This piece in JCO under the Art in Oncology section beautifully describes how one diverse group comes together to process the death of a shared loved one. Find the article here (https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/JCO.22.02611).
Despite advances in breast cancer screening and awareness campaigns, some patients still neglect and delay of breast cancer care until their neglected breast cancer (NBC) becomes an advanced disease and causes symptoms. With the locally infiltrative nature of breast cancer, patients with advanced NBC often present with ulcerative and/or fungating breast masses causing intractable pain, bleeding, malodorous discharge, and infection. Radiotherapy (RT) is commonly used in palliative cancer care. A “quad shot” (14-14.8 Gy in 4 fractions, b.i.d.) is a pRT regimen consisting of only two consecutive days per course, which can be repeated, if needed, every 3-4 weeks to a total of 42-44.4 Gy. Quad shot (QS) has shown rapid and durable symptoms palliation with low toxicity in patients with non-bone malignant lesions. This small case series is here to suggest it’s a great option to palliate neglected breast tumors as well. Find the article here (https://www.advancesradonc.org/article/S2452-1094(23)00058-1/fulltext).
Breast cancer patients with supraclavicular nodal disease often times have worse clinical prognoses. This retrospective study found no improvement in recurrence or survival outcomes when patients with supraclavicular lymph node dissection was performed in addition to adjuvant nodal radiation. Find the article here (https://www.thegreenjournal.com/article/S0167-8140(23)00177-9/fulltext).
Really good Post-Doc position available at Medical University of South Carolina.
A post-doctoral position is available to be involved in developing and testing novel cellular therapies to induce immune tolerance and tissue regeneration, and for studying the cell biology of cancers. Project involves studies using cell lines, engineered primary cells, human samples, human iPSCs, 2D cultures, and 3D Organoids, and conventional and novel humanized rodent models. Understanding the role of various cellular proteins in tumorigenesis employing advanced imaging technologies and molecular biology approaches, and novel mouse models will be part of the project. Other aspects will include engineered primary immune cell and stem cell for treating autoimmunity and cancers. More details can be found at: https://medicine.musc.edu/departments/microbiology/research-program/vasu-lab
Candidates must hold a recent doctoral degree or equivalent in biomedical sciences. Candidates with previous experience and publication record in the fields of iPSC and organoid culture, immunology, cellular therapy, and/or cancer cell biology will be considered. Minorities and women are especially encouraged to apply to address significant gender and racial/ethnic gaps in the nation’s biomedical research workforce.
MUSC is located in the beautiful historic district of Charleston bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and beautiful beaches to the east, and national forests and wildlife refuges to the north and south. MUSC is the state’s top-ranked medical center.
For detailed information and to apply, contact Dr. Vasu at vasu@musc.edu
An Indian-made “preservative-free” product of one of the most seemingly benign over-the-counters out there, artificial tears, has been found to widely carry a terrifyingly drug-resistant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that has led to US cases of vision loss, enucleation and even death. Find the article here (https://www.cdc.gov/hai/outbreaks/crpa-artificial-tears.html).
Really unfortunate to lear that a year after FDA approval and nearly 2 years after reporting of the VISION trial, patients with refractory mCRPC cannot start treatment with the life prolonging therapy Pluvicto due to shortages from production. Find the debacle of an issue here (https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/health/pluvicto-prostate-cancer/index.html).
Contrary to conventional wisdom, a large UK population-based study suggests progesterone-only contraceptive methods slightly increase risk of breast cancer to the same degree as when combined with estrogen, with the risk increasing with increasing age of use. Find the article here (https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004188).
Key to the success of achieving herd immunity with live attenuated viruses like that found in the history-changing polio vaccine is its ability to spread the non-pathogenic virus and the immunity it confers beyond the initial recipient. A novel oral polio vaccine rolled out by the WHO two years ago specifically designed to avoid the dreaded possibility of mutations occurring upon repeated person-to-person spread that would convert the attenuated virus into a pathogenic one has now been found to have done just that with seven children recently paralyzed by this novel vaccine-derived polio strain. Find the article here (https://www.science.org/content/article/first-polio-cases-linked-new-oral-vaccine-detected-africa).
Machine learning of digital histopathology of colon adenocarcinoma has identified a novel and quantifiable “tumor adipose feature” (moderately to poorly differentiated tumor cells in close proximity to adipocytes) that is prognostic of survival, and this retrospective look at 258 cases treated in Milan demonstrates this feature is reliably measured by pathologists and retains its prognostic value. Find the article here (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2802392).
Could low dose radiation dampen the neurodegenerative effects of Alzheimer’s dementia? This pilot study enrolled 5 patients with early Alzheimer's dementia. They were treated with 10 Gy in 5 fractions to the whole brain over 1 week. Toxicity was mild and consisted of temporary hair loss. At 1 year, 3 patients had improved cognition and 1 patient remained stable. Find the article here (https://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(23)00286-9/fulltext).
There are limited treatment options for patients that are afflicted with Renal Cell Carcinoma that is inoperable. This small phase 2 trial adds to the body of prospective data showing that SABR (stereotactic ablative radiotherapy) is a safe and effective treatment strategy for inoperable RCC. Find the article here (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0302283823026258?via%3Dihub).
Treatment options for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) have minimally advanced since 2004, while the annual deaths and economic toll have increased alarmingly. Phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) is associated with alcohol and nicotine dependence. This article highlights the PDE4 inhibitor apremilast (90 mg/d) reduced excessive drinking in non–treatment-seeking individuals with AUD in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. These results demonstrate that apremilast suppresses excessive alcohol drinking across the spectrum of AUD severity. Find the article here (https://www.jci.org/articles/view/159103?utm_source=notices&utm_medium=email&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=JCI+-+March+15%2C+2023%2C+issue+published).
Charles David Allis, a world-renowned leader in the field of chromatin biology, passed away on 8 January 2023, at the age of 71. This article in Nature Genetics highlights his contribution and illustrate who he was as a person. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-023-01331-z).
Apheresis is a treatment option for severe dyslipidemia which has been introduced approximately 40 years ago to clinical practice and remains a treatment option for severe dyslipidemia, especially in homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia and elevated lipoprotein(a), if other forms of therapy fail to achieve targets. Admittedly, I was not familiar with this technique/approach. I think the merit in its utility should be highlighted better.
Hub