Access to and Utilization of Endocrine Therapy Among Breast Cancer Survivors in Botswana.

Purpose: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common female cancer worldwide, and the burden is increasing across sub-Saharan Africa. For women with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) cancers, endocrine therapy (ET) taken for 5-10 years can reduce the risk of recurrence by half. We explored experiences with ET and barriers to utilization among survivors in Botswana.

Quality of Life Gain Following Treatment Among Breast Cancer Survivors With and Without HIV.

Purpose: Women living with HIV (WLWH) experience decreased breast cancer survival. We sought to determine whether WLWH surviving breast cancer also experienced different quality of life (QOL) gain.

Methods: Women who enrolled in the Thabatse Cancer Cohort across oncology centers in Botswana for the initial treatment of stage I-III breast cancer from October 2010 to February 2022 were included.

Racial Disparities Following Reconstructive Flap Procedures.

Background: Prior reports have highlighted disparities in healthcare access, environmental conditions, and food insecurity between Black and White populations in the United States. However, limited studies have explored racial disparities in postoperative complications, particularly reconstructive flap surgeries.

Methods: Cases of flap reconstruction based on named vascular pedicles were identified in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database and grouped into 3 time periods: 2005 to 2009, 2010 to 2014, and 2015 to 2019.

The Current State of Neoadjuvant Therapy in Resectable Advanced Stage Melanoma.

The advent of effective immunotherapy and targeted therapy has significantly improved outcomes in advanced-stage resectable melanoma. Currently, the mainstay of treatment of malignant melanoma is surgery followed by adjuvant systemic therapies. However, recent studies have shown a potential role for neoadjuvant therapy in the treatment of advanced-stage resectable melanoma.

How Consistent are International Rotations Between Plastic Surgery Training Programs?

Unlabelled: Institutional partnerships between plastic surgery residency programs in the United States and providers in low- and middle-income countries can serve as bilateral and longitudinal capacity-building relationships. In the United States, obtaining approval for international rotations by a home institution and national review committee is highly encouraged but not required before resident international engagement. Acquiring approval at the institutional level is the first step to allow trainees to participate in international rotations on elective time rather than on vacation time.

Clinical and histopathologic characterization of SETD2-mutated colorectal cancer.

With the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS), identifying and better understanding genetic mutations in cancer pathways has become more feasible. A mutation now commonly reported in NGS panels is the SETD2 gene (H3K36 trimethyltransferase). However, its contributions to colorectal cancer (CRC) are not well described.

Vascularized Medial Femoral Condyle Periosteal Flaps With Allograft Bone for Distal Radius Giant Cell Tumors: A Case Report.

Case: Distal radius reconstruction after giant cell tumor (GCT) resection is typically performed with free fibular flaps when a vascularized bone is needed. However, vascularized fibular flaps are contraindicated in patients with peroneal artery variants. We present 2 patients with GCTs of the radius and bilateral peronea arteria magna who underwent resection with wrist fusion using an allograft bone and vascularized free medial femoral condyle periosteal flaps.

How Important Are Dedicated Research Years and Global Health to Applicants in Plastic Surgery?

Unlabelled: Applicant preferences for required research and global surgery experiences during plastic surgery training have not been previously studied.

Methods: An anonymous survey was sent to integrated plastic surgery applicants from consecutive residency application cycles (2018-2020). Research and global health experiences before residency were elicited, along with the interest to continue these activities.

Bullous Scabies in an Immunocompromised Host.

A 40-year-old woman with a history of poorly controlled HIV presented to a district referral hospital in rural Botswana for a generalized skin rash of several months duration. The highly pruritic rash predominantly involved her hands and feet and was associated with bullae that were present for days at a time before rupturing without drainage or discharge. The patient endorsed night sweats, periodic fevers, occasional cough productive of blood-tinged sputum, fatigue, and weight loss.

The Current State of Cleft Care in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Review.

Objective: To identify practices and limitations of cleft care in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Design: A retrospective narrative nonsystematic literature review was performed.

Setting: Literature exploring the management practices of cleft lip and/or palate across regions in SSA was included.

Supramolecular Exchange among Assemblies of Opposite Charge Leads to Hierarchical Structures.

Hierarchical assemblies of proteins into fibrillar structures occur in both physiologic and pathologic extracellular spaces and often involve interactions between oppositely charged peptide domains. However, the interplay between tertiary structure dynamics and quaternary hierarchical structure formation remains unclear. In this work, we investigate supramolecular mimics of these systems by mixing one-dimensional assemblies of small alkylated peptides bearing opposite charge and varying in peptide sequence.