Medical Specialties Commons^™

Excess Risk Of Chronic Health Conditions In Black Adolescent And Young Adult Cancer Survivors, Amy M Berkman, Eunju Choi, Christabel K Cheung, John M Salsman, Susan K Peterson, Clark R Andersen, Qian Lu, J A Livingston, Aryce Battle, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Susan K Parsons, Michael E Roth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The US population of adolescent and young adult (age 15-39 years at diagnosis) cancer survivors is growing. Previous studies have identified racial and ethnic disparities in survival and health outcomes in racially minoritized survivors, including Black survivors, compared with White survivors. However, comparisons should be made between those of the same race or ethnicity with and without a history of AYA cancer to fully understand the association of a cancer diagnosis with socioeconomic status (SES) and health outcomes within a minoritized population.

Methods: Non-Hispanic Black AYA cancer survivors and non-Hispanic Black age- and sex-matched controls were identified from self-reported …

Drug And Biomarker Tissue Levels In A Randomized Presurgical Trial On Exemestane Alternative Schedules, Davide Serrano, Harriet Johansson, Bjørn-Erik Bertelsen, Sara Gandini, Gunnar Mellgren, Parijatham Thomas, Katherine D Crew, Nagi B Kumar, Debora Macis, Valentina Aristarco, Aliana Guerrieri-Gonzaga, Matteo Lazzeroni, Mauro D'Amico, Tania Buttiron-Webber, Irene Maria Briata, Stefano Spinaci, Viviana Galimberti, Lana A Vornik, Eduardo Villar-Sanchez, Powel H Brown, Brandy M Heckman-Stoddard, Eva Szabo, Bernardo Bonanni, Andrea Decensi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The drug's activity at the target tissue could help to define the minimal effective dose to promote cancer preventive therapy. Here we present exemestane and sex hormone concentrations within breast tissue from a presurgical study of alternative exemestane schedules. Postmenopausal women candidates for breast surgery for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer were randomly assigned to exemestane 25 mg once daily (QD), 25 mg 3 times/week (TIW), or 25 mg per week (QW) for 4-6 weeks before surgery. Drug and sex hormones were analyzed from homogenized frozen tissue using a QTRAP 6500+ LC-MS/MS System. Tissue drug concentrations were detectable only in the …

Hunting For Heroes: Brain Neurons Mediating Glp-1r Agonists In Obesity Treatment, Yuhan Cao, Qingchun Tong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) have proven to be highly effective in reducing obesity across species and ages, gaining unmet popularity in clinical treatments against obesity. Although extensive research efforts have been made to explore how the brain regulates body weight homeostasis including the effect brought up by GLP-1 and its synthetic analogs GLP-1RAs, the identity of neurons and neural pathways that are responsible for the observed anti-obesity effect of GLP-1RAs remain largely elusive. Excitingly, three recent high-profile studies presented compelling evidence that each argues for the importance of GLP-1Rs in the dorsomedial hypothalamus, hindbrain, or lateral septum, …

Association Between Chronotype And Chronic Neuropathic Pain Sensitivity: A Pilot Prospective, Observational, Single-Center, Cross-Sectional Study, Michael Kim, Yuri C Martins, Kishan Patel, Chiu-Hsieh Hsu, Mohab Ibrahim, Vasudha Goel, Amol M Patwardhan, Sejal Jain

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Chronotype defines an organism's biological preference for timing of activity and sleep. Being a morning chronotype (i.e., tending to wake up early and go to bed earlier at night) is associated with protection against chronic musculoskeletal pain and headaches, but the relationship between chronotype and neuropathic pain sensitivity remains unclear.

Objectives: The aim of this pilot study was to explore the relationship among chronotype, neuropathic pain sensitivity, and pain interference in patients with chronic neuropathic pain disorders.

Study design: This was a prospective, observational, single-center, cross-sectional study.

Setting: Patients were recruited from pain management clinics.

