Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Overview Of The Hecktor Challenge At Miccai 2022: Automatic Head And Neck Tumor Segmentation And Outcome Prediction In Pet/Ct, Vincent Andrearczyk, Valentin Oreiller, Moamen Abobakr, Azadeh Akhavanallaf, Panagiotis Balermpas, Sarah Boughdad, Leo Capriotti, Joel Castelli, Catherine Cheze Le Rest, Pierre Decazes, Ricardo Correia, Dina El-Habashy, Hesham Elhalawani, Clifton D Fuller, Mario Jreige, Yornna Khamis, Agustina La Greca, Abdallah Mohamed, Mohamed Naser, John O Prior, Su Ruan, Stephanie Tanadini-Lang, Olena Tankyevych, Yazdan Salimi, Martin Vallières, Pierre Vera, Dimitris Visvikis, Kareem Wahid, Habib Zaidi, Mathieu Hatt, Adrien Depeursinge

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This paper presents an overview of the third edition of the HEad and neCK TumOR segmentation and outcome prediction (HECKTOR) challenge, organized as a satellite event of the 25th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) 2022. The challenge comprises two tasks related to the automatic analysis of FDG-PET/CT images for patients with Head and Neck cancer (H&N), focusing on the oropharynx region. Task 1 is the fully automatic segmentation of H&N primary Gross Tumor Volume (GTVp) and metastatic lymph nodes (GTVn) from FDG-PET/CT images. Task 2 is the fully automatic prediction of Recurrence-Free Survival (RFS) …

The Contemporary Management Of Cancers Of The Sinonasal Tract In Adults, Rajat Thawani, Myung Sun Kim, Asad Arastu, Zizhen Feng, Malinda T West, Nicholas F Taflin, Kyaw Zin Thein, Ryan Li, Mathew Geltzeiler, Nancy Lee, Clifton David Fuller, Jennifer R Grandis, Charalampos S Floudas, Michael C Heinrich, Ehab Hanna, Ravi A Chandra

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Sinonasal malignancies make up <5% of all head and neck neoplasms, with an incidence of 0.5-1.0 per 100,000. The outcome of these rare malignancies has been poor, whereas significant progress has been made in the management of other cancers. The objective of the current review was to describe the incidence, causes, presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and recent developments of malignancies of the sinonasal tract. The diagnoses covered in this review included sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma, sinonasal adenocarcinoma, sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma, and esthesioneuroblastoma, which are exclusive to the sinonasal tract. In addition, the authors covered malignances that are likely to be encountered in the sinonasal tract-primary mucosal melanoma, NUT (nuclear protein of the testis) carcinoma, and extranodal natural killer cell/T-cell lymphoma. For the purpose of keeping this review as concise and focused as possible, sarcomas and malignancies that can be classified as salivary gland neoplasms were excluded.

Head And Neck Cancer Predictive Risk Estimator To Determine Control And Therapeutic Outcomes Of Radiotherapy (Hnc-Predictor): Development, International Multi-Institutional Validation, And Web Implementation Of Clinic-Ready Model-Based Risk Stratification For Head And Neck Cancer, Lisanne V Van Dijk, Abdallah Sr Mohamed, Sara Ahmed, Nafiul Nipu, G Elisabeta Marai, Kareem Wahid, Nanna M Sijtsema, Brandon Gunn, Adam S Garden, Amy Moreno, Andrew J Hope, Johannes A Langendijk, Clifton D Fuller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Personalised radiotherapy can improve treatment outcomes of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC), where currently a 'one-dose-fits-all' approach is the standard. The aim was to establish individualised outcome prediction based on multi-institutional international 'big-data' to facilitate risk-based stratification of patients with HNC.

