Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Peer Support During In Vivo Exposure Homework Increases Likelihood Of Prolonged Exposure Therapy Completion, Melba A Hernandez-Tejada, Madeline J Bruce, Wendy Muzzy, Anna Birks, Giovanni Macedo E Cordeiro, Stephanie M Hart, Stephanie Hamski, Ron Acierno

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Exposure-based treatments such as prolonged exposure therapy (PE) are effective for veterans with PTSD. However, dropout rates as high as 50% are common. The Department of Veterans Affairs employs peers to increase mental health treatment engagement, however peers are not routinely used to help patients complete PE homework assignments. The present study included 109 veterans who decided to drop out from exposure-based treatment after completing seven or fewer sessions and used a randomized controlled design to compare PE treatment completion rates in response to 2 forms of peer support: (1) standard weekly telephone-based peer support vs. (2) peer-assisted in vivo …

Consistent Frontal-Limbic-Occipital Connections In Distinguishing Treatment-Resistant And Non-Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia, Yijie Zhang, Shuzhan Gao, Chuang Liang, Juan Bustillo, Peter Kochunov, Jessica A Turner, Vince D Calhoun, Lei Wu, Zening Fu, Rongtao Jiang, Daoqiang Zhang, Jing Jiang, Fan Wu, Ting Peng, Xijia Xu, Shile Qi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and hypothesis: Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TR-SZ) and non-treatment-resistant schizophrenia (NTR-SZ) lack specific biomarkers to distinguish from each other. This investigation aims to identify consistent dysfunctional brain connections with different atlases, multiple feature selection strategies, and several classifiers in distinguishing TR-SZ and NTR-SZ.

Study design: 55 TR-SZs, 239 NTR-SZs, and 87 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited from the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Resting-state functional connection (FC) matrices were constructed from automated anatomical labeling (AAL), Yeo-Networks (YEO) and Brainnetome (BNA) atlases. Two feature selection methods (Select From Model and Recursive Feature Elimination) and four classifiers (Adaptive Boost, Bernoulli Naïve …

An Unusual Case Of Gastrointestinal Bleeding In A Recent Roux-En-Y Patient, Christopher J Carnabatu, Tanyaradzwa M Kajese, Erik B Wilson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The incidence of obesity nationwide has led to an increase in both medicinal and surgical interventions, with recent studies indicating a drop in obesity prevalence for the first time in over a decade. Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass remains one of the most commonly performed bariatric procedures in the United States, accounting for about 22% of all bariatric surgeries in 2022. While considered a safe procedure, gastric bypass results in an anatomic configuration that poses a unique challenge from both a surveillance and interventional standpoint. The gastric remnant, biliopancreatic (BP) limb, and extrahepatic biliary tree are not readily accessible vis-à-vis esophagogastroduodenoscopy …

Structured Personalized Oxygen And Supportive Therapies For Dyspnea In Oncology (Spot-On): A Personalized Randomized Clinical Trial Protocol, David Hui, Min Ji Kim, Saji Thomas, Gautam Sachdev, Sanjay Shete, Nisha Rathi, Nicole Hensch, Vera De La Cruz, Amy Ontai, Donald A Mahler, Jie Li, Eduardo Bruera

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Low-flow supplemental oxygen (LFSO), high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC), and non-invasive ventilation (NIV) are often used for palliation of dyspnea in hospitalized patients. However, it is unclear how patients prefer to use these modalities and how they can be personalized for optimal dyspnea relief. The objective of this randomized clinical trial is to compare the effect of a personalized respiratory therapist (RT)-led intervention, termed SPOT-ON, and enhanced usual care on dyspnea intensity in both hypoxemic and non-hypoxemic hospitalized patients with cancer.

Methods: In this two-arm, parallel group, partially blinded, waitlist-controlled randomized clinical trial, hospitalized patients with advanced cancer and at …

Improved Survival And Decreased Cancer Deaths In Young Adults With Cancer After Passage Of The Affordable Care Act Dependent Coverage Expansion, Michael Roth, Clark R Andersen, Amy Berkman, Stuart Siegel, Branko Cuglievan, J Andrew Livingston, Michelle Hildebrandt, Jaime Estrada, Archie Bleyer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed Americans aged 19-25 years to remain on their parents' health insurance plans until age 26 years (the Dependent Care Expansion [DCE]). Have those with cancer diagnoses benefited?

