A landmark study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals strong associations between specific types of endometriosis and distinct forms of ovarian cancer. Researchers Karen Schliep, PhD, MSPH, an associate professor of public health at the University of Utah (the U), and Jen Doherty, MS, PhD, an investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of population health sciences at the U, utilized the Utah Population Database—a vast repository of linked health information—to uncover that women with endometriosis have a 4.2-fold increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. Notably, women with deep-infiltrating endometriosis, an advanced form of the condition, face 10 times the risk compared to those without the condition. “These are really important findings,” says Doherty. “This research is likely to spark further studies to understand the mechanisms through which specific types of endometriosis cause different types of ovarian cancer, which could lead to novel prevention and treatment modalities.” The study also benefited from contributions by Kathyrn Maurer, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the U, and Britton Trabert, MS, MSPH, PhD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the U.

In a study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute discovered that patientswith advanced urothelial (bladder) cancer are unlikely to pursue more than one line of therapy. These patients have tumors that are inoperable and likely incurable, yet the use of first, second, and third-line therapies can extend their lives by several years. Investigators Vinay Mathew Thomas, MBBS and Umang Swami, MD, both assistant professors of oncology at the U, found that once first-line treatment ceased to be effective, most patients did not proceed to additional therapies. In the cohort study, only 37.4% of patients received a minimum of two lines of therapy, and a mere 11.8% pursued at least three lines. Several factors may contribute to these sharp declines, including socioeconomic challenges, lack of access to affordable healthcare, and low treatment tolerability. '“Urothelial cancer is a very aggressive cancer that needs to be tackled head-on," Matthew Thomas emphasizes. "If patients aren’t receiving more than one line of treatment, we need to give the most effective treatments upfront.” Neeraj Agarwal, FASCO, MD, senior director for clinical research at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at the U, also played a key role in designing the study.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) likely expanded private non-employer health insurance options for childhood cancer survivors, according to research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Anne Kirchhoff, PhD, MPH, an investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of pediatrics at the U, along with Austin Waters, MSPH, note that childhood cancer survivors may be less likely to work as adults due to ongoing health issues and barriers to education. In a country where insurance is often tied to employment, the ACA provided survivors with more options for coverage and protection from exclusions based on pre-existing conditions. However, survivors with middle to lower incomes may still face challenges in accessing adequate coverage. “I think analyses like this are really important to show that while the ACA has benefited many in the United States, insurance is still not accessible to all. We're still leaving a lot of populations extraordinarily vulnerable,” says Kirchhoff. “Everyone, including cancer survivors, should have access to the health care they need to remain healthy and have a high quality of life.”

David Wetter, PhD, MS, Guilherme Del Fiol, MD, PhD, FACMI, and Ken Kawamoto, MD, PhD, MHS, FACMI, FAMIA have received a $4 million grant for a project on Population Health Management Approaches to Increase Lung Cancer Screening in Community Health Centers (NCI, UG3).

Ken R. Smith, PhD is being recognized by Research.com as one of the best ranking social sciences and humanities scientists in the world 2024. He has authored 507 publications, which have been cited 18,553 times.