Journal of the National Cancer Institute

BACKGROUND: Despite their vital roles, informal caregivers of adult cancer patients are commonly overlooked in cancer care. This study describes processes for identifying cancer caregivers and processes for distress screening and management among caregivers and patients in the understudied community oncology setting. METHODS: Supportive care leaders (SCLs) from NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) practices completed online survey questions regarding caregiver identification, caregiver and patient distress screening, and distress management strategies...

BACKGROUND: Frailty and multimorbidity among older cancer patients affect treatment tolerance and efficacy. Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) and management is recommended to optimize cancer treatment but its effect on various outcomes remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cost-effectiveness studies comparing CGA (with or without implementation of recommendations) to usual care in older cancer patients...

BACKGROUND: Poor oral health has been identified as a prognostic factor potentially affecting the survival of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. However, evidence to date supporting this association has emanated from studies based on single cohorts with small-to-modest sample sizes. METHODS: Pooled analysis of 2449 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma participants from 4 studies of the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium included data on periodontal disease, tooth brushing frequency, mouthwash use, numbers of natural teeth, and dental visits over the 10 years prior to diagnosis...

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has shown high efficacy against anal HPV infection and lesions in clinical trials, and the HPV prevalence and type distribution in anal precancers and cancer predict a high preventable potential for HPV vaccination. However, the real-world effectiveness of HPV vaccination against anal high-grade lesions and cancer is yet to be shown. METHODS: We investigated HPV vaccine effectiveness against anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion or worse (HSIL+) in a nationwide cohort including all Danish women aged (17-32 years) during October 2006-December 2021 (N = 968,881)...

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer (PC) is the most diagnosed cancer in African American men (AAM), yet PC screening regimens in this group are poorly guided by existing evidence, given underrepresentation of AAM in prostate cancer screening trials. It is critical to optimize PC screening and early detection in this high-risk group since underdiagnosis may lead to later stage cancers at diagnosis and higher mortality while overdiagnosis may lead to unnecessary treatment. METHODS: We performed a review of the literature related to PC screening and early detection specific to AAM to summarize the existing evidence available to guide healthcare practice...

The burden of cancer and access to effective treatment is not experienced equally by all in the United States. For underserved populations who often access the healthcare system when their cancers are in advanced disease stages, radiation oncology services are essential. In 2001, the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Radiation Research Program (RRP) created and implemented the Cancer Disparities Research Partnership (CDRP) program. CDRP was a pioneering funding model with a goal to increase participation of medically-underserved populations on NCI clinical trials...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: In the U.S., anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) rates have rapidly increased, particularly among older women. As immunosuppression is associated with increased risk, autoimmune conditions may be associated with greater risk of anal SCC. METHODS: We conducted a population-based case-control study using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare (2000-2017). Anal SCC cases (N = 4,505) were matched to 200,000 cancer-free controls...

PURPOSE: The rate of esophagogastric cancer (EGC) is rising among individuals under the age of 50. It remains unknown whether early onset (EO)-EGC represents a unique entity. This study investigates the clinical and molecular characteristics of EO- and average onset (AO)-EGC. METHODS: We reviewed the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center gastric, esophageal and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer database. Associations between baseline characteristics and tumor and germline molecular alterations were compared between those with EO- and AO-EGC using Fisher's exact test, and the Benjamini-Hochberg method for multiple hypothesis correction...

BACKGROUND: Research indicates that Black cancer patients have higher rates of COVID-19 hospitalization than their White counterparts. However, the extent to which chronic diseases contribute to racial disparities remains uncertain. We aimed to quantify the effect of chronic diseases on racial disparity in COVID-19-associated hospitalization among cancer patients. METHODS: We linked Louisiana Tumor Registry's data with statewide COVID-19 data and hospital in-patient discharge data to identify patients diagnosed with cancer in 2015-2019 who tested positive for COVID-19 in 2020 and those with COVID-19-associated hospitalization...

BACKGROUND: Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been inconsistently associated with breast cancer incidence, however few studies have considered historic exposure when levels were higher. METHODS: Outdoor residential PM2.5 concentrations were estimated using a nationwide spatiotemporal model for women in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, a prospective cohort located in 6 states (California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania) and 2 metropolitan areas (Atlanta, Georgia, and Detroit, Michigan) and enrolled in 1995-1996 (N = 196,905)...

BACKGROUND: Neuroblastoma is an embryonal cancer of the developing sympathetic nervous system. The genetic contribution of rare pathogenic or likely pathogenic (P-LP) germline variants in patients without a family history remains unclear. METHODS: Germline DNA sequencing was performed on 786 neuroblastoma patients. The frequency of rare cancer predisposition gene (CPG) P-LP variants in cases was compared to two cancer-free control cohorts. Matched tumor DNA sequencing was evaluated for "second hits" and germline DNA array data from 5,585 neuroblastoma cases and 23,505 cancer-free control children was analyzed to identify rare germline copy number variants (CNVs)...

Few studies have examined cancer-related mortality overall and for select cancer types during the pandemic. Data on cancer-related mortality (any mention in death certificates, multiple causes of death-MCOD approach) was extracted from the CDC WONDER database. Changes in trends of age-standardized mortality rates through 1999-2021 were assessed by Joinpoint analysis. 1,379,643 cancer-related deaths were registered in 2020-2021, with cancer selected as the underlying cause in 88%. After two decades of decline, age-standardized cancer-related mortality increased from 2019 to 2021 for all cancers (annual percent change-APC 1...

BACKGROUND: High-risk neuroblastoma is a complex genetic disease that is lethal in over 50% of patients despite intense multimodal therapy. Through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and next-generation sequencing (NGS), we have identified common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and rare, pathogenic (P) or likely pathogenic (LP) germline loss-of-function (LOF) variants in BARD1 enriched in neuroblastoma patients. The functional implications of these findings remain poorly understood...

BACKGROUND: Treatment of childhood glioma has evolved to reduce radiotherapy exposure with the goal of limiting late toxicity. However, the associations between treatment changes and neurocognition, and the contribution of neurocognition and chronic health conditions (CHCs) to attainment of adult independence, remain unknown. METHODS: Adult survivors of childhood glioma diagnosed 1970-1999 in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (n = 1,284; median [min-max] 30 [18-51] years at assessment; 22 [15-34] years from diagnosis) self-reported neurocognitive impairment and CHCs...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: To support mammography screening decision-making, we developed a competing-risk model to estimate 5-year breast cancer (BC) risk and 10-year non-BC death for women ≥55 using Nurses' Health Study (NHS) data and examined model performance in the Black Women's Health Study (BWHS). Here, we examine model performance in predicting 10-year outcomes in the BWHS, Women's Health Initiative-Extension Study (WHI-ES) and Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) and compare model performance to existing BC prediction models...

BACKGROUND: Patients with cancer frequently require multidisciplinary teams for optimal cancer outcomes. Network analysis can capture relationships among cancer specialists, and we developed a novel physician linchpin score to characterize "linchpin" physicians whose peers have fewer ties to other physicians of the same oncologic specialty. Our study examined whether being treated by a linchpin physician was associated with worse survival. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare data for patients diagnosed with stage I-III non-small cell lung or colorectal cancer in 2016-2017...