Publications by authors named "Gerber D"

Background: Concurrent (STK11, KL) mutant non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) do not respond well to current immune checkpoint blockade therapies, however targeting major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A or B (MICA/B), could pose an alternative therapeutic strategy through activation of natural killer (NK) cells.

Methods: Expression of NK cell activating ligands in NSCLC cell line and patient data were analyzed. Cell surface expression of MICA/B in NSCLC cell lines was determined through flow cytometry while ligand shedding in both patient blood and cell lines was determined through ELISA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The Carpathian Basin experienced significant demographic changes during the Early Medieval period, influenced by Avar rule for about 250 years and the arrival of early Hungarians in the late 9th century CE.
  • This study analyzes 296 ancient genetic samples from Western Hungary, providing insights into the population structure and dynamics between the 5th and 11th centuries CE, focusing on specific microregions.
  • The research uncovers distinct historical developments in Transdanubia, emphasizing the complex interactions and genetic integration among Hun, Avar, and Hungarian groups during and after the conquest period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Patients with KRAS mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have limited therapeutic options. Based on activity of nuclear export inhibition in preclinical models, we evaluated this strategy in previously treated advanced KRAS mutant NSCLC.

Patients And Methods: The primary outcome of this multi-center phase 1/2 dose escalation trial of selinexor plus docetaxel was safety and tolerability.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Racial and ethnic disparities in the presentation and outcomes of lung cancer are widely known. To evaluate potential factors contributing to these observations, we measured systemic immune parameters in Black and White patients with lung cancer.

Methods: Patients scheduled to receive cancer immunotherapy were enrolled in a multi-institutional prospective biospecimen collection registry.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We describe the impact of screening on outcomes of patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in an urban safety-net healthcare system compared to a non-screened cohort diagnosed with HCC. Patients diagnosed with HCC at John Peter Smith Health Network were identified by querying the hospital tumor registry and allocated to the screened cohort if they had undergone any liver imaging within one year prior to HCC diagnosis, while the remainder were allocated to the non-screened cohort. Kaplan-Meier methods and log-rank tests were used to compare 3-year survival curves from an index date of HCC diagnosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1)/cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 antibodies are efficacious in various malignancies.

Objectives: This study presents the first results of ipilimumab-nivolumab in invasive mucinous or non-mucinous lepidic adenocarcinoma (invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma (IMA) or invasive non-mucinous lepidic adenocarcinomas (INLA), respectively) of the lung.

Design: Dual anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 blockade in rare tumors (DART) is a prospective, open-label, multicenter (1016 US sites), multi-cohort phase II trial of ipilimumab (1 mg/kg intravenously (IV) every 6 weeks) plus nivolumab (240 mg IV every 2 weeks).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study explored the presence of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in older cancer patients and how they impact end-of-life care, revealing that 6% of cancer decedents had an ICD.
  • Among patients with ICDs, a higher percentage died in hospitals and experienced aggressive medical interventions, indicating a potential lack of alignment between treatment and patient goals.
  • The findings emphasize the need for healthcare discussions about ICDs and patient care preferences to ensure better end-of-life experiences for individuals with cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is caused by hypermethylation of CGG repeats in the FMR1 gene, resulting in loss of FMRP, which is crucial for normal neuronal function.
  • Research has shown that FMRP loss leads to abnormal synaptic activity and hyperexcitability in neurons, but effective treatments have yet to be found due to translation issues from animal models to humans.
  • A new high-resolution all-optical electrophysiology platform has been developed to create a sensitive assay that measures FMRP re-expression and healthy neuron restoration, which can be used to identify potential new therapies for FXS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Advances in the testing and treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring oncogenic drivers have improved outcomes. Little is known about testing and treatment patterns in diverse patient populations.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study in a diverse cohort of patients treated in the John Peter Smith safety net healthcare system.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Disparities in school attendance exist for children with medical complexity (CMC) due to COVID-19. Longitudinal changes in family-reported school safety perceptions and predictors of full-time, in-person school attendance are unknown.

Methods: This was a prospective, longitudinal cohort study with 3 survey waves (June 2021-June 2022) among English- and Spanish-speaking families of CMC aged 5 to 17 years and pre-pandemic school attendance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Concurrent (STK11, KL) mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers (NSCLC) is particularly difficult to treat and does not respond well to current immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies. This is due to numerous mechanisms including low antigen presentation limiting T cell mediated killing. To activate anti-tumor immunity, we targeted tumor cell - natural killer (NK) cell interactions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Freezing can damage soft, wet materials like hydrogels, but scientists were unsure why this happens.
  • Researchers found that when ice forms, it causes nearby water to move towards it, which dries out the surrounding hydrogel and causes it to crack.
  • Understanding this process can help scientists in areas like food storage and preserving cells when they freeze things.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Consolidative durvalumab, an anti-programmed death ligand 1 (PDL1) immune checkpoint inhibitor, administered after concurrent chemoradiation improves outcomes of patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without substantially increasing toxicities. We studied a chemotherapy-free regimen of thoracic radiation therapy (RT) with concurrent and consolidative durvalumab.

