Optimizing public private partnerships to support clinical cancer research.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) in cancer research have emerged as a pivotal model in the development of strategies to rapidly advance therapeutic innovations. The collaboration between public entities, such as government agencies and research institutions, and private entities, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as nonprofit organizations, brings together diverse expertise, resources, and perspectives to address the challenges of efficient drug development and equitable care delivery. This synergy has the potential to accelerate the translation of basic research findings into tangible clinical applications.

IDH Mutations in Glioma: Molecular, Cellular, Diagnostic, and Clinical Implications.

In 2021, the World Health Organization classified isocitrate dehydrogenase () mutant gliomas as a distinct subgroup of tumors with genetic changes sufficient to enable a complete diagnosis. Patients with an mutant glioma have improved survival which has been further enhanced by the advent of targeted therapies. enzymes contribute to cellular metabolism, and mutations to specific catalytic residues result in the neomorphic production of D-2-hydroxyglutarate (D-2-HG).

Racial and Ethnic Variation in Survival in Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer.

Importance: Rates of early-onset (before 50 years of age) colorectal cancer (EOCRC) are increasing, with notable differences across racial and ethnic groups. Limited data are available on EOCRC-related mortality differences when disaggregating racial and ethnic groups.

Objective: To investigate racial and ethnic differences in EOCRC mortality, including disaggregation of Asian American populations separately, including Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander populations and specific Asian American groups, and to quantify the contribution of clinical and sociodemographic factors accounting for these differences.

Improving Patient Understanding and Outcomes in Lung Cancer Using an Animated Patient's Guide with Visual Formats of Learning.

Lung cancer patient education resources that address barriers to health literacy, improve understanding, and demonstrate improved patient outcomes are limited. Our study aim was to evaluate and report on learner knowledge improvement and intent to implement behavior change, and validate the benefits of the You and Lung Cancer website and YouTube resources. Our study occurred from November 2017 to December 2023.

Trust in Black and White Breast Cancer Patients: Opportunities to Enhance Trustworthiness in Cancer Care.

Introduction: This study evaluated the relationships between patient and cancer delivery factors with trust in oncology providers in a racial/ethnically diverse group of cancer patients.

Methods: Data were analyzed from a prospective cohort study of women with hormone receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer. A standardized survey collected validated measures of trust in providers, psychosocial factors, and cancer care delivery factors.

The Together for Health - Virginia Research Program: A Multi-Modal Approach for Population Health Assessment.

Background: The Together for Health-Virginia (T4H-VA) Research Program aimed to advance cancer prevention, education, and outreach in Virginia. Creating a representative and inclusive cohort is critical to the program's mission and quality of outcomes. The T4H-VA Research Program utilized a multi-modal sampling approach to improve population health assessment.

Insulin Resistance in Women Correlates with Chromatin Histone Lysine Acetylation, Inflammatory Signaling, and Accelerated Aging.

Background: Epigenetic changes link medical, social, and environmental factors with cardiovascular and kidney disease and, more recently, with cancer. The mechanistic link between metabolic health and epigenetic changes is only starting to be investigated. In our in vitro and in vivo studies, we performed a broad analysis of the link between hyperinsulinemia and chromatin acetylation; our top "hit" was chromatin opening at H3K9ac.

Re-Envisioning Electronic Health Records to Optimize Patient-Centered Cancer Care, Quality, Surveillance, and Research.

Electronic health records (EHRs) are a significant advancement over paper records. However, the full potential of EHRs for improving care quality, patient outcomes, surveillance, and research in cancer care is yet to be realized. The organic evolution of EHRs has resulted in a number of unanticipated consequences including increased time spent by clinicians interfacing with the EHR for daily workflows.

Reflections on the state of telehealth and cancer care research and future directions.

Telemedicine has routinely been used in cancer care delivery for the past 3 years. The current state of digital health provides convenience and efficiency for both health-care professional and patient, but challenges exist in equitable access to virtual services. As increasingly newer technologies are added to telehealth platforms, it is essential to eliminate barriers to access through technical, procedural, and legislative improvements.

The Effect of Exposure to Neighborhood Violence on Glucocorticoid Receptor Signaling in Lung Tumors.

Unlabelled: Despite lower rates and intensity of smoking, Black men experience a higher incidence of lung cancer compared to white men. The racial disparity in lung cancer is particularly pronounced in Chicago, a highly segregated urban city. Neighborhood conditions, particularly social stress, may play a role in lung tumorigenesis.

Biosocial determinants inform on enduring cancer disparities.

Social, environmental, and biological risk factors influence exposures to newly termed 'biosocial determinants of health'. As molecular factors that lie at the intersection between lived experiences and individual biology, biosocial determinants may inform on the enduring complexity of cancer disparity across transdisciplinary studies.

Prostate Cancer Foundation Screening Guidelines for Black Men in the United States.

