- Researchers from several academic institutions in the U.S. conducted a prospective cohort study on the impact of physical activity on cancer. It demonstrated that physical inactivity, or a greater sedentary lifestyle, was associated with higher (up to 82%) cancer mortality. At the same time, a moderate intensity exercise reduced the risk of cancer death by 31%. The study was published in Lancet Oncology.
- Colitis is a known digestive tract side effect of immunotherapy in cancer treatment. A new study by U.S. researchers established that vitamin D supplementation before starting cancer treatment reduced the risk of developing colitis in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors by 65%. This study was published in Cancer.
- A novel formulation of an existing drug abiraterone acetate used for prostate cancer (currently available as a commercial product Zytiga) can make a significant impact on the quality of life of patients treated with it. Australian scientists enhanced the drug’s properties “by using oils to mimic pharmaceutical food effects,” leading to fewer side effects and smaller doses needed for treatment. This preclinical study was published in the International Journal of Pharmaceuticals.
- Scientists from Europe established that “targeting cancer’s ability to process fat” by using a combination of a new class of drugs called cPLA2 inhibitors and a fat free diet makes cancers less reliant on fat for their growth and spread. This animal study was published in Cell.
NIH/NLM Enters the Preprint Landscape via Pilot Project
In early May, I attended a webinar about preprints and PMC (PubMed Central). Kathryn Funk, the Program Manager for this full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM) shared information on a very timely initiative. Plans were about to be put into motion to launch a 12-month pilot project.
On June 9, 2020, the NIH Preprint pilot project kicked off with the intention of testing the feasibility of making preprints resulting from NIH-funded research available via PMC with related records in PubMed. This project supports NLM and their overall strategy to increase the visibility and discoverability of early NIH research results. According to NLM, lessons learned during this trial will inform the team on future efforts and next steps regarding preprints.
This launch comes at a time when the COVID-19 global pandemic has raised awareness and a growing interest in preprint servers as another communication channel for scientists to rapidly disseminate their research findings, avoiding the traditional peer-reviewed process and is why this pilot experiment will initially be focused on COVID-19-related preprints.
You can learn more about the NIH pilot project at the following sites:
- NIH Preprint Pilot Overview
- NIH Preprint Pilot FAQs
- NLM Director’s blog announcement: The NIH Preprint Pilot: A New Experiment for a New Era
- NLM Technical Bulletin: NLM Announces NIH Preprint Pilot to Provide Early Access to COVID-19 Research
- NIH Extramural Nexus: Emerging Research Now Available Through New NIH Preprint Pilot
If the links above have piqued your interest, additional resources can also be found by visiting the Preprints tab on the Library’s Open Access LibGuide.
Donna Gibson
Director of Library Services
New eBook! Pediatric Transplant and Oncology Infectious Diseases
The Library has added a new title to the collection, 
Pediatric Transplant and Oncology Infectious Diseases. This eBook is an up-to-date, authoritative text on guidance and clinical strategies in the field of immunocompromised pediatric patients.
Major topics include immunocompromised host infection principles, common immunocompromised host infection situations, and specific infections in transplant recipients and oncology patients.