Recent Publications by CFE Educators

Pubic hair grooming is a growing phenomenon and is associated with body image and sexual activity. A nationally representative survey of noninstitutionalized adults aged 18 to 65 years residing in the United States was conducted. Differences in demographic and sexual characteristics between groomers and nongroomers were explored. Four thousand one hundred and ninety-eight men completed the survey. Of these men, 2,120 (50.5%) reported regular pubic hair grooming. The prevalence of grooming decreases with age, odds ratio = 0.95 (95% confidence interval [0.94, 0.96]), p .001. Adjusting for sexual frequency and sexual orientation, grooming is associated with performing and receiving oral sex. The majority of men report grooming in preparation for sexual activity with a peak prevalence of 73% among men aged 25 to 34 years, followed by hygiene (61%) and routine care (44%). The majority of men who remove their pubic hair groom the hair above the penis (87%), followed by the scrotum (66%) and the penile shaft (57%). Overall, pubic hair grooming is common among men aged 18 to 65 years in the United States. Younger ages are associated with greater rates of pubic hair grooming. Many men groom for sex, in particular oral sex, as well as for routine care and hygiene.

BACKGROUND

Prognostic lymph node yield thresholds have been identified and incorporated into treatment guidelines for multiple cancer sites, but not for oral cancer. The objective of this study was to identify optimal thresholds in elective and therapeutic neck dissection for oral cavity cancers.

METHODS

Patients with oral cavity cancers in the National Cancer Database (NCDB) were stratified into clinically lymph node-negative (cN0) and clinically lymph node-positive (cN+) cohorts to reflect the differing surgical management for these diseases. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the relation between lymph node yield and overall survival, adjusting for other prognostic factors. Thresholds derived from the NCDB were validated in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database.

RESULTS

In patients with cN0 cancers of the oral cavity from the NCDB, those who had 16 lymph nodes had significantly decreased survival. The proportion of positive lymph nodes was higher for patients who had ≥16 lymph nodes (27.2% vs 16.3% for  16 lymph nodes; P  .001). This threshold was validated in 2715 lymph node-negative cancers from SEER, with a mortality hazard ratio of 0.825 for ≥ 16 lymph nodes (95% confidence interval, 0.764-0.950; P = .004). In patients with cN + oral cavity cancers from the NCDB, groups with 26 lymph nodes had significantly decreased survival. This threshold was validated in 1903 lymph node-positive cancers from SEER, with a mortality hazard ratio of 0.791 (95% confidence interval, 0.692-0.903; P = .001). Academic centers, higher volume centers, and geographic location predicted higher lymph node yields.

CONCLUSIONS

More extensive neck dissection (≥16 lymph nodes in cN0, ≥ 26 lymph nodes in cN+) was associated with better survival. Further evaluation of practice patterns in lymph node yield may represent an opportunity for improved quality of care. Cancer 2016;122:3624-31. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

BACKGROUND

Effective communication between referring and specialty providers is key to optimizing patient safety. Communication was assessed in an electronic referral system by review of referrals to a public urban health care system's gastroenterology clinic that were not scheduled for appointments.

METHODS

All electronic referrals to a publicly funded, urban health care system's adult gastroenterology clinic from November 1, 2009, to November 30, 2010, were reviewed that did not result in scheduling of appointments. An assessment was made of whether in-person visits were unnecessary by preconsultation exchange or whether the referrals remained unscheduled for other reasons. For the latter group, reasons why the referrals remained unscheduled were examined, and medical records were reviewed for actual patient harm when sufficient information was present in the chart or for potential harm when no further information about the referral complaint was available.

RESULTS

Eighty-six (32%) of 266 not-scheduled referrals were resolved via preconsultation exchange. For another 96 (36%), patients were not ultimately considered to require appointments or were scheduled via other routes. Nine patients received unplanned care while awaiting scheduling decisions, 5 of whom had harm that was related to referral complaints, although scheduling of appointments may not have avoided this harm. Of 75 patients for whom further information was not available about the referral complaints, most were not seen back in primary care, and 55 (73%) had potential for major harm.

CONCLUSION

Few adverse outcomes in electronic referrals not scheduled for in-person gastroenterology visits were found, and none were clearly due to communication lapses in the referral process. Contributors to the potential for harm in referrals that were unintentionally left unscheduled included discontinuity of care and lack of patient or provider follow-up.

BACKGROUND

Race, gender and socioeconomic disparities have been suggested to adversely influence stage at presentation, treatment options and outcomes in patients with cancer. Underserved minorities and those with a low socioeconomic status (SES) present with more advanced disease and have worse outcomes for differentiated thyroid cancer, but this relationship has never been evaluated for medullary thyroid cancer (MTC).

METHODS

We used the California Cancer Registry (CCR) to evaluate disparities in the presentation, treatment and outcomes of patients diagnosed with MTC.

RESULTS

We identified 634 patients with MTC diagnosed between 1988 and 2011. Almost everyone (85%) underwent thyroidectomy with 50% having a central lymph node dissection (CLND). There were no statistically significant differences by age, race or SES in mean tumor size or the proportion of patients diagnosed with localized disease, but men were diagnosed with larger tumors than women and were less likely to be diagnosed at a localized stage. Younger patients and women were more likely to be treated with a thyroidectomy. There were no statistically significant differences in surgical treatment by race or SES. Patients in the highest SES category had a better overall survival, but not disease specific survival, than those in the lowest SES (HR =0.3, CI =0.1-0.7). Patients treated with thyroidectomy had a better overall and cause specific survival, but the effect of CLND was not statistically significant after adjustment for other factors.

CONCLUSIONS

In MTC, we did not find that race, gender or SES influenced the presentation, treatment or outcomes of patients with MTC. Men with MTC present with larger tumors and are less likely to have localized disease. Half of the MTC patients in California do not undergo a CLND at the time of thyroidectomy, which may suggest a lack appropriate care across a range of healthcare systems.