Management of Breast Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Stage- and Subtype-Specific Approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly changed delivery of cancer care. Many nonurgent surgeries are delayed to preserve hospital resources, and patient visits to health care settings are limited to reduce exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Providers must carefully weigh risks and benefits of delivering immunosuppressive therapy during the pandemic.

Computer-Aided Laser Dissection: A Microdissection Workflow Leveraging Image Analysis Tools.

Introduction: The development and application of new molecular diagnostic assays based on next-generation sequencing and proteomics require improved methodologies for procurement of target cells from histological sections. Laser microdissection can successfully isolate distinct cells from tissue specimens based on visual selection for many research and clinical applications. However, this can be a daunting task when a large number of cells are required for molecular analysis or when a sizeable number of specimens need to be evaluated.

Improving Undergraduate Life Science Education for the Biosciences Workforce: Overcoming the Disconnect between Educators and Industry.

The BioHealth Capital Region (Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC; BHCR) is flush with colleges and universities training students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines and has one of the most highly educated workforces in the United States. However, current educational approaches and business recruitment tactics are not drawing sufficient talent to sustain the bioscience workforce pipeline. Surveys conducted by the Mid-Atlantic Biology Research and Career Network identified a disconnect between stakeholders who are key to educating, training, and hiring college and university graduates, resulting in several impediments to workforce development in the BHCR: 1) students are underinformed or unaware of bioscience opportunities before entering college and remain so at graduation; 2) students are not job ready at the time of graduation; 3) students are mentored to pursue education beyond what is needed and are therefore overqualified (by degree) for most of the available jobs in the region; 4) undergraduate programs generally lack any focus on workforce development; and 5) few industry-academic partnerships with undergraduate institutions exist in the region.

Pulmonary Hypertension due to Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation (RFCA) for Atrial Fibrillation: The Lungs, the Atrium or the Ventricle?

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder in United States, characterised by rapid and irregular beating of both the atria resulting in the similar ventricular response. While rate and rhythm control using pharmacological regimens remain the primary management strategies in these patients, radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) is rapidly rising as an alternative modality of treatment. Increase in the incidence of RFCA has shed light on complications associated with this procedure.

Erosive Breast Cancer Metastasis to the Ankle: A Case Report.

Intra-articular tumors in the ankle are a rare presentation for metastatic disease. Metastatic breast disease presenting distal to the knee or within any joint is especially rare. We present a case of a painful intra-articular breast metastasis in a 56-year-old female with known breast carcinoma.

Stereotactic radiosurgery for the treatment of primary sarcomas and sarcoma metastases of the spine.

Objective: Spinal sarcomas pose unique treatment dilemmas because of the difficulty of achieving adequate surgical margins and/or delivering curative radiation doses (65 Gy) in close proximity to the spinal cord. This study used hypofractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) to deliver higher biologically effective doses to treat primary spinal sarcomas and spinal sarcoma metastases.

Methods: Twenty-four patients with spinal or paraspinal sarcomas entered an Institutional Review Board-approved registry trial to evaluate SRS efficacy.

Low incidence of neutropenic events in patients with lymphoma receiving first-cycle pegfilgrastim with chemotherapy: results from a prospective community-based study.

Background: Most alterations to chemotherapy dose and schedule are because of neutropenic events, which mainly occur in the first chemotherapy cycle. This prospective, community-based study evaluated the effectiveness of pegfilgrastim in patients with lymphoma who were also receiving chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: Patients aged > or = 18 years with cancer other than leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes were eligible, including patients with major comorbidities who were generally not eligible for most clinical trials.

The art and science of reviewing manuscripts for orthopaedic journals: Part II. Optimizing the manuscript: practical hints for improving the quality of reviews.

Manuscripts submitted to musculoskeletal journals have several key components that need to be critically evaluated. There are specific methods to assess the abstract, illustrations, references, and other major elements of a manuscript under review. If each of these elements is assessed methodically, not only does the quality of the review improve, but it becomes more useful for the journal editor.

The art and science of reviewing manuscripts for orthopaedic journals: Part I. Defining the review.

The peer review process is integral to the functioning of all scientific journals and plays a pivotal role in the publication of new scientific material. Timeliness, freedom from bias, and proper review etiquette are essential for an effective review. Each type of scientific article demands a slightly different reviewing technique.

Brief-duration high-intensity chemotherapy for patients with small noncleaved-cell lymphoma or FAB L3 acute lymphocytic leukemia: results of cancer and leukemia group B study 9251.

Purpose: To define the activity and feasibility of brief-duration high-intensity chemotherapy for adults with small noncleaved, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (SNC) and the L3 variant of acute lymphocytic leukemia (L3 ALL).

Patients And Methods: Seventy-five adults with either SNC or L3 ALL (median age, 44 years) were treated with an aggressive regimen that consisted of one cycle of cyclophosphamide and prednisone followed by cycles containing either ifosfamide or cyclophosphamide; high-dose methotrexate, vincristine, dexamethasone, and either doxorubicin or etoposide/cytarabine; or intrathecal triple therapy with prophylactic CNS irradiation.

Results: All 24 patients with L3 ALL and the 30 of 51 patients with SNC confirmed by central histologic review were included in this analysis.