Thyroid Carcinoma Glycoproteins Express Altered -Glycans with 3-O-Sulfated Galactose Residues.

Aberrant protein glycosylation is a hallmark alteration of cancer and is highly associated with cancer progression. Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer, but the -glycosylation of its glycoproteins has not been well characterized. In this work, we analyzed multiple freshly prepared PTC specimens along with paired normal tissue obtained from thyroidectomies.

Association between patient-reported financial burden and catastrophic health expenditures in cancer survivors.

Purpose: To measure rates of patient-reported financial burden, compare them across cancer types, and determine whether they are predictive of catastrophic health expenditures (CHE).

Methods: We extracted data from the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey from 2011 to 2017 to conduct a retrospective population-based cohort study and multivariable logistic regression to assess the financial burden of cancer across 16 cancer types and compare patient-reported metrics to CHE rates.

Results: Patients with ovarian cancer were most likely to report inability paying bills (34.

Inducing Receptor Degradation as a Novel Approach to Target CC Chemokine Receptor 2 (CCR2).

CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) has been linked to many inflammatory and immune diseases, making it a relevant drug target. Yet, all CCR2 antagonists developed so far have failed in clinical trials; thus, novel strategies are needed to target this receptor. Targeted protein degradation represents a novel approach to inhibit protein function by hijacking the cellular degradation machinery, such as the proteasome, to degrade the protein of interest.

Dual allosteric and orthosteric pharmacology of synthetic analog cannabidiol-dimethylheptyl, but not cannabidiol, on the cannabinoid CB receptor.

Cannabinoid CB receptor (CBR) is a class A G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) involved in a broad spectrum of physiological processes and pathological conditions. For that reason, targeting CBR might provide therapeutic opportunities in neurodegenerative disorders, neuropathic pain, inflammatory diseases, and cancer. The main components from Cannabis sativa, such as Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), have been therapeutically exploited and synthetically-derived analogs have been generated.

Social vulnerability and time to surgeon evaluation for primary hyperparathyroidism in a Massachusetts cohort.

Background: Identifying patients at risk for under-evaluation of primary hyperparathyroidism is essential to minimizing long-term sequelae, including osteoporosis, nephrolithiasis, and cardiovascular disease. This study assessed the impact of social vulnerability on time-to-surgery evaluation among patients with primary hyperparathyroidism in a Massachusetts cohort.

Methods: This is a retrospective review of patients from an institutional database with the first incident of hypercalcemia between 2010 and 2018 and subsequent biochemical diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism.

Association of patient-practitioner sex concordance with specialist referral in primary hyperparathyroidism.

Background: Prior research has demonstrated barriers to the workup and management of primary hyperparathyroidism. As recent data have suggested that patient and practitioner sex concordance is associated with lower surgical complications, we sought to evaluate the effect of sex concordance on referral for primary hyperparathyroidism.

Methods: We queried an institutional database for patients with first-incident hypercalcemia and subsequent biochemical evidence of primary hyperparathyroidism between 2010 and 2018.

Preferred language and disease severity predict evaluation for liver transplantation among patients admitted with alcohol-associated hepatitis.

Background: Liver transplantation (LT) for alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) is a relatively new practice and limited work exists surrounding the role social determinants of health may play in evaluation. This includes language that defines how patients interact with the healthcare system. We explored characteristics of patients with AH evaluated for LT within an integrated health system.

Urban and Rural Surgical Practice Patterns for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

The 2015 American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines shifted recommendations toward less aggressive management of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Subsequently, several studies demonstrated a trend in performing thyroid lobectomy (TL) over total thyroidectomy (TT). However, regional variation has persisted without a clear indication of what factors may be influencing practice variation.

Delay in Surgery and Papillary Thyroid Cancer Survival in the United States: A SEER-Medicare Analysis.

Introduction: Delays in surgery and their impact on survival in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is unclear. We sought to investigate the association between time to surgery and survival in patients with PTC.

Methods: A total of 8170 Medicare beneficiaries with PTC who underwent thyroidectomy were identified within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare linked data files between 1999 and 2018.

Scarless Surgery: Clinical Indications for Transoral Endocrine Surgery and Implications for Pathologists.