Methods: The Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire …

Datopotamab-Deruxtecan In Early-Stage Breast Cancer: The Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized I-Spy22 Phase 2 Trial, Katia Khoury, Jane L Meisel, Christina Yau, Hope S Rugo, Rita Nanda, Marie Davidian, Butch Tsiatis, A Jo Chien, Anne M Wallace, Mili Arora, Mariya Rozenblit, Dawn L Hershman, Alexandra Zimmer, Amy S Clark, Heather Beckwith, Anthony D Elias, Erica Stringer-Reasor, Judy C Boughey, Chaitali Nangia, Christos Vaklavas, Coral Omene, Kathy S Albain, Kevin M Kalinsky, Claudine Isaacs, Jennifer Tseng, Evanthia T Roussos Torres, Brittani Thomas, Alexandra Thomas, Amy Sanford, Ronald Balassanian, Cheryl Ewing, Kay Yeung, Candice Sauder, Tara Sanft, Lajos Pusztai, Meghna S Trivedi, Ashton Outhaythip, Wen Li, Natsuko Onishi, Adam L Asare, Philip Beineke, Peter Norwood, Lamorna Brown-Swigart, Gillian L Hirst, Jeffrey B Matthews, Brian Moore, W Fraser Symmans, Elissa Price, Carolyn Beedle, Jane Perlmutter, Paula Pohlmann, Rebecca A Shatsky, Angela Demichele, Douglas Yee, Laura J Van 'T Veer, Nola M Hylton, Laura J Esserman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Among the goals of patient-centric care are the advancement of effective personalized treatment, minimising toxicity. The phase-2 I-SPY2.2 trial uses a neoadjuvant sequential therapy approach in breast cancer to further these goals, testing promising new agents while optimising individual outcomes. Here we tested datopotamab-deruxtecan (Dato-Dxd) in the I-SPY2.2 trial for patients with high-risk stage 2/3 breast cancer. I-SPY2.2 uses a sequential multiple assignment randomisation trial (SMART) design that includes three sequential blocks of biologically targeted neoadjuvant treatment: the experimental agent (Block A), a taxane-based regimen tailored to the tumour subtype (Block B), and doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (Block C). Patients are randomised into …

Keratinocyte Carcinomas In Survivors Of Childhood Cancer: A Report From The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, Christina Boull, Yan Chen, Cindy Im, Alan Geller, Yadav Sapkota, James E Bates, Rebecca Howell, Michael A Arnold, Miriam Conces, Louis S Constine, Leslie Robison, Yutaka Yasui, Gregory T Armstrong, Joseph P Neglia, Lucie M Turcotte

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are at increased risk for keratinocyte carcinomas (KC) however, the long-term incidence of single and multiple KC is not well established.

Objective: Identify risk factors and quantify KC cumulative incidence and multiple-incidence burden in CCS.

Methods: KC were identified among Childhood Cancer Survivor Study participants, a cohort of 5-year cancer survivors diagnosed < 21 years of age between 1970 and 1999 in North America. Cumulative incidence was estimated and multivariable models assessed relative rates of KC associated with survivor and treatment characteristics.

Results: Among 25,658 participants, 1446 developed 5363 KC (93.5% basal cell carcinoma, 6.7% squamous cell carcinoma; mean age 37.0 years (range 7.3-67.4), mean latency 25.7 years; 95.3% White and 88.4% with radiotherapy). Mean lesion count was 3.7 with 26.1% experiencing ≥4. Radiotherapy imparted …

Receipt Of Home Health And 30-Day Outcomes Among Veterans With Dementia Following Inpatient Surgery, Heather Davila, Yubo Gao, Katherine E Hadlandsmyth, Andrea L Strayer, Michael A Jacobs, Robert A Tessler, Paula K Shireman, George L Wehby, Susanne Schmidt, Leslie R M Hausmann, Carly A Jacobs, Daniel E Hall, Mary Vaughan Sarrazin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Racial Bias Within The Risk Analysis Index Of Frailty, Michael A Jacobs, Leslie R M Hausmann, Robert M Handzel, Susanne Schmidt, Carly A Jacobs, Daniel E Hall

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Our objective was to assess potential racial bias within the Risk Analysis Index (RAI).

Background: Patient risk measures are rarely tested for racial bias. Measures of frailty, like the RAI, need to be evaluated for poor predictive performance among Black patients.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study using April 2010-March 2019 Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program and 2010-2019 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data. The performance of the RAI and several potential variants were compared between Black and White cases using various metrics to predict mortality (180-day for Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program, 30-day for National Surgical Quality Improvement …

A Multiple X-Ray-Source Array (Mxa) System With A Planar Two-Dimensional Source Distribution For Digital Breast Tomosynthesis, Alejandro Sisniega, Andrew M Hernandez, Shadi A Shakeri, Elizabeth A Morris, John M Boone, Jeffrey H Siewerdsen, Paul R Schwoebel

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has outpaced digital mammography in clinical adoption in the United States; however, substantial technological limitations remain to image quality in DBT, including undersampling from a one-dimensional (1D) scan geometry, x-ray source motion during acquisition, and patient motion artifacts from long exam times.

Purpose: A thermionic cathode x-ray system employing two-dimensional (2D, planar) multiple x-ray-source arrays (MXA) is proposed to improve DBT image quality.

Methods: A 1D MXA, consisting of a linear array of thermionic cathodes was used to simulate a 2D MXA. The 1D MXA included 11 focal spots separated by a distance of Δd …

Emergence Of Igh::Ccnd1 Rearrangement And Mutations In Tp53, Btk, And Bcl2 Associated With Therapy Resistance In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Qing Wei, Hong Fang, James M Jing, Roman Segura-Rivera, L Jeffrey Medeiros, Wei Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is an indolent low-grade B-cell neoplasm that generally responds well to treatment. Rarely, CLL cases exhibit an IGH::CCND1 rearrangement, presenting a diagnostic challenge in distinguishing between clonal evolution within CLL and an independent mantle cell lymphoma. We report a case of CLL with the emergence of an IGH::CCND1 rearrangement and mutations associated with treatment resistance, including TP53, BTK, and BCL2, during disease progression. Immunophenotypic, cytogenetic, and molecular analyses support that these alterations are secondary events within the CLL clone. This case demonstrates dynamic clonal selection and expansion in response to treatments, which, in turn, contributes to …

Promotion And Tenure For Medical Physicists Should Be Based On Article Specific Measures And Not On Journal Impact Factor, Samantha Hedrick, Jinzhong Yang, Yi Rong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Dna Mismatch Repair Deficiency As A Biomarker In Sarcoma, Ryan A Denu, Christopher D Quintana-Perez, Sintawat Wangsiricharoen, Davis R Ingram, Khalida M Wani, Alexander J Lazar, Ravin Ratan, Christina L Roland, Y Nancy You

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Lynch syndrome (LS) is a cancer predisposition syndrome caused by a germline loss-of-function mutation in a mismatch repair (MMR) gene. While sarcomas are not classically considered LS cancers, we investigated the MMR status and clinical features of sarcomas in LS patients to help inform optimal treatment strategies.

Methods: A prospectively maintained institutional clinical cancer genetics database was queried for LS patients (defined by pathogenic germline mutation in a MMR gene) with a documented diagnosis of sarcoma between 1998-2022. Tumor MMR status was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) for MMR proteins and secondarily by PCR assay if IHC was normal or …

Radiation-Induced Macrovessel/Microvessel Disease, Jun-Ichi Abe, Bryan G Allen, Andreas M Beyer, David Lewandowski, Kranti A Mapuskar, Vikram Subramanian, Michelle R Tamplin, Isabella M Grumbach

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Radiation therapy (RT) is a cornerstone in cancer treatment (used in 50% of cases), yet challenges persist because damage to normal tissue through direct impact of radiation or bystander effects is inevitable. Injury of macrovessels by RT manifests as obstructive disease, which is akin to atherosclerotic disease. Historically observed in coronary arteries of patients treated for breast cancer and lymphoma, it also affects patients receiving contemporary therapy for lung and chest cancers. Moreover, radiation at various sites can lead to peripheral vascular disease. An aspect of radiation-induced injury that has received little attention is microvascular injury, which typically results from …

Safety And Clinical Outcomes Of Endovascular Therapy Versus Medical Management In Late Presentation Of Large Ischemic Stroke, Adnan Mujanovic, Daniel Strbian, Jelle Demeestere, João Pedro Marto, Volker Puetz, Raul G Nogueira, Mohamad Abdalkader, Simon Nagel, Jean Raymond, Marc Ribo, Patrik Michel, Shinichi Yoshimura, Osama O Zaidat, Simon Winzer, Santiago Ortega-Gutierrez, Sunil A Sheth, James E Siegler, Anne Dusart, Diogo C Haussen, Hilde Henon, Bettina L Serrallach, Mahmoud H Mohammaden, Markus A Möhlenbruch, Marta Olive-Gadea, Ajit S Puri, Nobuyuki Sakai, Piers Klein, Liisa Tomppo, Francois Caparros, João Nuno Ramos, Mouhammad Jumaa, Syed Zaidi, Tomas Dobrocky, Nicolas Martinez-Majander, Stefania Nannoni, Flavio Bellante, Aaron Rodriguez-Calienes, Sergio Salazar-Marioni, Pekka Virtanen, Daniel Po Kaiser, Rita Ventura, Jessica Jesser, Alicia C Castonguay, Muhammad M Qureshi, Hesham E Masoud, Milagros Galecio-Castillo, Manuel Requena, Riikka Lauha, Wei Hu, Eugene Lin, Zhongrong Miao, Daniel Roy, Hiroshi Yamagami, David J Seiffge, Davide Strambo, Peter A Ringleb, Robin Lemmens, Urs Fischer, Thanh N Nguyen, Johannes Kaesmacher

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: The benefit of endovascular therapy (EVT) among stroke patients with large ischemic core (ASPECTS 0-5) in the extended time window outside of trial settings remains unclear. We analyzed the effect of EVT among these stroke patients in real-world settings.

Patients and methods: The CT for Late Endovascular Reperfusion (CLEAR) study recruited patients from 66 centers in 10 countries between 01/2014 and 05/2022. The extended time-window was defined as 6-24 h from last-seen-well to treatment. The primary outcome was shift of the 3-month modified Rankin scale (mRS) score. Safety outcomes included symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and mortality. Outcomes were analyzed …

A Shared Mechanism For Tnp-Atp Recognition By Members Of The P2x Receptor Family, Xiao-Bo Ma, Chen-Xi Yue, Yan Liu, Yang Yang, Jin Wang, Xiao-Na Yang, Li-Dong Huang, Michael X Zhu, Motoyuki Hattori, Chang-Zhu Li, Ye Yu, Chang-Run Guo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

P2X receptors (P2X1-7) are non-selective cation channels involved in many physiological activities such as synaptic transmission, immunological modulation, and cardiovascular function. These receptors share a conserved mechanism to sense extracellular ATP. TNP-ATP is an ATP derivative acting as a nonselective competitive P2X antagonist. Understanding how it occupies the orthosteric site in the absence of agonism may help reveal the key allostery during P2X gating. However, TNP-ATP/P2X complexes (TNP-ATP/human P2X3 (hP2X3) and TNP-ATP/chicken P2X7 (ckP2X7)) with distinct conformations and different mechanisms of action have been proposed. Whether these represent species and subtype variations or experimental differences remains unclear. Here, we show …

Telehealth In Emergency Medicine Residency Training: A Model Curriculum, Laura Oh, Rahul Bhat, Michael J Carr, Aditi U Joshi, Bruce M Lo, Ashley C Rider, Lulu Wang, Michael C Wadman, Samuel D Luber

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Emergency physicians are well‐positioned to take a leadership role in telehealth, particularly in emerging categories such as triage, direct acute unscheduled care, and virtual observation. However, the growth of telehealth has outpaced curricular development in emergency medicine (EM) residency programs. This manuscript presents a model longitudinal telehealth curriculum, developed by the consensus of education experts, including representatives from the telehealth interest groups from EM's two primary specialty societies: the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. The curriculum describes overarching goals and components that may serve as a foundation for individual institutions seeking to train …

