Association between prediagnostic leukocyte telomere length and breast cancer risk: the Singapore Chinese Health Study.

Background: Telomeres and telomerase play key roles in the chromosomal maintenance and stability. Recent epidemiological studies have shown that longer telomeres are associated with increased risk of several cancer types. However, epidemiological data for telomere length and risk of breast cancer are sparse.

A Multi-faceted Intervention Aimed at Black-White Disparities in the Treatment of Early Stage Cancers: The ACCURE Pragmatic Quality Improvement trial.

Background: Reports continue to show that Blacks with curable lung or breast cancer complete treatment less often than similar Whites contributing to worse survival. ACCURE is an intervention trial designed to address this problem.

Patients And Methods: A pragmatic, quality improvement trial comparing an intervention group to retrospective and concurrent controls.

Shared heritability and functional enrichment across six solid cancers.

Quantifying the genetic correlation between cancers can provide important insights into the mechanisms driving cancer etiology. Using genome-wide association study summary statistics across six cancer types based on a total of 296,215 cases and 301,319 controls of European ancestry, here we estimate the pair-wise genetic correlations between breast, colorectal, head/neck, lung, ovary and prostate cancer, and between cancers and 38 other diseases. We observed statistically significant genetic correlations between lung and head/neck cancer (r = 0.

Window Studies in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: Values and Limits.

In head and neck cancer, we continue to work towards a more personalized approach to treatment of patients, where analysis of a patient's tumor guides targeting of molecular or immunologic pathways. Critically important to this pursuit is a better understanding of the direct biologic effect of a drug or combination on the tumor microenvironment in humans, as well as biomarker discovery. These goals are consistent with the primary purpose of a "window of opportunity" trial and while conduct of these trials requires a careful balance of benefits and potential risks, to date these trials have been both feasible and safe in HNSCC in the curative intent setting.

Diagnostic Advances in Urine Cytology.

The utility of urine cytology has shifted from the identification of red blood cells, crystals, or parasites to its currently used role of detection of cancer cells exfoliated in urine samples. A variety of ancillary tests have been developed to complement the diagnostic ability of urine cytology. Furthermore, urine testing will continue to evolve as the pathogenesis of genitourinary tract diseases in depth is understood.

Case-control study of PD-1, PD-L1 and B7-H3 expression in lung cancer patients with and without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

Objective: Co-signaling molecules PD-L1, B7-H3, and PD-1 play a key role in cancer immunology. There are limited but emerging data on expression of these molecules in HIV-infected lung cancer patients.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed archived lung cancer tissue samples from HIV-infected cases (n = 13) and HIV-uninfected controls (n = 13) from 2001-2015.

Occupational exposure to endocrine disrupting substances and the risk of breast Cancer: the Singapore Chinese health study.

Background: Evidence from basic research links exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) with a higher risk for breast cancer. However, there is less evidence from observational epidemiological research and the results are equivocal. Therefore, we examined the association between occupational exposure to substances where exposure to EDCs is likely and the risk of breast cancer.

Inflammatory biomarker in adipose stem cells of women with endometrial cancer.

Aim: To explore inflammatory biomarkers secreted by adipose stem cells (ASCs) in omental, retroperitoneal and subcutaneous adipose tissues of women with endometrial cancer.

Patients & Methods: ASCs were collected from 22 women, aged 35-83 years, undergoing hysterectomy for endometrial cancer. Angiopoietin-2, EGF, IL-8, leptin, VEGFA, VEGFC and VEFGD levels in the ASC-conditioned media were analyzed by Luminex.

Retrospective study of nivolumab for patients with recurrent high grade gliomas.

Introduction: Patients with recurrent high-grade gliomas (HGG) have limited treatment options. HGG utilize the PD-1 pathway to evade immune responses. Checkpoint inhibitors have demonstrated safety and clinical activity in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

Adjuvant Therapy in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer and Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma.

This article summarizes the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in muscle-invasive and transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and upper urinary tract.

Telomere length and risk of developing gastric adenocarcinoma: The Singapore Chinese Health Study.

Background: Extreme telomere length has been previously reported to be associated with increased risk of gastric cancer. However, evidence from prospective studies on a relative large sample size with long-term follow-up to further corroborate previous study findings is meager.

Methods: The association between peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length and risk of gastric adenocarcinoma was prospectively examined in a cohort of 26,540 middle-aged or older Chinese nested in the Singapore Chinese Health Study.

Phase 2 study of intermittent pulse dacomitinib in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancers.

Background: Dacomitinib is a second-generation, irreversible epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). Pre-clinical data suggest that intermittent pulsatile dosing of dacomitinib may result in inhibition of EGFR T790M.

Methods: We evaluated safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of intermittent pulsatile dacomitinib in both molecularly unselected patients and patients with lung cancers harboring EGFR T790M (Clinical Trial Registration Number NCT01858389).

Racial differences in symptom management experiences during breast cancer treatment.

