Background As cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in cancer survivors, the new subspecialty of Cardio-Oncology has emerged to address prevention, monitoring, and management of cardiovascular toxicities to cancer therapies. During the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we developed a Virtual-Hybrid Approach to build a de novo Cardio-Oncology Clinic. Methods We conceptualized a Virtual-Hybrid Approach including three arms: information seeking in locations with existing Cardio-Oncology clinics, information gathering at the location for a new clinic, and information sharing to report clinic-building outcomes. A retrospective review of outcomes included collection and synthesis of data from our first 3 months (at pandemic peak) on types of appointments, cancers, drugs, and cardiotoxicities. Data were presented using descriptive statistics. Results A de-novo Cardio-Oncology clinic was developed structured from the ground up to integrate virtual and in-person care in a hybrid and innovative model, using the three arms of the Virtual-Hybrid Approach. First, we garnered in-person and virtual preparation through hands-on experiences, training, and discussions in existing Cardio-Oncology Clinics and conferences. Next, we gleaned information through virtual inquiry and niche-building. With partners throughout the institution, a virtual referral process was established for outpatient referrals and inpatient e-consult referrals to actualize a hybrid care spectrum for our patients administered by a multidisciplinary hybrid care team of clinicians, ancillary support staff, and clinical pharmacists. Among the multi-subspecialty clinic sessions, approximately 50% were in Cardio-Oncology, 20% in Preventive Cardiology, and 30% in General Cardiology. In the hybrid model, the Heart & Vascular Center had started to re-open, allowing for 65% of our visits to be in person. In additional analyses, the most frequent cardiovascular diagnosis was cardiomyopathy (34%), the most common cancer drug leading to referral was trastuzumab (29%), and the most prevalent cancer type was breast cancer (42%). Conclusion This Virtual-Hybrid Approach and retrospective review provides guidance and information regarding initiating a brand-new Cardio-Oncology Clinic during the pandemic for cancer patients/survivors. This report also furnishes virtual resources for patients, virtual tools for oncologists, cardiologists, and administrators tasked with starting new clinics during the pandemic, and innovative future directions for this digital pandemic to post-pandemic era.

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Background The many improvements in cancer therapies have led to an increased number of survivors, which comes with a greater risk of consequent/subsequent cardiovascular disease. Identifying effective management strategies that can mitigate this risk of cardiovascular complications is vital. Therefore, developing computer-driven and personalized clinical decision aid interventions that can provide early detection of patients at risk, stratify that risk, and recommend specific cardio-oncology management guidelines and expert consensus recommendations is critically important. Objectives To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and utility of the use of an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered clinical decision aid tool in shared decision making between the cancer survivor patient and the cardiologist regarding prevention of cardiovascular disease. Design This is a single-center, double-arm, open-label, randomized interventional feasibility study. Our cardio-oncology cohort of > 4000 individuals from our Clinical Research Data Warehouse will be queried to identify at least 200 adult cancer survivors who meet the eligibility criteria. Study participants will be randomized into either the Clinical Decision Aid Group (where patients will use the clinical decision aid in addition to current practice) or the Control Group (current practice). The primary endpoint of this study is to assess for each patient encounter whether cardiovascular medications and imaging pursued were consistent with current medical society recommendations. Additionally, the perceptions of using the clinical decision tool will be evaluated based on patient and physician feedback through surveys and focus groups. Summary This trial will determine whether a clinical decision aid tool improves cancer survivors’ medication use and imaging surveillance recommendations aligned with current medical guidelines. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.Gov Identifier: NCT05377320

and Brown SA ( ) Commentary: "Multimodality advanced cardiovascular and molecular imaging for early detection and monitoring of cancer therapy-associated cardiotoxicity and the role of artificial intelligence and big data".

The prostate is a rare site for the occurrence of lymphoma and accounts for 0.1% of newly diagnosed lymphomas. Patients with prostatic lymphoma exhibit similar symptoms to that of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate carcinoma, such as obstructive and irritative urinary signs. Therefore, due to its rare occurrence, it is difficult to distinguish between primary lymphoma of the prostate and other etiologies. We present a unique case of an elderly individual who presented with enlarged prostate and was found to, concurrently, have mantle zone lymphoma of the prostate.

Plasma cell neoplasms include various conditions ranging from indolent conditions such as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) to more aggressive forms such as multiple myeloma (MM). The World Health Organization classifies plasmacytomas into two types: solitary osseous plasmacytoma (SOP) and extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP). Most primary EMPs occur in the upper gastrointestinal tract, head and neck, upper respiratory system, central nervous system, lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys. However, the occurrence of EMP involving the testis site is quite rare. Given the rarity of testicular plasmacytoma, there is no consensus on the standard of treatment for this diagnosis. Most EMP is radiosensitive, with few localized types responding to surgical intervention. Tumor recurrence and disseminated infiltration are treated with adjuvant chemotherapy after radiation or surgery. Our patient has a unique presentation of an individual who developed recurrent myeloma of the testis 12 years after his initial diagnosis of myeloma.

Introduction: Decades of political and social unrest negatively impacted medical education in Iraq. Recently, new opportunities arose for medical schools to engage international education organizations and the World Health Organization to implement medical school curriculum changes, replacing older discipline-based, teacher-focused systems with a systems-based, student-focused reformed curriculum. Methods: A descriptive, cross sectional quantitative study was designed to survey medical students near the beginning (years 2-3) and at near the end (years 5-6

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC) is defined as the diffuse infiltration of malignant cells throughout the pia and arachnoid membrane. LMC is commonly observed in patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and breast and lung cancer. The prevalence of LMC spread in patients with primary gastric malignancy is very rare. Due to its devastating neurological complications and high mortality, it is difficult to assess the associated clinical features, treatment outcomes, and prognostic factors. Current treatment options include intra-thecal chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and supportive care with a median survival of three to four months. LMC is a rare manifestation of gastric cancer and is an extremely fatal disease. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish LMC from other neurological etiologies. We present a unique case of an individual who presented with headaches and was found to have LMC.