Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Brescia International Multidisciplinary Consensus Guidelines On The Optimal Pathology Assessment And Multidisciplinary Pathways Of Non-Pancreatic Neoplasms In And Around The Ampulla Of Vater (Peripan), Mohammad Abu Hilal, Bas A Uijterwijk, Daniël H L Lemmers, Boris V Janssen, Marc G Besselink, Denise Bianchi, Arantza Fariña, Noriyoshi Fukushima, Anthony J Gill, Seung-Mo Hong, Alyssa Krasinskas, Claudio Luchini, Laura Melocchi, Giulio Rossi, Aldo Scarpa, Olca Basturk, Deyali Chatterjee, Angela Chou, Irene Esposito, Roger Feakins, Bas Groot Koerkamp, Ralph H Hruban, Stefano La Rosa, Chanjuan Shi, Aatur Singhi, Joanne Verheij, Huamin Wang, Sergio Alfieri, Fabio Ausania, Adnan Alseidi, Marco J Bruno, Ugo Boggi, Claudio Bnà, Christos Dervenis, Massimo Falconi, Michele Ghidini, Jakob W Kist, Giovanni Marchegiani, Michele Milella, Roberto Salvia, Ajith Siriwardena, Hanneke Wilmink, Alberto Zaniboni, Shaimaa Al-Janabi, Maia Blomhoff Holm, Eva Roos, Naoki Sano, In Hye Song, Zeynep Tarcan, Gianpaolo Balzano, Isabella Frigerio, Alfredo Guglielmi, Giuseppe Malleo, Horacio Asbun, Volkan Adsay, Caroline Verbeke

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: The lack of multidisciplinary workflow guidelines and clear definitions and classifications for neoplasms in and around the ampulla of Vater results in inconsistencies affecting patient care and research.

OBJECTIVE: The PERIPAN international multidisciplinary consensus group aimed to standardize the multidisciplinary diagnostic workflow and achieve consensus on definitions and classifications in order to ensure proper classification and optimal diagnostic assessment and consequently to improve patient care and future research.

DESIGN: An international team of 43 experts (pathologists, surgeons, radiologists, gastroenterologists, oncologists) from 12 countries identified knowledge gaps, reviewed 37061 articles, and proposed recommendations using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network methodology …

Baseline Α-Synuclein Seeding Activity And Disease Progression In Sporadic And Genetic Parkinson’S Disease In The Ppmi Cohort, Jackson G Schumacher, Xinyuan Zhang, Eric A Macklin, Jian Wang, Armin Bayati, Johannes M Dijkstra, Hirohisa Watanabe, Michael A Schwarzschild, Marianna Cortese, Xuehong Zhang, Xiqun Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: α-Synuclein (α-syn) seed amplification assays (SAAs) have shown remarkable potential in diagnosing Parkinson's disease (PD). Using data from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) cohort, we aimed to test whether baseline α-syn seeding activity and α-syn SAA kinetic parameters are associated with disease progression in sporadic PD, LRRK2-associated PD (LRRK2 PD), and GBA-associated PD (GBA PD).

Methods: We analysed 7 years of motor, non-motor, and cognitive assessments and 5 years of dopamine transporter imaging along with baseline α-syn SAA results from 564 PPMI participants (n = 332 sporadic PD, 162 LRRK2 PD, and 70 GBA PD) using linear mixed-effects …

Author Correction: Ppp2r1a Mutations Portend Improved Survival After Cancer Immunotherapy, Yibo Dai, Anne Knisely, Mitsutake Yano, Minghao Dang, Emily M Hinchcliff, Sanghoon Lee, Annalyn Welp, Manoj Chelvanambi, Matthew Lastrapes, Heng Liu, Zhe Yuan, Chen Wang, Hao Nie, Stephanie Jean, Luis J Montaner, Jiakai Hou, Ami Patel, Shrina Patel, Bryan Fellman, Ying Yuan, Baohua Sun, Renganayaki Krishna Pandurengan, Edwin Roger Parra Cuentas, Joseph Celestino, Yan Liu, Jinsong Liu, R Tyler Hillman, Shannon N Westin, Anil K Sood, Pamela T Soliman, Aaron Shafer, Larissa A Meyer, David M Gershenson, David Vining, Dhakshinamoorthy Ganeshan, Karen Lu, Jennifer A Wargo, Weiyi Peng, Rugang Zhang, Linghua Wang, Amir A Jazaeri

