scholarly journals Functional Capacity of Patients with Advanced Gastrointestinal and Breast Cancer Pre-treatment - a Cross-Sectional Comparison to Healthy Age-matched Women

Author(s):  
Katrin Stücher ◽  
Claus Bolling ◽  
Lutz Vogt ◽  
Axel Dignass ◽  
Winfried Banzer

Abstract Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare the functional status of patients with advanced gastrointestinal and breast cancer prior treatment to healthy age-matched volunteers. Methods: In this 3-arm cross-sectional study female patients with advanced cancer (UICC ≥ III) (gastrointestinal: n=17; 68.4±5.6years; BMI: 24±5.1kg/m2; breast: n=17; 64.1±7.8years; BMI: 23.6±3.7kg/m2) before first-line chemotherapy and 17 healthy age-matched women (68.6±5.8years; BMI 24.6±3.2kg/m2) were included. The functional status was assessed using the short physical performance battery (SPPB). A capacitive force platform was used for gait speed recordings during free level walking. Maximal isometric voluntary contraction force (MIVF) of the quadriceps muscle was assessed by a strain gauge force system. Body composition was obtained from bioelectrical-impedance-analysis. Physical activity was assessed via accelerometry. Results: Compared to the healthy controls and to patients with breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancer patients have lower values in the SPPB (10.4±1.3vs.8.9±2.0 vs.6.8±2.6; p<.01), phase angle (5.4±0.5°vs.5.2±0.5°vs.4.5±0.8°; p<.01), MIVF (8.8±1.9vs.9.2±3.5vs.6.0±2.1N/kg; p<.01), and gait speed (5.0±0.6vs.4.6±0.5vs. 3.6±1.1km/h; p<.01). The daily steps were significantly lower in gastrointestinal cancer patients compared to healthy women (3407±2408;8774±3975, p<.01).Conclusions: Already prior treatment patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer have a reduced functional status compared to breast cancer patients and healthy controls. Gait speed, phase angle and MIVF are below cut-off values for a low prognosis of survival. This physical deconditioning prior treatment might influence the toxicity of the therapy. Thus, supportive interventions to improve the functional status and to support the treatment in patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer seems to be of high concern.Trial Registration: Registered study at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02677129).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etagegn Tadesse ◽  
Daniel Seifu ◽  
Menakath Menon ◽  
Wondmagegnehu Tigeneh ◽  
Teka Obsa ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most often diagnosed type of cancer and the leading cause of death worldwide. Estrogen, also known as estradiol, influences progesterone metabolism and modifies lipid metabolism. Thus, steroid hormone and lipid profile levels for breast cancer patients must be evaluated. However, this has yet to be explored and used for therapy in Ethiopia. As a result, the present study at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital attempted to assess serum estrogen, progesterone, and lipid profile levels in breast cancer patients and healthy controls. Methods A hospital-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 80 participants (40 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and 40 healthy control females). A convenient sampling method was used to recruit the study participants. Steroid hormones and lipid profile were determined using immunoassays and an enzymatic colorimetric technique, respectively. SPSS version 20.0 was used for statistical analysis, and p-values of 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results When compared to healthy controls, the mean serum progesterone, TC, and HDL-C levels in breast cancer patients were considerably lower, while estradiol, TG, and LDL-C levels were insignificantly higher. Conclusions Breast cancer may be to blame for changes in progesterone, estradiol, and lipid profile levels, which can lead to secondary problems.


MicroRNA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-63
Author(s):  
Batool Savari ◽  
Sohrab Boozarpour ◽  
Maryam Tahmasebi-Birgani ◽  
Hossein Sabouri ◽  
Seyed Mohammad Hosseini

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women worldwide. So it seems that there's a good chance of recovery if it's detected in its early stages even before the appearances of symptoms. Recent studies have shown that miRNAs play an important role during cancer progression. These transcripts can be tracked in liquid samples to reveal if cancer exists, for earlier treatment. MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) has been shown to be a key regulator of carcinogenesis, and breast tumor is no exception. Objective: The present study was aimed to track the miR-21 expression level in serum of the breast cancer patients in comparison with that of normal counterparts. Methods: Comparative real-time polymerase chain reaction was applied to determine the levels of expression of miR-21 in the serum samples of 57 participants from which, 42 were the patients with breast cancer including pre-surgery patients (n = 30) and post-surgery patients (n = 12), and the others were the healthy controls (n = 15). Results: MiR-21 was significantly over expressed in the serum of breast cancer patients as compared with healthy controls (P = 0.002). A significant decrease was also observed following tumor resection (P < 0.0001). Moreover, it was found that miR-21 overexpression level was significantly associated with tumor grade (P = 0.004). Conclusion: These findings suggest that miR-21 has the potential to be used as a novel breast cancer biomarker for early detection and prognosis, although further experiments are needed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 153473542098391
Author(s):  
Chieh-Ying Chin ◽  
Yung-Hsiang Chen ◽  
Shin-Chung Wu ◽  
Chien-Ting Liu ◽  
Yun-Fang Lee ◽  
...  

