Trend (1999–2009) in U.S. death rates from myelodysplastic syndromes: Utility of multiple causes of death in surveillance

BackgroundFor myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) (formerly known as preleukemia), a diverse group of myeloid neoplasms usually involving anemia in elderly persons, trends in U.S. death rates apparently have not been reported.MethodsTrends in annual age-standardized rates per 100,000 from 1999 to 2009 were examined for MDS using multiple causes vs. underlying cause alone, coded on death certificates for U.S. residents.ResultsThe death rate (all ages combined) for MDS increased from 1999 to 2009, from 1.62 to 1.84 using underlying cause alone and from 2.89 to 3.27 using multiple causes. Rates using multiple causes were about 80% higher than those based on underlying cause alone. From 2001 to 2004 the rate for MDS using underlying cause alone (but not using multiple causes) declined, accompanied by an increase in the rate for deaths from leukemia as underlying cause with mention of MDS; this trend coincided with the advent of the 2001 World Health Organization's reclassification of certain MDS as leukemia. The MDS rate for age 65+ years increased after 2005, whereas the rate for age 25–64 years was low but declined from 2001 to 2003 and then stabilized. For deaths with MDS coded as other than underlying cause, rates did not decline for deaths from each of the two most common causes (i.e., cardiovascular diseases and leukemia).ConclusionsEvidence for decreases in MDS-related mortality rates was limited; the increase at age 65+ years is consistent with increases in incidence rates reported from cancer registries. Using multiple causes of death vs. only the underlying cause results in substantially higher MDS-related death rates, shows the impact of changes in the classification of myeloid neoplasms and emphasizes the importance of reducing cardiovascular disease mortality in MDS patients.     

Case-control study of birth characteristics and the risk of hepatoblastoma

Background: Hepatoblastoma is a malignant embryonal tumor typically diagnosed in children younger than five years of age. Little is known on hepatoblastoma etiology. Methods: We matched California Cancer Registry records of hepatoblastomas diagnosed in children younger than age 6 from 1988 to 2007 to birth records using a probabilistic record linkage program, yielding 261 cases. Controls (n = 218,277), frequency matched by birth year to all cancer cases in California for the same time period, were randomly selected from California birth records. We examined demographic and socioeconomic information, birth characteristics, pregnancy history, complications in pregnancy, labor and delivery, and abnormal conditions and clinical procedures relating to the newborn, with study data taken from birth certificates. Results: We observed increased risks for hepatoblastoma among children with low [1500–2499 g, Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29–3.15] and very low birthweight (<1500 g, OR = 15.4, 95% CI 10.7–22.3), preterm birth <33 weeks (OR = 7.27, 95% CI 5.00, 10.6), small size for gestational age (OR = 1.75, 95% CI 1.25–2.45), and with multiple birth pregnancies (OR = 2.52, 95% CI 1.54–4.14). We observed a number of pregnancy and labor complications to be related to hepatoblastoma, including preeclampsia, premature labor, fetal distress, and congenital anomalies. Conclusion: These findings confirm previously reported associations with low birthweight and preeclampsia. The relation with multiple birth pregnancies has been previously reported and may indicate a relation to infertility treatments.     

The changing incidence of human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal cancer using multiple imputation from 2000 to 2010 at a Comprehensive Cancer Centre

Introduction Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a risk and prognostic factor for oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). Determining whether the incidence of HPV-associated OPC is rising informs health policy. Methods HPV status was ascribed using p16 immunohistochemistry in 683/1474 OPC patients identified from the Princess Margaret Hospital's Cancer Registry (from 2000 to 2010). Missing p16 data was estimated using multiple (n = 100) imputation (MI) and validated using an independent OPC cohort (n = 214). Non-OPC head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) (n = 3262) were also used for time-trend comparison. Regression was used to compare HNSCC subsets and time-trends. The c-index was used to measure the predictive ability of MI. Results The incidence of OPC rose from 23.3% of all HNSCC in 2000 to 31.2% in 2010 (p = 0.002). In the subset of OPC tested for p16, there was no change in p16 positivity over time (p = 0.9). However, p16 testing became more frequent over time (p < 0.0001), but was nonetheless biased, favouring never-smokers [OR 1.87 (95% CI 1.29–2.70)] and tumors of the tonsil [OR 2.30 (1.52–3.47)] or base-of-tongue [OR 1.72 (1.10–2.70)]. These same factors were also associated with p16-positivity [ORs 3.22 (1.27–8.16), 7.26 (3.50–15.1), 5.83 (2.70–12.7), respectively]. Following MI and normalization, the proportion of OPC that was p16-associated rose from 39.8% in 2000 to 65.0% in 2010, p = 0.002, fully explaining the rise in OPC in our patient population. Conclusion The rise in HNSCC referrals seen from 2000 to 2010 at our institution was driven primarily by p16-associated OPC. MI was necessary to derive reliable conclusions when cases with missing data are considerable.     