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Lifecycles Of Cochrane Systematic Reviews (2003-2024): A Bibliographic Study, Shiyin Li, Chong Wu, Zichen Zhang, Mengli Xiao, Mohammad Hassan Murad, Lifeng Lin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and objectives: The relevance of Cochrane systematic reviews depends on timely completion and updates. This study aimed to empirically assess the lifecycles of Cochrane reviews published from 2003 to 2024, including transitions from protocol to review, update patterns, and withdrawals.

Methods: We extracted data from Cochrane Library publications between 2003 and 2024. Each review topic was identified using a unique six-digit DOI-based ID. We recorded protocol publication, review publication, updates, and withdrawals (i.e., removed from the Cochrane Library for editorial or procedural reasons), calculating time intervals between stages and conducting subgroup analyses by review type.

Results: Of 8137 protocols, …

Deep Learning-Based Cardiac Chamber Segmentation In Magnetic Resonance-Guided Adaptive Radiation Therapy, Xinru Chen, Yao Ding, Julius Weng, Carol C Wu, Yao Zhao, Angela Sobremonte, Mustefa Mohammedsaid, Zhan Xu, Xiaodong Zhang, Joshua S Niedzielski, Sanjay S Shete, Laurence E Court, Zhongxing Liao, Jihong Wang, Ergys Subashi, Percy P Lee, Jinzhong Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Accurate cardiac chamber segmentation is crucial for improving cardiac sparing in magnetic resonance (MR)-guided adaptive radiation therapy, especially in patients at risk for radiation-induced cardiotoxicity. Here, we developed and evaluated automatic segmentation models for cardiac chambers that use daily MR images acquired on a 1.5-T MR-Linac system.

Methods and materials: Twenty healthy volunteers underwent daily MR scanning on a 1.5-T MR-Linac, with 2 radial sequences: T2/T1 3DVaneXD balanced fast field echo with spectral attenuated inversion recovery (bFFE-SPAIR) and T1 3DVaneXD mDixon. Three flip angles were tested for each sequence to determine optimal image quality for chamber segmentation. Full-resolution 3D …

Isatuximab Plus Bortezomib, Lenalidomide, And Dexamethasone For Transplant-Ineligible Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patients: A Frailty Subgroup Analysis Of The Imroz Trial, Salomon Manier, Meletios-Athanasios Dimopoulos, Xavier P Leleu, Philippe Moreau, Michele Cavo, Hartmut Goldschmidt, Robert Z Orlowski, Muriel Tron, Christina Tekle, Marie-France Brégeault, Andrea T Shafer, Meral Beksac, Thierry Facon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) meeting frailty criteria have worse outcomes than those identified as non-frail. Here, we present a post hoc subgroup analysis of IMROZ, a global, phase III, open-label study investigating isatuximab (Isa) with bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRd) followed by Isa-Rd (N=265) versus VRd followed by Rd (N=181) in newly diagnosed transplant-ineligible MM (Ti NDMM) patients using the simplified International Myeloma Working Group (sIMWG) frailty score. Although patients aged >80 years were excluded, there was no exclusion for patients meeting frailty criteria. All patients received standard VRd/Rd dosing; Isa-VRd patients received intravenous Isa (cycle 1, 10 mg/kg …

Systematic Literature Review Of Intravenous Versus Subcutaneous Administration Of Oncology Therapies: A Clinical, Economic And Patient Perspective, Saby George, Maria T Bourlon, Michael J Overman, Matt Dixon, Karishma Shelley, Kristen J Markus, Rachel M Kewley, Sophie I Pope, Laurence Albigès

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Subcutaneous (SC) formulations of oncology therapies offer a potentially less time-consuming and more convenient alternative to intravenous (IV) administration. However, exploring the potential benefits of SC over IV administration from a broader perspective is necessary to understand the larger-scale impact. In this systematic literature review (SLR), we evaluated the efficacy, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), safety, and patient and healthcare provider (HCP) preference for SC/IV oncology therapies, along with differences in patient outcomes, costs, and time requirements. The SLR was conducted in January 2019 and updated in May 2023, and included 169 publications. Studies providing comparative results between IV and SC formulations regarding …