Methods: The data of 4611 HNC radiotherapy patients from three academic cancer centres were split into four cohorts: a training (n = 2241), independent test (n = 786), and external validation cohorts 1 (n = 1087) and 2 (n = 497). Tumour- and patient-related clinical variables were considered in a machine learning pipeline to predict overall …

The History Of Oral Decitabine/Cedazuridine And Its Potential Role In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Robert Briski, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Hagop Kantarjian, Farhad Ravandi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Decitabine, a member of the 5-azanucleosides, has a dose-dependent mechanism of action in vitro: termination of DNA replication at high doses, and inhibition of DNA methyltransferase at low doses. The alteration of DNA methylation patterns by low-dose decitabine is hypothesized to upregulate genes, which promote myeloblast differentiation. In a phase III clinical trial, low-dose decitabine achieved a superior overall response rate (ORR) when compared with 'treatment choice' [consisting of low-dose cytarabine (80%) and supportive care (20%)] as a frontline treatment for elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Despite an improved ORR, the median overall survival (OS) for elderly …

Benchmarking Outcomes For Molecularly Characterized Synchronous Oligometastatic Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Reveal, Brian De, Ahsan S Farooqi, Kyle G Mitchell, Ethan B Ludmir, Jeff Lewis, Waree Rinsurongkawong, Vadeerat Rinsurongkawong, J Jack Lee, Stephen G Swisher, Don L Gibbons, Jianjun Zhang, Xiuning Le, Yasir Y Elamin, Daniel R Gomez, Matthew S Ning, Steven H Lin, Zhongxing Liao, Joe Y Chang, Ara A Vaporciyan, John V Heymach, Mara B Antonoff, Saumil J Gandhi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Local consolidative therapy (LCT) for patients with synchronous oligometastatic non-small-cell lung cancer is an evolving treatment strategy, but outcomes following LCT stratified by genetic mutations have not been reported. We sought to identify genomic associations with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) for these patients.

Methods: We identified all patients presenting between 2000 and 2017 with stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer and ≤ 3 synchronous metastatic sites. Patients were grouped according to mutational statuses. Primary outcomes included OS and PFS following initial diagnosis.

Results: Of 194 included patients, 121 received comprehensive LCT to all sites of disease with …

Construction Of The Interaction Network Of Hub Genes In The Progression Of Barrett's Esophagus To Esophageal Adenocarcinoma, Kai Li, Peipei Duan, Haifa He, Ruijuan Du, Qian Wang, Pengju Gong, Hua Bian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is one of the histologic types of esophageal cancer with a poor prognosis. The majority of EAC originate from Barrett's esophagus (BE). There are few studies focusing on the dynamic progression of BE to EAC.

Methods: R software was used to analyze differentially expressed genes (DEGs) based on RNA-seq data of 94 normal esophageal squamous epithelial (NE) tissues, 113 BE tissues and 147 EAC tissues. The overlapping genes of DEGs between BE and EAC were analyzed by Venn diagram tool. The hub genes were selected by Cytoscape software based on the protein-protein interaction network of the …

Performance Benchmark Metrics And Clinicopathologic Outcomes Of Mri-Guided Breast Biopsies: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Berat Bersu Özcan, Justin Yan, Yin Xi, Serine Baydoun, Marion E Scoggins, Başak E Doğan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To determine key performance metrics of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided breast biopsies (MRGB) to help identify reference benchmarks.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified studies reporting MRGB results up to 04.01.2021 in the Embase database, Ovid Medline (R) Process, Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid Medline (R) and completed a PRISMA checklist and sources of bias (QUADAS-2). The inclusion criteria were English language, available histopathological outcomes, or at least one imaging follow-up after biopsy. A random intercept logistic regression model was used to pool rates. Between-study heterogeneity was quantified by the I2 statistic.

