Breast arterial calcification is associated with incident atrial fibrillation among older but not younger post-menopausal women.

Aims: The goal of this study was to examine the association of breast arterial calcification (BAC) presence and quantity with incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in a large cohort of post-menopausal women.

Methods And Results: We conducted a longitudinal cohort study among women free of clinically overt cardiovascular disease and AF at baseline (between October 2012 and February 2015) when they attended mammography screening. Atrial fibrillation incidence was ascertained using diagnostic codes and natural language processing.

High-sensitivity troponin I is associated with cardiovascular outcomes but not with breast arterial calcification among postmenopausal women.

Background: Prior studies support the utility of high sensitivity troponin I (hsTnI) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk stratification among asymptomatic populations; however, only two prior studies examined women separately. The association between hsTnI and breast arterial calcification is unknown.

Methods: Cohort study of 2896 women aged 60-79 years recruited after attending mammography screening between 10/2012 and 2/2015.

Breast Arterial Calcification: a Novel Cardiovascular Risk Enhancer Among Postmenopausal Women.

Background: Breast arterial calcification (BAC), a common incidental finding in mammography, has been shown to be associated with angiographic coronary artery disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes. We aimed to (1) examine the association of BAC presence and quantity with hard atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD) and global CVD; (2) ascertain model calibration, discrimination and reclassification of ASCVD risk; (3) assess the joint effect of BAC presence and 10-year pooled cohorts equations risk on ASCVD.

Methods: A cohort study of 5059 women aged 60-79 years recruited after attending mammography screening between October 2012 and February 2015 was conducted in a large health plan in Northern California, United States.

No Association Between Bone Mineral Density and Breast Arterial Calcification Among Postmenopausal Women.

Context: The association between bone mineral density (BMD) and breast arterial calcification (BAC) remains poorly understood and controversial.

Objective: The objective of this article is to examine the association between BMD and BAC in a large cohort of postmenopausal women undergoing routine mammography.

Design: A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a multiethnic cohort was performed.

Real-World Experiences with Pazopanib in Patients with Advanced Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma in Northern California.

Pazopanib was approved for advanced soft tissue sarcoma as a second- or third-line therapy based on the clinical trial "Pazopanib for metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma" (PALETTE). We hypothesized that the real-world experiences may be significantly different from the clinical trial results. We analyzed the response pattern of patients with advanced soft tissue and bone sarcoma who received pazopanib treatment between 1 January 2011 and 31 October 2018 in Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

Mechanisms of Primary and Secondary Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPis) have revolutionized cancer therapy with broad activities against a wide range of malignancies. However, in many malignancies their efficacy remains limited due to the primary resistance. Furthermore, a high percentage of patients develop progression due to the secondary resistance even after obtaining a response or achieving a stable disease.

Vincristine-associated Neuropathy With Antifungal Usage: A Kaiser Northern California Experience.

The dose-limiting toxicity for vincristine is peripheral neuropathy which can be potentiated with concurrent usage of azole antifungals. The current retrospective study assessed the incidence of concurrent vincristine and azole antifungal usage to determine if it led to increased neurotoxicity for the Kaiser Northern California pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and Hodgkin lymphoma patient population. Data were obtained from the electronic medical record (2007 to 2014).

MultIethNic Study of BrEast ARterial Calcium Gradation and CardioVAscular Disease: cohort recruitment and baseline characteristics.

Purpose: MultIethNic Study of BrEast ARterial Calcium Gradation and CardioVAscular Disease (MINERVA) was designed to answer the question of whether a novel continuous breast arterial calcification (BAC) mass score improves cardiovascular risk stratification among asymptomatic postmenopausal women. This article describes recruitment and baseline characteristics.

Methods: MINERVA is a multiethnic longitudinal cohort study.

Histologic Grade Is Predictive of Incidence of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutations in Metastatic Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are associated with a high response rate to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). The current guidelines recommend routine EGFR mutational analysis prior to initiating first line systemic therapy. The clinical characteristics including smoking status, histologic type, sex and ethnicity are known to be associated with the incidence of EGFR mutations.

Improvements in access and care through the Affordable Care Act.

Objectives: To examine the impact of enrolling in a healthcare plan through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) healthcare exchanges on self-reported access to care.

Study Design: Cohort study using self-reported data of patients newly enrolled in Kaiser Permanente California and Kaiser Permanente Colorado through the ACA healthcare exchanges for coverage beginning January 1, 2014.

Methods: Baseline and follow-up surveys conducted via mail and telephone, with response rates of 45% and 51%, respectively.