The Clinical Utility of a 7-Gene Biosignature on Radiation Therapy Decision Making in Patients with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Following Breast-Conserving Surgery: An Updated Analysis of the DCISionRT® PREDICT Study.

BACKGROUND: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) is a standard treatment for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). A low-risk patient subset that does not benefit from RT has not yet been clearly identified. The DCISionRT test provides a clinically validated decision score (DS), which is prognostic of 10-year in-breast recurrence rates (invasive and non-invasive) and is also predictive of RT benefit. This analysis presents final outcomes from the PREDICT prospective registry trial aiming to determine how often the DCISionRT test changes radiation treatment recommendations. METHODS: Overall, 2496 patients were enrolled from February 2018 to January 2022 at 63 academic and community practice sites and received DCISionRT as part of their care plan. Treating physicians reported their treatment recommendations pre- and post-test as well as the patient's preference. The primary endpoint was to identify the percentage of patients where testing led to a change in RT recommendation. The impact of the test on RT treatment recommendation was physician specialty, treatment settings, individual clinical/pathological features and RTOG 9804 like criteria. Multivariate logisitc regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratio (ORs) for factors associated with the post-test RT recommendations. RESULTS: RT recommendation changed 38% of women, resulting in a 20% decrease in the overall recommendation of RT (p < 0.001). Of those women initially recommended no RT (n = 583), 31% were recommended RT post-test. The recommendation for RT post-test increased with increasing DS, from 29% to 66% to 91% for DS <2, DS 2-4, and DS >4, respectively. On multivariable analysis, DS had the strongest influence on final RT recommendation (odds ratio 22.2, 95% confidence interval 16.3-30.7), which was eightfold greater than clinicopathologic features. Furthermore, there was an overall change in the recommendation to receive RT in 42% of those patients meeting RTOG 9804-like low-risk criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The test results provided information that changes treatment recommendations both for and against RT use in large population of women with DCIS treated in a variety of clinical settings. Overall, clinicians changed their recommendations to include or omit RT for 38% of women based on the test results. Based on published clinical validations and the results from current study, DCISionRT may aid in preventing the over- and undertreatment of clinicopathological 'low-risk' and 'high-risk' DCIS patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03448926 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03448926 ).

Age-Independent Preoperative Chemosensitivity and 5-Year Outcome Determined by Combined 70- and 80-Gene Signature in a Prospective Trial in Early-Stage Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: The Neoadjuvant Breast Symphony Trial (NBRST) demonstrated the 70-gene risk of distant recurrence signature, MammaPrint, and the 80-gene molecular subtyping signature, BluePrint, precisely determined preoperative pathological complete response (pCR) in breast cancer patients. We report 5-year follow-up results in addition to an exploratory analysis by age and menopausal status. METHODS: The observational, prospective NBRST (NCT01479101) included 954 early-stage breast cancer patients aged 18-90 years who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and had clinical and genomic data available. Chemosensitivity and 5-year distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed. In a post hoc subanalysis, results were stratified by age (≤ 50 vs. > 50 years) and menopausal status in patients with hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2-) tumors. RESULTS: MammaPrint and BluePrint further classified 23% of tumors to a different subtype compared with immunohistochemistry, with more precise correspondence to pCR rates. Five-year DMFS and OS were highest in MammaPrint Low Risk, Luminal A-type and HER2-type tumors, and lowest in MammaPrint High Risk, Luminal B-type and Basal-type tumors. There was no significant difference in chemosensitivity between younger and older patients with Low-Risk (2.2% vs. 3.8%; p = 0.64) or High-Risk tumors (14.5% vs. 11.5%; p = 0.42), or within each BluePrint subtype; this was similar when stratifying by menopausal status. The 5-year outcomes were comparable by age or menopausal status for each molecular subtype. CONCLUSION: Intrinsic preoperative chemosensitivity and long-term outcomes were precisely determined by BluePrint and MammaPrint regardless of patient age, supporting the utility of these assays to inform treatment and surgical decisions in early-stage breast cancer.

