Impact of Comorbidities on Lung Cancer Screening Evaluation.

Objectives: We used data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial to examine the impact of self-reported chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, stroke, and diabetes mellitus on diagnostic complications in lung cancer screening evaluation.

Methods: In our analysis, we included individuals from the usual care and intervention (annual chest x-ray) of the lung cancer screening trial with equal or greater than 55 years of age with a 20 pack-year smoking history who had undergone an invasive procedure. We performed multivariate logistic regression analysis to estimate the association of comorbidity on procedure complication.

Lymph Node Ratio in HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer: Identification of a Prognostic Threshold.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of lymph node ratio (LNR) as a prognostic factor for survival and recurrence in surgically treated patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC).

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study of a tertiary healthcare system in a major metropolitan area, we reviewed 169 consecutive patients with HPV-related OPSCC treated using transoral robotic surgery.

Prevalence of Occult Peribronchial N1 Nodal Metastasis in Peripheral Clinical N0 Small (≤2 cm) Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: There has been growing interest in limited resection and nonsurgical treatment for small lung cancers. We examined the pattern and rate of occult N1 nodal metastasis in patients with peripheral, small (≤2 cm), clinically node-negative non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Patients with peripheral small (≤2 cm) NSCLC with no evidence of locally advanced or metastatic disease (clinical T1a-b N0 M0, American Joint Committee on Cancer 8th Edition Cancer Staging Manual), who were deemed eligible for lobectomy or sublobar resection, were identified from preregistration eligibility screening logs for the Alliance/Cancer and Leukemia Group B 140503 trial at our institution.

Thoracotomy and VATS Surgery in Local Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Differences in Long-Term Health-Related Quality Of Life.

Background: As a result of routine low-dose computed tomographic screening, lung cancer is more frequently diagnosed at earlier, operable stages of disease. In treating local non-small-cell lung cancer, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), a minimally invasive surgical approach, has replaced thoracotomy as the standard of care. While short-term quality-of-life outcomes favor the use of VATS, the impact of VATS on long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is unknown.

Association between Ki-67 expression and clinical outcomes among patients with clinically node-negative, thick primary melanoma who underwent nodal staging.

Background: Patients with thick primary melanomas (≥4 mm) have highly variable survival outcomes. Cell proliferation marker Ki-67 has been identified as promising biomarker in thick melanoma but has not been evaluated since the wide spread adoption of sentinel lymph node biopsy. We revisit its prognostic relevance in the sentinel node era.

Outcomes in Melanoma Patients Treated with BRAF/MEK-Directed Therapy or Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Stratified by Clinical Trial versus Standard of Care.

Objectives: Since 2011, metastatic melanoma treatment has evolved with commercial approval of BRAF- and MEK-targeted therapy and CTLA-4- and PD-1-blocking antibodies (immune checkpoint inhibitors, ICI). While novel therapies have demonstrated improved prognosis in clinical trials, few studies have examined the evolution of prognosis and toxicity of these drugs among an unselected population. We assess whether survival and toxicity reported in trials, which typically exclude most patients with brain metastases and poor performance status, are recapitulated within a commercial access population.

Identification of a Novel Pathogenic Germline KDR Variant in Melanoma.

Purpose: The application of pan-cancer next-generation sequencing panels in the clinical setting has facilitated the identification of low frequency somatic mutations and the testing of new therapies in solid tumors using the "basket trial" scheme. However, little consideration has been given to the relevance of nonsynonymous germline variants, which are likely to be uncovered in tumors and germline and which may be relevant to prognostication and prediction of treatment response.

Experimental Design: We analyzed matched tumor and normal DNA from 34 melanoma patients using an Ion Torrent cancer-associated gene panel.