Background: In the United States, Black men are at highest risk for being diagnosed with and dying from prostate cancer. Given this disparity, we examined relevant data to establish clinical prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening guidelines for Black men in the United States.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search identified 1848 unique publications for screening.

Aspiring toward equitable benefits from genomic advances to individuals of ancestrally diverse backgrounds.

Advancements in genomic technologies have shown remarkable promise for improving health trajectories. The Human Genome Project has catalyzed the integration of genomic tools into clinical practice, such as disease risk assessment, prenatal testing and reproductive genomics, cancer diagnostics and prognostication, and therapeutic decision making. Despite the promise of genomic technologies, their full potential remains untapped without including individuals of diverse ancestries and integrating social determinants of health (SDOHs).

Rapid -R132 genotyping panel utilizing locked nucleic acid loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

While the detection of single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) is important for evaluating human health and disease, most genotyping methods require a nucleic acid extraction step and lengthy analytical times. Here, we present a protocol which utilizes the integration of locked nucleic acids (LNAs) into self-annealing loop primers for the allelic discrimination of five isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 R132 (-R132) variants using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). This genotyping panel was initially evaluated using purified synthetic DNA to show proof of specific SNV discrimination.

Lung Cancer Prevalence in Virginia: A Spatial Zipcode-Level Analysis via INLA.

Background: Examining lung cancer (LC) cases in Virginia (VA) is essential due to its significant public health implications. By studying demographic, environmental, and socioeconomic variables, this paper aims to provide insights into the underlying drivers of LC prevalence in the state adjusted for spatial associations at the zipcode level.

Methods: We model the available VA zipcode-level LC counts via (spatial) Poisson and negative binomial regression models, taking into account missing covariate data, zipcode-level spatial association and allow for overdispersion.

Cooperation between PRMT1 and PRMT6 drives lung cancer health disparities among Black/African American men.

Lung cancer is the third most common cancer with Black/AA men showing higher risk and poorer outcomes than NHW men. Lung cancer disparities are multifactorial, driven by tobacco exposure, inequities in care access, upstream health determinants, and molecular determinants including biological and genetic factors. Elevated expressions of protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) correlating with poorer prognosis have been observed in many cancers.

Role of histone variants H2BC1 and H2AZ.2 in H2AK119ub nucleosome organization and Polycomb gene silencing.

Ubiquitination of histone H2A at lysine 119 residue (H2AK119ub) plays critical roles in a wide range of physiological processes, including Polycomb gene silencing , replication , DNA damage repair , inactivation , and heterochromatin organization . However, the underlying mechanism and structural basis of H2AK119ub remains largely elusive. In this study, we report that H2AK119ub nucleosomes have a unique composition, containing histone variants H2BC1 and H2AZ.

Mi-CARE: Comparing Three Evidence-Based Interventions to Promote Colorectal Cancer Screening among Ethnic Minorities within Three Different Clinical Contexts.

Multiple evidence-based interventions (EBIs) have been developed to improve the completion of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening within Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other safety net settings in marginalized communities. Little effort has been made, however, to evaluate their relative effectiveness across different clinical contexts and populations. To this end, we tested the relative effectiveness of three EBIs (mailed birthday cards, lay navigation, and provider-delivered education) among a convenience sample of 1252 patients (aged 50-75 years old, who were due for CRC screening and scheduled for a visit at one of three clinics within a network of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in the United States.

Commentary: Some water in the data desert: the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network's capacity to guide mitigation of cancer health disparities.

Despite significant progress in cancer research and treatment, a persistent knowledge gap exists in understanding and addressing cancer care disparities, particularly among populations that are marginalized. This knowledge deficit has led to a "data divide," where certain groups lack adequate representation in cancer-related data, hindering their access to personalized and data-driven cancer care. This divide disproportionately affects marginalized and minoritized communities such as the U.

Rapid extraction-free detection of the R132H isocitrate dehydrogenase mutation in glioma using colorimetric peptide nucleic acid-loop mediated isothermal amplification (CPNA-LAMP).

The R132H isocitrate dehydrogenase one (IDH1) mutation is a prognostic biomarker present in a subset of gliomas and is associated with heightened survival when paired with aggressive surgical resection. In this study, we establish proof-of-principle for rapid colorimetric detection of the IDH1-R132H mutation in tumor samples in under 1 hour without the need for a nucleic acid extraction. Colorimetric peptide nucleic acid loop-mediated isothermal amplification (CPNA-LAMP) utilizes 4 conventional LAMP primers, a blocking PNA probe complementary to the wild-type sequence, and a self-annealing loop primer complementary to the single nucleotide variant to only amplify the DNA sequence containing the mutation.

Gene Screening in High-Throughput Right-Censored Lung Cancer Data.

Background: Advances in sequencing technologies have allowed collection of massive genome-wide information that substantially advances lung cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Identifying influential markers for clinical endpoints of interest has been an indispensable and critical component of the statistical analysis pipeline. However, classical variable selection methods are not feasible or reliable for high-throughput genetic data.