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1.
Commun Biol ; 7(1): 314, 2024 Mar 13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38480799

ABSTRACT

Histopathologic diagnosis and classification of cancer plays a critical role in guiding treatment. Advances in next-generation sequencing have ushered in new complementary molecular frameworks. However, existing approaches do not independently assess both site-of-origin (e.g. prostate) and lineage (e.g. adenocarcinoma) and have minimal validation in metastatic disease, where classification is more difficult. Utilizing gradient-boosted machine learning, we developed ATLAS, a pair of separate AI Tumor Lineage and Site-of-origin models from RNA expression data on 8249 tumor samples. We assessed performance independently in 10,376 total tumor samples, including 1490 metastatic samples, achieving an accuracy of 91.4% for cancer site-of-origin and 97.1% for cancer lineage. High confidence predictions (encompassing the majority of cases) were accurate 98-99% of the time in both localized and remarkably even in metastatic samples. We also identified emergent properties of our lineage scores for tumor types on which the model was never trained (zero-shot learning). Adenocarcinoma/sarcoma lineage scores differentiated epithelioid from biphasic/sarcomatoid mesothelioma. Also, predicted lineage de-differentiation identified neuroendocrine/small cell tumors and was associated with poor outcomes across tumor types. Our platform-independent single-sample approach can be easily translated to existing RNA-seq platforms. ATLAS can complement and guide traditional histopathologic assessment in challenging situations and tumors of unknown primary.


Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma , Mesothelioma, Malignant , Neuroendocrine Tumors , Male , Humans , Machine Learning , Adenocarcinoma/diagnosis , Adenocarcinoma/genetics
2.
J Natl Compr Canc Netw ; 22(2): 91-97, 2024 02 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38364368

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Distress among gynecologic oncology patients correlates with poor clinical outcomes and decreased quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine risk factors for elevated NCCN Distress Thermometer (DT) results among postoperative gynecologic oncology patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of all postoperative visits over a 5-year period. NCCN DT results were analyzed as both discretized values (DT ≤3 = low distress; DT 4-8 = moderate distress; DT ≥9 = high distress) and continuous variables. Patients with a DT score ≥4 were referred to social work. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to compare NCCN DT results with clinical and sociodemographic variables. Statistical significance was P<.05. RESULTS: In total, 1,795 NCCN DT results were included, with uterine (37.72%) being the most common disease site. Benign pathology was known prior to completion of the NCCN DT in 13.15% of patients. Most patients (71.75%) endorsed low levels of distress. Moderate/High levels of distress were reported by 28.25% of patients. Increasing levels of distress were significantly associated with younger age (P=.006), history of depression (P≤.001), status as a current smoker (P=.028), and history of asthma (P=.041). Knowledge of benign pathology was associated with low levels of distress (P=.002). Procedure type and disease site were not associated with distress. CONCLUSIONS: More than one-fourth of postoperative patients in a gynecologic oncology practice reported moderate or high distress. Distress was highest among those with malignancy regardless of disease site or surgical intervention. Benign pathology correlated with decreased distress. Identified associations with distress provide opportunities for prevention, early intervention, and tailored counseling.


Subject(s)
Genital Neoplasms, Female , Neoplasms , Humans , Female , Genital Neoplasms, Female/surgery , Genital Neoplasms, Female/complications , Retrospective Studies , Quality of Life , Stress, Psychological/epidemiology , Stress, Psychological/etiology , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Neoplasms/complications , Risk Factors , Surveys and Questionnaires
3.
Oncologist ; 29(3): 270-e413, 2024 Mar 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38325328

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Combination checkpoint inhibition therapy with yttrium-90 (Y90) radioembolization represents an emerging area of interest in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCRN GI15-225 is an open-label, single-arm multicenter, pilot study (NCT03099564). METHODS: Eligible patients had poor prognosis, localized HCC defined as having portal vein thrombus, multifocal disease, and/or diffuse disease that were not eligible for liver transplant or surgical resection. Patients received pembrolizumab 200 mg intravenously every 3 weeks in conjunction with glass yttrium-90 (Y90) radioembolization TheraSphere. Primary endpoint was 6-month progression-free survival (PFS6) per RECIST 1.1. Secondary endpoints included time to progression (TTP), objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), and safety/tolerability. RESULTS: Between October 23, 2017 and November 24, 2020, 29 patients were enrolled: 2 were excluded per protocol. Fifteen of the remaining 27 patients were free of progression at 6 months (55.6%; 95% CI, 35.3-74.5) with median PFS 9.95 months (95% CI, 4.14-15.24) and OS 27.30 months (95% CI, 10.15-39.52). One patient was not evaluable for response due to death; among the remaining 26 patients, ORR was 30.8% (95% CI, 14.3-51.8) and DCR was 84.6% (95% CI, 65.1-95.6). CONCLUSION: In patients with localized, poor prognosis HCC, pembrolizumab in addition to glass Y90 radioembolization demonstrated promising efficacy and safety consistent with prior observations (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03099564; IRB Approved: 16-3255 approved July 12, 2016).


Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular , Liver Neoplasms , Yttrium Radioisotopes , Humans , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/radiotherapy , Liver Neoplasms/drug therapy , Liver Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Pilot Projects , Progression-Free Survival , Treatment Outcome
4.
Biometrics ; 80(1)2024 Jan 29.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38364810

ABSTRACT

The exploratory nature of phase II trials makes it quite common to include heterogeneous patient subgroups with different prognoses in the same trial. Incorporating such patient heterogeneity or stratification into statistical calculation for sample size can improve efficiency and reduce sample sizes in single-arm phase II trials with binary outcomes. However, such consideration is lacking in randomized phase II trials. In this paper, we propose methods that can utilize some natural order constraints that may exist in stratified population to gain statistical efficiency for randomized phase II designs. For thoroughness and simplicity, we focus on the randomized phase II selection designs in this paper, although our method can be easily generalized to the randomized phase II screening designs. We consider both binary and time-to-event outcomes in our development. Compared with methods that do not use order constraints, our method is shown to improve the probabilities of correct selection or reduce sample size in our simulation and real examples.


Subject(s)
Research Design , Humans , Computer Simulation , Probability , Prognosis , Sample Size , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic
5.
Cancer ; 130(9): 1642-1649, 2024 May 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38180804

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Programmed death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) blockade has changed the landscape of treatment for metastatic urothelial cancer, but single-agent cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) blockade in metastatic urothelial cancer has been underexplored. A prior phase 2 trial of tremelimumab in PD-1/PD-L1-blockade naive patients with metastatic urothelial cancer revealed activity comparable to that observed with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade raising the hypothesis that these classes of immune checkpoint inhibitors might be non-cross-resistant. METHODS: The current phase 2 trial treated patients with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade-resistant metastatic urothelial cancer with single-agent tremelimumab (750 mg intravenously every 28 days for up to 7 cycles). The primary end point was objective response rate. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients were enrolled and 24 patients were evaluable for response. The objective response rate was 8.3%, composed of a total of two partial responses that lasted 10.9 and 24.0 months. Stable disease was observed in another 20.8% of patients, with a median duration of stable disease of 5.4 months. Diarrhea occurred in 15 patients (58%), elevated hepatic transaminases occurred in seven patients (27%), and adrenal insufficiency occurred in two patients (8%); one patient died after experiencing immune-related hepatitis. CONCLUSIONS: High dose CTLA-4 blockade in patients with PD-1/PD-L1-resistant metastatic urothelial cancer has modest activity and is associated with treatment-related toxicity similar to prior reports.


Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized , B7-H1 Antigen , Carcinoma, Transitional Cell , Humans , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use , Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/drug therapy , CTLA-4 Antigen , Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor , Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use
7.
PLoS One ; 18(12): e0294813, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38113202

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Specialty care may improve diabetic foot ulcer outcomes. Medically underserved populations receive less specialty care. We aimed to determine the association between specialty care and ulcer progression, major amputation, or death. If a beneficial association is found, increasing access to specialty care might help advance health equity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of Wisconsin and Illinois Medicare patients with diabetic foot ulcers (n = 55,409), stratified by ulcer severity (i.e., early stage, osteomyelitis, or gangrene). Within each stratum, we constructed Kaplan-Meier curves for event-free survival, defining events as: ulcer progression, major amputation, or death. Patients were grouped based on whether they received specialty care from at least one of six disciplines: endocrinology, infectious disease, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, podiatry, and vascular surgery. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models estimated the association between specialty care and event-free survival, adjusting for sociodemographic factors and comorbidities, and stratifying on ulcer severity. RESULTS: Patients who received specialty care had longer event-free survival compared to those who did not (log-rank p<0.001 for all ulcer severity strata). After adjusting, receipt of specialty care, compared to never, remained associated with improved outcomes for all ulcer severities (early stage adjusted hazard ratio 0.34, 95% CI 0.33-0.35, p<0.001; osteomyelitis aHR 0.22, 95% CI 0.20-0.23, p<0.001; gangrene aHR 0.22, 95% CI 0.20-0.24, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Specialty care was associated with longer event-free survivals for patients with diabetic foot ulcers. Increased, equitable access to specialty care might improve diabetic foot ulcer outcomes and disparities.


Subject(s)
Diabetes Mellitus , Diabetic Foot , Osteomyelitis , Humans , Aged , United States , Diabetic Foot/complications , Retrospective Studies , Gangrene/complications , Medicare , Osteomyelitis/complications
8.
Nat Med ; 29(11): 2825-2834, 2023 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37783966

ABSTRACT

Cystectomy is a standard treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), but it is life-altering. We initiated a phase 2 study in which patients with MIBC received four cycles of gemcitabine, cisplatin, plus nivolumab followed by clinical restaging. Patients achieving a clinical complete response (cCR) could proceed without cystectomy. The co-primary objectives were to assess the cCR rate and the positive predictive value of cCR for a composite outcome: 2-year metastasis-free survival in patients forgoing immediate cystectomy or

Subject(s)
Cisplatin , Urinary Bladder Neoplasms , Humans , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Cisplatin/therapeutic use , Deoxycytidine/therapeutic use , Disease-Free Survival , Gemcitabine , Muscles , Neoadjuvant Therapy , Neoplasm Invasiveness , Nivolumab/therapeutic use , Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/drug therapy , Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/pathology , Xeroderma Pigmentosum Group D Protein
9.
Cancers (Basel) ; 15(19)2023 Oct 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37835599

ABSTRACT

Low response rates in immune check-point blockade (ICB)-treated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) drive a critical need for robust, clinically validated predictive biomarkers. Our group previously showed that stress keratin 17 (CK17) suppresses macrophage-mediated CXCL9/CXCL10 chemokine signaling involved in attracting activated CD8+ T cells into tumors, correlating with decreased response rate to pembrolizumab-based therapy in a pilot cohort of ICB-treated HNSCC (n = 26). Here, we performed an expanded analysis of the predictive value of CK17 in ICB-treated HNSCC according to the REMARK criteria and investigated the gene expression profiles associated with high CK17 expression. Pretreatment samples from pembrolizumab-treated HNSCC patients were stained via immunohistochemistry using a CK17 monoclonal antibody (n = 48) and subjected to spatial transcriptomic profiling (n = 8). Our findings were validated in an independent retrospective cohort (n = 22). CK17 RNA expression in pembrolizumab-treated patients with various cancer types was investigated for predictive significance. Of the 48 patients (60% male, median age of 61.5 years), 21 (44%) were CK17 high, and 27 (56%) were CK17 low. A total of 17 patients (35%, 77% CK17 low) had disease control, while 31 patients (65%, 45% CK17 low) had progressive disease. High CK17 expression was associated with a lack of disease control (p = 0.037), shorter time to treatment failure (p = 0.025), and progression-free survival (PFS, p = 0.004), but not overall survival (OS, p = 0.06). A high CK17 expression was associated with lack of disease control in an independent validation cohort (p = 0.011). PD-L1 expression did not correlate with CK17 expression or clinical outcome. CK17 RNA expression was predictive of PFS and OS in 552 pembrolizumab-treated cancer patients. Our findings indicate that high CK17 expression may predict resistance to ICB in HNSCC patients and beyond.

