Correlates of Perceived Illness Severity and Terminality in Advanced Lung and Prostate Cancer.

Context: While prognostic awareness has been commonly assessed as perceived illness terminality in patients with advanced cancer, both perceptions of illness severity and terminality may be correlated with symptom burden and quality of life.

Objectives: The present study examined physical and psychological symptoms, quality of life, and smoking status in relation to perceived illness severity and terminality in patients with advanced, inoperable lung and prostate cancer.

Methods: Patients (N=198) were recruited from hospitals in the midwestern U.

Coordination between the eIF2 kinase GCN2 and p53 signaling supports purine metabolism and the progression of prostate cancer.

Cancers invoke various pathways to mitigate external and internal stresses to continue their growth and progression. We previously reported that the eIF2 kinase GCN2 and the integrated stress response are constitutively active in prostate cancer (PCa) and are required to maintain amino acid homeostasis needed to fuel tumor growth. However, although loss of GCN2 function reduces intracellular amino acid availability and PCa growth, there is no appreciable cell death.

Prodrugs of paclitaxel improve in situ photo-vaccination.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) effectively kills cancer cells and initiates immune responses that promote anticancer effects locally and systemically. Primarily developed for local and regional cancers, the potential of PDT for systemic antitumor effects [in situ photo-vaccination (ISPV)] remains underexplored. This study investigates: (1) the comparative effectiveness of paclitaxel (PTX) prodrug [Pc-(L-PTX)] for PDT and site-specific PTX effects versus its pseudo-prodrug [Pc-(NCL-PTX)] for PDT combined with checkpoint inhibitors; (2) mechanisms driving systemic antitumor effects; and (3) the prophylactic impact on preventing cancer recurrence.

Measurement of Patients' Acceptable Symptom Levels and Priorities for Symptom Improvement in Advanced Prostate Cancer.

Purpose: Limited research has evaluated the success criteria and priorities for symptom improvement of patients with cancer to inform patient-centered care. In this study, we adapted and tested a measure of these constructs, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Questionnaire (PCOQ), for patients with advanced prostate cancer. We compared acceptable symptom severity levels following symptom treatment across 10 symptoms and identified patient subgroups based on symptom importance.