The Clinical Utility of DCISionRT® on Radiation Therapy Decision Making in Patients with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Following Breast-Conserving Surgery.

BACKGROUND: The role of radiation therapy (RT) following breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) remains controversial. Trials have not identified a low-risk cohort, based on clinicopathologic features, who do not benefit from RT. A biosignature (DCISionRT®) that evaluates recurrence risk has been developed and validated. We evaluated the impact of DCISionRT on clinicians' recommendations for adjuvant RT. METHODS: The PREDICT study is a prospective, multi-institutional, observational registry in which patients underwent DCISionRT testing. The primary endpoint was to identify the percentage of patients where testing led to a change in RT recommendations. RESULTS: Overall, 539 women were included in this study. Pre DCISionRT testing, RT was recommended to 69% of patients; however, post-testing, a change in the RT recommendation was made for 42% of patients compared with the pre-testing recommendation; the percentage of women who were recommended RT decreased by 20%. For women initially recommended not to receive an RT pre-test, 35% had their recommendation changed to add RT following testing, while post-test, 46% of patients had their recommendation changed to omit RT after an initial recommendation for RT. When considered in conjunction with other clinicopathologic factors, the elevated DCISionRT score risk group (DS > 3) had the strongest association with an RT recommendation (odds ratio 43.4) compared with age, grade, size, margin status, and other factors. CONCLUSIONS: DCISionRT provided information that significantly changed the recommendations to add or omit RT. Compared with traditional clinicopathologic features used to determine recommendations for or against RT, the factor most strongly associated with RT recommendations was the DCISionRT result, with other factors of importance being patient preference, tumor size, and grade.

A neuroscience-based approach to changing organizational behaviour.

The greatest challenge in healthcare management is not identifying what changes are needed but actually changing behaviour on a long-term basis. Traditional approaches to organizational change are doomed to fail because they focus almost entirely on raising awareness. But countless studies show that the mere intention to change is not sufficient to reshape behaviour. In this article, we propose a new approach to organizational change informed by the principles of neuroleadership. The framework is called PHS: Priorities, Habits, Systems. The steps are as follows: (1) priorities: inform people about what changes are desired, (2) habits: teach people new habits, (3) systems: implement organizational systems to support and sustain new habits over the long term. By building solutions informed by the science of how the brain actually works, we believe organizations can bridge the intention behaviour gap and create lasting behaviour change.

Sexual health and function in later life: a population-based study of 606 older adults with a partner.

BACKGROUND: Sexual health and function is an important yet understudied aspect of overall health and well-being in older adults. There are limited data on the relative strength of associations between various aspects of sexual health with the physical, emotional, and cognitive function in older adults. Additionally, there is little information on how these associations differ by age and sex. METHODS: In this Successful Aging Evaluation (SAGE) study, 606 community-dwelling adults in San Diego County, aged 50-99 years and who had a partner, were included in the analysis. Evaluations included a phone-based cognitive screening followed by a comprehensive mail-in survey including rating scales of sexual health, depression, anxiety, and physical function. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 75.2 years. Over 80% of respondents had engaged in sexual activity in the past year, over 70% engaged in sexual activity weekly or more than once a week, and over 60% were somewhat or very satisfied with their sex lives. No sex differences were evident on dimensions of sexual health except for a higher rate of rejection of sexual overtures by women. Depressive symptoms were negatively associated with all assessed aspects of sexual health, even after adjusting for age, physical functioning, anxiety, cognitive ability, or perceived stress in both men and women. CONCLUSIONS: In this population-based study older men and women who had a partner reported frequent engagement in and satisfaction with sexual activity. Depressive symptoms were broadly associated with worse sexual health, more so than physical function, anxiety or stress, or age itself.

Associations of self-perceived successful aging in young-old versus old-old adults.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this research was to compare associations of self-perceived successful aging (SPSA) among Young-Old (Y-O; age 50-74 years) versus Old-Old (O-O; 75-99 years) community-dwelling adults. To our knowledge, this is the first study to compare respondents' self-perceptions of successful aging among O-O relative to Y-O adults. METHODS: Participants included 365 Y-O and 641 O-O adults. The two age groups were compared in terms of the association of SPSA with other preselected measures including sociodemographic information, physical and mental functioning, objective and subjective cognitive functioning, emotional health, and positive psychological constructs. RESULTS: The O-O group reported higher levels of SPSA than the Y-O group. In multiple regression modeling examining predictors of SPSA in each group, there was a tendency toward lower associations in the O-O group overall. Most notably, the associations between physical and mental functioning with SPSA were significantly lower in the O-O versus Y-O group. There were no associations with SPSA that were significantly higher in the O-O versus Y-O group. CONCLUSION: The lower predictive power of physical and mental functioning on SPSA among O-O relative to Y-O adults is particularly noteworthy. It is apparent that SPSA is a multidimensional construct that cannot be defined by physical functioning alone. Continuing to clarify the underlying factors impacting SPSA between groups may inform tailored interventions to promote successful aging in Y-O and O-O adults.

Combined 70- and 80-gene signatures identify tumors with genomically luminal biology responsive to neoadjuvant endocrine therapy and are prognostic of 5-year outcome in early-stage breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: As more patients with early-stage breast cancer receive neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET), there is a need for reliable biomarkers that can identify patients with HR+ HER2- tumors who are likely to benefit from NET. NBRST (NCT01479101) compared the prognostic value of the 70-gene risk classification and 80-gene molecular subtyping signatures with conventional pathological classification methods in response to neoadjuvant therapy. We evaluated the association of these signatures with clinical response and 5-year outcome of patients treated with NET. METHODS: 1091 patients with early-stage breast cancer scheduled to receive neoadjuvant therapy were prospectively enrolled into NBRST, and a sub-analysis of 67 patients treated with NET was performed. Patients received standard of care genomic testing using the 70-gene and 80-gene signatures and were treated with NET, per physician's discretion. The primary endpoint was pathologic partial response (pPR) and secondary endpoints were distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS). Clinical benefit was defined as having a pPR or stable disease (SD) with NET. RESULTS: Overall, 94.4% of patients with genomically (g) Luminal A-Type (50.0% pPR and 44.4% SD) and 95.0% with Luminal B-Type tumors (55.0% pPR and 40.0% SD) exhibited clinical benefit. At 5 years, patients with gLuminal B tumors had significantly worse DMFS (75.6%, 95% CI 50.8-89.1) than patients with gLuminal A (91.1%; 95% CI 74.8-97.1; p = 0.047), with a similar trend for OS, albeit not significant (81.0%, 95% CI 56.9-92.4 and 91.1%, 95% CI 74.8-97.1, respectively; p = 0.13). CONCLUSIONS: Genomic assays offer a broader understanding of the underlying tumor biology, which adds precision to pathology as a preoperative risk classifier. Patients with 70-gene signature Low Risk, gLuminal A tumors treated with endocrine therapy alone have excellent 5-year outcomes. Most patients with genomically-defined Luminal A- and B-Type tumors respond well to NET, suggesting these patients may be safely treated with NET, while those with gLuminal B tumors will also require post-operative chemotherapy or CDK4/6 inhibitors to improve long-term outcomes. Overall, these findings demonstrate that genomic classification, defined by the combined 70- and 80-gene signatures, is associated with tumor response and prognostic of long-term outcomes.

Distinct Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Response and 5-Year Outcome in Patients With Estrogen Receptor-Positive, Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Negative Breast Tumors That Reclassify as Basal-Type by the 80-Gene Signature.

PURPOSE: The 80-gene molecular subtyping signature (80-GS) reclassifies a proportion of immunohistochemistry (IHC)-defined luminal breast cancers (estrogen receptor-positive [ER+], human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative [HER2-]) as Basal-Type. We report the association of 80-GS reclassification with neoadjuvant treatment response and 5-year outcome in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: Neoadjuvant Breast Registry Symphony Trial (NBRST; NCT01479101) is an observational, prospective study that included 1,069 patients with early-stage breast cancer age 18-90 years who received neoadjuvant therapy. Pathologic complete response (pCR) and 5-year distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed in 477 patients with IHC-defined ER+, HER2- tumors and in a reference group of 229 patients with IHC-defined triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). RESULTS: 80-GS reclassified 15% of ER+, HER2- tumors (n = 73) as Basal-Type (ER+/Basal), which had similar pCR compared with TNBC/Basal tumors (34% v 38%; P = .52), and significantly higher pCR than ER+/Luminal A (2%; P < .001) and ER+/Luminal B (6%; P < .001) tumors. The 5-year DMFS (%, [95% CI]) was significantly lower for patients with ER+/Basal tumors (66% [52.6 to 77.3]), compared with those with ER+/Luminal A tumors (92.3% [85.2 to 96.1]) and ER+/Luminal B tumors (73.5% [44.5 to 79.3]). Importantly, patients with ER+/Basal or TNBC/Basal tumors that had a pCR exhibited significantly improved DMFS and OS compared with those with residual disease. By contrast, patients with ER+/Luminal B tumors had comparable 5-year DMFS and OS whether or not they achieved pCR. CONCLUSION: Significant differences in chemosensitivity and 5-year outcome suggest patients with ER+/Basal molecular subtype may benefit from neoadjuvant regimens optimized for patients with TNBC/Basal tumors compared with patients with ER+/Luminal subtype. These data highlight the importance of identifying this subset of patients to improve treatment planning and long-term survival.

1-Aminoindanes as novel motif with potential atypical antipsychotic properties.

As part of an on-going effort to investigate the chemical space requirements for D(2)/5-HT(2A) receptor antagonists as atypical antipsychotics, new 1-aminoindanes were synthesized. The replacement of the heterocycle (oxindole) in ziprasidone with a carbocycle (indane) was well tolerated and was found to retain binding affinities for dopamine D(2), serotonin 5-HT(2A), and serotonin 5-HT(1A). Such compounds hold promise as a new chemical motif with atypical antipsychotic properties for the treatment of schizophrenia and related disorders.

The antiparasitic moxidectin: safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics in humans.

A study in healthy male volunteers was completed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of a single oral dose of the antiparasitic moxidectin (MOX). This drug is registered worldwide as a veterinary antiparasitic agent for use in companion and farm animals. This is the first study of MOX in humans. All subjects were between the ages of 18 and 45 years, with normal cardiac, hematologic, hepatic, and renal function. Doses of MOX studied were 3, 9, 18, and 36 mg in cohorts of 6 subjects each (5:1, MOX:placebo). At the 9-mg and 36-mg doses, two separate cohorts were completed, one in the fasted state and one after the consumption of a high-fat breakfast. For all other cohorts, administration was in the fasted state. Safety and tolerability were assessed by physical examinations, ongoing evaluation of adverse events (AEs), and measurement of laboratory values. Pharmacokinetic (PK) samples were collected just prior to dosing and at various time points until 80 days postdose. Safety assessments from all dose groups studied suggested that MOX was generally safe and well tolerated, with a slightly higher incidence of transient, mild, and moderate central nervous system AEs as the dose increased as compared to placebo. The PKs of MOX were dose proportional within the dose range studied, and the elimination half-life (t1/2 elim) was long (mean: 20.2-35.1 days). At the 9-mg and 36-mg doses, a high-fat breakfast was shown to delay and increase the overall absorption but did not increase maximal concentrations when compared to administration in the fasted state. In summary, the results from this study indicate that MOX is safe and well tolerated in humans between the doses of 3 mg and 36 mg.

Association between older age and more successful aging: critical role of resilience and depression.

OBJECTIVE: There is growing public health interest in understanding and promoting successful aging. While there has been some exciting empirical work on objective measures of physical health, relatively little published research combines physical, cognitive, and psychological assessments in large, randomly selected, community-based samples to assess self-rated successful aging. METHOD: In the Successful AGing Evaluation (SAGE) study, the authors used a structured multicohort design to assess successful aging in 1,006 community-dwelling adults in San Diego County, ages 50-99 years, with oversampling of people over 80. A modified version of random-digit dialing was used to recruit subjects. Evaluations included a 25-minute telephone interview followed by a comprehensive mail-in survey of physical, cognitive, and psychological domains, including positive psychological traits and self-rated successful aging, scaled from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 77.3 years. Their mean self-rating of successful aging was 8.2, and older age was associated with a higher rating, despite worsening physical and cognitive functioning. The best multiple regression model achieved, using all the potential correlates, accounted for 30% of the variance in the score for self-rated successful aging and included resilience, depression, physical functioning, and age (entering the regression model in that order). CONCLUSIONS: Resilience and depression had significant associations with self-rated successful aging, with effects comparable in size to that for physical health. While no causality can be inferred from cross-sectional data, increasing resilience and reducing depression might have effects on successful aging as strong as that of reducing physical disability, suggesting an important role for psychiatry in promoting successful aging.

Metabolism-dependent mutagenicity of a compound containing a piperazinyl indazole motif: Role of a novel p450-mediated metabolic reaction involving a putative oxaziridine intermediate.

Compound 1a (6-chloro-5-{3-[4-(1H-indazol-3-yl)-piperazin-1-yl]-propyl}-3,3-dimethyl-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-one) was mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium TA98 in the presence of rat liver S9 subcellular fraction. The metabolism of 1a in rat liver S9 or microsomes demonstrated that it underwent a P450-mediated N-deindazolation (loss of indazole ring) as a predominant metabolic pathway. To investigate a possible link between metabolism and mutagenicity, a structural analogue 1b (6-chloro-5-{3-[4-(1H-indazol-3-yl)-piperidin-1-yl]-propyl}-3,3-dimethyl-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-one), the cleaved product 2a (6-chloro-3,3-dimethyl-5-(3-piperazin-1-yl-propyl)-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-one), and the core motif 3a (3-piperazinyl indazole) were evaluated in the Ames assay. It was found that 1b was not mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium TA98 in the absence or presence of a metabolic activating system. In contrast to 1a, 1b did not undergo the metabolic cleavage (loss of indazole ring). Marginal mutagenicity of 2a to TA98 was observed with rat liver S9, whereas 3a was shown to be a promutagen. It was further demonstrated that 1a inactivated P450 3A, the principle enzyme catalyzing the N-deindazolation reaction, in an NADPH-, time-, and concentration-dependent manner. The kinetics of inactivation was characterized by a K(I) of 8.1 microM and k(inact) of 0.114 min(-1). The differences in mutagenicity between 1a and 1b suggest that a chemical bond extending from the 3-position of the indazole to a heteroatom (as part of another cyclic ring) is a prerequisite for the toxicity. The metabolic process leading to the elimination of the indazole from the rest of the molecule apparently plays a key role in causing mutagenicity. It is postulated that the N-deindazolation of 1a proceeds via an oxaziridine intermediate, the formation of which is indirectly inferred from the presence of benzoic acid in microsomal incubations. Benzoic acid is thought to be derived from the hydrolysis of 3-indazolone, an unstable product generated from the oxaziridine. Evidence suggests that the electrophilic oxaziridine intermediate may be responsible for the mutagenicity and inactivation of P450 3A.