Feasibility and performance of a novel probe panel to detect somatic DNA copy number alterations in clinical specimens for predicting prostate cancer progression.

BACKGROUND: To assess the feasibility of a novel DNA-based probe panel to detect copy number alterations (CNAs) in prostate tumor DNA and its performance for predicting clinical progression. METHODS: A probe panel was developed and optimized to measure CNAs in trace amounts of tumor DNA (2 ng) isolated from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. Ten genes previously associated with aggressive disease were targeted. The panel's feasibility and performance were assessed in 175 prostate cancer (PCa) patients who underwent radical prostatectomy with a median 10-year follow-up, including 42 men who developed disease progression (either metastasis and/or PCa-specific death). Association with disease progression was tested using univariable and multivariable analyses. RESULTS: The probe panel detected CNAs in all 10 genes in tumor DNA isolated from either diagnostic biopsies or surgical specimens. A four-gene model (PTEN/MYC/BRCA2/CDKN1B) had the strongest association with disease progression; 64.3% of progressors and 22.5% of non-progressors had at least one CNA in these four genes, odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval) = 6.21 (2.77-13.87), P = 8.48E-06. The association with disease progression remained significant after adjusting for known clinicopathological variables. Among the seven progressors of the 65 patients with clinically low-risk disease, three (42.9%) had at least one CNA in these four genes. CONCLUSIONS: The probe panel can detect CNAs in trace amounts of tumor DNA from biopsies or surgical tissues at the time of diagnosis or surgery. CNAs independently predict metastatic/lethal cancer, particularly among men with clinically low-risk disease at diagnosis. If validated, this may improve current abilities to assess tumor aggressiveness.

Elementary School-Based Obesity Intervention Using an Educational Curriculum.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric obesity is a significant public health problem with a prevalence of 16.9% among US children. School-based obesity interventions show promise for reducing adiposity in elementary age children. This pilot study evaluated the impact of the Let's Go! 5-2-1-0 pediatric obesity intervention program in an elementary school setting. METHODS: This was a cluster randomized controlled field trial comprising 8 classrooms of second- and third-grade children. The impact of implementation of a standardized 5-2-1-0 curriculum was evaluated in the classrooms by looking at health behavior (self-reported fruit and vegetable and sugar-containing beverage intake, and screen time), physical activity (steps measured by pedometer), and body mass index (BMI). Half of the classrooms were given 5-2-1-0 teaching over a 4-month period. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference in improvement of healthy habits, BMI, or physical activity in the intervention group compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The 5-2-1-0 intervention used in this study was feasible. There was no significant change in healthy habits, likely due to the small number of participants in the study. The intervention and control sites were in different classrooms and there could be factors such as teacher enthusiasm, socioeconomic factors, and individual traits affecting habits. Future studies could use pre- and post-intervention quizzes to assess healthy habits knowledge retention, involving the environments the child participates in outside of school, using research-grade pedometers or accelerometers for measuring activity data collection, and recruiting larger samples to ensure adequate statistical power.