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Participation refers to a state of health in which a person is able to fully engage in roles and life situations. Adults living with and beyond cancer often report persistent participation restrictions that affect their productivity and quality of life. The American Occupational Therapy Foundation convened a group of scientists from seven different disciplines in a Planning Grant Collective (PGC) to stimulate research to identify scalable ways to preserve and optimize participation among cancer survivors. Participants identified challenges, prioritized solutions, and generated novel research questions that move beyond symptom and impairment mitigation as outcomes to identify interventions that improve participation in roles and life situations. This article summarizes the PGC discussion and recommendations regarding three challenges: (a) the dynamic and multi-faceted nature of participation, (b) a need to integrate the concept of participation within the culture of oncology, and (c) identification of priority areas in which new lines of research regarding participation would be most impactful.

Background: Foot abduction orthoses (FAO) are believed to decrease recurrence following treatment of congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV) as described by Ponseti. The purpose of this project is to examine the outcomes of FAO bracing following treatment by the Ponseti method in a cohort of idiopathic CTEV patients. Methods: After IRB approval, a cohort of patients aged 3 to 46 days with idiopathic CTEV was identified in a previous prospective study of brace compliance by family report and sensor. Dimeglio score and family demographic information were collected. Initial treatment was by the Ponseti method, with or without Achilles tenotomy. Following correction, patients had three months of full-time FAO bracing during which parents kept a log of compliance. Patients were followed until recurrence (need for further treatment) or age 5. Results: In total, 42 patients with 64 affected feet met the above criteria and were included in the final analysis. Twenty-six feet (40%) went on to develop recurrence requiring further treatment, including casting, bracing, or surgery. Because of poor tolerance of the original FAO, 20 feet were transitioned to an alternative FAO, and 14 of these (70%) went on to recur (P<0.01). The casting duration (P=0.02) had a statistically significant relationship to recurrence. Patients who were casted for 9 weeks or more had a higher rate of recurrence (57.1% vs. 27.8%; P=0.02). Age at treatment start, Dimeglio score, demographic factors, and compliance during full-time bracing, whether by report or sensor, did not show a significant relationship with recurrence. Conclusions: The study showed a statistically significant relationship between the difficulty of CTEV correction and the risk of recurrent deformity requiring treatment. This relationship could be used to provide prognostic information for patients’ families. Caregiver-reported compliance was not significantly related to recurrence. Level of Evidence: Level III—Prognostic Retrospective Cohort Study.

PURPOSE To provide evidence-based recommendations on the treatment of multiple myeloma to practicing physicians and others. METHODS ASCO and Cancer Care Ontario convened an Expert Panel of medical oncology, surgery, radiation oncology, and advocacy experts to conduct a literature search, which included systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, and some phase II studies published from 2005 through 2018. Outcomes of interest included survival, progression-free survival, response rate, and quality of life. Expert Panel members used available evidence and informal consensus to develop evidence-based guideline recommendations. RESULTS The literature search identified 124 relevant studies to inform the evidence base for this guideline. RECOMMENDATIONS Evidence-based recommendations were developed for patients with multiple myeloma who are transplantation eligible and those who are ineligible and for patients with relapsed or refractory disease.

AbstractObjectivesA cuffed bag valve mask (BVM) is the most common device used by emergency medical responders to ventilate patients. The BVM can be difficult for users to seal around the patient’s mouth and nose. An intraoral mask (IOM) with snorkel-like design may facilitate quicker and better ventilation particularly under austere conditions.MethodsBoth a BVM and IOM were utilized by 27 trained emergency medical technicians and paramedics to ventilate a lightly embalmed cadaver. Ventilation efficacy, workload, and usability were assessed for both devices across four study conditions.ResultsThe IOM was superior to the BVM in delivered tidal volume ratio (measure of leak, p &lt; 0.03) and minute ventilation (p &lt; 0.0001). Workload, ergonomic and usability assessments indicated that the IOM facilitated gripping through the reduced hand interface size (p &lt; 0.01), decreased user effort (p &lt; 0.001), and reduced upper limb workload (p = 0.0088).ConclusionsIn the assessed model, the IOM represented a better choice for airway management than the standard cuffed BVM. An emergency medical device that is intuitive, efficacious and less demanding has the potential to reduce responder stress and improve resuscitation efforts, especially during austere rescue and patient transport.

Background: Although associations between hypertension in mid-life and the development of dementia and cognitive decline have been established, the impact of the new 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines on dementia risk at the population level has not been evaluated. Objectives: To assess the association of hypertension categories with the risk of incident dementia and to calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF) for dementia from hypertension categories according to the 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines, and compare these associations with hypertension defined according to JNC7. Methods: We studied dementia-free participants recruited to the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort in 1987-89. Hypertension was defined by 2003 JNC7 and 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines using blood pressure measured at baseline; participants using antihypertensive medication were included in hypertension stage 2 for both sets of guidelines. Dementia was defined using adjudicated consensus diagnoses at visit 5 (2011-13), informant telephone interviews, and ICD-9 codes from hospitalizations and death certificates through 2013. Cox proportional hazards regression models estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) by hypertension categories, adjusting for potential confounders, including sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical variables. PAF of dementia by hypertension category was calculated using rate ratios from Poisson regression and the prevalence of the risk factor in the population. Results: Among 13,971 participants followed for a median of 23.0 years, 1381 cases of dementia were identified. Prevalence of elevated BP (systolic BP [SBP] 120-129 and diastolic BP [DBP] <80), hypertension stage 1 (SBP 130-139 or DBP 80-89) and hypertension stage 2 (SBP ≥140 or DPB ≥90) according to 2017 ACC/AHA categories was 13%, 15% and 44%, respectively. Corresponding HR (95%CI) compared to normal BP were 1.35 (95%CI 1.12, 1.61), 1.28 (1.07, 1.52) and 1.36 (1.18, 1.57), respectively. PAF (95%CI) of dementia from hypertension categories were 3% (1%, 5%), 3% (1%, 5%) and 9% (4%, 14%). PAF using JNC7 categories were similar to 2017 ACC/AHA: 6% (3%, 9%) for prehypertension (SBP 120-129 or DBP 80-89), 0% (-2%, 2%) for hypertension stage 1 (SBP 140-159 or DBP 90-99), and 9% (5%, 13%) for hypertension stage 2 (SBP ≥160 or DBP ≥100). Conclusions: Risk of dementia was increased across categories defined by the new ACC/AHA hypertension guidelines. However, the population impact on dementia incidence using 2017 ACC/AHA was similar to the impact of JNC7. These results suggest that the new criteria for diagnosis of hypertension will not increase the number of persons in whom hypertension could be reasonably labeled as a risk for dementia.

Abstract Novel treatment strategies are needed for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This randomized phase 2 trial compared the efficacy and safety of 20 mg/m2 of IV decitabine on days 1 to 10 alone (arm A) with those of 1.3 mg/m2 of subcutaneous bortezomib (arm B) on days 1, 4, 8, and 11 for up to 4 10-day cycles followed by monthly 5-day cycles. Previously untreated AML patients age ≥60 years (excluding those with FLT3 mutations and favorable-risk cytogenetics) without restrictions in performance status (PS) or organ function were eligible. Median age was 72.4 years (range, 60.5-92.3 years); 31 patients (19%) had baseline PS ≥2, 35 (22%) had an antecedent hematological disorder, 58 had (39%) adverse cytogenetics, and 7 (5%) and 23 (14%) had abnormal cardiac or renal function. There were no statistically significant differences in overall survival (OS) or responses between the 2 treatment arms. The overall response rate (complete remission + complete remission with incomplete blood count recovery) was 39% (n = 64), with median OS of 9.3 months. Nineteen responders (31%) underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The most common adverse event was febrile neutropenia, and there were no unexpected toxicities. Adding bortezomib to decitabine did not improve outcomes, but responses were better than those in previous trials using 5-day decitabine cycles. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01420926.

Background Bivalirudin may be an effective alternative anticoagulant to heparin for use in percutaneous peripheral interventions. We aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of bivalirudin versus heparin as the procedural anticoagulant agent in patients undergoing percutaneous peripheral intervention. Methods For this meta-analysis and systematic review, we conducted a search in PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Cochrane for all the clinical studies in which bivalirudin was compared to heparin as the procedural anticoagulant in percutaneous peripheral interventions. Outcomes studied included all-cause mortality, all-bleeding, major and minor bleeding, and access site complications. Results Eleven studies were included in the analysis, totaling 20,137 patients. There was a significant difference favoring bivalirudin over heparin for all-cause mortality (risk ratio 0.58, 95% CI 0.39–0.87), all-bleeding (risk ratio 0.62, 95% CI 0.50–0.78), major bleeding (risk ratio 0.61, 95% CI 0.39–0.96), minor bleeding (risk ratio 0.66, 95% CI 0.47–0.92), and access site complications (risk ratio 0.66, 95% CI 0.51–0.84). There was no significant difference in peri-procedural need for blood transfusions (risk ratio 0.79, 95% CI 0.57–1.08), myocardial infarction (risk ratio 0.87, 95% CI 0.59–1.28), stroke (risk ratio 0.77, 95% CI 0.59–1.01), intracranial bleeding (risk ratio 0.77, 95% CI 0.29–2.02), or amputations (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.53–1.05). Conclusion Our meta-analysis suggests that bivalirudin use for percutaneous peripheral interventions is associated with lower all-cause mortality, bleeding, and access site complications as compared to heparin. Further large randomized trials are needed to confirm the current results.

Abstract New gene-editing tools challenge conventional policy proscriptions of research aimed at either human germline gene editing or human enhancement by potentially lowering technical barriers to both kinds of intervention. Some recent gene-editing reports have begun to take up the prospect of germline editing, but most experts are in broad agreement that research should prioritize medical applications over attempts to enhance human traits. However, there is little consensus about what counts as human enhancement in this context, or how to deal with the issues it flags. Moreover, several influential reports interpret medical applications to include disease prevention as well as treatment as a goal for gene-editing research. This challenges the current policy consensus because using gene editing to prevent disease would incidentally facilitate human enhancement applications in a variety of ways. If such research efforts are penalized by policy concerns about enhancement, then their preventive health benefits could be lost. To avoid being caught off guard by such challenges, science policy makers will need to think more carefully about what “prevention” might mean in the gene-editing context, and develop research governance that can anticipate and address the human enhancement concerns it will raise. To accomplish the latter, the scope of policy making will need to expand from its narrow focus on human clinical trials to engage with basic researchers driving the translational pipeline toward preventive gene editing and the science policy makers who have to address its “off-label” uses.