HLA-DR protein status predicts survival in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated on the MACOP-B chemotherapy regimen

Loss of major histocompatibility class II (MHC class II) molecules on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has been associated with poor survival; however, none of these reports analysed a uniformly treated patient cohort. This study was designed to validate one MHC class II antigen, HLA-DR, as a prognostic marker in patients uniformly treated with the MACOP-B regimen. Immunostaining results were correlated with the international prognostic index (IPI) score and overall survival (OS). Of the 97 cases, 82 had interpretable staining. Of these, 52 expressed HLA-DR (median OS, 16.2 years) while 30 were negative (median OS, 4.2 years, P = 0.037). The IPI was also predictive of OS in the study group (P = 0.023). A Cox multivariate model established both IPI (P = 0.031) and HLA-DR (P = 0.04) as independent predictors of OS. This is the first demonstration of the prognostic relevance of HLA-DR in a uniformly treated DLBCL patient group.     

Age, functional capacity, and health-related quality of life in patients with heart failure

BACKGROUND: Although heart failure disproportionately affects older persons and is associated with significant physical disability, existing data on physical limitations and health-related quality of life (HRQL) derive largely from studies of younger subjects. We compared the relationship between functional limitation and HRQL between older and younger patients with heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated 546 outpatients with heart failure enrolled in a multicenter prospective cohort study. At baseline and 6 +/- 2 weeks later, functional status was assessed by New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification and 6-minute walk testing. HRQL was measured with the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ). Comparing older (age >65 years, n = 218) and younger patients (n = 328), we assessed baseline HRQL across strata of functional status. In the 484 patients who completed follow-up (194 older and 290 younger patients), we also assessed the changes in HRQL associated with changes in functional status over time. At baseline, older patients had better HRQL than younger patients (mean KCCQ score 60 +/- 25 versus 54 +/- 28, P = .005) in spite of worse NYHA class (mean 2.54 versus 2.35, P < .001) and lower 6-minute walk distances (824 +/- 378 versus 1064 +/- 371 feet, P < .001). After multivariable adjustment including baseline NYHA class, older age was independently correlated with better HRQL (beta = +7.9 points, P < .001). At follow-up, older patients with a deterioration in NYHA class experienced marked declines in HRQL compared with younger patients (mean HRQL change of -14.4 points versus +0.3 points, respectively, P < .001). Analyses using 6-minute walk distance as the functional measure yielded similar results. CONCLUSIONS: Although older patients with heart failure have relatively good HRQL in spite of significant functional limitations, they are at risk for worsening HRQL with further decline in functional status. These results underscore the importance of treatments aimed at maintaining functional status in older persons with heart failure, including those with significant baseline functional limitations.     

Regional variations in racial differences in the treatment of elderly patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction

PURPOSE: Racial differences in the treatment of patients with myocardial infarction are often presented as nationally consistent patterns of care, despite known regional variations in quality of care. We sought to determine whether racial differences in myocardial infarction treatment vary by U.S. census region. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of medical record data from 138,938 elderly fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with myocardial infarction between 1994 and 1996. Patients were evaluated for the use (admission, discharge) of aspirin and beta-blockers, and cardiac procedures (cardiac catheterization, any coronary revascularization) within 60 days of admission. RESULTS: Nationally, black patients had lower crude rates of aspirin and beta-blocker use, cardiac catheterization, and coronary revascularization than did white patients. Racial differences in treatment, however, varied by region. Black patients in the Northeast had rates of aspirin use that were similar to those of white patients on admission (50.6% vs. 49.8%, P = 0.58) and at discharge (77.5% vs. 74.2%, P = 0.07), whereas racial differences were observed in the South (admission: 43.7% vs. 48.8%, P <0.001; discharge: 69.5% vs. 73.2%, P <0.001), Midwest (admission: 48.4% vs. 52.3%, P = 0.004), and West (admission: 49.2% vs. 56.2%, P <0.001; discharge: 70.7% vs. 76.2%, P = 0.02). Racial differences in beta-blocker use were comparable across regions (admission: P = 0.59, discharge: P = 0.89). There were no differences in cardiac catheterization use among black and white patients in the Northeast (38.9% vs. 40.5%, P = 0.24), as opposed to the Midwest (43.3% vs. 48.9%, P <0.001), South (39.2% vs. 48.5%, P <0.001), and West (38.3% vs. 48.6%, P <0.001). Similarly, racial differences in any coronary revascularization use were smallest in the Northeast (22.1% vs. 26.7%, P <0.001), greater in the Midwest (24.7% vs. 33.5%, P <0.001), and largest in the South (20.7% vs. 32.0%, P <0.001) and West (22.9% vs. 33.7%, P <0.001). Regional variations in racial differences persisted after multivariable adjustment for aspirin on admission (P = 0.09) and any coronary revascularization (P = 0.10). CONCLUSION: Racial differences in the use of some therapies for myocardial infarction in patients hospitalized between 1994 and 1996 varied by region, suggesting that national evaluations of racial differences in health care use may obscure potentially important regional variations.     

Left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiovascular mortality by race and ethnicity

Background

Left ventricular hypertrophy is a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular mortality. The contribution of left ventricular hypertrophy to racial and ethnic differences in cardiovascular mortality is poorly understood.

Methods

We used data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and from the National Death Index to compare mortality for those with an electrocardiographic (ECG) diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy to those without left ventricular hypertrophy separately for whites, African Americans, and Latinos. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to control for other known prognostic factors.

Results

ECG left ventricular hypertrophy was significantly associated with 10-year cardiovascular mortality in all 3 racial/ethnic groups, both unadjusted and adjusted for other known prognostic factors. The hazard ratio for this association was significantly greater for African Americans (2.31; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.55-3.42) than for whites and Latinos (1.32; 95% CI, 1.14-1.76 and 2.11; 95% CI, 1.35-3.30, respectively), independent of systolic blood pressure.

Conclusions

ECG left ventricular hypertrophy contributes more to the risk of cardiovascular mortality in African Americans than it does in whites. Using regression of ECG left ventricular hypertrophy as a goal of therapy might be a means to reduce racial differences in cardiovascular mortality; prospective validation is required.     

The relationship between B-type natriuretic peptide and health status in patients with heart failure

BACKGROUND: Although B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels have been proposed as a means of assessing disease severity in patients with heart failure, it is not known if BNP levels are correlated with health status (symptom burden, functional limitation, and quality of life). METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 342 outpatients with systolic heart failure from 14 centers at baseline and 6 +/- 2 weeks with BNP levels and the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ), a heart-failure-specific health status instrument. We assessed the correlation between KCCQ scores and BNP at baseline and changes in KCCQ according to changes in BNP levels between baseline and follow-up. Mean baseline BNP levels were 379 +/- 387 pg/mL and mean KCCQ summary scores were 62 +/- 23 points. Although baseline BNP and KCCQ were both associated with New York Heart Association classification (P < .001 for both), BNP and KCCQ were not correlated (r(2) = 0.008, P = .15). There was no significant relationship between changes in BNP and KCCQ regardless of the threshold used to define a clinically meaningful BNP change. For example, using >50% BNP change threshold, KCCQ improved by 3.7 +/- 14.2 in patients with decreasing BNP, improved by 1.7 +/- 13.6 in patients with no BNP change, and improved by 1.0 +/- 13.4 in patients with increasing BNP (P = .6). CONCLUSION: BNP and health status are not correlated in outpatients with heart failure in the short term. This suggests that these measures may assess different aspects of heart failure severity, and that physiologic measures do not reflect patients' perceptions of the impact of heart failure on their health status.