Health Assessment of Free-Ranging Eastern Indigo Snakes (Drymarchon couperi) from Hydrologic Restoration Construction Sites in South Florida, USA.

There is a paucity of information regarding the health status of free-ranging eastern indigo snakes (EIS; Drymarchon couperi) in heavily modified and developing landscapes. As a component of regional Florida Everglades restoration efforts, several areas occupied by EIS are being converted from agricultural lands to reservoirs. From 2020 to 2022, 28 EIS were opportunistically captured at two of these sites and brought into captivity to join a captive breeding colony; however, 11 snakes died within 5 mo of capture. Health assessments were performed on 28 individuals and included hematology and plasma biochemistry analysis, as well as screening for pesticide contaminant levels, parasites, and other pathogens. Overall, the presence of pathogens was relatively high, suggesting immunosuppression secondary to stress: 25/28 (89.4%) Kalicephalus sp.; 12/28 (42.9%) Raillietiella orientalis; 11/28 (39.2%) Ochetosoma validum; 7/28 (25.0%) Cryptosporidium serpentis; 3/28 (10.7%) snake adenovirus 1; and 1/28 (3.6%) Ferlavirus genotype C. Stress may have been caused by physical displacement, habitat modification, and noise pollution. These potential stressors (including the presence of remnant harmful chemicals from previous land use and the impacts on this federally threatened species) should be considered further when making restoration or construction decisions.

A Phase II Trial of Dovitinib in BCG-Unresponsive Urothelial Carcinoma with FGFR3 Mutations or Overexpression: Hoosier Cancer Research Network Trial HCRN 12-157.

Purpose: To assess the clinical and pharmacodynamic activity of dovitinib in a treatment-resistant, molecularly enriched non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (NMIUC) population.Experimental Design: A multi-site pilot phase II trial was conducted. Key eligibility criteria included the following: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-unresponsive NMIUC (>2 prior intravesical regimens) with increased phosphorylated FGFR3 (pFGFR3) expression by centrally analyzed immunohistochemistry (IHC+) or FGFR3 mutations (Mut+) assessed in a CLIA-licensed laboratory. Patients received oral dovitinib 500 mg daily (5 days on/2 days off). The primary endpoint was 6-month TURBT-confirmed complete response (CR) rate.Results: Between 11/2013 and 10/2014, 13 patients enrolled (10 IHC+ Mut-, 3 IHC+ Mut+). Accrual ended prematurely due to cessation of dovitinib clinical development. Demographics included the following: median age 70 years; 85% male; carcinoma in situ (CIS; 3 patients), Ta/T1 (8 patients), and Ta/T1 + CIS (2 patients); median prior regimens 3. Toxicity was frequent with all patients experiencing at least one grade 3-4 event. Six-month CR rate was 8% (0% in IHC+ Mut-; 33% in IHC+ Mut+). The primary endpoint was not met. Pharmacodynamically active (94-5,812 nmol/L) dovitinib concentrations in urothelial tissue were observed in all evaluable patients. Reductions in pFGFR3 IHC staining were observed post-dovitinib treatment.Conclusions: Dovitinib consistently achieved biologically active concentrations within the urothelium and demonstrated pharmacodynamic pFGFR3 inhibition. These results support systemic administration as a viable approach to clinical trials in patients with NMIUC. Long-term dovitinib administration was not feasible due to frequent toxicity. Absent clinical activity suggests that patient selection by pFGFR3 IHC alone does not enrich for response to FGFR3 kinase inhibitors in urothelial carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res; 23(12); 3003-11. ©2016 AACR.

Phase II study of fosaprepitant + 5HT3 receptor antagonist + dexamethasone in patients with germ cell tumors undergoing 5-day cisplatin-based chemotherapy: a Hoosier Cancer Research Network study.

PURPOSE: A phase III study adding aprepitant to a 5HT3 receptor antagonist (5HT3-RA) plus dexamethasone in germ cell tumor (GCT) patients treated with 5-day cisplatin combination chemotherapy demonstrated a significant improvement in complete response (CR) (J Clin Onc 30:3998-4003, 2012). Fosaprepitant has demonstrated non-inferiority compared to aprepitant in single-day cisplatin chemotherapy and is approved as a single-dose alternative. This single-arm phase II study is the first clinical trial evaluating fosaprepitant in patients receiving multi-day cisplatin regimen. METHODS: GCT patients receiving a 5-day cisplatin combination chemotherapy were enrolled. Fosaprepitant 150 mg was given IV on days 3 and 5. A 5HT3-RA days 1-5 (days 1, 3, and 5, if palonosetron) plus dexamethasone 20 mg days 1 and 2 and 4 mg po bid days 6, 7, and 8 was administered. Rescue antiemetics were allowed. The primary objective was to determine the CR rate-no emetic episodes or use of rescue medications. Accrual of 64 patients was planned with expected CR > 27 %. RESULTS: Sixty-five patients were enrolled of whom 54 were eligible for analysis. Median age was 33. Fifty-one patients received bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (BEP) chemotherapy. CR was observed in 13 (24.1 %) patients (95 % Agresti-Coull binomial C.I. 14.5 %, 37.1 %). CONCLUSION: The data in this phase II study, in contrast to our prior phase III study, appears to indicate a lower CR rate with the substitution of fosaprepitant for aprepitant. It is unknown whether the substitution of fosaprepitant for aprepitant provides the same benefit in multi-day cisplatin that was achieved with single-day cisplatin. Trial registration Clinical trial information NCT01736917.

Neoadjuvant dasatinib for muscle-invasive bladder cancer with tissue analysis of biologic activity.

OBJECTIVES: Preclinical urothelial carcinoma models suggest activity of dasatinib, an oral SRC-family kinase (SFK) inhibitor. We sought to determine the feasibility and biologic activity of neoadjuvant dasatinib (Neo-D) in patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (miUCB) preceding radical cystectomy (RC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective multisite phase II trial was conducted. Key eligibility criteria included: resectable miUCB (T2-T4a, N0, M0), and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 to 1. Patients received oral Neo-D 100mg once daily for 28±7 days followed by RC 8 to 24 hours after the last dose. The primary end point was feasibility, defined as≥60% of patients with miUCB completing therapy without treatment-related dose-limiting toxicity (DLT). Pre- and posttreatment tumor immunohistochemistry of phosphorylated SFK (pSFK), Ki-67, and cleaved caspase (Cas)-3 results were analyzed by paired t test. RESULTS: The study completed full accrual with enrollment of 25 patients of whom 23 were evaluable for feasibility. The study achieved its primary end point with 15 patients (65%) completing therapy without treatment-related DLTs. DLTs included: fatigue (n = 2), pulmonary embolism, abdominal pain, supraventricular tachycardia, enteric fistula, hematuria, and dyspnea (n = 1 each). At RC, 5 patients (23%) had

A Phase I/II Trial of BNC105P with Everolimus in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: BNC105P inhibits tubulin polymerization, and preclinical studies suggest possible synergy with everolimus. In this phase I/II study, efficacy and safety of the combination were explored in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: A phase I study in patients with clear cell mRCC and any prior number of therapies was conducted using a classical 3 + 3 design to evaluate standard doses of everolimus with increasing doses of BNC105P. At the recommended phase II dose (RP2D), patients with clear cell mRCC and one to two prior therapies (including ≥ 1 VEGF-TKI) were randomized to BNC105P with everolimus (arm A) or everolimus alone (arm B). The primary endpoint of the study was 6-month progression-free survival (6MPFS). Secondary endpoints included response rate, PFS, overall survival, and exploratory biomarker analyses. RESULTS: In the phase I study (N = 15), a dose of BNC105P at 16 mg/m(2) with everolimus at 10 mg daily was identified as the RP2D. In the phase II study, 139 patients were randomized, with 69 and 67 evaluable patients in arms A and B, respectively. 6MPFS was similar in the treatment arms (arm A: 33.82% vs. arm B: 30.30%, P = 0.66) and no difference in median PFS was observed (arm A: 4.7 mos vs. arm B: 4.1 mos; P = 0.49). Changes in matrix metalloproteinase-9, stem cell factor, sex hormone-binding globulin, and serum amyloid A protein were associated with clinical outcome with BNC105P. CONCLUSIONS: Although the primary endpoint was not met in an unselected population, correlative studies suggest several biomarkers that warrant further prospective evaluation.

A phase 1 and pharmacodynamic study of decitabine in combination with carboplatin in patients with recurrent, platinum-resistant, epithelial ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: Aberrant DNA methylation is a hallmark of cancer, and DNA methyltransferase inhibitors have demonstrated clinical efficacy in hematologic malignancies. On the basis of preclinical studies indicating that hypomethylating agents can reverse platinum resistance in ovarian cancer cells, the authors conducted a phase 1 trial of low-dose decitabine combined with carboplatin in patients with recurrent, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. METHODS: Decitabine was administered intravenously daily for 5 days, before carboplatin (area under the curve, 5) on Day 8 of a 28-day cycle. By using a standard 3 + 3 dose escalation, decitabine was tested at 2 dose levels: 10 mg/m(2) (7 patients) or 20 mg/m(2) (3 patients). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and plasma collected on Days 1 (pretreatment), 5, 8, and 15 were used to assess global (LINE-1 repetitive element) and gene-specific DNA methylation. RESULTS: Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) at the 20-mg/m(2) dose was grade 4 neutropenia (2 patients), and no DLTs were observed at 10 mg/m(2). The most common toxicities were nausea, allergic reactions, neutropenia, fatigue, anorexia, vomiting, and abdominal pain, the majority being grades 1-2. One complete response was observed, and 3 additional patients had stable disease for >/=6 months. LINE-1 hypomethylation on Days 8 and 15 was detected in DNA from PBMCs. Of 5 ovarian cancer-associated methylated genes, HOXA11 and BRCA1 were demethylated in plasma on Days 8 and 15. CONCLUSIONS: Repetitive low-dose decitabine is tolerated when combined with carboplatin in ovarian cancer patients, and demonstrates biological (ie, DNA-hypomethylating) activity, justifying further testing for clinical efficacy. Cancer 2010. (c) 2010 American Cancer Society.

