PD-1 Inhibitors: Safety of Use and Management of Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors has been associated with risk of developing immune-mediated adverse reactions (IMARs). OBJECTIVES: This review provides nurses with an overview of the safety of PD-1 inhibitors approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for recurrent or metastatic SCCHN following platinum chemotherapy, as well as recommendations for assisting with the diagnosis and management of IMARs. METHODS: PubMed® searches were conducted to identify relevant articles to support this review. Algorithms from drug manufacturers for IMAR management were also reviewed. FINDINGS: Before treatment with PD-1 inhibitors, nurses should map patients' baseline profiles, which play a key role in aiding the healthcare team in the timely diagnosis and treatment of IMARs. Nurses should educate patients and caregivers on identifying signs and symptoms of IMARs and their progression. Within the interprofessional healthcare team, nurses play an important role in ensuring efficient management of IMARs to minimize withholding or discontinuation of PD-1 immunotherapy.

MUTE Directly Orchestrates Cell-State Switch and the Single Symmetric Division to Create Stomata.

Precise cell division control is critical for developmental patterning. For the differentiation of a functional stoma, a cellular valve for efficient gas exchange, the single symmetric division of an immediate precursor is absolutely essential. Yet, the mechanism governing this event remains unclear. Here we report comprehensive inventories of gene expression by the Arabidopsis bHLH protein MUTE, a potent inducer of stomatal differentiation. MUTE switches the gene expression program initiated by SPEECHLESS. MUTE directly induces a suite of cell-cycle genes, including CYCD5;1, in which introduced expression triggers the symmetric divisions of arrested precursor cells in mute, and their transcriptional repressors, FAMA and FOUR LIPS. The regulatory network initiated by MUTE represents an incoherent type 1 feed-forward loop. Our mathematical modeling and experimental perturbations support a notion that MUTE orchestrates a transcriptional cascade leading to a tightly restricted pulse of cell-cycle gene expression, thereby ensuring the single cell division to create functional stomata.

Prognostic implications of the IDH1 synonymous SNP rs11554137 in pediatric and adult AML: a report from the Children's Oncology Group and SWOG.

IDH1 SNP rs11554137 was recently reported in association with poor prognosis in normal karyotype adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We aimed to determine the prevalence, clinical associations, and prognostic significance of SNP rs11554137 in unselected pediatric and adult AML patients. Diagnostic marrow specimens from 527 AML patients treated on the pediatric trial Children's Oncology Group-AAML03P1 (N = 253) or adult SWOG trials (N = 274) were analyzed for the presence of the SNP. SNP rs11554137 was present in 11% of all patients. SNP status had no prognostic impact on survival in pediatric patients. In adult AML, overall survival for SNP-positive patients was 10% versus 18% for SNP-negative patients (P = .44). Among the 142 adults who achieved complete remission, 5-year relapse-free survival was significantly worse for SNP-positive patients (0% vs 25%, P = .0014). However, among adults with normal cytogenetics, FLT3/ITD was present in 90% of SNP-positive patients versus 59% of SNP-negative patients (P = .0053). In multivariate analysis, adjusting for the effects of age, cytogenetics, and FLT3/ITD, the independent prognostic effect of SNP positivity was not statistically significant (hazard ratio = 1.72, P = .18). The clinical profile of SNP-positive patients suggests that SNP rs11554137 may have biologic effects that bear further investigation. The clinical trials in this study are registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT000707174 and #NCT00899171.

WT1 synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism rs16754 correlates with higher mRNA expression and predicts significantly improved outcome in favorable-risk pediatric acute myeloid leukemia: a report from the children's oncology group.

PURPOSE: To analyze the prevalence and clinical implications of Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs16754 in the context of other prognostic markers in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Available diagnostic marrow specimens (n = 790) from 1,328 patients enrolled in three consecutive Children's Cancer Group/Children's Oncology Group trials were analyzed for the presence of SNP rs16754. SNP status was correlated with disease characteristics, WT1 expression level, and clinical outcome. RESULTS: SNP rs16754 was present in 229 (29%) of 790 patients. The SNP was significantly more common in Asian and Hispanic patients and less common in white patients (P < .001). SNP rs16754 was also less common in patients with inv(16) (P = .043) and more common in patients with -5/del(5q) (P = .047). WT1 expression levels were significantly higher in patients with rs16754 or with WT1 mutations compared with WT1 wild-type patients (P = .021). Five-year overall survival (OS) for patients with and without the SNP was 60% and 50%, respectively (P = .031). Prognostic assessment by risk group demonstrated that in patients with low-risk disease, OS for those with and without SNP rs16754 was 90% versus 64% (P < .001) with a corresponding disease-free survival of 72% versus 53% (P = .041). CONCLUSION: The presence of SNP rs16754 was an independent predictor of improved OS; outcome differences were most pronounced in the low-risk subgroup. The high prevalence of WT1 SNP rs16754, and its correlation with improved outcome, identifies WT1 SNP rs16754 as a potentially important molecular marker of prognosis in pediatric AML.

Multiple myeloma presenting as spinal cord compression: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Spinal cord compression is a potentially devastating condition that demands immediate attention. Efforts must be divided between addressing the symptoms of cord compression and identifying the precise etiology of the condition. CASE PRESENTATION: A 76-year-old Peruvian man presented to our emergency department for evaluation of the gradual onset of lower extremity weakness over one month, resulting in falls and a two day history of bladder and bowel incontinence. Surprisingly, the etiology of this case of spinal cord compression was found to be multiple myeloma presenting as a solid tumor. CONCLUSION: We report a case of a spinal cord mass resulting in symptoms of cord compression that was diagnosed when aspects of our patient's initial magnetic resonance imaging scan did not correlate with disc herniation, which was the diagnosis with the greatest pretest probability.

Prevalence and prognostic implications of WT1 mutations in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML): a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Recent studies of WT1 mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) mostly report an association with unfavorable clinical outcome. We screened 842 patients treated on 3 consecutive pediatric AML trials for WT1 zinc-finger mutations. Eighty-five mutations were detected in 70 of 842 patients (8.3%). Mutations occurred predominantly in exon 7 (n = 74) but were also found in exons 8 (n = 5) and 9 (n = 6). Normal karyotype was observed in 35.3% of WT1(mut) patients, whereas 27.5% WT1(mut) patients harbored favorable risk cytogenetics. Patients with or without mutations had similar rates of complete remission after one course of induction chemotherapy. Overall survival (OS) for patients with WT1 mutations was 41% versus 54% for those without mutations (P = .016). Corresponding event-free survival (EFS) was also significantly worse for those with WT1 mutations (28% vs 42%; P = .01). However, FLT3/ITD was present in 36% of the WT1(mut) cohort; WT1(mut) patients without FLT3/ITD had similar OS (56% vs 56%, respectively; P = .8) and EFS (35% and 44%, respectively; P = .34) to patients who were wild type for both mutations. In current risk stratification schemes incorporating cytogenetics and FLT3/ITD status, the presence of WT1 mutations has no independent prognostic significance in predicting outcome in pediatric AML. The clinical trials are registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00002798 and #NCT00070174.