Real-world Clinical Outcomes and Prognostic Factors in Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer.

Background: Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) encompasses pure NEPC and tumors with mixed adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine histology. While NEPC is thought to confer a poor prognosis, outcome data are sparse, making risk stratification and treatment decisions difficult for clinicians.

Methods: This retrospective study identified patients with morphological and/or immunohistochemical NEPC features on pathological review of high-grade prostate cancer cases.

Creating and implementing a medical consultation recording app: Improving health information recall and shared decision-making with My Care Conversations.

Research indicates that recording medical consultations benefits patients by helping them recall information pertinent to their care. Cancer Care Alberta set out to develop a mobile recording app to enable patients to safely and securely record appointments and take notes. Stakeholder engagement was conducted with patients, healthcare providers, and the Alberta Health Services Legal & Privacy team.

Use of perioperative telotristat in a patient with carcinoid heart disease.

Summary: Carcinoid heart disease is a rare complication of carcinoid syndrome, resulting in right-sided valvular heart disease and subsequent heart failure due to long-term exposure to vasoactive substances. The management of this condition is complex, often requiring surgical intervention. Current perioperative regimens entail the use of prophylactic somatostatin analogs to prevent carcinoid crisis; however, regimens vary widely among practitioners and evidence supporting their efficacy in this clinical setting is mixed.

Radiation Exposure from GEP NET Surveillance.

Background: Neuroendocrine tumors (NET) are neoplasms that secrete peptides and neuroamines. For gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) NET, surgical resection represents the only curative option. Ten-year imaging surveillance programs are recommended due to long time-to-recurrence following resection.

Resolution of PTHrP-Mediated Hypercalcemia Following Treatment with Dual BRAF/MEK Inhibition for BRAFV600E-Positive Metastatic Ameloblastoma.

Ameloblastoma is a rare odontogenic tumor which may be complicated by hypercalcemia in advanced disease. Tumoral parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) production and local osteolysis from paracrine factors have been proposed as mechanisms. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors have been successfully used in ameloblastomas with BRAF V600E mutation to reduce symptoms and decrease tumor burden.

Safe Prescribing Practices: Clinicians' Views on Prescribing Opioids to Patients With Early-Stage Cancer.

Purpose: Opioids are often necessary for patients experiencing high-intensity pain. However, side effects exist and some patients may misuse opioids. To better understand how opioids are prescribed to patients with early-stage cancer and how to enhance opioid safety, clinicians' views of opioid prescribing were explored.

Clinical Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infections in Liver Transplant Recipients during the Omicron Wave.

At the start of the pandemic, liver transplant recipients (LTR) were at high risk of developing severe COVID-19. Here, the outcomes of breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated LTR ( = 98) during the Omicron wave were assessed. In most patients, a mild disease course was observed, but 11 LTR (11.

Humoral and Cellular Immune Response After Third and Fourth SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination in Liver Transplant Recipients.

Background & Aims: Liver transplant recipients (LTRs) show a decreased immune response after 2 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccinations compared with healthy controls (HCs). Here, we investigated the immunogenicity of additional vaccinations.

Methods: In this prospective study, humoral (anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain [anti-S RBD]) and cellular (interferon-gamma release assay) immune responses were determined after mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in 106 LTRs after a third vaccination and in 36 LTRs after a fourth vaccination.

Stage migration of testicular germ cell tumours in Alberta, Canada, during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: An absence of screening recommendations and the rapid progression of testicular germ cell tumours (TGCTs) offer a perspective on the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer presentations. We evaluated the presenting cancer stages of TGCTs in a real-world population before and during the pandemic to assess stage migration.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of all new patients with TGCT diagnoses in Alberta, Canada, from Dec.

StudyU: A Platform for Designing and Conducting Innovative Digital N-of-1 Trials.

N-of-1 trials are the gold standard study design to evaluate individual treatment effects and derive personalized treatment strategies. Digital tools have the potential to initiate a new era of N-of-1 trials in terms of scale and scope, but fully functional platforms are not yet available. Here, we present the open source StudyU platform, which includes the StudyU Designer and StudyU app.

Changes in Survival Outcomes of Patients With Neuroendocrine Neoplasms Over the Past 15 Years: A Real-World Study.

Background: The past 2 decades have observed a number of advances in therapeutic approaches to patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs). This study aims to assess whether survival outcomes have changed among patients with NENs over the past 15 years, in a real-world, population-based study.

Materials And Methods: We accessed administrative databases within the province of Alberta, Canada, and we reviewed patients with invasive NENs diagnosed 2004 to 2019.

Systematic population-based identification of NTRK and RET fusion-positive thyroid cancers.

Objective: The aim of the study was to identify patients with NTRK fusion-positive or RET fusion/mutation-positive thyroid cancers, who could benefit from neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor (NTRK) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RET) inhibitors.

Methods: Patients were identified in the Calgary prospective thyroid cancer database (N= 482). Patients were 'pre-screened' with clinically available MassARRAY® BRAF test, Colon Panel, Melanoma Panel, or ThyroSPEC™.

SARS-CoV2-specific Humoral and T-cell Immune Response After Second Vaccination in Liver Cirrhosis and Transplant Patients.

