Validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the Peace, Equanimity, and Acceptance in the Cancer Experience (PEACE) questionnaire.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the Peace, Equanimity, and Acceptance in the Cancer Experience questionnaire (PEACE-J) and to evaluate the association between the PEACE subscales and Japanese patient characteristics.

Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted among 412 patients with cancer. This survey assessed medical and demographic factors, such as the PEACE, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Spiritual well-being (FACIT-Sp).

How to ask: Surveying nursing directors of nursing homes.

Background And Aims: Nursing home research may involve eliciting information from managers, yet response rates for Directors of Nursing have not been recently studied. As a part of a more extensive study, we surveyed all nursing homes in three states in 2018 and 2019, updating how to survey these leaders effectively. We focus on response rates as a measure of non-response error and comparison of nursing home's characteristics to their population values as a measure of representation error.

Characteristics of patients ≥10 years of age with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma: a report from the International DIPG/DMG Registry.

Background: Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG) generally occur in young school-age children, although can occur in adolescents and young adults. The purpose of this study was to describe clinical, radiological, pathologic, and molecular characteristics in patients ≥10 years of age with DIPG enrolled in the International DIPG Registry (IDIPGR).

Methods: Patients ≥10 years of age at diagnosis enrolled in the IDIPGR with imaging confirmed DIPG diagnosis were included.

Management of therapeutic unfractionated heparin in COVID-19 patients: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Patients hospitalized with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection are at risk for thrombotic complications necessitating use of therapeutic unfractionated heparin (UFH). Full-dose anticoagulation limits requirements for organ support interventions in moderately ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Given this benefit, it is important to evaluate response to therapeutic anticoagulation in this population.

Evaluation of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures of Positive Psychosocial Constructs in Children and Adolescent/Young Adults with Cancer: A Systematic Review of Measurement Properties.

Children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer are a vulnerable population in whom improvements in psycho-oncology care would be valuable. We previously published a scoping review exploring what is known about positive psychological constructs in this population. A key finding was that evidence-based patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) were needed to standardize psycho-oncology research.

"What Matters to Me": What pediatric stem cell transplant patients want their providers to know.

Objectives: Engagement of pediatric patients in conversations about their healthcare can lead to better psychological and physical outcomes. We used a communication tool called "What Matters to Me" (WMTM) to provide insight into what seriously ill children want to tell their healthcare providers about what is important to them.

Research Approach: Content analysis of completed tools.

Identifying key questions in the ecology and evolution of cancer.

The application of evolutionary and ecological principles to cancer prevention and treatment, as well as recognizing cancer as a selection force in nature, has gained impetus over the last 50 years. Following the initial theoretical approaches that combined knowledge from interdisciplinary fields, it became clear that using the eco-evolutionary framework is of key importance to understand cancer. We are now at a pivotal point where accumulating evidence starts to steer the future directions of the discipline and allows us to underpin the key challenges that remain to be addressed.

Time-resolved phosphoproteomics reveals scaffolding and catalysis-responsive patterns of SHP2-dependent signaling.

SHP2 is a protein tyrosine phosphatase that normally potentiates intracellular signaling by growth factors, antigen receptors, and some cytokines, yet is frequently mutated in human cancer. Here, we examine the role of SHP2 in the responses of breast cancer cells to EGF by monitoring phosphoproteome dynamics when SHP2 is allosterically inhibited by SHP099. The dynamics of phosphotyrosine abundance at more than 400 tyrosine residues reveal six distinct response signatures following SHP099 treatment and washout.

Addition of rituximab in relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia after progression on venetoclax monotherapy.

Venetoclax is approved as monotherapy and in combination with rituximab for relapsed/refractory (R/R) chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Two Phase 1 studies (M12-175 [NCT01328626]; M13-365 [NCT01682616]) were conducted in which patients who initially responded and then progressed on venetoclax monotherapy could receive added rituximab. Ten patients were evaluated (M12-175, n = 8; M13-365, n = 2), and five (50%) responded again upon addition of rituximab, including three complete and two partial responses.

Risk of induced abortions in childhood cancer survivors.

Background: The relative probability of pregnancy and parenthood in cancer survivors is reduced. Studies have shown that cancer survivors are concerned about the health of their offspring and the recurrence of their own cancer. This could lead to an increased risk of induced abortion.

Trends in Early Mortality From Multiple Myeloma: A Population-Based Analysis.

Introduction: Despite significant improvements in multiple myeloma (MM) treatment modalities, patient mortality early in the course of disease has been identified as a persistent phenomenon with variable reported rates and causes. Trends in early mortality over time have not been clearly defined.

Patients And Methods: The Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify adult patients with MM between 1975 and 2015.

Identification of Evidence for Key Positive Psychological Constructs in Pediatric and Adolescent/Young Adult Patients with Cancer: A Scoping Review.

Children and adolescents/young adults (AYAs) with cancer are a vulnerable population susceptible to numerous late effects, such as fatigue and depression, which may diminish their long-term psychological, physical, spiritual, and emotional health. A well-rounded understanding of how positive psychological constructs affect the quality of care and treatment outcomes is therefore warranted. We conducted a scoping review of 15 positive psychological constructs in children and AYAs with cancer.

An Embryonic Diapause-like Adaptation with Suppressed Myc Activity Enables Tumor Treatment Persistence.

Treatment-persistent residual tumors impede curative cancer therapy. To understand this cancer cell state we generated models of treatment persistence that simulate the residual tumors. We observe that treatment-persistent tumor cells in organoids, xenografts, and cancer patients adopt a distinct and reversible transcriptional program resembling that of embryonic diapause, a dormant stage of suspended development triggered by stress and associated with suppressed Myc activity and overall biosynthesis.

Circulating tumor cell analysis in locally advanced and metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Background: Circulating tumors cells (CTCs) are considered an early step towards metastasis and have been linked to poor prognosis in several types of cancer. CTCs in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) have an unclear role.

Methods: In this prospective study, patients with locally advanced or metastatic SCCHN had CTC counts assessed before starting systemic treatment using the CellSearch System.

Validation of the caregiver Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events measure.

Background: Despite improvements in survival rates, cancer treatments have significant side effects that affect the quality of life of children and their families. When an ill child cannot self-report symptoms (eg, he or she is too ill), caregiver (parent) reporting becomes critical. This study evaluates the validity and reliability of the caregiver-reported Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (Ped-PRO-CTCAE [Caregiver]) measure.

Early-Life Body Adiposity and the Breast Tumor Transcriptome.

Background: Cumulative epidemiologic evidence has shown that early-life adiposity is strongly inversely associated with breast cancer risk throughout life, independent of adult obesity. However, the molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood.

Methods: We assessed the association of early-life adiposity, defined as self-reported body size during ages 10-20 years from a validated 9-level pictogram, with the transcriptome of breast tumor (N = 835) and tumor-adjacent histologically normal tissue (N = 663) in the Nurses' Health Study.

Neighborhood poverty and pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation outcomes: a CIBMTR analysis.

Social determinants of health, including poverty, contribute significantly to health outcomes in the United States; however, their impact on pediatric hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) outcomes is poorly understood. We aimed to identify the association between neighborhood poverty and HCT outcomes for pediatric allogeneic HCT recipients in the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research database. We assembled 2 pediatric cohorts undergoing first allogeneic HCT from 2006 to 2015 at age ≤18 years, including 2053 children with malignant disease and 1696 children with nonmalignant disease.

Molecular Landscape and Actionable Alterations in a Genomically Guided Cancer Clinical Trial: National Cancer Institute Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (NCI-MATCH).

Purpose: Therapeutically actionable molecular alterations are widely distributed across cancer types. The National Cancer Institute Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (NCI-MATCH) trial was designed to evaluate targeted therapy antitumor activity in underexplored cancer types. Tumor biopsy specimens were analyzed centrally with next-generation sequencing (NGS) in a master screening protocol.

Pediatric cancer communication in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review.

The burden of global childhood cancer lies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Communication is essential to pediatric cancer care, and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has defined 6 functions of communication between patients, family members, and providers, including 1) fostering healing relationships, 2) responding to emotions, 3) exchanging information, 4) making decisions, 5) managing uncertainty, and 6) enabling self-management. Nevertheless, communication needs and practices in LMICs remain incompletely understood.

A prospective study of pediatric and adolescent renal cell carcinoma: A report from the Children's Oncology Group AREN0321 study.

Background: To the authors' knowledge, AREN0321 is the first prospective clinical study of pediatric and adolescent renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Goals of the study included establishing epidemiological, treatment, and outcome data and confirming that patients with completely resected pediatric RCC, including lymph node-positive disease (N1), have a favorable prognosis without adjuvant therapy.

Methods: From 2006 to 2012, patients aged <30 years with centrally reviewed pathology of RCC were enrolled prospectively.

Longitudinal health-related quality of life in first-line treated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Results from the Connect CLL Registry.

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is important in guiding treatment decisions. However, the impact of CLL treatment initiation on HRQoL is unclear. We assessed HRQoL using the FACT-Leu and EQ-5D-3L questionnaires in the Connect CLL Registry, a large, US-based, multicenter, prospective observational study of CLL patients enrolled between 2010 and 2014, prior to the introduction of novel therapies.

Anticoagulation after intracranial hemorrhage in brain tumors: Risk of recurrent hemorrhage and venous thromboembolism.

Background: Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is a common and often devastating outcome in patients with brain tumors. Despite this, there is little evidence to guide anticoagulation management following an initial ICH event.

Objectives: To analyze the risk of recurrent hemorrhagic and thrombotic outcomes after an initial ICH event in patients with brain tumors and prior venous thromboembolism (VTE).