Stage at diagnosis and cancer-specific survival for stomach, lung, colorectal, and bladder cancers among Armenians in California.

Objective: To observe stage at diagnosis and cancer-specific survival for common cancers among Armenians in California.

Methods: We used the Armenian Surname List and birthplace information in the California Cancer Registry to identify Armenians with stomach, lung, colorectal, and bladder cancers diagnosed during 1988-2019. We used multivariable logistic regression models to calculate odds of late-stage diagnoses among Armenian and non-Armenian, non-Hispanic White patients and examine the association of sociodemographic factors with late-stage diagnoses among the Armenian patient population.

Debiasing large language models: research opportunities.

Large language models (LLMs) are powerful decision-making tools widely adopted in healthcare, finance, and transportation. Embracing the opportunities and innovations of LLMs is inevitable. However, LLMs inherit stereotypes, misrepresentations, discrimination, and societies' biases from various sources-including training data, algorithm design, and user interactions-resulting in concerns about equality, diversity, and fairness.

Sun protection behaviors, healthcare access, and smoking among melanoma survivors.

Purpose: Based on current clinical practice guidelines, melanoma survivors should be advised on the need for sun protection and regular healthcare, as well as smoking cessation, but differences from adults without cancer history are unclear.

Methods: We pooled data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003-2006, 2009-2018), matching 249 melanoma survivors with 498 adults without a cancer history. Adjusted prevalence odds ratios (aPOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated.

Breast cancer screening needs assessment in 19 Northern California counties: geography, poverty, and racial/ethnic identity composition.

Purpose: To describe the area-level rate of breast cancers, the percentage of early-stage diagnoses (stage I-IIa), and associations between area-level measures of poverty, racial/ethnic composition, primary care shortage, and urban/rural/frontier status for the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCDCCC) catchment area.

Methods: Using data from the SEER Cancer Registry of Greater California (2014-2018) and the California Department of Health Care Access and Information Medical Service Study Area, we conducted an ecological study in the UCDCCC catchment area to identify geographies that need screening interventions and their demographic characteristics.

Results: The higher the percentage of the population identifying as Hispanic/Latino/Latinx, and the higher the percentage of the population below the 100% poverty level, the lower the odds of being diagnosed at an early-stage (OR = 0.

Syndemic geographic patterns of cancer risk in a health-deprived area of England.

Objectives: This study aims to analyse the geographical co-occurrence of cancers and their individual and shared risk factors in a highly deprived area of the North West of England to aid the identification of potential interventions.

Study Design: An ecological study design was employed and applied at postcode sector level in the Morecambe Bay region.

Methods: A novel spatial joint modelling framework designed to account for large frequencies of left-censored cancer data was employed.

Sarin exposure, mortality and cancer incidence in UK military veterans involved in human experiments at Porton Down: 52-year follow-up.

Objectives: We investigated whether UK military personnel exposed to sarin during the 'Service Volunteer Programme' at Porton Down had increased rates of mortality or cancer incidence over a 52-year follow-up.

Methods: A historical cohort study assembled from UK military records, comprising male veterans exposed to sarin during the 'Service Volunteer Programme' at Porton Down, UK (n=2975) and a comparison group of similar veterans who did not attend (n=2919). Mortality and cancer incidence data were obtained from national registries up to December 2019.

A Patient-Centered Conceptual Model of AYA Cancer Survivorship Care Informed by a Qualitative Interview Study.

: Conceptual models provide frameworks to illustrate relationships among patient-, provider-, system-, and community-level factors that inform care delivery and research. Existing models of cancer survivorship care focus largely on pediatric or adult populations whose needs differ from adolescents and young adults (AYAs). We developed a patient-centered conceptual model of AYA survivorship care.

Utilization of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation among patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia in California: a population-based linked dataset study.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often requires allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) for cure, but historically alloHCT has been strikingly underutilized. Reasons for this remain uncertain at the population level. We examined alloHCT utilization over time and explored associations between demographic/healthcare factors and use of alloHCT by age group (AYA 15-39y, adult 40-64y, older adult 65-79y) using a linked dataset merging the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, California Cancer Registry, and California Patient Discharge Database.

Disparities in the Occurrence of Long-Term Effects of Bone Marrow Suppression after Treatment in Adolescent Young Adult Breast Cancer Survivors.

Background: Many adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with breast cancer (BC) receive adjuvant therapy as initial treatment, with long-term bone marrow suppression as a potential complication, but no studies have evaluated the impact of race/ethnicity on the development of bone marrow suppression in AYA BC survivors.

Patients And Methods: Female patients ages 15-39 years diagnosed with BC (2006-2018) and surviving ≥ 2 years were identified from the California Cancer Registry and linked to statewide hospitalization data. We estimated the cumulative incidence of developing late effects of bone marrow suppression, such as leukopenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, bleeding, and infection/sepsis, during hospital discharge diagnoses present ≥ 2 years after diagnosis.

Cumulative incidence estimates for solid tumors after HCT in the CIBMTR and California Cancer Registry.

Compared with the general population, hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) survivors are at elevated risk for developing solid subsequent neoplasms (SNs). The Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) is a key resource for quantifying solid SN incidence following HCT, but the completeness of SN ascertainment is uncertain. Within a cohort of 18 450 CIBMTR patients linked to the California Cancer Registry (CCR), we evaluated the completeness of solid SN data reported to the CIBMTR from 1991 to 2018 to understand the implications of using CIBMTR data alone or combined with CCR data to quantify the burden of solid SNs after HCT.

Time to diagnosis among young patients with cancer.

Background: Sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with diagnostic delays in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancers are poorly understood.

Methods: Using the Optum Labs Data Warehouse's de-identified claims data for commercial health plan enrollees, we identified children (0-14 years) and adolescents/young adults (AYAs) (15-39 years) diagnosed with one of 10 common cancers from 2001 to 2017, who were continuously enrolled for 6 months preceding diagnosis. Time to diagnosis was calculated as days between first medical encounter with possible cancer symptoms and cancer diagnosis date.

Impact of COVID-19, cancer survivorship and patient-provider communication on mental health in the US Difference-In-Difference.

Poor mental health has been found to be more prevalent among those with cancer and is considered a public health crisis since COVID-19. This study assessed the impact of COVID-19 and cancer survivorship on mental health and investigated factors, including online patient-provider communications (OPPC; email/internet/tablet/smartphone), associated with poor mental health prior to and during the early COVID-19. Nationally representative Health Information National Trends Survey data during 2017-2020 (n = 15,871) was used.

Cancer incidence among Armenians in California.

Introduction: California is home to the largest population of Armenians in the United States. The historical categorization of Armenians as 'White' or 'Some Other Race' in population databases has likely masked cancer incidence patterns in this population. This is the first study considering cancer incidence among Armenians in California.

Demographic and Clinical Factors Associated With Health-Related Quality-of-Life Profiles Among Prostate Cancer Survivors.

Purpose: Our purpose was to describe the prevalence and predictors of symptom and function clusters related to physical, emotional, and social components of general health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a population-based sample of prostate cancer (PCa) survivors.

Methods: Participants (N = 1,162) completed a baseline survey at a median of 9 months after diagnosis to ascertain the co-occurrence of eight symptom and functional domains that are common across all cancers and not treatment-specific. We used latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify subgroup profiles of survivors with low, moderate, or high HRQOL levels.

Receipt of Guideline-Concordant Care Is Associated With Improved Survival in Patients With Osteosarcoma in California: A Population-Based Analysis.

Purpose: To examine the relationship between guideline-concordant care (GCC) on the basis of national clinical practice guidelines and survival in children (0-14 years), adolescents and young adults (AYAs, 15-39 years), and adults (40 years and older) with osteosarcoma, and to identify sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with receipt of GCC and survival.

Methods: We used data from the California Cancer Registry (CCR) on patients diagnosed with osteosarcoma during 2004-2019, with detailed treatment information extracted from the CCR text fields, including chemotherapy regimens. Multivariable logistic and Cox proportional hazard regression were used for statistical analyses.

Late endocrine diseases in survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer in California: a population-based study.

Background: Cancer survivors have increased risk of endocrine complications, but there is a lack of information on the occurrence of specific endocrinopathies at the population-level.

Methods: We used data from the California Cancer Registry (2006-2018) linked to statewide hospitalisation, emergency department, and ambulatory surgery databases. We estimated the cumulative incidence of and factors associated with endocrinopathies among adolescents and young adults (AYA, 15-39 years) who survived ≥2 years after diagnosis.

Late venous thromboembolism in survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer: A population-based study in California.

Introduction: Venous thromboembolism (VTE), a common complication in cancer patients, occurs more often during the initial phase of treatment. However, information on VTE beyond the first two years after diagnosis ('late VTE') is scarce, particularly in young survivors.

Methods: We examined the risk of, and factors associated with, late VTE among adolescents and young adults (AYA, 15-39 years) diagnosed with cancer (2006-2018) who survived ≥2 years.

Childhood physical activity and pubertal timing: findings from the LEGACY girls study.

Background: There is limited research on whether physical activity (PA) in early childhood is associated with the timing of pubertal events in girls.

Methods: We used data collected over 2011-16 from the LEGACY Girls Study (n = 984; primarily aged 6-13 years at study enrolment), a multicentre North American cohort enriched for girls with a breast cancer family history (BCFH), to evaluate if PA is associated with age at thelarche, pubarche and menarche. Maternal-reported questionnaire data measured puberty outcomes, PA in early childhood (ages 3-5 years) and total metabolic equivalents of organized PA in middle childhood (ages 7-9 years).

Utilization of Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Over Time in Multiple Myeloma: A Population-Based Study.

Purpose: Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (autoHCT) is associated with survival benefits in multiple myeloma (MM), but utilization remains low and differs by sociodemographic factors. Prior population-based studies have not fully captured autoHCT utilization or examined relationships between sociodemographic factors and autoHCT trends over time.

Patients And Methods: We used a novel data linkage between the California Cancer Registry, Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, and hospitalizations to capture autoHCT in a population-based MM cohort (n = 29, 109; 1991-2016).

Strategies for recruitment and retention of adolescent and young adult cancer patients in research studies.

We conducted a literature review to identify commonly used recruitment and retention strategies in research among adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors 15-39 years of age and examine the effectiveness of these strategies based on the reported recruitment and retention rates. We identified 18 publications published after 2010, including 14 articles describing recruitment strategies and four articles discussing retention strategies and addressing reasons for AYA cancer patients dropping out of the studies. In terms of recruitment, Internet and social networking strategies were used most frequently and resulted in higher participation rates of AYA cancer survivors compared to other conventional methods, such as hospital-based outreach, mailings, and phone calls.