RESULTS: A total of 11,215 lesions in 50 articles …

Contemporaneous Symptom Networks Of Multidimensional Symptom Experiences In Cancer Survivors: A Network Analysis, Zheng Zhu, Yanling Sun, Yi Kuang, Xiaoyi Yuan, Haiyan Gu, Jing Zhu, Weijie Xing

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Symptom networks can provide empirical evidence for the development of personalized and precise symptom management strategies. However, few studies have explored the symptom networks of multidimensional symptom experiences in cancer survivors. The objectives of this study were to generate symptom networks of multidimensional symptom experiences in cancer survivors and explore the centrality indices and density in these symptom networks METHODS: Data from 1065 cancer survivors were obtained from the Shanghai CANcer Survivor (SCANS) Report. The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory was used to assess the prevalence and severity of 13 cancer-related symptoms. We constructed contemporaneous networks with all 13 symptoms …

A Bayesian Piecewise Exponential Phase Ii Design For Monitoring A Time-To-Event Endpoint, Yun Qing, Peter F Thall, Ying Yuan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

A robust Bayesian design is presented for a single-arm phase II trial with an early stopping rule to monitor a time to event endpoint. The assumed model is a piecewise exponential distribution with non-informative gamma priors on the hazard parameters in subintervals of a fixed follow up interval. As an additional comparator, we also define and evaluate a version of the design based on an assumed Weibull distribution. Except for the assumed models, the piecewise exponential and Weibull model based designs are identical to an established design that assumes an exponential event time distribution with an inverse gamma prior on …

A Bibliometric And Visual Analysis Of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts, Wei-Chen Yuan, Jie-Xiang Zhang, Hai-Bin Chen, Ying Yuan, Yu-Pei Zhuang, Hong-Li Zhou, Mu-Han Li, Wen-Li Qiu, Hong-Guang Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) represent the predominant stromal component within the tumour microenvironment (TME), exhibiting considerable heterogeneity and plasticity that significantly impact immune response and metabolic reprogramming within the TME, thereby influencing tumour progression. Consequently, investigating CAFs is of utmost importance. The objective of this study is to employ bibliometric analysis in order to evaluate the current state of research on CAFs and predict future areas of research and emerging trends.

Methods: Conduct a comprehensive search for scholarly publications within the Web of Science Core Collection database, encompassing the time period from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2022. Apply …

Survival Outcomes In Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Or Mrd-Positive B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treated With Blinatumomab, Hagop M Kantarjian, Aaron C Logan, Faraz Zaman, Nicola Gökbuget, Ralf C Bargou, Yi Zeng, Gerhard Zugmaier, Franco Locatelli

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Blinatumomab has demonstrated significant efficacy in adult and pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R B-cell ALL) and patients with measurable residual disease (MRD). This review aimed to compare median relapse-free survival (RFS) and median overall survival (OS) in adult and pediatric patients with R/R or MRD-positive B-cell ALL from pivotal studies [MT-103-211 and TOWER for adults with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative R/R B-cell ALL, ALCANTARA for adults with Ph-positive R/R B-cell ALL, MT-103-203 for adults with MRD-positive B-cell ALL, and MT-103-205 for pediatric patients with R/R B-cell ALL], with the median RFS and OS from retrospective analyses, country …

Targeted Therapy For Intractable Cancer On The Basis Of Molecular Profiles: An Open-Label, Phase Ii Basket Trial (Long March Pathway), Xiao-Dong Jiao, Bao-Dong Qin, Zhan Wang, Ke Liu, Ying Wu, Yan Ling, Wen-Xing Qin, Miao-Miao Wang, Ling-Yan Yuan, Savio George Barreto, Anthony W Kim, Kimberley Mak, Hao Li, Yuan-Yuan Xu, Xiao-Ming Qiu, Min Wu, Min Jin, Li-Chao Xu, Yi Zhong, Hui Yang, Xue-Qin Chen, Yu Zeng, Jun Shi, Wen-Yu Zhu, Qing-Qing Ding, Wei Jia, Su-Fen Liu, Jun-Jing Zhou, Hong Shen, Shi-Hua Yao, Zhao-Ji Guo, Ting Li, Pei-Juan Zhou, Xue-Wei Dong, Wen-Feng Lu, Robert L Coleman, Mehmet Akce, Chérif Akladios, Francesco Puccetti, Yuan-Sheng Zang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: We evaluated he effects of molecular guided-targeted therapy for intractable cancer. Also, the epidemiology of druggable gene alterations in Chinese population was investigated.

