JNCI-Journal of the National Cancer Institute

Cumulative Psychosocial and Health Disparities in US Adolescent Cigarette Smoking, 2002 to 2019
Erath TG, Chen FF, DeSarno M, Devine D, Leventhal AM, Bickel WK and Higgins ST
Understanding disparities in adolescent cigarette smoking is important for effective prevention.
Impact of knowledge of HPV positivity on cervical cytology performance in latin america
Ramírez AT, Mesher D, Baena A, Salgado Y, Kasamatsu E, Cristaldo C, Álvarez R, Rojas FD, Ramírez K, Guyot J, Henríquez O, González Palma H, Flores B, Peñaranda J, Vero MJ, Robinson I, Rol ML, Rodríguez G, Terán C, Ferrera A, Picconi MA, Calderon A, Mendoza L, Wiesner C, Almonte M and Herrero R
Cervical cytology is recommended by WHO as a triage option in HPV-based cervical cancer screening programmes. We assessed the performance of cytology to detect CIN3+ without and with knowledge of HPV positivity.
RE: A population-based study of COVID-19 mortality risk in US cancer patients
Semprini J and Osazuwa-Peters N
Response to simprini and Osazuwa-Peters
Mani KA, Wu X, Spratt DE, Wang M and Zaorsky NG
Expression of Concern: Delta-Like Ligand 4-Notch Blockade and Tumor Radiation Response
Trends in cancer mortality under age 50 in 15 upper-Middle and high-income countries
Santucci C, Mignozzi S, Alicandro G, Pizzato M, Malvezzi M, Negri E, Jha P and La Vecchia C
Rising cancer incidence, particularly for colorectal cancer, has been reported in young adults. This study examined whether this is related to an increase in mortality.
Elevated risk of lung cancer among asian American females who have never smoked: an emerging cancer disparity
Gomez SL, DeRouen M, Chen MS, Wakelee H, Velotta JB, Sakoda LC, Shariff-Marco S, Reynolds P and Cheng I
Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality for most ethnic groups of Asian American females, including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese Americans, a striking pattern given the exceedingly low prevalence of smoking among Asian American females in the general population. Recent research demonstrates that among Asian American females diagnosed with lung cancer, the vast majority of patients have never smoked, as high as > 80% among Chinese and Asian Indian American females. Despite declining rates in lung cancer overall in the United States, rates among Asian American females who have never smoked appear to be increasing. This Commentary articulates extant knowledge, based on studies in Asia, of a range of risk factors such as a family history of lung cancer, history of lung diseases including tuberculosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, exposure to cooking fumes and second-hand smoke, and various putative risk factors. Unique mutational profiles at the tumor level, including higher prevalence of EGFR mutations among Asian populations, highlight the importance of tumor genomic testing of newly-diagnosed patients. Additional research is essential, given the high burden of disease among Asian American females who have never smoked, and limited knowledge regarding contributing risk factors specific to Asian American females, as the risk factors identified in Asians living in Asia may not apply.
Evaluating clinical utility of comprehensive genomic profiling-challenges and opportunities
McShane LM and Harris LN
Proinflammatory Dietary Pattern and Risk of Total and Subtypes of Breast Cancer Among U.S. Women
Romanos-Nanclares A, Willett WC, Rosner B, Stover DG, Sardesai SD, Holmes MD, Chen WY, Tamimi RM, Tabung FK and Eliassen AH
Dietary patterns promoting chronic inflammation, including the empirical dietary inflammatory pattern (EDIP), have been associated with certain cancers. Investigating whether this dietary pattern is associated with breast cancer-where the role of inflammation is less well-defined-could provide valuable insights and potentially improve strategies for preventing this cancer.
First Cycle Toxicity and Survival in Patients with Rare Cancers Treated with Checkpoint Inhibitors
Othus M, Patel SP, Chae YK, Dietrich E, Streicher H, Sharon E and Kurzrock R
Associations between immune-related adverse events (irAEs) from checkpoint inhibitor therapy and outcomes have been previously evaluated, with most prior research finding a positive association between toxicity and survival. This prior research has generally reported on more common tumor types. We use a unique data resource of a federally-funded basket trial ((NCT02834013) for patients with rare cancers (N = 684) to evaluate associations between irAEs and overall survival and progression-free survival.
The Association of Where Patients with Prostate Cancer Live and Receive Care on Racial Treatment Inequities
Hammarlund N, Holt SK, Etzioni R, Morehead D, Lee JR, Wolff EM, Burrola-Mendez Y, Sage L, Gore JL and Nyame YA
Black individuals are less likely to be treated for prostate cancer even though they are more than twice as likely to die compared to White individuals. The complex causes of these inequities are influenced by social and structural factors, including racism, which contribute to the differential delivery of care. This study investigates how factors related to the location of where individuals live and receive care affect treatment inequities for prostate cancer between Black and White individuals. We hypothesize that both location and race independently influence treatment inequities. We used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry linked to Medicare claims to estimate the treatment inequity, as defined by differences in radiation or radical prostatectomy. Fixed effects at the physician, hospital, and patient ZIP code levels were incorporated to adjust for all time-invariant factors at these levels. The results indicate that residential location-related factors explain only half of the treatment inequity, while provider- and hospital-level factors do not significantly account for disparities. Even after accounting for all time-invariant factors, significant differences in treatment rates persist. The study highlights the importance of understanding race as a social construct and racism as a systemic and structural phenomenon in addressing treatment inequities. These findings provide a necessary step toward understanding equitable care and designing interventions to solve this inequity.
State-level disparities in cervical cancer prevention and outcomes in the U.S.: a modeling study
Alarid-Escudero F, Gracia V, Wolf M, Zhao R, Easterly CW, Kim JJ, Canfell K, de Kok IMCM, Barnabas RV and Kulasingam S
Despite HPV vaccines' availability for over a decade, coverage across the US varies. While some states have tried to increase HPV vaccination coverage, most model-based analyses focus on national impacts. We evaluated hypothetical changes in HPV vaccination coverage at the national and state levels for California, New York, and Texas using a mathematical model.
"Nailing down" risk and improving outcomes in early-stage breast cancer
Graff SL, Tinianov S and Kalinsky K
Impact of major depressive disorder on breast cancer outcomes: a national retrospective cohort study
Aboumrad M, Joshu C and Visvanathan K
Establishing whether women with major depressive disorder (MDD) who develop breast cancer (BC) have poor outcomes is key to optimizing care for this population. To address this, we examined associations between MDD and BC recurrence and mortality.
Projected Outcomes of Reduced-Biopsy Management of Grade Group 1 Prostate Cancer: Implications for Relabeling
Zhao Y, Gulati R, Yang Z, Newcomb L, Zheng Y, Zhu K, Liu M, Heijnsdijk EAM, Haffner MC, Cooperberg M, Eggener SE, De Marzo AM, Kibel AS, Rizopoulos D, Hall IJ and Etzioni R
Implications of relabeling grade group (GG) 1 prostate cancer as non-cancer will depend on the recommended active surveillance (AS) strategy. Whether relabeling should prompt de-intensifying, PSA-based active monitoring approaches is unclear. We investigated outcomes of biopsy-based AS strategies vs PSA-based active monitoring for GG1 diagnoses under different patient adherence rates.
Supporting Evidence in Phase 2 Cancer Trial Protocols: A Content Analysis
Bicer S, Nelson A, Carayannis K and Kimmelman J
Phase 2 trials are instrumental for designing definitive efficacy trials or attaining accelerated approval. However, high attrition of drug candidates in phase 2 raises questions about their supporting evidence.
Prognostic factors in localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma after neoadjuvant therapy and resection: a systematic review and Meta-Analysis
Javed AA, Habib A, Mahmud O, Fatimi AS, Grewal M, Mughal N, He J, Wolfgang CL, Daamen L and Besselink MG
Prognostic markers for overall survival (OS) in resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are well-established but remain unclear following neoadjuvant therapy (NAT). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine factors associated with OS following NAT in resected PDAC.
Influence of endoxifen on mammographic density-results from the KARISMA trial
Hammarström M, Gabrielson M, Bergqvist J, Lundholm C, Crippa A, Bäcklund M, Wengström Y, Borgquist S, Eliasson E, Eriksson M, Tapia J, Czene K and Hall P
Monitoring metabolites of tamoxifen, such as endoxifen, has been suggested as a strategy to ascertain therapeutic effect of tamoxifen therapy but clinical guidelines are missing. Herein we aim to investigate the outcome of endoxifen concentrations of low dose tamoxifen, using change in mammographic breast density (MBD) as a proxy for therapy response.
Obesity-Specific improvement of lung cancer outcomes and immunotherapy efficacy with metformin
Smith RJ, Zollo R, Kalvapudi S, Vedire Y, Pachimatla AG, Petrucci C, Shaller G, Washington D, Rr V, Sass SN, Srinivasan A, Kannisto E, Bawek S, Jain P, Rosario S, Barbi J and Yendamuri S
Pre-clinical cancer studies ascribe promising anticancer properties to metformin. Yet, clinical findings vary, casting uncertainty on its therapeutic value for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We hypothesized that metformin could benefit obese and overweight patients with NSCLC.
Enhancing Capacity for Primary Care Research in Cancer Survivorship: National Cancer Institute Meeting Report
Hudson SV, Mollica MA, Crystal R, Hahn EE, O'Malley DM, Radhakrishnan A, Klemp J and Tonorezos E
Many components of long-term cancer follow-up and survivorship care are managed in the primary care context. Given the important role that primary care has in survivorship care, it is critical to ensure that teams in these settings are prepared to address long-term needs. Evidence-based strategies to deliver survivorship care in primary care settings in the US remain limited. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Office of Cancer Survivorship (OCS) conducted a day-long virtual event, Enhancing Capacity for Primary Care Research in Cancer Survivorship: A Workshop for Action, on February 28, 2024, to discuss research needs addressing the intersection between primary care and cancer survivorship. Topics discussed to advance this area of research included: system-level interventions, methods and measurement, and mentorship and research team building, especially for early career researchers. The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the key findings. Gaps and opportunities include: (1) health systems-level research that investigates primary care practice-level capacity, (2) identification and characterization of the targeted cancer survivor populations for primary care research; (3) leveraging electronic medical records to track relevant patient outcomes throughout survivorship; and (4) development/creation of communities of practice to support and build research capacity. Team science approaches were identified as a core strategy to advance survivorship research. The meeting closed with a reflection and call to action focused on building collaborations that span different research areas, disciplines, and organizations and building a broad network of a primary care practice focused research.
Liver Elastography-based Risk Score for Predicting Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk
Tian C, Ye C, Guo H, Lu K, Yang J, Wang X, Ge X, Yu C, Lu J, Jiang L, Zhang Q and Song C
Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) via vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) accurately assesses fibrosis. We aimed to develop a universal risk score for predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development in patients with chronic hepatitis.