Publications by authors named "Gareen I"
Context: Approximately 11% of cancer survivors smoke postdiagnosis.
Objectives: Understanding the relationship between smoking and perceived cancer-related symptoms may inform tobacco treatment interventions for this population.
Methods: From 2017 to 2021, 740 adults in 9 ECOG-ACRIN trials provided baseline data.
Introduction: Smoking cessation is important for men and women diagnosed with cancer. Oncology clinicians should encourage all patients to quit and offer resources to help them do so, following the 5As framework (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange follow-up).
Method: This study tests gender differences in self-reported receipt of the 5As by an oncology provider among 306 recently-diagnosed male and female cancer patients.
Article Synopsis
- The study explores how financial stress changes over time for patients with early-stage colorectal cancer, indicating that their financial situation is dynamic.
- Conducted between May 2018 and July 2020, the research involved English-speaking adults newly diagnosed with stages I to III colorectal cancer and tracked their financial hardship through surveys at different intervals over 24 months.
- Results showed a decrease in material hardship from 57.6% to 35.0% over the study period, while cost-related care nonadherence remained stable; factors such as lower financial worry, higher education, and older age were linked to less nonadherence.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates the link between a specific patient-reported outcome (the GP5 assessment from a cancer therapy scale) and early treatment discontinuation due to side effects in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.
- - Conducted between February and April 2023, the research analyzed responses from participants in the ECOG-ACRIN E1A11 trial, focusing on treatment regimens involving bortezomib and carfilzomib, with assessments taken at various intervals during treatment.
- - Results from logistic regression will highlight whether higher reported bother from adverse events correlates with a higher likelihood of discontinuing treatment early, adjusting for factors like treatment type, patient demographics, and disease stage.
Importance: The longitudinal experience of patients is critical to the development of interventions to identify and reduce financial hardship.
Objective: To evaluate financial hardship over 12 months in patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer (CRC) undergoing curative-intent therapy.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This prospective, longitudinal cohort study was conducted between May 2018 and July 2020, with time points over 12 months.
Background: Although VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are a preferred systemic treatment approach for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and thyroid carcinoma (TC), treatment-related cardiovascular (CV) toxicity is an important contributor to morbidity. However, the clinical risk assessment and impact of CV toxicities, including early significant hypertension, among real-world advanced cancer populations receiving VEGFR TKI therapies remain understudied.
Methods: In a multicenter, retrospective cohort study across 3 large and diverse US health systems, we characterized baseline hypertension and CV comorbidity in patients with RCC and those with TC who are newly initiating VEGFR TKI therapy.
Importance: Results of amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) have been shown to change the management of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia who meet Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC).
Objective: To determine if amyloid PET is associated with reduced hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits over 12 months in patients with MCI or dementia.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This nonrandomized controlled trial analyzed participants in the Imaging Dementia-Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS) study, an open-label, multisite, longitudinal study that enrolled participants between February 2016 and December 2017 and followed up through December 2018.
Article Synopsis
- Mild (Grade 1) and moderate (Grade 2) adverse events (AEs) are frequently under-reported in phase III clinical trials, which limits understanding of the toxicity burden on patients.* -
- Analysis using data from a specific trial showed that experiencing more G1 and G2 AEs significantly increased patient-reported side-effect bother and the likelihood of treatment discontinuation, especially with symptomatic AEs.* -
- The study emphasizes the need for better reporting of low- and moderate-grade AEs, as they are linked to higher patient discomfort and could impact treatment adherence.*
Background: Tobacco use is associated with adverse outcomes among patients diagnosed with cancer. Socioeconomic determinants influence access and utilization of tobacco treatment; little is known about the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage (NSD) and tobacco assessment, assistance, and cessation among patients diagnosed with cancer.
Methods: A modified Cancer Patient Tobacco Use Questionnaire (C-TUQ) was administered to patients enrolled in nine ECOG-ACRIN clinical trials.
Objective: To examine utilization patterns of diagnostic procedures after lung cancer screening among participants enrolled in the National Lung Screening Trial.
Methods: Using a sample of National Lung Screening Trial participants with abstracted medical records, we assessed utilization of imaging, invasive, and surgical procedures after lung cancer screening. Missing data were imputed using multiple imputation by chained equations.
Cigarette and Alternative Tobacco Product Use among Adult Cancer Survivors Enrolled in 9 ECOG-ACRIN Clinical Trials.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
November 2023
Background: While cigarette smoking has declined among the U.S. general population, sale and use of non-cigarette alternative tobacco products (ATP; e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung screening has been shown to reduce lung cancer mortality. Significant incidental findings (SIFs) have been widely reported in patients undergoing LDCT lung screening. However, the exact nature of these SIF findings has not been described.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Racial and ethnic groups with higher rates of clinical Alzheimer disease (AD) are underrepresented in studies of AD biomarkers, including amyloid positron emission tomography (PET).
Objective: To compare amyloid PET positivity among a diverse cohort of individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Secondary analysis of the Imaging Dementia-Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS), a single-arm multisite cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries who met appropriate-use criteria for amyloid PET imaging between February 2016 and September 2017 with follow-up through January 2018.
Background: Persistent smoking among patients diagnosed with cancer is associated with adverse clinical outcomes, yet an evidence-based tobacco use intervention has not been well-integrated into cancer care in community oncology settings. This paper describes the protocol of a nation-wide clinical trial conducted by the ECOG-ACRIN National Cancer Institute (NCI) Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Research Base to assess the effectiveness of a virtual tobacco treatment intervention and the process of implementing tobacco treatment in NCORP community oncology settings.
Methods/design: This two-arm, multisite (n: 49 NCORP sites) hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled trial compares the effectiveness of a Virtual Intervention Treatment (VIT) versus an Enhanced Usual Control (EUC) among English and Spanish speaking patients recently diagnosed with cancer, reporting current smoking and receiving care at a participating NCORP Community or Minority/Underserved Site.
Importance: Guiding treatment decisions for women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) requires understanding patient preferences and the influence of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and surgeon recommendation.
Objective: To identify factors associated with surgery preference and surgery receipt among a prospective cohort of women with newly diagnosed DCIS.
Design, Setting, And Participants: A prospective cohort study was conducted at 75 participating institutions, including community practices and academic centers, across the US between March 25, 2015, and April 27, 2016.
The objective of this study is to examine the association between neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) and baseline allostatic load (AL) and clinical trial endpoints in patients enrolled in the E1A11 therapeutic trial in multiple myeloma (MM). Study endpoints were symptom burden (pain, fatigue, and bother) at baseline and 5.5 months, non-completion of induction therapy, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Racial disparities in survival rates for Black women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer have been observed, but the impact of social and neighborhood factors on these disparities is under-researched.
- The study aimed to assess how race influences clinical outcomes like relapse-free intervals and overall survival while considering individual insurance and neighborhood deprivation levels.
- Analysis of data from nearly 10,000 women indicated that Black women experienced significantly shorter relapse-free intervals and overall survival compared to White women, even after adjusting for insurance and neighborhood factors.
Background: Enthusiasm for precision oncology may obscure the psychosocial and ethical considerations associated with the implementation of tumor genetic sequencing.
Methods: Patients with advanced cancer undergoing tumor-only genetic sequencing in the National Cancer Institute Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (MATCH) trial were randomized to a web-based genetic education intervention or usual care. The primary outcomes were knowledge, anxiety, depression, and cancer-specific distress collected at baseline (T0), posteducation (T1) and after results (T2).
Background: E5103 was a study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab. It was a negative trial for the end points of invasive disease-free survival and overall survival. The current work examines the tolerability of bevacizumab and other medication exposures with respect to clinical outcomes and patient-reported outcomes (PROs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in pretreatment planning of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) remains controversial. Understanding changes in short-term health-related quality of life associated with breast MRI would allow for a more complete comparative effectiveness assessment.
Objective: To assess whether there are changes in patient-reported quality of life associated with breast MRI among women diagnosed with DCIS.
Background: TAILORx (Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment) prospectively assessed fatigue and endocrine symptoms among women with early-stage hormone receptor-positive breast cancer and a midrange risk of recurrence who were randomized to endocrine therapy (E) or chemotherapy followed by endocrine therapy (CT+E).
Methods: Participants completed the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Fatigue Short Form, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Endocrine Symptoms at the baseline and at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. Linear regression was used to model outcomes on baseline symptoms, treatment, and other factors.