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Religion and spirituality have long been considered important social determinants of human health, and there exists an extensive body of research to support such. End-of-life (EOL) may raise complex questions for individuals about religious and spiritual (R/S) values guiding advance care planning (ACP) and EOL care decisions, including the provision of spiritual care. This commentary will review the history and current national trends of ACP activities for EOL, principally within the United States. It will describe the relationship of religious variables and the attributes of selected research instruments used to study religious variables on ACP and EOL preferences. The review also summarizes unique ACP challenges for patients with neurocognitive disorders and severe mental illness. Findings disclose that higher levels of religiosity, reliance on religious coping, conservative faith traditions, and "belief in God's control over life's length and divine intervention have lower levels of ACP and more intensive EOL care preferences, although the provision of spiritual spiritual care at EOL mitigates intensive EOL care. Based upon the curated evidence, we propose an epistemological justification to consider "faith" as a separately defined religious variable in future ACP and EOL research. This review is relevant to geriatric psychiatrists and gerontological health care professionals, as they may be part of multidisciplinary palliative care teams; provide longitudinal care to patients with neurocognitive disorders and severe mental illness; and may provide diagnostic, emotional, and therapeutic services for patients and families who may struggle with EOL care decisions.

To design and establish a prospective biospecimen repository that integrates multi-omics assays with clinical data to study mechanisms of controlled injury and healing.Elective surgery is an opportunity to understand both the systemic and focal responses accompanying controlled and well-characterized injury to the human body. The overarching goal of this ongoing project is to define stereotypical responses to surgical injury, with the translational purpose of identifying targetable pathways involved in healing and resilience, and variations indicative of aberrant peri-operative outcomes.Clinical data from the electronic medical record combined with large-scale biological data sets derived from blood, urine, fecal matter, and tissue samples are collected prospectively through the peri-operative period on patients undergoing 14 surgeries chosen to represent a range of injury locations and intensities. Specimens are subjected to genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic assays to describe their genetic, metabolic, immunologic, and microbiome profiles, providing a multidimensional landscape of the human response to injury.The highly multiplexed data generated includes changes in over 28,000 mRNA transcripts, 100 plasma metabolites, 200 urine metabolites, and 400 proteins over the longitudinal course of surgery and recovery. In our initial pilot dataset, we demonstrate the feasibility of collecting high quality multi-omic data at pre- and postoperative time points and are already seeing evidence of physiologic perturbation between timepoints.This repository allows for longitudinal, state-of-the-art geno-mic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, immunologic, and clinical data collection and provides a rich and stable infrastructure on which to fuel further biomedical discovery.

This prospective study was designed to compare quality of life (QoL) among patients who underwent open (O-PD) vs minimally invasive pancreaticoduodenectomy (MI-PD), using a combination of validated qualitative and quantitative methodologies.From 2017 to 2019, patients scheduled for pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) were enrolled and presented with Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary surveys preoperatively, before discharge, at first postoperative visit and approximately 3 to 4 months after operation ("3 months"). Longitudinal plots of median QoL scores were used to illustrate change in each score over time. In a subset of patients, content analysis of semistructured interviews at postoperative time points (1.5 to 6 months after operation) was conducted.Among 56 patients who underwent PD, 33 had an O-PD (58.9%). Physical and functional scores decreased in the postoperative period but returned to baseline by 3 months. No significant differences were found in any domains of QoL at baseline and in the postoperative period between patients who underwent O-PD and MI-PD. Qualitative findings were concordant with quantitative data (n = 14). Patients with O-PD and MI-PD reported similar experiences with complications, pain, and wound healing in the postoperative period. Approximately half the patients in both groups reported "returning to normal" in the 6-month postoperative period. A total of 4 patients reported significant long-term issues with physical and functional well-being.Using a novel combination of qualitative and quantitative analyses in patients undergoing PD, we found no association between operative approach and QoL in patients who underwent O-PD vs MI-PD. Given the increasing use of minimally invasive techniques for PD and the steep learning curve associated with these techniques, continued assessment of patient benefit is critical.

BACKGROUND. The ability to rate delirium severity is key to providing optimal care for persons with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). Such ratings would allow clinicians to assess response to treatment, recovery time and prognosis, nursing burden and staffing needs, and to provide nuanced, appropriate patient-centered care. Given the lack of existing tools, we defined content domains for a new delirium severity instrument for use in individuals with mild to moderate ADRD, the DEL-S-AD. METHODS. We built upon our previous study in which we created a content domain framework to inform development of a general delirium severity instrument, the DEL-S. We engaged a new expert panel to discuss issues of measurement in delirium and dementia and to determine which content domains from the prior framework were useful in characterizing delirium severity in ADRD. We also asked panelists to identify new domains. Our panel included eight interdisciplinary members with expertise in delirium and dementia. Panelists participated in two rounds of review followed by two surveys over two months. RESULTS. Panelists endorsed the same content domains as for general delirium severity, including Cognitive, Level of Consciousness, Inattention, Psychiatric-Behavioral, Emotional Dysregulation, Psychomotor Features, and Functional; however, they excluded six of the original subdomains which they considered unhelpful in the context of ADRD: cognitive impairment; anxiety; fear/sense of unease; depression; gait/walking; and incontinence. Debated measurement challenges included assessment at one point in time versus over time, accounting for differences in clinical settings, and accurate assessment of symptoms related to delirium versus dementia. CONCLUSIONS. By capturing a range of characteristics of delirium severity potentially present in patients with ADRD, a population that may already have attention, functional, and emotional changes at baseline, the DEL-S-AD provides a novel rating tool that will be useful for clinical and research purposes to improve patient care.

Pancreatic myoepithelial hamartoma is a rare, benign solid and cystic lesion of the pancreas. We present the first case of an adult with a giant myoepithelial hamartoma extending throughout the pancreas in a patient with diabetes in 4 immediate family members. The patient is a 46-year-old man presented with recurrent acute pancreatitis. Computed tomographic imaging showed that the head and body of the pancreas were replaced by a solid-cystic mass with focal calcification. Medical history includes insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) diagnosed at age 30. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration showed pancreatic acinar tissue and smooth muscle without evidence of malignancy. Total pancreatectomy was performed because of the diffuse nature of the cystic disease and preexisting IDDM. The histopathologic diagnosis was consistent with myoepithelial hamartoma. In addition, there was a family history of IDDM and hamartomatous cyst resection in the paternal grandmother. We report the first case of diffuse pancreatic myoepithelial hamartoma with near total replacement of the entire pancreatic parenchyma, and the first reported case associated with a family history of heritable IDDM. Improved knowledge of the genetics, development, and malignant potential of such rare diseases is critical to determine appropriate management for patients.

The great health paradox is that the least expensive and most effective public health measures available for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic-and other society-wide health challenges-have long been ignored and rejected in the United States in favor of more expensive and personalized care. The U.S. medical system is being overwhelmed in part because of this paradox. The authors argue that the country has invested excessively in acute care medical technology while investing insufficiently in its public health infrastructure. In this Invited Commentary, the authors recommend 5 steps that academic medicine should take to increase emphasis on and understanding of public health interventions to address society's health problems: (1) incorporate problem-based learning experiences in the medical school curriculum and community-based clinical rotations in public health departments, (2) better integrate schools of public health and schools of medicine, (3) encourage physicians to pursue public health careers, (4) educate the public about strategies for decreasing chronic illnesses, and (5) increase collaboration with colleagues around the world to identify and track outbreaks.

The world's population is aging, bringing about an ever‐greater burden of mental disorders in older adults. Given multimorbidities, the mental health care of these people and their family caregivers is labor‐intensive. At the same time, ageism is a big problem for older people, with and without mental disorders. Positive elements of aging, such as resilience, wisdom and prosocial behaviors, need to be highlighted and promoted, both to combat stigma and to help protect and improve mental health in older adults. The positive psychiatry of aging is not an oxymoron, but a scientific construct strongly informed by research evidence. We champion a broader concept of geriatric psychiatry – one that encompasses health as well as illness. In the present paper, we address these issues in the context of four disorders that are the greatest source of years lived with disability: neurocognitive disorders, major depression, schizophrenia, and substance use disorders. We emphasize the need for implementation of multidisciplinary team care, with comprehensive assessment, clinical management, intensive outreach, and coordination of mental, physical and social health services. We also underscore the need for further research into moderators and mediators of treatment response variability. Because optimal care of older adults with mental disorders is both patient‐focused and family‐centered, we call for further research into enhancing the well‐being of family caregivers. To optimize both the safety and efficacy of pharmacotherapy, further attention to metabolic, cardiovascular and neurological tolerability is much needed, together with further development and testing of medications that reduce the risk for suicide. At the same time, we also address positive aging and normal cognitive aging, both as an antidote to ageism and as a catalyst for change in the way we think about aging per se and late‐life mental disorders more specifically. It is in this context that we provide directions for future clinical care and research.

Background Quality measurement has become a priority for national healthcare reform, and valid measures are necessary to discriminate hospital performance and support value‐based healthcare delivery. The Commission on Cancer (CoC) is the largest cancer‐specific accreditor of hospital quality in the United States and has implemented Quality of Care Measures to evaluate cancer care delivery. However, none has been formally tested as a valid metric for assessing hospital performance based on actual patient outcomes. Methods Eligibility and compliance with the Quality of Care Measures are reported within the National Cancer Database, which also captures data for robust patient‐level risk adjustment. Hospital‐level compliance was calculated for the core measures, and the association with patient survival was tested using Cox regression. Results Seven hundred sixty‐eight thousand nine hundred sixty‐nine unique cancer cases were included from 1323 facilities. Increasing hospital‐level compliance was associated with improved survival for only two measures, including a 35% reduced risk of mortality for the gastric cancer measure G15RLN (HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.58–0.72) and a 19% reduced risk of mortality for the colon cancer measure 12RLN (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.77–0.85). For the lung cancer measure LNoSurg, increasing compliance was paradoxically associated with an increased risk of mortality (HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.08–1.20). For the remaining measures, hospital‐level compliance demonstrated no consistent association with patient survival. Conclusion Hospital‐level compliance with the CoC’s Quality of Care Measures is not uniformly aligned with patient survival. In their current form, these measures do not reliably discriminate hospital performance and are limited as a tool for value‐based healthcare delivery., The Commission on Cancer is the largest cancer‐specific accreditor of hospital quality in the United States and has implemented Quality of Care Measures to evaluate quality cancer care delivery. This study represents the first comprehensive evaluation of the Quality of Care Measures as valid metrics for assessing hospital performance based on actual patient outcomes.

There are limited data to inform risk of readmission and short-term mortality in musculoskeletal oncology. The goal of this study was to identify factors independently associated with 30-day readmission and 90-day mortality following surgical resection of osteosarcoma. We retrospectively reviewed patients (n = 5293) following surgical resection of primary osteosarcoma in the National Cancer Database (2004–2015). Univariate and multivariate methods were used to correlate variables with readmission and short-term mortality. Of 210 readmissions (3.97%), risk factors independently associated with unplanned 30-day readmission included comorbidity burden (odds ratio [OR] 2.4, p = 0.042), Medicare insurance (OR 1.9, p = 0.021), and axial skeleton location (OR 1.5, p = 0.029). A total of 91 patients died within 90 days of their surgery (1.84%). Risk factors independently associated with mortality included age (hazard ratio 1.1, p < 0.001), increasing comorbidity burden (OR 6.6, p = 0.001), higher grade (OR 1.7, p = 0.007), increasing tumor size (OR 2.2, p = 0.03), metastatic disease at presentation (OR 8.5, p < 0.001), and amputation (OR 2.0, p = 0.04). Chemotherapy was associated with a decreased risk of short-term mortality (p < 0.001). Several trends were clear: insurance status, tumor location and comorbidity burden were independently associated with readmission rates, while age, amputation, grade, tumor size, metastatic disease, and comorbidity burden were independently associated with short-term mortality.

Management of clinical stage II or III esophageal cancer requires multidisciplinary care. Multi-institutional care has been associated with worse survival in other malignant diseases. This study aimed to determine the impact of multi-institutional care on survival in patients with stage II or III esophageal cancer.The 2004 to 2016 National Cancer Database was queried for patients with clinical stage II or III esophageal cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy followed by surgical resection. Patients were stratified into 2 groups: multi-institutional or single-institution care. Survival between groups was compared using Kaplan-Meier and multivariable Cox proportional hazards methods. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with multi-institutional care.Overall, 11 399 patients met study criteria: 6569 (57.6%) received multi-institutional care and 4,830 (42.4%) received care at a single institution. In a multivariable analysis, factors associated with multi-institutional care were later year of diagnosis, greater distance from treating facility, residence in an urban or rural setting (vs metro), and residence in states without Medicaid expansion. Care at a single institution was associated with Black race, lack of insurance, and treatment at higher-volume or academic centers. Despite these differences, patients who received multi-institutional care had survival comparable to that in patients who received care at a single institution (HR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.92-1.03; P = .30).In this National Cancer Database analysis, multi-institutional care was not associated with inferior overall survival. As complex cancer care becomes more regionalized, patients may consider receiving part of their cancer care closer to home, whereas traveling to surgical centers of excellence should be encouraged.

Adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) is associated with improved survival following resection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma but is frequently delayed or deferred due to perioperative complications or patient deconditioning. The aim of this study was to assess impact of delayed AC on overall survival after pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic head adenocarcinoma.Patients with stage I-III pancreatic head adenocarcinoma in the 2006-2015 National Cancer Database were grouped by timing of AC (6-weeks, 6-12-weeks, and 12-24-weeks). Overall survival was compared using Cox proportional hazard models adjusting for patient, tumor, and hospital factors. Subgroup analyses were conducted to assess the impact of comorbidities, readmission or extended hospital stay, and receipt of single- versus multi-agent chemotherapy.Of 13438 patients, 4552 (33.9%) received no AC, 2112 (15.7%) received AC6-weeks following resection, 5580 (41.5%) within 6-12 weeks, and 1194 (8.9%) within 12-24 weeks. AC was associated with improved overall survival (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]6-weeks: 0.765, 6-12-weeks: 0.744, and 12-24-weeks: 0.736 (p0.001)). This survival advantage persisted for patients with comorbidities, those with postoperative complications, and in those receiving single- or multi-agent regimens.For patients with stage I-III pancreatic adenocarcinoma, receipt of AC is associated with improved overall survival, even if delayed up to 24-weeks.

Objectives:Work in occupations with higher levels of occupational stress can bring mental health costs. Many older adults worldwide are continuing to work past traditional retirement age, raising the question whether older adults experience depression, anxiety, or burnout at the same or greater levels as younger workers, and whether there are differences by age in these levels over time.Design/setting/participants:Longitudinal survey of 1161 currently employed US clergy followed every 6–12 months for up to 66 months.Measurements:Depression was measured with the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8). Anxiety was measured using the anxiety component of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Burnout symptoms were assessed using the three components of the Maslach Burnout Inventory: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and sense of personal accomplishment (PA).Results:Older participants had lower scores of depression, anxiety, EE, and DP and higher levels of PA over time compared to younger adults. Levels of EE decreased for older working adults, while not significantly changing over time for those younger. DP symptoms decreased over time among those 55 years or older but increased among those 25–54 years.Conclusions:Older working adults may have higher levels of resilience and be able to balance personal life with their occupation as well as may engage in certain behaviors that increase social support and, for clergy, spiritual well-being that may decrease stress in a way that allows these older adults to appear to tolerate working longer without poorer mental health outcomes.

Surgery is the backbone of curative treatment for localized retroperitoneal sarcomas. However, 10% or more are unresectable due to major vascular or spinal cord involvement. Radiation therapy may be used to provide symptom relief, with small retrospective series reporting 5-year local control rates ranging from 23-65%. In this case of unresectable primary retroperitoneal sarcoma, we utilized a novel RT technique with a central boost, which led to marked clinical improvement and up to 16 months of local control.

The Chicago Consensus Working Group provides multidisciplinary recommendations for the management of desmoplastic small round cell tumor, breast, and gastrointestinal stromal tumor specifically related to peritoneal surface malignancy. These guidelines are developed with input from leading experts including surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, palliative care physicians, and pharmacists. These guidelines recognize and address the emerging need for increased awareness in the appropriate management of peritoneal surface disease. They are not intended to replace the quest for higher levels of evidence.

The Chicago Consensus Working Group provides multidisciplinary recommendations for palliative care specifically related to peritoneal surface malignancies. These guidelines are developed with input from leading experts including surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, gynecologic oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, palliative care physicians, and pharmacists. These guidelines recognize and address the emerging need for increased awareness in the appropriate management of peritoneal surface disease. They are not intended to replace the quest for higher levels of evidence.

The Chicago Consensus Working Group provides multidisciplinary recommendations for the management of neuroendocrine tumors specifically related to the management of peritoneal surface malignancy. These guidelines are developed with input from leading experts, including surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, palliative care physicians, and pharmacists. These guidelines recognize and address the emerging need for increased awareness in the appropriate management of peritoneal surface disease. They are not intended to replace the quest for higher levels of evidence.

BACKGROUND/AIM Recently, the concept of textbook outcome (TO) has emerged as a novel effort to develop a benchmark that reflects multiple domains of quality. The aims of the current study were to define TO for retroperitoneal sarcoma (RPS), evaluate the relationship of TO with hospital volume and assess the association of TO with overall survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients who underwent resection for RPS diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 were identified in the National Cancer Database. The primary outcome was TO that was defined as: hospital length of stay 90 days from surgery, no readmission within 30 days and grossly negative margins. RESULTS Of the 11,032 patients analyzed, 54.0% had a TO. Among patients who had a TO, 57.8% were treated in high-volume hospitals. Undergoing surgery at high-volume centers was associated with a higher probability of a TO (p=0.009). TO were associated with significantly longer overall survival (p

While the importance of lymphadenectomy is well-established for patients with resectable pancreatic cancer, its direct impact on survival in relation to other predictive factors is still ill-defined. The National Cancer Data Base 2006–2015 was queried for patients with resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma (stage IA–IIB). Patients were dichotomized into the following two groups, those with 1–14 resected lymph nodes and those with ≥ 15. Optimal number of resected lymph nodes and the effect of lymphadenectomy on survival were assessed using various statistical modeling techniques. Mediation analysis was performed to differentiate the direct and indirect effect of lymph node resection on survival. A total of 21,912 patients were included; median age was 66 years (IQR 59–73), 48.9% were female. Median number of resected lymph nodes was 15 (IQR 10–22), 10,163 (46.4%) had 1–14 and 11,749 (53.6%) had ≥ 15 lymph nodes retrieved. Lymph node positivity increased by 4.1% per lymph node up to eight examined lymph nodes, and by 0.6% per lymph node above eight. Five-year overall survival was 17.9%. Overall survival was better in the ≥ 15 lymph node group (adjusted HR 0.91, CI 0.88–0.95, p

Introduction Current standard of care for most intermediate and high‐grade soft‐tissue sarcomas (STS) includes limb‐preserving surgical resection with either neoadjuvant radiation therapy (NRT) or adjuvant radiation therapy. To date, there have been a few studies that attempt to correlate histopathologic response to NRT with oncologic outcomes in patients with STS. Methods Using our institutional database, we identified 58 patients who received NRT followed by surgical resection for primary intermediate or high‐grade STS and 34 patients who received surgical resection without NRT but did receive adjuvant radiation therapy or did not receive any radiation therapy. We analyzed four histologic parameters of response to therapy: residual viable tumor, fibrosis/hyalinization, necrosis, and infarction (each ratiometrically determined). Data were stratified into two binary groups. Unadjusted, 5‐ and 10‐year overall survival, and relapsed‐free survival (RFS) were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results Analysis of pathologic characteristics showed that patients treated with NRT demonstrate significantly higher tumor infarction, higher tumor fibrosis/hyalinization, and a lower percent viable tumor compared with patients not treated with NRT (p 12.5% tumor fibrosis/hyalinization have significantly higher overall survival and recurrence‐free survival at 5 and 10 years. Discussion and Conclusion We have identified three histopathologic characteristics—fibrosis, hyalinization, and infarction—that may serve as predictive biomarkers of response to NRT for STS patients. Future prospective studies will be needed to confirm this association., For patients treated with soft‐tissue sarcoma and neoadjuvant therapy, we have identified pathologic markers found at the time of surgical resection which are unique to tumors treated with NRT. Among these markers, higher percent fibrosis/hyalinization and lower percent tumor infarction were associated with improved overall survival and disease‐free survival.

Standard of care for resectable pancreatic cancer is a combination of surgical resection (SR) and multiagent chemotherapy (MCT). We aim to determine whether SR or MCT is associated with superior survival for patients receiving only single-modality therapy.Patients with stage I-IIb pancreatic head adenocarcinoma who received either MCT or SR were identified in the NCDB (2013-2015). Following a piecewise approach to estimating hazards over the course of follow-up, conditional overall survival (OS) at 30, 60, and 90 days after treatment initiation was estimated using landmark analyses.3103 patients received MCT alone (60.3%) and 2043 underwent SR alone (39.7%). SR had an OS disadvantage at 30 (HR 3.99, 95% CI 3.12-5.11) and 60 days (HR 1.85, 95% CI 1.4-2.45), but an OS advantage after 90 days (HR 0.59, 95% CI 0.55-0.64). In a landmark analysis conditioned on 90 days survival post treatment initiation, median OS was improved for SR (17.0 vs. 12.2 months, p 0.0001); SR improved 3-year OS by 21.3% (p 0.05), despite patients being older (median 72 vs. 67 years, p 0.0001) with higher Charlson-Deyo comorbidity scores (≥2: 11.2 vs. 8.6%, p = 0.006).For patients with resectable pancreatic cancer, SR is associated with superior long-term survival compared to MCT.

BACKGROUND: Low-risk limits recommended for alcohol consumption vary substantially across different national guidelines. To define thresholds associated with lowest risk for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease, we studied individual-participant data from 599 912 current drinkers without previous cardiovascular disease.METHODS: We did a combined analysis of individual-participant data from three large-scale data sources in 19 high-income countries (the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration, EPIC-CVD, and the UK Biobank). We characterised dose–response associations and calculated hazard ratios (HRs) per 100 g per week of alcohol (12·5 units per week) across 83 prospective studies, adjusting at least for study or centre, age, sex, smoking, and diabetes. To be eligible for the analysis, participants had to have information recorded about their alcohol consumption amount and status (ie, non-drinker vs current drinker), plus age, sex, history of diabetes and smoking status, at least 1 year of follow-up after baseline, and no baseline history of cardiovascular disease. The main analyses focused on current drinkers, whose baseline alcohol consumption was categorised into eight predefined groups according to the amount in grams consumed per week. We assessed alcohol consumption in relation to all-cause mortality, total cardiovascular disease, and several cardiovascular disease subtypes. We corrected HRs for estimated long-term variability in alcohol consumption using 152 640 serial alcohol assessments obtained some years apart (median interval 5·6 years [5th–95th percentile 1·04–13·5]) from 71 011 participants from 37 studies.FINDINGS: In the 599 912 current drinkers included in the analysis, we recorded 40 310 deaths and 39 018 incident cardiovascular disease events during 5·4 million person-years of follow-up. For all-cause mortality, we recorded a positive and curvilinear association with the level of alcohol consumption, with the minimum mortality risk around or below 100 g per week. Alcohol consumption was roughly linearly associated with a higher risk of stroke (HR per 100 g per week higher consumption 1·14, 95% CI, 1·10–1·17), coronary disease excluding myocardial infarction (1·06, 1·00–1·11), heart failure (1·09, 1·03–1·15), fatal hypertensive disease (1·24, 1·15–1·33); and fatal aortic aneurysm (1·15, 1·03–1·28). By contrast, increased alcohol consumption was log-linearly associated with a lower risk of myocardial infarction (HR 0·94, 0·91–0·97). In comparison to those who reported drinking >0–≤100 g per week, those who reported drinking >100–≤200 g per week, >200–≤350 g per week, or >350 g per week had lower life expectancy at age 40 years of approximately 6 months, 1–2 years, or 4–5 years, respectively.INTERPRETATION: In current drinkers of alcohol in high-income countries, the threshold for lowest risk of all-cause mortality was about 100 g/week. For cardiovascular disease subtypes other than myocardial infarction, there were no clear risk thresholds below which lower alcohol consumption stopped being associated with lower disease risk. These data support limits for alcohol consumption that are lower than those recommended in most current guidelines.FUNDING: UK Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, National Institute for Health Research, European Union Framework 7, and European Research Council.

Malignant primary spinal tumors are rare making it difficult to perform large studies comparing epidemiologic, survival, and treatment trends. We investigated the largest registry of primary bone tumors, the National Cancer Database (NCDB), to compare epidemiologic and survival trends among these tumors.To use the NCDB to describe current epidemiologic trends, treatment modalities, and overall survival rates in patients with chordomas, osteosarcomas, chondrosarcomas, and Ewing sarcomas of the mobile spine. The secondary objective was to determine prognostic factors that impact overall survival rates.Retrospective study.A total of 1,011 patients with primary bone tumors of the spine (377 chordomas, 223 chondrosarcomas, 278 Ewing sarcomas, and 133 osteosarcomas).Five-year survival.We reviewed the records of 1,011 patients in the NCDB from 2004 through 2015 with histologically confirmed primary osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, or chordoma of the spine. Demographic, clinical, and outcomes data were compiled and compared using chi-squared tests and ANOVA. Long-term survival was compared using the Kaplan-Meier method with statistical comparisons based on the log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine survival determinants.Surgical resection was the primary mode of treatment for chondrosarcoma (90%), chordoma (84%), and osteosarcoma (80%). The treatment for Ewing sarcoma was multimodal involving chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgical resection. Five-year survival rates varied significantly with chordomas and chondrosarcomas having the greatest survival (70% and 69%), osteosarcomas having the worse survival (38%), and Ewing having intermediate 5-year survival at 62% (overall log-rank p.0001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated significantly improved 5-year survival rates with younger age at diagnosis, private insurance status, lower comorbidity score, lower tumor grade, smaller tumor size, surgical resection, and negative surgical margin. Radiation therapy only improved survival for Ewing sarcoma.This study provides the most comprehensive description of the epidemiologic, treatment, and survival trends of primary bone tumors of the mobile spine. Second, patient and tumor characteristics associated with improved 5-year survival were identified using a multivariate model.

Background Approximately 38% of patients with colorectal cancer will develop isolated liver metastases. Sidedness of colon tumor is identified in non-metastatic and unresected metastatic cancers as predictive of survival, yet its dedicated analysis in resected liver metastases is minimal. Our primary aim was to assess whether left-sided primary tumors improve prognosis in stage IV cancer patients undergoing curative-intent liver metastasectomy; it was hypothesized that it would. Methods This is a retrospective, observational cohort study from 1996 to 2016 in a single tertiary-care facility. Survival from diagnosis was calculated via Kaplan–Meier method and compared between the right and left sides via log-rank analysis. Results Median survival differs significantly between colorectal tumors of the right and left origins after hepatic metastasectomy in 612 patients. In patients with right-sided tumors, median survival from diagnosis was 4.5 years (IQR 4.1–5.3), and 6.3 years (IQR 5.6–6.9) in those with left tumors (HR 1.5, 95% CI 1.38–1.60, p Conclusion As in studies on earlier-stage or unresected metastatic disease, tumor sidedness is an important prognostic factor in patient survival with liver metastasectomy. Clinical risk scores should include side of primary tumor. Further work is needed to determine the molecular basis for this difference.

Background Guidelines recommend treatment of retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS) at high-volume centers. However, high-volume centers may not be accessible locally. This national study compared outcomes of RPS resection between local low-volume centers and more distant high-volume centers. Methods Patients treated for RPS were identified from the National Cancer Database (1998–2012). Travel distance and annual hospital volume were divided into quartiles. Two groups were identified: (1) short travel to low-volume hospitals (ST/LV), (2) long travel to high-volume hospitals (LT/HV). Outcomes were adjusted for clinical, tumor, and treatment characteristics. Results Two thousand five hundred ninety-nine patients met the inclusion criteria. The LT/HV cohort was younger and more often white (p p p = 0.003). Thirty-day mortality was significantly lower in the LT/HV group (1.2% vs. 2.8%, p = 0.0026). Five-year survival was better among the LT/HV group (63% vs. 53%, p p = 0.0009). Conclusions This national study suggests that traveling to high-volume centers for the treatment of RPS confers a significant short-term and long-term survival advantage, supporting centralized care for RPS.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine whether adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) provides a survival benefit in patients with nonmetastatic poorly differentiated colorectal neuroendocrine carcinomas (CRNECs) following resection. BACKGROUND There is little evidence to support the association between use of AC and improved overall survival (OS) in patients with CRNECs. METHODS Patients with resected non-metastatic CRNECs were identified in the National Cancer Database (2004-2014). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) method was used to reduce the selection bias. IPTW-adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare OS of patients in different treatment groups. RESULTS A total of 806 patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2014 met the study entry criteria. Of these, 394 patients (48.9%) received AC. IPTW-adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves showed that median OS was significantly longer for AC versus observation [57.4 (interquartile range, IQR, 14.8-153.8) vs 38.2 (IQR, 10.4-125.4) months; P = 0.007]. In IPTW-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, AC was associated with a significant OS benefit [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.64-0.84; P < 0.001]. The results were consistent across subgroups stratified by pathologic T stage, pathologic N stage, and surgical margin status. Subgroup analysis according to tumor location demonstrated improved OS in the adjuvant therapy cohort among patients with left-sided neuroendocrine carcinomas (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.44-0.68), but not in those with right-sided disease (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.74-1.07). CONCLUSIONS Patients with nonmetastatic CRNECs may derive survival benefit from AC. These findings support current guidelines recommending AC in patients with poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas in the colon and rectum. Efforts in education and adherence to national guidelines for NECs are needed.

Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (pACC) is a rare malignancy and surgical utilization has been historically low in these patients. Contemporary outcomes for this patient population remain unknown.The 1998-2012 National Cancer Data Base was queried for baseline characteristics in patients with pACC. Patients with potentially operable disease (stage I/II) were grouped by surgical resection. Multivariable logistic regression was used to predict factors associated with resection. Survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis. A proportional hazards model identified factors associated with overall survival.980 patients were identified. Mean age at diagnosis was 64 years. Tumors were more common in men (68%), white patients (88%), and within the pancreatic head (57%). Thirty-four percent of patients with localized disease failed to undergo resection. Five-year survival was higher among patients who underwent resection (42% vs. 9%, p 0.001). In patients with resectable disease, male sex, older age, black race, tumors within the pancreatic head, lower grade tumors and treatment at non-academic centers are associated with failure to undergo surgery.Patients with localized pACC have increased survival after resection. However, in this contemporary analysis, resection continues to be underutilized and new efforts to increase resection rates should be undertaken.

Due to conflicting study results on the effect of laterality on overall survival in primary colon cancers, we sought to examine the impact of left compared to right-sided primary tumors on overall survival for stage I–III colon cancer using the largest dataset to date. The 2006–2013 NCDB was queried for patients with single primary, stage I–III colon adenocarcinoma and grouped by stage and tumor location. For stage I–II tumors, 114,839 patients had resection (62% right:38% left). After adjustment, patients with right-sided tumors had superior survival ([HR right as reference]: 1.13, 95% CI 1.09–1.17, p