10.
JCO Precis Oncol ; 7: e2300095, 2023 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37410974

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors have demonstrated clinical benefit for patients with solid tumors bearing germline or somatic alterations in DNA damage response (DDR) genes. Somatic alterations in DDR genes are common in advanced urothelial cancer, raising the possibility that PARP inhibition may confer therapeutic benefit in a molecularly selected subgroup of patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC). METHODS: This single-arm, open-label, multi-institutional, investigator-initiated phase II study evaluated the antitumor activity of olaparib 300 mg twice a day in participants with mUC harboring somatic DDR alterations. Patients had progressed despite previous platinum-based chemotherapy, or were cisplatin-ineligible, and harbored somatic alterations in at least one of a prespecified list of DDR genes. The primary end point was objective response rate; secondary end points were safety, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Overall, 19 patients with mUC were enrolled and received olaparib; the trial closed early before slow accrual. The median age was 66 years (range, 45-82). Nine patients (47.4%) had received previous cisplatin chemotherapy. Ten patients (52.6%) had alterations in homologous recombination (HR) genes: eight patients (42.1%) had pathogenic BRCA2 mutations and two patients carried alterations in other HR genes. No patients achieved a partial response although six patients achieved stable disease lasting 2.13-16.1 months (median, 7.69). The median PFS was 1.9 months (range, 0.8-16.1), and the median OS was 9.5 months (range, 1.5-22.1). CONCLUSION: Single-agent olaparib showed limited antitumor activity in patients with mUC and DDR alterations, which may be related to poorly characterized functional implications of particular DDR alterations and/or cross-resistance with platinum-based chemotherapy in a disease where such therapy represents standard first-line treatment.


Subject(s)
Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors , Urologic Neoplasms , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Humans , Middle Aged , Cisplatin , DNA Damage , Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Urologic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Urothelium/pathology
11.
Stat Med ; 42(13): 2226-2240, 2023 06 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37070141

ABSTRACT

Recent observations, especially in cancer immunotherapy clinical trials with time-to-event outcomes, show that the commonly used proportional hazard assumption is often not justifiable, hampering an appropriate analysis of the data by hazard ratios. An attractive alternative advocated is given by the restricted mean survival time (RMST), which does not rely on any model assumption and can always be interpreted intuitively. Since methods for the RMST based on asymptotic theory suffer from inflated type-I error under small sample sizes, a permutation test was proposed recently leading to more convincing results in simulations. However, classical permutation strategies require an exchangeable data setup between comparison groups which may be limiting in practice. Besides, it is not possible to invert related testing procedures to obtain valid confidence intervals, which can provide more in-depth information. In this paper, we address these limitations by proposing a studentized permutation test as well as respective permutation-based confidence intervals. In an extensive simulation study, we demonstrate the advantage of our new method, especially in situations with relatively small sample sizes and unbalanced groups. Finally, we illustrate the application of the proposed method by re-analyzing data from a recent lung cancer clinical trial.


Subject(s)
Research Design , Humans , Survival Rate , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Proportional Hazards Models , Sample Size , Survival Analysis
12.
Cancer ; 129(9): 1351-1360, 2023 05 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36872873

