Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Improved Survival And Tumor Control With Interleukin-2 Is Associated With The Development Of Immune-Related Adverse Events: Data From The Proclaim, Brendan Curti, Gregory A Daniels, David F Mcdermott, Joseph I Clark, Howard L Kaufman, Theodore F Logan, Jatinder Singh, Meenu Kaur, Theresa L Luna, Nancy Gregory, Michael A Morse, Michael K K Wong, Janice P Dutcher

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: Immune related adverse events (irAEs) are associated with immunotherapy for cancer and while results suggest improvement in tumor control and overall survival in those experiencing irAEs, the long-term impact is debated. We evaluated irAE reports related to high dose interleukin-2 therapy (IL-2) documented in the PROCLAIM

METHODS: Reports on 1535 patients, including 623 with metastatic melanoma (mM) and 919 with metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC) (7 patients had both diseases), were queried for irAEs. The timing of the event was categorized as occurring before, during or after IL-2 or related to any checkpoint inhibitor (CPI). mM patients and mRCC …

A Pilot Study Of An Autologous Tumor-Derived Autophagosome Vaccine With Docetaxel In Patients With Stage Iv Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer., Rachel E Sanborn, Helen J Ross, Sandra Aung, Anupama Acheson, Tarsem Moudgil, Sachin Puri, Traci Hilton, Brenda Fisher, Todd Coffey, Christopher Paustian, Michael Neuberger, Edwin Walker, Hong-Ming Hu, Walter Urba, Bernard A Fox

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BACKGROUND: Tumor-derived autophagosome vaccines (DRibbles) have the potential to broaden immune response to poorly immunogenic tumors.

METHODS: Autologous vaccine generated from tumor cells harvested from pleural effusions was administered to patients with advanced NSCLC with the objectives of assessing safety and immune response. Four patients were vaccinated and evaluable for immune response; each received two to four doses of vaccine. Study therapy included two cycles of docetaxel 75 mg/m

RESULTS: Three of four patients had tumor cells available for testing. Autologous tumor-specific immune response was seen in two of the three, manifested by IL-5 (1 patient after 3 doses), and …

Interhospital Transfer Before Thrombectomy Is Associated With Delayed Treatment And Worse Outcome In The Stratis Registry (Systematic Evaluation Of Patients Treated With Neurothrombectomy Devices For Acute Ischemic Stroke)., Michael T Froehler, Jeffrey L Saver, Osama O Zaidat, Reza Jahan, Mohammad Ali Aziz-Sultan, Richard P Klucznik, Diogo C Haussen, Frank R Hellinger, Dileep R Yavagal, Tom L Yao, David S Liebeskind, Ashutosh P Jadhav, Rishi Gupta, Ameer E Hassan, Coleman O Martin, Hormozd Bozorgchami, Ritesh Kaushal, Raul G Nogueira, Ravi H Gandhi, Eric C Peterson, Shervin R Dashti, Curtis A Given, Brijesh P Mehta, Vivek Deshmukh, Sidney Starkman, Italo Linfante, Scott H Mcpherson, Peter Kvamme, Thomas J Grobelny, Muhammad S Hussain, Ike Thacker, Nirav Vora, Peng Roc Chen, Stephen J Monteith, Robert D Ecker, Clemens M Schirmer, Eric Sauvageau, Alex Abou-Chebl, Colin P Derdeyn, Lucian Maidan, Aamir Badruddin, Adnan H Siddiqui, Travis M Dumont, Abdulnasser Alhajeri, M Asif Taqi, Khaled Asi, Jeffrey Carpenter, Alan Boulos, Gaurav Jindal, Ajit S Puri, Rohan Chitale, Eric M Deshaies, David H Robinson, David F Kallmes, Blaise W Baxter, Mouhammad A Jumaa, Peter Sunenshine, Aniel Majjhoo, Joey D English, Shuichi Suzuki, Richard D Fessler, Josser E Delgado Almandoz, Jerry C Martin, Nils H Mueller-Kronast

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BACKGROUND: Endovascular treatment with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is beneficial for patients with acute stroke suffering a large-vessel occlusion, although treatment efficacy is highly time-dependent. We hypothesized that interhospital transfer to endovascular-capable centers would result in treatment delays and worse clinical outcomes compared with direct presentation.

METHODS: STRATIS (Systematic Evaluation of Patients Treated With Neurothrombectomy Devices for Acute Ischemic Stroke) was a prospective, multicenter, observational, single-arm study of real-world MT for acute stroke because of anterior-circulation large-vessel occlusion performed at 55 sites over 2 years, including 1000 patients with severe stroke and treated within 8 hours. Patients underwent MT with or …

Comparison Of Outcomes Of Antibiotic Drugs And Appendectomy (Coda) Trial: A Protocol For The Pragmatic Randomised Study Of Appendicitis Treatment., Giana H Davidson, David R Flum, David A Talan, Larry G Kessler, Danielle C Lavallee, Bonnie J Bizzell, Farhood Farjah, Skye D Stewart, Anusha Krishnadasan, Erin E Carney, Erika M Wolff, Bryan A Comstock, Sarah E Monsell, Patrick J Heagerty, Annie P Ehlers, Daniel A Deugarte, Amy H Kaji, Heather L Evans, Julianna T Yu, Katherine Mandell, Ian C Doten, Kevin S Clive, Karen M Mcgrane, Brandon C Tudor, Careen S Foster, Darin J Saltzman, Richard C Thirlby, Erin O Lange, Amber K Sabbatini, Gregory J Moran

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INTRODUCTION: Several European studies suggest that some patients with appendicitis can be treated safely with antibiotics. A portion of patients eventually undergo appendectomy within a year, with 10%-15% failing to respond in the initial period and a similar additional proportion with suspected recurrent episodes requiring appendectomy. Nearly all patients with appendicitis in the USA are still treated with surgery. A rigorous comparative effectiveness trial in the USA that is sufficiently large and pragmatic to incorporate usual variations in care and measures the patient experience is needed to determine whether antibiotics are as good as appendectomy.

OBJECTIVES: The Comparing Outcomes of …

Differential Impact Of Serial Measurement Of Nonplatelet Thromboxane Generation On Long-Term Outcome After Cardiac Surgery., Nikolaos Kakouros, Tyler J Gluckman, John V Conte, Thomas S Kickler, Katherine Laws, Bruce A Barton, Jeffrey J Rade

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: Systemic thromboxane generation, not suppressible by standard aspirin therapy and likely arising from nonplatelet sources, increases the risk of atherothrombosis and death in patients with cardiovascular disease. In the RIGOR (Reduction in Graft Occlusion Rates) study, greater nonplatelet thromboxane generation occurred early compared with late after coronary artery bypass graft surgery, although only the latter correlated with graft failure. We hypothesize that a similar differential association exists between nonplatelet thromboxane generation and long-term clinical outcome.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Five-year outcome data were analyzed for 290 RIGOR subjects taking aspirin with suppressed platelet thromboxane generation. Multivariable modeling was performed to …

Efficacy And Safety Of Pembrolizumab In Patients Enrolled In Keynote-030 In The United States: An Expanded Access Program., Tara C Gangadhar, Wen-Jen Hwu, Michael A Postow, Omid Hamid, Adil Daud, Roxana Dronca, Richard Joseph, Steven J O'Day, F S Hodi, Anna C Pavlick, Harriet Kluger, Romina P Oxborough, Aiming Yang, Mihaela Gazdoiu, Debra A Kush, Scot Ebbinghaus, April K S Salama

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

KEYNOTE-030 (ClinicalTrials.gov ID, NCT02083484) was a global expanded access program that allowed access to pembrolizumab, an antiprogrammed death 1 antibody, for patients with advanced melanoma before its regulatory approval. Patients with unresectable stage III/IV melanoma that progressed after standard-of-care therapy, including ipilimumab and, if BRAF mutant, a BRAF inhibitor, were eligible to receive pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg every 3 weeks. Response was assessed by immune-related response criteria by investigator review. Adverse events (AEs) were graded according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.0. In the United States, 979 patients enrolled between April and September 2014. …

Secukinumab Sustains Improvement In Signs And Symptoms Of Psoriatic Arthritis: 2 Year Results From The Phase 3 Future 2 Study., Iain B Mcinnes, Philip Mease, Christopher T Ritchlin, Proton Rahman, Alice B Gottlieb, Bruce Kirkham, Radhika Kajekar, Eumorphia-Maria Delicha, Luminita Pricop, Shephard Mpofu

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Objectives: To assess long-term efficacy, safety and tolerability of secukinumab up to 104 weeks in patients with active PsA.

Methods: Patients with PsA (n = 397) were randomized to s.c. secukinumab 300, 150 or 75 mg or placebo at baseline, weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4 and every 4 weeks thereafter. Placebo-treated patients were re-randomized to receive secukinumab 300 or 150 mg s.c. from week 16 (placebo non-responders) or week 24 (placebo responders). Exploratory endpoints at week 104 included 20, 50 and 70% improvement in ACR criteria (ACR20, 50, 70); 75 and 90% improvement in the Psoriasis Area Severity Index, …

Timing Of Pd-1 Blockade Is Critical To Effective Combination Immunotherapy With Anti-Ox40., David J Messenheimer, Shawn M. Jensen, Michael E Afentoulis, Keith W Wegman, Zipei Feng, David J Friedman, Michael J. Gough, Walter Urba, Bernard A Fox

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Purpose: Antibodies specific for inhibitory checkpoints PD-1 and CTLA-4 have shown impressive results against solid tumors. This has fueled interest in novel immunotherapy combinations to affect patients who remain refractory to checkpoint blockade monotherapy. However, how to optimally combine checkpoint blockade with agents targeting T-cell costimulatory receptors, such as OX40, remains a critical question.Experimental Design: We utilized an anti-PD-1-refractory, orthotopically transplanted MMTV-PyMT mammary cancer model to investigate the antitumor effect of an agonist anti-OX40 antibody combined with anti-PD-1. As PD-1 naturally aids in immune contraction after T-cell activation, we treated mice with concurrent combination treatment versus sequentially administering anti-OX40 …

Updating The Psoriatic Arthritis (Psa) Core Domain Set: A Report From The Psa Workshop At Omeract 2016., Ana-Maria Orbai, Maarten De Wit, Philip Mease, Kristina Callis Duffin, Musaab Elmamoun, William Tillett, Willemina Campbell, Oliver Fitzgerald, Dafna D Gladman, Niti Goel, Laure Gossec, Pil Hoejgaard, Ying Ying Leung, Chris Lindsay, Vibeke Strand, Désirée M Van Der Heijde, Bev Shea, Robin Christensen, Laura Coates, Lihi Eder, Neil Mchugh, Umut Kalyoncu, Ingrid Steinkoenig, Alexis Ogdie

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

OBJECTIVE: To include the patient perspective in accordance with the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Filter 2.0 in the updated Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Core Domain Set for randomized controlled trials (RCT) and longitudinal observational studies (LOS).

METHODS: At OMERACT 2016, research conducted to update the PsA Core Domain Set was presented and discussed in breakout groups. The updated PsA Core Domain Set was voted on and endorsed by OMERACT participants.

RESULTS: We conducted a systematic literature review of domains measured in PsA RCT and LOS, and identified 24 domains. We conducted 24 focus groups with 130 patients from 7 countries …

Effects Of Socioeconomic Status On Children With Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer., Evan F Garner, Ilan I Maizlin, Matthew B Dellinger, Kenneth W Gow, Melanie Goldfarb, Adam B Goldin, John J Doski, Monica Langer, Jed G Nuchtern, Sanjeev A Vasudevan, Mehul V Raval, Elizabeth A Beierle

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: Well-differentiated thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy in children. Adult literature has demonstrated socioeconomic disparities in patients undergoing thyroidectomy, but the effects of socioeconomic status on the management of pediatric well-differentiated thyroid cancer remains poorly understood.

METHODS: Patients ≤21 years of age with well-differentiated thyroid cancer remains were reviewed from the National Cancer Data Base. Three socioeconomic surrogate variables were identified: insurance type, median income, and educational quartile. Tumor characteristics, diagnostic intervals, and clinical outcomes were compared within each socioeconomic surrogate variable.

RESULTS: A total of 9,585 children with well-differentiated thyroid cancer remains were reviewed. In multivariate …

Efficacy And Safety Of Abatacept, A T-Cell Modulator, In A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase Iii Study In Psoriatic Arthritis., Philip Mease, Alice B Gottlieb, Désirée Van Der Heijde, Oliver Fitzgerald, Alyssa Johnsen, Marleen Nys, Subhashis Banerjee, Dafna D Gladman

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy and safety of abatacept, a selective T-cell costimulation modulator, in a phase III study in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

METHODS: This study randomised patients (1:1) with active PsA (~60% with prior exposure to a tumour necrosis factor inhibitor) to blinded weekly subcutaneous abatacept 125 mg (n=213) or placebo (n=211) for 24 weeks, followed by open-label subcutaneous abatacept. Patients without ≥20% improvement in joint counts at week 16 were switched to open-label abatacept. The primary end point was the proportion of patients with ≥20% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR20) criteria at week 24.

RESULTS: …

Impact Of Time Between Diagnosis And Slnb On Outcomes In Cutaneous Melanoma., Daniel W Nelson, Stacey Stern, David E Elashoff, Robert Elashoff, John F Thompson, Nicola Mozzillo, Omgo E Nieweg, Harald J Hoekstra, Alistair J Cochran, Mark B Faries

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BACKGROUND: Hypothetically, delay between melanoma diagnosis and SLNB could affect outcomes, either adversely by allowing growth and dissemination of metastases, or beneficially by allowing development of an anti-melanoma immune response. Available data are conflicting about the effect of SLNB delay on patient survival. Our objective was to determine whether delay between initial diagnosis and SLNB affects outcomes in patients with cutaneous melanoma.

STUDY DESIGN: We performed query and analysis of a large prospectively maintained database of patients with primary cutaneous melanomas undergoing SLNB. An independent dataset from MSLT-1 (Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial-1) was used for validation. Primary outcomes included disease-free …

Tumor-Treating Fields Plus Chemotherapy Versus Chemotherapy Alone For Glioblastoma At First Recurrence: A Post Hoc Analysis Of The Ef-14 Trial., Santosh Kesari, Zvi Ram

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: This post hoc analysis of the EF-14 trial (NCT00916409) of tumor-treating fields (TTFields) plus temozolomide versus temozolomide alone in newly diagnosed glioblastoma compared the efficacy of TTFields plus chemotherapy (physician's choice) versus chemotherapy alone after first recurrence.

METHODS: Patients on TTFields plus temozolomide continued TTFields plus second-line chemotherapy after first recurrence. Some patients on temozolomide alone crossed over after approval of TTFields for recurrent GBM. The primary efficacy outcome was overall survival (OS).

RESULTS: After disease progression, 131 patients received TTFields plus chemotherapy and 73 chemotherapy alone. Thirteen patients in the original temozolomide-alone group crossed over to receive TTFields …

Defining Outcome Measures For Psoriatic Arthritis: A Report From The Grappa-Omeract Working Group., Alexis Ogdie, Maarten De Wit, Kristina Callis Duffin, Willemina Campbell, Jeffrey Chau, Laura C Coates, Lihi Eder, Musaab Elmamoun, Oliver Fitzgerald, Dafna D Gladman, Niti Goel, Jana James, Umut Kalyoncu, John Latella, Chris Lindsay, Philip Mease, Denis O'Sullivan, Ingrid Steinkoenig, Vibeke Strand, William Tillett, Ana-Maria Orbai

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

The Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA)-Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Core Set working group recently published the updated 2016 psoriatic arthritis (PsA) core domain set, a set of disease features that should be measured in all clinical trials. At the GRAPPA annual meeting in July 2016, the PsA working group presented the updated PsA core domain set endorsed by 90% of participants at OMERACT in May 2016 and drafted a roadmap for the development of the PsA core outcome measurement set. In this manuscript, we review the development process of the …

A Phase Ib/Ii Study Of Cabozantinib (Xl184) With Or Without Erlotinib In Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer., Heather A Wakelee, Scott Gettinger, Jeffrey Engelman, Pasi A Jänne, Howard J. West, Deepa S Subramaniam, Joseph Leach, Michael Wax, Yifah Yaron, Dale R Miles, Primo N Lara

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

PURPOSE: Cabozantinib is a multi-kinase inhibitor that targets MET, AXL, and VEGFR2, and may synergize with EGFR inhibition in NSCLC. Cabozantinib was assessed alone or in combination with erlotinib in patients with progressive NSCLC and EGFR mutations who had previously received erlotinib.

METHODS: This was a phase Ib/II study (NCT00596648). The primary objectives of phase I were to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics and to determine maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of cabozantinib plus erlotinib in patients who failed prior erlotinib treatment. In phase II, patients with prior response or stable disease with erlotinib who progressed were randomized to single-agent …

Immunotherapy Of Head And Neck Cancer: Emerging Clinical Trials From A National Cancer Institute Head And Neck Cancer Steering Committee Planning Meeting., Julie E Bauman, Ezra Cohen, Robert L Ferris, David J Adelstein, David M Brizel, John A Ridge, Brian O'Sullivan, Barbara A Burtness, Lisa H Butterfield, William E Carson, Mary L Disis, Bernard A Fox, Thomas F Gajewski, Maura L Gillison, James W Hodge, Quynh-Thu Le, David Raben, Scott E Strome, Jean Lynn, Shakun Malik

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Recent advances have permitted successful therapeutic targeting of the immune system in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). These new immunotherapeutic targets and agents are being rapidly adopted by the oncologic community and hold considerable promise. The National Cancer Institute sponsored a Clinical Trials Planning Meeting to address the issue of how to further investigate the use of immunotherapy in patients with HNSCC. The goals of the meeting were to consider phase 2 or 3 trial designs primarily in 3 different patient populations: those with previously untreated, human papillomavirus-initiated oropharyngeal cancers; those with previously untreated, human papillomavirus-negative HNSCC; and …

Natural History Of Gutter-Related Type Ia Endoleaks After Snorkel/Chimney Endovascular Aneurysm Repair., Brant W Ullery, Kenneth Tran, Nathan K Itoga, Ronald L Dalman, Jason T Lee

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

OBJECTIVE: Alternative endovascular strategies using parallel or snorkel/chimney (chimney endovascular aneurysm repair [ch-EVAR]) techniques have been developed to address the lack of widespread availability and manufacturing limitations with branched/fenestrated aortic devices for the treatment of complex abdominal aortic aneurysms. Despite high technical success and midterm patency of snorkel stent configurations, concerns remain regarding the perceived increased incidence of early gutter-related type Ia endoleaks. We aimed to evaluate the incidence and natural history of gutter-related type Ia endoleaks following ch-EVAR.

METHODS: Review of medical records and available imaging studies, including completion angiography and serial computed tomographic angiography, was performed for all …

Long-Term Outcomes After Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation For Multiple Sclerosis., Paolo A Muraro, Marcelo Pasquini, Harold L Atkins, James D Bowen, Dominique Farge, Athanasios Fassas, Mark S Freedman, George E Georges, Francesca Gualandi, Nelson Hamerschlak, Eva Havrdova, Vassilios K Kimiskidis, Tomas Kozak, Giovanni L Mancardi, Luca Massacesi, Daniela A Moraes, Richard A Nash, Steven Pavletic, Jian Ouyang, Montserrat Rovira, Albert Saiz, Belinda Simoes, Marek Trnený, Lin Zhu, Manuela Badoglio, Xiaobo Zhong, Maria Pia Sormani, Riccardo Saccardi

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Importance: Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) may be effective in aggressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) that fail to respond to standard therapies.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term outcomes in patients who underwent AHSCT for the treatment of MS in a large multicenter cohort.

Design, Setting, and Participants: Data were obtained in a multicenter, observational, retrospective cohort study. Eligibility criteria were receipt of AHSCT for the treatment of MS between January 1995 and December 2006 and the availability of a prespecified minimum data set comprising the disease subtype at baseline; the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score at baseline; …

High-Dose Immunosuppressive Therapy And Autologous Hct For Relapsing-Remitting Ms., Richard A Nash, George J Hutton, Michael K Racke, Uday Popat, Steven M Devine, Kaitlyn C Steinmiller, Linda M Griffith, Paolo A Muraro, Harry Openshaw, Peter H Sayre, Olaf Stuve, Douglas L Arnold, Mark H Wener, George E Georges, Annette Wundes, George H Kraft, J D Bowen

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety, efficacy, and durability of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease stabilization after high-dose immunosuppressive therapy (HDIT) and autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT).

METHODS: High-Dose Immunosuppression and Autologous Transplantation for Multiple Sclerosis (HALT-MS) is a phase II clinical trial of HDIT/HCT for patients with relapsing-remitting (RR) MS who experienced relapses with disability progression (Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] 3.0-5.5) while on MS disease-modifying therapy. The primary endpoint was event-free survival (EFS), defined as survival without death or disease activity from any one of: disability progression, relapse, or new lesions on MRI. Participants were evaluated through 5 years posttransplant. …

Impact Of Sequencing Targeted Therapies With High-Dose Interleukin-2 Immunotherapy: An Analysis Of Outcome And Survival Of Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma From An On-Going Observational Il-2 Clinical Trial: Proclaim, Joseph I Clark, Michael K K Wong, Howard L Kaufman, Gregory A Daniels, Michael A Morse, David F Mcdermott, Sanjiv S Agarwala, Lionel D Lewis, John H Stewart, Ulka Vaishampayan, Brendan Curti, René Gonzalez, Jose Lutzky, Venkatesh Rudraptna, Lee D Cranmer, Joanne M Jeter, Ralph J Hauke, Gerald Miletello, Mohammed M Milhem, Asim Amin, John M Richart, Mayer Fishman, Sigrun Hallmeyer, Sapna P Patel, Peter Van Veldhuizen, Neeraj Agarwal, Bret Taback, Jonathan S Treisman, Marc S Ernstoff, Jessica C Perritt, Hong Hua, Tharak B Rao, Janice P Dutcher, Sandra Aung

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: This analysis describes the outcome for patients who received targeted therapy (TT) prior to or following high-dose interleukin-2 (HD IL-2).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with renal cell carcinoma (n = 352) receiving HD IL-2 were enrolled in Proleukin

RESULTS: Overall, there were 4% complete response (CR), 13% partial response (PR), 39% stable disease (SD), and 43% progressive disease (PD) with HD IL-2. The median overall survival (mOS) was not reached in patients with CR, PR, or SD, and was 15.5 months in patients with PD (median follow-up, 21 months). Sixty-one patients had prior TT before HD IL-2 with an …

Ion Channel Expression Patterns In Glioblastoma Stem Cells With Functional And Therapeutic Implications For Malignancy., Julia Pollak, Karan G Rai, Cory C Funk, Sonali Arora, Eunjee Lee, Jun Zhu, Nathan D Price, Patrick J Paddison, Jan-Marino Ramirez, Robert C Rostomily

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Ion channels and transporters have increasingly recognized roles in cancer progression through the regulation of cell proliferation, migration, and death. Glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs) are a source of tumor formation and recurrence in glioblastoma multiforme, a highly aggressive brain cancer, suggesting that ion channel expression may be perturbed in this population. However, little is known about the expression and functional relevance of ion channels that may contribute to GSC malignancy. Using RNA sequencing, we assessed the enrichment of ion channels in GSC isolates and non-tumor neural cell types. We identified a unique set of GSC-enriched ion channels using differential expression …

Safety And Feasibility Of Minimally Invasive Inguinal Lymph Node Dissection In Patients With Melanoma (Safe-Milnd): Report Of A Prospective Multi-Institutional Trial., James W Jakub, Alicia M Terando, Amod Sarnaik, Charlotte E Ariyan, Mark Faries, Sabino Zani, Heather B Neuman, Nabil Wasif, Jeffrey M Farma, Bruce J Averbook, Karl Y Bilimoria, Travis E Grotz, Jacob B Jake Allred, Vera J Suman, Mary Sue Brady, Douglas Tyler, Jeffrey D Wayne, Heidi Nelson

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive inguinal lymph node dissection (MILND) is a novel approach to inguinal lymphadenectomy. SAFE-MILND (NCT01500304) is a multicenter, phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the safety and feasibility of MILND for patients with melanoma in a group of surgeons newly adopting the procedure.

METHODS: Twelve melanoma surgeons from 10 institutions without any previous MILND experience, enrolled patients into a prospective study after completing specialized training including didactic lectures, participating in a hands-on cadaveric laboratory, and being provided an instructional DVD of the procedure. Complications and adverse postoperative events were graded using the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria …