Publications by authors named "J M Ligon"

Patients who receive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) are at risk for developing persistent thrombocytopenia. Here, we describe treatment with avatrombopag, a thrombopoietin receptor agonist, in a pediatric patient with chronic, severe, transfusion-dependent thrombocytopenia (<10 × 10/µL) post-alloHSCT that was persistent despite treatment with romiplostim, another thrombopoietin receptor agonist. Following the granting of a compassionate use investigational new drug authorization, avatrombopag treatment was initiated, and the patient's platelet count increased.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The use of immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer in children, adolescents, and young adults has become common. As the use of immunotherapy has expanded, including in earlier lines of therapy, it has become evident that several aspects of how these immunotherapies impact longer-term outcomes among survivors are understudied. Traditional cancer therapies like alkylating and platin agents carry the greatest risk of infertility, but little is known about the impact of novel immunotherapies on fertility.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Lagenidium deciduum is an oomycete that can cause infections in mammals that present similarly to pythiosis and mucormycosis. Most of the existing case reports have occurred in canines and have been fatal. In animals, medical therapy has not been successful, so surgical excision is the mainstay of treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The goal of this study was to assess the effect of donor type and pre-transplant immunotherapy (IST) on outcomes of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for children and young adults with severe aplastic anemia (SAA).

Methods: This retrospective, multi-center study included 52 SAA patients, treated in 5 pediatric transplant programs in Florida, who received HSCT between 2010 and 2020 as the first- or second-line treatment.

Results: The median age at HSCT for all 52 patients was 15 years (range 1-25).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Cancer immunotherapy faces challenges due to poor antigen recognition and an unfriendly tumor microenvironment (TME).
  • Researchers developed "onion-like" multi-lamellar RNA lipid particle aggregates (LPAs) that enhance the delivery and effectiveness of tumor mRNA antigens by activating specific immune responses in the body.
  • In studies with dogs and humans, RNA-LPAs showed promising results, improving survival rates and triggering strong immune reactions against tumors, suggesting they could be a breakthrough method for cancer treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF