Obstetrics and Gynecology Commons^™

The Relationship Between Anti-Müllerian Hormone, Body Mass Index And Weight Loss: A Review Of The Literature, Jacqueline Kloos, Rachel Weinerman

Student Scholarship

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is commonly used as a proxy for ovarian reserve due to its secretion by antral follicles. It is considered a metric for prediction of ovarian response to certain assisted reproduction therapies. As obesity has a negative impact on fertility, it is important to establish whether obesity-induced hormonal changes influence AMH levels, if and how weight loss affects AMH, and if that influence represents altered reproductive function. The aim of this study was to review the existing literature on the effects of body mass index and weight loss on AMH levels. A PubMed literature keyword search with relevant …

Rare Causes Of Genital Fistula In Nine African Countries: A Retrospective Review, Carrie J. Ngongo, Thomas J.I.P. Raassen, Marietta Mahendeka, Ladeisha Lombard, Jos Van Roosmalen, Marleen Temmerman

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Background: Most genital fistulas result from prolonged, obstructed labor or surgical complications. Other causes include trauma (from accidents, traditional healers, or sexual violence), radiation, carcinoma, infection, unsafe abortion, and congenital malformation.

Methods: This retrospective records review focuses on rare fistula causes among 6,787 women who developed fistula after 1980 and sought treatment between 1994 and 2017 in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan. We compare fistula etiologies across countries and assess associations between rare causes and type of incontinence (urine, feces, or both).

Results: Rare fistula accounted for 1.12% (76/6,787) of all fistulas, including traumatic …

Clinical And Economic Evaluation Of A Proteomic Biomarker Preterm Birth Risk Predictor: Cost-Effectiveness Modeling Of Prenatal Interventions Applied To Predicted Higher-Risk Pregnancies Within A Large And Diverse Cohort, Julja Burchard, Glenn R Markenson, George R Saade, Louise C Laurent, Kent D Heyborne, Dean V Coonrod, Corina N Schoen, Jason K. Baxter, David M Haas, Sherri A Longo, Scott A Sullivan, Sarahn M Wheeler, Leonardo M Pereira, Kim A Boggess, Angela F Hawk, Amy H Crockett, Ryan Treacy, Angela C Fox, Ashoka D Polpitiya, Tracey C Fleischer, Thomas J Garite, J Jay Boniface, John A F Zupancic, Gregory C Critchfield, Paul E Kearney

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

Objectives: Preterm birth occurs in more than 10% of U.S. births and is the leading cause of U.S. neonatal deaths, with estimated annual costs exceeding $25 billion USD. Using real-world data, we modeled the potential clinical and economic utility of a prematurity-reduction program comprising screening in a racially and ethnically diverse population with a validated proteomic biomarker risk predictor, followed by case management with or without pharmacological treatment.

Methods: The ACCORDANT microsimulation model used individual patient data from a prespecified, randomly selected sub-cohort (N = 847) of a multicenter, observational study of U.S. subjects receiving standard obstetric care with …

Obstetric And Neonatal Outcomes 1 Or More Years After A Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer, Kirsten Jorgensen, Roni Nitecki, Hazel B Nichols, Shuangshuang Fu, Chi-Fang Wu, Paula Brady, Mark A Clapp, Sharon Giordano, J Alejandro Rauh-Hain

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate obstetric and neonatal outcomes of the first live birth conceived 1 or more years after breast cancer diagnosis.

METHODS: We performed a population-based study to compare live births between women with a history of breast cancer (case group) and matched women with no cancer history (control group). Individuals in the case and control groups were identified using linked data from the California Cancer Registry and California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development data sets. Individuals in the case group were diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer at age 18-45 years between January 1, 2000, and December …

Safety And Efficacy Of Hsp90 Inhibitor Ganetespib For Neoadjuvant Treatment Of Stage Ii/Iii Breast Cancer, Julie E Lang, Andres Forero-Torres, Douglas Yee, Christina Yau, Denise Wolf, Barbara A Parker, Anne M Wallace, Rashmi Murthy, Kathy S Albain, Erin D Ellis, Heather Beckwith, Barbara B Haley, Anthony D Elias, Judy C Boughey, Rachel L Yung, Claudine Isaacs, Amy S Clark, Hyo S Han, Rita Nanda, Qamar J Khan, Kristen K Edmiston, Erica Stringer-Reasor, Elissa Price, Bonnie Joe, Minetta C Liu, Lamorna Brown-Swigart, Emanuel F Petricoin, Julia D Wulfkuhle, Meredith Buxton, Julia L Clennell, Ashish Sanil, Scott Berry, Smita M Asare, Amy Wilson, Gillian L Hirst, Ruby Singhrao, Adam L Asare, Jeffrey B Matthews, Michelle Melisko, Jane Perlmutter, Hope S Rugo, W Fraser Symmans, Laura J Van 'T Veer, Nola M Hylton, Angela M Demichele, Donald A Berry, Laura J Esserman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

HSP90 inhibitors destabilize oncoproteins associated with cell cycle, angiogenesis, RAS-MAPK activity, histone modification, kinases and growth factors. We evaluated the HSP90-inhibitor ganetespib in combination with standard chemotherapy in patients with high-risk early-stage breast cancer. I-SPY2 is a multicenter, phase II adaptively randomized neoadjuvant (NAC) clinical trial enrolling patients with stage II-III breast cancer with tumors 2.5 cm or larger on the basis of hormone receptors (HR), HER2 and Mammaprint status. Multiple novel investigational agents plus standard chemotherapy are evaluated in parallel for the primary endpoint of pathologic complete response (pCR). Patients with HER2-negative breast cancer were eligible for randomization to …

Adjuvant Therapy In Women With Early Stage Uterine Serous Carcinoma: A Multi-Institutional Study, Katherine C Kurnit, Silvana Pedra Nobre, Bryan M Fellman, David A Iglesias, Kristina Lindemann, Ane Gerda Z Eriksson, Gretchen E Glaser, Jennifer J Mueller, Shannon N Westin, Pamela T Soliman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Uterine serous carcinoma is a rare but aggressive subtype of endometrial adenocarcinoma. Our objective was to compare adjuvant treatment strategies for patients with early stage uterine serous carcinoma.

METHODS: This multi-institutional, retrospective cohort study evaluated patients with early stage uterine serous carcinoma. Patients with FIGO Stage IA-II disease after surgery, whose tumors had serous or any mixed serous/non-serous histology were included. Patients with carcinosarcoma were excluded. Clinical data were abstracted from local medical records. Summary statistics, Fisher's exact, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to analyze demographic and clinical characteristics. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed for recurrence-free and overall …

Inclusion Of Premenopausal Women In Breast Cancer Clinical Trials, Kelsey L Corrigan, Ramez Kouzy, Joseph Abi Jaoude, Roshal R Patel, Rachel M Layman, Wendy A Woodward, Simona F Shaitelman, Ethan B Ludmir

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Patients with premenopausal breast cancer (PMBC) have been historically excluded from some clinical trials because of the limitations of using endocrine therapy (ET) in this population. We analyzed breast cancer randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to determine the rates of and factors associated with inclusion of PMBC patients to provide a benchmark for PMBC inclusion in RCTs moving forward.

METHODS: Using ClinicalTrials.Gov, we identified breast cancer phase III RCTs and extracted inclusion criteria and patient enrollment information. Multiple binary logistic regression modeling was used to assess trial-related factors that were associated with PMBC patient inclusion.

RESULTS: Of 170 breast …

Cell-Free Dna Screening Positive For Monosomy X: Clinical Evaluation And Management Of Suspected Maternal Or Fetal Turner Syndrome, Tazim Dowlut-Mcelroy, Shanlee Davis, Susan Howell, Iris Gutmark-Little, Vaneeta Bamba, Sheetal Patel, Nandini Vijayakanthi, Mary Haag, Deborrah Hennerich, Lorraine Dugoff, Roopa Kanakatti Shankar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Initially provided as an alternative to evaluation of serum analytes and nuchal translucency for the assessment of pregnancies at high risk of trisomy 21, cell-free DNA screening for fetal aneuploidy, also referred to as noninvasive prenatal screening, can now also screen for fetal sex chromosome anomalies such as monosomy X as early as 9 to 10 weeks of gestation. Early identification of Turner syndrome, a sex chromosome anomaly resulting from the complete or partial absence of the second X chromosome, allows medical interventions such as optimizing obstetrical outcomes, hormone replacement therapy, fertility preservation and support, and improved neurocognitive outcomes. However, …

Community Access To Primary Care Is An Important Geographic Disparity Among Ovarian Cancer Patients Undergoing Cytoreductive Surgery, Molly Greenwade, Premal H Thaker, Katherine C Fuh, Matthew A Powell, David G Mutch, Dineo Khabele, Lindsay M Kuroki

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Given the importance of understanding neighborhood context and geographic access to care on individual health outcomes, we sought to investigate the association of community primary care (PC) access on postoperative outcomes and survival in ovarian cancer patients.

METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of Stage III-IV ovarian cancer patients who underwent surgery at a single academic, tertiary care hospital between 2012 and 2015. PC access was determined using a Health Resources and Services Administration designation. Outcomes included 30-day surgical and medical complications, extended hospital stay, ICU admission, hospital readmission, progression-free and overall survival. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared analyses …

An Optimized Cell-Based Assay To Assess Influenza Virus Replication By Measuring Neuraminidase Activity And Its Applications For Virological Surveillance, Ha T Nguyen, David E Wentworth, Larisa V Gubareva, Vasiliy P Mishin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Year-round virological characterization of circulating epidemic influenza viruses is conducted worldwide to detect the emergence of viruses that may escape pre-existing immunity or acquire resistance to antivirals. High throughput phenotypic assays are needed to complement the sequence-based analysis of circulating viruses and improve pandemic preparedness. The recent entry of a polymerase inhibitor, baloxavir, into the global market further highlighted this need. Here, we optimized a cell-based assay that considerably streamlines antiviral and antigenic testing by replacing lengthy immunostaining and imaging procedures used in current assay with measuring the enzymatic activity of nascent neuraminidase (NA) molecules expressed on the surface of …

Lack Of Consensus Among Healthcare Professionals At A Large Academic Medical Center On The Use Of Exome Sequencing For Prenatal Diagnosis, Kylie Johnson, Hadi Erfani, Mohamad Ali Maktabi, Ignatia Van Den Veyver, Salma Nassef

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Prenatal exome sequencing (ES) is increasingly used for prenatal diagnosis because emerging data indicate it has incremental diagnostic benefit in pregnancies with fetal anomalies without identified genetic abnormalities by karyotyping and chromosomal microarray analysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the medical community's attitude toward the clinical utility and use of exome sequencing for prenatal diagnosis and to address differences in attitudes and responses by type of practitioner, level of training, and years passed since last full-time training. We analyzed the answers of 109 trainees and professionals in the fields of genetic counseling, laboratory science, and medicine to …

Targeting The Mtor Pathway For The Prevention Of Er-Negative Breast Cancer, Abhijit Mazumdar, William M Tahaney, Jamal L Hill, Yun Zhang, Sumankalai Ramachandran, Jing Qian, Michelle I Savage, Lana A Vornik, Shizuko Sei, Altaf Mohammed, Powel H Brown

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Our results show that everolimus delays mammary tumor formation in multiple mouse models, suggesting that mTOR inhibitors will be useful for the prevention of ER-negative and triple-negative breast cancer in humans. See related Spotlight, p. 787.

Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices (Kap) Towards Covid-19 Pandemic Among Pregnant Women In A Tertiary Hospital In Karachi, Pakistan, Sumaira Naz, Syeda Dur E Shawar, Shamila Saleem, Ayesha Malik, Amir Raza

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of the pregnant population during the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care hospital.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. KAP towards COVID-19 was assessed using 21-item questionnaires. A score for each category was calculated and points were summed. The outcome variables of KAP were compared with demographic characteristics. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 19.
Results: A total of 377 patients participated in the study. The majority of the patients were multiparous (36.8%) in the age group of …

An Ai-Driven Clinical Care Pathway To Reduce 30-Day Readmission For Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Copd) Patients, Mamta Puppala, Zheng Yin, Aaron W Roberts, Aryan Nezamabadi, Pingyi Xu, Adaani Frost, Robert E Jackson, Stephen T C Wong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Healthcare regulatory agencies have mandated a reduction in 30-day hospital readmission rates and have targeted COPD as a major contributor to 30-day readmissions. We aimed to develop and validate a simple tool deploying an artificial neural network (ANN) for early identification of COPD patients with high readmission risk. Using COPD patient data from eight hospitals within a large urban hospital system, four variables were identified, weighted and validated. These included the number of in-patient admissions in the previous 6 months, the number of medications administered on the first day, insurance status, and the Rothman Index on hospital day one. An …

Using Genomic Variation To Distinguish Ovarian High-Grade Serous Carcinoma From Benign Fallopian Tubes, Jesus Gonzalez-Bosquet, Nicholas D Cardillo, Henry D Reyes, Brian J Smith, Kimberly K Leslie, David P Bender, Michael J Goodheart, Eric J Devor

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

The preoperative diagnosis of pelvic masses has been elusive to date. Methods for characterization such as CA-125 have had limited specificity. We hypothesize that genomic variation can be used to create prediction models which accurately distinguish high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) from benign tissue.

Methods: In this retrospective, pilot study, we extracted DNA and RNA from HGSC specimens and from benign fallopian tubes. Then, we performed whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing, and identified single nucleotide variants (SNV), copy number variants (CNV) and structural variants (SV). We used these variants to create prediction models to distinguish cancer from benign …

Pregnancy Outcomes Of Patients With Ultrasound-Indicated And History-Indicated Mcdonald Cervical Cerclage, Zaibunnisa Memon, Naureen Anjum, Zahra Hoodbhoy

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Objective: To assess pregnancy outcomes of patients with ultrasound-indicated and history-indicated McDonald cervical cerclage.
Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study of pregnant women who had cervical cerclage performed at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karimabad campus. We obtained Institutional Review Board approval and reviewed the medical records of patients. A purposive continuous sampling technique was used. A total of 88 patients were included. There were no exclusion criteria. Outcome data were collected from the medical record of patients from January 2010 to December 2016.
Results: Analysis reported a statistically significant lower gravidity and parity in the scan-indicated group as …

Resilience And Prenatal Mental Health In Pakistan: A Qualitative Inquiry, Shireen Shehzad, David Arthur, An-Sofie Van Parys, Nicole Letourneau, Gail Wagnild, Shahirose Sadrudin Premji, Nargis Asad, Olivier Degomme

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Background: Women in Pakistan suffer from a high rate of depression. The stress of low-income, illiteracy, exposure to violence and living in a patriarchal society are predisposing vulnerabilities for depression, particularly during and following pregnancy. The resilience of an individual plays a significant role in promoting prenatal mental health, but this has yet to be thoroughly researched. In this article, our objective is to identify the core characteristics of resilience among pregnant women, which will then help us in developing an intervention.
Methods: The exploratory-descriptive study was conducted over 6 months in five different antenatal hospitals in Sindh, Pakistan. A …

Surgical Resection Of A Rare Primary Retroperitoneal Mucinous Borderline Tumor Of Müllerian Origin: A Case Report, Taylor R. Kavanagh, Nneamaka Nwaoduah, Scott D. Richard, Wilbur Bowne, Norman G Rosenblum

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

•Primary retroperitoneal mucinous tumors (PRMTs) are a rare group of cystic neoplasms consisting of three subtypes.•PRMTs are histologically similar to ovarian mucinous tumors but lack true ovarian tissue.•PRMTs should be considered in the differential diagnosis when encountering retroperitoneal cystic lesions.•During surgical resection tumor disruption should be avoided.•Surgical resection alone provides durable disease control for mucinous borderline tumors of low malignant potential.

Microrna Analysis In Maternal Blood Of Pregnancies With Preterm Premature Rupture Of Membranes Reveals A Distinct Expression Profile, Michail Spiliopoulos, Andrew Haddad, Huda B Al-Kouatly, Saeed Haleema, Michael J Paidas, Sara N Iqbal, Robert I Glazer

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: To determine the expression profile of microRNAs in the peripheral blood of pregnant women with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) compared to that of healthy pregnant women.

STUDY DESIGN: This was a pilot study with case-control design in pregnant patients enrolled between January 2017 and June 2019. Patients with healthy pregnancies and those affected by PPROM between 20- and 33+6 weeks of gestation were matched by gestational age and selected for inclusion to the study. Patients were excluded for multiple gestation and presence of a major obstetrical complication such as preeclampsia, diabetes, fetal growth restriction and stillbirth. A …

Vaginal Microbiota In Women With Spontaneous Preterm Labor Versus Those With Term Labor In Kenya: A Case Control Study, Edgar Gulavi, Fridah Mwendwa, David Atandi, Patricia Okiro, Michael Hall, Robert G. Beiko, Rodney Adam

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Background: Preterm birth is a global problem with about 12% of births in sub-Saharan Africa occurring before 37 weeks of gestation. Several studies have explored a potential association between vaginal microbiota and preterm birth, and some have found an association while others have not. We performed a study designed to determine whether there is an association with vaginal microbiota and/or placental microbiota and preterm birth in an African setting.

Methods: Women presenting to the study hospital in labor with a gestational age of 26 to 36 weeks plus six days were prospectively enrolled in a study of the …

Assessing Urinary Phenol And Paraben Mixtures In Pregnant Women With And Without Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Case-Control Study, Chao Xu, Tabitha Garwe, Antonia M Calafat, Jennifer D Peck

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Prior studies have identified the associations between environmental phenol and paraben exposures and increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but no study addressed these exposures as mixtures. As methods have emerged to better assess exposures to multiple chemicals, our study aimed to apply Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to evaluate the association between phenol and paraben mixtures and GDM. This study included 64 GDM cases and 237 obstetric patient controls from the University of Oklahoma Medical Center. Mid-pregnancy spot urine samples were collected to quantify concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA), benzophenone-3, triclosan, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,5-dichlorophenol, butylparaben, methylparaben, and propylparaben. Multivariable …

Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Primary Cesarean Birth And Adverse Outcomes Among Low-Risk Nulliparous People, Suneet S P Chauhan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To compare trend of primary cesarean delivery rate and composite neonatal and maternal adverse outcomes in low-risk pregnancies among racial and ethnic groups: non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic.

Methods: This population-based cohort study used U.S. vital statistics data (2015-2019) to evaluate low-risk, nulliparous patients with nonanomalous singletons who labored and delivered at 37-41 weeks of gestation. The primary outcome was the primary cesarean delivery rate. Secondary outcomes included composite neonatal adverse outcome (Apgar score less than 5 at 5 minutes, assisted ventilation for more than 6 hours, seizure, or death), and composite maternal adverse outcome (intensive care unit …

Lessons From The Failure To Complete A Trial Of Denosumab In Women With A Pathogenic Brca1/2 Variant Scheduling Risk-Reducing Salpingo-Oophorectomy, Meghna S Trivedi, Nadir Arber, Eitan Friedman, Judy E Garber, Kevin Holcomb, Jason D Wright, Lana A Vornik, Saba Abutaseh, Tawana Castile, Edward R Sauter, Eileen Dimond, Brandy M Heckman-Stoddard, Margaret House, Goli Samimi, Powel H Brown, Katherine D Crew

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Female carriers of pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) BRCA1/2 variants are at increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Currently, the only effective strategy for ovarian cancer risk reduction is risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (RR-BSO), which carries adverse effects related to early menopause. There is ongoing investigation of inhibition of the RANK ligand (RANKL) with denosumab as a means of chemoprevention for breast cancer in carriers of BRCA1 P/LP variants. Through the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) Early Phase Clinical Trials Prevention Consortia, a presurgical pilot study of denosumab was developed in premenopausal carriers of P/LP BRCA1/2 variants scheduled for RR-BSO …

Risk Factors For Community-Acquired Bacterial Infection Among Young Infants In South Asia: A Longitudinal Cohort Study With Nested Case-Control Analysis, Nicholas E Connor, Mohammad Shahidul Islam, Luke C Mullany, Nong Shang, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Sajid Soofi, Pinaki Panigrahi, Kalpana Panigrahi, Radhanath Satpathy, Anuradha Bose, Rita Isaac, Abdullah H Baqui, Dipak K Mitra, Qazi Sadeq-Ur Rahman, Tanvir Hossain, Stephanie J Schrag, Jonas M Winchell, Melissa L Arvay, Maureen H Diaz, Jessica L Waller, Martin W Weber, Davidson H Hamer, Patricia Hibberd, A S M Nawshad Uddin Ahmed, Maksuda Islam, Mohammad Belal Hossain, Shamim A Qazi, Shams El Arifeen, Gary L Darmstadt, Samir K Saha

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Risk factors predisposing infants to community-acquired bacterial infections during the first 2 months of life are poorly understood in South Asia. Identifying risk factors for infection could lead to improved preventive measures and antibiotic stewardship.

METHODS: Five sites in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan enrolled mother-child pairs via population-based pregnancy surveillance by community health workers. Medical, sociodemographic and epidemiological risk factor data were collected. Young infants aged 0-59 days with signs of possible serious bacterial infection (pSBI) and age-matched controls provided blood and respiratory specimens that were analysed by blood culture and real-time PCR. These tests were used to build …

The Reading Profiles Of Late Elementary English Learners With And Without Dyslexia, Gaël Abou-Ghannam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 stress and anxiety on prenatal attachment during the second trimester of gestation. Pregnancy is an important stage for mothers-to-be in creating representations of themselves as a "mother", with the developing attachment relationship to the unborn child considered as a milestone in the future parent's developmental trajectory. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the national health measures installed can hence have consequences on these representations and on prenatal attachment. Our sample consisted of 95 mothers that were recruited from a prenatal ultrasound screening center. Results suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic …

Outcomes Of Gynecologic Cancer Surgery During The Covid-19 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Prospective Covidsurg-Gynecologic Oncology Cancer Study, Nadeem Abu-Rustum, Rahel Ghebre, Murat Gutelkin, Thomas O Konney, Joseph Ng, Rene Pareja, Rajkumar Kottayasamy Seenivasagam, Jalid Sehouli, Shylasree T S Surappa, Aneel Bhangu, Elaine Leung, Sudha Sundar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The CovidSurg-Cancer Consortium aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 in surgical patients and services for solid cancers at the start of the pandemic. The CovidSurg-Gynecologic Oncology Cancer subgroup was particularly concerned about the magnitude of adverse outcomes caused by the disrupted surgical gynecologic cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic, which are currently unclear.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the changes in care and short-term outcomes of surgical patients with gynecologic cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that the COVID-19 pandemic had led to a delay in surgical cancer care, especially in patients who required more extensive …

Stat6 Blockade Abrogates Aspergillus-Induced Eosinophilic Chronic Rhinosinusitis And Asthma, A Model Of Unified Airway Disease, Weiyu Jiang, Chandandeep Nagi, Carolina Gutierrez, Jeffrey M Rosen, Xiang H-F Zhang, Susan G Hilsenbeck, Xi Chen, Yi-Chieh Nancy Du, Shixia Huang, Aiping Shi, Zhimin Fan, Yi Li

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) promotes cell survival and instigates breast tumor formation, and in the normal breast it also drives alveolar differentiation and lactogenesis. However, whether STAT5 drives a differentiated phenotype in breast tumorigenesis and therefore impacts cancer spread and metastasis is unclear. We found in two genetically engineered mouse models of breast cancer that constitutively activated Stat5a (Stat5aca) caused precancerous mammary epithelial cells to become lactogenic and evolve into tumors with diminished potential to metastasize. We also showed that STAT5aca reduced the migratory and invasive ability of human breast cancer cell lines in …

The Impact Of Obesity And Adipokines On Breast And Gynecologic Malignancies, Surabhi Tewari, Roberto Vargas, Ofer Reizes

Faculty Scholarship

The link between obesity and multiple disease comorbidities is well established. In 2003, Calle and colleagues presented the relationship between obesity and several cancer types, including breast, ovarian, and endometrial malignancies. Nearly, 20% of cancer-related deaths in females can be accounted for by obesity. Identifying obesity as a risk factor for cancer led to a focus on the role of fat-secreted cytokines, known as adipokines, on carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Early studies indicated that the adipokine leptin increases cell proliferation, invasion, and inhibition of apoptosis in multiple cancer types. As a greater appreciation of the obesity–cancer link has amassed, we …

Management Of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus In Pregnancy, Oana Denisa Balalau, Mihai George Loghin, Delia Maria Bogheanu, Nicolae Bacalbasa, Anca Daniela Stanescu, Daniela Gabriela Bălan, Ioana Păunică, Octavian Gabriel Olaru

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Systemic lupus erythematosus is one of the most common autoimmune disorders affecting young women. Pregnant women with lupus are generally at higher risk for certain pregnancy complications than women without comorbidities. Even so, a pregnancy with lupus can be carried to term in optimal conditions if it is properly managed by a doctor. Monitoring is generally recommended six months after the onset of lupus symptoms, and ideally there should be no active lupus symptoms prior to conception. General screening tests should include the anti-phospholipid, anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies. Women who are positive for these antibodies have an increased risk of …

Facing Hierarchy: A Qualitative Study Of Residents' Experiences In An Obstetrical Simulation Scenario, Adam B Garber, Glenn Posner, Taylor Roebotham, M Dylan Bould, Taryn Taylor

Obstetrics & Gynaecology Publications

BACKGROUND: Residents in surgical specialties face a steep hierarchy when managing medical crises. Hierarchy can negatively impact patient safety when team members are reluctant to speak up. Yet, simulation has scarcely been previously utilized to qualitatively explore the way residents in surgical specialities navigate this challenge. The study aimed to explore the experiences of residents in one surgical specialty, obstetrics and gynecology (Ob/Gyn), when challenging hierarchy, with the goal of informing future interventions to optimize resident learning and patient safety.

METHODS: Eight 3rd- and 4th-year Ob/Gyn residents participated in a simulation scenario in which their supervising physician made an erroneous …