Gastrinomas and non-functioning pancreatic endocrine tumors in multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type-1 (MEN-1)

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type-1 (MEN-1) is a rare hereditary autosomal dominant syndrome due to frameshift and non-sense mutations in the MEN-1 tumor suppressor gene localized on the long arm of chromosome 11 [1]. Also known as Wermer syndrome, it has a prevalence of 2–20/100,000 individuals who may develop multiple neoplastic lesions arising in the parathyroid (90–95%) as well as the pituitary glands (40–50%), the pancreatic islet cells (50–60%) and the duodenal wall (35–40%) [2]. While the most common clinical onset of patients affected by MEN-1 is due to primary hyperparathyroidism [3], pancreatic endocrine tumors (PNETs) represent the main cause of cancer-related death, which is most commonly due to non-functioning (NF) subtypes [4]. Indeed, these tend to have a more aggressive behavior compared to their sporadic counterparts with a malignant potential reported to be size-related with a cut-off value set at 2 cm [5,6,7]. Hence, active surveillance with endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) combined with either contrast-enhanced multi-detector-CT (MDCT) [8] or magnetic resonance imaging [9] is strongly recommended in patients with MEN-1 syndrome. As far as contrast-enhanced MDCT is concerned, recent advances suggest that contrast-enhancement patterns of PNETs may be indeed predictive of tumor grading defined as the rate of expression of the proliferation index Ki-67 [10]. As most G1 (Ki-67 <3%) tumors usually appear as hypervascular lesions, G2 (Ki-67 3–20%) or G3 (Ki-67 >20%) tumors typically manifest as hypovascular lesions [11,12,13]. However, as PNETs in MEN-1 syndrome are usually multifocal [14], the co-existence of lesions with different contrast-enhancement patterns and different biological behavior may indeed occur in clinical practice. Herein, we describe a case of 48-year-old male with a genetic diagnosis of MEN-1 syndrome who had a Zollinger–Ellison syndrome due to duodenal gastrinomas shown by an EUS and confirmed by contrast-enhanced MDCT, which also depicted loco-regional adenopathies and three other NF-PNETs with different contrast-enhancement patterns and biological behavior

Predicted Strain Coverage of a New Meningococcal Multicomponent Vaccine (4CMenB) in Spain: Analysis of the Differences with Other European Countries

BACKGROUND: A novel meningococcal multicomponent vaccine, 4CMenB (Bexsero®), has been approved in Europe, Canada, Australia and US. The potential impact of 4CMenB on strain coverage is being estimated by using Meningococcal Antigen Typing System (MATS), an ELISA assay which measures vaccine antigen expression and diversity in each strain. Here we show the genetic characterization and the 4CMenB potential coverage of Spanish invasive strains (collected during one epidemiological year) compared to other European countries and discuss the potential reasons for the lower estimate of coverage in Spain. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A panel of 300 strains, a representative sample of all serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis notified cases in Spain from 2009 to 2010, was characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and FetA variable region determination. 4CMenB vaccine antigens, PorA, factor H binding protein (fHbp), Neisseria Heparin Binding Antigen (NHBA) and Neisserial adhesin A (NadA) were molecularly typed by sequencing. PorA coverage was assigned to strain with VR2 = 4. The levels of expression and cross-reactivity of fHbp, NHBA and NadA were analyzed using MATS ELISA. FINDINGS: Global estimated strain coverage by MATS was 68.67% (95% CI: 47.77-84.59%), with 51.33%, 15.33% and 2% of strains covered by one, two and three vaccine antigens, respectively. The predicted strain coverage by individual antigens was: 42% NHBA, 36.33% fHbp, 8.33% PorA and 1.33% NadA. Coverage within the most prevalent clonal complexes (cc) was 70.37% for cc 269, 30.19% for cc 213 and 95.83% for cc 32. CONCLUSIONS: Clonal complexes (cc) distribution accounts for variations in strain coverage, so that country-by-country investigations of strain coverage and cc prevalence are important. Because the cc distribution could also vary over time, which in turn could lead to changes in strain coverage, continuous detailed surveillance and monitoring of vaccine antigens expression is needed in those countries where the multicomponent vaccine is introduced. This is really important in countries like Spain where most of the strains are predicted to be covered by only one vaccine antigen and the chance for escape mutants to emerge with vaccine use is higher. Based on the observed data, cc213 should receive special attention as it is associated with low predicted strain coverage, and has recently emerged in Spain.This work was partially supported by Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics.S

Carfilzomib, cyclophosphamide, and dexamethasone in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: a multicenter, phase 2 study.

This multicenter, open-label phase 2 trial determined the safety and efficacy of carfilzomib, a novel and irreversible proteasome inhibitor, in combination with cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone (CCyd) in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) aged 6565 years or who were ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation. Patients (N=58) received CCyd for up to nine 28-day cycles, followed by maintenance with carfilzomib until progression or intolerance. After a median of 9 CCyd induction cycles (range 1-9), 95% of patients achieved at least a partial response, 71% achieved at least a very good partial response, 49% achieved at least a near complete response, and 20% achieved stringent complete response. After a median follow-up of 18 months, the 2-year PFS and OS rates were 76% and 87%, respectively. The most frequent grade 3-5 toxicities were neutropenia (20%), anemia (11%), and cardiopulmonary adverse events (7%). Peripheral neuropathy was limited to grade 1-2 (9%). Fourteen percent of patients discontinued treatment owing to adverse events, and 21% of patients required carfilzomib dose reductions. This is the first study of carfilzomib in combination with an alkylating agent in elderly patients with NDMM; results showed high complete response rates and a good safety profile. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: NCT01346787

Carfilzomib, cyclophosphamide, and dexamethasone in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: a multicenter, phase 2 study.

This multicenter, open-label phase 2 trial determined the safety and efficacy of carfilzomib, a novel and irreversible proteasome inhibitor, in combination with cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone (CCyd) in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) 6565 years of age or who were ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation. Patients (N 5 58) received CCyd for up to 9 28-day cycles, followed by maintenance with carfilzomib until progression or intolerance. After a median of 9 CCyd induction cycles (range 1-9), 95% of patients achieved at least a partial response, 71% achieved at least a very good partial response, 49% achieved at least a near complete response, and 20% achieved stringent complete response. After a median follow-up of 18 months, the 2-year progression-free survival and overall survival rates were 76% and 87%, respectively. The most frequent grade 3 to 5 toxicities were neutropenia (20%), anemia (11%), and cardiopulmonary adverse events (7%). Peripheral neuropathy was limited to grades 1 and 2 (9%). Fourteen percent of patients discontinued treatment because of adverse events, and 21% of patients required carfilzomib dose reductions. In summary, results showed high complete response rates and a good safety profile. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01346787. \ua9 2014 by The American Society of Hematology

Continuous therapy versus fixed duration of therapy in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma

Purpose: Continuous therapy (CT) prolongs progression-free survival 1 (PFS1; time from random assignment until the first progression or death), but chemotherapy-resistant relapse may negatively impact overall survival (OS). Progression-free survival 2 (PFS2; time from random assignment until the second progression or death) may represent an additional tool to estimate outcome. This study evaluates the benefit of novel agent-based CT versus fixed duration of therapy (FDT) in patients with newly diagnosed myeloma. Methods: We included patients enrolled onto three phase III trials that randomly assigned patients to novel agent-based CT versus FDT. Primary analyses were restricted to the intent-to-treat population eligible for CT (patients progression free and alive at 1 year after random assignment). Primary end points were PFS1, PFS2, and OS. All hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were adjusted for several potential confounders using Cox models. Results: In the pooled analysis of the three trials, 604 patients were randomly assigned to CT and 614 were assigned to FDT. Median follow-up was 52 months. In the intent-to-treat CT population, CT (n = 417), compared with FDT (n = 410), significantly improved PFS1 (median, 32 v 16 months, respectively; HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.56; P < .001), PFS2 (median, 55 v 40 months, respectively; HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.50 to 0.75; P < .001), and OS (4-year OS, 69% v 60%, respectively; HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.88; P = .003). Conclusion: In this pooled analysis, CT significantly improved PFS1, PFS2, and OS. The improvement in PFS2 suggests that the benefit reported during first remission is not cancelled by a shorter second remission. PFS2 is a valuable end point to estimate long-term clinical benefit and should be included in future trials. Copyright © 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved

Qualitative and quantitative assessment of meningococcal antigens to evaluate the potential strain coverage of protein-based vaccines

A unique multicomponent vaccine against serogroup B meningococci incorporates the novel genome-derived proteins fHbp, NHBA, and NadA that may vary in sequence and level of expression. Measuring the effectiveness of such vaccines, using the accepted correlate of protection against invasive meningococcal disease, could require performing the serum bactericidal assay (SBA) against many diverse strains for each geographic region. This approach is impractical, especially for infants, where serum volumes are very limited. To address this, we developed the meningococcal antigen typing system (MATS) by combining a unique vaccine antigen-specific ELISA, which detects qualitative and quantitative differences in antigens, with PorA genotyping information. The ELISA correlates with killing of strains by SBA and measures both immunologic cross-reactivity and quantity of the antigens NHBA, NadA, and fHbp. We found that strains exceeding a threshold value in the ELISA for any of the three vaccine antigens had ≥80% probability of being killed by immune serum in the SBA. Strains positive for two or more antigens had a 96% probability of being killed. Inclusion of multiple different antigens in the vaccine improves breadth of coverage and prevents loss of coverage if one antigen mutates or is lost. The finding that a simple and high-throughput assay correlates with bactericidal activity is a milestone in meningococcal vaccine development. This assay allows typing of large panels of strains and prediction of coverage of protein-based meningococcal vaccines. Similar assays may be used for protein-based vaccines against other bacteria