Methods: The ACE DCE 7-year age range of 19-25 years was compared for changes in cancer survival and mortality before and after enactment of the ACA with groups that were younger and older (in 7-year age spans: ages 12-18 and 26-32 years, respectively). Cancer death data for the entire United States were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and relative …

Utility Of Pre-Procedural [99mtc]Tcmaa Spect/Ct Multicompartment Dosimetry For Treatment Planning Of 90y Glass Microspheres In Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Comparison Of Anatomic Versus [99mtc]Tcmaa-Based Segmentation, Marnix Lam, Etienne Garin, Paul Haste, Alban Denys, Brian Geller, S Cheenu Kappadath, Cuneyt Turkmen, Daniel Y Sze, Hamad Saleh Alsuhaibani, Ken Herrmann, Marco Maccauro, Murat Cantasdemir, Matthew Dreher, Kirk D Fowers, Vanessa Gates, Riad Salem

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Pre-treatment [99mTc]TcMAA-based radioembolization treatment planning using multicompartment dosimetry involves the definition of the tumor and normal tissue compartments and calculation of the prescribed absorbed doses. The aim was to compare the real-world utility of anatomic and [99mTc]TcMAA-based segmentation of tumor and normal tissue compartments.

Materials and methods: Included patients had HCC treated by glass [90Y]yttrium microspheres, ≥ 1 tumor, ≥ 3 cm diameter and [99mTc]TcMAA SPECT/CT imaging before treatment. Segmentation was performed retrospectively using dedicated dosimetry software: (1) anatomic (diagnostic CT/MRI-based), and (2) [99mTc]TcMAA threshold-based (i.e., using an activity-isocontour threshold). CT/MRI was co-registered with [99mTc]TcMAA SPECT/CT. Logistic regression and …

Sex And Apoe Ε4 Allele Differences In Longitudinal White Matter Microstructure In Multiple Cohorts Of Aging And Alzheimer's Disease, Amalia Peterson, Aditi Sathe, Dimitrios Zaras, Yisu Yang, Alaina Durant, Kacie D Deters, Niranjana Shashikumar, Kimberly R Pechman, Michael E Kim, Chenyu Gao, Nazirah Mohd Khairi, Zhiyuan Li, Tianyuan Yao, Yuankai Huo, Logan Dumitrescu, Katherine A Gifford, Jo Ellen Wilson, Francis E Cambronero, Shannon L Risacher, Lori L Beason-Held, Yang An, Konstantinos Arfanakis, Guray Erus, Christos Davatzikos, Duygu Tosun, Arthur W Toga, Paul M Thompson, Elizabeth C Mormino, Mohamad Habes, Di Wang, Panpan Zhang, Kurt Schilling, Marilyn Albert, Walter Kukull, Sarah A Biber, Bennett A Landman, Sterling C Johnson, Julie Schneider, Lisa L Barnes, David A Bennett, Angela L Jefferson, Susan M Resnick, Andrew J Saykin, Timothy J Hohman, Derek B Archer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: The effects of sex and apolipoprotein E (APOE)-Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk factors-on white matter microstructure are not well characterized.

Methods: Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data from nine well-established longitudinal cohorts of aging were free water (FW)-corrected and harmonized. This dataset included 4741 participants (age = 73.06 ± 9.75) with 9671 imaging sessions over time. FW and FW-corrected fractional anisotropy (FAFWcorr) were used to assess differences in white matter microstructure by sex and APOE ε4 carrier status.

Results: Sex differences in FAFWcorr in projection tracts and APOE ε4 differences in FW limbic and occipital transcallosal tracts were most pronounced.

Discussion: …

Exploring The Role Of Reward Functioning In The Overlap Of Post-Traumatic Stress And Cocaine Use Disorder, Kate Hull, Hanaan Bing-Canar, Krista Miloslavich, Christopher Holden, Aneet Ahluwalia, Scott D Lane, Joy M Schmitz, Margaret C Wardle

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are common in people with cocaine use disorder (CUD), and even sub-threshold PSTD symptoms result in worse treatment outcomes. Difficulties with reward functioning may drive this comorbidity. Impairments in reward functioning are prominent in both PTSD and CUD and contribute to development of substance use problems after trauma. There are three distinct reward processes that may be involved in the PTSD/CUD overlap: consummatory reward (ability to experience pleasure), motivational reward (willingness to exert effort for rewards), and reward learning (adapting behavior based on reward history). Here we test whether impairments in these reward functions …

Immune Responses In Rodent Whole Eye Transplantation: Elucidation And Preliminary Investigations Into Rejection Diagnosis And Monitoring, Bing Li, Yong Wang, Charles R Owens, Touka Banaee, Charleen T Chu, Kayvon Jabbari, Anna D Lee, Neil J Khatter, Alan G Palestine, An-Jey A Su, Christene A Huang, Kia M Washington

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Whole Eye Transplantation (WET) offers potential for vision restoration but is hindered by the complex challenge of immune rejection. Understanding and closely monitoring these immunological responses is crucial for advancing WET. This study delves into the timeline and nature of immune responses in a rodent model of WET without immunosuppression, aiming to elucidate a detailed picture of the immune landscape post-transplantation and establish innovative diagnostic and monitoring methods.

Methods: We employed a multi-faceted approach to analyze immune responses post-WET, including assessments of gross changes in corneal transparency, thickness, and skin condition. Histopathological examinations of both ocular and surrounding skin …

Exposure Therapy Consortium: Outcomes Of The Proof-Of-Principle Study, Jasper A J Smits, Jonathan S Abramowitz, Rebecca A Anderson, Joanna J Arch, Daniel Badeja, Snir Barzilay, Amanda N Belanger, Thomas Borchert, Emma Bryant, Alane S Burger, Laura J Dixon, Christina D Dutcher, Hayley E Fitzgerald, Bronwyn M Graham, Anke Haberkamp, Stefan G Hofmann, Jürgen Hoyer, Jonathan D Huppert, David Johnson, Baraa Q Kabha, Alex Kirk, Jürgen Margraf, Peter M Mcevoy, Bryan Mcspadden, Jill Newby, Michael W Otto, Santiago Papini, E Marie Parsons, Andre Pittig, Roxana Pittig, Winfried Rief, Svenja Schaumburg, Kiara R Timpano, Lena Waltemate, Andre Wannemüller, Cornelia Weise, Exposure Therapy Consortium

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: This paper reports on the outcomes of a proof-of-principle study for the Exposure Therapy Consortium, a global network of researchers and clinicians who work to improve the effectiveness and uptake of exposure therapy. The study aimed to test the feasibility of the consortium's big-team science approach and test the hypothesis that adding post-exposure processing focused on enhancing threat reappraisal would enhance the efficacy of a one-session large-group interoceptive exposure therapy protocol for reducing anxiety sensitivity.

Methods: The study involved a multi-site cluster-randomized controlled trial comparing exposure with post-processing (ENHANCED), exposure without post-processing (STANDARD), and a stress management intervention (CONTROL) …

Moderately Hypofractionated, Preoperative Radiotherapy In Patients With Soft Tissue Sarcomas (Hyport-Sts): Updated Local Control, Late Toxicities, And Patient-Reported Outcomes, Andrew J Bishop, Devarati Mitra, Ahsan Farooqi, David M Swanson, Caroline Hempel, Tiara Willis, Chris Pearlnath, Wei-Lien Wang, Ravin Ratan, Neeta Somaiah, Robert S Benjamin, Keila E Torres, Kelly K Hunt, Christopher P Scally, Emily Z Keung, Robert L Satcher, Justin E Bird, Patrick P Lin, Bryan S Moon, Valerae O Lewis, Christina L Roland, B Ashleigh Guadagnolo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Moderately hypofractionated, preoperative radiotherapy in patients with soft tissue sarcomas (HYPORT-STS; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03819985) investigated a radiobiologically equivalent, moderately hypofractionated course of preoperative radiotherapy (RT) 15 × 2.85 Gy in patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Here, the authors report longer term follow-up to update local control and report late toxicities, as well as functional and patient-reported outcomes.

Methods: HYPORT-STS was a single-center, open-label, single-arm, prospective phase 2 clinical trial that enrolled 120 eligible adult patients with localized STS of the extremities or superficial trunk between 2018 and 2021. Patients received a 3-week course of preoperative RT followed …

Geographic Disparities In Access To Outpatient Stroke Rehabilitation In Texas, Joseph Wozny, Melissa Howard, Susan Doherty, Yenan Zhu, Kalyani Sonawane, Dorothea Parker, Lisa W Thomas, Bukola Azeez, Ndi Chukwumerije, Susan Varghese, Nicholas Hoang, Suja S Rajan, Charles Green, Vahed Maroufy, Trudy Millard Krause, Sean I Savitz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Outpatient rehabilitation plays a vital role in providing post-discharge care for stroke survivors' optimum recovery. Geographic variability in access to post-stroke rehabilitation care in rural areas is poorly understood.

Methods: This study used Medicare claims from 2016 to 2019 to estimate incidence of stroke discharges home and compared rehabilitation utilization rates after discharge from acute hospitalization in the state of Texas. We also examined spatial accessibility to post-discharge outpatient rehabilitation centers between rural and urban areas. We supplemented claims results with a survey to better understand locations where outpatient rehabilitation clinics provided services to stroke patients.

Results: After discharge …

Serum Metabolome Profiling In Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment Reveals Sex Differences In Lipid Metabolism, Rocio Diaz Escarcega, Vijay Kumar M J, Vasilia E Kyriakopoulos, Guadalupe J Ortiz, Aaron M Gusdon, Huihui Fan, Pedram Peesh, Maria P Blasco Conesa, Gabriela Delevati Colpo, Hilda W Ahnstedt, Lucy Couture, Stella H Kim, Miriam Hinojosa, Christine M Farrell, Sean P Marrelli, Akihiko Urayama, Bhanu P Ganesh, Paul E Schulz, Louise D Mccullough, Andrey S Tsvetkov

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects more women than men. Although women live longer than men, it is not longevity alone, but other factors, including metabolic changes, that contribute to the higher risk of AD in women. Metabolic pathways have been implicated in AD progression, but studies to date examined targeted pathways, leaving many metabolites unmeasured. Sex is often a neglected biological variable, and most metabolomic studies were not designed to investigate sex differences in metabolomic profiles. Here, we performed untargeted metabolomic profiling of sera from male and female patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a common precursor to AD, and matched …

Incidence Of Bacterial Blood Stream Infections In Patients With Acute Gvhd, Whitney Wallis, Alison M Gulbis, Tao Wang, Catherine J Lee, Akshay Sharma, Kirsten M Williams, Taiga Nishihori, Tim Prestidge, Lohith Gowda, Michael Byrne, Maxwell M Krem, Margaret L Macmillan, Carrie L Kitko, Joseph Pidala, Stephen R Spellman, Stephanie J Lee, Amin M Alousi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Bacterial bloodstream infections (BSI) can be a substantial contributor to complications of GVHD treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the risk for BSI from neutrophil engraftment through day 100 post transplant in patients with acute GVHD (AGVHD) based on organ involvement and severity. Patients (n = 4064) who underwent an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) reported to the CIBMTR registry were analyzed. Grade II-IV AGVHD occurred in 1607 (39.5%) patients and was associated with a greater day-100 incidence of post engraftment BSI than with grade 0/I (24.9 vs. 15.3%). Patients with grade III/IV AGVHD had the …

Long-Term Follow-Up Of A Phase 2 Study Of All-Trans Retinoic Acid, Arsenic Trioxide, And Gemtuzumab Ozogamicin In Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, Wei-Ying Jen, Jennifer Marvin-Peek, Hagop M Kantarjian, Yesid Alvarado, Gautam Borthakur, Elias Jabbour, William Wierda, Tapan M Kadia, Naval G Daver, Courtney D Dinardo, Nicholas J Short, Nitin Jain, Alessandra Ferrajoli, Steven Kornblau, Musa Yilmaz, Maro Ohanian, David Mccue, Jan Burger, Danielle Hammond, Keyur Patel, Ghayas C Issa, Naveen Pemmaraju, Koji Sasaki, Abhishek Maiti, Hussein A Abbas, Kelly Chien, Koichi Takahashi, Fadi Haddad, Prithviraj Bose, Lucia Masarova, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Mahesh Swaminathan, Mark Brandt, Sherry Pierce, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Farhad Ravandi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) combinations have produced excellent outcomes in patients with standard-risk acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Herein, the authors update their long-term results with the regimen of ATO-ATRA and gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO) in standard-risk and high-risk APL.

