Digital Commons Network^™

A Phase 2 Trial Of Cpx-351 Combined With Venetoclax In Relapsed Or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Tapan M Kadia, Wei-Ying Jen, Alex Bataller, Alexandre Bazinet, Gautam Borthakur, Elias Jabbour, Wei Qiao, Nicholas J Short, Koichi Takahashi, Ghayas C Issa, Courtney D Dinardo, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Naveen Pemmaraju, Andrew Tran, Vanthana Bharathi, Sanam Loghavi, Amin M Alousi, Uday Popat, Naval G Daver, Farhad Ravandi, Hagop M Kantarjian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Outcomes in patients with relapsed/refractory (RR) AML are poor. We sought to investigate if CPX-531 in combination with venetoclax (CPX + VEN) was tolerable and effective in RR AML. This was a single institution phase 1b/2 trial of CPX + VEN. Patients aged ≥ 18 years with RR AML who were fit for intensive chemotherapy were eligible. Prior venetoclax exposure was allowed. The phase 1b portion followed a 3 + 3 design to identify the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) for the expansion cohort. At the starting dose level of −1, prolonged myelosuppression was observed, leading to dose level −2 …

Perioperative Durvalumab Plus Chemotherapy Plus New Agents For Resectable Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: The Platform Phase 2 Neocoast-2 Trial, Tina Cascone, Laura Bonanno, Florian Guisier, Amelia Insa, Moishe Liberman, Olivier Bylicki, Lorenzo Livi, Thomas Egenod, Romain Corre, Dong-Wan Kim, Maria Rosario Garcia Campelo, Mariano Provencio Pulla, Byoung Yong Shim, Giulio Metro, Jaafar Bennouna, Agata A Bielska, Alula R Yohannes, Yun He, Adam Dowson, Gozde Kar, Lara Mcgrath, Rakesh Kumar, Italia Grenga, Jonathan Spicer, Patrick M Forde

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In the phase II NeoCOAST-2 platform study, 202 patients with untreated, resectable stage IIA–IIIB non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were randomized to receive neoadjuvant durvalumab plus platinum-doublet chemotherapy with oleclumab, a CD73 inhibitor (Arm 1), or with monalizumab, a NKG2A inhibitor (Arm 2), or neoadjuvant durvalumab plus single-agent platinum chemotherapy with the TROP-2 antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) datopotamab deruxtecan (Arm 4), followed by surgical resection and adjuvant durvalumab with oleclumab or monalizumab (Arms 1 and 2) or durvalumab alone (Arm 4). Primary endpoints were pathological complete response (pCR) rate and safety; secondary endpoints included feasibility of surgery and major pathological response (mPR) …

Exploring High-Dose Olanzapine For Psychosis In An Adolescent With Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia, Shaurya Aggarwal, Shweta P Sahu, Puja Shah, Micah J Knobles

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

High-dose olanzapine has shown efficacy in treating adult patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, though evidence in adolescents remains limited. This report describes the case of a 17-year-old male patient with treatment-resistant schizophrenia who showed significant clinical improvement with a supratherapeutic dose of orally disintegrating olanzapine. The patient, with a 16-month history of schizophrenia and multiple hospitalizations, presented with acute psychosis and aggression after medication non-adherence. Following failed trials of paliperidone and standard-dose olanzapine, and unable to initiate clozapine due to blood draw refusal, the patient was gradually titrated to 50 mg daily of orally disintegrating olanzapine (20 mg early morning, 30 …

Associative Coding Of Conditioned Fear In The Thalamic Nucleus Reuniens In Rodents And Humans, Tuğçe Tuna, Michael S Totty, Muhammad Badarnee, Flávio Afonso Gonçalves Mourão, Shaun Peters, Mohammad R Milad, Stephen Maren

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The nucleus reuniens (RE) is a midline thalamic structure interconnecting the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the hippocampus (HPC). Recent work in both rodents and humans implicates the RE in the adaptive regulation of emotional memories, including the suppression of learned fear. However, the neural correlates of aversive learning in the RE of rodents and humans remain unclear. To address this, we recorded RE activity in humans (BOLD fMRI) and rats (fiber photometry) during Pavlovian fear conditioning and extinction. In both rats and humans, we found that conditioned stimulus (CS)-evoked activity in RE reflects the associative value of the CS. …

