Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Association Between Higher Expression Of Talin-1 And The Reduced Survival Rate In Ovarian Serous Carcinoma Patients, Mina Sharbatoghli, Leili Saeednejad Zanjani, Fahimeh Fattahi, Elham Kalantari, Zohre Habibi Shams, Mahshid Panahi, Medhi Totonchi, Mohsen Asadi-Lari, Zahra Madjd

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Background & Objective: Talin-1 is a constituent of the multiprotein adhesion complexes that play main role in the formation of tumors and migration in different types of malignancies. The present study aimed to assess expression and prognostic significance of the talin-1 protein in ovarian serous carcinoma (OSC) patients.

Methods: The expression of talin-1 in mRNA and its protein levels were investigated for ovarian cancer (OC) by using bioinformatics tools, including Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis 2 (GEPIA2), Gene Expression Database of Normal and Tumor Tissue 2 (GENT2), and The University of ALabama at Birmingham CANcer data analysis Portal (UALCAN) databases. …

Long-Term Outcomes In Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Treated With Ibrutinib: Focus On Hypertension And Cardiovascular Toxicity, Max J Gordon, Jade E Jones, Binsah George, Christine Peterson, Jan A Burger, Nitin Jain, Michael Keating, William G Wierda, Jean-Bernard Durand, Alessandra Ferrajoli

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Continuous ibrutinib administration is needed to maintain efficacy in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and, as such, long-term toxicity is a concern. The authors report the 5-year follow-up of patients with CLL who received treatment with ibrutinib with a focus on hypertension and cardiovascular toxicities.

METHODS: Patient characteristics were assessed, including blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, disease progression, and death. Univariate logistic regression analysis assessed the relation of patient characteristics and the development of new or worsened hypertension. The incidence of hypertensive outcomes was evaluated using competing risk. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS: Three hundred patients …

Phase 1b Study Of Combined Selinexor And Eribulin For The Treatment Of Advanced Solid Tumors And Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Blessie Elizabeth Nelson, Sadia Saleem, Senthil Damodaran, Neeta Somaiah, Sarina Piha-Paul, Julia Ann Moore, Bulent Yilmaz, Deby Ogbonna, Daniel D Karp, Ecaterina Dumbrava, Apostolia M Tsimberidou, David S Hong, Jordi Rodon Ahnert, Denái R Milton, Xiaofeng Zheng, Daniel J Booser, Nuhad K Ibrahim, Anthony P Conley, Priya Bhosale, Cristhiam M Rojas Hernandez, Debasish Tripathy, Aung Naing, Funda Meric-Bernstam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Selinexor (KPT-330) is a potent inhibitor of exportin 1 (XPO1), in turn inhibiting tumor growth. Selinexor enhances the antitumor efficacy of eribulin in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in vitro and in vivo. Given the unmet medical need in TNBC and sarcoma, the authors explored the safety and efficacy of this combination.

METHODS: The authors conducted a phase 1b trial of combined selinexor and eribulin using a 3 + 3 dose-escalation design in patients who had advanced solid tumors and in those who had TNBC in a dose-expansion cohort.

RESULTS: Patients with TNBC (N = 19), sarcoma (N = 9), …

Five-Year Patient-Reported Outcomes In Nrg Oncology Rtog 0938, Evaluating Two Ultrahypofractionated Regimens For Prostate Cancer, Himanshu R Lukka, Snehal Deshmukh, Deborah W Bruner, Jean-Paul Bahary, Colleen A F Lawton, Jason A Efstathiou, Rajat J Kudchadker, Lee E Ponsky, Samantha A Seaward, Ian S Dayes, Darindra D Gopaul, Jeff M Michalski, Guila Delouya, Irving D Kaplan, Eric M Horwitz, Mack Roach, Felix Y Feng, Stephanie L Pugh, Howard M Sandler, Lisa A Kachnic

