Parents' knowledge, awareness and attitudes of cord blood donation and banking options: an integrative review

Background

For over 25 years cord blood has been used as an alternative to bone marrow for therapeutic use in conditions of the blood, immune system and metabolic disorders. Parents can decide if they would like to privately store their infant’s cord blood for later use if needed or to publicly donate it. Parents need to be aware of the options that exist for their infant’s cord blood and have access to the relevant information to inform their choice. The aim of this paper is to identify parent’s knowledge and awareness of cord blood donation, private banking options and stem cell use, and parent sources and preferred sources of this information.

Methods

An integrative review was conducted using several electronic databases to identify papers on parents’ knowledge, attitudes and attitudes towards umbilical cord blood donation and banking. The CASP tool was used to determine validity and quality of the studies included in the review.

Results

The search of the international literature identified 25 papers which met review inclusion criteria. This integrative review identified parents’ knowledge of cord banking and/or donation as low, with awareness of cord blood banking options greater than knowledge. Parents were found to have positive attitudes towards cord blood donation including awareness of the value of cord blood and its uses, with the option considered to be an ethical and altruistic choice. Knowledge on cord blood use were mixed; many studies’ participants did not correctly identify uses. Information sources for parents on cord blood was found to be varied, fragmented and inconsistent. Health professionals were identified as the preferred source of information on cord blood banking for parents.

Conclusions

This integrative review has identified that further research should focus on identifying information that expectant parents require to assist them to make informed choices around cord blood banking; and identifying barriers present for health professionals providing evidence based information on cord blood use and banking options.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-018-2024-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Time to Address "Frailty Creepage" in the Canadian Healthcare System

According to the Worldometers website (1), the world population is approaching 7.5 billion and annual births are exceeding deaths by about two to one. This expansion in population has been dramatic. The global population grew from 1.65 to 6 billion during the 20th century. Population changes on this scale, coupled with similarly dramatic changes in longevity, have profound implications for individuals, societies and our world. It represents a wonderful achievement by past generations, gifted to both ours and future generations as new challenges and opportunities. There is no doubt that there is much to do – and no easy or quick fixes – as we transition to larger and older populations. Healthcare is but one issue. High income countries are seeking solutions to largely fixed retirement ages and to health and social care systems that are currently inefficiently and ineffectively configured. The impact of population aging on healthcare expenditure varies between countries: age-related increases are much higher in Canada and the United States, much lower in Spain and Sweden (2). These variations reflect different provider systems and incentives but give confidence that some traction might be possible through an age-focused strategic response. A largely unacknowledged consequence of existing service configurations in high income countries is the considerable and widening inequality in health experience in later life (3). There is, in effect, a structural conveyor that produces unhealthy aging, causes unnecessary distress for individuals and families and causes excessive expenditure for healthcare funders.

Short-Term Quality of Life Outcomes Following Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy

Background: Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is an established treatment of peritoneal malignancies (PM). However, it can also adversely affect patients' quality of life (QoL). Aim: This study reports short-term QoL outcomes following CRS and HIPEC and compares the QoL trajectories between patients with more extensive cancer to those with less extensive disease. Methods: Patients undergoing CRS and HIPEC at a single referral center between April 2017 and April 2018 were prospectively recruited. QoL was measured using short-form 36 version 2. Physical (PCS) and mental component scores (MCS) were scored according to the manual (higher scores reflect better QoL). Data were collected at baseline, predischarge, 3 and 6 months postoperatively. PCS and MCS trajectories were described. Results: Of 68 patients, 62 (91%) entered the study. Median PCS decreased from baseline to predischarge but this then recovers and improves beyond baseline by 3 months (43.4 IQR 35.2-55.2, 34.3 IQR 27.3-43.5, 48.1 IQR 37.6-52.5). Median MCS declined marginally postoperatively but improves above baseline by 3 months and continues to improve at 6 months (49.6 IQR 43.5-55.7, 47.8 IQR 39.9-55.0, 51.2 IQR 43.7-57.3, 56.2 IQR 42.8-58.6). Using a PCI (peritoneal carcinoma index, a staging system for the extent of disease from 0-39, higher value denotes more extensive disease) ≥ 15, patients with high PCI were found to have worse PCS at baseline (36.5 vs 48.9, P < 0.005). Despite nonstatistically significant differences in MCS between high PCI and low PCI patients, there is a clinically significant trend among patients with high PCI in that the trajectory for MCS is one of continued decline. Conclusion: Short-term QoL after CRS and HIPEC is acceptable. QoL returned to baseline quicker than anticipated. Further studies are needed to describe the long-term QoL and in particular, the relationship between PCI and QoL needs further evaluation.

Pathways to Diagnosis and Treatment of Patients With Oropharynx, Oral Cavity, and Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma in New South Wales, Australia

Background: Early cancer diagnosis is a critical component of comprehensive cancer control, however more than 50% of head and neck cancers (HNCs) are diagnosed at advanced stage. HNC patients from regional/remote areas are less likely to use radiotherapy during treatment and have poorer survival outcomes than metropolitan patients. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine pathways to treatment of patients with HNC in New South Wales (NSW) and associations between duration of components of the pathway with survival. Methods: Patients diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity, oropharynx, or cutaneous SCC from 1st July 2008 to 30th June 2013 were identified from a prospectively maintained database. Data were extracted and supplemented by a retrospective audit of medical records at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and specialists' records. Results: Two hundred and fifty eligible patients were identified (78% male) with mean (SD) age at diagnosis 64.5 (13.5) years. At diagnosis, 75%, 24% and 1% lived in metropolitan, regional and remote areas of NSW, respectively. Twelve per cent of patients lived > 100 km from a hospital with a HNC multidisciplinary team (median [IQR] 7.5 km [25.1]). More than two-thirds (69%) of tumors were diagnosed as advanced stage, and mean follow-up time was 3.5 years. We will present additional findings quantifying intervals along the pathway to treatment (from symptom onset, first specialist visit, diagnosis and treatment), and the associations with survival, and compare findings to those from a second regional site on the mid north coast of NSW. Conclusion: An increasing proportion of the NSW population resides outside major cities. This study is the first step in understanding patient and health system factors that facilitate and impede early diagnosis of HNC. Findings from this study may be used to develop interventions aimed at improving early HNC diagnosis.

Identifying the risk: a prospective cohort study examining postpartum haemorrhage in a regional Australian health service

Background

In industrialised countries the incidence of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is increasing, for which exact etiology is not well understood. Studies have relied upon retrospective data with estimated blood loss as the primary outcome, known to be underestimated by clinicians. This study aimed to explore variables associated with PPH in a cohort of women birthing vaginally in coastal Queensland, Australia, using the gravimetric method to measure blood loss.

Methods

Women were prospectively recruited to participate using an opt-out consent process. Maternal demographics; pregnancy history; model of care; mode of birth; third stage management practices; antenatal, intrapartum and immediate postpartum complications; gravimetric and estimated blood loss; and haematological laboratory data, were collected via a pre-designed data collection instrument. Descriptive statistics were used for demographic, intrapartum and birthing practices. A General Linear Model was used for multivariate analysis to examine relationship between gravimetric blood loss and demographic, birthing practices and intrapartum variables. The primary outcome was a postpartum haemorrhage (blood loss > 500 ml).

Results

522 singleton births were included in the analysis. Maternal mean age was 29 years; 58% were multiparous. Most participants received active (291, 55.7%) or modified active management of third stage (191, 36.6%). Of 451 births with valid gravimetric blood loss recorded, 35% (n = 159) recorded a loss of 500 ml or more and 111 (70%) of these were recorded as PPH. Gravimetric blood loss was strongly correlated with estimated blood loss (r = 0.88; p < 0.001). On average, the estimated blood loss was lower than the gravimetric blood loss, about 78% of the measured value. High neonatal weight, perineal injury, complications during labour, separation of mother and baby, and observation of a gush of blood were associated with PPH. Nulliparity, labour induction and augmentation, syntocinon use were not associated with PPH.

Conclusions

In contrast to previous study findings, nulliparity, labour induction and augmentation were not associated with PPH. Estimation of blood loss was relatively accurate in comparison to gravimetric assessment; raising questions about routine gravimetric assessment of blood loss following uncomplicated births. Further research is required to investigate type and speed of blood loss associated with PPH.

New horizons in systemic anti-cancer therapy in older people

Cancer is a disease associated with ageing. Increased life expectancy means that cancer in older adults is becoming an increasingly common problem. There are unique issues to consider when making decisions about cancer treatment in older populations. Unfortunately, however, this group is still under-represented in clinical trials for new cancer therapies meaning there are less evidence-based data to guide management. This article aims to look at how we can optimise the cancer treatment for older patients with a focus on systemic anti-cancer therapy and addressing particular issues around patient selection, improving treatment tolerance and use of newer agents with different toxicity profiles.

Home haemodialysis in Ireland

BACKGROUND

Home haemodialysis (HHD) has the potential to impact positively on patient outcomes and health resource management. There has been rejuvenated international interest in HHD in recent years.

AIM

We aimed to review the activity and outcomes of the Irish HHD Programme since inception (2009-16).

DESIGN

Retrospective review.

METHODS

Patient data were collected using the national electronic Renal Patient database (eMEDRenal version 3.2.1) and individual centre records. All data were recorded in a coded fashion on a Microsoft Excel Spread-sheet and analysed with Stata SE software.

RESULTS

One hundred and one patients completed training and commenced HHD; a further fourty-five patients were assessed for HHD suitability but did not ultimately dialyse at home. Twenty patients switched to nocturnal HHD when this resource became available. The switch from conventional in-centre dialysis to HHD led to an increase in the mean weekly hours on haemodialysis (HD) and a reduction in medication burden for the majority of patients. The overall rate of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) as primary vascular access was 62%. Most HHD complications were related to access function or access-related infection. Over the 7-years, 29 HHD patients were transplanted and 9 patients died. No deaths resulted directly from a HHD complication or technical issue.

CONCLUSIONS

Patient and technique survival rates compared favourably to published international reports. However, we identified several aspects that require attention. A small number of patients were receiving inadequate dialysis and require targeted education. Ongoing efforts to increase AVF and self-needling rates in HD units must continue. Psychosocial support is critical during the transition between dialysis modalities.

Predictors of CD4 cell recovery following initiation of antiretroviral therapy among HIV-1 positive patients with well-estimated dates of seroconversion

OBJECTIVES

To investigate factors that predict speed of recovery and long-term CD4 cell count in HIV-1 seroconverters initiating combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), and to quantify the influence of very early treatment initiation. We make use of all pre-treatment CD4 counts, because analyses using only a single observation at initiation may be subject to biases.

METHODS

We used data from the CASCADE (Concerted Action on SeroConversion to AIDS and Death in Europe) multinational cohort collaboration of HIV-1 seroconverters. We analysed pre- and post-treatment data of patients with seroconversion dates estimated January 2003-March 2014 (n = 7600 for primary analysis) using a statistical model in which the characteristics of recovery in CD4 counts are determined by multiple predictive factors. Secondary analyses were performed incorporating uncertainty in the exact timing of seroconversion to allow more precise estimation of the benefit of very early treatment initiation.

RESULTS

'True' CD4 count at cART initiation was the strongest predictor of CD4 count beyond 3 years on cART. Allowing for lack of complete certainty in the date of seroconversion, CD4 recovery was more rapid for patients in whom treatment was initiated within 4 months. For a given CD4 count, higher viral load (VL) at initiation was strongly associated with higher post-treatment CD4 recovery. For other patient and drug characteristics, associations with recovery were statistically significant but small in magnitude.

CONCLUSIONS

CD4 count at cART initiation is the most important factor in predicting post-treatment recovery, but VL provides substantial additional information. If cART is initiated in the first 4 months following seroconversion, recovery of CD4 counts appears to be more rapid.

Abstract P1-07-31: Integrated transcriptomics analyses identify novel three microRNAs signature to predict poor prognosis and metastasis in breast cancer

Backgrounds: MicroRNA (miRNA) play a crucial role in cancer progression, and altered miRNA expression has been demonstrated to be associated with breast cancer. MiRNA is also known to be stably detectable not only in tissue but peripheral circulation; therefore it could be a feasible and potential biomarker of breast cancer in clinical settings. However, few studies have been reported to identify promising miRNA profiles as predictive biomarker using statistically satisfied large cohorts of breast cancer patients. The aim of this study is to identify miRNA signature that can predict patient survival utilizing integrated and unbiased transcriptomics analyses.

