Publications by authors named "M Culligan"
Purpose: Pleural mesothelioma (PM) is an aggressive tumor still considered incurable, in part due to the lack of predictive biomarkers. Little is known about the clinical implications of molecular alterations in resectable PM tissues and blood. Here, we characterized genetic alterations to identify prognostic and predictive biomarkers in patients with resected PM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLaying the Foundation for a Mesothelioma Patient Registry: Development of Data Collection Tools.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
March 2023
Mesothelioma, a cancer of mesothelial cells that line the chest, lungs, heart, and abdomen, is a relatively rare disease. In the United States, approximately 3000 individuals are diagnosed with mesothelioma annually. The primary risk factor for mesothelioma is occupational asbestos exposure which can occur decades prior to disease development, though in approximately 20% of cases, known asbestos exposure is lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of physical function performance and pulmonary function on patient outcomes after lung-sparing surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).
Materials And Methods: A retrospective review of 54 patients with MPM from 2015 to 2020 was performed. The primary objective was to assess whether physical function, as measured by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG), and pulmonary function tests were predictive of postoperative patient outcomes (ventilator days, chest tube days, hospital length of stay).
Article Synopsis
- Recent research indicates that malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients with metastasis to posterior intercostal lymph nodes (PILN) have a poorer prognosis, and this study aims to assess the reliability of detecting PILN metastasis using computed tomography (CT).
- A review of preoperative staging CT scans from 36 MPM patients who underwent extended pleurectomy/decortication (eP/D) was conducted, where the presence and characteristics of PILN were analyzed by two radiologists without access to clinical records, and their findings were correlated with surgical pathology outcomes.
- The results showed that preoperative CT had a positive predictive value of 60% and a negative predictive value of 38% for
Background: There is currently no evidence of research priorities from nurses and allied health professionals working in the field of thoracic malignancies, which could provide strategic directions for funders, policy makers, and researchers.
Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the priorities for lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies research and practice in nurses and allied health professionals.
Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional web-based international survey conducted through international societies' membership lists.