tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Response to: ‘Correspondence to: ‘Combination of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transplantation with IFN-γ treatment synergistically improves the clinical outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis’’ by Ma<i>et al</i>
Authors: Yi Yang, Xiao He, Mengwei Yao, Wei Xing, Luoquan Ao, Joseph A Bellanti, Song Guo Zheng, Xiang Xu
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2020)

We thank Ma et al 1 for their interest in our recent report titled ‘Combination of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem (stromal) cell transplantation with IFN-γ treatment synergistically improves the clinical outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis’.2 Ma et al 1 brought up an important issue regarding the safety profile of intramuscular infusion of interferon (IFN)-γ, which may initiate further immune reactions.3 4 As previously described, recombinant human IFN-γ monotherapy is known to be safe but ineffective in treating rheumatoid arthritis.5 6 Furthermore, the safety of IFN-γ-primed mesenchymal stem (stromal) cells (MSCs) remains unknown, as there has been no such clinical …
Evaluation of Respiratory Symptoms Among Youth e-Cigarette Users
Authors: Alayna P. Tackett, Brittney Keller-Hamilton, Caitlin E. Smith, Emily T. Hébert, Jordan P. Metcalf, Lurdes Queimado, Elise M. Stevens, Samantha W. Wallace, Elizabeth L. McQuaid, Theodore L. Wagener
Journal: JAMA Network Open (2020)

<h3>Importance</h3> Use of e-cigarettes (ECs) among youths has increased in recent years. e-Cigarette aerosol contains chemical constituents, such as diacetyl or benzaldehyde, which are known to affect the respiratory system. <h3>Objective</h3> To examine the association between EC use and self-reported wheezing in a cohort of US adolescents. <h3>Design, Setting, and Participants</h3> This cohort study used data from waves 3 and 4 (October 19, 2015, to January 3, 2018) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study, a longitudinal, nationally representative cohort survey. Adolescent respondents aged 12 to 17 years who did not have asthma were included. <h3>Exposures</h3> e-Cigarette use during the previous year. <h3>Main Outcomes and Measures</h3> Self-reported wheezing in the past 12 months (yes or no) and EC use (no use in past year or never use, use in past year, use in past 30 days, and use in past 7 days). Survey-weighted logistic regression models adjusted for demographic characteristics and other risk factors. <h3>Results</h3> Among 7049 adolescents without asthma from waves 3 and 4 of the PATH study, 49.9% were female and 54.4% were non-Hispanic White. In unadjusted models, the odds of wheezing in the past 12 months were higher for youths who had used ECs in the past year compared with those who had not (odds ratio, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.22-2.48;<i>P</i> = .003). In the adjusted model, after controlling for the variables of race/ethnicity, household rules about the use of tobacco, contact with a smoker in the previous 7 days, and current use of combustible tobacco products, the association of EC use with wheezing was not significant (adjusted odds ratio for EC use in the past year, 1.37 [95% CI, 0.91-2.05]; in the past 30 days, 1.35 [95% CI, 0.63-2.88]; in the past 7 days, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.28-1.97];<i>P</i> = .33). <h3>Conclusions and Relevance</h3> In this cohort study, use of ECs alone was not associated with increased odds of experiencing wheezing episodes. Future studies incorporating the use of objective data appear to be needed to more accurately understand the potential respiratory harms associated with vaping among adolescents.
Finding value in social media: A collaborative online communication platform linking providers to education and an online tumor board across a large community of oncology practices.
Authors: Davey B. Daniel, Johnetta Blakely, Stephen Matthew Schleicher, Duncan Allen, Mary Catherine Marsden, Mary Margaret Arrowsmith, Axel Grothey, Lee S. Schwartzberg
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2020)

305 Background: Clinical collaboration across fragmented and often small clinic sites can be challenging. As a potential solution, OneOncology, a national community oncology network, launched OneCommunity, a secure, interactive online platform used across our network of six practices and over 130 clinic sites. One feature is a “virtual” tumor board where physicians can post complex cases at any time and obtain input from disease-specific experts from within the network. Members can also post, comment and disseminate information about policy and education updates affecting oncology. Methods: OneCommunity launched on December 15, 2019 and all 442 members of OneOncology were allowed access. We tracked numbers of membership, tumor board cases, policy updates and questions, views and responses per post, and response time for tumor board and policy posts during the study period from launch through June 11, 2020. Results: In the first six months of use, 277 providers signed up and logged into the platform. 71 individual patient cases were presented across 10 specialty tumor boards. The mean time to first response was 35 hours ( &lt; 1 hour, 297 hours), median time was 20 hours, and 73% of postings had a response within 48 hours of original posting. The most robust tumor boards were breast, GI, and lung cancers. There was also a set of general posts that was nonspecific to patients including policy, COVID updates, and educational reviews. The average number of responses for tumor boards was significantly greater than general posts (3.5 vs. 1.8, p &lt; 0.05). The number of views for both types of posts, however, were high (406 vs. 346, p &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: An online communication platform is feasible and allows physicians to receive treatment suggestions for complex cases relatively quickly and across geographies. Tumor board cases received more interaction than policy and education updates. The platform lends itself to rapidly adding other aspects of cancer care such as COVID-19. Future applications include a network wide real-time molecular tumor board.
Unemployment and cancer screening:Baseline estimates to inform health care provision in thecontext of COVID-19 economic distress
Authors: S. A. Fedewa, K. R. Yabroff, Z. Zheng, P. Bandi, A. G. Sauer, R. A. Smith, N. Nargis, J. Drope, A. Jemal
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2020)

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate has sharply risen from 3 5% in February2020 to 13 3% in May 2020, a level not seen since the Great Depression  There are an estimated 21 0 millionunemployed adults in the United States  Employers are the most common source of health insurance amongworking-aged adults and their families  Thus, job loss may lead to loss of insurance and reduce access to cancerscreening, which can detect cancer at earlier, more treatable stages, and reduce cancer mortality  In this study, weexamined sequential associations between unemployment, health insurance, and cancer screening to informCOVID's potential longer-lasting impacts on early cancer detection  Methods: Up-to-date (UTD) and recent (past-year) breast (BC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) screening prevalence were computed among respondents aged 50-64 years in 2000-2018 National Health Interview Survey data Respondents were grouped as unemployed (not working but looking BC n=852;CRC n=1,747) and employed(currently working BC n=19,013;CRC n= 36,566)  A series of logistic regression models with predicted marginalprobabilities were used to estimate unemployed vs  employed unadjusted (PR) and adjusted prevalence ratios(aPR) and corresponding 95% Confidence Intervals (CI)  Results: Unemployed adults were four times as likely to be uninsured as employed adults (41 4% v 10 0%, p-value<0 001)  Unemployment was associated with lower UTD breast (67 8% vs 77 5%, p-value<0 001, PR=0 82, 95%CI0 77,0 87) and colorectal (49 4% and 60 1%, p-value<0 001, PR=0 86, 95%CI 0 80, 0 92) cancer screeningprevalence  These differences remained after adjusting for race/ethnicity, age, and sex, but were eliminated afteraccounting for health insurance  Patterns and magnitudes of PR and aPRs were similar for past-year CRC and BCscreening prevalence  Conclusion: Unemployment was adversely associated with guideline-recommended and potentially life-savingbreast and colorectal cancer screening  Compared to the employed, the unemployed disproportionately lackedhealth insurance, which accounted for their lower cancer screening utilization  Expanding and ensuring healthinsurance coverage after job loss may mitigate COVID-19's economic impacts on cancer screening
Recurrence of endometrial cancer in a hysterectomised patient treated with tamoxifen for breast cancer: a case report
Authors: James Woolas, Megan Davis, Siavash Rahimi
Journal: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (2020)

Tamoxifen exposure is a recognised risk for primary endometrial cancer. This case serves as a reminder to meticulously check the past medical history and inform patients of the risk-benefit of treatment as part of a shared-decision making process.
Practice patterns in bone modifying agent utilization: An analysis in patients with metastatic cancer and bone involvement at an NCI-designated center.
Authors: Poorni Manohar, Kyle Bastys, Micah Tratt, Julie Gralow, Keith D. Eaton
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2020)

62 Background: Bone modifying agents (BMA) can reduce skeletal related events for patients with metastatic cancer and bone involvement. ASCO supports use of Zoledronic acid (ZA) and Denosumab (DB), with specific endorsement of both an every 3 to 4-week (Q1 month) and every 12-week (Q3 month) schedule for ZA in metastatic breast cancer. Trends in BMA utilization may identify areas to improve value in cancer care. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed utilization of BMAs at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance/University of Washington from fiscal year 2015-2019. We identified 1,286 patients who underwent 12,594 administrations. Data was categorized by BMA (ZA acid vs DB) and disease group. A 45-day cutoff defined interval of treatment (Q1 vs Q3). Whole-sale acquisition cost (WAC) and administration costs were estimated from CMS allowed charges. We calculated total costs spent during time period and projected potential savings for switching from Q1 to Q3 ZA administration. Results: A total of 904 patients received ZA (7201 administrations) and 473 patients received DB (5,393 administrations). The breast, myeloma, prostate, and kidney groups accounted for 81% of administrations. In breast, 427 patients received ZA (1,761 administrations) and 411 patients received DB (2,708 administrations). Among all patients, DM and ZA administrations remained constant over time, however, in breast, there was a trend towards less DB and more ZA administrations. The administration frequency (Q1 vs Q3) for both drugs stayed constant in the total cohort. Among ZA administrations in breast, there was a reversal in the trend for Q1 vs Q3, with Q1 being most common in 2015, and Q3 the most common in 2019 (crossover in 2018 fiscal year). In breast, 30 patients transitioned from Q1 to Q3, with majority occurring before 2017 ASCO update. Total costs on BMA utilization was estimated as $11,672,189,80, 90% attributable to DB. The projected savings for switching from Q1 to Q3 ZA administration was $1,223,961.08. Conclusions: BMA prescribing patterns from 2015-2019 show no change in ZA and DB utilization, though a trend towards increased ZA and decreased DB use in breast cancer was observed. There was a transition in practice patterns to adopt the Q3 ZA administration over time, however, the uptake of this has been incomplete. It is hoped that raising awareness of these practice patterns will lead to adoption of guideline-based decision making and promote value-based cancer care.
Linear and branched <i>β-</i>Glucans degrading enzymes from versatile <i>Bacteroides uniformis</i> JCM 13288<sup>T</sup> and their roles in cooperation with gut bacteria
Authors: Ravindra Pal Singh, Sivasubramanian Rajarammohan, Raksha Thakur, Mohsin Hassan
Journal: Gut Microbes (2020)

β-glucans are the dietary nutrients present in oats, barley, algae, and mushrooms. The macromolecules are well known for their immune-modulatory activity; however, how the human gut bacteria digest them is vaguely understood. In this study, Bacteroides uniformis JCM 13288 T was found to grow on laminarin, pustulan, and porphyran. We sequenced the genome of the strain, which was about 5.05 megabase pairs and contained 4868 protein-coding genes. On the basis of growth patterns of the bacterium, two putative polysaccharide utilization loci for β-glucans were identified from the genome, and associated four putative genes were cloned, expressed, purified, and characterized. Three glycoside hydrolases (GHs) that were endo-acting enzymes (BuGH16, BuGH30, and BuGH158), and one which was an exo-acting (BuGH3) enzyme. The BuGH3, BuGH16, and BuGH158 can cleave linear exo/endo- β- 1-3 linkages while BuGH30 can digest endo- β- 1-6 linkages. BuGH30 and BuGH158 were further explored for their roles in digesting β- glucans and generation of oligosaccharides, respectively. The BuGH30 predominately found to cleave long chain β- 1-6 linked glucans, and obtained final product was gentiobiose. The BuGH158 used for producing oligosaccharides varying from degree of polymerization 2 to 7 from soluble curdlan. We demonstrated that these oligosaccharides can be utilized by gut bacteria, which either did not grow or poorly grew on laminarin. Thus, B. uniformis JCM 13288 T is not only capable of utilizing β-glucans but also shares these glycans with human gut bacteria for potentially maintaining the gut microbial homeostasis.
Famotidine use and quantitativesymptom tracking for COVID-19 in nonhospitalizedpatients: A case series
Authors: Tobias Janowitz, Eva C. Gablenz, David J. Pattinson, Timothy C. Wang, Joseph Conigliaro, Kevin J. Tracey, David A. Tuveson
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2020)

Objective: Treatment options for nonhospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to reducemorbidity, mortality, and spread of the disease are an urgent global need  The over-the-counter histamine-2 receptorantagonist famotidine is a putative therapy for COVID-19  We quantitively assessed longitudinal changes in patient-reported outcome measures in nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19 who self-administered high-dose famotidineorally  Design: Patients were enrolled consecutively after signing written informed consent  Data on demographics, COVID-19 diagnosis, famotidine use, drug related side-effects, temperature measurements, oxygen saturations, and symptom scores were obtained using questionnaires and telephone interviews  Based on an NIH-endorsedProtocol to research Patient Experience of COVID-19, we collected longitudinal severity scores of five symptoms(cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, headaches, and anosmia) and general unwellness on a 4-point ordinal scalemodeled on performance status scoring  All data are reported at the patient level  Longitudinal combined normalizedsymptom scores were statistically compared  Results: Ten consecutive patients with COVID-19 who self-administered high-dose oral famotidine were identified The most frequently used famotidine regimen was 80mg three times daily (n=6) for a median of 11 days (range: 5 to21 days)  Famotidine was well tolerated  All patients reported marked improvements of disease-related symptomsafter starting famotidine  The combined symptom score improved significantly within 24 hours of starting famotidineand peripheral oxygen saturation (n=2), and device recorded activity (n=1) increased  Conclusions: The results of this case series suggest that high-dose oral famotidine is well tolerated and associated with improved patient reported outcomes in nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19  A blinded outpatient trial isplanned  The findings may be transferable and relevant to the treatment of patients with cancer and COVID-19
Targeting the tumor immune microenvironment with “nutraceuticals”: From bench to clinical trials
Authors: Laura Masuelli, Monica Benvenuto, Chiara Focaccetti, Sara Ciuffa, Sara Fazi, Arianna Bei, Martino Tony Miele, Lucia Piredda, Vittorio Manzari, Andrea Modesti, Roberto Bei
Journal: Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2020)
壊死巣量の診断指標:全周性VHレジストリの880症例におけるin vivoでのVirtual Histology IVUS (VH-IVUS)による分析
Authors: Garcia-Garcia H, Serruys Pw, Mintz Gs, Saito S, Klauss, Margolis Mp, Carlier S, Schwartz R
Journal: Circulation (2006)
Slope of Kidney Function and Its Association with Longitudinal Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease among Individuals with CKD
Authors: Paula F. Orlandi, Dawei Xie, Wei Yang, Jordana B. Cohen, Rajat Deo, Ana C. Ricardo, Sarah Schrauben, Xue Wang, L. Lee Hamm, Jiang He, James H. Sondheimer, Krishna Kallem, Raymond Townsend, Dominic Raj, Afshin Parsa, Amanda H. Anderson, Harold I. Feldman
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2020)

Significance Statement Among individuals with CKD, decreases in eGFR, or increases that are steeper than the average loss, have been associated with increased risks of death and cardiovascular events. Sarcopenia and chronic illness might explain why apparent eGFR improvement relates to poor outcomes. The authors investigated the association between slopes of eGFR (defined with yearly eGFR) and the risks of death and cardiovascular events in a prospective cohort of adults with CKD. They found that declines in eGFR greater than the average eGFR loss were associated with increased risks of death and cardiovascular events, despite multiple adjustments. However, neither rises in eGFR nor losses smaller than the average eGFR loss were associated with increases in such risks. These findings suggest that, in CKD, improving eGFR might not be associated with concerning outcomes. Background Slopes of eGFR have been associated with increased risks of death and cardiovascular events in a U-shaped fashion. Poor outcomes in individuals with rising eGFR are potentially attributable to sarcopenia, hemodilution, and other indicators of clinical deterioration. Methods To investigate the association between eGFR slopes and risks of death or cardiovascular events, accounting for multiple confounders, we studied 2738 individuals with moderate to severe CKD participating in the multicenter Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study. We used linear, mixed-effects models to estimate slopes with up to four annual eGFR assessments, and Cox proportional hazards models to investigate the association between slopes and the risks of death and cardiovascular events. Results Slopes of eGFR had a bell-shaped distribution (mean [SD], −1.5 [−2] ml/min per 1.73 m 2 per year). Declines of eGFR that were steeper than the average decline associated with progressively increasing risks of death (hazard ratio [HR], 1.23; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.09 to 1.39; for a slope 1 SD below the average) and cardiovascular events (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.38). Rises of eGFR or declines lower than the average decline were not associated with the risk of death or cardiovascular events. Conclusions In a cohort of individuals with moderate to severe CKD, we observed steep declines of eGFR were associated with progressively increasing risks of death and cardiovascular events; however, we found no increased risks associated with eGFR improvement. These findings support the potential value of eGFR slopes in clinical assessment of adults with CKD.
Shared decision-making attitudes and practices in multidisciplinary cancer care teams.
Authors: Christina Mangir, Leigh Boehmer, Sandra E. Kurtin, Lalan S. Wilfong, Rena Kass, Lillie D. Shockney, Mary C. Politi, Reshma Jagsi, Thomas William LeBlanc, Ellen Sonet, Jamie L Studts, Andrea Hutton, Elana Plotkin, Lorna Lucas, Amy Copeland
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2020)

180 Background: Patients who engage in decision making are more likely to experience confidence in treatment decisions, satisfaction with treatment, and trust in clinicians. The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) conducted a survey to explore multidisciplinary team attitudes and practices around shared decision-making (SDM) and health literacy. Methods: ACCC convened a steering committee of multidisciplinary specialists and advocacy representatives to guide this research. The survey included 26 mostly closed-ended questions and was open to multidisciplinary cancer programs from 10/29/19 to 2/20/20. Exploratory analysis was performed on this data set of 305 complete responses. Results: While most respondents reported engaging patients in decision-making to some degree, only 50% reported that SDM is a top organizational priority. 33% reported organizational efforts to formally integrate SDM into the clinical workflow, with only 15% indicating staff opportunities for basic SDM training. The three most frequently cited perceived barriers to engaging in SDM were patients feeling overwhelmed (53%), wanting to defer decisions to clinicians (46%), and having limited health literacy (46%). Only 13% indicated that lack of time was a barrier. Less than half (41%) of respondents reported using patient decision aids to support SDM. Respondents represented a wide range of multidisciplinary team members, though surgical oncologists and general surgeons (20% and 16% respectively) are overrepresented in the results. Conclusions: SDM is commonly accepted as essential to patient engagement but clarity in terminology and prioritizing formal integration of SDM into practice is limited. Strategies to improve integration of SDM into oncology practice should include: 1) Educational initiatives and tools to overcome barriers to SDM, including patient decision aids and SDM training, 2) Initiatives to address health literacy as it relates to patient and caregiver engagement in decision making, 3) Psychosocial support for patients whose emotional upset is a barrier to SDM, 4) Healthcare policies that encourage and incentive providers to engage in SDM. Future analyses will require concurrent assessment of patient, caregiver, healthcare professional, and administrator perspectives.
Clinical outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 in patients with pre-existing liver diseases: A multicenter study in South Korea
Authors: Yu Rim Lee, Min Kyu Kang, Jeong Eun Song, Hyun Jung Kim, Young Oh Kweon, Won Young Tak, Se Young Jang, Jung Gil Park, Changhyeong Lee, Jae Seok Hwang, Byoung Kuk Jang, Jeong Ill Suh, Woo Jin Chung, Byung Seok Kim, Soo Young Park
Journal: Clinical and Molecular Hepatology (2020)

Although coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly worldwide, the implication of pre-existing liver disease on the outcome of COVID-19 remains unresolved.<br/>.A total of 1,005 patients who were admitted to five tertiary hospitals in South Korea with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were included in this study. Clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients with coexisting liver disease as well as the predictors of disease severity and mortality of COVID-19 were assessed.<br/>.Of the 47 patients (4.7%) who had liver-related comorbidities, 14 patients (1.4%) had liver cirrhosis. Liver cirrhosis was more common in COVID-19 patients with severe pneumonia than in those with non-severe pneumonia (4.5% vs. 0.9%, P=0.006). Compared to patients without liver cirrhosis, a higher proportion of patients with liver cirrhosis required oxygen therapy; were admitted to the intensive care unit; had septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or acute kidney injury; and died (P<0.05). The overall survival rate was significantly lower in patients with liver cirrhosis than in those without liver cirrhosis (log-rank test, P=0.003). Along with old age and diabetes, the presence of liver cirrhosis was found to be an independent predictor of severe disease (odds ratio, 4.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-17.02;P=0.026) and death (hazard ratio, 2.86; 95% CI, 1.04-9.30; P=0.042) in COVID-19 patients.<br/>.This study suggests liver cirrhosis is a significant risk factor for COVID-19. Stronger personal protection and more intensive treatment for COVID-19 are recommended in these patients.