Publications by authors named "Lauren Baldwin"

Article Synopsis
  • - Patients with platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer have limited treatments, and those with hypersensitivity to paclitaxel face additional challenges, as paclitaxel can cause severe allergic reactions due to its high incidence of hypersensitivity.
  • - Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx (MIRV) offers a targeted treatment option for this patient demographic, though both MIRV and paclitaxel target microtubules, raising concerns about potential cross-reactivity.
  • - A case study of a 33-year-old woman with a severe allergy to paclitaxel highlights that, with proper precautions, patients with a history of anaphylaxis to paclitaxel could safely receive MIRV, suggesting
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) is caused by loss of function variants in the NF1 gene. Most patients with NF1 develop skin lesions called cutaneous neurofibromas (cNFs). Currently the only approved therapeutic for NF1 is selumetinib, a mitogen -activated protein kinase (MEK) inhibitor.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A retrospective study aimed to explore how pretherapy hemoglobin levels affect progression-free survival in women with uterine cervix cancer receiving cisplatin and radiotherapy.
  • Patients were categorized based on hemoglobin levels, and various survival metrics were analyzed over a median follow-up period of 31 months.
  • The findings indicated that higher pretherapy hemoglobin levels correlated with better progression-free survival rates, highlighting its importance as a prognostic factor in treatment outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) have long been sought as therapeutic targets for EOC, as they are frequently hyperactivated in primary tumors and drive disease relapse, progression, and metastasis. More recently, these oncogenic drivers have been implicated in EOC response to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors and epigenome-interfering agents.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) of the ovary are rare, highly aggressive neoplasms with fewer than 100 cases described. PNETs of the ovary can be classified as either peripheral or central types. The peripheral PNETs have small round cells with or without rosette formation, and the central PNETs can be further delineated based on the CNS tumor they morphologically resemble.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates neurodevelopmental disorders linked to the PPP2R1A gene, focusing on 30 individuals with various de novo genetic variants.
  • The researchers found a range of developmental delays, from mild learning issues to severe intellectual disabilities, often accompanied by symptoms like language delays and hypotonia.
  • The findings suggest a broader clinical spectrum for PPP2R1A-related disorders and highlight how different variants impact patient severity and neurological function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Point-of-care testing is becoming increasingly commonplace in community pharmacy settings. These tests are often used in the management of chronic disease, such as blood sugar, hemoglobin A1c and lipid levels, but can also be used for acute conditions such as influenza infection and group A streptococcus pharyngitis. When used for these acute infections, point-of-care tests can allow for pharmacist-initiated treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC) consist of several sub-types based on histology, clinical, molecular and epidemiological features that are termed "histo-types", which can be categorized into less aggressive Type I and more aggressive Type II malignancies. This investigation evaluated the disease-specific survival (DSS) of women with Type I and II EOC using histo-type, grade, and stage. A total of 200,658 EOC cases were identified in the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Uterine cancer is the nation's most common gynecologic malignancy, but it is understudied in the geographically and socioeconomically diverse state of Kentucky (KY). Our aim was to assess the frequency, distribution, and survival of uterine corpus malignancies in KY, and specifically the differences between Appalachia (AP) and non-Appalachia (NAP) KY.

Methods: This population-based cohort study used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data and the Kentucky Cancer Registry to study uterine corpus malignancy between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2014.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancy and is treated with a combination of cytoreductive surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy. Extended length of stay (LOS) after surgery can affect patient morbidity, overall costs, and hospital resource utilization. The primary objective of this study was to identify factors contributing to prolonged LOS for women undergoing surgery for ovarian cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To estimate the effect of ultrasound screening on stage at detection and long-term disease-specific survival of at-risk women with epithelial ovarian cancer.

Methods: Eligibility included all asymptomatic women 50 years of age or older and women 25 years of age or older with a documented family history of ovarian cancer. From 1987 to 2017, 46,101 women received annual ultrasound screening in a prospective cohort trial.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for ovarian cancer treatment improves patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess disparities associated with ovarian cancer treatment in the state of Kentucky and central Appalachia.

Methods: Data on patients diagnosed as having ovarian cancer from 2007 through 2011 were extracted from administrative claims-linked Kentucky Cancer Registry data.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Current reported incidence rates for ovarian cancer may significantly underestimate the true rate because of the inclusion of women in the calculations who are not at risk for ovarian cancer due to prior benign salpingo-oophorectomy (SO). We have considered prior SO to more realistically estimate risk for ovarian cancer. Kentucky Health Claims Data, International Classification of Disease 9 (ICD-9) codes, Current Procedure Terminology (CPT) codes, and Kentucky Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Data were used to identify women who have undergone SO in Kentucky, and these women were removed from the at-risk pool in order to re-assess incidence rates to more accurately represent ovarian cancer risk.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To examine how frequently and confidently healthy women report symptoms during surveillance for ovarian cancer. A symptoms questionnaire was administered to 24,526 women over multiple visits accounting for 70,734 reports. A query of reported confidence was included as a confidence score (CS).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of this study was to evaluate complications of surgical intervention for participants in the Kentucky Ovarian Cancer Screening Program and compare results to those of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening trial. A retrospective database review included 657 patients who underwent surgery for a positive screen in the Kentucky Ovarian Cancer Screening Program from 1988-2014. Data were abstracted from operative reports, discharge summaries, and office notes for 406 patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Prospectively validate an intraoperative surgical staging algorithm to stratify patients with early endometrial cancer by risk of lymph node metastasis.

Methods: Subjects with endometrial cancer clinically confined to the uterus were prospectively enrolled at an academic cancer center between Jan 2012 and Jun 2015. Study participants were stratified intraoperatively into two groups based on risk of nodal involvement using cell type, tumor grade, myometrial invasion, and tumor size in accordance with an established protocol from the Mayo Clinic.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Some ovarian malignancies may originate in the fallopian tube. The feasibility of ultrasonographically visualizing the fallopian tube is presented.

Methods: In total, 549 normal women participated in the fallopian tube visualization trial, while ovarian visualization was studied in 43,521.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The American Affordable Care Act's first operational year showed significant variance in health insurance premiums based on age and location, with the lowest premiums ranging from $805 for 20-year-olds to $3,802 for 64-year-olds.
  • - Rural areas displayed higher lowest premiums for 50-year-olds, while the highest premiums were cheaper in rural regions; at age 64, the costs represented 9-12.6% of a $50,000 income for the lowest premiums and 16.5-39% for the highest.
  • - Medicaid enrollment was about 6 times higher than paid enrollment, and participation in ACA coverage far exceeded expectations by over 190%, indicating strong investor confidence in the healthcare sector through analysis
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tetraspanin CD151 interacts with laminin-binding integrins (i.e., α3β1, α6β1 and α6β4) and other cell surface molecules to control diverse cellular and physiological processes, ranging from cell adhesion, migration and survival to tissue architecture and homeostasis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Human ovarian cancer is diagnosed in the late, metastatic stages but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We report a surprising functional link between CD151-α3β1 integrin complexes and the malignancy of serous-type ovarian cancer. Analyses of clinical specimens indicate that CD151 expression is significantly reduced or diminished in 90% of metastatic lesions, while it remains detectable in 58% of primary tumors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective. The aim of this study was to document the survival advantage of lowering stage at detection from Stage IIIC to Stage IIIA epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: In the post-radiation patient, late vascular sequelae and fibrosis predispose women to poor tissue healing, such that small tissue injuries could theoretically evolve into much larger ones such as fistulae. We sought to determine if a correlation exists between invasive procedures such as post-treatment biopsies and the subsequent development of gynecologic fistulae.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed evaluating all patients treated for cervical cancer at our institution between 1997 and 2010.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The newest findings on literature utilization relevant to gynecologic oncology were published by Thomson Reuters during June 2013 as determinants of journal standing. Our objective was to assess the different metrics reported for relative impact and cost for journals relevant to gynecologic oncology.

Methods: 55 journals were evaluated for Impact Factor (IF), 5 Year IF, Immediacy Index, Cited Half Life, Eigenfactor (EF) Score, Article Influence (AI) scores and subscription costs obtained from publisher information.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To examine the prevalence, incidence, persistence, and resolution of ovarian abnormalities using serial transvaginal ultrasonography.

Methods: A group of 39,337 women in the University of Kentucky Ovarian Cancer Screening Program were monitored with 221,576 baseline and interval transvaginal ultrasonography.

Results: The transvaginal ultrasonogram was normal for first and all subsequent visits for 31,834 participants (80.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF