tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Hot stone therapy in palliative care.
Authors: Anny Parot-Monpetit, Stephanie Mironnet, Erik Monpetit
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2015)

179 Background: Massage therapy is a popular adjunct to cancer palliation. Hot Stone therapy, a massage method with hot lava stones, is an ancestral native Indian medicine practice. Since 2011, funds permit us to offer Hot Stone therapy as a new Complementary Medicine for inpatients in the oncology unit where Palliative Care is integrated early into oncologic care. We assessed the effect of Hot Stone therapy in patients with advanced cancer on symptom severity. Methods: The study took place at Hopital prive Oceane, a private setting in France, between May 1, 2014 and May 1 , 2015. After physician's check, one nurse who has training in stone therapy method provided massage. We assessed - overall patient's satisfaction - severity of nine common symptoms with Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) before and after the massage. We reported - number of each symptom (%) experienced by patient before the massage - number of massages (%) with change score for analyses. Results: Of 156 massages, 113 were assessed (82 patients). Satisfaction rate is 100%. Rate of symptoms before massages: pain, 51%; fatigue, 88%; nausea, 21%; depression, 63%; anxiety, 79%; drowsiness , 72%; lack of appetite, 62%;dyspnea, 36%; no wellbeing, 93%. Decrease of 2 points in change score: pain (71%), fatigue (22%), nausea (25%), depression (42%), anxiety (64%), drowsiness (10%), dyspnea (37%), wellbeing (84%). None increase except in drowsiness (41%) which can be explained by more relaxed patients. No difference in lack of appetite. Conclusions: In our experience, Hot Stone therapy is a type of massage that help patient feel better. A decrease in some very common symptom in palliative care was observed. Stone therapy is a safe method and can be use by training caregivers to alleviate a wide range of cancer symptoms or side effects of treatment with a non-pharmacological approach. Actually, we develop a Hot Stone therapy program's training to offer more massages in our institution.
Physician-Driven Variation in Nonrecommended Services Among Older Adults Diagnosed With Cancer
Authors: Allison Lipitz-Snyderman, Camelia S. Sima, Coral L. Atoria, Elena B. Elkin, Christopher Anderson, Victoria Blinder, Chiaojung Jillian Tsai, Katherine S. Panageas, Peter B. Bach
Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine (2016)

Interventions to address overuse of health care services may help reduce costs and improve care. Understanding physician-level variation and behavior patterns can inform such interventions.To assess patterns of physician ordering of services that tend to be overused in the treatment of patients with cancer. We hypothesized that physicians exhibit consistent behavior.Retrospective study of patients 66 years and older diagnosed with cancer between 2004 and 2011, using population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare data to assess physician-level variation in 5 nonrecommended services. Services included imaging for staging and surveillance in low-risk disease, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) after breast-conserving surgery, and extended fractionation schemes for palliation of bone metastases.To assess variation in service use between physicians, we used a random effects model and a logistic regression model with a lag variable to assess whether a physician's use of a service for a prior patient predicts subsequent service use.Cohorts ranged from 3464 to 89 006 patients. The total proportion of patients receiving each service varied from 14% for imaging in staging early breast cancer to 41% in early prostate cancer. From the random effects analysis, we found significant unexplained variation in service use between physicians (P < .001 for each service; ICC, 0.04-0.59). Controlling for case mix, whether a physician ordered a service for the prior patient was highly predictive of service use, with adjusted odds ratios (aORs) ranging from 1.12 (95% CI, 1.07-1.18) for surveillance imaging for patients with breast cancer (28% service use if prior patient had imaging vs 25% if not), to 24.91 (95% CI, 22.86-27.15) for IMRT for whole breast radiotherapy (69% vs 7%, respectively).Physicians' utilization of nonrecommended services that tend to be overused exhibit patterns that suggest consistent behavior more than personalized patient care decisions. Reducing overuse may require understanding cognitive drivers of repetitive inappropriate decisions.
Effect of the novel oncomir MiR-301 on tumor proliferation and invasion in human breast cancer.
Authors: W. Shi, K. Gerster, N. Alajez, J. Tsang, L. Waldron, M. Pintilie, A. Hui, D. R. McCready, A. W. Fyles, N. Miller, F. F. Liu
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2010)

