Mixed Nuts as Healthy Snacks: Effect on Tryptophan Metabolism and Cardiovascular Risk Factors.

We recently demonstrated that the consumption of mixed tree nuts (MTNs) during caloric restriction decreased cardiovascular risk factors and increased satiety. Tryptophan (Trp) metabolism has been indicated as a factor in cardiovascular disease. Here, we investigated the effect of MTNs on Trp metabolism and the link to cardiovascular risk markers.

"What is the mechanism?": Cues, barriers, and opportunities to discuss foundational science during internal medicine rounds.

Background: Repeated application of foundational science (FS) during medical reasoning results in encapsulation of knowledge needed to develop clinical expertise. Despite proven benefit of educating learners using a FS framework to anchor clinical decision making, how FS is integrated on clinical rotations has not been well characterized. This study examines how and when FS discussion occurs on internal medicine teaching rounds.

Image-Guided Percutaneous Ablation of Adrenal Metastases: A Meta-Analysis of Efficacy and Safety.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous ablation of adrenal metastases through a meta-analysis of various image-guided percutaneous ablation techniques.

Materials And Methods: A comprehensive literature search of PubMed and Embase databases was performed for studies evaluating the efficacy and/or safety of image-guided percutaneous ablation of adrenal metastases. A total of 37 studies published between 2009 and 2020 were analyzed, comprising a sample size of 959 patients.

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy of Adrenal Metastases: A Pooled Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review of 39 Studies with 1006 Patients.

Purpose: To perform a systematic review and pooled meta-analysis of adrenal metastasis stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) outcomes, treatment characteristics, and toxicity to define the efficacy and propose guidelines for intervention.

Methods And Materials: We performed a comprehensive literature search of the Embase and PubMed databases of studies reporting outcome or toxicity data for photon-based SBRT of adrenal metastases in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We then conducted a meta-analysis to estimate pooled overall response, local control (LC), and overall survival and analyzed these outcomes in the context of dosimetric parameters and toxicity using metaregression.

Factors Associated with Osteoid Osteoma Recurrence after CT-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation.

Purpose: To identify clinical and imaging variables associated with symptomatic recurrence of osteoid osteomas (OOs) treated with computerized tomography (CT)-guided radiofrequency (RF) ablation.

Materials And Methods: Seventy-one patients treated with the use of CT-guided RF ablation for OO at a single institution from July 2005 to May 2018 were included in this retrospective cohort analysis. Clinical data, including patient age, sex, race, and clinical outcomes, were collected from institutional electronic health records and telephone follow-up.

Resident fibroblast expansion during cardiac growth and remodeling.

Cardiac fibrosis, denoted by the deposition of extracellular matrix, manifests with a variety of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and myocardial infarction. Underlying this pathological extracellular matrix secretion is an expansion of fibroblasts. The mouse is now a common experimental model system for the study of cardiovascular remodeling and elucidation of fibroblast responses to cardiac growth and stress is vital for understanding disease processes.

Patient-reported outcomes of a multicenter phase 2 study investigating gemcitabine and stereotactic body radiation therapy in locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Purpose: We previously reported clinical outcomes and physician-reported toxicity of gemcitabine and hypofractionated stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). Here we prospectively investigate the impact of gemcitabine and SBRT on patient-reported quality of life (QoL).

Methods And Materials: Forty-nine LAPC patients received 33 Gy SBRT (6.

A Novel Biomarker Panel Examining Response to Gemcitabine with or without Erlotinib for Pancreatic Cancer Therapy in NCIC Clinical Trials Group PA.3.

Purpose: NCIC Clinical Trials Group PA.3 was a randomized control trial that demonstrated improved overall survival (OS) in patients receiving erlotinib in addition to gemcitabine for locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. Prior to therapy, patients had plasma samples drawn for future study.

Statin and Metformin Use Prolongs Survival in Patients With Resectable Pancreatic Cancer.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of statin and metformin therapy on disease outcome for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Methods: This retrospective study included 171 PDAC patients who underwent surgical resection at the Stanford Cancer Institute between 1998 and 2013. No patients received neoadjuvant therapy.

The Prognostic Significance of Pretreatment Hematologic Parameters in Patients Undergoing Resection for Colorectal Cancer.

Objectives: The prognostic value of several hematologic parameters, including platelet, lymphocyte, and neutrophil counts, has been studied in a variety of solid tumors. In this study, we examined the significance of inflammatory markers and their prognostic implications in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Materials And Methods: Patients with stage I-III CRC who underwent surgical resection at the Stanford Cancer Institute between 2005 and 2009 were included.

Smad4 inactivation predicts for worse prognosis and response to fluorouracil-based treatment in colorectal cancer.

Aims: To determine whether expression of Smad4, a tumour suppressor found to be absent in 10% of colorectal cancer (CRC), is associated with outcomes in patients with CRC.

Methods: Tumour samples from 241 consecutive patients with CRC who underwent upfront colon resection between 2005 and 2009 were obtained. Triplicate tissue cores from resected primary colon tumours and matched normal controls were used to construct the tissue microarrays (TMAs).

Phase 2 multi-institutional trial evaluating gemcitabine and stereotactic body radiotherapy for patients with locally advanced unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Background: This phase 2 multi-institutional study was designed to determine whether gemcitabine (GEM) with fractionated stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) results in acceptable late grade 2 to 4 gastrointestinal toxicity when compared with a prior trial of GEM with single-fraction SBRT in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC).

Methods: A total of 49 patients with LAPC received up to 3 doses of GEM (1000 mg/m(2)) followed by a 1-week break and SBRT (33.0 gray [Gy] in 5 fractions).

Baseline metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis are associated with survival outcomes in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Purpose: Although previous studies have demonstrated the prognostic value of positron emission tomography (PET) parameters in other malignancies, the role of PET in pancreatic cancer has yet to be well established. We analyzed the prognostic utility of PET for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) undergoing fractionated stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

Materials And Methods: Thirty-two patients with LAPC in a prospective clinical trial received up to 3 doses of gemcitabine, followed by 33 Gy in 5 fractions of 6.

Re-irradiation with stereotactic body radiation therapy as a novel treatment option for isolated local recurrence of pancreatic cancer after multimodality therapy: experience from two institutions.

Limited treatment options exist for isolated local recurrence of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) following surgical resection accompanied by neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemoradiation therapy (CRT). While select patients are eligible for re-resection, recurrent lesions are often unresectable. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) represents a possible minimally invasive treatment option for these patients, although published data in this setting are currently lacking.