Implementing Cancer Registry Data With the PCORnet Common Data Model: The Greater Plains Collaborative Experience.

Purpose: Electronic health records (EHRs) comprise a rich source of real-world data for cancer studies, but they often lack critical structured data elements such as diagnosis date and disease stage. Fortunately, such concepts are available from hospital cancer registries. We describe experiences from integrating cancer registry data with EHR and billing data in an interoperable data model across a multisite clinical research network.

Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy and clinical associations with renal and hematological toxicities and survival in patients with neuroendocrine tumors: an analysis from two U.S. medical centers.

Purpose: Renal and hematological toxicity are side effects and dose-limiting factors of Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRT). We aimed to assess the changes in renal and hematological function and associations with survival in neuroendocrine tumor (NET) patients treated with PRRT.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 448 NET patients treated with either Lu-DOTATATE or Y-DOTATOC were followed for changes of renal and hematological function.

Rare variants analyses suggest novel cleft genes in the African population.

Non-syndromic orofacial clefts (NSOFCs) are common birth defects with a complex etiology. While over 60 common risk loci have been identified, they explain only a small proportion of the heritability for NSOFCs. Rare variants have been implicated in the missing heritability.

Rare Variants Analyses Suggest Novel Cleft Genes in the African Population.

Non-syndromic orofacial clefts (NSOFCs) are common birth defects with a complex etiology. While over 60 common risk loci have been identified, they explain only a small proportion of the heritability for NSOFC. Rare variants have been implicated in the missing heritability.

Making progress against rare cancers: A case study on neuroendocrine tumors.

In April 2023, the National Cancer Institute offered a roadmap for cancer research to achieve Cancer Moonshot goals. To reach these goals requires making progress for all cancers, not just those that are most common. Achieving progress against rare cancers, as well as common cancers, requires involvement of large clinical research networks.

Cardiac Adverse Events Associated With Chemo-Radiation Versus Chemotherapy for Resectable Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare Study.

Background We compared cardiac outcomes for surgery-eligible patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer treated adjuvantly or neoadjuvantly with chemotherapy versus chemo-radiation therapy in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare database. Methods and Results Patients were age 66+, had stage IIIA/B resectable non-small-cell lung cancer diagnosed between 2007 and 2015, and received adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy or chemo-radiation within 121 days of diagnosis. Patients having chemo-radiation and chemotherapy only were propensity-score matched and followed from day 121 to first cardiac outcome, noncardiac death, radiation initiation by patients who received chemotherapy only, fee-for-service enrollment interruption, or December 31, 2016.

Surgical under-treatment of older adult patients with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Older patients with cancer often have lower surgery rates and survival than younger patients, but this may reflect surgical contraindications of advanced disease, comorbidities, and frailty - and not necessarily under-treatment.

Objectives: This review aims to describe variations in surgery rates and observed or net survival among younger (<75) and older (≥75) patients with breast, lung and colorectal cancer, while taking account of pre-existing health factors, in order to understand how under-treatment is defined and estimated in the literature.

Method: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and PubMed databases were searched for studies reporting surgery rates and observed or net survival among younger and older patients with breast, lung, and colorectal cancer.

Gynecologic oncologist impact on adjuvant chemotherapy care for stage II-IV ovarian cancer patients.

Objective: We aim to evaluate the impact gynecologic oncologists have on ovarian cancer adjuvant chemotherapy care from their role as surgeons recommending adjuvant chemotherapy care and their role as adjuvant chemotherapy providers while considering rural-urban differences.

Methods: Multivariable adjusted logistic regressions and Cox proportional hazards models were developed using a population-based, retrospective cohort of stage II-IV and unknown stage ovarian cancer patients diagnosed in Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri in 2010-2012 whose medical records were abstracted in 2017-2018.

Results: Gynecologic oncologist surgeons (versus other type of surgeon) were associated with increased odds of adjuvant chemotherapy initiation (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.

Impact of Surgeon Type and Rurality on Treatment and Survival of Ovarian Cancer Patients.

Background: National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend ovarian cancer patients receive cancer-directed surgery from a gynecologic oncologist surgeon. We aimed to determine if rurality impacts type of surgeon and estimate if the interaction between rurality and type of surgeon impacts cytoreductive surgery, chemotherapy initiation, and survival.

Methods: Our population-based cohort of Iowan (N=675) ovarian cancer patients included women diagnosed with histologically confirmed stages IB-IV cancer in 2010 to 2016 at the ages of 18 to 89 years old and who received cancer-directed surgery in Iowa.

A multilayered post-GWAS assessment on genetic susceptibility to pancreatic cancer.

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a complex disease in which both non-genetic and genetic factors interplay. To date, 40 GWAS hits have been associated with PC risk in individuals of European descent, explaining 4.1% of the phenotypic variance.

Rural disparities in surgical care from gynecologic oncologists among Midwestern ovarian cancer patients.

Objective: Up to one-third of women with ovarian cancer in the United States do not receive surgical care from a gynecologic oncologist specialist despite guideline recommendations. We aim to investigate the impact of rurality on receiving surgical care from a specialist, referral to a specialist, and specialist surgery after referral, and the consequences of specialist care.

Methods: We utilized a retrospective cohort created through an extension of standard cancer surveillance in three Midwestern states.

Disparities in breast cancer stage at diagnosis between immigrant and native-born women: A meta-analysis.

Purpose: To synthesize existing observational evidence to identify disparities in stage at breast cancer diagnosis between foreign- and native-born women. We hypothesized immigrant women would be less likely than natives to be diagnosed at a localized stage.

Methods: Systematic searches for studies detailing stage at breast cancer diagnosis by birthplace in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science yielded 11 relevant cohort studies from six countries.

Deciphering the complex interplay between pancreatic cancer, diabetes mellitus subtypes and obesity/BMI through causal inference and mediation analyses.

Objectives: To characterise the association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) subtypes (new-onset T2DM (NODM) or long-standing T2DM (LSDM)) and pancreatic cancer (PC) risk, to explore the direction of causation through Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis and to assess the mediation role of body mass index (BMI).

Design: Information about T2DM and related factors was collected from 2018 PC cases and 1540 controls from the PanGenEU (European Study into Digestive Illnesses and Genetics) study. A subset of PC cases and controls had glycated haemoglobin, C-peptide and genotype data.

Built environment correlates of physical activity in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.

Insufficient physical activity (PA) is the fourth major risk factor for many non-communicable diseases and premature mortality worldwide. Features of the built environment (BE) play a considerable role in determining population PA behaviors. The majority of evidence for PA-BE relationships comes from high-income countries and may not be generalizable to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Pancreatic Cancer Risk in Relation to Lifetime Smoking Patterns, Tobacco Type, and Dose-Response Relationships.

Background: Despite smoking being a well-established risk factor for pancreatic cancer, there is a need to further characterize pancreatic cancer risk according to lifespan smoking patterns and other smoking features, such as tobacco type. Our aim was to deeply investigate them within a large European case-control study.

Methods: Tobacco smoking habits and other relevant information were obtained from 2,009 cases and 1,532 controls recruited in the PanGenEU study using standardized tools.

The association between methods of biopsy and survival following breast cancer: A hospital registry based cohort study.

Percutaneous biopsy in breast cancer has been associated with an increased risk of malignant cell seeding. However, the importance of these observations remains obscure due to lack of corroborating evidence from clinical studies. We determined whether method of biopsy is associated with breast cancer survival.

Automated Tumour Recognition and Digital Pathology Scoring Unravels New Role for PD-L1 in Predicting Good Outcome in ER-/HER2+ Breast Cancer.

The role of PD-L1 as a prognostic and predictive biomarker is an area of great interest. However, there is a lack of consensus on how to deliver PD-L1 as a clinical biomarker. At the heart of this conundrum is the subjective scoring of PD-L1 IHC in most studies to date.

Pancreatic cancer and autoimmune diseases: An association sustained by computational and epidemiological case-control approaches.

Deciphering the underlying genetic basis behind pancreatic cancer (PC) and its associated multimorbidities will enhance our knowledge toward PC control. The study investigated the common genetic background of PC and different morbidities through a computational approach and further evaluated the less explored association between PC and autoimmune diseases (AIDs) through an epidemiological analysis. Gene-disease associations (GDAs) of 26 morbidities of interest and PC were obtained using the DisGeNET public discovery platform.

Medications that relax the lower oesophageal sphincter and risk of oesophageal cancer: An analysis of two independent population-based databases.

Excessive lower oesophageal sphincter relaxation increases gastro-oesophageal acid reflux, an oesophageal adenocarcinoma risk factor. Medications that relax this sphincter (benzodiazepines, calcium channel blockers, nitrates, β2 agonists and xanthines) could promote cancer. These medications were investigated in two independent datasets.

Propranolol and survival from breast cancer: a pooled analysis of European breast cancer cohorts.

Background: Preclinical studies have demonstrated that propranolol inhibits several pathways involved in breast cancer progression and metastasis. We investigated whether breast cancer patients who used propranolol, or other non-selective beta-blockers, had reduced breast cancer-specific or all-cause mortality in eight European cohorts.

Methods: Incident breast cancer patients were identified from eight cancer registries and compiled through the European Cancer Pharmacoepidemiology Network.

HPV prevalence and type-distribution in cervical cancer and premalignant lesions of the cervix: A population-based study from Northern Ireland.

Assessment of Human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and genotype distribution is important for monitoring the impact of prophylactic HPV vaccination. This study aimed to demonstrate the HPV genotypes predominating in pre-malignant and cervical cancers in Northern Ireland (NI) before the vaccination campaign has effect. Formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks from 2,303 women aged 16-93 years throughout NI were collated between April 2011 and February 2013.

Reduced risk of pancreatic cancer associated with asthma and nasal allergies.

Objective: Studies indicate an inverse association between ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (PDAC) and nasal allergies. However, controversial findings are reported for the association with asthma. Understanding PDAC risk factors will help us to implement appropriate strategies to prevent, treat and diagnose this cancer.

How common are myeloproliferative neoplasms? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a heterogeneous group of diseases including polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and primary(idiopathic) myelofibrosis (PMF). In this systematic review, we provide a comprehensive report on the incidence and prevalence of MPNs across the globe. Electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Web of Science) were searched from their inception to August 2012 for articles reporting MPN incidence or prevalence rates.

Prior autoimmune disease and risk of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and multiple myeloma: a systematic review.

Background: Several observational studies have investigated autoimmune disease and subsequent risk of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and multiple myeloma. Findings have been largely inconsistent and hindered by the rarity and heterogeneity of the autoimmune disorders investigated. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to evaluate the strength of the evidence linking prior autoimmune disease and risk of MGUS/multiple myeloma.