Implementation of a financial navigation program in gynecologic oncology.

Background: "Financial Toxicity" (FT) is the financial burden imposed on patients due to disease and its treatment. Approximately 50% of gynecologic oncology patients experience FT. This study describes the implementation and outcomes of a novel financial navigation program (FNP) in gynecologic oncology.

Thy-1 predicts poor prognosis and is associated with self-renewal in ovarian cancer.

Background: Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecologic cancer death in the United States despite effective first-line systemic chemotherapy. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) retain the ability to self-renew and proliferate and may be a means of harboring disease that evades standard treatment strategies. We previously performed a high-throughput screen to assess differential protein expression in ovarian CSCs compared to non-CSCs and observed that Thy-1 was more highly expressed in CSCs.

Cx26 drives self-renewal in triple-negative breast cancer via interaction with NANOG and focal adhesion kinase.

Tumors adapt their phenotypes during growth and in response to therapies through dynamic changes in cellular processes. Connexin proteins enable such dynamic changes during development, and their dysregulation leads to disease states. The gap junction communication channels formed by connexins have been reported to exhibit tumor-suppressive functions, including in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

CD55 regulates self-renewal and cisplatin resistance in endometrioid tumors.

Effective targeting of cancer stem cells (CSCs) requires neutralization of self-renewal and chemoresistance, but these phenotypes are often regulated by distinct molecular mechanisms. Here we report the ability to target both of these phenotypes via CD55, an intrinsic cell surface complement inhibitor, which was identified in a comparative analysis between CSCs and non-CSCs in endometrioid cancer models. In this context, CD55 functions in a complement-independent manner and required lipid raft localization for CSC maintenance and cisplatin resistance.

Cisplatin induces stemness in ovarian cancer.

The mainstay of treatment for ovarian cancer is platinum-based cytotoxic chemotherapy. However, therapeutic resistance and recurrence is a common eventuality for nearly all ovarian cancer patients, resulting in poor median survival. Recurrence is postulated to be driven by a population of self-renewing, therapeutically resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs).

The Impact of Obesity on the 30-day Morbidity and Mortality After Surgery for Ovarian Cancer.

Objectives: To examine the effect of body mass index (BMI) on postoperative 30-day morbidity and mortality after surgery for ovarian cancer (OC).

Methods: Patients with OC were identified from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from 2005 to 2011. Women were divided into 3 groups: nonobese (BMI <30 kg/m), obese (30 to <40 kg/m), and morbidly obese (≥40 kg/m).

Impact of Age on 30-Day Mortality and Morbidity in Patients Undergoing Surgery for Ovarian Cancer.

Objective: To examine the effect of age on postoperative 30-day morbidity and mortality after surgery for ovarian cancer.

Methods: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program files were used to identify patients with ovarian cancer who underwent surgery in 2005 to 2011. Women were divided into 4 age groups: <60, 60 to 69, 70 to 79, and ≥80 years.

Development of a Fluorescent Reporter System to Delineate Cancer Stem Cells in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Advanced cancers display cellular heterogeneity driven by self-renewing, tumorigenic cancer stem cells (CSCs). The use of cell lines to model CSCs is challenging due to the difficulty of identifying and isolating cell populations that possess differences in self-renewal and tumor initiation. To overcome these barriers in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), we developed a CSC system using a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter for the promoter of the well-established pluripotency gene NANOG.

Patient, treatment and discharge factors associated with hospital readmission within 30 days after surgical cytoreduction for epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

Objective: Hospital readmissions are common, costly and increasingly viewed as adverse events. In gynecologic oncology, data on readmissions are limited. The goal of this study was to examine the patient, treatment and discharge factors associated with unplanned readmission after cytoreductive surgery.

Management of a skin metastasis in a patient with advanced ovarian cancer.

► Skin metastasis of ovarian cancer is rare, often nodular in appearance, and conveys a poor prognosis. ► This patient developed an unusual maculo-papular rash which was biopsy-proven to be metastatic endometrioid adenocarcinoma. ► Pruritic symptoms from skin metastases should be palliated; SSRIs, local radiation, and topical creams all may play a role.

Genomewide RNA expression profiling in lung identifies distinct signatures in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension and secondary pulmonary hypertension.

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life-threatening condition characterized by pulmonary arteriolar remodeling. This investigation aimed to identify genes involved specifically in the pathogenesis of PAH and not other forms of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Using genomewide microarray analysis, we generated the largest data set to date of RNA expression profiles from lung tissue specimens from 1) 18 PAH subjects and 2) 8 subjects with PH secondary to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and 3) 13 normal subjects.