Impact of Tobacco, Marijuana, and Alcohol Use on Overall Survival in Recurrent Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Aim: The response rates to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) remain low (13%-20%) in metastatic head and neck cancer patients, indicating an urgent need to better understand factors predictive of response to these agents. This study explored the impact of smoking status, marijuana use, and alcohol consumption on treatment outcomes in recurrent-metastatic (R/M) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients treated with ICI.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 201 R/M HNSCC patients treated with ICI between January 15th 2016 and April 9th 2020 at a single institution.

Impact of circulating tumor human papillomavirus DNA kinetics on disease outcomes in HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer.

Circulating tumor tissue modified (TTMV)-HPV DNA has emerged as a promising biomarker in human papillomavirus associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV-OPSCC). The objective of this study was to assess ctHPVDNA TTMV clearance kinetics during RT and its relationship with progression in HPV-OPSCC. We identified 80 non-metastatic HPV-OPSCC patients with 366 TTMV samples who underwent prospective plasma TTMV testing before, during and after curative intent RT or CRT between June 2021 and February 2023.

Does the site of research evidence generation impact on its translation to clinical practice? A protocol paper.

The research-to-practice gap is a well-known phenomenon. The adoption of evidence into clinical practice needs to consider the complexity of the health care system and a multitude of contextual issues. Research evidence is usually a form of extrinsic motivation for practice change, but works best when it aligns with the intrinsic values of the system and the people in it.

MIBiG 4.0: advancing biosynthetic gene cluster curation through global collaboration.

Specialized or secondary metabolites are small molecules of biological origin, often showing potent biological activities with applications in agriculture, engineering and medicine. Usually, the biosynthesis of these natural products is governed by sets of co-regulated and physically clustered genes known as biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). To share information about BGCs in a standardized and machine-readable way, the Minimum Information about a Biosynthetic Gene cluster (MIBiG) data standard and repository was initiated in 2015.

Weekly Cisplatin Cycles and Outcomes for Chemoradiation in Head and Neck Cancer.

Importance: National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend weekly cisplatin as an alternative concurrent systemic therapy for definitive chemoradiation in patients with head and neck cancer. However, the impact of different levels of adherence to weekly cisplatin on outcomes stratified by human papillomavirus p16 status remains unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the association between the number of weekly cisplatin cycles and outcomes.