Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Dermatology, NEJM / 20.07.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jane Fang, MD Clinical Athenex, Inc. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Tirbanibulin is a first-in-class synthetic molecule that has potent anti-proliferative activity by inhibiting tubulin polymerization and disrupting src kinase signaling. It has been formulated as an ointment for the treatment of actinic keratosis, a very common precancerous condition of UV-damaged skin that affects over 50 million people in the US. The most commonly adopted management approach is to remove AK lesions as it is hard to predict which lesion will become cancerous. Lesion-directed treatment like cryotherapy can effectively remove lesions one at a time but does not treat larger field of cancerization. Also, it is limited by associated pain and long term complication such as scarring. Currently approved topical treatments involve cumbersome application courses of weeks or months, and induce considerable local skin reactions that were not well tolerated by patients. The Phase 3 studies demonstrated that a short 5-day once daily course of tirbanibulin ointment 1% is an efficacious and safe topical treatment of actinic keratosis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, CDC, Emory, Gender Differences, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 08.07.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Farhad Islami, MD PHD Scientific Director, Cancer Disparity Research American Cancer Society MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Cancer Society (ACS), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) have collaborated annually since 1998 to provide updated information about cancer occurrence and trends by cancer type, sex, age group, and racial/ethnic group in the United States. In this year’s report, we focus on national cancer statistics and highlight trends in stage-specific survival for melanoma of the skin, the first cancer for which effective immune checkpoint inhibitors were developed. (more…)
ASCO, Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Breast Cancer / 18.06.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Frank Vicini, MD, FACR, FASTRO Principal Investigator Radiation Oncologist at GenesisCare Member of NRG Oncology MedicalResearch.com: Would you briefly explain what is meant by DCIS? Response: DCIS stands for ductal carcinoma in situ and indicates the presence of abnormal cells inside a milk duct in one or both breasts. Sometimes referred to as Stage 0 (zero), it is considered the earliest form of breast cancer and is noninvasive. The tumor has not yet left the duct-- a passageway that transports milk from the breast lobules to the nipple-- and begun to invade the healthy tissue surrounding it. Standard treatment options for DCIS include surgery, radiation therapy and hormonal therapy. (more…)
ASCO, Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Journal Clinical Oncology, Metabolic Syndrome, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Social Issues / 08.06.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Giampaolo Greco PhD MPH Assistant Professor Department of Population Health Science and Policy Icahn School of Medicine  at Mount Sinai MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The motivation for our study was to understand why mortality rate from breast cancer is much higher in African American women than in White women, despite the fact that these groups have similar incidence rate of breast cancer. Metabolic syndrome, a cluster of metabolic abnormalities that includes abdominal obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia, is more prevalent among African American women and may be a risk factor for breast cancer. Subjective social status (SSS) is the perception of individuals of their own ranking in the social hierarchy and complements other parameters of socioeconomic status, such as income and education, that are considered more objective. Socioeconomic status is associated with cardiovascular and mental health. Although objective measures of social status are associated with worse breast cancer outcomes, the relationship of SSS to breast cancer is uncertain. (more…)
ASCO, Author Interviews, Cancer Research / 07.06.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mai Takahashi MD MPH Mount Sinai Beth Israel - Resident Physician New York, New York MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The incidence of head and neck cancer had been significantly increasing in North America and Europe driven by Human Papillomavirus-related cancer (HPV OPC) which account for more than 60% of total oropharyngeal cancer cases. Compared to environmentally related oropharyngeal cancer, the HPV OPC patient population is generally younger and has a much better prognosis. However, they will suffer from long-term deteriorations in quality of life (QoL) and the declines associated with treatment intensity. Hence multiple studies have focused on de-intensification therapy with reduced dose chemoradiotherapy (CRT).  (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Journal Clinical Oncology, Prostate Cancer, Radiation Therapy / 04.06.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anthony D'Amico, MD, PhD Professor and Chief of Genitourinary Radiation Oncology Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: 3 randomized trials published in Sept, 2020 in the Lancet and Lancet Oncology concluded that delivering radiation therapy (RT) after surgery for prostate cancer   when the PSA rises signaling recurrence (i.e. early salvage RT) as opposed to when the PSA is undetectable (i.e. adjuvant RT) did not compromise subsequent cancer progression. However these trials may have missed the benefit of adjuvant RT because a minority of men (9 to 17% of the study cohorts) were found to have adverse factors at prostatectomy which are associated with cancer progression and death from prostate cancer. Specifically, men with adverse pathology at prostatectomy comprise the vast majority of men who go on to die from prostate cancer and therefore have the most to gain from adjuvant RT. Yet, given the results of the 3 randomized trials many physicians are no longer offering adjuvant RT, even in men with adverse pathology at surgery. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Radiation Therapy / 03.06.2021

  Professor Jayant S Vaidya MBBS MS DNB FRCS PhD Professor of Surgery and Oncology University College London MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What type of single dose radiation is used? Response: The new paper published in the British Journal of Cancer (go.nature.com/3yN0mzu) expands on the previously published results of the large international randomised trial (TARGIT-A trial)(BMJ 2020;370:m2836), that confirmed the long-term effectiveness of Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy (TARGIT-IORT): a breast cancer treatment which is increasingly available throughout the world. The TARGIT-A trial found that a single dose of targeted radiotherapy during surgery (TARGIT-IORT) is just as effective as conventional radiotherapy, which requires several visits to hospital after surgery. From the perspective of patients, it is so much better for them and also allows prompt completion of cancer treatment during the COVID pandemic. Conventional external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is delivered from outside the body via a radiotherapy machine (linear accelerator), and consists of a daily treatment session (known as fractions) to the whole breast, over a period between three to six weeks. Each of these treatments is given over a few minutes, but requires up to 30 hospital visits, which could be a significant distance from where the patient lives. TARGIT-IORT is delivered immediately after lumpectomy (tumour removal), via a small ball-shaped device placed inside the breast, directly where the cancer had been. The single-dose treatment lasts for around 20 to 30 minutes and replaces the need for extra hospital visits, benefiting both patient safety and well-being. The device used is called INTRABEAM. The new results are described on the Nature.com and UCL webpages https://go.nature.com/3ymrplc blog https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2021/may/pioneering-single-dose-radiotherapy-breast-cancer-treatment and explained in a short video https://youtu.be/w0OMjVfJ5pY  (more…)
Author Interviews, Lipids, Prostate Cancer / 03.06.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michelle Hill, PhD Head, Precision & Systems Biomedicine Group QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The role of cholesterol and cholesterol lowering drug therapy in prostate cancer has been previously investigated with mixed results. Our previous laboratory studies indicate that high cholesterol diet accelerates the spreading of advanced prostate cancer. We also observed a change of the cellular location of cholesterol, from the cell periphery (plasma membrane) to inside the cell. This study investigates the how the change in cholesterol location promotes prostate cancer spread. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Dermatology, Melanoma / 02.06.2021

MedicalResearch.com interview with: Professor Marie-Aleth Richard EADV Communications Committee Chair Professor, University Hospital of La Timone Marseille, France MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this Roundtable event? Would you describe the mission of the European Commission’s Beating Cancer Plan? Response: Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is the first, comprehensive EU strategy on cancer, aimed at tackling the disease through all key stages: prevention; early detection; diagnosis and treatment; and quality of life of cancer patients and survivors. The Plan also aims to create opportunities to improve cancer care through research and innovative projects, such as artificial intelligence, and to promote equal access to knowledge and treatments in cancer care across Europe. The EADV seeks to create a bridge between the EU health policy agenda and scientific research, by engaging with policymakers, patient organisations and other stakeholders to support a patient centric-approach; tackling melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) at all stages of the pathway, from prevention to follow-up care. Through our Roundtable event, the EADV brought together these key stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of the EBCP on preventing both melanoma and NMSC, as well as identify joint recommendations that step-up measures towards this goal. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Colon Cancer, JAMA, USPSTF / 26.05.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Martha Kubik, Ph.D., R.N. Professor and Director School of Nursing College of Health and Human Services George Mason University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, yet about a quarter of people ages 50 to 75 have never been screened for this devastating disease. Fortunately, we know that screening for colorectal cancer is effective and saves lives. New science about colorectal cancer in people younger than 50 years old has enabled us to expand our previous guidelines to recommend that all adults ages 45 to 75 be screened for colorectal cancer to reduce their risk of dying from this disease.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Pancreatic, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 23.05.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kelly Herremans, MD Lead researcher on the study Surgical research fellow University of Florida College of Medicine Gainesville MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Pancreatic cancer is a deadly malignancy with an estimated 5-year survival rate of only 9%. Significant racial and ethnic disparities exist in pancreatic cancer. Underrepresentation in the clinical trials that determine safety and efficacy may contribute to these disparate outcomes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 17.05.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ying Liu, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Washington University School of Medicine Department of Surgery, Division of Public Health Sciences St. Louis, MO MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Non-Hispanic African American women experience a disproportional burden of poor breast cancer outcomes than non-Hispanic White women, which is associated with a higher incidence of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), more advanced stages at diagnosis, and lower treatment adherence. However, the differences in clinical treatment and outcomes between African American women with TNBC and their White counterparts have not been well defined. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Personalized Medicine / 09.05.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kelly de Ligt, PhD Postdoctoral researcher | Project lead ‘PRO implementation in clinical care’ Psycho Social Research and Epidemiology (PSOE) Netherlands Cancer Institute – Antoni van Leeuwenhoek MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and survivorship has become increasingly important within breast cancer care, as the majority of women survives at least 10 years after breast cancer diagnosis. Breast cancer survivors may experience multiple co-existing symptoms that affect their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Previous studies have mainly studied these symptoms as separate, independent items. However in reality, survivors usually experience multiple symptoms that can add up. We therefore studied the overall symptom burden in breast cancer survivors and tried to identify patterns in this. We believe this may be more relevant, as currently the needs of breast cancer survivors are not fully met and there is a growing demand for personalized follow-up care. We selected breast cancer survivors from the Netherlands Cancer Registry, which contains comprehensive information about diagnosis and treatment for all cancer patients in the Netherlands. Women who had been surgically treated with or without adjuvant treatment for breast cancer stages I to III and between one and five years after diagnosis were invited to participate in our survey. A total of 404 participating survivors were questioned about their experienced burden for fatigue, nausea, pain, shortness of breath, insomnia, appetite, constipation, diarrhoea, as well as emotional and cognitive symptoms  (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Colon Cancer, Gastrointestinal Disease, Sugar / 06.05.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jinhee Hur, PhD Research Fellow Department of Nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA 02115 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC, age <50 years at diagnosis) is rapidly rising in the US since the mid-1980s, with an unclear understanding of its etiology and contributors to the rise. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) exert adverse metabolic repercussions throughout the life course, including insulin resistance and inflammation. Higher SSB intake can induce obesity, which has been linked to risk of EO-CRC. A recent experimental study also suggests that high fructose corn syrup, a primary sweetener in SSBs, may promote colon tumor growth, independent of metabolic dysregulation. In the US, SSB consumption has dramatically increased during the 2nd half of the 20th century, and adolescents and young adults have been the heaviest SSB drinkers across all age groups. Thus, we expect SSBs may be an emerging risk factor for EO-CRC and likely contribute to the rising incidence of EO-CRC. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Technology / 05.05.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Saket Navlakha PhD Simons Center for Quantitative Biology Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cold Spring Harbor, NY  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this algorithm? How does it aide in patient care? Response: The machine learning algorithm helps to predict if and when a patient will develop severe COVID symptoms, based on information on how the patient presents on the day of infection. This could lead to improved patient outcomes, by getting a “heads up” on what may happen in the near future. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cancer Research, Colon Cancer, Radiation Therapy / 04.05.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: James Donald Byrne, Ph.D., M.D. Department of Radiation Oncology Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Radiation therapy is used as a treatment for more than half of all cancer patients and can be highly effective at shrinking tumors and killing cancer cells. But radiation treatment can also damage healthy tissue, including tissue in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract. This tissue injury can lead to oral mucositis, esophagitis, and proctitis — painful and sometimes debilitating tissue damage. It’s estimated that these injuries occur in over 200,000 patients in the U.S. each year. Our goal was to develop personalized shields that blocked radiation from affecting healthy GI tissue. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Gastrointestinal Disease, Genetic Research / 03.05.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Judy H. Cho, MD, Dean of Translational Genetics Director of The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly describe Crohn's disease? Whom does it primarily affect? Response: Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory intestinal disease, which affects ~3 million Americans a year. Its most typical age of onset ranges from 15-30 years, and many of those diagnosed also exhibit frequent abnormal healing and complications that constrict the digestive tract. The highest risk genetic mutations that increase risk for Crohn’s disease are found in the gene NOD2; these were first reported 20 years ago. Biological mechanisms by which NOD2 mutations drive Crohn’s disease, and especially fibrotic complications, have been incompletely described up until this point. Further, the reasons why many patients fail to respond to the commonly administered anti-TNF treatments also remain incompletely understood. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Nutrition / 30.04.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sa Kan Yoo MD PhD Division of Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine Kobe University, Kobe, Japan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cancer is often considered as a disease of “overgrowth”. But, many known “cancer genes” in fact induce cell death rather than cell growth. Because of this phenomenon, it requires involvement of many genes, not a single “cancer gene”, for cells to become cancer. Although this protective phenomenon that cancer genes induce cell death has been known, its exact mechanism has remained unclear. We tackled this problem using the fruit fly, found its mechanism and discovered a way to manipulate it by dietary nutrition. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Gender Differences, HPV, JAMA, Vaccine Studies / 27.04.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michelle M. Chen, MD/MHS Clinical Lecturer Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery University of Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and associated with several malignancies including oropharyngeal, cervical, vaginal, vulvar, penile, and anal cancers. In 2020, the FDA expanded the indications for HPV vaccination to include the prevention of oropharyngeal cancer, which is the most common HPV-associated malignancy and about 80% of oropharyngeal cancer patients are male. HPV vaccination rates are closely tracked for adolescents but less is known about vaccination rates for young adults. The goal of our study was to understand HPV vaccinations for young adult men and women, ages 18-21.  (more…)
AACR, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, NIH / 23.04.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nishanth Ulhas Nair, Ph.D. Affiliation: Staff Scientist at Cancer Data Science Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH) Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Date: April 22, 2021 Dr. Raffit Hassan and Dr. Eytan Ruppin at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are the senior authors of this study.  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with limited treatment options and poor prognosis. An in-depth knowledge of genetic, transcriptomic and immunogenic events involved in mesothelioma is critical for successful development of prognostics and therapeutic modalities. In this study we aim to address this by exploring a new large scale patient tumor dataset of 122 mesothelioma patients, called NCI mesothelioma patient data, along with their genomic, transcriptomic, and phenotypic information. Unlike previous large-scale studies which have been focused on malignant pleural mesothelioma patients, our dataset contains an approximately equal representation of malignant pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma patients which allows to identify any differences between them. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, NEJM / 22.04.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Aditya Bardia MD, MPH Director, Breast Cancer Research Program, Attending Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents an aggressive subtype of breast cancer associated with guarded prognosis. For patients with pre-treated metastatic TNBC, standard chemotherapy is associated with low response rate (5-10%) and poor progression-free survival (2-3 months), highlighting need for better therapies. Sacituzumab govitecan is an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) which  combines SN-38, an active metabolite of irinotecan, with an antibody against Trop-2, an antigen overexpressed in majority of triple negative breast cancer. (more…)
AACR, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, MD Anderson / 12.04.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Vivek Subbiah, MD Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics Division of Cancer Medicine The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: RET fusions occur predominantly in 2% of lung cancers and 10-20% of thyroid cancers, and in low frequency in an increasing number of diverse cancers, including pancreatic cancer, salivary gland cancer, and colorectal cancer. The therapeutic relevance of RET fusions occurring outside of lung and thyroid cancers has not been well established.. (more…)
AACR, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Prostate Cancer, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Social Issues / 10.04.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nicholas Mitsiades MD Associate Professor of Medicine - Hematology and Oncology Baylor College of Medicine Oncologist at the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: African American men have higher risk of developing prostate cancer and up to 2.2-times higher mortality rate from prostate cancer relative to men of other ancestries. This is the largest health disparity across all cancers in the US. Socioeconomic factors, especially access to healthcare, definitely contribute to this disparity. African American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer at a more advanced stage than other races, and this is unfortunately very common at Ben Taub Hospital, our safety-net hospital in the Houston area, where we serve large racial and ethnic minority populations and patients who lack commercial insurance. (more…)
AACR, Author Interviews, Brain Cancer - Brain Tumors, Cancer Research, Pediatrics / 10.04.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gregory K. Friedman, MD Associate Professor Director, Developmental Therapeutics Associate Scientist, O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB Neuro-Oncology Program Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology University of Alabama at Birmingham MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This was a first-in-children trial to test the safety of an immunotherapy using an altered cold-sore virus (herpes virus or HSV-1), G207, infused directly via catheters into progressive or recurrent malignant brain tumors. Due to modifications in G207, the virus does not harm normal cells but can infect and directly kill tumor cells while also stimulating the patient’s own immune system to attack the tumor. We tested G207 at two dose levels alone and when combined with a single low dose of radiation, which was used to increase virus replication and spread throughout the tumor. The research is important because outcomes are very poor for children with progressive malignant brain tumors, and the toxicities caused by current standard therapies are unacceptably high. Therefore, we greatly need effective and less-toxic targeted therapies for children. (more…)
