Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Combining Traditional East Asian And Conventional Western Medicine On Acute Stroke Outcomes, Dong-Seok Gwak, Jong-Sik Lee, Dawid Schellingerhout, Jinyong Chung, Hyerin Oh, Sang-Wuk Jeong, Ji Sung Lee, Hee-Joon Bae, Mikyung Kim, Dong-Jun Choi, Dong-Eog Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Traditional East Asian medicine (TM) is widely used in Korea and other East Asian countries. However, the effects of TM treatment on acute ischemic stroke (AIS) outcomes remain unclear, as previous studies lacked a sufficient sample size, a consecutive series design, or a prospective outcome capture approach. We aimed to investigate whether combining TM with conventional Western medicine (CM) treatments (C+TM) leads to better outcomes after AIS, relative to CM treatment alone.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 2157 consecutive patients with AIS from a prospectively collected registry (2011-2021) at our center and compared the CM and C+TM groups in terms …

Validation Of A Risk Score For Cancer-Associated Thrombosis Using Nationwide Ehr Data, Ang Li, Omid Jafari, Barbara D Lam, Jun Y Jiang, Rock Bum Kim, Shengling Ma, Emily Zhou, Joyce W Tiong, Elizabeth C Chiang, Justine Ryu, Christopher I Amos, Jennifer La, Nathanael R Fillmore

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is associated with increased mortality and morbidity in patients with cancer. Existing risk prediction models are typically validated within individual sites, a fragmented approach that limits clinical adoption.

Objective: To validate the electronic health record cancer-associated thrombosis (EHR-CAT) score compared with the benchmark Khorana score in a contemporary cohort of patients with cancer across the nation, before and after treatment, excluding those at high risk of bleeding.

Design, setting, and participants: This prognostic study included patients in a nationwide longitudinal EHR database from January 2018 to December 2023 with follow-up continuing to April 2025. Patients with …

Early Ctdna Dynamics Inform First-Line Therapy In Patients With Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer, Carmela Ciardullo, Luis Tobalina, T Hedley Carr, Philip Szekeres, Silvija Kraljevic, Lauren Averett Byers, Giulia Fabbri

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis despite initial treatment responses. This study evaluates ctDNA for monitoring disease and assessing the efficacy of first-line therapy in patients with extensive-stage SCLC (1L ES-SCLC).

Experimental design: In the TAZMAN trial, 31 patients with 1L ES-SCLC received standard treatment with durvalumab and etoposide plus carboplatin or cisplatin. We analyzed 228 plasma samples from 27 of 31 patients using a liquid biopsy approach to detect somatic mutations and copy-number aberrations, while also accounting for clonal hematopoiesis mutations.

Results: Baseline ctDNA analysis detected somatic alterations in 96.3% of …

Hand Swelling And Other Non-Raynaud Phenomenon Symptoms As The Initial Presentation Of Systemic Sclerosis: Prevalence And Clinical Associations In Two Us Cohorts, Iqtidar Hanif, Shervin Assassi, Maureen D Mayes, Zsuzsanna H Mcmahan, Meng Zhang, Julio Charles, John M Vanburen, Jessica S Alvey, Kimia Ghaffari, Elana J Bernstein, Flavia V Castelino, Lorinda Chung, Luke Evnin, Tracy M Frech, Jessica K Gordon, Faye N Hant, Laura K Hummers, Dinesh Khanna, Kimberly S Lakin, Dorota Lebiedz-Odrobina, Yiming Luo, Ashima Makol, Jerry A Molitor, Duncan F Moore, Carrie Richardson, Nora Sandorfi, Ami A Shah, Ankoor Shah, Victoria K Shanmugam, Virginia D Steen, Elizabeth R Volkmann, Carleigh Zahn, Brian Skaug

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Raynaud phenomenon (RP) is often the initial clinical manifestation of systemic sclerosis (SSc), but some patients develop other manifestations first. To help elucidate the diversity of SSc presentation in its early stages, we describe the initial clinical manifestations and antinuclear antibody (ANA) profiles of patients in two early SSc cohorts.

Methods: All patient data in the Genetics vs Environment in Scleroderma Outcomes Study (GENISOS) and Collaborative National Quality and Efficacy Registry (CONQUER) cohorts were reviewed. Both studies enrolled patients within five years of the first non-RP symptom.

Results: In GENISOS and CONQUER, respectively, 194 (44.2%) of 439 and 292 …

Probabilistic Template Matching For Detecting Resting-State Functional Mri Language Network In Brain Tumor Patients, Jian Ming Teo, Vinodh A Kumar, Alexander M Khalaf, Kyle R Noll, Sherise D Ferguson, Chibawanye I Ene, Sujit S Prabhu, Max Wintermark, Ho-Ling Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Intersubject variation among patients with brain tumors complicates the template matching process for detecting the resting-state (rs) functional MRI (fMRI) language network when using independent component analysis (ICA).

