Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Comparison Of Spatio-Temporal Prediction Methods Of Cancer Incidence In The U.S, Michelle Hamlyn

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cancer is the cause of one out of four deaths in the United States, and in 2009, researchers expected over 1.5 million new patients to be diagnosed with some form of cancer. People diagnosed with cancer, whether a common or rare type, need to undergo treatments, the amount and kind of which will depend on the severity of the cancer. So how do healthcare providers know how much funding is needed for treatment? What would better enable a pharmaceutical company to determine how much to allocate for research and development of drugs, the amount of each drug to manufacture, or …

Modeling Mortality Rates For Leukemia Between Men And Women In The United States, Blessed Quansah

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Leukemia related deaths increased dramatically over the last forty years. Leukemia is a malignant disease or cancer of the bone marrow and blood. It is characterized by the uncontrolled accumulation of blood cells. Leukemia is divided into two categories: myelogenous or lymphocytic, each of which can be acute or chronic. The terms, myelogenous or lymphocytic denote the cell type involved.

In this thesis, the proposed modeling techniques are applied to leukemia deaths data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER). In particular, annual deaths data from 1969 to 2007 are used in the data analysis, which includes three major …

Structured Algorithm For Error Reduction In Chemotherapy Administration, Marianne Bundalian Tejada

Nursing Faculty Presentations

Purpose. To develop an evidence-based structured algorithm tool that might be used by nursing leaders at a cancer center to decrease chemotherapy medication errors.

Background. In spite of available technology and known factors resulting in medication errors, chemotherapy errors remain the major cause of iatrogenic patient morbidity in hospitals (Gilbar, 2001; Heidt et al., 2001 ). A major risk factor for chemotherapy errors is lack of standardization in administration (ordering, dispensing, administration, monitoring). Failure to identify necessary staff skills/aptitude required to prevent errors may also be problematic.

Significance. Use of the developed algorithm may lead to development of evidence-based strategies …

High-Risk Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Screening And Detection In Normal, Healthy Patient Saliva Samples: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Study, Deirdre O. Turner, Shelley J. Williams-Cocks, Ryan Bullen, Jeremy Catmull, Jesse Falk, Daniel Martin, Jerom Mauer, Annabel E. Barber, Robert C. Wang, Shawn Gerstenberger, Karl Kingsley

Environmental & Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Background: The human papillomaviruses (HPV) are a large family of non-enveloped DNA viruses, mainly associated with cervical cancers. Recent epidemiologic evidence has suggested that HPV may be an independent risk factor for oropharyngeal cancers. Evidence now suggests HPV may modulate the malignancy process in some tobacco- and alcohol-induced oropharynx tumors, but might also be the primary oncogenic factor for inducing carcinogenesis among some non-smokers. More evidence, however, is needed regarding oral HPV prevalence among healthy adults to estimate risk. The goal of this study was to perform an HPV screening of normal healthy adults to assess oral HPV prevalence.

Methods: …

The Determinants Of Colorectal Cancer Survival Disparities In Nevada, Lucas N. Wassira

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Different population groups across Nevada and throughout the United States suffer disproportionately from colorectal cancer and its after-effects. Overcoming cancer health disparities is important for lessening the burden of cancer. There has been an overall decline in the incidence of and mortality from colorectal cancer (CRC). This is likely due, in part, to the increasing use of screening procedures such as Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) and/or endoscopy, which can reduce the risk of CRC mortality by fifty percent. Nevertheless, screening procedures are routinely used by only fifty percent of Americans aged fifty years and older. Despite overall mortality decreasing …

Development Of Novel Biomarkers In Cancer: Detection Of Circulating Mir-141 As A Potential Prognostic Marker For Prostate Cancer, Jason Cadaoas Gonzales

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Prostate cancer (CAP) is the most common epithelial malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men. The identification of predictive and prognostic biomarkers in CAP patients is critical for improving clinical outcomes. Although the measurement of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and radiographic studies are clinically approved to predict response to therapy, these tests can oftentimes prove to be inadequate in certain patients. Thus, it is important to discover new biomarkers to improve chances of survivability. We and others have shown that longitudinal measurements of circulating tumor cells (CTC) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) may aid in predicting response …

Synthesis Of Novel Aromatic Quinols For Colon And Renal Cancers, Bradley J. Davey, Tae Soo Jo, Pradip K. Bhowmik

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Colon Cancer: The third most common cancer in USA. More than 1 million Americans currently living with colon cancer. 148,810 new cases expected in 2010. 50,000 deaths annually.

Renal Cancer: Approximately 58,000 people diagnosed in USA annually. Seventh most common cancer and tenth most common cause of cancer related death in men.

Aromatic quinols have demonstrated in vitro antitumor activity. Three heteroaromatic quinols show antitumor activity.

Macrophages Loaded With Gold Nanoshells For Photothermal Ablation Of Glioma: An In Vitro Model, Amani Riad Makkouk

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current median survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common type of glioma, remains at 14.6 months despite multimodal treatments (surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy). This research aims to study the feasibility of photothermal ablation of glioma using gold nanoshells that are heated upon laser irradiation at their resonance wavelength. The novelty of our approach lies in improving nanoshell tumor delivery by loading them in macrophages, which are known to be recruited to gliomas via tumor-released chemoattractive agents. Ferumoxides, superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles, are needed as an additional macrophage load in order to visualize macrophage accumulation in …

Oral Cancer In Nevada: A Public Health Perspective, Karl Kingsley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and oral cancer remains the eighth leading cause of cancer death among US males. Although previous epidemiologic studies have found that overall rates of cancer, including oral cancer, have declined in the US in recent decades – these declines are neither uniform nor consistent within this population. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that rates of oral cancer in Nevada are relatively high, although no evidence was available to support these assertions.

Oral Cancer Epidemiology: Based upon this information, a detailed and thorough epidemiologic examination of oral cancer rates in …

Pdest Fg12-Cmv Dsred Vector, Jarod Wolffis, Sheri L. Holmen

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Melanoma is the most rapidly increasing malignancy among young people in the United States. If detected early, the disease is easily treated; however, once the disease has metastasized it is largely refractory to conventional therapies and is associated with a high mortality rate. The development of human cancer from a pre-malignant primary tumor to a metastatic lesion that develops at secondary sites is thought to be a multi-step process, requiring many genetic and epigenetic events that provide a growth advantage to cells. It is still unclear which of the many genetic changes in human cancers are required for metastasis. Therefore, …

Expression Of An Alternate Splice Form Of Bmi-1 In Multiple Myeloma, Adam Austin, Kristine Veys, Debbie Wong, James Tung

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The concept of “tumor stem cells” has garnered much attention in the last few years. Tumor stem cells are believed to exist among a heterogeneous group of cells that constitute a tumor. These tumor stem cells often express genes that are important for stem cell function, cell division, and maintenance of pluripotent state in stem cells. Stem cell or stem cell maintenance genes such as SALL 4 and Bmi-1 are often seen in these cancer cells and contribute to self-renewing divisions and cancer cell survival. In particular, high expression of Bmi-1 (B lymphoma mouse Moloney leukemia virus insertion region), a …

Photochemical Delivery Of Bleomycin In Malignant Glioma Cells, Joseph William Blickenstaff Iii

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Despite continued efforts, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains an incurable form of primary brain cancer. Surgical resection followed by radiation treatment and chemotherapy have been the most effective modalities in prolonging median survival time to 14 months. This research aims to study the response of two different cell culture models to a novel drug delivery method termed photochemical internalization (PCI). PCI is a technique to improve the utilization of macromolecules (e.g. the chemotherapeutic drug bleomycin) in site-specific cancer therapy. This concept is based on the use of specially designed photosensitizers (e.g. aluminum phthalocyanine disulfonate; AlPcS _2a ) which preferentially localize in …

Characterizing And Inhibiting Two Pathways Activated In Glioblastoma Multiforme, Andrea Jydstrup, Sheri L. Holmen

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Despite major improvements in imaging, radiation, and surgery, the prognosis for patients with Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains clinically challenging. New treatment strategies are badly needed to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with this disease. The resistance of these tumors to conventional treatments makes GBM patients ideal candidates for molecularly targeted therapies and several agents are currently being developed(1). Because GBM is genetically heterogeneous, combination therapies or the use of multikinase inhibitors are more likely to achieve the greatest therapeutic benefit(2,3). However, genes that can be productively targeted for effective therapies in patients remain to be identified. The overall objective …