Biostatistics Commons^™

Association Between The Dietary Index For Gut Microbiota (Di-Gm) And Colorectal Cancer In The Plco Cohort, Bezawit E. Kase, Angela D. Liese Ph.D., Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Elizabeth Angela Murphy, Susan E. Steck Phd, Mph, Rd

Faculty Publications

Objectives: The study aimed to examine the association between a dietary index for gut microbiota (DI-GM) and the risk of incident colorectal cancer (CRC). Clarifying the role of diet-induced alterations in the composition and function of gut microbiota on the development of CRC can contribute to prevention efforts. Methods: Participants from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening trial enrolled in the intervention arm and who completed baseline assessments were included in the analysis (n = 55,685). The DI-GM is a literature-derived index used to score diet quality in terms of maintaining healthy gut microbiota. A time-dependent Cox model …

Association Between The Dietary Index For Gut Microbiota (Di-Gm) And Colorectal Cancer In The Plco Cohort, Bezawit E. Kase, Angela D. Liese, Jiajia Zhang, Elizabeth Angela Murphy, Susan E. Steck

Faculty Publications

Objectives: The study aimed to examine the association between a dietary index for gut microbiota (DI-GM) and the risk of incident colorectal cancer (CRC). Clarifying the role of diet-induced alterations in the composition and function of gut microbiota on the development of CRC can contribute to prevention efforts. Methods: Participants from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening trial enrolled in the intervention arm and who completed baseline assessments were included in the analysis (n = 55,685). The DI-GM is a literature-derived index used to score diet quality in terms of maintaining healthy gut microbiota. A time-dependent Cox model …

Differences In Covid-19 Deaths Amongst Cancer Patients And Possible Mediators For This Relationship, Leah Vaidya, Nubaira Rizvi, Xiao Cheng Wu, Lauren S. Maniscalco, Yong Yi, Augusto Ochoa, Qingzhao Yu

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Previous research demonstrated Non-Hispanic Black populations experience higher COVID-19 mortality rates than Non-Hispanic White individuals. Additionally, cancer status is a known risk factor for COVID-19 death. While prior studies investigated comorbidities as exploratory variables in differences in COVID-19 hospitalization, none have explored their role in COVID-19-related deaths. This study aimed to evaluate whether Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and subsequently, individual diseases are potential explanatory variables for this relationship. The analysis focused on Non-Hispanic Black and Non-Hispanic White cancer patients aged 20 or older, diagnosed between 2011 and 2019, who tested positive for COVID-19 from the start of pandemic through June …

Disentangling The Inverse Relationship Between Cancer And Alzheimer’S Or Parkinson’S Disease: A Systematic Review On Mendelian Randomization Studies, Khine Zin Aung, Su Su Zin, Xian Wu, Zin W. Myint, Shama D. Karanth, Steven Estus, Christopher M. Norris, Peter T. Nelson, David W. Fardo, Erin L. Abner, Yuriko Katsumata

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Introduction

Although studies have reported an inverse relationship between cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), findings remain inconsistent. Observational studies are limited by survival bias and reverse causation. To better understand the relationship, we conducted a systematic review of Mendelian randomization (MR) studies examining both directions—assessing cancer as a risk factor for AD or PD, as well as AD or PD as exposures influencing cancer risk.

Methods

We systematically reviewed MR studies investigating the causal relation between cancer and either AD or PD. Cancer could be specified as either an exposure or an …

Construction And Performance Optimization Of Bioconjugated Nanosensors For Early Detection Of Breast Cancer And Pro-Inflammatory Diseases, Pooja Gaikwad

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In recent years, nanosensors have emerged as a tool with strong potential in medical diagnostics. Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) based optical nanosensors have notably garnered interest due to the unique characteristics of their near-infrared fluorescence emission, including tissue transparency, photostability, and various chiralities with discrete absorption and fluorescence emission bands. Additionally, the optoelectronic properties of SWCNT are sensitive to the surrounding environment, which makes them suitable for in vitro and in vivo biosensing. Single-stranded (ss) DNA-wrapped SWCNTs have been reported as optical nanosensors for cancers and metabolic diseases. Breast cancer and cardiovascular diseases are the most common causes of death …

Cancer Incidence And Stage At Diagnosis Among People With Psychotic Disorders: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis., Jared C Wootten, Joshua C Wiener, Phillip S Blanchette, Kelly K. Anderson

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

Research regarding the incidence of cancer among people with psychotic disorders relative to the general population is equivocal, although the evidence suggests that they have more advanced stage cancer at diagnosis. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the incidence and stage at diagnosis of cancer among people with, relative to those without, psychotic disorders. We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases. Articles were included if they reported the incidence and/or stage at diagnosis of cancer in people with psychotic disorders. Random effects meta-analyses were used to determine risk of cancer and odds of advanced stage …

Availability Of Hospital-Based Cancer Services Before And After Rural Hospital Closure, 2008-2017, Whitney Zahnd Ph.D., Peiyin Hung Ph.D., Sylvia Kewei Shi, Anja Zgodic, Melinda A. Merrell Ph.D., Elizabeth L. Crouch, Janice C. Probst, Jan Eberth Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Introduction

Rural populations have less access to cancer care services and experience higher cancer mortality rates than their urban counterparts, which may be exacerbated by hospital closures. Our objective was to examine the impact of hospital closures on access to cancer-relevant hospital services across hospital service areas (HSAs).

Methods

We used American Hospital Association survey data from 2008 to 2017 to examine the change in access to cancer-related screening and treatment services across rural HSAs that sustained hospitals over time, experienced any closures, or had all hospitals close. We performed a longitudinal analysis to assess the association between hospital closure …

Cancer Incidence And Stage At Diagnosis Among People With Recent-Onset Psychotic Disorders: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Health Administrative Data From Ontario, Canada., Jared C Wootten, Lucie Richard, Phillip S Blanchette, Joshua C. Wiener, Kelly K. Anderson

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

OBJECTIVE: Prior evidence on the relative risk of cancer among people with psychotic disorders is equivocal. The objective of this study was to compare incidence and stage at diagnosis of cancer for people with psychotic disorders relative to the general population.

METHOD: We constructed a retrospective cohort of people with a first diagnosis of non-affective psychotic disorder and a comparison group from the general population using linked health administrative databases in Ontario, Canada. The cohort was followed for incident diagnoses of cancer over a 25-year period. We used Poisson and logistic regression models to compare cancer incidence and stage at …

Mixture Model Approaches To Integrative Analysis Of Multi-Omics Data And Spatially Correlated Genomic Data, Ziqiao Wang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Integrative genomic data analysis is a powerful tool to study the complex biological processes behind a disease. Statistical methods can model the interrelationships of the involved gene activities through jointly analyzing multiple types of genomic data from different platforms (vertical integration), or improve the power of a study through aggregating the same type of genomic data across studies (horizontal integration). In this dissertation, we propose statistical methods and strategies for integrative multi-omics data in association analysis of disease phenotypes, with an emphasis on cancer applications.

We develop a new strategy based on horizontal integration by leveraging publicly available datasets into …

Dietary Inflammatory Index Is Related To Heart Failure Risk And Cardiac Function: A Case-Control Study In Heart Failure Patients, Jalal Moludi, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., Soghra Alisgharzadeh, James R. Hébert Scd, Mohammad Alizadeh

Faculty Publications

Aims: Previous studies suggest that diet and inflammation are important risk factors for heart failure (HF); however, the associations remain unclear. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) was established to measure the inflammatory capacity of individuals' diet. This study aimed to explore the DII in HF subjects compared with controls. Methods and Results: We conducted a case–control (116 cases and 113 controls) study that recruited in the similar clinics. DII scores were calculated based on dietary intakes. N-Terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels and ejection fraction (EF) were assessed in both groups. In order to analyze DII scores with HF as …

A Cluster-Based Approach For Identifying Prognostic Microrna Signatures In Digestive System Cancers, Jun Zhou, Xiang Cui, Feifei Xiao, Guoshuai Cai

Faculty Publications

Cancer remains the second leading cause of death all over the world. Aberrant expression of miRNA has shown diagnostic and prognostic value in many kinds of cancer. This study aims to provide a novel strategy to identify reliable miRNA signatures and develop improved cancer prognostic models from reported cancer-associated miRNAs. We proposed a new cluster-based approach to identify distinct cluster(s) of cancers and corresponding miRNAs. Further, with samples from TCGA and other independent studies, we identified prognostic markers and validated their prognostic value in prediction models. We also performed KEGG pathway analysis to investigate the functions of miRNAs associated with …

Epidemiology Of Cancers In Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm): A Protocol For Umbrella Review Of Systematic Reviews, Manoj Kumar Honaryar, Yelena Tarasenko, Maribel Almonte, Vitaly Smelov

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

While earlier studies on men having sex with men (MSM) tended to examine infection-related cancers, an increasing number of studies have been focusing on effects of sexual orientation on other cancers and social and cultural causes for cancer disparities. As a type of tertiary research, this umbrella review (UR) aims to synthesize findings from existing review studies on the effects of sexual orientation on cancer. Relevant peer-reviewed systematic reviews (SRs) will be identified without date or language restrictions using MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews, among others. The research team members will …

A Web-Based, Positive Emotion Skills Intervention For Enhancing Posttreatment Psychological Well-Being In Young Adult Cancer Survivors (Empower): Protocol For A Single-Arm Feasibility Trial, John M. Salsman, Laurie E. Mclouth, Michael Cohn, Janet A. Tooze, Mia Sorkin, Judith T. Moskowitz

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Adolescent and young adult cancer survivors (AYAs) experience clinically significant distress and have limited access to supportive care services. Interventions to enhance psychological well-being have improved positive affect and reduced depression in clinical and healthy populations but have not been routinely tested in AYAs.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this protocol is to (1) test the feasibility and acceptability of a Web-based positive emotion skills intervention for posttreatment AYAs called Enhancing Management of Psychological Outcomes With Emotion Regulation (EMPOWER) and (2) examine proof of concept for reducing psychological distress and enhancing psychological well-being.

METHODS: The intervention development and testing are …

Dietary Inflammatory Index And Non-Communicable Disease Risk: A Narrative Review, Catherine M. Phillips, Ling-Wei Chen, Barbara Heude, Jonathan Y. Bernard, Nicholas C. Harvey, Liesbeth Duijts, Sara M. Mensink-Bout, Kinga Polanska, Giulia Mancano, Matthew Suderman, Nitin Shivappa, James R. Hébert

Faculty Publications

There are over 1,000,000 publications on diet and health and over 480,000 references on inflammation in the National Library of Medicine database. In addition, there have now been over 30,000 peer-reviewed articles published on the relationship between diet, inflammation, and health outcomes. Based on this voluminous literature, it is now recognized that low-grade, chronic systemic inflammation is associated with most non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancers, respiratory and musculoskeletal disorders, as well as impaired neurodevelopment and adverse mental health outcomes. Dietary components modulate inflammatory status. In recent years, the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII^®), a literature-derived …

Treatment And Outcomes Of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients With High Comorbidity, Jorge Rios, Rahul Gosain, Bernardo H. L. Goulart, Bin Huang, Margaret N. Oechsli, Jaclyn K. Mcdowell, Quan Chen, Thomas Tucker, Goetz H. Kloecker

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Background: The life expectancy of untreated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is dismal, while treatment for NSCLC improves survival. The presence of comorbidities is thought to play a significant role in the decision to treat or not treat a given patient. We aim to evaluate the association of comorbidities with the survival of patients treated for NSCLC.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients aged ≥66 years with invasive NSCLC between the years 2007 and 2011 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Kentucky Cancer Registry. Comorbidity was measured using the Klabunde Comorbidity Index (KCI), and univariate and multivariate logistic …

The Role Of Pre-Existing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In Colorectal Cancer Stage And Survival In Elderly Americans: A Seer-Medicare Population-Based Study 2002-~2011, Sanae El Ibrahimi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Diabetes is a common comorbid condition among colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, yet its effects in CRC outcomes, particularly stage at diagnosis, risk of death and variations by diabetes severity (complications vs no complications) and Hispanic ethnicity have not been adequately studied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between pre-existing T2DM and advanced stage at diagnosis in elderly patients with CRC; to examine whether diabetes is an independent predictor of poor survival from all-cause and CRC-specific mortality; to assess whether variations exist by diabetes severity and to analyze the outcomes for the Hispanic group.

The Surveillance Epidemiology …

Partner Interfering Behaviors Affecting Cancer Quality Of Life, Ann L. Coker, Diane R. Follingstad, Lisandra S. Garcia, Heather M. Bush

Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Publications

Objective: Because partners are an important and unpaid resource in cancer care, understanding how destructive, controlling or interfering partner behaviors influence women's cancer care may be particularly relevant for health care providers seeking to provide cancer care and enhance recovery. Using a new measure of partner interfering behaviors in cancer care (PIB-C), we investigated whether women with a recent cancer diagnosis who additionally endorsed any PIB-C would report (a) more symptoms of depression and stress, and (b) lower Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-G) and lower Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being (FACIT-SP) scale scores indicating poorer quality of …

Modeling Spatially Varying Effects Of Chemical Mixtures, Jenna Czarnota

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer incidence is associated with exposures to multiple environmental chemicals, and geographic variation in cancer rates suggests the importance of accommodating spatially varying effects in the analysis of environmental chemical mixtures and disease risk. Traditional regression methods are challenged by the complex correlation patterns inherent among co-occurring chemicals, and the applicability of geographically weighted regression models is limited in the setting of environmental chemical risk analysis. In comparison to traditional methods, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression performs well in the identification of important environmental exposures, but is limited by the assumption that effects are fixed over space. We present an …

Developing A Weibull Model Extension To Estimate Cancer Latency Times, Diana L. Nadler

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

More than one-third of all Americans will be diagnosed with cancer sometime in their lives. Though their illness may be invisible now, it presents a great, and largely unexamined, opportunity to find and treat their cancers early. Early detection represents one of the most promising approaches to reduce the growing cancer burden by identifying cancer while it is localized and curable, preventing not only mortality, but also reducing morbidity and costs.

A Phylogenetic Model For Understanding The Effect Of Gene Duplication On Cancer Progression, Qin Ma, Jaxk H. Reeves, David A. Liberles, Lili Yu, Zheng Chang, Jing Zhao, Juan Cui, Ying Xu, Liang Liu

Biostatistics: Faculty Publications

As biotechnology advances rapidly, a tremendous amount of cancer genetic data has become available, providing an unprecedented opportunity for understanding the genetic mechanisms of cancer. To understand the effects of duplications and deletions on cancer progression, two genomes (normal and tumor) were sequenced from each of five stomach cancer patients in different stages (I, II, III and IV). We developed a phylogenetic model for analyzing stomach cancer data. The model assumes that duplication and deletion occur in accordance with a continuous time Markov Chain along the branches of a phylogenetic tree attached with five extended branches leading to the tumor …

The Spatial Distribution Of Cancer Incidence In Fars Province: A Gis-Based Analysis Of Cancer Registry Data, Ali Goli, Mahbobeh Oroei, Mehdi Jalalpour, Hossein Faramarzi, Mehrdad Askarian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Cancer is a major health problem in the developing countries. Variations of its incidence rate among geographical areas are due to various contributing factors. This study was performed to assess the spatial patterns of cancer incidence in the Fars Province, based on cancer registry data and to determine geographical clusters.

Methods: In this cross sectional study, the new cases of cancer were recorded from 2001 to 2009. Crude incidence rate was estimated based on age groups and sex in the counties of the Fars Province. Age standardized incidence rates (ASR) per 100,000 was calculated in each year. …

Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Diagnosis Of Cancer, Monique J. Brown, Leroy R. Thacker, Steven A. Cohen

Faculty Publications

Objective: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to multiple adverse health outcomes. This study examined the association between ACEs and cancer diagnosis.

Methods: Data from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey were used. The BRFSS is the largest ongoing telephone health survey, conducted in all US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and provides data on a variety of health issues among the non-institutionalized adult population. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to derive components for ACEs. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to provide adjusted odds ratios (OR) and …