Linda Rolnitzky

High Cost of Stage IV Pressure Ulcers

BACKGROUNDnThe aim of this study was to calculate and analyze the cost of treatment for stage IV pressure ulcers.nnnMETHODSnA retrospective chart analysis of patients with stage IV pressure ulcers was conducted. Hospital records and treatment outcomes of these patients were followed up for a maximum of 29 months and analyzed. Costs directly related to the treatment of pressure ulcers and their associated complications were calculated.nnnRESULTSnNineteen patients with stage IV pressure ulcers (11 hospital-acquired and 8 community-acquired) were identified and their charts were reviewed. The average hospital treatment cost associated with stage IV pressure ulcers and related complications was

Spatiotemporal trafficking of HIV in human plasmacytoid dendritic cells defines a persistently IFN-α–producing and partially matured phenotype

129,248 for hospital-acquired ulcers during 1 admission, and

BRCA Mutation Status and Determinant of Outcome in Women with Recurrent Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Treated with Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin

124,327 for community-acquired ulcers over an average of 4 admissions.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThe costs incurred from stage IV pressure ulcers are much greater than previously estimated. Halting the progression of early stage pressure ulcers has the potential to eradicate enormous pain and suffering, save thousands of lives, and reduce health care expenditures by millions of dollars.

Endothelin receptor type B gene promoter hypermethylation in salivary rinses is independently associated with risk of oral cavity cancer and premalignancy.

Plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) are innate immune cells that are specialized to produce IFN-α and to activate adaptive immune responses. Although IFN-α inhibits HIV-1 replication in vitro, the production of IFN-α by HIV-activated pDCs in vivo may contribute more to HIV pathogenesis than to protection. We have now shown that HIV-stimulated human pDCs allow for persistent IFN-α production upon repeated stimulation, express low levels of maturation molecules, and stimulate weak T cell responses. Persistent IFN-α production by HIV-stimulated pDCs correlated with increased levels of IRF7 and was dependent upon the autocrine IFN-α/β receptor feedback loop. Because it has been shown that early endosomal trafficking of TLR9 agonists causes strong activation of the IFN-α pathway but weak activation of the NF-κB pathway, we sought to investigate whether early endosomal trafficking of HIV, a TLR7 agonist, leads to the IFN-α-producing phenotype we observed. We demonstrated that HIV preferentially traffics to the early endosome in human pDCs and therefore skews pDCs toward a partially matured, persistently IFN-α-secreting phenotype.

EDNRB and DCC Salivary Rinse Hypermethylation Has a Similar Performance as Expert Clinical Examination in Discrimination of Oral Cancer/Dysplasia versus Benign Lesions

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients with BRCA mutations (BRCA +) benefit from platinum-based treatment more than noncarriers. Impaired ability to repair DNA by homologous recombination increases their chemosensitivity. We investigated whether BRCA + predicts for improved outcome following pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) for recurrence. Recurrent EOC patients receiving second- or third-line PLD from 1998 to 2009 in 4 institutions (Tel Aviv, New York, Padua, and Jerusalem) were subjected to retrospective comparisons between 40 (25.8%) patients who were BRCA +, and 115 (74.2%) deemed nonhereditary (NH). Median age was 59 years (range 31–83); 111 (72%) had a platinum-free interval more than 6 months [PLD alone (n = 65) and PLD plus platinum (n = 90)]; 104 received PLD in second-line and 51 in third-line. BRCA + versus NH comparisons: median time to treatment failure (TTF) 15.8 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 11.4–21.6] versus 8.1 months (95% CI: 6.1–10.3; P = 0.009); overall survival (OS) 56.8 months (95% CI: 32.5–indeterminate) versus 22.6 months (95% CI: 17.0–34.1; P = 0.002). In multivariate Cox models BRCA status was significantly associated with TTF (HR = 1.66; 95% CI: 1.08–2.55; P = 0.02) and OS (adjusted HR 2.07; 95% CI: 1.18–3.60; P = 0.01). Adjusted HR relating platinum sensitivity to OS was 1.58 (95% CI: 0.93–2.68; P = 0.09); no significant association found with age at diagnosis, line of PLD or combinations, or institution. In this retrospective analysis, recurrent EOC BRCA mutation carriers treated with PLD had an improved outcome, and this result seemed to be independent of platinum sensitivity. Tumors arising in a background of defective BRCA function are more sensitive than other EOCs to DNA-damaging agents such as PLD, even after acquiring platinum resistance. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(10); 2000–7. ©2011 AACR.

Matrix metalloproteinase-2 conditions human dendritic cells to prime inflammatory TH2 cells via an IL-12- and OX40L-dependent pathway

Endothelin receptor type B (EDNRB) and kinesin family member 1A (KIF1A) are candidate tumor suppressor genes that are inactivated in cancers. In this study, we evaluated the promoter hypermethylation of EDNRB and KIF1A and their potential use for risk classification in prospectively collected salivary rinses from patients with premalignant/malignant oral cavity lesions. Quantitative methylation-specific PCR was performed to analyze the methylation status of EDNRB and KIF1A in salivary rinses of 191 patients. We proceeded to determine the association of methylation status with histologic diagnosis and estimate classification accuracy. On univariate analysis, diagnosis of dysplasia/cancer was associated with age and KIF1A or EDNRB methylation. Methylation of EDNRB highly correlated with that of KIF1A (P < 0.0001). On multivariable modeling, histologic diagnosis was independently associated with EDNRB (P = 0.0003) or KIF1A (P = 0.027) methylation. A subset of patients analyzed (n = 161) without prior biopsy-proven malignancy received clinical risk classification based on examination. On univariate analysis, EDNRB and risk classification were associated with diagnosis of dysplasia/cancer and remained significant on multivariate analysis (EDNRB: P = 0.047, risk classification: P = 0.008). Clinical risk classification identified dysplasia/cancer with a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 58%. The sensitivity of clinical risk classification combined with EDNRB methylation improved to 75%. EDNRB methylation in salivary rinses was independently associated with histologic diagnosis of premalignancy and malignancy and may have potential in classifying patients at risk for oral premalignant and malignant lesions in settings without access to a skilled dental practitioner. This may also potentially identify patients with premalignant and malignant lesions that do not meet the criteria for high clinical risk based on skilled dental examination. Cancer Prev Res; 3(9); 1093–103. ©2010 AACR.

Association of MDM2 SNP309, Age of Onset, and Gender in Cutaneous Melanoma

Purpose: Promoter hypermethylation has been recently proposed as a means for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) detection in salivary rinses. In a prospective study of a high-risk population, we showed that endothelin receptor type B (EDNRB) promoter methylation in salivary rinses is a useful biomarker for oral cancer and premalignancy. Experimental Design: Using that cohort, we evaluated EDNRB methylation status and 8 additional genes. Clinical risk assessment by expert clinicians was conducted and compared with biomarker performance in the prediction of premalignant and malignant disease. Methylation status of 9 genes was analyzed in salivary rinses of 191 patients by quantitative methylation-specific PCR. Results: HOXA9, EDNRB, and deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) methylation were associated (P = 0.012; P < 0.0001; P = 0.0005) with premalignant or malignant disease. On multivariable modeling, histological diagnosis was only independently associated with EDNRB (P = 0.0003) or DCC (P = 0.004) methylation. A subset of patients received clinical risk classification (CRC) by expert clinicians based on lesion examination. CRC, DCC, and EDNRB were associated with diagnosis of dysplasia/cancer on univariate (P = 0.008; P = 0.026; P = 0.046) and multivariate analysis (P = 0.012; P = 0.037; P = 0.047). CRC identified dysplasia/cancer with 56% of sensitivity and 66% of specificity with a similar area under curve [AUC; 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.60–0.81] when compared to EDNRB and DCC combined AUC (0.60, 95% CI = 0.51–0.69), sensitivity of 46% and specificity of 72%. A combination of EDNRB, DCC, and CRC was optimal AUC (0.67, 95% CI = 0.58–0.76). Conclusions: EDNRB and/or DCC methylation in salivary rinses compares well to examination by an expert clinician in CRC of oral lesions. These salivary biomarkers may be particularly useful in oral premalignancy and malignancy screening in clinical care settings in which expert clinicians are not available. Clin Cancer Res; 19(12); 3268–75. ©2013 AACR.

Late effects in survivors of childhood CNS tumors treated on Head Start I and II protocols

Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) is a proteolytic enzyme degrading the extracellular matrix and overexpressed by many tumors. Here, we documented the presence of MMP-2-specific CD4(+) Txa0cells in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from melanoma patients. Strikingly, MMP-2-specific CD4(+) Txa0cells displayed an inflammatory T(H)2 profile, i.e., mainly secreting TNF-α, IL-4, and IL-13 and expressing GATA-3. Furthermore, MMP-2-conditioned dendritic cells (DCs) primed naïve CD4(+) Txa0cells to differentiate into an inflammatory T(H)2 phenotype through OX40L expression and inhibition of IL-12p70 production. MMP-2 degrades the type I IFN receptor, thereby preventing STAT1 phosphorylation, which is necessary for IL-12p35 production. Active MMP-2, therefore, acts as an endogenous type 2 conditioner and may play a role in the observed prevalence of detrimental type 2 responses in melanoma.

Kinetin in Familial Dysautonomia Carriers: Implications for a New Therapeutic Strategy Targeting mRNA Splicing

Purpose: In certain cancers, MDM2 SNP309 has been associated with early tumor onset in women. In melanoma, incidence rates are higher in women than in men among individuals less than 40 years of age, but among those older than 50 years of age, melanoma is more frequent in men than in women. To investigate this difference, we examined the association among MDM2 SNP309, age at diagnosis, and gender among melanoma patients. Experimental Design: Prospectively enrolled melanoma patients (N = 227) were evaluated for MDM2 SNP309 and the related polymorphism, p53 Arg72Pro. DNA was isolated from patient blood samples, and genotypes were analyzed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Associations among MDM2 SNP309, p53 Arg72Pro, age at diagnosis, and clinicopathologic features of melanoma were analyzed. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 13 years earlier among women with a SNP309 GG genotype (46 years) compared with women with TG+TT genotypes (59 years; P = 0.19). Analyses using age dichotomized at each decade indicated that women with a GG genotype had significantly higher risks of being diagnosed with melanoma at ages <50 years compared with women ≥50 years, but not when the comparison was made between women <60 and ≥60 years. At ages <50 years, women with a GG genotype had a 3.89 times greater chance of being diagnosed compared with women with TG+TT genotypes (P = 0.01). Similar observations were not seen among men. Conclusions: Our data suggest that MDM2 may play an important role in the development of melanoma in women. The MDM2 SNP309 genotype may help identify women at risk of developing melanoma at a young age.

Plasma factors during chronic HIV-1 infection impair IL-12 secretion by myeloid dendritic cells via a virus-independent pathway.

Due to the devastating late effects associated with cranial irradiation in young children with central nervous system (CNS) tumors, treatment for these patients has evolved to include the use of intensive chemotherapy to either avoid or postpone irradiation. While survival outcomes have improved, late effects data in survivors treated on such regimens are needed.