Ovarian Cancer in the Older Manitoban Population-Treatment Tolerance and Cancer-Related Outcomes: A Manitoba Ovarian Cancer Outcomes (MOCO) Group Study.

BACKGROUND: In Canada, individuals with gynecologic reproductive organs (ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus) over the age of 70 comprise a large proportion of epithelial ovarian cancer patients. These patients often have co-morbidities, polypharmacy, or decreased functional status that may impact treatment initiation and tolerance. Despite this, there is limited evidence to guide treatment for older patients diagnosed with ovarian epithelial carcinoma. METHODS: This is a retrospective study with data from Manitoba, Canada. The data were obtained from the Manitoba Ovarian Cancer Database, the Manitoba Cancer Registry, and electronic health records. All individuals with epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer diagnosed between 2009 and 2018 were identified. Patients aged > 70 at the time of diagnosis were included in the study cohort. RESULTS: Four hundred and forty individuals were included. The majority had advanced stage disease (56%). Moreover, 59% of patients received no chemotherapy. Of the patients who received chemotherapy, 20% received <2 cycles and 21% required a dose reduction due to toxicity. Univariable and multivariable analysis identified advanced stage (p < 0.001), treatment modality (p < 0.001), and advanced age at diagnosis (p < 0.001) with poorer overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated a high rate of chemotherapy dose reduction and discontinuation in the elderly epithelial ovarian cancer population. Further research is needed to identify risk factors for treatment discontinuation and intolerance in this population.

Baseline Serum Inflammatory Proteins Predict Poor CAR T Outcomes in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma.

A subset of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy have poor clinical outcomes. We report serum proteins associated with severe immune-mediated toxicities and inferior clinical responses in 146 patients with DLBCL treated with axicabtagene ciloleucel. We develop a simple stratification based on pre-lymphodepletion C reactive protein (CRP) and ferritin to classify patients into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups. We observe that patients in the high-risk category were more likely to develop grade ≥3 toxicities and had inferior overall and progression-free survival. We sought to validate our findings with two independent international cohorts demonstrating that patients classified as low-risk have excellent efficacy and safety outcomes. Based on routine and readily available laboratory tests that can be obtained prior to lymphodepleting chemotherapy, this simple risk stratification can inform patient selection for CAR T-cell therapy. SIGNIFICANCE: CAR T-cell therapy has changed the treatment paradigm for patients with relapsed/refractory hematologic malignancies. Despite encouraging efficacy, a subset of patients have poor clinical outcomes. We show that a simple clinically applicable model using pre-lymphodepletion CRP and ferritin can identify patients at high risk of poor outcomes. This article is featured in Selected Articles from This Issue, p. 80.

Exacerbations of Persistent Neurotoxicity following Axicabtagene Ciloleucel in a Patient with Relapsed/Refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: A Case Report.

Introduction: Neurological toxicity following chimeric antigen receptor T-cell infusion, termed immune cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), is a common and limiting factor in the expansion of this promising treatment modality. While refractory cases of ICANS have been reported in clinical trials, there is limited description of these presentations and their associated treatment. The use of predictive biomarkers and risk stratification tools offer a means of identifying patients with higher likelihood of developing ICANS; however, their discriminatory sensitivity has been shown to vary depending on disease type. Case Presentation: In this case report, we present the clinical course of a patient with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with axicabtagene ciloleucel who developed a nonsinusoidal pattern of severe neurotoxicity refractory to steroid treatment, and we evaluate the predictive value of commonly used biomarkers and risk scores in assessing the likelihood of her presentation. Conclusion: In assessing the efficacy of these scores in the context of our patient's pattern of severe neurotoxicity exacerbations, we aim to provide valuable clinical insight to better manage refractory ICANS and ultimately improve patient outcomes.

Severe hematotoxicity after CD19 CAR-T therapy is associated with suppressive immune dysregulation and limited CAR-T expansion.

Prolonged cytopenias after chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy are a significant clinical problem and the underlying pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated how (CAR) T cell expansion dynamics and serum proteomics affect neutrophil recovery phenotypes after CD19-directed CAR T cell therapy. Survival favored patients with "intermittent" neutrophil recovery (e.g., recurrent neutrophil dips) compared to either "quick" or "aplastic" recovery. While intermittent patients displayed increased CAR T cell expansion, aplastic patients exhibited an unfavorable relationship between expansion and tumor burden. Proteomics of patient serum collected at baseline and in the first month after CAR-T therapy revealed higher markers of endothelial dysfunction, inflammatory cytokines, macrophage activation, and T cell suppression in the aplastic phenotype group. Prolonged neutrophil aplasia thus occurs in patients with systemic immune dysregulation at baseline with subsequently impaired CAR-T expansion and myeloid-related inflammatory changes. The association between neutrophil recovery and survival outcomes highlights critical interactions between host hematopoiesis and the immune state stimulated by CAR-T infusion.

Canadian Guideline on the Management of a Positive Human Papillomavirus Test and Guidance for Specific Populations.

The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence-based guidance on the management of a positive human papilloma virus (HPV) test and to provide guidance around screening and HPV testing for specific patient populations. The guideline was developed by a working group in collaboration with the Gynecologic Oncology Society of Canada (GOC), Society of Colposcopists of Canada (SCC), and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. The literature informing these guidelines was obtained through a systematic review of relevant literature by a multi-step search process led by an information specialist. The literature was reviewed up to July 2021 with manual searches of relevant national guidelines and more recent publications. The quality of the evidence and strength of recommendations were developed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. The intended users of this guideline include primary care providers, gynecologists, colposcopists, screening programs, and healthcare facilities. The implementation of the recommendations will ensure an optimum implementation of HPV testing with a focus on the management of positive results. Recommendations for appropriate care for underserved and marginalized groups are made.

