Publications

Scholarly Journals--Published

• Ling Ted C, Slater Jason M, Senthil Maheswari, Kazanjian Kevork, Howard Frank, . . . Yang Gary Y. (2014). Surgical and radiation therapy management of recurrent anal melanoma. J Gastrointest Oncol, 5(1), E7-E12. BACKGROUND: Melanoma of the anorectal mucosa is a rare but highly aggressive tumor. Its presenting symptoms are frequently confused with hemorrhoids, thereby causing a delay in diagnosis. Anorectal melanoma carries with it a very poor prognosis. There is a paucity of data investigating management options for anorectal melanoma, and even fewer data reporting recurrent or refractory cases. CASE PRESENTATION: This case documents a 41-year-old female with a long history of hemorrhoids presenting with anorectal discharge. She was incidentally found have anorectal melanoma following surgical resection. Systemic diagnostic work-up demonstrated PET-avid lymphadenopathy in her right groin. She underwent right groin dissection. However, seven months later she recurred in her right groin and a new recurrent mass was found in her pelvis. She underwent a second groin dissection and resection of the pelvic recurrence. This was followed by a course of hypofractionated radiation therapy then systemic immunotherapy. DISCUSSION: Surgery has been the mainstay of treatment. However, the extent of surgery has been the topic of investigation. Historically, radical resections have been performed but they result in high rates of post-operative morbidity. Newer studies have compared radical resection with wide local excisions and found comparable outcomes. Anorectal melanoma is frequently a systemic disease. The ideal systemic therapy regimen has not yet been determined but numerous studies show a benefit to multi-agent treatments. Radiation therapy is typically given in the post-operative or palliative setting. CONCLUSIONS: Anorectal mucosal melanoma is a very rare but aggressive disease with a poor prognosis. The overall treatment goal should strive to optimize quality of life and tumor control while minimizing treatment-related morbidities. (2014) (link)
• de Necochea-Campion R, Chen C S, Mirshahidi S, Howard F D, & Wall N R. (2013). Clinico-pathologic relevance of Survivin splice variant expression in cancer. Cancer Lett, 339(2), 167-174. Survivin is a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family and has multifunctional properties that include aspects of proliferation, invasion and cell survival control. Survivin is a promising candidate for targeted cancer therapy as its expression is associated with poor clinical outcome, more aggressive clinico-pathologic features, and resistance to radiation and chemotherapy. In the present review the different properties of the Survivin splice variants are discussed and their activities correlated with different aspects of cancer cell biology, to include subcellular location. Special emphasis is placed on our current understanding of these Survivin splice variants influence on each other and on the phenotypic responses to therapy that they may control. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. (10/2013) (link)
• Frank D. Howard, IV, MD, PhD. Surgical resection of liver metastasis from colorectal cancer: targeting local therapy to systemic disease. Community Oncology. 2006; 3:571.   (2006)
• Hussey RE, Clayton LK, Diener A, McConkey DJ, Howard FD, Rodewald H-R, D’Adamio L, Dallenbach F, Stein H, Schmidt EV, Koyasu S, Reinherz EL. Overexpression of CD3η does not alter the negative selection progress. J. Immunol. 1993; 140:127-138.   (1993)
• Howard FD, Moingeon P, Moebius U, McConkey DJ, Yandava B, Gennert TE, Reinherz EL. The CD3ζ Cytoplasmic Domain Mediates CD2 Induced T Cell Activation. J. Exp. Med. 1992; 176:139-145. (1992)
• Clayton LK, D’Adamio L, Howard FD, Sieh M, Hussey RE, Koyasu S, Reinherz EL. CD3η and CD3ζ are alternatively spliced products of a common genetic lotus and are transcriptionally and/or post-transcriptionally regulated during T cell development. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1991; 88:5202-5206.   (1991)
• Bauer A, McConkey DJ, Howard FD, Clayton LK, Novick D, Koyasu S, Reinherz EL. Differential signal transduction via T cell receptor CD3ζ2, CD3ζ-η and CD3η2 isoforms. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1991; 88:3842 3846.   (1991)
• Bieber CE, Howard FD, Pennock J, Wong J, Shorthouse R, Stinson EB.  Production, characterization and primate testing of a monoclonal anti-thymocyte globulin.   Transplantation.  1981; 31:283.   (1981)
• Gronowicz ES, Doss CA, Howard FD, Morrison DC, Strober S.  An in vitro line of the B cell tumor BCL-1 can be activated by LPS to secrete IgM.  J Immunol.  1980; 125:976. (1980)
• Howard FD, Ledbetter JA, Mehdi SQ, Herzenberg LA.  A rapid method for the detection of antibodies to cell surface antigens: a solid phase RIA using cell membranes.  J Immunol Methods.  1980; 38:75.   (1980)

Abstract

• (PEER REVIEWED) Cary A. Presant, Linda Bosserman, Frank Howard and Brandon Emilio, Wilshire Oncology Medical Group, La Verne, California. Patterns of metastatic (met) disease sites in breast cancer (BrCa): implications for availability of fresh tumor tissue (FTT) for personalized BrCa treatment (Rx) planning (TP) in met disease. Submitted, Amer Soc Clin Oncol, 2008.   (2008)
• (PEER REVIEWED) C.A. Presant, L. Bosserman, C. Kelley, T. Young, M. Vakil, R. Horns, G. Upadhyaya, B. Ebrahimi, C. Yeon, F. Howard and A. Rios. Wilshire Oncology Medical Group, LaVerne, California. “Aromatase inhibitor (AI)-associated arthralgia (A) and bone pain (BP): frequency and characterization in community based clinical practice.” Proc Amer Soc Clin Onc and Poster Presentation, 2006.   (2006)
• (PEER REVIEWED) Pathogen Inactivated Platelets (plt) Using Helinx™ Technology (INCERCEPT plt) Are Hemostatically Effective in Thrombocytopenic Patients (tcp pts): The SPRINT Trial. J. McCullough, D. Vesole, R.J. Benjamin, S. Slichter, A. Pineda, E. Snyder, E. Stadtmauer, I. Lopez-Plaza, S. Coutre, R.G. Strauss, L.T. Godnough, J. Fridey, T. Raife, R. Cable, S. Murphy, F. Howard, K. Davis, A. Koutsoukos, L. Lin, P. Metzel, D.H. Bucholz, L. Corash, M.G. Conlan. Blood 98(11), 450a, 2001. Presented as an oral presentation at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology, Orlando, Florida, December 2001.   (12/2001)
• (PEER REVIEWED) Rapid monitoring of peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) mobilization by using cell membrane phospholipid content correlates well with CD34+ measurements, successful harvest and engraftment. C-S Chen, Michael B Lilly, Fu-sheng Wang, Frank D Howard IV, Berend Houwen. Presented as a poster at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology, San Francisco, California, December 2000. (12/2000)