Medical Specialties Commons^™

Evaluating The Readability Of Online Blood Cancer Education Materials Across Different Readability Measures, Ashley Shin, Surbhi Banubakode, Sara Taveras Alam, Anneliese O Gonzalez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction The National Institutes of Health and the American Medical Association recommend patient education materials (EMs) be at or below the sixth-grade reading level. The American Cancer Society, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and National Comprehensive Cancer Network have accurate blood cancer EMs. Methods One hundred one (101) blood cancer EMs from the above organizations were assessed using the following: Flesch Reading Ease Formula (FREF), Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Gunning Fog Index (GFI), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook Index (SMOG), and the Coleman-Liau Index (CLI). Results Only 3.96% of patient EMs scored at or below the seventh-grade reading level in all modalities. …

Neuroendocrine Neoplasms Of The Ovary: A Review Of 63 Cases, Alejandra Flores Legarreta, Reem Saab, Naomi R Gonzales, Gary B Chisholm, Shannon N Westin, R Tyler Hillman, Michael Frumovitz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To describe the clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcomes of ovarian neuroendocrine neoplasms from a curated registry.

Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study of patients in our registry with confirmed ovarian neuroendocrine neoplasms. We excluded patients with small cell carcinoma not otherwise specified, small cell hypercalcemic type, and those with neuroendocrine 'features' or 'differentiation.' Clinicopathological characteristics were described in two separate groups: patients with carcinoid tumors and patients with neuroendocrine carcinomas. Progression-free and overall survival were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier product-limit estimator in these two groups, and multivariable analysis was done to identify predictors of survival for neuroendocrine carcinomas …

Sting-Activating Cyclic Dinucleotide-Manganese Nanoparticles Evoke Robust Immunity Against Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Marisa E Aikins, Xiaoqi Sun, Hannah Dobson, Xingwu Zhou, Yao Xu, Yu Leo Lei, James J Moon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most common types of leukemia in adults with a 5-year survival rate of 30.5%. These poor patient outcomes are attributed to tumor relapse, stemming from ineffective innate immune activation, T cell tolerance, and a lack of immunological memory. Thus, new strategies are needed to activate innate and effector immune cells and evoke long-term immunity against AML. One approach to address these issues is through Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) pathway activation, which produces Type I Interferons (Type I IFN) critical for innate and adaptive immune activation. Here, we report that systemic immunotherapy …

Cytogenetic And Molecular Associations With Outcomes In Higher-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes Treated With Hypomethylating Agents Plus Venetoclax, Alexandre Bazinet, Sai Prasad Desikan, Ziyi Li, Juan Jose Rodriguez-Sevilla, Sangeetha Venugopal, Samuel Urrutia, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Koji Sasaki, Kelly S Chien, Danielle Hammond, Rashmi Kanagal-Shamanna, Irene Ganan-Gomez, Tapan M Kadia, Gautam Borthakur, Courtney D Dinardo, Naval G Daver, Elias J Jabbour, Farhad Ravandi, Hagop Kantarjian, Guillermo Garcia-Manero

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Hypomethylating agents (HMA) combined with venetoclax are an emerging therapeutic strategy for higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (HR-MDS). The cytogenetic and molecular factors associated with outcomes with this combination for HR-MDS are incompletely understood.

Experimental design: We pooled patient data from 3 prospective trials evaluating HMA-venetoclax in HR-MDS to study associations between cytogenetic and molecular factors and overall response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), and event-free survival (EFS). The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate time-to-event endpoints. Univariate and multivariate analyses using logistic regression (for ORR) or the Cox proportional hazards model (for OS and EFS) were used to identify associations …

Analysis Of Microbiome Data, Christine B Peterson, Satabdi Saha, Kim-Anh Do

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The microbiome represents a hidden world of tiny organisms populating not only our surroundings but also our own bodies. By enabling comprehensive profiling of these invisible creatures, modern genomic sequencing tools have given us an unprecedented ability to characterize these populations and uncover their outsize impact on our environment and health. Statistical analysis of microbiome data is critical to infer patterns from the observed abundances. The application and development of analytical methods in this area require careful consideration of the unique aspects of microbiome profiles. We begin this review with a brief overview of microbiome data collection and processing and …

Prognostic Value Of Tumor Volume Doubling Time In Lung-Metastatic Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, Eduardo A Dal Lago, Luana G Sousa, Zixi Yang, Camilla O Hoff, Flavia Bonini, Matthew Sawyer, Kaiwen Wang, Whitney Lewis, Kareem A Wahid, Ehab Y Hanna, Adel El-Naggar, Clifton D Fuller, Suprateek Kundu, Myrna Godoy, Renata Ferrarotto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Lung metastases in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) usually have indolent growth and the optimal timing to start systemic therapy is not established. We assessed ACC lung metastasis tumor growth dynamics and compared the prognostic value of time to progression (TTP) and tumor volume doubling time (TVDT).

Methods: The study included ACC patients with ≥1 pulmonary metastasis (≥5 mm) and at least 2 chest computed tomography scans. Radiology assessment was performed from the first scan showing metastasis until treatment initiation or death. Up to 5 lung nodules per patient were segmented for TVDT calculation. To assess tumor growth rate (TGR), …

Exploring Ferroptosis-Inducing Therapies For Cancer Treatment: Challenges And Opportunities, Guang Lei, Boyi Gan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Conventional cancer therapies typically aim to eliminate tumor cells by inducing cell death. The emergence of resistance to these standard treatments has spurred a shift in focus toward exploring alternative cell death pathways beyond apoptosis. Ferroptosis-an iron-dependent regulated cell death triggered by lipid peroxide accumulation-has gained prominence in cancer research in recent years. Ferroptosis-inducing therapies hold promise for overcoming resistance encountered with conventional treatments. However, challenges, including the lack of distinctive ferroptosis markers and the intricate role of ferroptosis within the tumor microenvironment, currently hinder the clinical translation of these therapies. This perspective article critically outlines these hurdles and highlights …

Predicting Recurrence-Free And Overall Survival For Patients With Stage Ii Melanoma: The Mia Calculator, Alexander H R Varey, Isabel Li, Mary-Ann El Sharouni, Julie Simon, Aikaterini Dedeilia, Sydney Ch'ng, Robyn P M Saw, Andrew J Spillane, Kerwin F Shannon, Thomas E Pennington, Michael Rtshiladze, Jonathan R Stretch, Omgo E Nieweg, Alexander Van Akkooi, Ryan J Sullivan, Genevieve M Boland, Jeffrey E Gershenwald, Paul J Van Diest, Richard A Scolyer, Georgina V Long, John F Thompson, Serigne N Lo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Improvements in recurrence-free survival (RFS) were demonstrated in two recent randomized trials for patients with sentinel node (SN)-negative stage IIB or IIC melanoma receiving adjuvant systemic therapy (pembrolizumab/nivolumab). However, adverse events also occurred. Accurate individualized prognostic estimates of RFS and overall survival (OS) would allow patients to more accurately weigh the risks and benefits of adjuvant therapy. Since the current American Joint Committee on Cancer eighth edition (AJCC-8) melanoma staging system focuses on melanoma-specific survival, we developed a multivariable risk prediction calculator that provides estimates of 5- and 10-year RFS and OS for these patients.

Methods: Data were extracted …

Comparison Of Comorbidity Models Within A Population-Based Cohort Of Older Adults With Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Max J Gordon, Zhigang Duan, Hui Zhao, Loretta Nastoupil, Swaminathan Iyer, Alessandra Ferrajoli, Alexey V Danilov, Sharon H Giordano

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Compare the association of individual comorbidities, comorbidity indices, and survival in older adults with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), including in specific NHL subtypes.

Methods: Data source was SEER-Medicare, a population-based registry of adults age 65 years and older with cancer. We included all incident cases of NHL diagnosed during 2008-2017 who met study inclusion criteria. Comorbidities were classified using the three-factor risk estimate scale (TRES), Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), and National Cancer Institute (NCI) comorbidity index categories and weights. Overall survival (OS) and lymphoma-specific survival, with death from other causes treated as a competing risk, were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier …

Reduced Dose Azacitidine Plus Venetoclax As Maintenance Therapy In Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Following Intensive Or Low-Intensity Induction: A Single-Centre, Single-Arm, Phase 2 Trial, Alexandre Bazinet, Hagop Kantarjian, Alex Bataller, Naveen Pemmaraju, Gautam Borthakur, Kelly Chien, Yesid Alvarado, Prithviraj Bose, Elias Jabbour, Musa Yilmaz, Courtney Dinardo, Ghayas Issa, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Nicholas Short, Koji Sasaki, Debra Bull-Linderman, Naval Daver, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Farhad Ravandi, Tapan Kadia

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Patients with acute myeloid leukaemia have high rates of relapse, especially if they are unable to complete standard consolidation strategies or allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT). The phase 3 QUAZAR AML-001 study showed an overall survival benefit with oral azacitidine maintenance. The BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax is highly active in acute myeloid leukaemia and synergistic with azacitidine. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low dose azacitidine plus venetoclax as maintenance therapy in acute myeloid leukaemia.

Methods: We performed a single-centre, single-arm, phase 2 study at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the USA. Eligible …

Oral Decitabine And Cedazuridine Plus Venetoclax For Older Or Unfit Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukaemia: A Phase 2 Study, Alexandre Bazinet, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Nicholas Short, Yesid Alvarado, Alex Bataller, Tareq Abuasab, Rabiul Islam, Kathryn Montalbano, Ghayas Issa, Abhishek Maiti, Musa Yilmaz, Nitin Jain, Lucia Masarova, Steven Kornblau, Elias Jabbour, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Caitlin R Rausch, Sherry Pierce, Courtney D Dinardo, Tapan Kadia, Naval Daver, Marina Konopleva, Xuelin Huang, Hagop Kantarjian, Farhad Ravandi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Hypomethylating agents combined with venetoclax are effective regimens in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. Decitabine and cedazuridine (ASTX727) is an oral formulation of decitabine that achieves equivalent area-under-curve exposure to intravenous decitabine. We performed a single centre phase 2 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ASTX727 plus venetoclax.

METHODS: This study enrolled patients with newly diagnosed (frontline treatment group) acute myeloid leukaemia who were ineligible for intensive chemotherapy (aged ≥75 years, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group [ECOG] performance status of 2-3, or major comorbidities) or relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia. …

Open Repair With Latissimus Muscle Flap Coverage For Treatment Of Infected Thoracic Endovascular Aneurysm Repair, Lucas Ribé Bernal, Rana O Afifi, Anthony L Estrera

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

A male patient, 70 years of age, was evaluated for an infected thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR). After presenting with persistent fever, a positron emission tomography scan found an infected aortic stent graft. The patient underwent open repair with explantation of the infected TEVAR, extensive periaortic debridement, graft replacement with a Dacron graft, and complete coverage with a latissimus dorsi muscle flap. Tissue culture revealed

Cochlear Implantation After Head And Neck Radiation: A Case Series, Systematic Review, And Meta-Analysis, Jumah G Ahmad, Benjamin D Lovin, Anna Lee, Marc-Elie Nader, Paul W Gidley

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To determine if cochlear implant (CI) is safe and effective in patients with radiation therapy (XRT)-induced sensorineural hearing loss and to discuss considerations in this population through a retrospective cohort review, systematic review, and meta-analysis.

Databases reviewed: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all CI cases after head and neck (HN) XRT at our institution, noting intraoperative findings, postoperative complications, and hearing outcomes. Change in speech discrimination scores (SDSs) was the primary outcome measure. Systematic review was performed to identify all cases of CI after HNXRT. A meta-analysis was performed to assess SDS change.

Results: The …

Developing Deep Learning-Based Strategies To Predict The Risk Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Among Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease From Electronic Health Records, Zhao Li, Lan Lan, Yujia Zhou, Ruoxing Li, Kenneth D Chavin, Hua Xu, Liang Li, David J H Shih, W Jim Zheng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: The accuracy of deep learning models for many disease prediction problems is affected by time-varying covariates, rare incidence, covariate imbalance and delayed diagnosis when using structured electronic health records data. The situation is further exasperated when predicting the risk of one disease on condition of another disease, such as the hepatocellular carcinoma risk among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease due to slow, chronic progression, the scarce of data with both disease conditions and the sex bias of the diseases. The goal of this study is to investigate the extent to which the aforementioned issues influence deep learning performance, …

Congenital Disseminated Malignant Rhabdoid Tumor Mimicking A Vascular Lesion, Scott K Wang, Prabhath Mannam, Katerina Dukleska, Fabiola Balarezo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

A congenital disseminated malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) is an exceedingly rare and aggressive pediatric cancer marked by the presence of malignant rhabdoid cells in various organs, including the brain, kidneys, and soft tissues, at birth. It is often detected prenatally or shortly post-birth. The malignancy's aggressiveness results in a bleak prognosis, offering limited treatment options and low survival rates. Early diagnosis and comprehensive medical intervention are crucial, but managing this condition is complicated by its rarity. We herein presented a case of a 37 and 1/7 week gestation male infant with a rapidly growing arm soft tissue mass within two …

Resolution Of Metastatic Cutaneous Crohn's Disease With Upadacitinib Monotherapy, Kevin M Burningham, Kritin K Verma, Anisha B Patel, Stephen K Tyring

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Incidence And Presenting Characteristics Of Angiosarcoma In The Us, 2001-2020, Michael J Wagner, Vinod Ravi, Stephanie K Schaub, Ed Y Kim, Jeremy Sharib, Harveshp Mogal, Min Park, Michaela Tsai, Daniela Duarte-Bateman, Anthony Tufaro, Elizabeth T Loggers, Lee D Cranmer, Bonny Chau, Michael J Hassett, Juneko Grilley-Olson, Kelly G Paulson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Angiosarcoma is an aggressive vascular malignant neoplasm presenting either as a primary or secondary cancer, often arising after radiotherapy or in the context of preexisting lymphedema. Comprehensive data describing its incidence and presentation patterns are needed.

Objective: To describe the incidence, presenting characteristics, and change over time of angiosarcoma in the US.

Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective cross-sectional study used data from the US Cancer Statistics (USCS) National Program of Cancer Registries-Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Combined Database, which captures more than 99% of newly diagnosed cancers in the US. The study included all 19 289 patients in …

Early Elevations Of Ras Protein Level And Activity Are Critical For The Development Of Pdac In The Context Of Inflammation, Jianjia Ma, Fanghua Gong, Eunice Kim, James Xianxing Du, Cindy Leung, Qingchun Song, Craig D Logsdon, Yongde Luo, Xiaokun Li, Weiqin Lu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The KRASG12D mutation was believed to be locked in a GTP-bound form, rendering it fully active. However, recent studies have indicated that the presence of mutant KRAS alone is insufficient; it requires additional activation through inflammatory stimuli to effectively drive the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). It remains unclear to what extent RAS activation occurs during the development of PDAC in the context of inflammation. Here, in a mouse model with the concurrent expression of KrasG12D/+ and inflammation mediator IKK2 in pancreatic acinar cells, we showed that, compared to KRASG12D alone, the cooperative interaction between KRASG12D and IKK2 rapidly …

