Browsing by Author "Huang, Lei"

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    IDO Immune Status after Chemoradiation May Predict Survival in Lung Cancer Patients
    (American Association for Cancer Research, 2018-02-01) Wang, Weili; Huang, Lei; Jin, Jian-Yue; Jolly, Shruti; Zang, Yong; Wu, Huanmei; Yan, Li; Pi, Wenhu; Li, Lang; Mellor, Andrew L.; Kong, Feng-Ming Spring; Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine
    Host immunity influences the impact of radiotherapy (RT) in cancer, but mechanistic connections remain obscure. In this study, we investigated the relationship of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) systemic activity on clinical outcomes in RT-treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). IDO-mediated production of kynurenine and the kynurenine:tryptophan ratio in patient blood serum were determined for stage III NSCLC patients at times before, during, and after RT administration and then correlated to overall survival (OS), progression-free survival, and disease progression rate in patients. We found the impact of RT on these serum IDO markers to be heterogeneous in patients. On average, kynurenine:tryptophan ratios were reduced during RT but restored after RT. Notably, both baseline levels of kynurenine:tryptophan and changes in the levels of kynurenine after RT were significantly associated with OS. When combined, favorable change and favorable baseline corresponded with very long-term OS (median OS was not reached after 57 months of median follow-up). Favorable change combined with unfavorable baseline still corresponded with a lack of distant metastases. Our results suggest that RT alters IDO-mediated immune status in NSCLC patients and that changes in this serum biomarker may be useful to predict outcomes and perhaps personalize RT dosage to improve survival.Significance: Radiotherapy appears to influence systemic IDO activity and to exert a significant impact on metastatic risk and overall survival, with possible implications for defining a biomarker to optimize radiation dose in patients to improve outcomes. Cancer Res; 78(3); 809-16. ©2017 AACR.
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    Racial differences in recurrent ischemic stroke risk and recurrent stroke case fatality
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2018) Albright, Karen C.; Huang, Lei; Blackburn, Justin; Howard, George; Mullen, Michael; Bittner, Vera; Muntner, Paul; Howard, Virginia; Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health
    Objective: To determine black-white differences in 1-year recurrent stroke and 30-day case fatality after a recurrent stroke in older US adults. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a 5% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries with fee-for-service health insurance coverage who were hospitalized for ischemic stroke between 1999 and 2013. Hazard ratios for recurrent ischemic stroke and risk ratios for 30-day case fatality comparing blacks to whites were calculated with adjustment for demographics, risk factors, and competing risk of death when appropriate. Results: Among 128,789 Medicare beneficiaries having an ischemic stroke (mean age 80 years [SD 8 years], 60.4% male), 11.1% were black. The incidence rate of recurrent ischemic stroke per 1,000 person-years for whites and blacks was 108 (95% confidence interval [CI], 106-111) and 154 (95% CI 147-162) , respectively. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio for recurrent stroke among blacks compared with whites was 1.36 (95% CI 1.29-1.44). The case fatality after recurrent stroke for blacks and whites was 21% (95% CI 21%-22%) and 16% (95% CI 15%-18%), respectively. The multivariable-adjusted relative risk for mortality within 30 days of a recurrent stroke among blacks compared with whites was 0.82 (95% CI 0.73-0.93). Conclusion: The risk of stroke recurrence among older Americans hospitalized for ischemic stroke is higher for blacks compared to whites, while 30-day case fatality after recurrent stroke remains lower for blacks.