Characterizing Opioid Prescribing Trends of Medical Oncologists From 2013 to 2019: Analysis From the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Medicare Part D Prescribers Database.

Purpose: Opioid prescribing trends in medical oncology are poorly defined past 2017, the year after the CDC updated opioid prescription guidelines in noncancer settings. We aim to characterize pain management by medical oncologists by analyzing opioid and gabapentin prescribing trends from 2013 to 2019, identify physician-related factors associated with prescribing patterns, and assess whether CDC guidelines for nononcologic settings changed prescribing patterns.

Methods: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Part D Prescribers-by Provider, CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers-by Provider and Drug, and CMS Medicare Physician National Downloadable files from 2013 to 2019 were merged by National Provider Identification.

Disparities in lung cancer short- and long-term outcomes after surgery: Analysis from the national cancer database.

Introduction: Social determinants of health are particularly important in lung cancer epidemiology. Previous studies have primarily associated social determinants with long-term outcomes, such as survival, but fail to include short-term outcomes after surgery. The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was used to draw associations between social factors of patients with lung cancer and short-term post-surgical outcomes, while comparing them to prognostic factors, including stage at diagnosis and survival.

Evaluation of a Radiation Oncology Microclerkship as a Component of Medical Student Education.

Compared to most oncologic subspecialties, radiation oncology (RO) lacks a natural pathway for incorporation into the clinical clerkships, and few students ever complete a formal rotation in RO. The feasibility, and perceived value, of a 1-day "microclerkship" exposure in RO during other related clerkships was evaluated in this study. At a single institution, the RO clerkship director partnered with clerkship directors in medical oncology, palliative care, and radiology so that every 3rd or 4th year student would spend 1 day in RO during those clerkships.

Pilot Study Evaluating Cross-Disciplinary Educational Material to Improve Patients' Knowledge of Palliative Radiation Therapy.

Palliative radiation therapy (PRT) is underutilized, partially due to misconceptions about its risks, benefits, and indications. The objective of this pilot study was to determine if patients with metastatic cancer would gain knowledge from educational material describing PRT and perceive it as useful in their care. A one-page handout conveying information about the purpose, logistics, benefits, risks, and common indications for PRT was offered to patients undergoing treatment for incurable, metastatic solid tumors in one palliative care clinic and four medical oncology clinics.

Hypoxia-mediated changes in bone marrow microenvironment in breast cancer dormancy.

Breast cancer (BC) remains a clinical challenge despite improved treatments and public awareness to ensure early diagnosis. A major issue is the ability of BC cells (BCCs) to survive as dormant cancer cells in the bone marrow (BM), resulting in the cancer surviving for decades with the potential to resurge as metastatic cancer. The experimental evidence indicates similarity between dormant BCCs and other stem cells, resulting in the preponderance of data to show dormant BCCs being cancer stem cells (CSCs).