Publications by authors named "Jennifer Caswell-Jin"

Importance: Cancer mortality has decreased over time, but the contributions of different interventions across the cancer control continuum to averting cancer deaths have not been systematically evaluated across major cancer sites.

Objective: To quantify the contributions of prevention, screening (to remove precursors [interception] or early detection), and treatment to cumulative number of cancer deaths averted from 1975 to 2020 for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this model-based study using population-level cancer mortality data, outputs from published models developed by the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network were extended to quantify cancer deaths averted through 2020.

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Background: A recent trial showed that postmenopausal women diagnosed with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)-negative, lymph node-positive (1-3 nodes) breast cancer with a 21-gene recurrence score of ≤ 25 could safely omit chemotherapy. However, there are limited data on population-level long-term outcomes associated with omitting chemotherapy among diverse women seen in real-world practice.

Methods: We adapted an established, validated simulation model to generate the joint distributions of population-level characteristics of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in the U.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to analyze the outcomes of different mammography screening strategies for breast cancer, focusing on various start and stop ages as well as screening intervals.
  • Using six cancer modeling models, the research found that biennial digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) screening starting at ages 40, 45, or 50 significantly reduced breast cancer deaths, with the most effective strategy a 30% reduction in mortality for those screened from age 40 to 74.
  • While annual screening offered higher benefits, it also led to increased false-positive recalls and overdiagnosis, showing a critical need to balance benefits against potential harms in screening recommendations.
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Importance: Breast cancer mortality in the US declined between 1975 and 2019. The association of changes in metastatic breast cancer treatment with improved breast cancer mortality is unclear.

Objective: To simulate the relative associations of breast cancer screening, treatment of stage I to III breast cancer, and treatment of metastatic breast cancer with improved breast cancer mortality.

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Article Synopsis
  • Trastuzumab, a treatment for HER2-overexpressing cancers, is linked to higher risks of heart failure (HF), particularly when compared to other anti-HER2 therapies.
  • A study analyzed data from nearly 42,000 patients to compare the incidence of heart failure across various anti-HER2 treatments, including monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
  • The results indicated that trastuzumab had significantly higher odds of heart failure reports compared to other anti-HER2 therapies, with the highest risks being associated with the combination therapy of trastuzumab and pertuzumab.
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Background: Genetic testing is widespread among breast cancer patients; however, no guideline recommends using germline genetic testing results to select a chemotherapy regimen. It is unknown whether breast cancer patients who carry pathogenic variants (PVs) in BRCA1 and/or 2 (BRCA1/2) or other cancer-associated genes receive different chemotherapy regimens than noncarriers.

Methods: We linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry records from Georgia and California to germline genetic testing results from 4 clinical laboratories.

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Purpose: The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic led to reduced cancer screenings and delayed cancer surgeries. We used insurance claims data to understand how breast cancer incidence and treatment after diagnosis changed nationwide over the course of the pandemic.

Methods: Using the Optum Research Database from January 2017 to March 2021, including approximately 19 million US adults with commercial health insurance, we identified new breast cancer diagnoses and first treatment after diagnosis.

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Neuroendocrine carcinomas (NEC) of the breast are exceedingly rare tumors, which are classified in the WHO system as small cell (SCNEC) and large cell (LCNEC) carcinoma based on indistinguishable features from their lung counterparts. In contrast to lung and enteropancreatic NEC, the genomics of breast NEC have not been well-characterized. In this study, we examined the clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, and genetic features of 13 breast NEC (7 SCNEC, 4 LCNEC, 2 NEC with ambiguous small versus large cell morphology [ANEC]).

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Purpose: Window of opportunity trials (WOT) are increasingly common in oncology research. In WOT participants receive a drug between diagnosis and anti-cancer treatment, usually for the purpose of investigating that drugs effect on cancer biology. This qualitative study aimed to understand patient perspectives on WOT.

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The addition of HER2-targeted agents to neoadjuvant chemotherapy has dramatically improved pathological complete response (pCR) rates in early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer. Nonetheless, up to 50% of patients have residual disease after treatment, while others are likely overtreated. Here, we performed multiplex spatial proteomic characterization of 122 samples from 57 HER2-positive breast tumors from the neoadjuvant TRIO-US B07 clinical trial sampled pre-treatment, after 14-21 d of HER2-targeted therapy and at surgery.

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Background: The IBIS/Tyrer-Cuzick model is used clinically to guide breast cancer screening and prevention, but was developed primarily in non-Hispanic White women. Little is known about its long-term performance in a racially/ethnically diverse population.

Methods: The Women's Health Initiative study enrolled postmenopausal women from 1993-1998.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the variability in treatment and monitoring options for women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) using real-world claims data from health insurance records between 2007 and 2014.
  • It identifies 6,180 women with estrogen receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative MBC and analyzes their treatment choices, monitoring practices, and factors influencing care decisions.
  • Findings reveal significant differences in treatment methods and monitoring based on geographic regions and other nonclinical factors, underscoring that local practices and resources significantly impact patient care in MBC.
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In this multicenter, open-label, randomized phase II investigator-sponsored neoadjuvant trial with funding provided by Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline (TRIO-US B07, Clinical Trials NCT00769470), participants with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer (N = 128) were recruited from 13 United States oncology centers throughout the Translational Research in Oncology network. Participants were randomized to receive trastuzumab (T; N = 34), lapatinib (L; N = 36), or both (TL; N = 58) as HER2-targeted therapy, with each participant given one cycle of this designated anti-HER2 therapy alone followed by six cycles of standard combination chemotherapy with the same anti-HER2 therapy. The primary objective was to estimate the rate of pathologic complete response (pCR) at the time of surgery in each of the three arms.

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This study uses Women’s Health Initiative data to compare the prevalence of pathogenic variants (PVs) in breast cancer susceptibility genes in postmenopausal women with vs without breast cancer to guide decisions about who should undergo PV testing.

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Objectives: Most population-based cancer databases lack information on metastatic recurrence. Electronic medical records (EMR) and cancer registries contain complementary information on cancer diagnosis, treatment and outcome, yet are rarely used synergistically. To construct a cohort of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients, we applied natural language processing techniques within a semisupervised machine learning framework to linked EMR-California Cancer Registry (CCR) data.

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Anthracyclines are a highly effective component of curative breast cancer chemotherapy but are associated with substantial morbidity. Because anthracyclines work in part by inhibiting topoisomerase-II (TOP2) on accessible DNA, we hypothesized that chromatin regulatory genes (CRGs) that mediate DNA accessibility might predict anthracycline response. We studied the role of CRGs in anthracycline sensitivity in breast cancer through integrative analysis of patient and cell line data.

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Purpose: Electronic medical records (EMRs) and population-based cancer registries contain information on cancer outcomes and treatment, yet rarely capture information on the timing of metastatic cancer recurrence, which is essential to understand cancer survival outcomes. We developed a natural language processing (NLP) system to identify patient-specific timelines of metastatic breast cancer recurrence.

Patients And Methods: We used the OncoSHARE database, which includes merged data from the California Cancer Registry and EMRs of 8,956 women diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 to 2018.

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Article Synopsis
  • Understanding the spread of breast cancer is complicated due to limited data on patients over long periods, especially for those with oestrogen-receptor positive types that can recur decades later.
  • A new statistical model has been developed to analyze different stages of breast cancer, predicting individual risks for recurrence by studying 3,240 patients, including 1,980 with molecular data.
  • The research identifies specific integrative subtypes that have a high recurrence rate and suggests improved patient stratification for better treatment strategies and clinical trials.
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