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: There is considerable interest in very short (ultrahypofractionated) radiation therapy regimens to treat prostate cancer based on potential radiobiological advantages, patient convenience, and resource allocation benefits. Our objective is to demonstrate that detectable changes in health-related quality of life measured by the bowel and urinary domains of the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC-50) were not substantially worse than baseline scores.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: NRG Oncology's RTOG 0938 is a nonblinded randomized phase 2 study of National Comprehensive Cancer Network low-risk prostate cancer in which each arm is compared with a historical control. Patients were randomized to 5 fractions …

Actionability Classification Of Variants Of Unknown Significance Correlates With Functional Effect, Amber Johnson, Patrick Kwok-Shing Ng, Michael Kahle, Julia Castillo, Bianca Amador, Yujia Wang, Jia Zeng, Vijaykumar Holla, Thuy Vu, Fei Su, Sun-Hee Kim, Tara Conway, Xianli Jiang, Ken Chen, Kenna R Mills Shaw, Timothy A Yap, Jordi Rodon, Gordon B Mills, Funda Meric-Bernstam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Genomically-informed therapy requires consideration of the functional impact of genomic alterations on protein expression and/or function. However, a substantial number of variants are of unknown significance (VUS). The MD Anderson Precision Oncology Decision Support (PODS) team developed an actionability classification scheme that categorizes VUS as either "Unknown" or "Potentially" actionable based on their location within functional domains and/or proximity to known oncogenic variants. We then compared PODS VUS actionability classification with results from a functional genomics platform consisting of mutant generation and cell viability assays. 106 (24%) of 438 VUS in 20 actionable genes were classified as oncogenic in functional …

Presence Of Circulating Tumor Cells Predates Imaging Detection Of Relapse In Patients With Stage Iii Melanoma, Anthony Lucci, Sridevi Addanki, Yi-Ju Chiang, Salyna Meas, Vanessa N Sarli, Joshua R Upshaw, Mayank Manchem, Sapna P Patel, Jennifer A Wargo, Jeffrey E Gershenwald, Merrick I Ross

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Stage III melanoma includes nodal metastasis or in-transit disease. Five-year survival rates vary between 32% and 93%. The identification of high-risk patients is important for clinical decision making. We demonstrated previously that ≥1 circulating tumor cells (CTCs) at baseline was associated with recurrence. In this study, we investigated how frequently CTCs were identified prior to radiologically detected recurrence. Stage III patients (n = 325) had imaging at baseline and q 3 months. Baseline and q 6-12 months blood draws (7.5 mL) were performed to identify CTCs up to 3.5 years from diagnosis. CTC assessment was performed using the immunomagnetic …

Pediatric Phase 2 Trial Of A Wee1 Inhibitor, Adavosertib (Azd1775), And Irinotecan For Relapsed Neuroblastoma, Medulloblastoma, And Rhabdomyosarcoma, Kristina A Cole, Heba Ijaz, Lea F Surrey, Mariarita Santi, Xiaowei Liu, Charles G Minard, John M Maris, Stephan Voss, Joel M Reid, Elizabeth Fox, Brenda J Weigel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Inhibition of the WEE1 kinase by adavosertib (AZD1775) potentiates replicative stress from genomic instability or chemotherapy. This study reports the pediatric solid tumor phase 2 results of the ADVL1312 trial combining irinotecan and adavosertib.

METHODS: Pediatric patients with recurrent neuroblastoma (part B), medulloblastoma/central nervous system embryonal tumors (part C), or rhabdomyosarcoma (part D) were treated with irinotecan and adavosertib orally for 5 days every 21 days. The combination was considered effective if there were at least three of 20 responses in parts B and D or six of 19 responses in part C. Tumor tissue was analyzed for alternative …

Analysis Of Performance And Failure Modes Of The Iroc Proton Liver Phantom, Hunter Mehrens, Paige Taylor, Paola Alvarez, Stephen Kry

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: To analyze trends in institutional performance and failure modes for the Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core’s (IROC’s) proton liver phantom.

Materials and Methods: Results of 66 phantom irradiations from 28 institutions between 2015 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate analysis and random forest models were used to associate irradiation conditions with phantom results. Phantom results included pass/fail classification, average thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) ratio of both targets, and percentage of pixels passing gamma of both targets. The following categories were evaluated in terms of how they predicted these outcomes: irradiation year, treatment planning system (TPS), TPS algorithm, treatment machine, number …

Resistance To Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 Infection Conferred By A Compound Ccr5Δ32 And Ccr5 C20s Heterozygote, Bashar Alkhatib, Mary Jabari, Shymaa Bilasy, Husni Abdul-Rahman, Kamal Sandhu, Stephen Lai, Ghalib Alkhatib

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We analyzed findings in a same-gender couple discordant in their human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status. The HIV+ partner was homozygous for CCR5 while his receptive HIV- partner was a CCR5Δ32 heterozygote with a C20S missense mutation in his CCR5 allele. The cells from the HIV- partner showed significant resistance to R5 fusion/infection and had no chemotactic response to CCL4 (macrophage inflammatory protein 1β). We demonstrated abundant CCR5-specific RNA in the HIV- partner's cells but no detectable CCR5 protein. CCR5 promoter region cloned from each partner's DNA indicated no significant impact on RNA transcription. The compound effect of CCR5Δ32 and C20S …

Unique Transcriptional Profiles Underlie Osteosarcomagenesis Driven By Different P53 Mutants, Dhruv Chachad, Lalit R Patel, Carlos Vera Recio, Rasoul Pourebrahim, Elizabeth M Whitley, Wenyi Wang, Xiaoping Su, An Xu, Dung-Fang Lee, Guillermina Lozano

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Missense mutations in the DNA binding domain of p53 are characterized as structural or contact mutations based on their effect on the conformation of the protein. These mutations show gain-of-function (GOF) activities, such as promoting increased metastatic incidence compared with p53 loss, often mediated by the interaction of mutant p53 with a set of transcription factors. These interactions are largely context specific. To understand the mechanisms by which p53 DNA binding domain mutations drive osteosarcoma progression, we created mouse models, in which either the p53 structural mutant p53R172H or the contact mutant p53R245W are expressed specifically in osteoblasts, yielding osteosarcoma …

Bicc1 Drives Pancreatic Cancer Progression By Inducing Vegf-Independent Angiogenesis, Chongbiao Huang, Hui Li, Yang Xu, Chao Xu, Huizhi Sun, Zengxun Li, Yi Ge, Hongwei Wang, Tiansuo Zhao, Song Gao, Xiuchao Wang, Shengyu Yang, Peiqing Sun, Zhe Liu, Jing Liu, Antao Chang, Jihui Hao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

VEGF inhibitors are one of the most successful antiangiogenic drugs in the treatment of many solid tumors. Nevertheless, pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) cells can reinstate tumor angiogenesis via activation of VEGF-independent pathways, thereby conferring resistance to VEGF inhibitors. Bioinformatic analysis showed that BICC1 was one of the top genes involved in the specific angiogenesis process of PAAD. The analysis of our own cohort confirmed that BICC1 was overexpressed in human PAAD tissues and was correlated to increased microvessel density and tumor growth, and worse prognosis. In cells and mice with xenograft tumors, BICC1 facilitated angiogenesis in pancreatic cancer in a VEGF-independent …

Recent Advances In Image-Guided Locoregional Therapies For Primary Liver Tumors., Cody R Criss, Mina S Makary

Oncology Articles

Primary liver cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. with incidences predicted to rise over the next several decades. Locoregional therapies, such as radiofrequency or microwave ablation, are described as image-guided percutaneous procedures, which offer either a curative intent for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma or bridging/downstaging for surgical resection or transplantation. Catheter-driven locoregional therapies, such as transarterial chemoembolization and radioembolization, induce tumor hypoxia, can be palliative, and improve survival for early-to-intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma and unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview of the antineoplastic mechanisms underpinning locoregional therapies, different treatment approaches, and the current state of the …

Adenosine Metabolized From Extracellular Atp Ameliorates Organ Injury By Triggering A2br Signaling, Taha Kelestemur, Zoltán H Németh, Pal Pacher, Jennet Beesley, Simon C Robson, Holger K Eltzschig, György Haskó