Materials and methods: The Long March Pathway (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03239015) is a non-randomized, open-label, phase II trial consisting of several basket studies examining the molecular profiles of intractable cancers in the Chinese population. The trial aimed to 1) evaluate the efficacy of targeted therapy for intractable cancer and 2) identify the molecular epidemiology of the tier II gene alterations among Chinese pan-cancer patients.

Results: In the first stage, molecular profiles of 520 intractable pan-cancer patients …

Intracranial Mesenchymal Tumor, Fet::Creb Fusion-Positive In The Lateral Ventricle, Hanim I Ozkizilkaya, Jason M Johnson, Barbara J O'Brien, Ian E Mccutcheon, Sujit S Prabhu, Amol J Ghia, Gregory N Fuller, Jason T Huse, Leomar Y Ballester

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

The Mediating Effect Of Resilience On The Relationship Between Symptom Burden And Anxiety/Depression Among Chinese Patients With Primary Liver Cancer After Liver Resection, Xue Zhang, Haoran Zhang, Zonghao Zhang, Hua Fan, Shuwen Li

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Primary liver cancer (PLC) is a common cancer of the digestive system. Patients with PLC often experience a heavy symptom burden and along with a significant levels of anxiety and depression after liver resection. High levels of symptom burden can lead to increased anxiety and depression, whereas high levels of resilience can alleviate these conditions. Therefore, we aimed to explore the relationships among symptom burden, resilience, and anxiety/depression in Chinese patients with PLC after liver resection and to determine whether resilience mediates the relationship between symptom burden and anxiety/depression.

Patients and methods: A total of 223 postoperative PLC patients …

Cancer-Associated Pyroptosis: A New License To Kill Tumor, Qing Kong, Zhibin Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pyroptosis is a programmed necrotic cell death mediated by pore-forming Gasdermin (GSDM) proteins. After being unleashed from the C-terminal auto-inhibitory domains by proteolytic cleavage, the N-terminal domains of GSDMs oligomerize and perforate on the plasma membrane to induce cytolytic pyroptosis, releasing immune mediators and alarming the immune system. Upon infection or danger signal perception, GSDMD that functions downstream of the inflammasome, a supramolecular complex for inflammatory caspase activation, is cleaved and activated by inflammasome-activated caspase-1/4/5/11 in immune cells and epithelial cells to trigger pyroptosis and exert anti-infection protection. Unlike this inflammasome-activated pyroptosis (IAP), recent studies also suggest an emerging role …

Combining Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (Saxs) With Protein Structure Predictions To Characterize Conformations In Solution, Naga Babu Chinnam, Aleem Syed, Greg L Hura, Michal Hammel, John A Tainer, Susan E Tsutakawa

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Accurate protein structure predictions, enabled by recent advances in machine learning algorithms, provide an entry point to probing structural mechanisms and to integrating and querying many types of biochemical and biophysical results. Limitations in such protein structure predictions can be reduced and addressed through comparison to experimental Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) data that provides protein structural information in solution. SAXS data can not only validate computational predictions, but can improve conformational and assembly prediction to produce atomic models that are consistent with solution data and biologically relevant states. Here, we describe how to obtain protein structure predictions, compare them …

Radiotherapy Reimagined: Integrating Nanomedicines Into Radiotherapy Clinical Trials, Allison N Duross, Jack Phan, Alexander J Lazar, Joshua M Walker, Alexander R Guimaraes, Carole Baas, Sunil Krishnan, Charles R Thomas, Conroy Sun, Alexander F Bagley