Transoral endocrine surgery (TES) is a scarless approach to thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy for well-selected patients. Criteria for the TES approach to thyroidectomy include thyroid diameter less than or equal to 10 cm, benign nodule less than or equal to 6 cm, or confirmed or suspected malignant nodule less than or equal to 2 cm. Although fragmentation of surgical specimens has been reported in TES, additional studies are needed to evaluate the implications of TES on pathologic examination.

Impact of cancer-associated mutations in CC chemokine receptor 2 on receptor function and antagonism.

CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), a G protein-coupled receptor, plays a role in many cancer-related processes such as metastasis formation and immunosuppression. Since ∼ 20 % of human cancers contain mutations in G protein-coupled receptors, ten cancer-associated CCR2 mutants obtained from the Genome Data Commons were investigated for their effect on receptor functionality and antagonist binding. Mutations were selected based on either their vicinity to CCR2's orthosteric or allosteric binding sites or their presence in conserved amino acid motifs.

Thromboprophylaxis Timing After Blunt Solid Organ Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Introduction: Trauma patients with blunt abdominal solid organ injuries are at high risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE), but the optimal time to safely administer chemical thromboprophylaxis is controversial, especially for patients who are managed nonoperatively due to increased risk of hemorrhage. We sought to compare failure of nonoperative management (NOM) and VTE events based on timing of chemical thromboprophylaxis initiation.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted in PubMed and Embase databases.

Limited disease progression in endocrine surgery patients with treatment delays due to COVID-19.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted the delivery of care and timing of elective surgical procedures. Most endocrine-related operations were considered elective and safe to postpone, providing a unique opportunity to assess clinical outcomes under protracted treatment plans.

Methods: American Association of Endocrine Surgeon members were surveyed for participation.

Disparities in Time to Surgeon Evaluation Among Patients with Primary Hyperparathyroidism.

Background: A majority of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism are not referred for surgical evaluation. We hypothesized that disparities in the rate of surgeon evaluation by language, race and ethnicity, and insurance contribute to this deficit.

Methods: We queried our institutional electronic health record registry for patients with first-incident hypercalcemia between 2010 and 2018 and subsequent biochemical diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism.

Association Between Size of Dominant Candidate Lesion on Four-Dimensional CT and Four-Gland Hyperplasia among Patients with Primary Hyperparathyroidism.

Background: Four-dimensional (4D) CT localization allows minimally invasive parathyroidectomy as treatment for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), but false positive localization is frequent. We sought to characterize the ability of 4D CT to predict four-gland hyperplasia (HP) based on the size of candidate lesions.

Study Design: We retrospectively analyzed patients with PHPT who underwent 4D CT imaging and parathyroidectomy between 2014 and 2020 from a prospectively collected institutional database.

Are patients with limited English proficiency less likely to undergo parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyoidism?

Background: Despite meeting operative indications for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), many patients never undergo parathyroidectomy. We hypothesized that patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) would be less likely to undergo parathyroidectomy than English-proficient (EP) patients.

Study Design: We retrospectively analyzed patients with PHPT from an institution-wide registry who met operative criteria between 2010 and 2018.

Posttranslational Modifications in Thyroid Cancer: Implications for Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Classification, and Treatment.

There is evidence that posttranslational modifications, including phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination, sumoylation, glycosylation, and succinylation, may be involved in thyroid cancer. We review recent reports supporting a role of posttranslational modifications in the tumorigenesis of thyroid cancer, sensitivity to radioiodine and other types of treatment, the identification of molecular treatment targets, and the development of molecular markers that may become useful as diagnostic tools. An increased understanding of posttranslational modifications may be an important supplement to the determination of alterations in gene expression that has gained increasing prominence in recent years.

Quality of Life in Patients with Benign Non-Toxic Goiter After Surgical Intervention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Prior studies evaluating health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for benign non-toxic goiter have used different instruments and time points, leading to conflicting results. We sought to systematically review the differences in HR-QoL among patients with BNTG at baseline and 6 months after surgery, using exclusively the ThyPRO questionnaire.

Methods: A systematic search was performed using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Central, CINAHL, and PsycINFO for papers reporting the assessment of HR-QoL utilizing ThyPRO.

Diagnostic Impact of Adrenal Vein Sampling in Adrenal Cushing's Syndrome.

Background: Adrenal Cushing's syndrome is characterized by ACTH-independent hypercortisolism. Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is not routinely employed prior to management decisions, and few studies have investigated the value of AVS in this population. We assessed whether AVS provides a diagnostic benefit for treatment planning.