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Dana-Farber Research News 11.01.2024

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November 1, 2024

This twice-monthly newsletter highlights recently published research where Dana-Farber faculty are listed as first or senior authors. The information is pulled from PubMed and this issue notes papers published from October 1 through October 15.

If you are a Dana-Farber faculty member and you think your paper is missing from Research News, please let us know by emailing dfciresearchnews@dfci.harvard.edu.

For more about Dana-Farber science, tune in to our Unraveled podcast, available at dana-farber.org/unraveled, or wherever you get your podcasts.

 

Blood

Asciminib Plus Dasatinib and Prednisone for Philadelphia Chromosome-Positive Acute Leukemia

Luskin MR, Murakami MA, Keating JH, Flamand Y, Winer ES, Garcia JS, Stahl M, Stone RM, Wadleigh M, Jaeckle SL, Hagopian E, Liegel J, DeAngelo DJ

Dasatinib is effective treatment for Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute leukemia but some patients develop resistance. Combination treatment with dasatinib and asciminib, an allosteric inhibitor of BCR::ABL1, may deepen responses and prevent the emergence of dasatinib-resistant clones. In this phase 1 study (NCT03595017), 24 adults with Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL, n=22; p190, n=16; p210, n=6) and chronic myeloid leukemia in lymphoid blast crisis (CML-LBC, n=2) were treated with escalating daily doses of asciminib in combination with dasatinib 140 mg daily plus prednisone 60 mg/m2 daily to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). After a 28-day induction, dasatinib and asciminib continued indefinitely or until hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The median age was 64.5 years (range, 33-85; 50% ³65). The recommended phase 2 dose of asciminib was 80 mg daily in combination with dasatinib and prednisone. The dose limiting toxicity at 160 mg daily was asymptomatic grade 3 pancreatic enzyme elevation without symptomatic pancreatitis. There were no vaso-occlusive events. Among patients with de novo ALL, the complete hematologic remission rate at day 28 and 84 was 84% and 100%, respectively. At day 84, 100% of patients achieved complete cytogenetic remission, 89% achieved measurable residual disease negativity (<0.01%) by multicolor flow cytometry, and 74% and 26% achieved BCR::ABL1 RT-PCR <0.1% and <0.01%. Dual BCR::ABL1 inhibition with dasatinib and asciminib is safe with encouraging activity in patients with de novo Ph+ ALL. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02081378.

 

Cell

A Genetic Basis for Sex Differences in Xp11 Translocation Renal Cell Carcinoma

Achom M, Sadagopan A, Bao C, McBride F, Li J, Konda P, Tourdot RW, Xu Q, Nakhoul M, Gallant DS, Ahmed UA, O'Toole J, Freeman D, Lee GM, Hecht JL, Einstein DJ, Choueiri TK, Zhang CZ, Viswanathan SR

Xp11 translocation renal cell carcinoma (tRCC) is a rare, female-predominant cancer driven by a fusion between the transcription factor binding to IGHM enhancer 3 (TFE3) gene on chromosome Xp11.2 and a partner gene on either chromosome X (chrX) or an autosome. It remains unknown what types of rearrangements underlie TFE3 fusions, whether fusions can arise from both the active (chrXa) and inactive X (chrXi) chromosomes, and whether TFE3 fusions from chrXi translocations account for the female predominance of tRCC. To address these questions, we performed haplotype-specific analyses of chrX rearrangements in tRCC whole genomes. We show that TFE3 fusions universally arise as reciprocal translocations and that oncogenic TFE3 fusions can arise from chrXi:autosomal translocations. Female-specific chrXi:autosomal translocations result in a 2:1 female-to-male ratio of TFE3 fusions involving autosomal partner genes and account for the female predominance of tRCC. Our results highlight how X chromosome genetics constrains somatic chrX alterations and underlies cancer sex differences.

 

Cell

Animal and Bacterial Viruses Share Conserved Mechanisms of Immune Evasion

Hobbs SJ, Kranzusch PJ

Animal and bacterial cells sense and defend against viral infections using evolutionarily conserved antiviral signaling pathways. Here, we show that viruses overcome host signaling using mechanisms of immune evasion that are directly shared across the eukaryotic and prokaryotic kingdoms of life. Structures of animal poxvirus proteins that inhibit host cGAS-STING signaling demonstrate architectural and catalytic active-site homology shared with bacteriophage Acb1 proteins, which inactivate CBASS anti-phage defense. In bacteria, phage Acb1 proteins are viral enzymes that degrade host cyclic nucleotide immune signals. Structural comparisons of poxvirus protein-2'3'-cGAMP and phage Acb1-3'3'-cGAMP complexes reveal a universal mechanism of host nucleotide immune signal degradation and explain kingdom-specific additions that enable viral adaptation. Chimeric bacteriophages confirm that animal poxvirus proteins are sufficient to evade immune signaling in bacteria. Our findings identify a mechanism of immune evasion conserved between animal and bacterial viruses and define shared rules that explain host-virus interactions across multiple kingdoms of life.

 

Cell

Structural Basis of Respiratory Complex Adaptation to Cold Temperatures

Shin YC, Latorre-Muro P, Bennett CF, Burger N, Paulo JA, Gygi SP, Puigserver P

In response to cold, mammals activate brown fat for respiratory-dependent thermogenesis reliant on the electron transport chain. Yet, the structural basis of respiratory complex adaptation upon cold exposure remains elusive. Herein, we combined thermoregulatory physiology and cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) to study endogenous respiratory supercomplexes from mice exposed to different temperatures. A cold-induced conformation of CI:III2 (termed type 2) supercomplex was identified with a ?25° rotation of CIII2 around its inter-dimer axis, shortening inter-complex Q exchange space, and exhibiting catalytic states that favor electron transfer. Large-scale supercomplex simulations in mitochondrial membranes reveal how lipid-protein arrangements stabilize type 2 complexes to enhance catalytic activity. Together, our cryo-EM studies, multiscale simulations, and biochemical analyses unveil the thermoregulatory mechanisms and dynamics of increased respiratory capacity in brown fat at the structural and energetic level.

 

Journal of the National Cancer Institute

Poverty, Race, Ethnicity, and Survival in Pediatric Nonmetastatic Osteosarcoma: A Children's Oncology Group Report

Ilcisin L, Shulman DS, Weil BR, Weldon CB, Aziz-Bose R, Greenzang KA, Dubois SG, Janeway KA, Bona K

Background: Children living in poverty and those of marginalized race or ethnicity experience inferior disease outcomes across many cancers. Whether survival disparities exist in osteosarcoma is poorly defined. We investigated the association between race, ethnicity, and proxied poverty exposures and event-free and overall survival for children with nonmetastatic osteosarcoma receiving care on a cooperative group trial.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of US patients with nonmetastatic, osteosarcoma aged 5-21 years enrolled on the Children's Oncology Group trial AOST0331. Race and ethnicity were categorized to reflect historically marginalized populations, as Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Other, and non-Hispanic White. Poverty was proxied at the household and neighborhood levels. Overall survival and event-free survival functions of time from trial enrollment were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Hypotheses of associations between risks for event-free survival, death, and postrelapse death with race and ethnicity were assessed using log-rank tests.

Results: Among 758 patients, 25.6% were household-poverty and 28.5% neighborhood-poverty exposed. Of the patients, 21% of children identified as Hispanic, 15.4% non-Hispanic Black, 5.3% non-Hispanic Other, and 54.0% non-Hispanic White. Neither household or neighborhood poverty nor race and ethnicity were statistically significantly associated with risks for event-free survival or death. Postrelapse risk for death differed statistically significantly across race and ethnicity with non-Hispanic Black patients at greatest risk (4-year postrelapse survival 35.7% Hispanic vs 13.0% non-Hispanic Black vs 43.8% non-Hispanic Other vs 38.9% non-Hispanic White; P = .0046).

Conclusions: Neither proxied poverty exposures or race and ethnicity were associated with event-free survival or overall survival, suggesting equitable outcomes following frontline osteosarcoma trial-delivered therapy. Non-Hispanic Black children experienced statistically significant inferior postrelapse survival. Investigation of mechanisms underlying postrelapse disparities are paramount.

 

JAMA Oncology

Breast Cancer Index in Premenopausal Women with Early-Stage Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer

Regan MM

IMPORTANCE: Adjuvant ovarian function suppression (OFS) with oral endocrine therapy improves outcomes for premenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer but adds adverse effects. A genomic biomarker for selecting patients most likely to benefit from OFS-based treatment is lacking.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the predictive and prognostic performance of the Breast Cancer Index (BCI) for OFS benefit in premenopausal women with HR+ breast cancer.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This prospective-retrospective translational study used all available tumor tissue samples from female patients from the Suppression of Ovarian Function Trial (SOFT). These individuals were randomized to receive 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen alone, tamoxifen plus OFS, or exemestane plus OFS. BCI testing was performed blinded to clinical data and outcome. The a priori hypothesis was that BCI HOXB13/IL17BR ratio (BCI[H/I])-high tumors would benefit more from OFS and high BCI portended poorer prognosis in this population. Settings spanned multiple centers internationally. Participants included premenopausal female patients with HR+ early breast cancer with specimens in the International Breast Cancer Study Group tumor repository available for RNA extraction. Data were collected from December 2003 to April 2021 and were analyzed from May 2022 to October 2022.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary end points were breast cancer-free interval (BCFI) for the predictive analysis and distant recurrence-free interval (DRFI) for the prognostic analyses.

RESULTS: Tumor specimens were available for 1718 of the 3047 female patients in the SOFT intention-to-treat population. The 1687 patients (98.2%) who had specimens that yielded sufficient RNA for BCI testing represented the parent trial population. The median (IQR) follow-up time was 12 (10.5-13.4) years, and 512 patients (30.3%) were younger than 40 years. Tumors were BCI(H/I)-low for 972 patients (57.6%) and BCI(H/I)-high for 715 patients (42.4%). Patients with tumors classified as BCI(H/I)-low exhibited a 12-year absolute benefit in BCFI of 11.6% from exemestane plus OFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.48 [95% CI, 0.33-0.71]) and an absolute benefit of 7.3% from tamoxifen plus OFS (HR, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.48-0.97]) relative to tamoxifen alone. In contrast, patients with BCI(H/I)-high tumors did not benefit from either exemestane plus OFS (absolute benefit, -0.4%; HR, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.70-1.53]; P for interaction?=?.006) or tamoxifen plus OFS (absolute benefit, -1.2%; HR, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.72-1.54]; P for interaction?=?.11) compared with tamoxifen alone. BCI continuous index was significantly prognostic in the N0 subgroup for DRFI (n?=?1110; P?=?.004), with 12-year DRFI of 95.9%, 90.8%, and 86.3% in BCI low-risk, intermediate-risk, and high-risk N0 cancers, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this prospective-retrospective translational study of patients enrolled in SOFT, BCI was confirmed as prognostic in premenopausal women with HR+ breast cancer. The benefit from OFS-containing adjuvant endocrine therapy was greater for patients with BCI(H/I)-low tumors than BCI(H/I)-high tumors. BCI(H/I)-low status may identify premenopausal patients who are likely to benefit from this more intensive endocrine therapy.

 

JAMA Oncology

Hypofractionated vs Conventionally Fractionated Postmastectomy Radiation After Implant-Based Reconstruction: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Wong JS, Uno H, Tramontano AC, Fisher L, Pellegrini CV, Abel GA, Burstein HJ, Chun YS, King TA, Bellon JR, Recht A, Soto DE, Shiloh RY, Taghian AG, Warren LE, Punglia RS

IMPORTANCE: Postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) improves local-regional disease control and patient survival. Hypofractionation (HF) regimens have comparable efficacy and complication rates with improved quality of life compared with conventional fractionation (CF) schedules. However, the use of HF after mastectomy in patients undergoing breast reconstruction has not been prospectively examined.

OBJECTIVE: To compare HF and CF PMRT outcomes after implant-based reconstruction.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This randomized clinical trial assessed patients 18 years or older undergoing mastectomy and immediate expander or implant reconstruction for breast cancer (Tis, TX, or T1-3) and unilateral PMRT from March 8, 2018, to November 3, 2021 (median [range] follow-up, 40.4 [15.4-63.0] months), at 16 US cancer centers or hospitals. Analyses were conducted between September and December 2023.

INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomized 1:1 to HF or CF PMRT. Chest wall doses were 4256 cGy for 16 fractions for HF and 5000 cGy for 25 fractions for CF. Chest wall toxic effects were defined as a grade 3 or higher adverse event.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the change in physical well-being (PWB) domain of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) quality-of-life assessment tool at 6 months after starting PMRT, controlling for age. Secondary outcomes included toxic effects and cancer recurrence.