Purpose: Racial disparities in cancer treatment-related symptom burden are well documented and linked to worse treatment outcomes. Yet, little is known about racial differences in patients' treatment-related symptom management experiences. Such understanding can help identify modifiable drivers of symptom burden inequities.

Changes in inflammatory endometrial cancer risk biomarkers in individuals undergoing surgical weight loss.

Objective: Obesity has been strongly linked to endometrial cancer (EC) risk. A number of potential EC risk biomarkers have been proposed, including heightened pro-inflammatory cytokines and adipokines. To evaluate if bariatric surgery can serve as a means for altering levels of such EC risk biomarkers, we investigated changes in these biomarkers after weight loss.

Immunotherapy in genitourinary malignancies.

Treatment of cancer patients involves a multidisciplinary approach including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Traditionally, patients with metastatic disease are treated with combination chemotherapies or targeted agents. These cytotoxic agents have good response rates and achieve palliation; however, complete responses are rarely seen.

The use of immunotherapy in the treatment of melanoma.

Patients with advanced melanoma have a compromised anti-tumor immune response leading to tumor immune tolerance and a tumor microenvironment conducive to disease progression. Immunotherapy that successfully overcomes this tumor-mediated immune suppression has made the greatest impact in the management of this disease over the past few years. This progress through immunotherapy builds upon earlier successes that interferon-α had in the treatment of melanoma in the adjuvant setting, as well as that of high-dose interleukin-2 in advanced melanoma.

Adjuvant Therapy for Melanoma.

Systemic adjuvant therapy for surgically resected cutaneous melanoma that is at high risk for disease recurrence and death targets residual micrometastatic disease which is the source of future local or distant relapse. Interferon-alfa (IFNα) has been the most extensively studied in regimens that varied by dosage, route of administration, formulation, and duration of therapy. Most regimens have demonstrated improvements in relapse-free survival (RFS), while the regimen administered at high dosage (HDI) showed improvements in overall survival (OS) in two out of three RCTs.

Factors related to lifestyle goal achievement in a diabetes prevention program dissemination study.

The U.S. Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) showed that lifestyle participants who achieved ≥7% weight loss and ≥150 min/week physical activity experienced the greatest reduction in type 2 diabetes incidence.

Suppressive IL-17AFoxp3 and ex-Th17 IL-17AFoxp3 T cells are a source of tumour-associated T cells.

Th17 and regulatory T (T) cells are integral in maintaining immune homeostasis and Th17-T imbalance is associated with inflammatory immunosuppression in cancer. Here we show that Th17 cells are a source of tumour-induced Foxp3 cells. In addition to natural (n)T and induced (i)T cells that develop from naive precursors, suppressive IL-17AFoxp3 and ex-Th17 Foxp3 cells are converted from IL-17AFoxp3 cells in tumour-bearing mice.

Melanoma antigen-specific effector T cell cytokine secretion patterns in patients treated with ipilimumab.

Background: In a previously reported study, patients with regionally advanced melanoma were treated with neoadjuvant ipilimumab (ipi) (Tarhini in PLoS ONE 9(2): e87705, 3). Significant changes in circulating myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC), regulatory T cells (Treg) and peptide specific type I CD4 and CD8 T cells were noted at week 6 that correlated with clinical outcome. Characterization of antigen-specific effector T cell secreted cytokines may shed insights into ipi associated T cell activation and function.

Pesticide exposure and liver cancer: a review.

Purpose: To review the epidemiologic literature examining pesticide exposure and liver cancer incidence.

Methods: A search of the MEDLINE and Embase databases was conducted in October 2015. Eligibility criteria included examining hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or primary liver cancer, pesticides as an exposure of interest, and individual-level incidence.

Composite protective lifestyle factors and risk of developing gastric adenocarcinoma: the Singapore Chinese Health Study.

Background: Incidence of gastric cancer is the highest in Eastern Asia. Multiple modifiable lifestyle factors have been identified as risk factors for gastric cancer. However, their aggregated effect on the risk of gastric cancer has not been examined among populations with high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori.

A phase 1 study of the pharmacokinetics of nucleoside analog trifluridine and thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor tipiracil (components of TAS-102) vs trifluridine alone.

Background Trifluridine, a thymidine-based chemotherapeutic, has limited bioavailability after clinical administration as it is rapidly degraded via thymidine phosphorylase. An oral combination tablet combines trifluridine with a potent thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor, tipiracil hydrochloride. This study's objective was to evaluate whether trifluridine/tipiracil (TAS-102) administration increases trifluridine exposure vs trifluridine alone.

The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer consensus statement on immunotherapy for the treatment of hematologic malignancies: multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and acute leukemia.

Increasing knowledge concerning the biology of hematologic malignancies as well as the role of the immune system in the control of these diseases has led to the development and approval of immunotherapies that are resulting in impressive clinical responses. Therefore, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) convened a hematologic malignancy Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines panel consisting of physicians, nurses, patient advocates, and patients to develop consensus recommendations for the clinical application of immunotherapy for patients with multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and acute leukemia. These recommendations were developed following the previously established process based on the Institute of Medicine's clinical practice guidelines.