Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Implantable Biomaterials To Provide Local Immunotherapy Following Surgical Resection., Michael J Gough, Jason R Baird, R Bryan Bell

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Targeting The Brd4/Foxo3a/Cdk6 Axis Sensitizes Akt Inhibition In Luminal Breast Cancer, Jingyi Liu, Weijie Guo, Zhibing Duan, Lei Zeng, Yadi Wu, Yule Chen, Fang Tai, Yifan Wang, Yiwei Lin, Qiang Zhang, Yanling He, Jiong Deng, Rachel L. Stewart, Chi Wang, Pengnian Charles Lin, Saghi Ghaffari, B. Mark Evers, Suling Liu, Ming-Ming Zhou, Binhua P. Zhou, Jian Shi

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

BRD4 assembles transcriptional machinery at gene super-enhancer regions and governs the expression of genes that are critical for cancer progression. However, it remains unclear whether BRD4-mediated gene transcription is required for tumor cells to develop drug resistance. Our data show that prolonged treatment of luminal breast cancer cells with AKT inhibitors induces FOXO3a dephosphorylation, nuclear translocation, and disrupts its association with SirT6, eventually leading to FOXO3a acetylation as well as BRD4 recognition. Acetylated FOXO3a recognizes the BD2 domain of BRD4, recruits the BRD4/RNAPII complex to the CDK6 gene promoter, and induces its transcription. Pharmacological inhibition of either BRD4/FOXO3a association or …

The Impact Of Mental Health On Cancer Preventative Screenings, Chelsea Edirisuriya, Amy Leader, Phd

Phase 1

Among the mental health population of the United States, overall preventative health services, such as cancer screening rates, are remarkably low. Additionally, there is a significant 30% higher mortality rate due to cancer in psychiatric patients. This project established if there are disparities in cancer screening rates between the general population and the mental health population of Southeastern Pennsylvania. The project analyzed and compared the differences in cancer screenings for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer among those currently diagnosed with a mental condition and the general population. Through p-value and Pearson chi-square statistical analysis of the Community Health Data Base …

Guide Lines Vol. I, Issue 19 - November 2018, College Of Health And Human Services

GUIDE Lines

Periodic Newsletter of the Governors State University - University of Illinois, Chicago - Disparities Education Cancer research training and education project (The GUIDE Project).

Addressing Barriers To Medication Adherence: An Evidence-Based Screening Instrument Validation Study, Donna Jean Washburn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Adherence to a prescribed medication regimen is often critical to successful disease management. Cancer diagnoses often further complicate control of the comorbid diseases. Older cancer patients with multiple comorbidities receiving chemotherapy treatment are at increased risk for adverse health outcomes from uncontrolled disease when nonadherent to their medication regimen. The intent of this pilot study was to test the validity of an evidence-based screening instrument designed to identify patients at risk for medication nonadherence and uncontrolled illness. The W-BMA (Washburn-Barrier to Medication Adherence) screening criteria were applied to retrospective data of cancer patients with multiple co-morbidities. SPSS was used to …

Depression And Prostate Cancer: Examining Comorbidity And Male-Specific Symptoms, Simon M Rice, John L Oliffe, Mary T Kelly, Prue Cormie, Suzanne K. Chambers, John S Ogrodniczuk, David Kealy

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Depression in men with prostate cancer is a significant and complex issue that can challenge clinicians' diagnostic efforts. The objective of the current study was to evaluate prototypic and male-specific depression symptoms and suicidal ideation in men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer relative to those with and without comorbidity. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Male Depression Risk Scale-22 (MDRS-22) were completed online along with demographic and background variables by 100 men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer ( n = 54 prostatectomy, n = 33 receiving active treatment). Hierarchical logistic regression was used to examine recent (past 2 …

Collagen Prolyl 4-Hydroxylase 1 Is Essential For Hif-1Α Stabilization And Tnbc Chemoresistance, Gaofeng Xiong, Rachel L. Stewart, Jie Chen, Tianyan Gao, Timothy L. Scott, Luis M. Samayoa, Kathleen L. O'Connor, Andrew N. Lane, Ren Xu

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Collagen prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H) expression and collagen hydroxylation in cancer cells are necessary for breast cancer progression. Here, we show that P4H alpha 1 subunit (P4HA1) protein expression is induced in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and HER2 positive breast cancer. By modulating alpha ketoglutarate (α-KG) and succinate levels P4HA1 expression reduces proline hydroxylation on hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1α, enhancing its stability in cancer cells. Activation of the P4HA/HIF-1 axis enhances cancer cell stemness, accompanied by decreased oxidative phosphorylation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Inhibition of P4HA1 sensitizes TNBC to the chemotherapeutic agent docetaxel and doxorubicin in xenografts and patient-derived …

P-21 Activated Kinase As A Molecular Target For Chemoprevention In Diabetes, Kyle Dammann, Vineeta Khare, Clyde Coleman, Henrik Berdel, Christoph Gasche

Surgery Faculty Publications

Hypothesis: Anti-diabetic drugs modulate p-21 activated kinase (PAK) signaling. Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with increased cancer risk. PAK signaling is implicated in cellular homeostasis when regulated, and cancer when unrestrained. Recent reports provided a role for PAK signaling in glucose homeostasis, but the role of PAKs in the pathogenesis of T2DM is unknown. Here, we performed a mini-meta-analysis to explore if anti-diabetic drugs modify PAK signaling pathways, and provide insight regarding modulation of these pathways, to potentially reduce diabetes-associated cancer risk. Methods: PAK interacting partners in T2DM were identified using the online …

Treatment-Related Decisional Conflict, Quality Of Life, And Comorbidity In Older Adults With Cancer., Jeannette M. Kates

College of Nursing Faculty Papers & Presentations

Objective: The present study aims to examine the relationships between and among cancer treatment-related decisional conflict, quality of life, and comorbidity in older adults with cancer.

Methods: A convenience sample of 200 older adults was recruited from outpatient medical oncology and radiation oncology practices in the northeastern United States. A cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study design was used employing a survey method. Survey instruments included the Decisional Conflict scale (DCS) (with five subscales, including informed, values clarity, support, uncertainty, and effective decision); Self-administered comorbidity questionnaire (SCQ); European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (including five function …

Guide Lines Vol. I, Issue 18 - October 2018, College Of Health And Human Services

GUIDE Lines

Periodic Newsletter of the Governors State University - University of Illinois, Chicago - Disparities Education Cancer research training and education project (The GUIDE Project).

Immune Checkpoints In Cancer Treatment, Matthew A. Cherubino

Student Publications

Despite the human immune system, cancer thrives in an extremely hostile environment. Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the U.S. with about 600,000 deaths every year, and cancer is expected to surpass heart disease as the most common cause of death in the U.S. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a novel and promising therapeutic for treating cancer in its late stages.

Pediatric Cancers: Development And Treatment Methods, Makayla M. Walker

Student Publications

Pediatric cancers are cancers that develop in kids and adolescents ages 0-19. Pediatric cancers usually develop in three ways: through inherited gene mutations, parental exposure to toxins, and acquired gene mutations. While cancer can affect children and adults alike, treatment becomes more difficult for children due to their physical predevelopment stages. Therefore, it is important to discuss all methods of treatment when dealing with a particular pediatric cancer in order to choose the most effective method.