RESULTS: Of 400 women (201 in the CF arm and 199 in the HF arm; median [range] age, 47 [23-79] years), 330 patients had PWB scores at baseline and at 6 months. There was no difference in the change in PWB between the study arms (estimate, 0.13; 95% CI, -0.86 to 1.11; P?=?.80), but there was a significant interaction between age group and study arm (P?=?.03 for interaction). Patients younger than 45 years had higher 6-month absolute PWB scores if treated with HF rather than CF regimens (23.6 [95% CI, 22.7-24.6] vs 22.0 [95% CI, 20.7-23.3]; P?=?.047) and reported being less bothered by adverse effects (mean [SD], 3.0 [0.9] in the HF arm and 2.6 [1.2] in the CF arm; P?=?.02) or nausea (mean [SD], 3.8 [0.4] in the HF arm and 3.6 [0.8] in the CF arm; P?=?.04). In the as-treated cohort, there were 23 distant (11 in the HF arm and 12 in the CF arm) and 2 local-regional (1 in the HF arm and 1 in the CF arm) recurrences. Chest wall toxic effects occurred in 39 patients (20 in the HF arm and 19 in the CF arm) at a median (IQR) of 7.2 (1.8-12.9) months. Fractionation was not associated with chest wall toxic effects on multivariate analysis (HF arm: hazard ratio, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.52-2.00; P?=?.95). Fewer patients undergoing HF vs CF regimens had a treatment break (5 [2.7%] vs 15 [7.7%]; P?=?.03) or required unpaid time off from work (17 [8.5%] vs 34 [16.9%]; P?=?.02).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this randomized clinical trial, the HF regimen did not significantly improve change in PWB compared with the CF regimen. These data add to the increasing experience with HF PMRT in patients with implant-based reconstruction.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03422003.

 

JAMA Oncology

When Best Care Takes a Back Seat to the Bottom Line

Leeman JE, Han Z, Haas-Kogan DA

Within the last decade, an elegant radiotherapy system was developed that incorporated a low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner together with a linear accelerator (MR-linac) for cancer treatment. This technologic synergy, which was produced by ViewRay, proved to be transformative, as for the first time since the advent of radiotherapy, real-time MRI-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) allowed the physician to visualize the tumor and surrounding anatomy while the patient was actively receiving radiotherapy. The result was a paradigm shift in the precision of radiotherapy, providing much greater confidence and unprecedented accuracy, particularly for tumors in sensitive or mobile locations. The MRgRT system was adopted by more than 60 centers, including the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center, where we began using this technology in 2019.

 

Lancet

Progress in Breast Cancer Management

Tarantino P, Tolaney SM

Nearly 50 years have passed since the first demonstration that adjuvant multiagent chemotherapy could reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence. More than 2 million individuals globally are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, causing over 600?000 yearly deaths. The demonstration of the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy reshaped the paradigm of treatment for operable breast cancer in a durable way; even today, most patients diagnosed with breast cancer receive some form of (neo)adjuvant systemic treatment to improve long-term outcomes. Although the overall paradigm of systemic treatment has remained, much has changed in 50 years. Clinicians now better understand, diagnose, and surgically and medically treat breast cancer, all features that are reflected in improved long-term outcomes. To provide a historical benchmark, only a humbling 26% of the patients in the pivotal chemotherapy study by Bonadonna and colleagues were free from recurrence after 20 years of follow-up. Reassuringly, more recent analyses have shown a much more favourable picture, with progressively reduced recurrence rates.

 

Lancet

Tivozanib Plus Nivolumab Versus Tivozanib Monotherapy in Patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma Following an Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor: Results of the Phase 3 TiNivo-2 Study

Choueiri TK, McGregor BA

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors are cornerstones of first-line treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma; however, optimal treatment sequencing after progression is unknown. This study aimed to assess clinical outcomes of tivozanib-nivolumab versus tivozanib monotherapy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma who have progressed following one or two lines of therapy in the post-ICI setting.

METHODS: TiNivo-2 is a multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial at 190 sites across 16 countries, in Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma and progression during or after one to two previous lines of therapy (including one ICI) were randomised 1:1 to tivozanib (0·89 mg per day, orally) plus nivolumab (480 mg every 4 weeks, intravenously) or tivozanib (1·34 mg per day, orally). Randomisation was stratified by immediate previous therapy (ICI or non-ICI) and International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium risk category. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), defined as the time from randomisation to first documentation of objective progressive disease according to RECIST 1·1 or death from any cause, whichever came first, by independent radiology review. Efficacy was evaluated in the intention-to-treat population, and safety was assessed in patients who received one or more doses of the study drug. This trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04987203) and is active and not recruiting.

FINDINGS: From Nov 4, 2021, to June 16, 2023, 343 patients were randomly assigned to tivozanib-nivolumab (n=171) or tivozanib monotherapy (n=172). Median follow-up was 12·0 months. Median PFS was 5·7 months (95% CI 4·0-7·4) with tivozanib-nivolumab and 7·4 months (5·6-9·2) with tivozanib monotherapy (hazard ratio 1·10, 95% CI 0·84-1·43; p=0·49). Among those with an ICI as their immediate previous therapy (n=244), median PFS was 7·4 months (95% CI 5·6-9·6) with tivozanib-nivolumab and 9·2 months (7·4-10·0) with tivozanib monotherapy. With non-ICIs as the most recent therapy, lower median PFS was observed, with no difference between groups (tivozanib-nivolumab 3·7 months [95% CI 2·7-5·4] and with tivozanib monotherapy 3·7 months [1·9-7·2]). Serious adverse events occurred in 54 (32%) of 168 patients receiving tivozanib-nivolumab and 64 (37%) of 171 patients receiving tivozanib monotherapy. One (<1%) treatment-related death occurred (tivozanib group).

INTERPRETATION: These data further support that ICI rechallenge should be discouraged in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. Furthermore, these data suggest that tivozanib monotherapy has efficacy in the post-ICI setting.

FUNDING: Aveo Pharmaceuticals.

 

Nature Biotechnology

Non-Pathogenic E. coli Displaying Decoy-Resistant IL18 Mutein Boosts Anti-Tumor and CAR NK Cell Responses

Yang S, Sheffer M, Kaplan IE, Tarannum M, Dinh K, Abdulhamid Y, Bobilev E, Shapiro R, Porter R, Soiffer R, Ritz J, Koreth J, Liu F, Wu CJ, Barbie D, Romee R

The tumor microenvironment can inhibit the efficacy of cancer therapies through mechanisms such as poor trafficking and exhaustion of immune cells. Here, to address this challenge, we exploited the safety, tumor tropism and ease of genetic manipulation of non-pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) to deliver key immune-activating cytokines to tumors via surface display on the outer membrane of E. coli K-12 DH5?. Non-pathogenic E. coli expressing murine decoy-resistant IL18 mutein (DR18) induced robust CD8+ T and natural killer (NK) cell-dependent immune responses and suppressed tumor progression in immune-competent colorectal carcinoma and melanoma mouse models. E. coli K-12 DH5? engineered to display human DR18 potently activated mesothelin-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) NK cells and enhance their trafficking into tumors, which extended survival in an NK cell treatment-resistant mesothelioma xenograft model by enhancing TNF signaling and upregulating NK activation markers. Our live bacteria-based immunotherapeutic system safely and effectively induces potent anti-tumor responses in treatment-resistant solid tumors, motivating further evaluation of this approach in the clinic.

 

Nature Genetics

Heterogeneous Genetic Architectures of Prostate Cancer Susceptibility in Sub-Saharan Africa

Fortier B, Gusev A, Andrews C, Rebbeck TR

Men of African descent have the highest prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates, yet the genetic basis of prostate cancer in African men has been understudied. We used genomic data from 3,963 cases and 3,509 controls from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda to infer ancestry-specific genetic architectures and fine-map disease associations. Fifteen independent associations at 8q24.21, 6q22.1 and 11q13.3 reached genome-wide significance, including four new associations. Intriguingly, multiple lead associations are private alleles, a pattern arising from recent mutations and the out-of-Africa bottleneck. These African-specific alleles contribute to haplotypes with odds ratios above 2.4. We found that the genetic architecture of prostate cancer differs across Africa, with effect size differences contributing more to this heterogeneity than allele frequency differences. Population genetic analyses reveal that African prostate cancer associations are largely governed by neutral evolution. Collectively, our findings emphasize the utility of conducting genetic studies that use diverse populations.

 

New England Journal of Medicine

Hematologic Cancer after Gene Therapy for Cerebral Adrenoleukodystrophy

Duncan CN, Bledsoe JR, Eichler FS, Harris MH, Williams DA

BACKGROUND: Gene therapy with elivaldogene autotemcel (eli-cel) consisting of autologous CD34+ cells transduced with lentiviral vector containing ABCD1 complementary DNA (Lenti-D) has shown efficacy in clinical studies for the treatment of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy. However, the risk of oncogenesis with eli-cel is unclear.

METHODS: We performed integration-site analysis, genetic studies, flow cytometry, and morphologic studies in peripheral-blood and bone marrow samples from patients who received eli-cel therapy in two completed phase 2-3 studies (ALD-102 and ALD-104) and an ongoing follow-up study (LTF-304) involving the patients in both ALD-102 and ALD-104.

RESULTS: Hematologic cancer developed in 7 of 67 patients after the receipt of eli-cel (1 of 32 patients in the ALD-102 study and 6 of 35 patients in the ALD-104 study): myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with unilineage dysplasia in 2 patients at 14 and 26 months; MDS with excess blasts in 3 patients at 28, 42, and 92 months; MDS in 1 patient at 36 months; and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 1 patient at 57 months. In the 6 patients with available data, predominant clones contained lentiviral vector insertions at multiple loci, including at either MECOM-EVI1 (MDS and EVI1 complex protein EVI1 [ecotropic virus integration site 1], in 5 patients) or PRDM16 (positive regulatory domain zinc finger protein 16, in 1 patient). Several patients had cytopenias, and most had vector insertions in multiple genes within the same clone; 6 of the 7 patients also had somatic mutations (KRAS, NRAS, WT1, CDKN2A or CDKN2B, or RUNX1), and 1 of the 7 patients had monosomy 7. Of the 5 patients with MDS with excess blasts or MDS with unilineage dysplasia who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT), 4 patients remain free of MDS without recurrence of symptoms of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, and 1 patient died from presumed graft-versus-host disease 20 months after HSCT (49 months after receiving eli-cel). The patient with AML is alive and had full donor chimerism after HSCT; the patient with the most recent case of MDS is alive and awaiting HSCT.

CONCLUSIONS: Hematologic cancer developed in a subgroup of patients who were treated with eli-cel; the cases are associated with clonal vector insertions within oncogenes and clonal evolution with acquisition of somatic genetic defects. (Funded by Bluebird Bio; ALD-102, ALD-104, and LTF-304 ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT01896102, NCT03852498, and NCT02698579, respectively.).

 

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A.

Total Loss of VHL Gene Function Impairs Neuroendocrine Cancer Cell Fitness Due to Excessive HIF2? Activity

Abu-Remaileh M, Persky NS, Lee Y Root DE, Kaelin WG Jr

Loss-of-function germline von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor mutations cause VHL disease, which predisposes individuals to kidney cancer, hemangioblastomas, and paragangliomas. The risk that a given VHL disease family will manifest some or all these tumor types is profoundly influenced by the VHL allele it carries. For example, almost all VHL disease families that develop paraganglioma have missense VHL mutations. VHL families with null VHL alleles develop kidney cancer and hemangioblastomas without a high risk of paraganglioma. The latter is surprising because the VHL gene product, pVHL, suppresses the HIF2 transcription factor and gain-of-function HIF2 mutations are also linked to paraganglioma. Paragangliomas arise from the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system. Given the lack of human paraganglioma cell lines, we studied the effects of inactivating VHL in neuroblastoma cell lines, which also arise from the sympathetic nervous system. We found that total loss of pVHL function profoundly impairs the fitness of neuroblastoma cell lines in a HIF2-dependent manner both ex vivo and in vivo. This fitness defect can be rescued by pVHL variants linked to paraganglioma, but not by pVHL variants associated with a low risk of paraganglioma. These findings suggest that HIF2 activity above a critical threshold prevents the development of paraganglioma.

 

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A.