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Trauma and a subsequent hemorrhagic shock (T/HS) result in insufficient oxygen delivery to tissues and multiple organ failure. Extracellular adenosine, which is a product of the extracellular degradation of adenosine 5' triphosphate (ATP) by the membrane-embedded enzymes CD39 and CD73, is organ protective, as it participates in signaling pathways, which promote cell survival and suppress inflammation through adenosine receptors including the A

METHODS: T/HS shock was induced by blood withdrawal from the femoral artery in wild-type, global knockout (CD39, CD73, A

RESULTS: T/HS upregulated the expression of CD39, CD73, and the A

CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the CD39-CD73-A

Relative Burden Of Cancer And Noncancer Mortality Among Long-Term Survivors Of Breast, Prostate, And Colorectal Cancer In The Us, Madhav Kc, Jane Fan, Terry Hyslop, Sirad Hassan, Michael Cecchini, Shi-Yi Wang, Andrea Silber, Michael S. Leapman, Ira Leeds, Stephanie B. Wheeler, Lisa P. Spees, Cary P. Gross, Maryam Lustberg, Rachel A. Greenup, Amy C. Justice, Kevin C. Oeffinger, Michaela A. Dinan

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

IMPORTANCE: Improvements in cancer outcomes have led to a need to better understand long-term oncologic and nononcologic outcomes and quantify cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific mortality risks among long-term survivors.

OBJECTIVE: To assess absolute and relative cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific mortality rates among long-term survivors of cancer, as well as associated risk factors.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study included 627 702 patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry with breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer who received a diagnosis between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2014, who received definitive treatment for localized disease and who were alive 5 …

Mettl3-Mediated M6a Modification Of Linc00839 Maintains Glioma Stem Cells And Radiation Resistance By Activating Wnt/Β-Catenin Signaling, Jianxing Yin, Fangshu Ding, Zhangchun Cheng, Xin Ge, Yanhui Li, Ailiang Zeng, Junxia Zhang, Wei Yan, Zhumei Shi, Xu Qian, Yongping You, Zhiliang Ding, Jing Ji, Xiefeng Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in glioma initiation and progression. Glioma stem cells (GSCs) are essential for tumor initiation, maintenance, and therapeutic resistance. However, the biological functions and underlying mechanisms of lncRNAs in GSCs remain poorly understood. Here, we identified that LINC00839 was overexpressed in GSCs. A high level of LINC00839 was associated with GBM progression and radiation resistance. METTL3-mediated m6A modification on LINC00839 enhanced its expression in a YTHDF2-dependent manner. Mechanistically, LINC00839 functioned as a scaffold promoting c-Src-mediated phosphorylation of β-catenin, thereby inducing Wnt/β-catenin activation. Combinational use of celecoxib, an inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, greatly sensitized GSCs to …

High Glucose-Upregulated Pd-L1 Expression Through Ras Signaling-Driven Downregulation Of Ptrh1 Leads To Suppression Of T Cell Cytotoxic Function In Tumor Environment, Chenggang Gao, Jiaoshun Chen, Jianwei Bai, Haoxiang Zhang, Yanyi Tao, Shihong Wu, Hehe Li, Heshui Wu, Qiang Shen, Tao Yin

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Background: Nearly 80% of patients with pancreatic cancer suffer from glucose intolerance or diabetes. Pancreatic cancer complicated by diabetes has a more immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and is associated with a worse prognosis. The relationship between glucose metabolism and programmed cell death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) is close and complex. It is important to explore the regulation of high glucose on PD-L1 expression in pancreatic cancer and its effect on infiltrating immune effectors in the tumor microenvironment. Methods: Diabetic murine models (C57BL/6) were used to reveal different immune landscape in euglycemic and hyperglycemic pancreatic tumor microenvironment. Bioinformatics, WB, iRIP [Improved RNA Binding …

