Rural-urban disparities in psychosocial functioning in epithelial ovarian cancer patients.

Objective: Although rural residence has been related to health disparities in cancer patients, little is known about how rural residence impacts mental health and quality of life (QOL) in ovarian cancer patients over time. This prospective longitudinal study investigated mental health and QOL of ovarian cancer patients in the first-year post-diagnosis.

Method: Women with suspected ovarian cancer completed psychosocial surveys pre-surgery, at 6 months and one-year; clinical data were obtained from medical records.

Optical genomic mapping is a helpful tool for detecting CCND1 rearrangements in CD5-negative small B-cell lymphoma: Two cases of leukemic non-nodal mantle cell lymphoma.

Optical genome mapping (OGM) is a new DNA-based technology which provides comprehensive examination of the entire genome. We report two patients who presented with splenomegaly and leukocytosis with lymphocytosis including villous lymphocytes. Neither patient had lymphadenopathy.

Patients' and physicians' beliefs and attitudes towards integrating personalized risk estimates into patient education about left ventricular assist device therapy.

Background: Personalized risk (PR) estimates may enhance clinical decision making and risk communication by providing individualized estimates of patient outcomes. We explored stakeholder attitudes toward the utility, acceptability, usefulness and best-practices for integrating PR estimates into patient education and decision making about Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD).

Methods And Results: As part of a 5-year multi-institutional AHRQ project, we conducted 40 interviews with stakeholders (physicians, nurse coordinators, patients, and caregivers), analyzed using Thematic Content Analysis.

Recovery of Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Function With Neoadjuvant Treatment: Neural Characterization.

Objectives: Neoadjuvant targeted therapy has emerged as a promising treatment strategy for locally aggressive thyroid cancer. Its impact on tumor and adjacent tissues remains a nascent area of study. Here we report on a series of six subjects with locally advanced thyroid cancer and recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) paralysis who experienced recovery of RLN function with neoadjuvant treatment and describe the morphologic and electrophysiologic characteristics of these recovered nerves.

Co-Occurrence of Gram-Negative Rods in Patients with Hematologic Malignancy and Sinopulmonary Mucormycosis.

Both Mucorales and Gram-negative rods (GNRs) commonly infect patients with hematological malignancies (HM); however, their co-occurrence is understudied. Therefore, we retrospectively reviewed the records of 63 patients with HM and proven or probable sinopulmonary mucormycosis at MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, Texas) from 2000-2020. Seventeen out of sixty-three reviewed patients (27.

Ventriculoperitoneal shunting with an on-off valve for patients with leptomeningeal metastases and intracranial hypertension.

Background: We report our experience with using a ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) with an on-off valve and in-line Ommaya reservoir for the treatment of hydrocephalus or intracranial hypertension in patients with leptomeningeal disease (LMD). Our goal was to determine whether control of intracranial pressure elevation combined with intrathecal (IT) chemotherapy would extend patient survival.

Methods: In this IRB-approved retrospective study, we reviewed 58 cases of adult patients with LMD from solid cancers who received a VPS with a reservoir and an on-off valve at M D Anderson Cancer Center from November 1996 through December 2021.

Strengthening deep-learning models for intracranial hemorrhage detection: strongly annotated computed tomography images and model ensembles.

Background And Purpose: Multiple attempts at intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) detection using deep-learning techniques have been plagued by clinical failures. We aimed to compare the performance of a deep-learning algorithm for ICH detection trained on strongly and weakly annotated datasets, and to assess whether a weighted ensemble model that integrates separate models trained using datasets with different ICH improves performance.

Methods: We used brain CT scans from the Radiological Society of North America (27,861 CT scans, 3,528 ICHs) and AI-Hub (53,045 CT scans, 7,013 ICHs) for training.

New EAU/ASCO guideline recommendations on sentinel node biopsy for penile cancer and remaining challenges from a nuclear medicine perspective.

Introduction: The European Association of Urology (EAU) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recently issued updated guidelines on penile cancer, emphasising dynamic sentinel node biopsy (DSNB) as the preferred method for surgical staging among patients with invasive penile tumours and no palpable inguinal lymphadenopathy. This paper outlines the rationale behind this new recommendation and describes remaining challenges, as well as strategies for promoting DSNB worldwide.

Main Text: DSNB offers high diagnostic accuracy with the lowest postoperative complications compared to open or minimally invasive inguinal lymph node dissection (ILND), prompting its preference in the new guidelines.

Pre-diagnostic circulating resistin concentrations and mortality among individuals with colorectal cancer: Results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study.

Resistin is a protein involved in inflammation and angiogenesis processes and may play a role in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, it remains unclear whether resistin is associated with increased mortality after CRC diagnosis. We examined pre-diagnostic serum resistin concentrations in relation to CRC-specific and all-cause mortality among 1343 incident CRC cases from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort.

Predicting the spatio-temporal response of recurrent glioblastoma treated with rhenium-186 labelled nanoliposomes.

Unlabelled: Rhenium-186 (Re) labeled nanoliposome (RNL) therapy for recurrent glioblastoma patients has shown promise to improve outcomes by locally delivering radiation to affected areas. To optimize the delivery of RNL, we have developed a framework to predict patient-specific response to RNL using image-guided mathematical models.

Methods: We calibrated a family of reaction-diffusion type models with multi-modality imaging data from ten patients (NCR01906385) to predict the spatio-temporal dynamics of each patient's tumor.

Dimerization of the 4Ig isoform of B7-H3 in tumor cells mediates enhanced proliferation and tumorigenic signaling.

B7-H3 (CD276) has two isoforms (2Ig and 4Ig), no confirmed cognate receptor, and physiological functions that remain elusive. While differentially expressed on many solid tumors correlating with poor survival, mechanisms of how B7-H3 signals in cis (tumor cell) versus in trans (immune cell co-regulator) to elicit pro-tumorigenic phenotypes remain poorly defined. Herein, we characterized a tumorigenic and signaling role for tumor cell-expressed 4Ig-B7-H3, the dominant human isoform, in gynecological cancers that could be abrogated upon CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of B7-H3; tumorigenesis was rescued upon re-expression of 4Ig-B7-H3.

Designing clinical trials for patients who are not average.

The heterogeneity inherent in cancer means that even a successful clinical trial merely results in a therapeutic regimen that achieves, on average, a positive result only in a subset of patients. The only way to optimize an intervention for an individual patient is to reframe their treatment as their own, personalized trial. Toward this goal, we formulate a computational framework for performing personalized trials that rely on four mathematical techniques.

Genome-wide p63-Target Gene Analyses Reveal TAp63/NRF2-Dependent Oxidative Stress Responses.

Unlabelled: The p53 family member TP63 encodes two sets of N-terminal isoforms, TAp63 and ΔNp63 isoforms. They each regulate diverse biological functions in epidermal morphogenesis and in cancer. In the skin, where their activities have been extensively characterized, TAp63 prevents premature aging by regulating the quiescence and genomic stability of stem cells required for wound healing and hair regeneration, while ΔNp63 controls maintenance and terminal differentiation of epidermal basal cells.

Characteristics and outcomes of children, adolescents and young adults with relapsed/refractory non-hodgkin lymphoma undergoing autologous stem cell transplant.

Background: There is paucity of data regarding outcomes of children, adolescents and young adults (CAYA) patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT).

Methods: Patients aged 0-39 years undergoing first ASCT for NHL at MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2000 and 2020 were analyzed.

Results: Two hundred twenty-one patients were included in the analysis, 129 (58%) were male and the median age was 32 (range 6-39) years.

Epigenomic mapping reveals distinct B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia chromatin architectures and regulators.

B cell lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is composed of diverse molecular subtypes, and while transcriptional and DNA methylation profiling has been extensively examined, the chromatin landscape is not well characterized for many subtypes. We therefore mapped chromatin accessibility using ATAC-seq in primary B-ALL cells from 156 patients spanning ten molecular subtypes and present this dataset as a resource. Differential chromatin accessibility and transcription factor (TF) footprint profiling were employed and identified B-ALL cell of origin, TF-target gene interactions enriched in B-ALL, and key TFs associated with accessible chromatin sites preferentially active in B-ALL.

Plain language summary of zanubrutinib or ibrutinib in chronic lymphocytic leukemia that is resistant to treatment or has come back after treatment.

What Is This Summary About?: This is a plain language summary of a research study called ALPINE. The study involved people who had been diagnosed with, and previously treated at least once for, relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). Lymphocytes help to find and fight off viruses and infections in the body, but when someone has CLL or SLL, the body creates abnormal lymphocytes, leaving the patient with a weakened immune system and susceptible to illness.

The biology of hope: Inflammatory and neuroendocrine profiles in ovarian cancer patients.

Introduction: Although the concept of hope is highly relevant for cancer patients, little is known about its association with cancer-relevant biomarkers. Here we examined how hope was related to diurnal cortisol and interleukin-6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory cytokine previously associated with tumor biology and survival in ovarian cancer. Secondly, we examined whether hope and hopelessness are distinctly associated with these biomarkers.

A digital male pelvis phantom series showing anatomical variations over the course of fractionated radiotherapy treatment.

Background: Daily IGRT images show day-to-day anatomical variations in patients undergoing fractionated prostate radiotherapy. This is of particular importance in particle beam treatments.

Purpose: To develop a digital phantom series showing variation in pelvic anatomy for evaluating treatment planning and IGRT procedures in particle radiotherapy.

Hybrid Cellular Automata Modeling Reveals the Effects of Glucose Gradients on Tumour Spheroid Growth.

Purpose: In recent years, mathematical models have become instrumental in cancer research, offering insights into tumor growth dynamics, and guiding the development of pharmacological strategies. These models, encompassing diverse biological and physical processes, are increasingly used in clinical settings, showing remarkable predictive precision for individual patient outcomes and therapeutic responses.

Methods: Motivated by these advancements, our study introduces an innovative in silico model for simulating tumor growth and invasiveness.