Background Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is becoming more common in medical practice, but little is known about the concurrent use of CAM and conventional treatment. Therefore, the aim was to investigate the types of CAM used and their prevalence in a regional patient cohort with breast cancer (BC). Methods BC patients were interviewed with a structured questionnaire survey on the use of CAM in southern Taiwan at an Integrative Breast Cancer Center (IBCC). The National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) classification was used to group responses. Over a period of 8 months, all patients receiving treatment for cancer at the IBCC were approached. Results A total of 106 BC patients completed the survey (response rate: 79.7%). The prevalence of CAM use was 82.4%. Patients who were employed, were receiving radiotherapy and hormone therapy, and had cancer for a longer duration were more likely to use CAM ( P < .05). Multivariate analysis identified employment as an independent predictor of CAM use (OR = 6.92; 95% CI = 1.33-36.15). Dietary supplementation (n = 69, 82.1%) was the type of CAM most frequently used, followed by exercise (n = 48, 57.1%) and traditional Chinese medicine (n = 29, 34.5%). The main reason for using CAM was to ameliorate the side effects of conventional therapies. Almost half (46.4%) of these CAM users did not disclose that they were using it in medical consultations with their physicians. Most chose to use CAM due to recommendations from family and friends. Conclusion A large portion of BC patients at the IBCC undergoing anti-cancer treatment courses used CAM, but less than half discussed it with their physicians. Given the high prevalence of CAM, it would be justifiable to direct further resources toward this service so that cancer patients can benefit from a holistic approach to their treatment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Ayu Ratuati Setiawan ◽  
Feny Tunjungsari ◽  
Mochamad Aleq Sander

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a disease caused by abnormal growth of body cells that turn malignant and continue to grow uncontrollably. One of the treatments for breast cancer is mastectomy. The quickness of decision-making determines the survival rate of prognosis patients. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the relationship of self-acceptance with decision-making duration in cancer patients to perform a mastectomy. METHODS: An analytic observation method with cross-sectional design. The samples were taken by purposive sampling method with 50 samples of breast cancer patients. Data collected include age, last level of education, marital status, profession, stage of cancer during mastectomy, self-acceptance score, and decision-making duration to perform a mastectomy. RESULTS: The data analyzed with the Kruskal–Wallis test. The test showed the relationship of self-acceptance (p = 0.027) with decision-making duration in breast cancer patients to perform a mastectomy. CONCLUSION: In Conclusion, there is a relationship of self-acceptance with decision-making duration in breast cancer patients to perform a mastectomy.


Author(s):  
Johanna Sophie Lubasch ◽  
Susan Lee ◽  
Christoph Kowalski ◽  
Marina Beckmann ◽  
Holger Pfaff ◽  
...  

(1) Background: Evidence suggests that organizational processes of hospitals have an impact on patient-professional interactions. Within the nurse-patient interaction, nurses play a key role providing social support. Factors influencing the nurse-patient interaction have seldomly been researched. We aimed to examine whether the process organization in hospitals is associated with breast cancer patients’ perceived social support from nurses.; (2) Methods: Data analysis based on a cross-sectional patient survey (2979 breast cancer patients, 83 German hospitals) and information on hospital structures. Associations between process organization and perceived social support were analyzed with logistic hierarchical regression models adjusted for patient characteristics and hospital structures.; (3) Results: Most patients were 40–69 years old and classified with UICC stage II or III. Native language, age and hospital ownership status showed significant associations to the perception of social support. Patients treated in hospitals with better process organization at admission (OR 3.61; 95%-CI 1.67, 7.78) and during the hospital stay (OR 2.11; 95%-CI 1.04; 4.29) perceived significantly more social support from nurses.; (4) Conclusions: Designing a supportive nursing work environment and improving process organization in hospitals may create conditions conducive for a supportive patient-nurse interaction. More research is needed to better understand mechanisms behind the associations found.