A Global Study For Acute Myeloid Leukemia With Rarg Rearrangement, Hong-Hu Zhu, Ya-Zhen Qin, Zhang-Lin Zhang, Yong-Jing Liu, Li-Jun Wen, M James You, Cheng Zhang, Esperanza Such, Hong Luo, Hong-Jian Yuan, Hong-Sheng Zhou, Hong-Xing Liu, Reng Xu, Ji Li, Jian-Hu Li, Jian-Ping Hao, Jie Jin, Liang Yu, Jing-Ying Zhang, Li-Ping Liu, Le-Ping Zhang, Rui-Bin Huang, Shu-Hong Shen, Su-Jun Gao, Wei Wang, Xiao-Jing Yan, Xin-You Zhang, Xin Du, Xiao-Xia Chu, Yan-Fang Yu, Yi Wang, Ying-Chang Mi, Ying Lu, Zhen Cai, Zhan Su, David Christopher Taussig, Suzanne Macmahon, Edward D Ball, Huan-You Wang, John S Welch, C Cameron Yin, Gautam Borthakur, Miguel A Sanz, Hagop M Kantarjian, Jin-Yan Huang, Jiong Hu, Su-Ning Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with retinoic acid receptor γ (RARG) rearrangement has clinical, morphologic, and immunophenotypic features similar to classic acute promyelocytic leukemia. However, AML with RARG rearrangement is insensitive to alltrans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) and carries a poor prognosis. We initiated a global cooperative study to define the clinicopathological features, genomic and transcriptomic landscape, and outcomes of AML with RARG rearrangements collected from 29 study groups/institutions worldwide. Thirty-four patients with AML with RARG rearrangements were identified. Bleeding or ecchymosis was present in 18 (54.5%) patients. Morphology diagnosed as M3 and M3v accounted for 73.5% and …

Emt Activates Exocytotic Rabs To Coordinate Invasion And Immunosuppression In Lung Cancer, Guan-Yu Xiao, Xiaochao Tan, Bertha L Rodriguez, Don L Gibbons, Shike Wang, Chao Wu, Xin Liu, Jiang Yu, Mayra E Vasquez, Hai T Tran, Jun Xu, William K Russell, Cara Haymaker, Younghee Lee, Jianjun Zhang, Luisa Solis, Ignacio I Wistuba, Jonathan M Kurie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) underlies immunosuppression, drug resistance, and metastasis in epithelial malignancies. However, the way in which EMT orchestrates disparate biological processes remains unclear. Here, we identify an EMT-activated vesicular trafficking network that coordinates promigratory focal adhesion dynamics with an immunosuppressive secretory program in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). The EMT-activating transcription factor ZEB1 drives exocytotic vesicular trafficking by relieving Rab6A, Rab8A, and guanine nucleotide exchange factors from miR-148a-dependent silencing, thereby facilitating MMP14-dependent focal adhesion turnover in LUAD cells and autotaxin-mediated CD8

Undetectable Measurable Residual Disease Is Associated With Improved Outcomes In Aml Irrespective Of Treatment Intensity, Alexandre Bazinet, Tapan Kadia, Nicholas J Short, Gautam Borthakur, Sa A Wang, Wei Wang, Sanam Loghavi, Jeffrey Jorgensen, Keyur Patel, Courtney Dinardo, Naval Daver, Yesid Alvarado, Fadi G Haddad, Sherry Pierce, Graciela Nogueras Gonzalez, Abhishek Maiti, Koji Sasaki, Musa Yilmaz, Philip Thompson, William Wierda, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Michael Andreeff, Elias Jabbour, Marina Konopleva, Xuelin Huang, Hagop Kantarjian, Farhad Ravandi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can be treated with either high- or low-intensity regimens. Highly sensitive assays for measurable residual disease (MRD) now allow for a more precise assessment of response quality. We hypothesized that treatment (Rx) intensity may not be a key predictor of outcomes, assuming that an optimal response to therapy is achieved. We performed a single-center retrospective study including 635 patients with newly diagnosed AML responding to either intensive cytarabine/anthracycline-based chemotherapy (IA; n = 385) or low-intensity venetoclax-based regimens (LOW + VEN; n = 250) and who had adequate flow cytometry-based MRD testing performed at the time of …

