Impact of adjuvant treatment and prognostic factors in stage I uterine leiomyosarcoma patients treated in Commission on Cancer®-accredited facilities.

Objectives: Determine the impact of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) and prognostic factors in surgically managed patients with stage I uterine leiomyosarcoma (ULMS).

Methods: Women who underwent hysterectomy and were diagnosed with stage I ULMS between 2010 and 2014 in the National Cancer Database were eligible for this observation study. Inverse probability of treatment weighting based on propensity score was used to balance clinical characteristics between ACT and no ACT patients.

Analysis of Isoforms ( and ) as Selective Inhibitors of Androgen and TGF-β Signaling Reveals Distinct Biological and Prognostic Features in Prostate Cancer.

Dysfunctions of androgen/TGF-β signaling play important roles in prostate tumorigenesis. Prostate Transmembrane Protein Androgen Induced 1 () inhibits androgen and TGF-β signaling via a negative feedback loop. The loss of confers resistance to androgen signaling inhibitors and promotes bone metastasis.

Age and Lymph Node Positivity in Patients With Colon and Rectal Cancer in the US Military Health System.

Background: Young age may be associated with an increased risk of lymph node involvement at diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Accessibility to care, which is related to cancer detection, tumor stage, and therefore lymph node positivity, may vary by age and thus influence research results.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether young patients had an increased risk of lymph node-positive colon and rectal cancers in the Department of Defense Military Health System, which provides universal health care to its beneficiaries.

Jupiter microtubule-associated homolog 1 (JPT1): A predictive and pharmacodynamic biomarker of metformin response in endometrial cancers.

Preoperative use of metformin in obese women with endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC) reduces tumor proliferation and inhibits the mammalian target of rapamycin pathway, though is only effective in select cases. This study sought to identify a predictive and/or pharmacodynamic proteomic signature of metformin response to tailor its pharmacologic use. Matched pre- and post-metformin-treated tumor tissues from a recently completed preoperative window trial of metformin in EEC patients (ClinicalTrials.

Factors related to re-excision procedures following primary breast-conserving surgery for women with breast cancer in the U.S. Military Health System.

Background And Objectives: Re-excision surgery is undertaken to obtain clear margins after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for localized breast cancer. This study examines patient and tumor characteristics related to re-excision surgery in the universal-access Military Health System (MHS).

Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients with pathologically confirmed stage I-III breast cancer between 1998 and 2014 in the Department of Defense Central Cancer Registry and MHS Data Repository-linked databases who received primary BCS.

Genomic heterogeneity in peritoneal implants: A differential analysis of gene expression using nanostring Human Cancer Reference panel identifies a malignant signature.

Objectives: Peritoneal implants of ovarian borderline serous tumors are diagnostically challenging. Distinguishing invasive from non-invasive cases is crucial for patient management. This study aims to develop a molecular signature to distinguish invasive implants with malignant potential from those with benign.

Electronic Cigarette Use and Related Factors among Active Duty Service Members in the U.S. Military.

Introduction: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are increasingly used in the U.S.A.

Racial differences in brain cancer characteristics and survival: an analysis of SEER data.

Purpose: Racial disparity with shorter survival for Blacks than Whites is well known for many cancers. However, for brain cancer, some national cancer registry studies have shown better survival among Blacks compared to Whites. This study aimed to systematically investigate whether Blacks and Whites differ in survival and also in tumor characteristics and treatment for neuroepithelial brain tumors.

Nitric Oxide Donor DETA/NO Inhibits the Growth of Endometrial Cancer Cells by Upregulating the Expression of RASSF1 and CDKN1A.

Nitric oxide (NO) is implicated in several biological processes, including cancer progression. At low concentrations, it promotes cell survival and tumor progression, and at high concentrations it causes apoptosis and cell death. Until now, the impact of NO donors has not been investigated on human endometrial tumors.

Emerging Role of Novel Biomarkers of Ly6 Gene Family in Pan Cancer.

Stem cell antigen-1 (Sca-1) is the first identified member of mouse Ly6 gene family. We discovered that Sca-1 disrupts TGFβ signaling and enhances mammary tumorigenesis in a DMBA-induced mammary tumor model. Sca-1 gene is lost during evolution in humans.

Time-to-surgery and overall survival after breast cancer diagnosis in a universal health system.

Purpose: It is unclear whether time between breast cancer diagnosis and surgery is associated with survival and whether this relationship is affected by access to care. We evaluated the association between time-to-surgery and overall survival among women in the universal-access U.S.

Evaluation of Surgical Disparities Between African American and European American Women Treated for Breast Cancer Within an Equal-Access Military Hospital.

Background: Survival disparities between African American women (AAW) and European American women (EAW) with invasive breast cancer may be attributable, in part, to access to or quality of medical care. In this study, we evaluated surgical disparities between AAW and EAW treated within an equal-access military treatment facility (MTF).

Methods: All AAW (N = 271) and EAW (N = 628) with Stage I-III breast cancer who had their initial diagnosis performed at Murtha Cancer Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center were identified.

Contribution Of Care Source To Cancer Treatment Cost Variation In The US Military Health System.

The US Military Health System (MHS) provides universal access to health care for more than nine million eligible beneficiaries through direct care in military treatment facilities or purchased care in civilian facilities. Using information from linked cancer registry and administrative databases, we examined how care source contributed to cancer treatment cost variation in the MHS for patients ages 18-64 who were diagnosed with colon, female breast, or prostate cancer in the period 2003-14. After accounting for patient, tumor, and treatment characteristics, we found the independent contribution of care source to total variation in cost to be 8 percent, 12 percent, and 2 percent for colon, breast, and prostate cancer treatment, respectively.

A Review of the Hereditary Component of Triple Negative Breast Cancer: High- and Moderate-Penetrance Breast Cancer Genes, Low-Penetrance Loci, and the Role of Nontraditional Genetic Elements.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), representing 10-15% of breast tumors diagnosed each year, is a clinically defined subtype of breast cancer associated with poor prognosis. The higher incidence of TNBC in certain populations such as young women and/or women of African ancestry and a unique pathological phenotype shared between TNBC and BRCA1-deficient tumors suggest that TNBC may be inherited through germline mutations. In this article, we describe genes and genetic elements, beyond and , which have been associated with increased risk of TNBC.

TGF-β signaling proteins and CYP24A1 may serve as surrogate markers for progesterone calcitriol treatment in ovarian and endometrial cancers of different histological types.

Background: Strategies are needed to coordinately block drivers and induce suppressors of cancer to reduce incidence and improve outcomes for individuals with inherited or acquired risk. We previously reported the chemopreventive and therapeutic efficacy of the combination of progestin and calcitriol in transformed and malignant endometrioid endometrial cancer (EC) and in ovarian cancer models involving attenuated expression of TGF-β signaling proteins and progestin-mediated inhibition of calcitriol-induced CYP24A1 expression. This study aims to expand the applications for this combination to other subtypes of endometrial and ovarian cancers, including those with mutations in ARID1A or PIK3CA, DNA mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency or BRCA1 null status.

Biomarker panel for early detection of endometrial cancer in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian cancer screening trial.

Background: Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in the United States. However, no early detection test exists for asymptomatic women at average risk for endometrial cancer.

Objective: We sought to identify early detection biomarkers for endometrial cancer using prediagnostic serum.

Expanding the TNM for cancers of the colon and rectum using machine learning: a demonstration.

Objective: The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) system for staging cancers of the colon and rectum includes depth of tumour penetration, number of positive lymph nodes and presence or absence of metastasis. Using machine learning, we demonstrate that these factors can be integrated with age, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) interpretation and tumour location, to form prognostic systems that expand the tumour, lymph node, metastasis (TNM) staging system.

Methods: Two datasets on colon and rectal cancers were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Programme of the National Cancer Institute.

Racial Comparisons in Timeliness of Colon Cancer Treatment in an Equal-Access Health System.

Background: Non-Hispanic black (NHB) adults with cancer may have longer time-to-treatment than non-Hispanic whites (NHW) in the United States. Unequal access to medical care may partially account for this racial disparity. This study aimed to investigate whether there were racial differences in time-to-treatment and in treatment delays for patients diagnosed with colon cancer in the equal-access Military Health System (MHS).

Efficient identification of neoantigen-specific T-cell responses in advanced human ovarian cancer.

Background: Efficient identification of neoantigen-specific T-cell responses in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains a challenge. Existing investigations of spontaneous T-cell response to tumor neoepitope in EOC have taken the approach of comprehensive screening all neoantigen candidates, with a validation rate of 0.5-2%.

Neuronatin is a modifier of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer incidence and outcome.

Purpose: Understanding the molecular mediators of breast cancer survival is critical for accurate disease prognosis and improving therapies. Here, we identified Neuronatin (NNAT) as a novel antiproliferative modifier of estrogen receptor-alpha (ER+) breast cancer.

Experimental Design: Genomic regions harboring breast cancer modifiers were identified by congenic mapping in a rat model of carcinogen-induced mammary cancer.

Creating Prognostic Systems for Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Using Machine Learning.

Updates to staging models are needed to reflect a greater understanding of tumor behavior and clinical outcomes for well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas. We used a machine learning algorithm and disease-specific survival data of differentiated thyroid carcinoma from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program of the National Cancer Institute to integrate clinical factors to improve prognostic accuracy. The concordance statistic (C-index) was used to cut dendrograms resulting from the learning process to generate prognostic groups.

PCA-PAM50 improves consistency between breast cancer intrinsic and clinical subtyping reclassifying a subset of luminal A tumors as luminal B.

The PAM50 classifier is widely used for breast tumor intrinsic subtyping based on gene expression. Clinical subtyping, however, is based on immunohistochemistry assays of 3-4 biomarkers. Subtype calls by these two methods do not completely match even on comparable subtypes.

Emerging Role of Lymphocyte Antigen-6 Family of Genes in Cancer and Immune Cells.

Stem Cell Antigen-1 () was the first identified member of the Lymphocyte antigen-6 () gene family. Sca-1 serves as a marker of cancer stem cells and tissue resident stem cells in mice. The Sca-1 gene is located on mouse chromosome 15.