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Importance: Patients with cancer experience multiple supportive care needs (eg, coping and financial counseling) that, if not addressed, may result in poor clinical outcomes. Limited work has assessed the factors associated with unmet needs in large and diverse samples of ambulatory oncology patients., Objective: To characterize the factors associated with unmet supportive care needs among ambulatory oncology patients and to assess whether such needs were associated with emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations., Design, Setting, and Participants: Between October 1, 2019, and June 30, 2022, cross-sectional retrospective analyses were performed in a large and diverse ambulatory cancer population via My Wellness Check, an electronic health record (EHR)-based supportive care needs and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) screening and referral program., Main Outcomes and Measures: Demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, and clinical outcomes were extracted from EHRs. Data on PROs (ie, anxiety, depression, fatigue, pain, and physical function), health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and supportive care needs were also collected. Logistic regressions examined factors associated with unmet needs. Cumulative incidence of ED visits and hospitalizations were assessed by Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusting for covariates., Results: The 5236 patients in the study had a mean (SD) age of 62.6 (13.1) years and included 2949 women (56.3%), 2506 Hispanic or Latino patients (47.9%), and 4618 White patients (88.2%); 1370 patients (26.2%) indicated Spanish as their preferred language, according to their EHR. A total of 940 patients (18.0%) reported 1 or more unmet needs. Black race (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.97 [95% CI, 1.49-2.60]), Hispanic ethnicity (AOR, 1.31 [95% CI, 1.10-1.55]), 1 to 5 years after diagnosis (AOR, 0.64 [95% CI, 0.54-0.77]), more than 5 years after diagnosis (AOR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.48-0.76]), anxiety (AOR, 2.25 [95% CI, 1.71-2.95]), depression (AOR, 2.07 [95% CI, 1.58-2.70]), poor physical function (AOR, 1.38 [95% CI, 1.07-1.79]), and low HRQOL scores (AOR, 1.89 [95% CI, 1.50-2.39]) were associated with greater unmet needs. Patients with unmet needs had a significantly higher risk of ED visits (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 1.45 [95% CI, 1.20-1.74]) and hospitalizations (AHR, 1.36 [95% CI, 1.13-1.63]) relative to patients without unmet needs., Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study of ambulatory oncology patients, unmet supportive care needs were associated with worse clinical outcomes. Patients from racial and ethnic minority groups and those with greater emotional or physical burden were more likely to have 1 or more unmet needs. Results suggest that addressing unmet supportive care needs may be crucial for improving clinical outcomes, and targeted efforts should focus on specific populations.

Purpose: Symptoms and needs monitoring using patient-reported outcomes (PRO) is associated with improved clinical outcomes in cancer care. However, these improvements have been observed predominantly in non-Hispanic White patients using English assessments with high completion rates. The documented impact of such monitoring on system-level outcomes including emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations remains limited. We explored factors affecting the completion of PRO measures and evaluated clinical outcomes in an ambulatory oncology setting with a diverse racial, ethnic, and linguistic population., Methods: A retrospective analysis (October 2019-February 2022) was performed for patients with cancer assigned to My Wellness Check (MWC), a patient-portal-administered and electronic health record-based PRO assessment that generates automated alerts to oncology providers. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and clinical outcomes were collected. Logistic regression models examined factors affecting the completion of MWC questionnaires. Cumulative incidence of ER visits and hospitalization were assessed by Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusting for demographics., Results: We identified 9,553 patients; 43.1% (n = 4,117) answered one or more questions. Patients age 65 years or older (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.77; P < .0001), male (aOR, 0.81; P < .0001), Hispanic/Latino ethnicity (aOR, 0.70; P < .0001), living without partners (aOR, 0.75; P < .0001), or receiving no treatment (aOR, 0.76; P < .0001) were less likely to answer MWC questionnaires. Patients who completed the entire MWC questionnaires had a reduced risk of an ER visit (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.78; P < .0001) and hospitalization (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.80; P = .0007) relative to patients who did not., Conclusion: Completing electronic health record-based PRO assessments was associated with significantly better clinical outcomes in a diverse cancer population. Specific patient groups were less likely to participate. Further research is needed to identify barriers to completing PRO measures and the long-term benefits of such programs.

Purpose: In Trinidad and Tobago (TT), prostate cancer (CaP) is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the leading cause of cancer deaths among men. TT currently has one of the highest CaP mortality rates in the world., Methods: 6,064 incident and 3,704 mortality cases of CaP occurring in TT from January 1995 to 31 December 2009 reported to the Dr. Elizabeth Quamina Cancer population-based cancer registry for TT, were analyzed to examine CaP survival, incidence, and mortality rates and trends by ancestry and geography., Results: The age-standardized CaP incidence and mortality rates (per 100,000) based on the 1960 world-standardized in 2009 were 64.2 and 47.1 per 100,000. The mortality rate in TT increased between 1995 (37.9 per 100,000) and 2009 (79.4 per 100,000), while the rate in the US decreased from 37.3 per 100,000 to 22.1 per 100,000 over the same period. Fewer African ancestry patients received treatment relative to those of Indian and mixed ancestry (45.7%, 60.3%, and 60.9%, respectively)., Conclusions: Notwithstanding the limitations surrounding data quality, our findings highlight the increasing burden of CaP in TT and the need for improved surveillance and standard of care. Our findings highlight the need for optimized models to project cancer rates in developing countries like TT. This study also provides the rationale for targeted screening and optimized treatment for CaP to ameliorate the rates we report.

Introduction: Pelvic exenteration (PE) is an ultra-radical surgical procedure characterized by the en bloc resection of the pelvic organs., Methods: In this case series, we report retrospectively on four patients who underwent PE in Trinidad and Tobago from 2012 to 2016. One male patient had rectal cancer while one each of three women had cervical, colon, or rectal cancer., Results: Early postoperative complications (≤30days) occurred in all patients, while late complications (>30days) occurred in one patient (Grade 1 - Clavien-Dindo classification). Disease recurrence occurred in 50% of patients, and the median overall survival was 8 months (range, 4-15 months)., Discussion: There are many inherent challenges to conducting such major procedures in developing countries, including inadequate blood product supplies, intensive care unit beds, and pre- and post-operative support services. With increased surgical capacity and support infrastructure, hospitals in these regions would be equipped to perform PEs with better outcomes., Conclusion: This case series adds to existing data on the feasibility of performing PE in developing countries. We demonstrate that PE can be performed without major postoperative complications in a resource-limited hospital. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case series that describes PE in the Caribbean., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Malignant melanoma of the heel is a rare melanoma subtype with incidence rates that reflect the complex relationship between sun exposure at certain geographic locations, individual melanin levels and overall melanoma risk. It is oftentimes characterized by poor prognosis because of delays in presentation resulting in longitudinal tumor invasion, lymph node involvement and metastasis., Presentation of Case: A 59-year-old woman was admitted to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Trinidad and Tobago with a 5mm pruritic lesion on her left heel. At presentation, the lesion was asymmetric with border irregularities, color heterogeneity, with dynamics in elevation and overall size. She was subsequently diagnosed with malignant melanoma with left inguinal lymphadenopathy. A single stage wide local excision (WLE) of the left heel lesion with a split-thickness skin graft (STSG) and a left inguinal lymphadenectomy were performed. Dacarbazine (Bayer) was administered post operatively., Discussion: Globally, the incidence of malignant melanoma is rapidly increasing, particularly, in countries like Trinidad and Tobago with a significant population of non-fair skinned individuals. There is need for strategic initiatives to increase patient adherence in these populations., Conclusion: The rarity of malignant heel melanomas heightens the need for increased patient awareness and greater clinical surveillance to ensure early diagnosis and treatment., (Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Phyllodes tumors (PTs) of the breast are extremely rare accounting for less than 1% of all breast tumors globally. Case records at the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Registry show that only 0.003% of the reported breast cancer cases between 1995 and 2009 were PTs., Presentation of the Case: We report a 45-year-old woman who presented with swelling of the left breast. Ultrasound, mammogram and computed tomography imaging confirmed the presence of a mass in the right upper inner quadrant of the left breast. A biopsy revealed features supportive of a benign phyllodes tumor. A wide local excision was performed with the removal of a 19×11×10cm mass. Histopathological analysis revealed features consistent with malignant phyllodes tumor. A complete mastectomy of the left breast was subsequently performed. Follow up over a 5-year period did not reveal any evidence of local recurrence or residual disease. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a malignant PT from the Caribbean and Latin America., Discussion: Phyllodes tumors are classified as benign, borderline, or malignant based on histologic features including presence of a clear margin, cellularity, stromal overgrowth, tumor necrosis and mitotic index. The clinical challenge is to assess the risk of local tumor and metastatic recurrence in the context of fluid classifications., Conclusion: Our case management approach shows that for patients with malignant PT, a thorough preoperative workup regimen followed by appropriate surgical intervention can result in a desirable prognosis., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)