Publications by authors named "Thomas C Tucker"
Article Synopsis
- The introduction discusses the concerns surrounding the use of disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease, such as their clinical benefits, risks, costs, and the hesitation of clinicians to prescribe them.
- The study compares lecanemab, an anti-amyloid therapy for Alzheimer's, with four other biologic agents used in various diseases, focusing on their costs, benefits, and risks.
- Results indicate that the costs, clinical benefits, and safety of anti-amyloid therapies are similar to those of the other biologics, suggesting a promising future for Alzheimer's treatments.
Importance: US cancer diagnoses were substantially lower than expected during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A national study on the extent to which rates recovered in 2021 has not yet been conducted.
Objective: To examine observed vs expected cancer rate trends for January 2020 to December 2021.
Article Synopsis
- Dementia and cancer are increasingly common, complex health issues, with cancer research making significant strides in treatment while dementia research lags behind.
- Current cancer trial practices emphasize the importance of allowing patients to choose between standard and experimental treatments despite risks, a concept that could be applied to dementia research given its high morbidity and mortality rates.
- Fear and concern about dementia are widely recognized, suggesting a need to rethink restrictions on patient participation in clinical trials, which could potentially provide benefits even to those in placebo groups.
Background: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program with the National Cancer Institute tested whether population-based cancer registries can serve as honest brokers to acquire tissue and data in the SEER-Linked Virtual Tissue Repository (VTR) Pilot.
Methods: We collected formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue and clinical data from patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and breast cancer (BC) for two studies comparing cancer cases with highly unusual survival (≥5 years for PDAC and ≤30 months for BC) to pair-matched controls with usual survival (≤2 years for PDAC and ≥5 years for BC). Success was defined as the ability for registries to acquire tissue and data on cancer cases with highly unusual outcomes.
Objective: To examine population-level scrotal cancer incidence rates and trends among adult men in the United States.
Methods: Data from the United States Cancer Statistics, covering approximately 96% of the United States population, were analyzed to calculate age-standardized incidence rates of scrotal cancer among men aged 18 years and older from 1999 to 2020. Trends in incidence rates were evaluated by age, race and ethnicity, Census region, and histology using joinpoint regression.
We estimated the population-level incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal, cervical, and anal cancers by smoking status. We combined HPV DNA genotyping data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Cancer Registry Sentinel Surveillance System with data from the Kentucky Cancer Registry and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System across smoking status. During 2004-2005 and 2014-2015 in Kentucky, most cases of oropharyngeal (63.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the normal course of cancer screening and detection in the US. A nationwide analysis of the extent of this disruption using cancer registry data has not been conducted.
Objective: To assess the observed and expected cancer rate trends for March through December 2020 using data from all 50 US states and the District of Columbia.
Background: Depression is common among breast cancer patients and can affect concordance with guideline-recommended treatment plans. Yet, the impact of depression on cancer treatment and survival is understudied, particularly in relation to the timing of the depression diagnosis.
Methods: The Kentucky Cancer Registry data was used to identify female patients diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer who were 20 years of age or older in 2007-2011.
A small percentage of bladder cancers in the general population have been found to harbor DNA viruses. In contrast, up to 25% of tumors of solid organ transplant recipients, who are at an increased risk of developing bladder cancer and have an overall poorer outcomes, harbor BK polyomavirus (BKPyV). To better understand the biology of the tumors and the mechanisms of carcinogenesis from potential oncoviruses, we performed whole genome and transcriptome sequencing on bladder cancer specimens from 43 transplant patients.
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- Scrotal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are rare cancers previously thought not to be linked to HPV, but recent studies show evidence of HPV presence in these tumors.
- A study examined scrotal SCC cases from cancer registries using tissue samples and HPV testing, confirming the morphology of the tumors.
- Out of five identified cases, two were HPV-positive (HPV16) with p16 overexpression, suggesting a potential link between HPV and the development of scrotal SCC.
Introduction: Tumors of the central nervous system are among the leading causes of cancer-related death in children. Population-based cancer survival reflects the overall effectiveness of a health care system in managing cancer. Inequity in access to care world-wide may result in survival disparities.
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- Population-based cancer survival rates offer insights into how well health systems care for individuals with cancer, particularly marginalized groups.
- Analysis of CONCORD-2 data showed notable differences in 5-year survival rates for various cancers among different socioeconomic status (SES) groups in Canada and the United States from 2004-2009.
- Findings suggest that improved access to healthcare may contribute to better survival rates among younger Canadian adults in lower SES groups, while older Americans may benefit from screening and health insurance, indicating that age and SES play significant roles in cancer survival outcomes.
Article Synopsis
- US cancer registries are used to monitor the prevalence of HPV types in cervical cancers, comparing data before and after the HPV vaccine was introduced.
- The study analyzed archived tissue samples from both prevaccine (1993-2005) and postvaccine (2014-2015) periods across multiple states to assess HPV prevalence in high-grade cervical precancers and invasive cervical cancers.
- The results showed no significant difference in HPV-type prevalence between the two time periods, possibly due to low vaccination rates and a small number of cases in the postvaccine study; ongoing monitoring remains crucial for evaluating the vaccine's effectiveness.
Context.—: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry program is currently evaluating the use of archival, diagnostic, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue obtained through SEER cancer registries, functioning as honest brokers for deidentified tissue and associated data. To determine the feasibility of this potential program, laboratory policies for sharing tissue for research needed to be assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To determine differences in exceptional survival (ES)-survival of 5 years or more past diagnosis-between stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients residing in the Appalachian versus non-Appalachian regions of Kentucky.
Methods: This was a population-based, retrospective case-control study of Kentucky patients, diagnosed with stage IV NSCLC between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2011. The data were drawn from the Kentucky Cancer Registry.
Background: Cancer patients treated in community hospitals receive less guideline-recommended care and experience poorer outcomes than those treated in academic medical centers or National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Centers. The Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network (MCCAN) was designed to address this issue in Kentucky, the state with the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: A previous analysis of breast cancer care after the 2014 Medicaid expansion in Kentucky demonstrated delays in treatment despite a 12% increase in insurance coverage. This study sought to identify factors associated with treatment delays to better focus efforts for improved breast cancer care.
Methods: The Kentucky Cancer Registry was queried for adult women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between 2010 and 2016 who underwent up-front surgery.
Objectives: Uterine cancer is the nation's most common gynecologic malignancy, but it is understudied in the geographically and socioeconomically diverse state of Kentucky (KY). Our aim was to assess the frequency, distribution, and survival of uterine corpus malignancies in KY, and specifically the differences between Appalachia (AP) and non-Appalachia (NAP) KY.
Methods: This population-based cohort study used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data and the Kentucky Cancer Registry to study uterine corpus malignancy between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2014.
Some evidence indicates that carotenoids may reduce the risk of bladder cancer (BC), but the association is unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies investigating the relation between carotenoid intake or circulating carotenoid concentrations and BC risk in men and women. All relevant epidemiologic studies were identified by a search of PubMed and Scopus databases, and the Cochrane Library from inception to April 2019 with no restrictions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPopulation-based cancer registries have improved dramatically over the last 2 decades. These central cancer registries provide a critical framework that can elevate the science of cancer research. There have also been important technical and scientific advances that help to unlock the potential of population-based cancer registries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlcohol consumption is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). However, while studies have consistently reported elevated risk of CRC among heavy drinkers, associations at moderate levels of alcohol consumption are less clear. We conducted a combined analysis of 16 studies of CRC to examine the shape of the alcohol-CRC association, investigate potential effect modifiers of the association, and examine differential effects of alcohol consumption by cancer anatomic site and stage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To examine smoking and use of smoking cessation aids among tobacco-associated cancer (TAC) or non-tobacco-associated cancer (nTAC) survivors. Understanding when and if specific types of cessation resources are used can help with planning interventions to more effectively decrease smoking among all cancer survivors, but there is a lack of research on smoking cessation modalities used among cancer survivors.
Methods: Kentucky Cancer Registry data on incident lung, colorectal, pancreatic, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer cases diagnosed 2007-2011, were linked with health administrative claims data (Medicaid, Medicare, private insurers) to examine the prevalence of smoking and use of smoking cessation aids 1 year prior and 1 year following the cancer diagnosis.
Background And Aims: Rectal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a rare malignancy, and the causal role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in these cancers is thought to be similar to anal cancer. We compared type-specific prevalence of HPV in rectal SCC to anal cancer. In rectal SCC, we evaluated the agreement between HPV prevalence and positivity for p16, a marker of oncogenic activity.
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