Symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients have poorer outcomes following emergency general surgery: A study of the nationwide inpatient sample.

Background: The impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on outcomes following common emergency general surgery procedures has not been evaluated since the widespread introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Records of patients who underwent laparoscopic or open appendectomy, cholecystectomy, or colon resection after emergency admission from 2004 to 2011 were obtained.

Pregnancy and Parenthood among Surgery Residents: Results of the First Nationwide Survey of General Surgery Residency Program Directors.

Background: Although family and lifestyle are known to be important factors for medical students choosing a specialty, there is a lack of research about general surgery residency program policies regarding pregnancy and parenthood. Similarly, little is known about program director attitudes about these issues.

Study Design: We performed a cross-sectional survey of United States (US) general surgery residency program directors.

Gender, Age, and Comorbidity Status Predict Improved Survival with Adjuvant Chemotherapy Following Lobectomy for Non-small Cell Lung Cancers Larger than 4 cm.

Purpose: To identify pretreatment prognostic factors associated with improved outcomes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors larger than 4 cm receiving adjuvant chemotherapy following surgery versus surgery alone.

Methods: Information was collected from the National Cancer Data Base on adults diagnosed with NSCLC who underwent lobectomy with or without adjuvant chemotherapy for pathologic T2 tumors measuring at least 4 cm, with no lymph node involvement or distant metastasis. The data were analyzed using model-based recursive partitioning for survival.

Blockade of the B7-H1/PD-1 pathway for cancer immunotherapy.

The aim of cancer immunotherapy is to treat malignant disease by inducing or enhancing cancer specific immune responses. With the identification of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) in the 1990s, cancer immunotherapy research largely focused on inducing immune responses against TAAs but achieved limited success. More recently, the underlying mechanisms and molecular pathways that cancers manipulate to subvert immune-mediated destruction have been identified, including a set of molecules with potent coinhibitory functions.