The Association of Agent Orange Exposure with the progression of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance to multiple myeloma: a population-based study of Vietnam War Era Veterans.

Herbicide and pesticide exposure [e.g., agent orange (AO)] is associated with an increased risk of multiple myeloma (MM) due to the contaminant, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD).

Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology, Version 2.2024, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.

This selection from the NCCN Guidelines for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology focuses on considerations for the comprehensive care of AYA patients with cancer. Compared with older adults with cancer, AYA patients have unique needs regarding treatment, fertility counseling, psychosocial and behavioral issues, and supportive care services. The complete version of the NCCN Guidelines for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology addresses additional aspects of caring for AYA patients, including risk factors, screening, diagnosis, and survivorship.

Emerging Therapies in CLL in the Era of Precision Medicine.

Over the past decade, the treatment landscape of CLL has vastly changed from the conventional FC (fludarabine and cyclophosphamide) and FCR (FC with rituximab) chemotherapies to targeted therapies, including inhibitors of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) as well as inhibitors of BCL2. These treatment options dramatically improved clinical outcomes; however, not all patients respond well to these therapies, especially high-risk patients. Clinical trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors (PD-1, CTLA4) and chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) or NK (CAR NK) cell treatment have shown some efficacy; still, long-term outcomes and safety issues have yet to be determined.

Reducing the risk of breast cancer.

Breast cancer remains the most common female malignancy in the United States. Reducing this cancer burden involves identification of high-risk individuals and personalized risk management. Because coronary artery disease remains the primary cause of death for women, any intervention to reduce breast cancer risk must be weighed against comorbidities and interventions affecting cardiovascular risk reduction.

Modeling Performance of Open Surgical Cases.

Introduction: Previous efforts used digital video to develop computer-generated assessments of surgical hand motion economy and fluidity of motion. This study tests how well previously trained assessment models match expert ratings of suturing and tying video clips recorded in a new operating room (OR) setting.

Methods: Enabled through computer vision of the hands, this study tests the applicability of assessments born out of benchtop simulations to in vivo suturing and tying tasks recorded in the OR.

Activation of and Signaling via B-cell-Restricted Depletion of Generates a Consistent Murine Model of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by disordered DNA methylation, suggesting these epigenetic changes might play a critical role in disease onset and progression. The methyltransferase is a key regulator of DNA methylation. Although somatic mutations in CLL are rare, we found that low expression is associated with more aggressive disease.

An Approach to the Primary and Secondary Prevention of Gastric Cancer in the United States.

Background & Aims: Gastric cancer (GC) remains a leading cause of mortality among certain racial, ethnic, and immigrant groups in the United States (US). The majority of GCs are diagnosed at advanced stages, and overall survival remains poor. There exist no structured national strategies for GC prevention in the US.

A hotspot mutation in transcription factor IKZF3 drives B cell neoplasia via transcriptional dysregulation.

Hotspot mutation of IKZF3 (IKZF3-L162R) has been identified as a putative driver of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), but its function remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate its driving role in CLL through a B cell-restricted conditional knockin mouse model. Mutant Ikzf3 alters DNA binding specificity and target selection, leading to hyperactivation of B cell receptor (BCR) signaling, overexpression of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) target genes, and development of CLL-like disease in elderly mice with a penetrance of ~40%.

Impact of Neoadjuvant Therapy on Minimally Invasive Surgical Outcomes in Advanced Gastric Cancer: An International Propensity Score-Matched Study.

Background: No international consensus on the treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) exists. In the absence of well-designed, comparative studies between neoadjuvant versus adjuvant strategies, concerns about increased risk of postoperative complications remain barriers to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for AGC. We evaluated surgical outcomes of AGC patients who received minimally invasive radical gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy after NAC.

A Summary of the 2020 Gastric Cancer Summit at Stanford University.

There exists no coherent national strategy for the early detection or prevention of gastric cancer in the United States (US), even among identified high-risk groups such as Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Alaska Native/American Indian peoples. As a result, patients with gastric cancer in the US are diagnosed at later stages and demonstrate worse overall survival compared to nations of East Asia with established screening programs (Table 1). The under-recognition of gastric cancer risk within minority communities is a significant unaddressed healthcare disparity.

NCCN resource-stratified and harmonized guidelines: A paradigm for optimizing global cancer care.

Clinical practice guidelines in oncology lead to improved outcomes in care. However, the most frequently used guidelines are developed for highly resourced systems. Recognizing the significant and increasing burden of cancer in low- and middle-income countries, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has developed resource-stratified framework and harmonization processes that allow the NCCN Guidelines to be tailored and optimized for specific geographical areas, resource levels, and settings.

Outcomes of Salvage Percutaneous Biliary Drainage after Occlusion of Endoscopic Stents.

Purpose: To describe outcomes of patients with malignant biliary obstruction who undergo salvage percutaneous biliary drainage after occlusion of endoscopic biliary stents.

Materials And Methods: A single-center retrospective review was performed of 47 patients (25 men, 22 women) who underwent percutaneous biliary drainage for recurrent obstruction after endoscopic stent placement between 2005 and 2015. Primary malignancies were bile duct (n = 13), colorectal (n = 11), gallbladder (n = 7), pancreas (n = 5), hepatocellular (n = 4), and other (n = 7).

Radioembolization following Liver Resection: Safety and Dosing Considerations.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of previous liver resection on the safety of resin microsphere radioembolization (RE).

Materials And Methods: A single-center retrospective review was performed of 22 patients who underwent resin microsphere RE after liver resection during the period 2009-2014. Prescribed patient dose using the body surface area (BSA) model and a theoretical dose calculated from the actual liver volume on imaging were recorded.

Lessons Learned from Implementing a Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment Program for Underserved High-Risk Men in the Community: the Prostate REACH Project.

Prostate cancer disproportionately affects Black men, who may also encounter barriers to participation in prostate cancer risk assessment. The Prostate Risk, Education and Assessment in the Community with Help (REACH) project was a community-based extension of a comprehensive prostate cancer risk assessment program at a comprehensive cancer center. The goals of the REACH project were the following: (1) establish a community prostate cancer risk assessment clinic, (2) conduct targeted recruitment, and (3) provide navigation services including follow-up for uninsured men.

Ribonucleotide reductase small subunit M2 serves as a prognostic biomarker and predicts poor survival of colorectal cancers.

The overexpression of RRM2 [RR (ribonucleotide reductase) small subunit M2] dramatically enhances the ability of the cancer cell to proliferate and to invade. To investigate further the relevance of RRM2 and CRCs (colorectal cancers), we correlated the expression of RRM2 with the clinical outcome of CRCs. A retrospective outcome study was conducted on CRCs collected from the COH [(City of Hope) National Medical Center, 217 cases] and ZJU (Zhejiang University, 220 cases).