Skin Cancer Risk In Patients With Brca Mutations, Lucy J Navsaria, Allen M Haas, Jessica L Corredor, Banu K Arun, Sharon H Giordano, Kevin T Nead, Mackenzie R Wehner

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

3d Gamma Analysis Between Treatment Plans For Nominally Beam-Matched Medical Linear Accelerators Using Pymedphys, Fada Guan, William Donahue, Simon Biggs, Matthew Jennings, Emily Draeger, Huixiao Chen, Yuenan Wang, Ngoc Nguyen, David J Carlson, Zhe Chen, Dae Yup Han

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Beam-matched linear accelerators (linacs) enable flexible patient scheduling and efficient treatment delivery in the event of unexpected machine downtime. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of 3D gamma index as an additional metric beyond standard measurement-based comparisons for more efficient evaluation of treatment plans between linacs with nominally matched beam models to ensure safe patient transfer. Seventeen 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) plans and thirty-six volumetric-modulated radiation therapy (VMAT) plans for different disease sites were selected from the original linac. An in-house script was used to automatically create new plans for the target linac and calculate dose …

Ras-Mutant Leukaemia Stem Cells Drive Clinical Resistance To Venetoclax, Junya Sango, Saul Carcamo, Maria Sirenko, Abhishek Maiti, Hager Mansour, Gulay Ulukaya, Lewis E Tomalin, Nataly Cruz-Rodriguez, Tiansu Wang, Malgorzata Olszewska, Emmanuel Olivier, Manon Jaud, Bettina Nadorp, Benjamin Kroger, Feng Hu, Lewis Silverman, Stephen S Chung, Elvin Wagenblast, Ronan Chaligne, Ann-Kathrin Eisfeld, Deniz Demircioglu, Dan A Landau, Piro Lito, Elli Papaemmanuil, Courtney D Dinardo, Dan Hasson, Marina Konopleva, Eirini P Papapetrou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cancer driver mutations often show distinct temporal acquisition patterns, but the biological basis for this, if any, remains unknown. RAS mutations occur invariably late in the course of acute myeloid leukaemia, upon progression or relapsed/refractory disease1-6. Here, by using human leukaemogenesis models, we first show that RAS mutations are obligatory late events that need to succeed earlier cooperating mutations. We provide the mechanistic explanation for this in a requirement for mutant RAS to specifically transform committed progenitors of the myelomonocytic lineage (granulocyte-monocyte progenitors) harbouring previously acquired driver mutations, showing that advanced leukaemic clones can originate from a different cell type …

Psychophysical And Functional Outcomes In Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy After Spinal Cord Stimulation: A Narrative Review And Case Series, Peter D Vu, Kathleen Erin Mcdonough, Patrick M Dougherty, Ryan S D'Souza, Saba Javed

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a complication that may occur after treatment with various anticancer drugs. In refractory CIPN cases, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has garnered increased attention. The use of gait analysis and psychophysical quantitative sensory testing (QST) as an objective measurement of CIPN-related damage has burgeoned; however, these changes have not been reported for patients with CIPN after SCS implantation using either burst or tonic stimulation.

Materials and methods: This manuscript encompasses two parts: 1) a presentation of pain improvement in a series of patients who underwent tonic vs burst SCS for CIPN measured by gait and …

Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning In Cancer Pain: A Systematic Review, Vivian Salama, Brandon Godinich, Yimin Geng, Laia Humbert-Vidan, Laura Maule, Kareem A Wahid, Mohamed A Naser, Renjie He, Abdallah S R Mohamed, Clifton D Fuller, Amy C Moreno

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/objectives: Pain is a challenging multifaceted symptom reported by most cancer patients. This systematic review aims to explore applications of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) in predicting pain-related outcomes and pain management in cancer.

Methods: A comprehensive search of Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science databases was conducted using terms: "Cancer," "Pain," "Pain Management," "Analgesics," "Artificial Intelligence," "Machine Learning," and "Neural Networks" published up to September 7, 2023. AI/ML models, their validation and performance were summarized. Quality assessment was conducted using PROBAST risk-of-bias andadherence to TRIPOD guidelines.

Results: Forty four studies from 2006 to 2023 were included. Nineteen studies used …

Sitravatinib In Patients With Solid Tumors Selected By Molecular Alterations: Results From A Phase Ib Study, Lyudmila Bazhenova, Dong-Wan Kim, Byoung Chul Cho, Sanjay Goel, Rebecca Heist, Theresa L Werner, Keith D Eaton, Judy S Wang, Shubham Pant, Douglas R Adkins, Collin M Blakely, Xiaohong Yan, Saskia Neuteboom, James G Christensen, Richard Chao, Todd Bauer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Explainable Artificial Intelligence And Domain Adaptation For Predicting Hiv Infection With Graph Neural Networks, Evan Yu, Jingcheng Du, Yang Xiang, Xinyue Hu, Jingna Feng, Xi Luo, John A Schneider, Degui Zhi, Kayo Fujimoto, Cui Tao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Investigation of explainable deep learning methods for graph neural networks to predict HIV infections with social network information and performing domain adaptation to evaluate model transferability across different datasets.

METHODS: Network data from two cohorts of younger sexual minority men (SMM) from two U.S. cities (Chicago, IL, and Houston, TX) were collected between 2014 and 2016. Feature importance from graph attention network (GAT) models were determined using GNNExplainer. Domain adaptation was performed to examine model transferability from one city dataset to the other dataset, training with 100% of the source dataset with 30% of the target dataset and prediction …

Mechanistic Diversity And Functional Roles Define The Substrate Specificity And Ligand Binding Of Bacterial Pgp Phosphatases, Wei Niu, Joanne Shi Woon Lam, Trung Vu, Guangwei Du, Hao Fan, Lei Zheng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Phosphatidylglycerol is a critical membrane phospholipid in microorganisms, synthesized via the dephosphorylation of phosphatidylglycerol-phosphate (PGP) by three membrane-bound phosphatases: PgpA, PgpB, and PgpC. While any one of these enzymes can produce phosphatidylglycerol at WT levels, the reason for the presence of all three in bacteria remains unclear. To address this question, we characterized these phosphatases in vitro to uncover their mechanistic differences. Our assays demonstrated that all three enzymes catalyze the hydrolysis of PGP but exhibit distinct substrate selectivity. PgpB displays a broad substrate range, dephosphorylating various lipid phosphates, while PgpA and PgpC show a higher specificity for lysophosphatidic acid …

Early Detection Of Pancreatic Cancer: Study Design And Analytical Considerations In Biomarker Discovery And Early Phase Validation Studies, Lynette M Smith, Douglas W Mahoney, William R Bamlet, Fang Yu, Suyu Liu, Michael G Goggins, Sourat Darabi, Shounak Majumder, Qiao-Li Wang, Gregory A Coté, Michael J Demeure, Zhen Zhang, Sudhir Srivastava, Akhil Chawla, Grant Izmirlian, Janet E Olson, Brian M Wolpin, Jeanine M Genkinger, Kenneth S Zaret, Randall Brand, Eugene J Koay, Ann L Oberg

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal disease that is challenging to detect at an early stage. Biomarkers are needed that can detect PDAC early in the course of disease when interventions lead to the best outcomes. We highlight study design and statistical considerations that inform pancreatic cancer early detection biomarker evaluation.

Methods: We describe experimental design strategies in this setting useful for streamlining biomarker evaluation at each Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) phase of biomarker development. We break the early EDRN phases into sub-phases, proposing objectives, study design strategies, and biomarker performance benchmarks.