Methods: This was a phase 2 trial of patients with newly diagnosed APL. Induction comprised ATRA 45 mg/m2 and ATO 0.15 mg/kg daily. GO 6-9 mg/m2 was added for high-risk patients and for standard-risk patients who developed leukocytosis >10 × 109/L. Consolidation consisted of four courses of ATO-ATRA, with GO for patients who had PML::RARA persistence.

Results: …

Dose Planning And Radiation Optimization For Thoracic Conventional, Twice Daily, And Stereotactic Radiation Therapy: A Delphi Consensus From A National Survey Of Practitioners, Julius Weng, Jeff Ryckman, Matthew S Katz, Hina Saeed, Christopher Estes, Issam El Naqa, Amy Moreno, Sue S Yom

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: We sent surveys to a large number of radiation oncologists with active thoracic cancer practices and applied the Delphi method over 3 rounds to generate consensus dose-volume histogram metrics. We used these results to create consensus-based organs-at-risk dose constraints and target goal templates for practical implementation.

Methods and materials: In this institutional review board-approved study, data were collected using REDCap electronic data capture on a secure server. Radiation oncologists identified from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited departments' websites were asked to confirm their self-identification as thoracic radiation oncologists and nominate other respondents. All invitees were asked to …

Comparison Of Deep Learning Schemes In Grading Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Using B-Mode Ultrasound Hepatorenal Window Images With Liver Biopsy As The Gold Standard, Petros Drazinos, Ilias Gatos, Paraskevi F Katsakiori, Stavros Tsantis, Efstratios Syrmas, Stavros Spiliopoulos, Dimitris Karnabatidis, Ioannis Theotokas, Pavlos Zoumpoulis, John D Hazle, George C Kagadis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/introduction: To evaluate the performance of pre-trained deep learning schemes (DLS) in hepatic steatosis (HS) grading of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) patients, using as input B-mode US images containing right kidney (RK) cortex and liver parenchyma (LP) areas indicated by an expert radiologist.

Methods: A total of 112 consecutively enrolled, biopsy-validated NAFLD patients underwent a regular abdominal B-mode US examination. For each patient, a radiologist obtained a B-mode US image containing RK cortex and LP and marked a point between the RK and LP, around which a window was automatically cropped. The cropped image dataset was augmented using up-sampling, …

Prevalence Of Carotid Ultrasound Screening In Survivors Of Childhood Cancer: A Report From The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, Yolanda Bryce, Jillian A Whitton, Kayla L Stratton, Wendy M Leisenring, Eric J Chow, Gregory Armstrong, Brent Weil, Bryan Dieffenbach, Rebecca M Howell, Kevin C Oeffinger, Paul C Nathan, Emily S Tonorezos

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Many childhood cancer survivors are at risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke. The North American Children's Oncology Group long-term follow-up guidelines recommend carotid ultrasound in cancer survivors 10 years after neck radiation therapy (RT) ≥40 Gy. The use of carotid ultrasound in this population has not been described.

Methods: Survivors of childhood cancer diagnosed 1970-1999 (N = 8693) and siblings (N = 1989) enrolled in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study were asked if they had ever had a carotid ultrasound. Prevalence of carotid ultrasound was evaluated. Prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were evaluated in multivariate Poisson …

Safety And Activity Of Ctx130, A Cd70-Targeted Allogeneic Crispr-Cas9-Engineered Car T-Cell Therapy, In Patients With Relapsed Or Refractory T-Cell Malignancies (Cobalt-Lym): A Single-Arm, Open-Label, Phase 1, Dose-Escalation Study, Swaminathan P Iyer, R Alejandro Sica, P Joy Ho, Anca Prica, Jasmine Zain, Francine M Foss, Boyu Hu, Amer Beitinjaneh, Wen-Kai Weng, Youn H Kim, Michael S Khodadoust, Auris O Huen, Leah M Williams, Anna Ma, Elaine Huang, Avanti Ganpule, Shashwat Deepali Nagar, Parin Sripakdeevong, Erika L Cullingford, Sushant Karnik, Mary-Lee Dequeant, Janki N Patel, Xinyi Shirley He, Ziliang Li, Qiuling Ally He, Joy H Mendonez, Alissa Keegan, Steven M Horwitz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Effective treatment options are scarce for relapsed or refractory T-cell lymphoma. This study assesses the safety and activity of CTX130 (volamcabtagene durzigedleucel), a CD70-directed, allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) immunotherapy manufactured from healthy donor T cells, in patients with relapsed or refractory T-cell lymphoma.

