Publications by authors named "William Grady"

Multigene panel testing has allowed for the detection of a growing number of inherited pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in people at high risk of cancer, including endometrial cancer (EC). Hereditary syndromes associated with EC include Lynch syndrome, PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome, and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. This manuscript provides the latest recommendations from the NCCN Guidelines for Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Colorectal, Endometrial, and Gastric on the screening and management of EC in patients at high risk for these syndromes, as well as the advantages and limitations of multigene panel testing.

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  • - The study investigates how the gut microbiome is related to colorectal cancer (CRC) and health, finding that about 23-40% of gut bacteria are associated with either CRC or overall health.
  • - Researchers utilized advanced sequencing techniques to identify and analyze protein-coding gene clusters, discovering 2,319 co-abundant gene clusters related to CRC, including many previously unknown bacteria linked to the disease.
  • - The findings provide evidence that certain gut bacteria can influence precancerous conditions in the colon and suggest that understanding these microbial connections could lead to new cancer prevention strategies.
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Alterations within the tryptophan-kynurenine metabolic pathway have been linked to the etiology of colorectal cancer (CRC), but the relevance of this pathway for prognostic outcomes in CRC patients needs further elucidation. Therefore, we investigated associations between circulating concentrations of tryptophan-kynurenine pathway metabolites and all-cause mortality among CRC patients. This study utilizes data from 2102 stage I-III CRC patients participating in six prospective cohorts involved in the international FOCUS Consortium.

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Aim: Insufficient adherence to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening impedes individual and population health benefits, with about one-third of individuals non-adherent to available screening options. The impact of poor adherence is inadequately considered in most health economics models, limiting the evaluation of real-world population-level screening outcomes. This study introduces the CAN-SCREEN (Colorectal cANcer SCReening Economics and adherENce) model, utilizing real-world adherence scenarios to assess the effectiveness of a blood-based test (BBT) compared to existing strategies.

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Introduction: Early neoplastic progression of Barrett's esophagus (BE) is often treated with endoscopic therapy. Although effective, some patients are refractory to therapy or recur after apparent eradication of the BE. The goal of this study was to determine whether genomic alterations within the treated BE may be associated with persistent or recurrent disease.

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While epigenomic alterations are common in colorectal cancers (CRC), few epigenomic biomarkers that risk-stratify patients have been identified. We thus sought to determine the potential of promoter hypermethylation (m) as a prognostic and predictive marker in colon cancer. We examined the association of m with clinicopathologic features, relapse, survival, and treatment efficacy in patients with stage III colon cancer treated within a randomized adjuvant chemotherapy trial (CALGB/Alliance89803).

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Article Synopsis
  • - Research on precancers is crucial because early intervention is more effective for treatment, focusing on at-risk tissues and early lesions.
  • - There is a need for risk stratification to avoid overtreatment, highlighting the importance of genetic and epigenetic aging in assessing risk levels.
  • - Effective intervention and health policy strategies should integrate both macroenvironmental risk factors and the molecular and cellular aspects of lesions and at-risk tissues.
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Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer in adults in the United States. Early detection could prevent more than 90% of colorectal cancer-related deaths, yet more than one third of the screening-eligible population is not up to date with screening despite multiple available tests. A blood-based test has the potential to improve screening adherence, detect colorectal cancer earlier, and reduce colorectal cancer-related mortality.

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Loneliness may exacerbate poor health outcomes particularly among cancer survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about the risk factors of loneliness among cancer survivors. We evaluated the risk factors of loneliness in the context of COVID-19 pandemic-related prevention behaviors and lifestyle/psychosocial factors among cancer survivors.

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Advanced age is the largest risk factor for many diseases and several types of cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Senescent cells are known to accumulate with age in various tissues, where they can modulate the surrounding tissue microenvironment through their senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Recently, we showed that there is an increased number of senescent cells in the colons of CRC patients and demonstrated that senescent fibroblasts and their SASP create microniches in the colon that are conducive to CRC onset and progression.

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Background The natural history of colorectal polyps is not well characterized due to clinical standards of care and other practical constraints limiting in vivo longitudinal surveillance. Established CT colonography (CTC) clinical screening protocols allow surveillance of small (6-9 mm) polyps. Purpose To assess the natural history of colorectal polyps followed with CTC in a clinical screening program, with histopathologic correlation for resected polyps.

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  • * This study grouped EAC patients into those with prior GERD symptoms and those without, examining demographics, risk factors, and cancer stage to identify differences between the two cohorts.
  • * Findings indicate that despite similar characteristics, prior GERD patients were more likely to have a history of Barrett's esophagus (BE), and stress the importance of screening for all EAC patients, not just those with GERD symptoms.
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  • Despite only about 60% adherence to colorectal cancer screening recommendations in the US, researchers are exploring the cost-effectiveness of liquid biopsy tests as an alternative screening method.
  • A Markov model was created to compare multiple screening options including colonoscopy, stool DNA, fecal immunochemical tests, and liquid biopsy, assessing factors like adherence rates and life expectancy.
  • Results indicated that colonoscopy remains the most cost-effective strategy, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $28,071 per life-year gained, making it preferable over other screening methods like liquid biopsy.
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Background & Aims: The aim of this study was to characterize baseline morphologic features of crypts in nondysplastic Barrett's esophagus and correlate them with DNA content abnormalities and risk of progression to high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC).

Methods: The morphologic features of nondysplastic crypts in baseline biopsy specimens from 212 BE patients (2956 biopsy specimens) were graded histologically using a 4-point scale (crypt atypia levels, 0-3). DNA content abnormalities were detected using flow cytometry.

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Unlabelled: Mechanisms for ()-driven stomach cancer are not fully understood. In a transgenic mouse model of gastric preneoplasia, concomitant infection and induction of constitutively active KRAS (+KRAS+) alters metaplasia phenotypes and elicits greater inflammation than either perturbation alone. Gastric single-cell RNA sequencing showed that +KRAS+ mice had a large population of metaplastic pit cells that expressed the intestinal mucin and the growth factor amphiregulin Flow cytometry and IHC-based immune profiling revealed that metaplastic pit cells were associated with macrophage and T-cell inflammation.

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Early detection of esophageal neoplasia via evaluation of endoscopic surveillance biopsies is the key to maximizing survival for patients with Barrett's esophagus, but it is hampered by the sampling limitations of conventional slide-based histopathology. Comprehensive evaluation of whole biopsies with 3-dimensional (3D) pathology may improve early detection of malignancies, but large 3D pathology data sets are tedious for pathologists to analyze. Here, we present a deep learning-based method to automatically identify the most critical 2-dimensional (2D) image sections within 3D pathology data sets for pathologists to review.

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Background: CDH1 gene mutations are the leading etiology of hereditary diffuse gastric cancer with cumulative lifetime risk ranging up to 83%. Prophylactic total gastrectomy (PTG) is, therefore, recommended for CDH1 carriers. A laparoscopic approach may reduce operative risk versus an open operation, thus leading more patients with CDH1 mutations to pursue PTG prior to cancer development.

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Background And Aims: The natural history of small polyps is not well established and rests on limited evidence from barium enema studies decades ago. Patients with one or two small polyps (6-9 mm) at screening CT colonography (CTC) are offered CTC surveillance at 3 years but may elect immediate colonoscopy. This practice allows direct observation of the growth of subcentimetre polyps, with histopathological correlation in patients undergoing subsequent polypectomy.

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  • Scientists are finding new ways to test for colorectal cancer that are easier and less invasive than traditional methods.
  • A group of experts updated the rules for how to evaluate these new tests to make sure they're effective.
  • The new tests should be compared to the existing reliable tests and go through several phases of research to ensure they're safe and useful in real-world situations.
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Background: Individuals with adenomatous colorectal polyps undergo repeated colonoscopy surveillance to identify and remove metachronous adenomas. However, many patients with adenomas do not develop recurrent adenomas. Better methods to evaluate who benefits from increased surveillance are needed.

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Background: The detection of peritoneal metastasis (PM) is limited by current imaging tools. In this prospective study, we aimed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of peritoneal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for diagnosis of PM.

Methods: Colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with/without PM were enrolled.

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The multi-step process of carcinogenesis implies the existence of pre-malignant yet altered states that involve both the potentially carcinogenic cell as well as its surrounding microenvironment. Experts discuss some tumor types for which clear pre-cancerous stages have been identified and mention key biological alterations used for diagnosis and intervention strategies.

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Context.—: Anatomic pathologists render diagnosis on tissue samples sectioned onto glass slides and viewed under a bright-field microscope. This approach is destructive to the sample, which can limit its use for ancillary assays that can inform patient management.

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