Cancer staff in an NHS cancer center: infections, vaccination, stress and well-being support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the well-being of cancer staff and determine the uptake of opt-in mitigation strategies. Materials & methods: Staff at Guy's Cancer Centre (London, UK) participated in an anonymized survey between May and August 2021. Results: Of 1182 staff, 257 (21.7%) participated. Ethnicity (p = 0.020) and comorbidity burden (p = 0.022) were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection status. Of 199 respondents, seven (3.6%) were vaccine-hesitant, which was associated with low flu vaccine uptake (p < 0.001). Greater stress was associated with younger age (p = 0.030) and redeployment (p = 0.012). Lack of time and skepticism were barriers to using mental well-being resources. Conclusion: Albeit cautious, numerous trends the authors observed echo those in the published literature. Improved accessibility, awareness and utility of mental well-being resources are required.

COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The pandemic has applied immense pressure to healthcare workers, putting their physical and mental well-being at risk. However, the impact for cancer staff, specifically, is less known. In a survey of 257 cancer staff at Guy's Cancer Centre (London, UK; May­August 2021), the authors found that staff of particular ethnic groups, or with pre-existing illnesses, appeared more likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2. Few staff were hesitant about SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, appearing more common among those not receiving the flu vaccine. For many, stress increased over time. However, barriers prevent staff from using mental well-being resources. With findings from larger studies, this work will be useful for strategies protecting cancer staff well-being.

The Prognostic Role of Pre-operative Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography and Endoscopic Ultrasound Parameters in Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma.

Background: To evaluate the prognostic role of Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) and Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) performed before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and surgery for oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) patients, focusing on lymph node (LN) assessment. Methods: OAC patients treated in a single tertiary center during January 2008 until December 2014 were retrospectively studied. All patients had PET/CT and EUS before NAC and oesophagectomy. PET-FDG-avid local LNs and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the primary tumour, EUS positive LNs and EUS tumour length were recorded. Univariate, multivariate and survival analyses were performed. Results: Following exclusions 151consecutive patients met the inclusion criteria, (median age 62 years). PET/CT and EUS sensitivity for local LNs metastasis was 39.2% and 88.6%, with specificities of 83.33% and 19.15% respectively. No overall survival (OS) difference was found between patients with PET/CT FDG-avid LNs and those with negative LNs (p=0.347). SUVmax uptake was divided into high and low (median cut-off value: 10) with no significant difference in OS between groups (p=0.141). EUS tumour length was not prognostic (OS, p=0.455). Conclusions: Initial LN staging in OA is inaccurate. Although PET/CT and EUS assessments may be complimentary, none independently predicted survival.

COVID-19 vaccination in patients with cancer, a rapid review.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine development and administration have become global priorities since the beginning of the pandemic, particularly for special populations at higher risk of complications and mortality, such as patients with haematologic and solid organ malignancies. This review aims to summarise the current data for COVID-19 vaccine efficacy in patients with cancer, suggest priority areas for future research and look at potential disparities at a global level. Although patients diagnosed with or receiving therapy for cancer were excluded from the initial vaccine trials, emerging evidence now supports vaccine safety with potentially diminished immune response in this group. Several studies that evaluated antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination found that patients with solid malignancies had lower serologic response rates compared to healthy controls, but better than patients with haematologic malignancies, who had the lowest seroconversion rates and antibody titres. As anticipated, poor serologic responses have been particularly observed among patients receiving B-cell depleting therapies. The data on cellular response are scarce and conflicting since not all studies have showed a difference between patients with malignancies and healthy subjects. Several questions concerning vaccination remain unanswered and require further exploration, such as response duration, need for response monitoring and rates of breakthrough infections.

Serum biomarkers to predict risk of testicular and penile cancer in AMORIS.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the association between commonly measured serum biomarkers of inflammation and penile and testicular cancer risk in the Swedish Apolipoprotein-related MORtality RISk (AMORIS) study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 205,717 subjects had baseline measurements of C-reactive protein, albumin, and haptoglobin. The association between quartiles and dichotomised values of inflammatory markers and penile and testicular cancer risk were analysed by using multivariate Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: A total of 125 men were diagnosed with testicular cancer and 50 with penile cancer during a mean follow-up of 20.3 years. No statistically significant trends were seen between serum inflammatory markers and risk of penile cancer, but higher albumin levels increased the risk of testicular cancer [HR for albumin (g/L): 1.10 (95% CI: 1.03-1.18)]. However, this trend was not observed when using medical cut-offs of albumin. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, we did not find support for an association between commonly used markers of inflammation and risk of testicular or penile cancer. The role of inflammation may be more complicated and require assessment of more specialised measurements of inflammation in future studies.

The Use of Transperineal Sector Biopsy as A First-Line Biopsy Strategy: A Multi-Institutional Analysis of Clinical Outcomes and Complications.

PURPOSE: Systematic transrectal ultrasound biopsies have been the first-line biopsy strategy in men with suspected prostate cancer for over 30 years. Transperineal biopsy is an alternative approach but has been predominately reserved as a repeat biopsy strategy and not widely used as a first-line approach. This study evaluates the diagnostic and clinical outcomes of transperineal sector biopsy (TPSB) as a first-line biopsy strategy in the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multi-institutional review of 402 consecutive patients who underwent primary transperineal sector biopsy. All patients had no prior history of prostate biopsy. TPSB was carried out as a day-case procedure under general or regional anaesthesia. The cancer detection rate, location and complications for all cases were evaluated. RESULTS: Prostate cancer was identified in 249 patients (61.9%) and was comparably sited across anterior, middle and posterior sectors. The disease was clinically significant (Gleason 3+4 or > 4mm maximum cancer length) in 187 patients (47%). Post biopsy urinary retention occurred in 6 patients (1.5%). Hematuria requiring overnight hospital admission occurred in 4 patients (1.0%). There were no cases of urosepsis. CONCLUSIONS: As a primary diagnostic strategy, TPSB is a safe and effective technique with high cancer detection rates. It also offers an attractive compromise to more extensive transperineal protocols, which can be more time-consuming and associated with higher morbidity. .

Association between baseline serum glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol, and prostate cancer risk categories.

Lifestyle-related risk factors such as hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia have been associated with several cancers. However, studies exploring their link with prostate cancer (PCa) clinicopathological characteristics are sparse and inconclusive. Here, we investigated the associations between serum metabolic markers and PCa clinicopathological characteristics. The study comprised 14,294 men from the Swedish Apolipoprotein MOrtality RISk (AMORIS) cohort who were diagnosed with PCa between 1996 and 2011. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to investigate the relation between glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol and PCa risk categories, PSA, Gleason score, and T-stage. Mean age at time of PCa diagnosis was 69 years. Men with glucose levels >6.9 mmol/L tend to have PSA<4 µg/L, while those with glucose levels of 5.6-6.9 mmol/L had a greater odds of PSA>20 µg/L compared to PSA 4.0-9.9 µg/L. Hypertriglyceridemia was also positively associated with PSA>20 µg/L. Hyperglycemic men had a greater odds of intermediate- and high-grade PCa and advanced stage or metastatic PCa. Similarly, hypertriglyceridemia was positively associated with high-grade PCa. There was also a trend toward an increased odds of intermediate risk localized PCa and advanced stage PCa among men with hypertriglyceridemia. Total cholesterol did not have any statistically significant association with any of the outcomes studied. Our findings suggest that high serum levels of glucose and triglycerides may influence PCa aggressiveness and severity. Further investigation on the role of markers of glucose and lipid metabolism in influencing PCa aggressiveness and severity is needed as this may help define important targets for intervention.