2021 February - 98 articles
Background: Multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings provide treatment recommendations based on available information and collective decision-making in teams with complementary professions, disciplines and skills. We aimed to map ancillary medical and n...
Background: Since 2007, all Canadian provinces and territories have had a publicly funded program for vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The objective of this study was to describe the evolution of these vaccination programs. M...
An 82-year-old woman treated for advanced lung cancer with gefitinb was admitted to the emergency unit complaining of dyspnea. Chest computed tomography found abnormalities classified as possible diffuse COVID-19 pneumonia. RT-PCR for Sars-Cov-2 was...
Background: Trans-arterial radioembolization (TARE) has shown promising results in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We identified independent predictors of radiological complete response (CR) in patients with intrahepatic HCC who were treated...
In Canada, prostate cancer is the most common reportable malignancy in men. We assessed the temporal trends of prostate cancer to gain insight into the geographic incidence and mortality trends of this disease. Three independent population-based canc...
Actinic keratoses (AK) are common lesions of the skin that can be effectively treated with several lesion- and field-directed treatments. Clinical practice guidelines assist physicians in choosing the appropriate treatment options for their patients....
Background: COVID-19 has invariably changed the way lung cancer surgical care is provided in Canada. Despite relevant management guidelines, the way in which cancer care has been affected has yet to be described for thoracic surgical populations. Rou...
Regulators of histone acetylation are promising epigenetic targets for therapy in breast cancer. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the expression of histone acetylation modulator genes in breast cancer using TCGA data sources. A gene signatu...
Primary signet ring cell/histiocytoid carcinoma of the eyelid is a rare ocular malignancy and its diagnosis is often delayed. This neoplasm presents as an insidious, diffusely infiltrative mass in the periocular area that later infiltrates the orbit....
Understanding the symptom burden trajectory for metastatic breast cancer patients can enable the provision of appropriate supportive care for symptom management. The aim of this study was to describe the longitudinal trajectories of symptom burden fo...
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have led to major therapeutic advances in the management of malignancy. Despite promising outcomes for some cancers, ICIs are linked to unique side-effects known as immune-related adverse events (IrAEs). These may...
Total body irradiation (TBI), used as part of the conditioning regimen prior to allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation, is the delivery of a relatively homogeneous dose of radiation to the entire body. TBI has a dual role, being...
Cardiovascular (CV) diseases and cancer share several similarities, including common risk factors. In the present investigation we assessed the relationship between cholesterol levels and mortality in a cardiooncological collective. In total, 551 pat...
In response to Canada’s opioid crisis, national strategies and guidelines have been developed but primarily focus on opioid use for chronic noncancer pain. Despite the well-established utility of opioids in cancer care, and the growing emphasis on ea...
A growing number of cancer patients use complementary and alternative therapies during and after conventional cancer treatment. Patients are often reluctant to discuss these therapies with their oncologist, and oncologists may have limited knowledge...
Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors have become an important therapy for untreated and previously treated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Despite improved outcomes, rare adverse events, such as invasive fungal infections, have b...
Background: Patient information is critical in shared decision-making and patient-centred management for neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). Most adults search the internet for health issues, with over half considering such information to be credible. The...
The pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 is a serious global challenge affecting millions of people worldwide. Cancer patients are at risk for infection exposure and serious complications. A prompt diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for the timely adopti...
Survivors of childhood cancer (SCCs) are at increased risk of late effects, which are cancer- and treatment-related side-effects that are experienced months to years post-treatment and encapsulate a range of physical, cognitive and emotional problems...
The autopsy of a 65-year-old diabetic African American male revealed significant left myocardial involvement by adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) despite normal pre-mortem fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake by positron emission tomography/computed t...
Background: Myxofibrosarcoma is a type of soft-tissue sarcoma that is associated with high rates of local recurrence and distant metastases. The first-line treatment for metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma has conventionally been doxorubicin-based. Recent...
Background: The literature suggests that medical oncologists differ on how they use the Oncotype DX (ODX) genomic assay for making decisions about systemic therapy in breast cancer patients. Given the emergence of data supporting the use of genomic p...
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the most commonly used anti-acid drugs worldwide, including among cancer patients. However, drug-drug interactions between PPIs and other agents may lead to decreased drug absorption with possible reduced therapeutic...
Implementation of survivorship care plans remain a challenge. This quality improvement initiative aims to integrate personalized treatment plans (PTP) and care plans (PCP) into the existing workflow for breast cancer (BC) patients. Methods: Phase 1 w...
Constitutional mismatch repair deficiency (CMMRD) is a rare autosomal recessive hereditary cancer syndrome due to biallelic germline mutation involving one of the four DNA mismatch repair genes. Here we present a case of a young female with CMMRD, ho...
Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) causes bilateral vestibular schwannomas (VSs), leading to deafness. VS is treated by surgery or radiation, but neither treatments prevent hearing loss. Bevacizumab was found to be effective in suppressing the tumor’s gr...
Radiation oncology (RO) teaching in undergraduate medical education (UME) is lacking worldwide with potentially detrimental effects on medical student career choices and patient care. The objective of this scoping review is to examine the extent of p...
Choroid plexus papilloma (CPP) is a rare brain tumour occurring mostly in infants and children. Most CPPs are intraventricular and present with symptoms and signs of increased intracranial pressure (ICP). This case report describes a middle-aged fema...
Early-stage breast cancer patients comprise a large proportion of patients treated with radiotherapy in Canada. Proponents have suggested that five-fraction hypofractionated radiotherapy for these patients would result in significant cost savings. An...
This study investigates whether minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) is a safe and effective way for patients with resectable esophageal cancer by comparing the short-term quality of life (QOL) after minimally invasive esophagectomy and open esopha...
Breast cancer susceptibility gene (BRCA) mutation carriers have an increased risk of breast cancer. Mitigation of this risk can be achieved via surveillance or prophylactic mastectomy with or without breast reconstruction. Those that choose surgery e...
Background: Palbociclib is a selective cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor used in combination with aromatase inhibitors or fulvestrant for patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative...
Patients with a variety of blood, immune, and metabolic disorders may require an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant as part of their treatment. However, over 70% of these patients do not have a matched sibling donor and require an alternat...
Solid organ transplant recipients on long-term immunosuppressive medication are at increased risk of developing malignancy, and treatment of advanced cancers with angiogenesis inhibitors in this context has not been widely studied. We present a case...
There has been rapid implementation of virtual oncology appointments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in its first wave. Our objective was to assess patterns and perspectives towards virtual oncology appointments during the pandemic...
The inclusion of patients as partners in research is a key link in the delivery of patient-centred care in healthcare systems. Despite genuine intentions to engage patients in authentic partnerships, efforts can result in tokenism and benefits of eng...
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic malignancy characterized by excessive clonal proliferation of plasma cells. The treatment of multiple myeloma presents a variety of unique challenges due to the complex molecular pathophysiology and incurable st...
Background: Studies have shown that aggressive treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with oligometastatic disease improves the overall survival (OS) compared to a palliative approach and some immunotherapy checkpoint inhibitors, such as ant...
Background: To determine the magnitude of difference between manufacturer-submitted and pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review (pCODR) calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs), incremental cost (ΔC), and incremental effectiveness (&D...
The field of pediatric exercise oncology explores the relationships between physical activity (PA), including exercise, and a range of outcomes among children and adolescents affected by cancer. Although PA is safe and beneficial for this population,...
Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) is a rare neuroimmunological disease that may accompany tumors. In this article, we present a patient with progressive gait difficulty who was diagnosed with PCD and, in a rare comorbidity, with papillary...
Background: Diagnosis and surgical treatment decision making for breast cancers has become increasingly complex. Recently, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) published pan-Canadian evidence-based surgical standards for the care of breast canc...
Immunotherapies directed at T-cell activation through antibodies targeting checkpoint proteins, such as programmed cell death 1 (PD1), are rapidly becoming the new standard of care in the treatment of several malignancies. Cemiplimab is a monoclonal...
Background: Variation in breast cancer surgical practice patterns can lead to poor clinical outcomes. It is important to measure and reduce variation to ensure all women diagnosed with breast cancer receive equitable, high-quality care. A population-...
Background: The purpose of our study was to characterize clinical features among brain metastasis (BM) patients who were long term survivors (LTS). Methods: We reviewed a registry of BM patients referred to our multidisciplinary BM clinic between 200...
Background: Approximately 2–6% of endometrial cancers (ECs) are due to Lynch Syndrome (LS), a cancer predisposition syndrome caused by germline pathogenic variants (PVs) affecting the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) pathway. Increasingly, universal tissue-...
The tyrosine receptor kinase (TRK) inhibitors larotrectinib and entrectinib were recently approved in Canada for the treatment of solid tumours harbouring neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) gene fusions. These NTRK gene fusions are oncogeni...
Cancer survivors harboring inherited pathogenic variants in the breast cancer (BC) susceptibility genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 are at increased risk of ovarian cancer (OC) and also of contralateral BC. For these women, risk-reducing surgery (RRS) may contrib...
(1) Background: Past research suggests that patients with advanced breast cancer prefer treatments with improved clinical outcomes and lower risk of side effects. Evidence on preferences of Canadian patients and physicians for treatments for advanced...
Background: Diagnosis and surgical treatment decision making for thoracic cancers is complex. Moreover, there is demonstrated variability in how each province in Canada delivers cancer care, resulting in disparities in patient outcomes. Recently, the...
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