1 5612 267 SAFETY AND ACTIVITY OF RRX-001 IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED CANCER: A FIRST-IN-HUMAN, OPEN-LABEL, DOSE-ESCALATION PHASE 1 STUDY. BACKGROUND: EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS HAVE BEEN STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH TUMOUR FORMATION AND RESISTANCE TO CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC DRUGS, AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS ARE AN ATTRACTIVE TARGET IN CANCER RESEARCH. RRX-001 IS ACTIVATED BY HYPOXIA AND INDUCES THE GENERATION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES THAT CAN EPIGENETICALLY MODULATE DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE DEACETYLATION, AND LYSINE DEMETHYLATION. THE AIM OF THIS PHASE 1 STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE SAFETY, TOLERABILITY, AND PHARMACOKINETICS OF RRX-001. METHODS: IN THIS OPEN-LABEL, DOSE-ESCALATION, PHASE 1 STUDY, WE RECRUITED ADULT PATIENTS (AGED >18 YEARS) WITH HISTOLOGICALLY OR CYTOLOGICALLY CONFIRMED DIAGNOSIS OF ADVANCED, MALIGNANT, INCURABLE SOLID TUMOURS FROM UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO, CA, USA, AND SARAH CANNON RESEARCH INSTITUTE, NASHVILLE, TN, USA. KEY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA INCLUDED EVALUABLE DISEASE, EASTERN COOPERATIVE GROUP PERFORMANCE STATUS OF 2 OR LESS, AN ESTIMATED LIFE EXPECTANCY OF AT LEAST 12 WEEKS, ADEQUATE LABORATORY PARAMETERS, DISCONTINUATION OF ALL PREVIOUS ANTINEOPLASTIC THERAPIES AT LEAST 6 WEEKS BEFORE INTERVENTION, AND NO RESIDUAL SIDE-EFFECTS FROM PREVIOUS THERAPIES. PATIENTS WERE ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE INTRAVENOUS INFUSIONS OF RRX-001 AT INCREASING DOSES (10 MG/M(2), 16.7 MG/M(2), 24.6 MG/M(2), 33 MG/M(2), 55 MG/M(2), AND 83 MG/M(2)) EITHER ONCE OR TWICE-WEEKLY FOR AT LEAST 4 WEEKS, WITH AT LEAST THREE PATIENTS PER DOSE COHORT AND ALLOWING A 2-WEEK OBSERVATION PERIOD BEFORE DOSE ESCALATION. SAMPLES FOR SAFETY AND PHARMACOKINETICS ANALYSIS, INCLUDING STANDARD CHEMISTRY AND HAEMATOLOGICAL PANELS, WERE TAKEN ON EACH TREATMENT DAY. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE WAS TO ASSESS SAFETY, TOLERABILITY, AND DOSE-LIMITING TOXIC EFFECTS OF RRX-001, TO DETERMINE SINGLE-DOSE PHARMACOKINETICS, AND TO IDENTIFY A RECOMMENDED DOSE FOR PHASE 2 TRIALS. ALL ANALYSES WERE DONE PER PROTOCOL. ACCRUAL IS COMPLETE AND FOLLOW-UP IS STILL ON-GOING. THIS TRIAL IS REGISTERED WITH CLINICALTRIALS.GOV, NUMBER NCT01359982. FINDINGS: BETWEEN OCT 10, 2011, AND MARCH 18, 2013, WE ENROLLED 25 PATIENTS AND TREATED SIX PATIENTS IN THE 10 MG/M(2) COHORT, THREE PATIENTS IN THE 16.7 MG/M(2) COHORT, THREE PATIENTS IN THE 24.6 MG/M(2) COHORT, FOUR PATIENTS IN THE 33 MG/M(2) COHORT, THREE PATIENTS IN THE 55 MG/M(2), AND SIX PATIENTS IN THE 83 MG/M(2) COHORT. PAIN AT THE INJECTION SITE, MOSTLY GRADE 1 AND GRADE 2, WAS THE MOST COMMON ADVERSE EVENT RELATED TO TREATMENT, EXPERIENCED BY 21 (84%) PATIENTS. OTHER COMMON DRUG-RELATED ADVERSE EVENTS INCLUDED ARM SWELLING OR OEDEMA (EIGHT [32%] PATIENTS), AND VEIN HARDENING (SEVEN [28%] PATIENTS). NO DOSE-LIMITING TOXICITIES WERE OBSERVED. TIME CONSTRAINTS RELATED TO MANAGEMENT OF INFUSION PAIN FROM RRX-001 RESULTED IN A MAXIMALLY FEASIBLE DOSE OF 83 MG/M(2). OF THE 21 EVALUABLE PATIENTS, ONE (5%) PATIENT HAD A PARTIAL RESPONSE, 14 (67%) PATIENTS HAD STABLE DISEASE, AND SIX (29%) PATIENTS HAD PROGRESSIVE DISEASE; ALL RESPONSES WERE ACROSS A VARIETY OF TUMOUR TYPES. FOUR PATIENTS WHO HAD RECEIVED RRX-001 WERE SUBSEQUENTLY RECHALLENGED WITH A TREATMENT THAT THEY HAD BECOME REFRACTORY TO; ALL FOUR RESPONDED TO THE RECHALLENGE. INTERPRETATION: RRX-001 IS A WELL-TOLERATED NOVEL COMPOUND WITHOUT CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT TOXIC EFFECTS AT THE TESTED DOSES. PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE OF ACTIVITY IS PROMISING AND, ON THE BASIS OF ALL FINDINGS, A DOSE OF 16.7 MG/M(2) WAS RECOMMENDED AS THE TARGETED DOSE FOR PHASE 2 TRIALS. FUNDING: EPICENTRX (FORMERLY RADIORX). 2015 2 2822 74 FIRST-IN-HUMAN STUDY OF INHALED AZACITIDINE IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER. BACKGROUND: AEROSOLIZED AZACITIDINE HAS BEEN SHOWN TO INHIBIT ORTHOTOPIC LUNG CANCER GROWTH AND INDUCE RE-EXPRESSION OF METHYLATED TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES IN MURINE MODELS. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT INHALED AZACITIDINE IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE IN REVERSING EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN THE BRONCHIAL EPITHELIUM SECONDARY TO CHRONIC SMOKING. PATIENTS AND METHODS: WE REPORT THE FIRST IN HUMAN STUDY OF INHALED AZACITIDINE. AZACITIDINE IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION WAS USED TO GENERATE AN AEROSOL SUSPENSION OF 0.25-5 MUM PARTICLE SIZE. MAIN INCLUSION CRITERIA: STAGE IV OR RECURRENT NSCLC WITH PREDOMINANTLY LUNG INVOLVEMENT, >/=1 PRIOR SYSTEMIC THERAPY, ECOG PS 0-1, AND ADEQUATE PULMONARY FUNCTION. PATIENTS RECEIVED INHALED AZACITIDINE DAILY ON DAYS 1-5 AND 15-19 OF 28-DAY CYCLES, AT 3 ESCALATING DOSES (15, 30 AND 45 MG/M(2) DAILY). THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE WAS TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY AND TOLERABILITY OF THIS NEW THERAPEUTIC MODALITY. THE KEY SECONDARY OBJECTIVES INCLUDED PHARMACOKINETICS, METHYLATION PROFILES AND EFFICACY. RESULTS: FROM 3/2015 TO 2/2018, EIGHT PATIENTS RECEIVED A MEDIAN NUMBER OF 2 (IQR = 1) CYCLES OF INHALED AZACITIDINE. NO CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE EVENTS WERE OBSERVED, EXCEPT ONE PATIENT TREATED AT THE HIGHEST DOSE DEVELOPED AN ASYMPTOMATIC GRADE 2 DECREASED DLCO WHICH RESOLVED SPONTANEOUSLY. ONE PATIENT RECEIVING 12 CYCLES OF THERAPY HAD AN OBJECTIVE AND DURABLE PARTIAL RESPONSE, AND TWO PATIENTS HAD STABLE DISEASE. PLASMA AZACITIDINE WAS ONLY BRIEFLY DETECTABLE IN PATIENTS TREATED AT THE HIGHER DOSES. MOREOVER, IN 2 OF 3 PARTICIPANTS WHO AGREED AND UNDERWENT PRE- AND POST-TREATMENT BRONCHOSCOPY, THE GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION IN THE BRONCHIAL EPITHELIUM DECREASED BY 24 % AND 79 % POST-THERAPY, RESPECTIVELY. THE INTERVAL BETWEEN LAST INHALED TREATMENT AND BRONCHOSCOPY WAS 3 DAYS. CONCLUSIONS: INHALED AZACITIDINE RESULTED IN NEGLIGIBLE PLASMA LEVELS COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED SUBCUTANEOUS ADMINISTRATION AND WAS WELL-TOLERATED. THE RESULTS JUSTIFY THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF INHALED AZACITIDINE AT NON-CYTOTOXIC DOSES FOR PATIENTS WITH LUNG-CONFINED MALIGNANT AND/OR PREMALIGNANT LESIONS. 2021 3 2464 72 EPIGENETIC THERAPY USING BELINOSTAT FOR PATIENTS WITH UNRESECTABLE HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA: A MULTICENTER PHASE I/II STUDY WITH BIOMARKER AND PHARMACOKINETIC ANALYSIS OF TUMORS FROM PATIENTS IN THE MAYO PHASE II CONSORTIUM AND THE CANCER THERAPEUTICS RESEARCH GROUP. PURPOSE: EPIGENETIC ABERRATIONS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA (HCC). IN THIS STUDY OF PATIENTS WITH UNRESECTABLE HCC AND CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE, EPIGENETIC THERAPY WITH THE HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR BELINOSTAT WAS ASSESSED. THE OBJECTIVES WERE TO DETERMINE DOSE-LIMITING TOXICITY AND MAXIMUM-TOLERATED DOSE (MTD), TO ASSESS PHARMACOKINETICS IN PHASE I, AND TO ASSESS ACTIVITY OF AND EXPLORE POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS FOR RESPONSE IN PHASE II. PATIENTS AND METHODS: MAJOR ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA INCLUDED HISTOLOGICALLY CONFIRMED UNRESECTABLE HCC, EUROPEAN COOPERATIVE ONCOLOGY GROUP PERFORMANCE SCORE 50 MICROG/ML, THEN 5-AZA WAS ADDED S.C. AT 75 MG/M(2) FOR 7 DAYS IN EIGHT MONTHLY CYCLES. RESULTS: THE MEDIAN OVERALL SURVIVAL WAS 14.4 MONTHS. AT A MEDIAN FOLLOW-UP OF 12 MONTHS (RANGE, 0.7-21.0), THE DISEASE PROGRESSED IN 20 PATIENTS, WITH 21% CUMULATIVE INCIDENCE OF PROGRESSION. OF 26 PATIENTS WHO COMPLETED EIGHT CYCLES, 30.7% OBTAINED COMPLETE OR PARTIAL REMISSION, 15.4% HAD A MAJOR HEMATOLOGIC IMPROVEMENT, WHEREAS 38.5% SHOWED STABLE DISEASE. DRUG-RELATED TOXICITY WAS MILD. FAVORABLE PROGNOSTIC FACTORS FOR SURVIVAL WERE IPSS INTERMEDIATE-2 AND PLASMA VPA OF > OR =50 MICROG/ML (LOG RANK = 0.013 AND 0.007, RESPECTIVELY). ANALYSIS OF POLYMORPHISMS IMPORTANT FOR THE METABOLISM OF THE DRUGS USED IN THE TRIAL SHOWED THAT CARRIERS OF THE CYP2C19*2 VARIANT OF CYTOCHROME P450 REQUIRED HIGHER VPA DOSES TO ACHIEVE THE TARGET VPA PLASMA CONCENTRATION OF 50 MICROG/ML ON DAY 1 OF 5-AZA TREATMENT (P = 0.0021). CONCLUSION: OUR DATA SHOW THAT THE 5-AZA/VPA COMBINATION IS ACTIVE AND SAFE IN PATIENTS WITH MDS WITH A POOR PROGNOSIS. ACHIEVEMENT OF VPA THERAPEUTIC LEVELS MAY INDEED INCREASE 5-AZA EFFICACY. 2009 7 5055 53 PHASE 2 TRIAL OF THE HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR ROMIDEPSIN FOR THE TREATMENT OF REFRACTORY MULTIPLE MYELOMA. BACKGROUND: EPIGENETIC DYSREGULATION IS A HALLMARK OF CANCER, INCLUDING MULTIPLE MYELOMA. INHIBITORS OF HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS) INDUCE DNA HYPERACETYLATION BY INHIBITING REMOVAL OF ACETYL GROUPS FROM AMINO TAILS ON HISTONE PROTEINS, THEREBY UNCOILING CONDENSED CHROMATIN FAVORING TRANSCRIPTION OF SILENCED GENES, INCLUDING TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES. ROMIDEPSIN IS AN HDAC INHIBITOR THAT EXHIBITS ANTIPROLIFERATIVE AND APOPTOTIC EFFECTS AGAINST MULTIPLE MYELOMA CELL LINES. METHODS: A PHASE 2 TRIAL WAS PERFORMED OF ROMIDEPSIN IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE MYELOMA WHO WERE REFRACTORY TO STANDARD THERAPY. TREATMENT WAS COMPRISED OF ROMIDEPSIN (13 MG/M(2)) GIVEN AS A 4-HOUR INTRAVENOUS INFUSION ON DAYS 1, 8, AND 15 EVERY 28 DAYS). THIRTEEN PATIENTS RECEIVED A MEDIAN OF 2 CYCLES OF THERAPY (RANGE, 1-7 CYCLES). RESULTS: ALTHOUGH NO PATIENTS HAD AN OBJECTIVE RESPONSE, 4 OF 12 PATIENTS WITH SECRETORY MYELOMA EXHIBITED EVIDENCE OF M-PROTEIN STABILIZATION, AND SEVERAL OTHER PATIENTS EXPERIENCED IMPROVEMENT IN BONE PAIN AND RESOLUTION OF HYPERCALCEMIA. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS OF THE CURRENT STUDY DEMONSTRATE THAT ROMIDEPSIN, AS A SINGLE AGENT, IS UNLIKELY TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH A RESPONSE RATE OF >/=30% IN PATIENTS WITH REFRACTORY MYELOMA, ALTHOUGH THERE WAS SOME CLINICAL EVIDENCE SUGGESTING A BIOLOGICAL EFFECT ASSOCIATED WITH THERAPY. 2011 8 1537 37 DNA METHYLATION IN ADOLESCENTS WITH ANXIETY DISORDER: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY. ANXIETY DISORDERS (AD) TYPICALLY MANIFEST IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS AND MIGHT PERSIST INTO ADULTHOOD. HOWEVER, THERE ARE STILL FEW DATA CONCERNING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH ONSET, PERSISTENCE OR REMISSION OF AD OVER TIME. WE INVESTIGATED A COHORT OF ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS AT BASELINE (AGE; 13.19 +/- 2.38) AND AFTER 5 YEARS AND CLASSIFIED THEM ACCORDING TO THE AD DIAGNOSIS AND THEIR LONGITUDINAL TRAJECTORIES INTO 4 GROUPS: (1) TYPICALLY DEVELOPING COMPARISONS (TDC; CONTROL GROUP, N = 14); (2) INCIDENT (AD IN THE SECOND EVALUATION ONLY, N = 11); (3) PERSISTENT (AD IN BOTH EVALUATIONS, N = 14) AND (4) REMITTENT (AD IN THE FIRST EVALUATION ONLY, N = 8). DNA METHYLATION WAS EVALUATED WITH THE INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450 BEADCHIP FROM SALIVA SAMPLES COLLECTED AT BOTH EVALUATIONS. GENE SET ENRICHMENT ANALYSIS WAS APPLIED TO CONSIDER BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS. WE FOUND DECREASED DNA METHYLATION IN TDC GROUP WHILE THE CHRONIC CASES OF AD PRESENTED HYPERMETHYLATION IN CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS. MOREOVER, WE SHOWED THAT THIS PERSISTENT GROUP ALSO PRESENTED HYPERMETHYLATION WHILE THE OTHER THREE GROUPS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH HYPOMETHYLATION IN NERVOUS SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY. INCIDENCE AND REMISSION GROUPS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED AND DECREASED METHYLATION IN NEURON DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS, RESPECTIVELY. LARGER STUDIES ARE LIKELY TO DETECT SPECIFIC GENES RELEVANT TO AD. 2018 9 2465 54 EPIGENETIC THERAPY WITH HYDRALAZINE AND MAGNESIUM VALPROATE REVERSES IMATINIB RESISTANCE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA. THE EPIGENETIC DRUGS HYDRALAZINE AND VALPROATE WERE ADMINISTERED IN A COMPASSIONATE MANNER TO 8 PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (CML) REFRACTORY TO IMATINIB. TWO PATIENTS HAD A COMPLETE HEMATOLOGIC RESPONSE (25%),1 MAJOR CYTOGENETIC RESPONSE, 1 COMPLETE CYTOGENETIC RESPONSE (25% ANY CYTOGENETIC RESPONSE), AND 3 (37.5%)STABLE DISEASE. NO GRADE 3 OR 4 TOXICITY WAS OBSERVED. THESE RESULTS SHOW THE ABILITY OF EPIGENETIC THERAPY TO REVERT IMATINIB RESISTANCE. BACKGROUND: EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS PARTICIPATE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACQUIRED RESISTANCE TO IMATINIB, HENCE, THE DNA METHYLATION, AND HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS HYDRALAZINE AND VALPROATE, RESPECTIVELY, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO OVERCOME IT. PATIENT AND METHODS: A SERIES OF 8 PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (CML) REFRACTORY TO IMATINIB MESYLATE WITH NO ACCESS TO SECOND-GENERATION TYROSINE KINASE INHIBITORS WERE TREATED WITH HYDRALAZINE AND VALPROATE IN A COMPASSIONATE MANNER. CLINICAL EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF THESE DRUGS ADDED TO IMATINIB MESYLATE WERE EVALUATED. RESULTS: TWO PATIENTS WERE IN THE BLAST PHASE, 5 WERE IN THE ACCELERATED PHASE, AND 1 WAS IN THE CHRONIC PHASE. ALL THE PATIENTS CONTINUED WITH THE SAME DOSE OF IMATINIB THAT THEY HAD BEEN RECEIVING AT THE TIME OF DEVELOPMENT OF RESISTANCE, WITH A MEDIAN DOSE OF 600 MG DAILY (RANGE, 400-800 MG). THE MEDIAN TIME FROM DIAGNOSIS OF CML TO THE START OF HYDRALAZINE AND VALPROATE WAS 53.6 MONTHS (RANGE, 19-84 MONTHS). TWO (25%) PATIENTS HAD A COMPLETE HEMATOLOGIC RESPONSE, ONE (12.5%) HAD AN MAJOR CYTOGENETIC RESPONSE, AND ONE (12.5%) HAD A COMPLETE CYTOGENETIC RESPONSE. THREE (37.5%) PATIENTS HAD STABLE DISEASE, AND ONLY ONE (12.5%) PATIENT FAILED TO RESPOND. AT A MEDIAN FOLLOW-UP TIME OF 18 MONTHS (RANGE, 3-18 MONTHS), THE MEDIAN SURVIVAL HAD NOT BEEN REACHED, AND THE PROJECTED OVERALL SURVIVAL WAS 63%. ALL THE PATIENTS HAD MILD NEUROLOGIC TOXICITY, INCLUDING DISTAL TREMOR AND SOMNOLENCE. NO GRADE 3 OR 4 TOXICITY WAS OBSERVED. CONCLUSIONS: OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE EPIGENETIC DRUGS HYDRALAZINE AND VALPROATE REVERT THE RESISTANCE TO IMATINIB IN PATIENTS WITH CML. 2012 10 6817 51 [FACIOSCAPULOHUMERAL MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY: REPORT OF SEVEN PATIENTS]. BACKGROUND: FACIOSCAPULOHUMERAL MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY IS THE THIRD MOST COMMON MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY WITH AN ESTIMATED PREVALENCE OF 1 PER 20.000 AND A NORMAL LIFE EXPECTANCY IN THE MAJORITY OF PATIENTS. HOWEVER, APPROXIMATELY 15% OF PATIENTS BECOME WHEELCHAIR BOUND IN THE COURSE OF THEIR LIFE. IT IS A HEREDITARY AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT DISEASE WITH HIGH (95%) PENETRANCE BY THE AGE OF 20, BUT WITH VARIABLE DEGREE OF PHENOTYPIC EXPRESSION EVEN IN THE SAME FAMILY GROUP. SYMPTOMS FREQUENTLY START IN THE SECOND DECADE OF LIFE, WITH FACIAL AND SCAPULAR WEAKNESS. AIM: TO REPORT THE CLINICAL FEATURES OF SEVEN PATIENTS WITH THE DISEASE, SEEN AT A PUBLIC HOSPITAL. MATERIAL AND METHODS: ANALYSIS OF SEVEN PATIENTS WITH GENETIC STUDY SEEN IN A PUBLIC HOSPITAL IN SANTIAGO. RESULTS: THE AGE OF PATIENTS FLUCTUATED FROM 18 TO 61 YEARS AND FOUR WERE FEMALES. THE MEAN AGE AT ONSET OF SYMPTOMS WAS 29 YEARS AND FOUR HAD A FAMILY HISTORY OF THE DISEASE. THE USUAL PRESENTING COMPLAINT WAS ARM OR SHOULDER ASYMMETRIC WEAKNESS. FOUR PATIENTS HAD BONE PAIN. FACIAL INVOLVEMENT WAS PRESENT IN FOUR. A GENETIC STUDY WAS DONE IN FIVE PATIENTS, THE OTHER TWO PATIENTS WERE RELATIVES, CONFIRMING THE CONTRACTION OR LOWER NUMBER OF REPETITIONS IN D4Z4 REGION. AFTER 12 YEARS OF FOLLOW UP ONLY 2 PATIENTS OLDER THAN 60 YEARS CANNOT WORK AND ONE FEMALE PATIENTS IS IN A SEMI DEPENDENT STATE AT THE AGE OF 30. CONCLUSIONS: THE CLINICAL WORKUP IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND THE TIMELY INDICATION OF GENETIC STUDIES ARE HIGHLIGHTED, TO AVOID UNNECESSARY AND INVASIVE PROCEDURES. THE VARIABILITY IN THE PHENOTYPIC EXPRESSION IN A SIMILAR GENETIC DEFECT IS DISCUSSED AND THE GENETIC OR EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF THIS MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ARE DESCRIBED. 2015 11 780 51 CELL-FREE DNA PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION IN PLASMA AS A DIAGNOSTIC MARKER FOR PANCREATIC ADENOCARCINOMA. BACKGROUND: PANCREATIC CANCER HAS A 5-YEAR SURVIVAL RATE OF ONLY 5-7%. DIFFICULTIES IN DETECTING PANCREATIC CANCER AT EARLY STAGES RESULTS IN THE HIGH MORTALITY AND SUBSTANTIATES THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS. SURGERY IS THE ONLY CURATIVE TREATMENT AND UNFORTUNATELY ONLY POSSIBLE IN LOCALIZED TUMOURS. A DIAGNOSTIC BIOMARKER FOR PANCREATIC CANCER WILL HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON PATIENT SURVIVAL BY FACILITATING EARLY DETECTION AND THE POSSIBILITY FOR CURATIVE TREATMENT. DNA PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION IS A MECHANISM OF EARLY CARCINOGENESIS, WHICH CAN CAUSE INACTIVATION OF TUMOUR SUPPRESSOR GENES. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION IN A PANEL OF SELECTED GENES FROM CELL-FREE DNA, AS A DIAGNOSTIC MARKER FOR PANCREATIC ADENOCARCINOMA. METHODS: PATIENTS WITH SUSPECTED OR BIOPSY-VERIFIED PANCREATIC CANCER WERE INCLUDED PROSPECTIVELY AND CONSECUTIVELY. PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC/ACUTE PANCREATITIS WERE INCLUDED AS ADDITIONAL BENIGN CONTROL GROUPS. BASED ON AN OPTIMIZED ACCELERATED BISULFITE TREATMENT PROTOCOL, METHYLATION-SPECIFIC PCR OF A 28 GENE PANEL WAS PERFORMED ON PLASMA SAMPLES. A DIAGNOSTIC PREDICTION MODEL WAS DEVELOPED BY MULTIVARIABLE LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS USING BACKWARD STEPWISE ELIMINATION. RESULTS: PATIENTS WITH PANCREATIC ADENOCARCINOMA (N = 95), CHRONIC PANCREATITIS (N = 97) AND ACUTE PANCREATITIS (N = 59) AND PATIENTS SCREENED, BUT NEGATIVE FOR PANCREATIC ADENOCARCINOMA (N = 27), WERE INCLUDED. THE DIFFERENCE IN MEAN NUMBER OF METHYLATED GENES IN THE CANCER GROUP (8.41 (95% CI 7.62-9.20)) VS THE TOTAL CONTROL GROUP (4.74 (95% CI 4.40-5.08)) WAS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.001). A DIAGNOSTIC PREDICTION MODEL (AGE >65, BMP3, RASSF1A, BNC1, MESTV2, TFPI2, APC, SFRP1 AND SFRP2) HAD AN AREA UNDER THE CURVE OF 0.86 (SENSITIVITY 76%, SPECIFICITY 83%). THE MODEL PERFORMANCE WAS INDEPENDENT OF CANCER STAGE. CONCLUSIONS: CELL-FREE DNA PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A DIAGNOSTIC MARKER FOR PANCREATIC ADENOCARCINOMA AND DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN MALIGNANT AND BENIGN PANCREATIC DISEASE. THIS STUDY BRINGS US CLOSER TO A CLINICAL USEFUL DIAGNOSTIC MARKER FOR PANCREATIC CANCER, WHICH IS URGENTLY NEEDED. EXTERNAL VALIDATION IS, HOWEVER, REQUIRED BEFORE THE TEST CAN BE APPLIED IN THE CLINIC. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV, NCT02079363. 2016 12 2960 32 GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MARKERS IN THE EVALUATION OF PANCREATIC MASSES. BACKGROUND: METHYLATION MARKERS HAVE SHOWN PROMISE IN THE EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF PANCREATIC CARCINOMA. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE DIAGNOSTIC UTILITY OF HYPERMETHYLATION STATUS OF CANDIDATE GENES IN COMBINATION WITH KRAS MUTATION DETECTION IN THE EVALUATION OF PANCREATIC MASSES. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: SIXTY-ONE FINE NEEDLE ASPIRATES OF PANCREATIC MASSES (43 PANCREATIC ADENOCARCINOMAS AND 18 CHRONIC PANCREATITIS) WERE STUDIED. METHYLATION STATUS OF HRH2, EN1, SPARC, CDH13 AND APC WERE ANALYSED USING MELTING CURVE ANALYSIS AFTER DNA BISULFITE TREATMENT. KRAS MUTATIONS WERE ALSO ANALYSED. RESULTS: THE METHYLATION PANEL HAD A SENSITIVITY OF 73% (27 OF 37, CI 95% 56 TO 86%) AND A SPECIFICITY OF 100% WHENEVER TWO OR MORE PROMOTERS WERE FOUND HYPERMETHYLATED. KRAS MUTATIONS SHOWED A SENSITIVITY OF 77% (33 OF 43, CI 95% 62 TO 88%) AND A SPECIFICITY OF 100%. BOTH MOLECULAR ANALYSES ADDED USEFUL INFORMATION TO CYTOLOGY BY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF INFORMATIVE CASES. WHEN GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ANALYSES WERE COMBINED SENSITIVITY WAS 84% (36 OF 43 CI 95% 69 TO 93%) MAINTAINING A 100% SPECIFICITY. CONCLUSIONS: ANALYSIS OF HYPERMETHYLATION STATUS OF A PANEL OF GENES AND KRAS MUTATION DETECTION OFFER A SIMILAR DIAGNOSTIC YIELD IN THE EVALUATION OF PANCREATIC MASSES. THE COMBINED MOLECULAR ANALYSIS INCREASES THE NUMBER OF INFORMATIVE CASES WITHOUT DIMINISHING SPECIFICITY. 2013 13 3136 40 GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION LEVELS IN WHITE BLOOD CELLS OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEROIN USE DISORDER. A PROSPECTIVE STUDY. BACKGROUND: INCREASING SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SHOWS THE SIGNIFICANT ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN DRUG USE DISORDER, ABSTINENCE AND RELAPSE. STUDIES ON HUMAN SUBJECTS ARE LIMITED COMPARED TO THOSE ON ANIMALS, FOR VARIOUS REASONS SUCH AS POLY-SUBSTANCE ABUSE, HIGH DROP-OUT RATE AND TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. OBJECTIVES: OUR GOAL WAS TO EVALUATE WHETHER A MONITORED ABSTINENCE PERIOD OF 21 DAYS COULD INDUCE CHANGES IN GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION IN CHRONIC HEROIN USERS. METHOD: IN THE CURRENT STUDY, WE PRESENT DATA ON GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION ON A SET OF 18 MALE PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEROIN USE DISORDER, CAREFULLY SELECTED BASED ON INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA, WHO WERE HOSPITALIZED AND CLOSELY MONITORED DURING A 21-DAY DETOXIFICATION PROGRAM, ONE OF THE FEW WHERE NO OPIOID AGONIST IS ADMINISTERED. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE SAMPLED TWICE, ONCE UPON ENROLMENT TO THE PROGRAM AND ONCE UPON COMPLETION. RESULTS: ACCORDING TO OUR RESULTS, NO DIFFERENCE IN GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION WAS DETECTED BETWEEN SAMPLES COLLECTED UPON ENROLMENT AND SAMPLES COLLECTED UPON COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAM. CONCLUSION: THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY DO NOT RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE 21-DAY ABSTINENCE PERIOD WAS NOT LONG ENOUGH TO OBSERVE CHANGES IN GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION, OR THAT ABSTINENCE INDUCED SITE-SPECIFIC METHYLATION CHANGES (BUT NOT GLOBAL CHANGES), THAT CERTAINLY MERIT FURTHER EVALUATION. 2021 14 6547 45 TRANSCRIPTOMICS OF LONG-TERM MEDITATION PRACTICE: EVIDENCE FOR PREVENTION OR REVERSAL OF STRESS EFFECTS HARMFUL TO HEALTH. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: STRESS CAN OVERLOAD ADAPTIVE MECHANISMS, LEADING TO EPIGENETIC EFFECTS HARMFUL TO HEALTH. RESEARCH ON THE REVERSAL OF THESE EFFECTS IS IN ITS INFANCY. EARLY RESULTS SUGGEST SOME MEDITATION TECHNIQUES HAVE HEALTH BENEFITS THAT GROW WITH REPEATED PRACTICE. THIS STUDY FOCUSED ON POSSIBLE TRANSCRIPTOMIC EFFECTS OF 38 YEARS OF TWICE-DAILY TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION((R)) (TM((R))) PRACTICE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: FIRST, USING ILLUMINA((R)) BEADCHIP MICROARRAY TECHNOLOGY, DIFFERENCES IN GLOBAL GENE EXPRESSION IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) WERE SOUGHT BETWEEN HEALTHY PRACTITIONERS AND TIGHTLY MATCHED CONTROLS (N = 12, AGE 65). SECOND, THESE MICROARRAY RESULTS WERE VERIFIED ON A SUBSET OF GENES USING QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (QPCR) AND WERE VALIDATED USING QPCR IN LARGER TM AND CONTROL GROUPS (N = 45, AGE 63). BIOINFORMATICS INVESTIGATION EMPLOYED INGENUITY((R)) PATHWAY ANALYSIS (IPA((R))), DAVID, GENOMATIX, AND R PACKAGES. RESULTS: THE 200 GENES AND LOCI FOUND TO MEET STRICT CRITERIA FOR DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION IN THE MICROARRAY EXPERIMENT SHOWED CONTRASTING PATTERNS OF EXPRESSION THAT DISTINGUISHED THE TWO GROUPS. DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION RELATING TO IMMUNE FUNCTION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY WERE MOST APPARENT. IN THE TM GROUP, RELATIVE TO THE CONTROL, ALL 49 GENES ASSOCIATED WITH INFLAMMATION WERE DOWNREGULATED, WHILE GENES ASSOCIATED WITH ANTIVIRAL AND ANTIBODY COMPONENTS OF THE DEFENSE RESPONSE WERE UPREGULATED. THE LARGEST EXPRESSION DIFFERENCES WERE SHOWN BY SIX GENES RELATED TO ERYTHROCYTE FUNCTION THAT APPEARED TO REFLECT A CONDITION OF LOWER ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN THE CONTROL GROUP. RESULTS SUPPORTING THESE GENE EXPRESSION DIFFERENCES WERE OBTAINED WITH QPCR-MEASURED EXPRESSION BOTH IN THE WELL-MATCHED MICROARRAY GROUPS AND IN THE LARGER, LESS WELL-MATCHED GROUPS. CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS ARE CONSISTENT WITH PREDICTIONS BASED ON RESULTS FROM EARLIER RANDOMIZED TRIALS OF MEDITATION AND MAY PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR STRESS-RELATED MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING REDUCTIONS IN ANXIETY, POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD), CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD), AND OTHER CHRONIC DISORDERS AND DISEASES. 2021 15 5283 48 PROPHYLACTIC OR PREEMPTIVE LOW-DOSE AZACITIDINE AND DONOR LYMPHOCYTE INFUSION TO PREVENT DISEASE RELAPSE FOLLOWING ALLOGENEIC TRANSPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH HIGH-RISK ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA OR MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME. BECAUSE OF THE PERSISTENTLY HIGH RATES OF RELAPSE OF PATIENTS WITH HIGH-RISK ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA (AML) AND MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS) FOLLOWING ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION (ALLO-HSCT), POST-TRANSPLANTATION MAINTENANCE THERAPY HAS BEEN PROPOSED. WE PREVIOUSLY INITIATED A PHASE II TRIAL IN WHICH EPIGENETIC THERAPY WAS COMBINED WITH IMMUNOTHERAPY IN AN ATTEMPT TO REDUCE DISEASE RELAPSE. IN THAT STUDY, LOW-DOSE AZACITIDINE (AZA) AND ESCALATING DOSES OF DONOR LYMPHOCYTE INFUSION (DLI) WERE GIVEN AS POST-ALLO-HSCT MAINTENANCE TREATMENT. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, WE RETROSPECTIVELY ANALYZE A LARGER COHORT OF PATIENTS RECEIVING POST-TRANSPLANTATION MAINTENANCE THERAPY AND PROVIDE UPDATES ON SOME PATIENTS OF THE EARLIER STUDY. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT STUDY WERE TO ANALYZE THE CUMULATIVE INCIDENCE OF RELAPSE (CIR), OVERALL SURVIVAL (OS), AND PROGRESSION-FREE SURVIVAL (PFS) AND THE INCIDENCE OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE (GVHD) OF PATIENTS WITH HIGH-RISK AML OR MDS RECEIVING POST-TRANSPLANTATION MAINTENANCE TREATMENT WITH AZA WITH OR WITHOUT DLI. WE RETROSPECTIVELY ANALYZED 77 PATIENTS (54 WITH AML, 23 WITH MDS) CONSIDERED AT HIGH RISK BASED ON EITHER THEIR GENOMIC OR CLINICAL STATUS AT TRANSPLANTATION. FOLLOWING ALLOGENEIC TRANSPLANTATION, THEY RECEIVED AT LEAST 1 CYCLE OF PROPHYLACTIC OR PREEMPTIVE LOW-DOSE AZA WITH OR WITHOUT ESCALATING DOSES OF DLI TO PREVENT DISEASE RELAPSE. ALMOST ONE-HALF OF THE PATIENTS (47%) WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE THE FULL 12 CYCLES OF SCHEDULED AZA, AND A MAJORITY (79%) RECEIVED AT LEAST 1 DLI. WITH A MEDIAN FOLLOW-UP OF 24 MONTHS, 19 PATIENTS (25%; 16 WITH AML, 3 WITH MDS) RELAPSED, AT A MEDIAN OF 9.8 MONTHS (RANGE, 4 TO 58.6 MONTHS), GIVING A 22% CIR AT 24 MONTHS. OS AND PFS AT 24 MONTHS WERE 70.8% AND 68.3%, RESPECTIVELY. THE CUMULATIVE INCIDENCES OF GRADE II-IV ACUTE GVHD AND CHRONIC GVHD WERE 27.4% AND 45%, RESPECTIVELY. ONLY A MINORITY OF PATIENTS (11%) REQUIRED DELAYED ADMINISTRATION OF AZA. THESE FINDINGS CONFIRM THAT AZA-DLI MAINTENANCE IS BOTH TOLERABLE AND EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING THE RISK OF POST-TRANSPLANTATION RELAPSE. 2021 16 667 65 BLOOD-BASED EPIGENOME-WIDE ANALYSES OF 19 COMMON DISEASE STATES: A LONGITUDINAL, POPULATION-BASED LINKED COHORT STUDY OF 18,413 SCOTTISH INDIVIDUALS. BACKGROUND: DNA METHYLATION IS A DYNAMIC EPIGENETIC MECHANISM THAT OCCURS AT CYTOSINE-PHOSPHATE-GUANINE DINUCLEOTIDE (CPG) SITES. EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES (EWAS) INVESTIGATE THE STRENGTH OF ASSOCIATION BETWEEN METHYLATION AT INDIVIDUAL CPG SITES AND HEALTH OUTCOMES. ALTHOUGH BLOOD METHYLATION MAY ACT AS A PERIPHERAL MARKER OF COMMON DISEASE STATES, PREVIOUS EWAS HAVE TYPICALLY FOCUSED ONLY ON INDIVIDUAL CONDITIONS AND HAVE HAD LIMITED POWER TO DISCOVER DISEASE-ASSOCIATED LOCI. THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE ASSOCIATION OF BLOOD DNA METHYLATION WITH THE PREVALENCE OF 14 DISEASE STATES AND THE INCIDENCE OF 19 DISEASE STATES IN A SINGLE POPULATION OF OVER 18,000 SCOTTISH INDIVIDUALS. METHODS AND FINDINGS: DNA METHYLATION WAS ASSAYED AT 752,722 CPG SITES IN WHOLE-BLOOD SAMPLES FROM 18,413 VOLUNTEERS IN THE FAMILY-STRUCTURED, POPULATION-BASED COHORT STUDY GENERATION SCOTLAND (AGE RANGE 18 TO 99 YEARS). EWAS TESTED FOR CROSS-SECTIONAL ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN BASELINE CPG METHYLATION AND 14 PREVALENT DISEASE STATES, AND FOR LONGITUDINAL ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN BASELINE CPG METHYLATION AND 19 INCIDENT DISEASE STATES. PREVALENT CASES WERE SELF-REPORTED ON HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRES AT THE BASELINE. INCIDENT CASES WERE IDENTIFIED USING LINKAGE TO SCOTTISH PRIMARY (READ 2) AND SECONDARY (ICD-10) CARE RECORDS, AND THE CENSORING DATE WAS SET TO OCTOBER 2020. THE MEAN TIME-TO-DIAGNOSIS RANGED FROM 5.0 YEARS (FOR CHRONIC PAIN) TO 11.7 YEARS (FOR CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) HOSPITALISATION). THE 19 DISEASE STATES CONSIDERED IN THIS STUDY WERE SELECTED IF THEY WERE PRESENT ON THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION'S 10 LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH AND DISEASE BURDEN OR INCLUDED IN BASELINE SELF-REPORT QUESTIONNAIRES. EWAS MODELS WERE ADJUSTED FOR AGE AT METHYLATION TYPING, SEX, ESTIMATED WHITE BLOOD CELL COMPOSITION, POPULATION STRUCTURE, AND 5 COMMON LIFESTYLE RISK FACTORS. A STRUCTURED LITERATURE REVIEW WAS ALSO CONDUCTED TO IDENTIFY EXISTING EWAS FOR ALL 19 DISEASE STATES TESTED. THE MEDLINE, EMBASE, WEB OF SCIENCE, AND PREPRINT SERVERS WERE SEARCHED TO RETRIEVE RELEVANT ARTICLES INDEXED AS OF MARCH 27, 2023. FIFTY-FOUR OF APPROXIMATELY 2,000 INDEXED ARTICLES MET OUR INCLUSION CRITERIA: ASSAYED BLOOD-BASED DNA METHYLATION, HAD >20 INDIVIDUALS IN EACH COMPARISON GROUP, AND EXAMINED