Mary Louise Affronti | Scholars@Duke

Mary Louise Affronti
Associate Professor in the School of Nursing

Dr. Mary Lou Affronti joined the Duke University School of Nursing faculty in February 2014. She earned both her DNP and her MSN at DUSON, and also earned a Master’s degree in Health Science in Clinical Research from the Duke University School of Medicine. She holds a Clinical Associate faculty appointment in the Duke University Medical Center Department of Surgery /Neurosurgery. She is also Senior Investigator and Adult Nurse Practitioner at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center in the Duke Cancer Institute.

Dr. Affronti has been a part of Duke’s oncology clinical and research community for almost three decades, and has been associated with DUSON since 1989 in a variety of roles, including clinical associate, guest lecturer, preceptor, and clinical instructor. She was instrumental in developing the oncology curriculum for DUSON nurse practitioner students. In 2005, she was honored by the Friends of Nursing at Duke with the Evelyn Morgan Award for Excellence in Oncology Nursing. Dr. Affronti’s DNP capstone on adherence to antiemetic guidelines in patients with malignant glioma, which received the Outstanding Capstone Doctoral Project Award in 2013, has just been published in Supportive Care in Cancer.

Dr. Affronti has been developing and leading therapeutic and supportive care research while continuing to see patients as a nurse practitioner, and is continuing both her clinical and research activities at the Brain Tumor Center. She has a strong interest in the development and testing of therapies for primary brain tumors, and is currently a co-principal or principal investigator on four Phase II clinical trials at the Brain Tumor Center.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, School of Nursing, Duke University 2015

