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Huffman, Brandon M.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0768-3145

Mayo Clinic

Harvard University

Citations 11

Supportive learning environments, impression management and ‘strategic imposterism’: A word of caution
Huffman, Brandon M. , Sawatsky, Adam P.

Medical Education | November 21, 2023 | Volume: 57 | Issue: 12 | Pages: 1170-1172

10.1111/medu.15223 Get It

Learning environments are critical to individual growth and expression. While high stakes environments can drive self‐doubt and imposterism, the authors warn that overly comfortable environments may encourage ‘strategic imposterism.’
Resident impression management within feedback conversations: A qualitative study
Huffman, Brandon M. , Hafferty, Frederic W. , Bhagra, Anjali , Leasure, Emily L. , Santivasi, Wil L. , Sawatsky, Adam P.

Medical Education | August 28, 2020 | Volume: 55 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 266-274

10.1111/medu.14360 Get It

Abstract Introduction Medical education is moving to conceptualise feedback as a bidirectional learning conversation. Within this conversation, learners experience a tension between assessment and feedback. That perceived tension affects learners’ outward performances. In this study, we aimed to characterise residents’ experiences with this tension and its effect on learner authenticity within feedback conversations. Methods In this constructivist grounded theory study, the authors were informed by Goffman's theory of impression management. During data analysis, Dweck's theory of mindset was adopted. The authors conducted semi‐structured interviews with 15 internal medicine residents. Data collection and analysis were conducted iteratively, using constant comparison to identify themes coinciding with impression management and mindset, ultimately developing a theoretical model to help explain residents’ responses to tensions within feedback conversations. Results Residents constantly felt ‘scrutinized’, and this affected their engagement in feedback conversations. They staged a performance within those conversations, linked to their underlying mindset: growth or fixed. Growth mindset was characterised by a focus on development as a physician and was associated with asking questions and seeking opportunities for growth. Fixed mindset was characterised by a focus on achieving a favourable evaluation and was associated with a hesitation to ask questions when faced with uncertainty and admit opportunities for growth, because they were concerned about impression management. Context influenced mindset and impression management. Residents adopted a fixed mindset and managed impressions when they perceived the permanence or consequences of evaluations within feedback. Residents adopted a growth mindset when they trusted the supervisor. Discussion Residents assess the context of feedback conversations, altering the authenticity of their behaviours. Context, including the perceptions of formal assessment and relationships with supervisors, affected residents’ mindset and impression management. Providing space for relationship‐building and clarifying the purpose and structure of assessment may be helpful in supporting effective learning conversations in graduate medical education.
Coaching Versus Competency to Facilitate Professional Identity Formation
Sawatsky, Adam P. , Huffman, Brandon M. , Hafferty, Frederic W.

Academic Medicine | January 1, 2020 | Volume: 95 | Issue: 10 | Pages: 1511-1514

10.1097/acm.0000000000003144 Get It

Professional identity formation, with its focus on the development of professional values, actions, and aspirations, is the ideal goal of medical education. Medicine is a community of practice, and medical education is a socialization process by which novice trainees become full community members. The authors believe coaching provides an ideal means for promoting this socialization process to develop a learner’s identity as they engage in the community. Coaching involves an orientation toward growth and development, valuing reflection and nurturing continuous reflection, and embracing failure as an opportunity for learning. However, there are challenges to implementing coaching in medical education. Competency-based medical education has provided clear outcomes (competencies) for medical education and programs of assessment around these competencies. Yet, there is a tension in medical training between professional identity formation (the process of socialization into the profession) and the formal assessment process. The ideal of multiple low-stakes assessments and written evaluations, intended as formative assessments, are perceived by residents as high-stakes evaluations with significant consequences for their future. The authors present a resident story that highlights this tension. They outline Goffman’s theory of impression management, postulating that medicine’s assessment system encourages residents to stage a performance for evaluators that displays their competence and conceals their perceived weaknesses. This performance hinders coaching and the formation of an appropriate professional identity. Coaching, the authors believe, provides a model that aligns assessment and professional identity formation. Given the challenges to implementing coaching in medical education, the authors propose several questions to contemplate when integrating coaching into medical education to facilitate the goal of professional identity formation.
Validation of lymphocyte to monocyte ratio in resected small bowel adenocarcinoma as a predictor of survival.
Huffman, Brandon M. , Jin, Zhaohui , Yadav, Siddhartha , Hálfdánarson, Þorvarður R. , Yadav, Siddhartha , Halfdanarson, Thorvardur R , Jin, Zhaohui , Patel, Shruti , Mahipal, Amit

Journal of Clinical Oncology | May 27, 2019 | Volume: 37 | Issue: 15_suppl | Pages: e15799-e15799

10.1200/jco.2019.37.15_suppl.e15799 Get It

e15799 Background: Lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR) has been described as a prognostic factor in many solid tumors including colorectal adenocarcinoma. LMR has not been investigated as a prognostic factor in small bowel cancers. In this study, we aimed to evaluate prognostic factors in resected small bowel adenocarcinoma including LMR. Methods: Two hundred forty-one patients who underwent resection for stage I-III small bowel adenocarcinoma were retrospectively identified utilizing the pathology database at a single tertiary referral institution from 1994 to 2015. All patients had complete follow up data and were included in the survival analysis. One hundred sixty-nine patients had preoperative peripheral blood counts available for analysis. Plot of martingale residuals against LMR were used to establish best cutoff points for LMR. A training set for LMR included consecutively identified patients from 2006 to 2015, and a validation cohort including patients identified from 1994 to 2005 was used. Overall survival was performed utilizing Kaplan-Meier method, and Wilcoxon tests were used for statistical comparisons. Cox proportional hazards were performed and all tests were two sided. P value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Median overall survival for the entire group was 54.5 months (95% CI: 37.2-81.2 months) with 5- and 10-year overall survival of 48% and 35%. The training set for LMR included 81 patients, and the validation set included 88 patients. The cutoff of 1.56 was chosen based on most significant p value (p = 0.002). When combined, the overall area under the curve (AUC) for LMR was 0.63, p < 0.01, (specificity 37.3%, sensitivity 90.1%, positive predictive value 33.1%, and negative predictive value 92.2%). There were 126 patients with LMR > 1.56 and 43 patients with LMR < 1.56 in the entire cohort. In multivariate analysis, LMR under 1.56 was a negative prognostic factor, HR = 2.20 (95% CI: 1.27-3.84, p < 0.01). In addition to LMR, age > 60 years and advanced T stage were independently negative predictors of overall survival in all patients. Conclusions: Lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio < 1.56 is a validated negative prognostic factor in resected small bowel adenocarcinoma.
Lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio independently predict survival in resected small bowel adenocarcinoma.
Huffman, Brandon M. , Yadav, Siddhartha , Jin, Zhaohui , Yadav, Siddhartha , Jin, Zhaohui , Patel, Shruti , Mahipal, Amit

Journal of Clinical Oncology | January 29, 2019 | Volume: 37 | Issue: 4_suppl | Pages: 426-426

10.1200/jco.2019.37.4_suppl.426 Get It

426 Background: Small bowel adenocarcinoma is a rare malignancy affecting approximately 2,000 patients per year. There is a paucity of evidence prognosticating patients with small bowel adenocarcinoma. We aimed to evaluate multiple factors in patients with resected small bowel adenocarcinoma to determine any association with survival outcomes. Methods: Ninety three patients who underwent resection for stage I-III small bowel adenocarcinoma were retrospectively identified utilizing the pathology database at a single tertiary referral institution. All patients had complete follow up data and were included in the survival analysis. JMP software was used for statistical analysis. Overall survival was performed utilizing Kaplan-Meier method, and log-rank tests were used for statistical comparisons. Cox proportional hazards were performed to control for age, gender, location of tumor, tumor size, tumor stage, and adjuvant therapy. Sensitivity analysis was performed to establish best cutoff points for continuous variables. All tests were two sided and a P value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 65 years (range 32-90). 61% were male. Median tumor size was 4.5 cm. There were 20, 36, and 37 patients with stage I, stage II, and stage III disease, respectively. Median overall survival (OS) was 151 months, 104 months, and 44 months for stages I, II, and III disease. In a multivariate analysis, independent predictor factors included presurgical lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR) > 4.0, with a Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.13 (95% CI 0.007-0.69, p = 0.01), presurgical neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) < 8.0, HR 0.39 (95% CI 0.17-0.96, p = 0.04), and tumor size < 7.5 cm, HR 0.22 (95% CI 0.07-0.85, p = 0.03). Stage, age, T stage, and N stage influenced overall survival in univariate analysis, but were not statistically significant on multivariate analysis. Conclusions: LMR and NLR independently predict survival in patients with resected small bowel adenocarcinoma.
Clinicopathological features and outcomes of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.
Chakrabarti, Sakti , Kommalapati, Anuhya , Tella, Sri Harsha , Huffman, Brandon M. , Yadav, Siddhartha , Yadav, Siddhartha , Kommalapati, Anuhya , Chakrabarti, Sakti , Riaz, Irbaz Bin , Goyal, Gaurav , Borad, Mitesh J. , Mahipal, Amit