Author(s):  
Muhannad Shweash ◽  
Saddam Jumaa Naseer ◽  
Maisam Khider Al-anii ◽  
Thulfiqar Fawwaz Mutar

Objective: Cancer ovary is one of the fatal gynecologic malignancies worldwide. Since breast cancer (BRCA) genes are considered tumor suppressor genes and play important roles in cancer by repairing of chromosomal damage with the error repair of DNA breaks. Therefore, breast cancer 1 (BRCA1) and breast cancer 2 (BRCA2) gene mutations strongly enhance the development of ovarian cancer risk among women. Here, we report that both genes are an essential mediator of progress ovarian cancer, to determine the influence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in the improvement of ovarian cancer.Methods: A total of 25 subjects were chosen for the genetic studies, and three groups were recruited: fifteen ovarian cancer patients group, five healthy controls, and five first-degree relatives to a known case of ovarian cancer patients.Results: A genetic analysis revealed that a strong correlation exists between both gene mutations’ status in ovarian cancer, and BRCA gene mutations (185delAG, 5382insC, and 4153delA in BRCA1 and 6174delT in BRCA2) remained to establish to have a relatively high frequency among people in this study among ovarian cancer patients. Furthermore, seven patients with ovarian cancer carried all of the four investigated mutations, and five had three mutations.Conclusion: Otherwise, BRCA gene frequency showed low prevalence among first-degree relatives, and to a lesser extent among healthy controls, with only a few had all of the mutations combined. These data demonstrate for the first time a molecular link between BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in ovarian cancer progression in Iraq.


QJM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abeer I Abd Elmagid ◽  
Hala Abdel Al ◽  
Wessam El Sayed Saad ◽  
Seham Kamal Mohamed

Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and one of the most important causes of death among them.Angiogenesis is an important step for primary tumor growth, invasiveness, and metastases. Angiopoietins are well-recognized endothelial growth factors that are involved in angiogenesis associated with tumors. Aim To explore the diagnostic significance of serum angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) in breast cancer and to evaluate its prognostic efficacy through studying the degree of its association with the TNM staging of the disease. Patients and Methods This study was conducted on (35) Egyptian female patients who were diagnosed as breast cancer according to histopathological examination of breast biopsy (Group 1, Breast Cancer Patients) and (25) female patients with benign breast diseases (Group II, Pathological Control Patients), in addition to (20) age - matched apparently healthy, free mammogram, females serving as healthy controls (Group III, Healthy Controls). For all participants, measurement of serum Ang-2 was done using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Results A highly significant increased levels of Ang-2 was observed in breast cancer patients when compared to healthy control group (Z = 4.95, p &lt; 0.01). However, no significant difference was observed in Ang-2 levels between breast cancer patients group and pathological control group (Z = 3.37, p &gt; 0.05). No significant difference was detected in Ang-2 levels in relation to TNM stage and histological grade. No significant correlation was found between Ang-2 levels and serum levels of CA15-3, hormone receptors, HER2/new receptor status (p &gt; 0.05, respectively). Conclusion This study revealed that Ang-2 serum levels were significantly increased in patient with breast cancer compared with healthy controls, indicating that high Ang-2 level is a promising non invasive biomarker for breast cancer diagnosis. However, no significant difference of Ang-2 levels was detected in relation of breast TNM staging in the population studied.


Cells ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 259
Author(s):  
Madhuchhanda Kundu ◽  
Sumita Raha ◽  
Avik Roy ◽  
Kalipada Pahan

Although some therapies are available for regular breast cancers, there are very few options for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Here, we demonstrated that serum level of IL-12p40 monomer (p40) was much higher in breast cancer patients than healthy controls. On the other hand, levels of IL-12, IL-23 and p40 homodimer (p402) were lower in serum of breast cancer patients as compared to healthy controls. Similarly, human TNBC cells produced greater level of p40 than p402. The level of p40 was also larger than p402 in serum of a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse model. Accordingly, neutralization of p40 by p40 mAb induced death of human TNBC cells and tumor shrinkage in PDX mice. While investigating the mechanism, we found that neutralization of p40 led to upregulation of human CD4+IFNγ+ and CD8+IFNγ+ T cell populations, thereby increasing the level of human IFNγ and decreasing the level of human IL-10 in PDX mice. Finally, we demonstrated the infiltration of human cytotoxic T cells, switching of tumor-associated macrophage M2 (TAM2) to TAM1 and suppression of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) in tumor tissues of p40 mAb-treated PDX mice. Our studies identify a possible new immunotherapy for TNBC in which p40 mAb inhibits tumor growth in PDX mice.


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