Publications by authors named "Seminara D"

This narrative review aimed to identify young cancer survivors' behaviours, experiences, and perspectives concerning physical activity, and identify useful strategies for promoting a healthy lifestyle. A manual search on the following databases was conducted: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The search was conducted between June 1, 2023, and April 12, 2024.

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Purpose: The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is rising in people under age 50 (early-onset). Early-onset survivors face CRC during a critical point in their lives; many are establishing their families and careers. We sought to identify the unmet needs in a sample of early-onset CRC survivors and the resources they desired to address those needs.

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We study the partition function of TT[over ¯]-deformed two-dimensional Maxwell theory by solving the relevant flow equation at the level of individual flux sectors. Summing exactly the "instanton" series, we obtain a well-defined expression for the partition function at arbitrary μ. For μ>0, the spectrum of the theory experiences a truncation and the theory undergoes infinite-order quantum phase transitions associated with the vanishing of Polyakov-loop correlators.

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Purpose: Liver cancer is a global challenge, and disparities exist across multiple domains and throughout the disease continuum. However, liver cancer's global epidemiology and etiology are shifting, and the literature is rapidly evolving, presenting a challenge to the synthesis of knowledge needed to identify areas of research needs and to develop research agendas focusing on disparities. Machine learning (ML) techniques can be used to semiautomate the literature review process and improve efficiency.

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Article Synopsis
  • Understanding the diverse causes of colorectal cancer (CRC) is essential for developing tailored prevention and treatment strategies, as tumors in different locations may develop through distinct mechanisms.
  • A genome-wide association study involving over 48,000 CRC cases revealed 13 new specific risk loci linked to CRC, highlighting significant differences in genetic factors between tumors in the proximal (early) and distal (later) regions of the colorectum.
  • The findings indicate that the genetic risk factors for proximal and distal CRC are different, suggesting that prevention and treatment strategies should be tailored based on the tumor's anatomical location.
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Elderly, homebound individuals comprise a vulnerable segment of society who have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic through a myriad of unique challenges. There is a significant amount of fear of acquiring COVID-19 by seeking health care services, which has adversely affected patients by worsening fixable situations. Another challenge is the decrease in diagnostic support for evaluating patients compared with a pre-COVID-19 world.

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Despite the existence of telemedicine since the late 1950s and early 1960s, it took a pandemic to bring this technology mainstream. The critical urgency of the pandemic drove an auspicious alignment of policy, economics, and technology to facilitate the widespread implementation of telehealth. It is imperative that this synchronicity be maintained in the post-COVID era in order to optimize our health care system to be ready for the next threat to the health of the United States.

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Background & Aims: Early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC, in persons younger than 50 years old) is increasing in incidence; yet, in the absence of a family history of CRC, this population lacks harmonized recommendations for prevention. We aimed to determine whether a polygenic risk score (PRS) developed from 95 CRC-associated common genetic risk variants was associated with risk for early-onset CRC.

Methods: We studied risk for CRC associated with a weighted PRS in 12,197 participants younger than 50 years old vs 95,865 participants 50 years or older.

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Tuberculosis (TB) kills almost 4,000 people a day and is competing with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) as the most deadly infectious disease in the world. The gold standards of detection and management of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) have not been successful in complete eradication of the disease. Current screening modalities of TB include tuberculin skin testing (TST) and/or interferon-γ release assay (IGRA).

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To investigate the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, (MMP)-13, E-Cadherin and Ki-67 expressions in road pavers' skin chronically exposed to bitumen products in order to contribute to a better understanding of the earlier tissue alteration. Skin punch biopsies from 16 daily exposed workers and a control group were studied by immunohistochemistry. Morphometric and densitometric analyses were also conducted.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers conducted a comprehensive study on colorectal cancer (CRC) by sequencing the genomes of over 1,400 CRC cases and 720 controls, ultimately analyzing data from nearly 125,000 individuals.
  • They found a significant protective variant at the CHD1 gene and identified 40 new genetic signals associated with CRC, highlighting the involvement of low-frequency variants and various biological pathways.
  • The study indicates that CRC risk is influenced by many genes and suggests that further research, especially on rare variants, could enhance understanding of CRC and shape personalized treatment and screening efforts.
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Background: Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 42 loci (P < 5 × 10-8) associated with risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Expanded consortium efforts facilitating the discovery of additional susceptibility loci may capture unexplained familial risk.

