After numerous unsuccessful attempts to create a therapy that could alter the course of Alzheimer’s disease, first monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid-β in the brain have finally shown consistent ...evidence of clinical effectiveness. These therapies not only slow the progression of the disease, but also show positive results in secondary clinical outcomes and reduced amyloid-β levels on PET scans. This presentation will examine the main features of the previous failed trials and explore possible reasons for their lack of success in developing a treatment for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. It will also compare the safety profiles of various antibodies and point out precautions that should be taken when using them in regular clinical practice. Furthermore, it will be discussed how blood-based biomarkers can revolutionize the clinical care pathway, making it easier to adopt antibody treatments. A comprehensive model that integrates case-finding and treatment across various healthcare sectors will be proposed. In conclusion, we may have made a significant breakthrough by demonstrating that reducing amyloid-β levels leads to clinical benefits, not just changes in biomarkers. As the new generation of drugs becomes more commonly used, we will see whether their statistical effectiveness translates into meaningful clinical changes. This could mark the start of a new phase in the development of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared
Guideline recommended standard of care (SoC) screening is available for four cancer types; most cancer-related deaths are caused by cancers without SoC screening. DETECT-A is the first prospective ...interventional trial evaluating an MCED blood test (CancerSEEK) in women without a history of cancer, providing the first opportunity to assess the long-term outcomes of individuals with false positive (FP) MCED results. This prospective analysis of DETECT-A participants with FP results evaluates the performance of an imaging-based diagnostic workflow and examines cancer risk following a FP result. This analysis included all DETECT-A participants with a positive CancerSEEK test and subsequent flourine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-IV contrast enhanced computed tomography (18-F-FDG PET-CT) imaging and clinical workup indicating no evidence of cancer within one year of enrollment (n=98). Medical records, study interactions, and study surveys were used to assess cancer incidence, treatments, and clinical outcomes through August 2023. Ninety-five of 98 participants with a FP result remained cancer-free with a median follow-up of 3.6 years (IQR: 2.5-4.1) from determination of FP status. Three incident cancers were observed over the follow-up period. One bilateral stage IIIC ovarian cancer was diagnosed 1.9 years after determination of FP status; two stage I breast cancers were diagnosed 0.1 and 1.6 years from determination of FP status. The annual incidence rate of cancer during follow-up from FP determination was 1.0% (95% CI: 0.2%-2.8%). Participants with a positive CancerSEEK test who underwent 18-F-FDG PET-CT and clinical workup without cancer findings had low risk for cancer over the following several years.
Abstract
Introduction
Following the results from the REGOMA study, regorafenib has become the first chemotherapeutic option for recurrent glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype, in many countries. However, ...predictive factors for response to regorafenib are scarcely recognized. The objective of this study was to identify molecular predictive factors for response to regorafenib using a clinically available platform.
METHODS
We analyzed a prospective cohort of 30 patients harboring recurrent glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype, and treated with regorafenib. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis was performed on DNA extracted from paraffin-embedded tissues using a rapid, cheap, and clinically validated platform. MGMT methylation was assessed using methylation-specific PCR, and EGFRvIII expression was assessed using RT-PCR.
RESULTS
In our series, six-month progression-free survival (PFS) was 30% and median overall survival (OS) was 7.5 months: these data are consistent with current literature. Among clinical variables, gross-total resection was endowed with a positive prognostic value for PFS (p=0.0296, log-rank test). NGS analysis revealed a mutation in the EGFR pathway (EGFR and/or PIK3CA) in 18% of cases; a mutation in the mitogen-activated protein-kinase (MAPK) pathway (RAS and/or RET) in 18% of cases; no mutations in the remaining cases. Patients carrying MAPK pathway mutation had a poor response to regorafenib treatment, with a significantly shorter PFS and a nonsignificantly shorter OS compared to EGFR-mutated patients (for PFS, 2.5 vs 4.5 months, p=0.0061; for OS, 7 vs 9 months, p=0.1076). By combining NGS analysis with RT-PCR for EGFRvIII, we identified 14 patients with EGFR pathway activation, who had a significantly longer PFS and OS after regorafenib treatment. Multivariate analysis confirmed that MAPK pathway mutations predicted a scarce response to regorafenib treatment.
Conclusions
Through an easy-to-use and cheap platform, we identified a mesenchymal, MAPK-altered signature in IDH-wildtype glioblastoma, predictive of scarce response to regorafenib at recurrence. We thus provide a molecular selection criterion to implement in the clinical practice.
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Oligodendroglioma, IDH-mutant and 1p/19q-codeleted has variable outcomes that are strongly influenced by patient age. This study aimed to discover novel molecular biomarkers that ...may characterize an aggressive subgroup of oligodendroglioma that is associated with, but independently prognostic of patient age.
METHODS
Differential gene expression analysis, gene ontology analysis, and gene set enrichment analysis were conducted on TCGA RNA-seq data (N=169) to identify genes and pathways that differ significantly between older and younger patients. Genes whose expression was associated with age and survival in multivariate analyses were further studied using DNA methylation (N=171). The prognostic value of their expression and methylation profiles was then compared to known genomic biomarkers, radiographic features, and histopathologic features. RNA-seq and DNA methylation validation data were obtained from the CGGA (N=44) and a cohort published by Capper et al. (N=144), respectively.
RESULTS
Highly activated pathways in older oligodendrogliomas were linked to developmental transcription factors. Overexpression of HOXD12 was associated with patient age and survival in the TCGA (FDR< 0.01, FDR=1e-5) and the CGGA (p=0.03, p< 1e-3). Hypermethylation of HOXD12 was associated with age, tumor grade, and survival in the TCGA (p< 1e-5, p< 0.001, p< 1e-3) and with age and tumor grade in Capper et al. (p< 0.02, p=0.001). In the TCGA, HOXD12 hypermethylation and overexpression were independently prognostic of NOTCH1 and PIK3CA mutations, loss of 15q, and MYC activation as well as mitotic figures, Ki-67 index, microvascular proliferation, and necrosis. HOXD12 overexpression was also independently prognostic of T1-post contrast enhancement, whole tumor volume, and peritumoral edema volume. We developed a risk-stratification nomogram predicting 5- and 10-year overall survival using patient age, HOXD12 methylation, and WHO grade.
CONCLUSIONS
HOXD12 overexpression and hypermethylation are associated with an aggressive subtype of oligodendroglioma and may serve as superior prognostic biomarkers than previously reported genomic, radiographic, and histopathologic features.
Abstract
Although high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX)-based chemotherapy, such as rituximab, HD-MTX, procarbazine and vincristine (R-MPV) regimen, has significantly prolonged the survival of patients ...with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), predictive factors for response to R-MPV have not yet been investigated. Then, we investigated the correlation of MYD88 L265P and CD79B Y196 mutations, which are the most frequently found molecular alterations in PCNSL, with prognosis of patients with PCNSL treated with R-MPV. 47 and 21 patients with PCNSL treated with R-MPV and HD-MTX respectively were included, and correlation of their MYD88 and CD79B status with prognosis was analyzed. R-MPV achieved an excellent tumor control rate (61.6% and 69.9% of 5-year progression-free and overall survival rates, respectively). Among the 47 patients, 36 harbored MYD88 L265P or CD79B Y196 mutations. While the MYD88 L265P mutation had no significant effect on survival, patients with CD79B Y196 mutations exhibited prolonged survival (P < 0.05). However, the association of the CD79B Y196 mutation with a better prognosis was not observed in the HD-MTX cohort, which indicated that the CD79B Y196 mutation was a predictive marker for a favorable response to R-MPV. Furthermore, we established an all-in-one rapid genotyping system for these genetic mutations. This system enabled the detection of these genetic mutations in a small amount of biopsy samples within 90 min. In conclusion, we revealed that the CD79B Y196 mutation is associated with a good response to R-MPV, and the rapid and accurate genotyping system for MYD88 L265P and CD79B Y196 mutations that we developed in this study will enable reliable rapid molecular diagnosis and early prediction of response to R-MPV, which might help to determine the best treatment strategy for PCNSL.
Abstract
Background
The host-tumour interaction is fundamental to brain tumour biology, orchestration of which is mediated in part by cytokines. We reasoned that detection of a tumour-specific ...cytokine profile in patient serum could contribute to early diagnosis strategies, and permit prediction of tumour subtypes before histological diagnosis.
METHOD
Patient serum blood samples (300ul) were collected prospectively from patients with radiological evidence of a new brain tumour diagnosis pre-treatment, and from symptom-matched patients without radiological evidence of a tumour (controls). Our in-house cytokine assay incorporates antibodies captured onto a nitrocellulose slide. 64 capture antibodies are printed per slide, with 4 replicates per antibody. Fluorescence is measured from a biotin secondary antibody, the signal compared to a standard curve, and the averaged relative intensity across 4 replicates determined. We used a hierarchical clustering strategy to examine the relative expression of all 64 biomarkers for each patient class, and for cancer versus non-cancer. We refined this to identify the most discriminatory biomarkers. We made a univariate examination of the association of each antibody with brain tumour type.
RESULTS
Cytokine profiles were collected from 83 patients (42 glioblastoma, 8 meningioma, 12 metastatic cancer, 6 grade III gliomas, 3 grade II gliomas, 2 other brain tumours, 10 non-cancer patients). The top 4 biomarkers with greatest separation for brain cancer versus non-cancer were osteopontin, MMP3, MMP9 and TIMP-1. A principal component analysis demonstrated clear separation between clusters for these biomarkers. Univariate analysis evidenced discrimination of tumour subtypes, for example MMP9 and oligodendrogliomas.
CONCLUSION
Cytokine signals can be identified in small volumes of patient serum and used to identify brain cancer ‘risk.’ This could support prioritization for brain imaging, and prediction of tumour subtype to guide pre-operative management decision-making. Combination with other liquid biopsy strategies such as serum spectroscopy may improve spectroscopy test performance and utility.
Abstract
Tetraspanin 12 (TSPAN12), a member of the tetraspanin family that are increasingly known to be involved in various mechanisms of tumor progression, mediates various cellular signaling ...processes in cancer cells. With respect to the brain, previous studies have shown that TSPAN12 is related with the maturation of a membrane-associated metalloproteinase 10 and the production of amyloid β plaque, but there are no studies related to brain tumors to date. Therefore, we designed this study to investigate the role of TSPAN 12 on malignant glioma (MG) cells and patients. TSPAN12 silencing in MG cells significantly progressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion capacities, and extracellular matrix adhesion ability as well as stem cell properties, in vitro. Mechanistically, we identified that FAK and ERK signaling were involved in MG cells with TSPAN12 expression. Moreover, clinical analysis of MG patient tissues microarray showed that the expression level of TSPAN12 was negatively correlated with the prognosis in MG patients. Collectively, more studies are needed, but we suggest that TSPAN12 can be used as an alternative biomarker to predict the prognosis of MG patient and help develop MG treatment strategies.
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