Medical Specialties Commons^™

A Phase 2 Study Of Cpx-351 In Combination With Venetoclax In Patients With Newly Diagnosed High-Risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Wei-Ying Jen, Jennifer Croden, Emmanuel Almanza-Huante, Courtney Dinardo, Kelly Chien, Danielle Hammond, Wei Qiao, Yesid Alvarado, Lucia Masarova, Andres E Quesada, Sherry Pierce, Alex Bataller, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Amin Alousi, Nicholas Short, Naval Daver, Farhad Ravandi, Hagop Kantarjian, Tapan M Kadia

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Venetoclax has been combined with intensive chemotherapy regimens in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of venetoclax combined with full‐dose CPX‐351 (CPX + VEN) in newly diagnosed (ND) AML. Seventeen patients with a median age of 59 years (range, 43–69) were treated; 71% had secondary AML, 47% had prior hypomethylating agent (HMA) exposure, 59% had myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)‐related (MR) mutations, 47% had complex karyotype, and 29% were TP53 mutated. The overall response rate (ORR) was 82% (95% CI, 57–96) with a composite complete remission rate (CRc) of 71% (95% CI, 50–93). …

Lesion Absorbed Dose-Response Relationship In Patients With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Undergoing [177lu]Lu-Psma-617 Radiopharmaceutical Therapy, Milan Grkovski, Simone S Krebs, Joseph A O'Donoghue, Jonathan Kuten, Audrey Mauguen, Parnian Shobeiri, Daniel Lafontaine, Maria Thor, Finn Augensen, Josef J Fox, Neeta Pandit-Taskar, Mark P Dunphy, Lisa Bodei, John L Humm, Heiko Schöder

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The relationship between lesion absorbed dose (AD) and response in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer undergoing [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) remains poorly understood. The objective of this work was to investigate the AD-response relationship at both the patient and lesion levels.

Methods: Sixty-five patients underwent serial SPECT/CT imaging after receiving 7.31 ± 0.27 GBq of [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617. Single-time-point (STP) (Hänscheid approximation at 72 h) and multiple-time-point voxelwise dosimetry were performed. Patient response was evaluated by changes in serum prostate-specific antigen level before and after cycle 1 of RPT. The response of individual lesions was evaluated by the change in the …

Pka-Driven Spp1 Activation As A Novel Mechanism Connecting The Bone Microenvironment To Prostate Cancer Progression, Pablo Sanchis, Agustina Sabater, Julia Lechuga, Jimena Rada, Rocio Seniuk, Gaston Pascual, Mora Gatti, Juan Bizzotto, Peter D A Shepherd, Jun Yang, Javier Cotignola, Elba Vazquez, Joaquin Mateo, Pia Valacco, Estefania Labanca, Christopher Logothetis, Geraldine Gueron, Nicolas Anselmino

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Prostate cancer (PCa) bone metastasis (BM) poses a significant clinical challenge due to the heterogeneity of treatment responses and patient outcomes. In this study, we examined the role of Protein Kinase A (PKA) signaling in modulating the expression of osteopontin (SPP1/OPN), a protein associated with poor prognosis, within a subset of PCa BM patients. By integrating multi-omics results we identified a novel mechanism in which bone-derived type-I collagen (Col1a1) and fibronectin (Fn1) stimulate SPP1 expression in PCa cells through the activation of PKA signaling. This bone-induced regulation of SPP1 was confirmed both in vitro, using PCa-bone co-culture systems (PC3 or …

Alterations In Region-Specific Gray Matter Volume Underlying Callous Unemotional Traits In Adolescents, Johannah Bashford-Largo, Ru Zhang, R James R Blair, Karina S Blair, Jaimie Elowsky, Matthew Dobbertin, Ahria J Dominguez, Melissa Hatch, Tyler Patrick, Sahil Bajaj

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Callous-unemotional (CU) traits during adolescence, for example, shallow affect or lack of remorse, have been shown to be a risk marker for antisocial behavior. Only a few studies have investigated structural brain alterations underlying CU traits, and findings are inconclusive. The study examines CU symptomatology and gray matter volume (GMV) associations.