Methods: We conducted a GWAS in European descent CRC cases and control subjects using a discovery-replication design, followed by examination of novel findings in a multiethnic sample (cumulative n = 163 315).

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Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many genetic susceptibility loci for colorectal cancer (CRC). However, variants in these loci explain only a small proportion of familial aggregation, and there are likely additional variants that are associated with CRC susceptibility. Genome-wide studies of gene-environment interactions may identify variants that are not detected in GWAS of marginal gene effects.

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Background: Common cancers develop through a multistep process often including inherited susceptibility. Collaboration among multiple institutions, and funding from multiple sources, has allowed the development of an inexpensive genotyping microarray, the OncoArray. The array includes a genome-wide backbone, comprising 230,000 SNPs tagging most common genetic variants, together with dense mapping of known susceptibility regions, rare variants from sequencing experiments, pharmacogenetic markers, and cancer-related traits.

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Background: We report on the establishment of a web-based Cancer Epidemiology Descriptive Cohort Database (CEDCD). The CEDCD's goals are to enhance awareness of resources, facilitate interdisciplinary research collaborations, and support existing cohorts for the study of cancer-related outcomes.

Methods: Comprehensive descriptive data were collected from large cohorts established to study cancer as primary outcome using a newly developed questionnaire.

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Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with colorectal cancer risk. These SNPs may tag correlated variants with biological importance. Fine-mapping around GWAS loci can facilitate detection of functional candidates and additional independent risk variants.

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Background: Although genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many genetic variants that are strongly associated with lung cancer, these variants have low penetrance and serve as poor predictors of lung cancer in individuals. We sought to increase the predictive value of germline variants by considering their cumulative effects in the context of biologic pathways.

Methods: For individuals in the Environment and Genetics in Lung Cancer Etiology study (1,815 cases/1,971 controls), we computed pathway-level susceptibility effects as the sum of relevant SNP variant alleles weighted by their log-additive effects from a separate lung cancer GWAS meta-analysis (7,766 cases/37,482 controls).

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Identifying genetic variants with pleiotropic associations can uncover common pathways influencing multiple cancers. We took a two-stage approach to conduct genome-wide association studies for lung, ovary, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer from the GAME-ON/GECCO Network (61,851 cases, 61,820 controls) to identify pleiotropic loci. Findings were replicated in independent association studies (55,789 cases, 330,490 controls).

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Background: Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) use has been consistently associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in women. Our aim was to use a genome-wide gene-environment interaction analysis to identify genetic modifiers of CRC risk associated with use of MHT.

Methods: We included 10 835 postmenopausal women (5419 cases and 5416 controls) from 10 studies.

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Genome-wide association studies have identified several germline single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence. Common germline genetic variation may also be related to CRC survival. We used a discovery-based approach to identify SNPs related to survival outcomes after CRC diagnosis.

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Results from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have indicated that strong single-gene effects are the exception, not the rule, for most diseases. We assessed the joint effects of germline genetic variations through a pathway-based approach that considers the tissue-specific contexts of GWAS findings. From GWAS meta-analyses of lung cancer (12 160 cases/16 838 controls), breast cancer (15 748 cases/18 084 controls) and prostate cancer (14 160 cases/12 724 controls) in individuals of European ancestry, we determined the tissue-specific interaction networks of proteins expressed from genes that are likely to be affected by disease-associated variants.

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Over 50 loci associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) have been uncovered by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Identifying additional loci has the potential to help elucidate aspects of the underlying biological processes leading to better understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. We re-evaluated a GWAS by excluding controls that have family history of CRC or personal history of colorectal polyps, as we hypothesized that their inclusion reduces power to detect associations.

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Background: Epidemiological studies have linked adult height with breast cancer risk in women. However, the magnitude of the association, particularly by subtypes of breast cancer, has not been established. Furthermore, the mechanisms of the association remain unclear.

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Genetic susceptibility to colorectal cancer is caused by rare pathogenic mutations and common genetic variants that contribute to familial risk. Here we report the results of a two-stage association study with 18,299 cases of colorectal cancer and 19,656 controls, with follow-up of the most statistically significant genetic loci in 4,725 cases and 9,969 controls from two Asian consortia. We describe six new susceptibility loci reaching a genome-wide threshold of P<5.

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