Identifying pre-diabetes 'hotspots' in Northern California using geospatial analysis: opportunities to target diabetes prevention strategies and improve health equity.

Objectives: The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening of adults aged 35-70 with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m for type 2 diabetes and referral of individuals who screen positive for pre-diabetes to evidence-based prevention strategies. The diabetes burden in the USA is predicted to triple by 2060 necessitating strategic diabetes prevention efforts, particularly in areas of highest need. This study aimed to identify pre-diabetes hotspots using geospatial mapping to inform targeted diabetes prevention strategies.

Bladder cancer risk stratification with the Oncuria 10-plex bead-based urinalysis assay using three different Luminex xMAP instrumentation platforms.

Background: No single marker of bladder cancer (BC) exists in urine samples with sufficient accuracy for disease diagnosis and treatment monitoring. The multiplex Oncuria BC assay noninvasively quantifies the concentration of 10 protein analytes in voided urine samples to quickly generate a unique molecular profile with proven BC diagnostic and treatment-tracking utility. Test adoption by diagnostic and research laboratories mandates reliably reproducible assay performance across a variety of instrumentation platforms used in different laboratories.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on exercise habits among cancer patients.

Purpose There is limited information on how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed health behaviors among cancer patients. We examined the impact of the pandemic on changes in exercise behaviors and identified characteristics associated with these changes among cancer patients. Methods Cancer patients (n   1,361) completed a survey from August-September 2020 to assess COVID-19 pandemic-related changes in health behaviors and psychosocial factors.

Patient-Reported Outcomes with Durvalumab With or Without Tremelimumab Versus Standard Chemotherapy as First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (MYSTIC).

Background: The phase 3 MYSTIC study of durvalumab ± tremelimumab versus chemotherapy in metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with tumor cell (TC) programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression ≥ 25% did not meet its primary endpoints. We report patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

Patients And Methods: Treatment-naïve patients were randomized (1:1:1) to durvalumab, durvalumab + tremelimumab, or chemotherapy.

Low-dose versus High-dose Carfilzomib with Dexamethasone (S1304) in Patients with Relapsed-Refractory Multiple Myeloma.

Purpose: Treatment of multiple myeloma has evolved tremendously and optimal utilization of available therapies will ensure maximal patient benefits.

Patients And Methods: We report the Southwest Oncology Group randomized phase II trial (S1304) comparing twice weekly low-dose (27 mg/m; arm 1) to high-dose carfilzomib (56 mg/m; arm 2), both with dexamethasone, administered for 12 cycles (11 months) for relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma with up to six prior lines of therapy (NCT01903811). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), and patients on arm 1 could cross-over to arm 2 after progression on treatment.

Durvalumab With or Without Tremelimumab vs Standard Chemotherapy in First-line Treatment of Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: The MYSTIC Phase 3 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Checkpoint inhibitors targeting programmed cell death 1 or its ligand (PD-L1) as monotherapies or in combination with anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 have shown clinical activity in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Objective: To compare durvalumab, with or without tremelimumab, with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This open-label, phase 3 randomized clinical trial (MYSTIC) was conducted at 203 cancer treatment centers in 17 countries.

Methylated plasma test for colorectal cancer detection may be applicable to Lynch syndrome.

Objective: The plasma-based methylated (mSEPT9) is a colorectal cancer (CRC) screening test for adults aged 50-75 years who are at average risk for CRC and have refused colonoscopy or faecal-based screening tests. The applicability of mSEPT9 for high-risk persons with Lynch syndrome (LS), the most common hereditary CRC condition, has not been assessed. This study sought preliminary evidence for the utility of mSEPT9 for CRC detection in LS.

Role of Proteasome Inhibitors in Relapsed and/or Refractory Multiple Myeloma.

Proteasome inhibition is an established treatment strategy for patients with multiple myeloma as proteasome inhibitors (PIs) selectively target and disrupt the protein metabolism of aberrant plasma cells. Since the introduction of the first-in-class PIs bortezomib, the therapeutic landscape for multiple myeloma has shifted with the development of next-generation PIs (carfilzomib and ixazomib) and new classes of agents. Treatment with modern combination therapies has been shown to result in deep responses and improved outcomes, and these potent regimens are increasingly used as frontline therapy.

Predictive biomarkers for response to EGFR-directed monoclonal antibodies for advanced squamous cell lung cancer.

Background: Upregulated expression and aberrant activation of the epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGFR) are found in lung cancer, making EGFR a relevant target for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Treatment with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is associated with modest improvement in overall survival in patients with squamous cell lung cancer (SqCLC) who have a significant unmet need for effective treatment options. While there is evidence that using EGFR gene copy number, EGFR mutation, and EGFR protein expression as biomarkers can help select patients who respond to treatment, it is important to consider biomarkers for response in patients treated with combination therapies that include EGFR mAbs.

Molecular and Immune Biomarker Testing in Squamous-Cell Lung Cancer: Effect of Current and Future Therapies and Technologies.

Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, including squamous-cell lung cancer (SqCLC), typically present at an advanced stage. The current treatment landscape, which includes chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, immunotherapy, and targeted agents, is rapidly evolving, including for patients with SqCLC. Prompt molecular and immune biomarker testing can serve to guide optimal treatment choices, and immune biomarker testing is becoming more important for this patient population.

Recent advances in the management of multiple myeloma: clinical impact based on resource-stratification. Consensus statement of the Asian Myeloma Network at the 16th international myeloma workshop.

Predicated on our improved understanding of the disease biology, we have seen remarkable advances in the management of multiple myeloma over the past few years. Recently approved drugs have radically transformed the treatment paradigm and improved survivals of myeloma patients. The progress has necessitated revision of the diagnostic criteria, risk-stratification and response definition.

Current and Emergent Therapy Options for Advanced Squamous Cell Lung Cancer.

Squamous cell lung cancer (SqCLC) is a distinct histologic subtype of NSCLC that is challenging to treat because of specific clinicopathologic characteristics, which include older age, advanced disease at diagnosis, comorbid diseases, and the central location of tumors. These characteristics have a bearing on treatment outcomes in advanced SqCLC, resulting in a median survival approximately 30% shorter than for patients with other NSCLC subtypes. In the context of the specific features of SqCLC, we review challenges of treating SqCLC and the current guideline-recommended treatments for advanced (metastatic) SqCLC in different patient subpopulations.

Role of F-FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis and management of multiple myeloma and other plasma cell disorders: a consensus statement by the International Myeloma Working Group.

The International Myeloma Working Group consensus aimed to provide recommendations for the optimal use of fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/CT in patients with multiple myeloma and other plasma cell disorders, including smouldering multiple myeloma and solitary plasmacytoma. F-FDG PET/CT can be considered a valuable tool for the work-up of patients with both newly diagnosed and relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma because it assesses bone damage with relatively high sensitivity and specificity, and detects extramedullary sites of proliferating clonal plasma cells while providing important prognostic information. The use of F-FDG PET/CT is mandatory to confirm a suspected diagnosis of solitary plasmacytoma, provided that whole-body MRI is unable to be performed, and to distinguish between smouldering and active multiple myeloma, if whole-body X-ray (WBXR) is negative and whole-body MRI is unavailable.

Circulating tumour DNA analysis demonstrates spatial mutational heterogeneity that coincides with disease relapse in myeloma.

Mutational characterisation in multiple myeloma (MM) currently relies on bone marrow (BM) biopsy, which fails to capture the putative spatial and genetic heterogeneity of this multifocal disease. Analysis of plasma (PL)-derived circulating free tumour DNA (ctDNA) as an adjunct to BM biopsy, for mutational characterisation and tracking disease progression, was evaluated. Paired BM MM cell DNA and ctDNA from 33 relapsed/refractory (RR) and 15 newly diagnosed (ND) patients were analysed for KRAS, NRAS, BRAF and TP53 mutations using the OnTarget Mutation Detection (OMD) platform.

Incremental Innovation and Progress in Advanced Squamous Cell Lung Cancer: Current Status and Future Impact of Treatment.

Squamous cell lung cancer (sqCLC) is an aggressive form of cancer that poses many therapeutic challenges. Patients tend to be older, present at a later stage, and have a high incidence of comorbidities, which can compromise treatment delivery and exacerbate toxicity. In addition, certain agents routinely available for nonsquamous cell histologic subtypes, such as bevacizumab and pemetrexed, are contraindicated or lack efficacy in sqCLC.

International Myeloma Working Group consensus criteria for response and minimal residual disease assessment in multiple myeloma.

Treatment of multiple myeloma has substantially changed over the past decade with the introduction of several classes of new effective drugs that have greatly improved the rates and depth of response. Response criteria in multiple myeloma were developed to use serum and urine assessment of monoclonal proteins and bone marrow assessment (which is relatively insensitive). Given the high rates of complete response seen in patients with multiple myeloma with new treatment approaches, new response categories need to be defined that can identify responses that are deeper than those conventionally defined as complete response.

Clinicopathologic Features of Advanced Squamous NSCLC.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. NSCLC accounts for more than 85% of all lung cancers, and the prognosis for advanced-stage disease is typically poor. In recent years, the importance of histologic subtypes of NSCLC has been recognized, and the distinction between squamous and other NSCLC histologic subtypes is now critical to patient management.

Is change in blood pressure a biomarker of pazopanib and sunitinib efficacy in advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma?

Aim: Pazopanib, an oral antiangiogenic agent, is associated with improved outcomes in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. In this retrospective analysis, we explore hypertension, an on-target adverse event, as a predictive marker.

Methods: Data from the pazopanib arm of the phase III COMPARZ trial (NCT00720941) comprised the test set.

Geriatric assessment predicts survival and toxicities in elderly myeloma patients: an International Myeloma Working Group report.

We conducted a pooled analysis of 869 individual newly diagnosed elderly patient data from 3 prospective trials. At diagnosis, a geriatric assessment had been performed. An additive scoring system (range 0-5), based on age, comorbidities, and cognitive and physical conditions, was developed to identify 3 groups: fit (score = 0, 39%), intermediate fitness (score = 1, 31%), and frail (score ≥2, 30%).

Connect MM Registry: The Importance of Establishing Baseline Disease Characteristics.

Background: Connect MM is the first and largest observational, noninterventional, prospective registry of patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma (NDMM) in the United States. It collects longitudinal data on patients within clinical practice including patients in clinical trials.

Patients And Methods: Of the 1513 patients enrolled, 1493 were protocol-eligible.

Pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma and sorafenib.

Pulmonary squamous cell carcinomas are not often thought to sensitive to targeted agents, like their cousin the adenocarcinoma of the lung. With appropriate testing of molecular markers, squamous cell carcinomas, like adenocarcinomas of the lung, melanomas, and renal cell carcinomas, may be found to be sensitive to newer, targeted agents.

International Myeloma Working Group updated criteria for the diagnosis of multiple myeloma.

This International Myeloma Working Group consensus updates the disease definition of multiple myeloma to include validated biomarkers in addition to existing requirements of attributable CRAB features (hypercalcaemia, renal failure, anaemia, and bone lesions). These changes are based on the identification of biomarkers associated with near inevitable development of CRAB features in patients who would otherwise be regarded as having smouldering multiple myeloma. A delay in application of the label of multiple myeloma and postponement of therapy could be detrimental to these patients.