Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Tumor Heterogeneity As A Predictor Of Response To Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy In Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer, Alissa Greenbaum, David R. Martin, Therese J. Bocklage, Ji-Hyun Lee, Scott A. Ness, Ashwani Rajput

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) is the standard of care for locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the rectum, but it is currently unknown which patients have disease that will respond. This study tested the correlation between response to nCRT and intratumoral heterogeneity using next-generation sequencing assays.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsy samples from a cohort of patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma (T3/4 or N1/2 disease) who received nCRT. High read-depth sequencing of > 400 cancer-relevant genes was performed. Tumor mutations and variant allele frequencies were used to calculate mutant-allele tumor heterogeneity (MATH) scores as measures of intratumoral …

Tdp-43 Proteinopathy In Aging: Associations With Risk-Associated Gene Variants And With Brain Parenchymal Thyroid Hormone Levels, Peter T. Nelson, Zsombor Gal, Wang-Xia Wang, Dana M. Niedowicz, Sergey C. Artiushin, Samuel Wycoff, Angela Wei, Gregory A. Jicha, David W. Fardo

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Publications

TDP-43 proteinopathy is very prevalent among the elderly (affecting at least 25% of individuals over 85 years of age) and is associated with substantial cognitive impairment. Risk factors implicated in age-related TDP-43 proteinopathy include commonly inherited gene variants, comorbid Alzheimer's disease pathology, and thyroid hormone dysfunction. To test parameters that are associated with aging-related TDP-43 pathology, we performed exploratory analyses of pathologic, genetic, and biochemical data derived from research volunteers in the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Center autopsy cohort (n = 136 subjects). Digital pathologic methods were used to discriminate and quantify both neuritic and intracytoplasmic TDP-43 pathology …

Reassessment Of Risk Genotypes (Grn, Tmem106b, And Abcc9 Variants) Associated With Hippocampal Sclerosis Of Aging Pathology, Peter T. Nelson, Wang-Xia Wang, Amanda B. Partch, Sarah E. Monsell, Otto Valladares, Sally R. Ellingson, Bernard R. Wilfred, Adam C. Naj, Li-San Wang, Walter A. Kukull, David W. Fardo

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Publications

Hippocampal sclerosis of aging (HS-Aging) is a common high-morbidity neurodegenerative condition in elderly persons. To understand the risk factors for HS-Aging, we analyzed data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Consortium and correlated the data with clinical and pathologic information from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center database. Overall, 268 research volunteers with HS-Aging and 2,957 controls were included; detailed neuropathologic data were available for all. The study focused on single-nucleotide polymorphisms previously associated with HS-Aging risk: rs5848 ( GRN ), rs1990622 ( TMEM106B ), and rs704180 ( ABCC9 ). Analyses of a subsample that was not previously evaluated (51 HS-Aging cases …