Fertility Preservation and Financial Hardship among Adolescent and Young Adult Women with Cancer.

Background: Financial hardship among adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer who receive gonadotoxic treatments may be exacerbated by the use of fertility services. This study examined whether AYA women with cancer who used fertility preservation had increased financial hardship.

Methods: AYA women with cancer in North Carolina and California completed a survey in 2018-2019.

Quantifying cancer risk from exposures to medical imaging in the Risk of Pediatric and Adolescent Cancer Associated with Medical Imaging (RIC) Study: research methods and cohort profile.

Purpose: The Risk of Pediatric and Adolescent Cancer Associated with Medical Imaging (RIC) Study is quantifying the association between cumulative radiation exposure from fetal and/or childhood medical imaging and subsequent cancer risk. This manuscript describes the study cohorts and research methods.

Methods: The RIC Study is a longitudinal study of children in two retrospective cohorts from 6 U.

The Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Horizon Study: An AYA Cancer Survivorship Cohort.

Background: In the United States, >45,000 adolescent and young adult (AYA) women are diagnosed with cancer annually. Reproductive issues are critically important to AYA cancer survivors, but insufficient information is available to address their concerns. The AYA Horizon Study was initiated to contribute high-quality, contemporary evidence on reproductive outcomes for female cancer survivors in the United States.

Obesity and related conditions and risk of inflammatory breast cancer: a nested case-control study.

Purpose: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare, poorly understood and aggressive tumor. We extended prior findings linking high body mass index (BMI) to substantial increased IBC risk by examining BMI associations before and after adjustment for well-characterized comorbidities using medical record data for diabetes, insulin resistance, and disturbances of cholesterol metabolism in a general community healthcare setting.

Methods: We identified 247 incident IBC cases diagnosed at Kaiser Permanente Northern California between 2005 and 2017 and 2470 controls matched 10:1 on birth year and geographic area and with ≥ 13 months of continuous enrollment prior to diagnosis/index date.

Validity of state cancer registry treatment information for adolescent and young adult women.

Background: Population-based cancer registries collect information on first course of treatment that may be utilized in research on cancer care quality, yet few studies have investigated the validity of this information. We examined the accuracy and completeness of registry-based treatment information in a cohort of adolescent and young adult women.

Methods: Women diagnosed with breast cancer, lymphoma, thyroid cancer, cervical/uterine cancer or ovarian cancer at ages 15-39 during 2003-2014 were identified using data from the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry (CCR) (N = 2342).

Trends in Medical Imaging During Pregnancy in the United States and Ontario, Canada, 1996 to 2016.

Importance: The use of medical imaging has sharply increased over the last 2 decades. Imaging rates during pregnancy have not been quantified in a large, multisite study setting.

Objective: To evaluate patterns of medical imaging during pregnancy.

Collaborating on Data, Science, and Infrastructure: The 20-Year Journey of the Cancer Research Network.

The Cancer Research Network (CRN) is a consortium of 12 research groups, each affiliated with a nonprofit integrated health care delivery system, that was first funded in 1998. The overall goal of the CRN is to support and facilitate collaborative cancer research within its component delivery systems. This paper describes the CRN's 20-year experience and evolution.

Regular and low-dose aspirin, other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and prospective risk of HER2-defined breast cancer: the California Teachers Study.

Background: Regular users of aspirin may have reduced risk of breast cancer. Few studies have addressed whether risk reduction pertains to specific breast cancer subtypes defined jointly by hormone receptor (estrogen and progesterone receptor) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression. This study assessed the prospective risk of breast cancer (overall and by subtype) according to use of aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) in a cohort of female public school professionals in California.

Patient and primary care provider attitudes and adherence towards lung cancer screening at an academic medical center.

Low dose CT (LDCT) for lung cancer screening is an evidence-based, guideline recommended, and Medicare approved test but uptake requires further study. We therefore conducted patient and provider surveys to elucidate factors associated with utilization. Patients referred for LDCT at an academic medical center were questioned about their attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs on lung cancer screening.

Public Reporting of Hospital-Level Cancer Surgical Volumes in California: An Opportunity to Inform Decision Making and Improve Quality.

Purpose: Most patients, providers, and payers make decisions about cancer hospitals without any objective data regarding quality or outcomes. We developed two online resources allowing users to search and compare timely data regarding hospital cancer surgery volumes.

Methods: Hospital cancer surgery volumes for all California hospitals were calculated using ICD-9 coded hospital discharge summary data.

Occurrence and outcome of de novo metastatic breast cancer by subtype in a large, diverse population.

Purpose: To examine the occurrence and outcomes of de novo metastatic (Stage IV) breast cancer, particularly with respect to tumor HER2 expression.

Methods: We studied all 6,268 de novo metastatic breast cancer cases diagnosed from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2011 and reported to the California Cancer Registry. Molecular subtypes were classified according to HER2 and hormone receptor (HR, including estrogen and/or progesterone receptor) expression.

Indicators of microbial-rich environments and the development of papillary thyroid cancer in the California Teachers Study.

Background: Little epidemiologic research has focused on the role of immune function in papillary thyroid cancer risk despite scattered observations suggesting it may be important (e.g., hygiene hypothesis).

Rituximab use and survival after diffuse large B-cell or follicular lymphoma: a population-based study.

To determine whether reported socioeconomic disparities in survival might be related to treatment, we examined patient and tumor characteristics associated with receipt of rituximab and survival in the National Cancer Institute's Patterns of Care Studies (2003 and 2008) for patients with diffuse large B-cell (DLBCL) and follicular (FL) lymphoma. Patients with DLBCL (n = 1192) were less likely to receive rituximab if they were older, black or Asian, lacked private medical insurance, had impaired performance status, had no lactate dehydrogenase measurements or were diagnosed with stage I disease. Patients with FL (n = 476) were less likely to receive rituximab if they were unmarried or non-Hispanic white.

Understanding community-based processes for research ethics review: a national study.

Objectives: Institutional review boards (IRBs), designed to protect individual study participants, do not routinely assess community consent, risks, and benefits. Community groups are establishing ethics review processes to determine whether and how research is conducted in their communities. To strengthen the ethics review of community-engaged research, we sought to identify and describe these processes.

Interaction of area-level socioeconomic status and UV radiation on melanoma occurrence in California.

Background: Melanoma incidence has been correlated strongly and positively with both socioeconomic status (SES) and lower latitude and other measures of ambient UV radiation (UVR). However, because high-SES populations may be colocated in areas of high UVR, we assessed their joint influences on melanoma occurrence to better target subpopulations for melanoma education and screening.

Methods: We obtained from the California Cancer Registry information regarding 23,564 incident cases of invasive cutaneous melanoma among non-Hispanic white residents between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2002.