Characteristics of US hospitals using extraordinary collections actions against patients for unpaid medical bills: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: This study aims to characterise and evaluate the largest 100 hospitals in the USA that have adopted aggressive collection tactics to pursue patients with unpaid medical bills, such as lawsuits, wage garnishments and liens.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: We examined state and county court record systems to measure the magnitude and prevalence of these practices at the largest 100 hospitals in the UA between 1 January 2018 and 31 July 2020.

Accurate Nodal Staging in Pancreatic Cancer in the Era of Neoadjuvant Therapy.

Background: Nodal disease is prognostic in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC); however, optimal number of examined lymph nodes (ELNs) required to accurately stage nodal disease in the current era of neoadjuvant therapy remains unknown. The aim of the study was to evaluate the optimal number of ELNs in patients with neoadjuvantly treated PDAC.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed on patients with PDAC undergoing resection following neoadjuvant treatment between 2011 and 2018.

Role of Lymph Node Resection and Histopathological Evaluation in Accurate Staging of Nonfunctional Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: How Many Are Enough?

Background: Nodal involvement has been identified as one of the strongest prognostic factors in patients with nonfunctional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-PanNETs). Sufficient lymphadenectomy and evaluation is vital for accurate staging. The purpose of this study was to identify the optimal number of examined lymph nodes (ELN) required for accurate staging.

Disparities in the Use of Chemotherapy in Patients with Resected Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Background: Introduction of effective systemic therapies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has demonstrated survival benefit. However, chemotherapy remains underutilized in these patients. We sought to investigate the implications of disparities on the trends in utilization of chemotherapy.

Cross-Species Single-Cell Analysis of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Reveals Antigen-Presenting Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are major players in the progression and drug resistance of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). CAFs constitute a diverse cell population consisting of several recently described subtypes, although the extent of CAF heterogeneity has remained undefined. Here we use single-cell RNA sequencing to thoroughly characterize the neoplastic and tumor microenvironment content of human and mouse PDAC tumors.

Circulating Tumor DNA as a Clinical Test in Resected Pancreatic Cancer.

Purpose: In research settings, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) shows promise as a tumor-specific biomarker for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). This study aims to perform analytical and clinical validation of a ctDNA assay in a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and College of American Pathology-certified clinical laboratory.

Experimental Design: Digital-droplet PCR was used to detect the major PDAC-associated somatic mutations (G12D, G12V, G12R, and Q61H) in liquid biopsies.

Circulating Tumor Cells Dynamics in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Correlate With Disease Status: Results of the Prospective CLUSTER Study.

Objectives: Previous retrospective studies demonstrated that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) subtypes correlate with overall survival in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Herein, we report results of a prospective observational study on CTCs dynamics to assess their clinical significance.

Methods: The CLUSTER study is a prospective longitudinal study on PDAC CTCs dynamics (NCT02974764).