Publications by authors named "Jesse Plascak"

Objective: Among gynecologic cancer patients, it is unclear whether participation in clinical trials impacts survival outcomes. In addition, given the known racial and ethnic disparities in gynecologic cancer trial enrollment, it is important to assess whether clinical trial enrollment is similarly related to overall survival among racial and ethnic minorities. Therefore, we examined associations between clinical trial enrollment and overall survival and potential effect modification by race/ethnicity and cancer site among gynecologic cancer patients.

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Importance: Patients with breast cancer residing in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities often face poorer outcomes (eg, mortality) compared with individuals living in neighborhoods without persistent poverty.

Objective: To examine persistent neighborhood poverty and breast tumor characteristics, surgical treatment, and mortality.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A retrospective cohort analysis of women aged 18 years or older diagnosed with stage I to III breast cancer between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2018, and followed up until December 31, 2020, was conducted.

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Article Synopsis
  • Racial and ethnic disparities exist in gynecologic cancer care, with minority patients being more likely to receive treatment at academic facilities, which usually improve survival rates.
  • The study analyzed data from over 484,000 gynecologic cancer patients, showing higher odds of treatment at academic facilities for various minority groups compared to White patients.
  • Interestingly, while many minority patients benefitted from academic treatment regarding survival, Black patients had worse survival outcomes regardless of facility type, indicating deeper systemic issues in healthcare for these groups.
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Geographic location of a patient directly impacts access to care, including preventive screenings and early detection. Although there is a higher prevalence of the most common cancers in urban areas, mortality rates are higher in rural communities. Notably, indigenous communities residing on tribal lands often experience heightened access issues and environmental exposure to known and probable human carcinogens.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates participation disparities in clinical trials for acute leukemia at Comprehensive Cancer Centers, focusing on minoritized racial and ethnic groups and identifying whether these inequities arise from access or enrollment issues post-access.
  • - Over a period from 2010 to 2019, researchers examined data from 3,698 individuals in Massachusetts, revealing that a significant majority (85.9%) were non-Hispanic White, while groups like Hispanic White and Non-Hispanic Black had notably lower access and enrollment rates.
  • - The findings indicate that social factors like socioeconomic status and marital status contribute minimally to enrollment disparities, suggesting that most of the differences in participation among racial and ethnic groups remain unexplained and highlight the need for further investigation.
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Purpose: Adverse neighborhood contextual factors may affect breast cancer outcomes through environmental, psychosocial, and biological pathways. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between allostatic load (AL), neighborhood opportunity, and all-cause mortality among patients with breast cancer.

Methods: Women age 18 years and older with newly diagnosed stage I-III breast cancer who received surgical treatment between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2020, at a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center were identified.

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Article Synopsis
  • National studies on cannabis use in cancer patients often overlook the impact of treatment status on symptom management.
  • In a survey of 5,523 cancer survivors, those actively receiving treatment were found to have higher rates of cannabis use (9.3%) compared to those not in treatment (6.2%), with many using it for medicinal purposes.
  • Pain management is a significant factor, as patients experiencing either controlled or uncontrolled cancer-related pain were more likely to use cannabis, indicating a need for further research on its role in treatment and symptom management.
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Cannabis interest and use is increasing in the United States, yet research on its use among cancer patients is limited. Individuals with cancer completed an anonymous cross-sectional questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regressions estimated odds ratios (OR) between patients' demographic and clinical characteristics with cannabis-related interest, current use, and provider recommendation.

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Background: The objective of this study was to examine the association between racialized economic segregation, allostatic load (AL), and all-cause mortality in patients with breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: Women aged 18+ years with stage I-III breast cancer diagnosed between 01/01/2012 and 31/12/2020 were identified in the Ohio State University cancer registry. Racialized economic segregation was measured at the census tract level using the index of concentration at the extremes (ICE).

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Few studies have used longitudinal imagery of Google Street View (GSV) despite its potential for measuring changes in urban streetscapes characteristics relevant to health, such as neighborhood disorder. Neighborhood disorder has been previously associated with health outcomes. We conducted a feasibility study exploring image availability over time in the Philadelphia metropolitan region and describing changes in neighborhood disorder in this region between 2009, 2014, and 2019.

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Unlabelled: Neighborhood conditions are dynamic; the association of changing neighborhood socioeconomic factors with cancer preventive behaviors remains unclear. We examined associations of neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, gentrification, and change in income inequality with adherence to the American Cancer Society Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention in The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). The HCHS/SOL enrolled 16,415 adults, ages 18–74 years, at baseline (2008–2011), from communities in the Bronx, NY, Chicago, IL, Miami, FL, and San Diego, CA.

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Background: Metabolic syndrome varies by socio-demographic characteristics, with younger (18-29 years) and older (50-69 years) Hispanic/Latino having higher prevalence compared to other groups. While there is substantial research on neighborhood influences on cardiometabolic health, there are mixed findings regarding the effects of gentrification and few studies have included Hispanic/Latinos. The role of neighborhood income inequality on metabolic health remains poorly understood.

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Unlabelled: Symptoms such as pain, nausea, and anxiety are common in individuals with cancer. Treatment of these issues is often challenging. Cannabis products may be helpful in reducing the severity of these symptoms.

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Background: The impacts of socioeconomic status (SES) on COVID-19-related changes in cancer prevention behavior have not been thoroughly investigated. We conducted a cohort study to examine the effects of SES on changes in cancer prevention behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We invited adult participants from previous studies conducted at Ohio State University to participate in a study assessing the impact of COVID-19 on various behaviors.

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This study tested associations between observed neighborhood physical disorder and tobacco use, alcohol binging, and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among a large population-based sample from an urban area of the United States. Individual-level data of this cross-sectional study were from adult respondents of the New Jersey Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2011-2016 (n = 62,476). Zip code tabulation area-level observed neighborhood physical disorder were from virtual audits of 23,276 locations.

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Background: Adherence to the American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines for cancer prevention is associated with a lower risk of cancer and mortality. The role of neighborhood segregation on adherence to the guidelines among Hispanic/Latino adults is relatively unexplored.

Materials And Methods: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos is a community-based prospective cohort of 16,462 Hispanic/Latino adults, ages 18-74 years enrolled in 2008-2011 from the Bronx, Chicago, Miami and San Diego.

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Purpose: Examine the association between neighborhood segregation and 6-year incident metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Methods: Prospective cohort of adults residing in Miami, Chicago, the Bronx, and San Diego. The analytic sample included 6,710 participants who did not have MetSyn at baseline.

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Objectives: Literature on disparities in palliative care receipt among extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) patients is scarce. The purpose of this study was to examine disparities in palliative care receipt among ES-SCLC patients.

Methods: Patients aged 40 years or older diagnosed with ES-SCLC between 2004 and 2015 in the National Cancer DataBase (NCDB) were eligible.

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Importance: Historical structural racism may be associated with racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities in breast cancer outcomes, but few studies have investigated these potential relationships.

Objective: To test associations among historical mortgage lending discrimination (using 1930s Home Owners' Loan Corporation [HOLC] redlining data), race and ethnicity, tumor clinicopathologic features, and survival among women recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study used a population-based, state cancer registry to analyze breast tumor clinicopathology and breast cancer-specific death among women diagnosed from 2008 to 2017 and followed up through 2019.

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This study tested spatio-temporal model prediction accuracy and concurrent validity of observed neighborhood physical disorder collected from virtual audits of Google Street View streetscapes. We predicted physical disorder from spatio-temporal regression Kriging models based on measures at three dates per each of 256 streestscapes (n = 768 data points) across an urban area. We assessed model internal validity through cross validation and external validity through Pearson correlations with respondent-reported perceptions of physical disorder from a breast cancer survivor cohort.

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As leaders with the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) Cancer Health Disparities Special Interest Group, we describe the role of structural racism in perpetuating cancer health inequity historically, and potential implications of COVID-19 in exacerbating the effects of structural racism on patients with cancer seeking screening, diagnostic care, treatment, and survivorship support. As a strategy to reduce cancer inequities in the United States, we provide the following calls to action for cancer researchers to help alleviate the burden of structural racism: (i) identify and name structural racism while describing its operation within all aspects of scientific research; (ii) comprehensively integrate discussions on structural racism into teaching, mentoring, and service activities; and (iii) understand and support community actions to address structural racism.

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Background: Mounting evidence supports associations between objective neighborhood disorder, perceived neighborhood disorder, and health, yet alternative explanations involving socioeconomic and neighborhood social cohesion have been understudied. We tested pathways between objective and perceived neighborhood disorder, perceived neighborhood social cohesion, and socioeconomic factors within a longitudinal cohort.

Methods: Demographic and socioeconomic information before diagnosis was obtained at interviews conducted approximately 10 months post-diagnosis from participants in the Women's Circle of Health Follow-up Study - a cohort of breast cancer survivors self-identifying as African American or Black women (n = 310).

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Background: Breast cancer (BrCa) outcomes vary by social environmental factors, but the role of built-environment factors is understudied. The authors investigated associations between environmental physical disorder-indicators of residential disrepair and disinvestment-and BrCa tumor prognostic factors (stage at diagnosis, tumor grade, triple-negative [negative for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2 receptor] BrCa) and survival within a large state cancer registry linkage.

Methods: Data on sociodemographic, tumor, and vital status were derived from adult women who had invasive BrCa diagnosed from 2008 to 2017 ascertained from the New Jersey State Cancer Registry.

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