Construction and validation of a nomogram for predicting lateral lymph node metastasis in pediatric and adolescent with differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Limited research has been conducted to specifically investigate the identification of risk factors and the development of prediction models for lateral lymph node metastasis (LNM) in pediatric and adolescent differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) populations, despite its significant association with unfavorable prognosis. METHODS: This study entails a retrospective analysis of the clinical characteristics exhibited by pediatric and adolescent patients who have been diagnosed with DTC. The data utilized for this analysis was sourced from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, spanning the time frame from 2000 to 2020. Furthermore, the study incorporates patients who were treated at the Departments of Breast and Thyroid Surgery in the Second Clinical Medical College, Affiliated Fifth People's Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as The General Hospital of Western Theater Command, during the period from 2010 to 2020. RESULTS: A cohort of 2631 patients from the SEER database, along with an additional 339 patients from our departments who met the specified inclusion criteria, were included in this study. Subsequently, four clinical variables, namely age, tumor size, multifocality, and extrathyroidal invasion, were identified as being significantly associated with lateral LNM in pediatric and adolescent DTC patients. These variables were then utilized to construct a nomogram, which demonstrated effective discrimination with a concordance index (C-index) of 0.731. Furthermore, the performance of this model was validated through both internal and external assessments, yielding C-index values of 0.721 and 0.712, respectively. Afterward, a decision curve analysis was conducted to assess the viability of this nomogram in predicting lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION: The current investigation has effectively constructed a nomogram model utilizing visualized multipopulationsal data. Our findings demonstrate a significant association between various clinical characteristics and lateral LNM in pediatric and adolescent DTC patients. These outcomes hold substantial significance for healthcare practitioners, as they can employ this model to inform individualized clinical judgments for the pediatric and adolescent cohorts.

Effect of Radioactive Iodine Therapy on Cancer-Specific Survival of Papillary Thyroid Cancer Tall Cell Variant.

CONTEXT: Radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy is often used as an adjuvant treatment to reduce the risk of recurrence in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). However, the effect of RAI therapy on cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with tall cell variant (TCV) remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the impact of RAI therapy on CSS in patients with TCV-PTC by analyzing data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. METHODS: We identified 1281 patients with TCV-PTC in the SEER database who underwent total thyroidectomy between 2004 and 2019. Of these, 866 (67.6%) patients received RAI therapy and 415 (32.4%) did not. Propensity score matching was conducted to balance the baseline characteristics between the 2 groups. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% CI for the effect of RAI therapy on CSS. RESULTS: After propensity score matching, 373 pairs of patients were included in the analysis. The results showed no significant difference in CSS between the RAI therapy group and the non-RAI therapy group (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.25-1.17, P = .120). Subgroup analyses indicated similar results. CONCLUSION: RAI therapy may not improve CSS in patients with TCV-PTC after total thyroidectomy. Future studies with larger sample sizes, longer follow-up periods, and better study designs are needed to confirm or refine our research findings.

Enhancing prognostic accuracy: a SEER-based analysis for overall and cancer-specific survival prediction in cervical adenocarcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Cervical adenocarcinoma (CA) is the second most prevalent histological subtype of cervical cancer, following cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). As stated in the guidelines provided by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, they are staged and treated similarly. However, compared with CSCC patients, CA patients are more prone to lymph node metastasis and recurrence with a poorer prognosis. The objective of this research was to discover prognostic indicators and develop nomograms that can be utilized to anticipate the overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients diagnosed with CA. METHODS: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result (SEER) database, individuals with CA who received their diagnosis between 2004 and 2015 were identified. A total cohort (n = 4485) was randomly classified into two separate groups in a 3:2 ratio, to form a training cohort (n = 2679) and a testing cohort (n = 1806). Overall survival (OS) was the primary outcome measure and cancer-specific survival (CSS) was the secondary outcome measure. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were employed to select significant independent factors and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis was utilized to develop predictive nomogram models. The predictive accuracy and discriminatory ability of the nomogram were assessed by employing metrics such as the calibration curve, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the concordance index (C-index). RESULTS: Age, Tumor Node Metastasis stages (T, N, and M), SEER stage, grade, and tumor size were assessed as common independent predictors of both OS and CSS. The C-index value of the nomograms for predicting OS was 0.832 (95% CI 0.817-0.847) in the training cohort and 0.823 (95% CI 0.805-0.841) in the testing cohort. CONCLUSION: We developed and verified nomogram models for predicting 1-, 3- and 5-year OS and CSS among patients with cervical adenocarcinoma. These models exhibited excellent performance in prognostic prediction, providing support and assisting clinicians in assessing survival prognosis and devising personalized treatments for CA patients.

Surgical and Endoscopic Resection of Duodenal Neuroendocrine Tumors Have Similar Disease-Specific Survival Outcome.

BACKGROUND: Duodenal neuroendocrine tumors (dNETs) are rare, and their management is not well-defined. National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend surgical resection of large dNETs (> 2 cm) and endoscopic resection of small tumors (< 2 cm). We compared the survival outcomes between surgical and endoscopic resection in various dNET sizes. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using patient data from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database. Variables analyzed included age, tumor size, grade, stage, and lymph node status. Disease-specific survival (DSS) was compared for endoscopic and surgical groups in dNET size strata: 0-0.5, 0.5-1, 1-2, 2-3, and > 3 cm. Kaplan-Meier and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used for survival analysis. RESULTS: The study included 465 patients, with 124 (26.7%) undergoing surgical resection. The average age was 61.9 years, and tumor sizes ranged from 0.1 to 10.5 cm. Endoscopic resection had 40.5% of tumors between 0 and 0.5 cm, while surgery had only 21% (p < 0.001). In the surgical cohort, 79.8% had grade 1 tumors compared to 88.3% in the endoscopy group (P = 0.024). Among surgically resected cases, 48.4% (60 patients) had lymph node involvement. Age, tumor size, grade, and stage did not significantly predict survival after surgical resection. Stratified by tumor size, no difference in DSS was observed between surgery and endoscopy groups. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic resection demonstrated similar survival outcomes to surgical resection across dNET sizes in this national analysis. Given the risks and the lack of survival benefits for surgery, endoscopic resection may be beneficial for both small and large tumors. Further studies are warranted to validate the current NCCN guidelines.

Chemotherapy for the initial treatment of metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine carcinoma at diagnosis: real world application and impact in the SEER database (2004 -2018).

Background: Randomized controlled phase III trials have reported significant improvements in disease response and survival with the addition of chemotherapy to androgen deprivation therapy for men presenting with metastatic prostate cancer. We examined the implementation of such knowledge and its impact within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Method: The administration of chemotherapy for men with an initial presentation of metastatic prostate cancer from 2004 to 2018 in the SEER database and its association with survival outcomes was examined. Kaplan-Meier estimates were applied to compare survival curves. Cox proportion hazard survival models were used to analyze the association of chemotherapy and other variables with both cancer- specific and overall survival. Result: A total of 727,804 patients were identified with 99.9% presenting with adenocarcinoma and 0.1% with neuroendocrine histopathology. Chemotherapy as initial treatment for men with de novo distant metastatic adenocarcinoma increased from 5.8% during 2004-2013 to 21.4% during 2014-2018. Chemotherapy was associated with a poorer prognosis during 2004-2013 but was associated with improved cancer-specific (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.78-0.93, p=0.0004) and overall survival (HR= 0.78, 95% CI: 0.71-0.85, p < 0.0001) during 2014-2018. The improved prognosis during 2014-2018 was observed in patients with visceral or bone metastasis and most impactful for patients aged 71-80 years. These findings were confirmed by subsequent propensity score matching analyses. Furthermore, chemotherapy was consistently provided to 54% of patients with neuroendocrine carcinoma at diagnosis from 2004 to 2018. Treatment was associated with improved cancer-specific survival (HR= 0.62, 95% CI: 0.45-0.87, p=0.0055) and overall survival (HR= 0.69, 95% CI: 0.51-0. 94, p=0.0176) during 2014-2018 but not significant in earlier years. Conclusion: Chemotherapy at initial diagnosis was increasingly employed in men with metastatic adenocarcinoma after 2014 and consistent with the evolution of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines. Benefits for chemotherapy are suggested after 2014 in the treatment of men with metastatic adenocarcinoma. The use of chemotherapy for neuroendocrine carcinoma at diagnosis has remained stable, and outcomes have improved in more recent years. Further development and optimization of chemotherapy continues to evolve for men with de novo diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer.

Clinical efficacy of thermal ablation for the treatment of pulmonary carcinoid tumor: a propensity-matched analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical efficacy of thermal ablation in the treatment of pulmonary carcinoid (PC) tumor. METHODS: Data of patients with inoperable PC diagnosed from 2000 to 2019 were obtained from the SEER database and analyzed according to different therapeutic modality: thermal ablation vs non-ablation. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to reduce intergroup differences. Kaplan-Meier curves and the log-rank test were used to compare intergroup differences of overall survival (OS) and lung cancer-specific survival (LCSS). Cox proportional risk models were used to reveal prognostic factors. RESULTS: After PSM, the thermal ablation group had better OS (p < .001) and LCSS (p < .001) than the non-ablation group. Subgroup analysis stratified by age, sex, histologic type and lymph node status subgroups showed similar survival profile. In the subgroup analysis stratified by tumor size, the thermal ablation group showed better OS and LCSS than those of the non-ablation group for tumors ≤3.0 cm, not statistically significant for tumors >3.0 cm. Subgroup analysis by M stage showed that thermal ablation was superior to non-ablation in OS and LCSS for patients with M0 stage, but no significant difference was found in subgroups with distant metastatic disease. Multivariate analysis showed that thermal ablation was an independent prognostic factor for OS (HR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.25-0.46, p < .001) and LCSS (HR: 0.23, 95%CI: 0.12-0.43, p < .001). CONCLUSION: For patients with inoperable PC, thermal ablation might be a potential treatment option, especially in M0-stage with tumor size ≤3 cm.

The Association of Radiation Dose With Overall Survival for Patients Treated With Prostate Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy.

Introduction Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for prostate adenocarcinoma (PCa) has demonstrated excellent biochemical recurrence-free survival, with studies showing improved BRFS with higher-dose SBRT. However, current studies have been underpowered to evaluate the relationship of SBRT dose to overall survival (OS). In this retrospective study using the National Cancer Database (NCDB), we hypothesize that, given the low alpha/beta ratio of PCa, a relatively small increase in the dose-per-fraction would be associated with improved survival outcomes for intermediate-risk PCa (IR-PCa) comparing 36.25 Gy/5 fx [biologically equivalent dose (BEDα/ß = 1.5 = 211.46 Gy vs. 35 Gy (BED1.5 = 198.33 Gy)]. Materials and methods We queried records from the NCDB from 2005 to 2015 for men receiving prostate SBRT for IR-PCa (n=2673). 82% were treated using either 35 Gy/5 fx or 36.25 Gy/5 fx. We compared OS in men receiving 35 Gy versus 36.25 Gy. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was used to adjust for covariable imbalances. Unweighted- and weighted-multivariable analysis (MVA) using Cox regression was used to compare OS hazard ratios, accounting for age, race, Charlson-Deyo comorbidity score, treatment facility type, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), clinical T-stage, Gleason Score, and use of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed. Results Seven hundred and eighty men (35%) were treated with 35 Gy/5 fx and 1434 men (65%) were treated with 36.25 Gy/5 fx (n=2214). Compared to 35 Gy, treatment with 36.25 Gy was associated with significantly improved OS (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.61 [95% CI: 0.43-0.89], P=0.009) on MVA. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, 36.25 Gy was associated with improved survival (p=0.034), with a five-year OS of 92% and 88%, respectively. Conclusions In a multi-institutional retrospective database of 2,214 IR patients treated with prostate SBRT, a prescription dose of 36.25 Gy/5 fx was associated with improved OS vs. 35 Gy/5 fx. Results are hypothesis-generating but do lend support to the current National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines that the minimum recommended dose for prostate SBRT is 36.25 Gy/5 fx.

