Patterns of Medical Cannabis Use among Cancer Patients from a Medical Cannabis Dispensary in New York State.

Background: Research on the patterns of use of medical cannabis among cancer patients is lacking. Objective: To describe patterns of medical cannabis use by patients with cancer, and how patterns differ from patients without cancer. Design/Measurements: We performed secondary data analysis using data from a medical cannabis licensee in New York State, analyzing demographic information, qualifying conditions, and symptoms, and the medical cannabis product used, including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to cannabidiol (CBD) ratios. Setting/Subjects: Adults age ≥18 who used New York State medical cannabis licensee products between January 2016 and December 2017. Results: There were a total of 11,590 individuals with 1990 (17.2%) having cancer who used at least one cannabis product. Patients with cancer using cannabis were older and more likely to be female. The most common qualifying symptom for both cancer and noncancer patients was severe or chronic pain. Cancer patients were more likely to use the sublingual tincture form of cannabis (n = 1098, 55.2%), while noncancer patients were more likely to use the vaporization form (n = 4222, 44.0%). Over time, across all patients, there was an increase in the THC daily dose by a factor of 0.20 mg/week, yielding a corresponding increase in the THC:CBD daily ratio. Compared with noncancer patients, these trends were not different in the cancer group for THC daily dose, but there were less pronounced increases in the THC:CBD daily ratio over time among cancer patients. Conclusions: Our study found some key differences in demographics and medical cannabis product use between patients with cancer and without cancer.

Low rates of contralateral neck failure in unilaterally treated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with prospectively defined criteria of lateralization.

BACKGROUND: Unilateral radiotherapy (RT) of oropharyngeal carcinomas is accepted for patients with lateralized primary and low-volume nodal disease. Utilizing prospectively defined criteria of laterality and staging positron emission tomography (PET)/CT, we studied outcomes in patients with advanced-stage oropharyngeal cancer undergoing unilateral RT. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with oropharyngeal tumors >1 cm from midline regardless of node status underwent unilateral RT and were followed prospectively. Patient characteristics: T1 = 11; T2 = 22; T3 = 4; N0 = 3; N1 = 9; N2a = 3; N2b = 21; and Nx = 1. Dosimetry were determined and weekly National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) distress thermometer data were collected. RESULTS: At median follow-up of 32 months, 3-year locoregional control, contralateral regional failure, distant metastasis-free survival, and disease-free survival were 96%, 0%, 7%, and 93%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Low rates of contralateral neck failure are demonstrated utilizing prospectively defined criteria for unilateral RT. The tolerances of contralateral organs are respected and patients report low to moderate levels of distress throughout treatment.

[Phytoplankton' s community structure and its relationships with environmental factors in an aquaculture lake, Datong Lake of China].

From December 2008 to October 2009, a seasonal investigation was conducted on the phytoplankton' s community structure and its relationships with environmental factors in Datong Lake. With the comparison of the historical data in 1960, the potential effects of intensive aquaculture on the aquatic environment were analyzed, aimed to provide theoretical support for the sustainable fishery of freshwater lakes. A total of 98 phytoplankton species belonging to 7 phyla and 54 genera were collected, among which, Peridinium bipes, Chroomonas acuta, Chlorella vulgaris, Crytomonas ovate, Cyclotella meneghiniana, Crytomonas erosa, Anabaena circinalis, Microcystis aeruginosa, and Anabaena azotica were the dominant species, and had obvious seasonal variations. The mean annual cell density of the phytoplankton was 1.84 x 10(6) cells x L(-1), being the highest in summer (16.4 x 10(6) cells x L(-1)) and ranged from 1.71 x 10(6) to 1.98 x 10(6) cells x L(-1) in the other three seasons. The values of the abundance index, Shannon index, and Pielou index of the phytoplankton community were 2.01-4.55, 1.26-2.69, and 0.69-1.27, respectively. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) showed that water depth, water temperature, transparency, and water total phosphorus content, oxidation-reduction potential, and electrical conductivity were the main environmental factors affecting the phytoplankton community structure in the Lake.