Publications by authors named "Jeffrey How"

Article Synopsis
  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved melanoma treatment, but finding effective drug combos with minimal side effects is essential.
  • A phase 1b study tested selinexor combined with pembrolizumab on 25 patients with advanced non-uveal melanoma, revealing high rates of adverse effects but most were manageable.
  • The results showed a 70% objective response rate in treatment-naïve patients, significantly better than the 7% response in those who had prior anti-PD-1 therapy, indicating promising antitumor activity.
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Objectives: To evaluate survival outcomes among patients with adult-type granulosa cell tumors who have telomerase reverse transcriptase () promoter mutations.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study using the MD Anderson Rare Gynecologic Malignancy Registry. Patients with adult granulosa cell tumors who underwent molecular testing for promoter and c.

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Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynaecological cancer among women in high-income countries, with both incidence and mortality continuing to increase. The complexity of the management of patients with EC has evolved with greater comprehension of the underlying biology and heterogeneity of this disease. With a growing number of novel therapeutic agents available, emerging treatment regimens seem to have the potential to help to address the concerning trends in EC-related mortality.

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Background: The efficacy and feasibility of pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy in frontline management of advanced high-grade epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is unknown. Additionally, modification of the tumor microenvironment following neoadjuvant therapy is not well understood.

Methods: In this single-arm phase 2 trial (this study was registered at ClinicalTrials.

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In locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC), the benefit of PD-1 blockade was unknown. In KEYNOTE-A18, Lorusso et al. compared the efficacy and safety of adding pembrolizumab to chemoradiation in LACC and demonstrated favorable outcomes.

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Background: Few studies have evaluated the role of cytoreductive surgery in patients with recurrent adult granulosa cell tumors of the ovary. Despite a multitude of treatment modalities in the recurrent setting, the optimal management strategy is not known. Cytoreductive surgery offers an attractive option for disease confined to the abdomen/pelvis.

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Objectives: To determine the clinical predictors of response rate, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) to pembrolizumab in advanced or recurrent, mismatch repair deficient (MMRd) or Microsatellite Instability-High (MSI-H) endometrial adenocarcinomas.

Methods: A retrospective, single institution study was conducted among women with recurrent or advanced MMRd or MSI-H endometrial adenocarcinomas treated with single-agent pembrolizumab at our institution from 2017 to 2021. Logistic regression was used for univariable and multivariable analyses.

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Advanced endometrial cancer is associated with poor outcomes and few treatment options exist. Recently, the US Federal Drug Administration approved pembrolizumab for the treatment of endometrial cancers that are deficient in mismatch repair and have high microsatellite instability (MSI). Lynch syndrome is an autosomal dominant disease that causes MSI-high endometrial cancer.

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Background: The optimal treatment of recurrent ovarian granulosa cell tumors is not known. Preclinical studies and small case series have suggested direct antitumor activity of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists in the treatment of this disease, but little is known about the efficacy and safety of this approach.

Objective: This study aimed to describe patterns of use and clinical outcomes of leuprolide acetate in a cohort of patients with recurrent granulosa cell tumors.

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Recurrent microsatellite stable (MSS) endometrial cancer has poor response to conventional therapy and limited efficacy with immune checkpoint monotherapy. We conducted a retrospective study of recurrent MSS endometrial cancer patients enrolled in immunotherapy-based clinical trials at MD Anderson Cancer Center between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2019. Patients were evaluated for radiologic response using RECIST 1.

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Purpose Of Review: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping has been adopted as an acceptable method of lymph node evaluation in the surgical staging for low-grade endometrial cancer. In this review, we analyze the literature on the utility of SLN mapping in high-grade endometrial cancer.

Recent Findings: SLN mapping in high-grade endometrial cancer demonstrates similar high detection rates and diagnostic accuracy as seen in low-grade endometrial cancers.

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Patients with advanced and/or recurrent gynecologic cancers derive limited benefit from currently available cytotoxic and targeted therapies. Successes of immunotherapy in other difficult-to-treat malignancies such as metastatic melanoma and advanced lung cancer have led to intense interest in clinical testing of these treatments in patients with gynecologic cancers. Currently, in the realm of gynecologic oncology, the FDA-approved use of immune checkpoint inhibitors is limited to microsatellite instability-high cancers, cancers with high tumor mutational burden, and PD-L1-positive cervical cancer.

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Objective: To assess the recent trends, acceptability, and effectiveness of digital maternal patient education through summarizing the literature.

Methods: Articles published in 2010-2020 on patient education, digital tools, and maternal health were searched on PubMed. Abstract and full texts were reviewed to identify eligible studies and extract key information.

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Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a large portion of oncology consultations have been conducted remotely. The maladaptation or compromise of care could negatively impact oncology patients and their disease management.

Objective: We aimed to describe the development and implementation process of a web-based, animated patient education tool that supports oncology patients remotely in the context of fewer in-person interactions with health care providers.

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Objective: A sentinel lymph node biopsy is widely accepted as the standard of care for surgical staging in low-grade endometrial cancer, but its value in high-grade endometrial cancer remains controversial. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the performance characteristics of sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with endometrial cancer with high-grade histology (registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews with identifying number CRD42020160280).

Data Sources: We systematically searched the MEDLINE, Epub Ahead of Print, MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Embase databases all through the OvidSP platform.

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Objective: We reviewed our institutional data to evaluate toxicity and efficacy outcomes of pembrolizumab/lenvatinib in recurrent endometrial cancer in a "real-world" clinical setting and to compare the impact of reduced lenvatinib starting dose on outcomes.

Methods: Retrospectively, we reviewed toxicity, treatment responses, and survival outcomes of patients with recurrent endometrial cancer who received ≥1 cycle of pembrolizumab/lenvatinib. We compared subgroups based on lenvatinib starting dose (recommended [20 mg] vs reduced [<20 mg]) and histologic type.

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New therapies, such as poly-ADP ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi), and immunotherapy treatments have generated great interest in enhancing individualized molecular profiling of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) to improve management of the disease. In EOC patients, putative biomarkers for homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), microsatellite instability (MSI), and tumor mutational burden (TMB) were characterized and correlated with survival outcomes. A series of 300 consecutive EOC patients were enrolled.

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Gastroparesis is a syndrome of delayed gastric emptying associated with nausea, vomiting, and postprandial fullness. Despite multiple etiologies, diabetes is one of the principal causes of gastroparesis. This case report examines a 57 year-old woman with poorly controlled diabetes type II (HbA1c 8.

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Vaginal and vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are rare tumors that can be challenging to treat in the recurrent or metastatic setting. We present a case series of patients with vaginal or vulvar SCC who were treated with single-agent pembrolizumab as part of a phase II basket clinical trial to evaluate efficacy and safety. Two cases of recurrent and metastatic vaginal SCC, with multiple prior lines of systemic chemotherapy and radiation, received pembrolizumab.

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Background Treatment of recurrent, unresectable granulosa cell tumor (GCT) of the ovary can be challenging. Given the rarity of the tumor, alternative therapies have been difficult to evaluate in large prospective clinical trials. Currently, to our knowledge, there are no reports of the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in GCT patients.

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Objective: To evaluate long-term oncological outcomes and the added value of sentinel lymph node sampling (SLN) compared to pelvic lymph node dissection (LND) in patients with endometrial cancer (EC).

Methods: During the evaluation phase of SLN for EC, we performed LND and SLN and retrospectively compared the oncologic outcome with the immediate non-overlapping historical era during which patients underwent LND.

Results: From 2007 to 2010, 193 patients underwent LND and from December 2010 to 2014, 250 patients had SLN mapping with completion LND.

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Patients with advanced and/or recurrent gynecologic cancers derive limited benefit from currently available cytotoxic and targeted therapies. Successes of immunotherapy in other difficult-to-treat malignancies such as metastatic melanoma and advanced lung cancer have led to intense interest in clinical testing of these treatments in patients with gynecologic cancers. Currently, in the realm of gynecologic oncology, the FDA-approved use of immune checkpoint inhibitors is limited to microsatellite instable cancers and PD-L1-positive cervical cancer.

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Introduction: With the rapid uptake of robotic surgery in surgical oncology, its use in the treatment of epithelial ovarian cancers is being evaluated. Complete cytoreduction represents the goal of surgery either at primary cytoreduction or after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the setting of interval cytoreduction. In selected patients, the extent of disease would enable minimally invasive surgery.

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Objective: To assess risk factors for lymph node involvement in patients with endometrial cancer and a body-mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of obese patients diagnosed with endometrial carcinoma between 2007 and 2015, treated in a single center in Montreal. Preoperative variables evaluated were age, BMI, parity, and preoperative ASA score, grade, CA-125 and histology.

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Objective: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping is increasingly being used in the treatment of apparent early-stage endometrial cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether three tracers (blue dye, indocyanine green (ICG), and technetium-99 (Tc99)) performed better than two (ICG and Tc99).

Study Design: Prospective study of all consecutive patients (n=163) diagnosed with clinical early-stage endometrial cancer from 2015 to 2017.

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