The Impact of Race on Pancreatic Cancer Treatment and Survival in the Nationwide Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.

OBJECTIVES: Among patients with pancreatic cancer, studies show racial disparities at multiple steps of the cancer care pathway. Access to healthcare is a frequently cited cause of these disparities. It remains unclear if racial disparities exist in an integrated, equal access public system such as the Veterans Affairs healthcare system. METHODS: We identified all patients diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma in the national Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry from January 2010 to December 2018. We examined the independent association between race and 3 endpoints: stage at diagnosis, receipt of treatment, and survival while adjusting for sociodemographic factors and medical comorbidities. RESULTS: We identified 8529 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, of whom 79.5% were White and 20.5% were Black. Black patients were 19% more likely to have late-stage disease and 25% less likely to undergo surgical resection. Black patients had 13% higher mortality risk compared with White patients after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and medical comorbidities. This difference in mortality was no longer statistically significant after additionally adjusting for cancer stage and receipt of potentially curative treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Equal access to healthcare might have reduced but failed to eliminate disparities. Dedicated efforts are needed to understand reasons underlying these disparities in an attempt to close these persistent gaps.

Endoscopy for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding caused by malignancy.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding secondary to malignancy can be challenging. Endoscopy is the gold standard to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal bleeding but clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with malignancy-related bleeding are not well understood. This study aims to look at clinical characteristics, endoscopic findings, safety and clinical outcomes of endoscopic interventions for GI malignancy-related bleeding. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed outcomes of patients with confirmed GI malignancies who underwent endoscopy for GI bleeding at MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2010 and 2019. Cox hazard analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with survival. RESULTS: A total of 313 patients were included, with median age of 59 years; 74.8% were male. The stomach (30.0%) was the most common tumor location. Active bleeding was evident endoscopically in 47.3% of patients. Most patients (77.3%) did not receive endoscopic treatment. Of the patients who received endoscopic treatment, 57.7% had hemostasis. No endoscopy-related adverse events were recorded. Endoscopic treatment was associated with hemostasis (P < 0.001), but not decreased recurrent bleeding or mortality. Absence of active bleeding on endoscopy, stable hemodynamic status at presentation, lower cancer stage, and surgical intervention were associated with improved survival. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that endoscopy is a safe diagnostic tool in this patient population; while endoscopic treatments may help achieve hemostasis, it may not decrease the risk of recurrent bleeding or improve survival.

Diabetes-Associated Autoantibodies Among Young Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Malaysia

@#Introduction: Diabetes-associated autoantibodies (DAA) is the hallmark of T1DM and LADA which are frequently tested in young diabetes patients. It was noted that up to 10-15% of patients with initial diagnosis of T2DM also exhibit DAA. Regardless of the classification, the presence of DAA suggests an underlying islet autoimmunity which lead to progressive pancreatic β-cell failure. There is limited data reported on DAA in young diabetes patients in Malaysia. This study aims to determine the frequency of DAA positivity and its association with demographic and clinical characteristics among this cohort. Methods: A retrospective study using secondary data obtained from Allergy and Immunology Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, Malaysia. This study included 194 diabetes patients who were diagnosed before the age of 40 years old and tested for GADA, ICA, IA2A and IAA. Results: From 194 patients, 91 (46.9%) were positive for least one of the following DAA: ICA (79, 40.7%), GADA (61, 31.4%), IA2A (37, 19.1%) and IAA (9, 4.6%). Multiple positivity was higher (73.6%) compared to single positivity. Highest combination of double positivity was ICA+GADA (54, 59.3%) and triple positivity was ICA+GADA+IA2A (25, 27.5%). Simultaneous positivity of four autoantibodies was seen in only one (1.1%) patient. ICA, GADA and IA2A were associated with age group and ethnicity (all p < 0.001). Only IA2A was associated with gender (p = 0.012). Conclusions: GADA, ICA ad IA2A are more significant in young Malaysian diabetes patients. IAA has a very low frequency in this studied population.

Infiltrative basal cell carcinoma mimicking tinea corporis.

The diagnosis of infiltrative basal cell carcinoma (BCC) can be delayed owing to its often subtle clinical findings. A 90-year-old woman presented with an asymptomatic annular pink plaque on her left shin that was clinically diagnosed as tinea corporis. After years of not responding to topical anti-fungal therapy, biopsies confirmed a diagnosis of infiltrative BCC. We discuss the differential diagnosis of the case, the difficulties in identifying infiltrative BCC, and the pathologic features of infiltrative BCC.