Peripartum Depression Pharmacotherapies Targeting Gaba-Glutamate Neurotransmission, Alan C Courtes, Louisa Smitherman, Lokesh Shahani, Jair C Soares, Laura Goetzl, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Peripartum depression (PPD) represents a significant public health concern, affecting 10-17% of women globally. Traditional monoaminergic treatments demonstrate limited efficacy and delayed onset of action. The glutamate-GABA imbalance hypothesis provides a novel theoretical framework for understanding depression pathophysiology and developing targeted therapeutic interventions. This review examines emerging pharmacotherapeutic approaches targeting glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmitter systems for PPD treatment. Search criteria targeted randomized clinical trials investigating GABA-A-positive allosteric modulators (brexanolone, zuranolone, and ganaxolone) and NMDA receptor antagonists (ketamine and esketamine) in PPD patients. Brexanolone was the first neurosteroid to receive FDA approval for PPD, while zuranolone also shows promise. Ketamine and …

Comparative Pathology Boards Facilitate The Translation Of Knowledge Between Canine And Human Cancer Patients, Jessica A Beck, Christina Mazcko, Sara Belluco, Mireille Bitar, Daniel Brat, Jonathan W Bush, Rati Chkheidze, Kara N Corps, Chad Frank, Caterina Giannini, Craig Horbinski, Jason T Huse, Jennifer W Koehler, Andrew D Miller, C Ryan Miller, M Gerard O'Sullivan, Joanna J Phillips, Daniel R Rissi, Courtney R Schott, Anat Stemmer-Rachamimov, Stephen Yip, Amy K Leblanc

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Comparative pathology boards bring together anatomic pathologists with expertise in canine and human histology to identify shared features, including immune or TME components, tumor subtypes, or prognostic tissue biomarkers. This article summarizes feedback to improve future initiatives and enhance the translational relevance of comparative oncology for human patients.

Exploring Boundaries With Food, Substances, And People In Substance Use Recovery: A Qualitative Analysis, Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer, Audrey Sarah Cohen, Kriti Shrestha, Jie Zhu, Audrey Lopez, Alisha Campbell, Christine Bakos-Block

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: In the United States, over 47 million youth and adults live with a substance use disorder (SUD). These individuals are frequently malnourished and have metabolic dysregulation as a result. Nutrition interventions incorporating a mindfulness-based approach help recovery efforts that are physical and mental.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore and analyze the perspectives and experiences of individuals with SUD regarding emotional regulation and nutrition. The study used a mixed methods approach to generate insights for improving recovery support and developing future interventions.

Design: In 2024, an exploratory mixed methods study was conducted based on a large …

Implementation Of Screening And Assessment Tools For Diagnosing Opioid Use Disorder: A Systematic Review, Audrey Lopez, Audrey Sarah Cohen, Francine Vega, Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: As the prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) continues to rise, early detection by medical professionals can often be the first step in linking individuals to treatment. This systematic review was designed to identify implemented OUD screening and assessment tools with studies published from January 2019 through June 2024, uncover common themes associated with implementation, and determine if these tools were recommended in clinical practice.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted within PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science using the keywords 'opioid use disorder,' 'documentation,' and 'screening assessment tool.' Three investigators independently reviewed titles, abstracts, and full-text articles …

Optimizing Initial Screening For Colorectal Cancer Detection With Adherence Behavior, Sarah Yini Gao, Yan He, Ruijie Zhang, Zhichao Zheng, Shao Wei Lam Lam, Emile Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Background: Two-stage screening programs are widely adopted for early colorectal cancer (CRC) detection, where individuals receiving positive outcomes in the first-stage (initial) test are recommended to undergo a second-stage test (colonoscopy) for further diagnosis. Methods: We study the initial test design—the selection of cutoffs for reporting test outcomes—to balance the trade-off between screening effectiveness (i.e., CRC and polyp detection) and efficiency (i.e., colonoscopy costs), incorporating the fact that not all individuals follow up with a colonoscopy after receiving positive outcomes. We integrate the Bayesian persuasion framework with information avoidance to model this problem and apply it to Singapore's CRC screening …

