Genetic Phenomena Commons^™

Learning Through Doing: Comprehensive Programming For A Training Program In Cancer Disparities, Kayce D Solari Williams, Kamisha Hamilton Escoto, Crystal Roberson, Kathy Le, Lorraine R Reitzel, Lorna H Mcneill, Shine Chang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In the United States, preparing researchers and practitioners for careers in cancer requires multiple components for success. In this reflection article, we discuss our approach to designing a comprehensive research training program in cancer disparities. We focused on elements that provide students and early career scientists a deep understanding of disparities through first-hand experiences and skills training necessary to build a research career in the area. Our Educational Program sits within the framework of an NCI P20 program, "UHAND (University of Houston/MD Anderson Cancer Center)", jointly established by an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center and a minority-serving university as a collaborative …

The Effect Of Integrating Knowledge-Based Planning With Multicriteria Optimization In Treatment Planning For Prostate Sbrt, Sandun Jayarathna, Xinglei Shen, Ronald C Chen, H Harold Li, Kenny Guida

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Knowledge-based planning (KBP) and multicriteria optimization (MCO) are two powerful tools to assist treatment planners in achieving optimal target coverage and organ-at-risk (OAR) sparing. The purpose of this work is to investigate if integrating MCO with conventional KBP can further improve treatment plan quality for prostate cancer stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). A two-phase study was designed to investigate the impact of MCO and KBP in prostate SBRT treatment planning. The first phase involved the creation of a KBP model based on thirty clinical SBRT plans, generated by manual optimization (KBP_M). A ten-patient validation cohort was used to compare manual, …

Antioxidant Activity And Total Phenolic Compounds Of Commiphora Gileadensis Extracts Obtained By Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction, With Monitoring Antiaging And Cytotoxicity Activities, Hani Ahmed, Marwan M A Rashed, Marwan Almoiliqy, Mohammed Abdalla, Mohanad Bashari, Mohamed Y Zaky, Zhu Hailin, Taha A A Naji, Ahmed Eibaid, Jinpeng Wang, Li-Ping Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Commiphora gileadensis (C. gileadensis) has been identified and linked with various health benefits and pharmaceutical potential for its phytochemical activities and chemical constituents. This study aimed to evaluate ultrasonic‐assisted extraction (USE) technique for total phenols content from C. gileadensis leaf compared to the hydrodistillation extraction (HDE). Our results showed that the USE operating conditions were identified as: MeOH·H2O solvent‐to‐fresh sample ratio of 80:20 (v/v); ultrasonic power/frequency at 150 W/20 kHz; and a temperature of 40 ± 1°C; subjected to acoustic waves intermittently for a calculated time (5 min) during the total programmed time of 12 min. The USE …

Author Correction: Disruption Of Chromatin Folding Domains By Somatic Genomic Rearrangements In Human Cancer, Kadir C Akdemir, Victoria T Le, Sahaana Chandran, Yilong Li, Roel G Verhaak, Rameen Beroukhim, Peter J Campbell, Lynda Chin, Jesse R Dixon, P Andrew Futreal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Targeting Unc51-Like Autophagy Activating Kinase 1 (Ulk1) Overcomes Adaptive Drug Resistance In Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, Seemana Bhattacharya, Sujan Piya, Huaxian Ma, Priyanka Sharma, Qi Zhang, Natalia Baran, Vivian R Ruvolo, Teresa Mcqueen, R Eric Davis, Rasoul Pourebrahim, Marina Konopleva, Hagop Kantarjian, Nicholas D P Cosford, Michael Andreeff, Gautam Borthakur

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Despite effective new therapies, adaptive resistance remains the main obstacle in AML therapy. Autophagy induction is a key mechanism for adaptive resistance. Leukemic blasts at diagnosis express higher levels of the apical autophagy kinase ULK1 compared to normal hematopoietic cells. Exposure to chemotherapy and targeted agents upregulate ULK1, hence we hypothesize that developing ULK1 inhibitors may present the unique opportunity for clinical translation of autophagy inhibition. Accordingly, we demonstrate that ULK1 inhibition, by genetic and pharmacological means, suppresses treatment-induced autophagy, overcomes adaptive drug-resistance, and synergizes with chemotherapy and emerging anti-leukemia agents like venetoclax (ABT-199). The study next aims at exploring …

Flt3 Inhibitors Upregulate Cxcr4 And E-Selectin Ligands Via Erk Suppression In Aml Cells And Cxcr4/E-Selectin Inhibition Enhances Anti-Leukemia Efficacy Of Flt3-Targeted Therapy In Aml, Yannan Jia, Weiguo Zhang, Mahesh Basyal, Kyung Hee Chang, Lauren Ostermann, Jared K Burks, Charlie Ly, Hong Mu-Mosley, Qi Zhang, Xin Han, William E Fogler, John L Magnani, Arnaud Lesegretain, Anna A Zal, Tomasz Zal, Michael Andreeff

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Clinicopathologic Features Of Therapy-Related Myeloid Neoplasms In Patients With Myeloma In The Era Of Novel Therapies, Fatima Zahra Jelloul, Andres E Quesada, Richard K Yang, Shaoying Li, Wei Wang, Jie Xu, Guilin Tang, C Cameron Yin, Hong Fang, Siba El Hussein, Joseph Khoury, Roland L Bassett, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Elizabet E Manasanch, Robert Z Orlowski, Muzaffar H Qazilbash, Keyur P Patel, L Jeffrey Medeiros, Pei Lin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The development of therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MN) is a rare complication that can occur in myeloma patients treated primarily with novel therapies. To better understand t-MNs in this context, we reviewed 66 such patients and compared them with a control group of patients who developed t-MN after cytotoxic therapies for other malignancies. The study group included 50 men and 16 women, with a median age of 68 years (range, 48-86 years). Therapies included proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory agents, and high-dose melphalan-based autologous stem cell transplantation (HDM-ASCT) in 64 (97%), 65 (98.5%), and 64 (97%) patients, respectively; 29 (43.9%) patients were exposed …

Aibp Regulates Trpv1 Activation In Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy By Controlling Lipid Raft Dynamics And Proximity To Tlr4 In Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons, Juliana M Navia-Pelaez, Julia Borges Paes Lemes, Leonardo Gonzalez, Lauriane Delay, Luciano Dos Santos Aggum Capettini, Jenny W Lu, Gilson Gonçalves Dos Santos, Ann M Gregus, Patrick M Dougherty, Tony L Yaksh, Yury I Miller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Nociceptive afferent signaling evoked by inflammation and nerve injury is mediated by the opening of ligand-gated and voltage-gated receptors or channels localized to cholesterol-rich lipid raft membrane domains. Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) nociceptors express high levels of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), which also localize to lipid rafts. Genetic deletion or pharmacologic blocking of TLR4 diminishes pain associated with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). In DRGs of mice with paclitaxel-induced CIPN, we analyzed DRG neuronal lipid rafts, expression of TLR4, activation of transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), and TLR4-TRPV1 interaction. Using proximity ligation assay, flow cytometry, and …

Improving Prediction Of Late Symptoms Using Lstm And Patient-Reported Outcomes For Head And Neck Cancer Patients, Yaohua Wang, Lisanne Van Dijk, Abdallah S R Mohamed, Mohamed Naser, Clifton David Fuller, Xinhua Zhang, G Elisabeta Marai, Guadalupe Canahuate

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) are collected directly from the patients using symptom questionnaires. In the case of head and neck cancer patients, PRO surveys are recorded every week during treatment with each patient's visit to the clinic and at different follow-up times after the treatment has concluded. PRO surveys can be very informative regarding the patient's status and the effect of treatment on the patient's quality of life (QoL). Processing PRO data is challenging for several reasons. First, missing data is frequent as patients might skip a question or a questionnaire altogether. Second, PROs are patient-dependent, a rating of 5 for …

Pan-Cancer T Cell Atlas Links A Cellular Stress Response State To Immunotherapy Resistance, Yanshuo Chu, Enyu Dai, Yating Li, Guangchun Han, Guangsheng Pei, Davis R Ingram, Krupa Thakkar, Jiang-Jiang Qin, Minghao Dang, Xiuning Le, Can Hu, Qing Deng, Ansam Sinjab, Pravesh Gupta, Ruiping Wang, Dapeng Hao, Fuduan Peng, Xinmiao Yan, Yunhe Liu, Shumei Song, Shaojun Zhang, John V Heymach, Alexandre Reuben, Yasir Y Elamin, Melissa P Pizzi, Yang Lu, Rossana Lazcano, Jian Hu, Mingyao Li, Michael Curran, Andrew Futreal, Anirban Maitra, Amir A Jazaeri, Jaffer A Ajani, Charles Swanton, Xiang-Dong Cheng, Hussein A Abbas, Maura Gillison, Krishna Bhat, Alexander J Lazar, Michael Green, Kevin Litchfield, Humam Kadara, Cassian Yee, Linghua Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Tumor-infiltrating T cells offer a promising avenue for cancer treatment, yet their states remain to be fully characterized. Here we present a single-cell atlas of T cells from 308,048 transcriptomes across 16 cancer types, uncovering previously undescribed T cell states and heterogeneous subpopulations of follicular helper, regulatory and proliferative T cells. We identified a unique stress response state, TSTR, characterized by heat shock gene expression. TSTR cells are detectable in situ in the tumor microenvironment across various cancer types, mostly within lymphocyte aggregates or potential tertiary lymphoid structures in tumor beds or surrounding tumor edges. T cell states/compositions correlated with …

Clinical Implications Of Tumor-Based Next-Generation Sequencing In High-Grade Epithelial Ovarian Cancer, Katherine I Foster, Kenna R M Shaw, Jeff Jin, Shannon N Westin, Timothy A Yap, Deanna M Glassman, Amir A Jazaeri, Jose A Rauh-Hain, Sanghoon Lee, Bryan M Fellman, Zhenlin Ju, Yuexin Liu, Nicole D Fleming, Anil K Sood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Tumor-based next-generation sequencing is used inconsistently as a tool to tailor treatment of ovarian cancer, yet beyond detection of somatic BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, the clinical benefit is not well established. This study aimed to assess the clinical relevance of tumor-based next-generation sequencing (tbNGS) in patients with ovarian cancer.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with high-grade epithelial ovarian carcinoma. tbNGS results were identified in the electronic medical record using optical character recognition and natural language processing. Genetic, clinical, and demographic information was collected. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were calculated and compared using log-rank tests. Multivariate Cox …

Targeting Chemotherapy Resistance In Mesenchymal Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Phase Ii Trial Of Neoadjuvant Angiogenic And Mtor Inhibition With Chemotherapy, Nour Abuhadra, Ryan Sun, Roland L Bassett, Lei Huo, Jeffrey T Chang, Mediget Teshome, Alyson R Clayborn, Jason B White, Elizabeth E Ravenberg, Beatriz E Adrada, Rosalind P Candelaria, Wei Yang, Qingqing Ding, W Fraser Symmans, Banu Arun, Senthil Damodaran, Kimberly B Koenig, Rachel M Layman, Bora Lim, Jennifer K Litton, Alastair Thompson, Naoto T Ueno, Helen Piwnica-Worms, Gabriel N Hortobagyi, Vicente Valero, Debu Tripathy, Gaiane M Rauch, Stacy Moulder, Clinton Yam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background:: Metaplastic histology and mesenchymal differentiation have been associated with chemotherapy resistance in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In the neoadjuvant setting, suboptimal on-treatment clinical response to chemotherapy is associated with low rates of pathological complete response (pCR). Given the previously demonstrated activity of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, bevacizumab, and mTOR inhibition with temsirolimus (DAT) or everolimus (DAE) in metastatic, metaplastic TNBC, we conducted a phase II study of DAT/DAE as the second phase of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with metaplastic and/or mesenchymal TNBC experiencing suboptimal clinical response to neoadjuvant doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (AC) (NCT02456857).

Patients and Methods:: Patients received …

A Phase Ii Study Of Neoadjuvant Atezolizumab And Nab-Paclitaxel In Patients With Anthracycline-Resistant Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Clinton Yam, Elizabeth A Mittendorf, Haven R Garber, Ryan Sun, Senthil Damodaran, Rashmi K Murthy, David Ramirez, Meghan Karuturi, Rachel M Layman, Nuhad Ibrahim, Gaiane M Rauch, Beatriz E Adrada, Rosalind P Candelaria, Jason B White, Elizabeth Ravenberg, Alyson Clayborn, Qing Qing Ding, W Fraser Symmans, Sabitha Prabhakaran, Alastair M Thompson, Vicente Valero, Debu Tripathy, Lei Huo, Stacy L Moulder, Jennifer K Litton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Neoadjuvant anti-PD-(L)1 therapy improves the pathological complete response (pCR) rate in unselected triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Given the potential for long-term morbidity from immune-related adverse events (irAEs), optimizing the risk-benefit ratio for these agents in the curative neoadjuvant setting is important. Suboptimal clinical response to initial neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) is associated with low rates of pCR (2-5%) and may define a patient selection strategy for neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade. We conducted a single-arm phase II study of atezolizumab and nab-paclitaxel as the second phase of NAT in patients with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (AC)-resistant TNBC (NCT02530489).

Methods: Patients …

The Lure Of Cardiac Metabolism In The Diagnosis, Prevention, And Treatment Of Heart Failure, Daniele Rodolico, Gabriele G Schiattarella, Heinrich Taegtmeyer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Energy substrate metabolism and contractile function are tightly coupled in the heart. Within this framework, heart failure may be viewed as a state of impaired energy transfer. The metabolic changes in the failing heart are linked to functional and structural changes. A worthwhile goal is to measure metabolic flux and its regulation quantitatively, and to do this in a manner that leads to targeted interventions. For several good reasons, this goal has been elusive until now. The development of new analytical and imaging techniques offers the potential of exploring the landscape of metabolic changes across the different stages of heart …

Efficacy And Adverse Effects Of Ketamine Versus Electroconvulsive Therapy For Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Debora De A Simoes Moreira, Luís Eduardo Gauer, Guilherme Teixeira, Amanda Carolina Fonseca Da Silva, Stefanie Cavalcanti, João Quevedo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: ECT is considered the fastest and most effective treatment for TRD. Ketamine seems to be an attractive alternative due to its rapid-onset antidepressant effects and impact on suicidal thoughts. This study aimed to compare efficacy and tolerability of ECT and ketamine for different depression outcomes (PROSPERO/CRD42022349220).

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and trial registries, which were the ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, without restrictions on publication date.

Selection criteria: randomized controlled trials or cohorts comparing ketamine versus ECT in patients with TRD.

Results: Eight studies …

Phase I/Ii Sequencing Study Of Azacitidine, Epacadostat, And Pembrolizumab In Advanced Solid Tumors, Jason J Luke, Marwan Fakih, Charles Schneider, E Gabriela Chiorean, Johanna Bendell, Rebecca Kristeleit, Razelle Kurzrock, Sarah P Blagden, Irene Brana, Laura W Goff, Kevin O'Hayer, Ryan Geschwindt, Michael Smith, Feng Zhou, Aung Naing

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), an interferon-inducible enzyme, contributes to tumor immune intolerance. Immune checkpoint inhibition may increase interferon levels; combining IDO1 inhibition with immune checkpoint blockade represents an attractive strategy. Epigenetic agents trigger interferon responses and may serve as an immunotherapy priming method. We evaluated whether epigenetic therapy plus IDO1 inhibition and immune checkpoint blockade confers clinical benefit to patients with advanced solid tumors.

