Prognostic significance of serum complement activation, neutrophil extracellular traps and extracellular DNA in newly diagnosed epithelial ovarian cancer.

Purpose: We observed that the tumor microenvironment (TME) in metastatic epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and in other solid tumors can reprogram normal neutrophils to acquire a complement-dependent suppressor phenotype characterized by inhibition of stimulated T cell activation. This study aims to evaluate whether serum markers of neutrophil activation and complement at diagnosis of EOC would be associated with clinical outcomes.

Experimental Design: We conducted a two-center prospective study of patients with newly diagnosed EOC (N = 188).

The association of body composition phenotypes before chemotherapy with epithelial ovarian cancer mortality.

Background: The association of body composition with epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) mortality is poorly understood. To date, evidence suggests that high adiposity is associated with decreased mortality (an obesity paradox), but the impact of muscle on this association has not been investigated. Herein, we define associations of muscle and adiposity joint-exposure body composition phenotypes with EOC mortality.

T Cell Exhaustion Markers in Multiple Myeloma Patients are Lower After Physical Activity Intervention.

Purpose: There is compelling evidence that CD4 and CD8T cells are dysfunctional in multiple myeloma, compromising their ability to control disease progression. Pre-clinical models suggest that exercise represents a non-pharmacologic means to reduce immune exhaustion, but no studies to date have examined the relationship between an exercise intervention and biomarkers of immune exhaustion in multiple myeloma patients.

Patients And Methods: The current study includes 24 multiple myeloma patients who participated in a six-month physical activity intervention, consisting of supervised strength training (n = 12) and unsupervised home-based walking arms (n = 12).

Effects on the Physical Functioning of Two Exercise Interventions in Patients with Multiple Myeloma: A Pilot Feasibility Study.

Because of the high prevalence of bone destruction in patients with multiple myeloma (MM), physical exercise is oftentimes discouraged by healthcare providers. The goal of this prospective trial was to investigate the feasibility of two six-month exercise interventions in patients with MM ( = 42): a remotely prompted home-based walking intervention or a supervised strength training intervention. Physical function and pain were assessed with the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care (AM-PAC) Basic Mobility Short Form raw score, a six-minute walk test (6 MWT), a 30-second sit-to-stand test (30 SST), a timed up-and-go (TUG) test, a visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, handheld dynamometer tests, heart rate at rest, blood oxygen saturation at rest, and body mass index.

Dietary risk factors for monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance in a racially diverse population.

Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), a precursor of multiple myeloma, is associated with shorter lifespan and cardiac, renal, neurologic, and immune-related comorbidities. There is little known about modifiable risk factors for this condition. To determine whether the risk of MGUS is associated with dietary factors in a racially diverse population, we conducted a US population-based case-control study from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-2004), which included 373 individuals with MGUS and 1406 matched controls.

Pre-Diagnosis Dietary Patterns and Risk of Multiple Myeloma in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Background: Despite patient interest in knowing whether diet is linked to multiple myeloma (MM), there is limited research on dietary patterns and MM risk. Two studies have assessed this risk, albeit with a small number of MM cases. The EPIC-Oxford cohort and Oxford Vegetarian study (65 MM cases) showed that fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans had significantly reduced MM risk compared to meat eaters.

Physical Activity and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Monoclonal Plasma Cell Disorders.

Introduction: Plasma cell disorders (PCD) are a group of conditions characterized by disproportionate proliferation of a single clone of B lymphocytes. Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant type of plasma cell disorders. Improvements in MM survival have led patients and physicians to pursue strategies to improve quality of life for those living longer with this disease.

Physical Activity in Multiple Myeloma: A Review of the Current Literature.

One of the major issues patients with multiple myeloma (MM) suffer from is bone instability and the resulting difficulties that come along with it, such as pain and immobility. Few studies have been performed in this patient group to investigate the effects of physical exercise on outcomes such as muscle strength, quality of life, fatigue, and pain. A PubMed search was conducted by entering the search terms "multiple myeloma" and "exercise," and "multiple myeloma" and "physical activity" that yielded 178 and 218 manuscripts, respectively.

Sugar Sweetened and Artificially Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Pancreatic Cancer: A Retrospective Study.

Pancreatic cancer (PanCa) is a highly fatal malignancy with few modifiable risk and prognostic factors. This study investigates the association between cola, diet cola, and non-cola soft drink consumption and PanCa risk and mortality. A retrospective study was conducted using data from the Patient Epidemiology Data System (1982-1998) at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Buffalo, NY, USA), including 213 PanCa patients and 852 cancer-free controls.

MCM3 is a novel proliferation marker associated with longer survival for patients with tubo-ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma.

Tubo-ovarian high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSC) are highly proliferative neoplasms that generally respond well to platinum/taxane chemotherapy. We recently identified minichromosome maintenance complex component 3 (MCM3), which is involved in the initiation of DNA replication and proliferation, as a favorable prognostic marker in HGSC. Our objective was to further validate whether MCM3 mRNA expression and possibly MCM3 protein levels are associated with survival in patients with HGSC.

Cruciferous vegetable consumption and pancreatic cancer: A case-control study.

Background: Pancreatic cancer is a deadly malignancy with limited screening and few modifiable risk factors. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between a modifiable lifestyle behavior, cruciferous vegetable consumption, and pancreatic cancer, both overall and by subgroups based on non-modifiable, established risk factors.

Methods: We conducted a hospital-based, case-control study utilizing data from the Patient Epidemiology Data System (1982-1998) at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Buffalo, NY) which included 183 pancreatic cancer patients and 732 cancer-free controls.

Circulating CD14 HLA-DR monocytic cells as a biomarker for epithelial ovarian cancer progression.

Problem: Previous studies identified circulating CD14 HLA-DR monocytic cells as an immune suppressive subset in solid malignancies, such as prostate, renal cell carcinoma, and pancreatic cancer. Such monocytic cells have been implicated not only in tumour progression but also as a potential barrier for immunotherapy. This study examined the relationship between the frequency of circulating monocytic cells and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) progression pre- and post-frontline chemotherapy, defined by disease stage, which is a leading prognostic factor for this malignancy.

Physical Inactivity and Pancreatic Cancer Mortality.

Objective: To determine the association between pre-diagnostic recreational physical inactivity (RPI) and pancreatic cancer (PC) mortality.

Methods: This analysis included 107 patients seen at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center diagnosed with PC between 1989 and 1998. Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for PC mortality associated with self-reported pre-diagnostic RPI.

Physical inactivity and head and neck cancer mortality.

Background: This study was performed to examine the association between adulthood recreational physical inactivity (PIA) and mortality among patients with cancers of the head and neck.

Methods: Patients with head and neck cancer at Roswell Park between years 1990 to 1998 were included (N = 305). Multivariable Cox proportional hazard ratios (HR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to analyze the association between PIA and risk of dying.

Cruciferous Vegetable Consumption and Stomach Cancer: A Case-Control Study.

To investigate the association between regular cruciferous vegetable intake and stomach cancer. A hospital-based, case-control study was conducted at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY, which included 292 stomach cancer patients and 1168 cancer-free controls recruited between 1992 and 1998 as part of the Patient Epidemiology Data System (PEDS). Dietary and other epidemiologic and confounding variables were collected by questionnaire.

Usual Cruciferous Vegetable Consumption and Ovarian Cancer: A Case-Control Study.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women, primarily due to diagnosis at late stages. Therefore, identification of modifiable risk factors for this disease is warranted. Using the Patient Epidemiology Data System (PEDS), collected from 1981 to 1998 at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, we conducted a hospital-based, case-control analysis of self-reported cruciferous vegetable intake and ovarian cancer among 675 women with primary, incident ovarian cancer, and 1275 without cancer.

Lifetime physical inactivity is associated with increased risk for Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma: A case-control study.

Background: Although physical activity is a well-established risk factor for several cancer types, studies evaluating its association with lymphoma have yielded inconclusive results. In such cases where physical activity is not clearly associated with cancer risk in a dose-dependent manner, investigators have begun examining physical inactivity as an independent exposure of interest.

Methods: Associations of self-reported, lifetime physical inactivity with risk of developing Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) were evaluated in a hospital-based case control study using data from the Patient Epidemiology Data System at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Hereditary association between testicular cancer and familial ovarian cancer: A Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry study.

Background: Although family history of testicular cancer is well-established as a risk factor for testicular cancer, it is unknown whether family history of ovarian cancer is associated with risk of testicular cancer.

Materials And Methods: Using data from the Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry on 2636 families with multiple cases of ovarian cancer, we systematically compared relative frequencies of ovarian cancer among relatives of men with testicular and non-testicular cancers.

Results: Thirty-one families with cases of both ovarian and testicular cancer were identified.

The association of lifetime physical inactivity with head and neck cancer: a hospital-based case-control analysis.

Despite mounting epidemiological evidence suggesting an inverse association between recreational physical activity and cancer risk, evidence associated with head and neck cancer is scant. We conducted a case-control analysis to examine the associations of lifetime physical inactivity with the risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We utilized data from the Patient Epidemiology Data System at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI).

The association of lifetime physical inactivity with bladder and renal cancer risk: A hospital-based case-control analysis.

Objectives: Recreational physical inactivity has been gaining recognition as an independent epidemiological exposure of interest in relation to cancer endpoints due to evidence suggesting that it may associate with cancer independent of obesity. In the current analyses, we examined the associations of lifetime recreational physical inactivity with renal and bladder cancer risk.

Methods: In this hospital-based case-control study, we identified N=160 renal cancer patients, N=208 bladder cancer patients, and N=766 age frequency-matched controls without cancer.

The Association of Peripheral Blood Regulatory T-Cell Concentrations With Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: A Brief Report.

Objective: There is a mounting body of evidence demonstrating higher percentages of regulatory T (Treg) cells in the peripheral blood of patients with cancer in comparison to healthy controls, but there is a paucity of epidemiological literature characterizing circulating Treg cells among patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). To investigate the role of peripheral Treg cells in ovarian neoplasms, we conducted a case-control study to characterize circulating concentrations of Treg cells among patients with EOC, women with benign ovarian conditions, and healthy controls without a history of cancer.

Materials And Methods: Participants were identified for inclusion due to their participation in the Data Bank and BioRepository program at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY.

No Evidence That Genetic Variation in the Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Pathway Influences Ovarian Cancer Survival.

The precise mechanism by which the immune system is adversely affected in cancer patients remains poorly understood, but the accumulation of immunosuppressive/protumorigenic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) is thought to be a prominent mechanism contributing to immunologic tolerance of malignant cells in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). To this end, we hypothesized genetic variation in MDSC pathway genes would be associated with survival after EOC diagnoses. We measured the hazard of death due to EOC within 10 years of diagnosis, overall and by invasive subtype, attributable to SNPs in 24 genes relevant in the MDSC pathway in 10,751 women diagnosed with invasive EOC.

Assessment of variation in immunosuppressive pathway genes reveals TGFBR2 to be associated with risk of clear cell ovarian cancer.

Background: Regulatory T (Treg) cells, a subset of CD4+ T lymphocytes, are mediators of immunosuppression in cancer, and, thus, variants in genes encoding Treg cell immune molecules could be associated with ovarian cancer.

Methods: In a population of 15,596 epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cases and 23,236 controls, we measured genetic associations of 1,351 SNPs in Treg cell pathway genes with odds of ovarian cancer and tested pathway and gene-level associations, overall and by histotype, for the 25 genes, using the admixture likelihood (AML) method. The most significant single SNP associations were tested for correlation with expression levels in 44 ovarian cancer patients.