Scholars@Duke
Alvin Rucker

Alvin Rucker

House Staff
Surgery

Selected Publications

Ivor Lewis Esophagectomy and the Care of Humphrey Bogart's Midesophageal Cancer.

Journal Article Ann Thorac Surg · August 2024 In 1945, the Welsh surgeon Ivor Lewis first reported performing the resection of a midesophageal tumor through a combined approach involving the abdomen and right chest. Although his technique was initially rebuffed by the preeminent esophageal surgeons of ... Full text Link to item Cite

Necroptosis stimulates interferon-mediated protective anti-tumor immunity.

Journal Article Cell death & disease · June 2024 Necroptosis is an inflammatory form of cell suicide that critically depends on the kinase activity of Receptor Interacting Protein Kinase 3 (RIPK3). Previous studies showed that immunization with necroptotic cells conferred protection against subsequent tu ... Full text Cite

Erratum: Clinical features and prognosis of resectable pulmonary primary invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma (Transl Lung Cancer Res (2022) 11 (420-431) DOI: 10.21037/tlcr-22-190)

Journal Article Translational Lung Cancer Research · December 1, 2022 This article (1) titled "Clinical features and prognosis of resectable pulmonary primary invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma" (doi: 10.21037/tlcr-22-190), unfortunately contains an error in the primary affiliation for Haimiao Xu and Guoping Cheng. The current ... Full text Cite

Tumor-intrinsic and immune modulatory roles of receptor-interacting protein kinases.

Journal Article Trends Biochem Sci · April 2022 Receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) and RIPK3 are signaling adaptors that critically regulate cell death and inflammation. Tumors have adapted to subvert RIPK-dependent cell death, suggesting that these processes have key roles in tumor regulatio ... Full text Link to item Cite

Impact of Time to Endoscopic Resection on Outcomes for Stage I Esophageal Adenocarcinoma.

Journal Article Ann Thorac Surg · March 2022 BACKGROUND: Endoscopic resection (ER) is the preferred treatment for superficial esophageal cancer; however, a safe time frame for performing ER has not been established. This study evaluated the period in which ER can be performed for patients with stage ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical features and prognosis of resectable pulmonary primary invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma.

Journal Article Translational lung cancer research · March 2022 BackgroundAccording to the latest the World Health Organization (WHO) classification in 2015, invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma (IMA) is defined as a new pathological subtype of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, whether this rare subtype of lung ... Full text Cite

The Impact of Adjuvant Therapy on Survival After Esophagectomy for Node-negative Esophageal Adenocarcinoma.

Journal Article Ann Surg · February 1, 2022 OBJECTIVE: Determine whether adjuvant chemotherapy is associated with a survival benefit in high risk T2-4a, pathologically node-negative distal esophageal adenocarcinoma. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: There is minimal literature to substantiate the NCCN gui ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Assassination of Medgar Evers.

Journal Article Ann Thorac Surg · January 2022 In 1995, Dr Martin Dalton published a recounting of his involvement with the first human lung transplant in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. As recalled in that account, the first lung transplant took place in the summer of 1963 in the context of another hi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Lung retransplantation in the modern era.

Journal Article J Thorac Dis · November 2021 Chronic lung allograft dysfunction remains the leading cause of long-term morbidity and mortality for lung transplant recipients. Lung retransplantation currently represents the only therapeutic option for patients for refractory allograft dysfunction. How ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effect of Lymph Node Assessment on Outcomes in Surgery for Limited Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Journal Article Ann Thorac Surg · December 2020 BACKGROUND: The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend surgery for limited stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, there is no literature on minimum acceptable lymph node retrieval in surgery for SCLC. METHODS: The National Cancer ... Full text Link to item Cite

The immunotherapeutic landscape in non-small cell lung cancer and its surgical horizons.

Journal Article J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · April 2020 Lung cancer continues to be a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Despite tremendous advances in surgical technique, chemotherapy regimens, radiation, and targeted therapies, survival is <50% at 5 years. Immunotherapy, specifically immune chec ... Full text Link to item Cite

Research Participation of a Professional Organization in Clinical Trials: The Association of Black cardiologists Clinical Trial Investigator Identification Project.

Journal Article J Natl Med Assoc · April 2019 INTRODUCTION: Black individuals continue to be underrepresented in clinical trials despite efforts by the National Institutes of Health and the Federal Drug Administration to increase their enrollment. Health care providers play a critical role in the recr ... Full text Link to item Cite

Simultaneous Versus Sequential Heart-liver Transplantation: Ideal Strategies for Organ Allocation.

Journal Article Transplant Direct · January 2019 BACKGROUND: Simultaneous heart-liver (SHL) transplantation is an efficacious therapeutic modality for patients with combined heart and liver failure. However, the extent to which heart transplantation followed by sequential liver transplantation (LAH) can ... Full text Link to item Cite

The role of patient-provider sexual health communication in understanding the uptake of HIV prevention services among Black men who have sex with men.

Journal Article Culture, health & sexuality · July 2018 We examined factors that may be associated with whether Black men who have sex with men a) disclose their sexual orientation to healthcare providers, and b) discuss their sexual health with healthcare providers to inform interventions to improve HIV preven ... Full text Cite

Salt, Hypertension, and Immunity.

Journal Article Annu Rev Physiol · February 10, 2018 The link between inappropriate salt retention in the kidney and hypertension is well recognized. However, growing evidence suggests that the immune system can play surprising roles in sodium homeostasis, such that the study of inflammatory cells and their ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical predictors and outcome implications of early readmission in lung transplant recipients.

Journal Article J Heart Lung Transplant · May 2017 BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors and outcome implications for 30-day hospital readmission in lung transplant recipients. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of lung transplant cases from a single, high-volum ... Full text Link to item Cite

The role of macrophages in hypertension and its complications.

Journal Article Pflugers Arch · April 2017 Circulating monocytes and tissue macrophages play complex roles in the pathogenesis of hypertension, a highly prevalent disease associated with catastrophic cardiovascular morbidity. In the vasculature and kidney, macrophage-derived reactive oxygen species ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

A Qualitative Study of Smoking Behaviors among Newly Released Justice-Involved Men and Women in New York City.

Journal Article Health & social work · May 2016 Long-term effects of cigarette smoking result in an estimated 443,000 deaths each year, including approximately 49,400 deaths due to exposure to secondhand smoke. Tobacco is a major risk factor for a variety of chronic health problems, including certain ca ... Full text Cite

HealthMpowerment.org: Building Community Through a Mobile-Optimized, Online Health Promotion Intervention.

Journal Article Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education · August 2015 BackgroundBoth young Black men who have sex with men as well as young Black transgender women (YBMSM/TW) continue to experience a significant increase in HIV incidence. HealthMpowerment.org (HMP) is a mobile phone-optimized, online intervention fo ... Full text Cite