Life Sciences Commons^™

An Overview Of Risk Factors For Neural Tube Defects And An Investigation Within South Carolina, Lucy Pulliam

All Dissertations

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are congenital anomalies that affect both the morbidity and mortality of infants worldwide. Inadequate levels of the vitamin folate in women during early pregnancy have been shown to be a risk factor for NTDs. Recent efforts to ensure adequate folate intake in mothers have been helpful in reducing but not eliminating NTDs. This dissertation examines additional risk factors for NTDs as possible focus areas for decreasing NTD occurrence.

Chapter Two and Chapter Three are literature reviews conducted to explore select factors associated with an increased risk of NTDs and how these factors may affect folate availability …

Statin Use And Chemoradiation In Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinomas: Ready For Prime Time?, Steven H Lin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Biochemical And Structural Characterization Of The First-Discovered Metazoan Dna Cytosine-N4 Methyltransferase From The Bdelloid Rotifer Adineta Vaga, Jujun Zhou, John R Horton, Gundeep Kaur, Qin Chen, Xuwen Li, Tao Wu, Xing Zhang, Xiaodong Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Much is known about the generation, removal, and roles of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in eukaryote DNA, and there is a growing body of evidence regarding N6-methyladenine, but very little is known about N4-methylcytosine (4mC) in the DNA of eukaryotes. The gene for the first metazoan DNA methyltransferase generating 4mC (N4CMT) was reported and characterized recently by others, in tiny freshwater invertebrates called bdelloid rotifers. Bdelloid rotifers are ancient, apparently asexual animals, and lack canonical 5mC DNA methyltransferases. Here, we characterize the kinetic properties and structural features of the catalytic domain of the N4CMT protein from the bdelloid rotifer Adineta vaga. We …

Probiotic-Derived Ecto-5'-Nucleotidase Produces Anti-Inflammatory Adenosine Metabolites In Treg-Deficient Scurfy Mice, Yuying Liu, Shabba A Armbrister, Beanna Okeugo, Tingting W Mills, Rhea C Daniel, Jan-Peter Van Pijkeren, Zeina M Saleh, Sharmistha Lahiri, Stefan Roos, Jmarc Rhoads

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Probiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (DSM 17938) prolongs the survival of Treg-deficient scurfy (SF) mice and reduces multiorgan inflammation by a process requiring adenosine receptor 2A (A2A) on T cells. We hypothesized that L. reuteri-derived ecto-5'-nucleotidase (ecto-5'NT) activity acts to generate adenosine, which may be a central mediator for L. reuteri protection in SF mice. We evaluated DSM 17938-5'NT activity and the associated adenosine and inosine levels in plasma, gut, and liver of SF mice. We examined orally fed DSM 17938, DSM 17938Δ5NT (with a deleted 5'NT gene), and DSM 32846 (BG-R46) (a naturally selected strain derived from DSM 17938). …

Outcomes Of Young Adults (Aged ≤ 40 Years) With Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma After Up-Front Autologous Stem Cell Transplant, Oren Pasvolsky, Curtis Marcoux, Denái R Milton, Mark R Tanner, Qaiser Bashir, Neeraj Saini, Jeremy Ramdial, Yago Nieto, Hans C Lee, Krina K Patel, Partow Kebriaei, Priti Tewari, Lindsay Crawford-Suber, Sheeba K Thomas, Donna M Weber, Robert Z Orlowski, Elizabeth J Shpall, Richard E Champlin, Muzaffar H Qazilbash

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Multiple myeloma (MM) primarily affects older patients. There are scarce data on the outcomes of young adults undergoing autologous transplantation (auto-HCT). In this single-centre analysis, we included 117 younger patients, with a median age of 37 years (range 22-40) at transplant. Seventeen (15%) patients had high-risk cytogenetics. Before transplant, 10% of patients achieved ≥CR and 44% achieved ≥VGPR. At best post-transplant response, 56% and 77% of patients achieved ≥CR and ≥VGPR respectively. With a median follow-up for survivors of 72.6 months (range 0.9-238.0), median PFS and OS were 43.1 months (95% CI 31.2-65.0) and 146.6 months (95% CI 100.0-208.1) respectively. …

Image-Based Quantification Of Histological Features As A Function Of Spatial Location Using The Tissue Positioning System, Ruichen Rong, Yonglong Wei, Lin Li, Tao Wang, Hao Zhu, Yunguan Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Tissues such as the liver lobule, kidney nephron, and intestinal gland exhibit intricate patterns of zonated gene expression corresponding to distinct cell types and functions. To quantitatively understand zonation, it is important to measure cellular or genetic features as a function of position along a zonal axis. While it is possible to manually count, characterize, and locate features in relation to the zonal axis, it is labor-intensive and difficult to do manually while maintaining precision and accuracy.

Methods: We addressed this challenge by developing a deep-learning-based quantification method called the "Tissue Positioning System" (TPS), which can automatically analyze zonation …

Predictive Model Of Liver Toxicity To Aid The Personalized Selection Of Proton Versus Photon Therapy In Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Ibrahim Chamseddine, Yejin Kim, Brian De, Issam El Naqa, Dan G Duda, Jennifer Pursley, Theodore S Hong, Harald Paganetti, Eugene J Koay, Clemens Grassberger

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Our objective was to develop an externally validated model for predicting liver toxicity after radiation therapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that can integrate both photon and proton dose distributions with patient-specific characteristics.

Methods and materials: Training data consisted of all patients with HCC treated between 2008 and 2019 at our institution (n = 117, 60%/40% photon/proton). We developed a shallow convolutional neural network (CNN) to predict posttreatment liver dysfunction from the differential dose-volume histogram (DVH) and baseline liver metrics. To reduce bias and improve robustness, we used ensemble learning (CNNE). After a preregistered study analysis plan, we …

Efficacy And Mortality Of Rotating Sheaths Versus Laser Sheaths For Transvenous Lead Extraction: A Meta-Analysis, Sun Yong Lee, Isabel E Allen, Celso Diaz, Xiaofan Guo, Cara Pellegrini, Ricardo Cardona-Guarache, Byron K Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Rotating and laser sheaths are both routinely used in transvenous lead extraction (TLE) which can lead to catastrophic complications including death. The efficacy and risk of each approach are uncertain. To perform a meta-analysis to compare success and mortality rates associated with rotating and laser sheaths.

Methods: We searched electronic academic databases for case series of consecutive patients and randomized controlled trials published 1998-2017 describing the use of rotating and laser sheaths for TLE. Among 48 studies identified, rotating sheaths included 1,094 patients with 1,955 leads in 14 studies, and laser sheaths included 7,775 patients with 12,339 leads in …

Effect Of Sotagliflozin On Early Mortality And Heart Failure-Related Events: A Post Hoc Analysis Of Soloist-Whf, Bertram Pitt, Deepak L Bhatt, Michael Szarek, Christopher P Cannon, Lawrence A Leiter, Julia B Lewis, Adriaan A Voors, Marco Metra, Lars H Lund, Michel Komajda, Jeffrey M Testani, Christopher S Wilcox, Piotr Ponikowski, Renato D Lopes, Justin A Ezekowitz, Franklin Sun, Michael J Davies, Subodh Verma, Mikhail N Kosiborod, Ph Gabriel Steg, Soloist-Whf Investigators

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Approximately 25% of patients admitted to hospitals for worsening heart failure (WHF) are readmitted within 30 days.

Objectives: The authors conducted a post hoc analysis of the SOLOIST-WHF (Effect of Sotagliflozin on Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Post-WHF) trial to evaluate the efficacy of sotagliflozin versus placebo to decrease mortality and HF-related events among patients who began study treatment on or before discharge from their index hospitalization.

Methods: The main endpoint of interest was cardiovascular death or HF-related event (HF hospitalization or urgent care visit) occurring within 90 and 30 days after discharge for the index …

Ultrasensitive Ngs Mrd Assessment In Ph+ All: Prognostic Impact And Correlation With Rt-Pcr For Bcr::Abl1, Nicholas J Short, Elias Jabbour, Walid Macaron, Farhad Ravandi, Nitin Jain, Keyur P Patel, Fadi G Haddad, Musa Yilmaz, Ghayas C Issa, Partow Kebriaei, Steven M Kornblau, Sarah Pelletier, Wilmer Flores, Jairo Matthews, Rebecca Garris, Hagop Kantarjian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for BCR::ABL1 is the most common and widely accepted method of measurable residual disease (MRD) assessment in Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL); however, RT-PCR may not be an optimal measure of MRD in many cases of Ph+ ALL. We evaluated the clinical impact of a highly sensitive next-generation sequencing (NGS) MRD assay (sensitivity of 10-6 ) and its correlation with RT-PCR for BCR::ABL1 in patients with Ph+ ALL. Overall, 32% of patients had a discordance between MRD assessment by RT-PCR and NGS, and 31% of patients who achieved NGS MRD negativity were …