Results: The goal of …

Feasibility Of An Environmental Scan-Based Approach To Collecting Information About Factors Impacting Cancer Genetics Services In Latin American Countries, Erica M Bednar, Roni Nitecki Wilke, Kirsten Jorgensen, Michael T Walsh, Stephanie Nutt, Karen H Lu, Leandro Nóbrega, Aline Patricia Soares Dias De Souza, Gabriela Da Silva Oliveira, Carlos Eduardo Mattos Da Cunha Andrade, Nelson Purizaca-Rosillo, Pamela Mora, Aldo López Blanco, Lenny N Gallardo-Alvarado, David Cantú-De León, J Alejandro Rauh-Hain

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Clinical cancer genetics services are expanding globally, but national policy and health care systems influence availability and implementation. Understanding the environmental factors within a country is required to appropriately implement, adapt, and evaluate cancer genetics service delivery models. An environmental scan (ES) is an approach used in business, public health, health care and other sectors to collect information about an environment or system for strategic decision making and program planning. An ES has been previously used to assess cancer genetics clinic-level factors to inform quality improvement efforts in the United States. We assessed the feasibility of using an ES …

Imipridones Inhibit Tumor Growth And Improve Survival In An Orthotopic Liver Metastasis Mouse Model Of Human Uveal Melanoma, Chandrani Chattopadhyay, Janos Roszik, Rajat Bhattacharya, Md Alauddin, Iqbal Mahmud, Sirisha Yadugiri, Mir Mustafa Ali, Fatima S Khan, Varun Vijay Prabhu, Philip L Lorenzi, Bo Wei, Elizabeth Burton, Rohini R Morey, Rossana Lazcano, Michael A Davies, Sapna P Patel, Elizabeth A Grimm

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Uveal melanoma (UM) is a highly aggressive disease with very few treatment options. We previously demonstrated that mUM is characterized by high oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Here we tested the anti-tumor, signaling and metabolic effects of imipridones, which are CLPP activators, which inhibit OXPHOS indirectly and have demonstrated safety in patients.

Methods: We assessed CLPP expression in UM patient samples. We tested the effects of imipridones (ONC201 and ONC212) on the growth, survival, signaling and metabolism of UM cell lines in vitro, and for therapeutic efficacy in vivo in UM liver metastasis models.

Results: CLPP expression was detected in primary …

How Low Can We Go: Evaluation Of A Pharmacist-Led Weight Loss Management Program, Kelly Rubi, Elaina Rosario, Sara Panella, Jacqualine Igwe, Maria Pulido, Faaria Quadri

Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

Background: Obesity is a major health challenge that is associated with several health risks, including diabetes and hypertension. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the impact of clinical pharmacists on the therapy optimization of GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) in a weight management program. Methods: This project evaluated a quality improvement initiative through a retrospective chart review that included patients who were treated with semaglutide or liraglutide between October 2022 and July 2023, with body mass indices (BMI) of 27 kg/m2 or greater with at least one weight-related comorbidity or a BMI greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2. …

Impact Of An Interdisciplinary Team On Patients Seen At A Heart Failure Clinic, Nilda Pelegrino, Faaria Quadri, Elaina Rosario, Jacqualine Igwe, Sandra Chaparro, Lourdes Labrada, Sara Panella, Maria Pulido, Stephen Breazeale, Zhenwei Zhang

Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

Background: Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome that requires the involvement of interdisciplinary teams to address patient needs and optimize therapy. Interdisciplinary teams, including physicians, advanced practice practitioners, and pharmacists, play a crucial role in implementing guideline-directed medical therapy and addressing barriers to self-care that ultimately improve patients’ overall survival. This study assessed the impact of an interdisciplinary team on patients’ heart failure outcomes compared to patients solely managed by clinical cardiologists. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective chart review study of Baptist Health patients seen at the heart failure clinic. The study compared patients seen by an interdisciplinary …

Pathobiology Of Myocardial And Cardiomyocyte Injury In Ischemic Heart Disease: Perspective From Seventy Years Of Cell Injury Research, L Maximilian Buja

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This review presents a perspective on the pathobiology of acute myocardial infarction, a major manifestation of ischemic heart disease, and related mechanisms of ischemic and toxic cardiomyocyte injury, based on advances and insights that have accrued over the last seventy years, including my sixty years of involvement in the field as a physician-scientist-pathologist. This analysis is based on integration of my research within the broader context of research in the field. A particular focus has been on direct measurements in cardiomyocytes of electrolyte content by electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPXMA) and Ca2+ fluxes by fura-2 microspectrofluorometry. These studies established that …