Citations

PURPOSE: ASCO is the premier and largest global professional society for oncology care professionals. In 2015, ASCO launched a longitudinal Learning Cohort Pilot Project to catalog and better understand the learning behaviors and preferences of oncology health care providers. A secondary goal was to assess learner preferences and utilization related to ASCO’s portfolio of educational resources. METHODS: The Learning Cohort Pilot Project was conducted between November 2015 and August 2016 with 49 ASCO members. Participants were selected via convenience sampling and stratified random sampling to generate a cohort that mirrored the demographic distribution of overall ASCO membership. Participants completed a different ASCO resource-specific feedback activity each month, which measured professional educational needs, sources sought, and preferences for educational resources. Responses were organized by demographic variables in our participant pool to identify trends in provider learning preferences. Fisher’s exact test was used to assess the association between participant demographics and practice setting and responses. Holm’s procedure was used to adjust for multiple testing. RESULTS: The Learning Cohort Pilot Project revealed statistically significant relationships between participant demographic variables and learning preferences. Age and practice setting were the demographic variables most consistently associated with the different preferences explored throughout the targeted activities. CONCLUSION: The results of this pilot cohort reinforced the hypothesis that oncology care providers have different professional educational needs and preferences that can be potentially anticipated and met with tailored resources. Delivering solutions to meet these needs represents an opportunity for further research and resource development.

Objective Despite advances in the identification of epigenetic alterations in pancreatic cancer, their biological roles in the pathobiology of this dismal neoplasm remain elusive. Here, we aimed to characterise the functional significance of histone lysine methyltransferases (KMTs) and demethylases (KDMs) in pancreatic tumourigenesis. Design DNA methylation sequencing and gene expression microarrays were employed to investigate CpG methylation and expression patterns of KMTs and KDMs in pancreatic cancer tissues versus normal tissues. Gene expression was assessed in five cohorts of patients by reverse transcription quantitative-PCR. Molecular analysis and functional assays were conducted in genetically modified cell lines. Cellular metabolic rates were measured using an XF24-3 Analyzer, while quantitative evaluation of lipids was performed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Subcutaneous xenograft mouse models were used to evaluate pancreatic tumour growth in vivo. Results We define a new antitumorous function of the histone lysine (K)-specific methyltransferase 2D (KMT2D) in pancreatic cancer. KMT2D is transcriptionally repressed in human pancreatic tumours through DNA methylation. Clinically, lower levels of this methyltransferase associate with poor prognosis and significant weight alterations. RNAi-based genetic inactivation of KMT2D promotes tumour growth and results in loss of H3K4me3 mark. In addition, KMT2D inhibition increases aerobic glycolysis and alters the lipidomic profiles of pancreatic cancer cells. Further analysis of this phenomenon identified the glucose transporter SLC2A3 as a mediator of KMT2D-induced changes in cellular, metabolic and proliferative rates. Conclusion Together our findings define a new tumour suppressor function of KMT2D through the regulation of glucose/fatty acid metabolism in pancreatic cancer.