Methods: Structural brain MRI data were collected from a sample of 578 adolescents (60% male) with a mean age of 14.85 years (SD = 2.30; range = 10-19 years). CU traits were indexed via the Inventory for Callous Unemotional Traits (ICU). Region-wise volumetric parameters were obtained following parcellation …

Outcomes Of Adult Patients With Newly Diagnosed Idh-Mutated Aml Treated With Intensive Chemotherapy And Venetoclax, Jennifer Croden, Wei-Ying Jen, Jennifer Marvin-Peek, Lianchun Xiao, Ian M Bouligny, Sanam Loghavi, Gautam Borthakur, Naval G Daver, Hussein A Abbas, Koichi Takahashi, Koji Sasaki, Naveen Pemmaraju, Nicholas J Short, Danielle Hammond, Elias Jabbour, Lucia Masarova, Kelly S Chien, Ghayas C Issa, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Musa Yilmaz, Abhishek Maiti, Yesid Alvarado-Valero, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Farhad Ravandi, Marina Y Konopleva, Hagop M Kantarjian, Tapan M Kadia, Courtney D Dinardo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

From Nociception In Aneural Animals To Human Suffering: Toward A Comparative Biology Of Pain, Edgar T Walters

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pain is a core feature of human life, but systematic comparisons of this biological trait across taxa have been rare. A broadly accepted definition based on human experience emphasizes dual features of pain: a sensory (discriminative) component for sensing and monitoring tissue injury, and an affective (emotional) component to motivate avoidance of tissue distress. Conscious pain is coupled to unconscious nociception (detection of incipient or existing injury). This Review considers nociception and pain across phyla within a comparative framework, addressing basic questions about evolutionary origins, mechanisms and functions of pain. The occurrence of adaptive cellular responses to injury in virtually …

Ambient Artificial Intelligence In Health Care Documentation: A Review Of Tools, Integration, And Clinical Implications, Jasmin Hundal, Molly Jain Md, Joseph Mccollom Do

PCI Publications and Projects

Introduction: Ambient artificial intelligence (AAI) is increasingly being integrated into clinical workflows to address the documentation burden contributing to clinician burnout. AAI systems use automatic speech recognition and natural language processing to capture real-time clinician–patient dialogue and generate structured documentation within the electronic health record. Methods: This review examines AAI’s technical foundations, clinical applications, and implementation considerations in oncology practice. We describe how current AAI tools extract, classify, and populate relevant clinical content, such as the history of present illness, physical examination findings, and assessment and plan, while adhering to established US coding standards (e.g., International Classification of Diseases [ICD-10]). …

Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection For Previously Attempted Colorectal Lesions: An International Multicenter Experience., Suchapa Arayakarnkul, Hiroyuki Aihara, Alessandro Repici, Roberta Maselli, Antonio Capogreco, Leonardo Da Rio, Fabio Shiguehissa Kawaguti, Fauze Maluf-Filho, Makoto Nishimura, Sera Satoi, Sayaka Nagao, Shai Friedland, Robert Bechara, Norio Fukami, Sonmoon Mohapatra, Amit Bhatt, Abel Joseph, Alex Schlachterman, Anand Kumar, Andrew Y Wang, Ross C D Buerlein, Louis M Wong Kee Song, Fnu Deepali, Dennis Yang, Muhammad K Hasan, Nikhil A Kumta, David L Diehl, Edward J Despott, Alberto Murino, Alessandro Rimondi, Laura Lucaciu, Neil R Sharma, Christina Zelt, Ashley Rumple Rn, Bsn, David Leslie Carr-Locke, Reem Z Sharaiha, Srihari Mahadev, Kamal M Hassan, Mohamad-Noor Abu-Hammour, Carlos Robles-Medranda, Martha Arevalo-Mora, Juan Alcivar-Vasquez, Vivek Kumbhari, Jongkyu Park, Salmaan Jawaid, Mai A Khalaf, Kasenee Tiankanon, Sarah S Al Ghamdi, Mohamed O Othman, Saowanee Ngamruengphong

PCI Publications and Projects

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Salvage endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has been proposed for previously attempted colorectal lesions (PACLs), yet the extensive submucosal fibrosis impacts procedural difficulty and resection outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of salvage ESD for the treatment of PACLs.

METHODS: This international, multicenter study enrolled consecutive patients who underwent ESD to manage PACLs. Rates of en bloc, R0 resection, and local recurrence were assessed for efficacy. Safety was assessed by adverse events (AEs), procedure-related mortality, and the need for surgical management.

RESULTS: Of 415 lesions, en bloc rate was 83.4%, the …

Engagement In And Correlates Of Total Cutaneous Exams And Skin Self-Exams Among Young Melanoma Survivors And Their Family, Sharon L Manne, Deborah A Kashy, Sherry Pagoto, Susan K Peterson, Carolyn J Heckman, Joseph Gallo, Adam Berger, David B Buller, Alexandria Kulik, Sara Frederick, Morgan Pesanelli

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Young adult melanoma survivors and their close family (first degree relatives/FDRs) are at increased risk for developing a melanoma, but little is known about engagement in and correlates of their clinical skin exam (CSE) and skin self-examination (SSE) behaviors. Five hundred and seventy-four YA survivors and their FDRs completed an online survey assessing engagement in CSE and SSE, as well as measures of background factors, cognitive and psychosocial factors, CSE and SSE planning, and family influences. Approximately 90% of YAs had a CSE and 90% performed SSE in the last year, but engagement in CSE among FDRs was lower (63.2%, …

Fructose And Glucose From Sugary Drinks Enhance Colorectal Cancer Metastasis Via Sord, Tianshi Feng, Qin Luo, Yanlin Liu, Zeyu Jin, David Skwarchuk, Rumi Lee, Miso Nam, John M Asara, Daya R Adye, Philip L Lorenzi, Lin Tan, Guangsheng Pei, Zhongming Zhao, Neda Zarrin-Khameh, Adriana Paulucci-Holthauzen, Brian W Simons, Ju-Seog Lee, Scott Kopetz, Jihye Yun

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), which contain high levels of fructose and glucose, has been causally and mechanistically linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the effects of SSB consumption on advanced stages of disease progression, including metastasis, remain poorly understood. Here we show that exposure of CRC cells to a glucose and fructose formulation-reflecting the composition of both high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose found in SSBs-enhances cellular motility and metastatic potential compared to glucose alone. Given that CRC cells grow poorly in fructose alone, and cells in vivo are not physiologically exposed to fructose without …

Accelerating Precision Exercise Medicine In Cancer Patients Using Pooled Individual Patient Data: Polaris Experience, Laurien M. Buffart, Marlou Floor Kenkhuis, Robert U. Newton, Anne M. May, Daniel A. Galvão, Kerry S. Courneya

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Numerous exercise oncology trials have been completed, greatly informing exercise recommendations for patients with cancer. Exercise medicine can be administered in various types, doses, and schedules at various time points. Advancing precision exercise medicine requires understanding of how the effects of different exercise interventions vary by characteristics of individual patients. The Predicting OptimaL cAncer RehabIlitation and Supportive care (POLARIS) study provides an international infrastructure and shared database to perform pooled analyses of individual patient data (IPD) from multiple randomized controlled trials. This commentary aims to highlight the value of pooled IPD analyses, summarize key findings from published pooled IPD analyses …

An Online Treatment Decision Aid For Men With Low-Risk Prostate Cancer Eligible For Active Surveillance And Their Partners Increases The Uptake Of Active Surveillance: The Navigate Randomised Controlled Trial, Penelope Schofield, Stephen Quinn, Natalie Richards, Alan White, Fiona White, Mark Frydenberg, Suzanne Chambers, Louisa G. Gordon, Robert Alexander Frank Gardiner, Declan G. Murphy, Matthew J. Roberts, John Yaxley, Nathan Lawrentschuk, Kevin Chu, Jeremy Millar, Jeremy Grummet, Ilona Juraskova

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background and objective: Evidence suggests that curative treatment for low-risk prostate cancer (LRPC) has no survival benefits over active surveillance (AS); thus, treatment choice becomes a value-sensitive decision. Decision aids (DAs) have the potential to facilitate this process, yet no DA has been tailored to the Australian health care system or population. This study aims to evaluate the impact of an online DA (Navigate) on the uptake of AS, quality of life, and decision-making in Australia. Methods: This parallel-group, prospective, randomised controlled trial recruited men (from May 2017 to May 2021) from participating cancer centres, via self-referral, or via clinician …

Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Microrna-7-5p Expression And Biological Significance In Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Rikki A.M. Brown, Michael Phillips, Andrew J. Woo, Omar Kujan, Stephanie Flukes, Louise N. Winteringham, Larissa C. Dymond, Fiona Wheeler, Brianna Pollock, Dianne J. Beveridge, Elena Denisenko, Peter J. Leedman

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a prevalent malignancy with poor clinical outcomes. microRNA-7-5p (miR-7-5p) has been described as both a tumour suppressor and an oncomiR depending on the tissue context, but its role in HNSCC remains unclear. This study aimed to clarify the clinical significance and biological function of miR-7-5p in HNSCC by integrating data from multiple sources. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify studies analysing miRNA expression in human head and neck tissues. A meta-analysis of individual patient data from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), ArrayExpress, and The Cancer Genome Atlas …

Htlv-1 And Atll: Epidemiology, Oncogenesis, And Opportunities For Community-Informed Research In The United States, Adrian D. Altieri, Sean P. Reilly, Abu Mansalay, Alan Khoo, Nettie Johnson, Zafar K. Khan, Amy Leader, Pooja Jain, Pierluigi Porcu

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), the first oncogenic human retrovirus, causes adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), an aggressive neoplasm of mature CD4+ T-cells that is incurable in most patients and is associated with a median survival of less than 1 year. HTLV-1 also causes inflammatory disorders, including HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and uveitis. The estimated lifetime risks of ATLL and HAM/TSP in HTLV-1 carriers are 3-5% and 0.25-1.8%, respectively. Although there is uncertainty about other health effects of HTLV-1, a recent meta-analysis showed an association between HTLV-1 and cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and metabolic diseases and a 57% increased risk …

Design And Application Of A Tau Seed Amplification Assay For Screening Inhibitors Of Tau Seeding, Damian Gorski, Haley Evans, Tyler Allison, Carla Barria, Danielle Harrison, Victor Banerjee, Nicolas Mendez, Mohammad Shahnawaz, Sanne Kaalund, Jonas Folke, Susana Aznar, Paul Schultz, Fei Wang, Claudio Soto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Tau protein aggregates are a key pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and are closely associated with cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. It is proposed that tau aggregates faithfully propagate throughout the brain by self-templating their disease-associated conformation onto natively-folded tau monomers, thereby inducing their aggregation and incorporation into growing fibrils. As such, the inhibition or modulation of tau seeding and aggregation represents a viable therapeutic strategy for AD and other tauopathies.

Methods: We have recently developed seed amplification assays (SAA) for the detection and amplification of small quantities of misfolded protein aggregates in various neurodegenerative diseases. In this article, …

Improving Data-Driven Gated (Ddg) Pet And Ct Registration In Thoracic Lesions: A Comparison Of Ai Registration And Ddg Ct, Tinsu Pan, M Allan Thomas, Yang Lu, Dershan Luo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Misregistration between CT and PET can result in mis-localization and inaccurate quantification of the tracer uptake in PET. Data-driven gated (DDG) CT can correct registration and quantification but requires a radiation dose of 1.3 mSv and 1 min of acquisition time. AI registration (AIR) does not require an additional CT and has been validated to improve registration and reduce the 'banana' misregistration artifacts around the diaphragm. We aimed to compare a validated AIR and DDG CT in registration and quantification of avid thoracic lesions misregistered in DDG PET scans.

Methods: Thirty PET/CT patient data (23 with 18F-FDG, 4 with …

Decreased Risk Of Incident Cancer Among Patients With Vitiligo: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Analysis, Rahib K. Islam, Ivan D. Nguyen, Kazi N. Islam, Lacey M. Falgout, Jonathan M. Joseph, Collins T. Langley, Christopher J. Haas

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Current States In Understanding Oligodendroglia-Mediated Neurological Issues In Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (Nf1), Benjamin E Aghoghovwia, Cheng-En Shen, Sabiha Bano, Nandini Shyamala, Alesandra Echeandia Marrero, Khushboo Irshad, Samer Sharafaldin, Nicole M Brossier, Yuan Pan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is among the most common neurogenetic disorders and is associated with an increased risk of developing tumors in the nervous system. Additionally, up to 80% of patients with NF1 experience neurological complications, including deficits in attention, memory, and executive function. Significant effort has been dedicated to studying how NF1 mutations autonomously dysregulate neuronal function. Increasing evidence indicates that NF1 mutations also dysregulate the oligodendroglial lineage that contributes to neurological issues in NF1. Here, we summarize our current understanding of how NF1 mutations impact the oligodendroglial lineage homeostasis and plasticity. We also discuss gaps in knowledge, potential …

Evaluation Of Image Quality In Mobile Cone-Beam Ct With Dose Modulation Using Automatic Exposure Control: A Phantom Study, Keita Okazaki, Wenchao Cao, Reza Taleei, Firas Mourtada, Jun Li, Karen Mooney, Pramila Rani Anne, Yingxuan Chen

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The integration of mobile cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) into brachytherapy workflows offers clinical advantages such as immediate verification of applicator placement and adaptive treatment planning. These benefits require sufficient image quality to delineate applicators, target volumes, and organs at risk. A systematic evaluation of automatic exposure control (AEC) settings, radiation dose, and image quality is essential to ensure clinically acceptable imaging while minimizing patient exposure.

PURPOSE: This study evaluates the characteristics of AEC and its impact on image quality and radiation dose in a mobile CBCT system used for brachytherapy.

METHODS: The Elekta ImagingRing CBCT system was used to …

Microtia, Peng You, Yi-Chun Liu, Caitlin Symonette

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Survival Impact And Sociodemographic Correlates Of Colon Cancer Surgery, Refusal, Paola Berrios Jimenez, Angel Aguayo Merly, Ramin Shekouhi, Berkay Demirors, Jade C. Bowers, Vishal Abhimutt Mahesh, Anjali Yadav, Bansi P. Savaliya, Reed Popp, Syeda Hoorulain Ahmed, Esinam Ekpeh, Guido Chiriboga, Emmanuel Gabriel

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background/Aim: Surgical treatment for colon cancer is often curative when diagnosed early. This study evaluated the sociodemographic characteristics and survival outcomes associated with refusal of surgery among patients with colon cancer. The objective was to identify disparities to improve patient outcomes. Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) data from 2004 to 2019, including 1,048,575 patients with colon cancer. Variables analyzed included demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment facility type, and geographic and socioeconomic factors. Descriptive statistics were assessed using Wilcoxon Rank Sum and Chi-square tests. Survival outcomes were evaluated using Kaplan–Meier analysis and …

Association Between Therapeutic Alliance And Clinical Outcomes In Virtual Telepsychiatry: A Retrospective Analysis Of Data From Talkiatry, Cheryl Person, Nathaniel David Phillips, Kartik Venkatachalam, Georgia Gaveras

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Given the increasing demand for accessible mental health services, fully virtual telepsychiatry has become a vital component of modern health care delivery. Therapeutic alliance, the collaborative and affective bond between patients and therapists, is a well-established predictor of clinical outcomes in traditional face-to-face and teletherapy. However, the relationship between therapeutic alliance and clinical outcomes in an outpatient telepsychiatry setting remains less understood.

Objective: Our primary objective was to evaluate the relationship between therapeutic alliance and clinical outcomes for depression and anxiety in an outpatient telepsychiatry practice.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from treatment-seeking adults receiving services from Talkiatry, …

Aging In Mice Alters Regionally Enriched Striatal Astrocytes, Kay E Linker, Violeta Duran-Laforet, Matthias Ollivier, Xinzhu Yu, Dorothy P Schafer, Baljit S Khakh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Aging affects multiple organs and within the brain drives distinct molecular changes across different cell types. The striatum encodes motor behaviors that decline with age, but our understanding of how cells within the striatum change remains incomplete. Using single-cell RNA sequencing from young and aged mice we identify molecularly distinct astrocyte subtypes. We show that astrocytes change significantly with age, exhibiting downregulation of genes, reduced diversity, and a shift to more homogenous inflammatory transcriptomic profiles. By exploring where striatal astrocyte subtypes are located with single-cell resolution, we map astrocytes enriched in dorsal, medial, and ventral striatum. Age increases inflammatory marker …

Comparison Of Imaging Based Single-Cell Resolution Spatial Transcriptomics Profiling Platforms Using Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Tumor Samples, Nejla Ozirmak Lermi, Max Molina Ayala, Sharia Hernandez, Wei Lu, Khaja Khan, Alejandra Serrano, Idania Lubo, Leticia Hamana, Katarzyna Tomczak, Sean Barnes, Jinzhuang Dou, Qingnan Liang, Rti Team, Maria Gabriela Raso, Ximing Tang, Mei Jiang, Beatriz Sanchez-Espiridion, Annikka Weissferdt, John Heymach, Jianjun Zhang, Boris Sepesi, Tina Cascone, Anne Tsao, Mehmet Altan, Reza Mehran, Don Gibbons, Ignacio Wistuba, Cara Haymaker, Ken Chen, Luisa M Solis Soto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Imaging-based spatial transcriptomics (ST) is evolving as a pivotal technology in studying tumor biology and associated microenvironments. However, the strengths of the commercially available ST platforms in studying spatial biology have not been systematically evaluated using rigorously controlled experiments. We use serial 5 μm sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded surgically resected lung adenocarcinoma and pleural mesothelioma samples in tissue microarrays to compare the performance of the ST platforms (CosMx, MERFISH, and Xenium (uni/multi-modal)) in reference to bulk RNA sequencing, multiplex immunofluorescence, GeoMx, and hematoxylin and eosin staining data. In addition to an objective assessment of automatic cell segmentation and phenotyping, we …

Swollen Lymph Node Metastasis In Gastric Cancer: A Forgotten Prognostic Signal In Need Of Clinical Action, Keykavous Parang, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Gastric cancer (GC) remains a leading cause of cancer mortality. While the extent of nodal involvement is a well-known prognostic factor, the specific entity of swollen lymph node metastasis (SLNM), bulky nodal tumor deposits detectable radiologically or pathologically, has received little attention in staging. Recent data from a study by Cui et al demonstrated that SLNM is an independent predictor of very poor survival in GC. Through robust data and rigorous propensity-matched analyses, SLNM emerged not merely as an anatomical finding but as an independent predictor of poor prognosis, even among patients undergoing curative resection. As precision oncology advances, the …

Inflammation And Detection: Rethinking The Biomarker Landscape In Gastric Cancer, Keykavous Parang, Koosha Paydary

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Gastric carcinoma is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, yet reliable noninvasive biomarkers for its early detection remain limited. As research continues to elucidate the inflammatory underpinnings of tumor initiation and progression, it has become increasingly clear that pro-inflammatory cytokines may hold promise as diagnostic adjuncts. Serum cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and interferon-gamma have been frequently reported as elevated in gastric cancer patients compared to healthy individuals. These molecules, known for their roles in modulating tumor-promoting inflammation, angiogenesis, and immune evasion, may serve as accessible indicators of disease presence or progression. Several studies have shown that …

Poziotinib For Egfr Exon 20-Insertion Nsclc: Clinical Efficacy Of The Phase 2 Zenith Trial And Differential Impact Of Egfr Exon 20 Insertion Location On Sensitivity, Xiuning Le, Jacqulyne P Robichaux, Monique Nilsson, R S K Vijayan, Ashwin Ravichandran, Jia Wu, Yasir Y Elamin, Lingzhi Hong, Jun Pei, Jun He, Sonia Patel, Hibiki Udagawa, Sriramvignesh Mani, Chang Woon Jang, Jeffrey M Clarke, Nishan Tchekmedyian, Jonathan W Goldman, Mark Socinski, Gajanan Bhat, Sharon Leu, Veronica Bunn, Zhenqiang Su, Sylvie Vincent, John W Lawson, Jason B Cross, John V Heymach

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

EGFRex20 insertions (EGFRex20ins) can be classified as near- and far-loop based on the insertion location, however, the impact of location on responses to various EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is poorly understood. In vitro studies show that afatinib, poziotinib, and zipalertinib more potently inhibited near-loop than far-loop insertions, whereas mobocertinib has similar IC50 in both groups. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that near-loop insertions have multiple conformational states and lower transitional energy than far-loop insertions. ZENITH20 trial cohort 1 (NCT03318939) evaluates poziotinib in EGFRex20 NSCLC patients (n = 115) and demonstrates an objective response rate of 14.8% (95% Confidence …

Long-Term Survival In Lung Cancer With Brain Metastases And Coronary Artery Stenosis: A Case Report, Raghad O. Alharbi, Shahad J. Alshammary, Nasser E. Alotaibi, Ruba M. Aljohani, Bader A. Alotaibi, Ihab F. Suliman

Journal of the Saudi Heart Association

Lung cancer is among the most diagnosed cancers worldwide, and its co-occurrence with coronary heart disease is life-threatening. Osimertinib is the standard treatment for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The addition of pemetrexed and carboplatin increases not only the efficacy but also the cardiotoxicity risk. We report a 59-year-old woman with NSCLC alongside brain, liver, and spleen metastases, who developed cardiovascular events following cancer therapy. With advanced imaging and multidisciplinary intervention, remarkable remission was achieved over two years. Reporting this case contributes to the understanding of its presentation and diagnostic challenges.

Understanding Cancer Survivorship Care Needs Using Amazon Reviews: Content Analysis, Algorithm Development, And Validation Study, Liwei Wang, Qiuhao Lu, Rui Li, Taylor B. Harrison, Heling Jia, Ming Huang, Heidi Dowst, Rui Zhang, Hoda Badr, Jungwei W. Fan, Hongfang Liu

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Complementary therapies are being increasingly used by cancer survivors. As a channel for customers to share their feelings, outcomes, and perceived knowledge about the products purchased from e-commerce platforms, Amazon consumer reviews are a valuable real-world data source for understanding cancer survivorship care needs.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to highlight the potential of using Amazon consumer reviews as a novel source for identifying cancer survivorship care needs, particularly related to symptom self-management. Specifically, we present a publicly available, manually annotated corpus derived from Amazon reviews of health-related products and develop baseline natural language processing models using deep …

Next-Gen Tools In Cancer Neuroscience, Vera Thiel, Debpali Sur, Caroline C Picoli, Tamara Mcerlain, Katalina Couto, David J Simon, Yuan Pan, Karen Olivia Dixon, Rajan P Kulkarni, Sebastien Talbot, Alexander Birbrair

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The emerging field of cancer neuroscience is rapidly evolving, driven by novel technologies and tools. These include advances in single-cell and spatial transcriptomics; genetic mouse models paired with automated high-throughput; and innovative optical electrophysiological approaches, optogenetics, chemogenetics, engineered viruses, and new methods for visualizing neuronal activity. Collectively, these technologies are revolutionizing how we investigate, manipulate, and characterize distinct components that contribute to the nervous system-cancer interface. In the present review, we discuss the key technologies that are closing the gap between oncology and neuroscience, highlighting the innovations that are propelling the cancer neuroscience field forward.