Cancer therapy and risk of congenital malformations in children fathered by men treated for testicular germ-cell cancer: A nationwide register study

BACKGROUND

Because of the potential mutagenic effects of chemo- and radiotherapy, there is concern regarding increased risk of congenital malformations (CMs) among children of fathers with cancer. Previous register studies indicate increased CM risk among children conceived after paternal cancer but lack data on oncological treatment. Increased CM risk was recently reported in children born before paternal cancer. This study aims to investigate whether anti-neoplastic treatment for testicular germ-cell cancer (TGCC) implies additional CM risk.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

In this nationwide register study, all singletons born in Sweden 1994-2014 (n = 2,027,997) were included. Paternal TGCC diagnoses (n = 2,380), anti-neoplastic treatment, and offspring CMs were gathered from the Swedish Norwegian Testicular Cancer Group (SWENOTECA) and the Swedish Medical Birth Register. Children were grouped based on +/- paternal TGCC; treatment regimen: surveillance (n = 1,340), chemotherapy (n = 2,533), or radiotherapy (n = 360); and according to time of conception: pre- (n = 2,770) or post-treatment (n = 1,437). Odds ratios (ORs) for CMs were calculated using logistic regression with adjustment for parental ages, maternal body mass index (BMI), and maternal smoking. Children conceived before a specific treatment acted as reference for children conceived after the same treatment. Among children fathered by men with TGCC (n = 4,207), 184 had a CM. The risk of malformations was higher among children of fathers with TGCC compared with children fathered by men without TGCC (OR 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19-1.38, p = 0.001, 4.4% versus 3.5%). However, no additional risk increase was associated with oncological treatment when comparing post-treatment-to pretreatment-conceived children (chemotherapy, OR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.54-1.25, p = 0.37, 4.1% versus 4.6%; radiotherapy, OR = 1.01, 95% CI 0.25-4.12, p = 0.98, 3.2% versus 3.0%). Study limitations include lack of data on use of cryopreserved or donor sperm and on seminoma patients for the period 1995-2000-both tending to decrease the difference between the groups with TGCC and without TGCC. Furthermore, the power of analyses on chemotherapy intensity and radiotherapy was limited.

CONCLUSIONS

No additional increased risk of CMs was observed in children of men with TGCC treated with radio- or chemotherapy. However, paternal TGCC per se was associated with modestly increased risk for offspring malformations. Clinically, this information can reassure concerned patients.

[TREATMENT OF LOCAL RADIATION LESIONS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS]

The purpose of this paper is the demonstration and analysis of the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation in treatment of chronic drug-resistant neuropathy pain in a patient with radiation-induced plexopathy. She underwent radiation therapy for cancer of the right breast in 2000. Ten years later she complained with pain and weakness her right arm. After physical examination and investigation right-side brachial plexopathy was diagnosed. Antidepressant and anticonvulsant had positive effect during one year but then pain appeared again. That is why the patient has been implanted the system of epidural electrostimulation of thickening of the cervical spinal cord. During the post-operative period significant improvement of pain relief was noted. The doses of analgesics were decreased. Spinal cord stimulation efficacy for treatment of chronic pain was repeatedly proved in clinical investigation and meta-analyses. Nevertheless spinal cord stimulation effects on radiation-induced neurological disorders and possible pathophysiological mechanisms are not enough examined. All these facts require further investigation.

Infant's bilobar thyroid agenesis and mother's I-131 accidental administration

Bilobar thyroid agenesis is one of rare diseases. Genetic and environmental factors may associate with bilobar thyroid agenesis. But the mechanism is still not completely understood. It had been showed that I-131 administration during pregnancy may induce thyroid dysfunction in newborn. Here we reported a case of female hospital staff who received I-131 accidently during (10-12th gestational weeks) and after her pregnancy. The absorbed dose to fetus was higher than 30mGy. At birth, the infant was found to have no thyroid. It was speculated that the fetal thyroid agenesis may be related with mother' I-131 administration during pregnancy. In addition, this case report also indicated that the radiation dose should be minimized to any developing embryo.

Carotid stenting for symptomatic radiation-induced arteritis complicated by recurrent aneurysm formation

We describe a 56-year-old male who underwent successful carotid stenting (CS) with adjuvant distal protection in response to symptomatic radiation-induced carotid disease. During the CS procedure, it was incidentally noted that the lesion yield pressure was surprisingly low (2 atm). The patient returned with local symptoms from common carotid aneurysmal dilation at the proximal edge of the stent that was successfully treated with a stent graft. A second aneurysm developed proximal to the stent graft and, based on intravascular ultrasound mapping, he ultimately underwent venous bypass covered by a free-muscle graft. We believe the low lesion yield pressure in this case reflected loss of vessel integrity and it may be prudent to avoid oversizing the stent in such patients.

Differentiation of the Radiation-Induced Necrosis and Tumor Recurrence after Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases: Importance of Multi-Voxel Proton MRS

Comparative analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of FDG PET, single-voxel, and multi-voxel proton MRS for differentiation between radiation-induced necrosis and tumor recurrence was done in 9 patients with brain metastases treated by gamma knife radiosurgery. In all cases enlargement of the lesion and increase of the perilesional edema were demonstrated by MRI on average 10.6+/-2.6 months after initial treatment. Radiation-induced necrosis was identified in 5 patients (histologically in 2, clinically in 3). In one of these a false positive result of FDG PET was observed, whereas data of proton MRS were always correct. The diagnosis of tumor recurrence was established in 4 patients (histologically in 3, clinically in 1). Among these both FDG PET and single-voxel proton MRS showed false negative results (each method twice), whereas multi-voxel proton MRS always permitted us to establish the correct diagnosis. The present study demonstrates the higher diagnostic accuracy of multi-voxel proton MRS, in comparison with single-voxel proton MRS and FDG PET, for the differentiation of the radiation-induced necrosis and tumor recurrence. Its use is especially important in mixed lesions with co-existence of both post-irradiation changes and viable neoplasm. Monitoring of the treatment response by serial multi-voxel proton MRS seems to be reasonable during follow-up of patients with brain metastases after radiosurgery.

Post-irradiation approaches to treatment of radiation injuries in the context of radiological terrorism and radiation accidents: a review

PURPOSE

Events of the recent past have focused attention on the possibility of radiological (nuclear) terrorism and on the implications of such terrorist threats for radiation accident preparedness. This review discusses recent advances in the knowledge about how radiation injuries from such events might be treated pharmacologically, and the practical barriers to clinical utilization of these approaches.

CONCLUSIONS

A wide range of pharmacological approaches are being developed in the laboratory that could greatly expand the ability to treat acute and chronic radiation injuries. However, there are currently a variety of practical and legal barriers that would prevent the actual clinical use of most of the approaches. There are also the potential weaknesses in most of the current programmes for dealing with the consequences of radiation accidents or nuclear terrorism, including the absence of widespread radiation biodosimetry capabilities and the resulting inability to triage. If a major radiation accident or terrorist event occurs, the lack of biodosimetry and treatment capabilities will be compounded by widespread public fear of 'radiation'.

Radiation-induced ostial stenosis of the coronary artery as a cause of acute coronary syndromes: a novel mechanism of thrombus formation?

Mediastinal irradiation can induce coronary artery disease characterized by fibrous lesions developing in the absence of lipid/foam cell accumulation. We document several consecutive cases of acute coronary artery occlusion developing over radiation-induced lesions in patients who were relatively young, without evidence of classical risk factors for atherosclerosis, and in whom the coronary vasculature was otherwise apparently free of disease. The finding of acute coronary artery occlusion at the site of a fibrous lesion lends further support to the hypothesis that acute coronary syndromes may not necessarily be identifiable with ulceration/disruption of the atherosclerotic plaque as the underlying mechanism of acute thrombus formation.

De novo development of a cavernous malformation of the spinal cord following spinal axis radiation. Case report

Analysis of recent reports has suggested that cavernous malformations (CMs) of the brain may have an acquired pathogenesis and a dynamic pathophysiological composition, with documented appearance of new lesions in familial cases and following radiotherapy. The authors report the first case of demonstrated de novo formation of an intramedullary CM following spinal radiation therapy. A 17 year-old boy presented with diabetes insipidus and delayed puberty. Evaluation of endocrine levels revealed hypopituitarism, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging demonstrated an infundibular mass. The patient underwent a pterional craniotomy and removal of an infundibular germinoma. The MR image of the spine demonstrated normal results. The patient received craniospinal radiation therapy and did well. He presented 5 years later with acute onset of back pain, lower-extremity weakness and numbness, and difficulty with urination. An MR image obtained of the spine revealed an intramedullary T-7 lesion; its signal characteristics were consistent with a CM. The patient was initially managed conservatively but developed progressive myelopathy and partial Brown-Séquard syndrome. Although he received high-dose steroids and bed rest, his symptoms worsened. He underwent a costotransversectomy and excision of a hemorrhagic vascular lesion via an anterolateral myelotomy. Pathological examination confirmed features of a CM. The patient has done well and was walking without assistance within 4 weeks of surgery. De novo genesis of CMs may be associated with prior radiation therapy to the spinal cord.

Usefulness of ophthalmic examination in postnatal observation in teratology studies

Pregnant rats were irradiated with soft x-ray at a dose of 635 r or 1270 r on Day 9 or 11 of gestation. The eyes of F1 offspring were examined by indirect ophthalmoscopy and slit lamp biomicroscopy in postnatal weeks 3 to 7. Ophthalmoscopic examination of offspring irradiated at a dose of 635r or 1270r on Gestational Day 9 revealed iris and choroidal coloboma together with microphthalmia and anophthalmia at Postnatal Week 3 or later. Choroidal coloboma, an anomaly that cannot be detected by the common external observation method, was found ophthalmoscopically in one rat without any external ocular abnormalities. This fact suggests that ophthalmoscopy in postnatal observation can be useful to detect ocular teratogenic potential of test compounds in preclinical safety studies.

Frequency of trisomy 21 in Germany before and after the Chernobyl accident

For Berlin (West) the rate of trisomy 21 among newborn and all prenatally diagnosed cases can be almost completely recorded, including the maternal age distribution. During the 9-year-period from 1980 and 1988 the average number of trisomy 21 per month was about 2, following a Poisson distribution. A significant increase (P less than 0.01) was observed in January 1987, exactly 9 months after the Chernobyl accident. In a supraregional study based on greater than 30,000 prenatal diagnoses performed in 1986, no significant effect could be observed. However, the highest rates of trisomy 21 were observed in the more heavily contaminated, southern part of Germany. The majority of these fetuses were conceived during the period of greatest radioactive exposure. The data are discussed with respect to the effect of low-dose radiation around the time of conception on the induction of non-disjunction in man.

Current status of cytogenetic procedures to detect and quantify previous exposures to radiation

The estimation of the magnitude of a dose of ionizing radiation to which an individual has been exposed (or of the plausibility of an alleged exposure) from chromosomal aberration frequencies determined in peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures is a well-established methodology, having first been employed over 25 years ago. The cytogenetics working group has reviewed the accumulated data and the possible applicability of the technique to the determination of radiation doses to which American veterans might have been exposed as participants in nuclear weapons tests in the continental U.S.A. or the Pacific Atolls during the late 1940s and 1950s or as members of the Occupation Forces entering Hiroshima or Nagasaki shortly after the nuclear detonations there. The working group believes that with prompt peripheral blood sampling, external doses to individuals of the order of about 10 rad (or less if the exposure was to high-LET radiation) can accurately be detected and measured. It also believes that exposures of populations to doses of the order of maximum permissible occupational exposures can also be detected (but only in populations; not in an individual). Large exposures of populations can also be detected even several decades after their exposure, but only in the case of populations, and of large doses (of the order of 100 to several hundred rad). The working group does not believe that cytogenetic measurements can detect internal doses from fallout radionuclides in individuals unless these are very large. The working group has approached the problem of detection of small doses (less than or equal to 10 or so rad) sampled decades after the exposure of individuals by using a Bayesian statistical approach. Only a preliminary evaluation of this approach was possible, but it is clear that it could provide a formal statement of the likelihood that any given observation of a particular number of chromosomal aberrations in a sample of any particular number of lymphocytes actually indicates an exposure to any given dose of radiation. It is also clear that aberration frequencies (and consequently doses) would have to be quite high before much confidence could be given to either exposure or dose estimation by this method, given the approximately 3 decades of elapsed time between the exposures and any future blood sampling.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Indirect effect of x-irradiation on embryonic development: utilization of high doses of maternal irradiation on the first day of gestation

Two hundred and eighteen female rats were utilized in this study to evaluate the indirect effect of maternal x-irradiation on embryonic development and survival. There were two control groups and ten experimental groups receiving 0, 60, 150, 275, or 400 R on the afternoon of the first day. The use of special shielding devices permitted irradiation of either the mother or the zygote. Several groups of pregnant rats were exposed to 150 R on the afternoon of the first day of gestation. Irradiation of the oviduct and the ova resulted in a 60 to 70% resorption of the implanted ova. Irradiation of the maternal organism while the oviduct was shielded did not increase the resorption rate above control levels. Thus, no indirect effect was demonstrated when the maternal organism received 150 R. When the maternal rats received 400 R and the ova were shielded, 25 % of the implanted embryos resorbed. This was apparently not due to leakage of irradiation around or through the special shielding. Thus, high doses of irradiation in the rat have a moderate indirect effect, but this indirect effect first becomes manifest when the dose of irradiation is above the LD,0 following direct irradiation of the ova. Neither maternal irradiation nor zygote irradiation on the first day of gestation results in an increase in gross congenital malformations or produces fetal growth retardation.