The Initial Age-Associated Decline In Early T-Cell Progenitors Reflects Fewer Pre-Thymic Progenitors And Altered Signals In The Bone Marrow And Thymus Microenvironments, Jayashree Srinivasan, Anusha Vasudev, Carolyn Shasha, Hilary J Selden, Encarnacion Perez, Shripad A Sinari, Ellen R Richie, Lauren I R Ehrlich

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Age-related thymus involution results in decreased T-cell production, contributing to increased susceptibility to pathogens and reduced vaccine responsiveness. Elucidating mechanisms underlying thymus involution will inform strategies to restore thymopoiesis with age. The thymus is colonized by circulating bone marrow (BM)-derived thymus seeding progenitors (TSPs) that differentiate into early T-cell progenitors (ETPs). We find that ETP cellularity declines as early as 3 months (3MO) of age in mice. This initial ETP reduction could reflect changes in thymic stromal niches and/or pre-thymic progenitors. Using a multicongenic progenitor transfer approach, we demonstrate that the number of functional TSP/ETP niches does not diminish with …

Myelodysplastic Syndromes: 2023 Update On Diagnosis, Risk-Stratification, And Management, Guillermo Garcia-Manero

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Disease overview: The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a very heterogeneous group of myeloid disorders characterized by peripheral blood cytopenias and increased risk of transformation to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). MDS occurs more frequently in older males and in individuals with prior exposure to cytotoxic therapy.

Diagnosis: Diagnosis of MDS is based on morphological evidence of dysplasia upon visual examination of a bone marrow aspirate and biopsy. Information obtained from additional studies such as karyotype, flow cytometry, and molecular genetics is usually complementary and may help refine diagnosis. A new WHO classification of MDS was proposed in 2022. Under this classification, …

Generative Pre-Trained Transformers (Gpt) And Space Health: A Potential Frontier In Astronaut Health During Exploration Missions, Ethan Waisberg, Joshua Ong, Mouayad Masalkhi, Nasif Zaman, Sharif Amit Kamran, Andrew G Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In anticipation of space exploration where astronauts are traveling away from Earth, and for longer durations with an increasing communication lag, artificial intelligence (AI) frameworks such as large language learning models (LLMs) that can be trained on Earth can provide real-time answers. This emerging technology may be helpful for acute medical emergencies, particularly in austere and distant space environments. In this manuscript, we provide an overview of generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) technology, a rapidly emerging AI technology, and implications, considerations, and limitations of such technology for space health.

A Review Of A Strategic Roadmapping Exercise To Advance Clinical Translation Of Photoacoustic Imaging: From Current Barriers To Future Adoption, Hisham Assi, Rui Cao, Madhura Castelino, Ben Cox, Fiona J Gilbert, Kurinchi Gurusamy, Aoife M Ivory, James Joseph, Ferdinand Knieling, Martin J Leahy, Ledia Lilaj, Srirang Manohar, Igor Meglinski, Carmel Moran, Andrea Murray, Alexander A Oraevsky, Mark D Pagel, Manojit Pramanik, Jason Raymond, Mithun Kuniyil Ajith Singh, William C Vogt, Lihong Wang, Shufan Yang, Members Of Ipasc, Sarah E Bohndiek

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI), also referred to as optoacoustic imaging, has shown promise in early-stage clinical trials in a range of applications from inflammatory diseases to cancer. While the first PAI systems have recently received regulatory approvals, successful adoption of PAI technology into healthcare systems for clinical decision making must still overcome a range of barriers, from education and training to data acquisition and interpretation. The International Photoacoustic Standardisation Consortium (IPASC) undertook an community exercise in 2022 to identify and understand these barriers, then develop a roadmap of strategic plans to address them. Here, we outline the nature and scope of …

Definitive Liver Radiotherapy For Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma With Extrahepatic Metastases, Brian De, Rituraj Upadhyay, Kaiping Liao, Tiffany Kumala, Christopher Shi, Joseph Abi Jaoude, Gohar S Manzar, Kathryn E Marqueen, Vincent Bernard, Sunyoung S Lee, Kanwal P S Raghav, Jean-Nicolas Vauthey, Ching-Wei D Tzeng, Hop S Tran Cao, Grace Lee, Jennifer Y Wo, Theodore S Hong, Christopher H Crane, Bruce D Minsky, Grace L Smith, Emma B Holliday, Cullen M Taniguchi, Albert C Koong, Prajnan Das, Milind Javle, Ethan B Ludmir, Eugene J Koay

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Tumor-related liver failure (TRLF) is the most common cause of death in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Though we previously showed that liver radiotherapy (L-RT) for locally advanced ICC is associated with less frequent TRLF and longer overall survival (OS), the role of L-RT for patients with extrahepatic metastatic disease (M1) remains undefined. We sought to compare outcomes for M1 ICC patients treated with and without L-RT.

METHODS: We reviewed ICC patients that found to have M1 disease at initial diagnosis at a single institution between 2010 and 2021 who received L-RT, matching them with an institutional cohort by …

Mitotic Rate In Primary Cutaneous Melanoma: Cell Division Matters, Jeffrey E Gershenwald

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Deficits In Consummatory Reward Relate To Severity Of Cocaine Use, Margaret C Wardle, Jennifer K Hoots, Krista Miloslavich, Cecilia Nunez, Constanza De Dios, Aneet Ahluwahlia, Scott D Lane, Joy M Schmitz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Identifying modifiable neuropsychological factors associated with more severe CUD could improve CUD treatment. Impairments in processing of non-drug rewards may be one such factor. This study assessed the relationship between reward functioning and cocaine use severity using multi-modal measures of three distinct reward functions: consummatory reward (pleasure or "liking"); motivational reward ("wanting") and reward learning.

METHODS: Fifty-three adults with at least moderate CUD completed self-report and behavioral measures of consummatory reward, motivational reward and reward learning, and a composite cocaine use severity measure including quantity, frequency and life impacts of cocaine use. We conducted parallel Frequentist and …

The Influence Of Political Ideology On Awareness Of Hpv And Hpv Vaccine Among Adults In The United States, Onyema Greg Chido-Amajuoyi, Henry Onyeaka, Hermioni Amonoo, Sanjay Shete

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study aimed to investigate the association between political ideology and awareness of HPV and HPV vaccine among US adults. Study data were derived from Health Information National Trends Survey 5 Cycle 4, a 2020 cross-sectional survey of US adults. Multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to examine the association between political ideology with HPV and HPV vaccine awareness. A total of 3418 adults participated in the study, with the majority being non-Hispanic White individuals and women. The results showed that 66.1% and 62.3% of the participants were aware of HPV and HPV vaccine, respectively. A total of 36.9%, 29.7% and …

The Case For Expanding Visual Assessments During Spaceflight, Ethan Waisberg, Joshua Ong, Mouayad Masalkhi, Nasif Zaman, Sharif Amit Kamran, Alireza Tavakkoli

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS) is one of the potential barriers to human long-duration spaceflight (LDSF), including a manned mission to Mars. While a large barrier, the pathophysiology of SANS is not well understood, and functional and structural findings from SANS continue to be further characterized. Currently on the International Space Station (ISS), scheduled visual assessments are static visual acuity, Amsler grid, and a self-reported survey. Additional visual assessments may help the understanding of this neuro-ophthalmic phenomenon, as well as the effects of spaceflight of overall ocular health. In this paper, a case is made for expanding scheduled visual assessments …

Diverse Clonal Fates Emerge Upon Drug Treatment Of Homogeneous Cancer Cells, Yogesh Goyal, Gianna T Busch, Maalavika Pillai, Jingxin Li, Ryan H Boe, Manoj Chelvanambi, Benjamin Emert, Nicholas Bodkin, Jonas Braun, Dylan Fingerman, Amanpreet Kaur, Naveen Jain, Pavithran T Ravindran, Ian A Mellis, Karun Kiani, Gretchen M Alicea, Mitchell E Fane, Syeda Subia Ahmed, Haiyin Li, Yeqing Chen, Cedric Chai, Jessica Kaster, Russell G Witt, Rossana Lazcano, Davis R Ingram, Sarah B Johnson, Khalida Wani, Margaret C Dunagin, Alexander J Lazar, Ashani T Weeraratna, Jennifer A Wargo, Meenhard Herlyn, Arjun Raj

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Even among genetically identical cancer cells, resistance to therapy frequently emerges from a small subset of those cells1-7. Molecular differences in rare individual cells in the initial population enable certain cells to become resistant to therapy7-9; however, comparatively little is known about the variability in the resistance outcomes. Here we develop and apply FateMap, a framework that combines DNA barcoding with single-cell RNA sequencing, to reveal the fates of hundreds of thousands of clones exposed to anti-cancer therapies. We show that resistant clones emerging from single-cell-derived cancer cells adopt molecularly, morphologically and …

Quality-Adjusted Survival In Women With Gynecologic Malignancies Receiving Imrt After Surgery: A Patient Reported Outcome Study Of Nrg Oncology’S Rtog 1203, Andre Konski, Snehal Deshmukh, Ann H Klopp, Anamaria R Yeung, Shannon N Westin, Desiree E Doncals, David P D'Souza, Amy Chang, Vijayananda Kundapur, Dasarahally S Mohan, Michael L Haas, Yong Bae Kim, Catherine L Ferguson, Stephanie L Pugh, Lisa A Kachnic, Deborah W Bruner

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: NRG/RTOG 1203 compared 3-D conformal radiotherapy (3D CRT) to intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in patients with endometrial or cervical cancer requiring post-operative radiotherapy after hysterectomy. The purpose of this study was to report the first quality-adjusted survival analysis comparing the two treatments.

METHODS: NRG/RTOG 1203 randomized patients having undergone hysterectomy to either 3DCRT or IMRT. Stratification factors included RT dose, chemotherapy, and disease site. The EQ-5D, both index and visual analog scale (VAS), were obtained at baseline, 5 weeks after the start of RT, 4-6 weeks post RT and 1 and 3-years post RT. EQ-5D index and VAS scores along …

Spatial Analyses Of Immune Cell Infiltration In Cancer: Current Methods And Future Directions: A Report Of The International Immuno-Oncology Biomarker Working Group On Breast Cancer, David B Page, Glenn Broeckx, Chowdhury Arif Jahangir, Sara Verbandt, Rajarsi R Gupta, Reena Khiroya, Khalid Abduljabbar, Gabriela Acosta Haab, Balazs Acs, Guray Akturk, Jonas S Almeida, Isabel Alvarado-Cabrero, Farid Azmoudeh-Ardalan, Sunil Badve, Nurkhairul Bariyah Baharun, Enrique R Bellolio, Vydehi Bheemaraju, Kim Rm Blenman, Luciana Botinelly Mendonça Fujimoto, Najat Bouchmaa, Octavio Burgues, Maggie Chon U Cheang, Francesco Ciompi, Lee Ad Cooper, An Coosemans, Germán Corredor, Flavio Luis Dantas Portela, Frederik Deman, Sandra Demaria, Sarah N Dudgeon, Mahmoud Elghazawy, Scott Ely, Claudio Fernandez-Martín, Susan Fineberg, Stephen B Fox, William M Gallagher, Jennifer M Giltnane, Sacha Gnjatic, Paula I Gonzalez-Ericsson, Anita Grigoriadis, Niels Halama, Matthew G Hanna, Aparna Harbhajanka, Alexandros Hardas, Steven N Hart, Johan Hartman, Stephen Hewitt, Akira I Hida, Hugo M Horlings, Zaheed Husain, Evangelos Hytopoulos, Sheeba Irshad, Emiel Am Janssen, Mohamed Kahila, Tatsuki R Kataoka, Kosuke Kawaguchi, Durga Kharidehal, Andrey I Khramtsov, Umay Kiraz, Pawan Kirtani, Liudmila L Kodach, Konstanty Korski, Anikó Kovács, Anne-Vibeke Laenkholm, Corinna Lang-Schwarz, Denis Larsimont, Jochen K Lennerz, Marvin Lerousseau, Xiaoxian Li, Amy Ly, Anant Madabhushi, Sai K Maley, Vidya Manur Narasimhamurthy, Douglas K Marks, Elizabeth S Mcdonald, Ravi Mehrotra, Stefan Michiels, Fayyaz Ul Amir Afsar Minhas, Shachi Mittal, David A Moore, Shamim Mushtaq, Hussain Nighat, Thomas Papathomas, Frederique Penault-Llorca, Rashindrie D Perera, Christopher J Pinard, Juan Carlos Pinto-Cardenas, Giancarlo Pruneri, Lajos Pusztai, Arman Rahman, Nasir Mahmood Rajpoot, Bernardo Leon Rapoport, Tilman T Rau, Jorge S Reis-Filho, Joana M Ribeiro, David Rimm, Anne Vincent-Salomon, Manuel Salto-Tellez, Joel Saltz, Shahin Sayed, Kalliopi P Siziopikou, Christos Sotiriou, Albrecht Stenzinger, Maher A Sughayer, Daniel Sur, Fraser Symmans, Sunao Tanaka, Timothy Taxter, Sabine Tejpar, Jonas Teuwen, E Aubrey Thompson, Trine Tramm, William T Tran, Jeroen Van Der Laak, Paul J Van Diest, Gregory E Verghese, Giuseppe Viale, Michael Vieth, Noorul Wahab, Thomas Walter, Yannick Waumans, Hannah Y Wen, Wentao Yang, Yinyin Yuan, Sylvia Adams, John Mark Seaverns Bartlett, Sibylle Loibl, Carsten Denkert, Peter Savas, Sherene Loi, Roberto Salgado, Elisabeth Specht Stovgaard