Toward a CRISPR-Based Mouse Model of Vhl-Deficient Clear Cell Kidney Cancer: Initial Experience and Lessons Learned

Stransky LA, Gao W, Bi K, Ramesh V, He L, Vigeant SM, Pignon JC, Sticco-Ivins M, Signoretti S, Van Allen EM, Kaelin WG Jr

CRISPR is revolutionizing the ability to do somatic gene editing in mice for the purpose of creating new cancer models. Inactivation of the VHL tumor suppressor gene is the signature initiating event in the most common form of kidney cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Such tumors are usually driven by the excessive HIF2 activity that arises when the VHL gene product, pVHL, is defective. Given the pressing need for a robust immunocompetent mouse model of human ccRCC, we directly injected adenovirus-associated viruses (AAVs) encoding sgRNAs against VHL and other known/suspected ccRCC tumor suppressor genes into the kidneys of C57BL/6 mice under conditions where Cas9 was under the control of one of two different kidney-specific promoters (Cdh16 or Pax8) to induce kidney tumors. An AAV targeting Vhl, Pbrm1, Keap1, and Tsc1 reproducibly caused macroscopic ccRCCs that partially resembled human ccRCC tumors with respect to transcriptome and cell of origin and responded to a ccRCC standard-of-care agent, axitinib. Unfortunately, these tumors, like those produced by earlier genetically engineered mouse ccRCCs, are HIF2 independent.

 

American Journal of Human Genetics

Germline Polygenic Risk Scores are Associated with Immune Gene Expression Signature and Immune Cell Infiltration in Breast Cancer

Liu Y, Peng C, Heng YJ, Baker GM, Van Allen EM, Eliassen AH, Kraft P

 
 
 

Annals of Surgical Oncology

Patient-Reported Outcomes 10 Years After Breast-Conserving Surgery for Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Dominici LS, Laws A, Lagendijk M, Grossmith S, Hughes M, Lin N, Mittendorf EA, King TA

 

Annals of Surgical Oncology

Potential Overtreatment of DCIS in Patients with Limited Life Expectancy

Lorentzen EH, Chen YJ, Jin G, King TA, Mittendorf EA, Minami CA

 

Annals of Surgical Oncology

Real-World Implications of the SOUND Trial

Giannakou A, Kantor O, Park KU, Waks AG, Punglia RS, Dominici LS, Nakhlis F, Mittendorf EA, King TA

 
 

Blood Cancer Journal

Patient Preferences for Intervention in the Setting of Precursor Multiple Myeloma

Marinac CR, Downey K, Perry J, Fisher-Longden B, Rebbeck TR, O'Donnell EK, Ghobrial IM, Omar N

 
 

Breast Cancer Research and Treatment

Intracranial Outcomes Following Neurosurgical Resection in Patients with Brain Metastases Secondary to HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Versus Other Subtypes

Rashid NS, Lamba N, Catalano PJ, Bi WL, Arnaout O, Tanguturi SK, Rahman R, Haas-Kogan DA, Lin NU, Wen PY, Aizer AA

 

Breast Cancer Research and Treatment

Second Primary Non-Breast Cancers in Young Breast Cancer Survivors

Zhang BX, Brantley KD, Kirkner GJ, Collins LC, Come SE, Bellon JR, Partridge AH

 
 
 
 
 

Cancer Research

Single-Stranded DNA Gap Accumulation Is a Functional Biomarker for USP1 Inhibitor Sensitivity

da Costa AA, Somuncu O, Ravindranathan R, Mukkavalli S, Martignetti DB, Nguyen H, Jiao Y, Lamarre BP, Sadatrezaei G, Moreau L, Liu J, Iyer DR, Lazaro JB, Shapiro GI, Parmar K, D'Andrea AD

 

Cancer Research

Targeting the Sodium-Potassium Pump as a Therapeutic Strategy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Schneider C, Spaink H, Alexe G, Dharia NV, Meyer A, Merickel LA, Khalid D, Stegmaier K

 

Cancer Science

Clinicopathological, Molecular, and Prognostic Features of Colorectal Carcinomas with KRAS c.34G>T (p.G12C) Mutation

Ugai S, Yao Q, Takashima Y, Zhong Y, Matsuda K, Kawamura H, Okadome K, Song M, Meyerhardt JA, Giannakis M, Nowak JA, Ugai T, Ogino S