Irradiation of localized prostate cancer in the elderly: A systematic literature review.

Purpose: To analyze the literature that addresses radiation therapy for intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer (PC) in the elderly. Patients and methods: A PubMed literature search was conducted including articles from 01/01/2000 to 30/06/21, with the following keywords: PC, radiotherapy/brachytherapy and elderly. The analysis mainly focused on the issue of under-treatment in the elderly and the benefit/risk balance of irradiation. Results: Of the 176 references analyzed, 24 matched the selection criteria. The definition of "elderly patient" varied from 70 to 80 years. The analysis was impacted by the inhomogeneous primary end points used in each cohort. Age was often an obstacle to radical treatment, with a subsequent risk of under-treatment, particularly in patients with a poorer prognosis. However, comparable elderly oncological outcomes were compared to younger patients, both with external beam radiotherapy alone or combined with brachytherapy boost. Late toxicity rates are low and most often comparable to younger populations. However, a urinary over- toxicity was observed in the super-elderly (>80 years) after brachytherapy boost. The use of ADT should be considered in light of comorbidities, and may even be deleterious in some patients. Conclusion: Due to the increase in life expectancy, the management of PC in the elderly is a challenge for patients, clinicians and health insurance payers. Except for unfit men, elderly patients remain candidates for optimal curative treatment (i.e. regardless of age) after oncogeriatric assessment. More solid data from prospective trials conducted specially in this population will provide better guidance in our daily clinical practice.

Prognostic Value of Lymph Node Evaluation in Stage II Small Bowel Adenocarcinoma: An Updated Analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database.

Background: Due to the lack of large-scale clinical trials, the treatment strategies of small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) are controversial, especially for stage II patients. According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guideline, few lymph nodes (LNs) examined (<5 for duodenum or <8 for jejunal/ileal primary location) are one of the high-risk features for stage II patients, for whom adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended. This consensus is originally drawn from data in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database (SEER) between 1988 and 2010. However, the surgical modalities and chemotherapy strategies changed a lot after 2004 for SBA patients. The previous data may not represent a true picture of current therapeutics. Thus, we reanalyzed the SEER database and updated the cutoff point of LN numbers resected with respect to cancer-specific survival (CSS) using the latest SEER information. Methods: Patients diagnosed with stage II SBA and who underwent curative surgery between 2004 and 2018 were extracted from the SEER database. CSS was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by log-rank test. Maximum survival differences based on total LNs examined for duodenal and jejunoileal tumors were determined separately with the cut-point analysis and maximum log-rank χ2 statistic. A nomogram model was constructed based on the multivariate Cox analysis to predict 5- and 10-year CSS and was then validated with an internal cohort. Results: A total of 935 stage II SBA patients met the inclusion criteria. The greatest difference in survival was found in patients who had removal of at least 5 LNs for duodenal and 12 LNs for jejunoileal tumors. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that age, T stage, histology grade, primary site, and LN numbers were independent prognostic factors for survival. The C index of nomogram model was 0.701 (95% CI, 0.661-0.741, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The number of LNs harvested is an important prognostic factor for survival in stage II SBA patients. LN number examined <5 remains a high-risk factor for duodenum, but the cutoff point for jejunal/ileal tumors should rise from 8 to 12. Appropriate radical lymphadenectomy should be performed in stage II SBA surgery.

Disparities in cancer-specific and overall survival in black women with endometrial cancer: A Medicare-SEER study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) for different racial groups of women with surgically staged endometrial cancer by histologic subtype. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of women with stage I-III endometrioid, serous, clear cell, and carcinosarcoma who underwent hysterectomy as primary surgical staging in the 2000-2016 SEER-Medicare database. OS and CSS outcomes were stratified by race (defined as White, Black, Other), stage, and histology. Survival was assessed with descriptive analyses, log-rank tests and unadjusted and adjusted multivariable cox regression models. RESULTS: Of the 24,142 women identified, 85.5% were White, 8.5% Black, and 6% other races. Receipt of adjuvant therapy differed only for stage III endometrioid: Black women were less likely to receive adjuvant treatment after hysterectomy (61.2% vs. 70.1% White, p = 0.03). For stage I, Black women had worse CSS for all histologies other than clear cell in unadjusted and adjusted analyses. For stage II, Black women had worse CSS for endometrioid histology in unadjusted analyses and similar OS. For stage III, Black women with endometrioid carcinoma had worse CSS and OS in unadjusted analyses, but no significant difference in CSS in adjusted analyses. "Other" race showed improved OS for Stage I endometrioid adenocarcinoma without significant differences in outcomes when compared to White women. CONCLUSION: Across histologies other than clear cell, Black women diagnosed with stage I endometrial cancer had consistently worse CSS, despite similar receipt of adjuvant therapy. Differences in CSS and OS at higher stages disappeared once accounting for treatment disparities.

Efficacy of Majoon-e-Seer Alvi Khan in dyslipidemia: a single blind randomized standard controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: Majoon-e-Seer Alvi Khan, a compound Unani formulation, has been indicated in disease conditions simulating dyslipidemia. The present study was done to substantiate the efficacy of Majoon-e-Seer Alvi Khan (MSAK) in dyslipidaemia on scientific parameters. METHODS: A randomized, single-blind, Standard controlled, clinical trial was carried out on 40 patients of dyslipidemia who were randomly allocated into test (n=30) and control (n=10) groups. The test drug, MSAK, and control drug, tablet Atorvastatin was given to the respective group for 60 days along with lifestyle modification. RESULTS: The test drug significantly alleviated the symptoms of subjective parameters (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant reduction in lipid profile of the patients in the test group (p<0.05) than control drug treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The study evidenced that Majoon-e-Seer Alvi Khan is potentially effective and safe in the treatment of dyslipidemia. However, a multicentre study with a robust study design is required to generalize the results.

Incidence of suicide mortality among childhood cancer survivors: A population-based retrospective study.

The aim of our study was to investigate the suicide rates among childhood cancer survivors and assess factors associated with higher suicide risk. A review of data from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program from 1975 to 2016 was performed for this study. This program is based on the US population and is supported by the US National Cancer Institute (NCI). Survivors diagnosed with childhood cancer were recorded. There were 40 suicides among 567,233 person-years, giving a suicide rate of 7.1 per 100,000 person-years. Compared with cancer diagnosed between 10 and 14 years old, survivors with cancer diagnosed between 0 and 4 years old had lower suicide risk. Females had a lower risk of suicide than males. Compared with survivors of thyroid cancer, the aHRs were 0.16 for acute lymphocytic leukemia, 0.15 for nodal Hodgkin's lymphoma, 0.14 for brain cancers and 0.09 for kidney cancers. Most suicides occurred after 15 years old. Suicide was a problem for survivors, especially those with thyroid cancer. Beside treating patients holistically, early psychological interventions such as communicating effectively, providing social support and follow-up care related to psychological health are needed.

Efficacy of Majoon-e-Seer Alvi Khan in dyslipidemia: a single blind randomized standard controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: Majoon-e-Seer Alvi Khan, a compound Unani formulation, has been indicated in disease conditions simulating dyslipidemia. The present study was done to substantiate the efficacy of Majoon-e-Seer Alvi Khan (MSAK) in dyslipidaemia on scientific parameters. METHODS: A randomized, single-blind, Standard controlled, clinical trial was carried out on 40 patients of dyslipidemia who were randomly allocated into test (n=30) and control (n=10) groups. The test drug, MSAK, and control drug, tablet Atorvastatin was given to the respective group for 60 days along with lifestyle modification. RESULTS: The test drug significantly alleviated the symptoms of subjective parameters (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant reduction in lipid profile of the patients in the test group (p<0.05) than control drug treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The study evidenced that Majoon-e-Seer Alvi Khan is potentially effective and safe in the treatment of dyslipidemia. However, a multicentre study with a robust study design is required to generalize the results.

Disparities in Guideline-Concordant Initial Systemic Treatment in Women with HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer: A SEER-Medicare Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Data on guideline-concordant initial systemic treatment among women with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are limited. We determined the proportion of women with HER2-negative MBC who received guideline-concordant treatment and the extent to which independent variables explained differences in guideline-concordant treatment by hormone receptor (HR) status. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the SEER-Medicare database. We included women age >65 years diagnosed with HER2-negative MBC during 2010-2013. We used the National Comprehensive Cancer Network treatment guidelines to determine guideline-concordant initial treatment within the first 6 months of a cancer diagnosis. We conducted a multivariable logistic regression to identify the significant predictors of guideline-concordant treatment and a non-linear decomposition method to examine disparities by HR status. RESULTS: Among 1089 eligible women, 72.3% received guideline-concordant treatment. Compared to women who did not receive guideline-concordant treatment, women who received guideline-concordant treatment were more like to be comparatively older (p<0.05), married (p=0.0171), resided in areas with higher proportion of people age ≥25 years with at least four years of college education, and had positive HR status (p<0.0001). Approximately 8% of the disparity in guideline-concordant treatment by HR status was explained by their observed characteristics. Need-related factors explained the highest proportion (66.9%) of the disparity. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate improvement of care for older women, who are single/divorced, have negative HR status, and who live in area with lower education levels. Unexplained disparities in guideline-concordant treatment by HR status can be attributed to patient preferences for treatment, physician-level factors, and perceptions.

Adherence to Guideline-Concordant Care and Its Effect on Survival in Black Patients with Head and Neck Cancers: A SEER-Medicare Analysis.

BACKGROUND: In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), Black patients continue to have worse survival when compared with White patients. The cause of this disparity is multifaceted and cannot be explained by one etiology alone. To investigate this disparity, we used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database to examine adherence to guideline-concordant care (GCC) as defined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with nonmetastatic HNSCC as their first cancer between 1992 and 2011 and a random sample of Medicare controls matched to cases (2:1) diagnosed between 2004 and 2011 (n = 16,378), were included in this analysis. RESULTS: Black patients were less likely to receive GCC in advanced-stage oropharyngeal (66% vs. 74%; p = .007) and oral cavity (56% vs. 71%; p = .002) squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). On multivariate analysis, Black patients demonstrated an increased risk of death in advanced oropharyngeal (p < .001), oral cavity (p = .01), and hypopharyngeal (p = .01) SCC. CONCLUSION: Black patients did not consistently receive GCC across HNSCC subsites, contributing to the poorer outcomes seen when compared with White patients. Future research should focus on elucidating the mechanisms behind the non-GCC given to Black patients with HNSCC and other factors that may contribute to this disparity such as tumor biology. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Black patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) continue to have worse survival than White patients. This study examined if the racial disparity in survival from curable HNC is affected by adherence to guideline-concordant care (GCC). It was discovered that Black patients were less likely to receive appropriate treatment in certain HNCs. Although adherence to proper therapy was associated with improved survival in patients with HNC, the difference in survival, where Black patients had inferior outcomes, remained. This analysis uncovered a major contributor to the disparity seen in patients with HNC. As such, cancer centers serving a predominantly Black population with HNC can design specific clinical interventions to ensure GCC for all patients, potentially improving outcomes for everyone.

Comparison of Mexican-American vs Caucasian prostate cancer active surveillance candidates.