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Modern histologic imaging platforms coupled with machine learning methods have provided new opportunities to map the spatial distribution of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. However, there exists no standardized method for describing or analyzing spatial immune cell data, and most reported spatial analyses are rudimentary. In this review, we provide an overview of two approaches for reporting and analyzing spatial data (raster versus vector-based). We then provide a compendium of spatial immune cell metrics that have been reported in the literature, summarizing prognostic associations in the context of a variety of cancers. We conclude by discussing two well-described clinical …

Life-Threatening Hemoptysis In Patients With Metastatic Kidney Cancer, Viral M Patel, Roy Elias, Annapoorani Asokan, Akanksha Sharma, Alana Christie, Hsienchang Chiu, Raquibul Hannan, Robert Timmerman, James Brugarolas

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Hemoptysis is a complication of intrathoracic tumors, both primary and metastatic, and the risk may be increased by procedural interventions as well as Stereotactic Ablative Radiation (SAbR). The risk of hemoptysis with SAbR for lung cancer is well characterized, but there is a paucity of data about intrathoracic metastases. Here, we sought to evaluate the incidence of life-threatening/fatal hemoptysis (LTH) in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) chest metastases with a focus on SAbR. We systematically evaluated patients with RCC at UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) Kidney Cancer Program (KCP) from July 2005 to March 2020. We queried Kidney Cancer …

Pathologist-Initiated Reflex Testing For Biomarkers In Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Expert Consensus On The Rationale And Considerations For Implementation, J R Gosney, L Paz-Ares, P Jänne, K M Kerr, N B Leighl, U Malapelle, B S Sheffield, A Tufman, I I Wistuba, S Peters

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Biomarker tests in lung cancer have been traditionally ordered by the treating oncologist upon confirmation of an appropriate pathological diagnosis. The delay this introduces prolongs yet further what is already a complex, multi-stage, pre-treatment pathway and delays the start of first-line systemic treatment, which is crucially informed by the results of such analysis. Reflex testing, in which the responsibility for testing for an agreed range of biomarkers lies with the pathologist, has been shown to standardise and expedite the process. Twelve experts discussed the rationale and considerations for implementing reflex testing as standard clinical practice.

A Splicing Transcriptome-Wide Association Study Identifies Novel Altered Splicing For Alzheimer’S Disease Susceptibility, Yanfa Sun, Ye Eun Bae, Jingjing Zhu, Zichen Zhang, Hua Zhong, Chong Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease in aging individuals. Alternative splicing is reported to be relevant to AD development while their roles in etiology of AD remain largely elusive. We performed a comprehensive splicing transcriptome-wide association study (spTWAS) using intronic excision expression genetic prediction models of 12 brain tissues developed through three modelling strategies, to identify candidate susceptibility splicing introns for AD risk. A total of 111,326 (46,828 proxy) cases and 677,663 controls of European ancestry were studied. We identified 343 associations of 233 splicing introns (143 genes) with AD risk after Bonferroni correction (0.05/136,884 = 3.65 × …

Hazard Testing To Reduce Risk In The Development Of Automated Planning Tools, Kelly A Nealon, Raphael J Douglas, Eun Young Han, Stephen F Kry, Valerie K Reed, Laurence E Court

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Hazard scenarios were created to assess and reduce the risk of planning errors in automated planning processes. This was accomplished through iterative testing and improvement of examined user interfaces.