Assessing The Impact Of Tungiasis On Children's Quality Of Life In Kenya, Lynne Elson, Berrick Otieno, Abneel K. Matharu, Naomi Riithi, Esther Jebor Chongwo, Francis Mutebi, Hermann Feldmeier, Jürgen Krücken, Ulrike Fillinger, Amina Abubakar

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tungiasis is a neglected tropical skin disease caused by the sand flea, Tunga penetrans which penetrates the skin causing considerable pain and itching. In this cross-sectional study we aimed to assess its impact on the quality of life of school children in Kenya. School pupils (198) aged 8-14 years with tungiasis were randomly selected and interviewed using a tungiasis-specific quality of life instrument (TLQI). The caregivers of each infected pupil and 199 randomly selected caregivers of uninfected pupils were interviewed using the proxy KIDscreen52 to assess their child's general health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). Generalized linear models were used to …

Predicting Clinical Success Of Ct-Based Functional Drained Liver Volume Assessment In Malignant Biliary Obstruction, Ethan Y Lin, Bruno C Odisio, Koustav Pal, Iwan Paolucci, Ryan P Kempen, Nicolas Cardenas, Paige Reed, Ketan Y Shah, Ahmed Awad, Rahul A Sheth, David Fuentes, Alda Tam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose

To compare the predictive accuracy of subjective versus objective assessment of three-dimensional functional drained liver volume (fDLV) for clinical success after percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD).

Materials and Methods

This retrospective study included patients with malignant biliary obstruction and hyperbilirubinemia who underwent de novo PTBD between January 2016 and February 2017. Clinical success was defined as achieving total bilirubin level less than 1.8 mg/dL (30.8 μmol/L) within 30 days after PTBD. Seven interventional radiologists independently categorized subjective fDLV into four groups: less than 30%, 30%–50%, 51%–75%, and greater than 75% of the total liver volume. Objective fDLV was calculated …

Designing An Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes Information Infrastructure Supported By The Re-Aim Implementation Framework, Amy C Moreno, Angela Peek, Toshiko S Stein, Kevin R Shook, Sara M Ali, Laia Humbert-Vidan, Aileen Chen, Miriam Lango, Anna Lee, Michael Spiotto, William H Morrison, Adam S Garden, Jack Phan, Steven J Frank, Katherine Hutcheson, David I Rosenthal, Clifton D Fuller, G Brandon Gunn

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) contain valuable information that can be leveraged by providers to perform timely interventions and improve quality of life and survival. However, the implementation of electronic PROs (ePROs) remains a challenge from technical and evaluation perspectives. Our objective was to construct a robust electronic health record (EHR)-integrated ePRO information infrastructure founded on RE-AIM (reach-effectiveness-adoption-implementation-maintenance) principles.

Materials and methods: We used Epic Systems as our EHR platform to build the MD Anderson Symptom Index Head and Neck Module (MDASI-HN) for release to all patients undergoing evaluation and/or treatment in our HN Radiation Oncology clinics. RE-AIM metrics were established …

Using Extension-Based Mrna Display To Design Antibody-Like Proteinogenic Peptides For Human Pd-L1, Justin N Ong, Brian J Grindel, Scott A Rankin, Sarah H Naylon, Anupallavi Srinivasamani, Guillaume J Trusz, Xiaowen Liang, Md Nasir Uddin, Lauren Fuller, Michael Curran, Stephane P Roche, Terry T Takahashi, Richard W Roberts, Steven W Millward

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Many peptide drugs rely on nonproteinogenic amino acids and chemical modifications for improved activity and proteolytic stability. However, these features also make drug production expensive and challenging to scale. Here, we engineered small, linear, proteinogenic peptides that bind human programmed death-ligand 1 (hPD-L1) with high affinity and stability using mRNA display affinity maturation. The resulting peptides, SPAM2 and SPAM3, have antibody-like affinities for hPD-L1 (dissociation constants between ~250 and 300 pM) and are selective for hPD-L1. Both SPAM2 and SPAM3 compete with hPD-L1 ligands known to interact with the programmed cell death protein 1 site and are stable in human …

