Medical Specialties Commons^™

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation For Fatigue In Post-Acute Sequelae Of Sars-Cov-2 (Pasc), Kelly Santana, Eduardo França, João Sato, Ana Silva, Maria Queiroz, Julia De Farias, Danniely Rodrigues, Iara Souza, Vanessa Ribeiro, Egas Caparelli-Dáquer, Antonio L Teixeira, Leigh Charvet, Abhishek Datta, Marom Bikson, Suellen Andrade

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: and purpose: Fatigue is among the most common persistent symptoms following post-acute sequelae of Sars-COV-2 infection (PASC). The current study investigated the potential therapeutic effects of High-Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) associated with rehabilitation program for the management of PASC-related fatigue.

METHODS: Seventy patients with PASC-related fatigue were randomized to receive 3 mA or sham HD-tDCS targeting the left primary motor cortex (M1) for 30 min paired with a rehabilitation program. Each patient underwent 10 sessions (2 sessions/week) over five weeks. Fatigue was measured as the primary outcome before and after the intervention using the Modified Fatigue Impact …

The Involvement Of Kynurenine Pathway In Neurodegenerative Diseases, Lais B Martins, Ana L M Silveira, Antonio L Teixeira

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: A growing body of evidence has shown the involvement of the kynurenine pathway (KP), the primary route of tryptophan (TRP) catabolism, in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The study aims to provide a comprehensive and critical overview of the clinical evidence on the KP involvement in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), discussing therapeutic opportunities.

METHODS: We searched for studies investigating KP metabolites in human subjects with AD and/or PD.

RESULTS: Postmortem studies showed altered levels of KP metabolites in the brain of AD and PD patients compared with controls. Cross-sectional studies have reported …

“It’S Hard To Feel A Part Of Something When You’Ve Never Met People”: Defining “Learning Community” In An Online Era, Lucy Prodgers, Elizabeth Travis, Madeleine Pownall

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Feeling part of a community of learners has been shown to foster students' engagement and sense of belonging, leading to higher retention and achievement of learning outcomes. The pivot to online teaching caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a reappraisal of all aspects of the student experience, including students' capacity and opportunity to engage in meaningful learning communities online. There has been some emergent literature which considers how to facilitate online learning communities in the emergency remote teaching context prompted by COVID-19. However, there is a notable lack of literature which considers how learning communities are defined, understood, and …

Novornabreak: Local Assembly For Novel Splice Junction And Fusion Transcript Detection From Rna-Seq Data, Yukun Tan, Vakul Mohanty, Shaoheng Liang, Jinzhuang Dou, Jun Ma, Kun Hee Kim, Marc Jan Bonder, Xinghua Shi, Charles Lee, Zechen Chong, Ken Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We present novoRNABreak, a unified framework for cancer specific novel splice junction and fusion transcript detection in RNA-seq data obtained from human cancer samples. novoRNABreak is based on a local assembly model, which offers a tradeoff between the alignment-based and de novo whole transcriptome assembly (WTA) methods. This approach is accurate and sensitive in assembling novel junctions that are difficult to directly align or have multiple alignments. Additionally, it is more efficient due to the strategy that focuses on junctions rather than full length transcripts. The performance of novoRNABreak is demonstrated by a comprehensive set of experiments using synthetic data …

Clinical Outcomes: Endoscopic Resection Of Duodenal Ampullary Lesions, Stephanie M Woo, Mark J Real, Brett M Will, Eric J Kim, Jiling Chou, Ahmed A Alsaiari, Ahmad Nakshabandi, Walid M Chalhoub, Nadim G Haddad

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Ampullary adenomas are lesions at the duodenum's major papilla commonly associated with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) but may also occur sporadically. Historically, ampullary adenomas were removed surgically, however endoscopic resection has become the preferred method of resection. Most of the literature on management of ampullary adenomas are small single-center retrospective reviews. The objective of this study is to describe endoscopic papillectomy outcomes to further refine management guidelines.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients who underwent endoscopic papillectomy. Demographic data were included. Details regarding lesions and procedures were also collected, including endoscopic impression, size, resection method and adjunctive …

Automated Brain Metastases Segmentation With A Deep Dive Into False-Positive Detection, Hamidreza Ziyaee, Carlos E Cardenas, D Nana Yeboa, Jing Li, Sherise D Ferguson, Jason Johnson, Zijian Zhou, Jeremiah Sanders, Raymond Mumme, Laurence Court, Tina Briere, Jinzhong Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: The clinical management of brain metastases after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is difficult, because a physician must review follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to determine treatment outcome, which is often labor intensive. The purpose of this study was to develop an automated framework to contour brain metastases in MRI to help treatment planning for SRS and understand its limitations.

Methods and materials: Two self-adaptive nnU-Net models trained on postcontrast 3-dimensional T1-weighted MRI scans from patients who underwent SRS were analyzed. Performance was evaluated by computing positive predictive value (PPV), sensitivity, and Dice similarity coefficient (DSC). The training and testing …

Fgf Signaling In Cranial Suture Development And Related Diseases, Xiaolei Zhao, Shannon Erhardt, Kihan Sung, Jun Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Suture mesenchymal stem cells (SMSCs) are a heterogeneous stem cell population with the ability to self-renew and differentiate into multiple cell lineages. The cranial suture provides a niche for SMSCs to maintain suture patency, allowing for cranial bone repair and regeneration. In addition, the cranial suture functions as an intramembranous bone growth site during craniofacial bone development. Defects in suture development have been implicated in various congenital diseases, such as sutural agenesis and craniosynostosis. However, it remains largely unknown how intricate signaling pathways orchestrate suture and SMSC function in craniofacial bone development, homeostasis, repair and diseases. Studies in patients with …

C4b-Binding Protein Inhibits Particulate- And Crystalline-Induced Nlrp3 Inflammasome Activation, Damien Bierschenk, Nikolina Papac-Milicevic, Ian P Bresch, Valentina Kovacic, Serena Bettoni, Mateusz Dziedzic, Rick A Wetsel, Susanne Eschenburg, Christoph J Binder, Anna M Blom, Ben C King

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Dysregulated NLRP3 inflammasome activation drives a wide variety of diseases, while endogenous inhibition of this pathway is poorly characterised. The serum protein C4b-binding protein (C4BP) is a well-established inhibitor of complement with emerging functions as an endogenously expressed inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome signalling pathway. Here, we identified that C4BP purified from human plasma is an inhibitor of crystalline- (monosodium urate, MSU) and particulate-induced (silica) NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Using a C4BP mutant panel, we identified that C4BP bound these particles

Assessing The Most Vulnerable Subgroup To Type Ii Diabetes Associated With Statin Usage: Evidence From Electronic Health Record Data, Xinzhou Guo, Waverly Wei, Molei Liu, Tianxi Cai, Chong Wu, Jingshen Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

There have been increased concerns that the use of statins, one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for treating coronary artery disease, is potentially associated with the increased risk of new-onset Type II diabetes (T2D). Nevertheless, to date, there is no robust evidence supporting as to whether and what kind of populations are indeed vulnerable for developing T2D after taking statins. In this case study, leveraging the biobank and electronic health record data in the Partner Health System, we introduce a new data analysis pipeline and a novel statistical methodology that address existing limitations by (i) designing a rigorous causal …

Predictive Digital Twin For Optimizing Patient-Specific Radiotherapy Regimens Under Uncertainty In High-Grade Gliomas, Anirban Chaudhuri, Graham Pash, David A Hormuth, Guillermo Lorenzo, Michael Kapteyn, Chengyue Wu, Ernesto A B F Lima, Thomas E Yankeelov, Karen Willcox

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We develop a methodology to create data-driven predictive digital twins for optimal risk-aware clinical decision-making. We illustrate the methodology as an enabler for an anticipatory personalized treatment that accounts for uncertainties in the underlying tumor biology in high-grade gliomas, where heterogeneity in the response to standard-of-care (SOC) radiotherapy contributes to sub-optimal patient outcomes. The digital twin is initialized through prior distributions derived from population-level clinical data in the literature for a mechanistic model's parameters. Then the digital twin is personalized using Bayesian model calibration for assimilating patient-specific magnetic resonance imaging data. The calibrated digital twin is used to propose optimal …

The Short- And Long-Term Readmission Of Four Major Categories Of Digestive System Cancers: Does Obesity Or Metabolic Disorder Matter?, Yan Li, Xiaoqin Wu, Yongfeng Song, Peipei Wang, Bofei Zhang, Bingzhou Guo, Ziwei Liu, Yafei Wu, Shanshan Shao, Yiping Cheng, Honglin Guo, Xiude Fan, Jiajun Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Patients with digestive system cancers (DSCs) are at a high risk for hospitalizations; however, the risk factors for readmission remain unknown. Here, we established a retrospective cohort study to assess the association between metabolic obesity phenotypes and readmission risks of DSC.

Experimental design: A total of 142,753 and 74,566 patients at index hospitalization were ultimately selected from the Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD) 2018 to establish the 30-day and 180-day readmission cohorts, respectively. The study population was classified into four groups: metabolically healthy non-obese (MHNO), metabolically healthy obese (MHO), metabolically unhealthy non-obese (MUNO), and metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO). Multivariate Cox …

Receptor-Interacting Protein 1 And 3 Kinase Activity Are Required For High-Fat Diet Induced Liver Injury In Mice, Xiaoqin Wu, Rakesh K Arya, Emily Huang, Megan R Mcmullen, Laura E Nagy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The RIP1-RIP3-MLKL-mediated cell death pathway is associated with progression of non-alcohol-associated fatty liver/steatohepatitis (NAFL/NASH). Previous work identified a critical role for MLKL, the key effector regulating necroptosis, but not RIP3, in mediating high fat diet-induced liver injury in mice. RIP1 and RIP3 have active N-terminus kinase domains essential for activation of MLKL and subsequent necroptosis. However, little is known regarding domain-specific roles of RIP1/RIP3 kinase in liver diseases. Here, we hypothesized that RIP1/RIP3 kinase activity are required for the development of high fat diet-induced liver injury.

METHODS:Rip1K45A/K45A and Rip3K51A/K51A kinase-dead mice on a C57BL/6J background and their littermate …

Transcriptome-Wide Profiling Of Acute Stress Induced Changes In Ribosome Occupancy Level Using External Standards, Annie W Shieh, Sandeep K Bansal, Zhen Zuo, Sidney H Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Acute cellular stress is known to induce a global reduction in mRNA translation through suppression of cap dependent translation. Selective translation in response to acute stress has been shown to play important roles in regulating the stress response. However, accurately profiling translational changes transcriptome-wide in response to acute cellular stress has been challenging. Commonly used data normalization methods operate on the assumption that any systematic shifts are experimental artifacts. Consequently, if applied to profiling acute cellular stress-induced mRNA translation changes, these methods are expected to produce biased estimates. To address this issue, we designed, produced, and evaluated a panel of …

Educating Oncology Nurses On Identifying And Managing Cancer-Related Distress, Rosemary Vivella Irish

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractUp to 50% of patients diagnosed with cancer will experience significant levels of distress. Cancer is related to psychological distress and can negatively impact recovery from surgery, increase treatment side effects, and decrease overall quality of life. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommended screening for distress as part of comprehensive cancer care. In the practice setting, there was a need for better assessment of distress in cancer patients. The purpose of this staff education project was to address a gap in practice regarding the lack of knowledge of screening for distress by providing education to oncology nurses on how to …

Educating Oncology Nurses On Identifying And Managing Cancer-Related Distress, Rosemary Vivella Irish

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractUp to 50% of patients diagnosed with cancer will experience significant levels of distress. Cancer is related to psychological distress and can negatively impact recovery from surgery, increase treatment side effects, and decrease overall quality of life. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommended screening for distress as part of comprehensive cancer care. In the practice setting, there was a need for better assessment of distress in cancer patients. The purpose of this staff education project was to address a gap in practice regarding the lack of knowledge of screening for distress by providing education to oncology nurses on how to …

Feasibility Of Mediastinal Radiation Use In Heartmate 3 Lvad Recipients With Cancer., Nausharwan Butt, Farooq H Sheikh

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

The HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device possesses the unique feature of having its electronics and software located within the housing of the pump, which may predispose it to malfunction from radiation exposure during cancer treatment. We investigated this association in a case series of two patients at our institution.

Outcomes Among St-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (Stemi) Patients With Cardiogenic Shock And Covid-19: A Nationwide Analysis, Bruce Adrian Casipit, Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Kevin Bryan Lo, Aman Amanullah

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

Background: There is paucity of data regarding the characteristics and outcomes of patients admitted for ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS) with concomitant Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.

Methods: Using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) Database for the year 2020, we conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate the outcomes of patients who sustained STEMI-associated cardiogenic shock (STEMI-CS) with concomitant COVID-19 infection looking at its impact on in-hospital mortality and secondarily at the in-hospital procedure and intervention utilization rates as well as hospital length of stay.

Results: We identified a total of 22,775 patients with STEMI-CS, …

Resistant Drug-Eluting Stent Restenosis And Resurrection Of Intracoronary Brachytherapy: The Lazarus Of Contemporary Coronary Intervention, Michael P. Savage, David L. Fischman

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

A Meta-Analysis Of Standard Versus Ultrasound-Assisted Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis In The Management Of Acute Pulmonary Embolism, Elizabeth S. Bruno, Mark Terence P. Mujer, Parth V. Desai, Yevgeniy Brailovsky, Amir Darki

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

Background: Standard catheter-directed thrombolysis (SCDT) harnesses the therapeutic benefit of systemic thrombolytics while minimizing bleeding complications in patients presenting with pulmonary embolism (PE). Ultrasound-assisted catheter-directed thrombolysis (USAT) theoretically improves upon SCDT by disrupting fibrin and increasing the surface area exposed to thrombolytic agent. However, it is unclear if this translates into improved outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search of prior publications comparing SCDT and USAT in patients with intermediate or high-risk PE was conducted. Primary outcomes of interest were bleeding events, ICU and hospital length of stay. Secondary outcomes included changes in pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP), mean pulmonary artery pressure …

Association Of The Bb Genotype Of The Abo Gene With The Risk Of Acute Myocardial Infarction In Hospital-Based Study, Farzana Abubakar Yousuf, Iqbal Azam Syed, Asal Khan Tareen, Khawar A. Kazmi, Jibran Sualeh Muhammad, Mohammad Perwaiz Iqbal

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Objectives: The ABO gene locus has been identified to be associated with myocardial infarction in patients with coronary heart disease. The primary focus of this hospital-based study was to explore the relationship of ABO blood groups and ABO genotypes with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: In a comparative cross-sectional study, an equal number of adult AMI patients and healthy controls (n=275 in each group; age range 30-70 years, both males and females) were recruited from the Aga Khan University and NICVD, Karachi, with informed consent. The blood samples were analyzed for ABO blood groups and other biomarkers. …

Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury In The Middle East And North Africa Region: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis To Assess Characteristics, Mechanisms, And Risk Factors, Samar Al-Hajj, Sarah H Farran, Batoul Dekmak, Layal Hneiny, Hussein Abou Abbas, Aya Hassoun, Nadine Youness, Sarah Ghalayini, Nour Abou Khalil, Fiona Lecky, Shima Shahjouieh, Layal Ghamlouche, Zainab Nasrallah, Firas Kobeissy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pediatric traumatic brain injury (pTBI) represents a major cause of child injuries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This review aims to assess pTBIs in the MENA region and reports their clinical severity and outcomes. A search was conducted using major electronic databases, including Medline/Ovid, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and SCOPUS. Abstracts were screened independently and in duplicate to detect original research. The objective and study findings for each article were recorded, along with the mechanism of pTBI, patient age and sex, injury assessment tool(s) used, and outcome. A total of 1345 articles were retrieved, of …

Endothelial Activation And Fibrotic Changes Are Impeded By Laminar Flow-Induced Chk1-Senp2 Activity Through Mechanisms Distinct From Endothelial-To-Mesenchymal Cell Transition, Minh T H Nguyen, Masaki Imanishi, Shengyu Li, Khanh Chau, Priyanka Banerjee, Loka Reddy Velatooru, Kyung Ae Ko, Venkata S K Samanthapudi, Young J Gi, Ling-Ling Lee, Rei J Abe, Elena Mcbeath, Anita Deswal, Steven H Lin, Nicolas L Palaskas, Robert Dantzer, Keigi Fujiwara, Mae K Borchrdt, Estefani Berrios Turcios, Elizabeth A Olmsted-Davis, Sivareddy Kotla, John P Cooke, Guangyu Wang, Jun-Ichi Abe, Nhat-Tu Le

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The deSUMOylase sentrin-specific isopeptidase 2 (SENP2) plays a crucial role in atheroprotection. However, the phosphorylation of SENP2 at T368 under disturbed flow (D-flow) conditions hinders its nuclear function and promotes endothelial cell (EC) activation. SUMOylation has been implicated in D-flow-induced endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (endoMT), but the precise role of SENP2 in counteracting this process remains unclear.

METHOD: We developed a phospho-specific SENP2 S344 antibody and generated knock-in (KI) mice with a phospho-site mutation of SENP2 S344A using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. We then investigated the effects of SENP2 S344 phosphorylation under two distinct flow patterns and during hypercholesteremia (HC)-mediated EC activation.

RESULT: …

Oncology-Specific Radiation Dose And Image Noise Reference Levels In Adult Abdominal-Pelvic Ct, Moiz Ahmad, Xinming Liu, Ajaykumar C Morani, Dhakshinamoorthy Ganeshan, Marcus R Anderson, Ehsan Samei, Corey T Jensen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: To provide our oncology-specific adult abdominal-pelvic CT reference levels for image noise and radiation dose from a high-volume, oncologic, tertiary referral center.

METHODS: The portal venous phase abdomen-pelvis acquisition was assessed for image noise and radiation dose in 13,320 contrast-enhanced CT examinations. Patient size (effective diameter) and radiation dose (CTDI

RESULTS: The noise reference level was 11.25 HU with a reference range of 10.25-12.25 HU. The dose reference level at a median effective diameter of 30.7 cm was 26.7 mGy with a reference range of 19.6-37.0 mGy. Dose increased with patient size; however, image noise remained approximately constant within …

Advances In The Management Of Spinal Metastases: What The Radiologist Needs To Know, Sarah M Bahouth, Debra N Yeboa, Amol J Ghia, Claudio E Tatsui, Christopher A Alvarez-Breckenridge, Thomas H Beckham, Andrew J Bishop, Jing Li, Mary Frances Mcaleer, Robert Y North, Laurence D Rhines, Todd A Swanson, Wang Chenyang, Behrang Amini

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Spine is the most frequently involved site of osseous metastases. With improved disease-specific survival in patients with Stage IV cancer, durability of local disease control has become an important goal for treatment of spinal metastases. Herein, we review the multidisciplinary management of spine metastases, including conventional external beam radiation therapy, spine stereotactic radiosurgery, and minimally invasive and open surgical treatment options. We also present a simplified framework for management of spinal metastases used at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, focusing on the important decision points where the radiologist can contribute.

Sart-3 Functions To Regulate Germline Sex Determination In C Elegans, Tokiko Furuta, Swathi Arur

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Caenorhabditis elegans gene sart-3 was first identified as the homolog of human SART3 ( S quamous cell carcinoma A ntigen R ecognized by T -cells 3). In humans, expression of SART3 is associated with squamous cell carcinoma, thus most of the studies focus on its potential role as a target of cancer immunotherapy (Shichijo et al. 1998; Yang et al. 1999). Furthermore, SART3 is also known as Tip110 (Liu et al. 2002; Whitmill et al. 2016) in the context of HIV virus host activation pathway. Despite these disease related studies, the molecular function of this protein was not revealed until …

Reactome Pathway Analysis From Whole-Blood Transcriptome Reveals Unique Characteristics Of Systemic Sclerosis Patients At The Preclinical Stage, Chiara Bellocchi, Xuan Wang, Marka A Lyons, Maurizio Marchini, Maurizio Lorini, Vincenzo Carbonelli, Nicola Montano, Shervin Assassi, Lorenzo Beretta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to characterize differential expressed pathways (DEP) in subjects with preclinical systemic sclerosis (PreSSc) characterized uniquely by Raynaud phenomenon, specific autoantibodies, and/or capillaroscopy positive for scleroderma pattern.

METHODS: Whole-blood samples from 33 PreSSc with clinical prospective data (baseline and after 4 years of follow-up) and 16 matched healthy controls (HC) were analyzed for global gene expression transcriptome analysis via RNA sequencing. Functional Analysis of Individual Microarray Expression method annotated Reactome individualized pathways. ANOVA analysis identified DEP whose predictive capability were tested in logistic regression models after extensive internal validation.

RESULTS: At 4 years, 42.4% subjects progressed (evolving …

Optimization Of Mesh Generation For Geometric Accuracy, Robustness, And Efficiency Of Biomechanical-Model-Based Deformable Image Registration, Yulun He, Brian M Anderson, Guillaume Cazoulat, Bastien Rigaud, Lusmeralis Almodovar-Abreu, Julianne Pollard-Larkin, Peter Balter, Zhongxing Liao, Radhe Mohan, Bruno Odisio, Stina Svensson, Kristy K Brock

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Successful generation of biomechanical-model-based deformable image registration (BM-DIR) relies on user-defined parameters that dictate surface mesh quality. The trial-and-error process to determine the optimal parameters can be labor-intensive and hinder DIR efficiency and clinical workflow.

PURPOSE: To identify optimal parameters in surface mesh generation as boundary conditions for a BM-DIR in longitudinal liver and lung CT images to facilitate streamlined image registration processes.

METHODS: Contrast-enhanced CT images of 29 colorectal liver cancer patients and end-exhale four-dimensional CT images of 26 locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients were collected. Different combinations of parameters that determine the triangle mesh quality …

Head And Neck Radiation Therapy Patterns Of Practice Variability Identified As A Challenge To Real-World Big Data: Results From The Learning From Analysis Of Multicentre Big Data Aggregation (Lambda) Consortium, Amanda Caissie, Michelle Mierzwa, Clifton David Fuller, Murali Rajaraman, Alex Lin, Andrew Macdonald, Richard Popple, Ying Xiao, Lisanne Vandijk, Peter Balter, Helen Fong, Heping Xu, Matthew Kovoor, Joonsang Lee, Arvind Rao, Mary Martel, Reid Thompson, Brandon Merz, John Yao, Charles Mayo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Outside of randomized clinical trials, it is difficult to develop clinically relevant evidence-based recommendations for radiation therapy (RT) practice guidelines owing to lack of comprehensive real-world data. To address this knowledge gap, we formed the Learning from Analysis of Multicenter Big Data Aggregation consortium to cooperatively implement RT data standardization, develop software solutions for data analysis, and recommend clinical practice change based on real-world data analyzed. The first phase of this "Big Data" study aimed at characterizing variability in clinical practice patterns of dosimetric data for organs at risk (OARs) that would undermine subsequent use of large-scale, electronically aggregated …

Dose Escalation For Pancreas Sbrt: Potential And Limitations Of Using Daily Online Adaptive Radiation Therapy And An Iterative Isotoxicity Automated Planning Approach, Dong Joo Rhee, Sam Beddar, Joseph Abi Jaoude, Gabriel Sawakuchi, Rachael Martin, Luis Perles, Cenji Yu, Yulun He, Laurence E Court, Ethan B Ludmir, Albert C Koong, Prajnan Das, Eugene J Koay, Cullen Taniguichi, Joshua S Niedzielski

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: To determine the dosimetric limitations of daily online adaptive pancreas stereotactic body radiation treatment by using an automated dose escalation approach.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: We collected 108 planning and daily computed tomography (CT) scans from 18 patients (18 patients × 6 CT scans) who received 5-fraction pancreas stereotactic body radiation treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dose metrics from the original non-dose-escalated clinical plan (non-DE), the dose-escalated plan created on the original planning CT (DE-ORI), and the dose-escalated plan created on daily adaptive radiation therapy CT (DE-ART) were analyzed. We developed a dose-escalation planning algorithm within the radiation treatment …

Extreme Temperatures And Sickness Absence In The Mediterranean Province Of Barcelona: An Occupational Health Issue, Mireia Utzet, Amaya Ayala-Garcia, Fernando G Benavides, Xavier Basagaña

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the association between daily temperature and sickness absence episodes in the Mediterranean province of Barcelona between 2012 and 2015, according to sociodemographic and occupational characteristics.

METHODS: Ecological study of a sample of salaried workers affiliated to the Spanish social security, resident in Barcelona province between 2012 and 2015. The association between daily mean temperature and risk of new sickness absence episodes was estimated with distributed lag non-linear models. The lag effect up to 1 week was considered. Analyses were repeated separately by sex, age groups, occupational category, economic sector and medical diagnosis groups of …