Associations of cytomegalovirus infection with cancer-related cognitive impairment and peripheral neuropathy in ovarian cancer survivors.

Objective: To assess the associations between active CMV infection and patient-reported symptoms of cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) and peripheral neuropathy in ovarian cancer survivors.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among individuals with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, primary peritoneal cancer, or fallopian tube cancer from academic and community cancer clinics at any time point after completion of front-line chemotherapy. Participants completed a one-time survey and provided a blood sample.

Quantification of low-level human cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus DNAemia by digital PCR.

Background: Digital PCR (dPCR) can quantify cell-free viral DNA (DNAemia), a biomarker of active viral infection. To accelerate epidemiologic investigation into low-level viral reactivation in chronic disease, we have evaluated the performance of dPCR to detect cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNAemia across platforms and blood matrices.

Methods: The droplet-based (BioRad) dPCR platform performance was compared to chip-based (BioMark), and assay validation followed dMIQE guidelines.

Prevalence of active cytomegalovirus infection at diagnosis of ovarian cancer and during chemotherapy and subsequent changes in cognitive functioning.

Purpose: One of the most frequently reported effects of cancer and its treatments is cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI). Viral infections may affect inflammation and immune function and therefore may influence patient symptoms, including CRCI. The goal of this study was to describe the prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections at diagnosis, during, and after chemotherapy in individuals with ovarian cancer and explore CMV infection at diagnosis with cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) following chemotherapy.

KMT2A-D pathogenicity, prevalence, and variation according to a population database.

Introduction: The KMT2 family of genes is essential epigenetic regulators promoting gene expression. The gene family contains three subgroups, each with two paralogues: KMT2A and KMT2B; KMT2C and KMT2D; KMT2F and KMT2G. KMT2A-D are among the most frequent somatically altered genes in several different cancer types.

Human cytomegalovirus alters immune cell profile with potential implications for patient survival in head and neck cancer.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a highly prevalent human herpes virus that exerts a strong influence on immune repertoire which may influence cancer risk. We have tested whether CMV immunoglobulin G (IgG) serostatus is associated with immune cell proportions (n = 132 population controls), human papillomavirus (HPV) co-infection and head and neck cancer risk (n = 184 cancer cases and 188 controls) and patient survival. CMV status was not associated with the proportion of Natural Killer cells, B cells or the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio.

Cytomegalovirus infection in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a highly prevalent herpes virus which persists as a latent infection and has been detected in several different tumor types. HCMV disease is rare but may occur in high-risk settings, often manifesting as a pulmonary infection. To date HCMV has not been investigated in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

Validation of a hybrid approach to standardize immunophenotyping analysis in large population studies: The Health and Retirement Study.

Traditional manual gating strategies are often time-intensive, place a high burden on the analyzer, and are susceptible to bias between analyzers. Several automated gating methods have shown to exceed performance of manual gating for a limited number of cell subsets. However, many of the automated algorithms still require significant manual interventions or have yet to demonstrate their utility in large datasets.