Circulating tumor DNA adds specificity to PET after axicabtagene ciloleucel in large B-cell lymphoma.

We examined the meaning of metabolically active lesions on 1-month restaging nuclear imaging of patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma receiving axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) by assessing the relationship between total metabolic tumor volume (MTV) on positron emission tomography (PET) scans and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the plasma. In this prospective multicenter sample collection study, MTV was retrospectively calculated via commercial software at baseline, 1, and 3 months after chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy; ctDNA was available before and after axi-cel administration. Spearman correlation coefficient (rs) was used to study the relationship between the variables, and a mathematical model was constructed to describe tumor dynamics 1 month after CAR T-cell therapy. The median time between baseline scan and axi-cel infusion was 33 days (range, 1-137 days) for all 57 patients. For 41 of the patients with imaging within 33 days of axi-cel or imaging before that time but no bridging therapy, the correlation at baseline became stronger (rs, 0.61; P < .0001) compared with all patients (rs, 0.38; P = .004). Excluding patients in complete remission with no measurable residual disease, ctDNA and MTV at 1 month did not correlate (rs, 0.28; P = .11) but correlated at 3 months (rs, 0.79; P = .0007). Modeling of tumor dynamics, which incorporated ctDNA and inflammation as part of MTV, recapitulated the outcomes of patients with positive radiologic 1-month scans. Our results suggested that nonprogressing hypermetabolic lesions on 1-month PET represent ongoing treatment responses, and their composition may be elucidated by concurrently examining the ctDNA.

Repeatability of metabolic tumor burden and lesion glycolysis between clinical readers.

The Metabolic Tumor Volume (MTV) and Tumor Lesion Glycolysis (TLG) has been shown to be independent prognostic predictors for clinical outcome in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). However, definitions of these measurements have not been standardized, leading to many sources of variation, operator evaluation continues to be one major source. In this study, we propose a reader reproducibility study to evaluate computation of TMV (& TLG) metrics based on differences in lesion delineation. In the first approach, reader manually corrected regional boundaries after automated detection performed across the lesions in a body scan (Reader M using a manual process, or manual). The other reader used a semi-automated method of lesion identification, without any boundary modification (Reader A using a semi- automated process, or auto). Parameters for active lesion were kept the same, derived from standard uptake values (SUVs) over a 41% threshold. We systematically contrasted MTV & TLG differences between expert readers (Reader M & A). We find that MTVs computed by Readers M and A were both concordant between them (concordant correlation coefficient of 0.96) and independently prognostic with a P-value of 0.0001 and 0.0002 respectively for overall survival after treatment. Additionally, we find TLG for these reader approaches showed concordance (CCC of 0.96) and was prognostic for over -all survival (p ≤ 0.0001 for both). In conclusion, the semi-automated approach (Reader A) provides acceptable quantification & prognosis of tumor burden (MTV) and TLG in comparison to expert reader assisted measurement (Reader M) on PET/CT scans.

Pattern of brexucabtagene autoleucel-related neurotoxicity on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in a patient with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and prior leptomeningeal disease.

Immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) secondary to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy is common in adult patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but imaging findings during neurologic toxicity and their meaning have yet to be systematically described in this patient population. Brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel) is a CD19-directed autologous T-cell immunotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with R/R B-cell ALL that can enter the central nervous system. We present a case of an adult patient with R/R B-cell ALL and prior leptomeningeal disease who developed neurologic toxicity and new findings on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain while receiving brexu-cel. We interpret the patient's neuroimaging studies within clinical context to differentiate ICANS from active treatment of residual leukemia.

Viral Clearance with Neutrophil Recovery in a Patient with Active COVID-19 Infection and Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia Who Underwent Successful Reinduction with Cytarabine/Idarubicin.

Administering myelosuppressive chemotherapy to patients with aggressive malignant hematologic disorders typically poses serious infectious complications, which can be exacerbated by the presence of active COVID-19 infection. We report on a case of a successfully treated fit elderly woman with refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who also had mild COVID-19 infection and detectable viral load at the time she was found to have recurrent disease. Prior to initiation of reinduction treatment with cytarabine/idarubicin, this 2-dose COVID-19-vaccinated patient received antiviral therapy with remdesivir with resolution of upper respiratory symptoms. This was followed by sotrovimab on the third day of chemotherapy. Throughout her hospital course, she remained hemodynamically stable with one episode of neutropenic fever without other identified infections. Symptomatic reactivation of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing COVID-19 was not observed. After achieving biopsy-confirmed morphologic remission of AML and with neutrophil recovery, the patient gradually cleared the virus, eventually testing negative on polymerase chain reaction test of the nasopharynx. This case underlines the importance of considering initiation of timely chemotherapy, although myelosuppressive, in appropriate patients with aggressive hematologic malignancies and concomitant SARS-CoV-2. It demonstrates management of active COVID-19 infection in this group of patients and the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 viral load during leukemia treatment.

Neuropsychiatric assessment and management of the ICU survivor.

Any survivor among the millions of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for critical illness each year is susceptible to persistent health problems that continue after discharge and may lead to post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), defined as new or worsening dysfunction from physical impairment, cognitive impairment, or emotional impairment, or a combination. Considering the increased rates of ICU survival and the growing elderly population more likely to utilize ICU resources, critical care practitioners have broadened their focus on outcomes and care of ICU survivors to include the acute post-ICU survival period as well as months and even years after ICU discharge. This review focuses on the neuropsychiatric aspects of PICS in ICU survivors including diagnostic, screening, and treatment recommendations. It also highlights the value of post-ICU clinics and the unique role of the consultation psychiatrist in the care of this patient population.