Prognostic factors in stage III non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to present an analysis investigating the association of patient characteristics with overall survival (OS) in individuals with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ten prognostic factors were analyzed in 203 patients with NSCLC who were enrolled in a phase III trial conducted by the Hoosier Oncology Group and US Oncology between 2002 and 2006. Eligible patients had untreated stage III NSCLC, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)) > or = 1 liter, baseline performance status of 0/1, and weight loss < 5% in 3 months preceding the trial. Univariate analysis, Cox proportional hazards regression, and parametric accelerated failure time models were performed to identify the factors that affected survival duration. Variables analyzed included age (< 70 years vs. > or = 70 years), sex, ethnicity, body mass index, performance status (0 vs. 1), FEV(1) (> 2 L vs. 1-2 L), smoking status (current vs. never/former), hemoglobin (Hb) level, use of positron emission tomography scan in staging, and stage (IIIA vs. IIIB). RESULTS: Median follow-up was 25.6 months and the median OS was 21.2 months. The univariate analysis showed that Hb levels > or = 12 were associated with an improved survival (P = .033). The multivariable parametric accelerated failure time model demonstrated the association of FEV(1) > 2 L (P = .014), and higher pretreatment Hb values (P = .007) as independent prognostic factors for OS. Similarly in the Cox regression, survival was influenced by Hb and FEV(1) > 2 L. CONCLUSION: This analysis suggests that FEV(1) > 2 L and higher pretreatment Hb values are associated with improved OS in patients with stage III NSCLC. These factors can be useful in predicting for more favorable outcomes in patients with stage III NSCLC and provide additional information when designing future studies.

Comparison of computational algorithms for the classification of liver cancer using SELDI mass spectrometry: a case study.

INTRODUCTION: As an alternative to DNA microarrays, mass spectrometry based analysis of proteomic patterns has shown great potential in cancer diagnosis. The ultimate application of this technique in clinical settings relies on the advancement of the technology itself and the maturity of the computational tools used to analyze the data. A number of computational algorithms constructed on different principles are available for the classification of disease status based on proteomic patterns. Nevertheless, few studies have addressed the difference in the performance of these approaches. In this report, we describe a comparative case study on the classification accuracy of hepatocellular carcinoma based on the serum proteomic pattern generated from a Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization (SELDI) mass spectrometer. METHODS: Nine supervised classification algorithms are implemented in R software and compared for the classification accuracy. RESULTS: We found that the support vector machine with radial function is preferable as a tool for classification of hepatocellular carcinoma using features in SELDI mass spectra. Among the rest of the methods, random forest and prediction analysis of microarrays have better performance. A permutation-based technique reveals that the support vector machine with a radial function seems intrinsically superior in learning from the training data since it has a lower prediction error than others when there is essentially no differential signal. On the other hand, the performance of the random forest and prediction analysis of microarrays rely on their capability of capturing the signals with substantial differentiation between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding is similar to a previous study, where classification methods based on the Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry are compared for the prediction accuracy of ovarian cancer. The support vector machine, random forest and prediction analysis of microarrays provide better prediction accuracy for hepatocellular carcinoma using SELDI proteomic data than six other approaches.

A longitudinal study of genital human papillomavirus infection in a cohort of closely followed adolescent women.

BACKGROUND: We performed a study to better characterize the natural history of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in a cohort of closely followed adolescent women. METHODS: A cohort of 60 adolescent women was followed over a 2.2-year period, on average. A median of 41.5 self-collected vaginal and clinician-obtained cervical swabs were obtained from each subject. RESULTS: HPV was detected in 45.3% of all adequate specimens, by use of a polymerase chain reaction/reverse blot strip assay. Oncogenic--or high-risk (HR)--HPV types were detected in 38.6% of specimens, and nononcogenic--or low-risk (LR)--types were detected in 19.6% of specimens. During the entire study period, 49 of 60 subjects tested positive for HPV (cumulative prevalence, 81.7%). The most frequently detected HR types were HPV types 52, 16, and 59. Infections with multiple HPV types were common. The median duration of persistence of a specific HPV type was 168 days, and HR types were more persistent than LR types. Abnormal cervical cytological results occurred in 37% of the adolescent women and were significantly associated with HR HPV infection. CONCLUSIONS: The cumulative prevalence of HPV infection in sexually active adolescent women is extremely high, involves numerous HPV types, and frequently results in cervical dysplasia.