Health care system factors associated with receipt of treatment and treatment intent in stage III non-small cell lung cancer: A population-based study in Ontario.

Purpose: Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a heterogeneous disease, with a spectrum of anatomic extent, health status, and treatment approaches. Receipt of treatment and its intent should be independent of health system factors where care quality is optimal. We investigated the degree that modifiable health system factors are associated with receipt of treatment and treatment intent in stage III NSCLC in a large, universal health system.

Cluster effect for SNP-SNP interaction pairs for predicting complex traits.

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) interactions are the key to improving polygenic risk scores. Previous studies reported several significant SNP-SNP interaction pairs that shared a common SNP to form a cluster, but some identified pairs might be false positives. This study aims to identify factors associated with the cluster effect of false positivity and develop strategies to enhance the accuracy of SNP-SNP interactions.

A murine model of hypertensive heart disease in older women.

We propose a new mouse (C57Bl6/J) model combining several features of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction encountered in older women, including hypertension from Angiotensin II infusion (AngII), menopause, and advanced age. To mimic menopause, we delayed ovariectomy (Ovx) at 12 months of age. We also studied the effects of AngII infusion for 28 days in younger animals and the impact of losing gonadal steroids earlier in life.

Biological sex, sex steroids and sex chromosomes contribute to mouse cardiac aging.

After menopause, the incidence of cardiovascular disease rapidly rises in women. The disappearing protection provided by sex steroids is a consequence of the development of many risk factors. Preclinical studies are necessary to understand better the effects of ovarian hormones loss cardiac aging.