scholarly journals ”Den här kroppen som lämnat mig i sticket”

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 15-24
Author(s):  
Åsa Mohlin ◽  
Katarina Bernhardsson

”This body that has forsaken me.” Breast cancer, bodies, and recovery in Kristina Sandberg’s "En ensam plats" and Yvonne Hirdman’s "Behandlingen" This article studies autobiographical accounts of breast cancer, so called pathographies, analysing how the body and the illness are portrayed. The article has a special focus on the experiences of the lived body, relating it to the psychological concept resilience as well as to the sense of estrangement of the body in illness and the socially situated body. The focus of the study is two autobiographical Swedish accounts of breast cancer: Kristina Sandbergs’ En ensam plats (‘A lonely place’, 2021) and Yvonne Hirdman’s Behandlingen. 205 dagar i kräftrike (‘The treatment. 205 days in the kingdom of cancer’, 2019). The article is located in the field of medical humanities and the authors aim to bring out aspects relevant to both the literary understanding of pathographies and the medical understanding of individual experiences of illness.

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Alerby ◽  
Erica Hagström ◽  
Susanne Westman

Abstract A (Western) school is, among other things, a building with its own spatial formations and boundaries. In educational settings, the place for learning, as well as the human body in the place, is significant. In this paper, we explore the theory of the lived body as it was formulated by Maurice Merleau-Ponty and argue why we think this theory can be used fruitfully in educational research, and specifically in a study of learning places such as classrooms. We also discuss what a classroom is and can be drawing upon the work of Otto Friedrich Bollnow. As humans, we access the world through our bodies and the knowledge we develop is always embodied. The body and the world are two aspects of a reversibility, which Merleau-Ponty terms flesh. He also stresses that the body inhabits the world, and our corporeality can therefore be tied to the room-we are affected by and affect the room in a mutual interplay. In this paper, we develop this further and argue that teachers and students inhabit the classroom. Corporeality is therefore closely connected to spatiality and is understood as a prerequisite for being involved in relationships. We argue for the importance of exploring the notion of embodiment in educational settings with a special focus on the embodied classroom using the phenomenology of the life-world


Author(s):  
Rosemary J. Jolly

The last decade has witnessed far greater attention to the social determinants of health in health research, but literary studies have yet to address, in a sustained way, how narratives addressing issues of health across postcolonial cultural divides depict the meeting – or non-meeting – of radically differing conceptualisations of wellness and disease. This chapter explores representations of illness in which Western narrators and notions of the body are juxtaposed with conceptualisations of health and wellness entirely foreign to them, embedded as the former are in assumptions about Cartesian duality and the superiority of scientific method – itself often conceived of as floating (mysteriously) free from its own processes of enculturation and their attendant limits. In this respect my work joins Volker Scheid’s, in this volume, in using the capacity of critical medical humanities to reassert the cultural specificity of what we have come to know as contemporary biomedicine, often assumed to be


Author(s):  
Shamim Mushtaq

Uninhibited proliferation and abnormal cell cycle regulation are the hallmarks of cancer. The main role of cyclin dependent kinases is to regulate the cell cycle and cell proliferation. These protein kinases are frequently down regulated or up regulated in various cancers. Two CDK family members, CDK 11 and 12, have contradicting views about their roles in different cancers. For example, one study suggests that the CDK 11 isoforms, p58, inhibits growth of breast cancer whereas, the CDK 11 isoform, p110, is highly expressed in breast tumor. Studies regarding CDK 12 show variation of opinion towards different parts of the body, however there is a consensus that upregulation of cdk12 increases the risk of breast cancer. Hence, CDK 11 and CDK 12 need to be analyzed to confirm their mechanism and their role regarding therapeutics, prognostic value, and ethnicity in cancer. This article gives an outline on both CDKs of information known up to date from Medline, PubMed, Google Scholar and Web of Science search engines, which were explored and thirty relevant researches were finalized.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonali Mehendale-Munj

: Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (BCRP) is an efflux transporter responsible for causing multidrug re-sistance(MDR). It is known to expel many potent antineoplastic drugs, owing to its efflux function. Efflux of chemothera-peutics because of BCRP develops resistance to manydrugs, leading to failure in cancer treatment. BCRP plays an important role in physiology by protecting the organism from xenobiotics and other toxins. It is a half-transporter affiliated to theATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily of transporters, encoded by the gene ABCG2 and functions in response to adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Regulation of BCRP expression is critically controlled at molecular levels which help in maintaining the balance of xenobiotics and nutrients inside the body. Expression of BCRP can be found in brain, liver, lung cancers and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Moreover, it is also expressed at high levels in stem cells and many cell lines. This frequent expression of BCRP has an impact on the treatment procedures and if not scrutinized may lead to failure of many cancer therapies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javad Behravan ◽  
Atefeh Razazan ◽  
Ghazal Behravan

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women. National cancer institute of the US estimates that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. Considering the devastating effects of the disease and the alarming numbers many scientists and research groups have devoted their research to fight breast cancer. Several recommendations are to be considered as preventing measures which include living a healthy lifestyle, regular physical activity, weight control and smoking cessation. Early detection of the disease by annual and regular mammography after the age of 40 is recommended by many healthcare institutions. This would help the diagnosis of the disease at an earlier stage and the start of the treatment before it is spread to other parts of the body. Current therapy for breast cancer includes surgical ablation, radiotherapy and chemotherapy which is often associated with adverse effects and even may lead to a relapse of the disease at a later stage. In order to achieve a long-lasting anticancer response with minimal adverse effects, development of breast cancer vaccines is under investigation by many laboratories. The immune system can be stimulated by a vaccine against breast cancer. This approach has attracted a great enthusiasm in recent years. No breast cancer vaccines have been approved for clinical use today. One breast cancer vaccine (NeuVax) has now completed clinical trial phase III and a few preventive and therapeutic breast cancer vaccines are at different steps of development. We think that with the recent advancements in immunotherapy, a breast cancer vaccine is not far from reach.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 958-968
Author(s):  
Yunrui Cai ◽  
Tong Chen ◽  
Huajian Zhu ◽  
Hongbin Zou

Background: The development of novel antineoplastic agents remains highly desirable. Objective: This study focuses on the design, synthesis, and antitumor evaluation of phenyl ureas bearing 5-fluoroindolin-2-one moiety. Methods: Three sets of phenylureas were designed and synthesized and their antiproliferative ability was measured against four human carcinoma cell lines (Hela, Eca-109, A549, and MCF-7) via MTT assay. In vivo anticancer activity was further evaluated in xenograft models of human breast cancer (MCF-7). Results: A total of twenty-one new compounds were synthesized and characterized by means of 1H and 13C NMR as well as HR-MS. Three sets of compounds (1a‒1c, 2a‒2c, and 3a‒3c) were initially constructed, and preliminary antiproliferative activities of these molecules were evaluated against Hela, Eca-109, A549 and MCF-7, highlighting the meta-substituted phenylureas (1a‒1c) as the most cytotoxic set. A series of meta-substituted phenylureas derivatives (1d‒1o) were then designed and synthesized for structure-activity relationship study. Most of the new compounds showed desirable cytotoxicity, among which compound 1g exhibited the most remarkable cytotoxic effects against the tested human cancer cells with IC50 values ranging from 1.47 to 6.79 μM. Further studies showed that compound 1g suppressed tumor growth in human breast cancer (MCF- 7) xenograft models without affecting the body weight of its recipients. Conclusion: In this study, twenty-one new compounds, containing the privileged structures of phenylurea and 5-fluoroindolin-2-one, were designed and synthesized. Subsequent structureactivity studies showed that 1g was the most bioactive antitumor agent among all tested compounds, hence a potentially promising lead compound once given further optimization.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer K. Lang ◽  
Badri Karthikeyan ◽  
Adolfo Quiñones-Lombraña ◽  
Rachael Hageman Blair ◽  
Amy P. Early ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The CBR3 V244M single nucleotide polymorphism has been linked to the risk of anthracycline-related cardiomyopathy in survivors of childhood cancer. There have been limited prospective studies examining the impact of CBR3 V244M on the risk for anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity in adult cohorts. Objectives This study evaluated the presence of associations between CBR3 V244M genotype status and changes in echocardiographic parameters in breast cancer patients undergoing doxorubicin treatment. Methods We recruited 155 patients with breast cancer receiving treatment with doxorubicin (DOX) at Roswell Park Comprehensive Care Center (Buffalo, NY) to a prospective single arm observational pharmacogenetic study. Patients were genotyped for the CBR3 V244M variant. 92 patients received an echocardiogram at baseline (t0 month) and at 6 months (t6 months) of follow up after DOX treatment. Apical two-chamber and four-chamber echocardiographic images were used to calculate volumes and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) using Simpson’s biplane rule by investigators blinded to all patient data. Volumetric indices were evaluated by normalizing the cardiac volumes to the body surface area (BSA). Results Breast cancer patients with CBR3 GG and AG genotypes both experienced a statistically significant reduction in LVEF at 6 months following initiation of DOX treatment for breast cancer compared with their pre-DOX baseline study. Patients homozygous for the CBR3 V244M G allele (CBR3 V244) exhibited a further statistically significant decrease in LVEF at 6 months following DOX therapy in comparison with patients with heterozygous AG genotype. We found no differences in age, pre-existing cardiac diseases associated with myocardial injury, cumulative DOX dose, or concurrent use of cardioprotective medication between CBR3 genotype groups. Conclusions CBR3 V244M genotype status is associated with changes in echocardiographic parameters suggestive of early anthracycline-related cardiomyopathy in subjects undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 3430
Author(s):  
Jeongshin An ◽  
Hyungju Kwon ◽  
Woosung Lim ◽  
Byung-In Moon ◽  
Nam Sun Paik

Breast reconstruction during breast-conserving surgery (BCS) can improve the breast shape. This study introduces breast reconstruction in BCS with two types of acellular dermal matrix (ADM). The study included 134 patients who underwent BCS due to breast cancer from February 2018 to May 2021. This study was conducted by one surgeon, and is the result of a three-year study. The patient group who underwent BCS using ADM was mainly targeted at patients with minor to severe defects after the operation. The average age of the patients was 51.8 years, and the body mass index (BMI) was 23.8 kg/m. The specimen weight was 30–120 g. The average surgical time, including reconstruction, was 100.4 min, combined with reconstruction. There were minor complications in six patients. The advantage of using ADM is that it can quickly correct the shape of the breast after conventional BCS surgery. Pellet-type ADM, rather than sheet-type, can create a breast shape similar to that before surgery. Breast reconstruction using ADM can be an easy and convenient method for making a better shape from BCS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5843
Author(s):  
Chloé Turpin ◽  
Aurélie Catan ◽  
Olivier Meilhac ◽  
Emmanuel Bourdon ◽  
François Canonne-Hergaux ◽  
...  

The development and progression of atherosclerosis (ATH) involves lipid accumulation, oxidative stress and both vascular and blood cell dysfunction. Erythrocytes, the main circulating cells in the body, exert determinant roles in the gas transport between tissues. Erythrocytes have long been considered as simple bystanders in cardiovascular diseases, including ATH. This review highlights recent knowledge concerning the role of erythrocytes being more than just passive gas carriers, as potent contributors to atherosclerotic plaque progression. Erythrocyte physiology and ATH pathology is first described. Then, a specific chapter delineates the numerous links between erythrocytes and atherogenesis. In particular, we discuss the impact of extravasated erythrocytes in plaque iron homeostasis with potential pathological consequences. Hyperglycaemia is recognised as a significant aggravating contributor to the development of ATH. Then, a special focus is made on glycoxidative modifications of erythrocytes and their role in ATH. This chapter includes recent data proposing glycoxidised erythrocytes as putative contributors to enhanced atherothrombosis in diabetic patients.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 312
Author(s):  
Sandra Ferreira ◽  
Nuno Saraiva ◽  
Patrícia Rijo ◽  
Ana S. Fernandes

LOX (lysyl oxidase) and lysyl oxidase like-1–4 (LOXL 1–4) are amine oxidases, which catalyze cross-linking reactions of elastin and collagen in the connective tissue. These amine oxidases also allow the cross-link of collagen and elastin in the extracellular matrix of tumors, facilitating the process of cell migration and the formation of metastases. LOXL2 is of particular interest in cancer biology as it is highly expressed in some tumors. This protein also promotes oncogenic transformation and affects the proliferation of breast cancer cells. LOX and LOXL2 inhibition have thus been suggested as a promising strategy to prevent metastasis and invasion of breast cancer. BAPN (β-aminopropionitrile) was the first compound described as a LOX inhibitor and was obtained from a natural source. However, novel synthetic compounds that act as LOX/LOXL2 selective inhibitors or as dual LOX/LOX-L inhibitors have been recently developed. In this review, we describe LOX enzymes and their role in promoting cancer development and metastases, with a special focus on LOXL2 and breast cancer progression. Moreover, the recent advances in the development of LOXL2 inhibitors are also addressed. Overall, this work contextualizes and explores the importance of LOXL2 inhibition as a promising novel complementary and effective therapeutic approach for breast cancer treatment.


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