Bridging the health information gap among undergraduate university students: The role of academic libraries.

Background: Although university students are young and seem generally healthy, they do have health information needs that affect their academic work. Some university healthcare services and academic libraries collaborated during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide health information to students.

Aims/objectives: The study explored the health information gap among undergraduate students in universities in Ghana.

Exposure to the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and prostate cancer among U.S. adult men.

Purpose: Prostate cancer is the second most diagnosed male malignancy in the U.S. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is a commonly used herbicide and potential carcinogen.

Tailoring language for genitourinary function in patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer to facilitate discussions in diverse populations and overcome health literacy barriers.

Background: Poor comprehension of prostate cancer (PCa) medical terms can create barriers to PCa treatment discussions. The authors measured comprehension of PCa terms and its relationship to health literacy in a group of Black men who were newly diagnosed with PCa. They examined whether tailoring communication with alternative colloquial words would be helpful and acceptable.

Neoadjuvant cabozantinib restores CD8+ T cells in patients with locally advanced non-metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma: a phase 2 trial.

Cabozantinib is an oral multikinase inhibitor approved for treatment in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We hypothesized that neoadjuvant cabozantinib could downstage localized tumors, facilitating partial nephrectomy, and facilitating surgery in patients with locally advanced tumors that would require significant adjacent organ resection. We, therefore, conducted a phase 2, single-arm trial of cabozantinib treatment for 12 weeks in 17 patients with locally advanced biopsy-proven non-metastatic clear cell RCC before surgical resection.

Association Between the Decipher Genomic Classifier and Prostate Cancer Outcome in the Real-world Setting.

Background And Objective: Although the prognostic significance of the Decipher prostate cancer genomic classifier (GC) has been established largely from analyses of archival tissue, less is known about the associations between the results of Decipher testing and oncologic outcomes among patients receiving contemporaneous testing and treatment in the real-world practice setting. Our objective was to assess the associations between the Decipher GC and risks of metastasis and biochemical recurrence (BCR) following prostate biopsy and radical prostatectomy (RP) among patients tested and treated in the real-world setting.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using a novel longitudinal linkage of transcriptomic data from the Decipher GC and real-world clinical data (RWD) aggregated from insurance claims, pharmacy records, and electronic health record data across payors and sites of care.

Development of a Longitudinal Prostate Cancer Transcriptomic and Clinical Data Linkage.

Importance: Although tissue-based gene expression testing has become widely used for prostate cancer risk stratification, its prognostic performance in the setting of clinical care is not well understood.

Objective: To develop a linkage between a prostate genomic classifier (GC) and clinical data across payers and sites of care in the US.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this cohort study, clinical and transcriptomic data from clinical use of a prostate GC between 2016 and 2022 were linked with data aggregated from insurance claims, pharmacy records, and electronic health record (EHR) data.

Long-Term Outcomes in Patients Using Protocol-Directed Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer.

Importance: Outcomes from protocol-directed active surveillance for favorable-risk prostate cancers are needed to support decision-making.

Objective: To characterize the long-term oncological outcomes of patients receiving active surveillance in a multicenter, protocol-directed cohort.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS) is a prospective cohort study initiated in 2008.

Patterns of Care for Medicare Beneficiaries With Metastatic Prostate Cancer.

Introduction: Therapeutic options for men with metastatic prostate cancer have increased in the past decade. We studied recent treatment patterns for men with metastatic prostate cancer and how treatment patterns have changed over time.

Methods: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results‒Medicare database, we identified fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries who either were diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer or developed metastases following diagnosis, as indicated by the presence of claims with diagnoses codes for metastatic disease, between 2007 and 2017.

Assessing the quality of services at an academic library.

Customers usually have high expectations on the services they receive. The LibQUAL model was employed in this study to investigate the quality of services at an academic library. The participants were chosen from the five colleges in a university using simple random sampling.

Leveraging social media in digital scholarship: Perspective from developing country students.

Albeit the increasing relevance of digital scholarship in contemporary educational settings, the onset of global pandemics like COVID-19 has necessitated the need for academic institutions to rely on social media for digital scholarship. Digital native students are leveraging on social media for digital scholarship to enhance communication and information dissemination. However, a study from higher institution in a developing country is missing from the global discussion on leveraging social media for digital scholarship.

Disparities in time to prostate cancer treatment initiation before and after the Affordable Care Act.

Background: Delayed access to care may contribute to disparities in prostate cancer (PCa). The Affordable Care Act (ACA) aimed at increasing access and reducing healthcare disparities, but its impact on timely treatment initiation for PCa men is unknown.

Methods: Men with intermediate- and high-risk PCa diagnosed 2010-2016 and treated with curative surgery or radiotherapy were identified in the National Cancer Database.

The cost burden of metastatic prostate cancer in the US populations covered by employer-sponsored health insurance.

Background: Recent advancements in the clinical management of metastatic prostate cancer include several costly therapies and diagnostic tests. The objective of this study was to provide updated information on the cost to payers attributable to metastatic prostate cancer among men aged 18 to 64 years with employer-sponsored health plans and men aged 18 years or older covered by employer-sponsored Medicare supplement insurance.

Methods: By using Merative MarketScan commercial and Medicare supplemental data for 2009-2019, the authors calculated differences in spending between men with metastatic prostate cancer and their matched, prostate cancer-free controls, adjusting for age, enrollment length, comorbidities, and inflation to 2019 US dollars.

Patterns of multispecialty care for low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer in the use of active surveillance.

Background: Multidisciplinary models of care have been advocated for prostate cancer (PC) to promote shared decision-making and facilitate quality care. Yet, how this model applies to low-risk disease where the preferred management is expectant remains unclear. Accordingly, we examined recent practice patterns in specialty visits for low/intermediate-risk PC and resultant use of active surveillance (AS).

Characteristics of prostate cancer patients captured by facility-based versus geography-based cancer registries.

Purpose: We determined differences in demographics, tumor factors, and treatment patterns of prostate cancer patients in a geographic-based cancer registry based on eligibility for a facility-based cancer registry system.

Methods: We identified prostate cancer patients captured by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from 2018 to 2019. Our exposure was receipt of cancer care at a facility accredited by the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer (CoC) providing eligibility for inclusion in the National Cancer Database (NCDB).

Use of expectant management based on prostate cancer risk and health status: How far are we from a risk-adapted approach?

Objectives: While active surveillance, a form of expectant management (EM), is preferred for patients with low-risk prostate cancer (PCa), some favor a more risk-adapted approach that recognizes patient preferences and condition-specific factors. However, previous research has shown non-patient-related factors often drive PCa treatment. In this context, we characterized trends in AS with respect to disease risk and health status.

Prolonged Opioid Use Following Bladder Tumor Resection for Opioid-naïve Patients.

Introduction: Bladder cancer patients represent a high-risk group for opioid dependence due to the frequency of surgical procedures. Using MarketScan insurance commercial claims and Medicare-eligible databases, we sought to identify whether filling an opioid prescription following initial transurethral resection of bladder tumor resulted in increased odds of prolonged opioid use.

Methods: We analyzed 43,741 commercial claims and 45,828 Medicare-eligible opioid-naïve patients with a new diagnosis of bladder cancer from 2009 to 2019.

The Cost of Metastatic Prostate Cancer in the United States.

Introduction: We sought to estimate per patient and annual aggregate health care costs related to metastatic prostate cancer.

Methods: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare database, we identified fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries ages 66 and older diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer or claims with diagnosis codes for metastatic disease (indicating tumor progression following diagnosis) between 2007 and 2017. We measured annual health care costs and compared costs between cases and a sample of beneficiaries without prostate cancer.

Dietary Patterns and Risk of Gleason Grade Progression among Men on Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer: Results from the Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study.

Modifiable lifestyle factors, such as following a healthy dietary pattern may delay or prevent prostate cancer (PCa) progression. However, few studies have evaluated whether following specific dietary patterns after PCa diagnosis impacts risk of disease progression among men with localized PCa managed by active surveillance (AS). 564 men enrolled in the Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study, a protocol-driven AS study utilizing a pre-specified prostate-specific antigen monitoring and surveillance biopsy regimen, completed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) at enrollment and had ≥ 1 surveillance biopsy during follow-up.

Trends in Urethral Suspension With Robotic Prostatectomy Procedures Following Medicare Payment Policy Changes.

Importance: In 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cut payments for robotic prostatectomy performed for Medicare beneficiaries. Although regulations mandate that billing for urethral suspension is only acceptable for preexisting urinary incontinence, reductions in reimbursement may incentivize billing for the use of this procedure in other scenarios.

Objective: To assess trends and geographic variations in payments for urethral suspension with robotic prostatectomy in the context of Medicare payment policy.

Concordance between influential adverse treatment outcomes and localized prostate cancer treatment decisions.

Background: Although treatment decisions for localized prostate cancer (LPC) are preference-sensitive, the extent to which individuals with LPC receive preference-concordant treatment is unclear. In a sample of individuals with LPC, the purpose of this study was to (a) assess concordance between the influence of potential adverse treatment outcomes and treatment choice; (b) determine whether receipt of a decision aid predicts higher odds of concordance; and (c) identify predictors of concordance from a set of participant characteristics and influential personal factors.

Methods: Participants reported the influence of potential adverse treatment outcomes and personal factors on treatment decisions at baseline.

Impact of Prostate Health Index Results for Prediction of Biopsy Grade Reclassification During Active Surveillance.

Purpose: We assessed whether Prostate Health Index results improve prediction of grade reclassification for men on active surveillance.

Methods And Materials: We identified men in Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study with Grade Group 1 cancer. Outcome was grade reclassification to Grade Group 2+ cancer.

Multi-institutional analysis of clinical and imaging risk factors for detecting clinically significant prostate cancer in men with PI-RADS 3 lesions.

Background: Most Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) 3 lesions do not contain clinically significant prostate cancer (CSPCa; grade group ≥2). This study was aimed at identifying clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived risk fac- tors that predict CSPCa in men with PI-RADS 3 lesions.

Methods: This study analyzed the detection of CSPCa in men who underwent MRI-targeted biopsy for PI-RADS 3 lesions.

Germline mutations in penetrant cancer predisposition genes are rare in men with prostate cancer selecting active surveillance.

Background: Pathogenic germline mutations in several rare penetrant cancer predisposition genes are associated with an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer (PC). Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of pathogenic germline mutations in men with low-risk PC on active surveillance, and assess whether pathogenic germline mutations associate with grade reclassification or adverse pathology, recurrence, or metastases, in men treated after initial surveillance.

Methods: Men prospectively enrolled in the Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS) were retrospectively sampled for the study.