SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity and Seroconversion in Patients Undergoing Active Cancer-Directed Therapy

PURPOSE

Multiple studies have demonstrated the negative impact of cancer care delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, and transmission mitigation techniques are imperative for continued cancer care delivery. We aimed to gauge the effectiveness of these measures at the University of Pennsylvania.

METHODS

We conducted a longitudinal study of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seropositivity and seroconversion in patients presenting to infusion centers for cancer-directed therapy between May 21, 2020, and October 8, 2020. Participants completed questionnaires and had up to five serial blood collections.

RESULTS

Of 124 enrolled patients, only two (1.6%) had detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies on initial blood draw, and no initially seronegative patients developed newly detectable antibodies on subsequent blood draw(s), corresponding to a seroconversion rate of 0% (95% CI, 0.0 TO 4.1%) over 14.8 person-years of follow up, with a median of 13 health care visits per patient.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that patients with cancer receiving in-person care at a facility with aggressive mitigation efforts have an extremely low likelihood of COVID-19 infection.

Abstract PD9-10: Investigating the clinical utility of tumor mutational burden in predicting rapid progression and death in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Background Up to 30% of breast cancer patients will eventually relapse with metastatic disease. With an increasing array of therapeutic options, there is an ongoing need for predictive biomarkers to help guide treatment strategies including sequencing of therapies in the metastatic setting. We sought to evaluate the prognostic and predictive potential of a panel-specific tumor mutational burden (TMB) in metastatic breast cancer patients.

Methods METAMORPH is a prospective, longitudinal cohort study. Eligible patients (pts) had newly diagnosed or progressive metastatic breast cancer and enrolled prior to starting a new line of therapy (physician’s choice) at the University of Pennsylvania. Pts underwent tissue biopsy of a suspected metastatic site. Tumor samples were analyzed for mutations and copy number alterations (CNA’s) using our institution’s CLIA-certified Center for Personalized Diagnostics (CPD) targeted gene panel, which evolved over the course of the study from 20 genes to 152 genes. TMB-high (TMB-H) was defined as ≥3 mutations and/or copy-number gains (CNG) among 18 genes shared across all panel versions. Pts were followed for time to progression (TTP), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). The frequency of rapid progressors and rapid death (defined as having progressed or died within 3 months of enrollment, respectively) was assessed.

Results Three hundred pts enrolled from 2013-2020, of whom 200 pts had CPD reports generated. Of these, 12 pts were excluded due to either no treatment change on enrollment (n=11) or different primary cancer on biopsy (n=1). Thus 188 pts were included in this analysis. The median age was 55 years (range 28-79). 77% of pts identified as white, 18% as Black or African American, and 3.2% as Asian. Pts had a median of 1 line (range 0-12) of prior systemic therapy in the metastatic setting. 46.8% had no prior therapies for MBC, while 31% had ≥3 prior lines of therapy. 74.4% were HR+, 22.8% TNBC, and 2.7% HR-/HER2+. 6.9% of the cohort were classified as TMB-H. The average mutation/CNG rate was 2.2/sample, and 22.5% had no mutations or CNA’s. The most common mutations were TP53 (35%) and PIK3CA (26%).

While TMB-H patients showed a statistically non-significant trend towards shorter median TTP and PFS compared with TMB-L, they comprised a significantly greater proportion of rapid progressors (54.5% vs 24.1%, p=0.027), with an odds ratio for rapid progression of 3.8 (95% CI 1.08-13.2). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, TMB-H remained independently associated with rapid progression when adjusted for receptor subtype and next line of therapy. Receptor subtype analysis revealed that ER- (including ER-/PR+) patients with TMB-H had a shorter median TTP compared to ER- TMB-L (147 vs 68 days, p=0.03). TMB-H was also associated with significantly shorter OS compared with TMB-L (587 vs 648 days, p=0.02; HR 2.2 [95% CI 1.11-4.41]). 44.4% of TMB-H pts died within 3 months of enrollment, as compared to 11.0% of TMB-L pts (p=0.005), with an odds ratio for rapid death, adjusted for number of previous lines of therapy and receptor subtype, of 6.7 (95% CI 1.5-31.0).

Conclusion MBC pts who are TMB-H represent a population who are highly resistant to standard therapies, progress rapidly, and have significantly shorter overall survival with more rapid time to death. Our data support further studies investigating the utility of TMB as a predictive biomarker in directing patients away from standard treatment options and towards novel approaches e.g. immunotherapy.

Citation Format: Igor Makhlin, Amy S Clark, Paul Wileyto, Noah Goodman, John Ndicu, Shannon DeLuca, Candace Clark, S. William Stavropoulos, Natalie Shih, Michael D Feldman, Susan M Domchek, Jennifer M Matro, Payal D Shah, Hayley M Knollman, Kevin R Fox, Kara N Maxwell, Lewis A Chodosh, Angela DeMichele. Investigating the clinical utility of tumor mutational burden in predicting rapid progression and death in patients with metastatic breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD9-10.

SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and seroconversion in patients undergoing active cancer-directed therapy

Multiple studies have demonstrated the negative impact of cancer care delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, and transmission mitigation techniques are imperative for continued cancer care delivery. To gauge the effectiveness of these measures at the University of Pennsylvania, we conducted a longitudinal study of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seropositivity and seroconversion in patients presenting to infusion centers for cancer-directed therapy between 5/21/2020 and 10/8/2020. Participants completed questionnaires and had up to five serial blood collections. Of 124 enrolled patients, only two (1.6%) had detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies on initial blood draw, and no initially seronegative patients developed newly detectable antibodies on subsequent blood draw(s), corresponding to a seroconversion rate of 0% (95%CI 0.0-4.1%) over 14.8 person-years of follow up, with a median of 13 healthcare visits per patient. These results suggest that cancer patients receiving in-person care at a facility with aggressive mitigation efforts have an extremely low likelihood of COVID-19 infection.

Amelioration of the premature ageing-like features of Fgf-23 knockout mice by genetically restoring the systemic actions of FGF-23

Genetic ablation of fibroblast growth factor 23 from mice (Fgf-23(-/-)) results in a short lifespan with numerous abnormal biochemical and morphological features. Such features include kyphosis, hypogonadism and associated infertility, osteopenia, pulmonary emphysema, severe vascular and soft tissue calcifications, and generalized atrophy of various tissues. To determine whether these widespread anomalies in Fgf-23(-/-) mice can be ameliorated by genetically restoring the systemic actions of FGF-23, we generated Fgf-23(-/-) mice expressing the human FGF-23 transgene in osteoblasts under the control of the 2.3 kb alpha1(I) collagen promoter (Fgf-23(-/-) /hFGF-23-Tg double mutants). This novel mouse model is completely void of all endogenous Fgf-23 activity, but produces human FGF-23 in bone cells that is subsequently released into the circulation. Our results suggest that lack of Fgf-23 activities results in extensive premature ageing-like features and early mortality of Fgf-23(-/-) mice, while restoring the systemic effects of FGF-23 significantly ameliorates these phenotypes, with the resultant effect being improved growth, restored fertility, and significantly prolonged survival of double mutants. With regard to their serum biochemistry, double mutants reversed the severe hyperphosphataemia, hypercalcaemia, and hypervitaminosis D found in Fgf-23(-/-) littermates; rather, double mutants show hypophosphataemia and normal serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) levels similar to pure FGF-23 Tg mice. These changes were associated with reduced renal expression of NaPi2a and 1 alpha-hydroxylase, compared to Fgf-23(-/-) mice. FGF-23 acts to prevent widespread abnormal features by acting systemically to regulate phosphate homeostasis and vitamin D metabolism. This novel mouse model provides us with an in vivo tool to study the systemic effects of FGF-23 in regulating mineral ion metabolism and preventing multiple abnormal phenotypes without the interference of native Fgf-23.

A guide to successfully recruiting patients for cardiovascular clinical trials

To maximize enrollment in clinical trials, an efficient mechanism for screening and recruitment is needed. A national referral center for the treatment of heart disease developed a mechanism to maximize patient enrollment in more than 20 clinical trials simultaneously with a cardiac catheterization laboratory. It consists of four primary components: preparation, screening and recruitment, evaluation and problem-solving, and communication. This paper describes these components and presents information that may be useful in the recruitment of patients for clinical trials. It also provides tools that can be adapted and used to screen patients for trial eligibility.

Late myocardial ischemic events after saphenous vein graft intervention--importance of initially "nonsignificant" vein graft lesions

Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary revascularization (PCR) for narrowed saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) have a high incidence of subsequent cardiac events, but the relative contribution of treated and untreated SVGs, and of native coronary narrowings to late events is uncertain. This study evaluated the role of progression of SVG disease at untreated sites to cardiac events in these patients. All patients with successful PCR of SVG lesions who were enrolled in clinical trials with mandated repeat angiography from 1990 to 1994 were studied. One hundred three patients (age 63 +/- 8 years, 82% men, ejection fraction 54 +/- 12%, graft age 8 +/- 4 years), contributing 1,095 analyzable 15- to 25-mm SVG segments were followed 29 +/- 13 months (4 patients were lost to follow-up). Actuarial event-free (death, myocardial infarction, bypass surgery, or PCR) and overall survival at 12 months were 47 +/- 5% and 94 +/- 2%, respectively. Fifty-six percent of all early (< or = 12 months) events resulted from ischemia from recurrence at initially treated SVG sites, 26% at nontreated SVG sites, and 14% at nontreated native coronary sites. By 36 months, event-free and overall survival were 25 +/- 6% and 86 +/- 4%, respectively. Events occurring > 12 months after initial treatment resulted most frequently from ischemia from progression of narrowing at untreated SVG sites (46%). Ischemic events from initially untreated SVG sites were correlated with initial percent stenosis (initial, 41% to 50%; 45% events, 31% to 40%; 18% events, < or = 30%; 2% events, p <0.001) and reference SVG diameter (p = 0.003). Recurrent ischemic events from initially treated SVG sites were independently correlated with initial percent stenosis (initial > 75%; 43% events, 50% to 75%; 27% events, < 50%; 18% events, p = 0.01), but not with final percent stenosis. The frequent occurrence of events from nontreated 41% to 50% stenoses suggests a need for increased surveillance in patients with these lesions. The low incidence of events from initially treated lesions < 50% suggests that the hypothesis that "nonsignificant" 41% to 50% lesions might best be treated at the time other more severe narrowings are treated should be examined.

Intraoral metal adhesion utilized for occlusal rehabilitation

Recent advances in adhesive monomers and surface preparation methods allow strong resin adhesion to all intraoral metal surfaces. Resin-metal bond strengths may exceed typical resin-etched enamel bonds. Innovations in prosthetic procedures have resulted. Data for metal adhesion are reviewed and the use of intraoral metal adhesion to finalize an occlusal rehabilitation is illustrated. Included in the metal surface preparations are intraoral sandblasting and intraoral tin plating.

Direct analysis of bacterial fatty acids by Curie-point pyrolysis tandem mass spectrometry

Although pyrolysis-mass spectrometry (Py-MS) has been used for bacterial taxonomy, many of the mass spectral peaks used for discrimination of organisms have not been correlated to known biomolecules. This work presents the discrimination of five bacterial species based on Py-MS patterns containing only peaks that can be correlated to fatty acids and fatty acid derivatives. These correlations were confirmed by pyrolysis-tandem mass spectrometry of authentic standards and the organisms. The pattern recognition procedures used gave better results when only the fatty acid peaks were used in the analysis than when full spectra were used.

A modified needle-hookwire technique to simplify preoperative localization of occult breast lesions

Accurate preoperative localization of breast lesions is important to ensure removal of the suspected area without also removing large quantities of tissue. By using a hook retracted into the needle lumen, repositioning prior to the final anchoring of the wire in the tissue is simplified.