Now Available Online: Research In Review: An Analysis of MSK Publications 2016-2020

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The Synapse team led by Jeanine McSweeney, Associate Librarian, Scholarly Communications, publishes annually the Synapse Publications reports, showcasing our authors’ contributions to the body of scientific knowledge and their research and clinical activities associated with Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center.

This year I am delighted to share that we have added a new report entitled, “Research In Review: An Analysis of MSK Publications 2016-2020,” which dives deeper into the publications affiliated with the Center. This report provides insight into the variety of existing metrics used to measure research impact at an article-, journal-, or author-level. In the period covered in this report, the Synapse team retrieved and curated over 25,500 works, and it is with these citations that we share one aspect of a very complex research story. This report highlights the demographics of our author community, existing metrics, and how research impact is gauged. In addition, we share interesting facts about publication-related datasets gleaned from a variety of credible resources such as PubMed Central® (PMC). Our intentions in producing this report are simply to raise awareness of possible ways in which to view research contributions.

Synapse is a public-facing resource and the authoritative bibliographic database of MSK publications, developed and maintained by a team of skilled librarians. This database provides a record of the intellectual output written by MSK researchers, clinicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.

We hope in the future to produce other “Research In Review” type publications.  Please feel free to reach out to me to share your thoughts about this report.

Donna Gibson
Director, Library Services

Salt Levels in Breast Cancer Tumors, Bacteria Linked to Prostatic Cancer and More

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  • Researchers from the UK used sodium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to discover, in a preclinical study, that tumors, unlike healthy tissue, had elevated sodium concentration ([Na+]). The findings demonstrated that sodium levels in tumors of breast cancer patients could be predictors of cancer aggressiveness and the potential efficacy of chemotherapy treatment. The study was published in British Journal of Cancer.
  • A study led by the University of Granada in Spain discovered that men with prostate cancer had lower levels of melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone, than men without the disease. The study was published in Journal of Urology.
  • Scientists in the UK have discovered bacteria linked to aggressive prostate cancer. By performing genetic analyses on the urine and prostate tissue, they found five species of bacteria connected to cancer progression. If the role of bacteria is confirmed in the ongoing experiments, that will pave the way for new ways of prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. The study was published in European Urology Oncology.
  • Researchers from the University of Wisconsin have created a drug-releasing hydrogel to reduce the possibility of local cancer recurrence (colon cancer, melanoma, and triple-negative breast cancer) after surgery. Human clinical trials are needed as this was a preclinical study done on mice. Those findings could potentially be used in other types of cancer. The study was published in Nature Communications.
  • The new research by Genetch, Inc., the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center explained how tumor cells or cells infected by pathogens resist killing by T cells, known as cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs).The in vitro study demonstrated that ESCRT protein recruitment helped cancer cells resist CTL attacks. The study was published in Science and commented upon in the same issue.

Automated MeSH Indexing in PubMed

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This year the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is transitioning the process of MeSH indexing in PubMed from manual to automated.

MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) are assigned to MEDLINE citations for the purposes of enriching the metadata and increasing discoverability.

Until 2022 MeSH indexing was done by human indexers at the National Library of Medicine. Starting 2022 human indexers will only oversee and troubleshoot MeSH indexing.

One of the major benefits of automating the process of MeSH indexing is almost instant appearance of MeSH in MEDLINE citations in PubMed. With manual indexing this was delayed for a few months on average. Citations awaiting MeSH indexing were called In Process citations which could be found by keyword searches only.

The downside of automated MeSH indexing, at least in the beginning, could be, potentially, increase in indexing errors. The NLM will be engaged in the ongoing improvement of MeSH indexing algorithm.

Read more about the transition.