Access to care and the Hispanic paradox among Hispanic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: Despite the disproportionate impact of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on Hispanic patients, reported outcomes are limited, particularly among subpopulations. Our study aimed to evaluate outcomes in access to care and survival among racial and ethnic Hispanic subpopulations.

Methods: The National Cancer Database was utilized to identify patients diagnosed with HCC between 2004 and 2020.

Early Palliative Care Following Aborted Cancer Surgery: Results of a Prospective Feasibility Trial.

Background: Although resection is generally necessary for curative-intent treatment of most solid organ cancers, surgery is occasionally aborted due to intraoperative findings. Following aborted cancer surgery, patients have unique care needs that specialized palliative care (PC) providers may be best equipped to manage. We hypothesized that early ambulatory PC referral following aborted cancer surgery would be feasible and acceptable.

The Association Between Patient-Reported Outcomes and Surgical Attrition During Neoadjuvant Therapy for Gastrointestinal Malignancies.

Purpose: Neoadjuvant therapy (NT) is increasingly used for gastrointestinal (GI) and hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) cancers. Risk factors for surgical attrition during NT are poorly understood. A planned secondary analysis of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from a prospective cohort study of patients undergoing NT was performed to identify factors associated with surgical attrition.

Best Practices for Delivering Neoadjuvant Therapy in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Importance: Neoadjuvant therapy (NT) is an increasingly used treatment strategy for patients with localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Little research has been conducted on cancer care delivery during NT, and the standards for optimal delivery of NT have not been defined.

Objective: To develop consensus best practices for delivering NT to patients with localized PDAC.

A qualitative study of providers' perspectives on cross-institutional care coordination for pancreatic cancer: challenges and opportunities.

Background: Despite calls for regionalizing pancreatic cancer (PC) care to high-volume centers (HVCs), many patients with PC elect to receive therapy closer to their home or at multiple institutions. In the context of cross-institutional PC care, the challenges associated with coordinating care are poorly understood.

Methods: In this qualitative study we conducted semi-structured interviews with oncology clinicians from a HVC (n = 9) and community-based hospitals (n = 11) to assess their perspectives related to coordinating the care of and treating PC patients across their respective institutions.

Reporting time toxicity in prospective cancer clinical trials: A scoping review.

Purpose: This review aimed to assess the measurement and reporting of time toxicity (i.e., time spent receiving care) within prospective oncologic studies.

Patient Perceptions of Care Coordination during Neoadjuvant Therapy for Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Mixed Methods Analysis.

Purpose: Effective cancer care coordination (CCC) is an integral component of health care delivery and critical to achieving optimal oncologic outcomes. Neoadjuvant therapy (NT), the delivery of multimodality therapy prior to surgery, is inherently complex and multidisciplinary, but CCC during NT is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to characterize patient perceptions of CCC during NT using a mixed methods approach.

Surgeon Perspectives on the Management of Aborted Cancer Surgery: Results of a Society of Surgical Oncology Member Survey.

Background: While surgery is generally necessary for most solid-organ cancers, curative-intent resection is occasionally aborted due to unanticipated unresectability or occult metastases. Following aborted cancer surgery (ACS), patients have unique and complex care needs and yet little is known about the optimal approach to their management.

Objective: The aim of this study was to define the practice patterns and perspectives of an international cohort of cancer surgeons on the management of ACS.

Evaluating the caregiver experience during neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Introduction: Neoadjuvant therapy (NT) is increasingly recommended for patients with localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Recent research has highlighted the significant treatment burden that patients experience during NT, but caregiver well-being during NT is poorly understood.

Methods: A cross-sectional mixed-methods analysis of primary caregivers of patients with localized PDAC receiving NT was undertaken.

Quality of Life and Real-time Patient Experience During Neoadjuvant Therapy: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To use a customized smartphone application to prospectively measure QOL and the real-time patient experience during neoadjuvant therapy (NT).

Background: NT is increasingly used for patients with localized gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. There is little data assessing patient experience and quality of life (QOL) during NT for GI cancers.

Impact of early vs late palliative care referrals on healthcare utilization in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of early versus late palliative care referral (PCR) following pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with PDAC who received a PCR between 2014 and 2020 at a major academic institution were identified. PCR was classified as early (< 30 days) or late (≥ 30 days) based on time from definitive diagnosis.

Characterizing treatment burden during neoadjuvant therapy for patients with gastrointestinal cancer: A mixed methods analysis.

Introduction: Neoadjuvant therapy (NT) is increasingly used before surgery for patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Treatment burden is a patient-centered measure defined as the work of being a patient and characterizes the impact of medical treatment on one's functioning and well-being. While treatment burden has previously been studied in chronic diseases and cancer survivorship, the treatment burden of undergoing NT is unknown.

Utilization of Palliative and Hospice Care Among Pancreatic Cancer Patients at an Academic Center.

Introduction: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma has the lowest 5-y relative survival of all solid tumor malignancies. Palliative care can improve the quality of life of both patients and their caregivers. However, the utilization patterns of palliative care in patients with pancreatic cancer are unclear.

Medical Face Masks Do Not Affect Acid-Base Balance Yet Might Facilitate the Transmission of in Hospital Settings during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: Due to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic, the wearing of masks has become a common phenomenon. Most of the undesirable effects of using a protective face covering are usually related to the prolonged time of its wearing, and the adverse consequences of face coverings should be considered two-fold. The aim of the study was to evaluate the rate of contamination of the three types of face coverings (surgical, N95, and FFP2 masks) with the microorganism-aerobic bacteria, yeasts, and molds-after the 3 h exposure time.

Patient Preferences for Neoadjuvant Therapy in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: Physicians are increasingly recommending neoadjuvant therapy (NT) before surgery for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, patient preferences for and opinions regarding NT are poorly understood.

Methods: Survivors and caregivers from a national PDAC patient advocacy organization completed an online survey assessing preferences for NT versus surgery first (SF) and factors influencing their decision making.

Patient Perspectives on Defining Textbook Outcomes Following Major Abdominal Surgery.

Background: The composite metric textbook outcome (TO) has recently gained interest as a novel quality measure. However, the criteria for defining a TO have not been rigorously defined and patient perspectives on the characteristics of TO are unknown.

Methods: Patients who underwent major abdominal surgery at a single tertiary care center were administered a customized survey designed to ascertain their perspectives on defining TOs.

Circulating monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is associated with cachexia in treatment-naïve pancreatic cancer patients.

Background: Cancer-associated wasting, termed cancer cachexia, has a profound effect on the morbidity and mortality of cancer patients but remains difficult to recognize and diagnose. While increases in circulating levels of a number of inflammatory cytokines have been associated with cancer cachexia, these associations were generally made in patients with advanced disease and thus may be associated with disease progression rather than directly with the cachexia syndrome. Thus, we sought to assess potential biomarkers of cancer-induced cachexia in patients with earlier stages of disease.