1076 Background: It is increasingly apparent that micro-RNAs contribute to biological progression in almost all human malignancies. Although several studies have reported the association of dysregulated miRs in human breast cancer, the specific role of miRs in mediating tumor invasion remain to be clarified. We have previously conducted global miR profiling on 74 lymph node negative invasive ductal breast cancer samples, and observed that miR-301 over-expression was strongly associated with either nodal or distant relapse. Hence, the objective of this study is to better understand the function of miR-301 in breast cancer biology, along with identification of its mRNA targets. Methods: MiR-301 expression was evaluated in four breast cancer cell lines. The biological effects of miR-301 knock down were examined in vitro and in vivo using cell viability, clonogenic, cell migration and tumor formation assays. Downstream target genes were also evaluated. Results: MiR-301 was over-expressed in all breast cancer cell lines. AntagomiR caused significant reduction in miR-301 expression, associated with reduced viability, decreased clonogenicity, cell migration and invasion, as well as suppressed tumor growth, demonstrating a strong oncogenic role for miR-301. A tri-pronged approach combining prediction algorithms, experimentally mRNA profiling, along with primary cancer Affymetrix mRNA data identified FOXF2, BBC3, and PTEN as potential targets for miR-301, which could explain the observed phenotypes of reduction. Luciferase reporter assays confirmed that these genes are direct targets of miR-301. In addition, miR- 301 is located within the intron of SKA2, a spindle-kinetochore complex, and these two genes were corroborated to be co-expressed in cancer cell lines as well as primary cancer tissues. Conclusions: We have identified miR-301 as a novel oncomir in human breast cancer, which promotes growth, proliferation, invasion, and metastases, mediated at least by FOXF2, BBC3, and PTEN. Furthermore, the co-expression of miR-301 with SKA2 likely further co-operatively increases genetic instability with failed spindle check-points, thereby accounting for the more aggressive breast cancer clinical behavior. No significant financial relationships to disclose.
The hidden dangers of a cancer diagnosis
Authors: Holly G Prigerson, Susan C Vaughan, Wendy G Lichtenthal
Journal: BMJ (2016)

Patients have a heightened risk of injury in the weeks before and after a diagnosis

No one can deny that medical advances have prolonged life and improved the human condition. Yet it is equally true that outcomes of medical encounters are neither universally beneficial nor benign. As long ago as 19 BC, Virgil wrote that it is often the case that “the disease worsens with the treatment.”1 In the linked paper, Shen and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj.i4218)2 extend this assertion to “the disease worsens with the diagnosis.” They sought to determine how a diagnosis of cancer, apart from the disease and its treatment, heightens the risk of injury before and after the diagnostic period. They hypothesized that injury secondary to a diagnosis results from both medical complications and psychosocial stress.

Shen and colleagues analysed hospital discharge diagnoses related to injury in over 720 000 patients with cancer in Sweden and compared a diagnostic period (the 16 weeks before and after a diagnosis) with a control period the year before diagnosis.2 …
Evaluation of circulating angiopoietin levels with prognosis and disease progression in metastatic malignant melanoma.
Authors: R. Mouawad, J. Spano, R. Conforti, S. Vignot, T. de La Motte Rouge, D. Khayat
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2010)

8522 Background: Angiogenesis is an essential process in the development and growth of tumors. There are a large number of angiogenic mediators including the angiopoietin (Ang) family which acts in association with the vascular endothelial growth factor system to control vessel assembly during tumor progression. Therefore, these factors have been suggested as diagnostic and in some studies as prognostic tumor markers. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the potential role of circulating soluble Ang-1 and 2 in metastatic malignant melanoma patients and their usefulness as markers in this pathology. Methods: Using a sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, circulating Ang-1 and Ang-2 levels were measured in the sera of 67 patients with histologically proven stage IV metastatic melanoma treated by biochemotherapy; 23 had regional lymph node metastasis and 44 patients had distant organ metastasis. Results: Serum Ang-2 levels were significantly elevated in patients compared to controls (median 4,856 vs. 2,225 pg/mL, p < 0.001), there was no significant difference in Ang-1 levels, while the ratio of Ang-2/Ang-1 was significantly elevated in patients compared to controls (0.13 vs. 0.066, p < 0.001). Circulating Ang-1 level was higher in men than in women (p = 0.031). Patient's age, Breslow's classifications or LDH levels were not associated with serum angiopoetin levels. Serum Ang-2 levels were significantly elevated in patients with distant metastases compared with those without metastasis (median 5,080 vs. 3,360 pg/mL, p = 0.01). Tumour burden i.e. number of metastatic sites were not statistically significantly associated with Ang-2 levels. But, only patients with lymph node metastases (n = 23) had significantly lower levels than the 44 patients withmetastases at other sites (mean 3,250 vs. 4,458 pg/mL, p = 0.028). Time to disease progression was worse in patients with elevated Ang-2 levels (p = 0.04). Conclusions: Serum Ang-2 but not Ang-1 is elevated in metastatic malignant melanoma patients. Ang-2 may be a useful serum marker for monitoring of melanoma patients. In addition, it may be a promising therapeutic target for melanoma. No significant financial relationships to disclose.
Peripheral blood CD34+ cells efficiently engraft human cytokine knock-in mice
Authors: Yasuyuki Saito, Jana M. Ellegast, Anahita Rafiei, Yuanbin Song, Daniel Kull, Mathias Heikenwalder, Anthony Rongvaux, Stephanie Halene, Richard A. Flavell, Markus G. Manz
Journal: Blood (2016)
Longitudinal study of anti-myeloma treatment patterns in a U.S. commercial population before and after approval of bortezomib (BOR).
Authors: K. L. Stevinson, L. Ma, T. A. Burke, S. Kumar
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2010)

e18533 Background: During the past decade, the IMiDs [thalidomide (THA) and lenalidomide (LEN)] and BOR received FDA approval for multiple myeloma (MM). Our objectives were to characterize treatment patterns before and after introduction of BOR in 6/2003. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using enrollment and claims data from a large managed care organization with an annual enrollment ranging from 9-15 million. Patients ≥ 18 years with MM, newly diagnosed between 7/1/2000 and 12/31/2007, and treated with anti-MM therapies were included. Patients were identified by ICD-9-CM diagnosis code and followed from diagnosis to end of continuous enrollment or 12/31/2008. Anti-MM regimens were defined as sequentially administered groups of anti-neoplastic drugs or stem cell transplant (SCT) procedure(s) identified from Rx and medical claims and grouped into mutually exclusive regimens: SCT, BOR, THA, LEN, ALK (melphalan or cyclophosphamide), VIN (vincristine) or STE (≥ 6 weeks of corticosteroids). Results: 2,210 patients were included. The mean age was 59.9 yrs; 44.5% were female. 29.4% and 70.6% were diagnosed pre and post 6/2003. Patients received a mean of 2.16 regimens (med: 2; range 1-18) over 1.68 years of follow up (SD= 1.29). 40.3% of the patients died by the death file cutoff date 2/2009. Regimens most commonly used are shown below (Table). Conclusions: After 6/2003, THA and SCT displaced VIN and ALK as most frequently administered 1st line or 2nd line therapies. BOR and LEN displaced STE and VIN as 3rd line therapy. Line oftherapy Pre 6/2003 Post 6/2003 N % N % 1 650 STE 21.8 ALK 21.4 VIN 18.2 THA 14.9 1,560 THA 26.3 STE 21.8 SCT 13.3 VIN 9.4 2 312 THA 27.2 STE 19.2 VIN 17.9 SCT 12.8 809 THA 27.3 STE 19.4 SCT 12.7 BOR 12.4 3 170 THA 33.5 STE 19.4 SCT 12.9 VIN 10.0 429 THA 23.8 BOR 19.6 STE 14.7 LEN 13.3 Author Disclosure Employment or Leadership Position Consultant or Advisory Role Stock Ownership Honoraria Research Funding Expert Testimony Other Remuneration Merck Merck Merck Merck
Abdominal Obesity Is More Closely Associated With Diabetic Kidney Disease Than General Obesity
Authors: Jinbo Hu, Shumin Yang, Aipin Zhang, Ping Yang, Xueting Cao, Xiyue Li, Richa Goswami, Yue Wang, Ting Luo, Kun Liao, Qingfeng Cheng, Xiaoqiu Xiao, Qifu Li
Journal: Diabetes Care (2016)

General and abdominal obesity are the major subtypes of obesity. Compared with general obesity, abdominal obesity was considered to be more closely associated with chronic diabetes complications, such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetic retinopathy (1,2). Although the association between abdominal obesity and urinary albumin was reported in previous studies (3–5), whether abdominal obesity is more closely associated with diabetic kidney disease (DKD) than general obesity has not been reported yet.

Two studies were carried out to investigate the association of general and abdominal obesity with DKD. Study A was a cross-sectional study. Body composition was assessed using DXA among 1,016 patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). General obesity parameters, including BMI, total body fat percentage (TBF), and fat mass index (FMI), and abdominal obesity parameters, including waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and visceral adipose tissue (VAT), were measured. DKD is defined as chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 3–5 (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] <60 mL/min/1.73 m2). Study B was a 5-year prospective study in which 279 T2D patients without DKD at baseline were followed up. BMI, WC, and …
Phase I Study Evaluating WEE1 Inhibitor AZD1775 As Monotherapy and in Combination With Gemcitabine, Cisplatin, or Carboplatin in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors
Authors: Suzanne Leijen, Robin M.J.M. van Geel, Anna C. Pavlick, Raoul Tibes, Lee Rosen, Albiruni R. Abdul Razak, Raymond Lam, Tim Demuth, Shelonitda Rose, Mark A. Lee, Tomoko Freshwater, Stuart Shumway, Li Wen Liang, Amit M. Oza, Jan H.M. Schellens, Geoffrey I. Shapiro
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2016)

Purpose AZD1775 is a WEE1 kinase inhibitor targeting G2 checkpoint control, preferentially sensitizing TP53-deficient tumor cells to DNA damage. This phase I study evaluated safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of oral AZD1775 as monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy in patients with refractory solid tumors. Patients and Methods In part 1, patients received a single dose of AZD1775 followed by 14 days of observation. In part 2, patients received AZD1775 as a single dose (part 2A) or as five twice per day doses or two once per day doses (part 2B) in combination with one of the following chemotherapy agents: gemcitabine (1,000 mg/m2), cisplatin (75 mg/m2), or carboplatin (area under the curve, 5 mg/mL⋅min). Skin biopsies were collected for pharmacodynamic assessments. TP53 status was determined retrospectively in archival tumor tissue. Results Two hundred two patients were enrolled onto the study, including nine patients in part 1, 43 in part 2A (including eight rollover patients from part 1), and 158 in part 2B. AZD1775 monotherapy given as single dose was well tolerated, and the maximum-tolerated dose was not reached. In the combination regimens, the most common adverse events consisted of fatigue, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and hematologic toxicity. The maximum-tolerated doses and biologically effective doses were established for each combination. Target engagement, as a predefined 50% pCDK1 reduction in surrogate tissue, was observed in combination with cisplatin and carboplatin. Of 176 patients evaluable for efficacy, 94 (53%) had stable disease as best response, and 17 (10%) achieved a partial response. The response rate in TP53-mutated patients (n = 19) was 21% compared with 12% in TP53 wild-type patients (n = 33). Conclusion AZD1775 was safe and tolerable as a single agent and in combination with chemotherapy at doses associated with target engagement.
Comprehensive analyses of tumor immunity: implications for cancer immunotherapy
Authors: Bo Li, Eric Severson, Jean-Christophe Pignon, Haoquan Zhao, Taiwen Li, Jesse Novak, Peng Jiang, Hui Shen, Jon C. Aster, Scott Rodig, Sabina Signoretti, Jun S. Liu, X. Shirley Liu
Journal: Genome biology (2016)

Understanding the interactions between tumor and the host immune system is critical to finding prognostic biomarkers, reducing drug resistance, and developing new therapies. Novel computational methods are needed to estimate tumor-infiltrating immune cells and understand tumor–immune interactions in cancers. We analyze tumor-infiltrating immune cells in over 10,000 RNA-seq samples across 23 cancer types from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Our computationally inferred immune infiltrates associate much more strongly with patient clinical features, viral infection status, and cancer genetic alterations than other computational approaches. Analysis of cancer/testis antigen expression and CD8 T-cell abundance suggests that MAGEA3 is a potential immune target in melanoma, but not in non-small cell lung cancer, and implicates SPAG5 as an alternative cancer vaccine target in multiple cancers. We find that melanomas expressing high levels of CTLA4 separate into two distinct groups with respect to CD8 T-cell infiltration, which might influence clinical responses to anti-CTLA4 agents. We observe similar dichotomy of TIM3 expression with respect to CD8 T cells in kidney cancer and validate it experimentally. The abundance of immune infiltration, together with our downstream analyses and findings, are accessible through TIMER, a public resource at http://cistrome.org/TIMER . We develop a computational approach to study tumor-infiltrating immune cells and their interactions with cancer cells. Our resource of immune-infiltrate levels, clinical associations, as well as predicted therapeutic markers may inform effective cancer vaccine and checkpoint blockade therapies.
Cartilage Tissue Engineering: Investigation of Migration and Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Five-Layered Collagenous Electrospun Scaffold Mimicking Native Cartilage Structure (Adv. Healthcare Mater. 17/2016)
Authors: Jenny W. Reboredo, Tobias Weigel, Andre Steinert, Lars Rackwitz, Maximilian Rudert, Heike Walles
Journal: Advanced Healthcare Materials (2016)

On page 2191, the preparation of a multilayered electrospun scaffold that has the potency to induce chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells in vitro is reported by Jenny W. Reboredo and co-workers. The novel biomaterial consists of collagen type I and II and is designed for the replacement of damaged cartilage that allows repopulation by host cells and synthesis of a new natural matrix.
Incidence of autoimmune diseases in a nationwide HIV/AIDS patient cohort in Taiwan, 2000–2012
Authors: Yung-Feng Yen, Pei-Hung Chuang, I-An Jen, Marcelo Chen, Yu-Ching Lan, Yen-Ling Liu, Yun Lee, Yen-Hsu Chen, Yi-Ming Arthur Chen
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2016)

It is not known if the incidences of autoimmune diseases are higher in individuals living with HIV infection or AIDS. Our study investigated the incidences of autoimmune diseases among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Taiwan during 2000-2012.The Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database was used to identify PLWHA. The incidence densities of systemic and organ-specific autoimmune diseases were calculated, and age-adjusted, sex-adjusted and period-adjusted standardised incidence rates (SIRs) were obtained by using two million people from the general population as controls. To examine the effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on the incidence of autoimmune diseases, the incidence densities and SIRs of autoimmune diseases were calculated after stratifying PLWHA by HAART status.Of the 20 444 PLWHA identified, the overall mean (SD) age was 30.1 (11.0) years; 67.2% of the subjects received HAART. As compared with the general population, SIRs were higher for incident Sjögren syndrome (SIR=1.64; 95% CI 1.24 to 2.13), psoriasis (SIR=2.05; 95% CI 1.67 to 2.48), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (SIR=2.59; 95% CI 1.53 to 4.09), autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (SIR=35.06; 95% CI 23.1 to 51.02) and uveitis (SIR=2.50; 95% CI 2.05 to 3.02), but were lower for incident ankylosing spondyloarthritis (SIR=0.70; 95% CI 0.48 to 0.99). When the effect of HAART on incident autoimmune diseases was considered, PLWHA who received HAART had higher SIRs for psoriasis, autoimmune haemolytic anaemia and uveitis, but had lower risks of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondyloarthritis. In contrast, PLWHA who did not receive HAART had higher SIRs for Sjögren syndrome, psoriasis, RA, SLE, scleroderma, polymyositis, autoimmune haemolytic anaemia and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.PLWHA had higher risks of incident Sjögren syndrome, psoriasis, SLE, autoimmune haemolytic anaemia and uveitis.
Utility of esophageal stenting for esophageal cancer patients with dysphagia undergoing neoadjuvant therapy.
Authors: R. E. Brown, C. R. St. Hill, M. M. Harkenrider, S. Ellis, V. R. Sharma, M. N. El-Ghamry, C. R. Scoggins, K. M. McMasters, A. E. Abbas, R. C. Martin
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2011)

105 Background: For esophageal cancer patients with dysphagia, symptom relief and maintenance of nutrition remain significant barriers to completion of neoadjuvant therapy (NAT). We hypothesized that esophageal stenting would allow for successful delivery of planned NAT, with improvement in quality of life (QOL) and maintenance of nutrition. Methods: A multi-institution prospective phase II clinical trial examined esophageal cancer patients with dysphagia undergoing NAT. All had a self-expanding polymer esophageal stent (ES) placed at initiation of NAT. Individual chemotherapy and RT regimens were determined via multidisciplinary collaboration. Results: 32 patients were enrolled with dysphagia and potentially resectable esophageal cancers. All had ES placement prior to NAT. Two patients had stent migrations that required replacement. There were no ulcerations or perforations. Significant QOL improvements were noted within a week after ES placement, which persisted throughout NAT. NAT with chemo + RT was planned in 17 patients, of which 12 (71%) received planned dosing. NAT with chemotherapy alone was planned in 15 patients, of which 10 (67%) received planned dosing. Chemotherapy was most commonly 5FU/cisplatin based. 3D conformal RT with high dose photons was used most frequently, with a mean of 97% of the planned RT dose delivered. Among all patients, alterations (n=5, 16%) or cessation (n=5, 16%) of planned NAT regimens were required for treatment-related toxicity or disease progression. One patient required a jejunostomy tube for nutritional maintenance. Conclusions: Esophageal stenting is an effective method of improving QOL and relieving symptoms that allows for successful completion of NAT, with maintenance of performance and nutritional status. [Table: see text]