Background & Aims: Detailed information on the immune response after second vaccination of cirrhotic patients and liver transplant (LT) recipients against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is largely missing. We aimed at comparing the vaccine-induced humoral and T-cell responses of these vulnerable patient groups.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike-protein titers were determined using the DiaSorin LIAISON (anti-S trimer) and Roche Elecsys (anti-S RBD) immunoassays in 194 patients (141 LT, 53 cirrhosis Child-Pugh A-C) and 56 healthy controls before and 10 to 84 days after second vaccination.

Using Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) Modelling to Forecast Symptom Complexity in an Ambulatory Oncology Clinic: Harnessing Predictive Analytics and Patient-Reported Outcomes.

An increasing incidence of cancer has led to high patient volumes and time challenges in ambulatory oncology clinics. By knowing how many patients are experiencing complex care needs in advance, clinic scheduling and staff allocation adjustments could be made to provide patients with longer or shorter timeslots to address symptom complexity. In this study, we used predictive analytics to forecast the percentage of patients with high symptom complexity in one clinic population in a given time period.

Virtual Cancer Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Alberta: Evidence From a Mixed Methods Evaluation and Key Learnings.

Purpose: This study reports on a mixed methods evaluation conducted within a provincial cancer program in Alberta, Canada. The purpose was to capture key learnings from a rapid virtual care implementation because of the COVID-19 pandemic and to understand the impact on patient and staff experiences.

Methods: Administrative data were collected for 21,362 patients who had at least one virtual or in-person visit to any provincial cancer center from April 1, 2020, to June 10, 2020.

Canadian Consensus for Biomarker Testing and Treatment of TRK Fusion Cancer in Adults.

The tyrosine receptor kinase (TRK) inhibitors larotrectinib and entrectinib were recently approved in Canada for the treatment of solid tumours harbouring neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase ( gene fusions. These gene fusions are oncogenic drivers found in most tumour types at a low frequency (<5%), and at a higher frequency (>80%) in a small number of rare tumours (e.g.

Has Radiotherapy Been Successfully Implemented in Alberta's Small Cities? A Review of Alberta's Regional Cancer Centre Network from 2010-2020.

The expansion of cancer services closer to home has become a major focus of publicly funded healthcare, with cancer organizations attempting to invest in smaller centers by integrating radiotherapy into these facilities. In Canada this has resulted in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta investing in 12 expanded regional centers over the past 20 years. Quebec, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have made similar investments.

Cohort profile: the Alberta Prostate Cancer Research Initiative (APCaRI) Registry and Biorepository facilitates technology translation to the clinic through the use of linked, longitudinal clinical and patient-reported data and biospecimens from men in Alberta, Canada.

Purpose: The Alberta Prostate Cancer Research Initiative (APCaRI) Registry and Biorepository was established in 2014 by the APCaRI to facilitate the collection of clinical and patient-reported data, biospecimen, to measure prostate cancer outcomes and to support the development and clinical translation of innovative technologies to better diagnose and predict outcomes for patients with prostate cancer.

Participants: Men suspected with prostate cancer and referred to Urology centres in Alberta were enrolled in the APCaRI 01 study, while men with a prior prostate cancer diagnosis participated in the APCaRI 03 study from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2019. The APCaRI Registry and Biorepository links biospecimens and data from a wide representation of patients drawn from an Alberta population of more than 4 million.

EV-101: A Phase I Study of Single-Agent Enfortumab Vedotin in Patients With Nectin-4-Positive Solid Tumors, Including Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma.

Purpose: To assess the safety/tolerability and antitumor activity of enfortumab vedotin (EV), a novel investigational antibody-drug conjugate that delivers the microtubule-disrupting agent, monomethyl auristatin E, to cells that express Nectin-4.

Methods: EV-101 is a phase I dose escalation/expansion study that enrolled patients with Nectin-4-expressing solid tumors (eg, metastatic urothelial carcinoma [mUC]) who progressed on ≥ 1 prior chemotherapy regimen and/or programmed death-1 receptor/programmed death ligand-1 [PD-(L)1] inhibitor, including a cohort of patients with mUC who received prior anti-PD-(L)1 therapy. Patients received escalating doses of EV up to 1.

Unmet Needs of Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancers: Associations with Developmental Stage at Diagnosis, Cognitive Impairment, and Time from Diagnosis.

Purpose: Adult survivors of childhood cancers (ASCCs) are a unique and growing population. Because these individuals were diagnosed in childhood, their developmental stage at diagnosis may influence medical sequelae and perception of their cancer diagnosis and potentially result in long-term complications and challenges. Our aim was to determine how developmental stage, time since diagnosis, and cognitive impairment relate to Canadian ASCC distress and unmet needs.

Exploring Gender Differences in Self-Reported Physical Activity and Health Among Older Caregivers.

Purpose/objectives: To document self-reported physical health and activity levels of older caregivers. Gender differences in physical health, physical activity levels, and predictors of physical activity were also examined.
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What is the State of the Science on Physical Activity Interventions for Family Caregivers? A Systematic Review and RE-AIM Evaluation.

Background: Family caregivers are an important health care resource and represent a significant proportion of Canadian and US populations. Family caregivers suffer physical and psychological health problems because of being in the caregiver role. Interventions to support caregiver health, including physical activity (PA), are slow to be investigated and translated into practice.