Citations

The NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship are intended to help healthcare professionals address the complex and varied needs of cancer survivors. The NCCN Guidelines provide screening, evaluation, and treatment recommendations for psychosocial and physical problems resulting from adult-onset cancer and its treatment; recommendations to help promote healthy behaviors and immunizations in survivors; and a framework for care coordination. These NCCN Guidelines Insights summarize recent guideline updates and panel discussions pertaining to sleep disorders, fatigue, and cognitive function in cancer survivors.

Though specific growth rate (SGR) has potential prognostic value for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), there is sparse literature defining these rates. Our aims were to establish the SGRs of primary tumors (PTs) and lymph nodes (LNs) in OPSCC and to correlate SGR with oncologic outcome. A pilot study was designed with a retrospective analysis examining 54 patients from the University of California, Davis with OPSCC (diagnosed 2012–2019). Radiation oncology software and pretreatment serial CT scans were used to measure PT and LN volumes to calculate SGR and doubling time (DT). The mean PT-SGR was 1.2 ± 2.2%/day and the mean LN-SGR was 1.6 ± 1.9%/day. There was no statistically significant difference between slow-growing and fast-growing cohorts in terms of age, gender, smoking status, tumor subsite, HPV status (as determined with p16 staining), initial volume, or overall stage. SGR had no impact on 2-year overall survival, disease-free survival, or disease-specific survival. We found the average daily growth rates for OPSCC to be 1.2%/day and 1.6%/day. Our findings suggest PT- and LN-SGR are independent factors, not heavily influenced by known biomarkers and patient characteristics, without a statistical impact on prognosis. This information has value in patient counseling regarding tumor growth and in providing patients worried about fast-growing tumors the appropriate reassurance.

Objectives Patient safety incident reporting in our institution’s intensive care units (ICUs) had fallen 30% below national benchmarks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Underreporting diminishes awareness of risks and precludes organizational learning from near misses. We aimed to increase the ICU number of patient safety incident reports by 30% from 27 to 35 reports/1000 patient-days without negatively impacting culture of safety as measured by patient-care staff surveys. Methods Single-institution prospective interventional study with 9 ICUs receiving a multifaceted intervention developed using quality improvement methodology during February–April 2022. Study intervention involved creation of patient safety peer-leadership role, feedback process, interactive dashboards for patient safety data, and education resources accessible via quick response codes. Primary outcome was patient safety incident reports/1000 patient-days. Intensive care unit patient-care staff culture of safety was assessed with surveys. Results Intensive care unit patient safety incident reporting increased by 48% after intervention (40 versus 27 reports/1000 patient-days [P = 0.136]). Near misses were the most common incident report. Intensive care unit patient-care staff ratings of patient safety did not change; 80% rated patient safety as good or better after intervention versus 78% at baseline (P = 0.465). However, significant improvement was observed for subcomponents related to learning culture and support for staff involved in patient safety incidents. Most reports (>80%) were submitted by nurses. Conclusions This multifaceted quality improvement intervention increased patient safety incident reporting in the ICUs. Increases in ratings of learning culture and support for staff underline the importance of a well-functioning patient safety incident reporting system in an institutional culture of safety.

Background The incidence of cervical cancer has decreased by 70% since the 1950s. Preventative measures include vaccination against HPV strains and Papanicolaou tests. Early identification of cervical cancer through routine screening can significantly improve patient outcomes. Materials and methods At our academic institution, Community Internal Medicine (CIM) Clinic, 63% of female patients aged 21–65 were compliant with cervical cancer screening. The opening of the ‘Saturday Pap Smear Clinic’ sought to address barriers by offering non-traditional appointment times on Saturday mornings with an all female staff. Our aim was to increase the cervical cancer screening rate by 1% within 12 weeks. Our team compared CIM (intervention) and family medicine (FM) (control) compliance rates from September 2021 to January 2022. Messages were sent to the patient indicating non-compliance and offering options to complete screening. Results At the start of this study, 5239 CIM patients were cervical cancer screening non-compliant. Postintervention, cervical screening rates among non-compliant women within CIM improved by 1.2%. The intervention cohort, CIM patients, had a significant improvement in compliance compared with the control group, FM patients. White women between the ages of 50 and 65 comprised the majority of patients who used the ‘Saturday Pap Smear Clinic’. Conclusions The availability of Saturday appointments for cervical cancer screening completion can enhance cervical cancer screening compliance among eligible women. Eliminating barriers for women can improve health outcomes.