AACR, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cancer Research, Nutrition, Prostate Cancer / 10.04.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Anna Plym PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main elements of the healthy lifestyle? Response: Prostate cancer is the most heritable of all cancers, with genetic factors accounting for a large proportion of cases. Although we do not currently know about all the genetic factors contributing, a recent study identified 269 genetic markers for prostate cancer, validated in multiple independent populations (Conti et al., Nature Genetics 2021, Plym et al, JNCI, 2021: https://academic.oup.com/jnci/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jnci/djab058/6207974). Based on a polygenic risk score derived from these 269 markers, we observed that men with a high polygenic risk score have over a 50% risk of developing prostate cancer within their lifetime. With this excess risk in mind, we were interested in possible ways in which the genetic risk of prostate could be attenuated. An increasing number of studies have suggested that lifestyle factors can affect the risk of lethal prostate cancer – however, these studies have seldom incorporated genetic factors. We know from other diseases that a healthy lifestyle is of benefit for individuals at high genetic risk, and we hypothesized that this would be the case for prostate cancer as well. In this study, we examined a healthy lifestyle score for lethal prostate cancer consisting of six components: healthy weight (BMI < 30), not smoking (never smoked or quit > 10 years ago), vigorous physical exercise (3 or more hours per week), high intake of tomatoes or tomato-based products (7 servings or more per week), high intake of fatty fish (1 or more serving per week) and low intake of processed meat (less than 3 servings/week of beef or pork hot dogs, bacon, salami, bologna, or other processed meat sandwiches) (Kenfield et al, JCO, 2016).  (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA, Melanoma / 17.03.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anne Cust | PhD, Professor of Cancer Epidemiology The University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health Sydney School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Are the screeners specially trained, use full body photographs, dermoscopy etc? Response: The Melanoma High-risk Clinic Study was developed to optimise the early detection of new melanomas in people at high risk of developing melanoma. A previous single-centre study observed fewer excisions and healthcare costs, thinner melanomas and better quality of life when surveillance of high risk patients was conducted in a melanoma dermatology clinic with a structured surveillance protocol involving 6-monthly full body examinations aided by total body photography (TBP) and sequential digital dermoscopy imaging (SDDI). The initial pilot study was performed in a single tertiary referral specialist centre using trained dermatologists who routinely used the diagnostic interventions. Our objective was to examine longer-term sustainability and expansion of the program to multiple practices including a primary care skin cancer clinic setting. The hypothesis was that the outcomes would be similar if using the same protocol and diagnostic tools. The participating doctors were trained to follow the protocol, which included instruction on how to respond and interpret changing lesions, but not in use of dermoscopy or skin examinations, which were routinely and consistently used in all clinics prior to the study commencing. There were 593 participants assessed as very high risk of melanoma who participated in the Melanoma High-risk Clinic Study from 2012-2018. Nearly all of the participants had had a previous melanoma and had additional melanoma risk factors. 57% were male and the median age at study entry was 58 years. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, Lung Cancer, Smoking, USPSTF / 16.03.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John B. Wong, M.D. Chief Scientific Officer, Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs Chief of the Division of Clinical Decision Making Primary Care Clinician Department of Medicine Tufts Medical Center  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the United States. More than 200,000 people are diagnosed with this devastating disease each year. Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, resulting in the vast majority of lung cancers in the United States. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Sugar / 14.03.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nadia Koyratty PhD student Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health University at Buffalo State University of New York MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The literature suggests that sugars contribute to the incidence of breast cancer, but few exists on the prognosis after a breast cancer diagnosis. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: Compared to breast cancer patients who never or rarely drank non-diet soda, those who reported drinking non-diet soda five times or more per week had a 62% higher likelihood of dying from any causes, and were 85% more likely to die from breast cancer specifically. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Stem Cells / 05.03.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Khalid Shah, MS, PhD Vice Chair of Research, Department of Neurosurgery Director, Center for Stem Cell Therapeutics and Imaging Director, Center for Excellence in Biomedicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Principal Faculty, Harvard Stem Cell Institute  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Approximately 15-to-30 percent of patients with metastatic breast cancer have brain metastasis (BM), with basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) metastasizing to the brain most frequently. The prognosis for BLBC-BM patients is poor, as the blood-brain barrier prevents most therapeutics from reaching the brain. Testing candidate therapies in clinical trials is also challenging because animal models that mimic BM are limited. In this study we engineered a bimodal tumor-suppressing and killing molecule that can be delivered to the brain by stem cells and tested them in mouse models of brain metastases that mimic clinical setting. (more…)