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Published manuscripts supporting 23 of the 26 approvals were retrieved (as of March 2020) and the eligibility criteria specifics for each trial were extracted from each manuscript.

Purpose:In clinical research, eligibility criteria promote patient safety and optimize the evidence generated from clinical trials. However, overly stringent eligibility criteria, including laboratory requirements, may limit enrollment, resulting in delayed trial completion and potentially limiting applicability of trial results to a general practice population.Experimental Design:Starting in 2018, a working group consisting of experts in direct patient care, the FDA, industry, and patient advocacy developed recommendations to guide the optimal use of laboratory reference ranges and testing intervals in clinical trial eligibility criteria and study procedures. The working group evaluated current eligibility criteria across different clinical trial phases and performed a literature review to evaluate the impact of and justification for laboratory test eligibility requirements and testing intervals in clinical trials. Recommendations were developed on the basis of the goals of promoting safety and optimizing the evidence generated, while also expanding eligibility and applicability, and minimizing excess burden of trial participation.Results:In general, we found little variation over time and trial phase in laboratory test requirements, suggesting that these eligibility criteria are not refined according to ongoing clinical experience. We propose recommendations to optimize the use of laboratory tests when considering eligibility criteria.Conclusions:Tailoring the use of laboratory test requirements and testing intervals may increase the number and diversity of patients in clinical trials and provide clinical data that more closely represent the general practice populations.See related commentary by Giantonio, p. 2369

Background Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) is a phenotype that is characterized by the inability of a cell to effectively repair DNA double-strand breaks using the homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway. Loss-of-function genes involved in this pathway can sensitize tumors to poly(adenosine diphosphate [ADP]-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors and platinum-based chemotherapy, which target the destruction of cancer cells by working in concert with HRD through synthetic lethality. However, to identify patients with these tumors, it is vital to understand how to best measure homologous repair (HR) status and to characterize the level of alignment in these measurements across different diagnostic platforms. A key current challenge is that there is no standardized method to define, measure, and report HR status using diagnostics in the clinical setting. Methods Friends of Cancer Research convened a consortium of project partners from key healthcare sectors to address concerns about the lack of consistency in the way HRD is defined and methods for measuring HR status. Results This publication provides findings from the group’s discussions that identified opportunities to align the definition of HRD and the parameters that contribute to the determination of HR status. The consortium proposed recommendations and best practices to benefit the broader cancer community. Conclusion Overall, this publication provides additional perspectives for scientist, physician, laboratory, and patient communities to contextualize the definition of HRD and various platforms that are used to measure HRD in tumors.

PURPOSE As immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) become increasingly used in frontline settings, identifying early indicators of response is needed. Recent studies suggest a role for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in monitoring response to ICI, but uncertainty exists in the generalizability of these studies. Here, the role of ctDNA for monitoring response to ICI is assessed through a standardized approach by assessing clinical trial data from five independent studies. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patient-level clinical and ctDNA data were pooled and harmonized from 200 patients across five independent clinical trials investigating the treatment of patients with non–small-cell lung cancer with programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1)–directed monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy. CtDNA levels were measured using different ctDNA assays across the studies. Maximum variant allele frequencies were calculated using all somatic tumor-derived variants in each unique patient sample to correlate ctDNA changes with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS We observed strong associations between reductions in ctDNA levels from on-treatment liquid biopsies with improved OS (OS; hazard ratio, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.62 to 3.20; P < .001) and PFS (PFS; hazard ratio 1.76; 95% CI, 1.31 to 2.36; P < .001). Changes in the maximum variant allele frequencies ctDNA values showed strong association across different outcomes. CONCLUSION In this pooled analysis of five independent clinical trials, consistent and robust associations between reductions in ctDNA and outcomes were found across multiple end points assessed in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer treated with an ICI. Additional tumor types, stages, and drug classes should be included in future analyses to further validate this. CtDNA may serve as an important tool in clinical development and an early indicator of treatment benefit.

Liquid biopsies are gaining momentum as minimally invasive means for cancer detection, characterization, monitoring, and interception. Composed of five expert-opinion review articles and five accompanying expert-physician viewpoints, this Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer Special Review Series focuses on capturing and synthesizing the current state of science of liquid biopsies and their clinical relevance for cancer immunotherapy and beyond.

As cancer immunotherapies continue to expand across all areas of oncology, it is imperative to establish a standardized approach for defining and capturing clinically important toxicities, such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS). In this paper, we provide considerations for categorizing the variety of adverse events that may accompany CRS and for recognizing that presentations of CRS may differ among various immunotherapies (e.g., monoclonal antibodies, CAR T cell therapies and T cell engagers, which can include bispecific antibodies and other constructs). The goals of this paper are to ensure accurate and consistent identification of CRS in patients receiving immunotherapies in clinical studies to aid in reporting; enable more precise evaluation of the therapeutic risk-benefit profile and cross-study analyses; support evidence-based monitoring and management of important toxicities related to cancer immunotherapies; and improve patient care and outcomes. These efforts will become more important as the number and variety of molecular targets for immunotherapies broaden and as therapies with novel mechanisms continue to be developed.

Omission of care in US nursing homes can lead to increased risk for harm or adverse outcomes, decreased quality of life for residents, and increased healthcare expenditures. However, scholars and policymakers in long-term care have taken varying approaches to defining omissions of care, which makes efforts to prevent them challenging. Subject matter experts and a broad range of nursing home stakeholders participated in iterative rounds of engagement to identify key concepts and aspects of omissions of care and develop a consensus-based definition that is clear, meaningful, and actionable for nursing homes. The resulting definition is "Omissions of care in nursing homes encompass situations when care-either clinical or nonclinical-is not provided for a resident and results in additional monitoring or intervention or increases the risk of an undesirable or adverse physical, emotional, or psychosocial outcome for the resident." This concise definition is grounded in goal-concordant, resident-centered care, and can be used for a variety quality improvement purposes and for research.

The heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-1 is proteolytically shed from the surface of multiple myeloma cells and is abundant in the bone marrow microenvironment where it promotes tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that shed syndecan-1 present in the medium conditioned by tumor cells is taken up by bone marrow-derived stromal cells and transported to the nucleus. Translocation of shed syndecan-1 (sSDC1) to the nucleus was blocked by addition of exogenous heparin or heparan sulfate, pretreatment of conditioned medium with heparinase III, or growth of cells in sodium chlorate, indicating that sulfated heparan sulfate chains are required for nuclear translocation. Interestingly, cargo bound to sSDC1 heparan sulfate chains (i.e. hepatocyte growth factor) was transported to the nucleus along with sSDC1, and removal of heparan sulfate-bound cargo from sSDC1 abolished its translocation to the nucleus. Once in the nucleus, sSDC1 binds to the histone acetyltransferase enzyme p300, and histone acetyltransferase activity and histone acetylation are diminished. These findings reveal a novel function for shed syndecan-1 in mediating tumor-host cross-talk by shuttling growth factors to the nucleus and by altering histone acetylation in host cells. In addition, this work has broad implications beyond myeloma because shed syndecan-1 is present in high levels in many tumor types as well as in other disease states.

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) are present on the cell surface, within the extracellular matrix, and as soluble molecules in tissues and blood. HSPGs are known to regulate a wide range of cellular functions predominantly by serving as co-receptors for growth factors, chemokines, and other regulatory proteins that control inflammation, wound healing and tumorigenesis. Several studies have demonstrated the presence of heparan sulfate (HS) or HSPGs in the cell nucleus, but little attention has been focused on their role there. However, evidence is mounting that nuclear HS and HSPGs have important regulatory functions that impact the cell cycle, proliferation, transcription and transport of cargo to the nucleus. The discovery of proteoglycans in the nucleus extends the list of "non-traditional nuclear proteins" that includes, for example, cytoskeletal proteins such as actin and tubulin, and growth factors and their receptors. In this review we discuss the discovery and fascinating roles of HS and HSPGs in the nucleus and propose a number of key questions that remain to be addressed.

Heparanase is an endoglucuronidase that cleaves heparan sulfate chains of proteoglycans. In many malignancies, high heparanase expression and activity correlate with an aggressive tumour phenotype. A major consequence of heparanase action in cancer is a robust up-regulation of growth factor expression and increased shedding of syndecan-1 (a transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan). Substantial evidence indicates that heparanase and syndecan-1 work together to drive growth factor signalling and regulate cell behaviours that enhance tumour growth, dissemination, angiogenesis and osteolysis. Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that therapies targeting the heparanase/syndecan-1 axis hold promise for blocking the aggressive behaviour of cancer.

Thirty-seven products were labelled to indicate embodied carbon emissions, and sales were recorded over a 3-month period. Green (below average), yellow (near average), and black (above average) footprints indicated carbon emissions embodied in groceries. The overall change in purchasing pattern was small, with black-labelled sales decreasing 6% and green-labelled sales increasing 4% after labelling. However, when green-labelled products were also the cheapest, the shift was more substantial, with a 20% switch from black- to green-label sales. These findings illustrate the potential for labelling to stimulate reductions in carbon emissions.

Cardiovascular disease and stroke remain leading causes of mortality, disability, and rising healthcare expenditures in the United States. Although a number of organizations provide hospital accreditation, recognition, and certification programs, existing programs do not address cardiovascular disease and stroke care in a comprehensive way. Current evidence suggests mixed findings for correlation between accreditation, recognition, and certification programs and hospitals' actual quality of care and outcomes. This advisory discusses potential opportunities to develop and enhance hospital certification programs for cardiovascular disease and stroke. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association is uniquely positioned as a patient-centered, respected, transparent healthcare organization to help drive improvements in care and outcomes for patients hospitalized with cardiovascular disease and stroke. As a part of its commitment to promoting high-quality, evidence-based care for cardiovascular and stroke patients, it is recommended that the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association explore hospital certification programs to develop truly meaningful programs to facilitate improvements in and recognition for cardiovascular disease and stroke quality of care and outcomes. Future strategies should standardize objective, unbiased assessments of hospital structural, process, and outcome performance while allowing flexibility as technology and methodology advances occur.

The cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-1 (CD138) is expressed by myeloma tumor cells, is proteolytically shed from the cell surface and accumulates in the serum. High levels of serum syndecan-1 are an independent indicator of poor prognosis. Our lab has demonstrated that shed syndecan-1 drives myeloma tumor progression in vivo, but the mechanism(s) mediating this are not fully understood. The role of heparan sulfate proteoglycans on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix has been extensively studied, but their presence and function within the nucleus is often overlooked. However, recent findings indicate that nuclear heparan sulfate has important regulatory functions. Based on preliminary findings, we hypothesized that shed syndecan-1 binds to the tumor cell surface and translocates to the nucleus where it regulates gene expression thereby promoting aggressive tumor behavior. We utilized murine myeloma cells which were grown in the presence of medium containing human shed syndecan-1. Strikingly, the shed syndecan-1 was rapidly taken up by these cells and translocated to the nucleus. Additionally, exogenous human shed syndecan-1 added to murine stromal cells also bound to the cell surface and translocated to the nucleus. This is the first demonstration that shed proteoglycans can translocate to the nucleus of cells. When stromal cells were grown in the presence of tumor-derived shed syndecan-1, acetylated histone H3 was decreased. Additionally, tumor cells engineered to express high levels of shed SDC1 have a 58% reduction in histone acetyltransferase activity. This may be due to syndecan-1 directly binding to p300/CBP-associated factor, a HAT enzyme. Moreover, HGF bound to shed syndecan-1 was shuttled to the nucleus of myeloma cells as a complex. Shed syndecan-1 and HGF translocation to the nucleus is dependent on intact heparan sulfate chains present on the syndecan-1 core protein. These data reveal a novel mechanism of tumor-host crosstalk whereby syndecan-1, shed by tumor cells, alters histone acetyltransferase activity and shuttles heparin-binding factors to the nucleus to reprogram cells and alter gene expression. Therapeutic regulation of syndecan-1 shedding, its binding to the cell surface or translocation to the nucleus represent novel strategies to control the progression of myeloma and other cancers. Citation Format: Mark Stewart, Vishnu Ramani, Ralph Sanderson. Shed syndecan-1 downregulates histone acetyltransferase activity and shuttles HGF to the nucleus of tumor and host cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1156. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1156