In 2023, the NCCN Guidelines for Hepatobiliary Cancers were divided into 2 separate guidelines: Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Biliary Tract Cancers. The NCCN Guidelines for Biliary Tract Cancers provide recommendations for the evaluation and comprehensive care of patients with gallbladder cancer, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. The multidisciplinary panel of experts meets at least on an annual basis to review requests from internal and external entities as well as to evaluate new data on current and emerging therapies. These Guidelines Insights focus on some of the recent updates to the NCCN Guidelines for Biliary Tract Cancers as well as the newly published section on principles of molecular testing.

Background For acute proximal intracranial artery occlusions, contact aspiration may be more effective than stent‐retriever for first‐line reperfusion therapy. Due to the lack of data regarding medium vessel occlusion thrombectomy, we evaluated outcomes according to first‐line technique in a large, multicenter registry. Methods Imaging, procedural, and clinical outcomes of patients with acute proximal medium vessel occlusions (M2, A1, or P1) or distal medium vessel occlusions (M3, A2, P2, or further) treated at 37 sites in 10 countries were analyzed according to first‐line endovascular technique (stent‐retriever versus aspiration). Multivariable logistic regression and propensity‐score matching were used to estimate the odds of the primary outcome, expanded Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score of 2b–3 (“successful recanalization”), as well as secondary outcomes (first‐pass effect, expanded Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 2c‐3, intracerebral hemorrhage, and 90‐day modified Rankin scale, 90‐day mortality) between treatment groups. Results Of the 440 included patients (44.5% stent‐retriever versus 55.5% aspiration), those treated with stent‐retriever had lower baseline Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Scale scores (median 8 versus 9; P <0.01), higher National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores (median 13 versus 11; P =0.02), and nonsignificantly fewer medium‐distal occlusions (M3, A2, P2, or other: 17.4% versus 23.8%; P =0.10). Use of a stent‐retriever was associated with 15% lower odds of successful recanalization (odds ratio [OR], 0.85; [95% CI 0.74–0.98]; P =0.02), but this was not significant after multivariable adjustment in the total cohort (adjusted OR, 0.88; [95% CI 0.72–1.09]; P =0.24), or in the propensity‐score matched cohort (n=105 in each group) (adjusted OR, 0.94; [95% CI 0.75–1.18]; P =0.60). There was no significant association between technique and secondary outcomes in the propensity‐score matched adjusted models. Conclusion In this large, diverse, multinational medium vessel occlusion cohort, we found no significant difference in imaging or clinical outcomes with aspiration versus stent‐retriever thrombectomy.

Importance Lensectomy with primary intraocular lens (IOL) implantation is often used in the management of nontraumatic pediatric cataract, but long-term data evaluating the association of age and IOL location with the incidence of complications are limited. Objective To describe the incidence of complications and additional eye surgeries through 5 years following pediatric lensectomy with primary IOL implantation and association with age at surgery and IOL location. Design, Setting, and Participants This prospective cohort study used Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group cataract registry data from 61 institution- and community-based practices over 3 years (June 2012 to July 2015). Participants were children younger than 13 years without baseline glaucoma who had primary IOL implantation (345 bilateral and 264 unilateral) for nontraumatic cataract. Data analysis was performed between September 2021 and January 2023. Exposures Lensectomy with primary IOL implantation. Main Outcome and Measures Five-year cumulative incidence of complications by age at surgery (&amp;lt;2 years, 2 to &amp;lt;4 years, 4 to &amp;lt;7 years, and 7 to &amp;lt;13 years) and by IOL location (sulcus vs capsular bag) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. Results The cohort included 609 eyes from 491 children (mean [SD] age, 5.6 [3.3] years; 261 [53%] male and 230 [47%] female). Following cataract extraction with primary IOL implantation, a frequent complication was surgery for visual axis opacification (VAO) (cumulative incidence, 32%; 95% CI, 27%-36%). Cumulative incidence was lower with anterior vitrectomy at the time of IOL placement (12%; 95% CI, 8%-16%) vs without (58%; 95% CI, 50%-65%), and the risk of undergoing surgery for VAO was associated with not performing anterior vitrectomy (hazard ratio [HR], 6.19; 95% CI, 3.70-10.34; P &amp;lt; .001). After adjusting for anterior vitrectomy at lens surgery, there were no differences in incidence of surgery for VAO by age at surgery (&amp;lt;2 years, HR, 1.35 [95% CI, 0.63-2.87], 2 to &amp;lt;4 years, HR, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.44-1.68], 4 to &amp;lt;7 years, HR, 1.06 [95% CI, 0.72-1.56]; P = .74) or by capsular bag vs sulcus IOL fixation (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 0.36-4.17; P = .75). Cumulative incidence of glaucoma plus glaucoma suspect by 5 years was 7% (95% CI, 4%-9%), which did not differ by age after controlling for IOL location and laterality. Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study, a frequent complication following pediatric lensectomy with primary IOL was surgery for VAO, which was associated with primary anterior vitrectomy not being performed but was not associated with age at surgery or IOL location. The risk of glaucoma development across all ages at surgery suggests a need for long-term monitoring.

Background: Complete brachial plexus injuries are devastating injuries. A viable C5 spinal nerve can offer additional sources of axons and alter surgical treatment. We aimed to determine factors that portend C5 nerve root avulsion. Methods: A retrospective study of 200 consecutive patients with complete brachial plexus injuries at two international centers (Mayo Clinic in the United States and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan) was performed. Demographic information, concomitant injuries, mechanism, and details of the injury were determined, and kinetic energy (KE) and Injury Severity Score were calculated. C5 nerve root was evaluated by preoperative imaging, intraoperative exploration, and/or intraoperative neuromonitoring. A spinal nerve was considered viable if it was grafted during surgery. Results: Complete five-nerve root avulsions of the brachial plexus were present in 62% of US and 43% of Taiwanese patients, which was significantly different. Increasing age, the time from injury to surgery, weight, body mass index of patient, motor vehicle accident, KE, Injury Severity Score, and presence of vascular injury significantly increased the risk of C5 avulsion. Motorcycle (≤150cc) or bicycle accident decreased the risk of avulsion. Significant differences were found between demographic variables between the two institutions: age of injury, body mass index, time to surgery, vehicle type, speed of injury, KE, Injury Severity Score, and presence of vascular injury. Conclusions: The rate of complete avulsion injury was high in both centers. Although there are a number of demographic differences between the United States and Taiwan, overall the KE of the accident increased the risk of C5 avulsion.

Abstract Aims Calmodulinopathy due to mutations in any of the three CALM genes (CALM1–3) causes life-threatening arrhythmia syndromes, especially in young individuals. The International Calmodulinopathy Registry (ICalmR) aims to define and link the increasing complexity of the clinical presentation to the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods and results The ICalmR is an international, collaborative, observational study, assembling and analysing clinical and genetic data on CALM-positive patients. The ICalmR has enrolled 140 subjects (median age 10.8 years [interquartile range 5–19]), 97 index cases and 43 family members. CALM-LQTS and CALM-CPVT are the prevalent phenotypes. Primary neurological manifestations, unrelated to post-anoxic sequelae, manifested in 20 patients. Calmodulinopathy remains associated with a high arrhythmic event rate (symptomatic patients, n = 103, 74%). However, compared with the original 2019 cohort, there was a reduced frequency and severity of all cardiac events (61% vs. 85%; P = .001) and sudden death (9% vs. 27%; P = .008). Data on therapy do not allow definitive recommendations. Cardiac structural abnormalities, either cardiomyopathy or congenital heart defects, are present in 30% of patients, mainly CALM-LQTS, and lethal cases of heart failure have occurred. The number of familial cases and of families with strikingly different phenotypes is increasing. Conclusion Calmodulinopathy has pleiotropic presentations, from channelopathy to syndromic forms. Clinical severity ranges from the early onset of life-threatening arrhythmias to the absence of symptoms, and the percentage of milder and familial forms is increasing. There are no hard data to guide therapy, and current management includes pharmacological and surgical antiadrenergic interventions with sodium channel blockers often accompanied by an implantable cardioverter–defibrillator.