University of North Carolina Health Care

Integrating ctDNA-Based ESR1 m Monitoring Into First-Line Care for ER+, HER2– Advanced Breast Cancer: A Consensus Workflow

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is an emerging tool in precision oncology that enables noninvasive tumor profiling, detection of minimal residual disease, and treatment monitoring. Furthermore, routine ctDNA analyses offer the potential to support more personalized and dynamic canc...

Capillary hemangioma of the breast presenting as a new mass on screening mammography: A case report with imaging-pathology correlation

Capillary hemangioma of the breast is a rare benign vascular lesion that may be detected as a new mass at screening mammography. We report a 74-year-old asymptomatic woman with a newly developed 0.7-cm mass in the posterior left breast. Diagnostic mammography showed an oval, equa...

Melding Structured Care With Improvisation—Jazz in Medicine

This Viewpoint draws parallels from the improvisation within structure of jazz music and explains how to harmonize the use of structured pathways with the need to improvise in patient care.

Extracellular Matrix Remodeling in Tumors: Forces Beyond Fibroblasts

Aberrant extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling in tumors is characterized by altered deposition, enzymatic cross-linking, degradation, and organization of matrix molecules that in turn can contribute directly to tumor invasiveness, immune evasion, and resistance to therapy. Tradi...

Supervision best practices to train and retain the early career behavioral health workforce: a scoping review and expert interviews

The U.S. behavioral health system is experiencing critical workforce shortages. Early career behavioral health clinicians (ECBHCs)—professionals with master’s or doctoral degrees and one to three years post-graduate experience—face unique challenges in obtaining required supervis...

Family planning self-care: From global frameworks to local meaning, perceptions, experiences and opportunities in Niger

Abstract Family planning (FP) self-care is a strategic pillar for advancing Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and mitigating health workforce shortages. However, a significant disconnect persists between global normative frameworks and local implementation realities. This study exa...

MERTK inhibition cooperates with immunomodulatory cyclophosphamide to induce CXCL9⁺ monocyte-macrophage programming and durable antitumor immunity in triple negative breast cancer

ABSTRACT Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has high rates of recurrence despite chemotherapy and immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) can either suppress or support anti-tumor immunity, but the mechanisms governing these states and therapeutic...

Designing clinical AI for patient-centered support beyond the visit: the PACT framework for health systems

Clinical AI has advanced rapidly for bounded in-visit tasks such as prediction, documentation, and message generation, yet many costly failures in care occur outside the encounter when follow-up, handoffs, and communication break down. We argue that the next challenge for clinica...