Publications by authors named "Garrett A"

Objective: Uterine serous carcinoma (USC) is a rare diagnosis but associated with high mortality. There is limited data to guide adjuvant treatment decisions in early stage disease. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of adjuvant therapy on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in early stage USC.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To audit outcomes of patients registered in the Queensland Trophoblast Centre (QTC) database who develop resistance to primary chemotherapy. To determine any risk factors that may predict first-line chemotherapy resistance in patients diagnosed with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN).

Methods: Patients within the QTC who were diagnosed with GTN between January 2012 and December 2020 were reviewed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Social determinants of health (SDOH) impact cancer outcomes. The CDC Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) integrates scores for four neighborhood-based SDOH domains (socioeconomic status, household characteristics, minority status, and housing type/transportation) to assess neighborhood social vulnerability (NSV). While NSV has been associated with overall cancer mortality and lung, breast, colon, and endometrial cancer-specific mortality, the relationship between NSV as defined by the SVI and ovarian cancer outcomes remains unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Research has shown an inconsistent relationship between spatial abilities and learning outcomes from virtual anatomical tools. Instructors must understand this relationship to select appropriate resources for diverse learners. To identify appropriate tests for measuring spatial ability and evaluate the effectiveness of virtual anatomical resources, this study compared 96 students' visuospatial ability (measured using the Mental Rotation Task [MRT] and Landmark Position on a Map [LPM] tests) with learning outcomes from experimental anatomy sessions and undergraduate anatomical course examinations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: There is considerable inter-individual variability in the physiological responses to environmental stressors and so to accurately assess and monitor changes in an individual's ability to cope with exercise-heat stress, a reliable protocol is required. The aim of this study was to examine the repeatability of a 90-min steady-state heat exercise bout with physiological and subjective variables, and performance during an incremental test to exhaustion post 90-min steady-state exercise.

Method: Sixteen mixed ability males (Age: 39 ± 15yrs; Height: 176.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Current practice is to report and manage likely pathogenic/pathogenic variants in a given cancer susceptibility gene as though having equivalent penetrance, despite increasing evidence of intervariant variability in risk associations. Using existing variant interpretation approaches, largely based on full-penetrance models, variants in which reduced penetrance is suspected may be classified inconsistently and/or as variants of uncertain significance. We aimed to develop a national consensus approach for such variants within the Cancer Variant Interpretation Group UK (CanVIG-UK) multidisciplinary network.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Second primary cancer (SPC) risks after breast cancer (BC) in pathogenic variant (PV) carriers are uncertain. We estimated relative and absolute risks using a novel linkage of genetic testing data to population-scale National Disease Registration Service and Hospital Episode Statistics electronic health records.

Methods: We followed 25,811 females and 480 males diagnosed with BC and tested for germline PVs in NHS Clinical Genetics centers in England between 1995 and 2019 until SPC diagnosis, death, migration, contralateral breast/ovarian surgery plus 1 year, or the 31st of December 2020.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • In 2023, the Committee for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (C-TECC) released updated Pediatric Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) Guidelines to aid in providing effective care to children during high-threat incidents like active shooter situations.
  • These Guidelines emphasize evidence-based practices and fill gaps in the existing knowledge about managing pediatric care in dynamic, dangerous environments, responding to the needs of law enforcement agencies.
  • They detail patient assessment and management strategies across three phases of threat—Direct Threat, Indirect Threat, and Evacuation—addressing the complexities of providing medical care while ensuring safety for both responders and young victims.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Androgen deprivation therapy has been the primary treatment strategy for advanced prostate cancer (PCa). But most patients develop castration resistance over time. For FDA-approved second-generation androgen receptor (AR) antagonists, including enzalutamide (ENZ) and abiraterone (AA), patients who initially respond to them eventually develop resistance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Deletion of five specific ccn genes in S. pneumoniae leads to hypersensitivity to Zn and reduced virulence in a mouse model, indicating a role in metal homeostasis.
  • * The study shows that the Ccn sRNAs help manage zinc toxicity by regulating gene expression related to metal export and enzyme function, preventing the detrimental effects of excess zinc.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Advances in genetic testing for breast cancer are becoming more integrated into diagnostic procedures, with new methods aimed at improving efficiency and patient experience.
  • A study involving 1140 women tested the effectiveness of two methods of delivering pre-test information: digital sources and traditional genetic counseling.
  • Results showed that digital information led to a higher uptake of genetic testing (90.8% vs. 84.7%) while maintaining similar levels of patient knowledge, anxiety, and satisfaction, suggesting a viable shift towards digital pathways in breast cancer care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to analyze how often dermatologic surgeons face challenges in identifying the locations of skin cancer tumors before surgery.
  • Out of over 17,000 cases, only 0.60% involved uncertain sites, with these cases more common in older, male patients who had biopsies done over a month prior.
  • Surgeons commonly used various methods to confirm tumor locations, achieving success in identifying 82% of these uncertain sites, while some surgeries were delayed, especially for non-facial tumors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Contractions of the uterus are important for menstruation and fertility, and problems with these contractions can cause diseases like endometriosis.
  • Researchers used a special imaging technique called micro-computed tomography to look at the entire uterus of non-pregnant rats to understand its muscle structure better.
  • The study found that this imaging method effectively measured muscle thickness and could create 3D models of the uterus, showing a strong connection between their measurements and those from traditional methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chiropractic spinal manipulation therapy (CSMT) of the cervical spine has been reported to cause mechanical dural injuries that result in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks. We present a case of symptomatic intracranial hypotension after isolated thoracic CSMT. Initial imaging was unable to definitively localize the CSF leak, but dynamic imaging was able to better identify the defect.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Imaging for staging ovarian cancer is important to determine the extent of disease. The primary objective of this study was to compare gated 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography coupled with computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) and standard CT scan with intravenous contrast to diagnose thoracic involvement in patients with advanced ovarian cancer prior to treatment. The secondary objective was to estimate changes in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and clinical management resulting from gated PET/CT.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The 2015 American College of Medical Genetics/Association of Molecular Pathology (ACMG/AMP) variant classification framework specifies that case-control observations can be scored as 'strong' evidence (PS4) towards pathogenicity.

Methods: We developed the PS4-likelihood ratio calculator (PS4-LRCalc) for quantitative evidence assignment based on the observed variant frequencies in cases and controls. Binomial likelihoods are computed for two models, each defined by prespecified OR thresholds.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping is a surgical technique with high accuracy in detecting metastases while limiting morbidity associated with full lymphadenectomy in endometrial cancer. Cervical injection of indocyanine green (ICG) dye is associated with very high SLN detection rates; however, iodinated contrast allergy has traditionally been viewed as a contraindication to ICG use. The objective of this study was to describe the use of ICG in a population of patients with iodinated contrast allergies undergoing surgical staging for endometrial cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tissue-resident memory T cells (T) are a specialized subset of long-lived memory T cells that reside in peripheral tissues. However, the impact of T-related immunosurveillance on the tumor-immune microenvironment (TIME) and tumor progression across various non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient populations is yet to be elucidated. Our comprehensive analysis of multiple independent single-cell and bulk RNA-seq datasets of patient NSCLC samples generated reliable, unique T signatures, through which we inferred the abundance of T in NSCLC.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Reduced hours of instruction are reported within the gross anatomy education literature. Anatomy instruction continues to be challenged with motivating and inspiring learners to value the contribution of gross anatomy knowledge to their career development alongside increased organizational demands for efficiency and effectiveness. To address these demands, this retrospective study sought to understand how the relative timing and amount of gross anatomy instruction were related to examination performance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Studies exploring variations in peripheral muscle oxygenation and pressure pain thresholds (PPT) of masticatory muscles in individuals with Temporomandibular Disorders (TMDs) are limited. The purpose of this study was to compare variations in peripheral oxygenation of the masseter muscle; PPT of the masseter and temporal muscles and correlate peripheral muscle oxygenation and PPT of the masseter muscle in individuals with different types of TMDs.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional study involving 116 participants classified into three groups: muscle group (MG, n = 32), joint group (JG, n = 30) and muscle-joint group (MJG, n = 54).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To investigate whether performing a lymph node dissection during hysterectomy improves overall survival in patients with clinical stage III endometrial cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: The National Cancer Database was queried to identify all patients with clinical stage III endometrial cancer who had undergone pre-operative chemotherapy as first course of treatment followed by hysterectomy with or without lymph node dissection between the years 2004 and 2020. Univariable and multivariable models were performed to investigate prognostic factors on overall survival.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Long-term outcomes of patients with stage I human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer receiving adjuvant trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) remain undefined, and prognostic predictors represent an unmet need.

Methods: In the ATEMPT phase II trial, patients with stage I centrally confirmed HER2-positive breast cancer were randomly assigned 3:1 to adjuvant T-DM1 for 1 year or paclitaxel plus trastuzumab (TH). Coprimary objectives were to compare the incidence of clinically relevant toxicities between arms and to evaluate invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) with T-DM1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Supervisors often ask emergency medicine trainees for their learning goals at the start of a clinical shift, though they may do so without considering the reasons for this practice. Recognizing the underlying rationale for voicing on-shift learning goals and proactively considering solutions for some of the associated challenges can help learners and supervisors employ this practice to its full potential. Goal articulation is rooted in educational principles such as self-regulated learning, targeted performance feedback, and collaborative relationships between learner and supervisor.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Elevated allostatic load (AL), which reflects cumulative physiological stress, is linked to increased mortality in various cancer patients, but its connection to ovarian cancer mortality was previously unknown.
  • This study analyzed data from 201 ovarian cancer patients to examine the relationship between high allostatic load and overall survival, using a robust statistical model to assess outcomes.
  • Results indicated that high allostatic load significantly correlated with increased mortality risk in ovarian cancer patients, suggesting it could be a useful marker for identifying those in need of additional socioenvironmental support during treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Pcdhg gene cluster encodes 22 γ-Protocadherin (γ-Pcdh) cell adhesion molecules that critically regulate multiple aspects of neural development, including neuronal survival, dendritic and axonal arborization, and synapse formation and maturation. Each γ-Pcdh isoform has unique protein domains-a homophilically interacting extracellular domain and a juxtamembrane cytoplasmic domain-as well as a C-terminal cytoplasmic domain shared by all isoforms. The extent to which isoform-specific versus shared domains regulate distinct γ-Pcdh functions remains incompletely understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF