Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Rare Often Violet Sarcoma: A Case Of Kaposi Sarcoma In Hiv/Aids, Rodolfo Singleterry, Khairiya Haj-Yahya, Eddy Valdez

Research Symposium

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a rare malignancy derived from the cells that line lymph and blood vessels. KS is caused by the human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) and is an AIDS-defining illness that manifests as violaceous skin and mucosal lesions.

The patient is a 37-year-old previously healthy male who presented with a 4-month history of rapid, unintentional weight loss totaling 60lbs. The patient reported having a low WBC count at a free health fair 1 year prior but was uninsured, without access to follow-up care. Additionally, he noted the appearance of several dark purple, raised lesions on his skin about 9 …

The Intensity Of Physical Activity Improves Cognitive Performance Among Aging Americans, Imtiaz Masfique Dowllah, Juan Carlos Lopez-Alvarenga, Gladys E. Maestre, Ulku S. Karabulut, Murat Karabulut

Research Symposium

Background: Currently there is no pharmacological cure for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, physical activity (PA) has emerged as a promising approach. The optimal intensity of PA to improve cognitive health remains unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate associations between different durations and intensities of PA on performance across cognitive domains (executive function, processing speed, and memory) among aging Americans.

Methods: 2377 adults aged ≥ 60 years from the cross-sectional National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014, were included. Linear regression in hierarchical blocks and the size of effect (η2) were analyzed with R software.

Results: The mean age …

The Development Of Fviii Inhibitor In Hispanic American Patients With Hemophilia A Critically Impacts Coagulation Potential, Shuchita Jhaveri, Hoang Nguyen, Marcio A.A. Almeida, Vincent P. Diego, Satish Kumar, Juan M. Peralta, Joanne E. Curran, Bernadette W. Luu, Donna M. Lehman, Ralph A. Defronzo, Laura Almasy, Sarah Williams-Blangero, Ravi Duggirala, John Blangero, Tom E. Howard

Research Symposium

Background: Hemophilia A (HA) is caused by deficiencies in plasma-FVIII and heterogeneous factor-VIII-gene mutations that impair intrinsic coagulation amplification. In severe hemophilia A patients (HAPs), FVIII infusions are begun at toddlerhood to prevent hemarthrosis induced crippling. However, approximately 30% of these patients develop FVIII inhibitors. Gain-of-function mutations in the common pathway of coagulation increases coagulation potential and decreases bleeding and FVIII-utilization in HAPs which should decrease FVIII-inhibitor-risk. We identified loss-of-function mutations in this pathway which decrease coagulation-potential as they increase FVIII-inhibitor risk in HAPs.

Methods: We screened Mexican-American-pedigrees of the South-Texas-Family-Study (STFS) for protein-altering-variants. Subjects were genotyped using Illumina-exome-24-chip. Protein-altering-variants …

The Dual Delivery Of Y15 And Metformin In A Plga Scaffold For The Treatment Of Platinum Resistant Ovarian Cancer, Emily M. Jordan, Hannah Obregon, Arkene Levy, Sue Anne Chew

Research Symposium

Background: Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality among women in the US. High mortality is linked to resistance to platinum compounds. Currently there is no treatment for platinum resistant ovarian cancer (OCpt). Platinum resistance shows increased activity of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Y15 is a FAK inhibitor and increases OCpt sensitivity to chemotherapy. Metformin induces apoptosis, has no increased cytotoxicity, and works synergistically with Y15 in OCpt cells. Biomaterial scaffolds deliver drugs locally, maximizing drug concentration and bioavailability while minimizing systemic toxicity. PLGA copolymer has excellent biocompatibility, versatility, and a tailorable degradation rate. The objective of …

The “Cushion Effect” Revisited:, George A. Flores, Annelyn Torres-Reveron, Raul Barreda

Research Symposium

Background: It is known the pattern and severity of injuries sustained during a motor vehicle accident depend on many variables. An interesting avenue for research is obesity as a positive or negative modifier for injury distribution patterns in MVA. We hypothesize that body mass index (BMI) will influence MVC related injury patterns.

Methods: We queried STRAC data for DHR - Edinburg for the years 2014 to 2018 using CPT codes for MVC/MVA, IS > 8, age 15 - 64. Interactions between injury location, BMI, seatbelt and gender were analyzed.

Results: We had 191 detailed crashes, we found increasing age to be …

Tc-Ptp Overexpression Attenuates Skin Cancer Formation During Environmental Skin Carcinogenesis, Zahidur Rahmann, Carson Bogatto, Serena Olivarez, Dae Joon Kim

Research Symposium

Background: T-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TC-PTP), encoded by Ptpn2, has been shown to function as a tumor suppressor during skin carcinogenesis.

Methods: we generated a novel epidermal specific TC-PTP-overexpressing (K5HA.Ptpn2) mouse model to show that TC-PTP contributes to the attenuation of chemically induced skin carcinogenesis through the synergistic regulation of STAT1, STAT3, STAT5, and PI3K/AKT signaling.

Results: We found overexpression of TC-PTP increased epidermal sensitivity to DMBA-induced apoptosis and it decreased TPA-mediated hyperproliferation, coinciding with reduced epidermal thickness. Inhibition of STAT1, STAT3, STAT5 or AKT reversed the effects of TC-PTP overexpression on epidermal survival and proliferation. Mice overexpressing TC-PTP in …

Targeting Cellular Signaling Pathways In Cancer By Lactobacilli, Varish Ahmad, Aftab Ahmad, Quazi Muhammad Sajid Jamal

Research Symposium

Purpose: Presenting lactobacilli therapy for cancer treatment targeting cancer signaling Lactobacilli as Probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a group of fermentative gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria that produces a large number of intracellular and extracellular metabolites used in the food manufacture industry as well as complementary and alternative medicines against many diseases including cancer.

Description: Some LAB has been found to have inhibitory activity against colon liver cancer, cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and lung cancer in vivo or in vitro. These fermentative bacteria induced the autophagy cell death either by GRP78 and Beclin-1 or by induction of Bak …

Synthesis And Evaluation Of Sulphonamide Clubbed Thiophenes As Dihydrogen Pteroate Synthase Inhibitors, Pooja A. Chawla, Rupinder Kaur

Research Symposium

Background. Derivatives of thiophene and sulphonamide showed various pharmacological activities including antimicrobial and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) inhibition activity. Dihydrofolate reductase and dihydropteroate synthetase enzymes are responsible for bacterial growth and cell proliferation of cancer cells.

Method: In the first step, thiophene was synthesized from cyclohexanone, sulphur and ethyl cyanoacetate by Gewald reaction. Second step involved cyclization of ethyl 2-aminothiophene-3-carboxylate conducted using formamide. In the third step, the carbonyl group was replaced by chlorine in the presence of POCl₃. Then the chlorine group was removed by substituted sulphonamide. A series of derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for …

Stress-Induced Changes In Carf Expression Determine Growth Arrest, Apoptosis, Or Malignant Transformation In Cultured Human Cells: Molecular Evidence And Its Application, Mallika Khurana, Rajkumar Singh Kalra, Anupama Chaudhary, Amr Omar, Xiaoshuai Li, Sunil C. Kaul, Renu Wadhwa

Research Symposium

Background: CARF (Collaborator of ARF)/CDKN2AIP is an essential protein, first cloned as a binding partner of ARF. It was subsequently shown to interact with p53, HDM2 proteins and regulate growth arrest and apoptosis by its multimodal mechanism of action. Over-expression of CARF caused senescence like growth arrest of cells, its knock-down triggered apoptosis. Intriguingly, malignantly transformed cells showed high level of CARF expression. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that level of CARF expression may be a key determinant of cell proliferation fates; where an increase in its levels causes growth arrest/senescence, but beyond a threshold it activates carcinogenesis.

