Phase 1 Trial of Vaccination with Autologous Tumor Cells and Antisense Directed Against the Insulin Growth Factor Type 1 Receptor (IGF-1R AS ODN) in Patients with Recurrent Glioblastoma

Background: Extending a previous Phase I study, we report the results of a second Phase I autologous tumor cell vaccination trial for patients with recurrent glioblastomas (IND 14379-101, NCT01550523). Methods: Following surgery, subjects were treated by 24 hour implantation in the rectus sheath of ten biodiffusion chambers containing irradiated autologous tumor cells and IGF-1R AS ODN with the objective of stimulating tumor immunity. Patients were monitored for safety, clinical and radiographic as well as immune responses. Results: There were no Grade 3 toxicities related to protocol treatment and overall median survival from initial diagnosis was 91.4 weeks. Two protocol survival cohorts with median survivals of 48.2 and 10 weeks were identified and predicted by our pre-treatment assessments of immune function, corroborated by post-vaccination pro-inflammatory cytokine profiles. Longer survival subjects had imaging findings including transient elevations in cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and sustained elevations of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) interpreted as transient hyperemia and cell loss. Conclusions: The vaccine paradigm was well-tolerated with a favorable median survival. Our data support this as a novel treatment paradigm that promotes anti-tumor immunity

Training Students on the Effective Use of Translator Services: How Can You Treat Someone You Don’t Understand?

In 2005, the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine partnered with the Inova Health System to create the first regional branch medical campus in Northern Virginia. As a part of this partnership, the VCU School of Medicine Inova Campus accepts a minimum of twenty-four medical students from the third and fourth year classes annually. In an effort to better prepare the incoming students for their clinical years and an extremely diverse patient population, a video was created to demonstrate effective use of translator services

The Medical Futures Program: How One Regional Medical Campus Educates Its Community

Poster created for the 2012 GRMC Session of the AAMC Annual Meeting. The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine Inova Campus has extensive ties to the northern Virginia community. The Medical Futures Program was created to provide valuable information regarding medical school admissions and current physician workforce issues to high school and university students, their parents, and guests

An Unusual Migration of A Stent: A Case Report

Stent dislodgment and embolization is a rare complication of coronary stenting. There are reports of intra-coronary stent entrapment, stripping, and dislodgement during percutaneous coronary interventions causing potentially life threatening complications, including intra-coronary or systemic embolization. Reports of dislodgment and migration of previously placed drug eluting intra-coronary stent several months after deployment are very limited in the literature. We describe a drug eluting stent dislodgment and migration in an 88 year-old male 10 months after its deployment

Building a Peer Reviewer Community of Practice

Introduction: Scholarly peer review is the cornerstone for maintaining quality and relevance in the medical literature. Few programs that support peer-reviewer training have been described. Methods: We developed a 2-pronged approach to support peer-reviewer training at our institution. This approach included a formal online course that offered a certificate of completion and an informal group manuscript peer review (GMPR) meeting held monthly. Results: A total of 13 participants completed the online course in the first 2 years (2017-2018). Nineteen enrolled in the third year. The GMPR met regularly over 3 years and reviewed 26 manuscripts. Typical attendance has been 8-10 interprofessional faculty and learners per session. Discussion: The online course has gained increasing enrollment over its first 3 years, extending beyond the institution and even internationally. Over half of learners who have completed the course are now engaged as peer reviewers for our institutional journal. The GMPR meetings have had consistent, interprofessional attendance, providing a spectrum of viewpoints and levels of expertise. Conclusions: We propose that both an online training course and GMPR meetings are viable options to support and build a scholarly peer-reviewer community of practice

Perioperative VTE Chemical Prophylaxis at Jefferson Hospital: A Retrospective Review of the Department of Surgery

Only 26.1% of patients are receiving perioperative VTE chemical prophylaxis for elective cases in the Department of Surger

Regional Medical Campus Match Data 2007-2009 Comparisons, Analysis, and Trends

Poster created for the 2010 AAMC Workforce Conference, present analysis of match data from all regional medical campuses for 2007-2009