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Papers by Allen Choi

Mentor: Barbara Kunkel From the Washington University Undergraduate Research Digest: WUURD, Volum... more Mentor: Barbara Kunkel From the Washington University Undergraduate Research Digest: WUURD, Volume 9, Issue 1, Fall 2013. Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research. Joy Zalis Kiefer Director of Undergraduate Research and Assistant Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences

Frontiers in Oncology

BackgroundEpidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is well known as a general prognostic biomarker... more BackgroundEpidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is well known as a general prognostic biomarker for head and neck tumors, however the specific prognostic value of EGFR in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is controversial. Recently, the presence of tumor-infiltrating T cells has been associated with significant survival advantages in a variety of disease sites. The present study will determine if the inclusion of T cell specific markers (CD3, CD4 and CD8) would enhance the prognostic value of EGFR in OSCCs.MethodsTissue microarrays containing 146 OSCC cases were analyzed for EGFR, CD3, CD4 and CD8 expression using immunohistochemical staining. EGFR and T cell expression scores were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and survival outcomes.ResultsResults showed that EGFR expression had no impact on overall survival (OS), but EGFR-positive (EGFR+) OSCC patients demonstrated significantly worse progression free survival (PFS) compared to EGFR-negative (EGFR-) patients. P...

Scientific Reports, 2021

The Toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8) agonist VTX-2337 (motolimod) is an anti-cancer immunotherapeutic ... more The Toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8) agonist VTX-2337 (motolimod) is an anti-cancer immunotherapeutic agent that is believed to augment natural killer (NK) and dendritic cell (DC) activity. The goal of this work is to examine the role of TLR8 expression/activity in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) to facilitate the prediction of responders to VTX-2337-based therapy. The prognostic role of TLR8 expression in HNSCC patients was assessed by TCGA and tissue microarray analyses. The anti-tumor effect of VTX-2337 was determined in SCCVII/C3H, mEERL/C57Bl/6 and TUBO-human EGFR/BALB/c syngeneic mouse models. The effect of combined VTX-2337 and cetuximab treatment on tumor growth, survival and immune cell recruitment was assessed. TLR8 expression was associated with CD8+ T cell infiltration and favorable survival outcomes. VTX-2337 delayed tumor growth in all 3 syngeneic mouse models and significantly increased the survival of cetuximab-treated mice. The anti-tumor effects of VTX-233...

Objective: To determine the political party preference of university freshman students the first ... more Objective: To determine the political party preference of university freshman students the first month and last month of their first year of college and its association with gender, race/ethnicity, demographic and lifestyle factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of 200 university freshman students (18 or 19 years old) who were enrolled in the first week of September 2018 at the University of Iowa. Students were screened for freshman student status, age between 18-19, and plan to remain on campus next semester. Students who met all inclusion criteria were given informed consent and filled out a questionnaire at enrollment and follow-up. Data were entered using REDCap Cloud software (Encinitas, CA). Comparisons between categorical variables were assessed using Pearson’s Chisquare test. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS version 9.4. Results: Of the 200 freshman students, 73 (36.5%) men and 127 (63.5%) women were enrolled with the majority claiming residence ...

Obesity has become a major national health challenge in the United States, and has been recognize... more Obesity has become a major national health challenge in the United States, and has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a global non-communicable disease target [1]. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015-2016 dataset estimated that 39.6% of US adults and 18.5% of youth (age 2 to 19 years) were obese, and in 2015, the overall prevalence of obesity worldwide was 12.0% among adults and 5% among children [2,3]. Over the span of 40 years, the prevalence of obesity increased from half the prevalence of underweight to significantly more than the prevalence of underweight, both nationally and worldwide [4]. The mean weight gain between 1960 and 2016 for adult males and women in the Unites States has been 32 and 30 lb, respectively [5,6].

Journal of American College Health, 2020

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the cause of infectious mononucleosis, which disproportionately affec... more Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the cause of infectious mononucleosis, which disproportionately affects university students. This population has the potential to benefit from a prophylactic EBV vaccine trial. Our objectives were to determine EBV infection status and associated demographic/ lifestyle factors among first year undergraduate university students at the beginning and end of first year. EBV infection status was assessed by testing for circulating IgG class antibodies against EBV viral capsid antigen. Of 198 starting students; 56.1% were positive for EBV antibodies with a higher rate in women (64.8%) than men (41.1%); p=0.002. A history of deep kissing was associated with a higher rate of EBV antibody positivity. On follow-up 8 months later at the end of freshman year, 22.4% had acquired EBV antibodies for a primary infection incidence of 33.6/100 person years. These findings indicate that our first year undergraduate population contains sufficient EBV-naïve subjects for a prophylactic vaccine trial.

Journal of Oncology, 2019

Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1α) is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in inflammation and immune respons... more Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1α) is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in inflammation and immune response and is upregulated in many solid tumors including head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Although IL-1αexpression is generally associated with poor prognosis, the implications of the subcellular localization of IL-1αexpression in patient outcomes are poorly understood. This study is aimed at investigating the prognostic value of nuclear and cytoplasmic immunohistochemical IL-1αexpression in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). Tissue microarrays containing 146 OSCCs were analyzed for IL-1αand epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression by immunohistochemistry. IL-1αand EGFR expression scores were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and survival outcomes. IL-1αexpression was observed in the nuclear and/or cytoplasmic compartments in 98% of evaluable tumors and 78% of tumors expressed IL-1αin both compartments. There were no differences observed in overall survival o...

Annals of surgical oncology, 2017

Tumor grade is an important predictor of survival in gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) neuroendocrine ... more Tumor grade is an important predictor of survival in gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), as determined by Ki-67 expression and mitotic rate. NETs generally grow indolently, but some cells may acquire traits facilitating metastasis. It is unclear how frequently metastases differ in grade from their primary tumors, and whether increasing grade in metastases affects prognosis. Ki-67 immunohistochemistry was performed on resected GEPNET specimens and cases with results for both primary tumors and concurrent metastases were identified. Grade was determined using a modified World Health Organization classification (Ki-67: G1 = 0-2%; G2 > 2-20%; G3 > 20%). Ki-67 was performed on both the primary tumor and metastases in 103 patients. Tumor grade was higher in metastases from 25 (24%) patients, 24 increased from G1 to G2, and 1 increased from G2 to G3; 68 (66%) patients had no change in grade (42 G1 and 26 G2), and 10 (10%) decreased from G2 to G1. No clinicopath...

Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 2015