Publications by authors named "Rocio Perez-Johnston"

Purpose: To describe the structure of a dedicated body oncologic imaging fellowship program. To summarize the numbers and types of cross-sectional imaging examinations reported by fellows.

Methods: The curriculum, training methods, and assessment measures utilized in the program were reviewed and described.

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In a retrospective single-center study, the authors assessed the efficacy of an automated imaging examination assignment system for enhancing the diversity of subspecialty examinations reported by oncologic imaging fellows. The study aimed to mitigate traditional biases of manual case selection and ensure equitable exposure to various case types. Methods included evaluating the proportion of "uncommon" to "common" cases reported by fellows before and after system implementation and measuring the weekly Shannon Diversity Index to determine case distribution equity.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to differentiate benign from malignant tumors in the anterior mediastinum based on computed tomography (CT) imaging characteristics, which could be useful in preoperative planning. Additionally, our secondary aim was to differentiate thymoma from thymic carcinoma, which could guide the use of neoadjuvant therapy.

Materials And Methods: Patients referred for thymectomy were retrospectively selected from our database.

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Purpose: Clinical patterns and the associated optimal management of acquired resistance to PD-(L)1 blockade are poorly understood.

Experimental Design: All cases of metastatic lung cancer treated with PD-(L)1 blockade at Memorial Sloan Kettering were reviewed. In acquired resistance (complete/partial response per RECIST, followed by progression), clinical patterns were distinguished as oligo (OligoAR ≤ 3 lesions of disease progression) or systemic (sAR).

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Objectives: To assess the frequency of ipsilateral axillary adenopathy on breast MRI after COVID-19 vaccination. To investigate the duration, outcomes, and associated variables of vaccine-related adenopathy.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, our database was queried for patients who underwent breast MRI following COVID-19 vaccination from January 22, 2021, to March 21, 2021.

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Background A preoperative predictive model is needed that can be used to identify patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) who have a higher risk of recurrence or metastasis. Purpose To investigate associations between CT-based radiomic consensus clustering of stage I LUAD and clinical-pathologic features, genomic data, and patient outcomes. Materials and Methods Patients who underwent complete surgical resection for LUAD from April 2014 to December 2017 with preoperative CT and next-generation sequencing data were retrospectively identified.

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Background: All trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has revolutionized the treatment and outcomes of patients with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL). Induction therapy with ATRA is associated with the rare but potentially fatal complication of differentiation syndrome. While the presentation of this syndrome is varied, myopericarditis as a manifestation of differentiation syndrome is often fatal and rarely reported in literature.

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Objective: To determine whether the degree of parenchymal involvement on chest radiograph (CXR) at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis and its early radiologic evolution can predict adverse events including hospitalization, intubation, and death in patients with cancer.

Methods: Retrospective study of 627 COVID-19-positive patients between March and April 2020, of which 248 had baseline CXR within 72 h of diagnosis and 64 patients had follow-up wihtin72 h. CXRs were classified as abnormal (i.

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Purpose: Our goal was to identify discrete clinical characteristics associated with safe discharge from an emergency department/urgent care for patients with a history of cancer and concurrent COVID-19 infection during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and prior to widespread vaccination.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 255 adult patients with a history of cancer who presented to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) urgent care center (UCC) from March 1, 2020 to May 31, 2020 with concurrent COVID-19 infection. We evaluated associations between patient characteristics and 30-day mortality from initial emergency department (ED) or urgent care center (UCC) visit and the absence of a severe event within 30 days.

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Purpose: To determine the imaging findings and potential clinical utility of FDG PET/CT in patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19.

Methods: We performed a single institution retrospective review of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 using real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) who underwent FDG PET/CT for routine cancer care between March 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020, during the height of the pandemic in New York City, New York, United States. PET/CT scans were retrospectively reviewed for imaging findings suspicious for COVID-19.

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Malignant pleural diseases, comprising metastatic lung and breast cancers and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), are aggressive solid tumors with poor therapeutic response. We developed and conducted a first-in-human, phase I study of regionally delivered, autologous, mesothelin-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Intrapleural administration of 0.

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Background: Neutropenia is commonly encountered in cancer patients. Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF, filgrastim), a cytokine that initiates proliferation and differentiation of mature granulocytes, is widely given to oncology patients to counteract neutropenia, reducing susceptibility to infection. However, the clinical impact of neutropenia and G-CSF use in cancer patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains unknown.

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Background: Accurately predicting outcomes for cancer patients with COVID-19 has been clinically challenging. Numerous clinical variables have been retrospectively associated with disease severity, but the predictive value of these variables, and how multiple variables interact to increase risk, remains unclear.

Methods: We used machine learning algorithms to predict COVID-19 severity in 348 cancer patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

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Background: Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is widely used to identify cardiac neoplasms, for which diagnosis is predicated on enhancement stemming from lesion vascularity: Impact of contrast-enhancement pattern on clinical outcomes is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine whether cardiac metastasis (C) enhancement pattern on LGE-CMR impacts prognosis, with focus on heterogeneous lesion enhancement as a marker of tumor avascularity.

Methods: Advanced (stage IV) systemic cancer patients with and without C matched (1:1) by cancer etiology underwent a standardized CMR protocol.

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Vaccination-associated adenopathy is a frequent imaging finding after administration of COVID-19 vaccines that may lead to a diagnostic conundrum in patients with manifest or suspected cancer, in whom it may be indistinguishable from malignant nodal involvement. To help the medical community address this concern in the absence of studies and evidence-based guidelines, this special report offers recommendations developed by a multidisciplinary panel of experts from three of the leading tertiary care cancer centers in the United States. According to these recommendations, some routine imaging examinations, such as those for screening, should be scheduled before or at least 6 weeks after the final vaccination dose to allow for any reactive adenopathy to resolve.

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Objectives: Distinguishing separate primary lung carcinomas (SPLCs) from intrapulmonary metastases (IPMs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients is a challenging dilemma in clinical practice. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was recently shown to represent a robust molecular method for clonal discrimination in this setting. In this study, using clonal relationships established by comprehensive NGS as the ground truth, we investigated whether NSCLC patients with SPLCs versus IPMs exhibit distinct imaging characteristics.

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Objectives: To evaluate the utility of perfusion defects on dual-energy CT angiograms (DECTA) in assessing the clinical severity of pulmonary embolism (PE).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 1136 consecutive diagnostic DECTA exams performed on patients with suspected PE between January 2014 and September 2014. Presence and location of obstructive and non-obstructive PE, right ventricular to left ventricular ratio (RV/LV ratio), and inferior vena cava (IVC) backflow were recorded.

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Background: Neutropenia is commonly encountered in cancer patients, and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF, filgrastim) is widely given to oncology patients to counteract neutropenia and prevent infection. G-CSF is both a growth factor and cytokine that initiates proliferation and differentiation of mature granulocytes. However, the clinical impact of neutropenia and G-CSF use in cancer patients, who are also afflicted with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), remains unknown.

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Objective: To identify factors associated with venous stent thrombosis in patients with cancer treated for nonthrombotic iliocaval or iliofemoral venous obstruction.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of relevant imaging and medical records from 30 consecutive patients with cancer treated at a single center who underwent venous stent placement for nonthrombotic iliocaval or iliofemoral venous obstruction between 2008 and 2018. Follow-up imaging was used to assess stent patency.

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Article Synopsis
  • As of April 10, 2020, New York State reported 180,458 cases of COVID-19, with 9,385 deaths, of which 8.4% were cancer patients.
  • Studies from China and Italy indicate cancer patients may have a higher death rate from COVID-19, leading to concerns about balancing safety in cancer treatment and reducing virus exposure.
  • At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 423 cancer patients tested positive for COVID-19, with 40% hospitalized and factors like age over 65 and treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors linked to worse outcomes.
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Article Synopsis
  • - As of April 10, 2020, New York reported over 180,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 9,400 deaths, with cancer patients making up 8.4% of the fatalities.
  • - Studies indicated that cancer patients face higher COVID-19 death rates, yet the specific risks linked to cancer and its treatments need more investigation to ensure safe cancer care amidst the pandemic.
  • - At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 40% of hospitalized cancer patients tested positive for COVID-19, with factors like age over 65 and recent immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment increasing the risk of severe illness.
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Purpose: Treatment with PD-(L)1 blockade can produce remarkably durable responses in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, a significant fraction of long-term responders ultimately progress and predictors of late progression are unknown. We hypothesized that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis of long-term responders to PD-(L)1 blockade may differentiate those who will achieve ongoing benefit from those at risk of eventual progression.

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Purpose: To use delayed enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (DE-CMR) as a reference standard to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of right atrial (RA) thrombus.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 130 cancer patients with central venous catheters undergoing CMR from August 2012-January 2018 were included. CMR (cine-CMR and DE-CMR) and echocardiography were interpreted for RA thrombus blinded to other imaging results and clinical data.

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