"I Got My Trophy": The Story of Implementing a Neuro-Oncology Exercise Program from the Patient and Caregiver Lens-A Qualitative Study.

The purpose of this study was to gather patient and caregiver perspectives of adult neuro-oncology patients participating in a 12-week exercise program (i.e., the Alberta Cancer Exercise-Neuro-Oncology; ACE-Neuro study).

The feasibility of a multi-site, clinic-supported, and tailored neuro-oncology exercise program.

Background: To address the lack of access to supportive cancer care resources, the purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of a tailored exercise program for neuro-oncology patients.

Methods: Patients with a primary brain tumor diagnosis, >18 years, and able to consent in English were recruited at 2 tertiary cancer centers in Alberta. Recruitment occurred via the electronic medical record as well as self-referral.

Feasibility and Implementation of an Oncology Rehabilitation Triage Clinic: Assessing Rehabilitation, Exercise Need, and Triage Pathways within the Alberta Cancer Exercise-Neuro-Oncology Study.

Individuals living with and beyond cancer face physical impairment and inactivity in survivorship. Neuro-oncology populations have especially high rates of sedentary behaviour and functional deficits, including impaired balance, motor skills, and cognition. Our purpose was to assess the rehabilitation and exercise needs of patients with brain tumours while examining the feasibility of a rehabilitation triage clinic as a part of the Alberta Cancer Exercise-Neuro-Oncology study, where patients were referred to a triage clinic, where health, neurologic, and functional status was assessed, followed by a referral to one or multiple resources, including exercise, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, or physiatry.

The Promise of Niacin in Neurology.

Niacin (vitamin B3) is an essential nutrient that treats pellagra, and prior to the advent of statins, niacin was commonly used to counter dyslipidemia. Recent evidence has posited niacin as a promising therapeutic for several neurological disorders. In this review, we discuss the biochemistry of niacin, including its homeostatic roles in NAD supplementation and metabolism.

The prognostic impact of PD-L1 and CD8 expression in anal cancer patients treated with chemoradiotherapy.

Background: Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression has been shown to be prognostic in many cancer types and used in consideration of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy. However, there are very limited and conflicting data on the prognostic impact of PD-L1 in patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC). The objectives of this study were to measure the expression of PD-L1 and CD8 in patients with ASCC treated with radical chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and to correlate tumor expression with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

ACE-Neuro: A tailored exercise oncology program for neuro-oncology patients - Study protocol.

Background: Patients with primary brain tumours (i.e., neuro-oncology patients) lack access to exercise oncology and wellness resources.

Developing a clinical-pathologic model to predict genomic risk of recurrence in patients with hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 negative, node negative breast cancer.

Introduction: Patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)-negative, node negative (NN) breast cancer may be offered a gene expression profiling (GEP) test to determine recurrence risk and benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy. We developed a clinical-pathologic (CP) model to predict genomic recurrence risk and examined its performance characteristics.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with HR-positive, HER2-negative, NN breast cancer with a tumour size < 30 mm and who underwent a GEP test [OncotypeDX or Prosigna] in Alberta from October 2017 through March 2019 were identified.

Breast cancer in transgender female-to-male individuals: A case report of androgen receptor-positive breast cancer.

Highlight the challenges associated with managing breast cancer in female-to-male (FtM) transgender individuals. This is a rare entity, requiring nuanced decision-making regarding surgery as well as adjuvant therapies given the unique hormonal environment seen in individuals taking exogenous androgen as part of their gender identity. Contemporary case report derived from our clinical experience.

Paraneoplastic neuropsychiatric syndrome presenting as delirium.

Delirium in patients with cancer is associated with poor outcomes, but reversible causes need to be ruled out. We report the case of a 59-year-old woman who was presented with behavioural and cognitive changes over 2 weeks. She was non-verbal and combative, requiring involuntary admission and declaration of incompetence to make healthcare treatment decisions.

Social Media Use Among Physicians and Trainees: Results of a National Medical Oncology Physician Survey.

Purpose: Cancer management requires coordinated care from many health care providers, and its complexity requires physicians be up to date on current research. Web-based social media support physician collaboration and information sharing, but the extent to which physicians use social media for these purposes remains unknown. The complex field of oncology will benefit from increased use of online social media to enhance physician communication, education, and mentorship.

Population based analysis ependymoma patients in Alberta from 1975 to 2007.

Background: Ependymomas are rare tumors of the central nervous system whose management is controversial. This population-based study of adults and children with ependymoma aims to (1) identify clinical and treatment-related factors that impact survival and (2) determine if postoperative radiotherapy (RT) can improve survival of patients with subtotal resection (STR) to levels similar to patients who had gross total resection (GTR).

Methods: This retrospective population-based study evaluated 158 patients with ependymoma diagnosed between 1975-2007 in Alberta, Canada.

The prognostic value of HPV status and p16 expression in patients with carcinoma of the anal canal.

Background: In anal cancer studies, the detection frequency of high-risk HPV (human papillomavirus) is variable, depending on the method used. There are limited data reporting results of different HPV detection techniques in the same clinical series, and very few correlating results with clinical outcome.

Objectives: To evaluate tumor expression of p16/HPV16 using three different methods, and to determine their association with clinical outcome in patients with anal canal squamous cell carcinomas (SCC).

Initial treatment patterns over time for anaplastic oligodendroglial tumors.

Anaplastic oligodendroglial tumors are rare neoplasms with no standard approach to treatment. We sought to determine patterns of treatment delivered over time and identify clinical correlates of specific strategies using an international retrospective cohort of 1013 patients diagnosed from 1981-2007. Prior to 1990, most patients received radiotherapy (RT) alone as initial postoperative treatment.

Extended adjuvant temozolomide for treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme.

The standard of care for newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy given concurrently with radiation for 6 weeks followed by 6 months of adjuvant TMZ. Originally, patients in Alberta were treated with only six cycles of adjuvant TMZ regardless of clinical status but institutional policy was amended to allow up to 12 cycles of adjuvant therapy for patients experiencing at least stable disease and minimal toxicity. We conducted a population-based analysis to determine if extended adjuvant TMZ treatment (i.