Effectiveness of the uChicago Health Inequity Classification System on surgical morbidity and mortality conference: A pilot study.

Background: Across surgery, marginalized individuals experience worse postoperative outcomes. These disparities stem from the interplay between multiple factors.

Methods: We introduced a novel framework to assess the role of barriers to access and bias in surgical complications (the uChicago Health Inequity Classification System, CHI-CS) in the setting of morbidity and mortality conference and assessed impact through pre and post implementation surveys.

Western Diet-induced Transcriptional Changes in Anastomotic Tissue Is Associated With Early Local Recurrence in a Mouse Model of Colorectal Surgery.

Objective: To determine the timeframe and associated changes in the microenvironment that promote the development of a diet-induced local-regional recurrence in a mouse model of colorectal surgery.

Background: Postoperative recurrence and metastasis occur in up to 30% of patients undergoing attempted resection for colorectal cancer (CRC). The underlying mechanisms that drive the development of postoperative recurrences are poorly understood.

Economic Considerations of Lung Volume Reduction Surgery and Bronchoscopic Valves.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a challenging disease to treat, and at advanced stages of the disease, procedural interventions become some of the only effective methods for improving quality of life. However, these procedures are often very costly. This article reviews the medical literature on cost-effectiveness of lung volume reduction surgery and bronchoscopic valve placement for lung volume reduction.

The Role of the Intestinal Microbiome on Colorectal Cancer Pathogenesis and its Recurrence Following Surgery.

Colorectal cancer is the result of multiple genetic mutations that drive normal cells to adenoma and then carcinoma. Recent technology has evolved to allow for an in-depth examination of the microbiota and it has become clear that many components of the intestinal microbiome play a role in promoting carcinogenesis. This review aims to describe the potential mechanisms that lead to the dysbiosis that initiates tumor formation and that influence the development of cancer recurrence following surgical resection.

Obstruction predicts worse long-term outcomes in stage III colon cancer: A secondary analysis of the N0147 trial.

Background: Patients with colon cancer often present with obstruction. Large series have reported obstruction among the high-risk features, yet prospective data on its specific prognostic influence are lacking. We hypothesized that obstruction is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in patients with stage III colon cancer.

Comprehensive genetic testing identifies targetable genomic alterations in most patients with non-small cell lung cancer, specifically adenocarcinoma, single institute investigation.

This study reviews extensive genetic analysis in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in order to: describe how targetable mutation genes interrelate with the genes identified as variants of unknown significance; assess the percentage of patients with a potentially targetable genetic alterations; evaluate the percentage of patients who had concurrent alterations, previously considered to be mutually exclusive; and characterize the molecular subset of KRAS. Thoracic Oncology Research Program Databases at the University of Chicago provided patient demographics, pathology, and results of genetic testing. 364 patients including 289 adenocarcinoma underwent genotype testing by various platforms such as FoundationOne, Caris Molecular Intelligence, and Response Genetics Inc.

Etoposide and temozolomide in combination for the treatment of progressive small-cell lung cancer central nervous system metastases: two cases.

Introduction: Progression of central nervous system (CNS) metastases from small cell lung cancer (SCLC) after radiation therapy is associated with a poor prognosis.

Case Reports: We present two cases of patients with progressive CNS metastases from SCLC treated with oral temozolomide and etoposide. Sustained clinical responses and radiographic stability were demonstrated.

Three-dimensional stereoscopic volume rendering of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Our objective was to investigate the application of three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic volume rendering with perceptual colorization on preoperative imaging for malignant pleural mesothelioma. At present, we have prospectively enrolled 6 patients being considered for resection of malignant pleural mesothelioma that have undergone a multidetector-row computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest. The CT data sets were volume rendered without preprocessing.