Brentuximab Vedotin After Autologous Transplantation In Pediatric Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma, Christopher J Forlenza, Jaclyn Rosenzweig, Audrey Mauguen, Ilia Buhtoiarov, Branko Cuglievan, Hema Dave, Rebecca J Deyell, Jamie E Flerlage, Anna K Franklin, Jennifer Krajewski, Kasey J Leger, Lianna J Marks, Robin E Norris, Martha Pacheco, Faye Willen, Adam Paul Yan, Paul D Harker-Murray, Lisa Giulino-Roth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Outcomes for children and adolescents with relapsed and refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) are poor, with ∼50% of patients experiencing a subsequent relapse. The anti-CD30 antibody-drug conjugate brentuximab vedotin improved progression-free survival (PFS) when used as consolidation after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in adults with high-risk relapsed/refractory HL. Data on brentuximab vedotin as consolidative therapy after ASCT in pediatric patients with HL are extremely limited, with data of only 11 patients reported in the literature. We performed a retrospective analysis of 67 pediatric patients who received brentuximab vedotin as consolidation therapy after ASCT for the treatment of relapsed/refractory HL to …

High Throughput Single Cell Long-Read Sequencing Analyses Of Same-Cell Genotypes And Phenotypes In Human Tumors, Cheng-Kai Shiau, Lina Lu, Rachel Kieser, Kazutaka Fukumura, Timothy Pan, Hsiao-Yun Lin, Jie Yang, Eric L Tong, Gahyun Lee, Yuanqing Yan, Jason T Huse, Ruli Gao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Single-cell nanopore sequencing of full-length mRNAs transforms single-cell multi-omics studies. However, challenges include high sequencing errors and dependence on short-reads and/or barcode whitelists. To address these, we develop scNanoGPS to calculate same-cell genotypes (mutations) and phenotypes (gene/isoform expressions) without short-read nor whitelist guidance. We apply scNanoGPS onto 23,587 long-read transcriptomes from 4 tumors and 2 cell-lines. Standalone, scNanoGPS deconvolutes error-prone long-reads into single-cells and single-molecules, and simultaneously accesses both phenotypes and genotypes of individual cells. Our analyses reveal that tumor and stroma/immune cells express distinct combination of isoforms (DCIs). In a kidney tumor, we identify 924 DCI genes involved in …

Mct4-Dependent Lactate Secretion Suppresses Antitumor Immunity In Lkb1-Deficient Lung Adenocarcinoma, Yu Qian, Ana Galan-Cobo, Irene Guijarro, Minghao Dang, David Molkentine, Alissa Poteete, Fahao Zhang, Qi Wang, Jing Wang, Edwin Parra, Apekshya Panda, Jacy Fang, Ferdinandos Skoulidis, Ignacio I Wistuba, Svena Verma, Taha Merghoub, Jedd D Wolchok, Kwok-Kin Wong, Ralph J Deberardinis, John D Minna, Natalie I Vokes, Catherine B Meador, Justin F Gainor, Linghua Wang, Alexandre Reuben, John V Heymach

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Inactivating STK11/LKB1 mutations are genomic drivers of primary resistance to immunotherapy in KRAS-mutated lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), although the underlying mechanisms remain unelucidated. We find that LKB1 loss results in enhanced lactate production and secretion via the MCT4 transporter. Single-cell RNA profiling of murine models indicates that LKB1-deficient tumors have increased M2 macrophage polarization and hypofunctional T cells, effects that could be recapitulated by the addition of exogenous lactate and abrogated by MCT4 knockdown or therapeutic blockade of the lactate receptor GPR81 expressed on immune cells. Furthermore, MCT4 knockout reverses the resistance to PD-1 blockade induced by LKB1 loss in syngeneic …

Development And Testing Of A Mapcheck3-Based Patient-Specific Qa Method For Prime Intensity Modulators Used With Bolus Electron Conformal Therapy, James T. Crist

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: Irregular surfaces in bolus electron conformal therapy (BECT) create target volume dose inhomogeneity, which off-axis intensity modulation (IM) can reduce. This research developed and tested a patient-specific clinical quality assurance (QA) procedure for fabricated Passive Radiotherapy Intensity Modulation for Electrons (PRIME) devices used for IM-BECT delivery.

Methods: To evaluate MapCheck3 (MC3) diode array accuracy, electron dose measurements beneath PRIME devices were compared with scanned measurements in a water phantom. Lateral dose profile comparisons were made for 35 combinations of five beam energies (7-20MeV) and seven PRIME devices - converging and diverging island blocks (pins) having 100-68.8% intensities. To evaluate …

Propensity Score Analysis With Local Balance, Yan Li, Liang Li

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Most propensity score (PS) analysis methods rely on a correctly specified parametric PS model, which may result in biased estimation of the average treatment effect (ATE) when the model is misspecified. More flexible nonparametric models for treatment assignment alleviate this issue, but they do not always guarantee covariate balance. Methods that force balance in the means of covariates and their transformations between the treatment groups, termed global balance in this article, do not always lead to unbiased estimation of ATE. Their estimated propensity scores only ensure global balance but not the balancing property, which is defined as the conditional independence …

Accumulation Of Chronic Disease Among Survivors Of Childhood Cancer Predicts Early Mortality, Adam J Esbenshade, Lu Lu, Debra L Friedman, Kevin C Oeffinger, Gregory T Armstrong, Kevin R Krull, Joseph P Neglia, Wendy M Leisenring, Rebecca Howell, Robyn Partin, Amy Sketch, Leslie L Robison, Kirsten K Ness

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Cancer survivors develop cancer and treatment-related morbidities at younger than normal ages and are at risk for early mortality, suggestive of an aging phenotype. The Cumulative Illness Rating Scale for Geriatrics (CIRS-G) is specifically designed to describe the accumulation of comorbidities over time with estimates of severity such as total score (TS) which is a sum of possible conditions weighted by severity. These severity scores can then be used to predict future mortality.

Methods: CIRS-G scores were calculated in cancer survivors and their siblings from Childhood Cancer Survivor Study cohort members from two time points 19 years apart and …

Myc Regulates Csf1 Expression Via Microrna 17/20a To Modulate Tumor-Associated Macrophages In Osteosarcoma, Bikesh K Nirala, Tajhal D Patel, Lyazat Kurenbekova, Ryan Shuck, Atreyi Dasgupta, Nino Rainusso, Cristian Coarfa, Jason T Yustein

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary bone tumor of childhood. Approximately 20%-30% of OSs carry amplification of chromosome 8q24, which harbors the oncogene c-MYC and correlates with a poor prognosis. To understand the mechanisms that underlie the ability of MYC to alter both the tumor and its surrounding tumor microenvironment (TME), we generated and molecularly characterized an osteoblast-specific Cre-Lox-Stop-Lox-c-MycT58A p53fl/+ knockin genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM). Phenotypically, the Myc-knockin GEMM had rapid tumor development with a high incidence of metastasis. MYC-dependent gene signatures in our murine model demonstrated significant homology to the human hyperactivated MYC OS. We established that …

Beyond Valence And Arousal: The Role Of Age Of Acquisition In Emotion Word Recognition, Chenggang Wu, Yiwen Shi, Juan Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Although the age of acquisition (AoA) effect has been established in numerous studies, how emotion word processing is modulated by AoA, along with affective factors, such as valence and arousal, is not well understood. Hence, the influence of age of acquisition (AoA), valence, and arousal on Chinese emotion word recognition was investigated through two experiments. Experiment 1 (N = 30) adopted a valence judgment task to explore the roles of valence and AoA in emotion word recognition, whereas Experiment 2 (N = 30) used a lexical decision task to examine AoA and arousal effects. A mixed linear effects …