BACKGROUND: We compared upgrading and upstaging rates in low risk and favorable intermediate risk prostate cancer (CaP) patients according to racial and/or ethnic group: Mexican-Americans and Caucasians. METHODS: Within Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database (2010-2015), we identified low risk and favorable intermediate risk CaP patients according to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. Descriptives and logistic regression models were used. Furthermore, a subgroup analysis was performed to test the association between Mexican-American vs. Caucasian racial and/or ethnic groups and upgrading either to Gleason-Grade Group (GGG II) or to GGG III, IV or V, in low risk or favorable intermediate risk CaP patients, respectively. RESULTS: We identified 673 (2.6%) Mexican-American and 24,959 (97.4%) Caucasian CaP patients. Of those, 14,789 were low risk (434 [2.9%] Mexican-Americans vs. 14,355 [97.1%] Caucasians) and 10,834 were favorable intermediate risk (239 [2.2%] Mexican-Americans vs. 10,604 [97.8%] Caucasians). In low risk CaP patients, Mexican-American vs. Caucasian racial and/or ethnic group did not result in either upgrading or upstaging differences. However, in favorable intermediate risk CaP patients, upgrading rate was higher in Mexican-Americans than in Caucasians (31.4 vs. 25.5%, OR 1.33, P = 0.044), but no difference was recorded for upstaging. When comparisons focused on upgrading to GGG III, IV or V, higher rate was recorded in Mexican-American relative to Caucasian favorable intermediate risk CaP patients (20.4 vs. 15.4%, OR 1.41, P = 0.034). CONCLUSION: Low risk Mexican-American CaP patients do not differ from low risk Caucasian CaP patients. However, favorable intermediate risk Mexican-American CaP patients exhibit higher rates of upgrading than their Caucasian counterparts. This information should be considered at treatment decision making.

Machine-Learning Models for Multicenter Prostate Cancer Treatment Plans.

Clinical factors, including T-stage, Gleason score, and baseline prostate-specific antigen, are used to stratify patients with prostate cancer (PCa) into risk groups. This provides prognostic information for a heterogeneous disease such as PCa and guides treatment selection. In this article, we hypothesize that nonclinical factors may also impact treatment selection and their adherence to treatment guidelines. A total of 552 patients with intermediate- and high-risk PCa treated with definitive radiation with or without androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) between 2010 and 2017 were identified from 34 medical centers within the Veterans Health Administration. Medical charts were manually reviewed, and details regarding each patient's clinical history and treatment were extracted. Support Vector Machine and Random forest-based classification was used to identify clinical and nonclinical predictors of adherence to the treatment guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). We created models for predicting both initial treatment intent and treatment alterations. Our results demonstrate that besides clinical factors, the center in which the patient was treated (nonclinical factor) played a significant role in adherence to NCCN guidelines. Furthermore, the treatment center served as an important predictor to decide on whether or not to prescribe ADT; however, it was not associated with ADT duration and weakly associated with treatment alterations. Such center-bias motivates further investigation on details of center-specific barriers to both NCCN guideline adherence and on oncological outcomes. In addition, we demonstrate that publicly available data sets, for example, that from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEERs), may not be well equipped to build such predictive models on treatment plans.

Analysis of the Trends in Publications on Clinical Cancer Research in Mainland China from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Database: Bibliometric Study.

BACKGROUND: The application of China's big data sector in cancer research is just the beginning. In recent decades, more and more Chinese scholars have used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for clinical cancer research. A comprehensive bibliometric study is required to analyze the tendency of Chinese scholars to utilize the SEER database for clinical cancer research and provide a reference for the future of big data analytics. OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to assess the trend of publications on clinical cancer research in mainland China from the SEER database. METHODS: We performed a PubMed search to identify papers published with data from the SEER database in mainland China until August 31, 2020. RESULTS: A total of 1566 papers utilizing the SEER database that were authored by investigators in mainland China were identified. Over the past years, significant growth in studies based on the SEER database was observed (P<.001). The top 5 research topics were breast cancer (213/1566, 13.6%), followed by colorectal cancer (185/1566, 11.8%), lung cancer (179/1566, 11.4%), gastrointestinal cancer (excluding colorectal cancer; 149/1566, 9.5%), and genital system cancer (93/1566, 5.9%). Approximately 75.2% (1178/1566) of papers were published from the eastern coastal region of China, and Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (Shanghai, China) was the most active organization. Overall, 267 journals were analyzed in this study, of which Oncotarget was the most contributing journal (136/267, 50.9%). Of the 1566 papers studied, 585 (37.4%) were published in the second quartile, 489 (31.2%) in the third quartile, 312 (19.9%) in the first quartile, and 80 (5.1%) in the fourth quartile, with 100 (6.4%) having an unknown Journal Citation Reports ranking. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical cancer research based on the SEER database in mainland China underwent constant and rapid growth during recent years. High-quality and comprehensive cancer databases based on Chinese demographic data are urgently needed.

Limb-salvage surgery offers better five-year survival rate than amputation in patients with limb osteosarcoma treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone sarcoma. Currently, the main treatment option for high-grade osteosarcomas is neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by surgical resection of the lesion and adjuvant chemotherapy. Limb salvage surgery (LSS) and amputation are the main surgical techniques; however, controversy still exists concerning the best surgical method. Our meta-analysis compared the effectiveness of LSS and amputation combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with limb osteosarcoma, in terms of 5-year overall survival (OS), 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and local recurrence rate. METHODS: Following the established methodology of PRISMA guidelines, a literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar from 1975 until January 2020. Two independent reviewers evaluated the study quality based on the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Odds ratio and 95% confidence interval of the OS, DFS and local recurrence rate were calculated. RESULTS: Thirteen studies were finally included with a total of 2884 patients; 1986 patients undergone LSS and 898 amputations. Five-year overall survival was almost 2-fold in patients treated with LSS than those treated with amputation (OR: 1.99; 95% CI: 1.35-2.93; I2 = 74%, p < 0.001). No difference was found in 5-year DFS between LSS patients and amputees (OR: 1.24; 95% CI: 0.55-2.79; I2 = 67%, p = 0.01). The odds of local recurrence was numerically higher in LSS compared to amputation but not statistically significant (OR: 2.29; 95% CI: 0.95-5.53; I2 = 47%, p = 0.05). However, the included studies did not clearly define differences in the stages of patients of the two groups. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that in patients with limb osteosarcoma treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, LSS is associated with a higher 5-year overall survival and the odds of local recurrence may be increased but these results should be interpreted with caution due to high heterogeneity.

Population-based assessment of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommendations for baseline imaging of rectal cancer.

Aim: To examine the performance characteristics of alternative criteria for baseline staging, in a cohort of contemporary rectal cancer patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Methods: The SEER database (2010-2015) was accessed and patients with rectal cancer plus complete information on clinical T and N stages as well as metastatic sites were evaluated. We examined various performance characteristics of baseline imaging, including specificity, sensitivity, number needed to investigate (NNI), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value and accuracy. Results: A total of 15,836 rectal cancer patients were included. Based on current guidelines that suggest cross-sectional chest and abdominal imaging for all cases of invasive rectal cancer, these recommendations would yield a PPV of 11.9% for the detection of liver metastases and 6.2% for the detection of lung metastases. This would translate to an NNI of 8.4 for liver metastases and an NNI of 16.1 for lung metastases. When patients with T1N0 were excluded from routine imaging, this resulted in a PPV of 6.4% and an NNI of 15.6 to identify one case of lung metastasis. Likewise, this resulted in a PPV of 12.3% and an NNI of 8.0 to detect one case of liver metastasis. Similarly, when patients with either T1N0 or T2N0 were excluded from routine imaging, the PPV and NNI for lung metastases improved to 6.6% and 15.1, respectively, and the PPV and NNI for liver metastases improved to 12.6 and 7.9%, respectively. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the specificity of the current imaging approach for rectal cancer staging is limited and that the omission of chest and abdominal imaging among selected early stage asymptomatic cases may be reasonable to consider.