- In a new study, researchers analyzed data from a German health database from over 100,000 patients with heart failure and the same number of people without this condition for ten years to establish cancer incidence in both groups over time. The study found a correlation between heart failure and cancer incidence. 25.7 percent of patients with heart failure developed some form of cancer, compared with 16.2 percent of those who did not have heart failure. The study also provided statistics on cancer types, demonstrating such correlation on a more granular level. Although this type of retrospective research can establish correlation but not causation, it would be prudent for patients with heart failure to get regular cancer screening as a preventive measure. The study was published in ESC Heart Failure.
- Another team of researchers from Germany conducted a preclinical study on genetic processes underlying pancreatic and biliary tract cancer development. They established that tissue-specific (in this case, bile duct and pancreas epithelium) genetic interplay with an oncogene plays the causative role in the development of different types of cancers. This will help understand different tissue-specific responses to cancer therapy, which is important in the practice of precision medicine. The study was published in Cancer Discovery.
- Researchers from the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) and the University of California, Riverside developed a method of identifying fatty acids uptake by a single cell. Fatty acids, along with glucose and amino acids, are known to be a source of energy for cell proliferation, including cancer cell proliferation. But unlike glucose metabolism, the biological mechanism of fatty acids uptake by a cell was not well understood. The researchers developed a chemical approach to “profiling” the fatty acid uptake into the cells in connection to protein signaling in cancer cells. Using a brain cancer model, they gained new insight into the role of fatty acids in cancer development and created a potential for the new therapy to block the tumor growth. The study was published in Journal of the American Chemical Society.
- Scientists at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute (LTRI), part of Sinai Health, classified all cancers into just two categories, “based on the presence or absence of a protein called the Yes-associated protein, or YAP.” This new understanding can lay the foundation for developing different cancer treatment strategies based on whether the cancer is YAPon or YAPoff type. The study was published in Cancer Cell.
Three Questions: Chris Boire, Special Projects Librarian
For our next Three Questions interview, we spoke with Chris Boire, Special Projects Librarian.
What areas can you help MSK users with?
Those who’ve been frequenting our monthly ‘Three Questions’ blog series will be familiar with Synapse, MSK’s database of MSK authors and their publications. I work alongside Jeanine McSweeney and Marina Rosenfield, who’ve talked about the database on their own posts – any questions about Synapse or how to use it, I’m happy to help with. On top of that, I also work to ensure research compliance with the MSK Cancer Center Support Grant/Core Grant (P30 CA008748). Any peer-reviewed publication by MSK staff needs to meet specific criteria to ensure compliance. If you’ve published a paper at MSK and have questions about how it fits into this process, let me know.
What projects have been working on recently?
Summertime means the core grant compliance review’s in full swing! Working alongside Library Director Donna Gibson, and with help from the database the Synapse team and I maintain, I’m reviewing the research published at MSK over the past few years to ensure our output is meeting required criteria. I review every paper and its bibliographic data over on PubMed to make sure it’s got all the information we need. For whatever is missing, we work with the paper’s authors and help them figure out what they need to do and who to contact to ensure their papers are compliant.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Years ago, I was able to briefly visit a beautiful string of towns along the Italian coast called Cinque Terre – I’d love to visit there again. On top of that, I’ve always wanted to visit Japan and Iceland.
Get to Know the New Web of Science Interface!
On July 7th, 2021, Web of Science‘s new interface became the default interface for all users! The new interface had been in Beta and Preview modes since November 2020, and based on user input the new experience is faster, more intuitive, easier to use, with new functionalities and a responsive design.
Along with a large scale redesign of the interface, the new Web of Science includes two new visualization tools.
- Web of Science Author Impact Beamplots: Showcases an authors range and citation impact over time in a single visualization.
- Enriched Cited References (Beta): Available for select journals this visualization allows users to identify important citations by proximity or co-citations, as well as where in the paper the article is mentioned.
Other useful features in the new Web of Science interface are the ability to export 1,000 records at a time (previously it was 500), ability to export to RIS format from the Core Collection, and the ability to share search queries with others!
To learn more about the new interface, check out the Clarivate Blog.