A Phase 1/2 Study Of Azacitidine, Venetoclax And Pevonedistat In Newly Diagnosed Secondary Aml And In Mds Or Cmmlafter Failure Of Hypomethylating Agents, Nicholas J Short, Muharrem Muftuoglu, Faustine Ong, Lewis Nasr, Walid Macaron, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Yesid Alvarado, Mahesh Basyal, Naval Daver, Courtney D Dinardo, Gautam Borthakur, Nitin Jain, Maro Ohanian, Elias Jabbour, Ghayas C Issa, Wei Qiao, Xuelin Huang, Rashmi Kanagal-Shamanna, Keyur P Patel, Prithviraj Bose, Farhad Ravandi, Ricardo Delumpa, Regina Abramova, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Michael Andreeff, Jorge Cortes, Hagop Kantarjian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Pevonedistat is a first-in-class, small molecular inhibitor of NEDD8-activating enzyme that has clinical activity in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Preclinical data suggest synergy of pevonedistat with azacitidine and venetoclax.

METHODS: This single-center, phase 1/2 study evaluated the combination of azacitidine, venetoclax and pevonedistat in older adults with newly diagnosed secondary AML or with MDS or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) after failure of hypomethylating agents. Patients received azacitidine 75 mg/m

FINDINGS: Forty patients were enrolled (32 with AML and 8 with MDS/CMML). In the AML cohort, the median age was 74 years (range 61-86 years), and …

A Phase 1/2 Study Of Azacitidine, Venetoclax And Pevonedistat In Newly Diagnosed Secondary Aml And In Mds Or Cmml After Failure Of Hypomethylating Agents, Nicholas J Short, Muharrem Muftuoglu, Faustine Ong, Lewis Nasr, Walid Macaron, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Yesid Alvarado, Mahesh Basyal, Naval Daver, Courtney D Dinardo, Gautam Borthakur, Nitin Jain, Maro Ohanian, Elias Jabbour, Ghayas C Issa, Wei Qiao, Xuelin Huang, Rashmi Kanagal-Shamanna, Keyur P Patel, Prithviraj Bose, Farhad Ravandi, Ricardo Delumpa, Regina Abramova, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Michael Andreeff, Jorge Cortes, Hagop Kantarjian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Pevonedistat is a first-in-class, small molecular inhibitor of NEDD8-activating enzyme that has clinical activity in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Preclinical data suggest synergy of pevonedistat with azacitidine and venetoclax.

METHODS: This single-center, phase 1/2 study evaluated the combination of azacitidine, venetoclax and pevonedistat in older adults with newly diagnosed secondary AML or with MDS or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) after failure of hypomethylating agents. Patients received azacitidine 75 mg/m

FINDINGS: Forty patients were enrolled (32 with AML and 8 with MDS/CMML). In the AML cohort, the median age was 74 years (range 61-86 years), and …

Mitophagy Promotes Resistance To Bh3 Mimetics In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Christina Glytsou, Xufeng Chen, Emmanouil Zacharioudakis, Wafa Al-Santli, Hua Zhou, Bettina Nadorp, Soobeom Lee, Audrey Lasry, Zhengxi Sun, Dimitrios Papaioannou, Michael Cammer, Kun Wang, Tomasz Zal, Malgorzata Anna Zal, Bing Z Carter, Jo Ishizawa, Raoul Tibes, Aristotelis Tsirigos, Michael Andreeff, Evripidis Gavathiotis, Iannis Aifantis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BH3 mimetics are used as an efficient strategy to induce cell death in several blood malignancies, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Venetoclax, a potent BCL-2 antagonist, is used clinically in combination with hypomethylating agents for the treatment of AML. Moreover, MCL1 or dual BCL-2/BCL-xL antagonists are under investigation. Yet, resistance to single or combinatorial BH3-mimetic therapies eventually ensues. Integration of multiple genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screens revealed that loss of mitophagy modulators sensitizes AML cells to various BH3 mimetics targeting different BCL-2 family members. One such regulator is MFN2, whose protein levels positively correlate with drug resistance in patients with AML. MFN2 …