Methods: Integrated and unbiased transcriptomics approach was conducted on genomic and clinicopathological information of 2580 breast cancer patients. We utilized The cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to identify miRNA signature that could significantly associated with clinical relevance including prognosis and metastatic information, followed by validation analyses with the Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO)

Results: A novel risk scoring model including three miRNAs signature (miR-19a, miR-93, and miR-106a) was identified using Cox model. This miRNA score was able to extract the patient population with extremely poor prognosis in TCGA (5-yr overall survival rate, 49.2 %, p=0.0005). This result was validated with another three completely independent cohorts with microarray dataset accompanied with sufficient clinical information and miRNA expression (GSE19536, n=96, p=0.0009; GSE22220, n=210, p=0.0003; METABRIC, n=1223, p=0,0023). Interestingly, the subtype stratification with PAM-50 classification using bioinformatics pipeline demonstrated that this miRNA score could predict poor overall or disease-free survival especially in the population with luminal A, B or normal like subtype (p=0.0300 and p=0.0001, respectively). In addition, competing risk analysis for tumor recurrences demonstrated that the risk scoring using three miRNAs signature could be significantly associated with bone metastasis (p=0.0052). Finally, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) identified that high risk score using three miRNAs associated significantly with several critical gene sets related to metastatic formation such as angiogenesis (p &lt;0.0001), epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) (p = 0.0155), focal adhesion (p &lt;0.0001), TGF-beta signaling pathway (p = 0.0025), and ECM receptor interaction (p = 0.0068).

Conclusions: We demonstrated a promising miRNAs signature score system for predicting extremely poor prognosis and metastatic potentiality in breast cancer using novel integrated transcriptomics concept.

Citation Format: Takabe K, Kawaguchi T, Yan L, Qi Q, Peng X, Young J, Liu S. Integrated transcriptomics analyses identify novel three microRNAs signature to predict poor prognosis and metastasis in breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-07-31.

Abstract P5-07-07: Prognostic relevance of microRNA-155 and microRNA-21 in breast cancer patients

Introduction

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNA sequences that degrade or prevent the translation of their target messenger RNA (mRNA). Altered regulation of miRNAs is implicated in different cellular processes. Some miRNAs, such as miRNA-155 (miR155) and miRNA-21 (miR21), are implicated in both immunity and cancer progression. Previous studies show that both miR155 and -21 are oncogenic, as their overexpression promotes invasion, proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells in vitro. Their overexpression within patient cohorts (n= 40-173 patients) reveals a worse prognosis for miR21 and varying associations with prognosis for miR155. By using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), which contains data from over a thousand patients, we want to clarify whether high expression of miR155 or -21 is associated with an improved or worse survival within breast tumor samples. Because both miR155 and -21 are described as oncogenic, we hypothesize that high expression of these miRNAs would portend a worse survival.

Methods

Within the breast cohort, 1052/1097 patients within TCGA contained both clinical and miRNA sequence data, acquired via the Genomic Data Common (GDC) data portal. The patients were separated into a high and low expression group for both miR155 and miR21, and associations with overall survival were obtained using the Cox proportional hazard model. Furthermore, a sub-analysis was conducted based on estrogen, progesterone and Her-2 receptor status (ER, PR, Her-2) as well as TNM staging (AJCC 7th edition).

Results

General patient characteristics within the breast cancer cohort of TCGA included: 70% Caucasian, 73% &gt;50 years old, 75% with TNM stage I and II breast cancers, 74% ER positive, and 33% Her-2 positive. We unexpectedly found that miR155 and miR21 high expression was associated with an improved survival (p=0.05 and 0.038 respectively). In the sub-analysis, a positive association with survival was seen for miR155 high expression in ER negative, and Stage I-II breast cancers (p=0.025, 0.0013 respectively), but not in Stage III-IV. The sub-analysis for miR21 found an association with improved survival for miR21 high expression in ER negative, and stage I-II patients (p=0.033, 0.0015 respectively), but not in Stage III-IV. Although not statistically significant, a trend towards improved survival was found in ER and PR positive subgroups, for both miR155 and -21. For the Her-2 negative subgroup, there was a trend for improved survival in miR155 high expression, but not in miR21 high expression. Knowing that ER negative tumors can attract more immune cells, and that miR155 and -21 can be expressed in immune cells and tumor associated fibroblasts respectively, we speculate that their high expression was concentrated within cells from the tumor microenvironment rather than the cancer cells.

Conclusion

Using TCGA as a large validation cohort, we found that high expression of miR155 and miR21 was associated with an improved survival, which was contrary to what we predicted. Future experiments using computational biology to determine the cell type composition within the TCGA tumor samples will be performed in an effort to determine whether the tumor microenvironment influenced the survival patterns we observed in the high expression groups of miR155 and -21.

Citation Format: Kim SY, Kawaguchi T, Yan L, Young J, Qi Q, Takabe K. Prognostic relevance of microRNA-155 and microRNA-21 in breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-07-07.

Abstract P6-06-06: Immunogenomics approach elucidating clinical significance of DNA repair genes and tumor infiltrating immune cells in breast cancer

Backgrounds: Evading the immune system is one of the Hallmarks of Cancer. Indeed, tumor infiltrating immune cells has been shown to play critical roles in suppression of cancer progression. Genetic aberration of DNA repair genes is known to increase immunogenicity in breast cancer. However, the patient survival relevance of tumor infiltrating immune cells in regard to DNA repair genes has not yet elucidated in large cohort of breast cancer patients. We hypothesized that DNA repair gene deficiency is related to increased global genomic instability that leads to increased mutation burden, which recruits infiltrating immune cells to tumor microenvironment that result in better prognosis of breast cancer.

Patients and Methods: Integrated and unbiased transcriptomics approach was conducted on genomic and clinicopathological information of 3614 breast cancer patients. We utilized The cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC) to evaluate the association between the aberration of DNA repair genes and tumor infiltrating immune cell composition in breast cancer tumors, as well as its significant clinical relevance, utilizing bioinformatics and biostatistics pipelines.

Results:Low expression level of double-strand break repair genes; BRCA1, PRKDC, and RECQL4,demonstrated significantlybetter prognosis in TCGA cohort (p=0.018, p=0.036, and p=0.0002, respectively). This result was consistent in METABRIC cohort (p=0.021, p=0.00021, and p&lt;0.000001, respectively). Utilizing CIBERSORT system that estimate the fraction of 22 immune cell types, we found that low expression of BRCA1 significantly associated with high levels of CD8 positive cell composition in both cohorts (TCGA, p=4.67E-08; METABRIC, p=0.0038), which implicate that tumor infiltrating lymphocytes are attracted to BRCA1 low expressing tumors. Further, low expression of BRCA1 showed significantly better survival in HER2 positive subtype population, but not in the other populations (TCGA, p=0.027; METABRIC, p=0.13). Finally, significantly poor prognosis was observed in breast cancers low in immune-response markers; PD-1, PD-L1, TIM3, LAG3, and CTLA4, in combination with high expression of BRCA1 (p=0.0016, p=0.0041, p=0.015, p=0.0041, and p=0.0043, respectively), which is in agreement with the dogma that intact DNA repair induce less immune-response that result is worse survival.

Conclusions: We conclude that our immunogenomics approach identify the interplay between DNA repair genes, especially gene expression of BRCA1, and tumor infiltrating immune cells, and it could have significant prognostic relevance in breast cancer.

Citation Format: Takabe K, Kawaguchi T, Yan L, Peng X, Qi Q, Okano M, Young J, Liu S. Immunogenomics approach elucidating clinical significance of DNA repair genes and tumor infiltrating immune cells in breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-06-06.

Systematic review and simulation study of ignoring clustered data in surgical trials

BACKGROUND

Multiple surgical procedures in a single patient are relatively common and lead to dependent (clustered) data. This dependency needs to be accounted for in study design and data analysis. A systematic review was performed to assess how clustered data were handled in inguinal hernia trials. The impact of ignoring clustered data was estimated using simulations.

METHODS

PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were reviewed systematically for RCTs published between 2004 and 2013, including patients undergoing unilateral or bilateral inguinal hernia repair. Study characteristics determining the appropriateness of handling clustered data were extracted. Using simulations, various statistical methods accounting for clustered data were compared with an analysis ignoring clustering by assuming 100 hernias, with a varying percentage of patients having bilateral hernias.

RESULTS

Of the 50 eligible trials including patients with bilateral hernias, 20 (40 per cent) did not provide information on how they dealt with clustered data and 18 (36 per cent) avoided clustering by assessing the outcome by patient and not by hernia. None of the remaining 12 trials (24 per cent) considered clustering in the design or analysis. In the simulations, ignoring clustering led to an increased type I error rate of up to 12 per cent and to a loss in power of up to 15 per cent, depending on whether the patient or the hernia was the randomization unit.

CONCLUSION

Clustering was rarely considered in inguinal hernia trials. The simulations underline the importance of considering clustering as part of the statistical analysis to avoid false-positive and false-negative results, and hence inappropriate study conclusions.