Contact Information

047 Baker House, Durham, NC 27710
Box 3624 Med Ctr, Durham, NC 27710
affro002@mc.duke.edu (919) 684-5301

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- M.S.N., Duke University 1986
- B.S., University of Delaware 1983
Duke Appointment History
- Instructor, Temporary in the School of Nursing, School of Nursing, Duke University 2014 - 2015
- Clinical Associate in the School of Nursing, School of Nursing, Duke University 2004 - 2014
- Clinical Associate in the Department of Surgery, Neurosurgery, Neuro-Oncology, Neurosurgery 2007 - 2014
- Clinical Associate in the Department of Surgery, Surgery, Clinical Science Departments 1999 - 2007
- Clinical Associate in the School of Nursing, School of Nursing, Duke University 2000 - 2004
- Clinical Associate in the School of Nursing, School of Nursing, Duke University 1994 - 1999
Research
Selected Grants
- Phase II randomized study to evaluate efficacy, patient satisfaction, and compliance of Rolapitant plus ondansetron awarded by TESARO 2017 - 2022
- HIV Nurse Practitioner Training Program awarded by Health Resources and Service Administration 2013 - 2018
- Graduate Scholarship in Cancer Nursing Practice - Herndon awarded by American Cancer Society, Inc. 2015 - 2017
- Temozolomide Resistance in CNS Tumors awarded by National Institutes of Health 1999 - 2001
- Cancer Center Core Support Grant awarded by National Institutes of Health 1976 - 1998
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Conference Papers
  - Affronti, ML, Woodring, S, Allen, K, II, HJE, McSherry, F, Peters, KB, Friedman, HS, Desjardins, A, Freeman, W, Cheshire, S, Cone, C, Kalinowski, KH, Kim, J-Y, III, LHH, Poillucci, V, Southerland, C, Tetterton, J, Kirkpatrick, J, and Vredenburgh, JJ. "PHASE II STUDY TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF INTRAVENOUS PALONOSETRON IN PRIMARY MALIGNANT GLIOMA PATIENTS RECEIVING STANDARD RADIOTHERAPY AND CONCOMITANT TEMOZOLOMIDE." October 2012. Link to Item
  - Affronti, ML, Bohlin, C, Bronson, K, Jones, L, Herndon, J, Quinn, J, Reardon, D, Desjardins, A, Rich, J, Friedman, H, and Vredenburgh, J. "Phase II trial of Zoledronic Acid (ZA) for bone loss prevention in glioma patients." October 2007. Link to Item
  - Allen, D, Carter, K, Bronson, CBK, Jones, L, Keir, S, Guill, B, Raynor, R, Bridigi, B, Affronti, ML, and Vredenburgh, J. "Efficacy of dronabinol for nausea, vomiting, and appetite disturbances in adult patients with primary malignant gliomas." October 2007. Link to Item
  - Affronti, ML, Dowell, JM, II, HJE, Cahill, J, Rich, JN, Quinn, JA, Reardon, DA, Vredenburgh, JJ, Desjardins, A, Gururangan, S, and Friedman, HS. "Overall survival of primary glioblastoma (GBM) patients receiving radiation and concurrent temozolomide followed by rotational multi-agent chemotherapy." October 2006. Link to Item
  - Allen, DH, Carter, K, Jackson, S, Ziegler, K, Affronti, ML, Dunn, R, and Guill, B. "Evaluating impact of symptom management on quality of life in glioma patients." October 2004. Link to Item
- Journal Articles
  - Clark-Snow, R, Affronti, ML, and Rittenberg, CN. "Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and adherence to antiemetic guidelines: results of a survey of oncology nurses." Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer 26, no. 2 (February 2018): 557-564. Full Text
  - Randazzo, DM, McSherry, F, Herndon, JE, Affronti, ML, Lipp, ES, Flahiff, C, Miller, E, Woodring, S, Freeman, M, Healy, P, Minchew, J, Boulton, S, Desjardins, A, Vlahovic, G, Friedman, HS, Keir, S, and Peters, KB. "A cross sectional analysis from a single institution's experience of psychosocial distress and health-related quality of life in the primary brain tumor population." Journal of neuro-oncology 134, no. 2 (September 2017): 363-369. Full Text
  - Affronti, ML, Woodring, S, Peters, KB, Herndon, JE, McSherry, F, Healy, PN, Desjardins, A, Vredenburgh, JJ, and Friedman, HS. "A Phase II single-arm trial of palonosetron for the prevention of acute and delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in malignant glioma patients receiving multidose irinotecan in combination with bevacizumab." Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management 13 (January 2017): 33-40. Full Text
  - Affronti, ML, Schneider, SM, Herndon, JE, Schlundt, S, and Friedman, HS. "Adherence to antiemetic guidelines in patients with malignant glioma: a quality improvement project to translate evidence into practice." Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer 22, no. 7 (July 2014): 1897-1905. Full Text
  - Affronti, ML, Schneider, SM, Herndon, JE, Schlundt, S, and Friedman, HS. "Adherence to antiemetic guidelines in patients with malignant glioma: A quality improvement project to translate evidence into practice." Supportive Care in Cancer 22, no. 7 (January 1, 2014): 1897-1905. Full Text
  - Affronti, ML, and Bubalo, J. "Palonosetron in the management of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients receiving multiple-day chemotherapy." Cancer management and research 6 (January 2014): 329-337. (Review) Full Text
  - Affronti, ML, Heery, CR, Herndon, JE, Rich, JN, Reardon, DA, Desjardins, A, Vredenburgh, JJ, Friedman, AH, Bigner, DD, and Friedman, HS. "Overall survival of newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients receiving carmustine wafers followed by radiation and concurrent temozolomide plus rotational multiagent chemotherapy." Cancer 115, no. 15 (August 1, 2009): 3501-3511. Full Text Link to Item
  - Allen, D, Jackson, S, Ziegler, K, Silverman, S, Penne, K, and Affronti, ML. "Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in adult patients with primary gliomas on steroid therapy." NEURO-ONCOLOGY 9, no. 4 (October 2007): 567-568. Link to Item
  - Bota, DA, Desjardins, A, Quinn, JA, Affronti, ML, and Friedman, HS. "Interstitial chemotherapy with biodegradable BCNU (Gliadel) wafers in the treatment of malignant gliomas." Ther Clin Risk Manag 3, no. 5 (October 2007): 707-715. Link to Item
  - Vredenburgh, JJ, Madan, B, Coniglio, D, Ross, M, Broadwater, G, Niedzwiecki, D, Edwards, J, Marks, L, Vandemark, R, McDonald, C, Affronti, ML, and Peters, WP. "A randomized phase III comparative trial of immediate consolidation with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell support compared to observation with delayed consolidation in women with metastatic breast cancer and only bone metastases following intensive induction chemotherapy." Bone Marrow Transplant 37, no. 11 (June 2006): 1009-1015. Full Text Link to Item
  - Vredenburgh, JJ, Coniglio, D, Broadwater, G, Jones, RB, Ross, M, Shpall, EJ, Hussein, A, Rizzieri, D, Marks, LB, Gilbert, C, Affronti, ML, Moore, S, McDonald, C, Petros, WP, and Peters, WP. "Consolidation with high-dose combination alkylating agents with bone marrow transplantation significantly improves disease-free survival in hormone-insensitive metastatic breast cancer in complete remission compared with intensive standard-dose chemotherapy alone." Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 12, no. 2 (February 2006): 195-203. Full Text Link to Item
  - Quinn, JA, Reardon, DA, Friedman, AH, Rich, JN, Sampson, JH, Vredenburgh, J, Gururangan, S, Provenzale, JM, Walker, A, Schweitzer, H, Bigner, DD, Tourt-Uhlig, S, Herndon, JE, Affronti, ML, Jackson, S, Allen, D, Ziegler, K, Bohlin, C, Lentz, C, and Friedman, HS. "Phase 1 trial of irinotecan plus BCNU in patients with progressive or recurrent malignant glioma." Neuro Oncol 6, no. 2 (April 2004): 145-153. Full Text Link to Item
  - Reardon, DA, Quinn, JA, Rich, JN, Gururangan, S, Vredenburgh, J, Sampson, JH, Provenzale, JM, Walker, A, Badruddoja, M, Tourt-Uhlig, S, Herndon, JE, Dowell, JM, Affronti, ML, Jackson, S, Allen, D, Ziegler, K, Silverman, S, Bohlin, C, Friedman, AH, Bigner, DD, and Friedman, HS. "Phase 2 trial of BCNU plus irinotecan in adults with malignant glioma." Neuro Oncol 6, no. 2 (April 2004): 134-144. Link to Item
  - Quinn, JA, Reardon, DA, Friedman, AH, Rich, JN, Sampson, JH, Provenzale, JM, McLendon, RE, Gururangan, S, Bigner, DD, Herndon, JE, Avgeropoulos, N, Finlay, J, Tourt-Uhlig, S, Affronti, ML, Evans, B, Stafford-Fox, V, Zaknoen, S, and Friedman, HS. "Phase II trial of temozolomide in patients with progressive low-grade glioma." J Clin Oncol 21, no. 4 (February 15, 2003): 646-651. Full Text Link to Item
  - Rizzieri, DA, Vredenburgh, JJ, Jones, R, Ross, M, Shpall, EJ, Hussein, A, Broadwater, G, Berry, D, Petros, WP, Gilbert, C, Affronti, ML, Coniglio, D, Rubin, P, Elkordy, M, Long, GD, Chao, NJ, and Peters, WP. "Prognostic and predictive factors for patients with metastatic breast cancer undergoing aggressive induction therapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem-cell support." J Clin Oncol 17, no. 10 (October 1999): 3064-3074. Full Text Link to Item
  - Kurtzberg, J, Laughlin, MJ, Smith, CA, Rizzieri, DA, Vredenburgh, JJ, Lassiter, ME, Affronti, ML, Coniglio, DM, Carrier, C, Stevens, CE, Rubinstein, P, and Chao, NJ. "Hematopoietic recovery in adult recipients following unrelated umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplantation." BLOOD 90, no. 10 (November 15, 1997): 480-480. Link to Item
  - Hussein, AM, Petros, WP, Ross, M, Vredenburgh, JJ, Affrontil, ML, Jones, RB, Shpall, EJ, Rubin, P, Elkordy, M, Gilbert, C, Gupton, C, Egorin, MJ, Soper, J, Berchuck, A, Clarke-Person, D, Berry, DA, and Peters, WP. "A phase I/II study of high-dose cyclophosphamide, cisplatin, and thioTEPA followed by autologous bone marrow and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-primed peripheral-blood progenitor cells in patients with advanced malignancies." Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 37, no. 6 (1996): 561-568. Link to Item
  - Cartee, L, Petros, WP, Rosner, GL, Gilbert, C, Moore, S, Affronti, ML, Hoke, JA, Hussein, AM, Ross, M, and Rubin, P. "Evaluation of GM-CSF mouthwash for prevention of chemotherapy-induced mucositis: a randomized, double-blind, dose-ranging study." Cytokine 7, no. 5 (July 1995): 471-477. Link to Item
  - Vandemark, RM, Shpall, EJ, and Affronti, ML. "Bone metastases from breast cancer: value of CT bone windows." J Comput Assist Tomogr 16, no. 4 (July 1992): 608-614. Link to Item
  - Shpall, EJ, Jones, RB, Bast, RC, Rosner, GL, Vandermark, R, Ross, M, Affronti, ML, Johnston, C, Eggleston, S, and Tepperburg, M. "4-Hydroperoxycyclophosphamide purging of breast cancer from the mononuclear cell fraction of bone marrow in patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy and autologous marrow support: a phase I trial." J Clin Oncol 9, no. 1 (January 1991): 85-93. Full Text Link to Item
  - Jones, RB, Shpall, EJ, Shogan, J, Affronti, ML, Coniglio, D, Hart, L, Halperin, E, Iglehart, JD, Moore, J, and Gockerman, J. "The Duke AFM Program. Intensive induction chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer." Cancer 66, no. 3 (August 1, 1990): 431-436. Link to Item
  - Jones, RB, Shpall, EJ, Ross, M, Coniglio, D, Affronti, ML, and Peters, WP. "High-dose carboplatin, cyclophosphamide, and BCNU with autologous bone marrow support: excessive hepatic toxicity." Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 26, no. 2 (1990): 155-156. Link to Item
  - Shpall, EJ, Anderson, IC, Bast, RC, Joines, WT, Jones, RB, Ross, M, Edwards, S, Eggleston, S, Johnston, C, and Tepperberg, M. "Immunopharmacologic purging of breast cancer from bone marrow for autologous bone marrow transplantation." Prog Clin Biol Res 333 (1990): 321-335. Link to Item
  - Peters, WP, Stuart, A, Affronti, ML, Kim, CS, and Coleman, RE. "Neutrophil migration is defective during recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor infusion after autologous bone marrow transplantation in humans." Blood 72, no. 4 (October 1988): 1310-1315. Link to Item
  - Gururangan, S, Cokgor, L, Rich, JN, Edwards, S, Affronti, ML, Quinn, JA, Herndon, JE, Provenzale, JM, McLendon, RE, Tourt-Uhlig, S, Sampson, JH, Stafford-Fox, V, Zaknoen, S, Early, M, Friedman, AH, and Friedman, HS. "Phase I study of Gliadel wafers plus temozolomide in adults with recurrent supratentorial high-grade gliomas." Neuro Oncol 3, no. 4: 246-250. Link to Item
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses

Some information on this profile has been compiled automatically from Duke databases and external sources. (Our About page explains how this works.) If you see a problem with the information, please write to Scholars@Duke and let us know. We will reply promptly.

Education, Training, & Certifications

Duke Appointment History

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

Conference Papers

Journal Articles

Recent Courses