Large-Scale Phenotyping Of Patients With Long Covid Post-Hospitalization Reveals Mechanistic Subtypes Of Disease, Felicity Liew, Claudia Efstathiou, Sara Fontanella, Matthew Richardson, Ruth Saunders, Dawid Swieboda, Jasmin K Sidhu, Stephanie Ascough, Shona C Moore, Noura Mohamed, Jose Nunag, Clara King, Olivia C Leavy, Omer Elneima, Hamish J C Mcauley, Aarti Shikotra, Amisha Singapuri, Marco Sereno, Victoria C Harris, Linzy Houchen-Wolloff, Neil J Greening, Nazir I Lone, Matthew Thorpe, A A Roger Thompson, Sarah L Rowland-Jones, Annemarie B Docherty, James D Chalmers, Ling-Pei Ho, Alexander Horsley, Betty Raman, Krisnah Poinasamy, Michael Marks, Onn Min Kon, Luke S Howard, Daniel G Wootton, Jennifer K Quint, Thushan I De Silva, Antonia Ho, Christopher Chiu, Ewen M Harrison, William Greenhalf, J Kenneth Baillie, Malcolm G Semple, Lance Turtle, Rachael A Evans, Louise V Wain, Christopher Brightling, Ryan S Thwaites, Peter J M Openshaw, Phosp-Covid Collaborative Group, Isaric Investigators

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

One in ten severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections result in prolonged symptoms termed long coronavirus disease (COVID), yet disease phenotypes and mechanisms are poorly understood1. Here we profiled 368 plasma proteins in 657 participants ≥3 months following hospitalization. Of these, 426 had at least one long COVID symptom and 233 had fully recovered. Elevated markers of myeloid inflammation and complement activation were associated with long COVID. IL-1R2, MATN2 and COLEC12 were associated with cardiorespiratory symptoms, fatigue and anxiety/depression; MATN2, CSF3 and C1QA were elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms and C1QA was elevated in cognitive impairment. Additional markers …

Randomized Phase 2 Trial Of Tremelimumab And Durvalumab In Combination Versus Sequentially In Recurrent Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer, Emily M Hinchcliff, Anne Knisely, Naomi Adjei, Bryan Fellman, Ying Yuan, Ami Patel, Cai Xu, Shannon N Westin, Anil K Sood, Pamela T Soliman, Aaron Shafer, Nicole D Fleming, David M Gershenson, Raghunandan Vikram, Tharakeswara Bathala, David Vining, Dhakshina M Ganeshan, Karen H Lu, Charlotte C Sun, Larissa A Meyer, Amir A Jazaeri

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Single-agent immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have demonstrated limited responses in recurrent ovarian cancer; however, 30%-40% of patients achieve stable disease. The primary objective was to estimate progression-free survival (PFS) after sequential versus combination cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 and programmed death ligand 1 ICIs in patients with platinum-resistant high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC).

METHODS: Patients were randomized to a sequential arm (tremelimumab followed by durvalumab on progression) or a combination arm (tremelimumab plus durvalumab, followed by durvalumab) via a Bayesian adaptive design that made it more likely for patients to be randomized to the more effective arm. The primary end …

Intraprocedural Versus Initial Follow-Up Minimal Ablative Margin Assessment After Colorectal Liver Metastasis Thermal Ablation: Which One Better Predicts Local Outcomes?, Yuan-Mao Lin, Iwan Paolucci, Jessica Albuquerque Marques Silva, Caleb S O'Connor, Bryan M Fellman, Aaron K Jones, Joshua D Kuban, Steven Y Huang, Zeyad A Metwalli, Kristy K Brock, Bruno C Odisio

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of 3-dimensional minimal ablative margin (MAM) quantified by intraprocedural versus initial follow-up computed tomography (CT) in predicting local tumor progression (LTP) after colorectal liver metastasis (CLM) thermal ablation.

Materials and methods: This single-institution, patient-clustered, tumor-based retrospective study included patients undergoing microwave and radiofrequency ablation between 2016 and 2021. Patients without intraprocedural and initial follow-up contrast-enhanced CT, residual tumors, or with follow-up less than 1 year without LTP were excluded. Minimal ablative margin was quantified by a biomechanical deformable image registration method with segmentations of CLMs on intraprocedural preablation …

Definitive Single Fraction Spine Stereotactic Radiosurgery For Metastatic Sarcoma: Simultaneous Integrated Boost Is Associated With High Tumor Control And Low Vertebral Fracture Risk, Mihir D Shanker, Adriana P Cavazos, Jing Li, Thomas H Beckham, Debra N Yeboa, Chenyang Wang, Mary Frances Mcaleer, Tina Marie Briere, Behrang Amini, Claudio E Tatsui, Robert Y North, Christopher A Alvarez-Breckenridge, Phillip Cem Cezayirli, Laurence D Rhines, Amol J Ghia, Andrew J Bishop

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Sarcoma spinal metastases (SSM) are particularly difficult to manage given their poor response rates to chemotherapy and inherent radioresistance. We evaluated outcomes in a cohort of patients with SSM uniformly treated using single-fraction simultaneous-integrated-boost (SIB) spine stereotactic radiosurgery (SSRS).

Materials and methods: A retrospective review was conducted at a single tertiary institution treated with SSRS for SSM between April 2007-April 2023. 16-24 Gy was delivered to the GTV and 16 Gy uniformly to the CTV. Kaplan-Meier analysis was conducted to assess time to progression of disease (PD) with proportionate hazards modelling used to determine hazard ratios (HR) and respective …

Tavr In Older Adults, Abdulla A Damluji, Gwen Bernacki, Jonathan Afilalo, Radmila Lyubarova, Ariela R Orkaby, Min Ji Kwak, Scott Hummel, James N Kirkpatrick, Mathew S Maurer, Nanette Wenger, Michael W Rich, Dae Hyun Kim, Roberta Y Wang, Daniel E Forman, Ashok Krishnaswami

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Calcific aortic stenosis can be considered a model for geriatric cardiovascular conditions due to a confluence of factors. The remarkable technological development of transcatheter aortic valve replacement was studied initially on older adult populations with prohibitive or high-risk for surgical valve replacement. Through these trials, the cardiovascular community has recognized that stratification of these chronologically older adults can be improved incrementally by invoking the concept of frailty and other geriatric risks. Given the complexity of the aging process, stratification by chronological age should only be the initial step but is no longer sufficient to optimally quantify cardiovascular and noncardiovascular risk. …

Definition Of Polypharmacy In Heart Failure: A Scoping Review Of The Literature, Keshav Patel, Jorge A Irizarry-Caro, Adil Khan, Travis Holder, Darrell Salako, Parag Goyal, Min Ji Kwak

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Patients with heart failure (HF) have a high prevalence of polypharmacy, which can lead to drug interactions, cognitive impairment, and medication non-compliance. However, the definition of polypharmacy in these patients is still inconsistent. The aim of this scoping review was to find the most common definition of polypharmacy in HF patients. We conducted a scoping review searching Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and Cochrane using terms including polypharmacy, HF and deprescribing, which resulted in 7,949 articles. Articles without a definition of polypharmacy in HF patients and articles which included patients < 18 years of age were excluded; only 59 articles were included. Of the 59 articles, 49% (n = 29) were retrospective, 20% (n = 12) were prospective, 10% (n = 6) were cross-sectional, and 27% (n = 16) were review articles. Twenty percent (n = 12) of the articles focused on HF with reduced ejection fraction, 10% (n = 6) focused on HF with preserved ejection fraction and 69% (n = 41) articles either focused on both diagnoses or did not clarify the specific type of HF. The most common cutoff for polypharmacy in HF was five medications (59%, n = 35). There was no consensus regarding the inclusion or exclusion of over-the-counter medications, supplements, or vitamins. Some newer studies used a cutoff of 10 medications (14%, n = 8), and this may be a more practical and meaningful definition for HF patients.

Tumor-Resident Microbes: The New Kids On The Microenvironment Block, Le Li, Vidhi Chandra, Florencia Mcallister

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Tumor-resident microbes (TRM) are an integral component of the tumor microenvironment (TME). TRM can influence tumor growth, distant dissemination, and response to therapies by interfering with molecular pathways in tumor cells as well as with other components of the TME. Novel technologies are improving the identification and visualization of cell type-specific microbes in the TME. The mechanisms that mediate the role of TRM at the primary tumors and metastatic sites are being elucidated. This knowledge is providing novel perspectives for targeting microbes or using microbial interventions for cancer interception or therapy.

Bone Mimetic Environments Support Engineering, Propagation, And Analysis Of Therapeutic Response Of Patient-Derived Cells, Ex Vivo And In Vivo, Claudia Paindelli, Vanessa Parietti, Sergio Barrios, Peter Shepherd, Tianhong Pan, Wei-Lien Wang, Robert L Satcher, Christopher J Logothetis, Nora Navone, Matthew T Campbell, Antonios G Mikos, Eleonora Dondossola

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Bone metastases are the most common milestone in the lethal progression of prostate cancer and prominent in a substantial portion of renal malignancies. Interactions between cancer and bone host cells have emerged as drivers of both disease progression and therapeutic resistance. To best understand these central host-epithelial cell interactions, biologically relevant preclinical models are required. To achieve this goal, we here established and characterized tissue-engineered bone mimetic environments (BME) capable of supporting the growth of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) cells, ex vivo and in vivo. The BME consisted of a polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold colonized by human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) differentiated …

Translational Potential Of A Contrast Agent For Fgs Applications In Pnets, Solmaz Aghaamiri, Jeannelyn S Estrella, Servando Hernandez Vargas, Mark W Hurd, Sukhen C Ghosh, Ali Azhdarinia, Naruhiko Ikoma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Genome-Wide Crispr Screen Reveals The Synthetic Lethality Between Bcl2l1 Inhibition And Radiotherapy, Ling Yin, Xiaoding Hu, Guangsheng Pei, Mengfan Tang, You Zhou, Huimin Zhang, Min Huang, Siting Li, Jie Zhang, Citu Citu, Zhongming Zhao, Bisrat G Debeb, Xu Feng, Junjie Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Radiation therapy (RT) is one of the most commonly used anticancer therapies. However, the landscape of cellular response to irradiation, especially to a single high-dose irradiation, remains largely unknown. In this study, we performed a whole-genome CRISPR loss-of-function screen and revealed temporal inherent and acquired responses to RT. Specifically, we found that loss of the IL1R1 pathway led to cellular resistance to RT. This is in part because of the involvement of radiation-induced IL1R1-dependent transcriptional regulation, which relies on the NF-κB pathway. Moreover, the mitochondrial anti-apoptotic pathway, particularly the BCL2L1 gene, is crucially important for cell survival after radiation. BCL2L1 …

Risk Of Developing Hypertension In Atopic Dermatitis Patients Receiving Long-Term And Low-Dose Cyclosporine: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study, Yu Ri Woo, Arum Choi, Seo Won Song, Suyeun Kim, Sang Wook Son, Sang Hyun Cho, Sukil Kim, Jung Eun Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Cyclosporine (CS) is a first-line immunosuppressive agent used to manage moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD). To date, the risk of developing hypertension associated with the long-term use of low-dose CS in AD patients is understudied.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the cumulative dose-dependent effect of CS on the risk of developing hypertension in patients with AD.

METHODS: A nationwide population-based retrospective cohort with 1,844,009 AD patients was built from the Korean National Health Insurance System database from 2005 to 2009. A Cox proportional-hazard regression analysis was performed according to patients' CS treatment history adjusted for potential confounders.

RESULTS: Current use …

Primary Health Care And The Tanzania Comprehensive Cancer Project, Gijs Walraven, Harrison Chuwa, Alain Fourquet, Paschal Ruggajo

Internal Medicine, East Africa

No abstract provided.