ONE OF THE 19 CONDITIONS CONSIDERED. FIRST, WE ASSESSED WHETHER THE ASSOCIATIONS IDENTIFIED IN OUR STUDY WERE REPORTED IN PREVIOUS STUDIES. WE IDENTIFIED 69 ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN CPGS AND THE PREVALENCE OF 4 CONDITIONS, OF WHICH 58 WERE NEWLY DESCRIBED. THE CONDITIONS WERE BREAST CANCER, CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE, ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE, AND TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS. WE ALSO UNCOVERED 64 CPGS THAT ASSOCIATED WITH THE INCIDENCE OF 2 DISEASE STATES (COPD AND TYPE 2 DIABETES), OF WHICH 56 WERE NOT REPORTED IN THE SURVEYED LITERATURE. SECOND, WE ASSESSED REPLICATION ACROSS EXISTING STUDIES, WHICH WAS DEFINED AS THE REPORTING OF AT LEAST 1 COMMON SITE IN >2 STUDIES THAT EXAMINED THE SAME CONDITION. ONLY 6/19 DISEASE STATES HAD EVIDENCE OF SUCH REPLICATION. THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY INCLUDE THE NONCONSIDERATION OF MEDICATION DATA AND A POTENTIAL LACK OF GENERALIZABILITY TO INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE NOT OF SCOTTISH AND EUROPEAN ANCESTRY. CONCLUSIONS: WE DISCOVERED OVER 100 ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN BLOOD METHYLATION SITES AND COMMON DISEASE STATES, INDEPENDENTLY OF MAJOR CONFOUNDING RISK FACTORS, AND A NEED FOR GREATER STANDARDISATION AMONG EWAS ON HUMAN DISEASE. 2023 17 3588 44 IMPACT OF TP53 GENE PROMOTER METHYLATION ON CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA PATHOGENESIS AND PROGRESSION. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CLL) IS A MALIGNANT LYMPHOID DISORDER THAT RESULTS FROM THE OVERGROWTH OF MATURE-LOOKING LYMPHOID CELLS IN THE BLOOD AND LYMPHATIC TISSUE. VARIOUS CLINICAL PRESENTATIONS HAVE BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO THE DISEASE AS A RESULT OF THE DIFFERENT UNDERLYING GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. THE CURRENT STUDY HAS BEEN INITIATED TO STUDY THE ROLE OF AN EPIGENETIC ALTERATION AFFECTING THE PROMOTER OF THE TP53GENE ON CLL PATHOGENESIS AND PROGRESSION. METHODS: THE CURRENT STUDY INVOLVED 54 NEWLY DIAGNOSED PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH CLL AS WELL AS 30 NORMAL INDIVIDUALS AS CONTROLS. AFTER OBTAINING VERBAL CONSENT, DATA COLLECTION WAS DONE AND THE BLOOD COLLECTED FROM ALL ENROLLED INDIVIDUALS FOR HEMATOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AS WELL AS FOR MOLECULAR CATEGORIZATION OF TP53 METHYLATION STATUS. METHYLATION-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (MS-PCR) TECHNIQUE WAS USED TO DEFINE THE METHYLATION STATUS OF THE TP53 GENE PROMOTER THAT ENCOMPASSES DNA EXTRACTION, BISULFITE CONVERSION, CONVENTIONAL PCR AMPLIFICATION, RUNNING ON AGAROSE GEL AND DOCUMENTATION. FINALLY, STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS DONE TO ASSESS ANY CORRELATION OF THE TP53 EPIGENETIC ALTERATION TO THE DISEASE ETIOLOGY AND THE PROGRESSION. RESULTS: IN THE CURRENT STUDY, ALL CONTROLS AND 42 OF 54 PATIENTS SHOW UNMETHYLATED TP53 GENE PROMOTER; ON THE OTHER HAND, THE METHYLATED PROMOTER WAS DETECTED AMONG 12 PATIENTS WITH A P-VALUE OF 0.001. TP53 GENE PROMOTER METHYLATION SIGNIFICANTLY LINKED TO REDUCED PLATELET COUNT (P-VALUE OF 0.047) AND ADVANCED STAGE AT PRESENTATION (P-VALUE OF 0.076). NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE SEEN AMONG BOTH METHYLATED AND UNMETHYLATED TP53 PROMOTERS IN RELATION TO THE AGE OF THE AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS, TOTAL WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNTS AND HEMOGLOBIN LEVEL OF THE AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS. CONCLUSION: THE CURRENT STUDY REVEALED A SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION OF TP53 GENE PROMOTER METHYLATION TO CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA PATHOGENESIS AND LOWER PLATELET COUNTS. 2019 18 88 51 A PHASE I BIOLOGICAL STUDY OF MG98, AN OLIGODEOXYNUCLEOTIDE ANTISENSE TO DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE 1, IN PATIENTS WITH HIGH-RISK MYELODYSPLASIA AND ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA. PURPOSE: EPIGENETIC SILENCING VIA ABERRANT PROMOTER DNA HYPERMETHYLATION OF NORMAL GENES HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS A LEUKEMOGENIC MECHANISM IN MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDS) AND ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIAS (AML). WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT MG98, AN OLIGONUCLEOTIDE ANTISENSE TO DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE 1 (DNMT1), COULD REVERSE MALIGNANT PHENOTYPES BY DOWN-REGULATING DNMT1 AND INDUCING REEXPRESSION OF HYPERMETHYLATED GENES. THIS PHASE I STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE A BIOLOGICALLY EFFECTIVE DOSE AND DESCRIBE THE SAFETY OF MG98 IN MDS/AML. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: TWENTY-THREE PATIENTS WITH MDS (N = 11) AND AML (N = 12) WERE ENROLLED. BIOLOGICALLY EFFECTIVE DOSE WAS DEFINED AS THE DOSE AT WHICH > OR =50% OF PATIENTS EXPERIENCED >50% REDUCTION IN DNMT1 EXPRESSION WITH ACCEPTABLE TOXICITY. ESCALATING DOSES OF MG98 WERE ADMINISTERED ACCORDING TO TWO SCHEDULES (2-HOUR I.V. BOLUS FOLLOWED BY 5-DAY CONTINUOUS I.V. INFUSION EVERY 14 DAYS, OR 14-DAY CONTINUOUS I.V. INFUSION EVERY 21 DAYS). RESULTS: DNMT1 DOWN-REGULATION WAS OBSERVED IN 8 PATIENTS. HOWEVER, BIOLOGICALLY EFFECTIVE DOSE WAS NOT REACHED. REEXPRESSION OF TARGET GENES (P15, WIT1, AND ER) WAS OBSERVED IN 12 PATIENTS BUT DID NOT CORRELATE WITH DNMT1 DOWN-REGULATION. ESCALATION WAS STOPPED DUE TO DOSE-LIMITING TOXICITIES (BONE PAIN, NAUSEA, AND FEVER). NO OBJECTIVE CLINICAL RESPONSE WAS OBSERVED. DISEASE STABILIZATION OCCURRED IN 6 (26%) PATIENTS. CONCLUSIONS: NO PHARMACODYNAMIC OR CLINICAL ACTIVITY WAS OBSERVED AT MG98 DOSES AND SCHEDULES ADMINISTERED. DESPITE THIS, PURSUING DNMT1 DOWN-REGULATION REMAINS A SOUND APPROACH FOR TARGETING ABERRANT EPIGENETICS IN AML/MDS. FUTURE STUDIES WITH DIFFERENT FORMULATION AND/OR DOSES AND SCHEDULES WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENSURE EFFICIENT MG98 INTRACELLULAR UPTAKE AND FULLY EVALUATE ITS THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL. 2008 19 6878 44 [REGIONAL EXPERIENCE OF A COMPREHENSIVE DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE ADOLESCENTS' HEALTH STATUS WITH POST-COVID-19 SYNDROME DURING AFTERCARE IN A SANATORIUM]. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SANATORIUM-RESORT THERAPY IMPACT ON CHILDREN WITH POST-COVID-19 SYNDROME OF VARIOUS SEVERITY, AS WELL AS TO REVEAL ASSOCIATION OF ITS SEVERITY WITH FAMILY HISTORY DATA AND GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS OF ALPHA-1-ANTITRYPSIN-SERPIN-1 COMPLEX. MATERIAL AND METHODS: THIS 2-WEEK RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY INVOLVED 42 ADOLESCENTS AFTER NEW CORONAVIRUS INFECTION (COVID-19). THE FIRST GROUP INCLUDED 28 (67%) PATIENTS (MEAN AGE 13.1+/-0.8 YEARS) AFTER MILD COVID-19 (WITHOUT CONFIRMED CORONAVIRUS PNEUMONIA), THE SECOND GROUP - 14 (33%) PATIENTS (MEAN AGE 14.5+/-0.1.2 YEARS) AFTER MODERATE OR SEVERE DISEASE (WITH CONFIRMED CORONAVIRUS PNEUMONIA). A COMPLEX OF PROCEDURES, ACCORDING TO THE APPROVED STANDARD, WAS PRESCRIBED FOR ALL PATIENTS ADMITTED AFTER OUTPATIENT AND HOSPITAL TREATMENT TO THE PULMONOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE CHILDREN'S SANATORIUM IN ORDER TO AFTERCARE. THE CERTAIN FOLLOW-UP PARAMETERS WERE EVALUATED: SYMPTOMS SEVERITY, LIFE QUALITY, RESPIRATORY FUNCTION AND RESPIRATORY GASES, AS WELL AS FAMILY MEDICAL HISTORY AND ALPHA-1-ANTITRYPSIN-SERPIN-1 COMPLEX. RESULTS: PATIENTS AFTER MODERATE AND SEVERE COVID-19 HAD INITIALLY LOWER AND LESS DYNAMIC GROWTH OF INTEGRAL LIFE QUALITY INDEX, MORE TORPID FOLLOW-UP RATES OF SPIROMETRY, PULSE OXIMETRY AND EXHALED GASES. ADDITIONALLY, THE HIGHER INCIDENCE DEGREE OF ADVERSE FAMILY MEDICAL HISTORY ASSOCIATED WITH RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE GROUP AFTER NEW CORONAVIRUS INFECTION. MOREOVER, RELATIVELY MORE DEFICIENT ALPHA-1-ANTITRYPSIN AND MORE FREQUENT HETEROZYGOUS POLYMORPHISM TYPE OF SERPIN-1 WERE FOUND IN THE GROUP AFTER SEVERE NEW CORONAVIRUS INFECTION. CONCLUSION: THE REVEALED COMPLEX OF EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC FACTORS MAY INDICATE VARIOUS RISK AND DEVELOPMENT PHENOTYPES OF BOTH ACUTE AND CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES. 2023 20 3560 38 IMPACT OF CLINICAL, CYTOGENETIC, AND MOLECULAR PROFILES ON LONG-TERM SURVIVAL AFTER TRANSPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) IS A HETEROGENEOUS GROUP OF CLONAL HEMATOPOIETIC MALIGNANCIES WITH VARIABLE CLINICAL AND MOLECULAR FEATURES. WE ANALYZED LONG-TERM RESULTS OF ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC CELL TRANSPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH CMML AND DETERMINED CLINICAL AND MOLECULAR RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OUTCOMES. DATA FROM 129 PATIENTS, AGED 7-74 (MEDIAN 55) YEARS, AT VARIOUS STAGES OF THE DISEASE AND TRANSPLANTED FROM RELATED OR UNRELATED DONORS WERE ANALYZED. USING A PANEL OF 75 GENES SOMATIC MUTATIONS PRESENT BEFORE HEMATOPOIETIC CELL TRANSPLANTATION WERE IDENTIFIED IN 52 PATIENTS. THE PROGRESSION-FREE SURVIVAL RATE AT 10 YEARS WAS 29%. THE MAJOR CAUSE OF DEATH WAS RELAPSE (32%), WHICH WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERSE CYTOGENETICS (HAZARD RATIO, 3.77; P=0.0002), CMML PROGNOSTIC SCORING SYSTEM (HAZARD RATIO, 14.3, P=0.01), AND MD ANDERSON PROGNOSTIC SCORES (HAZARD RATIO, 9.4; P=0.005). MORTALITY WAS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH-RISK CYTOGENETICS (HAZARD RATIO, 1.88; P=0.01) AND HIGH HEMATOPOIETIC CELL TRANSPLANTATION COMORBIDITY INDEX (SCORE >/=4: HAZARD RATIO, 1.99; P=0.01). HIGH OVERALL MUTATION BURDEN (>/=10 MUTATIONS: HAZARD RATIO, 3.4; P=0.02), AND >/=4 MUTATED EPIGENETIC REGULATORY GENES (HAZARD RATIO 5.4; P=0.003) WERE LINKED TO RELAPSE. UNSUPERVISED CLUSTERING OF THE CORRELATION MATRIX REVEALED DISTINCT HIGH-RISK GROUPS WITH UNIQUE ASSOCIATIONS OF MUTATIONS AND CLINICAL FEATURES. CMML WITH A HIGH MUTATION BURDEN APPEARED TO BE DISTINCT FROM HIGH-RISK GROUPS DEFINED BY COMPLEX CYTOGENETICS. NEW TRANSPLANT STRATEGIES MUST BE DEVELOPED TO TARGET SPECIFIC DISEASE SUBGROUPS, STRATIFIED BY MOLECULAR PROFILING AND CLINICAL RISK FACTORS. 2020