The "Mammograms Available Due to Resources and Education" (MADRE) Study: Rationale and Design.

Background: Latinas suffer disproportionately from breast cancer, partially due to lower uptake of guideline-concordant breast cancer screening. We describe the design of a study to compare two approaches addressing this important public health problem.

Design/methods: We are conducting a 5-year randomized controlled trial.

The "Latines Lideres En Salud (LaLiSa)" study: Rationale and design.

Background: Latines suffer from breast cancer (BC), due to elevated biological and social determinants of health (SDOH) risks. This study compares the effects of different strategies on uptake of cancer genetic services, specifically hereditary cancer risk assessment, genetic counseling, and genetic testing, and risk-based BC care.

Design/methods: In Chicago, Illinois, Aim 1 participants are recruited from a federally qualified health center (FQHC) and community venues.

p.Arg72Pro polymorphism of P53 and breast cancer risk: a meta-analysis of case-control studies.

Background: The effect of the p.Arg72Pro variant of the P53 gene on the risk of development ofbreast cancer remains variable in populations. However, the use ofstrategies such aspoolingage-matched controls with disease may provide a consistent meta-analysis.

Association of PIN3 16-bp duplication polymorphism of TP53 with breast cancer risk in Mali and a meta-analysis.

Background: Breast cancer, the most common tumor in women in Mali and worldwide has been linked to several risk factors, including genetic factors, such as the PIN3 16-bp duplication polymorphism of TP53. The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of the PIN3 16-bp duplication polymorphism in the susceptibility to breast cancer in the Malian population and to perform a meta-analysis to better understand the correlation with data from other populations.

Methods: We analyzed the PIN3 16-bp duplication polymorphism in blood samples of 60 Malian women with breast cancer and 60 healthy Malian women using PCR.

Optoacoustic Imaging and Gray-Scale US Features of Breast Cancers: Correlation with Molecular Subtypes.

Background Optoacoustic imaging can assess tumor hypoxia coregistered with US gray-scale images. The combination of optoacoustic imaging and US may have a role in distinguishing breast cancer molecular subtypes. Purpose To investigate whether optoacoustic US feature scores correlate with breast cancer molecular subtypes.

Optoacoustic Breast Imaging: Imaging-Pathology Correlation of Optoacoustic Features in Benign and Malignant Breast Masses.

Objective: Optoacoustic ultrasound breast imaging is a fused anatomic and functional modality that shows morphologic features, as well as hemoglobin amount and relative oxygenation within and around breast masses. The purpose of this study is to investigate the positive predictive value (PPV) of optoacoustic ultrasound features in benign and malignant masses.

Subjects And Methods: In this study, 92 masses assessed as BI-RADS category 3, 4, or 5 in 94 subjects were imaged with optoacoustic ultrasound.

Downgrading and Upgrading Gray-Scale Ultrasound BI-RADS Categories of Benign and Malignant Masses With Optoacoustics: A Pilot Study.

Objective: False-positive findings remain challenging in breast imaging. This study investigates the incremental value of optoacoustic imaging in improving BI-RADS categorization of breast masses at ultrasound.

Subjects And Methods: The study device is an optoacoustic breast imaging device with a handheld duplex laser and internal gray-scale ultrasound probe, fusing functional and morphologic information (optoacoustic ultrasound).

Development of a nomogram to predict the clinical impact of a postexcision preirradiation mammogram.

We aimed to better quantify the impact of a postexcision preirradiation mammogram (PPM), first by identifying factors associated with abnormal results and then incorporating these findings into a nomogram. Beginning February 2011, our institution made a practice change to obtain a PPM on all patients with any calcifications identified. A total of 530 patients underwent a PPM.

Radiotherapy of MRI-detected involved internal mammary lymph nodes in breast cancer.

Background: The internal mammary (IM) lymph node chain, along with the axillary nodal basin, is a first-echelon breast lymphatic draining site. A growing body of evidence supports irradiation of this region in node-positive breast cancer. This study evaluated the effectiveness of radiotherapy in treating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-detected abnormal IM lymph nodes in newly-diagnosed non-metastatic breast cancer.

A Pivotal Study of Optoacoustic Imaging to Diagnose Benign and Malignant Breast Masses: A New Evaluation Tool for Radiologists.

Purpose To compare the diagnostic utility of an investigational optoacoustic imaging device that fuses laser optical imaging (OA) with grayscale ultrasonography (US) to grayscale US alone in differentiating benign and malignant breast masses. Materials and Methods This prospective, 16-site study of 2105 women (study period: 12/21/2012 to 9/9/2015) compared Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) categories assigned by seven blinded independent readers to benign and malignant breast masses using OA/US versus US alone. BI-RADS 3, 4, or 5 masses assessed at diagnostic US with biopsy-proven histologic findings and BI-RADS 3 masses stable at 12 months were eligible.

Contouring Guidelines for the Axillary Lymph Nodes for the Delivery of Radiation Therapy in Breast Cancer: Evaluation of the RTOG Breast Cancer Atlas.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the axillary lymph nodes on pretreatment diagnostic computed tomography (CT) of the chest to determine their position relative to the anatomic axillary borders as defined by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) breast cancer atlas for radiation therapy planning.

Methods And Materials: Pretreatment diagnostic CT chest scans available for 30 breast cancer patients with clinically involved lymph nodes were fused with simulation CT. Contouring of axillary levels I, II, and III according to the RTOG guidelines was performed.

Non-mass-associated intraductal papillomas: is excision necessary?

Intraductal papillomas (IDPs) of the breast can be associated with a variety of clinical symptoms and radiologic findings. Surgical excision is often recommended based on the possibility of an associated high-grade lesion. Although the rate of upgrades has been extensively evaluated for IDPs, many studies are hindered by broad inclusion criteria, a lack of pathologic-radiologic concordance, and no standard definition of what constitutes an upgrade.

Groin pain in women: use of sonography to detect occult hernias.

Objectives: Symptomatic groin hernias in women may be difficult to assess clinically and commonly mimic pathologic musculoskeletal and gynecologic conditions. The objective of our study was to investigate the accuracy of sonography in women with groin pain and normal physical examination findings.

Methods: A consecutive group of 87 women (median age, 44.

Designing health insurance market constructs for shared responsibility: insights from California.

Moving toward universal participation in health insurance using a "shared responsibility" approach requires new, more accessible, and more efficient ways for people who are not offered employer coverage to obtain coverage. California's recent health reform plan-which failed to pass-incorporated individual market reform and choice-pool constructs to achieve critically important risk spreading, assure solvency, and reduce cost shifts. These measures, as well as the considerations that led to their design, offer important insights for health reform at the federal level.

Affording shared responsibility for universal coverage: insights from California.

This paper presents key insights from California's recent experience in developing a plan for universal health coverage with "shared responsibility" among individuals, employers, and governments. A major challenge was finding an acceptable balance among the goals of affordability, equity, and cost to the state. Although reform did not pass, the state's approach-particularly differences from Massachusetts regarding modest-income workers and related employer and public roles-provides important insights for federal reform.

Insuring Californians: a proposal that matters.

The basic provisions of the proposal by George Halvorson and colleagues provide a realistic way for many states to afford coverage for their uninsured residents. In this commentary we suggest some modifications to achieve a more viable plan.

Topically applied imiquimod inhibits vascular tumor growth in vivo.

Vascular tumors occur in approximately 10% of all infants and may be associated with significant morbidity. Available therapies for vascular tumors, such as systemic corticosteroids, vincristine, and interferon-alpha, may cause toxicity, limiting their use to complicated cases. Using a mouse hemangioendothelioma model, we investigated the efficacy and mechanism of action of imiquimod, a topically applied inducer of cytokines.

Use of subsidies to low-income people for coverage through small employers.

If tax credits or other public subsidies are made available only for health insurance that is not employment-based, serious erosion of employer coverage could result. To prevent this, public subsidies targeted to low-income workers and families could be applied in ways that broaden employer coverage for low-income workers and their families by encouraging small employers with largely low-wage workforces to offer and partially fund health coverage for their workers. To accomplish this, such employers--very few of which now provide health coverage--must be allowed to contribute much less than normally required in the commercial market.

Private purchasing pools to harness individual tax credits for consumers.

While health insurance tax credits could help people who otherwise could not afford to purchase coverage, many might still find individual coverage too expensive and its marketplace dynamics bewildering. As an alternative, this paper outlines an approach using private purchasing pools for tax-credit recipients. The objective is to offer these individuals and families a choice among competing health plans, and provide many of the same advantages enjoyed by workers in large employer groups, such as relatively low administrative costs, no health rating, and an effective "sponsor.