Comparative Analysis Of The Views Of Oncologic Subspecialists And Palliative/Supportive Care Physicians Regarding Advanced Care Planning And End-Of-Life Care, Phillip M. Pifer, Mark K. Farrugia, Malcolm D. Mattes

Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Background—Early palliative/supportive care (PSC) consultation and advance care planning (ACP) improve outcomes for patients with incurable cancer. However, PSC is underutilized in the United States. Objective—To examine philosophical differences among PSC, radiation oncology (RO), and medical oncology (MO) physicians in order to understand barriers to early PSC referral. Design—An electronic survey collected views of a nationwide cohort of health-care professionals regarding ACP and end-of-life care. Setting/Participants/Measurements—A subgroup analysis compared the responses from all 51 PSC, 178 RO, and 81 MO physician participants (12% response rate), using Pearson χ2 and Mann-Whitney U tests for categorical and ordinal data, respectively. Results—More statistically …

Vitamin D: Controversy Cancer And Beyond, Cristian J. Rosales, Debasish Bandyopadhyay

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Vitamins are an essential part to wellbeing. This was not something always known however, as the Germ theory was the accepted thesis of the 18th century. It was found that certain accessory factors helped mitigate and even cure these diseases such as beriberi, scurvy, and rickets. Accessory factors, later coined vitamins by Casimir Funk, are an essential constituent of the human diet. Vitamin D is technically not a vitamin but functions as a steroid hormone whose most well-known purpose is calcification of the human skeleton. This helps prevent osteomalacia in adults and rickets, a serious problem in children due to …

Ion-Sensitive Field-Effect Transistors With Micropillared Gates For Measuring Cell Ion Exchange At Molecular Levels, Mohammad G. Abdallah, Rayan Khan, Christian Garcia, Young-Tae Kim, Samir M. Iqbal

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The detection of small concentrations of cancer cells before cancer takes over the primary organ completely, or metastasizes to other areas of the body is important for early screening of cancer. One approach to address cancer early screening is through cell ion exchange bioelectricity, which characterizes voltage potential in non-neuronal cells to regulate shape changing, proliferation, differentiation, migration, and cancer formation. Herein, novel ion-sensitive field-effective transistor (ISFET) modality is shown to measure cell behavior during the change of cell properties at molecular levels. ISFETs produce low resistance signals and consume low power. The small size of ISFETs enables miniature diagnosis …

Oxytocin And Cancer: An Emerging Link, Ben Lerman, Trisheena Harricharran, Olorunseun O. Ogunwobi

Publications and Research

The neuropeptide hormone oxytocin, which is released from the posterior pituitary gland, is involved in a number of physiological processes. Understanding of its effects is gradually increasing due to new research in this area. While mostly recognized as a reproductive system hormone, oxytocin also regulates other organ systems such as the brain and cardiovascular system. Recently, research has focused on unraveling its involvement in cancer, and emerging evidence suggests a potential role for oxytocin as a cancer biomarker. This review summarizes observations linking oxytocin and cancer, with a special emphasis on prostate cancer, where it may promote cell proliferation. Research …

A Prospective Cohort Examination Of Haematological Parameters In Relation To Cancer Death And Incidence: The Busselton Health Study, Niwansa Adris, Anita Chai Geik Chua, Matthew William Knuiman, Mark Laurence Divitini, Debbie Trinder, John K. Olynyk

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

BACKGROUND: Cancer risk is associated with serum iron levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether haematological parameters reflect serum iron levels and may also be associated with cancer risk.

METHODS: We studied 1564 men and 1769 women who were enrolled in the Busselton Health Study, Western Australia. Haematological parameters evaluated included haemoglobin (Hb), mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and red cell distribution width (RCDW). Statistical analyses included t-tests for quantitative variables, chi-square tests for categorical variables and Cox proportional hazards regression modelling for cancer incidence and death.

RESULTS: …

Retrospective Evaluation Of Clinical Experience With Intravenous Ascorbic Acid In Patients With Cancer., Anthony J. Bazzan, George Zabrecky, Nancy Wintering, Andrew B. Newberg, Daniel A. Monti

Marcus Institute of Integrative Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Intravenous ascorbic acid (IV AA) has been used extensively in cancer patients throughout the United States. Currently, there are limited data on the safety and clinical effects of IV AA. The purpose of this study was to expand the current literature using a retrospective analysis of adverse events and symptomatic changes of IV AA in a large sample of cancer patients.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients receiving IV AA for cancer at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital over a 7-year period. We assessed all reports of adverse events, laboratory findings, and hospital or emergency …

Guide Lines Vol. I, Issue 17 - September 2018, College Of Health And Human Services

GUIDE Lines

Periodic Newsletter of the Governors State University - University of Illinois, Chicago - Disparities Education Cancer research training and education project (The GUIDE Project).

Listeria Monocytogenes As A Vector For Cancer Immunotherapy: Current Understanding And Progress, John C. Flickinger, Ulrich Rodeck, Adam E. Snook

Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Faculty Papers

Listeria monocytogenes, a Gram-positive facultative anaerobic bacterium, is becoming a popular vector for cancer immunotherapy. Indeed, multiple vaccines have been developed utilizing modified Listeria as a tool for generating immune responses against a variety of cancers. Moreover, over a dozen clinical trials testing Listeria cancer vaccines are currently underway, which will help to understand the utility of Listeria vaccines in cancer immunotherapy. This review aims to summarize current views on how Listeria-based vaccines induce potent antitumor immunity and the current state of Listeria-based cancer vaccines in clinical trials. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Unleashing Endogenous Tnf-Alpha As A Cancer Immunotherapeutic., Steven F Josephs, Thomas E Ichim, Stephen M Prince, Santosh Kesari, Francesco M Marincola, Anton Rolando Escobedo, Amir Jafri

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha was originally identified in the 1970s as the serum mediator of innate immunity capable of inducing hemorrhagic necrosis in tumors. Today, a wide spectrum of biological activities have been attributed to this molecule, and clinical translation has mainly occurred not in using it to treat cancer, but rather to inhibit its effects to treat autoimmunity. Clinical trials utilizing systemic TNF-alpha administration have resulted in an unacceptable level of toxicities, which blocked its development. In contrast, localized administration of TNF-alpha in the form of isolated limb perfusion have yielded excellent results in soft tissue sarcomas. Here we …

Cellular Senescence And Their Role In Liver Metabolism In Health And Disease: Overview And Future Directions, Matthew Schade, Jacqueline A. Sanabria, Rodrigo Aguilar, Milad Modarresi, Brad Gillon, Zach Hunter, Jacqueline Fannin, Amrita Mallick, Henri Brunengraber, Juan Sanabria

Surgery

Chronic liver disease has globally risen mainly due to a prevalent Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection rate and an epidemic of obesity. It is estimated by the year 2030, 2.2 billion people around the world will be overweight and 1.1 billion people will be obese. Diabetes and obesity are the main risk factors for the development of the metabolic syndrome and in the liver of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) which could progress to NASH related cirrhosis and liver malignancy. At present there is not effective therapy for NASH besides loss of weight and exercise. Furthermore, optimal management of HCC …

Role Of Multi-Parametric (Mp) Mri In Prostate Cancer, Syed Muhammad Nazim, Ather Enam, Basit Salam

Section of Urology

Multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging is increasingly being recommended as standard imaging modality for prostate cancer diagnosis and staging. It comprises structural T2 and T1 sequences supplemented by functional imaging techniques, i.e. diffusion-weighted, dynamic contrast enhanced and spectroscopic imaging. Pre-biopsy multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging is recommended for both detection and staging as it avoids biopsy artefact, and when normal, has a negative predictive value of 95% for significant cancer. Magnetic resonance imaging-guided prostate biopsy targets only area(s) considered to be suspicious for prostate cancer, hence resulting in improved accuracy. Dynamic contrast enhancing helps in the detection of cancer and for the …

“Do We Know Jack” About Jak? A Closer Look At Jak/Stat Signaling Pathway, Emira Bousoik, Hamidreza Montazeri Aliabadi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Janus tyrosine kinase (JAK) family of proteins have been identified as crucial proteins in signal transduction initiated by a wide range of membrane receptors. Among the proteins in this family JAK2 has been associated with important downstream proteins, including signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs), which in turn regulate the expression of a variety of proteins involved in induction or prevention of apoptosis. Therefore, the JAK/STAT signaling axis plays a major role in the proliferation and survival of different cancer cells, and may even be involved in resistance mechanisms against molecularly targeted drugs. Despite extensive research focused on the …

Protection From Chemotherapy- And Antibiotic-Mediated Dysbiosis Of The Gut Microbiota By A Probiotic With Digestive Enzymes Supplement., Thomas E Ichim, Santosh Kesari, Kim Shafer

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

There are numerous downstream consequences of marketed drugs like antineoplastic agents on the gut microbiome, an effect that is suggested to contribute to adverse event profiles and may also influence drug responses. In cancer, progress is needed toward modulation of the host microbiome to prevent off-target side effects of drugs such as gastrointestinal mucositis that result from gut dysbiosis. The objective of this study was evaluation of the bioactivity of a supplement consisting of capsules with a blend of 9 probiotic organisms of the genera

Recurrent Tumor-Specific Regulation Of Alternative Polyadenylation Of Cancer-Related Genes., Zhuyi Xue, René L Warren, Ewan A Gibb, Daniel Macmillan, Johnathan Wong, Readman Chiu, S Austin Hammond, Chen Yang, Ka Ming Nip, Catherine A Ennis, Abigail Hahn, Sheila Reynolds, Inanc Birol

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: Alternative polyadenylation (APA) results in messenger RNA molecules with different 3' untranslated regions (3' UTRs), affecting the molecules' stability, localization, and translation. APA is pervasive and implicated in cancer. Earlier reports on APA focused on 3' UTR length modifications and commonly characterized APA events as 3' UTR shortening or lengthening. However, such characterization oversimplifies the processing of 3' ends of transcripts and fails to adequately describe the various scenarios we observe.

RESULTS: We built a cloud-based targeted de novo transcript assembly and analysis pipeline that incorporates our previously developed cleavage site prediction tool, KLEAT. We applied this pipeline to …

A Stress Management App Intervention For Cancer Survivors: Design, Development, And Usability Testing, Elin Børøsund, Jelena Mirkovic, Matthew M. Clark, Shawna L. Ehlers, Michael A. Andrykowski, Anne Bergland, Marianne Westeng, Lise Solberg Nes

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background: Distress is prevalent in cancer survivors. Stress management interventions can reduce distress and improve quality of life for cancer patients, but many people with cancer are unfortunately not offered or able to attend such in-person stress management interventions.

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop an evidence-based stress management intervention for patients living with cancer that can be delivered electronically with wide reach and dissemination. This paper describes the design and development process of a technology-based stress management intervention for cancer survivors, including the exploration phase, intervention content development, iterative software development (including design, development, and formative …

Exploring The Excluded Stomach: A Case Series Of Novel Endoscopic Techniques To Diagnose Gastric Cancer In The Excluded Stomach After Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery, Saeed Ali, Abdelkader Chaar, Wesam Frandah, Rola Altoos, Zeeshan Sattar, Muhammad Hasan

Internal Medicine

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common malignancy worldwide and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The diagnosis is usually made by direct visualization with supporting histopathology. However, patients with gastric bypass surgery pose a challenge in diagnosis due to the difficulty in the evaluation of the excluded stomach. We present two cases of gastric cancer in the excluded stomach after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery was diagnosed using two different endoscopic approaches.

Musician As Physician: Interwoven Artistry For Complex, Cancer Pain Management, Douglas E. Brandoff

Crossroads of Music and Medicine

The author, who is both a classical musician and a physician, reflects on how to interweave the skills he has from experience in both realms to become a more "complete" palliative care physician when working with patients.

Guide Lines Vol. I, Issue 16 - June 2018, College Of Health And Human Services

GUIDE Lines

Periodic Newsletter of the Governors State University - University of Illinois, Chicago - Disparities Education Cancer research training and education project (The GUIDE Project).