Bowel Disorder Incidence and Rectal Spacer Use in Patients With Prostate Cancer Undergoing Radiotherapy.

Importance: The polyethylene glycol-based hydrogel spacer (PHS) system temporarily separates the rectum from the prostate in patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer (PCa).

Objective: To compare incidence of bowel disorders and related procedures in patients receiving RT with and without PHS.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective cohort study used 4 datasets: Medicare 5% Standard Analytic Files, Medicare 100% Standard Analytic Files, Merative MarketScan Commercial Database, and Premier Healthcare Database.

Mediators of Racial Inequities in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Care.

Background: Black patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are more often diagnosed at a later stage and receive inadequate evaluation and treatment compared to White patients. We aimed to identify factors representing exposure to structural racism that mediate the association between race and NSCLC care.

Methods: We queried Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare for non-Hispanic Black and White patients ≥ 67 years diagnosed with NSCLC from 2013 to 2019.

Outcomes with Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Therapy Related Myeloid Neoplasms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MN), which include acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML), myelodysplastic syndrome (t-MDS), and myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms are secondary malignancies occurring as a late complication following chemotherapy or radiation therapy for an antecedent disorder. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HCT) is a potentially curative treatment option in t-MN patients. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to explore the outcomes of allo-HCT in t-MN.

Detecting Early Recurrence With Circulating Tumor DNA in Stage I-III Biliary Tract Cancer After Curative Resection.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess (1) the prognostic value of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and (2) the ability of ctDNA to detect recurrence compared with standard surveillance in curatively resected early-stage biliary tract cancer (BTC).

Methods: This retrospective, multicenter cohort study evaluated serial ctDNA testing for surveillance in patients with early-stage BTC after curative resection. We evaluated the relapse-free survival (RFS) by ctDNA positivity.

Outcomes of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Patients Aged 70 Years and Older: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) is a potential cure for many hematological malignancies. Historically, older adults were not considered eligible for allo-HCT due to increased toxicity and mortality concerns. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to explore the outcomes of allo-HCT in patients aged 70 years or older.

Inappropriate Denials for Radiation Therapy in Medicare Advantage Plans.

Purpose: Radiation oncologists are known to be burdened with prior authorization and insurance denials more than other medical specialties. This analysis sought to use publicly available data and determine whether Medicare Advantage plans are inappropriately denying radiation therapy (RT) services more than other health services.

Methods And Materials: Data from the Appeals Decision Search on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website were extracted from 2022 through June 2024.

Radiation Therapy for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is a common cause of pain and disability in the United States. Many patients experience pain that is refractory or unable to be treated by traditional treatments such as exercise, physical therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and/or cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors. For patients with medically refractory disease, intra-articular corticosteroid therapy, hyaluronic acid, or surgery can be considered.

Effect of Nattokinase in D-galactose- and Aluminum Chloride-induced Alzheimer's Disease Model of Rat.

Background/aim: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia worldwide. Nattokinase is a serine protease extracellularly produced by natto, a fermented product of Bacillus subtilis var. natto.

Higher oxygen content and transport characterize high-altitude ethnic Tibetan women with the highest lifetime reproductive success.

We chose the "natural laboratory" provided by high-altitude native ethnic Tibetan women who had completed childbearing to examine the hypothesis that multiple oxygen delivery traits were associated with lifetime reproductive success and had genomic associations. Four hundred seventeen (417) women aged 46 to 86 y residing at ≥3,500 m in Upper Mustang, Nepal, provided information on reproductive histories, sociocultural factors, physiological measurements, and DNA samples for this observational cohort study. Simultaneously assessing multiple traits identified combinations associated with lifetime reproductive success measured as the number of livebirths.

Peer-to-Peer Phone Calls and Letters Appealing Insurance Denials of Service: Practical Tips and Resources.

The approval of radiation oncology care by insurance companies is burdensome for providers. In this topic discussion, we attempt to provide practical recommendations for how to deal with peer-to-peer phone calls as well as how to improve the timeliness and quality of subsequent letters of appeal.

Evolving Standards of Care in the Management of Localized Colorectal Cancer.

The treatment of patients with localized rectal cancer is complex and requires input from a multidisciplinary team. Baseline local staging and mismatch repair protein testing are vital to develop individualized treatment plans. There are multiple options in terms of treatment modalities and sequencing, including transanal excision, short-course radiation, long-course chemoradiation, chemotherapy doublet or triplet, nonoperative management, and immune checkpoint blockade for patients with mismatch repair deficient tumors.

Dense surface reconstruction using a learning-based monocular vSLAM model for laparoscopic surgery.

Augmented reality (AR) has seen increased interest and attention for its application in surgical procedures. AR-guided surgical systems can overlay segmented anatomy from pre-operative imaging onto the user's environment to delineate hard-to-see structures and subsurface lesions intraoperatively. While previous works have utilized pre-operative imaging such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance images, registration methods still lack the ability to accurately register deformable anatomical structures without fiducial markers across modalities and dimensionalities.