Saprolegnia strains isolated from river insects and amphipods are broad spectrum pathogens

Saprolegnia species are destructive pathogens to many aquatic organisms and are found in most parts of the world. Reports based on phylogenetic analysis suggest that Saprolegnia strains isolated from aquatic animals such as crustaceans and frogs are close to Saprolegnia strains isolated from infected fish or fish eggs and vice versa. However, it has often been assumed that host specificity occurs for each individual isolate or strain. Here we demonstrate that Saprolegnia spp. can have multiple hosts and are thus capable of infecting different aquatic organisms. Saprolegnia delica, Saprolegnia hypogyna, and 2 strains of Saprolegnia diclina were isolated from aquatic insects and amphipods while S. delica, Saprolegnia ferax, Pythium pachycaule, and a Pythium sp. were isolated from the water of a medium to fast flowing river. The ITS region of the rRNA gene was sequenced for all isolates. In challenge experiments, all four isolates from insects were found to be highly pathogenic to eggs of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and embryos of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). We found that Saprolegnia spp. isolated from salmon eggs were also able to successfully establish infection in nymphs of stonefly (Perla bipunctata) and embryos of X. laevis). These results suggest that Saprolegnia spp. are capable of infecting multiple hosts, which may give them an advantage during seasonal variation in their natural environments.     

Validity of ultrasound muscle thickness measurements for predicting leg skeletal muscle mass in healthy Japanese middle-aged and older individuals

Background

The skeletal muscle mass of the lower limb plays a role in its mobility during daily life. From the perspective of physical resources, leg muscle mass dominantly decreases after the end of the fifth decade. Therefore, an accurate estimate of the muscle mass is important for the middle-aged and older population. The present study aimed to clarify the validity of ultrasound muscle thickness (MT) measurements for predicting leg skeletal muscle mass (SM) in the healthy Japanese middle-aged and older population.

Findings

MTs at four sites of the lower limb and the bone-free lean tissue mass (LTM) of the right leg were determined using brightness-mode ultrasonography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), respectively, in 44 women and 33 men, 52- to 78-years old. LTM was used as a representative variable of leg skeletal muscle mass. In the model-development group (30 women and 22 men), regression analysis produced an equation with R² and standard error of the estimate (SEE) of 0.958 and 0.3 kg, respectively: LTM (kg) = 0.01464 × (MT_SUM×L) (cm²) - 2.767, where MT_SUM is the sum of the product of MTs at four sites, and L is length of segment where MT is determined. The estimated LTM (7.0 ± 1.7 kg) did not significantly differ from the measured LTM (7.0 ± 1.7 kg), without a significant systematic error on a Bland-Altman plot. The application of this equation for the cross-validation group (14 women and 11 men) did not yield a significant difference between the measured (7.2 ± 1.6 kg) or estimated (7.2 ± 1.6 kg) LTM and systematic error.

Conclusion

The developed prediction equation may be useful for estimating the lean tissue mass of the lower extremity for the healthy Japanese middle-aged and older population.     

160 例多发性骨髓瘤患者免疫表型特征及其临床意义

目的:研究多发性骨髓瘤(MM)细胞免疫表型特征及其临床意义。方法:应用直接免疫荧光抗体染色方法,采用四色流式细胞仪分析160例多发性骨髓瘤患者瘤细胞免疫表型特征。结果:160例MM患者中CD38、CD138均为阳性,CD7、CD34、CD3、CD10均为阴性,其他抗体阳性率分别为CD56(61.5%)、CD117(18.8%)、CD19(6.5%)、CD20(12.5%)、c Kappa(71.0%)、c Lambda(76.3%)、CD81(58.1%)、CD45(46.9%)、CD27(14.3%)、CD28(17.4%)、CD33(21.4%)。CD20在小于60岁患者中的表达明显高于60岁以上患者[(78.91±16.84)%vs(38.31±11.29)%(P0.05),CD28在大于60岁患者中的表达明显高于小于60岁的患者[(70.81±19.44)%vs(43.97±11.25)%](P0.05)。CD28、CD45在女性患者中的表达明显高于男性患者[(71.75±25.20)%vs(47.25±12.04)%](P0.05)、[(74.04±19.07)%vs(48.42±25.10)%](P0.05)。CD20的表达在Ⅲ期患者明显高于Ⅰ期和Ⅱ期患者[(84.82±11.25)%vs(42.01±7.15)%](P0.05),而CD117的表达与此相反[(49.13±14.06)%vs(77.07±25.92)%](P0.05)。在女性患者中,CD81的表达在60岁以上的患者中明显升高[(43.87±24.43)%vs(74.59±22.94)%](P0.05)。在小于50岁的患者中,女性CD117的阳性率明显高于男性[(83.4±0.42)%vs(45.75±2.19)%](P0.05),而CD81的表达与此相反[(39.20±24.14)%vs(81.52±22.05)%](P0.05);在51~60岁的患者中,男性患者CD33的表达明显高于女性[(94.53±3.06)%vs(45.37±15.28)%](P0.05);在60~70岁的患者中,各分子的表达在男女之间无显著统计学差异。在大于70岁的患者中,男性CD117的表达明显高于女性[(70.40±31.40)%vs(53.50±29.98)%](P0.05),而c Kappa的表达与此相反[(32.58±13.90)%vs(76.98±22.42)%](P0.05)。结论:骨髓瘤细胞表达以CD38、CD138抗原为主,仅部分患者可伴有抗原CD56、CD117、CD19、CD20、cKappa、cLambda、CD81、CD45、CD27、CD28、CD33的表达。     

血清WT1 和MDR1 基因表达与多发性骨髓瘤疾病程度相关性研究

目的:研究血清Wilms瘤基因(WT1)和多药耐药基因1(MDR1)的表达与多发性骨髓瘤疾病程度的相关性。方法:采用实时荧光PCR技术对30例不同期多发性骨髓瘤患者及30例健康者静脉血清进行WT1与MDR1基因表达水平检测,并分析其表达量与多发性骨髓瘤疾病程度的影响。结果:多发性骨髓瘤患者的血清WT1与MDR1基因表达水平均明显高于普通健康者,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05);多发性骨髓瘤分期越高,患者血清WT1与MDR1基因的表达水平则越高,Ⅰ期、Ⅱ期与Ⅲ期患者的血清WT1与MDR1基因的表达水平两两组间比较差异均具有统计学意义(P0.05);WT1与MDR1基因表达水平与骨髓瘤分期呈明显的正相关性(r=0.406,r=0.451,P0.05)。结论:血清WT1与MDR1基因表达水平与多发性骨髓瘤疾病程度具有明显的正相关性,可能作为多发性骨髓瘤的临床评估预测指标。     

Protein C‐terminal enzymatic labeling identifies novel caspase cleavages during the apoptosis of multiple myeloma cells induced by kinase inhibition

Caspase activation and proteolytic cleavages are the major events in the early stage of apoptosis. Identification of protein substrates cleaved by caspases will reveal the occurrence of the early events in the apoptotic process and may provide potential drug targets for cancer therapy. Although several N‐terminal MS‐based proteomic approaches have been developed to identify proteolytic cleavages, these methods have their inherent drawbacks. Here we apply a previously developed proteomic approach, protein C‐terminal enzymatic labeling (ProC‐TEL), to identify caspase cleavage events occurring in the early stage of the apoptosis of a myeloma cell line induced by kinase inhibition. Both previously identified and novel caspase cleavage sites are detected and the reduction of the expression level of several proteins is confirmed biochemically upon kinase inhibition although the current ProC‐TEL procedure is not fully optimized to provide peptide identifications comparable to N‐terminal labeling approaches. The identified cleaved proteins form a complex interaction network with central hubs determining morphological changes during the apoptosis. Sequence analyses show that some ProC‐TEL identified caspase cleavage events are unidentifiable when traditional N‐terminomic approaches are utilized. This work demonstrates that ProC‐TEL is a complementary approach to the N‐terminomics for the identification of proteolytic cleavage events such as caspase cleavages in signaling pathways.     

Label‐free analysis of human cerebrospinal fluid addressing various normalization strategies and revealing protein groups affected by multiple sclerosis

The aims of the study were to: (i) identify differentially regulated proteins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) between multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and non‐MS controls; (ii) examine the effect of matching the CSF samples on either total protein amount or volume, and compare four protein normalization strategies for CSF protein quantification. CSF from MS patients (n = 37) and controls (n = 64), consisting of other noninflammatory neurological diseases (n = 50) and non neurological spinal anesthetic subjects (n = 14), were analyzed using label‐free proteomics, quantifying almost 800 proteins. In total, 122 proteins were significantly regulated (p < 0.05), where 77 proteins had p‐value <0.01 or AUC value >0.75. Hierarchical clustering indicated that there were two main groups of MS patients, those with increased levels of inflammatory response proteins and decreased levels of proteins involved in neuronal tissue development (n = 30), and those with normal protein levels for both of these protein groups (n = 7). The main subgroup of controls clustering with the MS patients showing increased inflammation and decreased neuronal tissue development were patients suffering from chronic fatigue. Our data indicate that the preferable way to quantify proteins in CSF is to first match the samples on total protein amount and then normalize the data based on the median intensities, preferably from the CNS‐enriched proteins.