Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is characterized by progressive neurodegeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Why RGCs degenerate in low pressure POAG remains poorly understood. To gain mechanistic insights, we developed a novel mouse model based on a mutation in human optineurin associated with hereditary, low-pressure POAG. This mouse improves the design and phenotype of currently available optineurin mice, which showed high global overexpression. While both 18-month old optineurin and nontransgenic control mice showed an age-related decrease in healthy axons and RGCs, the expression of mutant optineurin enhanced axonal degeneration and decreased RGC survival. Mouse visual function was determined using visual evoked potentials, which revealed specific visual impairment in contrast sensitivity. The E50K optineurin transgenic mouse described here exhibited clinical features of POAG, and may be useful for mechanistic dissection of POAG and therapeutic development.

BackgroundCancers of the paranasal sinuses are rare tumors that tend to be aggressive and usually are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Despite being rare, these tumors include a wide spectrum of histological subtypes with different biological behaviors. Choosing the optimal treatment modalities and analyzing the different oncological outcomes is therefore challenging. This study aims to evaluate the role of induction chemotherapy prior to definitive local therapy for sinonasal malignancies.MethodsA systematic review of the literature in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was conducted. With the assistance of a medical librarian, data sources including MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane library, EMBASE, NCBI Bookshelf, National Guideline Clearinghouse, and Clinicaltrials.gov were searched using a customized search strategy that yielded 1758 articles. Inclusion criteria used were as follows: (1) the study has a patient population with 3 or more patients with previously untreated sinonasal malignancies; (2) patients underwent induction chemotherapy prior to definitive local therapy; (3) pretreatment staging information was documented; (4) overall survival was reported by histology type either in table or Kaplan‐Meier format. Nine studies with 220 patients ultimately met inclusion criteria and were analyzed in groups based on tumor histology.ResultsFor squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the 5‐year overall survival was 51%. For neuroendocrine tumors, the 5‐year overall survival was 78%. Eighteen percent (18%) of patients with pretreatment orbital involvement ultimately underwent orbital exenteration.ConclusionInduction chemotherapy in the management of sinonasal malignancies has similar overall survival outcomes as other standard treatment modalities and can be offered as an option to patients as part of multimodality therapy.

Follicular lymphoma (FL) patients treated with firstline R‐CHOP who experience progression of disease (POD) within 2 years have a shorter survival than those who do not have POD within 2 years. Whether this observation holds for patients treated initially with biologic immunotherapy alone is unknown. We performed a retrospective analysis of 174 patients pooled from three frontline rituximab (R)‐based nonchemotherapy doublet trials: R‐galiximab (Anti‐CD80, CALGB 50402), R‐epratuzumab (Anti‐CD22, CALGB 50701), and R‐lenalidomide (CALGB 50803) to determine outcomes of early progressors and risk factors for early POD, defined as progression within 24 months from study entry. Twenty‐eight percent (48/174) of patients had early POD. After adjusting for the Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI), patients with early POD from study entry had a worse OS compared with patients who did not progress within 2 years (HR = 4.33 (95% CI 1.50‐12.5), P = 0.007). For early POD, the 2‐year survival was 80% vs 99% for nonearly POD, and the 5‐year survival was 74% vs 90%, respectively. These findings suggest that the adverse survival of patients with early POD may be independent of initial treatment modality.