Trends In Clinical Treatment Research Articles

Abstract P3-05-02: Trends in clinical treatment of early stage ER+PR- breast cancer in the National Cancer Database

Abstract Background Estrogen receptor positive (ER+) progesterone receptor negative (PR-) tumors are a distinct subset of breast cancers that are not well characterized. It is critical to better understand the biology of ER+PR- tumors and tailor therapy accordingly for this unique subgroup. The objective of this study is to compare the ER+PR- subgroup of breast cancer as compared to the double positive ER+PR+ group in a large, well-characterized database to determine if the tumors that are PR- are associated with higher rates of genomic testing and chemotherapy receipt. Methods We identified patients diagnosed with ER+Her2-, Stage 1-3 invasive breast cancer from 2010-2015 in the National Cancer Database. We excluded patients who received neoadjuvant therapy. Demographics and clinical characteristics for the ER+PR+ and ER+PR- groups were obtained. Differences between groups were assessed using the chi-square test. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed on both the node negative and node positive patients in order to identify factors independently associated with having a genomic test and receiving chemotherapy in the ER+PR+ and ER+PR- cohorts. Results Of the 363,945 eligible patients, 327,357 (89.9%) patients had ER+PR+ breast cancer and 36,588 (10.1%) had ER+PR- breast cancer. A trend towards larger tumor size in the ER+PR- population as compared to the ER+PR+ population was noted with 23.1% vs 17.3% of tumors 2-5cm and 2.2% vs 1.2% of tumors > 5cm, respectively. Higher grade was also seen in the ER+PR- group as compared to the ER+PR+ group with 27.1% versus 11.7% grade 3 tumors. In both the node negative and node positive populations, genomic testing was less likely to be sent on a PR- breast cancer than a PR+ breast cancer. When genomic testing was sent, there were more high risk Oncotype Recurrence scores (RS > 30) in the PR- group than the PR+ group. For node negative breast cancer high risk Oncotype recurrence scores were found in 32.4% of the ER+PR- population versus 5.6% in the ER+PR+ population. In the node positive cohort high risk Oncotype Recurrence scores were seen in 27.8% of the ER+PR- population as compared to 5.0% in the ER+PR+ population. Patients with discordant ER+PR- breast cancer were more likely to receive chemotherapy than their ER+PR+ counterparts in both the node negative cohort (32.2% vs 12.7%) and the node positive cohort (73.2% vs 64.5%). Conclusion There have been limited studies to date specifically focused on the ER+PR- subgroup. Patients with ER+PR- breast cancer have a higher grade, larger size, higher risk genomic testing, and are more likely to receive chemotherapy than their ER+PR+ counterparts. Discordance in hormone receptor status contributes to a more aggressive type of breast cancer that may impact clinical and treatment decisions. Citation Format: Poornima Saha, Angeline Yu, Priya Thakkar, Kristine Kuchta, Katharine Yao. Trends in clinical treatment of early stage ER+PR- breast cancer in the National Cancer Database [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-05-02.

Detecting Secular Trends in Clinical Treatment through Temporal Analysis.

Medical treatments change over time for multiple reasons, including introduction of new treatments, availability of new scientific evidence, change in institutional guidelines, and market efforts by pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Monitoring and analyzing these secular trends will also inform the evaluation of evidence based practice as well as outcome research. Using a large national clinical dataset from the United States Veterans Health Administration (VHA), we measured the change in prevalence of all diseases, medications, and procedures by year from 2001 to 2014. To assess statistical significance, we used ageneralized linear model. Among the large number of changes that were observed, multiple significant changes were related to diabetes mellitus type II (DM2). Prevalence of DM2 in the VHA increased after 2001 but plateaued by 2008; blood sugar testing by glycosylated hemoglobin increased consistently while glucose testing decreased; and the trend of insulin and metformin use was consistent with the trend in DM2 prevalence, while glyburide and rosiglitazone use dropped sharply.

Role of imaging in testicular cancer:current and future practice.

The article provides a summary of the epidemiologic and clinical aspects of testicular malignancy. Current standard imaging and novel techniques are reviewed. Present data and clinical treatment trends have favored surveillance protocols over adjuvant radiation or chemotherapy for low-stage testicular malignancy. This has resulted in increasing numbers of imaging studies and the potential for increased long-term exposure risks. Understanding imaging associated risks as well as strategies to minimize these risks is of increasing importance. The development, validation and incorporation of alternative lower risk highly efficacious and cost-effective imaging techniques is essential.

Lymphatic malformations

To update current knowledge of basic science and clinical care of lymphatic malformations. Advances in gene sequencing methods have allowed further elucidation of the genetic pathways involved in vascular development. New cell culture techniques are promising the development of practical models to test novel therapeutic interventions. Clinical treatment trends are continuing to shift more away from early surgery and toward sclerotherapy in appropriate cases. New emphasis has been placed upon quality of life analysis of treatment outcomes. Basic science is increasing the understanding of vascular anomalies in general and may lead us soon toward more effective nonsurgical therapies. Focus on quality of life measures will help to elucidate the most effective therapeutic interventions.

A New Method in the Design of a Dynamic Pedorthosis for Children With Residual Clubfoot

Clubfoot is a common pediatric orthopaedic deformity. Despite the popularity of Ponseti’s method and night splints such as the Denis–Browne method, there is still an 11–47% rate of deformity relapse reported in the literature. The technique to make traditional orthotics is dependent on a nonweight-bearing casting or foot imprint. These splints outdate clinical treatment trends and only apply to patients who are of nonwalking age. This study shows that a new procedure utilizing computer aided design and the finite element method can be employed to develop a customized weight-bearing dynamic orthotic. In addition, the plantar pressure distribution and the trajectory of the center of this pressure distribution are used to design the orthotic. It is shown that the trajectory of the center of pressure, traditionally used in gait analysis, can be used not only to quantify the severity of the foot deformity but to design a custom orthotic as well. Also, the new procedure allows the custom orthotic to be designed and analyzed within a day. The new orthotic design is composed of soft foam interior layers and a polymer supportive exterior layer. It is proved that rapid prototyping technologies employing selective laser sintering can be used to construct these layers to produce a custom orthotic within a 24 h time frame.