Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Cancer-Targeting Immunostimulatory Peptides As An Immunotherapeutic Approach To Cancer, Rachel Montel

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This dissertation reports the synthesis and biological applications of bifunctional trimeric peptides with B7H6-derived NKp30 binding motifs that serve to activate an immunocytotoxic response in natural killer cells and a GRP78-binding motif that can target tumors that express surface GRP78. In this manner the cancer-targeting immunostimulatory peptides are anticipated to directly bind and activate effector NK92-MI cells while also recognizing and binding to target A549 tumor cells to facilitate NK cell-dependent immunocytotoxicity of the targeted tumors. The NKp30 binding peptide motifs are derived from the tumor associated B7H6 antigen that is often downregulated or shed from the surface of tumors …

Mechanisms Of Cross-Presentation By Cdc1s, Derek James Theisen

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Classical dendritic cells (cDCs) are specialized antigen presenting cells that can be divided into distinct subsets based on the types of pathogens they respond to and the type of immune response they generate. The cDC1 subset is specialized in priming CD8 T cell responses through the process of cross-presentation. During cross-presentation, exogenous protein antigens are taken up by cDC1 and presented on MHCI molecules, allowing for the priming of CD8 T cells during conditions when DCs themselves are not directly infected. The ability to cross-present in vivo is unique to cDC1, and is essential for anti-viral responses and rejection of …

Ligand-Installed Polymeric Nanocarriers For Combination Chemotherapy, Xinyuan Xi

Theses & Dissertations

Combination chemotherapy remains the mainstay of cancer treatment because such strategy targets different cell signaling pathways to decrease the likelihood of developing protective mechanisms by cancer cells, thereby delaying the onset of recurrence and prolonging the survival. The co-delivery of binary drug combination via a single nanocarrier provides benefits in reducing dose-limiting toxicities, improving the pharmacokinetic properties of the cargo, spatial-temporal synchronization of drug exposure, and synergistic therapeutic effects. Rational design of such regimen is crucial for maximizing the therapeutic effects since only certain drug ratios exposed to the target might be synergistic while other ratios exert additive or even …

Oral Cancer: Clinicopathological Features And Associated Risk Factors In A High Risk Population Presenting To A Major Tertiary Care Center In Pakistan, Namrah Anwar, Shahid Pervez, Qurratulain Chundriger, Mohammad Sohail Awan, Tariq Moatter, Tazeen Saeed Ali

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has the highest prevalence in head and neck cancers and is the first and second most common cancer in males and females of Pakistan respectively. Major risk factors include peculiar chewing habits like areca nut, betel quid, and tobacco. The majority of OSCC presents at an advanced stage with poor prognosis. On the face of such a high burden of this preventable cancer, there is a relative lack of recent robust data and its association with known risk factors from Pakistan. The aim of this study was to identify the socioeconomic factors and clinicopathological features …

A Comprehensive Call Center Supporting Safe, Efficient Operations During A Pandemic, Janice P. Finder, Ashlyn Proske, Judy Overton, Elizabeth Comcowich Garcia, Michael Frumovitz

Patient Experience Journal

Research has shown that a comprehensive call center can support a safe, efficient, and quality experience for patients and their families. When a patient receives a cancer diagnosis, the stakes are already high. Add a pandemic to an immunocompromised patient population and fear escalates. In order to accommodate the ever-changing information and ease patients’ anxieties surrounding their cancer diagnoses, it is necessary that an institution be available 24/7 to inform, help navigate systems, and manage symptoms because the emergency room, and many times the clinics, have too many inherent risks.

MD Anderson expanded the hours of operation for askMDAnderson, a …

The Apoptotic Effect Of Gsk-3 Inhibitors: Bio And Chir 98014 On H1975 Lung Cancer Cells Through Ros Generation And Mitochondrial Dysfunction., Theodore Lemuel Mathuram, Thiagarajan Venkatesan, Jayanta Das, Umamaheswari Natarajan, Appu Rathinavelu

HPD Articles

OBJECTIVE: GSK-3 has been reported to be upregulated in malignant diseases, including lung cancers, thus suggesting it to be a valid target for cancer treatment. The study elucidates the possible mechanism involved in the ability of GSK-3 inhibitors: BIO and CHIR 98014 to regulate proteins involved in cell death of H1975 lung cancer cells.

