Hollings researchers have identified five critical care steps that can help patients with advanced head and neck cancer begin radiation within the recommended six weeks after surgery. Led by Hollings head and neck surgical oncologist Evan Graboyes, M.D., the study found that patients who completed four or five of these milestones had a 90% rate of starting radiation on time, compared with just 10% among those who completed one or no care steps. The findings provide cancer centers with practical targets for improving coordination across the many specialists involved in head and neck cancer care and helping patients receive lifesaving treatment without unnecessary delays.

Depression may be tied to subtle changes in the brain’s memory center, according to a new study from USC. Analyzing high-resolution brain scans from more than 2,000 cognitively healthy adults ages 50 to 90, researchers found that people with depression had smaller volume in a specific hippocampal subfield involved in memory retrieval and pattern separation. The association remained even after accounting for major Alzheimer’s disease risk factors, including amyloid and tau proteins and the APOE ε4 gene variant, suggesting that depression may affect hippocampal structure through pathways that are at least partly distinct from these well-known markers of dementia risk.