Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and prognosis is poor for those who experience recurrence or develop metastatic disease, in part due to the lack of active therapeutic directions. The National Cancer Institute convened a Cervical Cancer Clinical Trials Planning Meeting (CTPM) in October 2018 to facilitate the design of hypothesis-driven clinical trials focusing on

BackgroundCarcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels are used in conjunction with imaging to monitor response to systemic therapy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We sought to identify a threshold for CEA change from baseline to predict progressive disease (PD) in mCRC patients receiving first-line therapy. MethodsPatients from trials collected in the ARCAD database were included if baseline CEA

BackgroundChildhood cancer survivors have an increased risk of heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and stroke. They may benefit from prediction models that account for cardiotoxic cancer treatment exposures combined with information on traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. MethodsChildhood Cancer Survivor Study participants (n = 22 643) were followed

BACKGROUND DNA methylation plays a critical role in breast cancer development. Previous studies have identified DNA methylation marks in white blood cells as promising biomarkers for breast cancer. However, these studies were limited by low statistical power and potential biases. Utilizing a new methodology, we investigated DNA methylation marks for their associations with breast cancer risk. METHODS

BackgroundAlterations in the epidermal growth factor receptor and PI3K pathways in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are frequent events that promote tumor progression. Ectopic expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor–targeting microRNA (miR), miR-27a* (miR-27a-5p), inhibits tumor growth. We sought to identify mechanisms mediating repression of miR-27a* in HNSCC, which have

BackgroundCoffee has been consistently associated with lower risk of liver cancer and chronic liver disease, suggesting that coffee affects mechanisms underlying disease development. MethodsWe measured serum metabolites using untargeted metabolomics in 1:1 matched nested case-control studies of liver cancer (n = 221 cases) and fatal liver disease (n = 242 cases) in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene

BackgroundExternal validation of risk models is critical for risk-stratified breast cancer prevention. We used the Individualized Coherent Absolute Risk Estimation (iCARE) as a flexible tool for risk model development and comparative model validation and to make projections for population risk stratification. MethodsPerformance of two recently developed models, one based on the Breast and Prostate

BACKGROUND The development of non-invasive tests for the early detection of aggressive prostate tumours is a major unmet clinical need. miRNAs are promising non-invasive biomarkers: they play essential roles in tumourigenesis, are stable under diverse analytical conditions and can be detected in body fluids. METHODS We measured the longitudinal stability of 673 miRNAs by collecting serial urines from

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening remains underutilized especially in safety-net systems. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness, costs, and cost-effectiveness of organized outreach using fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) compared with usual care. METHODS Patients aged 50-75 years eligible for CRC screening from eight participating primary care safety-net clinics were

BACKGROUND Cancer screening is a complex process encompassing risk assessment, the initial screening examination, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment of cancer precursors or early cancers. Metrics that enable comparisons across different screening targets are needed. We present population-based screening metrics for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers for nine sites participating in the PROSPR

Historically, the gold standard for evaluation of cancer therapeutics, including medical devices, has been the randomized clinical trial. Although high-quality clinical data are essential for safe and judicious use of therapeutic oncology devices, class II devices require only preclinical data for US Food and Drug Administration approval and are often not rigorously evaluated prior to widespread uptake

The Research to Accelerate Cures and Equity (RACE) for Children Act was enacted in 2017 to authorize the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require pediatric studies for new cancer drugs that have a molecular target relevant to the growth or progression of a pediatric cancer. To assess the possible scope of this new policy, we examined all 78 adult cancer drugs approved by the FDA from 2007 to

In 2013, the American Society for Radiation Oncology recommended against the routine use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in breast cancer patients. We evaluated trends in the use of IMRT before and after the release of the recommendation. Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Medicare data, we identified 13 457 breast cancer patients diagnosed between 2012 and 2015 who received

BackgroundBrain metastases are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Integration of hospice at the end of life offers patients symptom relief and improves quality of life, particularly for elderly patients who are less able to tolerate brain-directed therapy. Population-level investigations of hospice utilization among elderly patients with brain metastases are limited. MethodsUsing

Sipuleucel-T is an autologous cellular immunotherapy that induces an immune response targeted against prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) to treat asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). In the phase III IMPACT study, sipuleucel-T was associated with a statistically significantly increased overall survival (OS) (median 4.1 months) versus placebo.

