Validation of the prognostic index for spine metastasis (PRISM) for stratifying survival in patients treated with spinal stereotactic body radiation.

Purpose: The Prognostic Index for Spinal Metastasis (PRISM) is a scoring system derived from prospective data from a single institution that stratifies patients undergoing spine stereotactic radiosurgery (SSRS) for spinal metastases into subgroups by overall (OS). We sought to further demonstrate its generalizability by performing validation with a large dataset from a second high-volume institution, Mayo Clinic.

Methods And Materials: Eight hundred seventy-nine patients-424 from Mayo Clinic and 455 from MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC)-who received SSRS between 2007 and 2019 were identified.

Secondary Endpoint Utilization and Publication Rate among Phase III Oncology Trials.

Unlabelled: Secondary endpoints (SEP) provide crucial information in the interpretation of clinical trials, but their features are not yet well understood. Thus, we sought to empirically characterize the scope and publication rate of SEPs among late-phase oncology trials. We assessed SEPs for each randomized, published phase III oncology trial across all publications and ClinicalTrials.

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells confer cross-protective trained immunity in mouse models.

Recent studies suggest that infection reprograms hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) to enhance innate immune responses upon secondary infectious challenge, a process called "trained immunity." However, the specificity and cell types responsible for this response remain poorly defined. We established a model of trained immunity in mice in response to infection.

Safety and efficacy of salvage conventional re-irradiation following stereotactic radiosurgery for spine metastases.

Purpose: There has been limited work assessing the use of re-irradiation (re-RT) for local failure following stereotactic spinal radiosurgery (SSRS). We reviewed our institutional experience of conventionally-fractionated external beam radiation (cEBRT) for salvage therapy following SSRS local failure.

Materials And Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 54 patients that underwent salvage conventional re-RT at previously SSRS-treated sites.

Safety and Efficacy of Dose-Escalated Radiation Therapy With a Simultaneous Integrated Boost for the Treatment of Spinal Metastases.

Purpose: Intensity modulated radiation therapy (RT) for spine metastases using a simultaneous integrated boost (SSIB) was shown as an alternative to the treatment of select osseous metastases that are not amenable to spine stereotactic radiosurgery. We sought to update our clinical experience using SSIB in patients for whom dose escalation was warranted but spine stereotactic radiosurgery was not feasible.

Methods And Materials: A total of 58 patients with 63 spinal metastatic sites treated with SSIB between 2012 and 2021 were retrospectively reviewed.

Persistent ethnicity-associated disparity in anti-tumor effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors despite equal access.

We reviewed response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) of 207 patients with diagnoses of lung or head and neck cancer treated with chemotherapy/ICI combination therapy and ICI monotherapy between 2015 and 2020 at one of three clinical pavilions associated with the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine. Two of these pavilions (Harris Health System and the Michael E.

Late Effects of Craniospinal Irradiation Using Electron Spinal Fields for Pediatric Patients With Cancer.

Purpose: For children, craniospinal irradiation (CSI) with photons is associated with significant toxic effects. The use of electrons for spinal fields is hypothesized to spare anterior structures but the long-term effects remain uncertain. We studied late effects of CSI using electrons for spinal radiation therapy (RT).

Clonal hematopoiesis: Mutation-specific adaptation to environmental change.

Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) describes a widespread expansion of genetically variant hematopoietic cells that increases exponentially with age and is associated with increased risks of cancers, cardiovascular disease, and other maladies. Here, we discuss how environmental contexts associated with CHIP, such as old age, infections, chemotherapy, or cigarette smoking, alter tissue microenvironments to facilitate the selection and expansion of specific CHIP mutant clones. Further, we consider major remaining gaps in knowledge, including intrinsic effects, clone size thresholds, and factors affecting clonal competition, that will determine future application of this field in transplant and preventive medicine.

Interferon Gamma Mediates Hematopoietic Stem Cell Activation and Niche Relocalization through BST2.

During chronic infection, the inflammatory cytokine interferon gamma (IFNγ) damages hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) by disrupting quiescence and promoting excessive terminal differentiation. However, the mechanism by which IFNγ hinders HSC quiescence remains undefined. Using intravital 3-dimensional microscopy, we find that IFNγ disrupts the normally close interaction between HSCs and CXCL12-abundant reticular (CAR) cells in the HSC niche.

Drug-Mimicking Nanofibrous Peptide Hydrogel for Inhibition of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase.

In this work, we develop a drug-mimicking nanofibrous peptide hydrogel that shows long-term bioactivity comparable to a small-molecule inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The iNOS inhibitor, -(1-iminoethyl)-l-lysine (l-NIL), is a positively charged amino acid whose structure could be readily integrated into the framework of a positively charged multidomain peptide (MDP) through the modification of lysine side chains. This new l-NIL-MDP maintains the self-assembling properties of the base peptide, forming -sheet nanofibers, which entangle into a thixotropic hydrogel.

Regulatory T cell DNA methyltransferase inhibition accelerates resolution of lung inflammation.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common and often fatal inflammatory lung condition without effective targeted therapies. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) resolve lung inflammation, but mechanisms that enhance Tregs to promote resolution of established damage remain unknown. DNA demethylation at the forkhead box protein 3 (Foxp3) locus and other key Treg loci typify the Treg lineage.