Acquired Resistance In Cancer: Towards Targeted Therapeutic Strategies, Alice Soragni, Erik S Knudsen, Thomas N O'Connor, Cristina E Tognon, Jeffrey W Tyner, Beatrice Gini, Donghwa Kim, Trever G Bivona, Xingxing Zang, Agnieszka K Witkiewicz, David W Goodrich, Dadi Jiang, Seth T Gammon, Christopher D Willey, Paul C Boutros, Vlad C Sandulache, Abdullah A Osman, Jeffrey N Myers, Kamiya Mehla, Pankaj K Singh, Keith S Chan, Hongbo Gao, Himangi Marathe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Development of acquired therapeutic resistance limits the efficacy of cancer treatments and accounts for therapeutic failure in most patients. How resistance arises, varies across cancer types and differs depending on therapeutic modalities is incompletely understood. Novel strategies that address and overcome the various and complex resistance mechanisms necessitate a deep understanding of the underlying dynamics. We are at a crucial time when innovative technologies applied to patient-relevant tumour models have the potential to bridge the gap between fundamental research into mechanisms and timing of acquired resistance and clinical applications that translate these findings into actionable strategies to extend therapy efficacy. …

Prognostic Significance Of Micropapillary Pattern And Risk Factors In Patients With Resected Stage I Lung Adenocarcinoma And Possible Benefit Of Adjuvant Therapy: A Real-World Multicenter Study, Jianjie Li, Yujia Chi, Bo Jia, Qiwen Zheng, Minghan Yuan, Jianjun Zhang, Aishen Zhou, Wei Sun, Yue Yang, Jun Zhao, Tongtong An, Yuyan Wang, Minglei Zhuo, Xue Yang, Hanxiao Chen, Jingjing Wang, Xiaoyu Zhai, Yidi Tai, Yuling He, Lingdong Kong, Xumeng Ji, Yiliang Liu, Nan Wu, Ken Onodera, Paul Van Schil, Mathew Thomas, Fan Yang, Ziping Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Micropapillary (MP) pattern has been identified as a negative prognostic factor in patients with lung adenocarcinoma, but it has not been recognized as a high-risk factor for patients with stage IB lung adenocarcinoma treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. This multicenter cohort study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of histological subtypes for stage I lung adenocarcinoma and to determine the relative survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy for subgroups based on MP pattern.

Methods: This retrospective study included 412 patients with stage I lung adenocarcinoma [according the eighth edition of the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification] with MP pattern who underwent complete surgical …

Domains Of Housing Instability And Intimate Partner Violence Risk Among U.S. Tenants, Anairany Zapata, Leila G Wood, Annalynn M Galvin, Wenyaw Chan, Timothy A Thomas, Jack Tsai, Heather K Way, Elizabeth J Mueller, Daphne C Hernandez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

While IPV is often studied as a predictor of housing insecurity, few U.S. studies explore how different forms of housing instability may contribute to intimate partner violence (IPV) risk. Using a mixed-methods approach and a cross-sectional design, this study examined the association between four housing instability domains and IPV among a sample of tenants that had either experienced eviction or were at high risk for eviction. Tenants in Harris and Travis counties (Texas, USA) completed an online survey (n = 1085; March–July 2024). Housing instability was assessed across four domains: homelessness, lease violations, utility hardship, and poor housing quality. …

Treatment With Allogenic Mesenchymal Stromal Cells For Moderate To Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multi-Center, Phase 2b Clinical Trial (Stat), Michael A Matthay, Hanjing Zhou, Aartik Sarma, Narges Alipanah-Lechner, Carolyn Hendrickson, Lucy Z Kornblith, Martin Schreiber, David Zonies, Akram Khan, Bryce Robinson, Nicholas J Johnson, Lorraine B Ware, Oscar Guillamondegui, Jonathan Casey, Laura Moore, Bela Patel, Lillian Kao, Charles E Wade, Erin Fox, Charles Cox, Farrakh Khawanja, Robier Aguillon Prada, Sami Hossri, Rachael Callcut, Timothy Albertson, Kevin L Delucchi, Melanie Mcmillan, Charles R Langelier, Shibani Pati, David H Mckenna, Carolyn Leroux, Carolyn S Calfee, Kathleen D Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Prior clinical trials established the safety, but not the efficacy of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Methods: We conducted a prospective, double-blind, multi-center randomized phase 2b clinical trial of one dose of intravenous MSCs (10 x 106/kg predicted body weight) versus placebo in 120 ventilated patients with ARDS (PaO2/FiO2 < 250 mmHg). The primary endpoint was change in oxygenation index (OI) over 36 hours from baseline.

Findings: Enrollment began in January 2020. Due to the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the majority of subjects (101/120, 84%) developed ARDS from COVID-19. There were no significant baseline differences in severity of illness between patients treated with MSCs and those who received …

A Phase I Trial Of Evorpacept, Lenalidomide And Rituximab For Patients With B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Paolo Strati, Lei Feng, Andrey Tyshevich, Darya Shavronskaya, Julia Alesse, Noel English, Elizabeth Sheehan, Nikita Syzrantsev, Alexander Nesmelov, Tony Z Zhuang, Dai Chihara, Jason R Westin, Sairah Ahmed, Luis E Fayad, Jared Henderson, Kylie Dent, Elizabeth Mcchesney, Sattva S Neelapu, Christopher R Flowers

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: SIRPα+ macrophages can mediate resistance to lenalidomide and rituximab (R2) in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL). Evorpacept (ALX148) is a novel CD47 blocker that abrogates interactions between lymphoma cells and SIRPα+ macrophages.

Methods: Adult patients with B-NHL who had received at least 2 prior lines of systemic therapy were included in this single arm phase I study (NCT05025800). Evorpacept was administered intravenously (IV), in a 28-day cycle, until progression, at two dose levels (DL): 30 mg/Kg on day (D) 1 and D15 (DL1), or 60 mg/Kg on day 1 (DL2); rituximab 375 mg/m2 IV was given …

A Novel Microdosimetry-Based Formalism For Cell Survival Modelling Applicable To Hypofractionated Radiotherapy, Oleg N Vassiliev, Radhe Mohan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives

Hypofractionated radiotherapy requires reliable cell survival models for doses much higher than the standard 2 Gy, for which the linear-quadratic (LQ) model is not applicable. We developed an alternative approach applicable to both low doses and high doses used in hypofractionated treatments and radiobiological experiments.

Approach.

We combined a standard microdosimetric technique with a recently introduced non-LQ cell survival model. Our formulation accounts for cell damage by multi-track events involving any number of particles. This is necessary for modelling cell survival at therapeutic doses. We characterise each cell type by the size �� of the sensitive volume (SV) and …

Adaptive Bayesian Clinical Trials: The Past, Present, And Future Of Clinical Research, Donald A Berry

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/Objectives: Decision-analytic Bayesian approaches are ideally suited for designing clinical trials. They have been used increasingly over the last 30 years in developing medical devices and drugs. A prototype trial is a bandit problem in which treating participants is as important as treating patients in clinical practice after the trial.

Methods: This article chronicles the use of the Bayesian approach in clinical trials motivated by bandit problems. It provides a comprehensive historical and practical review of Bayesian adaptive trials, with a focus on bandit-inspired designs.

Results: The 20th century saw advances in Bayesian methodology involving computer simulation. In the …

Adhd In Youth With Major Depressive Disorder In The Texas Youth Depression And Suicide Research Network (Tx-Ydsrn): Clinical Correlates And Moderators, Blake M Upshaw, Samuel D Spencer, Caitlin M Pinciotti, Vadym Zhyrov, Abu Minhajuddin, Ace A Castillo, Allyssa Abacan, Holli Slater, Rachel A Walker, Joseph C Blader, Sarah L Martin, Jeffrey D Shahidullah, Jair C Soares, Robert Andrew Harper, Madelyn Guerra, Lynnel C Goodman, Wayne K Goodman, Sarah M Wakefield, Madhukar H Trivedi, Eric A Storch

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Depression is a major public health concern with a 19% lifetime prevalence in youth, often precipitating other concerns, including suicidal behavior, poor school performance, and worsened peer relationships. ADHD is also common among youth and frequently presents alongside major depressive disorder (MDD), with this comorbidity associated with increased impairment. More research is needed to elucidate the clinical characteristics of this comorbidity (MDD + ADHD), especially as it relates to youth with MDD and no ADHD (MDD - ADHD). The present study examined the clinical correlates of MDD + ADHD in youth and the presence of an ADHD diagnosis as …

Cancer Screening Uptake And Usual Source Of Care Among Hispanic Survivors Of Adolescent And Young Adult Cancer, Eunju Choi, Amy M Berkman, Clark R Andersen, John M Salsman, Andrea C Betts, Joel Milam, Kimberly A Miller, Susan K Peterson, Qian Lu, Christabel K Cheung, Lauren V Ghazal, J A Livingston, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Susan K Parsons, David R Freyer, Michael E Roth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: This study examines cancer screening rates and the usual source of care among Hispanic survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA, aged 15-39) cancer, a group at increased risk for poor health outcomes, including secondary cancers.

Methods: National Health Interview Survey data were analyzed to identify Hispanic survivors of AYA cancer and Hispanic age- and sex-matched non-cancer controls. Breast, cervical, and colorectal screening (ever screened and up-to-date according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations) as well as reporting a usual source of care were compared among survivors and controls eligible for screening using multivariable logistic regressions.

Results: …

Minimal Ablative Margin Quantification Using Hepatic Arterial Versus Portal Venous Phase Ct For Colorectal Metastases Segmentation: A Dual-Center, Retrospective Analysis, Noreen S Siddiqi, Yuan-Mao Lin, Jessica Albuquerque Marques Silva, Gregor Laimer, Peter Schullian, Yannick Scharll, Alexandra M Dunker, Caleb S O'Connor, Kyle A Jones, Kristy K Brock, Reto Bale, Bruno C Odisio, Iwan Paolucci

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To compare the predictive value of minimal ablative margin (MAM) quantification using tumor segmentation on intraprocedural contrast-enhanced hepatic arterial (HAP) versus portal venous phase (PVP) CT on local outcomes following percutaneous thermal ablation of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM).

Methods: This dual-center retrospective study included patients undergoing thermal ablation of CRLM with intraprocedural preablation and postablation contrast-enhanced CT imaging between 2009 and 2021. Tumors were segmented in both HAP and PVP CT phases using an artificial intelligence-based auto-segmentation model and reviewed by a trained radiologist. The MAM was quantified using a biomechanical deformable image registration process. The area under the …

Survival-Inferred Fragility Of Statistical Significance In Phase Iii Oncology Trials, Alexander D Sherry, Yufei Liu, Pavlos Msaouel, Timothy A Lin, Alex Koong, Christine Lin, Joseph Abi Jaoude, Roshal R Patel, Ramez Kouzy, Molly B El-Alam, Avital M Miller, Mohannad Owiwi, Jonathan Ofer, David Bomze, Zachary R Mccaw, Tomer Meirson, Ethan B Ludmir

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In phase III oncology trials, superiority is defined by statistical significance using P thresholds. However, this approach has been criticized because P is continuous. Here, we reconstruct patient-level data for 230 phase III oncology trials to model the robustness of statistical significance by estimating the survival-inferred fragility index (SIFI), defined as the smallest number of patients changing arms that alters the statistical significance interpretation. The median SIFI was 8 patients (IQR 4-19), representing 1.4% of enrollments (IQR 0.7%-3%). As a continuous statistic, P-but not the significance interpretation-was correlated with SIFI. Moreover, overall survival endpoints were more fragile than surrogate endpoints. …

Feasibility Of Manufacturing And Antitumor Activity Of Til For Advanced Endometrial Cancers, Yongliang Zhang, Kathleen N Moore, Amir A Jazaeri, Judy Fang, Ilabahen Patel, Andrew Yuhas, Patrick Innamarato, Nathan Gilbert, Joseph W Dean, Behzad Damirchi, Joe Yglesias, Rongsu Qi, Michelle R Simpson-Abelson, Erwin Cammaart, Sean R R Hall, Hequn Yin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Lifileucel, a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapy approved for advanced melanoma, demonstrates promise for treating other solid tumors, including endometrial cancer (EC). The current study evaluates the feasibility of manufacturing TILs from EC tumors using Iovance’s proprietary 22-day Gen2 manufacturing process. Key parameters, including TIL yield, viability, immune phenotype, T-cell receptor clonality, and cytotoxic activity, were assessed. Of the 11 EC tumor samples processed at research scale, 10 (91%) successfully generated >1 × 109 viable TIL cells, with a median yield of 1.1 × 1010 cells and a median viability of 82.8%. Of the four EC tumor samples processed at …

Machine-Learning Driven Strategies For Adapting Immunotherapy In Metastatic Nsclc, Maliazurina B Saad, Qasem Al-Tashi, Lingzhi Hong, Vivek Verma, Wentao Li, Daniel Boiarsky, Shenduo Li, Milena Petranovic, Carol C Wu, Brett W Carter, Girish S Shroff, Tina Cascone, Xiuning Le, Yasir Y Elamin, Mehmet Altan, Simon Heeke, Ajay Sheshadri, Joe Y Chang, Percy P Lee, Zhongxing Liao, Don L Gibbons, Ara A Vaporciyan, J Jack Lee, Ignacio I Wistuba, Cara Haymaker, Seyedali Mirjalili, David Jaffray, Justin F Gainor, Yanyan Lou, Alessandro Di Federico, Federica Pecci, Mark Awad, Biagio Ricciuti, John V Heymach, Natalie I Vokes, Jianjun Zhang, Jia Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), either as monotherapy (ICI-Mono) or combined with chemotherapy (ICI-Chemo), improves survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, prospective guidance for choosing between these options remains limited, and single-feature biomarkers like PD-L1 prove inadequate. We develop a machine learning model using clinicogenomic data from four cohorts (MD Anderson n = 750; Mayo Clinic n = 80; Dana-Farber n = 1077; Stand Up To Cancer n = 393) to predict individual benefit from adding chemotherapy. Benefit scores are calculated using five distinct functions derived from 28 genomic and 6 clinical features. Our integrated model, A-STEP (Attention-based …

Optimizing Tobacco-Free Workplace Programs: Applying Rapid Qualitative Analysis To Adapt Interventions For Texas Healthcare Centers Serving Rural And Medically Underserved Patients, Hannah Wani, Maggie Britton, Tzuan A Chen, Ammar D Siddiqi, Asfand B Moosa, Teresa Williams, Kathleen Casey, Lorraine R Reitzel, Isabel Martinez Leal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Tobacco use is disproportionately high in rural areas, contributing to elevated cancer mortality, yet it often goes untreated due to limited access to care, high poverty and uninsured rates, and co-occurring substance use disorders (SUDs). This study explored the utility of using rapid qualitative analysis (RQA) to guide the adaptation of a tobacco-free workplace program (TFWP) in Texas healthcare centers serving adults with SUDs in medically underserved areas.

Methods: From September-December 2023 and May-July 2024, we conducted 11 pre-implementation, virtual semi-structured group interviews focused on adapting the TFWP to local contexts (N = 69); 7 with providers (n …

An Alternative Neural Basis Underlying Leptin Resistance, Hongli Li, Cunjin Su, Yuanzhong Xu, Mette Q Ludwig, Jon Davis, Qingchun Tong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Overconsumption of a palatable Western diet, a condition linked to central leptin resistance, contributes extensively to the current obesity epidemic. In this context, intensive efforts have focused on detailing the molecular mechanisms underlying leptin resistance. Here, we demonstrate that chronic inhibition of hypothalamic arcuate GABAergic neurons (ArcGABA) effectively reduced diet-induced obesity (DIO). Interestingly, palatable food exposure increased the activity level of ArcGABA neurons, which do not express the leptin receptor (non-LepR neurons; nonresponsive to leptin). Chronic activation of ArcGABA non-LepR neurons led to massive obesity, which was associated with normal leptin-induced pSTAT3 signaling but phenotypic leptin resistance; i.e., high leptin …

Belumosudil Reduces Oral Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease Tissue Inflammation And Fibrosis: A Rockstar Companion Study, Rubina Sharma, Noa G Holtzman, Iskra Pusic, Corey Cutler, Nathaniel Treister, Rohtesh S Mehta, Amin S Alousi, Nadarajah Vigneswaran, Ayesha Javaid, Francis Boksa, Drashty P Mody, Ana C Costa-Da-Silva, Olivier Schueller, Sandrine Macé, Yu Yao, Ran Ji, Beifang Hu, Kathy Marshall, Bruce R Blazar, Stephanie J Lee, Steven Z Pavletic, Jacqueline W Mays

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Belumosudil (KD025), an oral, selective, Rho-associated, coiled-coil-containing protein kinase 2 (ROCK2) inhibitor, is approved for third-line treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Previous studies demonstrated that ROCK2 inhibition reduces blood interleukin-17 (IL-17) activity and promotes regulatory T-cell (Treg cell) recovery. However, these studies did not evaluate immune responses within cGVHD-affected tissues. This study assessed tissue-level immune dynamics in 20 patients with oral cGVHD from the phase 2 ROCKstar trial, before and after 6 months of belumosudil treatment, focusing on key effector sites (oral mucosa [OM], minor salivary glands [MSGs], and skin) and the peripheral blood. After belumosudil treatment, reduction in …

Precision Care In Screening, Surveillance, And Overall Management Of Barrett's Esophagus, Yeshaswini Reddy, Madhav Desai, Bernadette Tumaliuan, Nirav Thosani

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Barrett's esophagus (BE), a metaplastic transformation of an esophageal squamous epithelium into an intestinal-type columnar epithelium, is the primary precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Traditional management strategies have relied heavily on selective screening, tailored surveillance intervals, and early dysplasia detection and treatment algorithms. However, the heterogeneity in progression risk among BE patients necessitates a more nuanced, personalized approach involving precision care, tailoring decisions to individual patient characteristics, promises to enhance outcomes in BE through more targeted screening, personalized surveillance intervals, and risk-based therapeutic strategies. This review explores the current landscape and emerging trends in precision medicine for Barrett's esophagus, highlighting …

Timing Of Nodal Metastasis In Patients With Eyelid Sebaceous Carcinoma And Implications For Surveillance And Survival, Tracy Lu, Casey Anthony, Xinyang Jiang, Jing Ning, Ryan Goepfert, Bita Esmaeli

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/aims: Sebaceous carcinoma (SC) is a rare cancer with periocular predilection. Studies focused on patterns and timing of nodal metastasis are scarce.Our aim is to report patterns of regional nodal metastasis in patients with eyelid SC, including results of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).

Methods: All consecutive patients with eyelid SC treated during 1999-2023 were retrospectively reviewed.All subjects had standard of care surgery for eyelid SC and regional lymph node evaluation using physical examination and ultrasonography (US) at baseline and during the surveillance period. 38 patients with negative findings on US had SLNB to rule out microscopic metastasis.The frequency and …

The Adaptation And Translation Of A Transition Readiness Scale For Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Antonio F Pagán, Katherine A Loveland, Ron Acierno

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Autistic young adults often face significant challenges during the transition to adulthood, yet few tools exist to assess their readiness in a developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive manner. This study presents the development and initial validation of the Transition Readiness Scale for Autistic Adolescents and Adults (TRS-A), a brief caregiver- and self-report measure designed to assess key domains of transition readiness. Guided by qualitative input from Latino families, community stakeholders, and clinicians, the TRS-A was piloted with 114 autistic young adults, 66 Spanish-speaking parents, and 48 English-speaking parents. Psychometric analyses supported the scale's internal consistency and construct validity, mirroring the …

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome In Patients With Lymphopenia: Results From The National Inpatient Sample (2017-2021), Arnav Garyali, Trishna Parikh, Dhruv Kumar, Ishan Gupta, Adishwar Rao, Akriti Agrawal, Sabiha Armin, Rishi Panjala, Rohan Patil, Nikhil Sriram, Sruthi Parthasarathy, Aarohi Parikh, Bindu Akkanti

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Lymphopenia has been associated with in-hospital, early, and late mortality. We aimed to elucidate differences in baseline characteristics in patients with lymphopenia with and without acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and determine predictors of in-hospital mortality in this patient population.

Methods: Patients ≥ 18 years of age with lymphopenia were identified in the National Inpatient Sample (2017-2021) and stratified according to ARDS diagnosis. Predictors of in-hospital mortality were determined using multivariate analyses with a logistic regression model.