Purpose: This study aimed to develop methods that use a probabilistic language atlas to incorporate intersubject variation in brain tumor patients into the template matching process.

Methods: This retrospective study included 79 patients with brain tumors (average age, 50 ± 15 years) who underwent presurgical task-based (tb)-fMRI and rs-fMRI at clinical 3T scanners. At varying template generation thresholds (τ), binary and probabilistic templates were obtained from the language atlas. A binary …

Surgical Outcomes With Neoadjuvant Durvalumab Plus Chemotherapy Followed By Adjuvant Durvalumab In Resectable Nsclc, Tetsuya Mitsudomi, John V Heymach, Martin Reck, Janis M Taube, Shugeng Gao, Yoshitsugu Horio, Jian You, Gaofeng Li, Dinh Van Luong, Somcharoen Saeteng, Fumihiro Tanaka, Stefan B Watzka, Laszlo Urban, Zsuzsanna Szalai, Hiroaki Akamatsu, Jin Hyoung Kang, Francisco J Orlandi, Guzel Z Mukhametshina, Andreas Pircher, Carlos Henrique Andrade Teixeira, Mike Aperghis, Gary J Doherty, Ruth Doake, Tamer M Fouad, David Harpole

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: In AEGEAN, perioperative durvalumab plus neoadjuvant chemotherapy, versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone, significantly improved event-free survival (p = 0.004) and pathologic complete response (p < 0.001; primary end points; modified intention-to-treat [mITT] population, which excluded patients with known EGFR or ALK aberrations) with a manageable safety profile in patients with resectable (R)-NSCLC. Here, we report surgical outcomes from AEGEAN.

Methods: Patients with treatment-naive R-NSCLC (stage II-IIIB [N2]) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 or 1 were randomized (1:1) to platinum-based chemotherapy plus durvalumab or placebo intravenously (every 3 wk, 4 cycles) before surgery, followed by durvalumab or placebo (every 4 wk, 12 cycles). Surgical outcomes were summarized for the mITT population using descriptive statistics.

Results: A total of 737 out of 740 mITT patients received treatment, 366 and 371 in the durvalumab and …

Study Of 18 F-Fluciclovine Pet For Serial Assessment Of Glioblastoma Tumor Volumes During Surgery And Radiotherapy, Samir A Dagher, Jason M Johnson, Rania M M Mohamed, Shehbaz Ansari, Osama Mawlawi, Ho-Ling Liu, Max Wintermark, Dawid Schellingerhout, Lesley Flynt, Debra N Yeboa, Jeffrey S Weinberg, Sherise D Ferguson, Maria K Gule-Monroe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Recent evidence supports incorporating 18 F-Fluciclovine PET for glioblastoma treatment planning and monitoring, as it better captures tumor infiltration compared to conventional MRI. However, the relationship between PET- and MRI-defined tumor volumes remains unclear, particularly in the post-treatment setting. This study prospectively compares tumor volumes on MRI and PET at multiple timepoints throughout the treatment course and evaluates volumetric changes with therapy.

METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 8 adults with IDH-wildtype glioblastoma treated with surgery and chemoradiation between September 2019 and 2021. Participants underwent paired 18 F-Fluciclovine PET/CT and conventional MRI at four timepoints: preoperatively, pre-radiation, and at one- and …

Basal Cell Carcinoma Risk Prediction In Survivors Of Childhood Cancer, Cindy Im, Christina Boull, Zhe Lu, Kenneth Liao, Hasibul Hasan, Linwan Xu, Yadav Sapkota, Rebecca M Howell, Michael A Arnold, Miriam R Conces, Ashley J Housten, Judith Gebauer, Thorsten Langer, Jop C Teepen, Leontien C M Kremer, Louis S Constine, Yutaka Yasui, Melissa M Hudson, Kirsten K Ness, Gregory T Armstrong, Joseph P Neglia, Yan Yuan, Lucie M Turcotte

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Survivors of childhood cancer face excess risk of developing basal cell carcinoma. Age-specific basal cell carcinoma risk prediction models for survivors may support targeted screening recommendations.