 

Clinical Cancer Research

Integrative Multiomic Profiling of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer for Identifying Suitable Therapies

Jovanovi? B, Richardson ET 3rd, DiLullo M, Attaya V, Kasparian J, Mohammed-Abreu A, Kirkner G, Hughes ME, Lin NU, Mittendorf EA, Schnitt SJ, Tolaney SM, Goel S

 
 

Clinical Genitourinary Cancer

Impact of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors on Pathologic Complete Response with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

Thomas J, Ravi P, Mantia C, McGregor BA, Nuzzo PV, Adib E, Zarif TE, Preston MA, Clinton TN, Steele GS, Freeman D, Jain RK, Sonpavde GP

 
 

Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports

Novel Therapies for Primary Central Nervous System Lymphomas

Aquilanti E, Nayak L

 

Current Urology Reports

Impact of DNA Repair Deficiency in the Evolving Treatment Landscape of Bladder Cancer

D'Andrea VD, Magnani CJ, Ernandez J, Bellmunt J, Mossanen M, Clinton TN, Carvalho FLF, Mouw KW

 
 
 
 
 

Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America

Advances in Vaccines for Melanoma

Cui C, Ott PA, Wu CJ

 

JAMA Pediatrics

On Resilience, Babies, and Bathwater

Rosenberg AR

 
 
 

JCO Precision Oncology

Response to Crizotinib After Entrectinib Resistance in ROS1-Rearranged, MET-Amplified Lung Adenocarcinoma

Vaz VR, Gandhi MM, Ricciuti B, Alessi JV, Pecci F, Aldea M, Barrichello A, Saini A, Sholl L, Sands JM, Awad MM

 

JCO Oncology Practice

The Trial Enrollment Diversity Dashboard for Acute Leukemia Clinical Research: Intervention Development and Cohort Analysis

Hantel A, Walsh TP, Li KY, Awan S, Littlejohn E, Lathan CS, Abel GA

 

Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine

Acupoint Sensitivity in Health and Disease: A Systematic Review

Yang E, Lu W, Muñoz-Vergara D, Goldfinger E, Kaptchuk TJ, Napadow V, Ahn AC, Wayne PM

 
 
 

Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice

Using QI to Develop a Sustainable Method for Titrating Taxane Infusions to Reduce Hypersensitivity Reactions

Jabaley T, Menon S, Bagley J, Tuskan J, Mazzola E, Costa J, Rompelman G, Servant J, Corbett M, Lynch DM

 

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

Content Analysis of Serious Illness Conversation Documentation: Structured vs. Free-Text Information

Durieux BN, Zupanc SN, Manz CR, Lakin JR, Lindvall C

 

Journal of Psychosocial Oncology

Association Between Positive Affect, Flourishing, Quality of Life, and Psychological Distress in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Amonoo HL, Daskalakis E, Lam JA, Wolfe ED, Guo M, Onyeaka HK, Newcomb RA, Barata A, Ghanime PM, Keane EP, Boardman AC, Cutler C, Pirl WF, Peteet JR, Huffman JC, El-Jawahri A

 
 
 
 

Neuro-Oncology Practice

The Disparity in Pediatric Spinal Cord Tumor Clinical Trials: A Scoping Review of Registered Clinical Trials from 1989 to 2023

Villanueva OP, Papadakis JE, Mosher AM, Cooney T, Fehnel KP

 

Nucleic Acids Research

HIV-1 Usurps Mixed-Charge Domain-Dependent CPSF6 Phase Separation for Higher-Order Capsid Binding, Nuclear Entry and Viral DNA Integration

Jang S, Bedwell GJ, Arnarson B, Singh PK, Radhakrishnan R, Engelman AN

 

Oncologist

Clinical Ethics Consultation Services: Public-Facing Information on NCI-Designated Cancer Center Websites

Koranteng E, Cernik C, Gallagher E, Hantel A, Marron J, Abel G

 

Oncologist

Liquid Biopsy in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Machaalani M, Eid M, Semaan K, El Hajj Chehade R, Nawfal R, Baca SC, Choueiri TK

 
 

Pediatrics

Digital Detox and Well-Being

Marciano L, Viswanath K