Mechanisms Underlying Treatment-Resistant Depression: Exploring Sex-Based Biological Differences, Francisco E R Da Silva, Atakan Yucel, Antonio P M Menezes, Ana C Ruiz, Marcela C Carbajal Tamez, Tatiana Barichello, Giselli Scaini, Joao Quevedo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) represents a severe and complex subtype of major depressive disorder (MDD), affecting approximately 30% of patients who fail to respond adequately to multiple standard antidepressant therapies. While the pathophysiology of TRD remains incompletely understood, emerging evidence suggests that sex-based biological differences might influence its onset, progression, and treatment response. Women are disproportionately affected by depression and are more likely to experience residual symptoms and treatment resistance, potentially due to hormonal fluctuations, immune system differences, and variations in brain circuitry and neuroplasticity. This narrative explores the current literature on the mechanisms underlying TRD, with a particular emphasis on …

Risk Of Second Primary Lung Cancer Among Cancer Survivors Stratified By The Site Of First Primary Cancer And The Lung Cancer Screening Eligibility Status, Sara Nofal, Edwin J Ostrin, Jianjun Zhang, Jia Wu, Paul Scheet, Mara B Antonoff, John V Heymach, Iakovos Toumazis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Personal history of cancer is an independent risk factor for developing lung cancer. However, it is not considered in the current US lung cancer screening (LCS) guidelines. In this study, we assessed the risk of developing lung cancer among cancer survivors across 24 different sites of first primary cancer stratified by their LCS eligibility status. Using data from the Patient History Database at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, we calculated and compared the cumulative incidence of second primary lung cancer, the overall and the LCS eligibility status-specific, stratified by the site of first primary cancer among cancer …

Unbound Bilirubin And Risk Of Severe Neurodevelopmental Impairment In Extremely Low Birthweight Newborns, Cody C Arnold, Ivana Maric, Ronald J Wong, Jon E Tyson, David K Stevenson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Unbound bilirubin (UB) was measured on day 5 ± 1 in 1101 ELBW newborns in the Aggressive vs Conservative Phototherapy randomized controlled trial. We accessed this dataset to quantify the UB-mediated risk of severe neurodevelopmental impairment (sNDI) in extremely low birthweight (ELBW) newborns.

Methods: UB levels were standardized within laboratories as z-score percentiles. A dichotomous UB exposure variable was based on sharply increased risk of sNDI at the 85th percentile (UBz>85th). Targeted maximum likelihood estimation with ensemble machine learning (TMLE + ML) and logistic regression (LR) were used to estimate sNDI risk attributable to UBz>85th.

Results: UB …

Utility Of Whole-Slide Imaging For Rapid Evaluation Of Thyroid Fna: A Multireader Prospective Study, Mohammed S Ahmed, Dianna Klippel-Almaraz, Sara E Amin, Gloria H Sura, Uma Rani Kundu, Wendong Yu, Jogn M Stewart, Qiong Gan, Savitri Krishnamurthy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) of thyroid fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) improves diagnostic adequacy and facilitates ancillary molecular testing. In this prospective, multireader study, the authors evaluated the feasibility of using whole-slide images (WSIs) for ROSE to determine specimen adequacy and preliminary categorization (according to The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology [Bethesda]) of image-guided thyroid FNABs compared with conventional light-microscopic (LM) examination of the same specimens in a referral cancer center.

Methods: The authors evaluated 98 ultrasound-guided thyroid FNAB cases. Smears were stained with Papanicolaou and Diff-Quik and were scanned at ×20 magnification using a Leica Aperio CS2 scanner. …

Examining The Impact Of Area Deprivation On Endovascular Stroke Therapy Access, Joseph N Samaha, Ngoc Mai Le, Emmanuel C Ebirim, Rania Abdelkhaleq, Sergio A Salazar Marioni, Muhammad Bilal Tariq, Ananya Iyyangar, Anjan Nagesh, Hussain Azeem, Arash Niktabe, Sunil A Sheth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Equitable access to health care is heavily affected by socioeconomic factors. However, the effects of such disparities in accessing life-saving treatments remain incompletely characterized. Here we explore the impact of disparities on access to endovascular treatments for large vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: From our prospectively maintained multihospital registry, we identified patients with large vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke from January 2019-June 2020. Patient addresses and zip codes were matched to census-tract level area deprivation index (ADI) scores that were obtained from Neighborhood Atlas. ADI is a validated neighborhood-level measure that uses variables such as income, education, and …