RESULTS: BIO and CHIR 98014 successfully induced apoptosis at lower concentrations in H1975 cells but not in H460 lung cancer cells. Moreover, increased ROS generation and depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential were observed in both treatments. Cleavage of caspase-3 was observed in both BIO and CHIR …

Lung Cancer And Kidney Injury: An Updated Review, Bhargav Patel, Mohammad Ebrahimi Kalan, Maryam Khosravian, Audrey C. Tolouian, Ramin Tolouian, Mahnaz Aboufazeli, Masoumeh Asgharpour, Amirhesam Alirezaei

Nursing Faculty Publications

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, accounting for an estimated 1.8 million deaths. Lung cancer is also the most common primary cancer leading to soft tissue (ST) metastasis. Renal disease may occur as a direct or indirect consequence of the cancer itself (e.g., postrenal obstruction, compression, or infiltration), its treatment (e.g., radiotherapy or chemotherapy), or its related complications (e.g., opportunistic infection). Existing evidence shows that the most frequent primary solid tumor responsible for renal metastasis is pulmonary carcinoma, followed by gastric, breast, soft tissue, and thyroid carcinomas. Chronic kidney disease is a potential risk factor in …

Factors Affecting Esophageal Tissue Radiation Response, Latisha T. Pryor

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Radiation-induced esophageal cancer can be a deadly and unfortunate secondary outcome of radiotherapy or chronic occupational exposure to radiation. Although the esophagus is known to be a radiosensitive organ, it is under studied and further information regarding how dose and radiation quality impact its sensitivity may provide strategies to prevent esophageal cancer. The purpose of this thesis was to understand factors that play a role in the tissue’s radiosensitivity that may relate to its cancer risk. In this study, we used two esophageal 3D models, as well as both human and mouse cells, to define radiation quality and dose dependent …

Statistical Methods For Resolving Intratumor Heterogeneity With Single-Cell Dna Sequencing, Alexander Davis

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Tumor cells have heterogeneous genotypes, which drives progression and treatment resistance. Such genetic intratumor heterogeneity plays a role in the process of clonal evolution that underlies tumor progression and treatment resistance. Single-cell DNA sequencing is a promising experimental method for studying intratumor heterogeneity, but brings unique statistical challenges in interpreting the resulting data. Researchers lack methods to determine whether sufficiently many cells have been sampled from a tumor. In addition, there are no proven computational methods for determining the ploidy of a cell, a necessary step in the determination of copy number. In this work, software for calculating probabilities from …

Review Of Kelly Pender's Being At Genetic Risk: Toward A Rhetoric Of Care, Jillian K. Zwilling

Rhetoric of Health & Medicine

Being at Genetic Risk: Toward a Rhetoric of Care. Kelly Pender. University Park, PA, The Pennsylvania State Press, 2018. 174 pages, $69.95 hardcover. Publisher webpage: https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-08212-7.html

DOI: 10.5744/rhm.2020.1019

Cancer Prevention And Therapeutics For The Primary Care Clinician, Richard C. Wender, Md

Department of Family & Community Medicine Presentations and Grand Rounds

Outline

•Basics of cancer screening •Recommended options for colorectal cancer screening •Trends in incidence and mortality •The 80% in Every Community initiative

Topological And System‑Level Protein Interaction Network (Pin) Analyses To Deduce Molecular Mechanism Of Curcumin, Anupam Dhasmana, Swati Uniyal, Anukriti -, Vivek Kumar Kashyap, Pallavi Somvanshi, Meenu Gupta, Uma Bhardwaj, Meena Jaggi, Murali M. Yallapu, Shafiul Haque, Subhash C. Chauhan

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Curcumin is an important bioactive component of turmeric and also one of the important natural products, which has been investigated extensively. The precise mode of action of curcumin and its impact on system level protein networks are still not well studied. To identify the curcumin governed regulatory action on protein interaction network (PIN), an interectome was created based on 788 key proteins, extracted from PubMed literatures, and constructed by using STRING and Cytoscape programs. The PIN rewired by curcumin was a scale-free, extremely linked biological system. MCODE plug-in was used for sub-modulization analysis, wherein we identified 25 modules; ClueGo plug-in …

