Nasopharynx Cancer in the United States: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Stage at Presentation.

Introduction: Although nasopharynx cancer (NPC) is rare in the United States, global epidemiology varies greatly. Therefore, understanding NPC disparities in the diverse US setting is critical.

Methods And Materials: Data from the National Cancer Database (NCDB, 2004-2021) identified patients with NPC; NCDB allows disaggregation by Asian American (AA) subgroups.

"Start low, go slow," a strategy to tailor treatment dosing in older or vulnerable adults with advanced solid cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: The use of standard-dose cancer treatment can result in a decline in the functional abilities of older adults with cancer. The "start-low, go-slow" (SLGS) strategy involves initiating cancer treatment at lower-than-standard doses in selected patients who are vulnerable to excess toxicity and escalating based on tolerance. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the available data and the effectiveness of the SLGS strategy in the treatment of cancer in older adults with incurable solid cancer.

Spending Analysis of Machine Learning-Based Communication Nudges in Oncology.

Background: Serious illness conversations (SICs) in the outpatient setting may improve mood and quality of life among patients with cancer and decrease aggressive end-of-life care. Interventions informed by behavioral economics may increase rates of SICs between oncology clinicians and patients, but the impact of these interventions on end-of-life spending is unknown.

Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of a stepped-wedge cluster randomized, controlled trial that involved nine medical oncology practices and their high-risk patients at a large academic institution between June 2019 and April 2020.

From bench to bedside: the past, present and future of IL-21 immunotherapy.

As immunotherapy gains momentum as a promising approach for treating several types of cancer, IL-21 has emerged as the latest discovery within the γ chain cytokine family, known for its decisive effects on innate and adaptive immunity and immunopathology. Through the modulation of immune cells, IL-21 has demonstrated significant anti-tumor effects in preclinical studies. The potential of IL-21 in cancer treatment has been explored in phase I and II clinical trials, where it has been utilized both as monotherapy and in combination with other drug agents.

Inter- and intra-observer variability of radial-endobronchial ultrasound image interpretation for peripheral pulmonary lesions.

Background: Radial probe endobronchial ultrasound (R-EBUS) is often utilized in guided bronchoscopy for the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lesions. R-EBUS probe positioning has been shown to correlate with diagnostic yield, but overall diagnostic yield with this technology has been inconsistent across the published literature. Currently there is no standardization for R-EBUS image interpretation, which may result in variability in grading concentricity of lesions and subsequently procedure performance.

Associations Between Annual Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy Loss and Prescription Drug Spending and Use.

Importance: The Medicare Part D Low Income Subsidy (LIS) program provides millions of beneficiaries with drug plan premium and cost-sharing assistance. The extent to which LIS recipients experience subsidy losses with annual redetermination cycles and the resulting associations with prescription drug affordability and use are unknown.

Objective: To examine how frequently annual LIS benefits are lost among Medicare Part D beneficiaries and how this is associated with prescription drug use and out-of-pocket costs.

Disparities in Stage at Presentation Among Hispanic and Latinx Patients With Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer in the United States.

Purpose: Hispanic and Latinx people in the United States are the fastest-growing ethnic group. However, previous studies in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) often analyze these diverse communities in aggregate. We aimed to identify differences in NSCLC stage at diagnosis in the US population, focusing on disaggregated Hispanic/Latinx individuals.

Trends in Utilization and Medicare Spending on Short-Course Radiation Therapy for Breast and Prostate Cancer: An Episode-Based Analysis From 2015 to 2019.

Purpose: Evidence supports the value of shorter, similarly efficacious, and potentially more cost-effective hypofractionated radiation therapy (RT) regimens in many clinical scenarios for breast cancer (BC) and prostate cancer (PC). However, practice patterns vary considerably. We used the most recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data to assess trends in RT cost and practice patterns among episodes of BC and PC.

Access and barriers to genomic classifiers for breast cancer and prostate cancer in India.

The incidence of cancer in general, including breast and prostate cancer specifically, is increasing in India. Breast and prostate cancers have genomic classifiers developed to guide therapy decisions. However, these genomic classifiers are often inaccessible in India due to high cost.

Trends in Location of Death for Individuals With Ovarian Cancer in the United States.

Using the publicly available Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's WONDER (Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research) database from 2003 to 2019, we evaluated associations between decedent characteristics and location of death for patients with ovarian malignancy. We found that Black, Native American, Asian American, and Hispanic patients were more likely to die in hospitals than White patients, despite an overall reduction in hospital deaths and an overall increase in hospice facility deaths. Additionally, patients with lesser educational attainment were more likely to die in nursing facilities and less likely to die in hospice facilities.

A burden shared: the financial, psychological, and health-related consequences borne by family members and caregivers of people with cancer in India.

In India, approximately 1.4 million new cases of cancer are recorded annually, with 26.7 million people living with cancer in 2021.

Colon Cancer Disparities in Stage at Presentation and Time to Surgery for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: A Study with Disaggregated Ethnic Groups.

Background: Vast differences in barriers to care exist among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) groups and may manifest as disparities in stage at presentation and access to treatment. Thus, we characterized AANHPI patients with stage 0-IV colon cancer and examined differences in (1) stage at presentation and (2) time to surgery relative to white patients.

Patients And Methods: We assessed all patients in the National Cancer Database (NCDB) with stage 0-IV colon cancer from 2004 to 2016 who identified as white, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Native Hawaiian, Korean, Vietnamese, Laotian, Hmong, Kampuchean, Thai, Asian Indian or Pakistani, and Pacific Islander.

RNA-Binding Protein LIN28a Regulates New Myocyte Formation in the Heart Through Long Noncoding RNA-H19.

Background: Developmental cardiac tissue holds remarkable capacity to regenerate after injury and consists of regenerative mononuclear diploid cardiomyocytes. On maturation, mononuclear diploid cardiomyocytes become binucleated or polyploid and exit the cell cycle. Cardiomyocyte metabolism undergoes a profound shift that coincides with cessation of regeneration in the postnatal heart.

The Enhancing Oncology Model: Leveraging improvement science to increase health equity in value-based care.

The Oncology Care Model (OCM), launched in 2016 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was the first demonstration of value-based payment in oncology. Although the OCM delivered mixed results in terms of quality of care and total episode costs, the model had no statistically significant impact on remediating racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities among beneficiaries. These deficits have been prominent in other aspects of US healthcare, and as a result, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement has advocated for stakeholders to leverage improvement science, an applied science that focuses on implementing rapid cycles for change, to identify and overcome barriers to health equity.