'Share your views'-international consultation informs a patient engagement strategy for the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer

Introduction Engaging with patients and the public (consumers and community) enhances the relevance of cancer control developments; however, challenges remain to integrate into processes. Medical and other professional societies are well-positioned to foster and endorse best practice. Methods Between October and December 2021, the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) conducted a global consultation with those who identified as "people affected by cancer". Recruitment to an online cross-sectional survey was by a combination of purposive and convenience sampling to determine preferred terminologies and experiences with MASCC and other cancer-related societies. Results The survey was completed by 343 respondents from 29 countries, a majority being female (78.1%) and younger than 60 years of age (62.1%). Respondents preferred to be identified as 'patient' from a set of defined terms; however, this only accounted for 49-67% of selected response across geographical regions. Only 22.2% of respondents had engaged previously with MASCC, of whom 90.8% reported a positive experience through involvement with education and information, networking and collaboration, and practice guidelines. Respondents perceived areas of opportunity as early involvement in decision-making, educational initiatives, open communication, and information sharing. Across all geographical regions, responders chose a preference to contribute to future consumer research (53.0%), policy (31.7%) or consumer engagement activities (56.9%) including participation in a conference session (65.0%) or patient day (47.9%). Conclusions This survey provides a first insight into how consumers wish to engage with MASCC. These values will be embedded into a strategy that aims for effective and sustainable partnerships with multinational consumers.</p

Association of TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion with clinical characteristics and outcomes: results from a population-based study of prostate cancer

Background: The presence of the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion gene in prostate tumors has recently been associated with an aggressive phenotype, as well as recurrence and death from prostate cancer. These associations suggest the hypothesis that the gene fusion may be used as a prognostic indicator for prostate cancer. Methods: In this study, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) assays were used to assess TMPRSS2-ERG fusion status in a group of 214 prostate cancer cases from two population-based studies. The FISH assays were designed to detect both fusion type (deletion vs. translocation) and the number of fusion copies (single vs. multiple). Genotyping of four ERG and one TMPRSS2 SNPs using germline DNA was also performed in a sample of the cases (n = 127). Results: Of the 214 tumors scored for the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion, 64.5% were negative and 35.5% were positive for the fusion. Cases with the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion did not exhibit reduced prostate cancer survival (HR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.22-3.93), nor was there a significant difference in causespecific survival when stratifying by translocation or deletion (HR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.23-3.12) or by the number of retained fusion copies (HR = 1.22, 95% CI = .45-3.34). However, evidence for reduced prostate cancer-specific survival was apparent in those cases whose tumor had multiple copies of the fusion. The variant T allele of the TMPRSS2 SNP, rs12329760, was positively associated with TMPRSS2-ERG fusion by translocation (p = 0.05) and with multiple copies of the gene fusion (p = 0.03). Conclusion: If replicated, the results presented here may provide insight into the mechanism by which the TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion arises and also contribute to diagnostic evaluations for determining the subset of men who will go on to develop metastatic prostate cancer.This work was supported by NIH grants RO1 CA56678, RO1 CA114524, and P50 CA97186; additional support was provided by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Intramural Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute

'Share your views'-international consultation informs a patient engagement strategy for the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer

Engaging with patients and the public (consumers and community) enhances the relevance of cancer control developments; however, challenges remain to integrate into processes. Medical and other professional societies are well-positioned to foster and endorse best practice

A five-CpG DNA methylation score to predict metastatic-lethal outcomes in men treated with radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145526/1/pros23667.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145526/2/pros23667_am.pd

Targeted education ApproaCH to improve Peritoneal Dialysis Outcomes (TEACH-PD) : a feasibility study

Background: There is substantial variation in peritonitis rates across peritoneal dialysis (PD) units globally. This may, in part, be related to the wide variability in the content and delivery of training for PD nurse trainers and patients. Aim: The aim of this study was to test the feasibility of implementing the Targeted Education ApproaCH to improve Peritoneal Dialysis Outcomes (TEACH-PD) curriculum in real clinical practice settings. Methods: This study used mixed methods including questionnaires and semi-structured interviews (pretraining and post-training) with nurse trainers and patients to test the acceptability and usability of the PD training modules implemented in two PD units over 6 months. Quantitative data from the questionnaires were analysed descriptively. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Ten PD trainers and 14 incident PD patients were included. Mean training duration to complete the modules were 10.9 h (range 6–17) and 24.9 h (range 15–35), for PD trainers and patients, respectively. None of the PD patients experienced PD-related complications at 30 days follow-up. Three (21%) patients were transferred to haemodialysis due to non-PD–related complications. Ten trainers and 14 PD patients participated in the interviews. Four themes were identified including use of adult learning principles (trainers), comprehension of online modules (trainers), time to complete the modules (trainers) and patient usability of the manuals (patient). Conclusion: This TEACH-PD study has demonstrated feasibility of implementation in a real clinical setting. The outcomes of this study have informed refinement of the TEACH-PD modules prior to rigorous evaluation of its efficacy and cost-effectiveness in a large-scale study

Dynamics in next-generation solar cells: time-resolved surface photovoltage measurements of quantum dots chemically linked to ZnO (101¯0)

The charge dynamics at the surface of the transparent conducting oxide and photoanode material ZnO are investigated, in the presence and absence of light harvesting colloidal quantum dots (QDs). The time-resolved change in the surface potential upon photoexcitation has been measured in m-plane ZnO (101�0) using a laser pump-synchrotron X-ray probe methodology. By varying the oxygen annealing conditions, and hence the oxygen vacancy concentration of the sample, we find that dark carrier lifetimes at the ZnO surface vary from hundreds of μs to ms timescales, i.e. a persistent photoconductivity (PPC) is observed. The highly-controlled nature of our experiments under ultra-high vacuum (UHV), and the use of band-gap and sub-band-gap photoexcitation, allow us to demonstrate that defect states ca. 340 meV above the valence band edge are directly associated with the PPC, and that PPC mediated by these defects dominates over the oxygen photodesorption mechanism. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that ionized oxygen vacancy states are responsible for PPC in ZnO. The effect of chemically linking two colloidal QD systems (type I PbS and type II CdS/ZnSe) to the surface has also been investigated. Upon deposition of QDs onto the surface, the dark carrier lifetime and the surface photovoltage are reduced, suggesting direct Dynamics in next-generation solar cells: timeresolved surface photovoltage measurements of quantum dots chemically linked to ZnO (���� �) - ResearchGate. Available from: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/260869200_Dynamics_in_nextgeneration_solar_cells_timeresolved_surface_photovoltage_measurements_of_quantum_dots_chemically_linked_to_ZnO_(_) [accessed Apr 20, 2015]

Deregulation of DUX4 and ERG in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Chromosomal rearrangements deregulating hematopoietic transcription factors are common in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).(1,2) Here, we show that deregulation of the homeobox transcription factor gene DUX4 and the ETS transcription factor gene ERG are hallmarks of a subtype of B-progenitor ALL that comprises up to 7% of B-ALL. DUX4 rearrangement and overexpression was present in all cases, and was accompanied by transcriptional deregulation of ERG, expression of a novel ERG isoform, ERGalt, and frequent ERG deletion. ERGalt utilizes a non-canonical first exon whose transcription was initiated by DUX4 binding. ERGalt retains the DNA-binding and transactivating domains of ERG, but inhibits wild-type ERG transcriptional activity and is transforming. These results illustrate a unique paradigm of transcription factor deregulation in leukemia, in which DUX4 deregulation results in loss-of-function of ERG, either by deletion or induction of expression of an isoform that is a dominant negative inhibitor of wild type ERG function