Methods: We developed models predicting basal cell carcinoma risk by ages 40 and 50 years featuring detailed cancer treatment predictors, utilizing statistical and machine-learning algorithms and data from 23 166 five-year survivors in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a multi-institutional retrospective cohort study. Selected models were externally validated in 5314 survivors in the St Jude Lifetime Cohort. Model discrimination and precision were evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) …

Microbial Signals In Primary And Metastatic Brain Tumors, Golnaz Morad, Ashish V Damania, Brenda Melendez, Bharat B Singh, Fabiana J Veguilla, Rebecca A Soto, Yasmine M Hoballah, Pranoti V Sahasrabhojane, Matthew C Wong, Mona M Ahmed, Rene N Rico, Kaitlyn N Lewis, Khalida Wani, Diana D Shamsutdinova, Rossana N Lazcano Segura, Davis R Ingram, Eric A Goethe, Abderrahman Day, Ivonne I Flores, Lauren K Mcdaniel, Manoj Chelvanambi, Sarah B Johnson, Florentia Dimitriou, Pravesh Gupta, Shivangi Oberai, M Anna Zal, Phoebe Doss, Mohamed A Jamal, Eiko Hayase, Chetna Wathoo, Lisa M Norberg, Stephanie L Jenkins, Sara Nass, Joy Gumin, Lihong Long, Jing Yang, Gina R Bradley, Mahesh Prasad Bekal, Antonio G Dono, Pavel S Pichardo-Rojas, Samuel W Andrewes, Leomar Y Ballester, Jillian S Losh, Jiyong Liang, Longfei Huo, Douglas C Nielsen, Brittany C Parker Kerrigan, Priscilla K Brastianos, Natalie Wall Fowlkes, Chia-Chi Chang, Robert R Jenq, Candelaria Gomez-Manzano, Jason T Huse, Michael A Davies, Alexander J Lazar, Krishna P Bhat, Nitin Tandon, Yoshua Esquenazi, Christine B Peterson, Vinay K Puduvalli, Frederick F Lang, Christopher D Johnston, Susan Bullman, Nadim J Ajami, Sherise D Ferguson, Jennifer A Wargo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Gliomas and brain metastases are associated with poor prognosis, necessitating a deeper understanding of brain tumor biology and the development of effective therapeutic strategies. Although our group and others have demonstrated microbial presence in various tumors, recent controversies regarding cancer-type-specific intratumoral microbiota emphasize the importance of rigorous, orthogonal validation. This prospective, multi-institutional study included a total of 243 samples from 221 patients, comprising 168 glioma and brain metastases samples and 75 non-cancerous or tumor-adjacent tissues. Using stringent fluorescence in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry and high-resolution spatial imaging, we detected intracellular bacterial 16S rRNA and lipopolysaccharides in both glioma and brain metastases …

Continuous Androgen Deprivation Therapy With Or Without Metastasis-Directed Therapy For Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer: The Multicenter Phase 2 Randomized Extend Trial, Alexander D Sherry, Bilal A Siddiqui, Cara Haymaker, Bryan M Fellman, Marina N Medina-Rosales, Tharakeswara K Bathala, Shuqi Wang, Suyu Liu, Aaron Seo, Kieko Hara, Hsinyi Lu, Patricia Troncoso, Stephen G Chun, Chul S Ha, Lauren L Mayo, Henry Mok, Ryan J Park, Brian F Chapin, Ryan M Phillips, Matthew P Deek, Craig A Kovitz, Ana Aparicio, Amado J Zurita, Patrick G Pilie, Lorenzo Cohen, Seungtaek L Choi, Alexandre Reuben, Phuoc T Tran, Paul G Corn, Sumit K Subudhi, Chad Tang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and objective: Oligometastatic prostate cancer (omPC) is characterized by limited metastases. We hypothesized that metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) to all sites of omPC combined with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) would improve clinical outcomes.

Methods: In the multicenter phase 2 EXTEND trial, patients with omPC were randomized 1:1 to ADT versus MDT + ADT in two independently powered and randomized baskets, one using intermittent ADT and one using continuous ADT. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints included radiologic PFS (rPFS) and castration resistance-free survival (CRFS). Here, the primary results of the continuous ADT basket, the combined analysis …

Long-Term Results From The Agile Study Of Azacitidine Plus Ivosidenib Vs Placebo In Newly Diagnosed Idh1-Mutated Aml, Pau Montesinos, Dylan M Marchione, Christian Recher, Michael Heuser, Susana Vives, Ewa Zarzycka, Jianxiang Wang, Marta Riva, Rodrigo T Calado, Andre C Schuh, Su-Peng Yeh, Adriana E Tron, Jianan Hui, Diego A Gianolio, Sung Choe, Prapti Patel, Stéphane De Botton, Courtney D Dinardo, Hartmut Döhner

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In the phase 3 AGILE study, after a 12.4-month median follow-up, ivosidenib, a mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) inhibitor, combined with azacitidine significantly improved event-free survival, overall survival (OS), and complete remission rates compared with placebo-azacitidine in patients with newly diagnosed IDH1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), who were unfit for intensive chemotherapy. This post hoc analysis reports long-term follow-up results from AGILE after a median follow-up of 28.6 months. Overall, 148 patients were randomized to receive ivosidenib-azacitidine (n = 73) or placebo-azacitidine (n = 75). Median OS was significantly longer with ivosidenib (29.3 months; 95% confidence interval …

Distinct Spatiotemporal Patterns Of White Matter Hyperintensity Progression, Jinyong Chung, Gilsoon Park, Wi-Sun Ryu, Dawid Schellingerhout, Hang-Rai Kim, Dong-Seok Gwak, Elizabeth Haddad, Neda Jahanshad, Beom Joon Kim, Keun-Sik Hong, Hyerin Oh, Sang-Wuk Jeong, Joon-Tae Kim, Man Seok Park, Kang-Ho Choi, Kyungbok Lee, Tai Hwan Park, Sang-Soon Park, Jong-Moo Park, Kyusik Kang, Kyung-Ho Yu, Mi Sun Oh, Soo Joo Lee, Jae Guk Kim, Jae-Kwan Cha, Dae-Hyun Kim, Jun Lee, Moon-Ku Han, Yong-Jin Cho, Byung-Chul Lee, Philip M Bath, Joanna M Wardlaw, Hee-Joon Bae, Hosung Kim, Dong-Eog Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

White matter hyperintensity, a key imaging biomarker for brain health, has prognostic implications for stroke. Using a multicenter MRI dataset of 9179 stroke patients plus the UK Biobank (n = 36,210 low/high risk controls), we employ Subtype and Stage Inference modeling and identify three distinct white matter hyperintensity progression subtypes: fronto-parietal, radial, and temporo-occipital. Longitudinal validation confirms classification stability. The fronto-parietal subtype shows delayed onset and more hypertension, while the temporo-occipital subtype has more atrial fibrillation and coronary heart disease. The fronto-parietal and radial subtypes are linked to small vessel stroke, while the temporo-occipital subtype is linked to cardioembolism. The …

Transdiagnostic Alterations In White Matter Microstructure Associated With Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviours In The Enigma Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviours Consortium, Laura S Van Velzen, Lejla Colic, Zuriel Ceja, Maria R Dauvermann, Luca M Villa, Hannah S Savage, Yara J Toenders, Niousha Dehestani, Alyssa H Zhu, Adrian I Campos, Lauren E Salminen, Martin Alda, Ingrid Agartz, Nina Alexander, Rosa Ayesa-Arriola, Elizabeth D Ballard, Nerisa Banaj, Carlotta Barkhau, Zeynep Başgöze, Jochen Bauer, Francesco Benedetti, Klaus Berger, Bianca Besteher, Katharina Brosch, Manuel Canal-Rivero, Simon Cervenka, Romain Colle, Colm G Connolly, Emmanuelle Corruble, Philippe Courtet, Baptiste Couvy-Duchesne, Benedicto Crespo-Facorro, Kathryn R Cullen, Udo Dannlowski, Jeremy Deverdun, Ana M Diaz-Zuluaga, Lorielle M F Dietze, Jennifer W Evans, Negar Fani, Kira Flinkenflügel, Naomi P Friedman, Ian H Gotlib, Nynke A Groenewold, Dominik Grotegerd, Tomas Hajek, Alexander S Hatoum, Marco Hermesdorf, Ian B Hickie, Yoshiyuki Hirano, Tiffany C Ho, Yuki Ikemizu, Frank Iorfino, Jonathan C Ipser, Yuko Isobe, Andrea P Jackowski, Fabrice Jollant, Tilo Kircher, Melissa Klug, Sheri-Michelle Koopowitz, Anna Kraus, Axel Krug, Emmanuelle Le Bars, Elisabeth J Leehr, Meng Li, Elizabeth T C Lippard, Carlos Lopez-Jaramillo, Ivan I Maximov, Andrew M Mcintosh, Katie A Mclaughlin, Sean R Mcwhinney, Susanne Meinert, Elisa Melloni, Philip B Mitchell, Benson Mwangi, Igor Nenadić, Stener Nerland, Emilie Olie, Victor Ortiz-García De La Foz, Pedro M Pan, Fabricio Pereira, Fabrizio Piras, Federica Piras, Sara Poletti, Andrew E Reineberg, Gloria Roberts, Rafael Romero-García, Matthew D Sacchet, Giovanni A Salum, Anca-Larisa Sandu, Carl M Sellgren, Eiji Shimizu, Harry R Smolker, Jair C Soares, J Douglas Steele, Frederike Stein, Dan J Stein, Benjamin Straube, Lea Teutenberg, Florian Thomas-Odenthal, Paula Usemann, Romain Valabregue, Johanna Valencia-Echeverry, Gerd Wagner, Gordon Waiter, Martin Walter, Heather C Whalley, Mon-Ju Wu, Tony T Yang, Carlos A Zarate, Andre Zugman, Giovana B Zunta-Soares, Kees Van Heeringen, Sanne J H Van Rooij, Nic Van Der Wee, Steven Van Der Werff, Paul M Thompson, Hilary P Blumberg, Anne-Laura Van Harmelen, Miguel E Rentería, Neda Jahanshad, Enigma Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviours Consortium, Lianne Schmaal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Previous studies have suggested that alterations in white matter (WM) microstructure are implicated in suicidal thoughts and behaviours (STBs). However, findings of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have been inconsistent. In this large-scale mega-analysis conducted by the ENIGMA Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours (ENIGMA-STB) consortium, we examined WM alterations associated with STBs. Data processing was standardised across sites, and resulting WM microstructure measures (fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD), mean diffusivity and radial diffusivity) for 24 WM tracts and one global measure were pooled across 40 cohorts. We compared these measures among individuals with a psychiatric diagnosis and lifetime history of …

Preoperative Brain Mapping Predicts Language Outcomes After Eloquent Tumor Resection, Matthew T Muir, Kyle Noll, Sarah Prinsloo, Hayley Michener, Jeffrey I Traylor, Vinodh A Kumar, Chibawanye I Ene, Sherise Ferguson, Ho-Ling Liu, Jeffrey S Weinberg, Frederick Lang, Brian A Taylor, Stephanie J Forkel, Sujit S Prabhu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

When operating on gliomas near critical language regions, surgeons risk either leaving residual tumor or inducing permanent postoperative language deficits (PLDs). Despite the advent of intraoperative mapping techniques, subjective judgments frequently determine important surgical decisions. We aim to inform data-driven surgery by constructing a non-invasive mapping approach that quantitatively predicts the impact of individual surgical decisions on long-term language function. This study included 79 consecutive patients undergoing resection of language-eloquent gliomas. Patients underwent preoperative navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) language mapping to identify language-positive sites ("TMS points") and their associated white matter tracts ("TMS tracts") as well as formal language …

Landscape And Clinicopathologic Features Of Ras Pathway Mutations In Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Sanam Loghavi, Ziyi Li, Kelly Chien, Rashmi Kanagal-Shamanna, Alex Bataller, Anuya Natu, Mark Gurney, Alexandre Bazinet, Danielle Hammond, Koji Sasaki, Gautam Borthakur, Mahesh Swaminathan, Courtney Dinardo, Tapan Kadia, Farhad Ravandi, Naval Daver, Nicholas Short, Naveen Pemmaraju, Ghayas Issa, Terra L Lasho, Christy M Finke, Aref Al-Kali, Clifford Csizmar, Hassan Alkhateeb, Naseema Gangat, Abhishek A Mangaonkar, Carlos Bueso-Ramos, Ayalew Tefferi, Hagop Kantarjian, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Mrinal M Patnaik

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

RAS pathway (RASp) mutations induce proliferative features, and promote transformation in chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). However, the unique clonal landscape and hierarchy of distinct RASp mutations remain unexplored. To characterize the landscape, architecture, and implications of unique RASp mutations in CMML, we evaluated a cohort of 814 patients with CMML. We identified 461 RASp mutations among 342 patients (42%). N/KRAS and CBL mutations were the most common, frequently involved the P-loop or RING domains, respectively, and frequently appeared as dominant events (63% and 65%, respectively). BRAF, NF1, and PTPN11 mutations spanned throughout the gene structure, and frequently appeared as subclonal …

Germline Determinants Of Toxicity And Efficacy In Patients With Large B-Cell Lymphoma Treated With Car T-Cell Therapy, Paolo Strati, Amanda Brandt, Anath C Lionel, Jared Henderson, Jason R Westin, Sherry Adkins, Elizabeth J Shpall, Partow Kebriaei, Jeremy Ramdial, Neeraj Saini, Sairah Ahmed, Christopher Flowers, Sattva S Neelapu, Michelle A T Hildebrandt

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Recent data have suggested that germline genetic aberrations can affect outcomes in patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) treated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CART). However, a comprehensive analysis of germline determinants of response and toxicity after CART has not yet been described.

Methods: Genome-wide genotyping was performed in 170 patients with LBCL treated with standard of care axicabtagene ciloleucel. Polygenic risk score instruments for blood cell traits and inflammatory markers were obtained from the PGS Catalog and analyzed using PRSice-2. Exploratory gene-based and genome-wide association study analyses were performed. Genetic ancestry of the patients with LBCL was …

Assessing A Community Health Worker-Facilitated, Digitally Delivered, Family-Centered Diabetes Management Program: Single-Arm Quasi-Experimental Study, Zenong Yin, Vanessa L Errisuriz, Heather Cuevas, Bertha E Flores, Laura Delfausse, Christina Galvan, Jing Wang, Chengdong Li, Renata Morfin, Shiyu Li, Maysa Sapargeldiyeva, Giliane Yza Muyna, Minyu Zhang, Vanessa Sweet, Deborah Parra-Medina

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The high prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and associated complications disproportionately affect low-income Latino populations, who also experience disparities in diabetes self-management (DSM), including poor medication adherence, physical activity, diet, and glycemic control.

Objective: This study examined, through an academic-community partnership, the effectiveness of ¡Salud, Salud! (an evidence-based, family-centered diabetes self-management education and support [DSMES] program) on primary (glycemic control and quality of life) and secondary (social, psychological, and behavioral factors related to T2D management) outcomes among low-income Latino adults with T2D or prediabetes.

Methods: In total, 81 adults (mean age 48.90 years, SD 12.57; n=57, 70.4%, female; …

Causal Ai-Based Clinical And Radiomic Analysis For Optimizing Patient Selection In Combined Immunotherapy And Sabr In Early-Stage Nsclc: A Secondary Analysis Of The Phase Ii I-Sabr Trial, Maliazurina B Saad, Eman Showkatian, Vivek Verma, Qasem Al-Tashi, Muhammad Aminu, Xinyan Xu, Muhamed Qayati Mohamed, Morteza Salehjahromi, Sheeba J Sujit, Yuliya Kitsel, Steven H Lin, Zhongxing Liao, Saumil Gandhi, David Qian, David Jaffray, Caroline Chung, Natalie I Vokes, Jianjun Zhang, J Jack Lee, John V Heymach, Jia Wu, Joe Y Chang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The recent phase II randomized stereotactic ablative radiotherapy with and without immunotherapy (I-SABR) trial has shown improved event-free survival (EFS) when adding immunotherapy to stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for early-stage inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, optimizing patient selection thereof is critical, because not every patient benefits from immunotherapy. Leveraging the powerful use of artificial intelligence, this secondary analysis of the I-SABR trial developed a modeling system (named "I-SABR-SELECT") based on clinical and radiomic factors to address which patients should receive additional immunotherapy.

Methods: The discovery/validation cohorts were from the I-SABR trial, with external validation from the single-arm …

All-Cause And Cause-Specific Mortality Among Patients With Narcolepsy., Chih-Wei Hsu, Yen-Shan Yang, Yang-Chieh Brian Chen, Liang-Jen Wang, Mu-Hong Chen, Yao-Hsu Yang, Chih-Sung Liang, Edward Chia-Cheng Lai

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Importance: Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder potentially affecting mortality, yet evidence on this association remains sparse.

Objective: To examine whether narcolepsy is associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective cohort study used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) from 2001 to 2021, with patients followed up until death or December 31, 2022. Patients were aged 6 years or older with 2 or more narcolepsy diagnoses from psychiatrists or neurologists. Controls were selected from the NHIRD as a population-based sample. Controls without narcolepsy were matched in a 1:4 …

Menopause Factors And Alterations In Gut Microbiota And Insulin Homeostasis: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of The Microbiome And Insulin Longitudinal Evaluation Study (Miles), Vincent J Maffei, Alain G Bertoni, Alexis C Wood, Jerome I Rotter, Osa Crago, Yii-Der I Chen, Joseph F Petrosino, Kristi L Hoffman, Mark O Goodarzi, Elizabeth T Jensen

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Aim: To assess the risk for impaired insulin homeostasis as a function of menopause-related factors and gut microbiota dysbiosis in non-diabetic, post-menopausal women.

Materials and methods: Baseline data (n = 175 women) from the Microbiome and Insulin Longitudinal Evaluation Study (MILES) were used, including insulin and dysglycaemia indices calculated from a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test, untargeted peripheral metabolomics, targeted peripheral short chain fatty-acid levels and faecal bacterial microbiota surveyed by whole-metagenomic sequencing.

Results: After adjustment for covariates, menopause age < 50 years and use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) were associated with lower Matsuda et al. insulin sensitivity index levels (β = -0.232, confidence interval (CI) = [-0.450, -0.014] and β = -0.275, CI = [-0.444, -0.107], respectively) but not pre-menopausal gynaecologic surgery. Pre-menopausal gynaecologic surgery was significantly associated with faecal microbiota beta diversity driven by a relative increase in diabetogenic Ruminococcus gnavus and Clostridium species and a decrease in protective Alistipes species and Akkermansia muciniphila relative abundances. A reduction in two glycerophospholipids in the plasmalogen class significantly statistically mediated an inverse association between gynaecologic surgery before menopause and insulin sensitivity.

Conclusions: Menopause age and history of HRT are more strongly associated with insulin resistance than gynaecologic surgery before menopause. However, …

Evaluating Dimensionality Reduction For Patient-Reported Outcome-Based Survival Modeling In Patients With Head And Neck Cancer, Eric Ababio Anyimadu, Yaohua Wang, Amy C Moreno, Clifton David Fuller, Xinhua Zhang, G Elisabeta Marai, Guadalupe M Canahuate

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: This study aims to improve survival modeling in head and neck cancer (HNC) by integrating patient-reported outcomes (PROs) using dimensionality reduction techniques. PROs capture symptom severity across the treatment timeline and offer key insights for personalized care. However, their high dimensionality poses challenges such as overfitting and computational complexity. This work focuses on transforming and incorporating PRO data to enhance model performance in HNC.

Materials and methods: We analyzed retrospective data of 923 patients with HNC treated at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2010 and 2021. Baseline clinical data including demographic, treatment, and disease characteristics …

Surgical And Blood-Based Minimal Residual Disease In Patients With Ovarian Cancer After First-Line Therapy: Clinical Outcomes And Translational Opportunities, Anne Knisely, Yibo Dai, Graham L Barlow, Sanghoon Lee, Barrett Lawson, Helen Clark, Bryan Fellman, Ying Yuan, Wei Lu, Idania Carolina Lubo Julio, Rossana N Lazcano, Manoj Chelvanambi, Brenda Melendez, Bharat Singh, Bhavana Singh, Khalida Wani, Jianfeng Chen, Chih-Chen Yeh, Jianjun Gao, Sean Barnes, Ou Shi, Khaja B Khan, Alejandra G Serrano, Lorena I Gomez-Bolanos, Carly Bess Scalise, Samantha K Cheung, Punashi Dutta, Sharlene Velichko, Adam C Elnaggar, Minetta C Liu, Roni N Wilke, Jeffrey How, Lois M Ramondetta, David M Boruta, Gwyn Richardson, Aaron Shafer, Shannon N Westin, Travis Sims, Anil K Sood, Pedro T Ramirez, Alexander J Lazar, Pamela T Soliman, Karen Lu, Cara L Haymaker, Luisa M Solis Soto, Jennifer A Wargo, Rachel Grisham, Kai W Wucherpfennig, Linghua Wang, Amir A Jazaeri

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Minimal residual disease (MRD) after first-line treatment of advanced-stage ovarian cancer remains a long-standing barrier to cure. We investigated the prognostic and translational value of MRD detection by second-look laparoscopy (SLL) and ctDNA at the completion of first-line therapy.

Experimental design: Patients with high-grade epithelial ovarian cancer who had a complete clinical response to first-line therapy and underwent SLL and plasma collection for ctDNA were included. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated based on MRD and clinicopathologic status. Spatial transcriptomics (GeoMx and Visium) and proteomics (CODEX) profiling were performed on serial samples from select patients.

Results: …

Transfer Learning Via Distributed Brain Recordings Enables Reliable Speech Decoding, Aditya Singh, Tessy Thomas, Jinlong Li, Greg Hickok, Xaq Pitkow, Nitin Tandon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Speech brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) combine neural recordings with large language models to achieve real-time intelligible speech. However, these decoders rely on dense, intact cortical coverage and are challenging to scale across individuals with heterogeneous brain organization. To derive scalable transfer learning strategies for neural speech decoding, we used minimally invasive stereo-electroencephalography recordings in a large cohort performing a demanding speech motor task. A sequence-to-sequence model enabled decoding of variable-length phonemic sequences prior to and during articulation. This enabled development of a cross-subject transfer learning framework to isolate shared latent manifolds while enabling individual model initialization. The group-derived decoder significantly outperformed …

Factors Associated With Medication Adherence Among Patients With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd), Linh Nguyen, Yen-Chi L Le, Hannah Reygaerts, Todd R Johnson, Cesar A Soutullo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common behavioral health condition that impacts 5% to 8% of children and 2.5% of adults worldwide. The symptoms of ADHD are effectively managed with medication, yet patients with ADHD may inconsistently take their medication. We assessed medication adherence among patients with ADHD and identified factors associated with medication adherence that may be utilized to optimize adherence.

Method: This is a retrospective, observational study among patients aged 4 years and older with a diagnosis of ADHD at primary care and multispecialty outpatient clinics during May 2021 to May 2023. We assessed sociodemographic characteristics, stratified by …

Adoption Of The T2-Flair Mismatch Sign Among Radiologists: How Well Are We Doing?, F Eymen Ucisik, Shekhar Khanpara, Burak Berksu Ozkara, Ziyi Li, Rasha Alfattal, Samir A Dagher, Max Wintermark, Gregory N Fuller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and purpose: The classic T2-FLAIR mismatch sign is a highly specific MRI feature that can aid in preoperative diagnosis of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-mutant 1p/19q noncodeleted gliomas and affect surgical planning. This study aimed to assess the real-world utilization of the T2-FLAIR mismatch sign in clinical practice, and to explore the frequencies of classic- and partial T2-FLAIR mismatch within the IDH-mutant 1p/19q noncodeleted glioma population stratified by tumor grade.

Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort study from a dedicated cancer referral center included 251 patients with IDH-mutant astrocytoma diagnosed between 2017 and 2022. Pathology reports were reviewed for eligibility for …

Ideate-Lung02: A Phase 3 Study Of Second-Line Ifinatamab Deruxtecan In Patients With Relapsed Small Cell Lung Cancer, Taofeek K Owonikoko, Lauren Byers, Ying Cheng, Hidetoshi Hayashi, Luis Paz-Ares, Maurice Pérol, Haichuan Hu, Meng Qian, Cecilio Roi Garcia, Juliette Godard, Mei Tang, Charles M Rudin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) have poor prognosis and limited treatment options beyond first-line therapy. B7 homolog 3 (B7-H3) is minimally expressed in normal tissues but highly expressed in SCLC. Ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd), a B7-H3-directed antibody-drug conjugate, has demonstrated promising efficacy and a manageable safety profile in various tumours, including SCLC. IDeate-Lung02 is a global, randomized, open-label Phase 3 study of ~540 patients with relapsed SCLC. Adults with one prior line of platinum-based systemic therapy, ECOG performance status 0-1, and ≥1 measurable lesion (per RECIST 1.1) are eligible for study participation. Patients with asymptomatic untreated or previously treated …

Cervical And Tumor-Associated Microbiomes In Botswana Women With And Without Hiv With Carcinoma Of The Cervix Before And After Definitive Chemoradiation, Travis T Sims, Kyoko Yoshida-Court, Molly B El Alam, Pleasure Ramatlho, Rebecca Ketlametswe, Matthew S Ning, Erle S Robertson, Kathleen M Schmeler, Lauren E Colbert, Ann H Klopp, Surbhi Grover

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Cervical cancer remains a significant public health concern globally and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where high rates of HIV infection exacerbate cervical cancer incidence. Understanding the cervical microbiome and its role in cancer progression is essential, especially in regions where both cervical cancer incidence and HIV prevalence are high. This study aimed to characterize the cervical microbiome in women living with HIV (WLWH) and HIV-negative women with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix in Botswana, compare the microbiome between before and after chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in WLWH, and assess the prognostic value of specific microbial taxa for overall survival …

Multiplexed Imaging Mass Cytometry Reveals Tumor-Immune Microenvironment-Dependent Hormone Receptor Expression In Adult-Type Ovarian Granulosa Cell Tumors, Eleonora Y Khlebus, Veena K Vuttaradhi, Sammy Ferri-Borgogno, Allison L Brodsky, Barrett C Lawson, Samuel C Mok, R Tyler Hillman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Adult-type granulosa cell tumors (AGCT) are rare ovarian tumors with few effective treatments for recurrent disease. To elucidate spatial features and cellular interactions within the AGCT tumor microenvironment, we applied imaging mass cytometry using a 34-marker panel on 130 regions from 24 AGCT samples, profiling more than 900,000 single cells. Analysis confirmed the immune “cold” phenotype of AGCTs and showed higher macrophage abundance in recurrent compared with primary tumors. We observed substantial heterogeneity in tissue architecture across samples, including variable presence of FOXL2+ cells embedded in collagen-rich regions (FOXL2+COL1A1+ cells). Based on tumor microenvironment composition, we defined two AGCT subtypes: …

Chromosome 20q Gene Signature Associated With Colorectal Cancer Progression, Jennifer Carter Jones, Apurva M Hegde, Yu-Jing Huang, Ganiraju Manyam, Vibhuti Srivastava, Jee Hoo Song, Yulan Cheng, Ralf Krahe, Warapen Treekitkarnmongkol, Stephen J Meltzer, Scott Kopetz, Stanley R Hamilton, Hiroshi Katayama, Subrata Sen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Amplification of human chromosome 20q has been reported as the most frequently recurring genetic abnormality associated with large scale changes in mRNA and protein levels in sporadic colorectal carcinomas. While some studies have found 20q amplification to be consistent between primary and metastatic samples from the same patient with a role in the development of metastasis and worse patient prognosis, others have reported association with improved overall survival for a subset of these patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). To fine map the Minimal Common Regions (MCRs) of amplification on chromosome 20q and identify the candidate genes playing roles in progression …

Engagement In And Correlates Of Total Cutaneous Exams And Skin Self-Exams Among Young Melanoma Survivors And Their Family, Sharon L Manne, Deborah A Kashy, Sherry Pagoto, Susan K Peterson, Carolyn J Heckman, Joseph Gallo, Adam Berger, David B Buller, Alexandria Kulik, Sara Frederick, Morgan Pesanelli

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Young adult melanoma survivors and their close family (first degree relatives/FDRs) are at increased risk for developing a melanoma, but little is known about engagement in and correlates of their clinical skin exam (CSE) and skin self-examination (SSE) behaviors. Five hundred and seventy-four YA survivors and their FDRs completed an online survey assessing engagement in CSE and SSE, as well as measures of background factors, cognitive and psychosocial factors, CSE and SSE planning, and family influences. Approximately 90% of YAs had a CSE and 90% performed SSE in the last year, but engagement in CSE among FDRs was lower (63.2%, …