A randomized controlled trial in non-responders from Newcastle upon Tyne invited to return a self-sample for Human Papillomavirus testing versus repeat invitation for cervical screening.

Background Non-attenders for cervical screening are at increased risk of cervical cancer. Studies offering self-sampling for high-risk Human Papillomavirus (HrHPV) testing have shown greater uptake than sending another invitation for cytology. Objectives To explore whether uptake would increase in a less diverse, more stable population than the previous English study, which demonstrated a lower response rate than other studies. The primary objective was whether non-attenders were more likely to respond to a postal invitation, including kit, to collect a self-sample compared with a further invitation for cytology screening. The secondary objective was whether women with an abnormal result would attend for follow-up. Methods 6000 non-attenders for screening in this pragmatic, randomized (1:1) controlled trial in Newcastle-upon-Tyne were sent an HPV self-sample kit (intervention) or a further invitation for cytology screening (comparator). Results 411(13%) responded to the intervention, returning a self-sample (247(8%)) or attending for cytology (164(5%)), compared with 183(6%) attending for cytology, relative risk 2.25 (95% CI 1.90–2.65) (comparator arm). Of those testing hrHPV positive (32(13%)), 19(59%) subsequently attended cytology screening. Of those in the intervention group who attended for cytology screening without returning an hrHPV self-sample (n = 164), 5% (n = 8) were referred for colposcopy - all attended. In the comparator group eight of the nine referred for colposcopy attended. Conclusion Persistent non-responders to invitations for cervical screening are significantly more likely to respond to a postal invitation to return a self-collected sample for HPV testing than a further invitation for cytology screening. However, just over half followed up on this positive HPV result

A comparison of different human papillomavirus tests in PreservCyt versus SurePath in a referral population-PREDICTORS 4

AbstractBackgroundTwo transport media, PreservCyt and SurePath, are widely used for cervical cytology screening. There are concerns that they may perform differently for HPV testing.ObjectivesA comparison of the performance of six different HPV tests in SurePath and PreservCyt in a referral population using two samples from each woman. The primary goal was to compare the performance of each test in the two media. Comparisons between assays and viral load comparisons between media were secondary aims.Study designTwo cervical samples were collected in random order at the same visit in women with abnormal cytology. One sample was placed in 20ml of PreservCyt and the other in 10ml of SurePath. Aliquots were taken for 4 DNA based tests: digene HC2 High-Risk HPV DNA Test, Abbott Realtime, BD Onclarity and Genera PapType, an RNA based test—: Hologic Aptima and a protein test: OncoHealth.Results630 sample pairs were included in the analyses. For all tests except the protein test sensitivities were in excess of 90% for CIN2+ and 95% for CIN3+ for both media and with no significant differences except for a lower sensitivity for CIN2+ of Aptima in SurePath (93% vs 98%, P=0.005). Specificity for <CIN2 was significantly better in Surepath for HC2, RealTime and Aptima, and generally lower relative signal strengths were seen with SurePath except for Onclarity, especially when it was the second sample.ConclusionsWe found similar sensitivity for CIN3+ in PreservCyt and SurePath for 5 nucleic acid tests in the two media in a referral population, but signal strength and positivity rates were lower in SurePath except for the Onclarity test. These results need to be replicated in a screening population

Human marginal zone B cell development from early T2 progenitors.

B cells emerge from the bone marrow as transitional (TS) B cells that differentiate through T1, T2, and T3 stages to become naive B cells. We have identified a bifurcation of human B cell maturation from the T1 stage forming IgMhi and IgMlo developmental trajectories. IgMhi T2 cells have higher expression of α4β7 integrin and lower expression of IL-4 receptor (IL4R) compared with the IgMlo branch and are selectively recruited into gut-associated lymphoid tissue. IgMhi T2 cells also share transcriptomic features with marginal zone B cells (MZBs). Lineage progression from T1 cells to MZBs via an IgMhi trajectory is identified by pseudotime analysis of scRNA-sequencing data. Reduced frequency of IgMhi gut-homing T2 cells is observed in severe SLE and is associated with reduction of MZBs and their putative IgMhi precursors. The collapse of the gut-associated MZB maturational axis in severe SLE affirms its existence in health

A systematic review of the physical health impacts from non-occupational exposure to wildfire smoke

Background: Climate change is likely to increase the threat of wildfires, and little is known about how wildfires affect health in exposed communities. A better understanding of the impacts of the resulting air pollution has important public health implications for the present day and the future. Method: We performed a systematic search to identify peer-reviewed scientific studies published since 1986 regarding impacts of wildfire smoke on health in exposed communities. We reviewed and synthesized the state of science of this issue including methods to estimate exposure, and identified limitations in current research. Results: We identified 61 epidemiological studies linking wildfire and human health in communities. The U.S. and Australia were the most frequently studied countries (18 studies on the U.S., 15 on Australia). Geographic scales ranged from a single small city (population about 55,000) to the entire globe. Most studies focused on areas close to fire events. Exposure was most commonly assessed with stationary air pollutant monitors (35 of 61 studies). Other methods included using satellite remote sensing and measurements from air samples collected during fires. Most studies compared risk of health outcomes between 1) periods with no fire events and periods during or after fire events, or 2) regions affected by wildfire smoke and unaffected regions. Daily pollution levels during or after wildfire in most studies exceeded U.S. EPA regulations. Levels of PM10, the most frequently studied pollutant, were 1.2 to 10 times higher due to wildfire smoke compared to non-fire periods and/or locations. Respiratory disease was the most frequently studied health condition, and had the most consistent results. Over 90% of these 45 studies reported that wildfire smoke was significantly associated with risk of respiratory morbidity.Conclusion: Exposure measurement is a key challenge in current literature on wildfire and human health. A limitation is the difficulty of estimating pollution specific to wildfires. New methods are needed to separate air pollution levels of wildfires from those from ambient sources, such as transportation. The majority of studies found that wildfire smoke was associated with increased risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Children, the elderly and those with underlying chronic diseases appear to be susceptible. More studies on mortality and cardiovascular morbidity are needed. Further exploration with new methods could help ascertain the public health impacts of wildfires under climate change and guide mitigation policies

A randomised comparison of CPX-351 and FLAG-Ida in adverse karyotype AML and high-risk MDS: the UK NCRI AML19 trial

Liposomal daunorubicin and cytarabine (CPX-351) improves overall survival (OS) compared to 7+3 chemotherapy in older patients with secondary acute myeloid leukaemia (AML); to date there have been no randomized studies in younger patients. The high-risk cohort of the UK NCRI AML19 trial (ISRCTN78449203) compared CPX-351 with FLAG-Ida in younger adults with newly-diagnosed adverse cytogenetic AML or high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). 189 patients were randomized (median age 56y). By clinical criteria 49% had de novo AML, 20% secondary AML and 30% high risk MDS. MDS-related cytogenetics were present in 73% of patients, with complex karyotype in 49%. TP53 was the most commonly mutated gene, in 43%. Myelodysplasia-related gene mutations were present in 75 patients (44%). The overall response rate (CR + CRi) after course two was 64% and 76% for CPX-351 and FLAG-Ida (OR:0.54, 95%CI 0.28-1.04, p=0.06). There was no difference in OS (13.3 months vs 11.4 months, HR:0.78, 95%CI 0.55-1.12, p=0.17) or event-free survival (HR:0.90, 95%CI 0.64-1.27, p=0.55) in multivariable analyses. However, relapse-free survival was significantly longer with CPX-351 (median 22.1 vs 8.35 months, HR:0.58, 95% CI 0.36-0.95, p=0.03). There was no difference between the treatment arms in patients with clinically defined secondary AML (HR:1.1, 95%CI 0.52-2.30) or those with MDS-related cytogenetic abnormalities (HR:0.94, 95%CI 0.63-1.40), however an exploratory sub-group of patients with MDS-related gene mutations had significantly longer OS with CPX-351 (median 38.4 vs 16.3 months, HR:0.42, 95%CI 0.21-0.84, heterogeneity p=0.05). In conclusion, OS in younger patients with adverse risk AML/MDS was not significantly different between CPX-351 and FLAG-Ida

Evaluation of Dried Blood Spots and Oral Fluids as Alternatives to Serum for Human Papillomavirus Antibody Surveillance

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causative agent of cervical and other anogenital cancers. HPV vaccination, primarily targeted at young girls before the age of sexual debut, is starting to demonstrate population-level declines in HPV infection and early disease associated with vaccine-incorporated genotypes. Monitoring young women for vaccine-specific antibody is important for vaccine surveillance and may be useful as an adjunct test within a cervical screening context. We evaluated serum, dried blood spots, and oral fluid as potential samples for such applications and report robust measures of diagnostic accuracy. This is the first time a direct comparison of alternative sample types has been made between vaccinated and unvaccinated women for the detection and quantitation of HPV antibodies.Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination elicits high-titer genotype-specific antibody responses that are associated with a reduced risk of cervical disease caused by vaccine-incorporated genotypes. Our objective was to evaluate dried blood spots (DBSs) and oral mucosal transudate (OMT) as alternative samples to serum to confirm HPV vaccine antibody status. A study was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of detecting HPV16 and HPV18 antibodies in OMT, DBSs, and sera among women who self-reported being unvaccinated or fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine. Serum had the highest sensitivity (100%) for detection of antibodies against both HPV16 and HPV18 but the lowest specificity, due to the detection of natural infection antibodies in 16% of unvaccinated women. Conversely, DBSs and OMT had lower sensitivity (96% and 82%, respectively) but high specificity (98%). We confirmed that these antibodies were functional (i.e., neutralizing) and that their detection was quantitatively reproducible and well correlated between sample types when normalized to IgG content. DBSs and OMT are appropriate alternative sample types for HPV vaccine surveillance. These alternative sample types warrant consideration for the purposes of cervical screening, diagnosis, and management, but more work will be needed to establish the stringent parameters required for such application

Genomic correlates of outcome in a randomised comparison of CPX-351 and FLAG-Ida in high-risk acute myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndrome: results from the UK NCRI AML19 Trial

Background Liposomal daunorubicin and cytarabine (CPX-351) improves survival compared to 3+7 chemotherapy in patients aged 60 years with secondary AML defined by clinical or cytogenetic criteria (Lancet JE, JCO 2018). It is increasingly recognised that secondary AML may be better defined by mutational profile than clinical history (Döhner, Blood 2022; Khoury, Leukemia 2022), however patients with molecularly defined secondary AML were not specifically included in previous studies. Moreover, no randomised data for CPX-351 in patients aged <60y were available prior to this study. Previous UK NCRI trials established the FLAG-Ida regimen as a preferred regimen in patients aged <60y with high-risk and secondary AML (Burnett AK, Leukemia 2018). The UK NCRI AML19 trial randomised patients with AML or high grade MDS between induction therapy with CPX-351 and FLAG-Ida. Initial results reporting similar event-free and overall survival (OS) have been previously presented (Russell NH, HemaSphere 2022). Here we present an exploratory analysis of outcomes stratified by genomic, cytogenetic and clinical definitions of secondary AML. Methods AML19 (ISRCTN78449203) enrolled patients with previously untreated AML, MDS-EB2, or MDS-EB1 with IPSS score >3.5, predominantly aged <60 years. Patients known to have an adverse karyotype at diagnosis according to MRC criteria were randomised between CPX-351 and FLAG-Ida. Treatment consisted of up to 4 courses of CPX-351 or 2 courses of FLAG-Ida followed by MACE/MidAC consolidation with allogeneic transplant recommended after 2 cycles if feasible. Of note, patients could also enter the FLAG-IDA vs CPX randomisation if they became high risk at other defined points after induction, the results of which will be reported separately. Cytogenetic testing was performed in local laboratories with results reviewed and coded centrally. Complex karyotype was defined as ≥4 unrelated abnormalities. Following the completion of the trial, banked diagnostic DNA was analysed for variants in 41 recurrently mutated myeloid genes, including the entire coding regions of all myelodysplasia-related genes according to 2022 WHO and ELN criteria (ASXL1, BCOR, EZH2, RUNX1, SF3B1, SRSF2, STAG2, U2AF1, ZRSR2) (Döhner, Blood 2022; Khoury, Leukemia 2022). Libraries were prepared using the Agilent SureSelect XT HS2 platform and sequenced on an Illumina NextSeq2000 to a depth of >1000x. Results In total, 195 patients entered were randomised at trial entry, and NGS was performed on 173. Of the whole cohort, 49% were classified by clinical features as de novo AML, 20% as secondary AML and 31% as high-risk MDS. Myelodysplasia-related cytogenetic abnormalities were present in 70% of patients, with a complex karyotype in 51%. TP53 was the most commonly mutated gene in 43% of patients, followed by DNMT3A in 19% and ASXL1 in 18% (Figure A). A mutation in at least one myelodysplasia-related gene was present in 75 (43%) patients, of whom 60 (35%) were categorised as secondary AML by mutational status, which by ELN 2022 criteria requires the absence of TP53 variants. As previously reported, OS did not differ between the two randomisation arms (Hazard Ratio [HR] for CPX-351 0.84, 95% confidence interval [95CI] 0.59 - 1.20). In patients with clinically defined secondary AML, there was no OS benefit for CPX-351 (HR 1.1, 95CI 0.53 - 2.30), while high-risk MDS had a trend to benefit (HR 0.54, 95CI 0.28 - 1.00) (Figure B). When secondary disease was defined by the presence of myelodysplasia-related cytogenetic abnormalities, CPX-351 did not provide benefit (HR 1.04, 95CI 0.77 - 1.55). However, in patients with mutationally defined secondary AML, there was an OS benefit from CPX-351 (HR 0.42, 95CI 0.21 - 0.84, p value for heterogeneity 0.05) (Figure B). Patients with TP53 mutations had an adverse prognosis, with median OS of 7 months compared to 28 months in those with wild-type TP53. CPX-351 did not provide benefit compared to FLAG-Ida in this group (HR 0.92, 95CI 0.57 - 1.49). Conclusion In this exploratory subgroup analysis, CPX-351 had a significant survival benefit over FLAG-Ida in young high-risk patients with secondary AML/MDS as defined by the presence of myelodysplasia-related gene mutations, but not by clinical criteria. We observed no significant difference in patients with TP53 mutations