METHODS: Automated planning requires three user inputs: a computed tomography (CT), a prescription document, known as the service request, and contours. We investigated the ability of users to catch errors that were intentionally introduced into each of these three stages, according to an FMEA analysis. Five radiation therapists each reviewed 15 patient CTs, containing three errors: inappropriate field of view, incorrect superior border, and incorrect identification of isocenter. Four radiation …

Divergent Structures Of Mammalian And Gammaherpesvirus Uracil Dna Glycosylases Confer Distinct Dna Binding And Substrate Activity, Yunxiang Mu, Monika A Zelazowska, Zaowen Chen, Joshua B Plummer, Qiwen Dong, Kevin M Mcbride

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG) removes mutagenic uracil base from DNA to initiate base excision repair (BER). The result is an abasic site (AP site) that is further processed by the high-fidelity BER pathway to complete repair and maintain genome integrity. The gammaherpesviruses (GHVs), human Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV68) encode functional UNGs that have a role in viral genome replication. Mammalian and GHVs UNG share overall structure and sequence similarity except for a divergent amino-terminal domain and a leucine loop motif in the DNA binding domain that varies in sequence and length. To …

Long-Term Patient-Reported Outcomes In A Population-Based Cohort Following Radiotherapy Vs Surgery For Oropharyngeal Cancer, Michael J Dohopolski, Kevin Diao, Katherine A Hutcheson, Neil S Akhave, Ryan P Goepfert, Xiudong Jennifer Lei, Yu Shen, Baran D Sumer, Benjamin D Smith, David J Sher

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: Oncologic outcomes are similar for patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) treated with primary surgery or radiotherapy. However, comparative differences in long-term patient-reported outcomes (PROs) between modalities are less well established.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between primary surgery or radiotherapy and long-term PROs.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used the Texas Cancer Registry to identify survivors of OPSCC treated definitively with primary radiotherapy or surgery between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2016. Patients were surveyed in October 2020 and April 2021.

EXPOSURES: Primary radiotherapy and surgery for OPSCC.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Patients completed …

Epinephrine-Induced Effects On Cerebral Microcirculation And Oxygenation Dynamics Using Multimodal Monitoring And Functional Photoacoustic Microscopy, Dong Zhang, Wei Wang, Xiaoyi Zhu, Ran Li, Wei Liu, Tri Vu, Qifa Zhou, Cody L Evans, Dennis A Turner, Huaxin Sheng, Jerrold H Levy, Jianwen Luo, Wei Yang, Junjie Yao, Ulrike Hoffmann

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The administration of epinephrine after severe refractory hypotension, shock, or cardiac arrest restores systemic blood flow and major vessel perfusion but may worsen cerebral microvascular perfusion and oxygen delivery through vasoconstriction. The authors hypothesized that epinephrine induces significant microvascular constriction in the brain, with increased severity after repetitive dosing and in the aged brain, eventually leading to tissue hypoxia.

Methods: The authors investigated the effects of intravenous epinephrine administration in healthy young and aged C57Bl/6 mice on cerebral microvascular blood flow and oxygen delivery using multimodal in vivo imaging, including functional photoacoustic microscopy, brain tissue oxygen sensing, and follow-up …

Zeb1 Is Regulated By K811 Acetylation To Promote Stability, Nurd Complex Interactions, Emt, And Nsclc Metastasis, Mabel Perez-Oquendo, Roxsan Manshouri, Yanhua Tian, Jared J Fradette, B Leticia Rodriguez, Don L Gibbons

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition results in loss of specialized epithelial cell contacts and acquisition of mesenchymal invasive capacity. The transcription repressor zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) binds to E-boxes of gene promoter regions to suppress the expression of epithelial genes. ZEB1 has inconsistent molecular weights, which have been attributed to posttranslational modifications (PTM). We performed mass spectrometry and identified K811 acetylation as a novel PTM in ZEB1. To define the role of ZEB1 acetylation in regulating function, we generated ZEB1 acetyl-mimetic (K811Q) and acetyl-deficient (K811R) mutant-expressing non-small cell lung cancer cell lines (NSCLC). We demonstrate that the K811R ZEB1 (125 kDa) …