Methods: …

Stress Induced Lncrna Malat1 In Colorectal Cancer Health Disparity, Justin L. Wendel, Kyle Doxtater, Kristopher L. Ezell, Samantha Lopez, Adithya Anilkumar, Sophia Leslie, Vijian Dhevan, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan, Manish Tripathi

Research Symposium

Background: Health disparities in the lower Rio Grande Valley are well documented and can play a critical role in cancer prognosis. Chronic stress, arguably exacerbated by these disparities, can also lead to a poor outcome after diagnosis through dysregulation of molecular markers known to be involved in cancer progression, resistance, and recurrence. lncRNA have been a relatively recent point of interest in the field of cancer research and play a role in cancer initiation and progression across tissue types. We have found that lncRNA MALAT1 is stress induced through transcription factor NFATc1. Here, we propose to investigate the association of …

Stem Cell Technology For Age Related Macular Degeneration Intervention, Laura Valdez

Research Symposium

Retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) cells are located between the choroid and photoreceptors within the eye and are essential to provide nutrients from blood to rods and cones, as well retinoids of the visual cycle. Vision loss and various ocular diseases are attributable to the degeneration or dysfunction of the RPE cells, leading to blindness.One of the major ocular problem from RPE dysfunction is macular degeneration. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can be frequently diagnosed in patients over the age of 60. In the early stages of AMD, some symptoms may not be noticeable but will lead to vision loss in both …

Spinal Cord Injury: What About The Brain?, Monica Lozano Garcia, Kelsey Baker

Research Symposium

Background: Recent research has suggested that the brain may also undergo neurodegeneration after a spinal cord injury (SCI). Here, we evaluated neurodegeneration in the brain of patients with SCI and related neurodegeneration to rehabilitation performance, spine degeneration, and motor function.

Methods: T1-weighted and diffusion-weighted images of 13 SCI patients and 13 healthy controls were obtained. We evaluated fractional anisotropy in the motor cortex (MC), the sulci in front of the MC, the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC), and the cerebral peduncles (CP) in both hemispheres to determine neurodegeneration. Statistical analysis was performed between patients with SCI …

Specific Educational Needs Detection In Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd) In Superior Middle Level Students Students, Rebeca Thelma Martínez Villarreal, Brenda Elizabeth Salas Herrera, Alan Fernando García Martínez, Claudia Cecilia Salazar Garza, José Guadalupe Sánchez Hernández, Irma Cecilia Rico Ramírez

Research Symposium

Purpose: Detection ASD and intervention in superior middle level students at Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), Mexico.

Description: Upon admission to superior middle level at UANL, modified Gilliam Asperger's disorder scale (GADS) was applied to parents in a Program to identify behavioral characteristics associated to ASD.

Parents of students with positive GADS were informed and students were scheduled for standard psychological testing in order to evaluate cognitive process, study habits, social anxiety and self-esteem, prior to an intervention.

From 2014 to 2020, 178 013 GADS were applied; there were 332 (0.19%) students with definite or suggestive pattern of ASD. …

Smoking And Drinking Activates Nf-Κb /Il-6 Axis To Promote Inflammation During Cervical Carcinogenesis, Vivek Kumar Kashyap, Prashanth Kb Nagesh, Ajay K. Singh, Andrew Massey, Godwin P. Darkwah, Murali M. Yallapu, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan

Research Symposium

Background: High-risk strains of HPV are known to cause cervical cancer. Multiple clinical studies have emphasized that smoking and drinking are critical risk factors for cervical cancer and its high-grade precursors. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms involved in the interplay of smoking and/or drinking with HPV infectivity and defined a systematic therapeutic approach for their attenuation in cervical cancer.

Methods: The impact of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and/or ethanol (EtOH) exposure on cervical cancer cells was assessed by measuring changes in cell proliferation, clonogenicity, biophysical properties, cell migration, and invasion. Expression of HPV16 E6/E7, NF-κB, cytokines, cell cycle, and …

Role Of Pote-2 In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression., Samantha Lopez, Kyle Doxtater, Adithya Anilkumar, Sudhir Kotnala, Vijian Dhevan, Subhash C. Chuahan, Manish Tripathi

Research Symposium

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 85-90% of primary liver cancers. The Hispanic population had an incidence of 21.2 per 100,000 in Texas. Particularly, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) is an underserved area facing disparities that increase risk factors of HCC and thus, yielding higher incidence and mortality. Therefore, early, faster, and inexpensive diagnostic biomarkers and methods are crucial to under-resourced areas such as the RGV. Recently, we have identified an extracellular cancer antigen, POTE-2. Preliminary data indicates high POTE-2 expression in HCC tumors. In this study, we will discuss the role of POTE-2 in HCC progression and its associated …

Rational Design For The Recombinant Expression Of The Receptor Binding Domain Of Sars-Cov-2 Spike Glycoprotein, Luis Mario Rodriguez, Mario Alberto Rodriguez, Hugo A. Barrera-Saldaña, Rocio Marisol Martinez, Daniela Rodriguez

Research Symposium

Background: COVID-19 represents a significant threat to global human health. SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic viral agent, needs to be under-covered at the structural biology level to facilitate the rational design of diagnostic tests and vaccine candidates. SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Binding Domain of Spike protein (RBD-S) acts as the key to open the gate, to enter the cells during infection. Thus, it is a stronger candidate for designing effective antigens for vaccines and diagnostics. Here, we relied on the viral DNA codifying to RBD-S to use synthetic biology for optimizing the recombinant expression of this (rRBD-S) as a proof of concept of rational …

Randomized Clinical Trials Of Obesity Treatments In Mexican Population. Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Marisol Rosas Diaz, Esperanza Milagros Garcia-Oropesa, Adriana L. Perales-Torres, Yoscelina E. Martinez-Lopez, Sonia Maria Ruiz Cejudo, Jose Dario Martinez Esquerro, Alvaro Diaz-Badillo, Carlos Ramirez Pfeiffer, Alejandra Bustamante-Fuentes, Elena Beatriz Lopez Sosa, Edna J. Nava Gonzalez, Oscar M. Moctezuma Chavez, Lucia Monserrat Perez Navarro, Beatriz Tapia, Kathleen V. Carter, Juan C. Lopez-Alvarenga, Yoscelina Estrella Martinez-Lopez

Research Symposium

Background: Mexicans and Mexican Americans share similar culture, genetic background, and predisposition for obesity and diabetes. Randomized clinical trials (RCT) assessing obesity treatments (ObT) are reliable to assess efficacy. To date, there is no systematic review to investigate ObT tested by RCT in Mexican adults.

Methods: We conducted systematic searches in Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science to retrieve ObT RCT from 1990 to 2019. The ObT included alternative medicine, pharmacological, nutritional, behavioral, and surgical interventions. The analyzed RCT were at least three months of duration, and reported: BMI, weight, waist circumference, triglycerides, glucose and blood pressure.

Results: We found …

Rare Atypical Presentation Of Ogilvie Syndrome In A Hispanic Man, Aramide Mikhail Tijani, Semenawit B. Burka, Nazish Khan, Fatimah Oluwakemi Bello

Research Symposium

Background: Ogilvie syndrome (OS) also known as acute pseudo-obstruction of the colon is a bowel motility disorder characterized by features of intestinal obstruction in the absence of an anatomical or mechanical cause. Typical presentation is with abdominal distension but atypical and more rare presenting features have also been reported including respiratory distress. Thus, we present the first case of Ogilvie syndrome presenting with respiratory distress in a Hispanic man.

Case Presentation: A 71-year-old gentleman with a history of diabetes mellitus, functional quadriplegia and other comorbidities was brought to the ED via EMS on account of altered metal status and constipation …

Racial Differences In The Effect Of Apoe-Ε4 Genotypes On Trail Making Test Part B In Alzheimer’S Disease, Kaysie N. Ozuna, Annu Katithara, Chun Xu

Research Symposium

The trail making test part B (TMT-B) is used to evaluate executive functions in order to better understand the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The objective of this study is to better understand the association of apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 (APOE-ε4) genotypes on the TMT-B scores in those with Alzheimer’s disease, specifically in the Hispanic population. This study used data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). In total there were 482 participants with AD, 503 with cognitive normal (CN), 1,293 with MCI at baseline and a follow-up after four years. In this study the longitudinal effect of …

Quality Improvement Project To Increase Hepatitis C Virus Screening For Ambulatory Gme Internal Medicine Clinic Patients, Nghia Nguyen, Karrar Al Gburi, Arturo Suplee, Jarrad Mcadams, Serag Fares, Carol Soler, Ans Albustamy, Jorge Alejandro Bernal, Sumandeep Brar, J. Paredes

Research Symposium

Background: In 2020, CDC established new guideline expanding Hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening to all adults aged 18 to 79 years. Our QI project objective is to enhance HCV screening amongst the UTRGV-DHR IM department by establishing suitable reminders and educational sessions.

Methods: We reviewed HCV screening status of all adult patients 18 to 79 years old from June 1^st 2020 to December 1^st 2020. We then provided one lecture on the new screening recommendation from CDC 2020 guideline. We also encouraged residents to educate patients on the importance of HCV screening, and to identify and overcome barriers …

Project: Center For Diabetes And Metabolism [Centro De Diabetes Y Metabolismo: Cedimet], A Collaborative Dream Comes True, Claudia Munguia-Cisneros, Edith Cantu, Carlos Ramirez-Pfeiffer, Adriana L. Perales-Torres, Esperanza M. Garcia-Oropeza, Estrella Y. Martinez-Lopez, Alvaro Diaz-Badillo, Joselin Hernandez-Ruiz, Alberto O. Chavez-Velazquez, Lucia M. Perez-Navarro, Beatriz Tapia, Juan C. Lopez-Alvarenga

Research Symposium

Reynosa urban area has 690,000 inhabitants (384,000 adults >20 years old), 35% moved from other states. The use of cell phones is in 81%, personal computer or laptop with 29%. The prevalence of overweight is 39%, obesity 36%, and T2D 13%. The expected adult population with T2D is 49,900 individuals. The are 5 clinics prepared to attend T2D, and few with specialized personnel.

The CeDiMet is a collaborative clinic involving health personnel and researchers from the Universidad Mexico Americana del Norte, Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas, Hospital General de Mexico “Dr. Eduardo Liceaga”, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and the …

Psychoactive Substances Consumers Among High School Students: Detection And Intervention, Rebeca Thelma Martínez Villarreal, Alan Fernando García Martínez, Irma Cecilia Rico Ramírez, Brenda Elizabeth Salas Herrera, Claudia Cecilia Salazar Garza

Research Symposium

Purpose: Identify and treat psychoactive substances consumers (PSC) among high school students at Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL); México.

Description: A two-phase program (detection and intervention) was designed. Phase one included urine drug testing (UDT) either from direct aleatory sampling or referrals from within university departments under informed consent.

Phase two for positive PSC, included an interview for psychological needs identification and cognitive behavioral intervention planning.

Between 2017 and 2019, 490 UDT were performed. Results showed 235 PSC (47.9%), 86.4% were males (203) and 13.6% females (32).

Most detected substance was cannabis: 218 students (92.7%); less frequent substances detected …

Production Of Codon Optimized Polyomavirus Small T Antigen In Escherichia Coli., Luis Mario Rodriguez, Hugo A. Barrera-Saldaña, James A. Decaprio

Research Symposium

Background: Hauzen et al., went against the dogma that cancer only develops by genetic factors and postulated oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) as the etiological agent of cervical cancer (2008). The eleven new human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) identified have been shown to infect humans subclinically from an early age. The small t-antigen (tAg) proteins of polyomaviruses control cellular phosphorylation mechanisms leading to uncontrolled replication cycles and cancer. Mechanisms of transformation and progression to tumor cells, and cellular tropism of the new HPyVs, remain unknown. Availability of recombinant tAg (rtAg) can contribute to understanding them.

Methods: tAg coding sequences derived from Merkel cell …

Proactively Preventing Medical Errors: A Student-Led Approach To Patient Safety In Pre-Clinical Curriculum, Sahar Panjwani, Daniel Nwosuocha, Nelson D. Gonzalez, Ayleen Godreau

Research Symposium

Introduction: Preventable medical errors are currently the third leading cause of death in the United States following heart disease and cancer (1). This study was designed to assess the change in knowledge from earlier education of medical students during pre-clinical years.

Methods: Patient safety trainings have been conducted for two years for interested first and second-year medical students and responses are assessed through a pre-test, immediate post-test, 3-month post-test, and 6-month post-test. The survey assesses student knowledge on aspects of patient safety and has Likert scale questions assessing if the training influenced students’ desire to learn about patient safety. …

Prevalence Of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Types In North-Eastern Mexico And Implications, A. L. Huitrón-Carrizales, Hugo A. Barrera-Saldaña

Research Symposium

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most frequent sexually transmitted infection (STI) and the causal agent of cervical and penile cancers. Globally, 570,000 cases per year in women and 60,000 cases in men are attributable to HPV. HPV types 16 and 18 are the most prevalent high-risk (HR) viral types in tumors. We have used the database of our HPV diagnostic service to determine the prevalence of HR-HPV types in our population (North-Eastern Mexico) and its implications.

