Financial toxicity in cancer patients and subsequent risk of repeat acute care utilization.

Background: Acute care (AC) visits by cancer patients are costly sources of healthcare resources and can exert a financial burden of oncology care both for individuals with cancer and healthcare systems. We sought to identify whether cancer patients who reported more severe initial financial toxicity (FT) burdens shouldered excess risks for acute care utilization.

Methods: In 225 adult patients who participated in the Economic Strain and Resilience in Cancer (ENRICh) survey study of individuals receiving ambulatory cancer care between March and September 2019, we measured the baseline FT (a multidimensional score of 0-10 indicating the least to most severe global, material, and coping FT burdens).

Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Body Composition and Physical Performance of Athletes: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression.

Sporting events were cancelled, and sports training was banned to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These changes during the COVID-19 pandemic decreased the physical activity levels, increased sedentary time, and also impaired the mental health of elite and sub-elite athletes. The impact on body composition and physical performance is not clear, however, especially considering a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Two rare cancers of the exocrine pancreas: to treat or not to treat like ductal adenocarcinoma?

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive malignancy with increasing incidence. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for > 90% of pancreatic cancer diagnoses, while other exocrine tumors are much rarer. In this review, we have focused on two rare cancers of the exocrine pancreas: adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas (ASCP) and pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (PACC).

Hispanic Individuals are Underrepresented in Phase III Clinical Trials for Advanced Liver Cancer in the United States.

Background: Hispanic individuals comprise the second-largest subpopulation after non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals in the United States (US). We compared the relative contribution of Hispanic individuals to the ten most common causes of cancer-related deaths and studied enrollment of Hispanic patients in multinational phase III advanced liver cancer trials with the aim to investigate whether racial subpopulations are adequately represented in liver cancer trials.

Methods: Relative cancer incidence rates in Hispanic individuals, NHW individuals, non-Hispanic black (NHB) individuals, and Asian individuals were obtained from both the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States Cancer Statistics (USCS) database.

Definitive local therapy for T4 prostate cancer associated with improved local control and survival.

Objectives: To evaluate patients with clinical (c)T4 prostate cancer (PCa), which represent both a heterogenous and understudied population, who often present with locally advanced disease and obstructive symptoms causing significant morbidity and mortality. We analysed whether receiving definitive local therapy influenced symptomatic and oncological outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 154 patients with cT4 PCa treated at a single institution in 1996-2020.

Time-Modulated Antenna Arrays for Ultra-Wideband 5G Applications.

This research presents the design of time-modulated antenna arrays with UWB performance. The antenna arrays consider a linear topology with eight UWB disk-notch patch antennas. The technological problem is to find out the optimum antenna positions and/or time sequences to reduce the side lobes and the sidebands in all of the UWB frequency ranges.

Exercise training-induced changes in immunometabolic markers in youth badminton athletes.

The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic and inflammatory fluctuations in two seasonal phases of badminton training, and the ability of youth badminton athletes to respond to an inflammatory challenge given by acute exercise on these markers. Thirteen youth badminton athletes who participated in national and international competitions were recruited. Metabolic and cytokine profile were measured at rest and in response to a maximal exercise intermittent test, in the pre- and final phases of a badminton annual season.

Detraining and retraining in badminton athletes following 1-year COVID-19 pandemic on psychological and physiological response.

Purpose: Badminton is a racket sport, with fast and explosive movements and mental skills employed to anticipate the opponent's movements. The COVID-19 pandemic, led to social restriction in Brazil and sport event cancellations, subsequently, sports training was banned. Thus, the objective of this study was to compare the impact of long-period detraining due to COVID-19 social restriction (8 months and 1-year) on cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, nutritional behavior, and profile of mood states in badminton athletes and to verify if the athletes who returned to their regular training 4 months earlier than athletes who stopped their daily training routine during 1-year would improve these variables.

Stereotactic ablative radiation therapy for renal cell carcinoma with inferior vena cava tumor thrombus.

Background: Inferior vena cava tumor thrombus (IVC-TT) is a rare yet deadly sequel of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with limited treatment options. The standard treatment is extirpative surgery, which has high rates of morbidity and mortality. As a result, many patients are unfit or unwilling to undergo surgery and face poor prognosis.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Psychophysiological Response in Youth Badminton Athletes During the Season.

Purpose: To analyze peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels and psychophysiological parameters in youth badminton athletes during the season and to determine the relationship between variables.

Methods: Fourteen young badminton athletes were assessed over the season (preseason, middle season, and final season). Serum BDNF (sBDNF) was determined during the preseason and final season.

Sensitivity of Psychosocial Distress Screening to Identify Cancer Patients at Risk for Financial Hardship During Care Delivery.

Purpose: Patients with cancer frequently encounter financial hardship, yet systematic strategies to identify at-risk patients are not established in care delivery. We assessed sensitivity of distress-based screening to identify patients with cancer-related financial hardship and associated care delivery outcomes.

Methods: A survey of 225 patients at a large cancer center assessed cancer-related financial hardship (0-10 Likert scale; highest quintile scores ≥ 5 defined severe hardship).

Does a Custom Electronic Health Record Alert System Improve Physician Compliance With National Quality Measures for Palliative Bone Metastasis Radiotherapy?

Purpose: In an effort to promote cost-conscious, high-quality, and patient-centered care in the palliative radiation of painful bone metastases, the National Quality Forum (NQF) formed measure 1822 in 2012, which recommends the use of one of the four dose-fractionation schemes (30 Gy in 10 fractions, 24 Gy in 6 fractions, 20 Gy in 5 fractions, or 8 Gy in a single fraction). We investigated whether a custom electronic health record (EHR) alert system improved quality measure compliance among 88 physicians at a large academic center and institutional network.

Methods: In March 2018, a multiphase alert system was embedded in a custom web-based EHR.

Increased Frequency of Mesorectal and Perirectal LN Involvement in T4 Prostate Cancers.

Purpose: Patients with prostate cancer presenting with advanced T stage, mainly T4, might have a unique pattern of nodal failure and disease involvement that is not typically covered when local therapy is offered. We attempted to identify common sites of nodal disease presentation and failure for patients presenting with cT4 prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: All patients with treatment-naïve cT4 prostate cancer were retrospectively identified.

Multidisciplinary Modelling of Symptoms and Signs with Archetypes and SNOMED-CT for Clinical Decision Support.

Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) help to improve health care and reduce costs. However, the lack of knowledge management and modelling hampers their maintenance and reuse. Current EHR standards and terminologies can allow the semantic representation of the data and knowledge of CDSS systems boosting their interoperability, reuse and maintenance.

Allergen sensitization linked to climate and age, not to intermittent-persistent rhinitis in a cross-sectional cohort study in the (sub)tropics.

Background: Allergen exposure leads to allergen sensitization in susceptible individuals and this might influence allergic rhinitis (AR) phenotype expression. We investigated whether sensitization patterns vary in a country with subtropical and tropical regions and if sensitization patterns relate to AR phenotypes or age.

Methods: In a national, cross-sectional study AR patients (2-70 y) seen by allergists underwent blinded skin prick testing with a panel of 18 allergens and completed a validated questionnaire on AR phenotypes.

Pericardial abscess in an intravenous drug user: a case report.

A 45 year old man, intravenous drug user, without history of systemic illness, presented with fever, chills and an anterior left thorax pulsatile mass. Echocardiogram showed an anterior mediastinal fluid collection with no apparent pericardial communication and without evidence of endocarditis. Chest tomography revealed a large left anterior mediastinal abscess with multiple pulmonary abscesses.

Concomitant beating-heart mitral valve surgery and coronary artery bypass in patients with compromised ventricular function.

Background: : Surgical repair of mitral valve disease and concomitant coronary artery occlusive disease has high operative risk. Myocardial protection for protracted, complicated procedures is seminal to the overall operative outcome; specifically, preservation of left ventricular function.

Methods: The authors conducted a retrospective review of 25 patients undergoing combined mitral valve repair/replacement (MVR) and coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) using the beating-heart technique at the Miller/University of Miami School of Medicine.

[Relation between Der p2 and Der f2 antigen levels in house dust and the degree of sensitization in asthmatic patients].

Background: The continuous exposure to high levels of environmental allergens, as dust mite, gets worse the reactivity of the airways as mentioned in previous studies. In other international studies, it has been determined the levels of house dust mite antigen needed to sensitize asthmatic patients, but few studies in Mexico have measured the concentration of house dust mite antigen before the initial treatment and correlated the sensitization to it with the levels of total IgE and the skin test.

Objective: To determine the minimum concentration of house dust mite antigen required to sensitize patients with asthma at the Distrito Federal and if it exists a correlation between the different concentration of the antigen, the results of the skin test and the total IgE.