimen was similar between elderly and nonelderly patients in both the CRC and the GC cohorts. However, special attention should be paid to elderly patients because of increased risk for febrile neutropenia and asthenia. The Oncologist 2017;22:293-303 IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The efficacy of FOLFIRI (irinotecan, leucovorin, and 5-fluorouracil) chemotherapy in elderly patients with metastatic colorectal cancer or gastric cancer was similar to that in nonelderly patients. However, special attention should be paid to elderly patients because of the increased risk for febrile neutropenia and asthenia. These data suggest that the FOLFIRI regimen could be considered as a standard backbone of therapy in elderly patients with metastatic colorectal cancer or gastric cancer and that the clinical decision between doublet and singlet chemotherapy may not be based solely on age. However, the data require further assessment of frailty and performance status.

Identification of Susceptibility Loci and Genes for Colorectal Cancer Risk.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Known genetic factors explain only a small fraction of genetic variation in colorectal cancer (CRC). We conducted a genome-wide association study to identify risk loci for CRC. METHODS: This discovery stage included 8027 cases and 22,577 controls of East-Asian ancestry. Promising variants were evaluated in studies including as many as 11,044 cases and 12,047 controls. Tumor-adjacent normal tissues from 188 patients were analyzed to evaluate correlations of risk variants with expression levels of nearby genes. Potential functionality of risk variants were evaluated using public genomic and epigenomic databases. RESULTS: We identified 4 loci associated with CRC risk; P values for the most significant variant in each locus ranged from 3.92 × 10(-8) to 1.24 × 10(-12): 6p21.1 (rs4711689), 8q23.3 (rs2450115, rs6469656), 10q24.3 (rs4919687), and 12p13.3 (rs11064437). We also identified 2 risk variants at loci previously associated with CRC: 10q25.2 (rs10506868) and 20q13.3 (rs6061231). These risk variants, conferring an approximate 10%-18% increase in risk per allele, are located either inside or near protein-coding genes that include transcription factor EB (lysosome biogenesis and autophagy), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3, subunit H (initiation of translation), cytochrome P450, family 17, subfamily A, polypeptide 1 (steroidogenesis), splA/ryanodine receptor domain and SOCS box containing 2 (proteasome degradation), and ribosomal protein S2 (ribosome biogenesis). Gene expression analyses showed a significant association (P < .05) for rs4711689 with transcription factor EB, rs6469656 with eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3, subunit H, rs11064437 with splA/ryanodine receptor domain and SOCS box containing 2, and rs6061231 with ribosomal protein S2. CONCLUSIONS: We identified susceptibility loci and genes associated with CRC risk, linking CRC predisposition to steroid hormone, protein synthesis and degradation, and autophagy pathways and providing added insight into the mechanism of CRC pathogenesis.

A Prospective Multicenter Study Evaluating Secondary Adrenal Suppression After Antiemetic Dexamethasone Therapy in Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy: A Korean South West Oncology Group Study.

BACKGROUND: In a previous pilot study, adrenal suppression was found to be common after antiemetic dexamethasone therapy in cancer patients. The objective of this large prospective multicenter study was to confirm the incidence and factors associated with secondary adrenal suppression related to antiemetic dexamethasone therapy in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. METHODS: Chemotherapy-naïve patients who were scheduled to receive at least three cycles of highly or moderately emetogenic chemotherapy with dexamethasone as an antiemetic were enrolled. Patients with a suppressed adrenal response before chemotherapy or those administered corticosteroids within 6 months of enrollment in the study were excluded. RESULTS: Between October 2010 and August 2014, 481 patients receiving chemotherapy underwent the rapid adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test to assess eligibility; 350 of these patients were included in the final analysis. Fifty-six patients (16.0%) showed a suppressed adrenal response in the rapid ACTH stimulation test at 3 or 6 months after the start of the first chemotherapy. The incidence of adrenal suppression was affected by age, performance status, stage, and use of megestrol acetate in univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis revealed that secondary adrenal suppression associated with antiemetic dexamethasone therapy was significantly associated with megestrol acetate treatment (odds ratio: 3.06; 95% confidence interval: 1.60 to 5.86; p < .001). CONCLUSION: This large prospective study indicates that approximately 15% of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy with a normal adrenal response show suppressed adrenal responses after antiemetic dexamethasone therapy. This result was particularly significant for patients cotreated with megestrol acetate.

Differential Associations Between Delirium and Mortality According to Delirium Subtype and Age: A Prospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the differential associations between delirium and mortality in terminally ill patients according to delirium subtype and age. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of terminally ill patients. Delirium was diagnosed using the confusion assessment method. Delirium subtypes were defined based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition criteria and the Delirium Rating Scale-98-R. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to examine predictors of mortality. RESULTS: Of the 322 cases, 98 patients (30.4%) were diagnosed as having delirium. The median (interquartile range) number of survival days after admission was 17.0 (10.0-36.0) days for patients with delirium and 28.0 (16.0-57.0) days for patients without delirium (p = .002). A multivariate analysis revealed that patients with hypoactive and mixed subtypes of delirium survived for shorter periods compared with patients without delirium (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.65 [95% confidence interval {CI} = 1.05-2.59, p = .029] and HR = 2.30 [95% CI = 1.44-3.69, p = .001], respectively). The hypoactive and mixed delirium subtypes exhibited significant interactions with age: younger age was associated with shorter periods of survival in patients with hypoactive and mixed subtype delirium (HR = 0.95 [95% CI = 0.93-0.98, p < .001] and HR = 0.97 [95% CI = 0.93-1.00, p = .038], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The hypoactive and mixed subtypes of delirium were associated with shorter survival periods in terminally ill patients, and these associations interacted significantly with age. These findings support the clinical and academic value of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition specifiers that differentiate the diagnoses of delirium subtypes.

Prognostic significance of the concomitant existence of lymphovascular and perineural invasion in locally advanced gastric cancer patients who underwent curative gastrectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we evaluated the prognostic significance of the concomitant existence of lymphovascular invasion and perineural invasion in patients with advanced gastric cancer. METHODS: A total of 206 consecutive patients with Stage II or III gastric cancer who underwent curative D2 gastrectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy from April 2004 to December 2011 were analyzed. Patients were classified into four groups according to the presence (+) or absence (-) of lymphovascular invasion and perineural invasion: lymphovascular invasion-/perineural invasion- (n = 33), lymphovascular invasion+/perineural invasion- (n = 31), lymphovascular invasion-/perineural invasion+ (n = 54) and lymphovascular invasion+/perineural invasion+ (n = 88). RESULTS: A total of 136 patients (66.0%) received 5-fluorouracil plus cisplatin adjuvant chemotherapy and 70 patients (34.0%) received TS-1. During the median follow-up period of 35.18 months, the median disease-free survival times for lymphovascular invasion-/perineural invasion-, lymphovascular invasion+/perineural invasion- and lymphovascular invasion-/perineural invasion+ were not reached at the time of analysis; however, median disease-free survival for lymphovascular invasion+/perineural invasion+ was the worst (36.73 months, P = 0.001). The median overall survival in the four groups was also not reached at the time of analysis; however, median overall survival with lymphovascular invasion+/perineural invasion+ was the poorest (P = 0.002). In a multivariate analysis, lymphovascular invasion+/perineural invasion+ was an independent prognostic factor for both disease-free survival (hazard ratio = 1.940, 95% confidence interval 1.157-3.252, P = 0.012) and overall survival (hazard ratio = 2.973, 95% confidence interval 1.561-5.662, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The concomitant existence of lymphovascular and perineural invasion has a significant prognostic impact on disease-free survival and overall survival in patients with Stage II or III gastric cancer.

Thermoelectric imaging of structural disorder in epitaxial graphene.

Heat is a familiar form of energy transported from a hot side to a colder side of an object, but not a notion associated with microscopic measurements of electronic properties. A temperature difference within a material causes charge carriers, electrons or holes to diffuse along the temperature gradient inducing a thermoelectric voltage. Here we show that local thermoelectric measurements can yield high-sensitivity imaging of structural disorder on the atomic and nanometre scales. The thermopower measurement acts to amplify the variations in the local density of states at the Fermi level, giving high differential contrast in thermoelectric signals. Using this imaging technique, we uncovered point defects in the first layer of epitaxial graphene, which generate soliton-like domain-wall line patterns separating regions of the different interlayer stacking of the second graphene layer.

Seebeck effect at the atomic scale.

The atomic variations of electronic wave functions at the surface and electron scattering near a defect have been detected unprecedentedly by tracing thermoelectric voltages given a temperature bias [Cho et al., Nat. Mater. 12, 913 (2013)]. Because thermoelectricity, or the Seebeck effect, is associated with heat-induced electron diffusion, how the thermoelectric signal is related to the atomic-scale wave functions and what the role of the temperature is at such a length scale remain very unclear. Here we show that coherent electron and heat transport through a pointlike contact produces an atomic Seebeck effect, which is described by the mesoscopic Seebeck coefficient multiplied by an effective temperature drop at the interface. The mesoscopic Seebeck coefficient is approximately proportional to the logarithmic energy derivative of local density of states at the Fermi energy. We deduced that the effective temperature drop at the tip-sample junction could vary at a subangstrom scale depending on atom-to-atom interaction at the interface. A computer-based simulation method of thermoelectric images is proposed, and a point defect in graphene was identified by comparing experiment and the simulation of thermoelectric imaging.