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Radioenhancing nanoparticles (NPs) are being evaluated in ongoing clinical trials for various cancers including head and neck, lung, esophagus, pancreas, prostate, and soft tissue sarcoma. Supported by decades of preclinical investigation and recent randomized trial data establishing clinical activity, these agents are poised to influence future multimodality treatment paradigms involving radiotherapy. Although the physical interactions between NPs and ionizing radiation are well characterized, less is known about how these agents modify the tumor microenvironment, particularly regarding tumor immunogenicity. In this review, we describe the key multidisciplinary considerations related to radiation, surgery, immunology, and pathology for designing radioenhancing NP clinical trials. …

Diagnostic Challenges And Prognostic Implications Of Extranodal Extension In Head And Neck Cancer: A State Of The Art Review And Gap Analysis, Christina E Henson, Ahmad K Abou-Foul, Daniel J Morton, Lachlan Mcdowell, Sujith Baliga, James Bates, Anna Lee, Pierluigi Bonomo, Petr Szturz, Paul Nankivell, Shao Hui Huang, William M Lydiatt, Brian O'Sullivan, Hisham Mehanna

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Extranodal extension (ENE) is a pattern of cancer growth from within the lymph node (LN) outward into perinodal tissues, critically defined by disruption and penetration of the tumor through the entire thickness of the LN capsule. The presence of ENE is often associated with an aggressive cancer phenotype in various malignancies including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In HNSCC, ENE is associated with increased risk of distant metastasis and lower rates of locoregional control. ENE detected on histopathology (pathologic ENE; pENE) is now incorporated as a risk-stratification factor in human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative HNSCC in the eighth edition of …

The Phase 1/2 Trial Of Indomethacin In Chronic Pancreatitis (The Pair Trial): Protocol For A Parallel Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial, Samuel Han, Darwin L Conwell, Liang Li, Alejandra Cervantes, Phil A Hart, Zobeida Cruz-Monserrate, Wenrui Hao, Gregory B Lesinski, Thomas Mace, Tonya M Palermo, Jami L Saloman, Dhiraj Yadav, Santhi Swaroop Vege, Mark Topazian, Consortium For The Study Of Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes, And Pancreatic Cancer (Cpdpc)

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/objectives: Current treatments for chronic pancreatitis focus on symptom management and therapeutics targeting disease reversal are lacking. Given the role of the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme in producing prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a key component in the inflammatory pathway of chronic pancreatitis, this study evaluates the physiologic effect of oral indomethacin, a COX-2 inhibitor, on PGE2 levels in pancreatic fluid.

Methods: This pilot two-center randomized controlled trial seeks to examine 32 subjects with chronic pancreatitis who have no contraindications to indomethacin. Subjects will be randomized to either oral indomethacin 50 mg twice a day or placebo twice a day for a total …

Postoperative Management Of Recurrence After Radiosurgery And Surgical Resection For Brain Metastases And Predicting Benefit From Adjuvant Radiation, Samantha M Buszek, Benjamin Tran, James P Long, Dershan Luo, Dima Suki, Jing Li, Sherise Ferguson, Caroline Chung

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is often used as upfront treatment for brain metastases. Progression or radionecrosis after SRS is common and can prompt resection. However, postoperative management strategies after resection for SRS failure vary widely, and no standard practice has been established. In this approved study, we retrospectively reviewed patients who received SRS for a brain metastasis followed by resection of the same lesion. We extracted patient-, disease-, and treatment-related variables and information on disease-related outcomes. Univariate and multivariate analyses of clinicopathologic variables were used to create a model to predict factors associated with local failure (LF). A total of 225 …

Accelerating Artificial Intelligence: How Federated Learning Can Protect Privacy, Facilitate Collaboration, And Improve Outcomes, Malhar Patel, Ittai Dayan, Elliot K Fishman, Mona Flores, Fiona J Gilbert, Michal Guindy, Eugene J Koay, Michael Rosenthal, Holger R Roth, Marius G Linguraru

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cross-institution collaborations are constrained by data-sharing challenges. These challenges hamper innovation, particularly in artificial intelligence, where models require diverse data to ensure strong performance. Federated learning (FL) solves data-sharing challenges. In typical collaborations, data is sent to a central repository where models are trained. With FL, models are sent to participating sites, trained locally, and model weights aggregated to create a master model with improved performance. At the 2021 Radiology Society of North America's (RSNA) conference, a panel was conducted titled "Accelerating AI: How Federated Learning Can Protect Privacy, Facilitate Collaboration and Improve Outcomes." Two groups shared insights: researchers from …

Huge Abdominopelvic Mass Arising From Cervical Fibroid Around An Infected Cervical Diverticulum: A Very Rare Case And A Review Of Literature, Arpita De, Reva Tripathi, Abhinav Jain, Safia Rana

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Primary uterine diverticula are a very rare congenital anomaly of the uterus with only 21 reported cases. Even rarer is the occurrence of primary cervical diverticula with only six cases reported so far. This is a unique case of a huge abdominopelvic mass arising from cervical fibroid around an infected cervical diverticulum. A 44 year-old, P4L4 came to the OPD with a eighteen weeks size abdomino-pelvic mass. She had a failed surgery 6 months back, attempted to remove the mass. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a cervical diverticulum which possibly had a pus collection. Relaparotomy was done. It revealed a huge …

Risk Factors Associated With Severe Clostridioides Difficile Infection In Patients With Cancer, Denise Marie A Francisco, Liangliang Zhang, Ying Jiang, Adilene Olvera, Javier Adachi, Eduardo Yepez Guevara, Samuel L Aitken, Kevin W Garey, Christine B Peterson, Kim-Anh Do, Ryan Dillon, Engels N Obi, Robert Jenq, Pablo C Okhuysen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Antibiotic use is a risk factor for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). Few studies have correlated use of prior antibiotic classes with CDI, microbiome composition, and disease severity in patients with cancer. We hypothesized that previous antibiotic exposure and fecal microbiome composition at time of presentation are risk factors for severe CDI in patients with cancer.

METHODS: This non-interventional, prospective, cohort study examined 200 patients with cancer who had their first episode or first recurrence of CDI. C. difficile was identified using nucleic acid amplification testing. Univariate analysis was used to determine significant risk factors for severe CDI. Fecal microbiome …

Preoperative Tractography Algorithm For Safe Resection Of Tumors Located In The Descending Motor Pathways Zone, Edgar G Ordonez-Rubiano, Jason M Johnson, Nadin Abdalá-Vargas, Oscar F Zorro, Jorge H Marin-Munoz, Ricardo Álvarez-Tobián, Valeria Forlizzi, Carlos Castillo Rangel, Sabino Luzzi, Alvaro Campero, Javier G Patiño-Gómez, Matias Baldoncini

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography facilitates maximal safe resection and optimizes planning to avoid injury during subcortical dissection along descending motor pathways (DMPs). We provide an affordable, safe, and timely algorithm for preoperative DTI motor reconstruction for gliomas adjacent to DMPs.

METHODS: Preoperative DTI reconstructions were extracted from a prospectively acquired registry of glioma resections adjacent to DMPs. The surgeries were performed over a 7-year period. Demographic, clinical, and radiographic data were extracted from patients' electronic medical records.

RESULTS: Nineteen patients (12 male) underwent preoperative tractography between January 1, 2013, and May 31, 2020. The average age was 44.5 …

Targeted Exome-Based Predictors Of Patterns Of Progression Of Colorectal Liver Metastasis After Percutaneous Thermal Ablation, Iwan Paolucci, Yuan-Mao Lin, Yoshikuni Kawaguchi, Harufumi Maki, A Kyle Jones, Marco Calandri, Scott Kopetz, Timothy E Newhook, Kristy K Brock, Jean-Nicolas Vauthey, Bruno C Odisio

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous thermal ablation is a curative-intent locoregional therapy (LRT) for selected patients with unresectable colorectal liver metastasis (CLM). Several factors have been identified that contribute to local tumour control after ablation. However, factors contributing to disease progression outside the ablation zone after ablation are poorly understood.

METHODS: In this retrospective study, using next-generation sequencing, we identified genetic biomarkers associated with different patterns of progression following thermal ablation of CLM.

RESULTS: A total of 191 ablation naïve patients between January 2011 and March 2020 were included in the analysis, and 101 had genomic profiling available. Alterations in the TGFβ pathway …

Clinical, Dosimetric, And Reporting Considerations For Y-90 Glass Microspheres In Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Updated 2022 Recommendations From An International Multidisciplinary Working Group, Riad Salem, Siddharth A Padia, Marnix Lam, Carlo Chiesa, Paul Haste, Bruno Sangro, Beau Toskich, Kirk Fowers, Joseph M Herman, S Cheenu Kappadath, Thomas Leung, Daniel Y Sze, Edward Kim, Etienne Garin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: In light of recently published clinical reports and trials, the TheraSphere Global Dosimetry Steering Committee (DSC) reconvened to review new data and to update previously published clinical and dosimetric recommendations for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS: The TheraSphere Global DSC is comprised of health care providers across multiple disciplines involved in the treatment of HCC with yttrium-90 (Y-90) glass microsphere-based transarterial radioembolization (TARE). Literature published between January 2019 and September 2021 was reviewed, discussed, and adjudicated by the Delphi method. Recommendations included in this updated document incorporate both the results of the literature review and the expert …

The Interplay Between Neoantigens And Immune Cells In Sarcomas Treated With Checkpoint Inhibition, Irantzu Anzar, Brandon Malone, Pubudu Samarakoon, Ioannis Vardaxis, Boris Simovski, Hugues Fontenelle, Leonardo A Meza-Zepeda, Richard Stratford, Emily Z Keung, Melissa Burgess, Hussein A Tawbi, Ola Myklebost, Trevor Clancy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Sarcomas are comprised of diverse bone and connective tissue tumors with few effective therapeutic options for locally advanced unresectable and/or metastatic disease. Recent advances in immunotherapy, in particular immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI), have shown promising outcomes in several cancer indications. Unfortunately, ICI therapy has provided only modest clinical responses and seems moderately effective in a subset of the diverse subtypes.

METHODS: To explore the immune parameters governing ICI therapy resistance or immune escape, we performed whole exome sequencing (WES) on tumors and their matched normal blood, in addition to RNA-seq from tumors of 31 sarcoma patients treated with pembrolizumab. …

Editorial: Non-Coding Genome And Endocrinology: From Bench To Bedside, Radu Pirlog, Kinga Nemeth, George Adrian Calin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Lysosomal Tmem9-Lamtor4-Controlled Mtor Signaling Integrity Is Required For Mammary Tumorigenesis, Shengzhe Zhang, Sung Ho Lee, Litong Nie, Yuanjian Huang, Gengyi Zou, Youn-Sang Jung, Sohee Jun, Jie Zhang, Esther M Lien, Junjie Chen, Jae-Il Park

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Severe Radiation-Induced Lymphopenia During Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy For Stage Iii Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: External Validation Of Two Prediction Models, Peter S N Van Rossum, Celia Juan-Cruz, Barbara Stam, Maddalena M G Rossi, Steven H Lin, Azadeh Abravan, José S A Belderbos, Jan-Jakob Sonke

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Severe radiation-induced lymphopenia (RIL) in patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is associated with decreased immunotherapy efficacy and survival. At The Christie and MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), prediction models for lymphopenia were developed in lung and esophageal cancer patients, respectively. The aim of this study was to externally validate both models in patients with stage III NSCLC.

METHODS: Patients who underwent concurrent CRT for stage III NSCLC in 2019-2021 were studied. Outcomes were grade ≥3 and grade 4 lymphopenia during CRT. The Christie model predictors for grade ≥3 lymphopenia included age, baseline lymphocyte count, …