Journal of Clinical Oncology | January 29, 2019 | Volume: 37 | Issue: 4_suppl | Pages: 393-393

10.1200/jco.2019.37.4_suppl.393 Get It

393 Background: Clinicopathological features and the outcomes of patients with fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FLHCC) are not clearly defined. Methods: Data were collected by retrospective chart review on 42 patients with FLHCC treated between 1990 and 2017 at the Mayo Clinic. Clinicopathological characteristics, response to treatment, recurrence pattern and survival were analyzed. Results: Of 42 patients (17 males and 25 females; median age at diagnosis 22 years, range 15 to 39), 10 patients (23%) had stage I disease and 32 patients (77%) had stage II to IVB disease. All 10 patients with stage I disease and 21 of 32 patients with stage II-IVB disease underwent resection at presentation. In stage I patient group, 6 patients experienced recurrence with a median time to recurrence of 30.5 months, resulting in a 5 year overall survival (OS) of 86%. Patients with stage II to IVB disease who underwent resection (n=21) at presentation had a median OS of 32.5 months and 5 year OS of 44%. In the upfront surgery group, 71% of the patients experienced recurrent disease. The median OS of patients with unresectable disease (n=11) was 10 months. Systemic therapy was given to 17 patients which included sorafenib, FOLFOX (5-fluorouracil/leucovorin and oxaliplatin), gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin, single agent adriamycin or gemcitabine, capecitabine plus interferon alfa, gemcitabine plus cisplatin, cisplatin plus adriamycin and nivolumab . Sorafenib was given to 9 patients and 4 patients achieved stable disease (SD) with duration ranging from 5 months to 5 years. One programmed cell death receptor positive-1 patient had a durable complete response after 2 months of therapy with nivolumab. Conclusions: In FLHCC, surgical resection was associated with prolonged OS. However, recurrences were common after the surgery. Limited benefit was derived from the systemic treatment. In rare cases, therapy with a checkpoint inhibitor may provide a viable treatment option.
Prognostic factors in duodenal adenocarcinoma.
Huffman, Brandon M. , Jin, Zhaohui , Sanhueza, Cristobal T., Hartgers, Mindy L., Jin, Zhaohui , Johnson, Benny , Shubert, Christopher R. , Mahipal, Amit

Journal of Clinical Oncology | September 6, 2018 | Volume: 35 | Issue: 15_suppl | Pages: e15797-e15797

10.1200/jco.2017.35.15_suppl.e15797 Get It

e15797 Background: Duodenal adenocarcinoma is a rare tumor representing approximately 0.3% of all gastrointestinal tract cancers. Prognostic factors in relation to survival outcomes for these patients are sporadically reported in the medical literature. We aimed to evaluate outcomes of patients with duodenal adenocarcinoma who underwent pancreaticojejunostomy treated at Mayo Clinic Rochester from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2016. Methods: Clinicopathological data of 52 duodenal cancer patients were collected. JMP software was used for statistical analysis. Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank tests were used for survival analysis, and multivariate cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the prognostic effect of pertinent clinical variables. All tests were two sided and a P value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 65.9 years (range 39-81). The median overall survival was 51 months (95% CI 31.3-105.4) and the median progression free survival was 30.4 months with median follow up of 73.4 months. There were 3, 9, 21, and 19 patients with stage I, II, III, and IV disease, respectively. Depth of tumor invasion (p = 0.0156) and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0441) were associated with overall survival on multivariate analysis. Advanced clinical staging influenced overall survival in univariate analysis, but lost prognostic significance in multivariate analysis. Age, gender, surgical technique, presence of metastases, tumor size, number of lymph nodes removed, location of duodenal segment involvement, and adjuvant treatment had no significant impact on overall survival. Laparoscopic approach did not influence survival but was associated with less hospital days (p = 0.0437). Conclusions: Depth of tumor invasion and lymph node status were associated with improved overall survival in patients with duodenal adenocarcinoma. Laparoscopic procedure decreased the hospital stay without affecting outcomes.
Curative intent of local excision alone for stage I anal canal squamous cell carcinoma (ACSCC).
Chakrabarti, Sakti , Huffman, Brandon M. , Hallemeier, Christopher L. , Grothey, Axel, Chakrabarti, Sakti , Jin, Zhaohui , Hallemeier, Christopher Leigh , Hubbard, Joleen M. , Mahipal, Amit

Journal of Clinical Oncology | September 5, 2018 | Volume: 36 | Issue: 15_suppl | Pages: e15574-e15574

10.1200/jco.2018.36.15_suppl.e15574 Get It

Survival and Prognostic Factors in Patients With Solid Pseudopapillary Neoplasms of the Pancreas
Huffman, Brandon M. , Westin, Gustavo Figueiredo Marcondes, Alsidawi, Samer , Nagorney, David M. , Hálfdánarson, Þorvarður R. , Mahipal, Amit , Mahipal, Amit , Halfdanarson, Thorvardur R , Alberts, Steven R.

Pancreas | July 23, 2018 | Volume: 47 | Issue: 8 | Pages: 1003-1007

10.1097/mpa.0000000000001112 Get It

Objectives Prognostic factors for solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPN) of the pancreas have been incompletely defined in the literature. We aimed to use the National Cancer Database to describe survival and characterize prognostic factors in patients with pancreatic pseudopapillary neoplasms. Methods We identified 304 patients with pancreatic SPN diagnosed between 2004 and 2012 using the National Cancer Database. All patients were included in the survival analysis. Kaplan-Meier method, χ 2 , and log-rank tests were used for statistical analysis. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used for multivariate analysis. Results The median age at diagnosis was 36.5 years. Eighty-five percent of patients were female, 69% were white, and 25% were black. Metastases were observed in 5% of patients. Median tumor size was 5.1 cm. Ninety-two percent of patients underwent primary tumor resection. At 60 months, 98% of patients who underwent resection were alive, and 40% who did not undergo resection were alive. On multivariate analysis, female sex, resection of primary tumor, and absence of metastasis were correlated with improved survival. Conclusions Patients with SPN who undergo resection have an excellent survival at 5 years. Surgery should be considered in all patients with this diagnosis.
Hepatotoxicity After Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy in Melanoma
Huffman, Brandon M. , Kottschade, Lisa A. , Kamath, Patrick S. , Markovic, Svetomir N.

American Journal of Clinical Oncology | July 26, 2017 | Volume: 41 | Issue: 8 | Pages: 760-765

10.1097/coc.0000000000000374 Get It

Objective: To report the clinical features, treatment, and outcomes of patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced hepatotoxicity. Patients and Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we identified patients with metastatic malignant melanoma seen in consultation and/or treated between March 2011 and March 2016. Hepatotoxicity was assessed using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, v4.0. Results: Seventeen patients were identified as having any degree of hepatotoxicity by history (grade 1 to 4). Twelve of 17 were diagnosed after ipilimumab, 3 of 17 were diagnosed after pembrolizumab, and 2 of 17 after ipilimumab combined with nivolumab. Median time from first dose of immune therapy to hepatotoxicity was 52 days. Clinical symptoms were variable: asymptomatic, fatigue, myalgias, headache, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, confusion, and/or jaundice. Eight patients had concurrent adverse events including colitis, hypophysitis, pneumonitis, and/or rash. Immune therapy was discontinued in all patients except 3. The patients were most commonly treated with systemic corticosteroids such as prednisone. Immunosuppression was discontinued by taper over a median of 42 days; in 3 patients steroids had to be reinitiated based on clinical or laboratory worsening of liver tests. Normalization of liver tests was seen within a median of 31 days of immunosuppression initiation. One patient with grade 4 hepatotoxicity had normalization with the addition of cyclosporine. Conclusions: Melanoma patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors should be monitored regularly for hepatotoxicity. Treatment with discontinuation of therapy and initiation of corticosteroids is indicated with grade 3 or 4 hepatotoxicity. Cyclosporine may be beneficial in steroid-refractory hepatotoxicity.