Methods: This single-arm, open-label, phase 1 study was done at ten medical centres across the USA, Australia, and Canada in patients (aged ≥18 years) with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma or cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, who had received at least one or at least two previous systemic therapy lines, respectively, and had an Eastern Cooperative …

Efficacy Of A Smartphone Application Assisting Home-Based Rehabilitation And Symptom Management For Patients With Lung Cancer Undergoing Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Lobectomy: A Prospective, Single-Blinded, Randomised Control Trial (Popper Study, Chao Lv, Fangliang Lu, Xiugeng Zhou, Xiang Li, Wenhua Yu, Chune Zhang, Kaishen Chen, Songtao Du, Chao Han, Jia Wang, Yuzhao Wang, Shaolei Li, Liang Wang, Yinan Liu, Shanyuan Zhang, Miao Huang, Dongdong Song, Dachuan Zhao, Bing Liu, Yaqi Wang, Xinrun Cui, Zhiwei Zhou, Shi Yan, Nan Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lobectomy can affect patients' pulmonary function and quality of life significantly. No optimal protocol combining patient-reported outcome-based symptom management and postdischarge rehabilitation programme has yet been established. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a novel smartphone app designed for home-based symptom management and rehabilitation.

Methods: The app was developed based on three modules: a symptom reporting system with alerts, aerobic and respiratory training exercises, and educational material. Four core symptoms were selected based on a questionnaire survey of 201 patients and three rounds of Delphi voting by 30 experts. The authors screened 265 patients …

Predicting Sinonasal Inverted Papilloma Attachment Using Machine Learning: Current Lessons And Future Directions, Sean P Mckee, Xiaomin Liang, William C Yao, Brady Anderson, Jumah G Ahmad, David Z Allen, Salman Hasan, Andy J Chua, Chinmay Mokashi, Samia Islam, Amber U Luong, Martin J Citardi, Luca Giancardo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Hyperostosis is a common radiographic feature of inverted papilloma (IP) tumor origin on computed tomography (CT). Herein, we developed a machine learning (ML) model capable of analyzing CT images and identifying IP attachment sites.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients treated for IP at our institution was performed. The tumor attachment site was manually segmented on CT scans by the operating surgeon. We used a nnU-Net model, a state-of-the-art deep learning-based segmentation algorithm that automatically configures image preprocessing, network architecture, training, and post-processing to identify the IP attachment site. The model was trained and evaluated using a 5-fold cross …

Empathy Unmasked: Patient Perception Of Physician Empathy In An Oncologic Emergency Setting A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Personal Protective Equipment Wear Versus Unmasked Video Communication, Kathryn J Burk, John J Stroh, Kelly Larkin, Patrick Chaftari, Denise M Langabeer, Jazmin R Menendez, Jeanie F Woodruff, Jan Hargrave, Hongxu Zhu, James P Long, Sai-Ching J Yeung, Kumar Alagappan, Aiham Qdaisat

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine emerged as an important option that supports and facilitates clinical practice, however, its usefulness in emergency settings that treat patients with cancer is unclear.

Objective: To evaluate patient perception of physician empathy in an emergency oncology setting, comparing video interaction to an in-person with personal protective equipment (PPE) approach.

Methods: In this single-center, prospective, cross-sectional, survey-based randomized controlled trial, patients were randomized 1:1 for the concluding conversation done in-person which included either interacting with physicians wearing PPE or video interaction with physicians without PPE (virtual). Patients' perceptions of the physicians' relational empathy were assessed …

Weighted Hypoxemia Index: An Adaptable Method For Quantifying Hypoxemia Severity, Diane C Lim, Cheng-Bang Chen, Ankita Paul, Yujie Wang, Jinyoung Kim, Soonhyun Yook, Emily Y Kim, Edison Q Kim, Anup Das, Medhi Wangpaichitr, Virend K Somers, Chi Hang Lee, Phyllis C Zee, Toshihiro Imamura, Hosung Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To quantitate hypoxemia severity.

Methods: We developed the Weighted Hypoxemia Index to be adapted to different clinical settings by applying 5 steps to the oxygen saturation curve: (1) Identify desaturation/resaturation event [Formula: see text] by setting the upper threshold; (2) Exclude events as artifact by setting a lower threshold; (3) Calculate weighted area for each [Formula: see text] as [Formula: see text]; (4) Calculate a normalization factor [Formula: see text] for each subject; (5) Calculate the Weighted Hypoxemia Index as the summation of all weighted areas multiplied by [Formula: see text]. We assessed the Weighted Hypoxemia Index predictive value …

Novel Use And Value Of Contrast-Enhanced Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging Morphologic And Radiomic Features In Predicting Extremity Soft Tissue Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma Treatment Response, Raul F Valenzuela, Elvis De Jesus Duran Sierra, Mathew A Canjirathinkal, Behrang Amini, Ken-Pin Hwang, Jingfei Ma, Keila E Torres, R Jason Stafford, Wei-Lien Wang, Robert S Benjamin, Andrew J Bishop, John E Madewell, William A Murphy, Colleen M Costelloe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas (UPSs) demonstrate therapy-induced hemosiderin deposition, granulation tissue formation, fibrosis, and calcification. We aimed to determine the treatment-assessment value of morphologic tumoral hemorrhage patterns and first- and high-order radiomic features extracted from contrast-enhanced susceptibility-weighted imaging (CE-SWI).

Materials and methods: This retrospective institutional review board-authorized study included 33 patients with extremity UPS with magnetic resonance imaging and resection performed from February 2021 to May 2023. Volumetric tumor segmentation was obtained at baseline, postsystemic chemotherapy (PC), and postradiation therapy (PRT). The pathology-assessed treatment effect (PATE) in surgical specimens separated patients into responders (R; ≥90%, n = 16), partial responders …

Tissue And Imaging Biomarkers Of Response To Neoadjuvant Nivolumab Or Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab In Patients With Resectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Michael Lapelusa, Shadi Chamseddine, Hop Sanderson Tran Cao, Lianchun Xiao, Elshad Hasanov, Priya Bhosale, Hesham M Amin, Yehia I Mohamed, Betul Gok Yavuz, Yara Sakr, Li Xu, Ian Hu, Sunyoung S Lee, Divya Sakamuri, Sonali Jindal, Van Nguyen, Michael A Curran, Ryan Sun, Asif Rashid, Dan Gabriel Duda, Padmanee Sharma, Aliya Qayyum, Ahmed Omar Kaseb

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Perioperative immunotherapy has shown promise in some patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study examined tissue and imaging biomarkers associated with pathologic response in a phase II clinical trial in patients with resectable HCC.

Methods: Analysis included 18 patients with biopsy-proven resectable HCC treated with neoadjuvant nivolumab plus ipilimumab or nivolumab alone in a phase II clinical trial at MD Anderson Cancer Center (NCT03222076). Liver MRE (to measure tissue fibrosis) and biopsies (to evaluate immune activation markers) were obtained serially pretreatment and after completing neoadjuvant immunotherapy. A major pathologic response (MPR) was defined as tumor necrosis …

Knowledge-Based Planning For Fully Automated Radiation Therapy Treatment Planning Of 10 Different Cancer Sites, Christine V Chung, Meena S Khan, Adenike Olanrewaju, Mary Pham, Quyen T Nguyen, Tina Patel, Prajnan Das, Michael S O'Reilly, Valerie K Reed, Anuja Jhingran, Hannah Simonds, Ethan B Ludmir, Karen E Hoffman, Komeela Naidoo, Jeannette Parkes, Ajay Aggarwal, Lauren L Mayo, Shalin J Shah, Chad Tang, Beth M Beadle, Julie Wetter, Gary Walker, Simon Hughes, Vinod Mullassery, Stephen Skett, Christopher Thomas, Lifei Zhang, Son Nguyen, Raymond P Mumme, Raphael J Douglas, Hana Baroudi, Laurence E Court

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Radiation treatment planning is highly complex and can have significant inter- and intra-planner inconsistency, as well as variability in planning time and plan quality. Knowledge-based planning (KBP) is a tool that can be used to efficiently produce high-quality, consistent, clinically acceptable plans, independent of planner skills and experience. In this study, we created and validated multiple clinically acceptable and fully automatable KBP models, with the goal of creating VMAT plans without user intervention.

Methods: Ten KBP models were configured using high quality clinical plans from a single institution. They were then honed to be part of a fully automatable …

Characterizing Spatial Immune Architecture In Metastatic Melanoma Using High-Dimensional Multiplex Imaging, Joel Eliason, Santhoshi Krishnan, Yasunari Fukuda, Matias A Bustos, Dan Winkowski, Sungnam Cho, Akshay Basi, Regan Baird, Elizabeth A Grimm, Michael A Davies, Dave S B Hoon, Arvind Rao, Jared K Burks, Suhendan Ekmekcioglu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have significantly improved survival for patients with metastatic melanoma, yet many experienceresistance due to immunosuppressive mechanisms within the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). Understanding how the spatial architecture of immune and inflammatory components changes across disease stages may reveal novel prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Methods: We performed high-dimensional spatial profiling of two melanoma tissue microarrays (TMAs), representing Stage III (n = 157) and Stage IV (n = 248) metastatic tumors. Using imaging mass cytometry (IMC) and multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF), we characterized the phenotypic, functional, and spatial properties of the TIME. Cellular neighborhoods were …

Epidemiology Of Patient Record Duplication, Onur Sahin, Audrey Zhao, Reuben Joseph Applegate, Todd R Johnson, Elmer V Bernstam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Duplicate patient records can increase costs and medical errors. We assessed the association between demographic factors, comorbidities, health care usage, and duplicate electronic health records.

Methods: We analyzed the association between duplicate patient records and multiple demographic variables (race, Hispanic ethnicity, sex, and age) as well as the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), number of diagnoses, and number of health care encounters. The study population included 3,018,413 patients seen at a large urban academic medical center with at least one recorded diagnosis. Duplication of patient medical records was determined by using a previously validated enterprise Master Person Index.

Results: Unknown …

18 Kda Translocator Protein (Tspo) Is Upregulated In Rat Brain After Peripheral Nerve Injury And Downregulated By Diroximel Fumarate, Rafael A Cazuza, Sever M Zagrai, Anamaria R Grieco, Thomas D Avery, Andrew D Abell, Hsiao-Ying Wey, Marco L Loggia, Peter M Grace

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Neuroimmune signaling is a key process underlying neuropathic pain. Clinical studies have demonstrated that 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO), a putative marker of neuroinflammation, is upregulated in discrete brain regions of patients with chronic pain. However, no preclinical studies have investigated TSPO dynamics in the brain in the context of neuropathic pain and in response to analgesic treatments. We used positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) and [18F]-PBR06 radioligand to measure TSPO levels in the brain across time after chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve in both male and female rats. Up to 10 weeks post-CCI, TSPO expression was …

High-Grade B-Cell Lymphoma Not Otherwise Specified, With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Gene Expression Signatures: Genomic Analysis And Potential Therapeutics, Waseem Lone, Alyssa Bouska, Tyler A Herek, Catalina Amador, Joo Song, Alexander M Xu, Dylan Jochum, Issa Ismail Issa, Dennis D Weisenburger, Xuan Zhang, Sharath Kumar Bhagavathi, Tayla B Heavican-Foral, Sunandini Sharma, Ab Rauf Shah, Abdul Rouf Mir, Aisha Ahmad Alkhinji, Dalia El-Gamal, Bhavana J Dave, Keenan Hartert, Jiayu Yu, Mallick Saumyaranjan, Timothy C Greiner, Julie Vose, Timothy W Mckeithan, Kai Fu, Michael Green, Chengfeng Bi, Akil Merchant, Wing C Chan, Javeed Iqbal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

High-grade B-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified (HGBCL, NOS) has overlapping morphological and genetic features with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and Burkitt lymphoma (BL), leading to uncertainty in its diagnosis and clinical management. Using functional genomic approaches, we previously characterized HGBCL and NOS, that demonstrate gene expression profiling (GEP), and genetic signatures similar to BL. Herein, we characterize distinct HGBCL, NOS, cohort (n = 55) in adults (n = 45) and in children (n = 10), and compared the GEP, genomic DNA copy number (CN), and mutational spectrum with de novo DLBCL (n = 85) and BL (n = 52). …