Correction: Imaging In Pelvic Exenteration-A Multidisciplinary Practice Guide From The Esgar-Sar-Esur-Pelvex Collaborative Group, Stephanie Nougaret, Doenja M J Lambregts, Geerard L Beets, Regina G H Beets-Tan, Lennart Blomqvist, David Burling, Quentin Denost, Maria A Gambacorta, Benedetta Gui, Ann Klopp, Yulia Lakhman, Kate E Maturen, Riccardo Manfredi, Iva Petkovska, Luca Russo, Atul B Shinagare, James A Stephenson, Damian Tolan, Aradhana M Venkatesan, Aaron J Quyn, Rosemarie Forstner

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Spatial Colocalization And Molecular Crosstalk Of Myofibroblastic Cafs And Tumor Cells Shape Lymph Node Metastasis In Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Ken Furudate, Shuya Kasai, Tadashi Yoshizawa, Yuya Sasaki, Kohei Fujikura, Shintaro Goto, Ryohei Ito, Koki Takagi, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Hiroshi Kijima, Kosei Kubota, Ken Itoh, Wataru Kobayashi, Koichi Takahashi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is a critical prognostic factor for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Previous research has implicated the partial epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of tumor cells and myofibroblastic cancer-associated fibroblasts (myCAFs) in the LNM process. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we conducted a comprehensive molecular analysis integrating original and publicly available OSCC data from bulk genome and transcriptome, single-cell transcriptome, and spatial transcriptome analyses. We found that myCAFs were quantitatively and functionally activated in LNM-positive samples and spatially colocalized with OSCC cells within the invasive tumor front (ITF), providing a niche that may facilitate …

Dna Methylation Cooperates With Genomic Alterations During Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Evolution, Francisco Gimeno-Valiente, Carla Castignani, Elizabeth Larose Cadieux, Nana E Mensah, Xiaohong Liu, Kezhong Chen, Olga Chervova, Takahiro Karasaki, Clare E Weeden, Corentin Richard, Siqi Lai, Carlos Martínez-Ruiz, Emilia L Lim, Alexander M Frankell, Thomas B K Watkins, Georgia Stavrou, Ieva Usaite, Wei-Ting Lu, Daniele Marinelli, Sadegh Saghafinia, Gareth A Wilson, Pawan Dhami, Heli Vaikkinen, Jonathan Steif, Selvaraju Veeriah, Robert E Hynds, Martin Hirst, Crispin Hiley, Andrew Feber, Özgen Deniz, Mariam Jamal-Hanjani, Nicholas Mcgranahan, Tracerx Consortium, Stephan Beck, Jonas Demeulemeester, Miljana Tanić, Charles Swanton, Peter Van Loo, Nnennaya Kanu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Aberrant DNA methylation has been described in nearly all human cancers, yet its interplay with genomic alterations during tumor evolution is poorly understood. To explore this, we performed reduced representation bisulfite sequencing on 217 tumor and matched normal regions from 59 patients with non-small cell lung cancer from the TRACERx study to deconvolve tumor methylation. We developed two metrics for integrative evolutionary analysis with DNA and RNA sequencing data. Intratumoral methylation distance quantifies intratumor DNA methylation heterogeneity. MR/MN classifies genes based on the rate of hypermethylation at regulatory (MR) versus nonregulatory (MN) CpGs to identify driver genes exhibiting recurrent functional …

In Situ Programming Of The Tumor Microenvironment To Alleviate Immunosuppression For Pancreatic Cancer Immunotherapy, Man Sun, Huan Zhang, Yarui Ma, Simiao Wang, Jiayi Chen, Yaxin Cui, Yun Zhang, Siyuan Hu, Dan Zhou, Pengchen Zhang, Yahui Liu, Betty Y S Kim, Wen Jiang, Xiaobing Wang, Zhaogang Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recent studies have highlighted the pivotal role of the cGAS‐STING pathway in cancer immunotherapy. However, clinical trials with cGAS‐STING pathway agonists have faced setbacks thanks to their short biological half‐life, lack of tumor specificity, and potential to promote tumor immune evasion. To address these challenges, a novel exosome‐based drug delivery platform, termed cmExoaCD11b is developed, designed to precisely target and reprogram the tumor microenvironment (TME) in situ for pancreatic cancer immunotherapy. cmExoaCD11b is engineered to encapsulate high copy numbers of IL‐12 mRNA and 2′3’‐cGAMP (cGAMP) and is functionalized with CD11b antibodies for targeted delivery to macrophages. Notably, cmExoaCD11b facilitated the …

