Surgical overtreatment of pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms: Do the 2017 International Consensus Guidelines improve clinical decision making?

BACKGROUND: Significant overtreatment of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms can be attributed to low specificity of the current International Consensus Guidelines as well as nonconformity with the guidelines. We compare the ability of the 2012 and revised 2017 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms International Consensus Guidelines to predict high-grade dysplasia/invasive cancer and to determine the preoperative variables that predict resection of benign or low-grade dysplasia in tertiary care centers. METHODS: Clinical, radiographic, and pathologic data for resected intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms at 3 high-volume National Cancer Institute Cancer Centers were reviewed and the 2012 and 2017 consensus criteria were retrospectively applied. When International Consensus Guidelines were not met, clinical decision analysis was used to determine the primary indication for resection. Logistic regression identified variables associated with pathologic grade. RESULTS: Records for a total of 251 patients were reviewed, 129 of whom (52%) had low-grade dysplasia. The revised 2017 International Consensus Guidelines had high sensitivity (98.4%) and negative predicted value (96.1%), and all high-risk stigmata predicted high-grade dysplasia/invasive cancer; however, specificity remained low (14.8%). Nonconformity with International Consensus Guidelines was the most powerful predictor of low-grade dysplasia on final pathologic examination (9.5; 2.12-40.78). Independent predictors of low-grade dysplasia included age younger than 50 (2.46; 1.08-5.62), fine-needle aspiration without epithelial cells (2.6; 1.43-4.72), and normal duct diameter (3.07; 1.99-4.75). Diabetes developed in 30% of patients after resection. CONCLUSION: Management of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms remains clinically challenging. Low specificity of the International Consensus Guidelines and nonconformity with the guidelines continue to contribute to unnecessary pancreatic resections. Improved tools for disease classification as well as a better understanding of the natural history, biology, and rates of progression of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms are needed to avoid surgical overtreatment of low-grade intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms.

Global Protease Activity Profiling Provides Differential Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cysts.

Purpose: Pancreatic cysts are estimated to be present in 2%-3% of the adult population. Unfortunately, current diagnostics do not accurately distinguish benign cysts from those that can progress into invasive cancer. Misregulated pericellular proteolysis is a hallmark of malignancy, and therefore, we used a global approach to discover protease activities that differentiate benign nonmucinous cysts from premalignant mucinous cysts.Experimental Design: We employed an unbiased and global protease profiling approach to discover protease activities in 23 cyst fluid samples. The distinguishing activities of select proteases was confirmed in 110 samples using specific fluorogenic substrates and required less than 5 µL of cyst fluid.Results: We determined that the activities of the aspartyl proteases gastricsin and cathepsin E are highly increased in fluid from mucinous cysts. IHC analysis revealed that gastricsin expression was associated with regions of low-grade dysplasia, whereas cathepsin E expression was independent of dysplasia grade. Gastricsin activity differentiated mucinous from nonmucinous cysts with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 93%, whereas cathepsin E activity was 92% specific and 70% sensitive. Gastricsin significantly outperformed the most widely used molecular biomarker, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), which demonstrated 94% specificity and 65% sensitivity. Combined analysis of gastricsin and CEA resulted in a near perfect classifier with 100% specificity and 98% sensitivity.Conclusions: Quantitation of gastricsin and cathepsin E activities accurately distinguished mucinous from nonmucinous pancreatic cysts and has the potential to replace current diagnostics for analysis of these highly prevalent lesions. Clin Cancer Res; 23(16); 4865-74. ©2017 AACR.