Experiencing Cancer In Appalachian Kentucky, Melanie Mccomsey, David Ahern, Robin C. Vanderpool, Timothy W. Mullett, Ming-Yuan Chih, Meghan Johnson, Michele Ellison, Karen Onyeije, Bradford W. Hesse, Eliah Aronoff-Spencer

Journal of Appalachian Health

Nothing tells the story of people working together better than a community quilt. A diversity of talents, colors, and materials brought together through skill and shared purpose. Perhaps never before have we as Americans needed a stronger reminder that many hands make short work of big problems. The work presented here by the L.A.U.N.C.H. Collaborative offers a new framework for health care that could be compared to a digital quilt, powered by community-based participatory design, with lived expertise and the newest advances in broadband-enabled connected health solutions. This work demonstrates the value and need to engage local communities and what …

Preface: Experiencing Cancer In Appalachian Kentucky, Michele Ellison, Robin C. Vanderpool

Journal of Appalachian Health

Connected cancer care is of increasing importance in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Linking & Amplifying User-Centered Networks through Connected Health (L.A.U.N.C.H.) Collaborative in Appalachian Kentucky has pioneered a new roadmap for equipping communities with the transformative power of broadband to innovate around the future of cancer care and to better scale their ideas. The roadmap involves reaching across disciplines, including public health, anthropology, telecommunications, and user-centered design. The goal is to leverage connectivity and cancer communication research and practice to make a real difference for patients and families.

Epidemiology Of Cancers In Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm): A Protocol For Umbrella Review Of Systematic Reviews, Manoj Kumar Honaryar, Yelena Tarasenko, Maribel Almonte, Vitaly Smelov

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

While earlier studies on men having sex with men (MSM) tended to examine infection-related cancers, an increasing number of studies have been focusing on effects of sexual orientation on other cancers and social and cultural causes for cancer disparities. As a type of tertiary research, this umbrella review (UR) aims to synthesize findings from existing review studies on the effects of sexual orientation on cancer. Relevant peer-reviewed systematic reviews (SRs) will be identified without date or language restrictions using MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews, among others. The research team members will …

Evaluation Of Geographic Disparities In Cervical Cancer Survival Across Maine, Kaylee Underkofler, Jason Lachance

Journal of Maine Medical Center

Introduction. National data exists suggesting the existence of geographic disparities in oncology care within the United States. It is unknown whether geographic disparities present a problem for women with gynecologic malignancies locally in Maine.

Methods. Data for each cervical cancer case diagnosed or treated under the MaineHealth system between 2007 and 2011 were acquired from the MaineHealth Network Registry. Average annual incidence and 5-year survival were calculated for each county in Maine and were mapped using geographic information systems (GIS) software. Next, cases were divided into 2 groups: those residing less than or equal to 60 miles from the sole …

Guide Lines Vol. Ii, Issue 5 - July 2020, College Of Health And Human Services

GUIDE Lines

Periodic Newsletter of the Governors State University - University of Illinois, Chicago - Disparities Education Cancer research training and education project (The GUIDE Project).

The Effectiveness Of Patient Education Utilizing The Teach-Back Method To Improve Patient Satisfaction, Gladys Cajucom Apuli

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this Evidence-Based Project is to determine the effectiveness of using “teach-back” method in giving education to patients receiving chemotherapy and how this method can increase patient satisfaction with understanding of medication action and side effects. Teach-back method is a way of checking patient’s understanding by asking them to state in their own words the information about their health. It is a way to confirm that the explanations given by their provider is understood. Teach-back method can improve patient’s understanding and adherence, decrease call backs and cancelled appointments. This project was developed to improve the organization’s patient satisfaction …

Microbial Experience Influences Tumor- Infiltrating T Lymphocytes, Hanna Groeber

Masters Theses

Immune cells, including T cells, have been used for anti-cancer therapy with varying degrees of success. One potential reason for immunotherapy failures in clinical trials may be that typical specific pathogen free (SPF) mice do not accurately replicate human microbial experience, which has important influence on shaping the adaptive immune response. Recently, several previous studies have shown that the immune system of SPF mice more closely resembles newborn human immunity, whereas immune systems from mice exposed to diverse pathogens more closely reflect adult human immunity.