Sex Disparities In Chlamydia And Gonorrhea Treatment In Us Adult Emergency Departments: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Rachel E Solnick, Rahi Patel, Ethan Chang, Carmen Vargas-Torres, Maaz Munawar, Carlin Pendell, Judith E Smith, Ethan Cowan, Keith E Kocher, Roland C Merchant

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Empiric antibiotic treatment for gonorrhea (GC) and chlamydia (CT) is common in U.S. emergency departments (EDs) due to the delayed availability of test results. Local studies have identified sex-based disparities in sexually transmitted infection (STI) care, with females potentially receiving less empiric treatment than males. This study evaluates how STI treatment aligns with laboratory-confirmed results to quantify potential overtreatment and undertreatment rates and investigates sex differences for these outcomes.

METHODS: We conducted a preregistered (PROSPERO #241429) systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published between January 2010 and January 2025 in U.S. EDs, excluding studies conducted exclusively in pediatric settings. …

"I Probably Wouldn't Be As Happy": Childhood Parental Separation And Posttraumatic Growth Narratives From Eight College Students, Meagan C. Arrastia-Chisholm, Hoa Nguyen, Africa Pippin, Heather M. Kelley Ph.D.

Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs

Parental separation during childhood leads to long-lasting psychological and socioemotional impact on the lives of emerging adults as they transition into higher education. The long-term effects of childhood parental separation on college students' academic performance, physical health, and overall mental wellbeing are well-documented. However, students can develop resilience to cope with challenging family and life experiences and even demonstrate post-traumatic growth. Post-traumatic growth refers to the positive changes and experiences college students discover after enduring life disruptions, such as being separated from their parents at an early age. To better understand the connection between parental separation and posttraumatic growth, a …

September 2025, Swosu Bulldog Wellness Committee

SWOSU BULLDOG WELLNESS

• SEPTEMBER is National Yoga Month
• YOGA classes September 16th and October 14th for SWOSU employees
• September is National Honey Month
• 10 Reasons to Dip into your Honey Jar
• Self Care Ideas for Stress Relief
• 3 Adjustable Desktop PC Stands to Loan

The Effect Of Genotype On Self-Reported Dysarthria And Dysphagia In Parkinson's Disease: A Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative Study, Matthew Dumican, Therese Reyers, Alyson Malczewski, Zoe Thijs

Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objectives The objective of this study was to examine baseline and longitudinal differences of self-reported dysarthria and dysphagia in the most common genetic subtypes of Parkinson's disease (PD) using the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) dataset. Methods This was a retrospective, longitudinal study utilizing data from the PPMI dataset. Dysarthria- and dysphagia-specific questions from the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Scales of Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Autonomic questionnaire (SCOPA-AUT) were extracted for people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) with leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 gene (LRRK2), GBA, and SNCA genotypes across up to five research visits. Relevant patient (age, sex, etc.) …

Patterns And Implications Of Missed Injuries On Computed Tomography Imaging In Older Blunt Trauma Patients, Arnav Mahajan, Vanessa P. Ho

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Older adults sustain disproportionately morbid injuries from low energy mechanisms, yet guidance around computed tomography imaging is lacking for this demographic. We hypothesize that current imaging practices may lead to potentially missed injuries, increasing morbidity and mortality. Methods: A secondary analysis of a prospective multicenter study (11/2020–12/2021) of older blunt trauma patients was performed. Suboptimal imaging was defined as a mismatch between final injury diagnosis and initial computed tomography imaging. We compared optimally vs not optimally imaged patients to determine factors associated with suboptimal imaging and examined mortality, hospital length of stay, and critical care use with a multivariable …