Geographic disparities in access to immunotherapy clinical trials for metastatic melanoma.

Survival outcomes for metastatic melanoma have drastically improved with the advent of immunotherapy. Access to ongoing immunotherapy clinical trials has become increasingly important to patients with advanced disease. We sought to quantify geographic disparities in access to these trials by U.

Cosmetic dermatologic surgery fellowship websites and social media presence: Opportunities for improved applicant recruitment.

Introduction: The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) established a cosmetic dermatologic surgery fellowship in 2013. Programs often outline details of fellowships on their websites to help prospective applicants make informed decisions. Our primary goal was to evaluate the content quality of online information for all ASDS-accredited cosmetic dermatologic surgery fellowships on program websites and the ASDS website.

Oncolytic Virotherapy for Melanoma Brain Metastases, a Potential New Treatment Paradigm?

Introduction: Melanoma brain metastases remain a devastating disease process with poor prognosis. Recently, there has been a surge in studies demonstrating the efficacy of oncolytic virotherapy for brain tumor treatment. Given their specificity and amenability to genetic modification, the authors explore the possible role of oncolytic virotherapy as a potential treatment option for patients with melanoma brain metastases.

Tumor primary site as a prognostic factor for Merkel cell carcinoma disease-specific death.

Background: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) primary site has not been fully investigated as a potential prognostic factor.

Objective: To determine the incidence by tumor primary site of death due to MCC.

Methods: We undertook a retrospective analysis of the Survival, Epidemiology, and End Results database.

Sociodemographic factors associated with scabies in the inpatient setting.

Knowledge regarding the inpatient burden of scabies is limited, as previous studies have focused on epidemiologic trends in the outpatient setting. Using the National Inpatient Sample to identify sociodemographic factors associated with scabies in hospitalized patients, we found that patients who were aged 40-64, male, homeless, Medicaid-insured/uninsured, and admitted to hospitals in ZIP codes of the lowest income quartile were more likely to be diagnosed with scabies.

Inconsistencies in Cutaneous Melanoma Staging Within SEER Registries.

This cohort study explores inconsistences in cutaneous melanoma staging within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program registries to determine if miscoding of staging variables related to cutaneous melanoma would result in inconsistencies in final tumor staging.

TREK-1 currents in smooth muscle cells from pregnant human myometrium.

The mechanisms governing maintenance of quiescence during pregnancy remain largely unknown. The current study characterizes a stretch-activated, tetraethylammonium-insensitive K(+) current in smooth muscle cells isolated from pregnant human myometrium. This study hypothesizes that these K(+) currents can be attributed to TREK-1 and that upregulation of this channel during pregnancy assists with the maintenance of a negative cell membrane potential, conceivably contributing to uterine quiescence until full term.