BackgroundPrior research demonstrated statistically significant racial disparities related to lung cancer treatment and outcomes. We examined differences in initial imaging and survival between Blacks, Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. MethodsThe linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare database between 2007 and 2015 was used to compare initial imaging modality for patients with

BACKGROUND PTEN loss has long been associated with adverse findings in early prostate cancer. Studies to date have yet to employ quantitative methods (qPTEN) for measuring of prognostically relevant amount of PTEN loss in post-surgical setting and demonstrate its clinical application. METHODS PTEN protein levels were measured by immunohistochemistry in radical prostatectomy (RP) samples from training

BACKGROUND Over the past several decades, treatment of cancer in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) has evolved substantially, leading to steady improvements in estimated five-year survival at diagnosis. However, the impact on late mortality in this population is largely unexamined. We investigated temporal trends in mortality among five-year AYA cancer survivors. METHODS The Surveillance, Epidemiology

Whether radiation therapy (RT) affects contralateral breast cancer (CBC) risk in women with pathogenic germline variants in moderate- to high-penetrance breast cancer-associated genes is unknown. In a population-based case-control study, we examined the association between RT, variants in ATM, BRCA1/2, or CHEK2*1100delC, and CBC risk. We analyzed 708 cases of women with CBC, and 1,399 controls with

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to estimate precise age-specific tubo-ovarian carcinoma (TOC) and breast cancer (BC) risks for carriers of pathogenic variants in RAD51C and RAD51D. METHODS We analysed data from 6178 families, 125 with pathogenic variants in RAD51C; and 6690 families, 60 with pathogenic variants in RAD51D. TOC and BC relative and cumulative risks were estimated using complex

BackgroundNeuroblastoma is a childhood malignancy that arises from the developing sympathetic nervous system. Although mitochondrial dysfunctions have been implicated in the pathophysiology of neuroblastoma, the role of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has not been extensively investigated. METHODS2,404 Caucasian children diagnosed with neuroblastoma and 9,310 ancestry-matched controls were recruited at the

BACKGROUND The National Cancer Institute Moonshot℠ research initiative calls for improvements in the analysis and reporting of treatment toxicity to advise key stakeholders on treatment tolerability and inform regulatory and clinical decision-making. This study illustrates alternative approaches to toxicity evaluation using the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP-R04) clinical

BACKGROUND The germline cancer predisposition genes associated with increased risk of each clinical subtype of breast cancer, defined by estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2, are not well defined. METHODS A total of 54,555 invasive breast cancer patients with 56,480 breast tumors were subjected to clinical hereditary cancer multigene panel testing. Heterogeneity for predisposition

BACKGROUND The Costa Rica HPV Vaccine Trial (CVT) has documented cross-protection of the bivalent HPV vaccine against HPV31/33/45 up to seven years after vaccination, even with one dose of the vaccine. However, the durability of such protection remains unknown. Here, we evaluate different schedules of the vaccine's efficacy against HPV31/33/45 out to 11 years post-vaccination, expanding to other non-targeted

BACKGROUND Investigate the durability of vaccine efficacy (VE) against HPV16/18 infections and antibody response among non-randomized women who received a single-dose of the bivalent HPV vaccine compared to women who received multiple doses and unvaccinated women. METHODS HPV infections were compared between HPV16/18 vaccinated women aged 18 to 25 years who received one (N = 112), two (N = 62), or

The incidence of melanoma in the United States has been increasing over the past several decades. Prognosis largely depends on disease stage, with 5-year melanoma-specific survival ranging from as high as 99% in patients with stage I disease to less than 10% for some patients with stage IV (distant metastatic) disease. Fortunately, in the last 5-10 years, there have been remarkable treatment advances

While screening mammography has been demonstrated to contribute to reducing mortality due to breast cancer, some have suggested that reduced all-cause mortality should constitute the burden of proof for effectiveness. Using a microsimulation model of the development, detection and treatment of breast cancer it is straightforward to demonstrate that this is an unrealistic expectation for trials of practical

BACKGROUND Long-term mortality after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is conventionally calculated from the time of HCT, ignoring temporal changes in survivors' mortality risks. Conditional survival rates, accounting for time already survived, are relevant for optimal delivery of survivorship care, but have not been widely quantified. We estimated conditional survival by elapsed survival time

BACKGROUND Current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lung cancer screening guidelines are based on smoking history and age (55-80 y). These guidelines may miss those at higher risk, even at lower exposures of smoking or younger ages, due to other risk factors such as race, family history or comorbidity. In this study, we characterized the demographic and clinical profiles of those selected

The incidence and mortality from colorectal cancer in younger adults (<55 years) is increasing. We reviewed the complete database of a gene-expression test, Oncotype DX Colon Recurrence Score® test, to determine age-related differences in Recurrence Score® (RS) and single-gene results (7 cancer-related of the 12-gene assay). We included 20,478 Stage II & III A/B colon cancer patients submitted to Genomic

BACKGROUND Although adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancers represent a unique spectrum of malignancies, epidemiologic studies of cancer incidence often group AYAs together with younger or older populations, obscuring patterns specific to this population. METHODS We examined AYA cancer incidence trends in 41 countries over a 15-year period using the CI5plus database. Truncated age-standardized incidence

BACKGROUND To forecast survival and enhance treatment decisions for patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases (mCRC) by using on-treatment radiomics signature to predict tumor sensitiveness to FOLFIRI±cetuximab. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 667 mCRC patients treated with FOLFIRI alone [F] or in combination with cetuximab [FC]. CT quality was classified as high (HQ) or standard (SD). Four

BACKGROUND There is no standard of care with respect to the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in resectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). We performed an intention-to-treat analysis with data from a single institution and the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to identify whether the use of NAC impacts survival in resectable MPM. METHODS Patients with MPM who had surgery with curative intent

BackgroundPatient-reported outcome (PRO) measurements linked to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) grading may improve symptom adverse event (AE) reporting in pediatric oncology trials. We evaluated construct validity, responsiveness, and test-retest reliability of the Ped-PRO–CTCAE measurement system for children and adolescents undergoing cancer care. Methods482 children (7–18

BACKGROUND The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) maintains that the eighth edition of its Staging Manual (AJCC8) has improved accuracy compared to the seventh (AJCC7). However, there are concerns that implementation may disrupt analysis of active clinical trials for stage III patients. We used an independent cohort of melanoma patients to test the extent to which AJCC8 has improved prognostic

BACKGROUND Rapid access to pancreatic imaging and regular pancreatic surveillance may help identify Stage I pancreatic cancer. We investigated recent trends in the stage of newly-diagnosed PDACs, age at diagnosis, and survival. METHODS Trends in age-adjusted incidence of Stage IA pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) between 2004 and 2016 were determined from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance

BACKGROUND Understanding the biological differences between sexes in cancer is essential for personalized treatment and prevention. We hypothesized that the extreme down-regulation of chromosome Y gene expression (EDY) is a signature of cancer risk in men and the functional mediator of the reported association between the mosaic loss of chromosome Y (LOY) and cancer. METHODS We advanced a method to

BACKGROUND Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by total mesorectal excision (TME) is the standard treatment for locally-advanced rectal cancer. There is interest in de-escalating local therapy after a clinical complete response (cCR) to CRT. We hypothesized that a watch-and-wait (WW) strategy offers comparable cancer-specific survival (CSS), superior quality-adjusted survival, and reduced

BACKGROUND The proportion of tumors of various histologies that may respond to drugs targeted to molecular alterations is unknown. NCI-MATCH, a collaboration between ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), was initiated to find efficacy signals by matching patients with refractory malignancies to treatment targeted to potential tumor molecular drivers

BACKGROUND Although 20 pancreatic cancer susceptibility loci have been identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in individuals of European ancestry, much of its heritability remains unexplained and the genes responsible largely unknown. METHODS To discover novel pancreatic cancer risk loci and possible causal genes, we performed a pancreatic cancer transcriptome-wide association study

BACKGROUND Studies conducted in Swedish populations have shown that men with lowest prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels at ages 44-50 and 60 have very low risk of future distant metastasis or death from prostate cancer. This study investigates benefits and harms of screening strategies stratified by PSA levels. METHODS PSA levels and diagnosis patterns from two microsimulation models of prostate

BACKGROUND As new targeted oral anti-neoplastic therapies have emerged in recent years, the development of effective strategies that promote optimal adherence to cancer medication regimens has become an important priority. METHODS We conducted a scoping literature review to search for English language articles published through July 15, 2019 to identify studies that reported the testing and/or evaluation

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is considered to result from a combination of genetic and lifestyle-related factors, but the degree to which an overall healthy lifestyle may attenuate the impact of multiple genetic variants on invasive breast cancer risk remains equivocal. METHODS Using Cox proportional hazards regression models, we examined the association of a modified healthy lifestyle index (HLI) with

BACKGROUND In this study we sought to estimate the association between oral oncology parity law adoption and anticancer medication use for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or multiple myeloma. METHODS This was an observational study of administrative claims from 2008-2017. Among individuals initiating tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) for CML or immunomodulatory drugs for multiple myeloma

Advances in cancer care have led to improved survival, which coupled with demographic trends have contributed to rapid growth in the number of patients needing cancer care services. However, with increasing caseload, care complexity, and administrative burden, the current workforce is ill-equipped to meet these burgeoning new demands. These trends have contributed to clinician burnout, compounding