Methods: Samples of 50 men and 50 women that were received in our laboratory from 2017 to 2021 were included. These were collected …

Precise Method To Identify Kinase Drug Targets In Complex Diseases: The First Step Towards Sustainable And Effective Treatment, Hasbanny Irisson, Marzieh Ayati

Research Symposium

Background: Kinases are enzymes that have proven to be important drug targets due to their role in critical biological mechanisms such as phosphorylation. Phosphorylation happens when a kinase catalyzes the transfer of a phosphate group to a protein in a phosphorylated site, which then becomes known as the substrate of the kinase. Any dysregulation of protein phosphorylation causes a wide range of complex diseases including cancer. Thus, discovering the links between kinases and their substrates (i.e. predicting kinase-substrate associations (KSAs)) is crucial in developing effective and sustainable treatments. Presently, less than 5% of phosphorylated sites have an associated kinase, and …

Piperine Encourages Apoptosis In Human Cervical Adenocarcinoma Cells Through Ros Generation, Dna Fragmentation, Caspase-3 Activation And Cell Cycle Arrest, Asif Jafri, Juhi Rais, Sudhir Kumar, Md Arshad

Research Symposium

Background: Cancer is one of the most common destructive diseases and the second leading cause of death in humans. Among cancer, cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy among women globally. Thus, there is a continuous need to search for chemotherapeutic chemicals or naturally occurring drugs to resolve this global health problem. Piperine (1-piperoylpeperdine) is present in the fruits of black pepper (Piper nigrum Linn.) and long pepper (Piper longum Linn.). It possesses several pharmacological properties and in the present study we have evaluated its anti-cancer potential on human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells.

Methods: The anti-proliferative effect …

Pharmacoeconomics Of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treatment With Targeted Therapies Guided By Companion Molecular Diagnostics, Luis E. Fernández-Garza, Hector Sánchez-Ibarra, Daniela Treviño-Sáenz, Hugo A. Barrera-Saldaña

Research Symposium

Background: To guide the treatment with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), the FDA recommends prior companion molecular diagnosis (CMDx). It initially recommended screening for mutations in exon 2 of the KRAS gene, and most recently to extend to screening to exons 2, 3, and 4 of KRAS and 2, 3, and 4 of NRAS genes; furthermore, to evaluate the BRAF exon 15 mutation status (including V600E). To date, no studies have been done to compare the cost-benefit of these different CMDXs.

Methods: We have compared the cost of treatment without …

Performing A High-Throughput Virtual Screening (Hvts) To Identify Potential Therapeutic Targets Of Yb-1 Protein, Omar Karkoutly, Anupam Dhasmana, Kristopher Ezell, Kyle Doxtater, Vijian Dhevan, Subhash C. Chauhan, Manish Tripathi

Research Symposium

Background: Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) is a primary malignancy of the liver. Hispanic-Texans have several risk factors and disparities that compound the risk of HCC diagnosis and treatment. The most used chemotherapeutic drug against HCC is sorafenib, but many liver cancers have developed a resistance to this drug. The knockdown of Y-box binding protein-1 (YB-1) has been shown to greatly increase sensitivity to sorafenib. In this study, we will discuss identification of potential YB-1 inhibitors, which can lead to re-sensitization of liver cancer cells to sorafenib.

Methodology: The RCSB protein data bank (pdb) was used to retrieve the crystal structure of …

Outcomes Of Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy In Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Carcinoma Lung : A Single Institutional Experience, Meenu Gupta, Shivani Mehra, Vipul Nautiyal, Sunil Saini, Mushtaq Ahmed

Research Symposium

Introduction: Radical treatment in locally advanced non small cell carcinoma lung presents a management dilemma in patients with compromised performance status. Hypofractionated EBRT resolves this by confering high efficacy while avoiding excessive early toxicity.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of hypofractionated radiotherapy in locally advanced lung cancer patients with compromised performance status.

Methods: From January 2019 to January 2020,62 patients were enrolled to receive hypofractionated radiotherapy with 40Gy in 16 fractions with 5 fractions per week (2.5Gy per fraction) because of compromised performance status. Follow-up was conducted at 6 weeks and 3 months for symptomatic and radiological response …