Monthly Archives: September 2021

Prevent Cancer—Get an HPV Vaccine

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Dr. Nancy Y. Lee, Dr. David G. Pfister, Dr. Richard J. Wong, and Dr. Abraham Aragones.

Clockwise, from top left: Dr. Nancy Y. Lee, Dr. David G. Pfister, Dr. Richard J. Wong, and Dr. Abraham Aragones.

Two recent articles highlight the value of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. A USA Today opinion piece by MSK’s Dr. Nancy Y. Lee, Dr. David G. Pfister, and Dr. Richard J. Wong cites an MSK estimate that the pandemic has led to one million missed HPV vaccine doses in adolescents with public insurance since March 2020. HPV causes 31,000 cancers in the United States each year, and the vaccine is a safe and effective way to reduce this disease burden.

A Yahoo article features MSK’s Dr. Abraham Aragones, who works to promote HPV vaccination. Research links 70% of head and neck cancers to HPV, and men are five times more likely than women to be affected by these cancers. But boys and men are vaccinated at lower rates than girls and women.

In 2018, the FDA extended its recommendation for HPV vaccines through the age of 45. Make sure the adolescents in your life get their HPV vaccine doses, and talk to your doctor about getting them, too. Cancer prevention can begin with you.

Standing Out in the Crowd: Making Research Metrics Work for You!

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Understanding the portfolio of evaluation metrics currently available can be useful to researchers when establishing their online identity. Research metrics are quantitative tools used to aid in assessing quality and impact and can be categorized at the journal, article, or researcher level. 

Join us for our next Advancing Authorship event, Standing Out in the Crowd: Making Research Metrics Work for You! Speakers will share their thoughts on research metrics and participate in an interactive panel discussion.

Date: Thursday, September 30
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Location: Zoom Webinar – Register Now

Speakers: 

Jeanine McSweeney, Associate Librarian, Scholarly Communications, MSK Library
Jeanine is a seasoned information professional who joined the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Library in July 2018 as the Associate Librarian, Scholarly Communications. Jeanine works in a collaborative environment to promote and develop the Library’s publication database, Synapse (https://synapse.mskcc.org). This resource is public-facing and showcases the intellectual output of MSK authors. Synapse records include Altmetric scores, online attention received by scholarly articles and datasets from social media, traditional media, and online reference tools. The Dimensions’ citation badge is also available, providing the number of times researchers have cited a paper (if available). Jeanine leads a team that maintains this resource and is responsible for publishing the online annual Synapse Publications Report.

Dina Matsoukas, Research Informationist III, MSK Library
Konstantina (Dina) Matsoukas has been a Research Informationist at the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Library since 2014. She provides literature search support to the MSK community, teaches library training classes and is a member of the MSK Library’s Systematic Review Service. Prior to MSK, she worked as an academic medical librarian for over a decade at Columbia University Medical Center’s Health Sciences Library. She holds a BSc in Biology and a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS), both from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Tom Zamojcin, Solutions Consultant, Clarivate
Tom has 18 years of experience in Solutions Consulting and key account management with Clarivate, collaborating with a diversity of Government, Academic, Life Science and Corporate organizations. Prior to entering the world of research publications, he worked “hands-on” in manufacturing and research settings with a wide variety of industries, including biopharmaceuticals, chemicals, and foods and beverages (and has amassed collections of safety glasses, hard hats, and customer stories as lifetime souvenirs!). He is passionate about understanding “how things work” to help our customers optimize their use of Clarivate solutions, services and data to solve their most critical problems. Tom received his Biological Sciences degree from Northwestern University, currently lives in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and looks forward to hiking and traveling again as soon as the world allows it.

Antibiotics and Colon Cancer Risk, Immunotherapy Efficacy for Older Adults and More

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  • Israeli scientists discovered that white blood cells, known as eosinophils, can help the body fight cancer, particularly cancer metastasis in the lungs. An original function of eosinophils is to aim the immune system at fighting parasites; they are also the cause of allergies.The findings from the animal study published in Cancer Research can lay a foundation for novel cancer treatments in the future.
  • Researchers from Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center Convergence Institute conducted a retrospective analysis of large biomarkers’ datasets from tumors and healthy tissue. They found that older cancer patients could benefit as much as younger patients from cancer immunotherapies. The data suggested that biomarkers for immunotherapies could still be used as a basis to select immunotherapy treatment in older patients as in young ones, even though it is known that immunotherapy response weakens with aging. The study, which can potentially increase the use of immunotherapy in older population, was published in Cell Reports.
  • A group of researchers from Ireland and France published a study on using microwave imaging to detect breast cancer. Potentially, this could be promising non-invasive technology with fewer side effects than currently used imaging modalities. The study was published in Academic Radiology.
  • Swedish population-based study found a correlation between long-term (more than six months) use of antibiotics and risk of developing colon cancer five to ten years down the line. However, it is important to note that while epidemiological studies can establish a correlation, they can’t prove causation. The study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
  • Researchers from Japan conducted a study that established a correlation between the tumor size in poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the risk of early recurrence and patient survival, thus paving the way to improving the treatment of HCC patients. The study was published in Liver Cancer.