Implementation of High-Dose-Rate, CT-Based Prostate Brachytherapy in an Academic Teaching Hospital and Residency Training Program.

Introduction Prostate brachytherapy provides the most durable local control for prostate adenocarcinoma among all radiation treatment options. However, likely due to decreased trainee familiarity with the technique and resource intensity, it has seen a decline in utilization. Here we outline our experience with starting a high-dose-rate (HDR) prostate brachytherapy program within a residency training program and present our outcome data.

Dynamic host immune response in virus-associated cancers.

Viruses drive carcinogenesis in human cancers through diverse mechanisms that have not been fully elucidated but include promoting immune escape. Here we investigated associations between virus-positivity and immune pathway alteration for 2009 tumors across six virus-related cancer types. Analysis revealed that for 3 of 72 human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) the HPV genome integrated in immune checkpoint genes or , driving elevated expression in the corresponding gene.

LncRNAs GIHCG and SPINT1-AS1 Are Crucial Factors for Pan-Cancer Cells Sensitivity to Lapatinib.

Lapatinib is a small molecule inhibitor of EGFR (HER1) and ERBB2 (HER2) receptors, which is used for treatment of advanced or metastatic breast cancer. To find the drug resistance mechanisms of treatment for EGFR/ERBB2 positive tumors, we analyzed the possible effects of lncRNAs. In this study, using CCLE (Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia) database, we explored the relationship between the lncRNAs and Lapatinib sensitivity/resistance, and then validated those findings through experiments.

Database of evidence for precision oncology portal.

Summary: A database of curated genomic variants with clinically supported drug therapies and other oncological annotations is described. The accompanying web portal provides a search engine with two modes: one that allows users to query gene, cancer type, variant type or position for druggable mutations, and another to search for and to visualize, on three-dimensional protein structures, putative druggable sites that cluster with known druggable mutations.

Availability And Implementation: http://dinglab.

Perspective on Oncogenic Processes at the End of the Beginning of Cancer Genomics.

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) has catalyzed systematic characterization of diverse genomic alterations underlying human cancers. At this historic junction marking the completion of genomic characterization of over 11,000 tumors from 33 cancer types, we present our current understanding of the molecular processes governing oncogenesis. We illustrate our insights into cancer through synthesis of the findings of the TCGA PanCancer Atlas project on three facets of oncogenesis: (1) somatic driver mutations, germline pathogenic variants, and their interactions in the tumor; (2) the influence of the tumor genome and epigenome on transcriptome and proteome; and (3) the relationship between tumor and the microenvironment, including implications for drugs targeting driver events and immunotherapies.

Driver Fusions and Their Implications in the Development and Treatment of Human Cancers.

Gene fusions represent an important class of somatic alterations in cancer. We systematically investigated fusions in 9,624 tumors across 33 cancer types using multiple fusion calling tools. We identified a total of 25,664 fusions, with a 63% validation rate.

Posterior-Only Vertebral Column Resection for Fused Spondyloptosis.

Study Design: Retrospective review.

Objectives: To describe 3 cases of a posterior-only vertebral column resection (pVCR) for the treatment of spondyloptosis in the setting of prior spinal fusions.

Summary Of Background Data: Lumbosacral spondyloptosis is a rare spinal deformity with a number of surgical options, none of which demonstrate clear superiority.

Proteogenomic integration reveals therapeutic targets in breast cancer xenografts.

Recent advances in mass spectrometry (MS) have enabled extensive analysis of cancer proteomes. Here, we employed quantitative proteomics to profile protein expression across 24 breast cancer patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. Integrated proteogenomic analysis shows positive correlation between expression measurements from transcriptomic and proteomic analyses; further, gene expression-based intrinsic subtypes are largely re-capitulated using non-stromal protein markers.

Protein-structure-guided discovery of functional mutations across 19 cancer types.

Local concentrations of mutations are well known in human cancers. However, their three-dimensional spatial relationships in the encoded protein have yet to be systematically explored. We developed a computational tool, HotSpot3D, to identify such spatial hotspots (clusters) and to interpret the potential function of variants within them.

Radiation Therapy for Residual or Recurrent Atypical Meningioma: The Effects of Modality, Timing, and Tumor Pathology on Long-Term Outcomes.

Background: Optimal use of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) vs external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for treatment of residual/recurrent atypical meningioma is unclear.

Objective: To analyze features associated with progression after radiation therapy.

Methods: Fifty radiation-naive patients who received SRS or EBRT for residual and/or recurrent atypical meningioma were examined for predictors of progression using Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analyses.

Simpson Grade I-III Resection of Spinal Atypical (World Health Organization Grade II) Meningiomas is Associated With Symptom Resolution and Low Recurrence.

Background: Because of their rarity, outcomes regarding spinal atypical meningiomas (AMs) remain unclear.

Objective: To describe the recurrence rate and postoperative outcomes after resection of spinal AMs, and to discuss an appropriate resection strategy and adjuvant therapy for spinal AMs.

Methods: Data from all patients who presented with spinal AMs to 2 tertiary referral centers between 1998 and 2013 were obtained by chart review.

An evidence-based treatment algorithm for the management of WHO Grade II and III meningiomas.

The management of WHO Grade II "atypical" meningiomas (AMs) and Grade III "malignant" meningiomas (MMs) remains controversial and under-investigated in prospective studies. The roles of surgery, radiation therapy, radiosurgery, and chemotherapy have been incompletely delineated. This has left physicians to decipher how they should treat patients on a case-by-case basis.

Management of atypical cranial meningiomas, part 2: predictors of progression and the role of adjuvant radiation after subtotal resection.

Background: The efficacies of adjuvant stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for atypical meningiomas (AMs) after subtotal resection (STR) remain unclear.

Objective: To analyze the clinical, histopathological, and radiographic features associated with progression in AM patients after STR.

Methods: Fifty-nine primary AMs after STR were examined for predictors of progression, including the impact of SRS and EBRT, in a retrospective cohort study.

Management of atypical cranial meningiomas, part 1: predictors of recurrence and the role of adjuvant radiation after gross total resection.

Background: Indications for external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for atypical meningiomas (AMs) remain unclear.

Objective: To analyze features associated with recurrence in AM patients after gross total resection (GTR) and to assess the relative benefit of EBRT in a retrospective cohort study.

Methods: One hundred fifty-one primary AMs after GTR (88 female patients; median follow-up, 45.

Fructose metabolism in humans - what isotopic tracer studies tell us.

Fructose consumption and its implications on public health are currently under study. This work reviewed the metabolic fate of dietary fructose based on isotope tracer studies in humans. The mean oxidation rate of dietary fructose was 45.

Enhanced non-volatile and updatable holography using a polymer composite system.

Updatable holography is considered as the ultimate technique for true 3D information recording and display. However, there is no practical solution to preserve the required features of both non-volatility and reversibility which conflict with each other when the reading has the same wavelength as the recording. We demonstrate a non-volatile and updatable holographic approach by exploiting new features of molecular transformations in a polymer recording system.

Nanoscale optical reinforcement for enhanced reversible holography.

We demonstrate a nanoscale optical reinforcement concept for reversible holographic recording. The bone-muscle-like mechanism enables enhancement of holographic grating formation due to the collective alignment of liquid crystal (LC) molecules nearby photo-reconfigurable polymer backbones. The LC fluidity facilitates the ease of polymer chain transformation during the holographic recording while the polymer network stabilizes the LC collective orientation and the consequential optical enhancement after the recording.

Apolipoprotein B-100-containing lipoprotein metabolism in subjects with lipoprotein lipase gene mutations.

Objective: We investigated the impact of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene mutations on apolipoprotein B (apoB)-100 metabolism.

Methods And Results: We studied 3 subjects with familial LPL deficiency; 14 subjects heterozygous for the LPL gene mutations Gly188Glu, Trp64Stop, and Ile194Thr; and 10 control subjects. Very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-apoB-100 kinetics were determined in the fed state using stable isotope methods and compartmental modeling.

Fructose and non-fructose sugar intakes in the US population and their associations with indicators of metabolic syndrome.

Background: Relationships of sugar intakes with indicators of metabolic syndrome are important concerns for public health and safety. For individuals, dietary intake data for fructose and other sugars are limited.

Method: Descriptive statistics.

Lack of association between dietary fructose and hyperuricemia risk in adults.

Background: High serum uric acid concentration (hyperuricemia) has been studied for its relationship with multiple adverse health outcomes, such as metabolic syndrome. Intervention studies have produced inconsistent outcomes for the relationship between fructose intake and serum uric acid concentration.

Methods: The association of dietary fructose intake with hyperuricemia risk in adults was examined using logistic regression and U.

Effects of dietary flaxseed lignan extract on symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

A flaxseed lignan extract containing 33% secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) was evaluated for its ability to alleviate lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in 87 subjects with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial with repeated measurements was conducted over a 4-month period using treatment dosages of 0 (placebo), 300, or 600 mg/day SDG. After 4 months of treatment, 78 of the 87 subjects completed the study.