Digital Commons Network^™

Feasibility And Sensitivity Study Of Radiomic Features In Photoacoustic Imaging Of Patient-Derived Xenografts, Lorena Escudero Sanchez, Emma Brown, Leonardo Rundo, Stephan Ursprung, Evis Sala, Sarah E Bohndiek, Ignacio Xavier Partarrieu

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Photoacoustic imaging is an increasingly popular method of exploring the tumour microenvironment, which can provide insight into tumour oxygenation status and potentially treatment response assessment. Currently, the measurements most commonly performed on such images are the mean and median of the pixel values of the tumour volumes of interest. We investigated expanding the set of measurements that can be extracted from these images by adding radiomic features. In particular, we found that Skewness was sensitive to differences between basal and luminal patient derived xenograft cancer models with an [Formula: see text] of 0.86, and that it was robust to variations …

Genome-Wide Association Analyses Of Physical Activity And Sedentary Behavior Provide Insights Into Underlying Mechanisms And Roles In Disease Prevention, Zhe Wang, Mary F. Feitosa, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Multimodal Single Cell Sequencing Implicates Chromatin Accessibility And Genetic Background In Diabetic Kidney Disease Progression, Parker C Wilson, Yoshiharu Muto, Haojia Wu, Anil Karihaloo, Sushrut S Waikar, Benjamin D Humphreys

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The proximal tubule is a key regulator of kidney function and glucose metabolism. Diabetic kidney disease leads to proximal tubule injury and changes in chromatin accessibility that modify the activity of transcription factors involved in glucose metabolism and inflammation. Here we use single nucleus RNA and ATAC sequencing to show that diabetic kidney disease leads to reduced accessibility of glucocorticoid receptor binding sites and an injury-associated expression signature in the proximal tubule. We hypothesize that chromatin accessibility is regulated by genetic background and closely-intertwined with metabolic memory, which pre-programs the proximal tubule to respond differently to external stimuli. Glucocorticoid excess …

Novel Antiinflammatory Biologics Shaped By Parasite-Host Coevolution, Stephanie M Ryan, Makedonka Mitreva, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Parasitic helminth infections, while a major cause of neglected tropical disease burden, negatively correlate with the incidence of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). To evade expulsion, helminths have developed sophisticated mechanisms to regulate their host's immune responses. Controlled experimental human helminth infections have been assessed clinically for treating inflammatory conditions; however, such a radical therapeutic modality has challenges. An alternative approach is to harness the immunomodulatory properties within the worm's excretory-secretory (ES) complement, its secretome. Here, we report a biologics discovery and validation pipeline to generate and screen in vivo a recombinant cell-free secretome library of …

Killer-Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor Diversity In An Admixed South American Population, Marlon Castrillon, Nancy D Marin, Amado J Karduss-Urueta, Sonia Y Velasquez, Cristiam M Alvarez

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Natural Killer (NK) cells are innate immune cells that mediate antiviral and antitumor responses. NK cell activation and induction of effector functions are tightly regulated by the integration of activating and inhibitory receptors such as killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR).

Concentrated Incarceration And The Public-Housing-To-Prison Pipeline In New York City Neighborhoods, Jay Holder, Ivan Calaff, Brett Maricque, Van C Tran

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Using public housing developments as a strategic site, our research documents a distinct pathway linking disadvantaged context to incarceration-the public-housing-to-prison pipeline. Focusing on New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) housing developments as a case study, we find that incarceration rates in NYCHA tracts are 4.6 times higher than those in non-NYCHA tracts. More strikingly, 94% of NYCHA tracts report rates above the median value for non-NYCHA tracts. Moreover, 17% of New York State's incarcerated population originated from just 372 NYCHA tracts. Compared with non-NYCHA tracts, NYCHA tracts had higher shares of Black residents and were significantly more disadvantaged. This NYCHA …

