Integrating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Into Cancer Clinical Trials.

The practice of oncology requires analyzing and synthesizing abundant data. From the patient's workup to determine eligibility to the therapies received to the post-treatment surveillance, practitioners must constantly juggle, evaluate, and weigh decision-making based on their best understanding of information at hand. These complex, multifactorial decisions have a tremendous opportunity to benefit from data-driven machine learning (ML) methods to drive opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI).

Usefulness of a metronome to improve quality of chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The objective of this study was to improve the quality of chest compressions after the introduction of a metronome during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). A retrospective analysis of Zoll compression data of 219 in-hospital adult participants who received CPR from January 2017 to December 2018 was done. A metronome was introduced during chest compressions in January 2018, and the 2017 data served as the control.

Second primary breast cancer after diagnosis of breast cancer among male patients: An examination of population characteristics and overall survival.

Background: Male patients with breast cancer (BrC) have increased risk of developing 2nd-primary BrC (2nd-BrC). Given the relative rarity of male BrC, population-based registries are needed to analyze overall survival (OS) outcomes for these patients.

Methods: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registry of patients diagnosed from 1975 to 2016, a cohort study of men whose only malignancy was BrC (BrC-O;  = 6,475), and men who developed 2nd-BrC after initial BrC diagnosis (BrC-2;  = 85) was performed.

Surgical Management and Adjuvant Therapy for Patients With Neurological Deficits From Vertebral Hemangiomas: A Meta-Analysis.

Study Design: Meta-analysis.

Objective: To understand the benefits and limitations of surgical management and adjuvant therapies for patients presenting with neurological deficits from vertebral hemangiomas (VH).

Summary Of Background Data: VH is the most common benign spine tumor but rarely causes symptoms.

Comparative Effectiveness of Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Versus Upfront Surgery in the Management of Recto-Sigmoid Junction Cancer.

Introduction: The optimal management of locally advanced recto-sigmoid cancer is unclear. Although some experts advocate for upfront surgery, others recommend neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgery. We used the National Cancer Database to characterize patterns-of-care and overall survival (OS) associated with these treatment strategies.

Survival implications of staging lymphadenectomy for non-endometrioid endometrial cancers.

Purpose: To determine, in patients with non-endometrioid endometrial carcinoma, 1) survival benefit associated with pelvic lymphadenectomy (LND), 2) survival benefit for para-aortic lymphadenectomy performed in addition to pelvic lymphadenectomy, and 3) association between number of lymph nodes removed and survival.

Methods: Patients with clinical stage I serous carcinoma, clear cell carcinoma, or carcinosarcoma who underwent hysterectomy from 2010 to 2013 were identified from the National Cancer Database. Hazard ratio (HR) for death was assessed using propensity score-weighted multivariable Cox regression models.

A population-based study of prognosis and survival in patients with second primary thyroid cancer after Hodgkin lymphoma.

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivors are at increased risk of thyroid cancer (TC). We sought to determine whether increased risks of high-risk pathology or mortality are seen with thyroid cancer after HL (HL-TC) compared with first primary thyroid cancer (TC-1). From the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry, we compared patient and tumor characteristics as well as survival outcomes between HL-TC and TC-1 and fit a multivariable Cox model to assess for a possible association between HL history and overall survival after TC.

Meta-analysis with missing study-level sample variance data.

We consider a study-level meta-analysis with a normally distributed outcome variable and possibly unequal study-level variances, where the object of inference is the difference in means between a treatment and control group. A common complication in such an analysis is missing sample variances for some studies. A frequently used approach is to impute the weighted (by sample size) mean of the observed variances (mean imputation).

Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Lung Metastases from Colorectal Cancer: Prognostic Factors for Disease Control and Survival.

Objectives: To evaluate disease control and survival after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for lung metastases from colorectal cancer and to identify prognostic factors after treatment.

Methods: Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer to the lungs treated with SBRT from 2002 to 2013 were identified from a prospectively maintained database. Patients may have received prior systemic therapy, radiotherapy to nonthoracic sites and/or resection of thoracic and/or nonthoracic metastases.

Assay sensitivity of pain intensity versus pain relief in acute pain clinical trials: ACTTION systematic review and meta-analysis.

Unlabelled: The magnitude of the effect size of an analgesic intervention can be influenced by several factors, including research design. A key design component is the choice of the primary endpoint. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare the assay sensitivity of 2 efficacy paradigms: pain intensity (calculated using summed pain intensity difference [SPID]) and pain relief (calculated using total pain relief [TOTPAR]).

A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial of Oxymorphone Hydrochloride and Propoxyphene/Acetaminophen Combination for the Treatment of Neurogenic Claudication Associated With Lumbar Spinal Stenosis.

Study Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-dose crossover study.

Objective: To test the analgesic efficacy of oxymorphone hydrochloride (OH) and propoxyphene/acetaminophen (PA) for patients with neurogenic claudication associated with lumbar spinal stenosis.

Summary Of Background Data: Although opioids are often prescribed for neurogenic claudication, no randomized controlled studies support their efficacy for this condition.

Second primary head and neck cancer after Hodgkin lymphoma: a population-based study of 44,879 survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma.

Background: Survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) are at an increased risk of developing second malignancies. To the authors' knowledge, the risks of head and neck cancer (HNC) after HL and subsequent survival have not been thoroughly investigated.

Methods: From the US population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for 1973 through 2011, survivors of HL who developed HNC as a second cancer were analyzed.

Double-blind, randomized, controlled, crossover trial of pregabalin for neurogenic claudication.

Objectives: To test the effects of pregabalin on the induction of neurogenic claudication.

Methods: This study was a randomized, double-blind, active placebo-controlled, 2-period, crossover trial. Twenty-nine subjects were randomized to receive pregabalin followed by active placebo (i.

Complications from computed tomography-guided core needle biopsy for patients receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy for early-stage lesions of the lung.

Background: Obtaining a tissue diagnosis has traditionally been standard practice before initiating therapy for early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In several recent studies from Europe and Asia, a substantial proportion of patients have received stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) based only on the imaging characteristics of the suspicious lesion. The underlying assumption is that the risk of percutaneous needle biopsy may outweigh the benefits in a population that generally has underlying pulmonary dysfunction and other medical comorbidity.

Cross-sectional area for the calculation of carotid artery stenosis on computed tomographic angiography.

Objective: The use of cross-sectional area (CSA) measurements obtained from computed tomographic angiography (CTA) for the calculation of carotid artery stenosis has been suggested but not yet validated in a large population. The objective of this study was to determine whether CTA-derived CSA measurements were able to predict carotid stenosis with a level of confidence similar to CTA-derived diameter measurements, using Strandness criteria applied to carotid duplex ultrasound (CDUS) as a surrogate for true stenosis.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted to identify patients who underwent both CDUS and CTA between 2000 and 2009.