To study the impact of microbial experience on the immune response, we have adopted a …

Hpv Vaccination In Females: The Role Of Primary Health Care And Primary Health Care Providers, Brooke Bouza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two reasons for subpar coverage of the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine are missed clinical opportunities and nonacceptance of the vaccine upon recommendation from a medical provider. The purpose of study one was to examine factors associated with access and adherence to physician’s recommendations in association with HPV vaccine uptake. Data were obtained from National Health Interview Survey (2017). Variables theoretically related to clinical opportunities and adherence to physician’s recommendations were examined in association with HPV vaccine uptake. Univariate logistic regressions were run to determine the associations between the aforementioned variables and uptake of the HPV vaccine. Multinomial logistic regressions were …

The Roles Of Primary Cilia In Cardiovascular Diseases And Cancer, Maha Jamal

Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) Dissertations

Primary cilia are sensory organelles present in most mammalian cell types and regulate cell cycle and signaling pathways. Biochemical and molecular dysfunctions of primary cilia are associated with a wide range of diseases, including cancer, ciliopathies polycystic kidney disease (PKD, liver disorders, mental retardation, and obesity to cardiovascular diseases. Dysfunction in endothelial cilia contributes to aberrant fluid-sensing and results in vascular disorders, such as hypertension, aneurysm, and atherosclerosis. In this dissertation, the most recent outcomes on the roles of endothelial primary cilia within vascular biology have been summarized. Moreover, we evaluate the correlation between cilia formation or length and cell …

Log File-Based Dose Reconstruction To Moving Targets During Lung Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy, Andrew S. Mcguffey

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: To perform film-based verification of 4D dose reconstruction to moving targets during lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

Introduction: Current patient-specific quality assurance measures to test deliverability of plans with dynamic intensity modulation involve delivering beams to static measurement device and comparing the planned dose to measurement. However, motion-induced dose errors are not detected with static measurement. Previous studies have investigated combining machine log data with respiratory tracking to determine moving-target dose. By combining machine log data with anatomic and density information at each breathing phase from 4D-CT, intrafraction anatomical deformation due to respiration may be accounted for. However, …

An In Silico Study Of Small Molecule Anti-Cancer Agents Targeting Dna G-Quadruplexes, Holli-Joi Sullivan

Theses and Dissertations

Free ligand binding molecular dynamic simulations are a powerful tool used to probe the ligand binding process, mechanism and pathway and the insight gained can help expedite the early stages of drug discovery. Using these methods, we model the binding of two small molecule anti-cancer agents BRACO19 and CX-5461 to a variety of DNA G-quadruplexes (G4s) and a DNA Duplex. The first study focuses on the binding of BRACO19 to three different topological folds (parallel, anti-parallel and hybrid) of the human telomeric G4s. Our detailed analysis identified the most stable binding modes were end stacking and groove binding for the …

Evaluation Of New Dietary Guideline Recommendations On Red Meat Consumption, Dalia Azizi

Physician Assistant Studies | Student Articles

Objective: To evaluate the strength of evidence of the studies used to formulate the new dietary guideline recommendations published by the “Annals of Medicine” that encourage continuation of red meat consumption which contradicts existing guidelines.

Methods: The studies used to formulate the dietary guidelines were analyzed for their quality of evidence and compared to established existing evidence that associates meat consumption with negatives health outcomes

Results: Upon further evaluation, many biases and limitations to these studies exist and the quality of the evidence is low

Conclusion: The new dietary guidelines published by the “Annals of Internal Medicine …

Expanding The Capacity Of Rural Cancer Care With Teleoncology, Jason Semprini

Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy

Background: In the United States, 6 of the 25 leading causes of death stem from site-specific cancers, resulting in over 1.7 million deaths annually. Yet, this burden is not evenly distributed. While the incidence of cancer is significantly higher in urban areas, rural regions face higher rates of cancer mortality. Identifying the factors contributing rural cancer disparities can facilitate more effective and feasible policy solutions.’

Problem Definition: Rural Americans are geographically isolated from high-quality cancer services and face systemic barriers to NCI designated comprehensive cancer centers. Given this disparity, rural Americans have failed to fully realize the benefits of expanded …

Formative Research To Design A Culturally-Appropriate Cancer Clinical Trial Education Program To Increase Participation Of African American And Latino Communities, Jennifer Cunningham-Erves, Claudia Barajas, Tilicia Mayo-Gamble, Caree R. Mcafee, Pamela Hull, Maureen Sanderson, Juan Canedo, Katina Beard, Consuelo H. Wilkins

Department of Health Policy and Community Health Faculty Publications

Background: Addressing knowledge deficiencies about cancer clinical trials and biospecimen donation can potentially improve participation among racial and ethnic minorities. This paper describes the formative research process used to design a culturally-appropriate cancer clinical trials education program for African American and Latino communities. We characterized community member feedback and its integration into the program.

Methods: We incorporated three engagement approaches into the formative research process to iteratively develop the program: including community-based organization (CBO) leaders as research team members, conducting focus groups and cognitive interviews with community members as reviewers/consultants, and interacting with two community advisory groups. An …

Comparative Molecular Transporter Properties Of Cyclic Peptides Containing Tryptophan And Arginine Residues Formed Through Disulfide Cyclization, Eman H. M. Mohammed, Dindyal Mandal, Saghar Mozaffari, Magdy Abdel-Hamied Zahran, Amany Mostafa Osman, Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

We have previously reported cyclic cell-penetrating peptides [WR]₅ and [WR]₄ as molecular transporters. To optimize further the utility of our developed peptides for targeted therapy in cancer cells using the redox condition, we designed a new generation of peptides and evaluated their cytotoxicity as well as uptake behavior against different cancer cell lines. Thus, cyclic [C(WR)_xC] and linear counterparts (C(WR)_xC), where x = 4–5, were synthesized using Fmoc/tBu solid-phase peptide synthesis, purified, and characterized. The compounds did not show any significant cytotoxicity (at 25 µM) against ovarian (SK-OV-3), leukemia (CCRF-CEM), gastric adenocarcinoma (CRL-1739), breast …

A Web-Based, Positive Emotion Skills Intervention For Enhancing Posttreatment Psychological Well-Being In Young Adult Cancer Survivors (Empower): Protocol For A Single-Arm Feasibility Trial, John M. Salsman, Laurie E. Mclouth, Michael Cohn, Janet A. Tooze, Mia Sorkin, Judith T. Moskowitz

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Adolescent and young adult cancer survivors (AYAs) experience clinically significant distress and have limited access to supportive care services. Interventions to enhance psychological well-being have improved positive affect and reduced depression in clinical and healthy populations but have not been routinely tested in AYAs.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this protocol is to (1) test the feasibility and acceptability of a Web-based positive emotion skills intervention for posttreatment AYAs called Enhancing Management of Psychological Outcomes With Emotion Regulation (EMPOWER) and (2) examine proof of concept for reducing psychological distress and enhancing psychological well-being.

METHODS: The intervention development and testing are …

Rapamycin Treatment Correlates Changes In Primary Cilia Expression With Cell Cycle Regulation In Epithelial Cells, Maha Jamal, Ane C.F. Nunes, Nosratola D. Vaziri, Ramani Ramchandran, Robert L. Bacallao, Andromeda M. Nauli, Surya M. Nauli

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Primary cilia are sensory organelles that regulate cell cycle and signaling pathways. In addition to its association with cancer, dysfunction of primary cilia is responsible for the pathogenesis of polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and other ciliopathies. Because the association between cilia formation or length and cell cycle or division is poorly understood, we here evaluated their correlation in this study. Using Spectral Karyotyping (SKY) technique, we showed that PKD and the cancer/tumorigenic epithelial cells PC3, DU145, and NL20-TA were associated with abnormal ploidy. We also showed that PKD and the cancer epithelia were highly proliferative. Importantly, the cancer epithelial cells …

Exploring The Experience Of Psychological Distress For Young Adults With Cancer: Implications For A New Diagnosis Of Medical Traumatic Stress, Audrey Ryan

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how a serious medical diagnosis, such as cancer, can act as an acute or prolonged trauma. This was explored through the lived experiences of psychological distress of young cancer survivors. Participants were 12 men and women who had been diagnosed with cancer within the past seven years when they were between the ages of 18 and 39. From these interviews several themes emerged that describe the phenomenon of what I have termed medical traumatic stress.

Trauma from a medical event does not currently meet criteria for PTSD in the DSM-5 …