This proposal describes a five year program for a clinical research based career in Infectious Diseases. The candidate, Mini Kamboj MD, an Instructor in Medicine and Associate-Director of Hospital Infection Control will conduct the program under the supervision of Dr. Kent Sepkowitz, Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Infection Control Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), to study the role of novel risk factors for a multi-drug resistant organism (MDRO) Vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE).These infections are more common in persons with cancer and result in devastating outcomes and greater resource utilization. The study will be conducted at MSKCC, one of the largest programs of clinical research in the world. The candidate has enlisted an advisory committee of esteemed leaders in the field of microbial pathogenesis, infection control and genome based testing for guidance and advice during this program. The proposal is guided by the hypothesis that many anti-cancer drugs have anti microbial properties and therefore are likely to influence gastrointestinal flora including the microbial burden (density) of VRE. We also hypothesize that a change in density of VRE in turn has an effect on clinical outcome. To examine this hypothesis we propose to (1)Determine VRE density in stool in 50 cancer patients at MSKCC using a new quantitative PCR assay and standard microbiologic techniques (2) Determine the effect of commonly used chemotherapeutic agents with strong antimicrobial activity, (5-Fluorouracil and Methotrexate) upon density of VRE among colonized individuals. (3) Determine the predictive value of VRE density determined by standard techniques and quantitative PCR on clinical outcome, including mortality and resource utilization, among patients with cancer at highest risk for invasive VRE disease. The candidate's immediate goal is to develop into an independent clinical investigator in patient-oriented clinical research with a focus on hospital acquired infections in persons with cancer and long term goal is to implement studies on devising and testing therapeutic approaches including decolonizing and other control strategies for MDRO's that are common in the cancer population. Hospital-acquired infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in persons with cancer. In this population, colonization and infection with vancomycin-resistant enterococci are more common. The studies in this proposal will provide novel insight into common but previously unrecognized risk factors for VRE in persons with cancer and provide a basis for devising and testing control strategies against this multi-drug resistant organism.

Public Health Relevance

Hospital-acquired infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in persons with cancer. In this population, colonization and infection with vancomycin-resistant enterococci are more common. The studies in this proposal will provide novel insight into common but previously unrecognized risk factors for VRE in persons with cancer and provide a basis for devising and testing control strategies against this multi-drug resistant organism.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
5K23AI083880-05
Application #
8662165
Study Section
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research Committee (MID)
Program Officer
Huntley, Clayton C
Project Start
2010-06-01
Project End
2015-05-31
Budget Start
2014-06-01
Budget End
2015-05-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10065
Sun, Janet; Mc Millen, Tracy; Babady, N Esther et al. (2016) Role of Coinfecting Strains in Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 37:1481-1484
Kamboj, Mini; Blair, Rachel; Bell, Natalie et al. (2015) Use of Disinfection Cap to Reduce Central-Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection and Blood Culture Contamination Among Hematology-Oncology Patients. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 36:1401-8
Robilotti, Elizabeth; Kamboj, Mini (2015) Integration of whole-genome sequencing into infection control practices: the potential and the hurdles. J Clin Microbiol 53:1054-5
Kamboj, Mini; Xiao, Kun; Kaltsas, Anna et al. (2014) Clostridium difficile infection after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant: strain diversity and outcomes associated with NAP1/027. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 20:1626-33
Kamboj, Mini; Blair, Rachel; Bell, Natalie et al. (2014) What is the source of bloodstream infection due to vancomycin-resistant enterococci in persons with mucosal barrier injury? Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 35:99-101
Kamboj, Mini; Babady, N Esther; Marsh, Jane W et al. (2014) Estimating risk of C. difficile transmission from PCR positive but cytotoxin negative cases. PLoS One 9:e88262
Babady, N Esther; Mead, Peter; Stiles, Jeffrey et al. (2012) Comparison of the Luminex xTAG RVP Fast assay and the Idaho Technology FilmArray RP assay for detection of respiratory viruses in pediatric patients at a cancer hospital. J Clin Microbiol 50:2282-8
Son, Crystal H; Daniels, Titus L; Eagan, Janet A et al. (2012) Central line-associated bloodstream infection surveillance outside the intensive care unit: a multicenter survey. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 33:869-74
Kamboj, Mini; Son, Crystal; Cantu, Sherry et al. (2012) Hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infection rates in persons with cancer or hematopoietic stem cell transplant: a C3IC network report. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 33:1162-5
Kaltsas, Anna; Simon, Matt; Unruh, Larissa H et al. (2012) Clinical and laboratory characteristics of Clostridium difficile infection in patients with discordant diagnostic test results. J Clin Microbiol 50:1303-7

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