Publications by authors named "Puja Chokshi"
Background: T-cell depletion (TCD) of allogeneic stem cell transplants (SCT) can reduce graft-versus-host disease but may negatively affect transplant outcome by delaying immune recovery. To optimize TCD in HLA-matched siblings with hematologic malignancies, we explored varying the transplant CD3+ T-cell dose between 2 and 50 × 10/kg (corresponding to 3-4 log depletion) and studied the impact of 0-6 × 10/kg CD3+ donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) "add-back" on immune recovery post-SCT.
Methods: Two hundred seventeen consecutive patients (age range, 10-75 years) with hematologic malignancy (excluding chronic leukemias) underwent ex vivo TCD SCT from HLA-identical sibling donors from 1994-2015.
Objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of ex vivo T cell depleted (TCD) by CD34+ selection on the incidence and severity of oropharyngeal mucositis (OM) after myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo-SCT) with total body irradiation (TBI) conditioning. This approach has the advantage of avoiding methotrexate for graft versus host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis.
Patients And Methods: We analyzed the incidence and severity of OM in a cohort of 105 consecutive patients who underwent CD34+ selected (peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) from human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical siblings) allo-SCT with total body irradiation (TBI) conditioning.
Purpose: Appropriate cancer pain documentation is one of the quality measures in the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI). MedStar Washington Cancer Institute has participated in QOPI since 2008, and documenting a plan of care for moderate to severe pain (which was defined as a pain score of ≥ 4 on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the worst) was identified as an area for improvement.
Methods: We undertook a structured approach to improve documentation of the plan of care for moderate/severe pain with support from ASCO's Quality Training Program.
Background Aims: Although cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) is rarely fatal, the management of CMV by pre-emptive medication for viral reactivation has toxicity and carries a financial burden. New strategies to prevent CMV reactivation with vaccines and antiviral T cells may represent an advance over pre-emptive strategies but have yet to be justified in terms of transplantation outcome and cost.
Methods: We compared outcomes and post-transplantation treatment cost in 44 patients who never required pre-emptive CMV treatment with 90 treated patients undergoing SCT at our institute between 2006 and 2012.