University Of California San Francisco

CHICAGO — The addition of nab-paclitaxel to gemcitabine did not significantly extend DFS per independent reviewer assessment among patients with surgically resected pancreatic cancer, according to results of the randomized phase 3 APACT trial presented at ASCO Annual Meeting.

NEW ORLEANS — A diet low in carbohydrates may lead to a greater risk for atrial fibrillation, according to findings presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session.

NEW ORLEANS — A smartphone application that tracks a person’s heart rate may be able to detect diabetes using a photoplethysmography signal, which is easily measured using a smartphone’s light and camera, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session.

Background parenchymal enhancement observed on breast MRI appeared to be strongly predictive of risk for breast cancer, regardless of breast density, according to a study published in Journal of Clinical Oncology.“The incorporation of breast density in breast cancer risk models, as well as state-mandated reporting of mammographic breast density to women, underscores the central role of imaging biomarkers in risk assessment,” Vignesh Arasu, MD, a radiologist affiliated with Kaiser Permanente Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues wrote. “Recent studies have explored the predictive value of other breast imaging biomarkers, and accumulating evidence suggests elevated background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) assessed on breast MRI may predict primary breast cancer risk.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Integrated genomic analysis of castration-resistant prostate cancer metastasis biopsies revealed RB1 loss as a driver of poorer survival, according to results of a prospective cohort study presented at Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

The addition of margetuximab to chemotherapy prolonged PFS compared with trastuzumab plus chemotherapy for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, according to phase 3 study results released by the agent’s manufacturer.

Researchers at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals are using next-generation genomic technology to develop targeted therapies for high-grade pediatric glioma.

Physician mothers who cared for seriously ill relatives in addition to their children had significantly higher rates of burnout and mood or anxiety disorders, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

I followed a somewhat circuitous route to a career in ID. In medical school and residency, I was strongly drawn to oncology but got a bit distracted by also falling in love with viruses, especially retroviruses. I worked in research virology labs all through college and medical school, and as retroviruses were considered as potentially causing common cancers in humans, that research was typically found not in ID but rather in oncology divisions. I came to UCSF in 1978 for my oncology fellowship and to work in Jay Levy’s retrovirus lab. But when an ID giant, Merle Sande, offered me the chance to start a medical oncology division at San Francisco General Hospital immediately following the end of my training, I eagerly accepted. I left retrovirus research forever, only to walk into the very beginning of the AIDS epidemic on July 1,st 1981, when I saw the first Kaposi sarcoma KSpatient admitted to SFGH. I started the world’s first comprehensive AIDS clinic with Connie Wofsy, my ID counterpart in 1983 and when HIV was discovered (in part by Jay), I realized I might get back to my favorite viruses! While I still feel as if part of me is in oncology, my community is clearly ID! Definitely hooked on ID!

Study findings published in Health Psychology indicated that anxiety and depression symptoms predicted greater incidence of nearly all medical illnesses and somatic symptoms.