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Risk-stratified follow-up guidelines that account for the absolute risk and timing of recurrence may improve the quality and efficiency of breast cancer follow-up. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship of anatomic stage and receptor status with timing of the first recurrence for patients with local-regional breast cancer and generate risk-stratified follow-up recommendations. METHODS: The authors conducted a secondary analysis of 8007 patients with stage I-III breast cancer who enrolled in nine Alliance legacy clinical trials from 1997 to 2013 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02171078). Patients who received standard-of-care therapy were included. Patients who were missing stage or receptor status were excluded. The primary outcome was days from the earliest treatment start date to the date of first recurrence. The primary explanatory variable was anatomic stage. The analysis was stratified by receptor type. Cox proportional-hazards regression models produced cumulative probabilities of recurrence. A dynamic programming algorithm approach was used to optimize the timing of follow-up intervals based on the timing of recurrence events. RESULTS: The time to first recurrence varied significantly between receptor types (p < .0001). Within each receptor type, stage influenced the time to recurrence (p < .0001). The risk of recurrence was highest and occurred earliest for estrogen receptor (ER)-negative/progesterone receptor (PR)-negative/Her2neu-negative tumors (stage III; 5-year probability of recurrence, 45.5%). The risk of recurrence was lower for ER-positive/PR-positive/Her2neu-positive tumors (stage III; 5-year probability of recurrence, 15.3%), with recurrences distributed over time. Model-generated follow-up recommendations by stage and receptor type were created. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports considering both anatomic stage and receptor status in follow-up recommendations. The implementation of risk-stratified guidelines based on these data has the potential to improve the quality and efficiency of follow-up.


Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms , Humans , Female , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Receptor, ErbB-2 , Receptors, Estrogen , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/pathology , Receptors, Progesterone
13.
Arch Dermatol Res ; 315(7): 2163-2165, 2023 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36877309

ABSTRACT

A length-to-width ratio (LWR) of 3:1 for linear closures is often cited in the literature. However, there are limited studies evaluating this ratio in relation to various surgical sites. This study analyzes LWRs for 3318 patients undergoing Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) and linear repair to identify the average LWRs stratified by patient age, anatomic location, gender, and surgeon. Average LWRs ranged between 2.89 and 3.82. The LWR for all anatomic sites averaged between 3:1 and 4:1, except for closures on the trunk. Locations with the highest LWR included the cheek, ear, and perioral sites.


Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Basal Cell , Skin Neoplasms , Humans , Skin Neoplasms/diagnosis , Skin Neoplasms/surgery , Carcinoma, Basal Cell/surgery , Mohs Surgery , Cheek , Retrospective Studies
14.
Head Neck ; 45(5): 1255-1271, 2023 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36939040

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The tyrosine kinase receptors Axl and MerTK are highly overexpressed in head and neck cancer (HNC) cells, where they are critical drivers of survival, proliferation, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. METHODS: We investigated the role of Axl and MerTK in creating an immunologically "cold" tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) by targeting both receptors simultaneously with a small molecule inhibitor of Axl and MerTK (INCB081776). Effects of INCB081776 and/or anti-PDL1 on mouse oral cancer (MOC) cell growth and on the TIME were evaluated. RESULTS: Targeting Axl and MerTK can reduce M2 and induce M1 macrophage polarization. In vivo, INCB081776 treatment alone or with anti-PDL1 appears to slow MOC tumor growth, increase proinflammatory immune infiltration, and decrease anti-inflammatory immune infiltration. CONCLUSIONS: This data indicates that simultaneous targeting of Axl and MerTK with INCB081776, either alone or in combination with anti-PDL1, slows tumor growth and creates a proinflammatory TIME in mouse models of HNC.


Subject(s)
Head and Neck Neoplasms , Proto-Oncogene Proteins , Animals , Mice , c-Mer Tyrosine Kinase , Cell Line, Tumor , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Tumor Microenvironment
15.
Radiother Oncol ; 182: 109553, 2023 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36813178

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To identify metrics of radiation dose delivered to highly ventilated lung that are predictive of radiation-induced pneumonitis. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A cohort of 90 patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with standard fractionated radiation therapy (RT) (60-66 Gy in 30-33 fractions) were evaluated. Regional lung ventilation was determined from pre-RT 4-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) using the Jacobian determinant of a B-spline deformable image registration to estimate lung tissue expansion during respiration. Multiple voxel-wise population- and individual-based thresholds for defining high functioning lung were considered. Mean dose and volumes receiving dose ≥ 5-60 Gy were analyzed for both total lung-ITV (MLD,V5-V60) and highly ventilated functional lung-ITV (fMLD,fV5-fV60). The primary endpoint was symptomatic grade 2+ (G2+) pneumonitis. Receiver operator curve (ROC) analyses were used to identify predictors of pneumonitis. RESULTS: G2+ pneumonitis occurred in 22.2% of patients, with no differences between stage, smoking status, COPD, or chemo/immunotherapy use between G<2 and G2+ patients (P≥ 0.18). Highly ventilated lung was defined as voxels exceeding the population-wide median of 18% voxel-level expansion. All total and functional metrics were significantly different between patients with and without pneumonitis (P≤ 0.039). Optimal ROC points predicting pneumonitis from functional lung dose were fMLD ≤ 12.3 Gy, fV5 ≤ 54% and fV20 ≤ 19 %. Patients with fMLD ≤ 12.3 Gy had a 14% risk of developing G2+ pneumonitis whereas risk significantly increased to 35% for those with fMLD > 12.3 Gy (P = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: Dose to highly ventilated lung is associated with symptomatic pneumonitis and treatment planning strategies should focus on limiting dose to functional regions. These findings provide important metrics to be used in functional lung avoidance RT planning and designing clinical trials.


Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung , Lung Neoplasms , Radiation Pneumonitis , Humans , Lung Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/radiotherapy , Lung/diagnostic imaging , Radiation Pneumonitis/diagnosis , Radiation Pneumonitis/etiology , Respiration
16.
Biometrics ; 79(4): 3179-3190, 2023 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36645231

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we focus on estimating the average treatment effect (ATE) of a target population when individual-level data from a source population and summary-level data (e.g., first or second moments of certain covariates) from the target population are available. In the presence of the heterogeneous treatment effect, the ATE of the target population can be different from that of the source population when distributions of treatment effect modifiers are dissimilar in these two populations, a phenomenon also known as covariate shift. Many methods have been developed to adjust for covariate shift, but most require individual covariates from a representative target sample. We develop a weighting approach based on the summary-level information from the target sample to adjust for possible covariate shift in effect modifiers. In particular, weights of the treated and control groups within a source sample are calibrated by the summary-level information of the target sample. Our approach also seeks additional covariate balance between the treated and control groups in the source sample. We study the asymptotic behavior of the corresponding weighted estimator for the target population ATE under a wide range of conditions. The theoretical implications are confirmed in simulation studies and a real-data application.


Subject(s)
Entropy , Computer Simulation , Causality , Propensity Score
17.
Biometrics ; 79(4): 2920-2932, 2023 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36645310

ABSTRACT

When there are resource constraints, it may be necessary to rank individualized treatment benefits to facilitate the prioritization of assigning different treatments. Most existing literature on individualized treatment rules targets absolute conditional treatment effect differences as a metric for the benefit. However, there can be settings where relative differences may better represent such benefit. In this paper, we consider modeling such relative differences formed as scale-invariant contrasts between the conditional treatment effects. By showing that all scale-invariant contrasts are monotonic transformations of each other, we posit a single index model for a particular relative contrast. We then characterize semiparametric estimating equations, including the efficient score, to estimate index parameters. To achieve semiparametric efficiency, we propose a two-step approach that minimizes a doubly robust loss function for initial estimation and then performs a one-step efficiency augmentation procedure. Careful theoretical and numerical studies are provided to show the superiority of our proposed approach.


Subject(s)
Models, Statistical , Precision Medicine , Precision Medicine/methods
18.
Ann Surg ; 277(5): 841-845, 2023 05 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36521077

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate local/regional recurrence rates after breast-conserving surgery in a cohort of patients enrolled in legacy trials of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and to evaluate variation in recurrence rates by receptor subtype. BACKGROUND: Multiple randomized controlled trials have demonstrated equivalent survival between breast conservation and mastectomy, albeit with higher local/regional recurrence rates after breast conservation. However, absolute rates of local/regional recurrence have been declining with multi-modality treatment. METHODS: Data from 5 Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology legacy trials that enrolled women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1997 and 2010 were included. Women who underwent breast-conserving surgery and standard systemic therapies (n=4,404) were included. Five-year rates of local/regional recurrence were estimated from Kaplan-Meier curves. Patients were censored at the time of distant recurrence (if recorded as the first recurrence), death, or last follow-up. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify factors associated with time to local/regional recurrence, including patient age, tumor size, lymph node status, and receptor subtype. RESULTS: Overall 5-year recurrence was 4.6% (95% CI=4.0-5.4%). Five-year recurrence rates were lowest in those with ER+ or PR+ tumors (Her2+ 3.4% [95% CI 2.0-5.7%], Her2- 4.0% [95% CI 3.2-4.9%]) and highest in the triple-negative subtype (7.1% [95% CI 5.4-9.3%]). On multivariable analysis, increasing nodal involvement and triple-negative subtype were positively associated with recurrence ( P <0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Rates of local/regional recurrence after breast conservation in women with breast cancer enrolled in legacy trials of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology are significantly lower than historic estimates. This data can better inform patient discussions and surgical decision-making.


Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms , Female , Humans , Breast Neoplasms/surgery , Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Mastectomy , Mastectomy, Segmental , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/epidemiology , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/pathology , Prognosis , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
19.
Biostatistics ; 24(2): 309-326, 2023 04 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34382066

ABSTRACT

Scientists frequently generalize population level causal quantities such as average treatment effect from a source population to a target population. When the causal effects are heterogeneous, differences in subject characteristics between the source and target populations may make such a generalization difficult and unreliable. Reweighting or regression can be used to adjust for such differences when generalizing. However, these methods typically suffer from large variance if there is limited covariate distribution overlap between the two populations. We propose a generalizability score to address this issue. The score can be used as a yardstick to select target subpopulations for generalization. A simplified version of the score avoids using any outcome information and thus can prevent deliberate biases associated with inadvertent access to such information. Both simulation studies and real data analysis demonstrate convincing results for such selection.


Subject(s)
Research Design , Humans , Propensity Score , Computer Simulation , Causality , Bias
20.
J Oncol Pharm Pract ; 29(5): 1094-1102, 2023 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35369813

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Molecular tumor boards provide precision treatment recommendations based on cancer genomic profile. However, practical barriers limit their benefits. We studied the clinical utility of the precision medicine molecular tumor board (PMMTB) and described challenges with PMMTB implementation. METHODS: An observational cohort study included patients reviewed by the PMMTB between September 2015 to December 2017. Patients who had consented to the registry study were included. The primary endpoint of this study was time on treatment (ToT) ratio. Clinical utility was established if the primary endpoint had least 15% of patients achieving a ToT ratio of ≥1.3. RESULTS: Overall, 278 patients were presented to the PMMTB and 113 cases were included in the final analysis. The PMMTB identified at least one nonstandard of care (SOC) clinically actionable mutation for 69.0% (78/113) of cases. In patients who received non-SOC treatment, 43.8% (7/16) achieved a ToT ratio of 1.3 or more (p < 0.001). Fifty-nine patients did not receive non-SOC recommendations. Reasons for not pursuing treatment included 35.6% having response to current treatment, 20.3% died prior to starting or considering PMMTB recommendations, 13.6% pursued other treatment options based on clinician discretion, another 10.2% pursued other treatment options because clinical trials recommended were not geographically accessible, 8.5% had rapid decline of performance status, 6.8% lacked of financial support for treatment, and 5.1% were excluded from clinical trials due to abnormal laboratory values. CONCLUSION: The regional PMMTB non-SOC recommendations benefitted a majority of patients and additional processes were implemented to assist with non-SOC treatment accessibility.


Subject(s)
Neoplasms , Precision Medicine , Humans , Neoplasms/therapy , Neoplasms/drug therapy , Mutation , Molecular Targeted Therapy
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