Methods: ECHO-206 was a Phase I/II study where treatment-experienced patients with advanced solid tumors (N = 70) received azacitidine plus an immunotherapy doublet (epacadostat [IDO1 inhibitor] and pembrolizumab). Sequencing of treatment was also assessed. Primary …

Mini-Hyper-Cvd Plus Inotuzumab Ozogamicin, With Or Without Blinatumomab, In The Subgroup Of Older Patients With Newly Diagnosed Philadelphia Chromosome-Negative B-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia: Long-Term Results Of An Open-Label Phase 2 Trial, Elias Jabbour, Nicholas J Short, Jayastu Senapati, Nitin Jain, Xuelin Huang, Naval Daver, Courtney D Dinardo, Naveen Pemmaraju, William Wierda, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Guillermo Montalban Bravo, Koji Sasaki, Tapan M Kadia, Joseph Khoury, Sa A Wang, Fadi G Haddad, Jovitta Jacob, Rebecca Garris, Farhad Ravandi, Hagop M Kantarjian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The outcome of older patients with B-cell acute lymphocytic leukaemia is inferior to that in younger patients due to the adverse disease biology and their inability to tolerate intensive therapy. We aimed to study the long-term outcomes of inotuzumab ozogamicin with or without blinatumomab in combination with low-intensity chemotherapy in these patients.

Methods: For this open-label phase 2 trial, patients aged 60 years or older with newly diagnosed, Philadelphia-chromosome negative, B-cell acute lymphocytic leukaemia, and an ECOG performance status of 3 or lower were eligible. This study was conducted at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The …

Inference For Set-Based Effects In Genetic Association Studies With Interval-Censored Outcomes, Ryan Sun, Liang Zhu, Yimei Li, Yutaka Yasui, Leslie Robison

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The rapid acceleration of genetic data collection in biomedical settings has recently resulted in the rise of genetic compendiums filled with rich longitudinal disease data. One common feature of these data sets is their plethora of interval-censored outcomes. However, very few tools are available for the analysis of genetic data sets with interval-censored outcomes, and in particular, there is a lack of methodology available for set-based inference. Set-based inference is used to associate a gene, biological pathway, or other genetic construct with outcomes and is one of the most popular strategies in genetics research. This work develops three such tests …

Targeting Glutaminase Is Therapeutically Effective In Ibrutinib-Resistant Mantle Cell Lymphoma, Lingzhi Li, Lei Nie, Alexa Jordan, Qingsong Cai, Yang Liu, Yijing Li, Yuxuan Che, Jovanny Vargas, Zhihong Chen, Angela Leeming, Wei Wang, Yixin Yao, Michael Wang, Vivian Changying Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an incurable B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma characterized by frequent relapses. The development of resistance to ibrutinib therapy remains a major challenge in MCL. We previously showed that glutaminolysis is associated with resistance to ibrutinib. In this study, we confirmed that glutaminase (GLS), the first enzyme in glutaminolysis, is overexpressed in ibrutinib-resistant MCL cells, and that its expression correlates well with elevated glutamine dependency and glutaminolysis. Furthermore, we discovered that GLS expression correlates with MYC expression and the functioning of the glutamine transporter ASCT2. Depletion of glutamine or GLS significantly reduced cell growth, while GLS overexpression enhanced …

Test-Retest Reliability Of Virtual Reality Devices In Quantifying For Relative Afferent Pupillary Defect, Prithul Sarker, Nasif Zaman, Joshua Ong, Phani Paladugu, Molly Aldred, Ethan Waisberg, Andrew G Lee, Alireza Tavakkoli

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The swinging flashlight test (SFT) is one of the most prominent clinical tests for detecting the relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD). A positive RAPD localizes the lesion to the affected afferent pupil pathway and is a critical part of any ophthalmic exam. Testing for an RAPD, however, can be challenging (especially when small), and there is significant intrarater and interrater variability.

Methods: Prior studies have shown that the pupillometer can improve the detection and measurement of RAPD. In our previous research, we have demonstrated an automatic SFT by utilizing virtual reality (VR), named VR-SFT. We applied our methods to …