Assessing racial differences in time to subsequent treatment following androgen deprivation therapy among Veterans with prostate cancer.

Background: For metastatic and certain advanced prostate cancer (PC), guidelines support intensified androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) as first-line (1L) systemic treatment for improved outcomes. However, some patients receive ADT alone, leading to tumor progression requiring 2nd line therapy. Despite significant racial disparities in PC outcomes, there are no population-level studies assessing racial differences in time to subsequent treatment after 1L ADT.

Racial disparities in stage at bladder cancer diagnosis in the US Veterans Affairs healthcare system.

Objective: To describe patient characteristics and pathological stage at bladder cancer (BCa) diagnosis in a diverse population within a national, equal-access healthcare system.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study identified 15 966 men diagnosed with BCa in the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system from 2000 to 2020. The primary outcome was pathological stage at diagnosis, determined by index transurethral resection of bladder tumour.

Do Hispanic Puerto Rican men have worse outcomes after radical prostatectomy? Results from SEARCH.

Background: We previously reported that outcomes after radical prostatectomy (RP) were similar among non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White, and Hispanic White Veterans Affairs (VA) patients. However, prostate cancer (PC) mortality in Puerto Rican Hispanics (PRH) may be higher than in other Hispanic groups. Data focused on PRH patients is sparse; thus, we tested the association between PR ethnicity and outcomes after RP.

Exploring the Role of Attentional Reorienting in the Reactive Effects of Judgments of Learning on Memory Performance.

Making judgments of learning (JOLs) while studying related word pairs can enhance performance on tests that rely on cue-target associations (e.g., cued recall) compared to studying alone.

Exposure to Agent Orange and Risk of Bladder Cancer Among US Veterans.

Importance: To date, limited data exist regarding the association between Agent Orange and bladder cancer, and the Institute of Medicine concluded that the association between exposure to Agent Orange and bladder cancer outcomes is an area of needed research.

Objective: To examine the association between bladder cancer risk and exposure to Agent Orange among male Vietnam veterans.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This nationwide Veterans Affairs (VA) retrospective cohort study assesses the association between exposure to Agent Orange and bladder cancer risk among 2 517 926 male Vietnam veterans treated in the VA Health System nationwide from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2019.

Judgments of learning enhance recall for category-cued but not letter-cued items.

Making immediate judgments of learning (JOLs) during study can influence later memory performance, with a common outcome being that JOLs improve cued-recall performance for related word pairs (i.e., positive reactivity) and do not impact memory for unrelated pairs (i.

Time from biopsy to radical prostatectomy by race in an equal-access healthcare system: Results from the SEARCH cohort.

Background: We previously showed that within an equal-access health system, race was not associated with the time between prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis and radical prostatectomy (RP). However, in the more recent time-period of the study (2003-2007), Black men had significantly longer times to RP. We sought to revisit the question in a larger study population with more contemporary patients.

The 17-Gene Genomic Prostate Score Test Is Prognostic for Outcomes After Primary External Beam Radiation Therapy in Men With Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer.

Purpose: The Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score (GPS) assay has been validated as a strong prognostic indicator of adverse pathology, biochemical recurrence, distant metastasis (DM), and prostate cancer (PCa)-related death (PCD) in men with localized PCa after radical prostatectomy. However, it has yet to be tested in men undergoing external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), for whom assessing PCa progression risk could inform decisions on treatment intensity. We analyzed whether GPS results are associated with time to biochemical failure (BCF), DM, and PCD after EBRT in men with localized PCa and whether the association is modified by race.

Is time to castration resistant prostate cancer a potential intermediate end-point for time to metastasis among men initiating androgen deprivation therapy for non-metastatic prostate cancer with rapid PSA doubling time (<9 months)?

Purpose: Metastasis-free survival (MFS) is a surrogate for overall survival (OS) in men with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), but this endpoint may take years to develop in men with non-metastatic castrate-sensitive disease. The study objective was to examine whether progression to CRPC is a potential intermediate endpoint for developing metastatic disease in patients with biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP).

Materials And Methods: Men with BCR following RP who had PSA doubling times (PSADT) < 9 months and no metastasis at the time of initiating androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) (n = 210) were included.

Food Sensitivities in a Diverse Nationwide Cohort of Veterans With Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome.

Purpose: Prior studies suggest that certain foods exacerbate interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome symptoms. However, these studies were limited in size and demographics. We assessed the presence of diet sensitivities among patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and compared them with patients with other pelvic pain conditions and healthy controls.

Hypoxia-inducible factor pathway genes predict survival in metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: Hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) pathway alterations drive progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). We aim to evaluate genes within the canonical and non-canonical HIF pathways as predictors of survival in metastatic ccRCC.

Materials And Methods: Gene expression was determined from 324 archival pretreatment nephrectomy specimens from CALGB90206, a phase III trial of patients treated with interferon alpha (INF-α) vs.

Red Blood Cell Distribution Width Is Associated with All-cause Mortality but Not Adverse Cancer-specific Outcomes in Men with Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer Treated with Radical Prostatectomy: Findings Based on a Multicenter Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital Registry.