Issues With Variability In Electronic Health Record Data About Race And Ethnicity: Descriptive Analysis Of The National Covid Cohort Collaborative Data Enclave, Lily Cook, Juan Espinoza, Nicole G Weiskopf, Nisha Mathews, David A Dorr, Kelly L Gonzales, Adam Wilcox, Charisse Madlock-Brown, N3c Consoritium

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The adverse impact of COVID-19 on marginalized and under-resourced communities of color has highlighted the need for accurate, comprehensive race and ethnicity data. However, a significant technical challenge related to integrating race and ethnicity data in large, consolidated databases is the lack of consistency in how data about race and ethnicity are collected and structured by health care organizations.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate and describe variations in how health care systems collect and report information about the race and ethnicity of their patients and to assess how well these data are integrated when aggregated into a large …

The Metabolism Of Human Soluble Amyloid Precursor Protein Isoforms Is Quantifiable By A Stable Isotope Labeling-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method, Justyna A Dobrowolska Zakaria, Randall J Bateman, Monika Lysakowska, Ammaarah Khatri, Dinorah Jean-Gilles, Matthew E Kennedy, Robert Vassar

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Evidence suggests that β-secretase (BACE1), which cleaves Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) to form sAPPβ and amyloid-β, is elevated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains and biofluids and, thus, BACE1 is a therapeutic target for this devastating disease. The direct product of BACE1 cleavage of APP, sAPPβ, serves as a surrogate marker of BACE1 activity in the central nervous system. This biomarker could be utilized to better understand normal APP processing, aberrant processing in the disease setting, and modulations to processing during therapeutic intervention. In this paper, we present a method for measuring the metabolism of sAPPβ and another APP proteolytic product, …

Genome Scanning Of Behavioral Selection In A Canine Olfactory Detection Breeding Cohort, Alexander W Eyre, Isain Zapata, Elizabeth Hare, Katharine M N Lee, Claire Bellis, Jennifer L Essler, Cynthia M Otto, James A Serpell, Carlos E Alvarez

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Research on working dogs is growing rapidly due to increasing global demand. Here we report genome scanning of the risk of puppies being eliminated for behavioral reasons prior to entering the training phase of the US Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) canine olfactory detection breeding and training program through 2013. Elimination of dogs for behavioral rather than medical reasons was based on evaluations at three, six, nine and twelve months after birth. Throughout that period, the fostered dogs underwent standardized behavioral tests at TSA facilities, and, for a subset of tests, dogs were tested in four different environments. Using methods developed …

An Ex Vivo Culture Model Of Kidney Podocyte Injury Reveals Mechanosensitive, Synaptopodin-Templating, Sarcomere-Like Structures, Shumeng Jiang, Farid Alisafaei, Yin-Yuan Huang, Yuan Hong, Xiangjun Peng, Chengqing Qu, Pongpratch Puapatanakul, Sanjay Jain, Jeffrey H Miner, Guy M Genin, Hani Y Suleiman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Chronic kidney diseases are widespread and incurable. The biophysical mechanisms underlying them are unclear, in part because material systems for reconstituting the microenvironment of relevant kidney cells are limited. A critical question is how kidney podocytes (glomerular epithelial cells) regenerate foot processes of the filtration apparatus following injury. Recently identified sarcomere-like structures (SLSs) with periodically spaced myosin IIA and synaptopodin appear in injured podocytes in vivo. We hypothesized that SLSs template synaptopodin in the initial stages of recovery in response to microenvironmental stimuli and tested this hypothesis by developing an ex vivo culture system that allows control of the podocyte …

Smyd3 Impedes Small Cell Lung Cancer Sensitivity To Alkylation Damage Through Rnf113a Methylation-Phosphorylation Cross-Talk, Valentina Lukinović, Clement Oyeniran, Ning Tsao, Joshua R Brickner, Rebecca Rodell, Nima Mosammaparast, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is the most fatal form of lung cancer, with dismal survival, limited therapeutic options, and rapid development of chemoresistance. We identified the lysine methyltransferase SMYD3 as a major regulator of SCLC sensitivity to alkylation-based chemotherapy. RNF113A methylation by SMYD3 impairs its interaction with the phosphatase PP4, controlling its phosphorylation levels. This cross-talk between posttranslational modifications acts as a key switch in promoting and maintaining RNF113A E3 ligase activity, essential for its role in alkylation damage response. In turn, SMYD3 inhibition restores SCLC vulnerability to alkylating chemotherapy. Our study sheds light on a novel role of …

Exit Rates Of Accountable Care Organizations That Serve High Proportions Of Beneficiaries Of Racial And Ethnic Minority Groups, Sunny C Lin, Karen E Joynt Maddox, Andrew M Ryan, Nicholas Moloci, Addison Shay, John Malcolm Hollingsworth

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Importance: The Medicare Shared Savings Program provides financial incentives for accountable care organizations (ACOs) to reduce costs of care. The structure of the shared savings program may not adequately adjust for challenges associated with caring for patients with high medical complexity and social needs, a population disproportionately made up of racial and ethnic minority groups. If so, ACOs serving racial and ethnic minority groups may be more likely to exit the program, raising concerns about the equitable distribution of potential benefits from health care delivery reform efforts.

Objective: To evaluate whether ACOs with a high proportion of beneficaries of racial …

Lrp1 Is A Neuronal Receptor For Α-Synuclein Uptake And Spread, Kai Chen, David M Holtzman, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The aggregation and spread of α-synuclein (α-Syn) protein and related neuronal toxicity are the key pathological features of Parkinson's disease (PD) and Lewy body dementia (LBD). Studies have shown that pathological species of α-Syn and tau can spread in a prion-like manner between neurons, although these two proteins have distinct pathological roles and contribute to different neurodegenerative diseases. It is reported that the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) regulates the spread of tau proteins; however, the molecular regulatory mechanisms of α-Syn uptake and spread, and whether it is also regulated by LRP1, remain poorly understood.

METHODS: We established …

Opioids Alter Paw Placement During Walking, Confounding Assessment Of Analgesic Efficacy In A Postsurgical Pain Model In Mice, Victoria E Brings, Maria A Payne, Robert W Gereau Iv

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Introduction: Hind paw-directed assays are commonly used to study the analgesic effects of opioids in mice. However, opioid-induced hyperlocomotion can obscure results of such assays.

Objectives: We aimed to overcome this potential confound by using gait analysis to observe hind paw usage during walking in mice.

Methods: We measured changes in the paw print area after induction of postsurgical pain (using the paw incision model) and treatment with oxycodone.

Results: Paw incision surgery reduced the paw print area of the injured hind paw as mice avoided placing the incised section of the paw on the floor. Surprisingly, oxycodone caused a …

Sex Differences In Wild-Type Transthyretin Amyloidosis: An Analysis From The Transthyretin Amyloidosis Outcomes Survey (Thaos), Courtney M Campbell, Samantha Lorusso, Angela Dispenzieri, Arnt V Kristen, Mathew S Maurer, Claudio Rapezzi, Olivier Lairez, Brian Drachman, Pablo Garcia-Pavia, Martha Grogan, Doug Chapman, Leslie Amass, Thaos Investigators

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt amyloidosis) is a progressive disease resulting from the accumulation of wild-type transthyretin (TTR) amyloid fibrils, and is diagnosed primarily in males. This analysis examined sex differences in patients with ATTRwt amyloidosis from the Transthyretin Amyloidosis Outcomes Survey (THAOS).

METHODS: THAOS is an ongoing, global, longitudinal, observational survey of patients with transthyretin amyloidosis, including both inherited and wild-type disease, and asymptomatic carriers of TTR mutations. THAOS data were analyzed to identify potential differences in demographic and clinical characteristics between males and females with ATTRwt amyloidosis (data cutoff: August 1, 2021).

RESULTS: Of 1386 patients with ATTRwt …

Association Of Blood-Based Brain Injury Biomarker Concentrations With Outcomes After Pediatric Cardiac Arrest, Ericka L Fink, Stuart Friess, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Importance: Families and clinicians have limited validated tools available to assist in estimating long-term outcomes early after pediatric cardiac arrest. Blood-based brain-specific biomarkers may be helpful tools to aid in outcome assessment.

Objective: To analyze the association of blood-based brain injury biomarker concentrations with outcomes 1 year after pediatric cardiac arrest.

Design, Setting, and Participants: The Personalizing Outcomes After Child Cardiac Arrest multicenter prospective cohort study was conducted in pediatric intensive care units at 14 academic referral centers in the US between May 16, 2017, and August 19, 2020, with the primary investigators blinded to 1-year outcomes. The study included …

Overall Survival In The Simplify-1 And Simplify-2 Phase 3 Trials Of Momelotinib In Patients With Myelofibrosis, Ruben Mesa, Stephen T Oh, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) approved for myelofibrosis provide spleen and symptom improvements but do not address anemia, a negative prognostic factor. Momelotinib, an inhibitor of ACVR1/ALK2, JAK1 and JAK2, demonstrated activity against anemia, symptoms, and splenomegaly in the phase 3 SIMPLIFY trials. Here, we report mature overall survival (OS) and leukemia-free survival (LFS) from both studies, and retrospective analyses of baseline characteristics and efficacy endpoints for OS associations. Survival distributions were similar between JAKi-naïve patients randomized to momelotinib, or ruxolitinib then momelotinib, in SIMPLIFY-1 (OS HR = 1.02 [0.73, 1.43]; LFS HR = 1.08 [0.78, 1.50]). Two-year OS and LFS …

Lack Of Vmp1 Impairs Hepatic Lipoprotein Secretion And Promotes Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis, Xiaoxiao Jiang, Yan Xie, Nicholas O Davidson, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Vacuole membrane protein 1 (VMP1) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) transmembrane protein that regulates the formation of autophagosomes and lipid droplets. Recent evidence suggests that VMP1 plays a critical role in lipoprotein secretion in zebra fish and cultured cells. However, the pathophysiological roles and mechanisms by which VMP1 regulates lipoprotein secretion and lipid accumulation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are unknown.

METHODS: Liver-specific and hepatocyte-specific Vmp1 knockout mice as well as Vmp1 knock-in mice were generated by crossing Vmp1

RESULTS: Hepatocyte-specific deletion of Vmp1 severely impaired VLDL secretion resulting in massive hepatic …

Rapidplan Hippocampal Sparing Whole Brain Model Version 2-How Far Can We Reduce The Dose?, Hefei Liu, Ryan Clark, Anthony Magliari, Robert Foster, Francisco Reynoso, Matthew Schmidt, Vinai Gondi, Christopher Abraham, Heather Curry, Patrick Kupelian, Deepak Khuntia, Sushil Beriwal

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Whole-brain radiotherapy has been the standard palliative treatment for patients with brain metastases due to its effectiveness, availability, and ease of administration. Recent clinical trials have shown that limiting radiation dose to the hippocampus is associated with decreased cognitive toxicity. In this study, we updated an existing Knowledge Based Planning model to further reduce dose to the hippocampus and improve other dosimetric plan quality characteristics. Forty-two clinical cases were contoured according to guidelines. A new dosimetric scorecard was created as an objective measure for plan quality. The new Hippocampal Sparing Whole Brain Version 2 (HSWBv2) model adopted a complex recursive …

A Systematic Review Of Recent And Ongoing Clinical Trials In Patients With The Neurofibromatoses, Simge Acar, Edwin Nieblas-Bedolla, Amy E Armstrong, Angela C Hirbe

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: The neurofibromatoses comprise three different genetic conditions causing considerable morbidity and mortality: neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), and schwannomatosis (SWN). This review summarizes recent and ongoing clinical trials involving patients with neurofibromatoses to better understand the current state of clinical trial research centered around these conditions and inform areas of need.

METHODS: A search was conducted using the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and clinicaltrials.gov databases. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were designed to identify clinical trials focused on patients with NF1, NF2, or SWN completed in or after 2010 and in process as of December …

Trends In Matriculation From Neurological Surgery Training Programs Into Academic Versus Private Practice, Neha Siddiqui, Vamsi P. Reddy, James L. Rogers, Donald K. E. Detchou, Imaima Casubhoy, Rhea Gopali, Subhang Bhalla, Mika Janbahan, Emily Morris, Meghna Priyanka Peesapati, Nitin Agarwal

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVE: A career in academic neurosurgery is an arduous endeavor. Specific factors influencing physician practice preferences remain unclear. This study analyzes data from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons membership identifying the impact of several demographic and educational characteristics influencing neurosurgical career choices centered on academia, private practice, or a combination in the United States.

METHODS: A list of all current neurosurgeons was obtained from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons membership, and information on physician characteristics was collected via internet searches and institutional databases. The practice type of all neurosurgeons considered in this study were categorized as follows: private …

An Evaluation Of Patient-Reported Outcomes In Sickle Cell Disease Within A Conceptual Model., Marsha J Treadwell, Swapandeep Mushiana, Sherif M Badawy, Liliana Preiss, Allison A King, Barbara Kroner, Yumei Chen, Jeffrey Glassberg, Victor Gordeuk, Nirmish Shah, Angela Snyder, Theodore Wun, Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium (Scdic)

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: To examine the relations between patient-reported outcomes (PROs) within a conceptual model for adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) ages 18 - 45 years enrolled in the multi-site Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium (SCDIC) registry. We hypothesized that patient and SCD-related factors, particularly pain, and barriers to care would independently contribute to functioning as measured using PRO domains.

METHODS: Participants (N = 2054) completed a 48-item survey including socio-demographics and PRO measures, e.g., social functioning, pain impact, emotional distress, and cognitive functioning. Participants reported on lifetime SCD complications, pain episode frequency and severity, and barriers to healthcare.

RESULTS: Higher …

Real-Time Analysis And Display Of Quantitative Measures To Track And Improve Clinical Workflow, Reshma Munbodh, Toni M Roth, Kara L Leonard, Robert C Court, Utkarsh Shukla, Sarah Andrea, Marissa Gray, Gregg Leichtman, Eric E Klein

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: Radiotherapy treatment planning is a complex process with multiple, dependent steps involving an interdisciplinary patient care team. Effective communication and real-time tracking of resources and care path activities are key for clinical efficiency and patient safety.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We designed and implemented a secure, interactive web-based dashboard for patient care path, clinical workflow, and resource utilization management. The dashboard enables visualization of resource utilization and tracks progress in a patient's care path from the time of acquisition of the planning CT to the time of treatment in real-time. It integrates with the departmental electronic medical records (EMR) system …

An Ips-Derived In Vitro Model Of Human Atrial Conduction, Sherri M Biendarra-Tiegs, Sergey Yechikov, Bhupinder Shergill, Brittany Brumback, Kentaro Takahashi, Venktesh S Shirure, Ruth Estelle Gonzalez, Laura Houshmand, Denise Zhong, Kuo-Chan Weng, Jon Silva, Timothy W Smith, Stacey L Rentschler, Steven C George

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in the United States, affecting approximately 1 in 10 adults, and its prevalence is expected to rise as the population ages. Treatment options for AF are limited; moreover, the development of new treatments is hindered by limited (1) knowledge regarding human atrial electrophysiological endpoints (e.g., conduction velocity [CV]) and (2) accurate experimental models. Here, we measured the CV and refractory period, and subsequently calculated the conduction wavelength, in vivo (four subjects with AF and four controls), and ex vivo (atrial slices from human hearts). Then, we created an in vitro model of …

World Guidelines For Falls Prevention And Management For Older Adults: A Global Initiative, Manuel Montero-Odasso, Susan Stark, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Creation And Internal Validation Of A Clinical Predictive Model For Fluconazole Resistance In Patients With Candida Bloodstream Infection, Adriana M Rauseo, Margaret A Olsen, Dustin Stwalley, Patrick B Mazi, Lindsey Larson, William G Powderly, Andrej Spec

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Fluconazole is recommended as first-line therapy for candidemia when risk of fluconazole resistance (fluc-R) is low. Lack of methods to estimate resistance risk results in extended use of echinocandins and prolonged hospitalization. This study aimed to develop a clinical predictive model to identify patients at low risk for fluc-R where initial or early step-down fluconazole would be appropriate.

METHODS: Retrospective analysis of hospitalized adult patients with positive blood culture for

RESULTS: We identified 539 adults with candidemia and 72

CONCLUSIONS: This model is a potential tool for identifying patients at low risk for fluc-R candidemia to receive first-line or …

Reference Ranges For Corpus Callosum And Cavum Septi Pellucidi Biometry On Prenatal Ultrasound: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Joshua I Rosenbloom, Lauren H Yaeger, Shay Porat

2020-Current year OA Pubs

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of published nomograms for fetal corpus callosum and cavum septi pellucid biometry. A structured literature search was conducted to identify studies that reported normal measurements of the fetal corpus callosum and cavum septi pellucidi. Random effects metaanalysis was used to calculate normal ranges, and reference curves are provided. The quality assessment demonstrated that there was generally poor reporting regarding maternal characteristics and neonatal outcomes. Our findings emphasize that standardization of research protocols and publishing criteria for normal biometric ranges is needed.

Implications Of Conformational Flexibility, Lipid Binding, And Regulatory Domains In Cell-Traversal Protein Celtos For Apicomplexan Migration, Hirdesh Kumar, John R Jimah, Santosh A Misal, Nichole D Salinas, Michal Fried, Paul H Schlesinger, Niraj H Tolia

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Malaria and other apicomplexan-caused diseases affect millions of humans, agricultural animals, and pets. Cell traversal is a common feature used by multiple apicomplexan parasites to migrate through host cells and can be exploited to develop therapeutics against these deadly parasites. Here, we provide insights into the mechanism of the Cell-traversal protein for ookinetes and sporozoites (CelTOS), a conserved cell-traversal protein in apicomplexan parasites and malaria vaccine candidate. CelTOS has previously been shown to form pores in cell membranes to enable traversal of parasites through cells. We establish roles for the distinct protein regions of Plasmodium vivax CelTOS and examine the …

A Narrative Review Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome With Diarrhea: A Primer For Primary Care Providers, Baha Moshiree, Joel J Heidelbaugh, Gregory S Sayuk

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) is a chronic disorder of gut-brain interaction, characterized by recurrent abdominal pain in association with more frequent, loose stools. The pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) includes disordered gut motility, alterations in gut microbiota, neural-hormonal system abnormalities, immune reactivity, and visceral hypersensitivity. Timely diagnosis of IBS-D can be achieved easily using clinical criteria. Formal IBS diagnosis is important for optimizing treatment and patient outcomes and facilitating patient access to appropriate educational resources. Yet, given the symptom overlap with other gastrointestinal conditions, diagnosis of IBS-D often is perceived to be challenging. Treatment of IBS includes …

Clinical Trial Data Of Anti-Pd-1/Pd-L1 Therapy For Recurrent Or Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Review, Douglas R Adkins, Robert I. Haddad

2020-Current year OA Pubs

IMPORTANCE: Anti-programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1) therapy is standard of care for incurable recurrent or metastatic non-nasopharyngeal head and neck cancer. In contrast, there are no regulatory agency-approved anti-PD-1 agents indicated for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinomas (RM-NPC) in the Western hemisphere, and no standard treatment option exists beyond first-line chemotherapy for RM-NPC. The pace of development of novel systemic therapy regimens for RM-NPC has been slow compared to many other advanced tumor types, leaving an unmet clinical need for these patients with a poor prognosis.

OBSERVATIONS: Recent clinical trials have documented the clinical activity of anti-PD-1 …