Results: From 183,185 patients with lymphopenia, 10,420 (5.7%) had ARDS, of which 92.8% had coronavirus disease 2019. The patients with ARDS suffered …

Image-Based Inference Of Tumor Cell Trajectories Enables Large-Scale Cancer Progression Analysis, Yang Liu, Ling Cai, Ruichen Rong, Shidan Wang, Liwei Jia, Peiran Quan, Qin Zhou, Guanghua Xiao, Yang Xie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Current approaches to estimating cell trajectories, tumor progression dynamics, and cell population diversity of tumor microenvironment often depend on single-cell RNA sequencing, which is costly and resource intensive. To address this limitation, we developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that leverages cell morphology features and histological spatial organization to classify tumor cell differentiation status, infer cell dynamic trajectories, and quantify tumor progression from hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained whole-slide images. In three independent lung adenocarcinoma cohorts, our AI-based model accurately predicted cell differential status and provided quantifiable measures of tumor progression that were prognostic of patient survival. Spatial transcriptomic integrative analyses …

A Two-Stage Dual-Task Learning Strategy For Early Prediction Of Pathological Complete Response To Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy For Breast Cancer Using Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Images, Bowen Jing, Jing Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Early prediction of treatment response can facilitate personalized treatment for breast cancer patients. Studies on the I-SPY 2 clinical trial demonstrate that multi-time point dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (DCEMR) imaging improves the accuracy of predicting pathological complete response (pCR) to chemotherapy. However, previous image-based prediction models usually rely on mid- or post-treatment images to ensure the accuracy of prediction, which may outweigh the benefit of response-based adaptive treatment strategy. Accurately predicting the pCR at the early time point is desired yet remains challenging. To improve prediction accuracy at the early time point of treatment, we proposed a two-stage dual-task learning …

Truncated Ntrk2 Is Induced In Cap1 Endothelial Cells During Mouse Lung Injury-Repair, Celine Shuet Lin Kong, Mitheera V, Jezreel Pantaleón-García, Scott E Evans, Jichao Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pulmonary capillary endothelial cells (ECs) consist of two populations, CAP1 and CAP2; how each population reacts to diverse tissue injury is incompletely understood. Using single-cell multiome and mouse genetics, we characterize the induction and function of a truncated isoform of Ntrk2, Ntrk2-T1, in multiple lung injury models. Upon Sendai parainfluenza infection, Ntrk2-T1 is broadly induced in CAP1s after the initial interferon response, associated with increased intronic chromatin accessibility, and persists for weeks. Ntrk2-T1 ECs arise from CAP1s but not CAP2s-traced by

Engaging Trusted Messengers In Public Health Response: Key Strategies To Building Community Trust Among Cdc’S Prevention Research Center’S Vaccine Confidence Network, Emily Stiehl, Amy Borg, John P Cullen, Anaïs Mendiola, Olivia Dominguez, Danielle Pester, Shan Qiao, Pooja Gandhi, Nicole Kuiper, Princilla Minkah, Shekwonya Samuel, Stephen Flores, Richard Quartarone, Grace W Ryan, Paula Cuccaro, Maria E Fernández, Sage Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

As part of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Prevention Research Center (PRC) Vaccine Confidence Network (PRC VCN), 26 academic institutions were funded to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake in their communities. Six sites (in communities located in Alabama, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, and Texas) formed a workgroup to identify emergent themes, and share challenges and opportunities across projects. This essay describes their efforts to engage trusted messengers in vaccine activities, and discusses strategies to develop and sustain these types of partnerships in the future. All sites recruited trusted messengers with strong community relationships to engage …

Nrg Oncology Liver Proton Sbrt And Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy: Current Treatment Technical Assessment And Practice Patterns, Minglei Kang, Paige A Taylor, Jiajian Shen, Jun Zhou, Jatinder Saini, Theodore S Hong, Kristin Higgins, Wei Liu, Ying Xiao, Charles B Simone, Liyong Lin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Facts And Hopes: Toward The Next Quantum Leap In Melanoma, Keith T Flaherty, Andrew E Aplin, Michael A Davies, Nir Hacohen, Meenhard Herlyn, Dave Hoon, Patrick Hwu, Michal Lotem, James Mulé, Jennifer A Wargo, David E Fisher

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Outcomes from advanced melanoma, the deadliest of the skin cancers arising from melanocytes and capable of widely metastasizing, have greatly improved, with death rates decreasing for patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer stage 4 melanoma by 3% to 5% annually over the past 10 years. This improvement is a result of advances in both targeted therapy and immunotherapy. BRAF and MEK inhibitors for advanced melanoma have led the way for targeted cancer strategies and first-in-class approvals for immune checkpoint blockers targeting CTLA4, PD-1, and LAG3; T-cell engager therapy targeting the antigen gp100; and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy. All of these …