Background: Recent reports with a small number of patients showed an association of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) with prostate cancer (PCa) progression.

Objective: To investigate whether preoperative RDW can serve as a prognostic marker in patients with PCa undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) in a large, equal access, and diverse patient cohort.

Design Setting And Participants: Data were retrospectively collected on 4756 men treated with RP at eight Veteran Affairs medical centers within the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital (SEARCH) database from 1999 through 2017.

Association of Maternal Tdap Recommendations With Pertussis Hospitalizations of Young Infants.

Background: It is well established that young infants have the highest risk of severe pertussis, which often results in hospitalization. Since the 2012 recommendation of administering tetanus toxoid, diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine for every pregnancy, evaluation of pertussis hospitalizations among young infants in the United States has been limited.

Methods: In this ecological study, we used the Kids' Inpatient Database, the largest all-payer pediatric inpatient database in the United States, to study pertussis hospitalizations among infants <1 month of age from 2000 to 2016.

Prostate weight and prostate cancer outcomes after radical prostatectomy: Results from the SEARCH cohort study.

Background: Smaller prostates have been linked to unfavorable clinical characteristics and poor short-term outcomes following radical prostatectomy (RP). We examined the relation between prostate weight at RP and prostate cancer (PC) outcomes post-RP.

Methods: Men in the SEARCH cohort undergoing RP between 1988 and 2017 (N = 6242) were studied for PC-specific mortality (PCSM) as the primary outcome, and for biochemical recurrence (BCR), castration-resistant PC (CRPC) and metastasis as secondary outcomes.

Investigating memory reactivity with a within-participant manipulation of judgments of learning: support for the cue-strengthening hypothesis.

When learners make (JOLs) for some word pairs but not others, how and why is recall performance affected? Participants studied related and unrelated word pairs and made JOLs for a randomly selected half of the pairs. We evaluated two hypotheses. The states that making JOLs leads learners to notice differences in pair difficulty and to change their learning goal.

Am I Really Qualified To Be Here: Exploring The Impact Of Impostor Phenomenon On Training And Careers In OB/GYN Medical Education.

Objective: Individuals with Impostor Phenomenon (IP) believe they have achieved success by fooling others into thinking they are intelligent/capable and fear they will be discovered. This fear has been shown to cause psychological distress and may affect OB/GYN training. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of IP and correlation with anxiety among OB/GYN trainees and faculty.

Skeletal Maturity Using Knee X-rays: Understanding the Resilience of 7 Radiographic Parameters to Rotational Position.

Background: Recently, a skeletal maturity system using knee radiographs, named the modified Roche-Wainer-Thissen (RWT) system, has been developed using 7 discrete radiographic parameters. While the system has been shown to significantly outperform the Greulich and Pyle atlas, the effect of rotational variation of the knee radiograph on skeletal maturity determinations has not been studied.

Methods: Normal knee computed tomography scans of 12 male children ages 10 to 16 years and 8 female children ages 8 to 14 years were obtained retrospectively, converted into 3-dimensional reconstructions, and then used to simulate knee radiographs in 5 different rotational positions.

Serum Magnesium and Cardiovascular Outcomes and Mortality in CKD: The Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC).

Rationale & Objective: Low serum magnesium level has been shown to be associated with increased mortality, but its role as a predictor of cardiovascular disease is unclear. This study evaluates the association between serum magnesium level and cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in a large cohort of individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Opioid-prescribing patterns among shoulder and elbow surgeons: considerations for future prescription guidelines.

Background: Although the achievement of adequate analgesia is critical to patient comfort and recovery following orthopedic procedures, no standard protocol exists to dictate the appropriate duration and quantity of narcotic prescription in the postoperative period. Therefore, the purpose of this survey was to determine patterns of opioid prescribing among orthopedic shoulder and elbow providers.

Methods: In March 2020, a survey was distributed through a LISTSERV to 989 members of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons orthopedic society.

Greater Trochanter Height: A Quantitative Predictor of Skeletal Maturity.

Background: The purpose of this investigation was to develop a quantitative and reproductible method for estimating skeletal maturity based on measurements of the height of the bony greater trochanter (GT) using timing to 90% of final height as a gold standard.

Methods: Bony GT height was measured using serial anteroposterior pelvic radiographs in 76 healthy pediatric patients obtained from the Bolton-Brush (BB) Study with corresponding Greulich-Pyle (GP) bone ages. Chronologic age at 90% of final height was calculated.

Comparison of Infrapatellar and Suprapatellar Approaches for Intramedullary Nail Fixation of Tibia Fractures.

Objective: To assess clinical, radiographic, and functional outcomes after intramedullary nail (IMN) fixation of tibia fractures with an infrapatellar approach compared to a suprapatellar approach.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Level 1 trauma center.

The Effect of Attention on Fixation Stability During Dynamic Fixation Testing in Stargardt Disease.

Purpose: Sensitive, reproducible visual function biomarkers are necessary to evaluate the efficacy of emerging treatments for Stargardt disease type 1 in clinical trials. We previously demonstrated that fixation stability may serve as a secondary outcome parameter for visual function loss. However, the test duration and protocol have an unknown effect on the assessment of fixation stability.