Prehospital Systolic Hypertension and Outcomes in Patients with Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that hematoma volume and expansion is associated with poor outcomes in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH). The factors associated with hematoma volume and possible expansion include the use of anticoagulant medications, autoimmune or bacterial diseases that reduce platelet production, and genetic defects of Von Willebrand factor causing inhibition or reduction of platelet aggregation. However, little is known about the role of elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) on hematoma volume and its ultimate role on sICH when identified in the prehospital setting. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of elevated SBP among diagnosed sICH patients transported by emergency medical services (EMS), and to explore possible associations between prehospital elevated SBP and hematoma volume. METHODS: This is a hypothesis-generating study for which we used a retrospective observational design. The subjects included 243 adult patients who were seen and treated for sICH in an emergency department serving a county hospital in a large metropolitan city. Elevated SBP in the setting of sICH was defined as ≥140 mm Hg. A univariate analysis was performed to investigate associations between patient demographics, elevated SBP, and sICH characteristics with the pre-determined outcome of hematoma volume. We then performed a multivariable logistic regression model to determine if elevated prehospital SBP remained associated with hematoma volume. RESULTS: The number of subjects with a hospital-based diagnosis of sICH was 243. Of those, 193 (79%) were transported by an ambulance. Among those transported by ambulance, 180 (93%) had a documented prehospital SBP; out of those patients with a documented SBP, 173 (96%) showed an elevated SBP of ≥140 mm Hg, and 82 (46%) had a hematoma volume of ≥30 mL. Our univariate analysis showed that sICH patients with an elevated prehospital SBP of ≥140 mm Hg were associated with hematoma volume. The multivariable regression model showed that elevated prehospital SBP (≥140 mm Hg) was associated with larger hematoma volumes (odds ratio (OR) 3.86 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-4.60). CONCLUSIONS: Prehospital elevated SBP is associated with larger hematoma volume in patients with sICH. Future studies should confirm these findings in a larger cohort of patients.

Rebound Syndrome in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis After Cessation of Fingolimod Treatment.

IMPORTANCE: The appropriate sequencing of agents with strong immune system effects has become increasingly important. Transitions require careful balance between safety and protection against relapse. The cases presented herein highlight that rebound events after ceasing fingolimod treatment may happen even with short washout periods (4 weeks) and may perpetuate despite steroid treatment or the immediate use of fast-acting immune therapies, such as rituximab. OBJECTIVE: To describe rebound syndrome in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) after cessation of fingolimod treatment. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Clinical and demographic data were extracted from electronic medical records from the University of California, San Francisco, Multiple Sclerosis Center from January 2014 to December 2015. Magnetic resonance images were reviewed by MS neurologists (J.S.G., E.W., B.N., and E.C.H.). Rebound syndrome was defined as new severe neurological symptoms after ceasing fingolimod treatment, with the development of multiple new or enhancing lesions exceeding baseline activity. We reviewed the PubMed database from January 2010 to December 2015 for similar cases of severe disease reactivation after ceasing fingolimod treatment using search terms fingolimod and either rebound or reactivation. Participants were included if they stopped receiving fingolimod between January 2014 and December 2015. Five patients were identified who experienced rebound after ceasing fingolimod treatment. EXPOSURES: Each patient received treatment with oral fingolimod for various durations. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Occurrence of rebound after ceasing fingolimod treatment. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of the 5 female patients presented in this case series was 35.2 (6.4) years. Of the 46 patients that stopped fingolimod treatment within the 2-year period, 5 (10.9%) experienced severe relapse 4 to 16 weeks after ceasing fingolimod treatment. Despite varying prior severity of relapsing-remitting course, all participants experienced unexpectedly severe clinical relapses accompanied by drastic increases in new or enhancing lesions seen on magnetic resonance imaging evidenced by a median (range) increase of 9 (0->30) new gadolinium-enhancing lesions and a median (range) of 9 (0->30) new T2 lesions. New lesion development persisted for 3 to 6 months despite treatment with corticosteroids (n = 3) and initiation of B-cell depleting therapy (n = 2). In addition, 11 patients were identified through literature review reported as having severe relapses consistent with a rebound syndrome and similar features to our 5 cases. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: These cases provide evidence for a fingolimod rebound syndrome at a clinically relevant frequency, highlighting the need to determine the best methods for sequencing or discontinuing MS therapies. A large prospective registry or population-based study would be helpful to confirm this rebound phenomenon and to determine contributing factors, including immune biomarkers, that increase risk for this syndrome.