Publications by authors named "Deborah Neklason"

Article Synopsis
  • - This study investigates how heritability affects hearing acuity across different frequencies by analyzing 34 family pedigrees from the Utah CEPH, using genomic sequencing and audiometric tests.
  • - Results show that heritability decreases as frequency increases, with estimates going from 51% at 250Hz to 30% at 8000Hz, indicating stronger genetic influence at lower frequencies.
  • - The genetic correlation between hearing acuity at similar frequencies is high (e.g., 0.80 between 250Hz and 500Hz), while correlations drop significantly between distant frequencies (0.21 between 250Hz and 8000Hz), highlighting the nuanced genetic factors affecting hearing abilities.
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  • Spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB) is a major cause of health issues in newborns and can arise from various unknown genetic factors, prompting the need for better understanding through family studies.
  • The research utilized the Utah Population Database to identify large families with multiple cases of early SPTB and focused on seven specific pedigrees for genetic analysis, excluding other known causes of preterm birth.
  • The study discovered two significant chromosomal regions related to SPTB, particularly in chromosome 8 (8q24.23), suggesting potential genetic markers for this condition.
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Using five complementary short- and long-read sequencing technologies, we phased and assembled >95% of each diploid human genome in a four-generation, 28-member family (CEPH 1463) allowing us to systematically assess mutations (DNMs) and recombination. From this family, we estimate an average of 192 DNMs per generation, including 75.5 single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), 7.

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  • Patients with serrated polyposis syndrome (SPS) and their first-degree relatives (FDRs) face significantly higher colorectal cancer (CRC) risks, with a 10-fold increase for SPS patients and a 5-fold increase for their FDRs.
  • The study utilized a large population database to compare cancer risks between SPS and sporadic sessile serrated lesion (SSL) patients, their relatives, and normal controls, revealing a 2.6-fold increased risk of any-site adenoma/carcinoma in FDRs of SPS patients.
  • Although no elevated risks for common extracolonic cancers were found for SPS patients and their families, an increased CRC risk was noted in relatives of individuals with SSL and
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Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the small intestine undergo large chromosomal and methylation changes. The objective of this study was to identify methylation differences in NETs and consider how the differentially methylated genes may impact patient survival. Genome-wide methylation and chromosomal copy number variation (CNV) of NETs from the small intestine and appendix were measured.

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Purpose: While familial aggregation of colorectal cancer (CRC) is recognized, the majority of the germline predisposition factors remain unidentified, and many high-risk CRC pedigrees remain unexplained by known risk variants. Fanconi Anemia genes have been recognized to be associated with cancer risk. Notably, FANCM (OMIM 609644) variants have been reported to confer risk for CRC and breast cancer.

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Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SINT) are rare with incidence increasing over the past 40 years. The purpose of this work is to examine the role of environmental exposures in the rise of SINT incidence using the Utah Population Database, a resource of linked records including life events, cancer diagnoses and residential histories. SINT cases born in Utah were identified through the Utah Cancer Registry with: diagnosis years of 1948 to 2014 and age at diagnosis of 23 to 88 years.

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  • Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) face increased cancer risks and require careful surgical decisions to balance future quality of life against dysplasia risks.
  • The study analyzed 140 FAP patients’ surgical histories and cancer outcomes, finding that different surgical approaches yielded similar rates of additional surgeries and colorectal cancer diagnoses.
  • It concluded that while current colorectal interventions are effective, there is a significant incidence of gastric cancer, which poses a major mortality risk, prompting the need for improved surveillance strategies.
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Background: Incidence of small-intestine neuroendocrine tumors (SINT) has been increasing in the United States over the past 40 years, with higher incidence in Utah than elsewhere. As information about how these tumors arise is limited, elucidating lifestyle factors associated with SINT in a statewide cohort could potentially identify those at risk to help mitigate their effects.

Methods: Cases of SINT with a carcinoid histology (8240 or 8241) diagnosed in Utah from 1996 to 2014 with no prior history of cancer within 5 years ( = 433) were matched to population controls (1:10 ratio).

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When recruiting research participants through central cancer registries, high response fractions help ensure population-based representation. We conducted multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression to identify case and study characteristics associated with making contact with and obtaining cooperation of Utah cancer cases using data from 17 unique recruitment efforts undertaken by the Utah Cancer Registry (2007-2016) on behalf of the following studies: A Population-Based Childhood Cancer Survivors Cohort Study in Utah, Comparative Effectiveness Analysis of Surgery and Radiation for Prostate Cancer (CEASAR Study), Costs and Benefits of Follow-up Care for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancers, Study of Exome Sequencing for Head and Neck Cancer Susceptibility Genes, Genetic Epidemiology of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Impact of Remote Familial Colorectal Cancer Risk Assessment and Counseling (Family CARE Project), Massively Parallel Sequencing for Familial Colon Cancer Genes, Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma (MTC) Surveillance Study, Osteosarcoma Surveillance Study, Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study, Risk Education and Assessment for Cancer Heredity Project (REACH Project), Study of Shared Genomic Segment Analysis and Tumor Subtyping in High-Risk Breast-Cancer Gene Pedigrees, Study of Shared Genomic Segment Analysis for Localizing Multiple Myeloma Genes. Characteristics associated with lower odds of contact included Hispanic ethnicity (odds ratio (OR) = 0.

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Sessile serrated adenoma/polyps (SSA/Ps) of the colon account for 20-30% of all colon cancers. Small non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), may function as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes involved in cancer development. Small RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to characterize miRNA profiles in SSA/Ps, hyperplastic polyps (HPs), adenomatous polyps and paired uninvolved colon.

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Background: Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) frequently undergo colectomy to reduce the 70 to 90% lifetime risk of colorectal cancer. After risk-reducing colectomy, duodenal cancer and complications from duodenal surgeries are the main cause of morbidity. Our objective was to prospectively describe the duodenal and gastric polyp phenotype in a cohort of 150 FAP patients undergoing pre-screening for a chemoprevention trial and analyze variables that may affect recommendations for surveillance.

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Background: Genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) predisposition have been shown to play a role in pancreatic cancer susceptibility. Growing evidence suggests that pancreatic cancer may be useful as a sentinel cancer to identify families that could benefit from HBOC or CRC surveillance, but to date pancreatic cancer is only considered an indication for genetic testing in the context of additional family history.

Methods: Preliminary data generated at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital (HCH) included variants identified on a custom 34-gene panel or 59-gene panel including both known HBOC and CRC genes for respective sets of 66 and 147 pancreatic cancer cases, unselected for family history.

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Importance: Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) are at markedly increased risk for colorectal polyps and cancer. A combination of sulindac and erlotinib led to a 71% reduction in duodenal polyp burden in a phase 2 trial.

Objective: To evaluate effect of sulindac and erlotinib on colorectal adenoma regression in patients with FAP.

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Context: Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) results from a premature loss of oocytes, causing infertility and early menopause. The etiology of POI remains unknown in a majority of cases.

Objective: To identify candidate genes in families affected by POI.

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Context: The etiology of primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) remains unknown in most cases.

Objective: We sought to identify the genes causing POI.

Design: The study was a familial genetic study.

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To identify gene expression biomarkers and pathways targeted by sulindac and erlotinib given in a chemoprevention trial with a significant decrease in duodenal polyp burden at 6 months ( < 0.001) in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) patients, we biopsied normal and polyp duodenal tissues from patients on drug versus placebo and analyzed the RNA expression. RNA sequencing was performed on biopsies from the duodenum of FAP patients obtained at baseline and 6-month endpoint endoscopy.

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Background: The outcomes, complications, and rates of secondary malignancies from radiation therapy (RT) are not known for patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP).

Methods: We queried the Hereditary Gastrointestinal Cancer Registry (HGCR) for patients with FAP who received RT. Outcomes assessed included acute and late treatment toxicity and secondary malignancies.

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OBJECTIVE A population-based genealogical resource with linked medical data was used to define the observed familial clustering of Chiari malformation Type I (CM-I). METHODS All patients with CM-I were identified from the 2 largest health care providers in Utah; those patients with linked genealogical data were used to test hypotheses regarding familial clustering. Relative risks (RRs) in first-, second-, and third-degree relatives were estimated using internal cohort-specific CM-I rates; the Genealogical Index of Familiality (GIF) test was used to test for an excess of relationships between all patients with CM-I compared with the expected distribution of relationships for matched control sets randomly selected from the resource.

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Vitamin D is implicated in the etiology of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, usually characterized by alteration in the APC/β-catenin/TCF tumor suppressor pathway. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is also implicated in cardiovascular and skin diseases as well as in immunity. Activated VDR can indirectly alter β-catenin nuclear localization and directly suppress β-catenin/TCF mediated transcriptional activity.

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Gastric adenocarcinoma and proximal polyposis of the stomach (GAPPS) is an autosomal-dominant cancer-predisposition syndrome with a significant risk of gastric, but not colorectal, adenocarcinoma. We mapped the gene to 5q22 and found loss of the wild-type allele on 5q in fundic gland polyps from affected individuals. Whole-exome and -genome sequencing failed to find causal mutations but, through Sanger sequencing, we identified point mutations in APC promoter 1B that co-segregated with disease in all six families.

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Sessile serrated colon adenoma/polyps (SSA/P) are found during routine screening colonoscopy and may account for 20% to 30% of colon cancers. However, differentiating SSA/Ps from hyperplastic polyps (HP) with little risk of cancer is challenging and complementary molecular markers are needed. In addition, the molecular mechanisms of colon cancer development from SSA/Ps are poorly understood.

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