Publications by authors named "Jeffrey A Meyerhardt"

Background: Metabolomic profiles may influence colorectal cancer (CRC) development. Few studies have performed pre-diagnostic metabolome-wide analyses with CRC risk.

Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study among women (Nurses' Health Study (NHS)) and men (Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS)) who provided blood between 1989 and 1995.

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  • Biliary tract cancers show strong resistance to treatments, and effective therapies for these advanced cases are currently limited.
  • A clinical trial combined DKN-01 and nivolumab to see if they could help patients with advanced biliary tract cancer, but no positive results were found.
  • Researchers analyzed tissue samples to identify different cell types that contribute to the cancer's resistance, discovering new immune and malignant cell states that could inform future treatment strategies.
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Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common and dose-limiting chemotoxicity caused by oxaliplatin. This study investigated the relationship between dietary quality and the development of moderate and/or severe CIPN in colon cancer survivors using data from the Focus on Reducing Dose-Limiting Toxicities in Colon Cancer with Resistance Exercise trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03291951).

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Background: Treatment options for patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors are limited. The efficacy of cabozantinib in the treatment of previously treated, progressive extrapancreatic or pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors is unclear.

Methods: We enrolled two independent cohorts of patients - those with extrapancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and those with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors - who had received peptide receptor radionuclide therapy or targeted therapy or both.

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Background: A plant-based diet is associated with better survival among patients with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), but its association in metastatic CRC is unknown.

Methods: Using an National Cancer Institute-sponsored trial (CALGB/SWOG 80405), we included 1284 patients who completed validated food frequency questionnaires at the initiation of metastatic CRC treatment. We calculated 3 indices: overall plant-based diet index (PDI), which emphasized consumption of all plant foods while reducing animal food intake; healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI), which emphasized consumption of healthful plant foods such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables; and unhealthful plant-based diet index (uPDI), which emphasized consumption of less healthful plant foods such as fruit juices, refined grains, and sugar-sweetened beverages.

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Background: Inflammation and insufficient physical inactivity contribute to individual-level risk of disease recurrence and death in stage III colon cancer. The extent to which increased inflammatory risk can be offset by sufficient physical activity remains unknown.

Methods: This cohort study was nested within the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (now part of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology) and Southwest Oncology Group randomized trial.

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Preclinical studies suggest that simultaneous HER2/VEGF blockade may have cooperative effects in gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas. In a single-arm investigator initiated clinical trial for patients with untreated advanced HER2+ gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, bevacizumab was added to standard of care capecitabine, oxaliplatin, and trastuzumab in 36 patients (NCT01191697). Primary endpoint was objective response rate and secondary endpoints included safety, duration of response, progression free survival, and overall survival.

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  • Chemotherapy often leads to side effects that can negatively affect treatment outcomes, while exercise during treatment has shown benefits for physical functioning and mental health, but its impact on clinical outcomes like chemotherapy dose intensity is uncertain.
  • The ENICTO Consortium, funded by the National Cancer Institute, aims to fill this knowledge gap by exploring how exercise and nutrition may improve chemotherapy-related outcomes and detailing distinct research projects within their framework.
  • The findings from ENICTO could change oncology care practices, making exercise and nutrition support a standard part of cancer treatment alongside chemotherapy to enhance overall effectiveness and patient outcomes.
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Background & Aims: Epidemiologic evidence for dietary influence on colorectal cancer (CRC) risk through the gut microbiome remains limited.

Methods: Leveraging 307 men and 212 women with stool metagenomes and dietary data, we characterized and validated a sex-specific dietary pattern associated with the CRC-related gut microbial signature (CRC Microbial Dietary Score [CMDS]). We evaluated the associations of CMDS with CRC risk according to Fusobacterium nucleatum, pksEscherichia coli, and enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis status in tumor tissue using Cox proportional hazards regression in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2018), Nurses' Health Study (1984-2020), and Nurses' Health Study II (1991-2019).

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  • * The design of a new NCI-sponsored randomized trial aims to determine the best chemotherapy regimen for patients who achieve a clinical complete response (cCR) after TNT, potentially allowing for a "watch and wait" strategy instead of immediate surgery.
  • * The trial will enroll up to 760 patients with specific LARC criteria and will evaluate the effectiveness of long-course chemoradiation followed by different consolidation chemotherapy regimens, with patient outcomes being monitored over time.
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Evidence indicates that combinations of anti-EGFR antibodies and KRAS p.G12C (c.34G>T) inhibitors can be an effective treatment strategy for advanced colorectal cancer.

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  • - This study involved 181 colon cancer survivors undergoing chemotherapy, who were split into two groups: one that participated in home-based resistance training and another that received usual care.
  • - The results showed that resistance training did not lead to improvements in physical function metrics, such as balance, gait speed, and handgrip strength, compared to the usual care control group.
  • - Interestingly, the researchers found that certain baseline physical performance scores correlated with the intensity of chemotherapy treatment, suggesting a link between initial physical function and treatment dosage.
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Purpose: The incidence of young-onset colorectal cancer (YOCRC; defined as patients who are diagnosed with CRC before age 50 years) is rising rapidly, and CRC is predicted to be the leading cause of cancer death in this age group by 2030. Yet, there has been limited research into the experiences and needs of patients with YOCRC and their caregivers. The goal of this study was to better understand the experiences and needs of patients with YOCRC and their caregivers.

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  • A study explored whether the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib, when added to standard chemotherapy, could lower the recurrence risk and improve survival for patients with stage III colon cancer.
  • While celecoxib did not show significant benefits for all patients, a subgroup analysis revealed that those with PIK3CA gain-of-function mutations had better disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival compared to those without these mutations.
  • The findings suggest that mutational status, specifically PIK3CA, may help guide the selective use of COX-2 inhibitors along with standard treatment for this type of cancer.
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Background: Physical activity and metformin pharmacotherapy are associated with improved clinical outcomes in breast and colorectal cancer survivors. Myokines are cytokines secreted from skeletal muscle that may mediate these associations.

Methods: This hypothesis-generating analysis used biospecimens collected from a multi-centre 2 × 2 factorial randomized design of 116 patients with stage I-III breast and colorectal cancer who were randomized to 12 weeks of (1) aerobic exercise (moderate intensity titrated to 220 min/week); (2) metformin (850 mg daily for 2 weeks and then titrated to 850 mg twice per day); (3) aerobic exercise and metformin; or (4) control.

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Background: Despite contributions provided by the recent clinical trials, several issues and challenges still remain unsolved in adjuvant colon cancer (CC). Hence, further studies should be planned to better refine risk assessment as well as to establish the optimal treatment strategy in the adjuvant setting. However, it is necessary to request adequate, contemporary and relevant variables and report them homogeneously in order to bring maximal information when analyzing their prognostic value.

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It remains unclear if pre-diagnostic factors influence the developmental pathways of colorectal cancer (CRC) that could enhance tumor aggressiveness. This study used prospective data from 205,489 cancer-free US health professionals to investigate the associations of 31 known or putative risk factors with the risk of aggressive CRC. Tumor aggressiveness was characterized by three endpoints: aggressive CRC (cancer that causes death within 5 years of diagnosis), fatal CRC, and tumor stage at diagnosis.

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  • - The study aimed to investigate whether having an appendectomy reduces the long-term risk of colorectal cancer, particularly for tumors associated with the bacterial species Fusobacterium nucleatum, which is linked to colorectal tumor development.
  • - Using data from extensive cohort studies, researchers found that 2811 cases of colorectal cancer were recorded, with appendectomy appearing to lower the incidence of F. nucleatum-positive cancers (hazard ratio of 0.53) but not F. nucleatum-negative cancers (hazard ratio of 0.98).
  • - The findings suggest that while appendectomy may reduce the risk of developing certain types of colorectal cancer (specifically F. nucleatum-positive ones), it does not significantly impact the risk for other types,
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Background: Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are emerging as a risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC), yet how post-diagnostic UPF intake may impact CRC prognosis remains unexplored.

Methods: Data collected from food frequency questionnaires were used to estimate intakes of total UPFs and UPF subgroups (serving/d) at least 6 months but less than 4 years post-diagnosis among 2498 patients diagnosed with stages I-III CRC within the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study during 1980-2016. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of all-cause, CRC- and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-specific mortality in association with UPF consumption were estimated using an inverse probability weighted multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model, adjusted for confounders.

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Purpose: A number of studies suggest that older patients may have reduced or no benefit from the addition of oxaliplatin to fluoropyrimidines as adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer (CC).

Materials And Methods: We studied the prognostic impact of age, as well as treatment adherence/toxicity patterns according to age, in patients with stage III CC who received 3 or 6 months of infusional fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin/capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CAPOX) on the basis of data collected from trials from the ACCENT and IDEA databases. Associations between age and time to recurrence (TTR), disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), survival after recurrence (SAR), and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were assessed by a Cox model or a competing risk model, stratified by studies and adjusted for sex, performance status, T and N stage, and year of enrollment.

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Purpose: Quantifying the association of chemotherapy relative dose intensity (RDI) with overall survival may enable supportive care interventions that improve chemotherapy RDI to estimate their magnitude of potential clinical benefit.

Methods: This cohort study included 533 patients with stage II-III colon cancer who initiated a planned regimen of 12 cycles of 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) chemotherapy. The primary exposure was chemotherapy RDI.

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Purpose: Alliance A021501 is the first randomized trial to evaluate stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for borderline resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In this post hoc study, we reviewed the quality of radiation therapy (RT) delivered.

Methods And Materials: SBRT (6.

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Background: Inflammation and metabolic dysregulation are associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC); the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We characterized metabolomic signatures of inflammation and metabolic dysregulation and evaluated the association of the signatures and individual metabolites with CRC risk.

Methods: Among 684 incident CRC cases and 684 age-matched controls in the Nurses' Health Study (n = 818 women) and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (n = 550 men), we applied reduced rank and elastic net regression to 277 metabolites for markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 1B, and growth differentiation factor 15) or metabolic dysregulation (body mass index, waist circumference, C-peptide, and adiponectin) to derive metabolomic signatures.

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Unlabelled: Sorafenib blocks nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A)-recruited c-Raf-mediated hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication and gene expression. Release of Raf-1-Ask-1 dimer and inhibition of Raf-1 via sorafenib putatively differ in the presence or absence of doxorubicin. Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 80802 (Alliance) randomized phase III trial of doxorubicin plus sorafenib versus sorafenib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), showed no improvement in median overall survival (OS).

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