Methods And Materials: This single-arm phase 2 trial enrolled patients with stage III NSCLC (regardless of tumor PDL1 expression), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-1, adequate pulmonary function, and RT fields meeting standard organ constraints.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We present a method for improving the amplitude and angular error of inductive position sensors, by advancing the design of receiver coil systems with multiple windings on two layers of a printed circuit board. Multiple phase-shifted windings are connected in series, resulting in an increased amplitude of the induced voltage while decreasing the angular error of the sensor. The amplitude increase for a specific number of windings can be predicted in closed form.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • SARS-CoV-2 can spread from asymptomatic individuals, posing a greater risk to cancer patients who frequently visit healthcare facilities and are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 outcomes.* -
  • A study of lung cancer patients revealed that over half of those with evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection were asymptomatic at diagnosis, and a significant number were never clinically diagnosed.* -
  • The findings indicate that older patients and those with early-stage lung cancer are more likely to have asymptomatic infections, highlighting the need for continued preventive measures in high-risk populations.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * A longitudinal study involving 296 LC patients (median age 69) collected blood samples every three months, analyzing the effects of both time-independent and time-dependent variables on SAb levels using a regression model.
  • * Key findings revealed that prior SARS-CoV-2 infections and booster vaccinations significantly increased antibody titers, while chemotherapy and steroid use led to decreased levels; additionally, female patients with a history of smoking showed significantly lower titers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized oncology treatment. However, their success is mitigated by the recognition that ICI-induced immune-related adverse events (irAEs) pose considerable challenges to patients and clinicians. These autoimmune toxicities are heterogeneous, unpredictable, and reflect a disease state resulting from a change in the immune system of patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The interaction between antigens and antibodies (B cell receptors, BCRs) is the key step underlying the function of the humoral immune system in various biological contexts. The capability to profile the landscape of antigen-binding affinity of a vast number of BCRs will provide a powerful tool to reveal novel insights at unprecedented levels and will yield powerful tools for translational development. However, current experimental approaches for profiling antibody-antigen interactions are costly and time-consuming, and can only achieve low-to-mid throughput.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Racial and ethnic disparities in lung cancer outcomes are recognized, prompting a study to analyze immune system factors in Black and White patients receiving immunotherapy.
  • The research involved 187 non-small cell lung cancer patients, finding notable differences in immune parameters: Black patients showed lower levels of specific cytokines but higher levels of several other cytokines and immune cells compared to White patients.
  • These findings highlight significant immune system differences between the two groups, suggesting a need for further investigation into the causes and implications of these disparities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have become a major source of general and medical information, though their accuracy and completeness are still being assessed. Their utility to answer questions surrounding immune-related adverse events (irAEs), common and potentially dangerous toxicities from cancer immunotherapy, are not well defined.

Methods: We developed 50 distinct questions with answers in available guidelines surrounding 10 irAE categories and queried two AI chatbots (ChatGPT and Bard), along with an additional 20 patient-specific scenarios.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Ex vivo kidney perfusion is an evolving platform that demonstrates promise in preserving and rehabilitating the kidney grafts. Despite this, there is little consensus on the optimal perfusion conditions. Hypothermic perfusion offers limited functional assessment, whereas normothermic perfusion requires a more complex mechanical system and perfusate.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Studying lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) early carcinogenesis is challenging, primarily due to the lack of LUAD precursors specimens. We amassed multi-omics data from 213 LUAD and LUAD precursors to identify molecular features underlying LUAD precancer evolution. We observed progressively increasing mutations, chromosomal aberrations, whole genome doubling and genomic instability from precancer to invasive LUAD, indicating aggravating chromosomal instability (CIN).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are increasingly used in combination. To understand the effects of different ICI categories, we characterized changes in circulating autoantibodies in patients enrolled in the E4412 trial (NCT01896999) of brentuximab vedotin (BV) plus ipilimumab, BV plus nivolumab, or BV plus ipilimumab-nivolumab for Hodgkin Lymphoma. Cycle 2 Day 1 (C2D1) autoantibody levels were compared to pre-treatment baseline.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF