WorldWideScience

Sample records for cancer current diagnosis

  1. Research on cancer diagnosis in Malaysia: current status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Looi, L M; Zubaidah, Z; Cheah, P L; Cheong, S K; Gudum, H R; Iekhsan, O; Ikram, S I; Jamal, R; Mak, J W; Othman, N H; Puteri, J N; Rosline, H; Sabariah, A R; Seow, H F; Sharifah, N A

    2004-06-01

    Cancer is a major morbidity and mortality concern in Malaysia. Based on National Cancer Registry data, the Malaysian population is estimated to bear a cancer burden of about 40,000 new cases per year, and a cumulative lifetime risk of about 1:4. Cancer research in Malaysia has to consider needs relevant to our population, and resources constraints. Hence, funding bodies prioritise cancers of high prevalence, unique to our community and posing specific clinical problems. Cancer diagnosis is crucial to cancer management. While cancer diagnosis research largely aims at improvements in diagnostic information towards more appropriate therapy, it also impacts upon policy development and other areas of cancer management. The scope of cancer diagnosis upon which this paper is based, and their possible impact on other R&D areas, has been broadly categorized into: (1) identification of aetiological agents and their linkages to the development of precancer and cancer (impact on policy development, cancer prevention and treatment), (2) cancer biology and pathogenesis (impact on cancer prevention, treatment strategies and product development), (3) improvements in accuracy, sensitivity and specificity in cancer detection, monitoring and classification (impact on technology development) and (4) prognostic and predictive parameters (impact on treatment strategies). This paper is based on data collected by the Working Group on Cancer Diagnosis Research for the First National Conference on Cancer Research Coordination in April 2004. Data was collated from the databases of Institutions/Universities where the authors are employed, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and targeted survey feedback from key cancer researchers. Under the 7th Malaysia Plan, 76 cancer projects were funded through the Intensified Research in Priority Areas (IRPA) scheme of MOSTI, amounting to almost RM15 million of grant money. 47(61.8%) of these projects were substantially in cancer

  2. The current status of imaging diagnosis of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Fang; Tang Guangcai

    2013-01-01

    In recent years, the incidence and the mortality rate of female breast cancer in our country is increasing, Early diagnosis of breast cancer is particularly important. Precious preoperative staging in the breast cancer is advantageous for the treatment planning. Evaluating the efficacy of chemotherapy is beneficial for adjusting the follow-up plan. Imaging examination has become an important role in breast cancer management. At present, commonly used equipment include mammography, ultrasound, CT, and MRI, etc. This article reviews the present study status of these tools in diagnosis of breast cancer. A reasonable and effective choice of those tools can facilitate clinic diagnosis and treatment. (authors)

  3. Current status of lectin-based cancer diagnosis and therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fohona S. Coulibaly

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Lectins are carbohydrate recognizing proteins originating from diverse origins in nature, including animals, plants, viruses, bacteria and fungus. Due to their exceptional glycan recognition property, they have found many applications in analytical chemistry, biotechnology and surface chemistry. This manuscript explores the current use of lectins for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Moreover, novel drug delivery strategies aiming at improving lectin’s stability, reducing their undesired toxicity and controlling their non-specific binding interactions are discussed. We also explore the nanotechnology application of lectins for cancer targeting and imaging. Although many investigations are being conducted in the field of lectinology, there is still a limited clinical translation of the major findings reported due to lectins stability and toxicity concerns. Therefore, new investigations of safe and effective drug delivery system strategies for lectins are warranted in order to take full advantage of these proteins.

  4. Emerging optical techniques in advanced cystoscopy for bladder cancer diagnosis: A review of the current literature

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cauberg Evelyne, C. C.; de La Rosette, Jean J. M. C. H.; de Reijke, Theo M.

    2011-01-01

    The current standard for the diagnosis and followup of bladder cancer remains white light cystoscopy, despite its well-known limitations. The aim of this paper is to review the current literature on three optical diagnostics that have been developed to improve the performance of white light

  5. [Current situation and thinking of diagnosis and treatment in some types of thyroid cancer].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, X Y; Yu, Y; Li, D P; Dong, L

    2017-04-07

    As arising incidence of thyroid cancer, the treatment for thyroid carcinoma is becoming increasingly standardized. But there are different opinions on the treatment for some types of thyroid cancers, including the determination of operative opportunity, surgical method, and follow-up observation plan. There are mainly two categories of patients, namely the patients diagnosed as familial thyroid cancer mutation carriers through family screening, including medullary thyroid carcinoma and familial nonmedullary thyroid carcinoma, and the patients with thyroid microcarcinoma that can be observed after diagnosed by fine needle biopsy cytology. We will discuss current situation for the diagnosis and treatment of these patients.

  6. Point-of-care testing in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancers: current technology and future directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huddy, Jeremy R; Ni, Melody Z; Markar, Sheraz R; Hanna, George B

    2015-04-14

    Point-of-care (POC) tests enable rapid results and are well established in medical practice. Recent advances in analytical techniques have led to a new generation of POC devices that will alter gastrointestinal diagnostic pathways. This review aims to identify current and new technologies for the POC diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer. A structured search of the Embase and Medline databases was performed. Papers reporting diagnostic tests for gastrointestinal cancer available as a POC device or containing a description of feasibility for POC application were included. Studies recovered were heterogeneous and therefore results are presented as a narrative review. Six diagnostic methods were identified (fecal occult blood, fecal proteins, volatile organic compounds, pyruvate kinase isoenzyme type M2, tumour markers and DNA analysis). Fecal occult blood testing has a reported sensitivity of 66%-85% and specificity greater than 95%. The others are at a range of development and clinical application. POC devices have a proven role in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer. Barriers to their implementation exist and the transition from experimental to clinical medicine is currently slow. New technologies demonstrate potential to provide accurate POC tests and an ability to diagnose gastrointestinal cancer at an early stage with improved clinical outcome and survival.

  7. Computer-aided diagnosis for screening of breast cancer on mammograms. Current status and future potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doi, Kunio

    2007-01-01

    Described are the history, current status and future potential of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) with particular emphasis on screening mammography for breast cancer. The systematic basic and clinical studies on CAD started around 20 years before and the significance of CAD has been well recognized to be evident because of human errors occurring in the visual check by doctors of so numerous screening images. Improvement of diagnostic accuracy by CAD has been demonstrated by statistical analysis of ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curves. In mammography, reviewed is detection of the early stage breast cancer like microcalcifications by computer alone, by CAD plus one or more doctors' reading, and by practical clinical CAD diagnosis. For differential diagnosis for malignancy, microcalcifications and masses are given their characteristic image properties and the results are that the Az-value (area under ROC curve) is higher in CAD than in doctor's (0.80 vs 0.61) in the former and, doctor's (0.93) is improved by CAD to 0.96 in the latter masses. In this diagnosis, similar images in the digital database are useful and the database can learn by repeated input of individual data by neural network. Detection of the lesion and especially, its differential diagnosis will be more important in parallel to database development and CAD will be also useful for doctor' carrier as an educational mean. (R.T.)

  8. Gastric Cancer: Current Status of Diagnosis and Treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Tsunehiro; Saikawa, Yoshiro; Kitagawa, Yuko

    2013-01-01

    Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of death from malignant disease worldwide and most frequently discovered in advanced stages. Because curative surgery is regarded as the only option for cure, early detection of resectable gastric cancer is extremely important for good patient outcomes. Therefore, noninvasive diagnostic modalities such as evolutionary endoscopy and positron emission tomography are utilized as screening tools for gastric cancer. To date, early gastric cancer is being treated using minimally invasive methods such as endoscopic treatment and laparoscopic surgery, while in advanced cancer it is necessary to consider multimodality treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Because of the results of large clinical trials, surgery with extended lymphadenectomy could not be recommended as a standard therapy for advanced gastric cancer. Recent clinical trials had shown survival benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy after curative resection compared with surgery alone. In addition, recent advances of molecular targeted agents would play an important role as one of the modalities for advanced gastric cancer. In this review, we summarize the current status of diagnostic technology and treatment for gastric cancer

  9. Breast cancer treatment: historical review and current approaches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kulakowski, A.

    1994-01-01

    The evolution and development of opinions on the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer since Galen to present time is presented. The concept of breast cancer as a local disease has been replaced by the understanding of its systemic character. On this background described are the methods of surgical treatment beginning from early - supraradical, to present -conservative approaches. The ''milestones'' in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer of the last 40 years are presented. Current methods of breast cancer management include correct diagnosis (clinical examination, mammography, ultrasound, fine needle aspiration biopsy), TNM staging, adequate loco-regional therapy, systemic therapy, rehabilitation, reconstruction and careful follow-up. (author)

  10. Diagnosis and evaluation of gastric cancer by positron emission tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chen-Xi; Zhu, Zhao-Hui

    2014-01-01

    Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. The diagnosis of gastric cancer has been significantly improved with the broad availability of gastrointestinal endoscopy. Effective technologies for accurate staging and quantitative evaluation are still in demand to merit reasonable treatment and better prognosis for the patients presented with advanced disease. Preoperative staging using conventional imaging tools, such as computed tomography (CT) and endoscopic ultrasonography, is inadequate. Positron emission tomography (PET), using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) as a tracer and integrating CT for anatomic localization, holds a promise to detect unsuspected metastasis and has been extensively used in a variety of malignancies. However, the value of FDG PET/CT in diagnosis and evaluation of gastric cancer is still controversial. This article reviews the current literature in diagnosis, staging, response evaluation, and relapse monitoring of gastric cancer, and discusses the current understanding, improvement, and future prospects in this area. PMID:24782610

  11. Breast cancer: Diagnosis and treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ariel, I.M.; Clearly, J.B.

    1987-01-01

    This is a publication about the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer with an appeal for unified reporting of end results. Nine chapters cover historical reviews, risk factors, pathology-receptors-immunology, detection and diagnosis, treatment of the potentially curable patient, and treatment of the patient with advanced disease. The three concluding chapters discuss reconstruction, special clinical situations, and support for the patient. The role of radiation therapy is presented well. The current status of chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and combined therapies is also addressed by authoritative authors

  12. Radiologic diagnosis of gastric cancer. A new outlook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Portnoy, L.M.

    2006-01-01

    In our monograph we have tried to demonstrate the infeasibility of excluding radiological diagnosis, first and foremost the traditional X-ray examination, from the algorithm for diagnosing gastric cancer. We have produced convincing evidence and explanations for the indispensability of the X-ray, which should be used along with endoscopy. The current morphological and clinical characteristics of gastric cancer suggest that only the combined use of X-ray and endoscopy can change the discouraging situation with regard to relatively early diagnosis of the disease. Radical change is also very difficult without screening. Selective screening may become a reasonable alternative in countries with limited economic potential, Russia included. It is very important to attach greater importance to outpatient services in the attempt to improve the control of the disease. Diagnosis and treatment might thus be radically facilitated. Therefore, the tendency to minimize outpatient use of X-ray examinations works against improving the diagnosis of gastric cancer. All these aspects are discussed in detail in the monograph. Although the main purpose of the monograph is to describe the current role of the X-ray examination in the diagnosis of gastric cancer, the book also covers some problems related to the epidemiology and morphology of the disease in order to disprove the existing underestimation of X-ray potential in early diagnosis. While describing radiological diagnosis, we dwell on its methodological and semeiotic principles, as well as on the special importance of each method. These include the traditional radiological and ultrasonographic methods, computed tomography, and magnetic-resonance imaging. While we value these methods, above all MRI, unlike some other researchers, we rely not only on endoscopy but also on the traditional X-ray, because we believe it greatly increases the objective value of the findings and potentials of each separate method. A special chapter in the

  13. Five misconceptions in cancer diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, William

    2009-01-01

    Much investment has been put into facilities for early cancer diagnosis. It is difficult to know how successful this investment has been. New facilities for rapid investigation in the UK have not reduced mortality, and may cause delays in diagnosis of patients with low-risk, or atypical, symptoms. In part, the failure of new facilities to translate into mortality benefits can be explained by five misconceptions. These are described, along with suggested research and organisational remedies. The first misconception is that cancer is diagnosed in hospitals. Consequently, secondary care data have been used to drive primary care decisions. Second, GPs are thought to be poor at cancer diagnosis, yet the type of education on offer to improve this may not be what is needed. Third, symptomatic cancer diagnosis has been downgraded in importance with the introduction of screening, yet screening identifies only a small minority of cancers. Fourth, pressure is put on GPs to make referrals for those with an individual high risk of cancer — disenfranchising those with ‘low-risk but not no-risk’ symptoms. Finally, considerable nihilism exists about the value of early diagnosis, despite considerable observational evidence that earlier diagnosis of symptomatic cancer is beneficial. PMID:19520027

  14. Breast cancer. Nuclear medicine in diagnosis and therapeutic options

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bombardieri, E.; Bonadonna, G.; Gianni, L.

    2008-01-01

    Brings up-to-date nuclear medical knowledge in breast cancer. Includes vital information on advances in the field of diagnosis. Supplies data on the development of some new modalities. Offers a general overview of the available tools for breast cancer treatment. There can never be enough material in the public domain about cancers, and particularly breast cancer. This book adds much to the literature. It provides general information on breast cancer management and considers all new methods of diagnosis and therapy. It focuses on nuclear medicine modalities by comparing their results with other diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The coverage provides readers with up-to-date knowledge on breast cancer as well as information on the advances in the field of diagnosis. It also details data on the development of some new modalities and provides a general overview of the available tools for breast cancer treatment. In sum, it is a hugely useful text that performs a dual function. Not only does it provide practitioners of all descriptions with a vital overview of the current state of play in breast cancer treatment, but it also lays out in a beautifully structured way the latest diagnostic methodologies. (orig.)

  15. Diagnosis of gastric cancers by CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Jianbing; Gong Jianping; Huan Jian

    1999-01-01

    Forty two cases of gastric cancers were reviewed. The cancer had been examined by CT and was confirmed by operation and pathology. The diagnostic results of gastric cancers obtained by CT were compared with that from GI and fibro-gastroscopy examination. The results showed that the preparation of gastrointestinal tract before CT examination was important in the CT diagnosis of gastric cancer. CT in diagnosis of focus of gastric cancer and organ invasion is better than Gl and Fibro-gastroscopy and accuracy in diagnosis of gastric cancers is near to that of GI examination

  16. Application of Quantum Dots-Based Biotechnology in Cancer Diagnosis: Current Status and Future Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chun-Wei Peng

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs have excellent photo-physical properties, and the QDs-based probes have achieved encouraging developments in cellular and in vivo molecular imaging. More and more researches showed that QDs-based technology may become a promising approach in cancer research. In this review, we focus on recent application of QDs in cancer diagnosis and treatment, including early detection of primary tumor such as ovarian cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer, as well as regional lymph nodes and distant metastases. With the development of QDs synthesis and modification, the effect of QDs on tumor metastasis investigation will become more and more important in the future.

  17. MicroRNAs in Testicular Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, Hui; Krassnig, Lisa; Bullock, Marc D; Pichler, Martin

    2016-02-01

    Testicular cancer processes a unique and clear miRNA expression signature. This differentiates testicular cancer from most other cancer types, which are usually more ambiguous when assigning miRNA patterns. As such, testicular cancer may represent a unique cancer type in which miRNAs find their use as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis, with a potential to surpass the current available markers usually with low sensitivity. In this review, we present literature findings on miRNAs associated with testicular cancer, and discuss their potential diagnostic and prognostic values, as well as their potential as indicators of drug response in patients with testicular cancer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Discussion of difficult problems of early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GUO Xiaozhong

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Pancreatic cancer is a common malignant neoplasm of the pancreas with an extremely high mortality. Currently, the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is still not ideal. Attention should be paid to some clinical warning symptoms, such as unexplained abdominal and back pain, jaundice, and unexpected diabetes. Additionally, the combined use of CA19-9, CEA, and other tumor markers, the attention to biochemical indicators, the detection of mutation in KAI1 or p53 gene, and the exploration of the value of miRNA in clinical diagnosis are of great significance. On the other hand, ultrasound, CT, MRCP, ERCP, PET-CT, and other imaging methods, as well as effective collection of cytology specimens, should be performed. Thus, there is hope for the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

  19. Delay in Presentation, Diagnosis, and Treatment for Breast Cancer Patients in Jordan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Helalah, Ahmad Munir; Alshraideh, Hussam Ahmad; Al-Hanaqtah, Mo'tasem; Da'na, Moh'd; Al-Omari, Asim; Mubaidin, Rasmi

    2016-01-01

    Breast cancer is the most common cancer, and one of the leading causes of death for females in Jordan and many countries in the world. Studies have shown that delay in symptoms presentation, diagnosis or treatment would result in poor prognosis. There has been no published study from Jordan on delays in patient presentation, delays in diagnosis, or delays in treatment. Therefore, we conducted this study to assess these important quality indicators aiming to improve prognosis for breast cancer patients in Jordan. This project was a cross-sectional study on female breast cancer patients in Jordan. The total number of participants was 327. The proportion of patients with presentation delay, diagnosis delay, and treatment delay was 32.2%, 49.1%, or 32.4%, respectively. The main reported reasons for delay in presentation were ignorance of the nature of the problem (65.6%), limited/lack of knowledge that symptoms were suggestive of cancer diagnosis (16.7%), and misdiagnosis (16.7%). Predictors of delay and mean time for presentation, diagnosis, and treatment were identified. Our results reveal that breast cancer patients in Jordan are experiencing delays in presentation, diagnosis, and treatment. This could justify the advanced stages at diagnosis and poor outcomes for breast cancer patients in Jordan. We recommend revising the current early detection and down-staging programs in Jordan. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Gene Expression Correlation for Cancer Diagnosis: A Pilot Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Binbing Ling

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Poor prognosis for late-stage, high-grade, and recurrent cancers has been motivating cancer researchers to search for more efficient biomarkers to identify the onset of cancer. Recent advances in constructing and dynamically analyzing biomolecular networks for different types of cancer have provided a promising novel strategy to detect tumorigenesis and metastasis. The observation of different biomolecular networks associated with normal and cancerous states led us to hypothesize that correlations for gene expressions could serve as valid indicators of early cancer development. In this pilot study, we tested our hypothesis by examining whether the mRNA expressions of three randomly selected cancer-related genes PIK3C3, PIM3, and PTEN were correlated during cancer progression and the correlation coefficients could be used for cancer diagnosis. Strong correlations (0.68≤r≤1.0 were observed between PIK3C3 and PIM3 in breast cancer, between PIK3C3 and PTEN in breast and ovary cancers, and between PIM3 and PTEN in breast, kidney, liver, and thyroid cancers during disease progression, implicating that the correlations for cancer network gene expressions could serve as a supplement to current clinical biomarkers, such as cancer antigens, for early cancer diagnosis.

  1. MRI diagnosis for prostate cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tamada, Tsutomu; Nagai, Kiyohisa; Imai, Shigeki; Kajihara, Yasumasa; Jo, Yoshimasa; Tanaka, Hiroyoshi; Fukunaga, Masao (Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama (Japan)); Matsuki, Takakazu

    1998-01-01

    Recently, in Japan, both the Westernization of life styles and the advent of an aged-society have led to an increase in the incidence of prostate cancer. In making a localizing diagnosis of prostate cancer, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which has excellent contrast resolution, and transrectal ultrasonography, are used clinically, and their usefulness is being established. MRI is employed in the diagnosis of prostate cancer to detect tumors, and to determine the stage of such tumors. For the visualization of prostate cancer by MRI, T2-weighted axial images are used exclusively. After becoming familiar with normal prostate images, it is important to evaluate the localization of a tumor, and the invasion of the capsule and seminal vesicles. Future applications of new techniques for MRI will undoubtedly be found. In this paper, the present state of MRI diagnosis of prostate cancer at Kawasaki Medical School Hospital will be reviewed. (author)

  2. MRI diagnosis for prostate cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tamada, Tsutomu; Nagai, Kiyohisa; Imai, Shigeki; Kajihara, Yasumasa; Jo, Yoshimasa; Tanaka, Hiroyoshi; Fukunaga, Masao [Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama (Japan); Matsuki, Takakazu

    1998-12-31

    Recently, in Japan, both the Westernization of life styles and the advent of an aged-society have led to an increase in the incidence of prostate cancer. In making a localizing diagnosis of prostate cancer, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which has excellent contrast resolution, and transrectal ultrasonography, are used clinically, and their usefulness is being established. MRI is employed in the diagnosis of prostate cancer to detect tumors, and to determine the stage of such tumors. For the visualization of prostate cancer by MRI, T2-weighted axial images are used exclusively. After becoming familiar with normal prostate images, it is important to evaluate the localization of a tumor, and the invasion of the capsule and seminal vesicles. Future applications of new techniques for MRI will undoubtedly be found. In this paper, the present state of MRI diagnosis of prostate cancer at Kawasaki Medical School Hospital will be reviewed. (author)

  3. Nucleomedical diagnosis of lung cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ito, Yasuhiko [Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama (Japan)

    1982-06-01

    /sup 67/Ga citrate is most often used in the diagnosis of lung cancer. As judged from reported cases, the accuracy rate was 90%, with a false negative rate being about 5%. Lung ventilation and blood flow scintigraphy are valuable in assessing the degree of damage to lung function and the therapeutic effect rather than in finding lung cancer. In aerosol scintigraphy, sup(99m)Tc labelled aerosols with different particle size depending on the purpose of diagnosis are used; the large particles deposit at the center of the trachea and small size aerosols on the periphery. Aerosol-inhaled scintigraphy is highly valuable for the diagnosis of hilus lung cancer. sup(99m)Tc methylene diphosphate is used in bone scintigraphy to detect bone metastasis. But it sometimes gives false positive results such as in the case of senile bone changes. Another valuable method of diagnosis is emission CT by which various substances having affinity for the tumor can be detected by labelling them with a proton emitting nuclear species such as 11 C, /sup 13/N, /sup 15/O and /sup 18/F. Some cases of lung cancer, and the radionuclide methods used in the diagnosis are shown.

  4. Use of shear waves for diagnosis and ablation monitoring of prostate cancer: a feasibility study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gomez, A; Saffari, N; Rus, G

    2016-01-01

    Prostate cancer remains as a major healthcare issue. Limitations in current diagnosis and treatment monitoring techniques imply that there is still a need for improvements. The efficacy of prostate cancer diagnosis is still low, generating under and over diagnoses. High intensity focused ultrasound ablation is an emerging treatment modality, which enables the noninvasive ablation of pathogenic tissue. Clinical trials are being carried out to evaluate its longterm efficacy as a focal treatment for prostate cancer. Successful treatment of prostate cancer using non-invasive modalities is critically dependent on accurate diagnostic means and is greatly benefited by a real-time monitoring system. While magnetic resonance imaging remains the gold standard for prostate imaging, its wider implementation for prostate cancer diagnosis remains prohibitively expensive. Conventional ultrasound is currently limited to guiding biopsy. Elastography techniques are emerging as a promising real-time imaging method, as cancer nodules are usually stiffer than adjacent healthy prostatic tissue. In this paper, a new transurethral approach is proposed, using shear waves for diagnosis and ablation monitoring of prostate cancer. A finite-difference time domain model is developed for studying the feasibility of the method, and an inverse problem technique based on genetic algorithms is proposed for reconstructing the location, size and stiffness parameters of the tumour. Preliminary results indicate that the use of shear waves for diagnosis and monitoring ablation of prostate cancer is feasible. (paper)

  5. Diagnosis delay in Libyan female breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ermiah, Eramah; Abdalla, Fathi; Buhmeida, Abdelbaset; Larbesh, Entesar; Pyrhönen, Seppo; Collan, Yrjö

    2012-08-21

    To study the diagnosis delay and its impact on stage of disease among women with breast cancer on Libya. 200 women, aged 22 to 75 years with breast cancer diagnosed during 2008-2009 were interviewed about the period from the first symptoms to the final histological diagnosis of breast cancer. This period (diagnosis time) was categorized into 3 periods: 6 months. If diagnosis time was longer than 3 months, the diagnosis was considered delayed (diagnosis delay). Consultation time was the time taken to visit the general practitioner after the first symptoms. Retrospective preclinical and clinical data were collected on a form (questionnaire) during an interview with each patient and from medical records. The median of diagnosis time was 7.5 months. Only 30.0% of patients were diagnosed within 3 months after symptoms. 14% of patients were diagnosed within 3-6 months and 56% within a period longer than 6 months. A number of factors predicted diagnosis delay: Symptoms were not considered serious in 27% of patients. Alternative therapy (therapy not associated with cancer) was applied in 13.0% of the patients. Fear and shame prevented the visit to the doctor in 10% and 4.5% of patients, respectively. Inappropriate reassurance that the lump was benign was an important reason for prolongation of the diagnosis time. Diagnosis delay was associated with initial breast symptom(s) that did not include a lump (p diagnosis, the clinical stage distribution was as follows: 9.0% stage I, 25.5% stage II, 54.0% stage III and 11.5% stage IV.Diagnosis delay was associated with bigger tumour size (p Diagnosis delay is very serious problem in Libya. Diagnosis delay was associated with complex interactions between several factors and with advanced stages. There is a need for improving breast cancer awareness and training of general practitioners to reduce breast cancer mortality by promoting early detection. The treatment guidelines should pay more attention to the early phases of breast

  6. Diagnosis delay in Libyan female breast cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ermiah Eramah

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Aims To study the diagnosis delay and its impact on stage of disease among women with breast cancer on Libya. Methods 200 women, aged 22 to 75 years with breast cancer diagnosed during 2008–2009 were interviewed about the period from the first symptoms to the final histological diagnosis of breast cancer. This period (diagnosis time was categorized into 3 periods: 6 months. If diagnosis time was longer than 3 months, the diagnosis was considered delayed (diagnosis delay. Consultation time was the time taken to visit the general practitioner after the first symptoms. Retrospective preclinical and clinical data were collected on a form (questionnaire during an interview with each patient and from medical records. Results The median of diagnosis time was 7.5 months. Only 30.0% of patients were diagnosed within 3 months after symptoms. 14% of patients were diagnosed within 3–6 months and 56% within a period longer than 6 months. A number of factors predicted diagnosis delay: Symptoms were not considered serious in 27% of patients. Alternative therapy (therapy not associated with cancer was applied in 13.0% of the patients. Fear and shame prevented the visit to the doctor in 10% and 4.5% of patients, respectively. Inappropriate reassurance that the lump was benign was an important reason for prolongation of the diagnosis time. Diagnosis delay was associated with initial breast symptom(s that did not include a lump (p  Diagnosis delay was associated with bigger tumour size (p Conclusions Diagnosis delay is very serious problem in Libya. Diagnosis delay was associated with complex interactions between several factors and with advanced stages. There is a need for improving breast cancer awareness and training of general practitioners to reduce breast cancer mortality by promoting early detection. The treatment guidelines should pay more attention to the early phases of breast cancer. Especially, guidelines for good practices in managing

  7. Current management of oral cancer. A multidisciplinary approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ord, R A; Blanchaert, R H

    2001-11-01

    Recent basic science discoveries have contributed to our understanding of the etiology of oral cancer and allowed us to consider innovative approaches to therapy. The authors evaluated and summarized current approaches to the management of oral cancer, emphasizing the multidisciplinary team approach to coordinate surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Current concepts in management, including complications of therapy, are described. State-of-the-art surgical techniques can spare patients with oral cancer from much of the morbidity and complications common in the past. The refinement of treatment strategies reduces complications and improves efficacy. Many exciting new clinical trials in the areas of gene therapy and immunomodulation are showing promise. Management of oral cancer has undergone radical change in the past 10 years and continues to evolve rapidly. Discoveries in molecular biology, diagnosis, surgery, radiation therapy and medical oncology have altered many traditional concepts and practices. General dental practitioners need to understand current treatment modalities for oral and pharyngeal cancers to determine to whom they should refer patients for the most appropriate treatment, and to make recommendations regarding complications associated with these cancers.

  8. Human bladder cancer diagnosis using multiphoton microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Sushmita; Wysock, James S.; Ng, Casey K.; Akhtar, Mohammed; Perner, Sven; Lee, Ming-Ming; Rubin, Mark A.; Maxfield, Frederick R.; Webb, Watt W.; Scherr, Douglas S.

    2009-02-01

    At the time of diagnosis, approximately 75% of bladder cancers are non-muscle invasive. Appropriate diagnosis and surgical resection at this stage improves prognosis dramatically. However, these lesions, being small and/or flat, are often missed by conventional white-light cystoscopes. Furthermore, it is difficult to assess the surgical margin for negativity using conventional cystoscopes. Resultantly, the recurrence rates in patients with early bladder cancer are very high. This is currently addressed by repeat cystoscopies and biopsies, which can last throughout the life of a patient, increasing cost and patient morbidity. Multiphoton endoscopes offer a potential solution, allowing real time, noninvasive biopsies of the human bladder, as well as an up-close assessment of the resection margin. While miniaturization of the Multiphoton microscope into an endoscopic format is currently in progress, we present results here indicating that Multiphoton imaging (using a bench-top Multiphoton microscope) can indeed identify cancers in fresh, unfixed human bladder biopsies. Multiphoton images are acquired in two channels: (1) broadband autofluorescence from cells, and (2) second harmonic generation (SHG), mostly by tissue collagen. These images are then compared with gold standard hematoxylin/eosin (H&E) stained histopathology slides from the same specimen. Based on a "training set" and a very small "blinded set" of samples, we have found excellent correlation between the Multiphoton and histopathological diagnoses. A larger blinded analysis by two independent uropathologists is currently in progress. We expect that the conclusion of this phase will provide us with diagnostic accuracy estimates, as well as the degree of inter-observer heterogeneity.

  9. [Assisted Reproduction and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis in Patients Susceptible to Breast Cancer].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veselá, K; Kocur, T; Horák, J; Horňák, M; Oráčová, E; Hromadová, L; Veselý, J; Trávník, P

    2016-01-01

    Assisted reproduction, as well as pregnancy itself, in patients with breast cancer or other hereditary type of cancer, is a widely discussed topic. In the past, patients treated for breast cancer were rarely involved in the discussion about reproductive possibilities or infertility treatment. However, current knowledge suggests, that breast cancer is neither a contraindication to pregnancy, nor to assisted reproduction techniques. On the contrary, assisted reproduction and preimplantation genetic diagnosis methods might prevent the transmission of genetic risks to the fetus. In this review we summarize data concerning pregnancy risks in patients with increased risk of breast cancer. In addition, we introduce current possibilities and approaches to fertility preservation prior to assisted reproduction treatment as well as novel methods improving the safety of fertility treatment. In the second part of this review, we focus on karyomapping--an advanced molecular genetic tool for elimination of germinal mutations in patients with predisposition to cancer. Moreover, the rapid development of preimplantation genetic diagnosis methods contributes to detection of both chromosomal aneuploidy and causal mutations in a relatively short time-span.

  10. Urine Telomerase for Diagnosis and Surveillance of Bladder Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Lamarca

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Bladder cancer has increased incidence during last decades. For those patients with nonmuscle involved tumors, noninvasive diagnosis test and surveillance methods must be designed to avoid current cystoscopies that nowadays are done regularly in a lot of patients. Novel urine biomarkers have been developed during last years. Telomerase is important in cancer biology, improving the division capacity of cancer cells. Even urinary telomerase could be a potentially useful urinary tumor marker; its use for diagnosis of asymptomatic and symptomatic patients or its impact during surveillance is still unknown. Moreover, there will need to be uniformity and standardization in the assays before it can become useful in clinical practice. It does not seem to exist a real difference between the most classical assays for the detection of urine telomerase (TRAP and hTERT. However, the new detection methods with modified TeloTAGGG telomerase or with gold nanoparticles must also be taken into consideration for the correct development of this diagnosis method. Maybe the target population would be the high-risk groups within screening programs. To date there is no enough evidence to use it alone and to eliminate cystoscopies from the diagnosis and surveillance of these patients. The combination with cytology or FISH is still preferred.

  11. Stage at diagnosis and ovarian cancer survival

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maringe, Camille; Walters, Sarah; Butler, John

    2012-01-01

    We investigate what role stage at diagnosis bears in international differences in ovarian cancer survival.......We investigate what role stage at diagnosis bears in international differences in ovarian cancer survival....

  12. Current questions in HIV-associated lung cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shcherba, Marina; Shuter, Jonathan; Haigentz, Missak

    2013-09-01

    In this review, we explore current questions regarding risk factors contributing to frequent and early onset of lung cancer among populations with HIV infection, treatment, and outcomes of lung cancer in HIV-infected patients as well as challenges in a newly evolving era of lung cancer screening. Lung cancer, seen in three-fold excess in HIV-infected populations, has become the most common non-AIDS defining malignancy in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era. HIV-associated lung cancer appears to be associated with young age at diagnosis, cigarette smoking, advanced stage at presentation, and a more aggressive clinical course. There is no unified explanation for these observations, and aside from traditional risk factors, HIV-related immunosuppression and biological differences might play a role. In addition to smoking cessation interventions, screening and early cancer detection in HIV-infected populations are of high clinical importance, although evidence supporting lung cancer screening in this particularly high-risk subset is currently lacking, as are prospective studies of lung cancer therapy. There is an urgent need for prospective clinical trials in HIV-associated lung cancer to improve understanding of lung cancer pathogenesis and to optimize patient care. Several clinical trials are in progress to address questions in cancer biology, screening, and treatment for this significant cause of mortality in persons with HIV infection.

  13. 2D nanomaterials based electrochemical biosensors for cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lu; Xiong, Qirong; Xiao, Fei; Duan, Hongwei

    2017-03-15

    Cancer is a leading cause of death in the world. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that early diagnosis holds the key towards effective treatment outcome. Cancer biomarkers are extensively used in oncology for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Electrochemical sensors play key roles in current laboratory and clinical analysis of diverse chemical and biological targets. Recent development of functional nanomaterials offers new possibilities of improving the performance of electrochemical sensors. In particular, 2D nanomaterials have stimulated intense research due to their unique array of structural and chemical properties. The 2D materials of interest cover broadly across graphene, graphene derivatives (i.e., graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide), and graphene-like nanomaterials (i.e., 2D layered transition metal dichalcogenides, graphite carbon nitride and boron nitride nanomaterials). In this review, we summarize recent advances in the synthesis of 2D nanomaterials and their applications in electrochemical biosensing of cancer biomarkers (nucleic acids, proteins and some small molecules), and present a personal perspective on the future direction of this area. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Ethnic inequalities in time to diagnosis of cancer: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins, Tanimola; Hamilton, William; Ukoumunne, Obioha C

    2013-12-23

    addition to those covered here) and using current definitions of intervals in cancer diagnosis.

  15. Diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer. Oncology overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-09-01

    Oncology Overviews are a service of the International Cancer Research Data Bank (ICRDB) Program of the National Cancer Institute, intended to facilitate and promote the exchange of information between cancer scientists by keeping them aware of literature related to their research being published by other laboratories throughout the world. Each Oncology Overview represents a survey of the literature associated with a selected area of cancer research. It contains abstracts of articles which have been selected and organized by researchers associated with the field. Contents: Radiological diagnosis of pancreatic cancer; Biopsy and cytology in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer; Pathology and morphology of pancreatic cancer; Staging and prognosis of pancreatic cancer; Biological and immunological markers in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer; Surgical treatment of pancreatic cancer; Drug therapy of pancreatic cancer; Radiation therapy of pancreatic cancer; Selected studies on the epidemiology of pancreatic cancer; Clinical correlates and syndromes associated with pancreatic neoplasia

  16. Machine Learning for Nuclear Mechano-Morphometric Biomarkers in Cancer Diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radhakrishnan, Adityanarayanan; Damodaran, Karthik; Soylemezoglu, Ali C; Uhler, Caroline; Shivashankar, G V

    2017-12-20

    Current cancer diagnosis employs various nuclear morphometric measures. While these have allowed accurate late-stage prognosis, early diagnosis is still a major challenge. Recent evidence highlights the importance of alterations in mechanical properties of single cells and their nuclei as critical drivers for the onset of cancer. We here present a method to detect subtle changes in nuclear morphometrics at single-cell resolution by combining fluorescence imaging and deep learning. This assay includes a convolutional neural net pipeline and allows us to discriminate between normal and human breast cancer cell lines (fibrocystic and metastatic states) as well as normal and cancer cells in tissue slices with high accuracy. Further, we establish the sensitivity of our pipeline by detecting subtle alterations in normal cells when subjected to small mechano-chemical perturbations that mimic tumor microenvironments. In addition, our assay provides interpretable features that could aid pathological inspections. This pipeline opens new avenues for early disease diagnostics and drug discovery.

  17. Diagnosis and prognosis of primary breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robertson, J. F. R.; Evans, A. J.

    1997-01-01

    The diagnosis of breast cancer should be made in the context of a multidisciplinary team: preoperative diagnosis can be made in over 90 % of patients with symptomatic and screen-detected cancers. A preoperative diagnosis allows patients the opportunity to come to terms with the diagnosis of breast cancer and to consider their treatment options before progressing to therapeutic surgery. Surgery remains the primary therapeutic treatment for operable breast cancer with radiotherapy and systemic therapies as adjuvant treatments. Surgery in addition provides pathological specimens from which important prognostic information may be obtained. The traditional TNM classification in itself is no longer sufficient although there is still c considerable prognostic information to be gained in staging patients. Markers of tumour biology provide prognostic data independent of TNM staging. Both need to be considered in any overall assessment of patient prognosis

  18. DIAGNOSIS OF MUCINOUS BREAST CANCER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. К. Saribekyan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the diagnostic results of 27 patients with mucinous breast cancer, which is a rare type of invasive ductal breast cancer accounting for less than 2% of all breast cancers. The role of radiological, histological and cytological examination in the diagnosis of mucinous breast cancer is evaluated. In cases with large tumors, it was difficult to differentiate mucinous breast cancer from fibrocystic and other benign breast lesions.

  19. [Practice guideline 'Prostate cancer: diagnosis and treatment'

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reijke, T.M. de; Battermann, J.J.; Moorselaar, R.J.A. van; Jong, I.J. de; Visser, A.P.; Burgers, J.S.

    2008-01-01

    --A national, multidisciplinary practice guideline was developed concerning diagnosis and treatment of patients with prostate cancer. Because of the lack of sufficient scientific evidence at this moment no practice guideline on screening is included. --The diagnosis of prostate cancer is made by

  20. Efficiency of clinical and combined diagnosis of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solov'ev, I.E.

    1986-01-01

    Problems on clinical, instrumental, laboratory diagnosis of mammary glands cancer are described. Efficiency of clinical examination, mammography, cytological examination, ultrasonic, radioisotopic diagnosis, some biochemical tests are estimated. The conclusion concerning advisability of complex diagnosis of mammary glands cancer especially its early forms is made. Perspectivity of application of polyamine test in diagnosis of primary cancer of the mammary gland is mark to estimate efficiency of its treatment

  1. Risk factors for pancreatic cancer and early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamao, Kenji; Mizuno, Nobumasa; Sawaki, Akira; Shimizu, Yasuhiro; Chang, K.J.

    2008-01-01

    This paper describes the strategy for improving the poor prognosis of the pancreatic (P) cancer by its early imaging diagnosis followed by resection, based on recent findings on its high risk group. Epidemiological studies have revealed that patients with diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, intraductal papillary-mucious tumor, P cyst, familial history of P cancer, and hereditary P cancer syndrome are involved in the high risk group of P cancer. Imaging diagnosis with CT and/or endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) followed by histological confirmation for resection can be a useful approach to improve the prognosis in those high risk, asymptomatic individuals with abnormal levels of P enzyme and tumor marker, and with US findings of P ductal dilation and cyst. The guideline 2006 for P cancer by Japan Pancreas Society shows the algorithm leading to the final diagnosis for the positive high risk group: firstly, CT and/or MRCP (MR cholangiopancreatography (CP)); or, in case of uncertainty, EUS and/or ERCP (E retrograde CP) and/or PET; and finally, cytological, histological diagnosis. The newer approach proposed recently for the group is: multi detector row (MD)-CT and EUS; then cytodiagnosis guided by ERCP and/or with fine needle aspiration by EUS, also a promising early diagnosis. As well, molecular biological approaches are supposedly useful for the future diagnosis. (R.T.)

  2. Early breast cancer: diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Meade, Elizabeth

    2013-01-11

    Breast cancer is the most common female cancer and globally remains a major public health concern. The diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer continues to develop. Diagnosis is now more precise, surgery is less mutilating and women now have the option of breast conserving therapy with better cosmesis, and without sacrificing survival. Radiotherapy is more targeted and the selection of patients for adjuvant chemotherapy is based not only on prognostic and predictive factors, but also on newer molecular profiling that will ensure that chemotherapy is given to the patients who need and respond to it. These developments all provide a more tailored approach to the treatment of breast cancer. Management now involves a multidisciplinary team approach in order to provide the highest standard of care for patients throughout their cancer journey from diagnosis through treatment and into follow-up care.

  3. Anxiety and depression in patients with gastrointestinal cancer: does knowledge of cancer diagnosis matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tavoli, Azadeh; Mohagheghi, Mohammad Ali; Montazeri, Ali; Roshan, Rasool; Tavoli, Zahra; Omidvari, Sepideh

    2007-07-14

    Gastrointestinal cancer is the first leading cause of cancer related deaths in men and the second among women in Iran. An investigation was carried out to examine anxiety and depression in this group of patients and to investigate whether the knowledge of cancer diagnosis affect their psychological distress. This was a cross sectional study of anxiety and depression in patients with gastrointestinal cancer attending to the Tehran Cancer Institute. Anxiety and depression was measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). This is a widely used valid questionnaire to measure psychological distress in cancer patients. Demographic and clinical data also were collected to examine anxiety and depression in sub-group of patients especially in those who knew their cancer diagnosis and those who did not. In all 142 patients were studied. The mean age of patients was 54.1 (SD = 14.8), 56% were male, 52% did not know their cancer diagnosis, and their diagnosis was related to esophagus (29%), stomach (30%), small intestine (3%), colon (22%) and rectum (16%). The mean anxiety score was 7.6 (SD = 4.5) and for the depression this was 8.4 (SD = 3.8). Overall 47.2% and 57% of patients scored high on both anxiety and depression. There were no significant differences between gender, educational level, marital status, cancer site and anxiety and depression scores whereas those who knew their diagnosis showed a significant higher degree of psychological distress [mean (SD) anxiety score: knew diagnosis 9.1 (4.2) vs. 6.3 (4.4) did not know diagnosis, P < 0.001; mean (SD) depression score: knew diagnosis 9.1 (4.1) vs. 7.9 (3.6) did not know diagnosis, P = 0.05]. Performing logistic regression analysis while controlling for demographic and clinical variables studied the results indicated that those who knew their cancer diagnosis showed a significant higher risk of anxiety [OR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.1-6.8] and depression [OR: 2.8, 95% CI: 1.1-7.2]. Psychological distress was

  4. Advances in MRI diagnosis of prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Longmin; Liu Ailian

    2014-01-01

    Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in the world, and the incidence of prostate cancer in China shows an upward trend. MRI has high soft tissue resolution and multi-dimensional imaging advantages, and it can better show the anatomy of the prostate and adjacent tissue structures. With the development of MR technique, it plays a more and more important role in prostate cancer diagnosis. This review starts from the imaging performance of routine MRI sequence of prostate cancer, and a variety of functional MRI applications in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of prostate cancer are described in detail, such as MR perfusion-weighted imaging, MR spectroscopy, MR diffusion-weighted imaging, MR diffusion tensor imaging, intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging, MR susceptibility-weighted imaging. Meanwhile this review introduces that functional MRI has more advantages and can provide more image information than routine MRI sequence. According to a series of semi-quantitative and quantitative data, functional MRI can further provide the blood perfusion of prostate cancer, water molecule diffusion and microcirculation state, metabolism and biochemical composition change information. (authors)

  5. Current Stem Cell Biomarkers and Their Functional Mechanisms in Prostate Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaile Zhang

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Currently there is little effective treatment available for castration resistant prostate cancer, which is responsible for the majority of prostate cancer related deaths. Emerging evidence suggested that cancer stem cells might play an important role in resistance to traditional cancer therapies, and the studies of cancer stem cells (including specific isolation and targeting on those cells might benefit the discovery of novel treatment of prostate cancer, especially castration resistant disease. In this review, we summarized major biomarkers for prostate cancer stem cells, as well as their functional mechanisms and potential application in clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients.

  6. Current Trends in the Oncologic and Surgical Managements of Breast Cancer in Women with Implants: Incidence, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veronesi, Paolo; De Lorenzi, Francesca; Loschi, Pietro; Rietjens, Mario; Veronesi, Umberto

    2016-04-01

    Breast augmentation is the most common cosmetic surgery in the United States, and thousands of augmented patients develop breast cancer each year. The possible effects of implants on cancer incidence, diagnosis, and treatment usually generate a disarming confusion. The present paper represents an update of the more recent oncologic and surgical strategies, aiming to support plastic and general surgeons in such challenging aspects. Several aspects of breast cancer management in augmented women are investigated, including (1) risk estimation and cancer characteristics, stage at diagnosis, and prognosis; (2) cancer diagnosis with clinical examination, mammography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging; (3) cancer treatment including breast conservation, intraoperative radiotherapy, sentinel node biopsy and mastectomy, and reconstruction. A brief resume of recommendations and conclusions is suggested, elucidating correct trends in the oncologic management of augmented patients and refusing well-established misconceptions: (1) breast augmentation does not increase the risk of breast cancer incidence, and it does not influence the prognosis; (2) possible risks exist in cancer detection due to technical difficulties; (3) sentinel lymph node detection is feasible; (4) intraoperative radiotherapy represents a good chance for conserving treatment; (5) immediate reconstruction with submuscular-subfascial implants is the most common procedure after mastectomy, and biological substitutes could support this procedure. Breast clinicians should be alerted because of high expectations of this subgroup of patients, accustomed to emphasize the aesthetic result. This journal requires that the authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

  7. Current status and progress of pancreatic cancer in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Quan-Jun; Yang, Feng; Jin, Chen; Fu, De-Liang

    2015-07-14

    Cancer is currently one of the most important public health problems in the world. Pancreatic cancer is a fatal disease with poor prognosis. As in most other countries, the health burden of pancreatic cancer in China is increasing, with annual mortality rates almost equal to incidence rates. The increasing trend of pancreatic cancer incidence is more significant in the rural areas than in the urban areas. Annual diagnoses and deaths of pancreatic cancer in China are now beyond the number of cases in the United States. GLOBOCAN 2012 estimates that cases in China account for 19.45% (65727/337872) of all newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer and 19.27% (63662/330391) of all deaths from pancreatic cancer worldwide. The population's growing socioeconomic status contributes to the rapid increase of China's proportional contribution to global rates. Here, we present an overview of control programs for pancreatic cancer in China focusing on prevention, early diagnosis and treatment. In addition, we describe key epidemiological, demographic, and socioeconomic differences between China and developed countries. Facts including no nationwide screening program for pancreatic cancer, delay in early detection resulting in a late stage at presentation, lack of awareness of pancreatic cancer in the Chinese population, and low investment compared with other cancer types by government have led to backwardness in China's pancreatic cancer diagnosis and treatment. Finally, we suggest measures to improve health outcomes of pancreatic cancer patients in China.

  8. Anxiety and depression in patients with gastrointestinal cancer: does knowledge of cancer diagnosis matter?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roshan Rasool

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Gastrointestinal cancer is the first leading cause of cancer related deaths in men and the second among women in Iran. An investigation was carried out to examine anxiety and depression in this group of patients and to investigate whether the knowledge of cancer diagnosis affect their psychological distress. Methods This was a cross sectional study of anxiety and depression in patients with gastrointestinal cancer attending to the Tehran Cancer Institute. Anxiety and depression was measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS. This is a widely used valid questionnaire to measure psychological distress in cancer patients. Demographic and clinical data also were collected to examine anxiety and depression in sub-group of patients especially in those who knew their cancer diagnosis and those who did not. Results In all 142 patients were studied. The mean age of patients was 54.1 (SD = 14.8, 56% were male, 52% did not know their cancer diagnosis, and their diagnosis was related to esophagus (29%, stomach (30%, small intestine (3%, colon (22% and rectum (16%. The mean anxiety score was 7.6 (SD = 4.5 and for the depression this was 8.4 (SD = 3.8. Overall 47.2% and 57% of patients scored high on both anxiety and depression. There were no significant differences between gender, educational level, marital status, cancer site and anxiety and depression scores whereas those who knew their diagnosis showed a significant higher degree of psychological distress [mean (SD anxiety score: knew diagnosis 9.1 (4.2 vs. 6.3 (4.4 did not know diagnosis, P Conclusion Psychological distress was higher in those who knew their cancer diagnosis. It seems that the cultural issues and the way we provide information for cancer patients play important role in their improved or decreased psychological well-being.

  9. Diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doihara, Hiroyoshi; Taira, Naruhito

    2008-01-01

    This paper explains the outline of the present diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer essentially based on its therapeutic guideline by the Japan Breast Cancer Society (2005) and on authors' experiences. The diagnosis item contains the medical interview of patients, observatory and palpating examinations, mammography (for this, Japan-Breast Imaging Recording and Data System), ultrasonography (guideline for sonographic diagnosis of mammary gland, 2004), fine needle aspiration (FNA) or aspiration biopsy cytology, bases of triple test (palpation, mammography and FNA) for the cancer diagnosis, core needle biopsy, and mammotome biopsy of non-palpable calcified lesion. The treatment item contains the surgery involving conservation, sentinel lymph node biopsy (for this, lymphoscintigraphy with Tc-phytate is illustrated), radiofrequency ablation, adjuvant chemotherapy essentially using anthracycline and taxane, endocrinological therapy using tamoxifen, LH-RH analogues and aromatase inhibitors, and molecular target therapy with HER2 monoclonal antibody like trastuzumab. Recent progress of systemic therapy with medicals is remarkable, and the educational promotion of experts and medicare circumstances are concluded to be important. (R.T.)

  10. Factors Associated with Delayed Cancer Diagnosis in Egyptian Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.R. Abdelkhalek

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background Despite tremendous importance of early cancer diagnosis in children, few studies on this topic have been conducted in Egypt. Early stage diagnosis can have a positive effect on prognoses and the quality of life of children with cancer. We investigated delays in the diagnosis of childhood cancers in Egypt and determined the factors associated with these delays. Methods This retrospective study included 172 children with cancer from two pediatric oncology units. The interval between symptoms onset and final diagnosis for each child was estimated and examined by univariate and multivariate analyses to determine correlations with the child's sex, age at diagnosis, type and site of malignancy, family residence, socioeconomic status, and parental educational level. Findings The median total diagnosis delay period was 47 days caused by patients and/or parents (8 days and diagnosis (28 days. Statistically significant patient factors associated with delayed diagnosis were age (<5 years, lower parental education, and socioeconomic status. Sex residence and family size were not significant. Malignancy type and tumor site significantly affected the time for diagnosis. The lowest median value was associated with germ cell tumors (GCTs and leukemia, and the highest value was in children with brain tumor. Missed diagnoses were initially recorded in 39.5% of the patients and were associated with patient and tumor factors. Interpretation Delayed diagnosis of childhood cancer is related to age, family, socioeconomic status and parental education, and cancer type and site. Efforts should be made to promote awareness, develop effective steps to eliminate possible contributing factors, and determine the best intervention method.

  11. Associations between DSM-IV mental disorders and subsequent self-reported diagnosis of cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Siobhan; Posada-Villa, Jose; Medina-Mora, Maria Elena; Al-Hamzawi, Ali Obaid; Piazza, Marina; Tachimori, Hisateru; Hu, Chiyi; Lim, Carmen; Bruffaerts, Ronny; Lépine, Jean-Pierre; Matschinger, Herbert; de Girolamo, Giovanni; de Jonge, Peter; Alonso, Jordi; Caldas-de-Almeida, Jose Miguel; Florescu, Silvia; Kiejna, Andrzej; Levinson, Daphna; Kessler, Ronald C.; Scott, Kate M.

    2016-01-01

    Objective The associations between mental disorders and cancer remain unclear. It is also unknown whether any associations vary according to life stage or gender. This paper examines these research questions using data from the World Mental Health Survey Initiative. Methods The World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview retrospectively assessed the lifetime prevalence of 16 DSM-IV mental disorders in face-to-face household population surveys in nineteen countries (n = 52,095). Cancer was indicated by self-report of diagnosis. Smoking was assessed in questions about current and past tobacco use. Survival analyses estimated associations between first onset of mental disorders and subsequently reported cancer. Results After adjustment for comorbidity, panic disorder, specific phobia and alcohol abuse were associated with a subsequently self-reported diagnosis of cancer. There was an association between number of mental disorders and the likelihood of reporting a cancer diagnosis following the onset of the mental disorder. This suggests that the associations between mental disorders and cancer risk may be generalised, rather than specific to a particular disorder. Depression is more strongly associated with self-reported cancers diagnosed early in life and in women. PTSD is also associated with cancers diagnosed early in life. Conclusion This study reports the magnitude of the associations between mental disorders and a self-reported diagnosis of cancer and provides information about the relevance of comorbidity, gender and the impact at different stages of life. The findings point to a link between the two conditions and lend support to arguments for early identification and treatment of mental disorders. PMID:24529039

  12. Fuzzy method for pre-diagnosis of breast cancer from the Fine Needle Aspirate analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sizilio Gláucia RMA

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Across the globe, breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death among women and, currently, Fine Needle Aspirate (FNA with visual interpretation is the easiest and fastest biopsy technique for the diagnosis of this deadly disease. Unfortunately, the ability of this method to diagnose cancer correctly when the disease is present varies greatly, from 65% to 98%. This article introduces a method to assist in the diagnosis and second opinion of breast cancer from the analysis of descriptors extracted from smears of breast mass obtained by FNA, with the use of computational intelligence resources - in this case, fuzzy logic. Methods For data acquisition of FNA, the Wisconsin Diagnostic Breast Cancer Data (WDBC, from the University of California at Irvine (UCI Machine Learning Repository, available on the internet through the UCI domain was used. The knowledge acquisition process was carried out by the extraction and analysis of numerical data of the WDBC and by interviews and discussions with medical experts. The PDM-FNA-Fuzzy was developed in four steps: 1 Fuzzification Stage; 2 Rules Base; 3 Inference Stage; and 4 Defuzzification Stage. Performance cross-validation was used in the tests, with three databases with gold pattern clinical cases randomly extracted from the WDBC. The final validation was held by medical specialists in pathology, mastology and general practice, and with gold pattern clinical cases, i.e. with known and clinically confirmed diagnosis. Results The Fuzzy Method developed provides breast cancer pre-diagnosis with 98.59% sensitivity (correct pre-diagnosis of malignancies; and 85.43% specificity (correct pre-diagnosis of benign cases. Due to the high sensitivity presented, these results are considered satisfactory, both by the opinion of medical specialists in the aforementioned areas and by comparison with other studies involving breast cancer diagnosis using FNA. Conclusions This paper presents an

  13. Impact of Medicaid disenrollment in Tennessee on breast cancer stage at diagnosis and treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarazi, Wafa W; Bradley, Cathy J; Bear, Harry D; Harless, David W; Sabik, Lindsay M

    2017-09-01

    States routinely may consider rollbacks of Medicaid expansions to address statewide economic conditions. To the authors' knowledge, little is known regarding the effects of public insurance contractions on health outcomes. The current study examined the effects of the 2005 Medicaid disenrollment in Tennessee on breast cancer stage at the time of diagnosis and delays in treatment among nonelderly women. The authors used Tennessee Cancer Registry data from 2002 through 2008 and estimated a difference-in-difference model comparing women diagnosed with breast cancer who lived in low-income zip codes (and therefore were more likely to be subject to disenrollment) with a similar group of women who lived in high-income zip codes before and after the 2005 Medicaid disenrollment. The study outcomes were changes in stage of disease at the time of diagnosis and delays in treatment of >60 days and >90 days. Overall, nonelderly women in Tennessee were diagnosed at later stages of disease and experienced more delays in treatment in the period after disenrollment. Disenrollment was found to be associated with a 3.3-percentage point increase in late stage of disease at the time of diagnosis (P = .024), a 1.9-percentage point decrease in having a delay of >60 days in surgery (P = .024), and a 1.4-percentage point decrease in having a delay of >90 days in treatment (P = .054) for women living in low-income zip codes compared with women residing in high-income zip codes. The results of the current study indicate that Medicaid disenrollment is associated with a later stage of disease at the time of breast cancer diagnosis, thereby providing evidence of the potential negative health impacts of Medicaid contractions. Cancer 2017;123:3312-9. © 2017 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

  14. Early diagnosis of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Semiglazov, V.F.

    1989-01-01

    Modern data are presentd on epidemology etiopathogensis and statistics of breast cancer. Home and international clinical and histological classifications is given. Much attention is paid to the methods for early diagnosis of pretumor diseases and breast cancer: clinical roentgenomammography, thrmography and computerized tomomammography. The role of self-examination in cancer early detection has been analyzed. Special attention is paid to system of detection of minimal and unpalpable form of breast cancer, screening of these tumors. 113 refs.; 60 figs.; 6 tabs

  15. Hypothyroidism after a cancer diagnosis: etiology, diagnosis, complications, and management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Yvette; Sippel, Rebecca S; Chen, Herbert

    2014-01-01

    Hypothyroidism is a common disease that is easily treated in the majority of cases, when readily diagnosed; however, presentation of an aggregate of its symptoms is often clinically overlooked or attributed to another disease and can potentially be lethal. Already prevalent in older women, its occurrence in younger patients is rising as a result of radiation therapy, radioactive iodine therapy, and newer antineoplastic agents used to manage various malignancies. The presence of nonspecific constitutional symptoms and neuropsychiatric complaints in cancer patients can be attributed to a myriad of other diagnoses and therapies. Thyroid dysfunction can be easily overlooked in cancer patients because of the complexity of cancer's clinical picture, particularly in the pediatric population. Underdiagnosis can have important consequences for the management of both hypothyroidism and the malignancy. At minimum, quality of life is adversely affected. Untreated hypothyroidism can lead to heart failure, psychosis, and coma and can reduce the effectiveness of potentially life-saving cancer therapies, whereas iatrogenic causes can provoke atrial fibrillation and osteoporosis. Consequently, the diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism in cancer patients are pertinent. We summarize the history, epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical diagnosis, and management of hypothyroidism in cancer patients.

  16. Computer-aided diagnosis of pancreatic and lung cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Luis Lancho Tofé

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available When we talk about cancer diagnosis the most important thing is early diagnosis to prevent cancer cells from spreading. We may also consider the high cost of diagnostic tests. Our approach seeks to address both problems. It uses a software based on Bayesian networks that simulates the causeeffect relationships and gets the chance of suffering a pancreatic cancer or lung cancer. This software would support doctors and save a lot of time and resources.

  17. Metrics for evaluating patient navigation during cancer diagnosis and treatment: crafting a policy-relevant research agenda for patient navigation in cancer care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guadagnolo, B Ashleigh; Dohan, Daniel; Raich, Peter

    2011-08-01

    Racial and ethnic minorities as well as other vulnerable populations experience disparate cancer-related health outcomes. Patient navigation is an emerging health care delivery innovation that offers promise in improving quality of cancer care delivery to these patients who experience unique health-access barriers. Metrics are needed to evaluate whether patient navigation can improve quality of care delivery, health outcomes, and overall value in health care during diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Information regarding the current state of the science examining patient navigation interventions was gathered via search of the published scientific literature. A focus group of providers, patient navigators, and health-policy experts was convened as part of the Patient Navigation Leadership Summit sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Key metrics were identified for assessing the efficacy of patient navigation in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Patient navigation data exist for all stages of cancer care; however, the literature is more robust for its implementation during prevention, screening, and early diagnostic workup of cancer. Relatively fewer data are reported for outcomes and efficacy of patient navigation during cancer treatment. Metrics are proposed for a policy-relevant research agenda to evaluate the efficacy of patient navigation in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Patient navigation is understudied with respect to its use in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Core metrics are defined to evaluate its efficacy in improving outcomes and mitigating health-access barriers. Copyright © 2011 American Cancer Society.

  18. Association between smoking at diagnosis and cause-specific survival in patients with rectal cancer: Results from a population-based analysis of 10,794 cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharp, Linda; McDevitt, Joseph; Brown, Christopher; Carsin, Anne-Elie; Comber, Harry

    2017-07-01

    Currently, the 5-year survival rate for rectal cancer remains at C19-20) diagnosed between 1994 and 2012 were abstracted from the National Cancer Registry Ireland and classified by smoking status at diagnosis. Follow-up was for 5 years or until December 31, 2012. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare cancer-specific death rates in current smokers, ex-smokers, and never smokers. Subgroup analyses by age at diagnosis, sex, and treatment were conducted. A total of 10,794 rectal cancers were diagnosed. At diagnosis, 25% were current smokers, 24% were ex-smokers, and 51% were never smokers. Compared with never smokers, current smokers had a significantly greater rate of death from cancer (multivariable hazard ratio [HR], 1.15; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-1.24), but ex-smokers did not (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.94-1.11). The association was slightly stronger in men (current versus never smokers: HR = 1.13, 95% CI, 1.02-1.24) than females (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.90-1.23), but the test for interaction was not significant (P = .75). The effect of smoking was not modified by age or receipt of tumor-directed surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy. Rectal cancer patients who smoke at diagnosis have a statistically significant increased cancer death rate. Elucidation of the underlying mechanisms is urgently required. Cancer 2017;123:2543-50. © 2017 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

  19. Cancer Disparities - Cancer Currents Blog

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blog posts on cancer health disparities research—including factors that influence disparities, disparities-related research efforts, and diversity in the cancer research workforce—from NCI Cancer Currents.

  20. Plain radiographic findings of lung cancer with delayed diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choe, Kyu Ok; Chung, Jin Ill

    1994-01-01

    In Korea, Lung cancer is the Second most common prevailing malignancy among male population next to stomach cancer. Although CT scan and MRI is widely used in the staging of lung cancer, plain chest x-ray still plays an important role in screening and diagnosis. Our intention was to review the confusing radiographic features which result in delayed diagnosis of lung cancer. Of the 160 patients with lung cancer evaluated by us, 62 patients(39%) with delayed diagnosis and average diagnostic duration of 5.1 months compared with 2.1 months for those without delay. We reviewed the plain chest x-ray findings of those 62 patients. The diagnosis of lung cancer was delayed more than half of the cases under the impression of intrathoracic tuberculosis. Upon reviewing the roentgenologic findings in patients with diagnostic delay, central type appeared as a small hilar or mediastinal mass with or without obstructive pneumonia. Peripheral type appeared as an ill-defined pulmonary module, a nodule hidden by overlapping structures, or as a lung cancer associated with pulmonary tuberculosis. Some cases were misinterpreted as extranodal spread of malignancy. To solve above mentioned problems, we recommend proper understanding of natural history of lung cancer, incorporation of high kVp technique in chest radiographs, routine acquisition of lateral chest radiograph to increase diagnostic accuracy, and appropriate use of CT scan in cases of difficult diagnosis

  1. CT diagnosis of rectal cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanda, Hiroshi; Hachisuka, Kitao; Yamaguchi, Akihiro

    1986-01-01

    Preoperative diagnosis of the depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis of rectal cancer were studied using the findings of computed tomography (CT). Of one hundred and four cases operated on for rectal cancer over a period of 32 months, thirty five cases were examined by CT with the use of olive oil enema and contrast enhancement using a 60 % Conray drip infusion with reference to the histological findings. For direct invasion into the wall, the diagnoses by CT were coincident with microscopic findings in 75 % of cancers of the rectosigmoid, in 75 % of the upper rectum and in 84 % of the lower rectum. Of all cases, 28 (80 %) were diagnosed correctly. As to local lymph node metastasis, 74 % of all diagnoses by CT corresponded with the histological diagnosis. Moreover, seventeen cases were evaluated for lateral lymph node metastasis, and the diagnostic accuracy by CT was 88 %. In conclusion, preoperative CT evaluation of the extension into the rectal wall and lymph node metastasis in rectal cancer was considesed useful. (author)

  2. Cancer Technology - Cancer Currents Blog

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blog posts on technologies that affect cancer research and care—including new technologies for detecting cancer, testing treatments, storing/analyzing data, and improving patient care—from NCI Cancer Currents.

  3. Hypothyroidism After a Cancer Diagnosis: Etiology, Diagnosis, Complications, and Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Yvette; Sippel, Rebecca S.

    2014-01-01

    Hypothyroidism is a common disease that is easily treated in the majority of cases, when readily diagnosed; however, presentation of an aggregate of its symptoms is often clinically overlooked or attributed to another disease and can potentially be lethal. Already prevalent in older women, its occurrence in younger patients is rising as a result of radiation therapy, radioactive iodine therapy, and newer antineoplastic agents used to manage various malignancies. The presence of nonspecific constitutional symptoms and neuropsychiatric complaints in cancer patients can be attributed to a myriad of other diagnoses and therapies. Thyroid dysfunction can be easily overlooked in cancer patients because of the complexity of cancer’s clinical picture, particularly in the pediatric population. Underdiagnosis can have important consequences for the management of both hypothyroidism and the malignancy. At minimum, quality of life is adversely affected. Untreated hypothyroidism can lead to heart failure, psychosis, and coma and can reduce the effectiveness of potentially life-saving cancer therapies, whereas iatrogenic causes can provoke atrial fibrillation and osteoporosis. Consequently, the diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism in cancer patients are pertinent. We summarize the history, epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical diagnosis, and management of hypothyroidism in cancer patients. PMID:24309982

  4. Diagnosis and management of testicular cancer the European point of view

    CERN Document Server

    Krege, Susanne

    2015-01-01

    This book presents the views of leading European experts on the diagnosis and management of testicular cancer, with coverage of current hot topics in the field. It opens by providing an overview of the recommendations in the most recent consensus paper from the European Germ Cell Cancer Consensus Group, which is based on interdisciplinary cooperation among urologists, medical oncologists, radio-oncologists, pathologists, and basic scientists. The remainder of the book focuses on areas of controversy in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of testicular cancer. In each case the evidence base is discussed and results from the most recent studies are reviewed, drawing attention to new findings that might alter treatment recommendations. The treatment-related chapters cover a broad range of issues, including the best approach in patients with poor-prognosis and recurrent disease and those with long-term toxicities. Relevant aspects of survivorship care are also addressed. The book will help clinicians and prac...

  5. The application of nanoparticles in diagnosis and theranostics of gastric cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Rutian; Liu, Baorui; Gao, Jiahui

    2017-02-01

    Gastric cancer is the fourth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer related death worldwide. For the diagnosis of gastric cancer, apart from regular systemic imaging, the locoregional imaging is also of great importance. Moreover, there are still other ways for the detecting of gastric cancer, including the early detection of gastric cancer by endoscopy, the detection of gastric-cancer related biomarkers and the detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) of gastric cancer. However, conventional diagnostic methods are usually lack of specificity and sensitivity. Nanoparticles provide many benefits in the diagnosis of gastric cancer. Besides, nanoparticles are capable of integrating the functions of diagnosis and treatment together (theranostics). In this paper, we reviewed the applications of nanoparticles in diagnosis and theranostics of gastric cancer in the above mentioned aspects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Application of Raman spectroscopy for cancer diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krishnakumar, N.

    2011-01-01

    Cancer is the second leading causes of death next to heart diseases, Half of all cancer cases occur in developing countries. The conventional histopathology is usually the most trustable gold standard for pre-cancer and cancer diagnosis. However, the applicability of this method is more or less restricted because of the requirement of removing human tissues and the difficulty of real time diagnosis. Recently, there has been increased interest in 'optical biopsy' system using tissue spectroscopy to establish the pathological changes. Among optical based methods, Raman spectroscopy is a unique vibrational spectroscopic technique capable of probing biomolecular structures and conformation of tissues, and has excelled in the early detection of pre-cancer and cancer in the number of organs with high diagnostic specificity. Raman spectroscopy offers certain distinct advantages over than other optical diagnostic techniques such as high spatial resolution, use of less harmful NIR radiation, less or no sample preparation, no influence of water bands which facilitates in vivo/in situ measurements. This makes Raman spectroscopy also very useful for biomedical applications. Several research groups have demonstrated the efficacy of this technique in biomedical applications. The background and principle of these techniques will be discussed with some examples and discussions on how Raman spectroscopy can act as a promising technique for rapid in vivo diagnosis and detection of various cancers at the molecular level. (author)

  7. Radiologic diagnosis of abestos-ralated lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Yoon Kyung; Kim, Jeung Sook; Kim, Yoo Kyung

    2015-01-01

    Asbestos was previously widely used due to its many favorable characteristics, such as durability, flexibility, and inexpensiveness. Asbestos has been prohibited in Korea since 2009, however, asbestos-related diseases remain an important public health issue because of its long latency time. Lung cancer is one of the most harmful asbestos-related diseases and patients with asbestos-related lung cancer receive compensation by law. The diagnosis of asbestos-related diseases is based on a detailed interview regarding the asbestos exposure, in addition to clinical, radiological, pathological, and laboratory data. This review provides a radiologic diagnosis of asbestos-related lung cancer

  8. Radiologic diagnosis of abestos-ralated lung cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Yoon Kyung [Dept. of Radiology, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jeung Sook [Dept. of Radiology, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Goyang (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yoo Kyung [Dept. of Radiology, Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-12-15

    Asbestos was previously widely used due to its many favorable characteristics, such as durability, flexibility, and inexpensiveness. Asbestos has been prohibited in Korea since 2009, however, asbestos-related diseases remain an important public health issue because of its long latency time. Lung cancer is one of the most harmful asbestos-related diseases and patients with asbestos-related lung cancer receive compensation by law. The diagnosis of asbestos-related diseases is based on a detailed interview regarding the asbestos exposure, in addition to clinical, radiological, pathological, and laboratory data. This review provides a radiologic diagnosis of asbestos-related lung cancer.

  9. Cancer diagnosis program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hackett, A.J.; Smith, H.S.; Sartorius, O.W.; Snow, L.; Stampfer, M.R.

    1981-01-01

    The Peralta Cancer Research Institute has organized the Breast Diagnostic Center (BDC) to make available to women information about the breast, and to conduct clinical research to improve methods for early diagnosis and treatment of breast disease. Women entering the center are educated about the anatomy and physiology of the breast, signs of both benign and malignant disease, and factors that influence the risk of developing cancer. The BDC program proposes to demonstrate that the combined use of various diagnostic modalities, when each modality is used at maximum potential, can detect cancers at an earlier stage. Emphasis is placed on the physical examination, using nipple aspiration cytology, contrast ductography, fine-needle aspirations, and mammography. With the financial participation of the Clorox Company, it is shown that the concept of the BDC is economically sound and fills a need in the community

  10. Novel biotechnology approaches in colorectal cancer diagnosis and therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kavousipour, Soudabeh; Khademi, Fathemeh; Zamani, Mozhdeh; Vakili, Bahareh; Mokarram, Pooneh

    2017-06-01

    With ever-increasing molecular information about colorectal cancer (CRC), there is an expectation to detect more sensitive and specific molecular markers for new advanced diagnostic methods that can surpass the limitations of current screening tests. Moreover, enhanced molecular pathology knowledge about cancer has led to the development of targeted therapies, designed to interfere with specific aberrant biological pathways in cancer. Furthermore, biotechnology has opened a new window in CRC diagnosis and treatment by introducing different application of antibodies, antibody fragments, non-Ig scaffold proteins, and aptamers in targeted therapy and drug delivery. This review summarizes the molecular diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in CRC with a focus on genetic and epigenetic alterations, protein and metabolite markers as well as targeted therapy and drug delivery by Ig-scaffold proteins, non-Ig scaffold proteins, nanobodies, and aptamers.

  11. Suicide in cancer patients within the first year of diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, Myung Hee; Park, Subin; Lee, Hochang Benjamin; Ramsey, Christine M; Na, Riji; Kim, Seon Ok; Kim, Jeong Eun; Yoon, Shinkyo; Hong, Jin Pyo

    2015-05-01

    A diagnosis of cancer is associated with an increased suicide risk, and this risk is the highest within the first year of diagnosis. The aim of the present study was to determine risk factors of suicide occurring within the first year of cancer diagnosis (early suicide). The sampling pool consisted of 164,497 patients with cancer admitted to a general hospital in Seoul, South Korea, from 1996 to 2009. We conducted a 1:2 matched case-control study by matching 373 patients who died from suicide (cases) with 746 patients who did not die from suicide (controls) on age, sex, anatomic site, and at the time of cancer diagnosis. Data were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression modeling. Suicide within the first year after a cancer diagnosis occurred in 149 patients (40.0% of 373 total suicides). The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for early suicide was 1.65 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.40-1.94] and was significantly higher for biliary-pancreatic (SMR = 3.07; 95% CI = 2.02-4.46), lung (SMR = 1.94; 95% CI = 1.19-3.30), and stomach (SMR = 1.71; 95% CI = 1.16-2.42) cancers than for other cancers. Early and late suicide was significantly different in anatomic site (p = 0.01) and stage (p suicide compared with late suicide (53.4 versus 18.7%; p suicide risk. Cancers with an advanced stage at diagnosis were associated with an increased risk of suicide within 1 year of diagnosis. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Progress in diagnosis of breast cancer: Advances in radiology technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J Mari Beth Linder

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer in females between the ages of 15 and 54, and the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States. Diagnosis begins with detection by breast examination (clinical breast exam or breast self-exam or by radiologic studies, like mammography. Many advances in the diagnosis of breast cancer have taken place in recent years. This article will review the history of radiologic advances in the diagnosis of breast cancer. Use of technological advancements in digital breast tomosynthesis, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound in breast cancer diagnosis will be presented. Advantages and disadvantages of these diagnostic interventions when compared to older, traditional X-ray films will be discussed. It is important for all nurses, including radiology and oncology nurses, to be well informed about these varied diagnostic modalities, and appreciate the fact that advances in radiologic imaging technologies can yield improved outcomes for breast cancer patients.

  13. Computer modeling of lung cancer diagnosis-to-treatment process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ju, Feng; Lee, Hyo Kyung; Osarogiagbon, Raymond U; Yu, Xinhua; Faris, Nick; Li, Jingshan

    2015-08-01

    We introduce an example of a rigorous, quantitative method for quality improvement in lung cancer care-delivery. Computer process modeling methods are introduced for lung cancer diagnosis, staging and treatment selection process. Two types of process modeling techniques, discrete event simulation (DES) and analytical models, are briefly reviewed. Recent developments in DES are outlined and the necessary data and procedures to develop a DES model for lung cancer diagnosis, leading up to surgical treatment process are summarized. The analytical models include both Markov chain model and closed formulas. The Markov chain models with its application in healthcare are introduced and the approach to derive a lung cancer diagnosis process model is presented. Similarly, the procedure to derive closed formulas evaluating the diagnosis process performance is outlined. Finally, the pros and cons of these methods are discussed.

  14. Overview of current multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging approach in the diagnosis and staging of prostate cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasan Aydın

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This article is primarily based on the utility and validity of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis and staging of prostate gland tumors. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging is an emerging, useful approach for evaluating and detecting prostate cancers. It also aids in the management of a tumor and improve the care and follow-up of patients.

  15. Factors influencing diagnosis delay of advanced breast cancer in Moroccan women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maghous, A; Rais, F; Ahid, S; Benhmidou, N; Bellahamou, K; Loughlimi, H; Marnouche, E; Elmajjaoui, S; Elkacemi, H; Kebdani, T; Benjaafar, N

    2016-06-07

    Delay in the diagnosis of breast cancer in symptomatic women of 3 months or more is associated with advanced stage and low survival. We conducted this study to learn more about the extent and reasons behind diagnosis delay of advanced breast cancer in Moroccan women. A group of patients with advanced breast cancer were interviewed at the National Institute of Oncology in Rabat during the period from February to December 2014. Diagnosis delay was devised into patient delay and system delay. Patient delay was defined as time from first symptoms until first medical consultation. System delay was defined as time from first presentation to a health care provider until definite diagnosis or treatment. Prospective information and clinical data were collected on a form during an interview with each patient and from medical records. In all, 137 patients were interviewed. The mean age of women was 48.3 ± 10.4 years. The median of consultation time was 6[4,12] months and the median of diagnosis time was 1[1,3] months. Diagnosis delay was associated to a personal reason in 96 (70.1 %) patients and to a medical reason in 19 (13.9 %) patients. A number of factors predicted diagnosis delay: symptoms were not considered serious in 66 (55.9 %) patients; traditional therapy was applied in 15 (12.7 %) patients and fear of cancer diagnosis and/or treatment in 14 (11.9 %) patients. A use of traditional methods was significantly associated with rural residence and far away from basic health center (p = 0.000). Paradoxically, a family history of breast cancer was significantly higher in who report a fear of cancer diagnosis and/or treatment to diagnosis delay (p Diagnosis delay is very serious problem in Morocco. Diagnosis delay was associated with complex interactions between several factors and with advanced stages. There is a need for improving breast cancer information in our populations and training of general practitioners to reduce advanced breast cancer by

  16. The effect of breast cancer on personal income three years after diagnosis by cancer stage and education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Ingelise; Kolodziejczyk, Christophe; Thielen, Karsten

    2015-01-01

    Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is an association between stage of incident breast cancer (BC) and personal income three years after diagnosis. The analysis further considered whether the association differed among educational groups. Methods: The study...... was based on information from Danish nationwide registers. A total of 7,372 women aged 30¿60 years diagnosed with BC, 48% with metastasis, were compared to 213,276 controls. Generalised linear models were used to estimate the effect of a cancer diagnosis on personal gross income three years after diagnosis......, stratified by education and stage of cancer. The models were adjusted for income two years prior to cancer diagnosis and demographic, geographic and co-morbidity covariates. Results: Adjusting for income two years prior to cancer diagnosis and other baseline covariates (see above), cancer had a minor effect...

  17. Current Operative Management of Breast Cancer: An Age of Smaller Resections and Bigger Cures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rostas, J.W.; Dyess, D.L.

    2012-01-01

    Surgical resection was the first effective treatment for breast cancer and remains the most important treatment modality for curative intent. Refinements in operative techniques along with the use of adjuvant radiotherapy and advanced chemotherapeutic agents have facilitated increasingly focused breast cancer operations. Surgical management of breast cancer has shifted from extensive and highly morbid procedures, to the modern concept obtaining the best possible cosmetic result in tandem with the appropriate oncological resection. An ever-growing comprehension of breast cancer biology has led to substantial advances in molecular diagnosis and targeted therapies. An emerging frontier involves the breast cancer microenvironment, as a thorough understanding, while currently lacking, represents a critical opportunity for diagnosis and treatment. Collectively, these improvements will continue to push all therapeutic interventions, including operative, toward the goal of becoming more focused, targeted, and less morbid

  18. Alcohol Consumption and Survival after a Breast Cancer Diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ali, Alaa M G; Schmidt, Marjanka K; Bolla, Manjeet K

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Evidence for an association of alcohol consumption with prognosis after a diagnosis of breast cancer has been inconsistent. We have reviewed and summarized the published evidence and evaluated the association using individual patient data from multiple case cohorts. METHODS: A MEDLINE...... cancer-specific mortality, with some evidence of a negative association with all-cause mortality. On the basis of a single study, moderate postdiagnosis alcohol intake was associated with a small reduction in breast cancer-specific mortality for women with ER-negative disease. There was no association...... with prediagnosis intake for women with ER-negative disease. CONCLUSION: There was little evidence that pre- or post-diagnosis alcohol consumption is associated with breast cancer-specific mortality for women with ER-positive disease. There was weak evidence that moderate post-diagnosis alcohol intake is associated...

  19. Disparity in Breast Cancer Late Stage at Diagnosis in Missouri: Does Rural Versus Urban Residence Matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Faustine; Thompson, Emmanuel

    2016-06-01

    Despite the fact that black women have a lower incidence of breast cancer compared to white women, black women experience higher death rates than any other group. We examined the stage of breast cancer presentation by race and geographic region using population-based breast cancer incidence in all 115 counties in the state of Missouri. We used 2003-2008 breast cancer incidence data from Missouri Cancer Registry and Research Center. County of residence was categorized as urban or rural using the rural-urban continuum code. We computed the conditional proportion of stage at diagnosis by race and metropolitan status and also used Pearson's chi-squared test with Yates' continuity correction to determine statistical significance of association. Results of the study indicate that a greater proportion of black women (38.8 %) compared to white women (30.2 %) were diagnosed with more advanced breast metastasis. Our results further suggest that stage at diagnosis depended on county of residence or metropolitan status (p = .04). Women living in non-metropolitan counties were slightly more likely to have late-stage breast cancer than their metropolitan counterparts (32.0 vs 30.7 %). Overall, black women had 1.5-fold increased odds of late-stage breast cancer diagnosis compared to their white counterparts (OR = 1.50; 95 % CI, 1.39, 1.63; p diagnosis among women living in non-metropolitan or rural counties was over 11 % higher compared with their metropolitan or urban counterpart. The current study corroborates previous findings that the risk of late-stage breast cancer diagnosis was higher among women residing in non-metropolitan rural counties.

  20. Pre-operative diagnosis of thyroid cancer: Clinical, radiological and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The diagnosis or exclusion of cancer in the thyroid nodule remains a clinical dilemma for general surgeons and endocrinologists. Nodular disease of the thyroid is very common, while cancer is rare; a definite diagnosis of either is difficult to make. The general prevalence of thyroid nodules is very high. They are detectable ...

  1. Using data mining techniques for diagnosis and prognosis of cancer disease

    OpenAIRE

    Kharya, Shweta

    2012-01-01

    Breast cancer is one of the leading cancers for women in developed countries including India. It is the second most common cause of cancer death in women. The high incidence of breast cancer in women has increased significantly in the last years. In this paper we have discussed various data mining approaches that have been utilized for breast cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Breast Cancer Diagnosis is distinguishing of benign from malignant breast lumps and Breast Cancer Prognosis predicts whe...

  2. Breast cancer stage at diagnosis: is travel time important?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Kevin A; Boscoe, Francis P; Johnson, Christopher J; Goldberg, Daniel W; Sherman, Recinda; Cockburn, Myles

    2011-12-01

    Recent studies have produced inconsistent results in their examination of the potential association between proximity to healthcare or mammography facilities and breast cancer stage at diagnosis. Using a multistate dataset, we re-examine this issue by investigating whether travel time to a patient's diagnosing facility or nearest mammography facility impacts breast cancer stage at diagnosis. We studied 161,619 women 40 years and older diagnosed with invasive breast cancer from ten state population based cancer registries in the United States. For each woman, we calculated travel time to their diagnosing facility and nearest mammography facility. Logistic multilevel models of late versus early stage were fitted, and odds ratios were calculated for travel times, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, census tract poverty, rural/urban residence, health insurance, and state random effects. Seventy-six percent of women in the study lived less than 20 min from their diagnosing facility, and 93 percent lived less than 20 min from the nearest mammography facility. Late stage at diagnosis was not associated with increasing travel time to diagnosing facility or nearest mammography facility. Diagnosis age under 50, Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Black race/ethnicity, high census tract poverty, and no health insurance were all significantly associated with late stage at diagnosis. Travel time to diagnosing facility or nearest mammography facility was not a determinant of late stage of breast cancer at diagnosis, and better geographic proximity did not assure more favorable stage distributions. Other factors beyond geographic proximity that can affect access should be evaluated more closely, including facility capacity, insurance acceptance, public transportation, and travel costs.

  3. Current advances in T-cell-based cancer immunotherapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Mingjun; Yin, Bingnan; Wang, Helen Y; Wang, Rong-Fu

    2015-01-01

    Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide; due to the lack of ideal cancer biomarkers for early detection or diagnosis, most patients present with late-stage disease at the time of diagnosis, thus limiting the potential for successful treatment. Traditional cancer treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, have demonstrated very limited efficacy for patients with late-stage disease. Therefore, innovative and effective cancer treatments are urgently needed for cancer patients with late-stage and refractory disease. Cancer immunotherapy, particularly adoptive cell transfer, has shown great promise in the treatment of patients with late-stage disease, including those who are refractory to standard therapies. In this review, we will highlight recent advances and discuss future directions in adoptive cell transfer based cancer immunotherapy. PMID:25524383

  4. Molecular Endoscopic Ultrasound for Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bournet, Barbara [Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Center Rangueil, 1 avenue Jean Poulhès, TSA 50032, 31059 Toulouse Cedex 9 (France); INSERM U1037, University Hospital Center Rangueil, Toulouse (France); Pointreau, Adeline; Delpu, Yannick; Selves, Janick; Torrisani, Jerome [INSERM U1037, University Hospital Center Rangueil, Toulouse (France); Buscail, Louis, E-mail: buscail.l@chu-toulouse.fr [Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Center Rangueil, 1 avenue Jean Poulhès, TSA 50032, 31059 Toulouse Cedex 9 (France); INSERM U1037, University Hospital Center Rangueil, Toulouse (France); Cordelier, Pierre [INSERM U1037, University Hospital Center Rangueil, Toulouse (France)

    2011-02-24

    Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration-biopsy is a safe and effective technique in diagnosing and staging of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. However its predictive negative value does not exceed 50% to 60%. Unfortunately, the majority of pancreatic cancer patients have a metastatic and/or a locally advanced disease (i.e., not eligible for curative resection) which explains the limited access to pancreatic tissue specimens. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration-biopsy is the most widely used approach for cytological and histological material sampling in these situations used in up to two thirds of patients with pancreatic cancer. Based on this unique material, we and others developed strategies to improve the differential diagnosis between carcinoma and inflammatory pancreatic lesions by analysis of KRAS oncogene mutation, microRNA expression and methylation, as well as mRNA expression using both qRT-PCR and Low Density Array Taqman analysis. Indeed, differentiating pancreatic cancer from pseudotumoral chronic pancreatitis remains very difficult in current clinical practice, and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration-biopsy analysis proved to be very helpful. In this review, we will compile the clinical and molecular advantages of using endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration-biopsy in managing pancreatic cancer.

  5. Molecular Endoscopic Ultrasound for Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bournet, Barbara; Pointreau, Adeline; Delpu, Yannick; Selves, Janick; Torrisani, Jerome; Buscail, Louis; Cordelier, Pierre

    2011-01-01

    Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration-biopsy is a safe and effective technique in diagnosing and staging of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. However its predictive negative value does not exceed 50% to 60%. Unfortunately, the majority of pancreatic cancer patients have a metastatic and/or a locally advanced disease (i.e., not eligible for curative resection) which explains the limited access to pancreatic tissue specimens. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration-biopsy is the most widely used approach for cytological and histological material sampling in these situations used in up to two thirds of patients with pancreatic cancer. Based on this unique material, we and others developed strategies to improve the differential diagnosis between carcinoma and inflammatory pancreatic lesions by analysis of KRAS oncogene mutation, microRNA expression and methylation, as well as mRNA expression using both qRT-PCR and Low Density Array Taqman analysis. Indeed, differentiating pancreatic cancer from pseudotumoral chronic pancreatitis remains very difficult in current clinical practice, and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration-biopsy analysis proved to be very helpful. In this review, we will compile the clinical and molecular advantages of using endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration-biopsy in managing pancreatic cancer

  6. Diagnosis of early stomach cancer (Lecture)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vinner, M.G.

    1989-01-01

    Problems concerning diagnosis of early stomach cancer using X-ray and endoscopic investigation techniques are stated. Classification of early stomach cancer suggested by the Japan Endoscopy Society and division system of early stomach cancer into two main foms: depth (erosive-ulcerous) one and elevated (polypoid) one-is presented X-ray and endoscopic investigation techniques are shown to be high efficiency concerning revealingation of stomach mucous variations using biopsy, which allow to determine for certain whother the process is benign or malignant one

  7. Portable multispectral imaging system for oral cancer diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Yao-Fang; Ou-Yang, Mang; Lee, Cheng-Chung

    2013-09-01

    This study presents the portable multispectral imaging system that can acquire the image of specific spectrum in vivo for oral cancer diagnosis. According to the research literature, the autofluorescence of cells and tissue have been widely applied to diagnose oral cancer. The spectral distribution is difference for lesions of epithelial cells and normal cells after excited fluorescence. We have been developed the hyperspectral and multispectral techniques for oral cancer diagnosis in three generations. This research is the third generation. The excited and emission spectrum for the diagnosis are acquired from the research of first generation. The portable system for detection of oral cancer is modified for existing handheld microscope. The UV LED is used to illuminate the surface of oral cavity and excite the cells to produce fluorescent. The image passes through the central channel and filters out unwanted spectrum by the selection of filter, and focused by the focus lens on the image sensor. Therefore, we can achieve the specific wavelength image via fluorescence reaction. The specificity and sensitivity of the system are 85% and 90%, respectively.

  8. Preventing delayed diagnosis of cancer: clinicians’ views on main problems and solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Car, Lorainne Tudor; Papachristou, Nikolaos; Urch, Catherine; Majeed, Azeem; El–Khatib, Mona; Aylin, Paul; Atun, Rifat; Car, Josip; Vincent, Charles

    2016-01-01

    Background Delayed diagnosis is a major contributing factor to the UK’s lower cancer survival compared to many European countries. In the UK, there is a significant national variation in early cancer diagnosis. Healthcare providers can offer an insight into local priorities for timely cancer diagnosis. In this study, we aimed to identify the main problems and solutions relating to delay cancer diagnosis according to cancer care clinicians. Methods We developed and implemented a new priority–setting approach called PRIORITIZE and invited North West London cancer care clinicians to identify and prioritize main causes for and solutions to delayed diagnosis of cancer care. Results Clinicians identified a number of concrete problems and solutions relating to delayed diagnosis of cancer. Raising public awareness, patient education as well as better access to specialist care and diagnostic testing were seen as the highest priorities. The identified suggestions focused mostly on the delays during referrals from primary to secondary care. Conclusions Many identified priorities were feasible, affordable and converged around common themes such as public awareness, care continuity and length of consultation. As a timely, proactive and scalable priority–setting approach, PRIORITZE could be implemented as a routine preventative system for determining patient safety issues by frontline staff. PMID:28028437

  9. Early diagnosis of lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scherrer, M.

    1982-01-01

    Unanimity does not exist about the utility and organisation of screening procedures for early diagnosis of lung cancer. We describe a low cost structue of screening, requiring only a minimum of compliance from the elderly smoker and ex-smoker. At 4 months interval, radiographs, sputum cytologies and eventual fiberbronchoscopies are realized in all that elderly smokers and ex-smokers which begin to present one of the first early lung cancer signs or symptoms (loss of weight, hemoptoe, thoracic pain and others). (orig.) [de

  10. Pre-diagnosis employment status and financial circumstances predict cancer-related financial stress and strain among breast and prostate cancer survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharp, Linda; Timmons, Aileen

    2016-02-01

    Cancer may have a significant financial impact on patients, but the characteristics that predispose patients to cancer-related financial hardship are poorly understood. We investigated factors associated with cancer-related financial stress and strain in breast and prostate cancer survivors in Ireland, which has a complex mixed public-private healthcare system. Postal questionnaires were distributed to 1373 people diagnosed with cancer 3-24 months previously identified from the National Cancer Registry Ireland. Outcomes were cancer-related financial stress (impact of cancer diagnosis on household ability to make ends meet) and financial strain (concerns about household financial situation since cancer diagnosis). Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate relative risks (RR) for factors associated with cancer-related financial stress and strain. Seven hundred forty survivors participated (response rate = 54 %). Of the respondents, 48 % reported cancer-related financial stress and 32 % cancer-related financial strain. Compared to those employed at diagnosis, risk of cancer-related financial stress was significantly lower in those not working (RR = 0.71, 95 % CI 0.58-0.86) or retired (RR = 0.48, 95 % CI 0.34-0.68). It was significantly higher in those who had dependents; experienced financial stress pre-diagnosis; had a mortgage/personal loans; had higher direct medical out-of-pocket costs; and had increased household bills post-diagnosis. For cancer-related financial strain, significant associations were found with dependents, pre-diagnosis employment status and pre-diagnosis financial stress; risk was lower in those with higher direct medical out-of-pocket costs. Cancer-related financial stress and strain are common. Pre-diagnosis employment status and financial circumstances are important predictors of post-diagnosis financial wellbeing. These findings could inform development of tools to identify patients/survivors most in need of financial

  11. The effection of nuclear medicine in the diagnosis and treat of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiuling; Hou Xiancun; Xu Kai

    2006-01-01

    The incidence of breast cancer has been increasing recently. Nuclear Medicine plays an important role in the diagnosis and treat of breast cancer: breast scintigraphy in the diagnosis of breast cancer, the detection of sentinel lymph node using radioisotope, skeleton scintigraphy in the diagnosis of osseous metastasis, the application of PET in breast cancer, for instance. (authors)

  12. Computer-aided diagnosis in radiological imaging: current status and future challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doi, Kunio

    2009-10-01

    Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) has become one of the major research subjects in medical imaging and diagnostic radiology. Many different types of CAD schemes are being developed for detection and/or characterization of various lesions in medical imaging, including conventional projection radiography, CT, MRI, and ultrasound imaging. Commercial systems for detection of breast lesions on mammograms have been developed and have received FDA approval for clinical use. CAD may be defined as a diagnosis made by a physician who takes into account the computer output as a "second opinion". The purpose of CAD is to improve the quality and productivity of physicians in their interpretation of radiologic images. The quality of their work can be improved in terms of the accuracy and consistency of their radiologic diagnoses. In addition, the productivity of radiologists is expected to be improved by a reduction in the time required for their image readings. The computer output is derived from quantitative analysis of radiologic images by use of various methods and techniques in computer vision, artificial intelligence, and artificial neural networks (ANNs). The computer output may indicate a number of important parameters, for example, the locations of potential lesions such as lung cancer and breast cancer, the likelihood of malignancy of detected lesions, and the likelihood of various diseases based on differential diagnosis in a given image and clinical parameters. In this review article, the basic concept of CAD is first defined, and the current status of CAD research is then described. In addition, the potential of CAD in the future is discussed and predicted.

  13. Current and future molecular diagnostics in non-small-cell lung cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chun Man; Chu, Wing Ying; Wong, Di Lun; Tsang, Hin Fung; Tsui, Nancy Bo Yin; Chan, Charles Ming Lok; Xue, Vivian Wei Wen; Siu, Parco Ming Fai; Yung, Benjamin Yat Ming; Chan, Lawrence Wing Chi; Wong, Sze Chuen Cesar

    2015-01-01

    The molecular investigation of lung cancer has opened up an advanced area for the diagnosis and therapeutic management of lung cancer patients. Gene alterations in cancer initiation and progression provide not only information on molecular changes in lung cancer but also opportunities in advanced therapeutic regime by personalized targeted therapy. EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangement are important predictive biomarkers for the efficiency of tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment in lung cancer patients. Moreover, epigenetic aberration and microRNA dysregulation are recent advances in the early detection and monitoring of lung cancer. Although a wide range of molecular tests are available, standardization and validation of assay protocols are essential for the quality of the test outcome. In this review, current and new advancements of molecular biomarkers for non-small-cell lung cancer will be discussed. Recommendations on future development of molecular diagnostic services will also be explored.

  14. Factors influencing diagnosis delay of advanced breast cancer in Moroccan women

    OpenAIRE

    Maghous, A.; Rais, F.; Ahid, S.; Benhmidou, N.; Bellahamou, K.; Loughlimi, H.; Marnouche, E.; Elmajjaoui, S.; Elkacemi, H.; Kebdani, T.; Benjaafar, N.

    2016-01-01

    Background Delay in the diagnosis of breast cancer in symptomatic women of 3?months or more is associated with advanced stage and low survival. We conducted this study to learn more about the extent and reasons behind diagnosis delay of advanced breast cancer in Moroccan women. Methods A group of patients with advanced breast cancer were interviewed at the National Institute of Oncology in Rabat during the period from February to December 2014. Diagnosis delay was devised into patient delay a...

  15. An immune-inspired semi-supervised algorithm for breast cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Lingxi; Chen, Wenbin; Zhou, Wubai; Li, Fufang; Yang, Jin; Zhang, Jiandong

    2016-10-01

    Breast cancer is the most frequently and world widely diagnosed life-threatening cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer death among women. Early accurate diagnosis can be a big plus in treating breast cancer. Researchers have approached this problem using various data mining and machine learning techniques such as support vector machine, artificial neural network, etc. The computer immunology is also an intelligent method inspired by biological immune system, which has been successfully applied in pattern recognition, combination optimization, machine learning, etc. However, most of these diagnosis methods belong to a supervised diagnosis method. It is very expensive to obtain labeled data in biology and medicine. In this paper, we seamlessly integrate the state-of-the-art research on life science with artificial intelligence, and propose a semi-supervised learning algorithm to reduce the need for labeled data. We use two well-known benchmark breast cancer datasets in our study, which are acquired from the UCI machine learning repository. Extensive experiments are conducted and evaluated on those two datasets. Our experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed algorithm, which proves that our algorithm is a promising automatic diagnosis method for breast cancer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. [Chinese Protocol of Diagnosis and Treatment of Colorectal Cancer].

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-04-01

    Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in China. In 2012 one million thirty six thousand cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed all over the world, two hundred fifty three thousand cases were diagnosed in China (accounted for 18.6%). China has the largest number of new cases of colorectal cancer in the world. Colorectal cancer has becoming a serious threat of Chinese residents' health. In 2010, the National Ministry of Health organized colorectal cancer expertise of the Chinese Medical Association to write the "Chinese Protocol of Diagnosis and Treatment of Colorectal Cancer" (2010edition), and publish it publicly. In recent years, the National Health and Family Planning Commission has organized experts to revised the protocol 2 times: the first time in 2015, the second time in 2017. The revised part of "Chinese Protocol of Diagnosis and Treatment of Colorectal Cancer" (2017 edition) involves new progress in the field of imaging examination, pathological evaluation, surgery, chemotherpy and radiotherapy. The 2017 edition of the protocol not only referred to the contents of the international guidelines, but also combined with the specific national conditions and clinical practice in China, and also included many evidence-based clinical data in China recently. The 2017 edition of the protocol would further promote the standardization of diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer in China, improve the survival and prognosis of patients, and benefit millions of patients with colorectal cancer and their families.

  17. Comprehensive Analysis of Cancer-Proteogenome to Identify Biomarkers for the Early Diagnosis and Prognosis of Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shukla, Hem D

    2017-10-25

    During the past century, our understanding of cancer diagnosis and treatment has been based on a monogenic approach, and as a consequence our knowledge of the clinical genetic underpinnings of cancer is incomplete. Since the completion of the human genome in 2003, it has steered us into therapeutic target discovery, enabling us to mine the genome using cutting edge proteogenomics tools. A number of novel and promising cancer targets have emerged from the genome project for diagnostics, therapeutics, and prognostic markers, which are being used to monitor response to cancer treatment. The heterogeneous nature of cancer has hindered progress in understanding the underlying mechanisms that lead to abnormal cellular growth. Since, the start of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and the International Genome consortium projects, there has been tremendous progress in genome sequencing and immense numbers of cancer genomes have been completed, and this approach has transformed our understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of different types of cancers. By employing Genomics and proteomics technologies, an immense amount of genomic data is being generated on clinical tumors, which has transformed the cancer landscape and has the potential to transform cancer diagnosis and prognosis. A complete molecular view of the cancer landscape is necessary for understanding the underlying mechanisms of cancer initiation to improve diagnosis and prognosis, which ultimately will lead to personalized treatment. Interestingly, cancer proteome analysis has also allowed us to identify biomarkers to monitor drug and radiation resistance in patients undergoing cancer treatment. Further, TCGA-funded studies have allowed for the genomic and transcriptomic characterization of targeted cancers, this analysis aiding the development of targeted therapies for highly lethal malignancy. High-throughput technologies, such as complete proteome, epigenome, protein-protein interaction, and pharmacogenomics

  18. Economic hardship of minority and non-minority cancer survivors 1 year after diagnosis: another long-term effect of cancer?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pisu, Maria; Kenzik, Kelly M; Oster, Robert A; Drentea, Patricia; Ashing, Kimlin T; Fouad, Mona; Martin, Michelle Y

    2015-04-15

    Current literature suggests that racial/ethnic minority survivors may be more likely than whites to experience economic hardship after a cancer diagnosis; however, little is known about such hardship. Patients with lung cancer (LC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) participating in the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance (CanCORS) Consortium were surveyed approximately 4 months (baseline) and 12 months (follow-up) after diagnosis. Economic hardship at follow-up was present if participants 1) indicated difficulty living on household income; and/or 2) for the following 2 months, anticipated experiencing hardships (inadequate housing, food, or medical attention) or reducing living standards to the bare necessities of life. The authors tested whether African Americans (AAs) and Hispanics were more likely than whites to experience economic hardship controlling for sex, age, education, marital status, cancer stage, treatment, and economic status at baseline (income, prescription drug coverage). Of 3432 survivors (39.7% with LC, 60.3% with CRC), 14% were AA, 7% were Hispanic, and 79% were white. AAs and Hispanics had lower education and income than whites. Approximately 68% of AAs, 58% of Hispanics, and 44.5% of whites reported economic hardship. In LC survivors, the Hispanic-white disparity was not significant in unadjusted or adjusted analyses, and the AA-white disparity was explained by baseline economic status. In CRC survivors, the Hispanic-white disparity was explained by baseline economic status, and the AA-white disparity was not explained by the variables that were included in the model. Economic hardship was evident in almost 1 in 2 cancer survivors 1 year after diagnosis, especially AAs. Research should evaluate and address risk factors and their impact on survival and survivorship outcomes. © 2015 American Cancer Society.

  19. Chronic and episodic stress predict physical symptom bother following breast cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Lauren N; Bauer, Margaret R; Wiley, Joshua F; Hammen, Constance; Krull, Jennifer L; Crespi, Catherine M; Weihs, Karen L; Stanton, Annette L

    2017-12-01

    Breast cancer patients often experience adverse physical side effects of medical treatments. According to the biobehavioral model of cancer stress and disease, life stress during diagnosis and treatment may negatively influence the trajectory of women's physical health-related adjustment to breast cancer. This longitudinal study examined chronic and episodic stress as predictors of bothersome physical symptoms during the year after breast cancer diagnosis. Women diagnosed with breast cancer in the previous 4 months (N = 460) completed a life stress interview for contextual assessment of chronic and episodic stress severity at study entry and 9 months later. Physical symptom bother (e.g., pain, fatigue) was measured at study entry, every 6 weeks through 6 months, and at nine and 12 months. In multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) analyses, both chronic stress and episodic stress occurring shortly after diagnosis predicted greater physical symptom bother over the study period. Episodic stress reported to have occurred prior to diagnosis did not predict symptom bother in MSEM analyses, and the interaction between chronic and episodic stress on symptom bother was not significant. Results suggest that ongoing chronic stress and episodic stress occurring shortly after breast cancer diagnosis are important predictors of bothersome symptoms during and after cancer treatment. Screening for chronic stress and recent stressful life events in the months following diagnosis may help to identify breast cancer patients at risk for persistent and bothersome physical symptoms. Interventions to prevent or ameliorate treatment-related physical symptoms may confer added benefit by addressing ongoing non-cancer-related stress in women's lives.

  20. Molecular Imaging Probes for Diagnosis and Therapy Evaluation of Breast Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qingqing Meng

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Breast cancer is a major cause of cancer death in women where early detection and accurate assessment of therapy response can improve clinical outcomes. Molecular imaging, which includes PET, SPECT, MRI, and optical modalities, provides noninvasive means of detecting biological processes and molecular events in vivo. Molecular imaging has the potential to enhance our understanding of breast cancer biology and effects of drug action during both preclinical and clinical phases of drug development. This has led to the identification of many molecular imaging probes for key processes in breast cancer. Hormone receptors, growth factor receptor, and angiogenic factors, such as ER, PR, HER2, and VEGFR, have been adopted as imaging targets to detect and stage the breast cancer and to monitor the treatment efficacy. Receptor imaging probes are usually composed of targeting moiety attached to a signaling component such as a radionuclide that can be detected using dedicated instruments. Current molecular imaging probes involved in breast cancer diagnosis and therapy evaluation are reviewed, and future of molecular imaging for the preclinical and clinical is explained.

  1. Advancements in diagnosis and treatment of meningeal carcinomatosis in solid cancer

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Jun-Zhao Cui; Ze-Yan Zhao; Yuan-Yuan Li; Ming-Ming Zheng; Ya-Juan Liu; Li-Tian Yan; Jun-Ying He; Qing Li; Xiao-Qing Li; Rui-Ping Gao; Hui Bu; Yue-Li Zou; Xiao-Su Guo; Wei-Xin Han

    2017-01-01

    Meningeal carcinomatosis (MC) is a disease that malignant tumor cells cultivate in the cerebrospinal fluid or meninges. With the development of therapy methods and new techniques, survival time of patients with tumor is prolonged, and the incidence of MC is increasing. Diagnosis is based on the evaluation of clinical manifestations, cerebrospinal fluid and neuroimaging findings. Furthermore, in recent years, the diagnostic value of the tumor-derived cell-free DNA in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is promising and may improve the diagnostic yield of CSF analysis. Traditional treatments of MC include surgery, radiation therapy, systemic therapy, and intrathecal therapy. Recently, molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy have received more and more attention. The authors review the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestation, diagnosis and treatment of MC in solid cancer, and discuss the diagnosis and treatment options currently available as well as those under investigation.

  2. Tumor exosomes: cellular postmen of cancer diagnosis and personalized therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Aman; Khatun, Zamila; Shiras, Anjali

    2016-02-01

    Nanosized (30-150 nm) extracellular vesicles 'exosomes' are secreted by cells for intercellular communication during normal and pathological conditions. Exosomes carry biomacromolecules from cell-of-origin and, therefore, represent molecular bioprint of the cell. Tumor-derived exosomes or TDEx modulate tumor microenvironment by transfer of macromolecules locally as well as at distant metastatic sites. Due to their biological stability, TDEx are rich source of biomarkers in cancer patients. TDEx focused cancer diagnosis allows liquid biopsy-based tumor typing and may facilitate therapy response monitoring by developing novel exosomes diagnostics. Therefore, efficient and specific capturing of exosomes for subsequent amplification of the biomessages; for example, DNA, RNA, miRNA can reinvent cancer diagnosis. Here, in this review, we discuss advancements in exosomes isolation strategies, presence of exosomes biomarkers and importance of TDEx in gauging tumor heterogeneity for their potential use in cancer diagnosis, therapy.

  3. Effect of depression before breast cancer diagnosis on mortality among postmenopausal women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Xiaoyun; Margolis, Karen L; Hendryx, Michael; Reeves, Katherine; Wassertheil-Smoller, Sylvia; Weitlauf, Julie; Danhauer, Suzanne C; Chlebowski, Rowan T; Caan, Bette; Qi, Lihong; Lane, Dorothy; Lavasani, Sayeh; Luo, Juhua

    2017-08-15

    Few previous studies investigating depression before the diagnosis of breast cancer and breast cancer-specific mortality have examined depression measured at more than 1 time point. This study investigated the effect of depression (combining depressive symptoms alone with antidepressant use) measured at 2 time points before the diagnosis of breast cancer on all-cause mortality and breast cancer-specific mortality among older postmenopausal women. A large prospective cohort, the Women's Health Initiative, was used. The study included 3095 women with incident breast cancer who had measures of depressive symptoms and antidepressant use before their diagnosis at the baseline and at year 3. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) between depression at the baseline, depression at year 3, and combinations of depression at these time points and all-cause mortality and breast cancer-specific mortality. Depression at year 3 before a breast cancer diagnosis was associated with higher all-cause mortality after adjustments for multiple covariates (HR, 1.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.78). There was no statistically significant association of baseline depression and all-cause mortality or breast cancer-specific mortality whether or not depression was also present at year 3. In women with late-stage (regional- or distant-stage) breast cancer, newly developed depression at year 3 was significantly associated with both all-cause mortality (HR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.13-3.56) and breast cancer-specific mortality (HR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.24-4.70). Women with newly developed depression before the diagnosis of breast cancer had a modestly but significantly increased risk for death from any cause and for death from breast cancer at a late stage. Cancer 2017;123:3107-15. © 2017 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

  4. Role of physical activity and diet after colorectal cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Blarigan, Erin L; Meyerhardt, Jeffrey A

    2015-06-01

    This review summarizes the evidence regarding physical activity and diet after colorectal cancer diagnosis in relation to quality of life, disease recurrence, and survival. There have been extensive reports on adiposity, inactivity, and certain diets, particularly those high in red and processed meats, and increased risk of colorectal cancer. Only in the past decade have data emerged on how such lifestyle factors are associated with outcomes in colorectal cancer survivors. Prospective observational studies have consistently reported that physical activity after colorectal cancer diagnosis reduces mortality. A meta-analysis estimated that each 15 metabolic equivalent task-hour per week increase in physical activity after colorectal cancer diagnosis was associated with a 38% lower risk of mortality. No randomized controlled trials have been completed to confirm that physical activity lowers risk of mortality among colorectal cancer survivors; however, trials have shown that physical activity, including structured exercise, is safe for colorectal cancer survivors (localized to metastatic stage, during and after treatment) and improves cardiorespiratory fitness and physical function. In addition, prospective observational studies have suggested that a Western dietary pattern, high carbohydrate intake, and consuming sugar-sweetened beverages after diagnosis may increase risk of colorectal cancer recurrence and mortality, but these data are limited to single analyses from one of two US cohorts. Additional data from prospective studies and randomized controlled trials are needed. Nonetheless, on the basis of the available evidence, it is reasonable to counsel colorectal cancer survivors to engage in regular physical activity and limit consumption of refined carbohydrates, red and processed meats, and sugar-sweetened beverages. © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

  5. Risk of primary non-breast cancer after female breast cancer by age at diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mellemkjær, Lene; Christensen, Jane; Frederiksen, Kirsten Skovsgaard

    2011-01-01

    Women diagnosed with breast cancer at young age have been shown to be at higher risk of developing a new primary cancer than women diagnosed at older ages, but little is known about whether adjustment for calendar year of breast cancer diagnosis, length of follow-up, and/or breast cancer treatment...

  6. Current status on microRNAs as biomarkers for ovarian cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Prahm, Kira Philipsen; Novotny, Guy Wayne; Høgdall, Claus

    2016-01-01

    Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most lethal gynecological malignancy in the Western world, and has a very poor prognosis, often due to late diagnosis and emergence of chemotherapy resistance. Therefore, there is an essential need for new diagnostic and prognostic markers that can improve and initiate ......RNAs in different types of OC. In this review we summarize the current knowledge of microRNAs as potential biomarkers for OC, with focus on their clinical relevance....

  7. Future strategies in the diagnosis, staging and treatment of bladder cancer.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heijden, A.G. van der; Witjes, J.A.

    2003-01-01

    PURPOSE OF REVIEW: In this review new modalities in the diagnosis, staging and treatment of superficial and invasive bladder cancer are reviewed. RECENT FINDINGS: Urinary markers still cannot replace cystoscopy in diagnosing bladder cancer. However, DNA micro-array has shown promise for diagnosis.

  8. Gastric cancer diagnosis and treatment guidelines 2008: Uganda ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In Uganda most cancers to the exception of bladder and penis are increasing in incidence. The incidence of cancer of stomach is 5.6/100,000 from 0.8/100,000 in the 1960s a seven fold increase.The purpose of this guideline document is to highlight the salient points in gastric cancer diagnosis and treatment in the ...

  9. Preoperative diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in thoracic esophageal cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eguchi, Reiki; Yamada, Akiyoshi; Ueno, Keiko; Murata, Yoko [Tokyo Women`s Medical Coll. (Japan)

    1996-10-01

    From 1994 to 1995, to evaluate the utility of preoperative CT, EUS (endoscopic ultrasonography) and US in the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in thoracic esophageal cancer, 94 patients with thoracic esophageal cancer who underwent esophagectomy were studied clinicopathologically. The sensitivity of EUS diagnosis of upper mediastinal lymph node metastasis (85%), left-sided paragastrin lymph node metastasis (73-77%), and especially lower paraesophageal lymph node metastasis (100%) were good. But due to their low-grade specificity in EUS diagnosis, their overall accuracy was not very good. On the other hand, the overall accuracy of the CT diagnosis of lymph node metastasis was fine. However, sensitivity, the most important clinical factor in the CT diagnosis of lymph node metastasis was considerably inferior to EUS. The assessment of the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis around the tracheal bifurcation and the pulmonary hilum and the left para-cardial lesion by CT or EUS was poor. It was concluded that lymph node metastasis of these area must be the pitfall in preoperative diagnosis. The average diameter of the lymph nodes and the proportion of cancerous tissue in the lymph nodes diagnosed as metastatic lymph nodes by CT was larger than that of the false negative lymph nodes. However, the lymph nodes diagnosed as true positives by EUS showed no such tendency. This must be the reason the sensitivity of the EUS diagnosis and specificity of the CT diagnosis were favorable, but the specificity of the EUS diagnosis and especially the sensitivity of the CT diagnosis were not as good. (author)

  10. Preoperative diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in thoracic esophageal cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eguchi, Reiki; Yamada, Akiyoshi; Ueno, Keiko; Murata, Yoko

    1996-01-01

    From 1994 to 1995, to evaluate the utility of preoperative CT, EUS (endoscopic ultrasonography) and US in the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in thoracic esophageal cancer, 94 patients with thoracic esophageal cancer who underwent esophagectomy were studied clinicopathologically. The sensitivity of EUS diagnosis of upper mediastinal lymph node metastasis (85%), left-sided paragastrin lymph node metastasis (73-77%), and especially lower paraesophageal lymph node metastasis (100%) were good. But due to their low-grade specificity in EUS diagnosis, their overall accuracy was not very good. On the other hand, the overall accuracy of the CT diagnosis of lymph node metastasis was fine. However, sensitivity, the most important clinical factor in the CT diagnosis of lymph node metastasis was considerably inferior to EUS. The assessment of the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis around the tracheal bifurcation and the pulmonary hilum and the left para-cardial lesion by CT or EUS was poor. It was concluded that lymph node metastasis of these area must be the pitfall in preoperative diagnosis. The average diameter of the lymph nodes and the proportion of cancerous tissue in the lymph nodes diagnosed as metastatic lymph nodes by CT was larger than that of the false negative lymph nodes. However, the lymph nodes diagnosed as true positives by EUS showed no such tendency. This must be the reason the sensitivity of the EUS diagnosis and specificity of the CT diagnosis were favorable, but the specificity of the EUS diagnosis and especially the sensitivity of the CT diagnosis were not as good. (author)

  11. Canine scent detection in the diagnosis of lung cancer: revisiting a puzzling phenomenon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehmann, R; Boedeker, E; Friedrich, U; Sagert, J; Dippon, J; Friedel, G; Walles, T

    2012-03-01

    Patient prognosis in lung cancer largely depends on early diagnosis. The exhaled breath of patients may represent the ideal specimen for future lung cancer screening. However, the clinical applicability of current diagnostic sensor technologies based on signal pattern analysis remains incalculable due to their inability to identify a clear target. To test the robustness of the presence of a so far unknown volatile organic compound in the breath of patients with lung cancer, sniffer dogs were applied. Exhalation samples of 220 volunteers (healthy individuals, confirmed lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)) were presented to sniffer dogs following a rigid scientific protocol. Patient history, drug administration and clinicopathological data were analysed to identify potential bias or confounders. Lung cancer was identified with an overall sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 93%. Lung cancer detection was independent from COPD and the presence of tobacco smoke and food odours. Logistic regression identified two drugs as potential confounders. It must be assumed that a robust and specific volatile organic compound (or pattern) is present in the breath of patients with lung cancer. Additional research efforts are required to overcome the current technical limitations of electronic sensor technologies to engineer a clinically applicable screening tool.

  12. Communication of the cancer diagnosis to an elderly patient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucélia Terra Jonas

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective: to collect evidence on matters which involve cancer diagnosis disclosure to an elderly patient. Methods: integrative revision made in five important data bases in the area of health with seven selected articles. Results: it was noticeable that there are conflicts between family members and health professionals concerning cancer diagnosis disclosure to an elderly patient and that the preferences of those people on the disclosure of the diagnosis are similar to other patients. Conclusion: health professionals, especially the nurses, need training in order to have a secure and clarifying communication, matching the information to the specific needs of each patient, considering their reality and type of confrontation..

  13. Comprehensive Analysis of Cancer-Proteogenome to Identify Biomarkers for the Early Diagnosis and Prognosis of Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hem D. Shukla

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available During the past century, our understanding of cancer diagnosis and treatment has been based on a monogenic approach, and as a consequence our knowledge of the clinical genetic underpinnings of cancer is incomplete. Since the completion of the human genome in 2003, it has steered us into therapeutic target discovery, enabling us to mine the genome using cutting edge proteogenomics tools. A number of novel and promising cancer targets have emerged from the genome project for diagnostics, therapeutics, and prognostic markers, which are being used to monitor response to cancer treatment. The heterogeneous nature of cancer has hindered progress in understanding the underlying mechanisms that lead to abnormal cellular growth. Since, the start of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA, and the International Genome consortium projects, there has been tremendous progress in genome sequencing and immense numbers of cancer genomes have been completed, and this approach has transformed our understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of different types of cancers. By employing Genomics and proteomics technologies, an immense amount of genomic data is being generated on clinical tumors, which has transformed the cancer landscape and has the potential to transform cancer diagnosis and prognosis. A complete molecular view of the cancer landscape is necessary for understanding the underlying mechanisms of cancer initiation to improve diagnosis and prognosis, which ultimately will lead to personalized treatment. Interestingly, cancer proteome analysis has also allowed us to identify biomarkers to monitor drug and radiation resistance in patients undergoing cancer treatment. Further, TCGA-funded studies have allowed for the genomic and transcriptomic characterization of targeted cancers, this analysis aiding the development of targeted therapies for highly lethal malignancy. High-throughput technologies, such as complete proteome, epigenome, protein–protein interaction

  14. Patient-perceived changes in the system of values after cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greszta, Elżbieta; Siemińska, Maria J

    2011-03-01

    A cross-sectional study investigated changes in patients' value systems following a diagnosis of cancer. Fifty patients at 1 to 6 months following cancer diagnosis, were asked to compare their current values with their recollection of past values. Using the Rokeach Value Survey we obtained statistically significant results showing that twenty-seven out of thirty-six values changed their importance from the patients' perspective: 16 values significantly increased, while 11 values significantly decreased in importance. Changes with respect to nine values were insignificant. We indentified clusters of values increasing in importance the most: Religious morality (Salvation, Forgiving, Helpful, Clean), Personal orientation (Self-Respect, True Friendship, Happiness), Self-constriction (Self-Controlled, Obedient, Honest), Family security (Family Security, Responsible), and Delayed gratification (Wisdom, Inner Harmony). We also observed that the following value clusters decreased in importance: Immediate gratification (An Exciting Life, Pleasure, A Comfortable Life); Self-expansion (Capable, Ambitious, Broadminded), Competence (A Sense of Accomplishment, Imaginative, Intellectual). The remaining values belonged to clusters that as a group changed slightly or not at all. Practical implications of the study are discussed.

  15. European guidelines for quality assurance in colorectal cancer screening and diagnosis. First Edition--Quality assurance in pathology in colorectal cancer screening and diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quirke, P; Risio, M; Lambert, R; von Karsa, L; Vieth, M

    2012-09-01

    Multidisciplinary, evidence-based guidelines for quality assurance in colorectal cancer screening and diagnosis have been developed by experts in a project coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The full guideline document covers the entire process of population-based screening. It consists of 10 chapters and over 250 recommendations, graded according to the strength of the recommendation and the supporting evidence. The 450-page guidelines and the extensive evidence base have been published by the European Commission. The chapter on quality assurance in pathology in colorectal cancer screening and diagnosis includes 23 graded recommendations. The content of the chapter is presented here to promote international discussion and collaboration by making the principles and standards recommended in the new EU Guidelines known to a wider professional and scientific community. Following these recommendations has the potential to enhance the control of colorectal cancer through improvement in the quality and effectiveness of the screening process, including multi-disciplinary diagnosis and management of the disease. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  16. Breast Cancer Diagnosis using Artificial Neural Networks with Extreme Learning Techniques

    OpenAIRE

    Chandra Prasetyo Utomo; Aan Kardiana; Rika Yuliwulandari

    2014-01-01

    Breast cancer is the second cause of dead among women. Early detection followed by appropriate cancer treatment can reduce the deadly risk. Medical professionals can make mistakes while identifying a disease. The help of technology such as data mining and machine learning can substantially improve the diagnosis accuracy. Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) has been widely used in intelligent breast cancer diagnosis. However, the standard Gradient-Based Back Propagation Artificial Neural Networks...

  17. Multislice CT for preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horiguchi, Akihiko; Ishihara, Shin; Ito, Masahiro

    2007-01-01

    We investigated the ability of multislice (MS) CT to visualize and diagnose the progression of pancreatic cancer. With regard to local progression, good diagnosis was possible for detecting the invasion of the intrapancreatic bile duct, duodenum, portal vein, arteries and other organs, and liver metastasis. Sensitivity was high but specificity was not good for detecting the invasion of the anterior and posterior pancreatic tissue. This is thought to be because of the positive diagnosis with pancreatitis that accompanies cancer. Pancreatic plexus invasion was also thought to be a cause of the lipid elevation of the nerve plexus and decreased sensitivity accompanying pancreatitis. Identification of cancer invasion and tumor periphery changes based on concomitant pancreatitis also depends on the amount of fibrous stroma, but this will require further investigation. Factors other than the size of lymph node metastases also need to be investigated. MS-CT can provide detailed volume data in a short time and making it an essential test in diagnosing the stage of pancreatic cancer. (author)

  18. Sonographic diagnosis of gallbladder cancer: analysis of mis-diagnosed cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Ji Hyun; Moon, Jung Mi; Ahn, Sang Won; Song, Ik Hoon

    1993-01-01

    Ultrasonography is the most valuable diagnostic tool in the evaluation of gallbladder (GB) diseases. Although sonographic findings in GB cancer have been well described, the diagnostic accuracy has not been clearly analyzed. Our purpose of this report was to discuss diagnostic difficulties and analyze causes of misdiagnosis of GB cancer based on our recent experience and so may result in more accurate diagnosis of GB cancer. We analyzed 13misdiagnosed cases out of 24 cases of GB cancer with special emphasis on diagnostic difficulties and causes of misidagnosis. The most common type of misdiagnosed GB cancer was thickened wall type which was found in 10 cases. Preoperative sonographic diagnosis of these cases was empyema in 4 cases, cholecystitis in 3, and non-specific GB wall thickening in 1. In 2 cases, any lesion could not be detected at ultrasonography. Two cases with intraluminal type of GB cancer were misdiagnosed ; one being misdiagnosed as cholecystitis with stone, and the other being completely missed. Three cases that were completely missed consist of 2 with focal wall thickening and 1 involving GB neck. In conclusion, sonographic diagnosis of GB cancer is difficult, because the wall thickening type, that mimicks the cholecystitis, is frequent. Thorough and careful investigation of GB is mandatory for eliminating misdiagnosis

  19. Research Progress of Exosomes in Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongbo ZOU

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available As the leading cause of morbidity and cancer related-death worldwide, lung cancer has a serious threat to human health. Exosomes are nanoscale lipid membrane vesicles derived from multivesicles, which containing active biomolecules including proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and etc. Exosomes play important roles in lung cancer initiation and progression by promoting the formation of tumor microenvironment, enhancing tumor invasive and metastasis capability, leading to immunosuppression and resistance to chemoradiotherapy, and also have the application value in early diagnosis and treatment. This review summarizes the research progress of exosomes in tumor initiation and progression, and its roles in diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.

  20. Ultrasound Elastography in Breast Cancer Diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carlsen, J.; Ewertsen, C; Sletting, S

    2015-01-01

    Ultrasound elastography is an established method for characterization of focal lesions in the breast. Different techniques and analyses of the images may be used for the characterization. This article addresses the use of ultrasound elastography in breast cancer diagnosis. In the first part...

  1. Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection: Current options and developments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yao-Kuang; Kuo, Fu-Chen; Liu, Chung-Jung; Wu, Meng-Chieh; Shih, Hsiang-Yao; Wang, Sophie SW; Wu, Jeng-Yih; Kuo, Chao-Hung; Huang, Yao-Kang; Wu, Deng-Chyang

    2015-01-01

    Accurate diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a crucial part in the effective management of many gastroduodenal diseases. Several invasive and non-invasive diagnostic tests are available for the detection of H. pylori and each test has its usefulness and limitations in different clinical situations. Although none can be considered as a single gold standard in clinical practice, several techniques have been developed to give the more reliable results. Invasive tests are performed via endoscopic biopsy specimens and these tests include histology, culture, rapid urease test as well as molecular methods. Developments of endoscopic equipment also contribute to the real-time diagnosis of H. pylori during endoscopy. Urea breathing test and stool antigen test are most widely used non-invasive tests, whereas serology is useful in screening and epidemiological studies. Molecular methods have been used in variable specimens other than gastric mucosa. More than detection of H. pylori infection, several tests are introduced into the evaluation of virulence factors and antibiotic sensitivity of H. pylori, as well as screening precancerous lesions and gastric cancer. The aim of this article is to review the current options and novel developments of diagnostic tests and their applications in different clinical conditions or for specific purposes. PMID:26523098

  2. Raman spectral feature selection using ant colony optimization for breast cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fallahzadeh, Omid; Dehghani-Bidgoli, Zohreh; Assarian, Mohammad

    2018-06-04

    Pathology as a common diagnostic test of cancer is an invasive, time-consuming, and partially subjective method. Therefore, optical techniques, especially Raman spectroscopy, have attracted the attention of cancer diagnosis researchers. However, as Raman spectra contain numerous peaks involved in molecular bounds of the sample, finding the best features related to cancerous changes can improve the accuracy of diagnosis in this method. The present research attempted to improve the power of Raman-based cancer diagnosis by finding the best Raman features using the ACO algorithm. In the present research, 49 spectra were measured from normal, benign, and cancerous breast tissue samples using a 785-nm micro-Raman system. After preprocessing for removal of noise and background fluorescence, the intensity of 12 important Raman bands of the biological samples was extracted as features of each spectrum. Then, the ACO algorithm was applied to find the optimum features for diagnosis. As the results demonstrated, by selecting five features, the classification accuracy of the normal, benign, and cancerous groups increased by 14% and reached 87.7%. ACO feature selection can improve the diagnostic accuracy of Raman-based diagnostic models. In the present study, features corresponding to ν(C-C) αhelix proline, valine (910-940), νs(C-C) skeletal lipids (1110-1130), and δ(CH2)/δ(CH3) proteins (1445-1460) were selected as the best features in cancer diagnosis.

  3. An expert support system for breast cancer diagnosis using color wavelet features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Issac Niwas, S; Palanisamy, P; Chibbar, Rajni; Zhang, W J

    2012-10-01

    Breast cancer diagnosis can be done through the pathologic assessments of breast tissue samples such as core needle biopsy technique. The result of analysis on this sample by pathologist is crucial for breast cancer patient. In this paper, nucleus of tissue samples are investigated after decomposition by means of the Log-Gabor wavelet on HSV color domain and an algorithm is developed to compute the color wavelet features. These features are used for breast cancer diagnosis using Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier algorithm. The ability of properly trained SVM is to correctly classify patterns and make them particularly suitable for use in an expert system that aids in the diagnosis of cancer tissue samples. The results are compared with other multivariate classifiers such as Naïves Bayes classifier and Artificial Neural Network. The overall accuracy of the proposed method using SVM classifier will be further useful for automation in cancer diagnosis.

  4. Real time diagnosis of bladder cancer with probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jen-Jane; Wu, Katherine; Adams, Winifred; Hsiao, Shelly T.; Mach, Kathleen E.; Beck, Andrew H.; Jensen, Kristin C.; Liao, Joseph C.

    2011-02-01

    Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) is an emerging technology for in vivo optical imaging of the urinary tract. Particularly for bladder cancer, real time optical biopsy of suspected lesions will likely lead to improved management of bladder cancer. With pCLE, micron scale resolution is achieved with sterilizable imaging probes (1.4 or 2.6 mm diameter), which are compatible with standard cystoscopes and resectoscopes. Based on our initial experience to date (n = 66 patients), we have demonstrated the safety profile of intravesical fluorescein administration and established objective diagnostic criteria to differentiate between normal, benign, and neoplastic urothelium. Confocal images of normal bladder showed organized layers of umbrella cells, intermediate cells, and lamina propria. Low grade bladder cancer is characterized by densely packed monomorphic cells with central fibrovascular cores, whereas high grade cancer consists of highly disorganized microarchitecture and pleomorphic cells with indistinct cell borders. Currently, we are conducting a diagnostic accuracy study of pCLE for bladder cancer diagnosis. Patients scheduled to undergo transurethral resection of bladder tumor are recruited. Patients undergo first white light cystocopy (WLC), followed by pCLE, and finally histologic confirmation of the resected tissues. The diagnostic accuracy is determined both in real time by the operative surgeon and offline after additional image processing. Using histology as the standard, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of WLC and WLC + pCLE are calculated. With additional validation, pCLE may prove to be a valuable adjunct to WLC for real time diagnosis of bladder cancer.

  5. Prognostic factors and diagnosis of extent of the bile duct cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kai, Masahiro; Chijiiwa, Kazuo; Otani, Kazuhiro; Ouchida, Jiro; Kondo, Kazuhiro; Nagano, Motoaki; Hiyoshi, Masahide; Imamura, Naoya

    2009-01-01

    To improve the survival of the patients with extrahepatic bile duct cancer, the factors influencing survival and the accuracy of preoperative diagnosis were examined. The factors influencing survival were retrospectively analyzed in 115 patients (mid and lower; n=61, hilar and superior; n=44, diffusely spread; n=10) with extrahepatic bile duct cancer who underwent surgical resection from 1990 to 2008. The preoperative diagnosis of the tumor extension using multi detector row CT (MDCT), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), intraductal ultrasonography (IDUS) and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) was compared with the final pathological diagnosis in patients underwent surgical resection (mid and lower; n=32, hilar and superior; n=11, diffusely spread; n=8) from 2003 to 2008. In patients with mid and lower bile duct cancer (n=61), lymph node metastasis and surgical margin were the independent prognostic factors in the multivariate analysis. Whereas none was found in hilar and superior bile duct cancer (n=44). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the preoperative diagnosis for the depth of tumor invasion (serosal and/or pancreas invasion) was 66.7%, 69.4% and 68.6%, and for the liver invasion was 100%, 88.0%, 88.2%, and for the lymph node metastasis was 76.9%, 71.0%, 72.5%, respectively. More than a few cases were under diagnosed the tumor extension. In patients with mid and lower bile duct cancer, the accuracy of preoperative diagnosis for the depth of tumor invasion (serosal and/or pancreas) was 59.4%. In patients with hilar and superior bile duct cancer, the accuracy of preoperative diagnosis for the serosal and hepatic invasion is 81.8% and 54.5%. Positive surgical margin was 9.1% for hilar and superior, 9.4% for mid and lower and 50.0% for diffusely spread bile duct cancer. Especially, The horizontal spread was difficult to evaluate in patients with diffusely spread bile duct cancer. From 2003 to 2008, the rate of positive surgical margin

  6. CEA A BIOCHEMICAL MARKER FOR DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS OF GASTROINTESTINAL CANCER

    OpenAIRE

    Prathibha; Vishnu Datt

    2016-01-01

    Serum tumor markers (TM) are widely used for diagnosis and monitoring of treatment of cancer. Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) is one of the most widely investigated tumor markers in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Estimation of circulating tumor markers is a non- invasive quantitative method. Serum levels of CEA were studied for diagnosis and prognosis of gastrointestinal malignancies. 140 subjects were undertaken out of which 35 normal and remaining 105 were GI cancer patients. Ser...

  7. Endoscopic ultrasound in the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Iglesias García

    Full Text Available Pancreatic cancer is the 5th leading cause of cancer-related death in Western countries. The 5-year survival rate is approximately 4%, without significant changes over the last 50 years. This poor survival rate and bad prognosis are associated with the diagnosis of advanced-stage disease, which precludes the only potential curative treatment - surgical resection. In this setting, the main objective in the management of pancreatic cancer is to perform an early diagnosis and a correct staging of the disease. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS appears to be an essential tool for the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer. EUS diagnostic accuracy for detecting pancreatic tumors ranges from 85 to 100%, clearly superior to other imaging techniques. EUS accuracy for the local staging of pancreatic cancer ranges from 70 to 90%, superior or equivalent to other imaging modalities. EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration allows a cyto-histological diagnosis in nearly 90% of cases, with a very low complication rate. At present, the formal indications for EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration are the necessity of palliative treatment or whenever the possibility of neoadjuvant treatment is present. It could be also indicated to differentiate pancreatic adenocarcinoma from other pancreatic conditions, like lymphoma, metastasis, autoimmune pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis. We can conclude that EUS is an essential tool in the management of patients with pancreatic tumors.

  8. Endoscopic ultrasound in the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Iglesias García

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Pancreatic cancer is the 5th leading cause of cancer-related death in Western countries. The 5-year survival rate is approximately 4%, without significant changes over the last 50 years. This poor survival rate and bad prognosis are associated with the diagnosis of advanced-stage disease, which precludes the only potential curative treatment - surgical resection. In this setting, the main objective in the management of pancreatic cancer is to perform an early diagnosis and a correct staging of the disease. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS appears to be an essential tool for the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer. EUS diagnostic accuracy for detecting pancreatic tumors ranges from 85 to 100%, clearly superior to other imaging techniques. EUS accuracy for the local staging of pancreatic cancer ranges from 70 to 90%, superior or equivalent to other imaging modalities. EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration allows a cyto-histological diagnosis in nearly 90% of cases, with a very low complication rate. At present, the formal indications for EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration are the necessity of palliative treatment or whenever the possibility of neoadjuvant treatment is present. It could be also indicated to differentiate pancreatic adenocarcinoma from other pancreatic conditions, like lymphoma, metastasis, autoimmune pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis. We can conclude that EUS is an essential tool in the management of patients with pancreatic tumors.

  9. Couple functioning after pediatric cancer diagnosis: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Schoors, Marieke; Caes, Line; Alderfer, Melissa A; Goubert, Liesbet; Verhofstadt, Lesley

    2017-05-01

    A systematic review was conducted to (1) investigate couple functioning after a pediatric cancer diagnosis and (2) examine theoretical and methodological tendencies and issues in this literature. Searches of Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane, PsycINFO, and Embase resulted in inclusion of 32 qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method papers. Findings of these papers were extracted for summary. Most couples adapt well to the crisis of a pediatric cancer diagnosis in domains such as emotional closeness, support, marital satisfaction, and general marital adjustment. However, most experience difficulties in the domain of sexual intimacy, and reports on conflict are mixed across qualitative and quantitative studies. This review illustrates the need for future research with a greater focus on the impact of a pediatric cancer diagnosis on the couple's functioning, conducted with the use of appropriate theoretical frameworks and based on both partners' reports. Improvements in research are needed to best inform couple-based interventions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Computer vision techniques for the diagnosis of skin cancer

    CERN Document Server

    Celebi, M

    2014-01-01

    The goal of this volume is to summarize the state-of-the-art in the utilization of computer vision techniques in the diagnosis of skin cancer. Malignant melanoma is one of the most rapidly increasing cancers in the world. Early diagnosis is particularly important since melanoma can be cured with a simple excision if detected early. In recent years, dermoscopy has proved valuable in visualizing the morphological structures in pigmented lesions. However, it has also been shown that dermoscopy is difficult to learn and subjective. Newer technologies such as infrared imaging, multispectral imaging, and confocal microscopy, have recently come to the forefront in providing greater diagnostic accuracy. These imaging technologies presented in this book can serve as an adjunct to physicians and  provide automated skin cancer screening. Although computerized techniques cannot as yet provide a definitive diagnosis, they can be used to improve biopsy decision-making as well as early melanoma detection, especially for pa...

  11. Arab American women's lived experience with early-stage breast cancer diagnosis and surgical treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obeidat, Rana Fakhri; Lally, Robin M; Dickerson, Suzanne S

    2012-01-01

    Currently, limited literature addresses Arab American women's responses to the impact of breast cancer and its treatments. The objective of the study was to understand the experience of being diagnosed with and undergoing surgical treatment for early-stage breast cancer among Arab American women. A qualitative interpretive phenomenological research design was used for this study. A purposive sample of 10 Arab American women who were surgically treated for early-stage breast cancer in the United States was recruited. Data were collected using individual interviews and analyzed using the Heideggerian hermeneutical methodology. Arab American women accepted breast cancer diagnosis as something in God's hands that they had no control over. Although they were content with God's will, the women believed that the diagnosis was a challenge that they should confront. The women confronted this challenge by accessing the healthcare system for treatment, putting trust in their physicians, participating when able in treatment decisions, using religious practices for coping, maintaining a positive attitude toward the diagnosis and the treatment, and seeking information. Arab American women's fatalistic beliefs did not prevent them from seeking care and desiring treatment information and options when diagnosed with breast cancer. It is important that healthcare providers encourage patients to express meanings they attribute to their illness to provide them with appropriate supportive interventions. They should also individually assess patients' decision-making preferences, invite them to participate in decision making, and provide them with tailored means necessary for such participation without making any assumptions based on patients' ethnic/cultural background.

  12. Photodynamic diagnosis of bladder cancer in ex vivo urine cytology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, C. Y.; Ng, B. K.; Razul, S. Gulam; Olivo, Malini C.; Lau, Weber K. O.; Tan, P. H.; Chin, William

    2006-02-01

    Bladder cancer is the fourth common malignant disease worldwide, accounting for 4% of all cancer cases. In Singapore, it is the ninth most common form of cancer. The high mortality rate can be reduced by early treatment following precancerous screening. Currently, the gold standard for screening bladder tumors is histological examination of biopsy specimen, which is both invasive and time-consuming. In this study ex vivo urine fluorescence cytology is investigated to offer a timely and biopsy-free means for detecting bladder cancers. Sediments in patients' urine samples were extracted and incubated with a novel photosensitizer, hypericin. Laser confocal microscopy was used to capture the fluorescence images at an excitation wavelength of 488 nm. Images were subsequently processed to single out the exfoliated bladder cells from the other cells based on the cellular size. Intensity histogram of each targeted cell was plotted and feature vectors, derived from the histogram moments, were used to represent each sample. A difference in the distribution of the feature vectors of normal and low-grade cancerous bladder cells was observed. Diagnostic algorithm for discriminating between normal and low-grade cancerous cells is elucidated in this paper. This study suggests that the fluorescence intensity profiles of hypericin in bladder cells can potentially provide an automated quantitative means of early bladder cancer diagnosis.

  13. Impact of Urban Neighborhood Disadvantage on Late Stage Breast Cancer Diagnosis in Virginia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeGuzman, Pam Baker; Cohn, Wendy F; Camacho, Fabian; Edwards, Brandy L; Sturz, Vanessa N; Schroen, Anneke T

    2017-04-01

    Research suggests that residents of inner-city urban neighborhoods have higher rates of late stage cancer diagnosis. Identifying urban neighborhoods with high rates of both concentrated disadvantage and late stage cancer diagnosis may assist health care providers to target screening interventions to reduce disparities. The purposes of this study were to (1) create an index to evaluate concentrated disadvantage (CD) using non-racial measures of poverty, (2) determine the impact of neighborhood CD on late stage breast cancer diagnosis in US cities, and (3) to understand the role of obesity on this relationship. We used census block group- (CBG) level poverty indicators from five Virginia cities to develop the index. Breast cancer cases of women aged 18-65 who lived in the five cities were identified from the 2000-2012 Virginia Cancer Registry. A logistic regression model with random intercept was used to evaluate the impact of disadvantage on late stage breast cancer diagnosis. CBG-level maps were developed to geographically identify neighborhoods with both high rates of CD and late breast cancer staging. Over 900 CBGs and 6000 breast cases were included. Global fit of the concentrated disadvantage model was acceptable. The effect of disadvantage on late stage was significant (OR = 1.0083, p = 0.032). Inner-city poverty impacts risk of late stage breast cancer diagnosis. Area-level obesity is highly correlated with neighborhood poverty (ρ = 0.74, p diagnosis for urban poor and for minorities living in these underserved neighborhoods, but more study is needed to understanding the complex relationship between concentrated neighborhood poverty, obesity, and late stage diagnosis.

  14. Recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mai Trong Khoa

    2015-01-01

    Incidence and mortality rates of cancer are currently on the top of disease pattern and the number is increasing and increasing worldwide. The impact of screening program for early diagnosis has been proved their important roles in the war against cancer because it helps increase the cure rates, decrease the mortality and morbidity rates, and therefore reduces the economic-social burden. Advances in diagnostic imaging techniques, especially the hybrid imaging (X-ray and Nuclear Medicine) such as PET/CT, SPECT/CT, PET/MRI, is important in accurate staging and these help choose the optimized treatment options to prolong survival while improve the quality of life. The treatment outcomes of cancer has certain remarkable advances based on variety of research to modify, promote and strengthen the traditional treatments (surgery-chemotherapy-radiation) such as laparoscopic surgery, combined chemo-regimens, intensity modulated radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, stereotactic radiation therapy, radio surgery, PET/CT simulation, radioactive seeds implant, selective internal radiation therapy, intra-operative radiation therapy, etc. as well as the emerge of new methods such as targeted therapy, immune therapy, radio immunotherapy, proton therapy and heavy ion. Treatment of cancer is now the “individualized treatment” with the advances of biochemistry and histopathology. To achieve the most optimal outcomes, cancer should be approached by a multi professional team including biochemistry, immunology, histopathology, surgical oncology, medical oncology and radiation oncology. (author)

  15. Novel personalized pathway-based metabolomics models reveal key metabolic pathways for breast cancer diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Huang, Sijia; Chong, Nicole; Lewis, Nathan

    2016-01-01

    diagnosis. We applied this method to predict breast cancer occurrence, in combination with correlation feature selection (CFS) and classification methods. Results: The resulting all-stage and early-stage diagnosis models are highly accurate in two sets of testing blood samples, with average AUCs (Area Under.......993. Moreover, important metabolic pathways, such as taurine and hypotaurine metabolism and the alanine, aspartate, and glutamate pathway, are revealed as critical biological pathways for early diagnosis of breast cancer. Conclusions: We have successfully developed a new type of pathway-based model to study...... metabolomics data for disease diagnosis. Applying this method to blood-based breast cancer metabolomics data, we have discovered crucial metabolic pathway signatures for breast cancer diagnosis, especially early diagnosis. Further, this modeling approach may be generalized to other omics data types for disease...

  16. Diagnosis delay of breast cancer and its associated factors in Malaysian women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naing Nyi N

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Malaysia. Delayed diagnosis is preventable and has major effects on patients' prognosis and survival. The objectives of our study were to identify the magnitude of delayed diagnosis and its associated factors in women with breast cancer in Malaysia. Methods This study had a cross-sectional design. Respondents had histologically confirmed breast cancer and were registered at five medical centres between 2005 and 2007. All breast cancer patients who attended hospital clinics at the East Coast were included. Patients at Kuala Lumpur hospitals were selected by systematic sampling. A standardised questionnaire was developed to interview respondents. We measured the time from the first recognition of symptoms to the first general practitioners' consultation and to the histological diagnosis of breast cancer. Diagnosis delay was defined when there was more than 6 months from the recognition of symptoms to the histological diagnosis. Multiple logistic regression was used for analysis. Results In total, 328 respondents were included. The mean (standard deviation age was 47.9 (9.4 years. Most respondents were of Malay ethnicity, were married housewives with a median family income of RM1500 a month. Most respondents had ductal carcinoma (89.3% and the stage distribution was as follows: 5.2% stage I, 38.7% stage II, 44.8% stage III and 11.3% stage IV. The median time to consultation was 2 months and the median time to diagnosis was 5.5 months. The frequency of diagnosis delay of more than 3 months was 72.6% and delay of more than 6 months occurred in 45.5% of the cases. The factors associated with diagnosis delay included the use of alternative therapy (odds ratio (OR 1.77; 95% confidence interval (CI: 1.06, 2.94, breast ulcer (OR 5.71; 95% CI: 1.59, 20.47, palpable axillary lymph nodes (OR 2.19; 95% CI: 1.23, 3.90, false-negative diagnostic test (OR 5.32; 95% CI: 2

  17. Diagnosis delay of breast cancer and its associated factors in Malaysian women

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norsa'adah, Bachok; Rampal, Krishna G; Rahmah, Mohd A; Naing, Nyi N; Biswal, Biswa M

    2011-01-01

    Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Malaysia. Delayed diagnosis is preventable and has major effects on patients' prognosis and survival. The objectives of our study were to identify the magnitude of delayed diagnosis and its associated factors in women with breast cancer in Malaysia. This study had a cross-sectional design. Respondents had histologically confirmed breast cancer and were registered at five medical centres between 2005 and 2007. All breast cancer patients who attended hospital clinics at the East Coast were included. Patients at Kuala Lumpur hospitals were selected by systematic sampling. A standardised questionnaire was developed to interview respondents. We measured the time from the first recognition of symptoms to the first general practitioners' consultation and to the histological diagnosis of breast cancer. Diagnosis delay was defined when there was more than 6 months from the recognition of symptoms to the histological diagnosis. Multiple logistic regression was used for analysis. In total, 328 respondents were included. The mean (standard deviation) age was 47.9 (9.4) years. Most respondents were of Malay ethnicity, were married housewives with a median family income of RM1500 a month. Most respondents had ductal carcinoma (89.3%) and the stage distribution was as follows: 5.2% stage I, 38.7% stage II, 44.8% stage III and 11.3% stage IV. The median time to consultation was 2 months and the median time to diagnosis was 5.5 months. The frequency of diagnosis delay of more than 3 months was 72.6% and delay of more than 6 months occurred in 45.5% of the cases. The factors associated with diagnosis delay included the use of alternative therapy (odds ratio (OR) 1.77; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 2.94), breast ulcer (OR 5.71; 95% CI: 1.59, 20.47), palpable axillary lymph nodes (OR 2.19; 95% CI: 1.23, 3.90), false-negative diagnostic test (OR 5.32; 95% CI: 2.32, 12.21), non-cancer interpretation

  18. Being given a cancer diagnosis in old age: a phenomenological study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Esbensen, Bente Appel; Swane, Christine E; Hallberg, Ingalill Rahm

    2008-01-01

    Objectives: The aim of the study was to illuminate the lived experience of being given a cancer diagnosis in old age. Background: Little research has been done on the experience of elderly people developing cancer and the impact of the illness on their lives. Such knowledge is needed to support e...... in clinical practice, to identify the specific meaning the turning point has for an elderly person with cancer, and to understand the particular approach he or she uses to handle the awareness of being old. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved Udgivelsesdato: 2008/3......Objectives: The aim of the study was to illuminate the lived experience of being given a cancer diagnosis in old age. Background: Little research has been done on the experience of elderly people developing cancer and the impact of the illness on their lives. Such knowledge is needed to support...... elderly people in dealing with issues arising after cancer is diagnosed. Design: A descriptive phenomenological method was used to investigate the phenomenon "the lived experience of being given a cancer diagnosis in old age". Participants: In total, 16 persons (aged 65+, mean age 76, range 68...

  19. New and chronic use of hypnotics after diagnosis with early breast cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Lærke Toftegård; Suppli, Nis Frederik Palm; Dalton, Susanne Oksbjerg

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: To determine use and investigate factors associated with use of hypnotics the first year after a diagnosis with breast cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective registry based cohort study linking clinical data from the Danish Breast Cancer Group with the National Prescription Drug...... Database and other health and administrative registries. We included 26 082 women diagnosed with early breast cancer as first time primary cancer during 1996-2006. Use of hypnotics was measured as redeemed prescriptions in the first year after diagnosis of early breast cancer. Prior use of hypnotics.......21-1.42)] and use of antidepressants the year before breast cancer diagnosis [HR 1.97 (95% CI 1.85-2.10)]. CONCLUSION: This study detected a group of patients at great risk for initiating and increasing use of hypnotics and preventive and prophylactic mechanism should be investigated and initiated when this group...

  20. Cervical cytology and the diagnosis of cervical cancer in older women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landy, Rebecca; Castanon, Alejandra; Dudding, Nick; Lim, Anita Wey Wey; Hollingworth, Antony; Hamilton, Willie; Sasieni, Peter D

    2015-12-01

    Most non-screen-detected cervical cancers are advanced stage. We assess the potential for cytology to expedite diagnosis when used outside of routine call and recall screening for cervical cancer. Two cohorts of women with cytology that did not appear to have been taken as part of routine screening, nested within a census of cervical cytology, in England between April 2007 and March 2010 were studied: 93,322 women aged 40-69 at first cytology, and 14,668 women aged ≥70. The diagnostic performance of high grade cervical squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) or worse cytology was estimated. We also estimated case-fatality from stage distribution in women aged ≥66 with and without cytology in the year prior to diagnosis. There were 259 cancers diagnosed in women aged 40-69 at first cytology, and 78 in women aged ≥70. The sensitivity of cytology ≥ HSIL for cancer was 89% and 83% respectively, and the number of women needed to test to identify one cancer was 404 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 355-462) and 226 (95% CI: 177-292) respectively. Women aged ≥66 with cytology within a year of diagnosis had earlier stage cancers than those without, corresponding to a 17-22% reduction in case fatality. Cervical cytology is an excellent identifier of cancer among women tested outside routine screening call and recall. Its use as a triage tool, for instance in women with vague gynaecological symptoms, could facilitate earlier stage diagnosis and reduce cervical cancer mortality. © The Author(s) 2015.

  1. Attitude towards pre-implantation genetic diagnosis for hereditary cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lammens, Chantal; Bleiker, Eveline; Aaronson, Neil; Vriends, Annette; Ausems, Margreet; Jansweijer, Maaike; Wagner, Anja; Sijmons, Rolf; van den Ouweland, Ans; van der Luijt, Rob; Spruijt, Liesbeth; Gómez García, Encarna; Ruijs, Mariëlle; Verhoef, Senno

    2009-01-01

    The use of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for hereditary cancer is subject to on-going debate, particularly among professionals. This study evaluates the attitude towards PGD and attitude-associated characteristics of those concerned: family members with a hereditary cancer predisposition.

  2. Use of 67Ga citrate in the diagnosis of lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogdasarov, Yu.B.; Zajtseva, T.I.; Gabuniya, R.I.; Abramov, V.F.

    1981-01-01

    A study was of the potentialities of 67 Ga citrate in the diagnosis of lung cancer, in differentiation from benign tumors and chronic inflammatory processes of the lungs. A total of 101 lung cancer patients were examined, of them 64 with central, and 37 with peripheral cancer. The results of radionuclide studies were correlated with those of surgery and with morphological findings. It has been established that in central cancer scintigraphy with 67 Ga citrate gives positive results in 87% of cases, and in peripheral cancer in 89%. This method is of great value for the diagnosis of cancer metastases to the mediastinal lymph nodes. No correlation between the intensity of 67 Ga citrate accumulation in lung tumors and their histological structure has been revealed [ru

  3. New serum biomarkers for prostate cancer diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chadha, Kailash C.; Miller, Austin; Nair, Bindukumar B.; Schwartz, Stanley A.; Trump, Donald L.; Underwood, Willie

    2014-01-01

    Background Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is currently used as a biomarker for diagnosis and management of prostate cancer (CaP). However, PSA typically lacks the sensitivity and specificity desired of a diagnostic marker. Objective The goal of this study was to identify an additional biomarker or a panel of biomarkers that is more sensitive and specific than PSA in differentiating benign versus malignant prostate disease and/or localized CaP versus metastatic CaP. Methods Concurrent measurements of circulating interleukin-8 (IL-8), Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptors 1 (sTNFR1) were obtained from four groups of men: (1) Controls (2) with elevated prostate-specific antigen with a negative prostate biopsy (elPSA_negBx) (3) with clinically localized CaP and (4) with castration resistant prostate cancer. Results TNF-α Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC = 0.93) and sTNFR1 (AUC = 0.97) were strong predictors of elPSA_negBx (vs. CaP). The best predictor of elPSA_negBx vs CaP was sTNFR1 and IL-8 combined (AUC = 0.997). The strongest single predictors of localized versus metastatic CaP were TNF-α (AUC = 0.992) and PSA (AUC = 0.963) levels. Conclusions The specificity and sensitivity of a PSA-based CaP diagnosis can be significantly enhanced by concurrent serum measurements of IL-8, TNF-α and sTNFR1. In view of the concerns about the ability of PSA to distinguish clinically relevant CaP from indolent disease, assessment of these biomarkers in the larger cohort is warranted. PMID:25593898

  4. Delay in the diagnosis of cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Rikke Pilegaard

    for a detailed description of the patients' diagnostic pathways, allowing the researchers to draw the time line from symptom onset to treatment start, and to describe the characteristics of the patients and the GPs. Existing scales were used whenever possible; otherwise, ad hoc questions were constructed....... Chaper 1 introduces the concept of delay in the diagnosis of cancer. The chapter aims to provide insight into the time interval from symptom to treatment and into the patient and GP characteristics that potentially influence this interval. In addition, the chapter gives a brief overview of cancer...

  5. Systematic Review: Family Resilience After Pediatric Cancer Diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Schoors, Marieke; Caes, Line; Verhofstadt, Lesley L; Goubert, Liesbet; Alderfer, Melissa A

    2015-10-01

    A systematic review was conducted to (1) investigate family resilience in the context of pediatric cancer, and (2) examine theoretical, methodological, and statistical issues in this literature. Family resilience was operationalized as competent family functioning after exposure to a significant risk. Following guidelines for systematic reviews, searches were performed using Web of Science, Pubmed, Cochrane, PsycInfo, and Embase. After screening 5,563 articles, 85 fulfilled inclusion criteria and were extracted for review. Findings indicated that most families are resilient, adapting well to the crisis of cancer diagnosis. However, a subset still experiences difficulties. Methodological issues in the current literature hamper strong nuanced conclusions. We suggest future research with a greater focus on family resilience and factors predicting it, based on available theory, and conducted with attention toward unit of measurement and use of appropriate statistical analyses. Improvements in research are needed to best inform family-based clinical efforts. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Current Diagnosis and Treatment of Halitosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehmet Mustafa Kılıçkaya

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Halitosis or oral malodor is not a diagnosis, but is symptom. Halitosis, that we frequently encounter in ear, nose and throat practice can be the harbinger of some serious underlying disease. Therefore, diagnosis and to find the cause of the halitosis are important. Also halitosis treatment is necessary due to the social and psychological effects. Breath contains hundreds of volatile organic compounds that are by-products of our metabolism. Certain diseases such as nasopharynx cancer, larynx cancer ve lung cancer alter the mix of gases. Thus, the analysis of exhaled air has gained importance. New technologies lead to the development of new devices. And with these called electronic noses the analysis of exhaled air has becomes an important non-invasive diagnostic method. In the literature, halitosis and bad breath which is used as synonymus with oral malodor is the emission of unpleasant odor from mouth and nasal passage. It occurs in 25% of the population, approximately and it has a significant social and economic impact. Halitosis is classified as true halitosis (physiologic halitosis and pathologic halitosis, pseudohalitosis and halitophobia. The most common cause is intra-oral diseases. Among all these factors, the most important etiologic factor are the coating tongue. Other ear, nose and throat diseases such as rhinitis and sinusitis are seen among the most common extraoral causes. Treponema denticola, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tanneralla forsythia, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella nigrescens, Actinobacilli and Solobacterium moorei are the bacteria which are commonly isolated from patients with halitosis and they are volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs producing ones as well. The treatment of halitosis should be carried out according to the etiology. In the physiologic halitosis tooth brushing, use of dental floss, tongue cleaning and chlorhexidine, cetylpyridinium chloride and zinc containing antimicrobial mouthwashes

  7. Roentgenoendoscopic diagnosis of early stomach cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vinner, M.G.; Kopytov, I.I.

    1984-01-01

    Some potentialities of the X-ray and endoscopic methods in the recognition of early stomach cancer are analysed. Both methods are provided by a roentgenotogist. Of 396 operated patients with stomach cancer, early forms were detected in 78 which is equal to 8% of the detected number and 19.7% of the operated cancer pasients. Two macroscopic forms of early cancer were detected: cancer with ulceration (erosion-ulcerative form) and polypoidcancer. The first form is interpreted as primary-ulcerative cancer, malignant ulcers and cancer in the form of erosions, the second one as polyps, polypoid and patchlike cancer, malignant polyps. X-ray changes were detected in 80% of the patients, in the rest of 20% by the endoscopic method only. With the help of the roentgenological and endoscopic methods (without cytological examination) one cannot be sure of accurate differential diagnosis between malignant and benign variants of ulcerations and polypoid changes in early cancer. The potentialities of the X-ray method ir the detection of ulcerative and polypoid changes of the stomach make it possible to improve it, though under a strict condition of performing subsequent obligatory endoscopy and getting tissue specimens for biopsy. The organization of the common roentgenoendoscopic centers is found appropriate

  8. Cancer-affine radiopharmaceuticals for the study of biochemical nature of cancer and in the early diagnosis and follow-up of cancer and its systemic therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shukla, S.K.; Cipriani, C.; Atzei, G.

    1998-01-01

    Cancer patient needs less diagnosis but an effective therapy. The systemic nature of cancer, often right from its inception, requires systemic therapy with cancer-affine radiopharmaceuticals which contain radionuclide species recognizing both the primary and secondary cancers which have generally different biochemical properties. Cancers may be classified into two groups: I. CATIONIC COMPLEX-AFFINE TUMOURS; Lung cancer, thyroid cancer, primary breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma, bone metastases from anionic complex-affine cancers, ...; II. ANIONIC COMPLEX-AFFINE TUMOURS; Primary prostate cancer, melanoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, bone metastases from cationic complex-affine cancer. With cancer-affine citratogallate-67 complexes we have diagnosed and followed up, and with citratoyttrate-90 complexes we have treated advanced breast, prostate, renal cell cancer patients. The patient preparation by advising to avoid cancer risk factors and to take cancer preventing and radiopharmaceutical stabilizing diets during diagnosis and therapy have given better results. Friendliness, caring visits and telephone calls from the therapist group help to obtain better outcomes of the diagnosis, and mainly of the therapy. The complexes of these radionuclides with other chelating agents EDTA and DPTA are expected to give better images and cure of advanced cancer patients. Cancer-affine formulations of Tc-99m(V), Re-186(V) and Re-188(V)-DMSA are being studied for their future use in early diagnosis and follow-up, and for the systemic therapy of cancer which will show affinity for them. (author)

  9. Diagnosis of the cancer of unknown primary origin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jurisova, S.; Poersoek, S.

    2013-01-01

    Cancer of unknown primary origin (CUP) is one of the ten most frequent cancers worldwide. It constitutes of 3-5% of all human malignancies. At time of diagnosis patients with CUP present with disseminated metastases without established primary origin. CUP manifests as heterogenous group of mainly epithelial cancers recognised by distinct clinico pathological entities. The diagnostic work-up includes extensive histopathology investigations and modern imaging technology. Nevertheless, the primary tumour remains undetected most of the time. (author)

  10. Clinical significance of plasma lysophosphatidic acid levels in the differential diagnosis of ovarian cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun-Jie Zhang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the value of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Materials and Methods: We first performed a hospital-based, case-control study involving 123 ovarian cancer patients and 101 benign ovarian tumor patients, and then conducted a meta-analysis with 19 case-control studies to assess the correlation between ovarian cancer and plasma LPA levels. Results: The case-control study results demonstrated that ovarian cancer patients have increased LPA and cancer antigen (CA-125 levels compared to patients with benign ovarian tumor (LPA: Ovarian cancer vs benign ovarian tumor: 5.28 ± 1.52 vs 1.82 ± 0.77 μmol/L; CA-125: Ovarian cancer vs benign ovarian tumor: 87.17 ± 45.81 vs. 14.03 ± 10.14 U/mL, which showed statistically significant differences (both P < 0.05. LPA with advanced sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy rate of diagnosis excelled CA-125 in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer (both P < 0.05. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer (LPA: 0.983; CA-125: 0.910 were statistically significant compared with the reference (both P < 0.001 and the difference of the areas of ROC curve between LPA and CA-125 in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer showed statistically significant difference (P < 0.05. The meta-analysis results suggested that plasma LPA levels were higher in ovarian cancer tissues than in benign tissues (standardized mean difference (SMD =2.36, 95% confidence interval (CI: 1.61-3.11, P < 0.001 and normal tissues (SMD = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.77-2.87, P < 0.001. Conclusion: LPA shows greater value in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer compared to CA-125 and may be employed as a biological index to diagnose ovarian cancer.

  11. Current trends in the management of bladder cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Amit R; Campbell, Steven C

    2009-01-01

    This article provides a review of bladder cancer etiology, diagnosis, and management for WOC nurses. Bladder cancer incidence continues to rise yearly in the United States, and patients with bladder cancer comprise some of the most challenging cases in urologic oncology. Nurses are involved with all aspects of the processes of care for the patient with bladder cancer, from initial diagnosis and treatment to postsurgical care and follow-up. For nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer, treatment includes transurethral resection followed by intravesical chemotherapy or immunotherapy to prevent recurrence or progression. Radical cystectomy along with chemotherapy protocols provides a survival advantage for muscle invasive bladder cancer, although the timing of chemotherapy remains controversial. Numerous factors are considered when determining the type of urinary diversion used at the time of radical cystectomy, but patient, family, surgeon, and nursing input are essential for preserving an optimal health-related quality of life and reducing morbidity. Patients with metastatic bladder cancer are generally treated with a cisplatin-based chemotherapy but continue to have a poor prognosis. Newer therapies involving novel molecular-targeted agents provide hope for the future for patients with metastatic disease.

  12. MRI-Targeted or Standard Biopsy for Prostate-Cancer Diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasivisvanathan, Veeru; Rannikko, Antti S; Borghi, Marcelo; Panebianco, Valeria; Mynderse, Lance A; Vaarala, Markku H; Briganti, Alberto; Budäus, Lars; Hellawell, Giles; Hindley, Richard G; Roobol, Monique J; Eggener, Scott; Ghei, Maneesh; Villers, Arnauld; Bladou, Franck; Villeirs, Geert M; Virdi, Jaspal; Boxler, Silvan; Robert, Grégoire; Singh, Paras B; Venderink, Wulphert; Hadaschik, Boris A; Ruffion, Alain; Hu, Jim C; Margolis, Daniel; Crouzet, Sébastien; Klotz, Laurence; Taneja, Samir S; Pinto, Peter; Gill, Inderbir; Allen, Clare; Giganti, Francesco; Freeman, Alex; Morris, Stephen; Punwani, Shonit; Williams, Norman R; Brew-Graves, Chris; Deeks, Jonathan; Takwoingi, Yemisi; Emberton, Mark; Moore, Caroline M

    2018-05-10

    Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with or without targeted biopsy, is an alternative to standard transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy for prostate-cancer detection in men with a raised prostate-specific antigen level who have not undergone biopsy. However, comparative evidence is limited. In a multicenter, randomized, noninferiority trial, we assigned men with a clinical suspicion of prostate cancer who had not undergone biopsy previously to undergo MRI, with or without targeted biopsy, or standard transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy. Men in the MRI-targeted biopsy group underwent a targeted biopsy (without standard biopsy cores) if the MRI was suggestive of prostate cancer; men whose MRI results were not suggestive of prostate cancer were not offered biopsy. Standard biopsy was a 10-to-12-core, transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy. The primary outcome was the proportion of men who received a diagnosis of clinically significant cancer. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of men who received a diagnosis of clinically insignificant cancer. A total of 500 men underwent randomization. In the MRI-targeted biopsy group, 71 of 252 men (28%) had MRI results that were not suggestive of prostate cancer, so they did not undergo biopsy. Clinically significant cancer was detected in 95 men (38%) in the MRI-targeted biopsy group, as compared with 64 of 248 (26%) in the standard-biopsy group (adjusted difference, 12 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4 to 20; P=0.005). MRI, with or without targeted biopsy, was noninferior to standard biopsy, and the 95% confidence interval indicated the superiority of this strategy over standard biopsy. Fewer men in the MRI-targeted biopsy group than in the standard-biopsy group received a diagnosis of clinically insignificant cancer (adjusted difference, -13 percentage points; 95% CI, -19 to -7; Pprostate cancer who had not undergone biopsy previously. (Funded by the National Institute for

  13. Prostate Cancer: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... of this page please turn Javascript on. Feature: Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment Past Issues / Winter 2010 Table of Contents Symptoms Prostate cancer has no symptoms in its early stages. They ...

  14. Advances in the diagnosis of hereditary kidney cancer: Initial results of a multigene panel test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Kevin A; Syed, Jamil S; Espenschied, Carin R; LaDuca, Holly; Bhagat, Ansh M; Suarez-Sarmiento, Alfredo; O'Rourke, Timothy K; Brierley, Karina L; Hofstatter, Erin W; Shuch, Brian

    2017-11-15

    Panel testing has been recently introduced to evaluate hereditary cancer; however, limited information is available regarding its use in kidney cancer. The authors retrospectively reviewed test results and clinical data from patients who underwent targeted multigene panel testing of up to 19 genes associated with hereditary kidney cancer from 2013 to 2016. The frequency of positive (mutation/variant likely pathogenic), inconclusive (variant of unknown significance), and negative results was evaluated. A logistic regression analysis evaluated predictive factors for a positive test. Patients (n = 1235) had a median age at diagnosis of 46 years, which was significantly younger than the US population of individuals with kidney cancer (P kidney cancer. Panel tests may be particularly useful for patients who lack distinguishing clinical characteristics of known hereditary kidney cancer syndromes. The current results support the use of early age of onset for genetic counseling and/or testing. Cancer 2017;123:4363-71. © 2017 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

  15. Age at diagnosis and breast cancer survival in iran

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vostakolaei, F.A.; Broeders, M.J.M.; Rostami, N.; van Dijck, J.A.; Feuth, T.; Kiemeney, L.A.L.M.; Verbeek, A.L.M.

    2012-01-01

    Background. Tumour characteristics are the most important prognostic factors in breast cancer. Patient-related factors such as young age at diagnosis, obesity, and smoking behaviour may also modify disease outcome. Due to the absence of a unique definition for "young age breast cancer" and the

  16. Cancer pain management-current status

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deepak Thapa

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Cancer pain is still one of the most feared entities in cancer and about 75% of these patients require treatment with opioids for severe pain. The cancer pain relief is difficult to manage in patients with episodic or incidental pain, neuropathic pain, substance abuse and with impaired cognitive or communication skills. This non-systematic review article aims to discuss reasons for under treatment, tools of pain assessment, cancer pain and anxiety and possibly carve new approaches for cancer pain management in future. The current status of World Health Organization analgesic ladder has also been reviewed. A thorough literature search was carried out from 1998 to 2010 for current status in cancer pain management in MEDLINE, WHO guidelines and published literature and relevant articles have been included.

  17. Novel fiber optic-based needle redox imager for cancer diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanniyappan, Udayakumar; Xu, He N.; Tang, Qinggong; Gaitan, Brandon; Liu, Yi; Li, Lin Z.; Chen, Yu

    2018-02-01

    Despite various technological advancements in cancer diagnosis, the mortality rates were not decreased significantly. We aim to develop a novel optical imaging tool to assist cancer diagnosis effectively. Fluorescence spectroscopy/imaging is a fast, rapid, and minimally invasive technique which has been successfully applied to diagnosing cancerous cells/tissues. Recently, the ratiometric imaging of intrinsic fluorescence of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), as pioneered by Britton Chance and the co-workers in 1950-70's, has gained much attention to quantify the physiological parameters of living cells/tissues. The redox ratio, i.e., FAD/(FAD+NADH) or FAD/NADH, has been shown to be sensitive to various metabolic changes in in vivo and in vitro cells/tissues. Optical redox imaging has also been investigated for providing potential imaging biomarkers for cancer transformation, aggressiveness, and treatment response. Towards this goal, we have designed and developed a novel fiberoptic-based needle redox imager (NRI) that can fit into an 11G clinical coaxial biopsy needle for real time imaging during clinical cancer surgery. In the present study, the device is calibrated with tissue mimicking phantoms of FAD and NADH along with various technical parameters such as sensitivity, dynamic range, linearity, and spatial resolution of the system. We also conducted preliminary imaging of tissues ex vivo for validation. We plan to test the NRI on clinical breast cancer patients. Once validated this device may provide an effective tool for clinical cancer diagnosis.

  18. Multifunctional nanoparticle developments in cancer diagnosis and treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sepideh Parvanian

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Nanotechnology, although still in the early stages, has the potential to revolutionize the early diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of disease progression. Technological application of nanometer molecules in medicine with the aim of fighting and curing ailments is the globally definition of nanomedicine. The success of nanotechnology in the healthcare part is driven by the possibility to work at the same scale of several biological processes, cellular mechanisms, and organic molecules. With the growing understanding of methods to functionalize nanoparticles and the continued efforts of creative scientists to advance this technology, it is likely that functionalized nanoparticles will become an important tool in the above mentioned areas. This paper describes the role of multifunctional nanoparticle in diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Therefore, the aim of this review is to provide basic information on nanoparticles, describe previously developed methods to functionalize nanoparticles and discuss their potential applications in biomedical sciences and finally mention the therapeutic nanoparticle commercialization challenges. Keywords: Multifunctional nanoparticle, Cancer, Diagnosis, Treatment, Therapy

  19. New Advances in Nanotechnology-Based Diagnosis and Therapeutics for Breast Cancer: An Assessment of Active-Targeting Inorganic Nanoplatforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falagan-Lotsch, Priscila; Grzincic, Elissa M; Murphy, Catherine J

    2017-01-18

    Breast cancer is a major cause of suffering and mortality among women. Limitations in the current diagnostic methods and treatment approaches have led to new strategies to positively impact the survival rates and quality of life of breast cancer patients. Nanotechnology offers a real possibility of mitigating breast cancer mortality by early-stage cancer detection and more precise diagnosis as well as more effective treatments with minimal side effects. The current nanoplatforms approved for breast cancer therapeutics are based on passive tumor targeting using organic nanoparticles and have not provided the expected significant improvements in the clinic. In this review, we present the emerging approaches in breast cancer nanomedicine based on active targeting using versatile inorganic nanoplatforms with biomedical relevance, such as gold, silica, and iron oxide nanoparticles, as well as their efficacy in breast cancer imaging, drug and gene delivery, thermal therapy, combinational therapy, and theranostics in preclinical studies. The main challenges for clinical translation and perspectives are discussed.

  20. Differential diagnosis of pancreas cancer and chronic pancreatitis in computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujita, Nobuyuki; Saitou, Hiroya; Hiromura, Tadao; Takahashi, Hiromichi; Shinohara, Masahiro; Morita, Yutaka; Irie, Goro

    1987-01-01

    Differential diagnosis of pancreas cancer and chronic pancreatitis in Computed Tomography. CT pictures of 46 cases of pancreas cancer and 16 cases of chronic pancreatitis were reviewed to clarify a way of differential diagnosis of these two disorders. The conclusion obtained in this study is as below. 1) Well-defined cystic central low density is a sign of chronic pancreatitis, and in the other hand, the solid central low density is a sign of pancreas cancer. 2) Effect of contrast enhancement was greater in chronic pancreatitis than in pancreas cancer. 3) Possibility of pancreas cancer is high in a case which has a sign of vascular involvement but no definite sign of tumor. 4) Sensitivity, specificity, total accuracy is 76.7 %, 87.5 %, 75.8 % respectively. (author)

  1. Cancer diagnosis by infrared spectroscopy: methodological aspects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Michael; Kim, Keith; Tetteh, John; Mansfield, James R.; Dolenko, Brion; Somorjai, Raymond L.; Orr, F. W.; Watson, Peter H.; Mantsch, Henry H.

    1998-04-01

    IR spectroscopy is proving to be a powerful tool for the study and diagnosis of cancer. The application of IR spectroscopy to the analysis of cultured tumor cells and grading of breast cancer sections is outlined. Potential sources of error in spectral interpretation due to variations in sample histology and artifacts associated with sample storage and preparation are discussed. The application of statistical techniques to assess differences between spectra and to non-subjectively classify spectra is demonstrated.

  2. Proteomic Mass Spectrometry Imaging for Skin Cancer Diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazova, Rossitza; Seeley, Erin H

    2017-10-01

    Mass spectrometry imaging can be successfully used for skin cancer diagnosis, particularly for the diagnosis of challenging melanocytic lesions. This method analyzes proteins within benign and malignant melanocytic tumor cells and, based on their differences, which constitute a unique molecular signature of 5 to 20 proteins, can render a diagnosis of benign nevus versus malignant melanoma. Mass spectrometry imaging may assist in the differentiation between metastases and nevi as well as between proliferative nodules in nevi and melanoma arising in a nevus. In the difficult area of atypical Spitzoid neoplasms, mass spectrometry diagnosis can predict clinical outcome better than histopathology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Controlling liver cancer internationally: A qualitative study of clinicians' perceptions of current public policy needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bridges, John Fp; Gallego, Gisselle; Blauvelt, Barri M

    2011-07-28

    Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in men and the seventh for women. Usually because of late diagnosis, the prognosis for liver cancer remains poor, resulting in liver cancer being the third most common cause of death from cancer. While some countries have treatment guidelines, little is known or understood about the strategies needed for liver cancer control internationally. To explore leading liver cancer clinician's perceptions of the current public policy needs to control liver cancer internationally. Key informant interviews were conducted with a range of liver cancer clinicians involved in policy in eleven countries. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated (where necessary), de-identified and analyzed by two researchers using a constant comparative method. Twenty in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted in: Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States. Nine themes were identified and cluster into three groups: 1) Promoting prevention via early risk assessment, focusing on viral hepatitis and other lifestyle factors; 2) Increasing political, public and medical community awareness; and 3) Improving funding for screening, liver cancer surveillance and treatment. This study is an important step towards developing an evidence-based approach to assessing preparedness for implementing comprehensive liver cancer control strategies. Evaluation mechanisms to assess countries' performance on the needs described are needed. Future research will concentrate of understanding how these needs vary across countries and the optimal strategies to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with liver cancer internationally.

  4. Racial/Ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic disparities of cervical cancer advanced-stage diagnosis in Texas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhan, F Benjamin; Lin, Yan

    2014-01-01

    Advanced-stage diagnosis is among the primary causes of mortality among cervical cancer patients. With the wide use of Pap smear screening, cervical cancer advanced-stage diagnosis rates have decreased. However, disparities of advanced-stage diagnosis persist among different population groups. A challenging task in cervical cancer disparity reduction is to identify where underserved population groups are. Based on cervical cancer incidence data between 1995 and 2008, this study investigated advanced-stage cervical cancer disparities in Texas from three social domains: Race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and geographic location. Effects of individual and contextual factors, including age, tumor grade, race/ethnicity, as well as contextual SES, spatial access to health care, sociocultural factors, percentage of African Americans, and insurance expenditures, on these disparities were examined using multilevel logistic regressions. Significant variations by race/ethnicity and SES were found in cervical cancer advanced-stage diagnosis. We also found a decline in racial/ethnic disparities of advanced cervical cancer diagnosis rate from 1995 to 2008. However, the progress was slower among African Americans than Hispanics. Geographic disparities could be explained by age, race/ethnicity, SES, and the percentage of African Americans in a census tract. Our findings have important implications for developing effective cervical cancer screening and control programs. We identified the location of underserved populations who need the most assistance with cervical cancer screening. Cervical cancer intervention programs should target Hispanics and African Americans, as well as individuals from communities with lower SES in geographic areas where higher advanced-stage diagnosis rates were identified in this study. Copyright © 2014 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. New use of prescription drugs prior to a cancer diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pottegård, Anton; Hallas, Jesper

    2017-01-01

    PURPOSE: Cancers often have considerable induction periods. This confers a risk of reverse causation bias in studies of cancer risk associated with drug use, as early symptoms of a yet undiagnosed cancer might lead to drug treatment in the period leading up to the diagnosis. This bias can be alle...

  6. Diverticular Disease and Colorectal Cancer: Incidental Diagnosis or Real Association? Final Answer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regula, Jaroslaw

    2016-10-01

    Associations between diverticular disease of the colon and the colorectal cancer has been studied for >60 years. Observational, cross-sectional, and case-control studies as well as large population-based studies gave conflicting results and association was not fully proven. Obtaining the proof was difficult because both diseases share similar clinical characteristics, both increase with age, and both involve similar dietary factors. Long-term observations are difficult as diagnostic methods changed over time from barium enema 50 to 60 years ago, through endoscopy, up to CT and MR in recent years. Cancer or adenomas may be missed within diverticular segment; diverticula may be underreported in patients with colon cancer diagnosis. Most recent 2 large cohort studies have solved the dilemma. These studies have clearly shown that diverticular disease does not increase the risk of colon cancer after the first year of diagnosis. Within the first year of diagnosis the association is strong, most probably due to difficulties with differential diagnosis and misclassifications and shared symptoms. Findings of these studies have led to the conclusion that colon cancer has to be excluded using modern techniques after the first episode of suspected diverticulitis.

  7. Sickness Absence and Disability Pension After Breast Cancer Diagnosis: A 5-Year Nationwide Cohort Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kvillemo, Pia; Mittendorfer-Rutz, Ellenor; Bränström, Richard; Nilsson, Kerstin; Alexanderson, Kristina

    2017-06-20

    Purpose To explore future diagnosis-specific sickness absence and disability pension among women with breast cancer compared with women without breast cancer. Also, to examine associations with disease-related and sociodemographic factors among those with breast cancer. Methods Longitudinal register data on 3,547 women living in Sweden (age 20 to 65 years) who were first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, and a matched comparison cohort (n = 14,188), were analyzed for the annual prevalence of diagnosis-specific sickness absence and disability pension over 5 years. Logistic regressions were used to explore associations of disease-related and sociodemographic factors with future sickness absence and disability pension among women with breast cancer. Results Immediately after being diagnosed with breast cancer, the proportion of women with sickness absence was high but decreased continuously from the 1st through 5th year after diagnosis (71%, 40%, 30%, 22%, and 19%, respectively). In comparison, the range for women without breast cancer was 17% to 11%, respectively. The higher prevalence of sickness absence after breast cancer was mainly a result of breast cancer diagnosis, not a mental diagnosis, or other somatic diagnoses. Advanced cancer at diagnosis, > 90 days sickness absence before diagnosis, low education, and being born outside Sweden were associated with higher odds ratios for sickness absence and disability pension (odds ratio range, 1.40 to 6.45). Conclusion The level of sickness absence increased substantially in women with breast cancer during the first year after diagnosis and approached the level of breast cancer-free women in the following years; however, even in the first year, most women were not on sickness absence for a substantial time, and even in high-risk groups, many were not on sickness absence or disability pension in the following years. Information about relatively low future sickness absence and disability pension levels can be used by

  8. Optimizing the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer using fluorescence cystoscopy and Raman spectroscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Draga, R.O.P.

    2013-01-01

    The gold standard for the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer is transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT). A relative high recurrence rate and the need for repeated treatments make bladder cancer one the most expensive cancers from diagnosis till death of the patient. The TURBT

  9. Computerized tomography in diagnosis of mammary gland cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ternovoj, S.K.; Shishmareva, N.F.

    1987-01-01

    A total of 103 women with suspected malignant breast tumors were examined using combined methods including computed tomography (CT). Cancer was diagnosed in 81 patients benign breast tumors in 22. The authors obtained data concerning CT superiority in the diagnosis of tumors localized in the retromammary space, as well as infinitrative-edematous forms of cancer and breast cancer recurrences. A high reliability of the method in the detection of metastatic involvement of the axillary lymph nodes made it possible to give up transmission axillography

  10. Predictors of cervical cancer being at an advanced stage at diagnosis in Sudan

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ibrahim, Ahmed; Rasch, Vibeke; Pukkala, Eero

    2011-01-01

    Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in Sudan, with more than two-thirds of all women with invasive cervical cancer being diagnosed at an advanced stage (stages III and IV). The lack of a screening program for cervical cancer in Sudan may contribute to the late presentation...... of this cancer, but other factors potentially associated with advanced stages of cervical cancer at diagnosis are unknown. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between age, marital status, ethnicity, health insurance coverage, residence in an urban vs a rural setting, and stage (at...... diagnosis) of cervical cancer in Sudan....

  11. A systematic review of computer-assisted diagnosis in diagnostic cancer imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eadie, Leila H.; Taylor, Paul; Gibson, Adam P.

    2012-01-01

    Objectives: This study reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of computer-assisted diagnosis (CAD) in cancer imaging. Diagnostic applications were studied to estimate the impact of CAD on radiologists’ detection and diagnosis of cancer lesions. Methods: Online databases were searched and 48 studies from 1992 to 2010 were included: 16 with radiologists using CAD to detect lesions (CADe) and 32 with radiologists using CAD to classify or diagnose lesions (CADx). Weighted means, statistics, summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) curves, and related measures were used for analysis. Results: There is evidence that CADx significantly improves diagnosis in mammography and breast ultrasound. In contrast, studies of CADx applied to lung CT and dermatologic imaging show an adverse impact on diagnosis. Overall, there is no evidence of a benefit due to the use of CADe. The area under the SROC curves was not significantly increased for radiologists using either CADe or CADx. Conclusions: From this analysis it seems CADx can offer some benefit to radiologists in specific imaging applications for breast cancer diagnosis. There is no evidence of a beneficial effect in other applications of CAD and some evidence of a detrimental one.

  12. Breath analysis based on micropreconcentrator for early cancer diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sang-Seok

    2018-02-01

    We are developing micropreconcentrators based on micro/nanotechnology to detect trace levels of volatile organic compound (VOC) gases contained in human and canine exhaled breath. The possibility of using exhaled VOC gases as biomarkers for various cancer diagnoses has been previously discussed. For early cancer diagnosis, detection of trace levels of VOC gas is indispensable. Using micropreconcentrators based on MEMS technology or nanotechnology is very promising for detection of VOC gas. A micropreconcentrator based breath analysis technique also has advantages from the viewpoints of cost performance and availability for various cancers diagnosis. In this paper, we introduce design, fabrication and evaluation results of our MEMS and nanotechnology based micropreconcentrators. In the MEMS based device, we propose a flower leaf type Si microstructure, and its shape and configuration are optimized quantitatively by finite element method simulation. The nanotechnology based micropreconcentrator consists of carbon nanotube (CNT) structures. As a result, we achieve ppb level VOC gas detection with our micropreconcentrators and usual gas chromatography system that can detect on the order of ppm VOC in gas samples. In performance evaluation, we also confirm that the CNT based micropreconcentrator shows 115 times better concentration ratio than that of the Si based micropreconcentrator. Moreover, we discuss a commercialization idea for new cancer diagnosis using breath analysis. Future work and preliminary clinical testing in dogs is also discussed.

  13. Early diagnosis and screening for colorectal cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laufer, I.

    1986-01-01

    The barium enema has been a neglected tool in the diagnosis of early colon cancer. With appropriate attention to technical detail, the double contrast enema is capable of detecting the smallest malignant and pre-malignant lesions. Many of these early colon cancers are found in asymptomatic patients and these lesions are curable. The goal of a screening program should be to identify by history or by fecal occult blood testing patients at high risk for the development of colon cancer. These patients should be examined by high-quality double contrast enema in the search for these potentially lethal but curable lesions. In addition, we believe that any patient undergoing radiologic examination of the colon for whatever reason, should receive an examination of adequate quality to rule out an early colon cancer. (Author)

  14. The Lived Experience of Iranian Women Confronting Breast Cancer Diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrabi, Esmat; Hajian, Sepideh; Simbar, Masoomeh; Hoshyari, Mohammad; Zayeri, Farid

    2016-03-01

    The populations who survive from breast cancer are growing; nevertheless, they mostly encounter with many cancer related problems in their life, especially after early diagnosis and have to deal with these problems. Except for the disease entity, several socio-cultural factors may affect confronting this challenge among patients and the way they deal with. Present study was carried out to prepare clear understanding of Iranian women's lived experiences confronting breast cancer diagnosis and coping ways they applied to deal with it. This study was carried out by using qualitative phenomenological design. Data gathering was done through purposive sampling using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 18 women who survived from breast cancer. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using Van Manen's thematic analysis approach. Two main themes were emerged from the interviews including "emotional turbulence" and "threat control". The first, comprised three sub themes including uncertainty, perceived worries, and living with fears. The second included risk control, recurrence control, immediate seeking help, seeking support and resource to spirituality. Emotional response was the immediate reflection to cancer diagnosis. However, during post-treatment period a variety of emotions were not uncommon findings, patients' perceptions have been changing along the time and problem-focused coping strategies have replaced. Although women may experience a degree of improvement and adjustment with illness, the emotional problems are not necessarily resolved, they may continue and gradually engender positive outcomes.

  15. Evaluation of the potential benefit of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) for lung cancer screening using photofluorography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Tsuneo; Nakamura, Hiroshi; Nakanishi, Takashi; Doi, Kunio; Kano, Akiko.

    1993-01-01

    To evaluate the potential benefit of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) in lung cancer screenings using photofluorographic films, we performed an observer test with 12 radiologists. We used 60 photofluorographic films obtained from a lung cancer screening program in Yamaguchi Prefecture (30 contained cancerous nodules and 30 had no nodules). In these cases, our current automated detection scheme achieved a sensitivity of 80%, but yielded an average of 11 false-positives per image. The observer study consisted of three viewing conditions: 1) only the original image (single reading), 2) the original image and computer output obtained from the current CAD scheme (CAD 1), 3) the original image and computer output obtained from a simulated improved CAD scheme with the same 80% true-positive rate, but with an average of one false-positive per image (CAD 2). Compared with double reading using independent interpretations, which is based on a higher score between two single readings, CAD 2 was more sensitive in subtle cases. The specificity of CAD was superior to that of double reading. Although CAD 1 (Az=0.805) was inferior to double reading (Az=0.837) in terms of the ROC curve, CAD 2 (Az=0.872) significantly improved the ROC curve and also significantly reduced observation time (p<0.05). If the number of false positives can be reduced, computer-aided diagnosis may play an important role in lung cancer screening programs. (author)

  16. Pharmaceutically treated anxiety but not depression prior to cancer diagnosis predicts the onset of cardiovascular disease among breast cancer survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoormans, Dounya; van de Poll-Franse, Lonneke; Vissers, Pauline; van Herk-Sukel, Myrthe P P; Pedersen, Susanne S; Rottmann, Nina; Horsbøl, Trine; Dalton, Susanne; Denollet, Johan

    2017-11-01

    To examine the associations between pharmaceutically treated anxiety and depression present in the year prior to breast cancer diagnosis and the risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), while controlling for traditional cardiovascular risk factors and clinical characteristics in a population-based observational study. Adult 1-year breast cancer survivors (n = 7227), diagnosed between 01-01-1999 and 12-31-2010, with no history of CVD, were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Drug dispensing data were derived from the PHARMO Database Network and used as proxy for CVD, anxiety, and depression. By multivariable Cox regression analysis, we examined the risk associated with pharmaceutically treated anxiety and depression for developing CVD after cancer diagnosis, adjusting for age, pharmaceutically treated hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus in the year prior to cancer diagnosis, tumor stage, and cancer treatment. During the 13-year follow-up period, 193 (3%) breast cancer survivors developed CVD. Women pharmaceutically treated for anxiety in the year prior to their cancer diagnosis had a 48% increased hazard for CVD [HR = 1.48; 95% CI 1.05-1.08] after full adjustment. This association was restricted to breast cancer survivors who were 65 years or younger. Depression was not associated with CVD risk [HR = 0.89; 95% CI 0.52-1.53]. Older age [HR = 1.06; 95% CI 1.05-1.08], hypertension [HR = 1.80; 95% CI 1.32-2.46], and hypercholesterolemia [HR = 1.63; 95% CI 1.15-2.33] were associated with an increased hazard for incident CVD, whereas hormone therapy [HR = 0.59; 95% CI 0.42-0.83] was protective. Anxiety present in the year prior to breast cancer diagnosis increases the risk of incident CVD in 1-year breast cancer survivors, after adjustment for depression, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and clinical characteristics.

  17. Psychological turmoil: Anxiety and depression in individuals after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fraim, N. L.

    2006-01-01

    A possible diagnosis of any form of cancer is every person's worst nightmare. Primarily among women, the most feared cancer diagnosis is breast cancer. With the development of modern technology, a variety of treatments are available; however, these treatments are not without side effects. Receiving the diagnosis initiates the development of psychological upheaval within the person. The modality and amount of treatment of treatment as well as the amount of social support the individual receives plays an important role in the person's survival throughout this disease. The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with an overview of the psychological turmoil experienced by individual's diagnosed with breast cancer. Data for this paper was collected via electronic databases and internet sources

  18. FLUORESCENCE DIAGNOSIS FOR RECURRENT BLADDER CANCER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. V. Ulyanov

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The clinical case of successful use of local fluorescence spectroscopy combined with fluorescence imaging during cystoscopy for diagnosis of recurrent bladder cancer is represented in the article. Histological study of fluorescent foci confirmed tumor growth (urothelial carcinoma in all areas with high levels of diagnostic parameter. In the fluorescent focus with low diagnostic parameter inflammation was detected.

  19. Diagnosing cancer in primary care: results from the National Cancer Diagnosis Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swann, Ruth; McPhail, Sean; Witt, Jana; Shand, Brian; Abel, Gary A; Hiom, Sara; Rashbass, Jem; Lyratzopoulos, Georgios; Rubin, Greg

    2018-01-01

    Continual improvements in diagnostic processes are needed to minimise the proportion of patients with cancer who experience diagnostic delays. Clinical audit is a means of achieving this. To characterise key aspects of the diagnostic process for cancer and to generate baseline measures for future re-audit. Clinical audit of cancer diagnosis in general practices in England. Information on patient and tumour characteristics held in the English National Cancer Registry was supplemented by information from GPs in participating practices. Data items included diagnostic timepoints, patient characteristics, and clinical management. Data were collected on 17 042 patients with a new diagnosis of cancer during 2014 from 439 practices. Participating practices were similar to non-participating ones, particularly regarding population age, urban/rural location, and practice-based patient experience measures. The median diagnostic interval for all patients was 40 days (interquartile range [IQR] 15-86 days). Most patients were referred promptly (median primary care interval 5 days [IQR 0-27 days]). Where GPs deemed diagnostic delays to have occurred (22% of cases), patient, clinician, or system factors were responsible in 26%, 28%, and 34% of instances, respectively. Safety netting was recorded for 44% of patients. At least one primary care-led investigation was carried out for 45% of patients. Most patients (76%) had at least one existing comorbid condition; 21% had three or more. The findings identify avenues for quality improvement activity and provide a baseline for future audit of the impact of 2015 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on management and referral of suspected cancer. © British Journal of General Practice 2018.

  20. Controlling liver cancer internationally: A qualitative study of clinicians' perceptions of current public policy needs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bridges John FP

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in men and the seventh for women. Usually because of late diagnosis, the prognosis for liver cancer remains poor, resulting in liver cancer being the third most common cause of death from cancer. While some countries have treatment guidelines, little is known or understood about the strategies needed for liver cancer control internationally. Objective To explore leading liver cancer clinician's perceptions of the current public policy needs to control liver cancer internationally. Methods Key informant interviews were conducted with a range of liver cancer clinicians involved in policy in eleven countries. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated (where necessary, de-identified and analyzed by two researchers using a constant comparative method. Results Twenty in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted in: Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States. Nine themes were identified and cluster into three groups: 1 Promoting prevention via early risk assessment, focusing on viral hepatitis and other lifestyle factors; 2 Increasing political, public and medical community awareness; and 3 Improving funding for screening, liver cancer surveillance and treatment. Conclusion This study is an important step towards developing an evidence-based approach to assessing preparedness for implementing comprehensive liver cancer control strategies. Evaluation mechanisms to assess countries' performance on the needs described are needed. Future research will concentrate of understanding how these needs vary across countries and the optimal strategies to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with liver cancer internationally.

  1. The association between smoking cessation before and after diagnosis and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer recurrence: a prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Osch, Frits H M; Jochems, Sylvia H J; Reulen, Raoul C; Pirrie, Sarah J; Nekeman, Duncan; Wesselius, Anke; James, Nicholas D; Wallace, D Michael A; Cheng, K K; van Schooten, Frederik J; Bryan, Richard T; Zeegers, Maurice P

    2018-07-01

    Smoking is a major risk factor for bladder cancer, but the relationship between smoking cessation after initial treatment and bladder cancer recurrence has been investigated less frequently and not prospectively yet. 722 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients (pTa, pT1, and CIS) from the prospective Bladder Cancer Prognosis Programme (BCPP) cohort, selected in the UK between 2005 and 2011, provided complete data on smoking behavior before and up to 5 years after diagnosis. The impact of smoking behavior on NMIBC recurrence was explored by multivariable Cox regression models investigating time-to-first NMIBC recurrence. Over a median follow-up period of 4.21 years, 403 pathologically confirmed NMIBC recurrences occurred in 210 patients. Only 25 current smokers at diagnosis quit smoking (14%) during follow-up and smoking cessation after diagnosis did not decrease risk of recurrence compared to continuing smokers (p = 0.352). Although quitting smoking after diagnosis might reduce the risk of recurrence based on retrospective evidence, this is not confirmed in this prospective study because the number of NMIBC patients quitting smoking before their first recurrence was too low. Nevertheless, this indicates an important role for urologists and other health care professionals in promoting smoking cessation in NMIBC.

  2. Experiences of women with a diagnosis of breast cancer: a clinical pathway approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindop, E; Cannon, S

    2001-06-01

    The study presented in this paper formed the first part of a large survey of breast cancer patients in one health authority in England, UK looking at individual needs expressed by women with a diagnosis of breast cancer. The paper provides an account of the experiences of 12 women with a diagnosis of breast cancer. The women represent a wide age range and different stages of illness. The transcribed accounts of the women were analysed by means of Qualitative Solutions and Research, Non-Numerical Unstructured Data Indexing Searching and Theorising (QSR*NUDIST). The study examined the individual experiences of women with a diagnosis of breast cancer and its aftermath as they passed through different stages related to it. The women's experiences are presented within the conceptual framework of the clinical pathway and their accounts represent their journey along the pathway. Various significant points in this journey are portrayed representing the women's reactions to diagnosis, treatment, femininity and body image, support, family and friends, information and after care.

  3. Using nuclear medicine technique in thyroid cancer diagnosis with comparison to ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chau, T.G.

    2007-01-01

    Full text: We used the following tests- thyroid uptake with I-131, Thyroid imaging with I-131 and Thyroid ultrasound and lymph node metastasis ultrasound. The results are as follows: 1.Thyroid uptake with I-131: This test was for the evaluation of normal thyroid tissue and function of thyroid cancer: The mean of uptake were: 12,7% at 2h and 28,53 % at 24 h after addition I-131. There was no relation to I-131 uptake with tumor size. (2) Thyroid imaging with I131: Diagnosis sensitivity was 98,1%. The cold nodules on scintigram were 92,5%. The warm nodules were 16,8%. And there were no hot nodules. (3) Thyroid ultrasound and lymph node metastasis ultrasound. Diagnosis sensitivity was 98,3%. Diagnosis sensitivity of lymph node metastasis is 94,1%, accuracy 96,6%. Nuclear medicine technique contributed very much to the diagnosis of thyroid cancer and other cancer diseases. We are using SPECT and other nuclear medicine technique in oncology diagnosis and follow-up therapy. (author)

  4. The detection, diagnosis and therapy of human lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-01-01

    The Cancergram covers clinical aspects of cancers of the lung and tracheo-bronchial tree, i.e., the lower respiratory tract. This includes primary lung cancer in both early and advanced disease status. The topic includes clinically relevant aspects of the prevention, detection, diagnosis, evaluation, and therapy of lung cancer. Certain aspects of metastatic lung disease treatment or therapy which involve aspects of interest to primary lung cancer are included. With certain exceptions, general pre-clinical or animal studies not directly related to the primary human disease are excluded

  5. Thermographic and radionuclide investigation in combined diagnosis of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abushakhmanov, A.Kh.

    1986-01-01

    The results of examination of 157 women with breast diseases are given. Breast cancer was diagnosed in 94 patients, benign diseases in 63. The combined use of the thermographic and radionuclide methods was shown to raise the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis

  6. Sociocultural factors and breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: implications for diagnosis and management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tetteh, Dinah A; Faulkner, Sandra L

    2016-01-01

    The incidence of breast cancer is on the rise in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and efforts at early diagnosis have not been very successful because the public has scant knowledge about the disease, a large percentage of breast cancer cases are diagnosed late and mainly rural SSA women's practice of breast self-examination is poor. In this paper, we argue that an examination of the social and cultural contexts of SSA that influence breast cancer diagnosis and management in the region is needed. We discuss the implications of sociocultural factors, such as gender roles and spirituality, on breast cancer diagnosis and management in SSA.

  7. A approach for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer and breast cancer relapse presenting as a solitary pulmonary nodule in patients after breast surgery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujita, Takashi; Iwata, Hiroharu; Yatabe, Yasushi

    2009-01-01

    The differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer from metastatic breast cancer is crucial in patients presenting with a solitary pulmonary nodule after breast surgery. However definitive diagnosis of these nodules is often difficult due to similar radiological and pathological features in primary lung and metastatic breast cancer nodules. We assessed the feasibility of our diagnostic approach for these nodules by morphopathological and immunohistochemical examination (thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1), surfactant pro-protein B (SPPB), estrogen receptor (ER), mammaglobin-1 (MGB1)), and estimated the frequency of primary lung cancer occurrence in 23 breast cancer patients. Biopsy specimens were obtained using CT-guided needle biopsy (NB) and transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) in 21 patients (91.3%). Surgical resection was performed for diagnosis and treatment in two patients. Differential diagnosis was obtained by morphopathological methods alone in 17 patients (73.9%, primary lung cancer: 6 cases, metastatic breast cancer: 11 cases) and by immunohistochemical examination in the remaining 6 (26.1%, primary lung cancer: 1 case, metastatic breast cancer: 5 cases). Our results show the clinical feasibility of our approach to the differential diagnosis of breast cancer relapse and primary lung cancer presenting as a solitary nodule in breast cancer patients. (author)

  8. Ultrasonography and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in differential diagnosis of prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mechev, D.S.; Shcherbyina, O.V.; Yatsik, V.Yi.; Gladka, L.Yu.

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of the work is analysis of diagnostic possibilities of transrectal ultrasonography and PSA in differential diagnosis of prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. 142 patients have been investigated by transrectal ultrasonography. he transrectal ultrasonography and PSA are sensible tests in diagnosis of prostate cancer and in differential diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer

  9. How to choose PET-CT or CT in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. Practical experience in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, T.; Tao, X.; Liu, H.; Liu, S.; Zheng, X.

    2010-01-01

    How to use CT and PET-CT rationally to raise diagnosis, staging and prognostic assessment of lung cancer to a higher level at the best cost-effect ratio is a subject that Chinese clinicians and radiologists should face conscientiously. We review the rational application of CT and PET-CT in four aspects of lung cancer, including screening and detection, morphologic evaluation, haemodynamic or metabolic feature evaluation, and follow-up, staging and prognostic evaluation. As PET-CT is only available in class III-A hospitals today, CT is the most popular equipment in China. PET-CT is more valuable only in cases where CT presentation of lung cancer is atypical or difficult to determine, or in cases where the diagnosis of lung cancer has been initially confirmed, for which clinical staging and decision concerning on therapeutic regimens are needed. We also recommend the current strategies of CT and PET-CT managing of SPN in China. (orig.)

  10. Diagnosis Lost: Differences between Children who Had and who Currently Have an Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumberg, Stephen J; Zablotsky, Benjamin; Avila, Rosa M; Colpe, Lisa J; Pringle, Beverly A; Kogan, Michael D

    2016-01-01

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses sometimes change due to misdiagnosis, maturation, or treatment. This study uses a probability-based national survey—the Survey of Pathways to Diagnosis and Services—to compare currently diagnosed (n=1420) and previously diagnosed (n=187) children aged 6–17 years based on retrospective parental reports of early concerns about their children’s development, responses to those concerns by doctors and other health care providers, the type of provider who made the first ASD diagnosis, and the ASD subtype diagnoses received (if any). Propensity score matching was used to control for differences between the groups on children’s current level of functioning and other current characteristics that may have been related to diagnosis loss. Approximately 13% of the children ever diagnosed with ASD were estimated to have lost the diagnosis, and parents of 74% of them believe it was changed due to new information. Previously diagnosed children were less likely to have parents with early concerns about verbal skills, nonverbal communication, learning, and unusual gestures or movements. They were also less likely to have been referred to and diagnosed by a specialist. Previously diagnosed children were less likely to have ever received a diagnosis of Asperger’s disorder or autistic disorder. PMID:26489772

  11. Diagnosis of malignant tumors of female breast cancer by transmission optical tomography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. V. Pyanov

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A review of the literature on diagnostic systems for the detection of breast cancer by optical tomography was presented. The actuality of the method of transmission of optical tomography and its advantages over existing methods of medical diagnosis of cancer have been substanti- ated. We have analyzed tomographic systems used for the diagnosis of breast cancer. The basic advantages and disadvantages of tomograph- ic systems using various types of radiation have been indicated. The results of review can be used in the development of technique for optical transmission tomography.

  12. The nature and correlates of change in depressive symptoms with cancer diagnosis: reaction and adaptation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Infurna, Frank J; Gerstorf, Denis; Ram, Nilam

    2013-06-01

    Major life events trigger change processes in mental health. We examined how depressive symptoms change in conjunction with cancer diagnosis during adulthood and old age, and whether sociodemographic variables, cognitive and health resources, and cancer-specific mortality risks moderate event-related reaction and adaptation. Specifically, we applied multiphase growth models to prospective longitudinal data from 2,848 participants (age at diagnosis: M = 69, SD = 9.91; 46% women) in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) who reported receiving a cancer diagnosis while enrolled in the study. On average, individuals experienced a significant increase in depressive symptoms within 2 years of cancer diagnosis, still-elevated levels 2 years postdiagnosis, and smaller increases in depressive symptoms postdiagnosis relative to the increases observed prediagnosis. Better memory and lower cancer-specific mortality risks were protective against increases in depressive symptoms within 2 years of diagnosis and were associated with reporting fewer depressive symptoms 2 years postdiagnosis. Findings suggest that diagnosis-related changes in depressive symptoms are typically characterized by a multiphase pattern, but tremendous between-person differences also emerged within each phase. Follow-up analyses comparing a matched group (N = 2,272) who did not experience cancer provided an additional layer of evidence supporting our inferences. Results indicate that, on average, people adapt and adjust to the challenges accompanying a cancer diagnosis, and illustrate the utility of using natural experiments such as major life events as a paradigm for studying developmental change processes. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  13. MSH6 and PMS2 mutation positive Australian Lynch syndrome families: novel mutations, cancer risk and age of diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talseth-Palmer, Bente A; McPhillips, Mary; Groombridge, Claire; Spigelman, Allan; Scott, Rodney J

    2010-05-21

    Approximately 10% of Lynch syndrome families have a mutation in MSH6 and fewer families have a mutation in PMS2. It is assumed that the cancer incidence is the same in families with mutations in MSH6 as in families with mutations in MLH1/MSH2 but that the disease tends to occur later in life, little is known about families with PMS2 mutations. This study reports on our findings on mutation type, cancer risk and age of diagnosis in MSH6 and PMS2 families. A total of 78 participants (from 29 families) with a mutation in MSH6 and 7 participants (from 6 families) with a mutation in PMS2 were included in the current study. A database of de-identified patient information was analysed to extract all relevant information such as mutation type, cancer incidence, age of diagnosis and cancer type in this Lynch syndrome cohort. Cumulative lifetime risk was calculated utilising Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. MSH6 and PMS2 mutations represent 10.3% and 1.9%, respectively, of the pathogenic mutations in our Australian Lynch syndrome families. We identified 26 different MSH6 and 4 different PMS2 mutations in the 35 families studied. We report 15 novel MSH6 and 1 novel PMS2 mutations. The estimated cumulative risk of CRC at age 70 years was 61% (similar in males and females) and 65% for endometrial cancer in MSH6 mutation carriers. The risk of developing CRC is different between males and females at age 50 years, which is 34% for males and 21% for females. Novel MSH6 and PMS2 mutations are being reported and submitted to the current databases for identified Lynch syndrome mutations. Our data provides additional information to add to the genotype-phenotype spectrum for both MSH6 and PMS2 mutations.

  14. The Lived Experience of Iranian Women Confronting Breast Cancer Diagnosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esmat Mehrabi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The populations who survive from breast cancer are growing; nevertheless, they mostly encounter with many cancer related problems in their life, especially after early diagnosis and have to deal with these problems. Except for the disease entity, several socio-cultural factors may affect confronting this challenge among patients and the way they deal with. Present study was carried out to prepare clear understanding of Iranian women's lived experiences confronting breast cancer diagnosis and coping ways they applied to deal with it. Methods: This study was carried out by using qualitative phenomenological design. Data gathering was done through purposive sampling using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 18 women who survived from breast cancer. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using Van Manen’s thematic analysis approach. Results: Two main themes were emerged from the interviews including "emotional turbulence" and "threat control". The first, comprised three sub themes including uncertainty, perceived worries, and living with fears. The second included risk control, recurrence control, immediate seeking help, seeking support and resource to spirituality. Conclusion: Emotional response was the immediate reflection to cancer diagnosis. However, during post-treatment period a variety of emotions were not uncommon findings, patients' perceptions have been changing along the time and problem-focused coping strategies have replaced. Although women may experience a degree of improvement and adjustment with illness, the emotional problems are not necessarily resolved, they may continue and gradually engender positive outcomes.

  15. Current practice in the management of superficial bladder cancer in the Netherlands and Belgian Flanders: a survey.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Witjes, J.A.; Melissen, D.O.; Kiemeney, L.A.L.M.

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Because there is no national guideline for the diagnosis, therapy and follow up of (superficial) bladder cancer in the Netherlands and Belgium, the actual patient management may differ between urologists. The purpose of this study is to get insight in the current way urologists diagnose,

  16. Personal control after a breast cancer diagnosis: stability and adaptive value.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henselmans, Inge; Sanderman, Robbert; Baas, Peter C; Smink, Ans; Ranchor, Adelita V

    2009-01-01

    This longitudinal study aims to gain more insight in both the changes in personal control due to a breast cancer diagnosis, as well as in the stress-buffering effect of personal control. Personal control and distress were assessed in breast cancer patients not treated with chemotherapy (n=47), breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy (n=32) and in healthy women (n=58) at 3, 9 and 15 months after diagnosis. Results indicate that personal control was affected only in patients treated with chemotherapy, particularly right after the completion of treatment. Furthermore, the cross-sectional and longitudinal results provide modest support for the stress-buffering potential of control. The findings and future directions of research on the role of personal control in the adjustment to cancer will be discussed. (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. Diagnosing cancer in primary care: results from the National Cancer Diagnosis Audit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swann, Ruth; McPhail, Sean; Witt, Jana; Shand, Brian; Abel, Gary A; Hiom, Sara; Rashbass, Jem; Lyratzopoulos, Georgios; Rubin, Greg

    2018-01-01

    Background Continual improvements in diagnostic processes are needed to minimise the proportion of patients with cancer who experience diagnostic delays. Clinical audit is a means of achieving this. Aim To characterise key aspects of the diagnostic process for cancer and to generate baseline measures for future re-audit. Design and setting Clinical audit of cancer diagnosis in general practices in England. Method Information on patient and tumour characteristics held in the English National Cancer Registry was supplemented by information from GPs in participating practices. Data items included diagnostic timepoints, patient characteristics, and clinical management. Results Data were collected on 17 042 patients with a new diagnosis of cancer during 2014 from 439 practices. Participating practices were similar to non-participating ones, particularly regarding population age, urban/rural location, and practice-based patient experience measures. The median diagnostic interval for all patients was 40 days (interquartile range [IQR] 15–86 days). Most patients were referred promptly (median primary care interval 5 days [IQR 0–27 days]). Where GPs deemed diagnostic delays to have occurred (22% of cases), patient, clinician, or system factors were responsible in 26%, 28%, and 34% of instances, respectively. Safety netting was recorded for 44% of patients. At least one primary care-led investigation was carried out for 45% of patients. Most patients (76%) had at least one existing comorbid condition; 21% had three or more. Conclusion The findings identify avenues for quality improvement activity and provide a baseline for future audit of the impact of 2015 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on management and referral of suspected cancer. PMID:29255111

  18. Color model comparative analysis for breast cancer diagnosis using H and E stained images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xingyu; Plataniotis, Konstantinos N.

    2015-03-01

    Digital cancer diagnosis is a research realm where signal processing techniques are used to analyze and to classify color histopathology images. Different from grayscale image analysis of magnetic resonance imaging or X-ray, colors in histopathology images convey large amount of histological information and thus play significant role in cancer diagnosis. Though color information is widely used in histopathology works, as today, there is few study on color model selections for feature extraction in cancer diagnosis schemes. This paper addresses the problem of color space selection for digital cancer classification using H and E stained images, and investigates the effectiveness of various color models (RGB, HSV, CIE L*a*b*, and stain-dependent H and E decomposition model) in breast cancer diagnosis. Particularly, we build a diagnosis framework as a comparison benchmark and take specific concerns of medical decision systems into account in evaluation. The evaluation methodologies include feature discriminate power evaluation and final diagnosis performance comparison. Experimentation on a publicly accessible histopathology image set suggests that the H and E decomposition model outperforms other assessed color spaces. For reasons behind various performance of color spaces, our analysis via mutual information estimation demonstrates that color components in the H and E model are less dependent, and thus most feature discriminate power is collected in one channel instead of spreading out among channels in other color spaces.

  19. 3-D Ultrasound Vascularity Assessment for Breast Cancer Diagnosis

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Carson, Paul

    1997-01-01

    This project is to improve the diagnosis and management of patients with breast cancer through development and evaluation of 3D ultrasound imaging and quantification techniques emphasizing vascularity...

  20. Lived experiences of breast cancer survivors after diagnosis, treatment and beyond: qualitative study

    OpenAIRE

    Williams, Faustine; Jeanetta, Stephen C.

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Background The number of breast cancer survivors has increased since 1990 due to advances in biomedical technology that lead to an increase in early diagnosis and treatment. Research on survivorship has focused on the psychological and treatment aspects of the disease. The goal of this study was focused on exploring the lived experiences of breast cancer survivors from diagnosis, treatment and beyond. Objective To understand the lived experiences of women who are breast cancer surviv...

  1. Fullerenols in therapy and diagnosis of cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Lichota

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Malignant tumors are one of the main causes of death in Poland. One of the objectives of contemporary biomedical research is to maximize the effects of therapeutic strategies. The actions undertaken to improve therapeutic agents are aimed at reducing the side effects of cancer treatments. Another direction of investigations is the search for protective substances that reduce the toxicity of the drug to normal cells. Carbon-based nanomaterials (fullerenes and their derivatives, graphene, carbon nanotubes, nanodiamonds are a broad class of nanoparticles that have potential biomedical applications in both therapy and diagnostics. The aim of this paper is to review biological properties of fullerenols in the context of their use in various strategies of cancer treatments. The authors also discuss the possibility of simultaneous use of nanoparticles in therapy and diagnosis, that is, in theranostics. Current knowledge indicates that fullerenes and their hydrophilic derivatives, especially fullerenols, show low or no toxicity. They may contribute to the inhibition of tumor growth and protection of normal cells through their antioxidant properties, as well as to the regulation of expression of genes involved in apoptosis and angiogenesis, and stimulation of the immune response. Gadoliniumcontaining endohedral fullerenes are less toxic as a contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging, and they may also inhibit tumor growth, which is a promising result for theranostics. Med Pr 2016;67(6:817–831

  2. The application value of PET-CT in the diagnosis of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Haitao

    2005-01-01

    Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women in most of countries. During the past decades, the application of PET with 18 f-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glocuse ( 18 F-FDG) has remarkably improved the management of breast cancer. Nevertheless, due to anatomical localisation of 18 F-FDG uptake was difficult, the clinical interpretation of 18 F-FDG PET scan could not be exactly. A novel combined PET-CT system has largely improved the capacity of sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of breast cancer. In this artiacal we focus on the application value of PET-CT to breast cancer diagnosis, with respect to dissease re-staging, treatment monitoring, preoperative staging and radiotherapy planning. (authors)

  3. The association between socioeconomic status and tumour stage at diagnosis of ovarian cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Præstegaard, Camilla; Kjær, Susanne Krüger; Nielsen, Thor Schütt Svane

    2016-01-01

    PURPOSE: Socioeconomic status (SES) is a known predictor of survival for several cancers and it has been suggested that SES differences affecting tumour stage at diagnosis may be the most important explanatory factor for this. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated SES...... differences in tumour stage at diagnosis of ovarian cancer. In a pooled analysis, we investigated whether SES as represented by level of education is predictive for advanced tumour stage at diagnosis of ovarian cancer, overall and by histotype. The effect of cigarette smoking and body mass index (BMI......) on the association was also evaluated. METHODS: From 18 case-control studies, we obtained information on 10,601 women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer. Study specific odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were obtained from logistic regression models and combined into a pooled...

  4. Differential diagnosis of focal pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Gulik, T. M.; Moojen, T. M.; van Geenen, R.; Rauws, E. A.; Obertop, H.; Gouma, D. J.

    1999-01-01

    The differentiation of focal, chronic pancreatitis (CP) and pancreatic cancer (PAC) poses a diagnostic dilemma. Both conditions may present with the same symptoms and signs. The complexity of differential diagnosis is enhanced because PAC is frequently associated with secondary inflammatory changes

  5. CEA A BIOCHEMICAL MARKER FOR DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS OF GASTROINTESTINAL CANCER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prathibha

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Serum tumor markers (TM are widely used for diagnosis and monitoring of treatment of cancer. Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA is one of the most widely investigated tumor markers in gastrointestinal (GI cancers. Estimation of circulating tumor markers is a non- invasive quantitative method. Serum levels of CEA were studied for diagnosis and prognosis of gastrointestinal malignancies. 140 subjects were undertaken out of which 35 normal and remaining 105 were GI cancer patients. Serum levels of CEA were analyzed by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA. Result of serum CEA levels of the GI cancer patients and normal subjects were analyzed statistically. It was observed that there was significant increase in (P <0.01 in CEA levels of oesophagus, stomach and colon cancer patients as compared to normal subjects. The levels of CEA decreased significantly after the surgery but the decrease in levels of CEA was not up to the levels as normal control subjects.

  6. Social integration and survival after diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarma, Elizabeth A; Kawachi, Ichiro; Poole, Elizabeth M; Tworoger, Shelley S; Giovannucci, Edward L; Fuchs, Charles S; Bao, Ying

    2018-02-15

    Although larger social networks have been associated with lower all-cause mortality, few studies have examined whether social integration predicts survival outcomes among patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The authors examined the association between social ties and survival after CRC diagnosis in a prospective cohort study. Participants included 896 women in the Nurses' Health Study who were diagnosed with stage I, II, or III CRC between 1992 and 2012. Stage was assigned using the American Joint Committee on Cancer criteria. Social integration was assessed every 4 years since 1992 using the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index, which included marital status, social network size, contact frequency, religious participation, and other social group participation. During follow-up, there were 380 total deaths, 167 of which were due to CRC. In multivariable analyses, women who were socially integrated before diagnosis had a subsequent reduced risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.46-0.92) and CRC mortality (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.38-1.06) compared with women who were socially isolated. In particular, women with more intimate ties (family and friends) had lower all-cause mortality (HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.42-0.88) and CRC mortality (HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.34-1.03) compared with those with few intimate ties. Participation in religious or community activities was not found to be related to outcomes. The analysis of postdiagnosis social integration yielded similar results. Socially integrated women were found to have better survival after a diagnosis of CRC, possibly due to beneficial caregiving from their family and friends. Interventions aimed at strengthening social network structures to ensure access to care may be valuable programmatic tools in the management of patients with CRC. Cancer 2018;124:833-40. © 2017 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

  7. Endoscopic ultrasound in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Colella, Sara; Vilmann, Peter; Konge, Lars

    2014-01-01

    a good diagnostic accuracy in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. In the future, these techniques in combination with positron emission tomography/computed tomographic may replace surgical staging in patients with suspected and proven lung cancer, but until then surgical staging remains the gold...... standard for adequate preoperative evaluation....

  8. FDG-PET/CT in the diagnosis of recurrent breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murakami, Ryusuke; Kumita, Shin-ichiro; Yoshida, Tamiko; Ishihara, Keiichi; Kiriyama, Tomonari; Hakozaki, Kenta; Yanagihara, Keiko; Lida, Shinya; Tsuchiya, Shin-ichi

    2012-01-01

    Background. An advantage of PET/CT has been demonstrated for diagnosis of several tumor entities. In patients with breast cancer, early diagnosis and accurate restaging of recurrence after surgery is important for selection of the most appropriate therapeutic strategy. Purpose. To evaluate the accuracy of integrated positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), for follow-up of patients with suspected recurrent breast cancer. Material and Methods. Forty-seven patients with suspected recurrent breast cancer underwent PET/CT. The PET and PET/CT images were interpreted without knowledge of the results of other diagnostic modalities, and compared with each other with reference to the final diagnosis. Results. Twenty-five (53%) patients suffered tumor recurrence. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of PET/CT were 96%, 91%, 92%, 95%, and 94%, respectively. In comparison with PET, PET/CT had a higher sensitivity and accuracy (96% vs. 80% and 94% vs. 81%, respectively). The difference in diagnostic accuracy between PET/CT and PET was significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion. The present findings indicate that PET/CT is an accurate, sensitive and reliable modality for screening and detection of breast cancer recurrence. PET/CT appears to be an effective surveillance tool, as it is able to cover the whole body in a single procedure and shows good performance

  9. Availability of stage at diagnosis, cancer treatment delay and compliance with cancer guidelines as cancer registry indicators for cancer care in Europe: Results of EUROCHIP-3 survey

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Siesling, Sabine; Kwast, A.; Gavin, A.; Baili, P.; Otter, R.

    2013-01-01

    EUROCHIP (European Cancer Health Indicators Project) focuses on understanding inequalities in the cancer burden, care and survival by the indicators “stage at diagnosis,” “cancer treatment delay” and “compliance with cancer guidelines” as the most important indicators. Our study aims at providing

  10. Reduction in Late Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer Following Introduction of a Specialist Colorectal Surgery Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorne, Amanda L; Mercer, Stuart J; Harris, Guy JC; Simson, Jay NL

    2006-01-01

    INTRODUCTION An audit of patients presenting with colorectal cancer to our district general hospital during a 2-year period from November 1994 found that 12.1% of cases were diagnosed later than 6 months after initial presentation to a physician. This audit was repeated for a 2-year period from December 2001, to determine whether the introduction of a specialist coloproctology surgery service had led to a reduction in late diagnosis of colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Case notes were reviewed of all patients presenting with colorectal cancer between December 2001 and November 2003. Late diagnosis was defined as diagnosis of colorectal cancer more than 6 months after their first attendance to either their general practitioner or district general hospital. The results were compared with those of the previous study. RESULTS Of a total of 218 patients presenting with colorectal cancer during the study period, 14 (6.4%; 10 men and 4 women) satisfied the criteria for late diagnosis, with the longest delay being 12.5 months. Reasons for late diagnosis were false-negative reporting of barium studies (n = 3), inaccurate tumour biopsy (n = 2), concurrent pathology causing anaemia (n = 4), inappropriate delay in definitive investigation (n = 3), and refusal of investigation by patients (n = 2). CONCLUSIONS There has been a reduction of nearly 50% (12.1% to 6.4%) in the proportion of patients with a late diagnosis of colorectal cancer compared with our previous audit. It is suggested that an important factor in this improvement in diagnosis has been the introduction of a specialist coloproctology surgery service. PMID:17059718

  11. A reusable magnetic graphene oxide-modified biosensor for vascular endothelial growth factor detection in cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chih-Wen; Wei, Kuo-Chen; Liao, Shih-sheng; Huang, Chiung-Yin; Sun, Chia-Liang; Wu, Pei-Jung; Lu, Yu-Jen; Yang, Hung-Wei; Ma, Chen-Chi M

    2015-05-15

    Early cancer diagnosis is critical for the prevention of metastasis. However, simple and efficient methods are needed to improve the diagnosis and evaluation of cancer. Here, we propose a reusable biosensor based on a magnetic graphene oxide (MGO)-modified Au electrode to detect vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in human plasma for cancer diagnosis. In this biosensor, Avastin is used as the specific biorecognition element, and MGO is used as the carrier for Avastin loading. The use of MGO enables rapid purification due to its magnetic properties, which prevents the loss of bioactivity. Moreover, the biosensor can be constructed quickly, without requiring a drying process, which is convenient for proceeding to detection. Our reusable biosensor provides the appropriate sensitivity for clinical diagnostics and has a wide range of linear detection, from 31.25-2000 pg mL(-1), compared to ELISA analysis. In addition, in experiments with 100% serum from clinical samples, readouts from the sensor and an ELISA for VEGF showed good correlation within the limits of the ELISA kit. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the change in current (ΔC) for reproducibility of the Au biosensor was 2.36% (n=50), indicating that it can be reused with high reproducibility. Furthermore, the advantages of the Avastin-MGO-modified biosensor for VEGF detection are that it provides an efficient detection strategy that not only improves the detection ability but also reduces the cost and decreases the response time by 10-fold, indicating its potential as a diagnosis product. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Lived experiences of breast cancer survivors after diagnosis, treatment and beyond: qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Faustine; Jeanetta, Stephen C

    2016-06-01

    The number of breast cancer survivors has increased since 1990 due to advances in biomedical technology that lead to an increase in early diagnosis and treatment. Research on survivorship has focused on the psychological and treatment aspects of the disease. The goal of this study was focused on exploring the lived experiences of breast cancer survivors from diagnosis, treatment and beyond. To understand the lived experiences of women who are breast cancer survivors. A purposive sampling strategy was used to recruit participants from two Missouri cancer centres. A total of 15 women breast cancer survivors were interviewed. Three major themes emerged that described the lived experiences of the women. These were factors from the diagnosis and treatment management impacting survivorship, relationship and support system and implication of survivorship. Participants noted that coping with the diagnosis and treatment was a stressful journey and required lots of adjustment and changes. Some developed various techniques such as journaling their activities which provided comfort. In addition, support from family was shared as the key which gave them strength and courage through the different stages of treatment. However, they found it difficult to articulate what survivorship meant. Using in-depth interview techniques, this study shed light on the experiences of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer and have completed treatment. They acknowledged frustration with their diagnosis and body changes. Support received from family and friends helped them cope through their treatment. However, they felt abandoned once the treatment phase was over and were uncertain what survivorhood meant to them. © 2015 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Fast track diagnosis as a means of reducing diagnostic delay in cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Mette Bach; Vedsted, Peter; Olesen, Frede

    of cancer and expanded services to the general practitioners. Objective: To investigate the diagnostic delay of cancer, patient and provider satisfaction and health economic aspects in two Danish regions with special emphasis on the possible benefits of fast track diagnosis. Methods: The study......Background: Denmark has the highest morbidity and mortality from cancer in Western Europe, and studies suggest that Danish cancer patients are diagnosed at a later stage than patients in the other Nordic countries. To address this issue a Danish hospital has introduced fast track diagnosis...... will be designed as a cross-sectional study with the construction of a clinical database of all incident cancers in two Danish regions within a year (12,000 patients). Data will be collected from general practitioners, patients and national registers. In the first part of the analysis the general variation...

  14. Application of nanodimensional particles and aluminum hydroxide nanostructures for cancer diagnosis and therapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korovin, M. S.; Fomenko, A. N.

    2017-09-01

    Nanoparticles and nanostructured materials are one of the most promising developments for cancer therapy. Gold nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles based on iron and its oxides and other metal oxides have been widely used in diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Much less researchers' attention has been paid to nanoparticles and nanostructures based on aluminum oxides and hydroxides as materials for cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, recent investigations have shown promising results regarding these objects. Here, we review the antitumor results obtained with different aluminum oxide/hydroxide nanoparticles and nanostructures.

  15. Association between Metformin Use and Cancer Stage at Diagnosis among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries with Preexisting Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Incident Prostate Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amit D. Raval

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To examine the association between metformin use and cancer stage at diagnosis among elderly men with preexisting diabetes mellitus and incident prostate cancer. Methods. This study used a population-based observational cohort of elderly men (≥66 years with preexisting diabetes and incident prostate cancer between 2008 and 2009 (N=2,652. Cancer stage at diagnosis (localized versus advanced was based on the American Joint Cancer Committee classification. Metformin use and other independent variables were measured during the one year before cancer diagnosis. Logistic regressions with inverse probability treatment weights were used to control for the observed selection bias. Results. A significantly lower percentage of metformin users were diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer as compared to nonusers (4.7% versus 6.7%, p<0.03. After adjusting for the observed selection bias and other independent variables, metformin use was associated with a 32% reduction in the risk of advanced prostate cancer (adjusted odds ratio, AOR: 0.68, 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.48, 0.97. Conclusions. This is the first epidemiological study to support the role of metformin in reducing the risk of advanced prostate cancer. Randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm the causal link between metformin use and prostate cancer diagnosis stage.

  16. Medical image diagnosis of liver cancer using artificial intelligence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kondo, Tadashi; Ueno, Junji; Takao, Shoichiro

    2010-01-01

    A revised Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH)-type neural network algorithm using artificial intelligence technology for medical image diagnosis is proposed and is applied to medical image diagnosis of liver cancer. In this algorithm, the knowledge base for medical image diagnosis are used for organizing the neural network architecture for medical image diagnosis. Furthermore, the revised GMDH-type neural network algorithm has a feedback loop and can identify the characteristics of the medical images accurately using feedback loop calculations. The optimum neural network architecture fitting the complexity of the medical images is automatically organized so as to minimize the prediction error criterion defined as Prediction Sum of Squares (PSS). It is shown that the revised GMDH-type neural network can be easily applied to the medical image diagnosis. (author)

  17. Socioeconomic disparities in breast cancer survival: relation to stage at diagnosis, treatment and race

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Xue

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous studies have documented lower breast cancer survival among women with lower socioeconomic status (SES in the United States. In this study, I examined the extent to which socioeconomic disparity in breast cancer survival was explained by stage at diagnosis, treatment, race and rural/urban residence using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER data. Methods Women diagnosed with breast cancer during 1998-2002 in the 13 SEER cancer registry areas were followed-up to the end of 2005. The association between an area-based measure of SES and cause-specific five-year survival was estimated using Cox regression models. Six models were used to assess the extent to which SES differences in survival were explained by clinical and demographical factors. The base model estimated the hazard ratio (HR by SES only and then additional adjustments were made sequentially for: 1 age and year of diagnosis; 2 stage at diagnosis; 3 first course treatment; 4 race; and 5 rural/urban residence. Results An inverse association was found between SES and risk of dying from breast cancer (p Conclusion Stage at diagnosis, first course treatment and race explained most of the socioeconomic disparity in breast cancer survival. Targeted interventions to increase breast cancer screening and treatment coverage in patients with lower SES could reduce much of socioeconomic disparity.

  18. Multiparametric MRI fusion-guided biopsy for the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesch, Claudia; Schütz, Viktoria; Dieffenbacher, Svenja; Bonekamp, David; Hadaschik, Boris Alexander; Hohenfellner, Markus; Radtke, Jan P

    2018-03-01

    To discuss the timing, benefits, limitations and current controversies of multiparametric magnet resonance imaging (mpMRI) combined with fusion-guided biopsy and consider how additional incorporation of multivariable risk stratification might further improve prostate cancer diagnosis. MpMRI has been proven advantageous over standard practice for biopsy-naïve men and men with previous biopsy in large prospective studies providing level 1b evidence. Upfront multivariable risk stratification followed by or combined with mpMRI further improves diagnostic accuracy. Regarding active surveillance, mpMRI in combination with fusion biopsy can support initial candidate selection and may help to monitor disease progression. mpMRI and fusion biopsy, however, do not spare failure and conflicting data exists to what extend (systematic) biopsies can be omitted. Integration of mpMRI into the diagnostic pathway for prostate cancer is beneficial; yet more prospective and randomized data is needed to establish reliable procedure standards after mpMRI acquisition.

  19. Gene-Based Multiclass Cancer Diagnosis with Class-Selective Rejections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jrad, Nisrine; Grall-Maës, Edith; Beauseroy, Pierre

    2009-01-01

    Supervised learning of microarray data is receiving much attention in recent years. Multiclass cancer diagnosis, based on selected gene profiles, are used as adjunct of clinical diagnosis. However, supervised diagnosis may hinder patient care, add expense or confound a result. To avoid this misleading, a multiclass cancer diagnosis with class-selective rejection is proposed. It rejects some patients from one, some, or all classes in order to ensure a higher reliability while reducing time and expense costs. Moreover, this classifier takes into account asymmetric penalties dependant on each class and on each wrong or partially correct decision. It is based on ν-1-SVM coupled with its regularization path and minimizes a general loss function defined in the class-selective rejection scheme. The state of art multiclass algorithms can be considered as a particular case of the proposed algorithm where the number of decisions is given by the classes and the loss function is defined by the Bayesian risk. Two experiments are carried out in the Bayesian and the class selective rejection frameworks. Five genes selected datasets are used to assess the performance of the proposed method. Results are discussed and accuracies are compared with those computed by the Naive Bayes, Nearest Neighbor, Linear Perceptron, Multilayer Perceptron, and Support Vector Machines classifiers. PMID:19584932

  20. Predictors of psychological distress after diagnosis in breast cancer patients and patients with benign breast problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ando, Noriko; Iwamitsu, Yumi; Kuranami, Masaru; Okazaki, Shigemi; Nakatani, Yuki; Yamamoto, Kenji; Watanabe, Masahiko; Miyaoka, Hitoshi

    2011-01-01

    The objective of this study was to determine how age and psychological characteristics assessed prior to diagnosis could predict psychological distress in outpatients immediately after disclosure of their diagnosis. This is a longitudinal and prospective study, and participants were breast cancer patients and patients with benign breast problems (BBP). Patients were asked to complete questionnaires to determine levels of the following: trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), negative emotional suppression (Courtauld Emotional Control Scale), life stress events (Life Experiences Survey), and psychological distress (Profile of Mood Status) prior to diagnosis. They were asked to complete a questionnaire measuring psychological distress after being told their diagnosis. We analyzed a total of 38 women diagnosed with breast cancer and 95 women diagnosed with a BBP. A two-way analysis of variance (prior to, after diagnosis × cancer, benign) showed that psychological distress after diagnosis among breast cancer patients was significantly higher than in patients with a BBP. The multiple regression model accounted for a significant amount of variance in the breast cancer group (model adjusted R(2) = 0.545, p psychological distress after diagnosis, and might have prospects as a screening method for psychologically vulnerable women. Copyright © 2011 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Portable optical fiber probe-based spectroscopic scanner for rapid cancer diagnosis: a new tool for intraoperative margin assessment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niyom Lue

    Full Text Available There continues to be a significant clinical need for rapid and reliable intraoperative margin assessment during cancer surgery. Here we describe a portable, quantitative, optical fiber probe-based, spectroscopic tissue scanner designed for intraoperative diagnostic imaging of surgical margins, which we tested in a proof of concept study in human tissue for breast cancer diagnosis. The tissue scanner combines both diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS and intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy (IFS, and has hyperspectral imaging capability, acquiring full DRS and IFS spectra for each scanned image pixel. Modeling of the DRS and IFS spectra yields quantitative parameters that reflect the metabolic, biochemical and morphological state of tissue, which are translated into disease diagnosis. The tissue scanner has high spatial resolution (0.25 mm over a wide field of view (10 cm × 10 cm, and both high spectral resolution (2 nm and high spectral contrast, readily distinguishing tissues with widely varying optical properties (bone, skeletal muscle, fat and connective tissue. Tissue-simulating phantom experiments confirm that the tissue scanner can quantitatively measure spectral parameters, such as hemoglobin concentration, in a physiologically relevant range with a high degree of accuracy (<5% error. Finally, studies using human breast tissues showed that the tissue scanner can detect small foci of breast cancer in a background of normal breast tissue. This tissue scanner is simpler in design, images a larger field of view at higher resolution and provides a more physically meaningful tissue diagnosis than other spectroscopic imaging systems currently reported in literatures. We believe this spectroscopic tissue scanner can provide real-time, comprehensive diagnostic imaging of surgical margins in excised tissues, overcoming the sampling limitation in current histopathology margin assessment. As such it is a significant step in the development of a

  2. Concerns on diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    WANG Shen-ming

    2007-01-01

    @@ Breast cancer is one of the neoplasms that have greatest negative psychological impact on the sufferers. Although China is among the low morbidity country of breast cancer, its yearly increasing rate in China is 1%-2% higher than the average rate of the word.1 Due to its largest population in the word, China tops the world in its breast cancer cases but general medical care for the patients still lags behind the developed countries. These issues are related to the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in China.

  3. [Relation of psychological distress after diagnosis of gastric cancer at a cancer screening center with psychological support from public health nurses and family members].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukui, Sakiko; Ozawa, Harumi

    2003-07-01

    The objectives of this study were to examine the degree of psychological distress during the first 6 months after diagnosis of gastric cancer and investigate the relation to psychological support from public health nurses and family members. One hundred and five patients with stomach, colorectal, or esophagus cancer were mailed a questionnaire. They were asked questions concerning the level of shock on the day of diagnosis, at 1-week after the diagnosis, and at 6 months post diagnosis. In addition, their physical and psychological status was assessed at the 6-month time point. They were also asked about perceived psychological support from public health nurses and family members. The relation between psychological distress and such psychological support was then assessed using multiple regression analyses. The levels of shock on the day of diagnosis and after 1-week were both significantly related to the psychological support from public health nurses. Physical and psychological status at 6 months post diagnosis was significantly related to the level of psychological support from the patient's family members. The study revealed that psychological support from public health nurses improves the level of patient psychological distress during the first 1 week after the cancer diagnosis. Psychological support from family members facilitates the physical and psychological adjustment at 6 months post diagnosis. The results indicate that psychological support is important just after cancer diagnosis and for longer term adjustment, pointing to a major role of health care professionals alleviating problems associated with cancer diagnosis.

  4. Cost-Effective Screening for Breast Cancer Worldwide: Current State and Future Directions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Sarvazyan

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Affordability of healthcare is highly limited by its skyrocketing cost. Access to screening and diagnostic medical equipment and medicine in developing countries is inadequate for the majority of the population. There is a tremendous worldwide need to detect breast cancer at its earliest stage. These needs must be balanced by the ability of countries to provide breast cancer screening technology to their populations. We reviewed the diagnostic accuracy, procedure cost and cost-effectiveness of currently available technique for breast screening and diagnosis including clinical breast examination, mammography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, biopsy and a new modality for cancer diagnostics termed elasticity imaging that has emerged in the last decade. Clinical results demonstrate that elasticity imaging even in its simplest and least sophisticated versions, like tactile imaging, has significant diagnostic potential comparable and exceeding that of conventional imaging techniques. In view of many countries with limited resources, effective yet less expensive modes of screening must be considered worldwide. The tactile imaging is one method that has the potential to provide cost-effective breast cancer screening and diagnostics.

  5. Computer tomography in complex diagnosis of laryngeal cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Savin, A.A.

    1999-01-01

    To specify the role of computer tomography in the diagnosis of malignant of the larynx. Forty-two patients with suspected laryngeal tumors were examined: 38 men and 4 women aged 41-68 years. X-ray examinations included traditional immediate tomography of the larynx. Main X-ray and computer tomographic symptoms of laryngeal tumors of different localizations are described. It is shown that the use of computer tomography in complex diagnosis of laryngeal cancer permits an objective assessment of the tumor, its structure and dissemination, and of the regional lymph nodes [ru

  6. A case-oriented web-based training system for breast cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Qinghua; Huang, Xianhai; Liu, Longzhong; Lin, Yidi; Long, Xingzhang; Li, Xuelong

    2018-03-01

    Breast cancer is still considered as the most common form of cancer as well as the leading causes of cancer deaths among women all over the world. We aim to provide a web-based breast ultrasound database for online training inexperienced radiologists and giving computer-assisted diagnostic information for detection and classification of the breast tumor. We introduce a web database which stores breast ultrasound images from breast cancer patients as well as their diagnostic information. A web-based training system using a feature scoring scheme based on Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) US lexicon was designed. A computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) subsystem was developed to assist the radiologists to make scores on the BI-RADS features for an input case. The training system possesses 1669 scored cases, where 412 cases are benign and 1257 cases are malignant. It was tested by 31 users including 12 interns, 11 junior radiologists, and 8 experienced senior radiologists. This online training system automatically creates case-based exercises to train and guide the newly employed or resident radiologists for the diagnosis of breast cancer using breast ultrasound images based on the BI-RADS. After the trainings, the interns and junior radiologists show significant improvement in the diagnosis of the breast tumor with ultrasound imaging (p-value  .05). The online training system can improve the capabilities of early-career radiologists in distinguishing between the benign and malignant lesions and reduce the misdiagnosis of breast cancer in a quick, convenient and effective manner. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Implications of microRNAs in Colorectal Cancer Development, Diagnosis, Prognosis and Therapeutics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haiyan eZhai

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNAs are a class of non-coding small RNAs with critical regulatory functions as post-transcriptional regulators. Due to the fundamental importance and broad impact of miRNAs on multiple genes and pathways, dysregulated miRNAs have been associated with human diseases, including cancer. Colorectal cancer (CRC is among the most deadly diseases, and miRNAs offer a new frontier for target discovery and novel biomarkers for both diagnosis and prognosis. In this review, we summarize the recent advancement of miRNA research in CRC, in particular, the roles of miRNAs in colorectal cancer stem cells, EMT, chemoresistance, therapeutics, diagnosis and prognosis.

  8. Adjustment to cancer in the 8 years following diagnosis : A longitudinal study comparing cancer survivors with healthy individuals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schroevers, Maya; Ranchor, A.V; Sanderman, R.

    This longitudinal study examined the long-term impact of a diagnosis of cancer on physical and psychological functioning, by comparing 8-year cancer survivors (n = 206) to a randomly selected sample of similar-aged references without cancer (n = 120) in the Netherlands. Comparisons were made at

  9. Risk of Recurrence or Contralateral Breast Cancer More than 5 Years After Diagnosis of Hormone Receptor-Positive Early-Stage Breast Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Sheridan; Speers, Caroline; Tyldesley, Scott; Chia, Stephen; Kennecke, Hagen; Ellard, Susan; Lohrisch, Caroline

    2016-08-01

    Three large studies have shown a survival benefit from 10 years of adjuvant hormone therapy (AHT). We evaluated the risk of an event 5 years after the initial breast cancer (BC) diagnosis and identified the prognostic factors to assist clinicians considering extended AHT. Patients newly referred to the BC Cancer Agency with stage I to III estrogen receptor-positive BC diagnosed from 1989 to 2004 who had undergone AHT were identified by the BC Cancer Agency's Breast Cancer Outcomes Unit. Cases with recurrence, death, or contralateral BC occurring within the first 5 years were excluded. The 10-year event-free survival (EFS) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. This provided estimates of recurrence risk after the fifth year following the diagnosis. The histopathologic and age variables were examined for prognostic value by univariate analysis. Within our cohort, 6615 women were postmenopausal and 1886 were premenopausal at the BC diagnosis. The median follow-up period was 11 years. The 10-year EFS for women aged cancer (any grade) and for stage II (node-negative and node-positive), grade I cancer. Our data have identified BCs associated with a very low recurrence risk 5 to 10 years after diagnosis, providing women with such cancers confidence about a decision to discontinue AHT after 5 years. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Current and future strategy for breast cancer treatment at Nagasaki University Hospital

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morishita, Mariko; Hayashi, Tomayoshi; Maeda, Shigeto

    2005-01-01

    Breast cancer has emerged as the most frequent malignant neoplasm among Japanese women in recent years, raising awareness in society of the issue of breast cancer, including good screening and therapies. In fact, the establishment of breast cancer screening program with mammography in the United States and Western Europe has contributed to improve the diagnosis of breast cancer at early stage, and proper management, including various options of evidence-based treatment has not only reduced mortality but also enhanced patients' quality of life. However, the mortality rate due to breast cancer in Japan has continued to increase, and the number of patients is also increasing rapidly. It is therefore very urgent to develop a good system of breast care in all medical facilities as well as the provision of a national scheme in Japan. In this report, we review the situations of breast surgery at Nagasaki University Hospital from 1975 to 2004 and current management practices for breast disease, and evaluate the possibility of establishing a better system for breast care at our hospital, which could then act as a core medical institute in Nagasaki. (author)

  11. Breast Cancer Basics and You: Detection and Diagnosis | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... of this page please turn Javascript on. Feature: Breast Cancer Breast Cancer Basics and You: Detection and Diagnosis Past Issues / ... regular clinical breast exams and mammograms to find breast cancer early, when treatment is more likely to work ...

  12. Non-invasive spectroscopic techniques in the diagnosis of non-melanoma skin cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drakaki, E.; Sianoudis, IA; Zois, EN; Makropoulou, M.; Serafetinides, AA; Dessinioti, C.; Stefanaki, E.; Stratigos, AJ; Antoniou, C.; Katsambas, A.; Christofidou, E.

    2017-11-01

    The number of non-melanoma skin cancers is increasing worldwide and has become an important health and economic issue. Early detection and treatment of skin cancer can significantly improve patient outcome. Therefore there is an increase in the demand for proper management and effective non-invasive diagnostic modalities in order to avoid relapses or unnecessary treatments. Although the gold standard of diagnosis for non-melanoma skin cancers is biopsy followed by histopathology evaluation, optical non-invasive diagnostic tools have obtained increased attention. Emerging non-invasive or minimal invasive techniques with possible application in the diagnosis of non-melanoma skin cancers include high-definition optical coherence tomography, fluorescence spectroscopy, oblique incidence diffuse reflectance spectrometry among others spectroscopic techniques. Our findings establish how those spectrometric techniques can be used to more rapidly and easily diagnose skin cancer in an accurate and automated manner in the clinic.

  13. Portable LED-induced autofluorescence spectroscopy for oral cancer diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Yung-Jhe; Huang, Ting-Wei; Cheng, Nai-Lun; Hsieh, Yao-Fang; Tsai, Ming-Hsui; Chiou, Jin-Chern; Duann, Jeng-Ren; Lin, Yung-Jiun; Yang, Chin-Siang; Ou-Yang, Mang

    2017-04-01

    Oral cancer is a serious and growing problem in many developing and developed countries. To improve the cancer screening procedure, we developed a portable light-emitting-diode (LED)-induced autofluorescence (LIAF) imager that contains two wavelength LED excitation light sources and multiple filters to capture ex vivo oral tissue autofluorescence images. Compared with conventional means of oral cancer diagnosis, the LIAF imager is a handier, faster, and more highly reliable solution. The compact design with a tiny probe allows clinicians to easily observe autofluorescence images of hidden areas located in concave deep oral cavities. The ex vivo trials conducted in Taiwan present the design and prototype of the portable LIAF imager used for analyzing 31 patients with 221 measurement points. Using the normalized factor of normal tissues under the excitation source with 365 nm of the central wavelength and without the bandpass filter, the results revealed that the sensitivity was larger than 84%, the specificity was not smaller than over 76%, the accuracy was about 80%, and the area under curve of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was achieved at about 87%, respectively. The fact shows the LIAF spectroscopy has the possibilities of ex vivo diagnosis and noninvasive examinations for oral cancer.

  14. Optimization of C4.5 algorithm-based particle swarm optimization for breast cancer diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muslim, M. A.; Rukmana, S. H.; Sugiharti, E.; Prasetiyo, B.; Alimah, S.

    2018-03-01

    Data mining has become a basic methodology for computational applications in the field of medical domains. Data mining can be applied in the health field such as for diagnosis of breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes and others. Breast cancer is most common in women, with more than one million cases and nearly 600,000 deaths occurring worldwide each year. The most effective way to reduce breast cancer deaths was by early diagnosis. This study aims to determine the level of breast cancer diagnosis. This research data uses Wisconsin Breast Cancer dataset (WBC) from UCI machine learning. The method used in this research is the algorithm C4.5 and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) as a feature option and to optimize the algorithm. C4.5. Ten-fold cross-validation is used as a validation method and a confusion matrix. The result of this research is C4.5 algorithm. The particle swarm optimization C4.5 algorithm has increased by 0.88%.

  15. Influence Of Smoking Habit On Age At Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajaei Mehrdad

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available No studies have yet investigated the influence of smoking on age at diagnosis of breast cancer. Therefore, the present study was carried out. This study consisted of 605 females with pathologically confirmed primary adenocarcinoma of the breast and 438 healthy females matched by age. Among our participants, 86 (14.2% patients and 62 (14.1% control subjects, respectively, were smokers. Based on a Cox regression model, evidence suggested that smoking status influenced the age at diagnosis of breast cancer (HR=0.78, 95% CI: 0.62-0.99, P=0.040. After stratification of the patients according to their menopausal status, the same results were obtained. The present study indicated that non-smokers have a lower age at diagnosis in comparison with patients who smoke.

  16. Long-term weight loss after colorectal cancer diagnosis is associated with lower survival: The Colon Cancer Family Registry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kocarnik, Jonathan M; Hua, Xinwei; Hardikar, Sheetal; Robinson, Jamaica; Lindor, Noralane M; Win, Aung Ko; Hopper, John L; Figueiredo, Jane C; Potter, John D; Campbell, Peter T; Gallinger, Steven; Cotterchio, Michelle; Adams, Scott V; Cohen, Stacey A; Phipps, Amanda I; Newcomb, Polly A

    2017-12-01

    Body weight is associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk and survival, but to the authors' knowledge, the impact of long-term postdiagnostic weight change is unclear. Herein, the authors investigated whether weight change over the 5 years after a diagnosis of CRC is associated with survival. CRC cases diagnosed from 1997 to 2008 were identified through 4 population-based cancer registry sites. Participants enrolled within 2 years of diagnosis and reported their height and weight 2 years prior. Follow-up questionnaires were administered approximately 5 years after diagnosis. Associations between change in weight (in kg) or body mass index (BMI) with overall and CRC-specific survival were estimated using Cox regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, American Joint Committee on Cancer stage of disease, baseline BMI, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use, smoking, time between diagnosis and enrollment, and study site. At the 5-year postdiagnostic survey, 2049 participants reported higher (53%; median plus 5 kg), unchanged (12%), or lower (35%; median -4 kg) weight. Over a median of 5.1 years of subsequent follow-up (range, 0.3-9.9 years), 344 participants died (91 of CRC). Long-term weight loss (per 5 kg) was found to be associated with poorer overall survival (hazard ratio, 1.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.21) and CRC-specific survival (hazard ratio, 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-1.39). Significantly lower survival was similarly observed for relative weight loss (>5% vs ≤5% change), BMI reduction (per 1 unit), or BMI category change (overweight to normal vs remaining overweight). Weight loss 5 years after a diagnosis of CRC was found to be significantly associated with decreased long-term survival, suggesting the importance of avoiding weight loss in survivors of CRC. Future research should attempt to further evaluate this association, accounting for whether this weight change was intentional or represents a marker of declining health. Cancer 2017

  17. Incidental radiologic findings at breast cancer diagnosis and likelihood of disease recurrence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brothers, Joel M; Kidwell, Kelley M; Brown, Richard K J; Henry, N Lynn

    2016-01-01

    Despite guidelines recommending against its routine use, perioperative imaging for distant metastases is frequently performed in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, uncovering incidental findings of uncertain significance. We assessed the clinical significance of incidental findings by determining if their presence is associated with disease recurrence. A retrospective review of staging imaging was performed in patients with stage II or III invasive breast cancer diagnosed during 2008-2009 at a large academic medical center. Data related to perioperative imaging and disease recurrence were abstracted from the medical record. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between incidental findings and time to disease recurrence. A total of 169 of 340 patients (49.7 %) underwent staging evaluation for distant metastases (CT chest, abdomen, pelvis, bone scan, and/or PET-CT). Of these, 146 (86.4 %) had at least one suspicious or indeterminate finding. Follow-up studies were performed in 73 (43.2 %) patients. Nineteen patients were diagnosed with metastatic disease at diagnosis, 18 of whom had stage III disease. In patients without metastatic disease at diagnosis, 32 later developed recurrence. Non-calcified pulmonary nodules were associated with shorter time to disease recurrence (hazard ratio 2.51, 95 % CI 1.13-5.57, p = 0.02). Imaging for distant metastases frequently reveals indeterminate findings, most of which are not associated with disease recurrence. The association between pulmonary nodules and recurrence warrants validation in an independent cohort. Overall, these findings support current guidelines recommending against routine extent of disease evaluation in patients with newly diagnosed stage II breast cancer.

  18. Predictors of pretreatment CA125 at ovarian cancer diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Babic, Ana; Cramer, Daniel W; Kelemen, Linda E

    2017-01-01

    PURPOSE: Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is a glycoprotein expressed by epithelial cells of several normal tissue types and overexpressed by several epithelial cancers. Serum CA125 levels are mostly used as an aid in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer patients, to monitor response to treatment and detect...... in CA125 between studies and linear regression to estimate the association between epidemiologic factors and tumor characteristics and pretreatment CA125 levels. RESULTS: In age-adjusted models, older age, history of pregnancy, history of tubal ligation, family history of breast cancer, and family...... cancer recurrence. Besides tumor characteristics, CA125 levels are also influenced by several epidemiologic factors, such as age, parity, and oral contraceptive use. Identifying factors that influence CA125 levels in ovarian cancer patients could aid in the interpretation of CA125 values for individuals...

  19. Determinants of stage at diagnosis of breast cancer in Nigerian women: sociodemographic, breast cancer awareness, health care access and clinical factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jedy-Agba, Elima; McCormack, Valerie; Olaomi, Oluwole; Badejo, Wunmi; Yilkudi, Monday; Yawe, Terna; Ezeome, Emmanuel; Salu, Iliya; Miner, Elijah; Anosike, Ikechukwu; Adebamowo, Sally N; Achusi, Benjamin; Dos-Santos-Silva, Isabel; Adebamowo, Clement

    2017-07-01

    Advanced stage at diagnosis is a common feature of breast cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), contributing to poor survival rates. Understanding its determinants is key to preventing deaths from this cancer in SSA. Within the Nigerian Integrative Epidemiology of Breast Cancer Study, a multicentred case-control study on breast cancer, we studied factors affecting stage at diagnosis of cases, i.e. women diagnosed with histologically confirmed invasive breast cancer between January 2014 and July 2016 at six secondary and tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. Stage was assessed using clinical and imaging methods. Ordinal logistic regression was used to examine associations of sociodemographic, breast cancer awareness, health care access and clinical factors with odds of later stage (I, II, III or IV) at diagnosis. A total of 316 women were included, with a mean age (SD) of 45.4 (11.4) years. Of these, 94.9% had stage information: 5 (1.7%), 92 (30.7%), 157 (52.4%) and 46 (15.3%) were diagnosed at stages I, II, III and IV, respectively. In multivariate analyses, lower educational level (odds ratio (OR) 2.35, 95% confidence interval: 1.04, 5.29), not believing in a cure for breast cancer (1.81: 1.09, 3.01), and living in a rural area (2.18: 1.05, 4.51) were strongly associated with later stage, whilst age at diagnosis, tumour grade and oestrogen receptor status were not. Being Muslim (vs. Christian) was associated with lower odds of later stage disease (0.46: 0.22, 0.94). Our findings suggest that factors that are amenable to intervention concerning breast cancer awareness and health care access, rather than intrinsic tumour characteristics, are the strongest determinants of stage at diagnosis in Nigerian women.

  20. Personal control after a breast cancer diagnosis: stability and adaptive value

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Henselmans, Inge; Sanderman, Robbert; Baas, Peter C.; Smink, Ans; Ranchor, Adelita V.

    2009-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study aims to gain more insight in both the changes in personal control due to a breast cancer diagnosis, as well as in the stress-buffering effect of personal control. METHODS: Personal control and distress were assessed in breast cancer patients not treated with

  1. Personal control after a breast cancer diagnosis : stability and adaptive value

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Henselmans, Inge; Sanderman, Robbert; Baas, Peter C.; Smink, Ans; Ranchor, Adelita V.

    Objective: This longitudinal study aims to gain more insight in both the changes in personal control due to a breast cancer diagnosis, as well as in the stress-buffering effect of personal control. Methods: Personal control and distress were assessed in breast cancer patients not treated with

  2. Application of nanotechnology in the treatment and diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancers: review of recent patents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prados, Jose; Melguizo, Consolacion; Perazzoli, Gloria; Cabeza, Laura; Carrasco, Esther; Oliver, Jaime; Jiménez-Luna, Cristina; Leiva, Maria C; Ortiz, Raúl; Álvarez, Pablo J; Aranega, Antonia

    2014-01-01

    Gastrointestinal cancers remain one of the main causes of death in developed countries. The main obstacles to combating these diseases are the limitations of current diagnostic techniques and the low stability, availability, and/or specificity of pharmacological treatment. In recent years, nanotechnology has revolutionized many fields of medicine, including oncology. The association of chemotherapeutic agents with nanoparticles offers improvement in the solubility and stability of antitumor agents, avoidance of drug degradation, and reductions in therapeutic dose and toxicity, increasing drug levels in tumor tissue and decreasing them in healthy tissue. The use of specific molecules that drive nanoparticles to the tumor tissue represents a major advance in therapeutic specificity. In addition, the use of nanotechnology in contrast agents has yielded improvements in the diagnosis and the follow-up of tumors. These nanotechnologies have all been applied in gastrointestinal cancer treatment, first in vitro, and subsequently in vivo, with promising results reported in some clinical trials. A large number of patents have been generated by nanotechnology research over recent years. The objective of this paper is to review patents on the clinical use of nanoparticles for gastrointestinal cancer diagnosis and therapy and to offer an overview of the impact of nanotechnology on the management of this disease.

  3. Implementation of an optical diagnosis strategy saves costs and does not impair clinical outcomes of a fecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vleugels, Jasper L A; Greuter, Marjolein J E; Hazewinkel, Yark; Coupé, Veerle M H; Dekker, Evelien

    2017-12-01

     In an optical diagnosis strategy, diminutive polyps that are endoscopically characterized with high confidence are removed without histopathological analysis and distal hyperplastic polyps are left in situ. We evaluated the effectiveness and costs of optical diagnosis.  Using the Adenoma and Serrated pathway to Colorectal CAncer (ASCCA) model, we simulated biennial fecal immunochemical test (FIT) screening in individuals aged 55 - 75 years. In this program, we compared an optical diagnosis strategy with current histopathology assessment of all diminutive polyps. Base-case assumptions included 76 % high-confidence predictions and sensitivities of 88 %, 91 %, and 88 % for endoscopically characterizing adenomas, sessile serrated polyps, and hyperplastic polyps, respectively. Outcomes were colorectal cancer burden, number of colonoscopies, life-years, and costs.  Both the histopathology strategy and the optical diagnosis strategy resulted in 21 life-days gained per simulated individual compared with no screening. For optical diagnosis, €6 per individual was saved compared with the current histopathology strategy. These cost savings were related to a 31 % reduction in colonoscopies in which histopathology was needed for diminutive polyps. Projecting these results onto the Netherlands (17 million inhabitants), assuming a fully implemented FIT-based screening program, resulted in an annual undiscounted cost saving of € 1.7 - 2.2 million for optical diagnosis.  Implementation of optical diagnosis in a FIT-based screening program saves costs without decreasing program effectiveness when compared with current histopathology analysis of all diminutive polyps. Further work is required to evaluate how endoscopists participating in a screening program should be trained, audited, and monitored to achieve adequate competence in optical diagnosis.

  4. Diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion and lung cancer with CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jakimovska, S.; Jakimovska, M.; Jovanovska, S.; Ilieva, S.

    2012-01-01

    Full text: Introduction: A pleural effusion is defined as an abnormal amount of fluid in the space between the layers of tissue (the pleura) that line the lungs. If cancer cells are present in this fluid (pleural cavity) it is called a malignant cancerous pleural effusion. Many benign and malignant disease can cause pleural effusion.The new onset of pleural effusion may herald the presence of a previously undiagnosed malignancy, or more typically, complicate the course of a known lung tumor. Malignant pleural effusions can lead lead to an initial diagnosis of lung cancer in patients.and it was the first symptom of lung cancer. Pleural deposits of tumor cause pleuritic pain. Purpose of this presentation is to show the role of CT in diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion and lung cancer. Material and methods: CT examinations of chest were made to 138 patients for 1 year (1/6/2011- 1/6/2012) with Siemens Somatom Emotion 16 CT Scanner. Patients were at age of 30 -81 years, 93 of them are male and 45 are female. Results: 56 (40.5%) of the patients had pleural effusion. From this group 21 37.5% had malignant pleural effusion and lung cancer. 17 (81%) of them are male, and 4 (19%) are female. 9 (43%) diagnosed lung cancer for first time. Conclusion: Pleural effusion more commonly occur in patient with advanced-stage tumor who frequently have metastases to other organs and long-term survival is uncommon in this group. CT diagnosed malignant pleural effusion and lung cancer and help to choice treatment for these patients

  5. [Clinical guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of patients with non-invasive breast cancer].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brnijć, Zoran; Brkljacić, Boris; Drinković, Ivan; Jakić-Razumović, Jasminka; Kardum-Skelin, Ika; Krajina, Zdenko; Margaritoni, Marko; Strnad, Marija; Sarcević, Bozena; Tomić, Snjezana; Zic, Rado

    2012-01-01

    Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Early diagnosis and more effective treatment of invasive breast cancer resulted in significant mortality reduction, improvement of survival and the quality of life of the patients. The management od non-invasive breast cancer, on the contrary, is still controversial and the problem of overdiagnosis and overtreatment of patients come to evidence. In the following text a multidisciplinary team of experts brings the first consensus guidelines aimed to standardize and optimize the criteria and management in diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of non-invasive breast cancer patients in the Republic of Croatia.

  6. Nanotechnology-Based Detection of Novel microRNAs for Early Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-08-01

    AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-15-1-0157 TITLE: Nanotechnology -Based Detection of Novel microRNAs for Early Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer PRINCIPAL...TITLE AND SUBTITLE Nanotechnology -Based Detection of Novel microRNAs for Early Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER...identify novel differentially expressed miRNAs in the body fluids (blood, urine, etc.) for an early detection of PCa. Advances in nanotechnology and

  7. Mammography combined with breast dynamic contrast-enhanced-magnetic resonance imaging for the diagnosis of early breast cancer

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yakun He; Guohui Xu; Jin Ren; Bin Feng; Xiaolei Dong; Hao Lu; Changjiu He

    2016-01-01

    Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the application of mammography combined with breast dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) for the diagnosis of early breast cancer. Methods Mammography and DCE-MRI were performed for 120 patients with breast cancer (malignant, 102; benign; 18). Results The sensitivity of mammography for early diagnosis of breast cancer was 66.67%, specificity was 77.78%, and accuracy was 68.33%. The sensitivity of MRI for early diagnosis of breast cancer was 94.12%, specificity was 88.89%, and accuracy was 93.33%. However, the sensitivity of mammography combined with DCE-MRI volume imaging with enhanced water signal (VIEWS) scanning for early diagnosis of breast cancer was 97.06%, specificity was 94.44%, and accuracy was 96.67%. Conclusion Mammography combined with DCE-MRI increased the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of diagnosing early breast cancer.

  8. Cancer diagnosis in a ''breast clinic''

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghys, R.

    1987-01-01

    Conflicting opinions have been expressed in the world literature over the last 15 years about the value of radiological techniques in breast cancer diagnosis. We reviewed 111 breast cancers which we diagnosed between 1971 and 1985, in unselected patients, by the combined use of palpation, thermography and mammography, complemented, since 1980, by diaphanoscopy. Considerable clinical experience is necessary to interpret both mammograms and thermograms. Each of these approaches, when rated independently, has a very high false negative rate ranging from 41% for clinical examination to 32% for mammography. In cases which are not clinically obvious, diaphanoscopy ''retrieves'' the most cancers, with thermography a close second (definitely malignant in 35% of the cases over the whole age range). Mammography comes third and its efficacy drops to 12.5% in premenopausal women. However, by combining this information with the one derived from anamnesis, the ACDTM scoring system gives us a false negative rate - before biopsy - of 5.5% and a false positive rate of <1%. This approach also drastically reduces the number of unnecessary biopsies

  9. Factors contributing to delayed diagnosis of cancer among Aboriginal people in Australia: a qualitative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahid, Shaouli; Teng, Tiew-Hwa Katherine; Bessarab, Dawn; Aoun, Samar; Baxi, Siddhartha; Thompson, Sandra C

    2016-01-01

    Background/objectives Delayed presentation of symptomatic cancer is associated with poorer survival. Aboriginal patients with cancer have higher rates of distant metastases at diagnosis compared with non-Aboriginal Australians. This paper examined factors contributing to delayed diagnosis of cancer among Aboriginal Australians from patient and service providers' perspectives. Methods In-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted in two stages (2006–2007 and 2011). Inductive thematic analysis was assisted by use of NVivo looking around delays in presentation, diagnosis and referral for cancer. Participants Aboriginal patients with cancer/family members (n=30) and health service providers (n=62) were recruited from metropolitan Perth and six rural/remote regions of Western Australia. Results Three broad themes of factors were identified: (1) Contextual factors such as intergenerational impact of colonisation and racism and socioeconomic deprivation have negatively impacted on Aboriginal Australians' trust of the healthcare professionals; (2) health service-related factors included low accessibility to health services, long waiting periods, inadequate numbers of Aboriginal professionals and high staff turnover; (3) patient appraisal of symptoms and decision-making, fear of cancer and denial of symptoms were key reasons patients procrastinated in seeking help. Elements of shame, embarrassment, shyness of seeing the doctor, psychological ‘fear of the whole health system’, attachment to the land and ‘fear of leaving home’ for cancer treatment in metropolitan cities were other deterrents for Aboriginal people. Manifestation of masculinity and the belief that ‘health is women's domain’ emerged as a reason why Aboriginal men were reluctant to receive health checks. Conclusions Solutions to improved Aboriginal cancer outcomes include focusing on the primary care sector encouraging general practitioners to be proactive to suspicion of symptoms with appropriate

  10. Weight gain following breast cancer diagnosis: Implication and proposed mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makari-Judson, Grace; Braun, Barry; Jerry, D Joseph; Mertens, Wilson C

    2014-01-01

    Weight gain occurs in the majority of women following breast cancer treatment. An overview of studies describing weight gain amongst women treated with early to modern chemotherapy regimens is included. Populations at higher risk include women who are younger, closer to ideal body weight and who have been treated with chemotherapy. Weight gain ranges between 1 to 5 kg, and may be associated with change in body composition with gain in fat mass and loss in lean body mass. Women are unlikely to return to pre-diagnosis weight. Possible mechanisms including inactivity and metabolic changes are explored. Potential interventions are reviewed including exercise, dietary changes and pharmacologic agents. Although breast cancer prognosis does not appear to be significantly impacted, weight gain has negative consequences on quality of life and overall health. Future studies should explore change in body composition, metabolism and insulin resistance. Avoiding weight gain in breast cancer survivors following initial diagnosis and treatment should be encouraged. PMID:25114844

  11. MSH6 and PMS2 mutation positive Australian Lynch syndrome families: novel mutations, cancer risk and age of diagnosis of colorectal cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Talseth-Palmer Bente A

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Approximately 10% of Lynch syndrome families have a mutation in MSH6 and fewer families have a mutation in PMS2. It is assumed that the cancer incidence is the same in families with mutations in MSH6 as in families with mutations in MLH1/MSH2 but that the disease tends to occur later in life, little is known about families with PMS2 mutations. This study reports on our findings on mutation type, cancer risk and age of diagnosis in MSH6 and PMS2 families. Methods A total of 78 participants (from 29 families with a mutation in MSH6 and 7 participants (from 6 families with a mutation in PMS2 were included in the current study. A database of de-identified patient information was analysed to extract all relevant information such as mutation type, cancer incidence, age of diagnosis and cancer type in this Lynch syndrome cohort. Cumulative lifetime risk was calculated utilising Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results MSH6 and PMS2 mutations represent 10.3% and 1.9%, respectively, of the pathogenic mutations in our Australian Lynch syndrome families. We identified 26 different MSH6 and 4 different PMS2 mutations in the 35 families studied. We report 15 novel MSH6 and 1 novel PMS2 mutations. The estimated cumulative risk of CRC at age 70 years was 61% (similar in males and females and 65% for endometrial cancer in MSH6 mutation carriers. The risk of developing CRC is different between males and females at age 50 years, which is 34% for males and 21% for females. Conclusion Novel MSH6 and PMS2 mutations are being reported and submitted to the current databases for identified Lynch syndrome mutations. Our data provides additional information to add to the genotype-phenotype spectrum for both MSH6 and PMS2 mutations.

  12. Spiral (Helical) computed tomographic imaging for the diagnosis of bile duct cancer. Vascular and pancreatic invasions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kon, Masanori

    1997-01-01

    The development of several imaging techniques for diagnosing bile duct cancer have improved, however, its diagnosis at the early stage is still difficult. We discuss the significance of the spiral (helical) computed tomography (SCT) imaging for the diagnosis of bile duct cancer at an early stage. We performed, as a preoperative examination, SCT under intravenous angiography (IV-SCT) for all cases, which included 233 cases of benign bile duct diseases, 42 cases of gallbladder cancer and 22 cases of bile duct cancer. The accuracy rate of diagnosis ability of 42 cases of gallbladder cancer by IV-SCT was 91%, and that of portal vein invasion was 91%. In the cases of bile duct cancer, IV-SCT showed destructive images of the bile duct wall and the tumor images invaded into the pancreatic parenchyma, in the cases of invasion at the splenic vein and confluence site of the portal vein, IV-SCT gave clearer 3D images than conventional angiography. The accuracy rate of diagnosing pancreatic invasion in bile duct cancer by IV-SCT was 80%. However, it is still difficult to determine completely the layer structures of the bile duct and the invasion into the walls along the long axis. As the future development of SCT for the diagnosis of bile duct cancer, we expect further progression of diagnosis ability of bile duct cancer and the invasion level by the applying high resolution thin-section CT images or endoscopical images of the luminal organs in examining the bile duct. (K.H.)

  13. Final height in survivors of childhood cancer compared with Height Standard Deviation Scores at diagnosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Knijnenburg, S. L.; Raemaekers, S.; van den Berg, H.; van Dijk, I. W. E. M.; Lieverst, J. A.; van der Pal, H. J.; Jaspers, M. W. M.; Caron, H. N.; Kremer, L. C.; van Santen, H. M.

    2013-01-01

    Our study aimed to evaluate final height in a cohort of Dutch childhood cancer survivors (CCS) and assess possible determinants of final height, including height at diagnosis. We calculated standard deviation scores (SDS) for height at initial cancer diagnosis and height in adulthood in a cohort of

  14. Use of general practice, diagnostic investigations and hospital services before and after cancer diagnosis - a population-based nationwide registry study of 127,000 incident adult cancer patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christensen Karina

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Knowledge of patterns in cancer patients’ health care utilisation around the time of diagnosis may guide health care resource allocation and provide important insights into this groups’ demand for health care services. The health care need of patients with comorbid conditions far exceeds the oncology capacity and it is therefore important to elucidate the role of both primary and secondary care. The aim of this paper is to describe the use of health care services amongst incident cancer patients in Denmark one year before and one year after cancer diagnosis. Methods The present study is a national population-based case–control (1:10 registry study. All incident cancer patients (n = 127,210 diagnosed between 2001 and 2006 aged 40 years or older were identified in the Danish Cancer Registry. Data from national health registries were provided for all cancer patients and for 1,272,100 controls. Monthly consultation frequencies, monthly proportions of persons receiving health services and three-month incidence rate ratios for one year before and one year after the cancer diagnosis were calculated. Data were analysed separately for women and men. Results Three months before their diagnosis, cancer patients had twice as many general practitioner (GP consultations, ten to eleven times more diagnostic investigations and five times more hospital contacts than the reference population. The demand for GP services peaked one month before diagnosis, the demand for diagnostic investigations one month after diagnosis and the number of hospital contacts three months after diagnosis. The proportion of cancer patients receiving each of these three types of health services remained more than 10% above that of the reference population from two months before diagnosis until the end of the study period. Conclusions Cancer patients’ health service utilisation rose dramatically three months before their diagnosis. This increase applied to

  15. Pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease: Current diagnosis and management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Pol, R.J.

    2014-01-01

    Pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a disorder difficult to diagnose and to treat. Due to the current definition of GERD, i.e. gastroesophageal reflux (GER) causing bothersome symptoms and/or complications, diagnosis is subject to broad interpretation. This thesis consists of studies

  16. Cancer Currents Now Available in Spanish

    Science.gov (United States)

    As part of our effort to more effectively reach patients, health care providers, and researchers with timely, authoritative, and scientifically accurate cancer information, we are now offering selected Cancer Currents blog posts in Spanish.

  17. Project for the National Program of Early Diagnosis of Endometrial Cancer Part I.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohîlțea, R E; Ancăr, V; Cirstoiu, M M; Rădoi, V; Bohîlțea, L C; Furtunescu, F

    2015-01-01

    Endometrial cancer recorded a peak incidence in ages 60-64 years in Romania, reaching in 2013 the average value of 8.06/ 100,000 women, and 15.97/ 100,000 women within the highest risk age range, having in recent years an increasing trend, being higher in urban than in rural population. Annually, approximately 800 new cases are registered in our country. The estimated lifetime risk of a woman to develop endometrial cancer is of about 1,03%. Based on an abnormal uterine bleeding, 35% of the endometrial cancers are diagnosed in an advanced stage of the disease, with significantly diminished lifetime expectancy. Drafting a national program for the early diagnosis of endometrial cancer. We proposed a standardization of the diagnostic steps and focused on 4 key elements for the early diagnosis of endometrial cancer: investigation of abnormal uterine bleeding occurring in pre/ post-menopausal women, investigating features/ anomalies of cervical cytology examination, diagnosis, treatment and proper monitoring of precursor endometrial lesions or cancer associated endometrial lesions and screening high risk populations (Lynch syndrome, Cowden syndrome). Improving medical practice based on diagnostic algorithms addresses the four risk groups, by improving information system reporting and record keeping. Improving addressability cases by increasing the health education of the population will increase the rate of diagnosis of endometrial cancer in the early stages of the disease. ACOG = American Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, ASCCP = American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, PATT = Partial Activated Thromboplastin Time, BRCA = Breast Cancer Gene, CT = Computerized Tomography, IFGO = International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, HLG = Hemoleucogram, HNPCC = Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer (Lynch syndrome), IHC = Immunohistochemistry, BMI = Body Mass Index, INR = International Normalized Ratio, MSI = Microsatellites instability, MSI

  18. Smoking habits of radiotherapy patients: did the diagnosis of cancer make an impact and is there an opportunity to intervene?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Charlie Chia-Tsong; Kwan, Gigi Nga Chi; Chawla, Aakriti; Mitina, Natalia; Christie, David

    2011-10-01

    To investigate the impact of a cancer diagnosis on smoking habits in patients receiving radiotherapy and assess the opportunity to intervene. One hundred consecutive patients were interviewed. They included patients newly diagnosed with cancer of any type and receiving radiotherapy. Detailed information was collected including smoking habits before and after the diagnosis, the timing of and reasons for any changes. We also asked about patients' view of the role of the radiation oncologist in smoking cessation and the opportunities for intervention. Analysis of results involved simple descriptive statistics. Although there were only 14 current smokers, only two had decided to quit. Five smokers decreased smoking, six did not change and one increased smoking. One non-smoker (1/34) took up smoking. Nearly all changes occurred within the first 30 days of diagnosis. Most (79%, 11/14) smokers believed that the treating radiation oncologist should discuss smoking cessation with their patients and that the ideal timing is at either the first consultation or when decisions about treatment have been finalised. The diagnosis of cancer can motivate patients to reduce smoking, but few quit altogether and a smaller number increase or even take up smoking. These changes occur early after receiving a diagnosis of cancer. Patients with a smoking history believed that the treating radiation oncologist should discuss smoking cessation with their patients and that the ideal timing is at the first consultation. The periodic nature of treatments and consultations at radiation oncology centres suggest there is the potential for an effective smoking cessation programme. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology © 2011 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

  19. Nutritional status at diagnosis in children with cancer. 2. An assessment by arm anthropometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barr, Ronald; Collins, Laura; Nayiager, Trishana; Doring, Nancy; Kennedy, Charlene; Halton, Jacqueline; Walker, Scott; Sala, Alessandra; Webber, Colin

    2011-04-01

    Assessment of nutritional status in children with cancer is important but measures based on weight can be problematic at diagnosis, especially in those with advanced disease. Likewise, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry may be confounded by other radiological procedures and is not commonly available in low-income countries where most children with cancer live. Arm anthropometry is not subject to these constraints. In a study sample of 99 Canadian patients with cancer at diagnosis, mid-upper arm circumference correlated well with lean body mass as measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry but triceps skin fold thickness was a poor predictor of fat mass. Arm anthropometry can be a useful tool for the measurement of nutritional status in children with cancer. However, further studies, particularly in low-income countries and in children with solid tumors at diagnosis, are required to determine the full extent of its utility.

  20. Three cases of thyroid cancer following the diagnosis of testicular cancer: treatment-related complication or genetics?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spiliopoulou, Pavlina; Bowers, Sarah Pauline; Gibson, Sarah; White, Jeff; Reed, Nick

    2016-05-01

    Large-scale epidemiological studies have shown that the incidence of second primary thyroid cancer in subjects diagnosed and treated for testicular cancer is raised. This finding is strongly associated to treatment with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy and it is explained by their mutagenic effect. On the other hand, inherited cancer susceptibility syndromes inducing both testicular and thyroid cancers denote that these tumours might share common genomic aberrations. We herein present our experience with three cases of metachronous development of thyroid cancer after diagnosis and treatment of testicular cancer in our tertiary cancer centre. Our case report contributes to the limited available literature on such findings and aims to raise awareness of the cancer physicians treating these particular tumour types. © The Author(s) 2016.

  1. Psychological aspects of the cancer patients' education: thoughts, feelings, behavior and body reactions of patients faced with diagnosis of cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klikovac, T; Djurdjevic, A

    2010-01-01

    In order to assess the impact of cancer diagnosis on several psychological dimensions, this study was undertaken with the aim to understand, identify and document the psychological responses of cancer patients - their common thoughts, feelings, body sensations and behavior when they faced the cancer diagnosis. The sample consisted of 80 patients who attended psychological lectures during the implementation of the European Educational Programme (EEP) "Learning to live with cancer". At the beginning of the lectures, the patients were asked to fulfill the self-describing questionnaire with 4 open questions: "Describe your common thoughts, feelings, behavior, and body reactions in the first 6 weeks when you learned that you were affected by cancer". A significant proportion of patients reported disease denial (65%) and reexamination in relation to past life experiences, stressful events and bad habits (60%). Depressive feelings and disappointment were reported by 90% of the patients, while 85% of them reported fear, hopelessness and emptiness. They also reported sadness (70%), anger and anxiety (65%), nervousness and irritability (90%). Positive thoughts and attitude in the sense of optimism concerning a successful treatment outcome were reported by 20% and 15% of patients, respectively. The diagnosis of cancer and cancer treatment can cause distress, emotional turmoil and different psychosocial disorders. Taking into consideration different psychological reactions of cancer patients can be helpful for organizing adequate psycho-educational and psychosocial support, and psychotherapy for cancer patients and their families.

  2. Disparities in cancer stage at diagnosis and survival of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal South Australians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banham, David; Roder, David; Keefe, Dorothy; Farshid, Gelareh; Eckert, Marion; Cargo, Margaret; Brown, Alex

    2017-06-01

    This study tested the utility of retrospectively staging cancer registry data for comparing stage and stage-specific survivals of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Differences by area level factors were also explored. This test dataset comprised 950 Aboriginal cases and all other cases recorded on the South Australian cancer registry with a 1977-2010 diagnosis. A sub-set of 777 Aboriginal cases diagnosed in 1990-2010 were matched with randomly selected non-Aboriginal cases by year of birth, diagnostic year, sex, and primary site of cancer. Competing risk regression summarised associations of Aboriginal status, stage, and geographic attributes with risk of cancer death. Aboriginal cases were 10 years younger at diagnosis, more likely to present in recent diagnostic years, to be resident of remote areas, and have primary cancer sites of head & neck, lung, liver and cervix. Risk of cancer death was associated in the matched analysis with more advanced stage at diagnosis. More Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal cases had distant metastases at diagnosis (31.3% vs 22.0, pAboriginal residents had higher risks of cancer death than Aboriginal residents of metropolitan areas. Non-Aboriginal cases had the lowest risk of cancer death. Retrospective staging proved to be feasible using registry data. Results indicated more advanced stages for Aboriginal than matched non-Aboriginal cases. Aboriginal people had higher risks of cancer death, which persisted after adjusting for stage, and applied irrespective of remoteness of residence, with highest risk of death occurring among Aboriginal people from remote areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. The diagnosis of cancer in thyroid fine needle aspiration biopsy. Surgery, repeat biopsy or specimen consultation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agata Stanek-Widera

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNA is the only diagnostic method that allows a preoperative diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma. An unequivocal diagnosis of a malignant change is achievable only in cases in which all cytological criteria of carcinoma are met. The aim of the study was to evaluate the necessity of repeat thyroid FNA in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma verified on consultative examination (CE. We analyzed cytology reports of thyroid FNA and CE that resulted in the diagnosis of papillary carcinoma. Evaluation of the correlation of the cytological diagnosis with the histopathology report was based on data obtained after the surgery. Between 2010 and 2015 in the Institute of Oncology (IO there were 184 cancers diagnosed on CE or in thyroid FNA performed primarily in IO. Additionally, 74 patients were subjected to repeat biopsy after confirmation of cancer in CE. Histopathological diagnosis of cancer was obtained in 62 (100% cases that were doubly confirmed with cytological examination. The remaining 12 patients were operated on outside the institute. From 110 FNA primarily performed in the IO, histopathological verification was achievable in 92 cases, from which 92 (100% provided a confirmation of cancer, and the remaining 18 patients were operated on outside the institute. High (100% specificity of cancer diagnosis in FNA established primarily and verified on CE (second independent assessment indicates that repeat FNA in order to confirm the diagnosis is unnecessary.

  4. The Lived Experience of Iranian Women Confronting Breast Cancer Diagnosis

    OpenAIRE

    Esmat Mehrabi; Sepideh Hajian; Masoomeh Simbar; Mohammad Hoshyari; Farid Zayeri

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: The populations who survive from breast cancer are growing; nevertheless, they mostly encounter with many cancer related problems in their life, especially after early diagnosis and have to deal with these problems. Except for the disease entity, several socio-cultural factors may affect confronting this challenge among patients and the way they deal with. Present study was carried out to prepare clear understanding of Iranian women's...

  5. Computer Aided Diagnosis System for Early Lung Cancer Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatma Taher

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Lung cancer continues to rank as the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. One of the most promising techniques for early detection of cancerous cells relies on sputum cell analysis. This was the motivation behind the design and the development of a new computer aided diagnosis (CAD system for early detection of lung cancer based on the analysis of sputum color images. The proposed CAD system encompasses four main processing steps. First is the preprocessing step which utilizes a Bayesian classification method using histogram analysis. Then, in the second step, mean shift segmentation is applied to segment the nuclei from the cytoplasm. The third step is the feature analysis. In this step, geometric and chromatic features are extracted from the nucleus region. These features are used in the diagnostic process of the sputum images. Finally, the diagnosis is completed using an artificial neural network and support vector machine (SVM for classifying the cells into benign or malignant. The performance of the system was analyzed based on different criteria such as sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. The evaluation was carried out using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC curve. The experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the SVM classifier over other classifiers, with 97% sensitivity and accuracy as well as a significant reduction in the number of false positive and false negative rates.

  6. Using administrative data to estimate time to breast cancer diagnosis and percent of screen-detected breast cancers – a validation study in Alberta, Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Y; Li, M; Yang, J; Winget, M

    2015-05-01

    Appropriate use of administrative data enables the assessment of care quality at the population level. Our objective was to develop/validate methods for assessing quality of breast cancer diagnostic care using administrative data, specifically by identifying relevant medical tests to estimate the percentage screen/symptom-detected cancers and time to diagnosis. Two databases were created for all women diagnosed with a first-ever breast cancer in years 2007-2010 in Alberta, Canada, with dates of medical tests received in years 2006-2010. One purchased database had test results and was used to determine the 'true' first relevant test of a cancer diagnosis. The other free administrative database had test types but no test results. Receiver operating characteristic curves and concordance rates were used to assess estimates of percent screen/symptom-detected breast cancers; Log-rank test was used to assess time to diagnosis obtained from the two databases. Using a look-back period of 4-6 months from cancer diagnosis to identify relevant tests resulted in over 94% concordance, sensitivity and specificity for classifying patients into screen/symptom-detected group; good agreement between the distributions of time to diagnosis was also achieved. Our findings support the use of administrative data to accurately identify relevant tests for assessing the quality of breast cancer diagnostic care. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Breaking bad news of cancer diagnosis - Perception of the cancer patients in a rural community in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bain, Mathew Gabriel; Lian, Cheah Whye; Thon, Chang Ching

    2014-04-01

    Breaking of bad news is an important component in the management of cancer patients. This study aimed to assess the perceptions of breaking bad news of cancer diagnosis. It was a cross-sectional study using Breaking Bad News Assessment Schedule (BAS) questionnaire on cancer patients in Serian district. Using snowballing sampling method, a total of 134 patients were interviewed face-to-face after the consent was obtained from each of the respondents. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 19.0. Majority were comfortable with the current method of breaking bad news. The main aspects found to be the areas of concern were the importance of the usage of body language, management of time and identifying patients' key area of concerns. There were significant difference between sex and "information giving" (P = 0.028) and "general consideration" (P = 0.016) and also between "the age and setting the scene" (P = 0.042). Significant difference was also found between the types of cancer and "the setting of scene" (P = 0.018), "breaking bad news technique" (P = 0.010), "eliciting concerns" (P = 0.003) and "information giving" (P = 0.004). Good and effective communication skill of breaking bad news is vital in the management of cancer patients. As the incidence of new cases of cancer increase every year, breaking of bad news has become a pertinent to the medical professionals' role. Specific aspects of communication skills based on local characteristics should be more emphasized in the formulation of training for doctors.

  8. "I Got My Diagnosis on a Yellow Post-it Note": Young Adult Cancer Patients' Experiences of the Process of Being Diagnosed With Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauken, May Aasebø; Hølge-Hazelton, Bibbi; Larsen, Torill M B

    2018-06-01

    Cancer in young adults is rare but young adult cancer patients (YACPs) are at an increased risk of severe physical and psychosocial impairments during cancer treatment and survivorship. However, little is known about the onset of this process. The aim of this study was to explore how young cancer survivors experience the process of being diagnosed with cancer. A qualitative method founded on a phenomenological-hermeneutical approach was used and included in-depth interviews with 20 young adult survivors (aged 24-35 years) with different cancer diagnoses, analyzed by Systematic Text Condensation. The participants' experiences of the diagnosis process were elaborated according to 3 main themes: (1) "I felt something was wrong, but…," (2) "The traumatic uncertainty," and (3) "The day my world collapsed." The findings indicate that the YACPs experienced a diagnosis of cancer as a highly traumatic and long-lasting process, characterized by lack of information and uncertainty. The findings indicate that healthcare professionals do not acknowledge the vulnerable phase of life and transitional challenges of YACPs. The findings highlight the need to raise awareness of cancer in young adulthood in the public and in the primary healthcare system, to shorten the diagnosis process, and to clarify responsibility for age-related information and psychosocial follow-up during the diagnosis process. Further research is highly warranted.

  9. Is low survival for cancer in Eastern Europe due principally to late stage at diagnosis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minicozzi, Pamela; Walsh, Paul M; Sánchez, Maria-José; Trama, Annalisa; Innos, Kaire; Marcos-Gragera, Rafael; Dimitrova, Nadya; Botta, Laura; Johannesen, Tom B; Rossi, Silvia; Sant, Milena

    2018-04-01

    Cancer survival has persistently been shown to be worse for Eastern European and UK/Ireland patients than those of other European regions. This is often attributed to later stage at diagnosis. However, few stage-specific survival comparisons are available, so it is unclear whether poorer quality treatment or other factors also contribute. For the first time, European cancer registries have provided stage-at-diagnosis data to EUROCARE, enabling population-based stage-specific survival estimates across Europe. In this retrospective observational study, stage at diagnosis (as TNM, condensed TNM, or Extent of Disease) was analysed for patients (≥15 years) from 15 countries grouped into 4 regions (Northern Europe: Norway; Central Europe: Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands; Southern Europe: Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain; and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia), diagnosed with 7 malignant cancers in 2000-2007, and followed to end of 2008. A new variable (reconstructed stage) was created which used all available stage information. Age-standardised 5-year relative survival (RS) by reconstructed stage was estimated and compared between regions. Excess risks of cancer death in the 5 years after diagnosis were also estimated, taking age, sex and stage into account. Low proportions of Eastern European patients were diagnosed with local stage cancers and high proportions with metastatic stage cancers. Stage-specific RS (especially for non-metastatic disease) was generally lower for Eastern European patients. After adjusting for age, sex, and stage, excess risks of death remained higher for Eastern European patients than for European patients in general. Late diagnosis alone does not explain worse cancer survival in Eastern Europe: greater risk of cancer death together with worse stage-specific survival suggest less effective care, probably in part because fewer resources are allocated to health care than in the rest of

  10. Role of endoscopic ultrasound in the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saftoiu, Adrian; Vilmann, Peter

    2009-01-01

    . The introduction of EUS-guided fine needle aspiration allows a preoperative diagnosis in patients with resectable cancer, as well as a confirmation of diagnosis before chemoradiotherapy for those that are not. This comprehensive review highlighted the diagnostic capabilities of EUS including the newest refinements...

  11. Diagnosis of Malignant Melanoma of Skin Cancer Types

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abbas Hassin Alasadi

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Malignant melanoma is a kind of skin cancer that begins in melanocytes. It can influence on the skin only, or it may expand to the bones and organs. It is less common, but more serious and aggressive than other types of skin cancer. Malignant Melanoma can happen anywhere on the skin, but it is widespread in certain locations such as the legs in women, the back and chest in men, the face, the neck, mouth, eyes, and genitals. In this paper, a proposed algorithm is designed for diagnosing malignant melanoma types by using digital image processing techniques. The algorithm consists of four steps: preprocessing, separation, features extraction, and diagnosis. A neural network (NN used to diagnosis malignant melanoma types. The total accuracy of the neural network was 100% for training and 93% for testing. The evaluation of the algorithm is done by using sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. The sensitivity of NN in diagnosing malignant melanoma types was 95.6%, while the specificity was 92.2% and the accuracy was 93.9%. The experimental results are acceptable.

  12. Ulcerative Cutaneous Lesions Synchronously Present with the Diagnosis of Primary Lung Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khaldoon Shaheen

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The percentage of patients with lung cancer that develop skin metastases is low. The diagnosis is usually made using clinical information and skin biopsy in patients with suspicious skin lesions and history of smoking or lung cancer. The prognosis for patients having lung cancer with skin metastasis is very poor. We describe findings in a 70-year-old man with lung cancer with skin metastases. Interestingly, multiple skin lesions were the first manifestation of the underlying lung cancer. The prognosis for patients having lung cancer with skin metastasis is thus very poor.

  13. Raman spectroscopy and imaging: applications in human breast cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brozek-Pluska, Beata; Musial, Jacek; Kordek, Radzislaw; Bailo, Elena; Dieing, Thomas; Abramczyk, Halina

    2012-08-21

    The applications of spectroscopic methods in cancer detection open new possibilities in early stage diagnostics. Raman spectroscopy and Raman imaging represent novel and rapidly developing tools in cancer diagnosis. In the study described in this paper Raman spectroscopy has been employed to examine noncancerous and cancerous human breast tissues of the same patient. The most significant differences between noncancerous and cancerous tissues were found in regions characteristic for the vibrations of carotenoids, lipids and proteins. Particular attention was paid to the role played by unsaturated fatty acids in the differentiation between the noncancerous and the cancerous tissues. Comparison of Raman spectra of the noncancerous and the cancerous tissues with the spectra of oleic, linoleic, α-linolenic, γ-linolenic, docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids has been presented. The role of sample preparation in the determination of cancer markers is also discussed in this study.

  14. The usefulness of FDG-PET for diagnosis of locally recurrent rectal cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekimoto, Mitsugu; Ikeda, Masataka; Yamamoto, Hirofumi; Nomura, Masaya; Takemasa, Ichiro; Fukunaga, Hiroki; Higuchi, Ichiro; Monden, Morito

    2006-01-01

    The local recurrence is the most frequently encountered recurrent pattern after radical resection of rectal cancer. We show the results of our study evaluating the usefulness of FDGPET (PET) and fusion image of PET and CT for the diagnosis of local recurrence of rectal cancer. Forty-two patients with a suspicious local recurrence after curative resection of rectal cancer were prospectively recruited and underwent PET and CT. The fusion image yielded a correct diagnosis in 39 (93%) of 42 patients, whereas CT alone and PET alone did so in 33 (79%) and 37 (88%) patients, respectively. The fusion image had better diagnostic accuracy than CT alone (P=.0138) and PET alone (P=.0156), and altered patient management in 11 (26.2%) cases on the basis of additional information. Fusion image had a potential clinical value in the treatment of suspected local recurrence of rectal cancer. (author)

  15. Self-disclosure of breast cancer diagnosis by Iranian women to friends and colleagues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najmabadi, Khadijeh Mirzaii; Azarkish, Fatemeh; Latifnejadroudsari, Robab; Shandiz, Fatemeh Homaei; Aledavood, Seyed Amir; Kermani, Ali Taghizadeh; Esmaily, Habib Ollah

    2014-01-01

    Breast cancer (BC) is the most common form of cancer in Iranian women, and it remains a major health problem. An increasing number of young women are being diagnosed with BC, and therefore, there is an increasing likelihood that more women will survive breast cancer for many years. Many opine that self-disclosure of BC diagnosis is important because talking about cancer helps people to make sense of their experiences; in fact, self-disclosure appears to play an important role in many health outcomes. However, this has not yet been studied in BC patients in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the status of self-disclosure of BC diagnosis by Iranian women to friends and colleagues. All BC records for 2001-2011 of employed women were studied at five hospitals in Mashhad. Data about the self-disclosure of BC diagnosis were gathered through telephone interviews, and the participants filled out a questionnaire about their status of self-disclosure of BC diagnosis to various groups of people. The mean age of employed women at the time of diagnosis was 44.3 ± 6.7 years. Over 60% self-disclosed to work colleagues and over 90% to bosses/managers. Seventy per cent reported that they had support from their family and husband's family, while 95% reported that they had support from parents, siblings, children and friends. Most employed women self-disclosed freely to family, friends, colleagues and bosses/managers. Apparently, self-disclosure of breast cancer diagnosis may have negative effects at work. About half of patients reported that they had support from family, managers and colleagues; however, for nearly 28% of employed women, disclosure had less positive effects. In particular, it altered their perception of others, produced difficulties with work and family and diminished closeness with the people who were told. However, the stigma of BC is far less than it once was.

  16. A Nanotechnology-based Strategy to Increase the Efficiency of Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy: Folate-conjugated Gold Nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beik, Jaber; Khademi, Sara; Attaran, Neda; Sarkar, Saeed; Shakeri-Zadeh, Ali; Ghaznavi, Habib; Ghadiri, Hossein

    2017-01-01

    Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), owing to their elegant physicochemical properties, have recently been introduced as promising theranostic nanoparticles. Folic acid is a necessary vitamin for cell proliferation. Accordingly, the surface functionalization of AuNP with folic acid may offer a great potential for the development of a strategy to increase the efficiency of cancer diagnosis and therapy based on the new nanotechnology. In this study, we have reviewed the recent progress made in the design and the biomedical application of various folate-conjugated gold nanoparticles (FAuNPs). We performed a structured search in bibliographic databases and made a comprehensive list of relevant papers. The main subjects considered in this review included (1) methods for the preparation of F-AuNPs, (2) applications of F-AuNPs in computed tomography (CT), and (3) the use of F-AuNPs in targeted cancer therapy. As many as 96 papers were selected for the review. Accordingly, we explained the noncovalent and the covalent methods of fabricating the various types of F-AuNPs. Particular applications of F-AuNP in cancer diagnosis using the CT scan modality were described. In addition, the applications of F-AuNPs in targeted radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hyperthermia were elucidated in depth. In the hyperthermia section, we presented certain extra explanations on F-AuNP-based laser, radiofrequency, and ultrasoundbased hyperthermia methods. This review identifies the important roles of F-AuNPs in current cancer studies that are being undertaken worldwide. The findings of this review confirm that F-AuNP is a new theranostic agent, which has a great potential for simultaneous cancer therapy and diagnosis. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  17. Advances in medical imaging for the diagnosis and management of common genitourinary cancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagheri, Mohammad H; Ahlman, Mark A; Lindenberg, Liza; Turkbey, Baris; Lin, Jeffrey; Cahid Civelek, Ali; Malayeri, Ashkan A; Agarwal, Piyush K; Choyke, Peter L; Folio, Les R; Apolo, Andrea B

    2017-07-01

    Medical imaging of the 3 most common genitourinary (GU) cancers-prostate adenocarcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, and urothelial carcinoma of the bladder-has evolved significantly during the last decades. The most commonly used imaging modalities for the diagnosis, staging, and follow-up of GU cancers are computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET). Multiplanar multidetector computed tomography and multiparametric MRI with diffusion-weighted imaging are the main imaging modalities for renal cell carcinoma and urothelial carcinoma, and although multiparametric MRI is rapidly becoming the main imaging tool in the evaluation of prostate adenocarcinoma, biopsy is still required for diagnosis. Functional and molecular imaging using 18-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET and sodium fluoride-PET are essential for the diagnosis, and especially follow-up, of metastatic GU tumors. This review provides an overview of the latest advances in the imaging of these 3 major GU cancers. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  18. Current knowledge on pancreatic cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan eIovanna

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death with a median survival of 6 months and a dismal 5-year survival rate of 3-5%. The development and progression of pancreatic cancer are caused by the activation of oncogenes, the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes and the deregulation of many signalling pathways. Therefore, the strategies targeting these molecules as well as their downstream signalling could be promising for the prevention and treatment of pancreatic cancer. However, although targeted therapies for pancreatic cancer have yielded encouraging results in vitro and in animal models, these findings have not been translated into improved outcomes in clinical trials. This failure is due to an incomplete understanding of the biology of pancreatic cancer and to the selection of poorly efficient or imperfectly targeted agents. In this review, we will critically present the current knowledge regarding the molecular, biochemical, clinical and therapeutic aspects of pancreatic cancer.

  19. Current Knowledge on Pancreatic Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iovanna, Juan; Mallmann, Maria Cecilia; Gonçalves, Anthony; Turrini, Olivier; Dagorn, Jean-Charles

    2012-01-01

    Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death with a median survival of 6 months and a dismal 5-year survival rate of 3–5%. The development and progression of pancreatic cancer are caused by the activation of oncogenes, the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes, and the deregulation of many signaling pathways. Therefore, the strategies targeting these molecules as well as their downstream signaling could be promising for the prevention and treatment of pancreatic cancer. However, although targeted therapies for pancreatic cancer have yielded encouraging results in vitro and in animal models, these findings have not been translated into improved outcomes in clinical trials. This failure is due to an incomplete understanding of the biology of pancreatic cancer and to the selection of poorly efficient or imperfectly targeted agents. In this review, we will critically present the current knowledge regarding the molecular, biochemical, clinical, and therapeutic aspects of pancreatic cancer.

  20. Current Knowledge on Pancreatic Cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iovanna, Juan [INSERM U624, Stress Cellulaire, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, Marseille (France); Mallmann, Maria Cecilia [Centre d’Investigation Clinique de Marseille, Marseille (France); Gonçalves, Anthony [Département d’Oncologie Médicale, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille (France); Turrini, Olivier [Département de Chirurgie Oncologique, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille (France); Dagorn, Jean-Charles, E-mail: juan.iovanna@inserm.fr [INSERM U624, Stress Cellulaire, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, Marseille (France)

    2012-01-31

    Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death with a median survival of 6 months and a dismal 5-year survival rate of 3–5%. The development and progression of pancreatic cancer are caused by the activation of oncogenes, the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes, and the deregulation of many signaling pathways. Therefore, the strategies targeting these molecules as well as their downstream signaling could be promising for the prevention and treatment of pancreatic cancer. However, although targeted therapies for pancreatic cancer have yielded encouraging results in vitro and in animal models, these findings have not been translated into improved outcomes in clinical trials. This failure is due to an incomplete understanding of the biology of pancreatic cancer and to the selection of poorly efficient or imperfectly targeted agents. In this review, we will critically present the current knowledge regarding the molecular, biochemical, clinical, and therapeutic aspects of pancreatic cancer.

  1. Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Breast Cancer: A Multi-Center Demonstrator

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Floyd, Carey

    2000-01-01

    .... The focus has been to gather data from multiple sites in order to verify and whether the artificial neural network computer aid to the diagnosis of breast cancer can be translated between locations...

  2. The epigenetic promise for prostate cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Neste, Leander; Herman, James G; Otto, Gaëtan; Bigley, Joseph W; Epstein, Jonathan I; Van Criekinge, Wim

    2012-08-01

    Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis in men and a leading cause of death. Improvements in disease management would have a significant impact and could be facilitated by the development of biomarkers, whether for diagnostic, prognostic, or predictive purposes. The blood-based prostate biomarker PSA has been part of clinical practice for over two decades, although it is surrounded by controversy. While debates of usefulness are ongoing, alternatives should be explored. Particularly with recent recommendations against routine PSA-testing, the time is ripe to explore promising biomarkers to yield a more efficient and accurate screening for detection and management of prostate cancer. Epigenetic changes, more specifically DNA methylation, are amongst the most common alterations in human cancer. These changes are associated with transcriptional silencing of genes, leading to an altered cellular biology. One gene in particular, GSTP1, has been widely studied in prostate cancer. Therefore a meta-analysis has been conducted to examine the role of this and other genes and the potential contribution to prostate cancer management and screening refinement. More than 30 independent, peer reviewed studies have reported a consistently high sensitivity and specificity of GSTP1 hypermethylation in prostatectomy or biopsy tissue. The meta-analysis combined and compared these results. GSTP1 methylation detection can serve an important role in prostate cancer managment. The meta-analysis clearly confirmed a link between tissue DNA hypermethylation of this and other genes and prostate cancer. Detection of DNA methylation in genes, including GSTP1, could serve an important role in clinical practice. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Postdiagnosis Weight Change and Survival Following a Diagnosis of Early-Stage Breast Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cespedes Feliciano, Elizabeth M; Kroenke, Candyce H; Bradshaw, Patrick T; Chen, Wendy Y; Prado, Carla M; Weltzien, Erin K; Castillo, Adrienne L; Caan, Bette J

    2017-01-01

    Achieving a healthy weight is recommended for all breast cancer survivors. Previous research on postdiagnosis weight change and mortality had conflicting results. We examined whether change in body weight in the 18 months following diagnosis is associated with overall and breast cancer-specific mortality in a cohort of n = 12,590 stage I-III breast cancer patients at Kaiser Permanente using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models. Follow-up was from the date of the postdiagnosis weight at 18 months until death or June 2015 [median follow-up (range): 3 (0-9) years]. We divided follow-up into earlier (18-54 months) and later (>54 months) postdiagnosis periods. Mean (SD) age-at-diagnosis was 59 (11) years. A total of 980 women died, 503 from breast cancer. Most women maintained weight within 5% of diagnosis body weight; weight loss and gain were equally common at 19% each. Compared with weight maintenance, large losses (≥10%) were associated with worse survival, with HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause death of 2.63 (2.12-3.26) earlier and 1.60 (1.14-2.25) later in follow-up. Modest losses (>5%-breast cancer-specific death. Large postdiagnosis weight loss is associated with worse survival in both earlier and later postdiagnosis periods, independent of treatment and prognostic factors. Weight loss and gain are equally common after breast cancer, and weight loss is a consistent marker of mortality risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(1); 44-50. ©2016 AACR SEE ALL THE ARTICLES IN THIS CEBP FOCUS SECTION, "THE OBESITY PARADOX IN CANCER EVIDENCE AND NEW DIRECTIONS". ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

  4. Detection of Methylated Circulating DNA as Noninvasive Biomarkers for Breast Cancer Diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheuk, Isabella Wai Yin; Shin, Vivian Yvonne

    2017-01-01

    Internationally, breast cancer is the most common female cancer, and is induced by a combination of environmental, genetic, and epigenetic risk factors. Despite the advancement of imaging techniques, invasive sampling of breast epithelial cells is the only definitive diagnostic procedure for patients with breast cancer. To date, molecular biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity for the screening and early detection of breast cancer are lacking. Recent evidence suggests that the detection of methylated circulating cell-free DNA in the peripheral blood of patients with cancer may be a promising quantitative and noninvasive method for cancer diagnosis. Methylation detection based on a multi-gene panel, rather than on the methylation status of a single gene, may be used to increase the sensitivity and specificity of breast cancer screening. In this review, the results of 14 relevant studies, investigating the efficacy of cell-free DNA methylation screening for breast cancer diagnosis, have been summarized. The genetic risk factors for breast cancer, the methods used for breast cancer detection, and the techniques and limitations related to the detection of cell-free DNA methylation status, have also been reviewed and discussed. From this review, we conclude that the analysis of peripheral blood or other samples to detect differentially methylated cell-free DNA is a promising technique for use in clinical settings, and may improve the sensitivity of screening for both, early detection and disease relapse, and thus improve the future prognosis of patients with breast cancer. PMID:28382090

  5. Current Challenges in Cancer Treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zugazagoitia, Jon; Guedes, Cristiano; Ponce, Santiago; Ferrer, Irene; Molina-Pinelo, Sonia; Paz-Ares, Luis

    2016-07-01

    In this review, we highlight the current concepts and discuss some of the current challenges and future prospects in cancer therapy. We frequently use the example of lung cancer. We conducted a nonsystematic PubMed search, selecting the most comprehensive and relevant research articles, clinical trials, translational papers, and review articles on precision oncology and immuno-oncology. Papers were prioritized and selected based on their originality and potential clinical applicability. Two major revolutions have changed cancer treatment paradigms in the past few years: targeting actionable alterations in oncogene-driven cancers and immuno-oncology. Important challenges are still ongoing in both fields of cancer therapy. On the one hand, druggable genomic alterations are diverse and represent only small subsets of patients in certain tumor types, which limits testing their clinical impact in biomarker-driven clinical trials. Next-generation sequencing technologies are increasingly being implemented for molecular prescreening in clinical research, but issues regarding clinical interpretation of large genomic data make their wide clinical use difficult. Further, dealing with tumor heterogeneity and acquired resistance is probably the main limitation for the success of precision oncology. On the other hand, long-term survival benefits with immune checkpoint inhibitors (anti-programmed death cell protein-1/programmed death cell ligand-1[PD-1/L1] and anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 monoclonal antibodies) are restricted to a minority of patients, and no predictive markers are yet robustly validated that could help us recognize these subsets and optimize treatment delivery and selection. To achieve long-term survival benefits, drug combinations targeting several molecular alterations or cancer hallmarks might be needed. This will probably be one of the most challenging but promising precision cancer treatment strategies in the future. Targeting single molecular

  6. Early diagnosis in primary oral cancer: is it possible?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Waal, I.; de Bree, R.; Brakenhoff, R.; Coebergh, J.W.

    2011-01-01

    In this treatise oral carcinogenesis is briefly discussed, particularly with regard to the number of cell divisions that is required before cancer reaches a measurable size. At that stage, metastatic spread may have already taken place. Therefore, the term "early diagnosis" is somewhat misleading.

  7. Increased diagnostic activity in general practice during the year preceding colorectal cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Pernille Libach; Hjertholm, Peter; Vedsted, Peter

    2015-08-01

    Accurate diagnostic activity in general practice before colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis is crucial for an early detection of CRC. This study aimed to investigate the rates of daytime consultations, hemoglobin (Hb) measurements and medicine prescriptions for hemorrhoids in general practice in the year preceding CRC diagnosis. Using Danish registries, we conducted a population-based matched cohort study including CRC patients aged 40-80 years (n = 19,209) and matched references (n = 192,090). We calculated odds ratios (ORs) using a conditional logistical regression model and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) using a negative binomial regression model. The CRC patients had significantly more consultations from 9 months before diagnosis and significantly increased rates of Hb measurements from up to 17 months before diagnosis compared with references. Furthermore, up to 18 months before diagnosis, CRC patients had significantly higher rates of prescriptions for hemorrhoids; and 2 months before diagnosis, the IRR was 12.24 (95% confidence interval (CI): 10.29-14.55) for men. The positive predictive value (PPV) of CRC for having a first-time prescription for hemorrhoids was highest among men aged 70-80 years [PPV = 3.2% (95% CI: 2.8-3.7)]. High prescription rates were predominantly seen among rectal cancer patients, whereas colon cancer patients had higher rates of consultations and Hb measurements. This study revealed a significant increase in healthcare seeking and diagnostic activity in general practice in the year prior to CRC diagnosis, which indicates the presence of a "diagnostic time window" and a potential for earlier diagnosis of CRC based on clinical signs and symptoms. © 2015 UICC.

  8. A retrospective analysis of delays in the diagnosis of lung cancer and associated costs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gildea TR

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Thomas R Gildea,1 Stacey DaCosta Byfield,2 D Kyle Hogarth,3 David S Wilson,4 Curtis C Quinn5 1Department of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and Transplant Center, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, 2Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Optum, Eden Prairie, MN, 3Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 4The Lung Institute, Columbus Regional Hospital, Columbus, IN, 5Cardiothoracic Surgery/Thoracic Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery of Charleston, Roper St. Francis Physician Partners Group, Charleston, SC, USA Purpose: Diagnosis of lung cancer at advanced stages can result in missed treatment opportunities, worse outcomes, and higher health care costs. This study evaluated the wait time to diagnose non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC and the cost of diagnosis and treatment based on the stage at diagnosis. Patients and methods: Adult patients diagnosed with NSCLC between January 2007 and September 2011 were identified from a proprietary oncology registry and linked to health insurance claims from a large US health insurance company. Continuous enrollment in the health plan was required for at least 12 months prediagnosis (baseline and at least 3 months postdiagnosis (follow-up. Use of diagnostic tests and time to diagnosis were examined. The rates of health care utilization and per-patient per-month (PPPM health care costs were calculated. Results: A total of 1,210 patients with NSCLC were included in the analysis. Most patients (93.6% had evidence of diagnostic tests beginning 5 to 6 months prior to diagnosis, and most were diagnosed at an advanced stage (23% Stage IIIb and 46% Stage IV. The PPPM total health care costs in USD pre- and postdiagnosis were $2,407±$3,364 (mean±standard deviation and $16,577±$33,550, respectively. PPPM total health care costs and utilization after lung cancer diagnosis were significantly higher among patients diagnosed at Stage

  9. The Impact of Continuous Medicaid Enrollment on Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survival in Six Surgical Cancers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawes, Aaron J; Louie, Rachel; Nguyen, David K; Maggard-Gibbons, Melinda; Parikh, Punam; Ettner, Susan L; Ko, Clifford Y; Zingmond, David S

    2014-01-01

    Objective To examine the effect of Medicaid enrollment on the diagnosis, treatment, and survival of six surgically relevant cancers among poor and underserved Californians. Data Sources California Cancer Registry (CCR), California's Patient Discharge Database (PDD), and state Medicaid enrollment files between 2002 and 2008. Study Design We linked clinical and administrative records to differentiate patients continuously enrolled in Medicaid from those receiving coverage at the time of their cancer diagnosis. We developed multivariate logistic regression models to predict death within 1 year for each cancer after controlling for sociodemographic and clinical variables. Data Collection/Extraction Methods All incident cases of six cancers (colon, esophageal, lung, pancreas, stomach, and ovarian) were identified from CCR. CCR records were linked to hospitalizations (PDD) and monthly Medicaid enrollment. Principal Findings Continuous enrollment in Medicaid for at least 6 months prior to diagnosis improves survival in three surgically relevant cancers. Discontinuous Medicaid patients have higher stage tumors, undergo fewer definitive operations, and are more likely to die even after risk adjustment. Conclusions Expansion of continuous insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act is likely to improve both access and clinical outcomes for cancer patients in California. PMID:25256223

  10. Lung cancer stage at diagnosis: Individual associations in the prospective VITamins and lifestyle (VITAL cohort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Au David H

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Identifying factors associated with stage of diagnosis can improve our understanding of biologic and behavioral pathways of lung cancer development and detection. We used data from a prospective cohort study to evaluate associations of demographic, health history, and health behaviors with early versus late stage at diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC. Methods We calculated odds ratios (ORs for the association of patient-level characteristics with advanced stage of diagnosis for NSCLC. The OR's were then adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, smoking status, income, education, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and a comorbidity index. Results We identified 612 cases of NSCLC among 77,719 adults, aged 50 to 76 years from Washington State recruited in 2000-2002, with followup through December 2007. In univariate analyses, subjects who quit smoking Conclusions Smoking status, education, and a screening activity were associated with stage at diagnosis of NSCLC. These results may guide future studies of the underlying mechanisms that influence how NSCLC is detected and diagnosed.

  11. Psychological distress two years after diagnosis of breast cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bleiker, E M; Pouwer, F; Van Der Ploeg, Henk M

    2000-01-01

    The present prospective study aimed at (1) investigating the frequency of high levels of psychological distress in women with early-stage breast cancer almost two years after diagnosis and (2) identifying characteristics associated with long-term distress. One hundred and seventy women participated...... of surgery). At the second measurement, subjective distress was assessed for a second time by means of the Impact of Events Scale (IES). Almost two years after diagnosis, 16% of the women reported a high level of psychological distress as measured by the Intrusion scale (IES). Best predictors of a high level...

  12. Adiposity, post-diagnosis weight change, and risk of cardiovascular events among early-stage breast cancer survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cespedes Feliciano, Elizabeth M; Kwan, Marilyn L; Kushi, Lawrence H; Weltzien, Erin K; Castillo, Adrienne L; Caan, Bette J

    2017-04-01

    Little research examines whether adiposity or post-diagnosis weight changes influence Cardiovascular disease (CVD) among breast cancer patients for whom effects may differ due to treatment and recovery. We studied Stage I-III breast cancer survivors 18 to  diagnosis and weight and waist circumference (WC) around 24 months post diagnosis. Using Cox models for time to incident coronary artery disease, heart failure, valve abnormality, arrhythmia, stroke, or CVD death, we examined at-diagnosis body mass index (BMI, n = 3109) and post-diagnosis WC (n = 1898) and weight change (n = 1903, stable, ±5 to  diagnosis, 25% of women gained and 14% lost ≥10-lbs; mean (SD) WC was 90 (15) cm. Over a median of 8.28 years, 915 women developed CVD. BMI 25-30-kg/m 2 (vs. BMI diagnosis weight change had no association with CVD. Extreme adiposity and any elevation in WC increased risk of CVD among breast cancer survivors; however, changes in weight in the early post-diagnosis period were not associated with CVD. Survivors with high WC and existing CVD risk factors should be monitored.

  13. The Relationship between Neighborhood Immigrant Composition, Limited English Proficiency, and Late-Stage Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis in California

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cynthia M. Mojica

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite the availability of effective early detection technologies, more than half (61% of colorectal cancers in the United States and 55% in California are identified at an advanced stage. Data on colorectal cancer patients (N=35,030 diagnosed from 2005 to 2007 were obtained from the California Cancer Registry. Multivariate analyses found a relationship among neighborhood concentration of recent immigrants, neighborhood rates of limited English proficiency, and late-stage colorectal cancer diagnosis. Hispanics living in neighborhoods with a greater percentage of recent immigrants (compared to the lowest percentage had greater odds (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.22, 2.02 of late-stage diagnosis whereas Hispanics living in neighborhoods with the highest percentage of limited English proficiency (compared to the lowest percentage had lower odds (OR .71, 95% CI .51, .99 of late-stage diagnosis. These relationships were not observed for other ethnic groups. Results highlight the complex relationship among race/ethnicity, neighborhood characteristics, and colorectal cancer stage at diagnosis.

  14. Quantitative Digital Tomosynthesis Mammography for Improved Breast Cancer Detection and Diagnosis

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Zhang, Yiheng

    2008-01-01

    .... When fully developed, the DTM can provide radiologists improved quantitative, three-dimensional volumetric information of the breast tissue, and assist in breast cancer detection and diagnosis...

  15. Primary application of 99Tcm-octreotide imaging in the diagnosis of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Jinshan; Deng Nianying; Li Shun; Zhang Jiayun; Lin Yanbing

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of 99 Tc m -octreotide scintigraphy in the diagnosis of breast cancer. Methods: 99 Tc m -octreotide and 99 Tc m -methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) imaging were performed on 36 patients with breast masses confirmed by pathology (19 patients with breast cancer and 17 benign lesions) . The imaging was read as positive when focal radioactivity increased in the breast both on 99 Tc m -octreotide and 99 Tc m -MIBI imaging. The uptake ratios (UR) of lesion (L) to normal (N) were calculated after 99 Tc m -MIBI injection at 10-15 min and 99 Tc m -octreotide injection at different time points (5-10 min, 60-90 min and 180 min). Results: The sensitivity of 99 Tc m -octreotide imaging in the diagnosis of primary breast cancer was lower than that of 99 Tc m -MIBI (68.4% vs 94.7%, P 99 Tc m -octreotide and 99 Tc m -MIBI (83.3% and 86.1%, respectively, P>0.05). Conclusion: Comparing with 99 Tc m -MIBI 99 Tc m -octreotide imaging showed a higher specificity and the same accuracy in the diagnosis of breast cancer

  16. LED induced autofluorescence (LIAF) imager with eight multi-filters for oral cancer diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ting-Wei; Cheng, Nai-Lun; Tsai, Ming-Hsui; Chiou, Jin-Chern; Mang, Ou-Yang

    2016-03-01

    Oral cancer is one of the serious and growing problem in many developing and developed countries. The simple oral visual screening by clinician can reduce 37,000 oral cancer deaths annually worldwide. However, the conventional oral examination with the visual inspection and the palpation of oral lesions is not an objective and reliable approach for oral cancer diagnosis, and it may cause the delayed hospital treatment for the patients of oral cancer or leads to the oral cancer out of control in the late stage. Therefore, a device for oral cancer detection are developed for early diagnosis and treatment. A portable LED Induced autofluorescence (LIAF) imager is developed by our group. It contained the multiple wavelength of LED excitation light and the rotary filter ring of eight channels to capture ex-vivo oral tissue autofluorescence images. The advantages of LIAF imager compared to other devices for oral cancer diagnosis are that LIAF imager has a probe of L shape for fixing the object distance, protecting the effect of ambient light, and observing the blind spot in the deep port between the gumsgingiva and the lining of the mouth. Besides, the multiple excitation of LED light source can induce multiple autofluorescence, and LIAF imager with the rotary filter ring of eight channels can detect the spectral images of multiple narrow bands. The prototype of a portable LIAF imager is applied in the clinical trials for some cases in Taiwan, and the images of the clinical trial with the specific excitation show the significant differences between normal tissue and oral tissue under these cases.

  17. The impact of a breast cancer diagnosis in young women on their relationship with their mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Asma; Fergus, Karen; Wright, Frances C; Pritchard, Kathleen I; Kiss, Alex; Warner, Ellen

    2014-02-01

    For young women with breast cancer mothers might either be a source of support or of increased stress, depending on the premorbid relationship and on the psychological effect of the daughter's diagnosis on her mother. To examine the effects of a breast cancer diagnosis on young women's relationships with their mothers and the possible support needs of these mothers from the daughters' perspective. We developed and pre-tested a self-administered questionnaire on 10 survivors of breast cancer diagnosed ≤ age 40. Then, consecutive recurrence-free young women diagnosed with breast cancer were asked to complete the modified questionnaire. Of 110 daughters approached from July/11 to May/12, 90 (82%) participated. In 11 cases (13%), the daughters had turned to their mothers before approaching anyone else. Of the 83 daughters who disclosed their diagnosis to their mothers, 76 (92%) stated their mothers had been emotionally and/or practically supportive, and 43 (54%) reported that the breast cancer diagnosis had a favorable impact on their relationship with their mothers. Of the 35 employed mothers, 26 had taken time off from work to support their daughters. Nineteen mothers, eight of whom had been living in a different country, had slept over or moved in with daughters during their treatment. Twenty-two daughters believed their mothers felt responsible to some extent for their developing breast cancer. Fifty-nine daughters indicated that health care professionals could help mothers by providing information pamphlets, education sessions, and linking to support groups. Mothers are an important source of support for young daughters with breast cancer, with the mother-daughter relationship frequently becoming closer after the diagnosis. However, the practical and emotional burden on mothers appears to be high. Future studies should address the effects of a breast cancer diagnosis in young daughters from the mothers' perspective, and the benefit of formal supports for these

  18. The physical principles of near infrared breast diaphanography and early diagnosis of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song Feijun; Jia Zhuoying

    2009-01-01

    The early-screening and diagnosis of breast cancer is very important for improving the life quality of women as well decreasing the death rate. As a main diagnostic technique, mammography might cause radiation damage to the human body. Near infrared (NIR) computer diaphanography imaging diagnosis (CDI) is a new technique for breast cancer diagnosis which can be performed multiple times with no harm. However, its high incidence of false positivity has raised doubts and questions. We introduce the physical principles of CDI, and discuss the mechanism of how a malignant growth surrounds itself with a dense network of tiny blood-filled capillaries to feed oxygen and nutrients to active tumors, thus forming unique NIR transmittance markers that reveal the presence of cancer. The advantages and difficulties of CDI are evaluated, with the conclusion that CDI satisfies all the 'three-conditions' of imaging diagnosis. The influence of competition with mammography in the development of CDI is reviewed. The opportunities of physics interacting with the life sciences are outlined. (authors)

  19. Current Controversies in Diagnosis and Management of Cleft Palate and Velopharyngeal Insufficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ysunza, Pablo Antonio; Repetto, Gabriela M.; Pamplona, Maria Carmen; Calderon, Juan F.; Shaheen, Kenneth; Chaiyasate, Konkgrit; Rontal, Matthew

    2015-01-01

    Background. One of the most controversial topics concerning cleft palate is the diagnosis and treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI). Objective. This paper reviews current genetic aspects of cleft palate, imaging diagnosis of VPI, the planning of operations for restoring velopharyngeal function during speech, and strategies for speech pathology treatment of articulation disorders in patients with cleft palate. Materials and Methods. An updated review of the scientific literature concerning genetic aspects of cleft palate was carried out. Current strategies for assessing and treating articulation disorders associated with cleft palate were analyzed. Imaging procedures for assessing velopharyngeal closure during speech were reviewed, including a recent method for performing intraoperative videonasopharyngoscopy. Results. Conclusions from the analysis of genetic aspects of syndromic and nonsyndromic cleft palate and their use in its diagnosis and management are presented. Strategies for classifying and treating articulation disorders in patients with cleft palate are presented. Preliminary results of the use of multiplanar videofluoroscopy as an outpatient procedure and intraoperative endoscopy for the planning of operations which aimed to correct VPI are presented. Conclusion. This paper presents current aspects of the diagnosis and management of patients with cleft palate and VPI including 3 main aspects: genetics and genomics, speech pathology and imaging diagnosis, and surgical management. PMID:26273595

  20. Current Controversies in Diagnosis and Management of Cleft Palate and Velopharyngeal Insufficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pablo Antonio Ysunza

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. One of the most controversial topics concerning cleft palate is the diagnosis and treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI. Objective. This paper reviews current genetic aspects of cleft palate, imaging diagnosis of VPI, the planning of operations for restoring velopharyngeal function during speech, and strategies for speech pathology treatment of articulation disorders in patients with cleft palate. Materials and Methods. An updated review of the scientific literature concerning genetic aspects of cleft palate was carried out. Current strategies for assessing and treating articulation disorders associated with cleft palate were analyzed. Imaging procedures for assessing velopharyngeal closure during speech were reviewed, including a recent method for performing intraoperative videonasopharyngoscopy. Results. Conclusions from the analysis of genetic aspects of syndromic and nonsyndromic cleft palate and their use in its diagnosis and management are presented. Strategies for classifying and treating articulation disorders in patients with cleft palate are presented. Preliminary results of the use of multiplanar videofluoroscopy as an outpatient procedure and intraoperative endoscopy for the planning of operations which aimed to correct VPI are presented. Conclusion. This paper presents current aspects of the diagnosis and management of patients with cleft palate and VPI including 3 main aspects: genetics and genomics, speech pathology and imaging diagnosis, and surgical management.

  1. The Combination of the Tumor Markers Suggests the Histological Diagnosis of Lung Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linjie Liu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Tumor markers are beneficial for the diagnosis and therapy monitoring of lung cancer. However, the value of tumor markers in lung cancer histological diagnosis is unknown. In this study, we analyzed the serum levels of six tumor markers (CEA, CYFRA21-1, SCC, NSE, ProGRP, and CA125 in 2097 suspected patients with lung cancer and determined whether the combination of the tumor markers was useful for histological diagnosis of lung cancer. We found that CYFRA21-1 was the most sensitive marker in NSCLC. ProGRP showed a better clinical performance than that of NSE in discriminating between SCLC and NSCLC. The serum level of CYFRA21-1 or SCC was significantly higher in squamous carcinoma (p<0.05, and the levels of ProGRP and NSE were significantly higher in SCLC (p<0.05. According to the criteria established, SCLC and NSCLC were discriminated with sensitivity of 87.12 and 62.63% and specificity of 64.61 and 99.5%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity in the differentiation of adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma were 68.1 and 81.63% and 70.73 and 65.93%, with NPV of 46.03 and 68.97% and PPV of 85.82 and 79.47%, respectively. Our results suggested the combination of six tumor markers could discriminate the histological types of lung cancer.

  2. A network-based biomarker approach for molecular investigation and diagnosis of lung cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Bor-Sen

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Many studies have investigated the carcinogenic process and identified the biomarkers for signature classification. However, based on the research dedicated to this field, there is no highly sensitive network-based method for carcinogenesis characterization and diagnosis from the systems perspective. Methods In this study, a systems biology approach integrating microarray gene expression profiles and protein-protein interaction information was proposed to develop a network-based biomarker for molecular investigation into the network mechanism of lung carcinogenesis and diagnosis of lung cancer. The network-based biomarker consists of two protein association networks constructed for cancer samples and non-cancer samples. Results Based on the network-based biomarker, a total of 40 significant proteins in lung carcinogenesis were identified with carcinogenesis relevance values (CRVs. In addition, the network-based biomarker, acting as the screening test, proved to be effective in diagnosing smokers with signs of lung cancer. Conclusions A network-based biomarker using constructed protein association networks is a useful tool to highlight the pathways and mechanisms of the lung carcinogenic process and, more importantly, provides potential therapeutic targets to combat cancer.

  3. Evaluation of the diagnosis on staging of the bladder cancers by contrast-enhanced ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Yong; Xu Haiyan; Huan Haiming; Chen Yane

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To study the value of the staging of the bladder cancers with the contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Methods: After rapid injection of the contrast agent SonoVue through the elbow vein, the staging of images was completed in 18 cases of bladder cancer. Results: The results of contrast-enhanced ultrasound were compared with post-operative pathological analysis, the rate of accuracy of diagnosis on T1, T2, T3 and T4 stage was 100%, 80%, 83% and 100% respectively. The accuracy made by new methods higher than those of other imaging examinations in T1 stage; the other stages were similar to those of other imaging examinations. Conclusion: The evaluation of Contrast-enhanced ultrasound on the staging of the bladder cancer is higher than that of the conventional ultrasound examination, while the observation of blood flow in the tumor can make accurate diagnosis and differential diagnosis, this method can be complement each other with CT and MRI to improve the rate of accuracy on the staging of bladder cancer. (authors)

  4. Does awareness of diagnosis influence health related quality of life in north Indian patients with lung cancer ?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aggarwal, Ashutosh Nath; Singh, Navneet; Gupta, Dheeraj; Behera, Digambar

    2016-05-01

    Several patients with cancer in India are not aware of their diagnosis. We evaluated the impact of awareness of cancer diagnosis on health-related quality of life (HRQL) in newly diagnosed patients with lung cancer. A total of 391 treatment-naïve patients with lung cancer, seen at the Lung Cancer Clinic of a tertiary care hospital in north India, were categorized into those aware of their diagnosis (group A) and those not aware (group B). All patients answered Hindi versions of abbreviated World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-Bref) and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), and its lung cancer module, EORTC QLQ-LC13. Various domain scores were computed and compared between the two groups. Analysis of covariance was used to determine significance of differences after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Only 117 (29.9%) patients were aware of their diagnosis. Of all, 302 (77.2%) patients had non-small cell lung cancer, and 301 (77.0%) had advanced disease. All HRQL domain scores were similar between the two groups, except that group B patients had significantly poorer median (interquartile range) Physical [39.3 (28.6-50.0) vs 46.4 (28.6-57.1)] and Environment [46.9 (40.6-56.3) vs 53.1 (0.6-65.6)] domain scores of WHOQOL-Bref, and p0 hysical function [60.0 (40.0-73.3) vs 66.7 (46.7-80.0)] and Fatigue [66.7 (55.6-77.8) vs 66.7 (44.4-66.7)] scores of QLQ-C30. After adjusting for gender, age, education, family income, and tumour extent, these differences were not significant. Disclosure of cancer diagnosis, or lack of it, had no significant impact on HRQL in patients with lung cancer after adjustment of potential confounders.

  5. Exosomes: Some approaches to cancer diagnosis and therapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shtam, T.; Samsonov, R.; Kamyshinsky, R.; Pantina, R.; Verlov, N.; Vasiliev, A.; Konevega, A. L.; Malek, A. V.

    2017-09-01

    Exosomes are membrane-bound, intercellular communication shuttle vesicles that are defined by their endocytic origin and size range of 30-120 nm. Secreted by nearly all mammalian cell types and present in bodily fluids, exosomes confer messages between cells, by transporting functionally relevant proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. The capability of tumor exosomes to house tumorigenic information and induce cellular responses that promote disease pathogenesis make tumor exosomes an attractive tool in identifying cancer biomarkers and exploiting exosomes for therapy. In this paper, we sum up our previous findings to utilize exosomes as biomarkers for early detection, diagnosis and therapy selection of prostate and thyroid cancer and present our results on exosomes in colon cancer. Some of plasma exosomal miRNAs showed their potential as diagnostic markers for colon cancer. All together, the data suggested the potentials of circulating exosomal miRNAs as liquid biopsy markers for cancer. Here we also present the possibilities of delivering therapeutic molecules by exosomes. Previously, we had demonstrated the potential of exosome-mediated siRNA delivery. Here, we present the possibility of carrying the exogenous p53 protein by exosomes in vitro.

  6. The relationship of cancer characteristics and patient outcome with time to lung cancer diagnosis after an abnormal screening CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sonavane, Sushilkumar K.; Watts, Jubal; Singh, Satinder P.; Nath, Hrudaya [University of Alabama in Birmingham School of Medicine, Department of Radiology- Cardiopulmonary section, Birmingham, AL (United States); Pinsky, Paul [National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Prevention, Bethesda, MD (United States); Gierada, David S. [Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, St. Louis, MO (United States); Munden, Reginald [Wake Forest School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Winston Salem, NC (United States)

    2017-12-15

    The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) demonstrated a reduction in lung cancer and all-cause mortality with low-dose CT (LDCT) screening. The aim of our study was to examine the time to diagnosis (TTD) of lung cancer in the LDCT arm of the NLST and assess its relationship with cancer characteristics and survival. The subjects (N = 462) with a positive baseline screen and subsequent lung cancer diagnosis within 3 years were evaluated by data and image review to confirm the baseline abnormality. The cases were analysed for the relationship between TTD and imaging features, cancer type, stage and survival for 7 years from baseline screen. Cancer was judged to be present at baseline in 397/462 cases. The factors that showed significant association (p value trend less than 0.05) with longer TTD included smaller nodule size, pure ground glass nodules (GGNs), smooth/lobulated margins, stages I/II, adenocarcinoma, and decreasing lung cancer mortality. The logistic regression model for lung cancer death showed significant inverse relationships with size less than 20 mm (OR = 0.32), pure GGNs (OR = 0.24), adenocarcinoma (OR = 0.57) and direct relationship with age (OR = 1.4). TTD after a positive LDCT screen in the NLST showed a strong association with imaging features, stage and mortality. (orig.)

  7. The relationship of cancer characteristics and patient outcome with time to lung cancer diagnosis after an abnormal screening CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sonavane, Sushilkumar K.; Watts, Jubal; Singh, Satinder P.; Nath, Hrudaya; Pinsky, Paul; Gierada, David S.; Munden, Reginald

    2017-01-01

    The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) demonstrated a reduction in lung cancer and all-cause mortality with low-dose CT (LDCT) screening. The aim of our study was to examine the time to diagnosis (TTD) of lung cancer in the LDCT arm of the NLST and assess its relationship with cancer characteristics and survival. The subjects (N = 462) with a positive baseline screen and subsequent lung cancer diagnosis within 3 years were evaluated by data and image review to confirm the baseline abnormality. The cases were analysed for the relationship between TTD and imaging features, cancer type, stage and survival for 7 years from baseline screen. Cancer was judged to be present at baseline in 397/462 cases. The factors that showed significant association (p value trend less than 0.05) with longer TTD included smaller nodule size, pure ground glass nodules (GGNs), smooth/lobulated margins, stages I/II, adenocarcinoma, and decreasing lung cancer mortality. The logistic regression model for lung cancer death showed significant inverse relationships with size less than 20 mm (OR = 0.32), pure GGNs (OR = 0.24), adenocarcinoma (OR = 0.57) and direct relationship with age (OR = 1.4). TTD after a positive LDCT screen in the NLST showed a strong association with imaging features, stage and mortality. (orig.)

  8. Does knowledge of diagnosis really affect rates of depression in cancer patients?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kállay, Éva; Pintea, Sebastian; Dégi, Csaba L

    2016-12-01

    Significant levels of distress usually accompany the entire cancer experience, affecting the patients' general functioning and adaptation to illness. The major objective of the present study was to investigate potential demographic and intrapersonal moderators of the relationship between knowing the cancer diagnosis and the level of depression experienced. The present research has a transversal comparative repeated cross-sectional design (2006-2014), sampling following the proportional quota method. Research was conducted in the four major oncological institutes in Romania, obtaining a national sample of cancer patients, maintaining gender and ethnic rates, and permitting the investigation of the stability of the results from one assessment to the other. Results indicate that in the Romanian context, knowing the diagnosis is associated with a lower level of depression than not knowing the diagnosis, the results being similar in both assessments (2006-2014). Furthermore, from the explored demographic factors (gender, residence, age, and education), only age has a main effect upon depression (depression increasing with age), while education is the only factor from those analyzed, which has a moderator effect. Regarding the analyzed intra-individual variables, only dysfunctional attitudes, emotion-focused coping, and lack of emotional support from the family (loneliness) have main effects upon the level of depression (i.e., higher levels of dysfunctional attitudes, emotion-focused coping, and loneliness are associated with higher levels of depression), while neither of them has a moderator effect on the relationship between knowing the diagnosis and depression. These results are important in the improvement of the doctor-patient relationship, the management of cancer-related distress, and implicitly for the course of illness. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. Pharmaceutically treated anxiety but not depression prior to cancer diagnosis predicts the onset of cardiovascular disease among breast cancer survivors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schoormans, Dounya; van de Poll-Franse, Lonneke; Vissers, Pauline

    2017-01-01

    PURPOSE: To examine the associations between pharmaceutically treated anxiety and depression present in the year prior to breast cancer diagnosis and the risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), while controlling for traditional cardiovascular risk factors and clinical characteristics...... adjustment for depression, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and clinical characteristics......., anxiety, and depression. By multivariable Cox regression analysis, we examined the risk associated with pharmaceutically treated anxiety and depression for developing CVD after cancer diagnosis, adjusting for age, pharmaceutically treated hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus...

  10. Efficacy of storage phosphor-based digital mammography in diagnosis of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitahama, Hiroyuki

    1991-01-01

    The aim of this study is to present efficacy of storage phosphor-based digital mammography (CR-mammography) in diagnosis of breast cancer. Ninety-seven cases with breast cancer including 44 cases less than 2 cm in macroscopic size (t1 cases) were evaluated using storage phosphor-based digital mammography (2000 x 2510 pixels by 10 bits). Abnormal findings on CR-mammography were detected in 86 cases (88.7%) of 97 women with breast cancer. Sensitivity of CR-mammography was 88.7%. It was superior to that of film-screen mammography. On t1 breast cancer cases, sensitivity on CR-mammography was 88.6%. False negative rate in t1 breast cancer cases was reduced by image processing using CR-mammography. To evaluate microcalcifications, CR-mammograms and film-screen mammograms were investigated in 22 cases of breast cancer proven pathologically the existence of microcalcifications and 11 paraffin tissue blocks of breast cancer. CR-mammography was superior to film-screen mammography in recognizing of microcalcifications. As regards the detectability for the number and the shape of microcalcifications, CR-mammography was equivalent to film-screen mammography. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis by eight observers was performed for CR-mammography and film-screen mammography with 54 breast cancer patients and 54 normal cases. The detectability of abnormal findings of breast cancer on CR-mammography (ROC area=0.91) was better than that on film-screen mammography (ROC area=0.88) (p<0.05). Efficacy of storage phosphor-based digital mammography in diagnosis of breast cancer was discussed and demonstrated in this study. (author)

  11. In-vivo cancer diagnosis of the esophagus using laser-induced fluorescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vo-Dinh, Tuan; Panjehpour, Masoud; Overholt, Bergein F.; Buckley, Paul F., II; Edwards, Donna H.

    1995-04-01

    Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) was used for direct in-vivo cancer diagnosis of the esophagus without requiring biopsy. The methodology was applied to differentiate normal and malignant tumors of the esophagus. Endogenous fluorescence of normal and malignant tissues were measured directly using a fiberoptic probe inserted through an endoscope. The measurements were performed in vivo during routine endoscopy. Detection of the fluorescence signal from the tissue was performed using laser excitation. The results of this LIF approach were compared with histopathology results of the biopsy samples and indicated excellent agreement in the classification of normal and malignant tumors for the samples investigated. The LIF procedure could lead to the development of a rapid and cost-effective technique for cancer diagnosis.

  12. Rectal cancer and Fournier's gangrene - current knowledge and therapeutic options.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruketa, Tomislav; Majerovic, Matea; Augustin, Goran

    2015-08-14

    Fournier's gangrene (FG) is a rapid progressive bacterial infection that involves the subcutaneous fascia and part of the deep fascia but spares the muscle in the scrotal, perianal and perineal region. The incidence has increased dramatically, while the reported incidence of rectal cancer-induced FG is unknown but is extremely low. Pathophysiology and clinical presentation of rectal cancer-induced FG per se does not differ from the other causes. Only rectal cancer-specific symptoms before presentation can lead to the diagnosis. The diagnosis of rectal cancer-induced FG should be excluded in every patient with blood on digital rectal examination, when urogenital and dermatological causes are excluded and when fever or sepsis of unknown origin is present with perianal symptomatology. Therapeutic options are more complex than for other forms of FG. First, the causative rectal tumor should be removed. The survival of patients with rectal cancer resection is reported as 100%, while with colostomy it is 80%. The preferred method of rectal resection has not been defined. Second, oncological treatment should be administered but the timing should be adjusted to the resolution of the FG and sometimes for the healing of plastic reconstructive procedures that are commonly needed for the reconstruction of large perineal, scrotal and lower abdominal wall defects.

  13. Oral cancer. The importance of early diagnosis and treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sciubba, J J

    2001-01-01

    Oral cancer is an important health issue. The WHO predicts a continuing worldwide increase in the number of patients with oral cancer, extending this trend well into the next several decades. In the US the projected number of new cases of oral and oropharyngeal cancer will exceed 31,000 per year. Mortality due to cancers in this region exceeds the annual death rate is the US caused by either cutaneous melanoma or cervical cancer. Significant agents involved in the etiology of oral cancer in Western countries include sunlight exposure, smoking and alcohol consumption. Use of the areca or betel nut in many cultures is a major etiological factor outside of the USA. Other etiologic factors associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma, but far less significant statistically, include syphilis and sideropenic dysphagia. Recently, strong evidence for an etiological relationship between human papilloma virus and a subset of head and neck cancers has been noted. It is generally accepted that most sporadic tumors are the result of a multi-step process of accumulated genetic alterations. These alterations affect epithelial cell behavior by way of loss of chromosomal heterozygosity which in turn leads to a series of events progressing to the ultimate stage of invasive squamous cell carcinoma. The corresponding genetic alterations are reflected in clinical and microscopic pathology from hyperplasia through invasiveness. A wide range of mucosal alternations fall within the rubric of leukoplakia. Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia represents a relatively new type of leukoplakia that is separate from the more common or less innocuous form of this condition. Erythroplakia is particularly relevant considering its almost certain relationship with dysplasia or invasive carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma will develop from antecedent dysplastic oral mucosal lesions if an early diagnosis has not been made and treatment given. Early diagnosis within stages I and II correspond to a vastly

  14. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging in the diagnosis of prostate cancer: initial experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melo, Homero Jose de Farias e; Abdala, Nitamar; Goldman, Suzan Menasce; Szejnfeld, Jacob

    2009-01-01

    Objective: to report an experiment involving the introduction of a protocol utilizing commercially available three-dimensional 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging (3D 1H MRSI) method in patients diagnosed with prostatic tumors under suspicion of neoplasm. Materials and methods: forty-one patients in the age range between 51 and 80 years (mean, 67 years) were prospectively evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups: patients with one or more biopsies negative for cancer and high specific-prostatic antigen levels (group A), and patients with cancer confirmed by biopsy (group B). The determination of the target area (group A) or the known cancer extent (group B) was based on magnetic resonance imaging and MRSI studies. Results: the specificity of MRSI in the diagnosis of prostate cancer was lower than the specificity reported in the literature (about 47%). On the other hand, for tumor staging, it corresponded to the specificity reported in the literature. Conclusion: the introduction and standardization of 3D 1H MRSI has allowed the obtention of a presumable diagnosis of prostate cancer, by a combined analysis of magnetic resonance imaging and metabolic data from 3D 1H MRSI. (author)

  15. Analysis of framelets for breast cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thivya, K S; Sakthivel, P; Venkata Sai, P M

    2016-01-01

    Breast cancer is the second threatening tumor among the women. The effective way of reducing breast cancer is its early detection which helps to improve the diagnosing process. Digital mammography plays a significant role in mammogram screening at earlier stage of breast carcinoma. Even though, it is very difficult to find accurate abnormality in prevalent screening by radiologists. But the possibility of precise breast cancer screening is encouraged by predicting the accurate type of abnormality through Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems. The two most important indicators of breast malignancy are microcalcifications and masses. In this study, framelet transform, a multiresolutional analysis is investigated for the classification of the above mentioned two indicators. The statistical and co-occurrence features are extracted from the framelet decomposed mammograms with different resolution levels and support vector machine is employed for classification with k-fold cross validation. This system achieves 94.82% and 100% accuracy in normal/abnormal classification (stage I) and benign/malignant classification (stage II) of mass classification system and 98.57% and 100% for microcalcification system when using the MIAS database.

  16. Factors affecting professional delay in diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esmaelbeigi, Farhad; Hadji, Maryam; Harirchi, Iraj; Omranipour, Ramesh; vand Rajabpour, Mojtaba; Zendehdel, Kazem

    2014-04-01

    Oral cancer is the most common malignant tumor among head and neck cancers. Delay in diagnosis affects the treatment and prognosis of oral cancer. We measured the professional delay in the diagnosis and its attributes in the Cancer Institute of Iran, the largest referral center for oral cancer patients in the country.  We interviewed oral cancer patients to measure the delay and used case-control approach to study association of various prognostic factors with professional delay and tumor stage. Out of 206 patients, 71.4% were diagnosed at the advanced stage. The median of the patient, professional and total delays were 45, 86 and 140 day, receptively. In the univariate model, prescription of medicines like analgesics (OR = 5.3, 95% CI 2.2-12.9) and history of dental procedure (OR=6.8, 95% CI 1.7-26.9) were associated with higher risk of delay compared to patient who were biopsied from the beginning. History of loose teeth increased risk of delay 4 times (OR = 4.0, 95% CI 1.6-9.8). Patients with primary education had 70% lower risk of delay compared to the illiterate patients (OR = 0.3, 95% CI 0.1-0.7) and the risk was lower among patients who had diploma (OR = 0.04, 95% CI 0-0.7) and college education (OR = 0.1, 95% CI 0-0.4). The delayed patients were diagnosed in more advanced stage compared to the patients without delay (OR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.0-4.4). Development of a national guideline for follow-up of oral lesions, training and awareness of health care professionals about oral cancer diagnosis may decrease the delay and improve the oral cancer outcome in Iran.

  17. Relationships with clinical staff after a diagnosis of breast cancer are associated with patients' experience of care and abuse in childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon, Peter; Holcombe, Christopher; Clark, Louise; Krespi, Rita; Fisher, Jean; Hill, Jonathan

    2007-09-01

    Patients experiencing the crisis of the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer need to form trusting and supportive relationships with clinical staff. However, adverse childhood experiences damage the ability to form supportive relationships as adults. We tested the prediction that women recalling childhood abuse and lack of parental care would experience poorer support from clinical staff caring for them around the time of diagnosis and surgical treatment of breast cancer. Two to 4 days after surgery, women with primary breast cancer (N=355) self-reported: childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and parental care; perceived social support; support experienced from the surgeon and breast and ward nurses; and current emotional distress. Logistic regression analyses and covariance structure modeling tested the dependence of perceived professional support on childhood abuse and care and on current social support, controlling for emotional distress and age. Women who reported feeling fully supported by clinical staff were more likely to recall no abuse and good parental care. The influence of parental care, but not abuse, was explained by its association with experiencing good social support generally, which was itself associated with feeling fully supported by clinical staff. These relationships were independent of current emotional distress. Patients' ability to feel fully supported by clinical staff reflects not only how much support staff make available but also patients' experience of close relationships in childhood. We suggest that, whereas lack of parental care compromises adult supportive relationships in general, abuse specifically reduces support from clinical staff.

  18. The role of mediastinoscopy in the diagnosis of non-lung cancer diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Onat S

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Serdar Onat,1 Gungor Ates,2 Alper Avcı,3 Tekin Yıldız,4 Ali Birak,1 Cihan Akgul Ozmen,5 Refik Ulku1 1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, 2Department of Chest Diseases, Memorial Hospital, Diyarbakir, 3Department of Thoracic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Çukurova University, Adana, 4Department of Chest Diseases, Yuksek Ihtisas Education and Research Hospital, Bursa, 5Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey Background: Mediastinoscopy is a good method to evaluate mediastinal lesions. We sought to determine the current role of mediastinoscopy in the investigation of non-lung cancer patients with mediastinal lymphadenopathy.Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical parameters (age, gender, histological diagnosis, morbidity, mortality of all patients without lung cancer who consecutively underwent mediastinoscopy in Hospital of Faculty of Medicine of Dicle University between June 2003 and December 2016.Results: Two-hundred twenty nine patients without lung cancer who underwent mediastino­scopy for the pathological evaluation of mediastinum during the study period were included. There were 156 female (68% and 73 male (32% patients. Mean age was 52.6 years (range, 16 to 85 years. Mean operative time was 41 minutes (range, 25 to 90 minutes. Mean number of biopsies was 9.3 (range, 5 to 24. Totally, 45 patients (19.6% had previously undergone a nondiagnostic bronchoscopic biopsy such as transbronchial needle aspiration or endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration. Mediastinoscopy was diagnostic for all patients. Diagnosis included sarcoidosis (n=100, tuberculous lymphadenitis (n=66, anthracosis lymphadenitis (n=44, lymphoma (n=11 metastatic carcinoma (n=5, and Castleman’s disease (n=1; there was a diagnosis of silicosis in one patient and tymoma in one patient. Neither operative mortality nor major complication developed. The only

  19. Final height in survivors of childhood cancer compared with Height Standard Deviation Scores at diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knijnenburg, S L; Raemaekers, S; van den Berg, H; van Dijk, I W E M; Lieverst, J A; van der Pal, H J; Jaspers, M W M; Caron, H N; Kremer, L C; van Santen, H M

    2013-04-01

    Our study aimed to evaluate final height in a cohort of Dutch childhood cancer survivors (CCS) and assess possible determinants of final height, including height at diagnosis. We calculated standard deviation scores (SDS) for height at initial cancer diagnosis and height in adulthood in a cohort of 573 CCS. Multivariable regression analyses were carried out to estimate the influence of different determinants on height SDS at follow-up. Overall, survivors had a normal height SDS at cancer diagnosis. However, at follow-up in adulthood, 8.9% had a height ≤-2 SDS. Height SDS at diagnosis was an important determinant for adult height SDS. Children treated with (higher doses of) radiotherapy showed significantly reduced final height SDS. Survivors treated with total body irradiation (TBI) and craniospinal radiation had the greatest loss in height (-1.56 and -1.37 SDS, respectively). Younger age at diagnosis contributed negatively to final height. Height at diagnosis was an important determinant for height SDS at follow-up. Survivors treated with TBI, cranial and craniospinal irradiation should be monitored periodically for adequate linear growth, to enable treatment on time if necessary. For correct interpretation of treatment-related late effects studies in CCS, pre-treatment data should always be included.

  20. Rapid diagnosis of multidrug resistance in cancer by electrochemical sensor based on carbon nanotubes-drug supramolecular nanocomposites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Haijun; Jiang, Hui; Sun, Feifei; Wang, Huangping; Zhao, Juan; Chen, Baoan; Wang, Xuemei

    2011-03-15

    The multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer is a major chemotherapy obstacle, rendering many currently available chemotherapeutic drugs ineffective. The aim of this study was to explore the new strategy to early diagnose the MDR by electrochemical sensor based on carbon nanotubes-drug supramolecular interaction. The carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrodes (CNTs/GCE) were directly immersed into the cells suspension of the sensitive leukemia cells K562 and/or its MDR cells K562/A02 to detect the response of the electrochemical probe of daunorubicin (DNR) residues after incubated with cells for 1h. The fresh evidence from the electrochemical studies based on CNTs/GCE demonstrated that the homogeneous, label-free strategy could directly measure the function of cell membrane transporters in MDR cancer cells, identify the cell phenotype (sensitive or MDR). When the different ratios of the sensitive leukemia cells K562 and its MDR ones K562/A02 were applied as a model of MDR levels to simulate the MDR occurrence in cancer, the cathodic peak current showed good linear response to the fraction of MDR with a correlation coefficient of 0.995. Therefore, the MDR fraction can be easily predicted based on the calibration curve of the cathodic peak current versus the fraction of MDR. These results indicated that the sensing strategy could provide a powerful tool for assessment of MDR in cancer. The new electrochemical sensor based on carbon nanotubes-drug supramolecular nanocomposites could represent promising approach in the rapid diagnosis of MDR in cancer. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. The diagnosis and detection of urogenital cancers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murphy, G.P.

    1981-01-01

    Previously, histologic precision in the diagnosis of urologic cancers had, for some time, remained stable. More recently, variations in classifications of testis tumors, prostate cancer, and to some degree, bladder tumors, have been introduced. Most systems have in concurrence a desire or an attempt to infer better prognostic assessment in the overall results to treatment. With the advent of additional biological markers or direct enzymatic measurements, e.g., in prostate cancer, further improvements in identifying at risk populations, responses to treatment, and possible indications for variations in treatment, have ensued. These developments alone unquestionably mark the greatest area of change in the recent decade. The extent of disease assessment prior to definitive therapy, whether by arteriography, ultrasound, CAT scanning, or an occasional lymphangiography, has also influenced or modified treatment decisions. For continuing care and follow-up, several of these noninvasive techniques are now becoming included in the more standard approaches. Noninvasive techniques have been introduced for the therapy of renal tumors such as inducing infarction of the primary tumor. Endoscopic ultrasonic techniques have been particularly useful in assessing the size of pelvic tumors and response to treatment, even in detection of unexpected multiple primaries or metastatic extensions. Overall, the precision in urologic cancer, both for diagnostic and detection purposes, has been increased with these introductions

  2. X-ray diagnosis of esophageal cancer and application of Borrmann's classification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chin, Soo Yil

    1985-01-01

    In 126 cases and who were diagnosed as esophageal cancer and treated by radiation at Cancer Research Hospital, K. A. E. R. I., from January 1974 to July 1979, a study on the x-ray diagnosis of esophageal cancer was carried out mainly as to the type classification. The ordinary classification od esophageal cancer by x-ray picture was reviewed and Borrmann's classification using gastric cancer was tried to apply to the macroscopic classification of esophageal cancer, and also the application of this classification to x-ray diagnosis was discussed. And the effect of radiotherapy as to each type of cancer according to the ordinary x-ray classification and Borrmann's classification was studied too. The results were as follows: 1. The ordinary x-ray classification was not simple, because the degree of progression of cancer, difference of mural invasion, and position and method of radiography could make misinterpretation of the type of cancer and the therapeutic effect by radiation as to each type according to this classification did not represent a significant characteristic too, although the radiation was most effective in the polypoidal type and least effective in funnel type. 2. The Borrmann's classification was relatively easy even on the radiogram because of little overlapping between each type and the type became more evident on the resected specimen after operation. And also some correlation was recognized between the type of Borrmann's classification and radiotherapeutic effect. The effect was best in type I and It was gradually decreased in type II, III, and IV in the other. The radiotherapy was ineffective in about three quarters of type IV. 3. The Borrmann's classification is now employed to the carcinoma of large bowel, as well as to the gastric cancer. If it is applied to the esophageal cancer, the macroscopic classification for the cancer of digestive tract can be systemized and it will be convenient in clinical study.

  3. Precision medicine and molecular imaging: new targeted approaches toward cancer therapeutic and diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghasemi, Mojtaba; Nabipour, Iraj; Omrani, Abdolmajid; Alipour, Zeinab; Assadi, Majid

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a review of the importance and role of precision medicine and molecular imaging technologies in cancer diagnosis with therapeutics and diagnostics purposes. Precision medicine is progressively becoming a hot topic in all disciplines related to biomedical investigation and has the capacity to become the paradigm for clinical practice. The future of medicine lies in early diagnosis and individually appropriate treatments, a concept that has been named precision medicine, i.e. delivering the right treatment to the right patient at the right time. Molecular imaging is quickly being recognized as a tool with the potential to ameliorate every aspect of cancer treatment. On the other hand, emerging high-throughput technologies such as omics techniques and systems approaches have generated a paradigm shift for biological systems in advanced life science research. In this review, we describe the precision medicine, difference between precision medicine and personalized medicine, precision medicine initiative, systems biology/medicine approaches (such as genomics, radiogenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics), P4 medicine, relationship between systems biology/medicine approaches and precision medicine, and molecular imaging modalities and their utility in cancer treatment and diagnosis. Accordingly, the precision medicine and molecular imaging will enable us to accelerate and improve cancer management in future medicine. PMID:28078184

  4. Precision medicine and molecular imaging: new targeted approaches toward cancer therapeutic and diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghasemi, Mojtaba; Nabipour, Iraj; Omrani, Abdolmajid; Alipour, Zeinab; Assadi, Majid

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a review of the importance and role of precision medicine and molecular imaging technologies in cancer diagnosis with therapeutics and diagnostics purposes. Precision medicine is progressively becoming a hot topic in all disciplines related to biomedical investigation and has the capacity to become the paradigm for clinical practice. The future of medicine lies in early diagnosis and individually appropriate treatments, a concept that has been named precision medicine, i.e. delivering the right treatment to the right patient at the right time. Molecular imaging is quickly being recognized as a tool with the potential to ameliorate every aspect of cancer treatment. On the other hand, emerging high-throughput technologies such as omics techniques and systems approaches have generated a paradigm shift for biological systems in advanced life science research. In this review, we describe the precision medicine, difference between precision medicine and personalized medicine, precision medicine initiative, systems biology/medicine approaches (such as genomics, radiogenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics), P4 medicine, relationship between systems biology/medicine approaches and precision medicine, and molecular imaging modalities and their utility in cancer treatment and diagnosis. Accordingly, the precision medicine and molecular imaging will enable us to accelerate and improve cancer management in future medicine.

  5. Malnutrition in pediatric patients with cancer at diagnosis and throughout therapy: A multicenter cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, Karin; Ammann, Roland A; Kuehni, Claudia E; De Geest, Sabina; Cignacco, Eva

    2013-04-01

    Malnutrition is a common problem in pediatric patients with cancer. Reported prevalence varies widely and has often been assessed only in a subset of childhood types of cancer. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of malnutrition among pediatric patients newly diagnosed with cancer, to describe the occurrence and course of malnutrition during therapy and to identify factors associated with malnutrition during therapy. In a retrospective cohort study of 327 patients diagnosed from 2003 to 2006 in three Swiss tertiary care hospitals, weight and height measures together with patient-, disease-, and treatment-related characteristics were assessed. Malnutrition was defined as body mass index (BMI) below -2 standard deviation scores (SDS) or a weight loss >10% from diagnosis. Malnutrition was assessed at diagnosis and continuously during anticancer therapy. At diagnosis, 5.8% of the patients (19) were malnourished based on BMI. During anticancer therapy, the cumulative incidence of malnutrition rose to 22% (70 patients) after 30 days, to 36% (116 patients) after 60 days, and finally to 47% (155 patients). In these 155 patients, the median duration of malnutrition was 60 days (interquartile range, 21-122). Age above 10 years at diagnosis, BMI ≤ -1.0 SDS at diagnosis, and a diagnosis of medulloblastoma were positively associated with a higher proportion of malnutrition time during therapy. The rapid increase of malnutrition after the start of treatment underlines the need to develop evidence-based and efficient methods to provide nutritional support for children with cancer. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. The epigenetics of prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis: update on clinical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blute, Michael L; Damaschke, Nathan A; Jarrard, David F

    2015-01-01

    There is a major deficit in our ability to detect and predict the clinical behavior of prostate cancer (PCa). Epigenetic changes are associated with PCa development and progression. This review will focus on recent results in the clinical application of diagnostic and prognostic epigenetic markers. The development of high throughput technology has seen an enormous increase in the discovery of new markers that encompass epigenetic changes including those in DNA methylation and histone modifications. Application of these findings to urine and other biofluids, but also cancer and noncancerous prostate tissue, has resulted in new biomarkers. There has been a recent commercial development of a DNA methylation-based assay for identifying PCa risk from normal biopsy tissue. Other biomarkers are currently in the validation phase and encompass combinations of multiple genes. Epigenetic changes improve the specificity and sensitivity of PCa diagnosis and have the potential to help determine clinical prognosis. Additional studies will not only provide new and better biomarker candidates, but also have the potential to inform new therapeutic strategies given the reversibility of these processes.

  7. Improving fluorescence diagnosis of cancer by SLIM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rück, Angelika; Dolp, Frank; Kinzler, Ingrid; Hauser, Carmen; Scalfi-Happ, Claudia

    2006-02-01

    Although during the last years, significant progress was made in cancer diagnosis, using either intrinsic or specially designed fluorophores, still problems exist, due to difficulties in spectral separation of highly overlapping probes or in lack of specificity. Many of the problems could be circumvented by focusing on time-resolved methods. In combination with spectral resolved detection (spectral fluorescence lifetime imaging, SLIM) highly sophisticated fluorescence lifetime imaging can be performed which might improve specificity of cell diagnosis. To record lifetime images (τ-mapping) with spectral resolution a setup was realized consisting of a laser scanning microscope equipped with a 16 channel array for time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) and a spectrograph in front of the array. A Ti:Saphir laser can be used for excitation or alternatively ps diode lasers. With this system the time- and spectral-resolved fluorescence characteristics of different fluorophores were investigated in solution and in cell culture. As an example, not only the mitochondria staining dye rhodamine 123 could be easily distinguished from DAPI, which intercalates into nucleic acids, but also different binding sites of DAPI. This was proved by the appearance of different lifetime components within different spectral channels. Another example is Photofrin, a photosensitizer which is approved for bladder cancer and for palliative lung and esophageal cancer in 20 countries, including the United States, Canada and many European countries. Photofrin is a complex mixture of different monomeric and aggregated porphyrins. The phototoxic efficiency during photodynamic therapy (PDT) seems to be correlated with the relative amounts of monomers and aggregates. With SLIM different lifetimes could be attributed to various, spectrally highly overlapping compounds. In addition, a detailed analysis of the autofluorescence by SLIM could explain changes of mitochondrial metabolism during

  8. Pneumonia diagnosis in childhood and incidence of leukaemia, lymphoma and brain cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søgaard, Kirstine Kobberøe; Farkas, Dóra Körmendiné; Sørensen, Henrik Toft

    2017-01-01

    of pneumonia was a clinical marker of the three most common childhood cancers. DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. SETTING: Denmark, hospital diagnoses, 1994-2013. METHODS: Using national health registries, we compared the observed incidence of leukaemia, lymphoma and brain cancer among 83 935 children...... with a hospital-based pneumonia diagnosis with that expected among children in the general population. We calculated absolute cancer risks and standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) as a measure of relative risk. RESULTS: The cancer SIRs were substantially increased during the first 6 months of follow-up; lymphoid...

  9. Ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum use after breast cancer diagnosis and quality of life: a report from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ping-Ping Bao

    Full Text Available To evaluate associations between quality of life (QOL and use of ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum among breast cancer survivors.Included in this study were 4,149 women with breast cancer who participated in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study. Ginseng use was assessed at 6-, 18-, and 36-month post-diagnosis surveys; G. lucidum use was assessed at the 6- and 36-month surveys. QOL was evaluated at the 6- and 36-month surveys. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine associations between ginseng and G.lucidum use and QOL assessed at the 36-month survey, with adjustment for potential confounders and baseline QOL.At 6 months post-diagnosis, 14.2% of participants reported regular use of ginseng and 58.8% reported use of G. lucidum. We found no significant associations between ginseng use at 6, 18, and 36 months post-diagnosis and participants' total QOL score or individual scores for psychological, physical, or social well-being. Post-diagnosis G. lucidum use was positively associated with social well-being (adjusted mean difference: 1.26; 95% CI: 0.66, 1.86, but was inversely associated with physical well-being (adjusted mean difference: -1.16; 95% CI: -1.86, -0.47 with a dose-response pattern observed for cumulative number of times of use (P for trend <0.001 for both.We found no evidence that post-diagnosis ginseng use improved the QOL of breast cancer survivors. Post-diagnosis G. lucidum use was associated with better social well-being scores, but poorer physical well-being scores.

  10. [DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF TUMOROID-LIKE ABSCESS AND LUNG CANCER].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Churylin, R

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of work is development and clarification of roentgenology displays of tumoroidea variant of abscess of lungs for differential diagnostics him with the cancer of lungs. Practically in most cases abscess of lungs there is a necessity of leadthrough of differential diagnostics with in a number of nosology forms, including with the cavernous form of peripheral cancer of lungs. The features of flow of roentgenologic picture of tumoroidea variant are resulted, alike symptoms, differ ences and signs which allow to set a correct diagnosis, are resulted, the value of follow-up of roent genologic research and use of computed tomography is underlined.

  11. Useful radiologic sign in diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer: Nucleohalo sign and its pathologic basis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, H.; Shi, D.

    1994-01-01

    The authors investigated the x-ray findings of 117 patients with peripheral lung cancer proved by operation and pathology, of them 35(29.9%) cases were found to have the 'nucleohalo sign', 6(13.6%) in 44 cases of solitary metastatic lung cancers, but none in 167 cases of benign lung nodular lesions and 4 cases of primary lung sarcoma and lymphoma. Radiologic and pathologic correlative study of the nucleohalo sign with surgical specimens of 14 lung cancers suggested that the cancerous parenchymas in nuclear areas were more than the interstitices in 12 cases and the other 2 were equal in both parenchymas and interstitices. Instead, the cancerous parenchymas in halo areas were less than cancerous interstitices in all cases. Dynamic observation of the 'nucleohalo sign' showed that this sign was an appearance of a stage in cancer growth. It is considered a very important sign in x-ray diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer, especially in the early diagnosis of lung cancer under or equal to 3 cm in diameter

  12. Valvular Heart Disease in Cancer Patients: Etiology, Diagnosis, and Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Merrill H; Jahangir, Eiman; Polin, Nichole M

    2017-07-01

    Cardiac valvular disease as consequence of radiation and chemotherapy during treatment for malignancy is growing in its awareness. While the overwhelming emphasis in this population has been on the monitoring and preservation of left ventricular systolic function, we are now developing a greater appreciation for the plethora of cardiac sequelae beyond this basic model. To this end many institutions across the country have developed cardio-oncology programs, which are collaborative practices between oncologists and cardiologists in order to minimize a patient's cardiovascular risk while allowing them to receive the necessary treatment for their cancer. These programs also help to recognize early nuanced treatment complications such as valvular heart disease, and provide consultation for the most appropriate course of action. In this article we will discuss the etiology, prevalence, diagnosis, and current treatment options of valvular heart disease as the result of chemotherapy and radiation.

  13. The association of diagnosis in the private or NHS sector on prostate cancer stage and treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbiere, J M; Greenberg, D C; Wright, K A; Brown, C H; Palmer, C; Neal, D E; Lyratzopoulos, G

    2012-03-01

    To examine associations of private healthcare with stage and management of prostate cancer. Regional population-based cancer registry information on 15 916 prostate cancer patients. Compared with patients diagnosed in the National Health Service (NHS) (94%), those diagnosed in private hospitals (5%) were significantly more affluent (69 versus 52% in deprivation quintiles 1-2), younger (mean 69 versus 73 years) and diagnosed at earlier stage (72 versus 79% in Stages Private hospital of diagnosis was independently associated with lower probability of advanced disease stage [odds ratio (OR) 0.75, P = 0.002], higher probability of surgery use (OR 1.28, P = 0.037) and lower probability of radiotherapy use (OR 0.75, P = 0.001). Private hospital of diagnosis independently predicted higher surgery and lower radiotherapy use, particularly in more deprived patients aged ≤ 70. In prostate cancer patients, private hospital diagnosis predicts earlier disease stage, higher use of surgery and lower use of radiotherapy, independently of case-mix differences between the two sectors. Substantial socioeconomic differences in stage and treatment patterns remain across centres in the NHS, even after adjusting for private sector diagnosis. Cancer registration data could be used to identify private care use on a population basis and the potential associated treatment disparities.

  14. Genetic variation in IL-16 miRNA target site and time to prostate cancer diagnosis in African American men

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Lucinda; Ruth, Karen; Rebbeck, Timothy R.; Giri, Veda N.

    2013-01-01

    Background Men with a family history of prostate cancer and African American men are at high risk for prostate cancer and in need of personalized risk estimates to inform screening decisions. This study evaluated genetic variants in genes encoding microRNA (miRNA) binding sites for informing of time to prostate cancer diagnosis among ethnically-diverse, high-risk men undergoing prostate cancer screening. Methods The Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment Program (PRAP) is a longitudinal screening program for high-risk men. Eligibility includes men ages 35-69 with a family history of prostate cancer or African descent. Participants with ≥ 1 follow-up visit were included in the analyses (n=477). Genetic variants in regions encoding miRNA binding sites in four target genes (ALOX15, IL-16, IL-18, and RAF1) previously implicated in prostate cancer development were evaluated. Genotyping methods included Taqman® SNP Genotyping Assay (Applied Biosystems) or pyrosequencing. Cox models were used to assess time to prostate cancer diagnosis by risk genotype. Results Among 256 African Americans with ≥ one follow-up visit, the TT genotype at rs1131445 in IL-16 was significantly associated with earlier time to prostate cancer diagnosis vs. the CC/CT genotypes (p=0.013), with a suggestive association after correction for false-discovery (p=0.065). Hazard ratio after controlling for age and PSA for TT vs. CC/CT among African Americans was 3.0 (95% CI 1.26-7.12). No association to time to diagnosis was detected among Caucasians by IL-16 genotype. No association to time to prostate cancer diagnosis was found for the other miRNA target genotypes. Conclusions Genetic variation in IL-16 encoding miRNA target site may be informative of time to prostate cancer diagnosis among African American men enrolled in prostate cancer risk assessment, which may inform individualized prostate cancer screening strategies in the future. PMID:24061634

  15. Loss in working years after a breast cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plym, Anna; Bower, Hannah; Fredriksson, Irma; Holmberg, Lars; Lambert, Paul C; Lambe, Mats

    2018-03-06

    Breast cancer can negatively influence working life, but it is unclear how many working years women with breast cancer can expect to lose. Women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1997 and 2012 were identified in the Breast Cancer Data Base Sweden (N=19 661), together with breast cancer-free comparison women (N=81 303). Using flexible parametric survival modelling, the loss in working years was calculated as the difference in the remaining years in the work force between women with and without breast cancer. Women aged 50 years at diagnosis with stage I disease lost on average 0.5 years (95% CI, 0.2-0.7) of their remaining working time; the corresponding estimates were 0.9 years (0.5-1.2) in stage II, 2.5 years (1.9-3.1) in stage III and 8.1 years (6.5-9.7) in stage IV. Women with in situ breast cancer did not lose any working years. The strongest treatment determinant was axillary lymph node dissection. We found a loss in working years not only in late but also in early-stage breast cancer. Although it is reassuring that some groups had no or only a modest work loss, the economic consequences for society are considerable given the large number of women annually diagnosed with breast cancer.

  16. Breaking bad news of cancer diagnosis – Perception of the cancer patients in a rural community in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bain, Mathew Gabriel; Lian, Cheah Whye; Thon, Chang Ching

    2014-01-01

    Context: Breaking of bad news is an important component in the management of cancer patients. Aims: This study aimed to assess the perceptions of breaking bad news of cancer diagnosis. Settings and Design: It was a cross-sectional study using Breaking Bad News Assessment Schedule (BAS) questionnaire on cancer patients in Serian district. Materials and Methods: Using snowballing sampling method, a total of 134 patients were interviewed face-to-face after the consent was obtained from each of the respondents. Statistical Analysis Used: Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 19.0. Results: Majority were comfortable with the current method of breaking bad news. The main aspects found to be the areas of concern were the importance of the usage of body language, management of time and identifying patients’ key area of concerns. There were significant difference between sex and “information giving” (P = 0.028) and “general consideration” (P = 0.016) and also between “the age and setting the scene” (P = 0.042). Significant difference was also found between the types of cancer and “the setting of scene” (P = 0.018), “breaking bad news technique” (P = 0.010), “eliciting concerns” (P = 0.003) and “information giving” (P = 0.004). Conclusion: Good and effective communication skill of breaking bad news is vital in the management of cancer patients. As the incidence of new cases of cancer increase every year, breaking of bad news has become a pertinent to the medical professionals’ role. Specific aspects of communication skills based on local characteristics should be more emphasized in the formulation of training for doctors. PMID:24818107

  17. Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer using Molecular, Biochemical and Pathological Markers

    OpenAIRE

    Salah E.D. El-Assal; Adel A. El-Tarras; Samir M. Abd-alla

    2011-01-01

    Problem statement: Laboratory diagnosis of breast cancer in most of the hospitals has traditionally been performed using cell culture and the direct hormone receptor assay, which are money and time consuming. Approach: This study was performed in order to direct the attention toward increasing the efficiency of early diagnosis in clinical laboratories at the western region of KSA and Egypt using recent PCR-dependent protocols i.e., Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPDs) and Reverse Transc...

  18. Cervical cancer in women under 25 years of age in Queensland, Australia: To what extent is the diagnosis made by screening cytology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Edwina L; Sanday, Karen; Budd, Alison; Hammond, Ian G; Nicklin, James

    2017-08-01

    The current Australian National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) involves biennial, cytology-based screening of women from the age of 18 years. From December, 2017 this will change to a five-yearly human papilloma virus-based screening commencing at age 25. There is some concern that the new program may delay the opportunistic detection of cervical cancers in women under 25 years. (1) To review all cases of invasive cervical cancer in Queensland women under the age of 25 over the last 28 years. (2) To determine symptoms and screening history prior to diagnosis. A retrospective cohort study was undertaken at the Queensland Centre for Gynaecological Cancer (QCGC) and the Queensland Cancer Registry (QCR) of all women aged between 13 and 25 years diagnosed with cervical cancer in Queensland between 1984 and 2012. Demographic data and symptoms prior to diagnosis were extracted from the QCGC and QCR databases. A total of 56 women aged 13-25, were diagnosed with cervical cancer and treated at the QCGC between 1984 and 2012. The commonest reason for the diagnosis of cancer was investigation of abnormal symptoms (n = 22, 39%) rather than routine Pap smear abnormalities (n = 15, 26%). Consistent with the world literature, there is a very low incidence of cervical cancer in women under 25 years of age, irrespective of the age of commencement of screening, or the screening interval. Our study lends some support to the proposed commencement age of 25 years in the new NCSP. © 2017 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

  19. Diagnosis and staging of breast cancer by SPECT images fused with CT images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yanjing; Zhu Qiaomei

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the TNM staging value of 99mTc-MIBI scintimammotraphy with SPECT-CT images fusing for the diagnosis of breast cancer. Methods: 10 patients with breast cancer underwent scintimammography with 99mTc-MIBI, and SPECT images were fused with CT images. Images were compared with final diagnosis confirmed by histopathology. Results: Of the 19 breast cancer patients, one case of invasive ductal carcinoma showed false-negative. Among 18 cases of positive lesions, axillary metastases were involved in 10, supraclavicular nodes were also defined in 3, para-sternum nodes were involved in 2, 2 were missed and 1 cases without metastatic node. The axillary lymph nodes were divided into three levels with respect to their position relative to the pectoralis minor muscle by fused images. Conclusion: 99mTc-MIBI scintimammotraphy combined with SPECT-CT images fusing is of some clinical value in TNM staging of breast cancer. (authors)

  20. Computer-aided detection systems to improve lung cancer early diagnosis: state-of-the-art and challenges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Traverso, A; Lopez Torres, E; Cerello, P; Fantacci, M E

    2017-01-01

    Lung cancer is one of the most lethal types of cancer, because its early diagnosis is not good enough. In fact, the detection of pulmonary nodule, potential lung cancers, in Computed Tomography scans is a very challenging and time-consuming task for radiologists. To support radiologists, researchers have developed Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems for the automated detection of pulmonary nodules in chest Computed Tomography scans. Despite the high level of technological developments and the proved benefits on the overall detection performance, the usage of Computer-Aided Diagnosis in clinical practice is far from being a common procedure. In this paper we investigate the causes underlying this discrepancy and present a solution to tackle it: the M5L WEB- and Cloud-based on-demand Computer-Aided Diagnosis. In addition, we prove how the combination of traditional imaging processing techniques with state-of-art advanced classification algorithms allows to build a system whose performance could be much larger than any Computer-Aided Diagnosis developed so far. This outcome opens the possibility to use the CAD as clinical decision support for radiologists. (paper)

  1. Computer-aided detection systems to improve lung cancer early diagnosis: state-of-the-art and challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traverso, A.; Lopez Torres, E.; Fantacci, M. E.; Cerello, P.

    2017-05-01

    Lung cancer is one of the most lethal types of cancer, because its early diagnosis is not good enough. In fact, the detection of pulmonary nodule, potential lung cancers, in Computed Tomography scans is a very challenging and time-consuming task for radiologists. To support radiologists, researchers have developed Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems for the automated detection of pulmonary nodules in chest Computed Tomography scans. Despite the high level of technological developments and the proved benefits on the overall detection performance, the usage of Computer-Aided Diagnosis in clinical practice is far from being a common procedure. In this paper we investigate the causes underlying this discrepancy and present a solution to tackle it: the M5L WEB- and Cloud-based on-demand Computer-Aided Diagnosis. In addition, we prove how the combination of traditional imaging processing techniques with state-of-art advanced classification algorithms allows to build a system whose performance could be much larger than any Computer-Aided Diagnosis developed so far. This outcome opens the possibility to use the CAD as clinical decision support for radiologists.

  2. Endocrine therapy and urogenital outcomes among women with a breast cancer diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doll, Kemi M.; Bensen, Jeannette T.; Hendrix, Laura; Anders, Carey K.; Wu, Jennifer M.; Nichols, Hazel B.

    2018-01-01

    Purpose Endocrine therapy for breast cancer can exacerbate menopausal symptoms. The association between endocrine therapy and common pelvic floor disorders including urinary incontinence has rarely been evaluated. We examined urogenital and sexual side effects among women with a breast cancer diagnosis, comparing endocrine therapy users to nonusers. Methods Urogenital and sexual symptoms were self-reported during the enrollment interview within the University of North Carolina Cancer Survivorship Cohort. Tumor characteristics and endocrine therapy use were collected from medical and prescription records. We calculated multivariable prevalence ratios (PR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for the association of endocrine therapy (versus no endocrine therapy) and urinary incontinence, overall and by therapy type (tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors). PROMIS Sexual Function and Satisfaction domain scores were compared across endocrine therapy groups. Results Among the 548 women with a breast cancer diagnosis, 49 % received endocrine therapy. Overall, 18 % of women reported urinary incontinence symptoms. We observed no association between urinary incontinence and endocrine therapy use overall (PR = 0.97; 95 % CI 0.67, 1.43), tamoxifen (PR = 1.20; 95 % CI 0.74, 1.96), or aromatase inhibitors (PR = 0.89; 95 % CI 0.55, 1.42), compared to no use. Approximately 55 % of women were sexually active. Sexual function scores did not vary according to endocrine therapy use, although urinary incontinence was associated with lower satisfaction scores (p = 0.05). Conclusions Our findings demonstrate a high prevalence of urinary incontinence after breast cancer diagnosis similar to the overall prevalence in older U.S. women, and this did not vary strongly according to use of endocrine therapy. PMID:27680018

  3. Clinical stage of oral cancer patients at the time of initial diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shah, I.; Sefvan, O.; Luqman, Z.; Ibrahim, W.; Mehmood, S.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common oral cancer. Early diagnosis ensures better prognosis. Late diagnosis is however common around the world and contributes to the high morbidity and mortality related to oral cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical stage of oral cancer patients at the time of diagnosis. Methods: This retrospective study was carried out on 334 oral cancer patients who presented to the outdoor departments of Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry, and Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi from July 2008 to December 2009. The records that were reviewed included history and clinical examination findings, OPG and CT scans of the head and neck region, chest X-rays, abdominal ultrasounds and liver function tests. Size of the primary tumour, the size, number and laterality of the involved cervical lymph nodes and the presence/absence of distant metastases were documented and statistically analysed using SPSS-17. Results: Out of the 334 patients, 203 (60.8%) were males and 131 (39.2%) females. The age range was from 21 to 88 years. Buccal mucosa was the most commonly involved site (32 %). The primary tumour was 4 Cm or more in size, (T3/T4) 71.25% of the cases. Cervical lymph nodes were involved in 211 patients (63.2%) and distant metastases were present in 39 patients (11.7%). Overall, clinical stage IV was the most common (57.18%) followed by stage III(24.55%), stage II (13.77%) and stage I (4.49%). Conclusion: Oral cancers are diagnosed late (Stage III and IV) in Pakistan and need immediate public and professional attention. (author)

  4. Clinical stage of oral cancer patients at the time of initial diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Irfan; Sefvan, Omer; Luqman, Uzair; Ibrahim, Waseem; Mehmood, Sana; Alamgir, Wajiha

    2010-01-01

    Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common oral cancer. Early diagnosis ensures better prognosis. Late diagnosis is however common around the world and contributes to the high morbidity and mortality related to oral cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical stage of oral cancer patients at the time of diagnosis. This retrospective study was carried out on 334 oral cancer patients who presented to the outdoor departments of Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry, and Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi from July 2008 to December 2009. The records that were reviewed included history and clinical examination findings. OPG and CT scans of the head and neck region, chest X-rays, abdominal ultrasounds and liver function tests. Size of the primary tumour, the size, number and laterality of the involved cervical lymph nodes and the presence/absence of distant metastases were documented and statistically analysed using SPSS-17. Out of the 334 patients, 203 (60.8%) were males and 131 (39.2%) females. The age range was from 21 to 88 years. Buccal mucosa was the most commonly involved site (32%). The primary tumour was 4 Cm or more in size, (T3/T4) 71.25% of the cases. Cervical lymph nodes were involved in 211 patients (63.2%) and distant metastases were present in 39 patients (11.7%). Overall, clinical stage IV was the most common (57.18%) followed by stage III (24.55%), stage II (13.77%) and stage I (4.49%). Oral cancers are diagnosed late (Stage III and IV) in Pakistan and need immediate public and professional attention.

  5. Risk of breast cancer after a diagnosis of ovarian cancer in BRCA mutation carriers: Is preventive mastectomy warranted?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGee, Jacob; Giannakeas, Vasily; Karlan, Beth; Lubinski, Jan; Gronwald, Jacek; Rosen, Barry; McLaughlin, John; Risch, Harvey; Sun, Ping; Foulkes, William D; Neuhausen, Susan L; Kotsopoulos, Joanne; Narod, Steven A

    2017-05-01

    Preventive breast surgery and MRI screening are offered to unaffected BRCA mutation carriers. The clinical benefit of these two modalities has not been evaluated among mutation carriers with a history of ovarian cancer. Thus, we sought to determine whether or not BRCA mutation carriers with ovarian cancer would benefit from preventive mastectomy or from MRI screening. First, the annual mortality rate for ovarian cancer patients was estimated for a cohort of 178 BRCA mutation carriers from Ontario, Canada. Next, the actuarial risk of developing breast cancer was estimated using an international registry of 509 BRCA mutation carriers with ovarian cancer. A series of simulations was conducted to evaluate the reduction in the probability of death (from all causes) associated with mastectomy and with MRI-based breast surveillance. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the impacts of mastectomy and MRI screening on breast cancer incidence as well as on all-cause mortality. Twenty (3.9%) of the 509 patients developed breast cancer within ten years following ovarian cancer diagnosis. The actuarial risk of developing breast cancer at ten years post-diagnosis, conditional on survival from ovarian cancer and other causes of mortality was 7.8%. Based on our simulation results, among all BRCA mutation-carrying patients diagnosed with stage III/IV ovarian cancer at age 50, the chance of dying before age 80 was reduced by less than 1% with MRI and by less than 2% with mastectomy. Greater improvements in survival with MRI or mastectomy were observed for women who had already survived 10years after ovarian cancer, and for women with stage I or II ovarian cancer. Among BRCA mutation-carrying ovarian cancer patients without a personal history of breast cancer, neither preventive mastectomy nor MRI screening is warranted, except for those who have survived ovarian cancer without recurrence for ten years and for those with early stage ovarian cancer. Copyright © 2017

  6. Diagnosis of Lung Cancer by Fractal Analysis of Damaged DNA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamidreza Namazi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Cancer starts when cells in a part of the body start to grow out of control. In fact cells become cancer cells because of DNA damage. A DNA walk of a genome represents how the frequency of each nucleotide of a pairing nucleotide couple changes locally. In this research in order to study the cancer genes, DNA walk plots of genomes of patients with lung cancer were generated using a program written in MATLAB language. The data so obtained was checked for fractal property by computing the fractal dimension using a program written in MATLAB. Also, the correlation of damaged DNA was studied using the Hurst exponent measure. We have found that the damaged DNA sequences are exhibiting higher degree of fractality and less correlation compared with normal DNA sequences. So we confirmed this method can be used for early detection of lung cancer. The method introduced in this research not only is useful for diagnosis of lung cancer but also can be applied for detection and growth analysis of different types of cancers.

  7. Transfer between hospitals as a predictor of delay in diagnosis and treatment of patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iachina, Maria; Jakobsen, Erik; Fallesen, Anne Kudsk

    2017-01-01

    with treatment facilities during the care pathway. We wanted to investigate whether this organizational set-up influenced the time that patients wait for the diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, the objective of this study was to uncover the impact of transfer between hospitals on the delay in the diagnosis......BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the second most frequent cancer diagnosis in Denmark. Although improved during the last decade, the prognosis of lung cancer is still poor with an overall 5-year survival rate of approximately 12%. Delay in diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer has been suggested...... and incomplete data on the dates of referral, diagnosis and treatment were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 11 273 patients were included for further analyses. Transfer patients waited longer for treatment after the diagnosis, (Hazard ratio (HR) 0.81 (0.68-0.96)) and in total time from referral to treatment (HR 0...

  8. Virtual bronchoscopy-guided transbronchial biopsy for aiding the diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iwano, Shingo, E-mail: iwano45@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp [Department of Radiology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Shouwa-ku, Nagoya 4668550, Aichi (Japan); Imaizumi, Kazuyoshi [Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Shouwa-ku, Nagoya 4668550 (Japan); Okada, Tohru [Research Center for Charged Particle Therapy, National Institute of Radiological Science, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 2638555 (Japan); Hasegawa, Yoshinori [Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Shouwa-ku, Nagoya 4668550 (Japan); Naganawa, Shinji [Department of Radiology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Shouwa-ku, Nagoya 4668550, Aichi (Japan)

    2011-07-15

    Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of virtual bronchoscopy (VB) in aiding diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer by transbronchial biopsy (TBB). In addition, we sought to systematically analyze the factors that affect the diagnostic sensitivity of VB-guided TBB for the evaluation of peripheral lung cancers. Materials and methods: A hundred and twenty-two peripheral lung cancers from 122 patients (82 men and 40 women, 38-84 years; median 68.5 years) who were performed VB-guided TBB were evaluated retrospectively. VB was reconstructed from 1- or 0.5-mm slice thickness images of multi-detector CT (MDCT). Experienced pulmonologists inserted the conventional and ultrathin bronchoscopes into the target bronchus under direct vision following the VB image. Results: A definitive diagnosis was established by VB-guided TBB in 96 lesions (79%). The diagnostic sensitivity of small pulmonary lesions {<=}30 mm in maximal diameter (71%) was significantly lower than that of lesions >30 mm (91%, p = 0.008). For small pulmonary lesions {<=}30 mm (n = 76), internal opacity of the lesion was the independent predictor of diagnostic sensitivity by VB-guided TBB, and the non-solid type lung cancers were significantly lower than the solid type and part-solid type lung cancers for diagnostic sensitivity (odds ratio = 0.161; 95% confidence interval = 0.033-0.780; p = 0.023). Conclusion: Use of an ultrathin bronchoscope and simulation with VB reconstructed by high quality MDCT images is thought to improve pathological diagnosis of peripheral lung cancers, especially for solid and partly solid types. For small pulmonary lesions {<=}30 mm, the lesion internal opacity is a significant factor for predicting the diagnostic sensitivity, and the sensitivity was low for small non-solid type of lung cancers.

  9. Label-free nanoplasmonic sensing of tumor-associate autoantibodies for early diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soler, Maria; Estevez, M-Carmen; Villar-Vazquez, Roi; Casal, J Ignacio; Lechuga, Laura M

    2016-08-03

    Colorectal cancer is treatable and curable when detected at early stages. However there is a lack of less invasive and more specific screening and diagnosis methods which would facilitate its prompt identification. Blood circulating autoantibodies which are immediately produced by the immune system at tumor appearance have become valuable biomarkers for preclinical diagnosis of cancer. In this work, we present the rapid and label-free detection of colorectal cancer autoantibodies directly in blood serum or plasma using a recently developed nanoplasmonic biosensor. Our nanoplasmonic device offers sensitive and real-time quantification of autoantibodies with excellent selectivity and reproducibility, achieving limits of detection around 1 nM (150-160 ng mL(-1)). A preliminary evaluation of clinical samples of colorectal cancer patients has shown good correlation with ELISA. These results demonstrate the reliability of the nanobiosensor strategy and pave the way towards the achievement of a sensitive diagnostic tool for early detection of colorectal cancer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Safety of pregnancy following breast cancer diagnosis: a meta-analysis of 14 studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Azim, Hatem A; Santoro, Luigi; Pavlidis, Nicholas

    2011-01-01

    Due to the rising trend of delaying pregnancy to later in life, more women are diagnosed with breast cancer before completing their families. Therefore, enquiry into the feasibility and safety of pregnancy following breast cancer diagnosis is on the rise. Available evidence suggests that women...... with a history of breast cancer are frequently advised against future conception for fear that pregnancy could adversely affect their breast cancer outcome. Hence, we conducted a meta-analysis to understand the effect of pregnancy on overall survival of women with a history of breast cancer....

  11. Safety of pregnancy following breast cancer diagnosis: a meta-analysis of 14 studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Azim, Hatem A; Santoro, Luigi; Pavlidis, Nicholas

    2011-01-01

    with a history of breast cancer are frequently advised against future conception for fear that pregnancy could adversely affect their breast cancer outcome. Hence, we conducted a meta-analysis to understand the effect of pregnancy on overall survival of women with a history of breast cancer.......Due to the rising trend of delaying pregnancy to later in life, more women are diagnosed with breast cancer before completing their families. Therefore, enquiry into the feasibility and safety of pregnancy following breast cancer diagnosis is on the rise. Available evidence suggests that women...

  12. Delay in Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer among Women Attending a Reference Service in Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romeiro Lopes, Tiara Cristina; Gravena, Angela Andréia França; Demitto, Marcela de Oliveira; Borghesan, Deise Helena Pelloso; Dell`Agnolo, Cátia Millene; Brischiliari, Sheila Cristina Rocha; Carvalho, Maria Dalva de Barros; Pelloso, Sandra Marisa

    2017-11-26

    Background: Cancer is a major public health problem. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential for reducing mortality. This study aimed to analyze factors associated with delay in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment among women attending a reference cancer service. Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study was performed with data collected from medical records and interviews conducted with women diagnosed with breast cancer and treated from October 2013 to October 2014 at a cancer reference hospital in Paraná, Southern Brazil. Results: A total of 82 participants were enrolled during the study period; their average age was 58.2 ± 11.5 years. The average time taken for final diagnosis of breast cancer was 102.5 ± 165.5 days. Treatment onset was delayed in the majority of cases, and the average time elapsing from diagnostic biopsy to onset of primary treatment was 72.3 ± 54.0 days. The odds of treatment delay were higher among the women with a low educational level. Conclusions: The results underline the need for proposals aimed at early detection, identification of risk factors and timely provision of treatment by health managers that focus on this group. Creative Commons Attribution License

  13. Does awareness of diagnosis influence health related quality of life in north Indian patients with lung cancer ?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashutosh Nath Aggarwal

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background & objectives: Several patients with cancer in India are not aware of their diagnosis. We evaluated the impact of awareness of cancer diagnosis on health-related quality of life (HRQL in newly diagnosed patients with lung cancer. Methods: A total of 391 treatment-naïve patients with lung cancer, seen at the Lung Cancer Clinic of a tertiary care hospital in north India, were categorized into those aware of their diagnosis (group A and those not aware (group B. All patients answered Hindi versions of abbreviated World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-Bref and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30, and its lung cancer module, EORTC QLQ-LC13. Various domain scores were computed and compared between the two groups. Analysis of covariance was used to determine significance of differences after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Results: Only 117 (29.9% patients were aware of their diagnosis. Of all, 302 (77.2% patients had non-small cell lung cancer, and 301 (77.0% had advanced disease. All HRQL domain scores were similar between the two groups, except that group B patients had significantly poorer median (interquartile range Physical [39.3 (28.6-50.0 vs 46.4 (28.6-57.1] and Environment [46.9 (40.6-56.3 vs 53.1 (0.6-65.6] domain scores of WHOQOL-Bref, and p0 hysical function [60.0 (40.0-73.3 vs 66.7 (46.7-80.0] and Fatigue [66.7 (55.6-77.8 vs 66.7 (44.4-66.7] scores of QLQ-C30. After adjusting for gender, age, education, family income, and tumour extent, these differences were not significant. Interpretation & conclusions: Disclosure of cancer diagnosis, or lack of it, had no significant impact on HRQL in patients with lung cancer after adjustment of potential confounders.

  14. Racial differences in breast cancer stage at diagnosis in the mammography era.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatterjee, Neal A; He, Yulei; Keating, Nancy L

    2013-01-01

    We assessed racial differences in breast cancer mortality by stage at diagnosis, since mammography became available. We calculated adjusted odds of distant (versus local or regional) tumors for 143,249 White and 13,571 Black women aged 50 to 69 years, diagnosed with breast cancer between 1982 and 2007 and living in a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results region. We compared linear trends in stage at diagnosis before and after 1998. Distant-stage cancer was diagnosed in 5.8% of White and 10.2% of Black participants. The Black-White disparity in distant tumors narrowed until 1998 (1998 adjusted difference = 0.65%), before increasing. Between 1982 and 1997, the proportion of distant tumors decreased for Blacks (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]/y = 0.973; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.960, 0.987) and Whites (AOR/y = 0.978; 95% CI = 0.973, 0.983), with no racial differences (P = .47). From 1998 to 2007, the odds of distant versus local or regional tumors increased for Blacks (AOR/y = 1.036; 95% CI = 1.013, 1.060) and Whites (AOR/y = 1.011; 95% CI = 1.002, 1.021); the rate of increase was greater for Blacks than Whites (P = .04). In the mammography era, racial disparities remain in stage at diagnosis.

  15. Evaluation of clinical value of combined tumor markers detection in diagnosis of lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Guangming; Deng Shouzhen; Wang Yun; Xu Lianqin; He Wanting; Gao Quan; Lin Xiangtong

    2002-01-01

    To evaluate clinical value of single or combined tumor marker detection CY21-1, CEA, CA15-3 and SCC in the diagnosis of lung cancer. There was retrospective analysis of 87 lung cancer inpatients, all of them was confirmed by pathology. Results showed: (1) Sensitivity of CY21-1, CEA, CA15-3 and SCC by single detection in diagnosing lung cancer was 59.8%, 39.1%, 44.8%, 18.4%, respectively. (2) Sensitivity of group I (CY21-1 + CEA) was 78.2%; sensitivity of group II (CY21-1 + CEA + CA15-3) was 88.5%; sensitivity of group III (CY21-1 + CEA + CA15-3 + SCC) was the same as group II. In the diagnosis of lung cancer, the combined detection with CY21-1, CEA, CA15-3 was an ideal selective combination

  16. Value of urinary topoisomerase-IIA cell-free DNA for diagnosis of bladder cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Ye-Hwan; Yan, Chunri; Lee, Il-Seok; Piao, Xuan-Mei; Byun, Young Joon; Jeong, Pildu; Kim, Won Tae; Yun, Seok-Joong; Kim, Wun-Jae

    2016-03-01

    Topoisomerase-II alpha (TopoIIA ), a DNA gyrase isoform that plays an important role in the cell cycle, is present in normal tissues and various human cancers, and can show altered expression in both. The aim of the current study was to examine the value of urinary TopoIIA cell-free DNA as a noninvasive diagnosis of bladder cancer (BC). Two patient cohorts were examined. Cohort 1 (73 BC patients and seven controls) provided bladder tissue samples, whereas cohort 2 (83 BC patients, 54 nonmalignant hematuric patients, and 61 normal controls) provided urine samples. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to measure expression of TopoIIA mRNA in tissues and TopoIIA cell-free DNA in urine samples. The results showed that expression of TopoIIA mRNA in BC tissues was significantly higher than that in noncancer control tissues (pbladder cancer (MIBC) when compared with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) (p=0.002). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was performed to examine the sensitivity/specificity of urinary TopoIIA cell-free DNA for diagnosing BC, NMIBC, and MIBC. The areas under the ROC curve for BC, NMIBC, and MIBC were 0.741, 0.701, and 0.838, respectively. In summary, the results of this study provide evidence that cell-free TopoIIA DNA may be a potential biomarker for BC.

  17. Diagnosis of prostate cancer via nanotechnological approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kang BJ

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Benedict J Kang,1,2,* Minhong Jeun,1,2,* Gun Hyuk Jang,1,2 Sang Hoon Song,3 In Gab Jeong,3 Choung-Soo Kim,3 Peter C Searson,4 Kwan Hyi Lee1,2 1KIST Biomedical Research Institute, 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST, 3Department of Urology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 4Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among the Caucasian adult males in Europe and the USA. Currently available diagnostic strategies for patients with prostate cancer are invasive and unpleasant and have poor accuracy. Many patients have been overly or underly treated resulting in a controversy regarding the reliability of current conventional diagnostic approaches. This review discusses the state-of-the-art research in the development of novel noninvasive prostate cancer diagnostics using nanotechnology coupled with suggested diagnostic strategies for their clinical implication.Keywords: bioassay, nanomaterial, nanodevice, PSA, non-PSA biomarker, bodily fluid

  18. Real-time Raman spectroscopy for in vivo, online gastric cancer diagnosis during clinical endoscopic examination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duraipandian, Shiyamala; Sylvest Bergholt, Mads; Zheng, Wei; Yu Ho, Khek; Teh, Ming; Guan Yeoh, Khay; Bok Yan So, Jimmy; Shabbir, Asim; Huang, Zhiwei

    2012-08-01

    Optical spectroscopic techniques including reflectance, fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy have shown promising potential for in vivo precancer and cancer diagnostics in a variety of organs. However, data-analysis has mostly been limited to post-processing and off-line algorithm development. In this work, we develop a fully automated on-line Raman spectral diagnostics framework integrated with a multimodal image-guided Raman technique for real-time in vivo cancer detection at endoscopy. A total of 2748 in vivo gastric tissue spectra (2465 normal and 283 cancer) were acquired from 305 patients recruited to construct a spectral database for diagnostic algorithms development. The novel diagnostic scheme developed implements on-line preprocessing, outlier detection based on principal component analysis statistics (i.e., Hotelling's T2 and Q-residuals) for tissue Raman spectra verification as well as for organ specific probabilistic diagnostics using different diagnostic algorithms. Free-running optical diagnosis and processing time of based on the randomly resampled training database (80% for learning and 20% for testing) provide the diagnostic accuracy of 85.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 82.9% to 88.2%] [sensitivity of 80.5% (95% CI: 71.4% to 89.6%) and specificity of 86.2% (95% CI: 83.6% to 88.7%)] for the detection of gastric cancer. The PLS-DA algorithms are further applied prospectively on 10 gastric patients at gastroscopy, achieving the predictive accuracy of 80.0% (60/75) [sensitivity of 90.0% (27/30) and specificity of 73.3% (33/45)] for in vivo diagnosis of gastric cancer. The receiver operating characteristics curves further confirmed the efficacy of Raman endoscopy together with PLS-DA algorithms for in vivo prospective diagnosis of gastric cancer. This work successfully moves biomedical Raman spectroscopic technique into real-time, on-line clinical cancer diagnosis, especially in routine endoscopic diagnostic applications.

  19. Awareness of diagnosis, and information-seeking behavior of hospitalized cancer patients in Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brokalaki, Eirini I; Sotiropoulos, Georgios C; Tsaras, Konstantinos; Brokalaki, Hero

    2005-11-01

    The goal of our study was to evaluate the extent of disease-related knowledge and the need for further information of cancer patients in Greece. We evaluated 203 mentally competent adult cancer patients hospitalized in general and oncological hospitals in the city of Athens and its suburbs. Data were collected by means of semistructured interviews. Patients were evaluated as to whether they had awareness of their diagnosis. Those who did so (n = 83) were further questioned about additional disease-related information. The majority of patients (59%) claimed to have no knowledge of their diagnosis. Women (p = 0.004) as well as high school and university graduates (p = 0.024) showed significantly superior levels of information when compared to men and graduates of elementary schools, respectively. Age was also a factor that influenced the level of the awareness of the diagnosis and the request for additional information: patients who were informed about the diagnosis and patients who asked for more information were significantly younger than their counterparts who ignored the diagnosis (p family beliefs, "mind-set" difficulties, and organizational issues should not become barriers to the patients' right to be fully informed of their diagnoses and choices of potential therapies.

  20. Differential diagnosis of gastric adenoma and type IIa early gastric cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsuchigame, T.; Ogata, Y.; Sumi, M.; Fukui, K.; Saito, R.; Nakashima, K.; Urata, J.; Arakawa, A.; Saito, Y.; Takahashi, M.

    1991-01-01

    The endoscopic and radiographic findings of 45 gastric adenomas in 39 patients were followed for 6 months to 13 years and compared with type IIa early gastric cancer observed in 9 patients. Difficulties in the diffential diagnosis of these disorders were evaluated. The following features were suggestive of gastric adenomas: clustered lesions; protuberance with gentle slope; smooth surface; and relatively young patients. Discrimination of adenoma from type IIa early gastric cancer is often difficult by visual observation alone; biopsy was essential in most patients. A group III adenoma verified on biopsy should be followed closely because the lesion may harbor a cancer (so-called carcinoma-in-adenoma) or a cancer may later develop. (orig.)

  1. [The value of PHI/PCA3 in the early diagnosis of prostate cancer].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, S J; Xu, L W; Xu, Z; Wu, J P; Liang, K; Jia, R P

    2016-01-12

    To investigate the value of prostate health index (PHI) and prostate cancer gene 3 (PCA3) in the early diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa). A total of 190 patients with abnormal serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) or abnormal digital rectal examination were enrolled. They were all underwent initial biopsy and 11 of them were also underwent repeated biopsy. In addition, 25 healthy cases (with normal digital rectal examination and PSAPHI and PCA3 were detected by using immunofluorescence and Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP). The sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis were determined by ROC curve.In addition, the relationship between PHI/PSA and the Gleason score and clinical stage were analyzed. A total of 89 patients were confirmed PCa by Pathological diagnosis. The other 101 patients were diagnosed as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The sensitivity and specificity of PCA3 test were 85.4% was 92.1%. Area under curve (AUC) of PHI is higher than AUC of PSA (0.727>0.699). The PHI in peripheral blood was positively correlated with Gleason score and clinical stage. The detection of PCA3 and PHI shows excellent detecting effectiveness. Compared with single PSA, the combined detection of PHI and PCA3 improved the diagnostic specificity. It can provide a new method for the early diagnosis in prostate cancer and avoid unnecessary biopsies.

  2. Years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yaker Valle, Isaac

    2004-01-01

    The objective is to demonstrate that the patients with thyroid cancer and metastases, in the long term have had a very good response to high radiation doses with iodine 131, since 1,5 Ci in the treatment, without having observed complications that should alter significantly the quality and quantity life. Also, to promote the initial use of more high doses of iodine 131 in those patients hospitalized with diagnosis of thyroid cancer

  3. Time to diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients in the Netherlands: Room for improvement?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helsper, Charles C W; van Erp, Nicole N F; Peeters, Petra P H M; de Wit, Niek N J

    2017-12-01

    Reducing the duration of the diagnostic cancer care pathway is intensively pursued. The aim of this study was to chart the diagnostic pathway for the five most common cancers in the Netherlands. A retrospective cohort study using cancer patients' anonymised primary care data (free text and coded) linked to the Netherlands Cancer Registry. We determined the median duration of the following: 1. Primary care intervals (IPCs): the first cancer-related general practitioner consultation to referral, 2. Referral intervals (IRs): referral to diagnosis, 3. Treatment intervals (ITs): diagnosis to treatment and the overarching intervals, 4. Diagnostic intervals (IDs): IPC and IR combined and 5. Health care intervals (IHCs): IPC, IR and IT combined. For 465, 309, 197, 237 and 149 patients diagnosed with breast-, colorectal-, lung-, prostate cancer and melanoma, respectively; median IPC, IR and ID durations were shortest for breast cancer and melanoma (ID duration 7 and 21 days, respectively), intermediate for lung- and colon cancer (ID duration 49 and 54 days) and the longest for prostate cancer (ID duration 137 days). For all cancers, the duration of intervals increased steeply for the 10-25% with longest durations. For colorectal cancer, increasing ID durations showed increasing proportions of time attributable to primary care (IPC). Approximately 10-25% of cancer patients show substantially long duration of diagnostic intervals. Reducing primary care delay seems particularly relevant for colorectal cancer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Medicare Spending for Breast, Prostate, Lung, and Colorectal Cancer Patients in the Year of Diagnosis and Year of Death.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Christopher T; Li, Ling; Brooks, Gabriel; Hassett, Michael; Schrag, Deborah

    2017-07-26

    To characterize spending patterns for Medicare patients with incident breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancer. 2007-2012 data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program linked with Medicare fee-for-service claims. We calculate per-patient monthly and yearly mean and median expenditures, by cancer type, stage at diagnosis, and spending category, over the years of diagnosis and death. Over the year of diagnosis, mean spending was $35,849, $26,295, $55,597, and $63,063 for breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancer, respectively. Over the year of death, spending was similar across different cancer types and stage at diagnosis. Characterization of Medicare spending according to clinically meaningful categories may assist development of oncology alternative payment models and cost-effectiveness models. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  5. Cost effectiveness analysis of screening in the early diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller-Lisse, U.G.; Mueller-Lisse, U.L.

    2002-01-01

    Purpose. The authors attempted to provide an overview of current concepts and the status of research in the field of cost effectiveness analysis (CEA) of screening for prostate cancer (PCA).Material and methods. Basic concepts and methods of CEA were reviewed. Examples of CEA-related studies of PCA were obtained from pertinent literature through medical databases.Results. Screening for PCA has so far been restricted to limited groups of health care recipients, usually within the framework of clinical trials. In those trials, screening for PCA usually results in higher numbers of PCAs being detected at lower average stages in a given population. As a consequence of screening, the rate of potentially curable PCAs increases. However, it has not yet been demonstrated that screening for PCA decreases PCA-related mortality or morbidity from metastatic PCA. On the other hand, additional costs are associated with the screening measure and with increased use of resources for diagnosis and treatment of the additional PCAs detected through screening.Conclusions. Throughout the European Union and North America, mass screening for PCA has not been implemented. This may chiefly be due to the current lack of information on long term benefits of PCA screening, particularly disease-specific survival. Currently, major studies are underway to assess the effects of PCA screening and its cost effectiveness. These studies include the US-American prostate, lung, colon and ovary trials (PLCO) and the European randomised study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC). (orig.) [de

  6. Exosomes: novel implications in diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahbari, Mohammad; Rahbari, Nuh; Reissfelder, Christoph; Weitz, Juergen; Kahlert, Christoph

    2016-12-01

    Amongst all cancer subtypes, gastrointestinal tumours are responsible for most cancer-related deaths. In most of the cases, the limitation of the prognosis of patients with malignant gastrointestinal tumours can be attributed to delayed diagnosis of the disease. In the last decade, secondary prevention strategies, in particular tumour screenings, have been identified to significantly improve the identification of patients with early-stage disease, leading to more effective therapeutic interventions. Therefore, new screening methods and further innovative treatment approaches may lead to an increase in progression-free and overall survival rates. Exosomes are small microvesicles with a size of 50-150 nm. They are formed in the endosomal system of many different cell types, where they are packed with nucleotides and proteins from the parental cell. After their release into the extracellular space, exosomes can deliver their cargo into recipient cells. By this mechanism, tumour cells can recruit and manipulate the adjacent and systemic microenvironment in order to support invasion and dissemination. Cancer-derived exosomes in the blood may provide detailed information about the tumour biology of each individual patient. Moreover, tumour-derived exosomes can be used as targetable factors and drug delivery agents in clinical practice. In this review, we summarise new aspects about novel implications in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal cancer and show how circulating exosomes have come into the spotlight of research as a high potential source of 'liquid biopsies'.

  7. Place of digital X-ray tomography in improving the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, lung cancer and mediastinal abnormality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Portnoj, L.M.; Vyatkina, E.I.; Petukhova, N.Yu.; Stashuk, G.A.

    1999-01-01

    To assess the role of current digital X-ray fluorography in the diagnosis of various diseases of the lung (primarily its tuberculosis and cancer, and abnormalities of the mediastinum). 2500 cases from different patient groups (those registered at dispensary or identified at screening, those with a previously verified pathology). In addition to a particularly diagnostic section organizational and methodological problems in the introduction of digital X-ray fluorography into practical public health of Russia are discussed [ru

  8. PSA and Prostate Health Index based prostate cancer screening in a hereditary migration complicated population: implications in precision diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akizhanova, Mariyam; Iskakova, Elzira E; Kim, Valdemir; Wang, Xiao; Kogay, Roman; Turebayeva, Aiym; Sun, Qinglei; Zheng, Ting; Wu, Shenghui; Miao, Lixia; Xie, Yingqiu

    2017-01-01

    Precision diagnosis requires specific markers for differential ethnic populations. Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) level (threshold of 4ng/ml) has been widely used to screen prostate cancer and as reference of pro-biopsy but false diagnosis frequently occurs. Prostate health Index (PHI) is a new diagnosis marker which combines PSA, free PSA and p2PSA4. Overall the PCa screening database is lacking in Kazakhstani patients. We analyzed the PSA levels and Gleason scores of 222 biopsies collected in 2015 in Almaty area, Kazakhstan approved by institutional ethics board. We found using PSA of 4ng/ml as threshold, only 25.68% of patients have cancer with Gleason score ranged 6-8 and 65.77% of patients have no character of cancer. Moreover, there is no significant correlation between PSA and cancerous (P=0.266) or Gleason grade (P=0.3046) based on pathological biopsy. In addition, PHI is not correlated to prostate cancer (P=0.4301). Our data suggest that false-positive rate is much higher than the correct-positive diagnosis when using PSA as the first screening. Thus in this cohort study, most patients can not get benefit from the PSA screening for precision PCa diagnosis. As Kazakhstani family trees are unique and complicated because of history and migration, the high rate of over diagnosis might be due to the hyperexpression of PSA via heterosis in Eurasian men. Therefore we should be cautious when using pro-biopsy in precision diagnosis for Eurasian prostate cancer patients.

  9. Impact of comorbidity and healthcare utilization on colorectal cancer stage at diagnosis: literature review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corkum, Mark; Urquhart, Robin; Burge, Fred; Porter, Geoffrey; Johnston, Grace

    2013-01-01

    Purpose Individuals diagnosed with cancer close to death have low access to enrollment in palliative care programs. The purpose of this literature review was to assess the usefulness of pre-diagnostic comorbidity and healthcare utilization as indicators of late-stage colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis, to help with early identification of individuals who may benefit from palliative care. Methods A literature search was conducted in relevant databases using title/abstract terms which included “cancer,” “stage,” “diagnosis,” “determinants,” “predictors,” and “associated.” Included studies examined whether comorbidity and/or healthcare utilization had an impact on the stage at which CRC was diagnosed. A standardized data abstraction form was used to assess the eligibility of each study. Thirteen articles were included in the literature review. These studies were assessed and synthesized using qualitative methodology. Results We found much heterogeneity among study variables. The findings of this literature review point to the presence of comorbidity and non-emergent healthcare utilization as having no association with late-stage diagnosis. Conversely, emergency room presentation (ERP) was associated with late-stage diagnosis. Conclusions The results of this literature review did not find strong evidence to suggest that comorbidity and healthcare utilization are potential indicators of late-stage diagnosis. However, ERP may be useful as a flag for consideration of prompt referral to palliative care. Additional research is required to identify potential indicators of late-stage diagnosis that may be available in administrative databases, particularly in the area of healthcare utilization. PMID:22101505

  10. Quantitative diagnosis of bladder cancer by morphometric analysis of HE images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Binlin; Nebylitsa, Samantha V.; Mukherjee, Sushmita; Jain, Manu

    2015-02-01

    In clinical practice, histopathological analysis of biopsied tissue is the main method for bladder cancer diagnosis and prognosis. The diagnosis is performed by a pathologist based on the morphological features in the image of a hematoxylin and eosin (HE) stained tissue sample. This manuscript proposes algorithms to perform morphometric analysis on the HE images, quantify the features in the images, and discriminate bladder cancers with different grades, i.e. high grade and low grade. The nuclei are separated from the background and other types of cells such as red blood cells (RBCs) and immune cells using manual outlining, color deconvolution and image segmentation. A mask of nuclei is generated for each image for quantitative morphometric analysis. The features of the nuclei in the mask image including size, shape, orientation, and their spatial distributions are measured. To quantify local clustering and alignment of nuclei, we propose a 1-nearest-neighbor (1-NN) algorithm which measures nearest neighbor distance and nearest neighbor parallelism. The global distributions of the features are measured using statistics of the proposed parameters. A linear support vector machine (SVM) algorithm is used to classify the high grade and low grade bladder cancers. The results show using a particular group of nuclei such as large ones, and combining multiple parameters can achieve better discrimination. This study shows the proposed approach can potentially help expedite pathological diagnosis by triaging potentially suspicious biopsies.

  11. Breast and cervical cancers diagnosed and stage at diagnosis among women served through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Jacqueline W; Royalty, Janet; Henley, Jane; White, Arica; Richardson, Lisa C

    2015-05-01

    To assess cancers diagnosed and the stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis among low-income, under-insured, or uninsured women who received services through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). Using the NBCCEDP database, we examined the number and percent of women diagnosed during 2009-2011 with in situ breast cancer, invasive breast cancer, and invasive cervical cancer by demographic and clinical characteristics, including age, race and ethnicity, test indication (screening or diagnostic), symptoms (for breast cancer), and screening history (for cervical cancer). We examined these characteristics by stage at diagnosis, a new variable included in the database obtained by linking with state-based central cancer registries. There were 11,569 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, 1,988 with in situ breast cancer, and 583 with invasive cervical cancer through the NBCCEDP. Women who reported breast symptoms or who had diagnostic mammography were more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, and at a later stage, than those who did not have symptoms or who had screening mammography. Women who had been rarely or never screened for cervical cancer were more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and at a later stage, than women who received regular screenings. Women served through the NBCCEDP who have not had prior screening or who have symptoms were more often diagnosed with late-stage disease.

  12. The Importance of Bronchoscopy in Early Lung Cancer (LC Diagnosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tofolean Doina-Ecaterina

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Lung cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, due to the fact that most patients are diagnosed in a fairly advanced stage. Screening tests such as sputum citology, chest x-rays or CT scans have their limitations and need further histological confirmation of the diagnosis.

  13. Bladder cancer diagnosis with fluorescence-image-guided optical coherence tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Z. G.; Durand, D. B.; Adler, H.; Pan, Y. T.

    2006-02-01

    A fluorescence-image-guided OCT (FIG-OCT) system is described, and its ability to enhance the sensitivity and specificity is examined in an animal bladder cancer model. Total 97 specimens were examined by fluorescence imaging, OCT and histological microscopy. The sensitivity and specificity of FIG-OCT is 100% and 93% respectively, compared to 79% and 53% for fluorescence imaging, while the OCT examination time has been dramatically decreased by 3~4 times. In combination of endoscopic OCT, FIG-OCT is a promising technique for effective early bladder cancer diagnosis.

  14. Unemployment risk and income change after testicular cancer diagnosis: A population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rottenberg, Yakir; Ratzon, Navah Z; Jacobs, Jeremy M; Cohen, Miraim; Peretz, Tamar; de Boer, Angela G E M

    2016-01-01

    Among patients with cancer, returning to full working may serve as an indicator for return to normal lifestyle following illness, as opposed to unemployment or shifting to part-time work. The aim of the project was to clarify the association between unemployment risk and decreased income at 4 years after the diagnosis of testicular cancer (TC). A case control in a cohort study includes baseline measurement of people participating in the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics 1995 National Census, and follow-up until 2011. Cancer incidence, employment status, and income level were ascertained through the Israel Cancer Registry and Tax Authority, respectively. A matched group was sampled from the population in the census. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to assess odds ratios (ORs) for study׳s outcomes, while controlling for age, ethnicity, education, and socioeconomic and employment status at 2 years before diagnosis. A total of 113 cases of TC and 468 persons in the matched group were included in the study after excluding persons who died during the study period. No association was found between TC and subsequent risk after the 4 years of unemployment (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.65-1.95) or decreased income (OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 0.84-2.36). Predictors of subsequent unemployment were unemployment 2 years before diagnosis (OR = 6.91, 95% CI: 4.39-10.86) and increasing age (OR = 1.03 per year, 95% CI: 1.01-1.06). TC survivorship is not associated with subsequent unemployment or decreased income at 4 years after diagnosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. [KIM-1 and NGAL as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and cancer progression].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchewka, Zofia; Tacik, Aneta; Piwowar, Agnieszka

    2016-04-18

    On the basis of scientific literature, there is growing evidence that KIM-1 and NGAL are interesting and promising biomarkers not only in acute and chronic inflammatory processes but also in oncogenesis. There are a number of studies which investigate their possible use in diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of therapy effectiveness. The results of recent research suggests that they may play an important role in standard oncology practice. Simultaneous measurement of KIM-1 and NGAL in urine can play a crucial role in carcinogenesis assessment and cancer progression. In the future, they can become rapid diagnostic indicators, which allow one to determine cancer subtype leading to biopsy replacement and therapy improvement. In the present work, beside biochemical characteristics of KIM-1 and NGAL, we will also discuss their role in the diagnosis and assessment of development of cancer.

  16. KIM-1 and NGAL as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and cancer progression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zofia Marchewka

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available On the basis of scientific literature, there is growing evidence that KIM-1 and NGAL are interesting and promising biomarkers not only in acute and chronic inflammatory processes but also in oncogenesis. There are a number of studies which investigate their possible use in diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of therapy effectiveness. The results of recent research suggests that they may play an important role in standard oncology practice. Simultaneous measurement of KIM-1 and NGAL in urine can play a crucial role in carcinogenesis assessment and cancer progression. In the future, they can become rapid diagnostic indicators, which allow one to determine cancer subtype leading to biopsy replacement and therapy improvement. In the present work, beside biochemical characteristics of KIM-1 and NGAL, we will also discuss their role in the diagnosis and assessment of development of cancer.

  17. TC-99M tetrofosmin scintimammography in diagnosis of breast cancer patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaukovic, L.; Spaic, R.; Ajdinovic, B.

    2004-01-01

    99m Tc Tetrofosmin is a cationic complex developed for myocardial perfusion imaging, also used in diagnosis of patients with various malignancies. AIM of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of 99m Tc-Tetrofosmin scintimammography (SMM) and X-ray mammography (MM) in detection of primary breast cancer. Method: Twenty eight female patients (mean age 52.4) with 30 breast lesions suspicious for malignancy were comprised in the study. In all patients were performed clinical investigation, MM, SMM and biopsy/surgery for final histopathologic diagnosis. Patients were injected by 555 MBq 99m Tc-Tetrofosmin intravenously, cubitaly, in the arm contralateral to the side of suspicious lesion. Seven minutes static scans or' at least 2.0 million counts were obtained. Planar images were acquired in left and right prone lateral view as well as in the supine position for an anterior view of chest and axilary region. SMM scans were interpreted visuely regarding the tracer' uptake in tumor and background tissue. SMM scans and mammograms of 30 lesions were compared to the definitive histopathologic (HP) using decision matrix and the results expressed as: sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV). HP analysis revealed 20 malignant and 10 benign lesions. Out of 23 patients with positive SMM scans 19 were related to breast cancer ( 15 invasive ductal, 1 invasive lobular, 1 papilllar, 1 colloid cancer and 1 cystosarcoma phyllodes-malignant type). Comparing the sensitivity in our group of patients, MM 'missed' four cancer lesions and SMM only one (1.0 cm invasive ductal carcinoma). Three of four false positive SMM results were obtained in patients with fibroadenomas bigger than 2.0 cm. Conclusion: SMM could play an important role as a part of the diagnostic protocol in patients with breast lesion suspicious for malignancy. This protocol is aimed to reduce the number of biopsies performed on benign lesions, and in the other hand to

  18. Cancer Risk in Relatives of Testicular Cancer Patients by Histology Type and Age at Diagnosis: A Joint Study from Five Nordic Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kharazmi, Elham; Hemminki, Kari; Pukkala, Eero; Sundquist, Kristina; Tryggvadottir, Laufey; Tretli, Steinar; Olsen, Jörgen H; Fallah, Mahdi

    2015-08-01

    None of the population-based epidemiologic studies to date has had a large enough sample size to show the familial risk of testicular cancer (TC) by age at diagnosis for patients and their relatives or for rare histologic subtypes. To estimate absolute and relative risks of TC in relatives of TC patients by age at diagnosis in patients and their relatives and histological subtypes. In a joint population-based cohort study, 97 402 first-degree relatives of 21 254 TC patients who were diagnosed between 1955 and 2010 in five European countries were followed for cancer incidence. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were estimated using histology-, age-, period-, and country-specific incidence rates as references. Lifetime cumulative risks were also calculated. The lifetime cumulative risk of TC in brothers of a patient with TC was 2.3%, which represents a fourfold increase in risk (SIR 4.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.6-4.6) compared to the general population. TC in a father increased the risk by up to twofold in his son (95% CI 1.7-2.4; lifetime risk 1.2%) and vice versa. When there were two or more TC patients diagnosed in a family, the lifetime TC risk for relatives was 10-11%. Depending on age at diagnosis, twins had a 9-74% lifetime risk of TC. Family history of most of the histologic subtypes of TC increased the risk of concordant and most discordant subtypes. There was a tendency toward concordant age at diagnosis of TC among relatives. This study provides clinically relevant age-specific cancer risk estimates for relatives of TC patients. Familial TC patients tended to develop TC at an age close to the age at diagnosis of TC among their relatives, which is a novel finding of this study. This joint European population study showed that sons and brothers of testicular cancer patients are at higher risk of developing this cancer at an age close to the age at diagnosis of their relatives. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. A Computer-Aided Diagnosis System for Breast Cancer Combining Digital Mammography and Genomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-05-01

    Huang, "Breast cancer diagnosis using self-organizing map for sonography." Ultrasound Med. Biol. 26, 405 (2000). 20 K. Horsch, M.L. Giger, L.A. Venta ...L.A. Venta , "Performance of computer-aided diagnosis in the interpretation of lesions on breast sonography." Acad Radiol 11, 272 (2004). 22 W. Chen...418. 27. Horsch K, Giger ML, Vyborny CJ, Venta LA. Performance of computer-aided diagnosis in the interpretation of lesions on breast sonography

  20. Scanning usefulness for bone metastases diagnosis in the breast cancer follow-up

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guillen, G.; Martinez, P.; Garcia, F.; Tres, A.

    1988-01-01

    It is studied the incidence of osseus metastases and the usefulness of 179 bone scanning realized in the diagnosis and follow-up (average: 23,6 months) of 87 patients operated by breast cancer. It is obvious the scan sensitivity and its unspecificity (15,08% phase-positives). In 13 (14,9%) patients who showed them, during the follow-up, scan was pathological at the moment of the osseus metastases diagnosis or a bit later; there were other clinical data or abnormal analytical ones of suspicion in 77% of them. The time average of appearance is 27 months after surgery. We concluded that the bone scan in the follow-up of breast cancer will be realized only when clinical or analytical suspicion of bone metastases. (Author)

  1. Differential diagnosis of gastric cancer and gastritis: the role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Heng; Ge, Hui-Yu; Miao, Li-Ying; Wang, Shu-Min; Zhao, Bo; Wang, Jin-Rui; Cui, Li-Gang

    2017-03-01

    To evaluate the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in differential diagnosis of gastric cancer and gastritis, with histological results as reference standard. From September 2011 to August 2014, 82 patients (50 males and 32 females; mean age ± SD, 59.5 ± 15.0 years; range 19-91 years) with gastric cancer or gastritis were included in this Ethics Committee-approved prospective study. Conventional ultrasonography (US) and CEUS were applied to distinguish the two lesions, and both qualitative and quantitative features were evaluated. Of the 82 histopathologic-proven lesions, 58 were cancer and 24 were gastritis. For US, the gastric wall stratification was not preserved in about one-third of cancer (21/58, 36.2%) compared with gastritis (0/24, 0%) (p gastritis (19/24, 79.2%, p gastritis. CEUS has the potential to make the diagnosis more accurate.

  2. Rectal cancer and Fournier’s gangrene - current knowledge and therapeutic options

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruketa, Tomislav; Majerovic, Matea; Augustin, Goran

    2015-01-01

    Fournier’s gangrene (FG) is a rapid progressive bacterial infection that involves the subcutaneous fascia and part of the deep fascia but spares the muscle in the scrotal, perianal and perineal region. The incidence has increased dramatically, while the reported incidence of rectal cancer-induced FG is unknown but is extremely low. Pathophysiology and clinical presentation of rectal cancer-induced FG per se does not differ from the other causes. Only rectal cancer-specific symptoms before presentation can lead to the diagnosis. The diagnosis of rectal cancer-induced FG should be excluded in every patient with blood on digital rectal examination, when urogenital and dermatological causes are excluded and when fever or sepsis of unknown origin is present with perianal symptomatology. Therapeutic options are more complex than for other forms of FG. First, the causative rectal tumor should be removed. The survival of patients with rectal cancer resection is reported as 100%, while with colostomy it is 80%. The preferred method of rectal resection has not been defined. Second, oncological treatment should be administered but the timing should be adjusted to the resolution of the FG and sometimes for the healing of plastic reconstructive procedures that are commonly needed for the reconstruction of large perineal, scrotal and lower abdominal wall defects. PMID:26290629

  3. Evaluation of detection methodology for carcinoembryonic antigen and application of CEA in diagnosis of gastric cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Enlan; Li Tao

    2005-01-01

    To compare the specificity and sensitivity of different methods in detection of CEA, and to investigate the application of CEA detection in diagnosis of gastric cancer, CEA in serum of 36 patients with gastric cancer and 20 negtive reference serum was detected by ELISA, TR- FIA, RIA and CLIA. The results showed that the specificity of these 4 methods was all 100% and the sensitivity of ELISA was the lowest (19.4%) while CLIA was the highest (44.4%). Therefore, the sensitivity of ELISA should be raised and CEA, besides used as an observation index for curative effects in a part of gastric cancer patients, can not be used in diagnosis of gastric cancer. (authors)

  4. Pathogenesis of ovarian cancer: current perspectives | Chesang ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective: To present a review of current knowledge of the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer and its clinical implications. Data Source: Extensive literature search was conducted to identify relevant studies. Study Selection: Studies in the English language about or related to pathogenesis of ovarian cancer were selected.

  5. Lifestyle after Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis in Relation to Survival and Recurrence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zutphen, van Moniek; Kampman, Ellen; Giovannucci, Edward L.; Duijnhoven, van Fränzel J.B.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose of Review: This review summarizes the evidence regarding diet, physical activity, smoking, and body composition after colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis in relation to all-cause and CRC-specific mortality and disease recurrence and gives suggestions for future research directions. Recent

  6. Breast cancer and menopause: perceptions of diagnosis, menopausal therapies and health behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sayakhot, P; Vincent, A; Teede, H

    2012-02-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the perception and experience of menopause diagnosis and therapies, the information provided and health behaviors in younger women with breast cancer. The questionnaire study was completed by 114 women, aged 40-51 years, with non-metastatic breast cancer. Women were recruited from outpatient clinics and the community. Descriptive statistics were completed. Most women were satisfied with the manner in which they were informed of the breast cancer (69%) and the menopause (59%) diagnoses. Although 80% of women were given breast cancer information, only 54% were given menopause information at diagnosis. Women were least satisfied (26%) with information regarding the long-term complications of menopause. Women perceived exercise (68%) and improving lifestyle (61%) as most effective in alleviating symptoms of menopause. The majority of women reported that they did not understand the risks/benefits of 'bioidentical' hormones (79%) and herbal therapies (78%), while 58% perceived hormone replacement therapies as associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Most women reported weight gain (68%) and osteoporosis (67%) as the most common problems/fears regarding menopause. However, regarding health behaviors, only 56% reported having relevant tests including a blood sugar test or a bone density test. While information needs regarding breast cancer appear well met in younger women, unmet information needs regarding menopause after breast cancer persist. Further education and support are required for these women to optimize health screening and prevention behaviors and to ensure informed decision-making regarding menopause treatment options.

  7. Homing peptide guiding optical molecular imaging for the diagnosis of bladder cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xiao-feng; Pang, Jian-zhi; Liu, Jie-hao; Zhao, Yang; Jia, Xing-you; Li, Jun; Liu, Reng-xin; Wang, Wei; Fan, Zhen-wei; Zhang, Zi-qiang; Yan, San-hua; Luo, Jun-qian; Zhang, Xiao-lei

    2014-11-01

    Background: The limitations of primary transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBt) have led the residual tumors rates as high as 75%. The intraoperative fluorescence imaging offers a great potential for improving TURBt have been confirmed. So we aim to distinguish the residual tumors and normal mucosa using fluorescence molecular imaging formed by conjugated molecule of the CSNRDARRC bladder cancer homing peptide with fluorescent dye. The conjugated molecule was abbreviated FIuo-ACP. In our study, we will research the image features of FIuo-ACP probe targeted bladder cancer for fluorescence molecular imaging diagnosis for bladder cancer in vivo and ex vivo. Methods: After the FIuo-ACP probe was synthetized, the binding sites, factors affecting binding rates, the specificity and the targeting of Fluo-ACP labeled with bladder cancer cells were studied respectively by laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM), immunofluorescence and multispectral fluorescence ex vivo optical molecular imaging system. Results: The binding sites were located in nucleus and the binding rates were correlated linearly with the dose of probe and the grade of pathology. Moreover, the probe has a binding specificity with bladder cancer in vivo and ex vivo. Tumor cells being labeled by the Fluo-ACP, bright green spots were observed under LSCM. The tissue samples and tumor cells can be labeled and identified by fluorescence microscope. Optical molecular imaging of xenograft tumor tissues was exhibited as fluorescent spots under EMCCD. Conclusion: The CSNRDARRC peptides might be a useful bladder cancer targeting vector. The FIuo-ACP molecular probe was suitable for fluorescence molecular imaging diagnosis for bladder cancer in vivo and ex vivo.

  8. Improved cancer risk stratification and diagnosis via quantitative phase microscopy (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yang; Uttam, Shikhar; Pham, Hoa V.; Hartman, Douglas J.

    2017-02-01

    Pathology remains the gold standard for cancer diagnosis and in some cases prognosis, in which trained pathologists examine abnormality in tissue architecture and cell morphology characteristic of cancer cells with a bright-field microscope. The limited resolution of conventional microscope can result in intra-observer variation, missed early-stage cancers, and indeterminate cases that often result in unnecessary invasive procedures in the absence of cancer. Assessment of nanoscale structural characteristics via quantitative phase represents a promising strategy for identifying pre-cancerous or cancerous cells, due to its nanoscale sensitivity to optical path length, simple sample preparation (i.e., label-free) and low cost. I will present the development of quantitative phase microscopy system in transmission and reflection configuration to detect the structural changes in nuclear architecture, not be easily identifiable by conventional pathology. Specifically, we will present the use of transmission-mode quantitative phase imaging to improve diagnostic accuracy of urine cytology and the nuclear dry mass is progressively correlate with negative, atypical, suspicious and positive cytological diagnosis. In a second application, we will present the use of reflection-mode quantitative phase microscopy for depth-resolved nanoscale nuclear architecture mapping (nanoNAM) of clinically prepared formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections. We demonstrated that the quantitative phase microscopy system detects a gradual increase in the density alteration of nuclear architecture during malignant transformation in animal models of colon carcinogenesis and in human patients with ulcerative colitis, even in tissue that appears histologically normal according to pathologists. We evaluated the ability of nanoNAM to predict "future" cancer progression in patients with ulcerative colitis.

  9. National Economic Conditions and Patient Insurance Status Predict Prostate Cancer Diagnosis Rates and Management Decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiner, Adam B; Conti, Rena M; Eggener, Scott E

    2016-05-01

    The recent Great Recession from December 2007 to June 2009 presents a unique opportunity to examine whether the incidence of nonpalpable prostate cancer decreases while conservative management for nonpalpable prostate cancer increases during periods of national economic hardship. We derived rates of national monthly diagnosis and conservative management for screen detected, nonpalpable prostate cancer and patient level insurance status from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results) database from 2004 to 2011. We derived monthly statistics on national unemployment rates, inflation, median household income and S&P 500® closing values from government sources. Using linear and logistic multivariable regression we measured the correlation of national macroeconomic conditions with prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment patterns. We evaluated patient level predictors of conservative management to determine whether being insured by Medicaid or uninsured increased the use of conservative management. Diagnosis rates correlated positively with the S&P 500 monthly close (coefficient 24.90, 95% CI 6.29-43.50, p = 0.009). Conservative management correlated negatively with median household income (coefficient -49.13, 95% CI -69.29--28.98, p management compared to that in men with private insurance. As indicated by a significant interaction term being diagnosed during the Great Recession increased the Medicaid insurance predictive value of conservative management (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.02-1.68, p = 0.037). National economic hardship was associated with decreased diagnosis rates of nonpalpable prostate cancer and increased conservative management. Copyright © 2016 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. A novel TOF-PET MRI detector for diagnosis and follow up of the prostate cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garibaldi, F.; Beging, S.; Canese, R.; Carpinelli, G.; Clinthorne, N.; Colilli, S.; Cosentino, L.; Finocchiaro, P.; Giuliani, F.; Gricia, M.; Lucentini, M.; Majewski, S.; Monno, E.; Musico, P.; Santavenere, F.; Tödter, J.; Wegener, H.; Ziemons, K.

    2017-09-01

    Prostate cancer is the most common disease in men and the second leading cause of death from cancer. Generic large imaging instruments used in cancer diagnosis have sensitivity, spatial resolution, and contrast which are inadequate for the task of imaging details of a small organ such as the prostate. In addition, multimodality imaging can play a significant role in merging anatomical and functional details coming from simultaneous PET and MRI. Indeed, multiparametric PET/MRI was demonstrated to improve diagnosis, but it suffers from too many false positives. In order to address the above limits of the current techniques, we have proposed, built and tested, thanks to the TOPEM project funded by Italian National Institute of Nuclear Phisics, a prototype of an endorectal PET-TOF/MRI probe. In the applied magnification PET geometry, performance is dominated by a high-resolution detector placed closer to the source. The expected spatial resolution in the selected geometry is about 1.5mm FWHM and efficiency of a factor 2 with respect to what was obtained with the conventional PET scanner. In our experimental studies, we have obtained a timing resolution of ˜ 320 ps FWHM and at the same time a Depth of Interaction (DOI) resolution of under 1mm. Tests also showed that mutual adverse PET-MR effects are minimal. In addition, the matching endorectal RF coil was designed, built and tested. In the next planned studies, we expect that benefiting from the further progress in scintillator crystal surface treatment, in SiPM technology and associated electronics would allow us to significantly improve TOF resolution.

  11. Time to definitive diagnosis of breast cancer in Latina and non-Hispanic white women: the six cities study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez, Amelie G; Pérez-Stable, Eliseo J; Talavera, Gregory A; Penedo, Frank J; Carrillo, J Emilio; Fernandez, Maria E; Muñoz, Edgar; Long Parma, Dorothy; Holden, Alan Ec; San Miguel de Majors, Sandra; Nápoles, Anna; Castañeda, Sheila F; Gallion, Kipling J

    2013-12-01

    Time delay after an abnormal screening mammogram may have a critical impact on tumor size, stage at diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and survival of subsequent breast cancer. This study was undertaken to evaluate disparities between Latina and non-Hispanic white (NHW) women in time to definitive diagnosis of breast cancer after an abnormal screening mammogram, as well as factors contributing to such disparities. As part of the activities of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded Redes En Acción research network, clinical records of 186 Latinas and 74 NHWs who received abnormal screening mammogram results were reviewed to determine the time to obtain a definitive diagnosis. Data was obtained from participating clinics in six U.S. cities and included demographics, clinical history, and mammogram characteristics. Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox proportional hazards models were used to test differences in median time to definitive diagnosis by ethnicity after adjusting for clinic site, demographics, and clinical characteristics. Time-to-event analysis showed that Latinas took 2.2 times longer to reach 50% definitively diagnosed with breast cancer relative to NHWs, and three times longer to reach 80% diagnosed (p=0.001). Latinas' median time to definitive diagnosis was 60 days compared to 27 for NHWs, a 59% gap in diagnosis rates (adjusted Hazard Ratio [aHR] = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.09, 2.31; p=0.015). BI-RADS-4/5 women's diagnosis rate was more than twice that of BI-RADS-3 (aHR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.18, 3.78; p=0.011). Disparities in time between receipt of abnormal screening result and definitive diagnosis adversely affect Latinas compared to NHWs, and remain significant after adjusting for demographic and clinical variables. With cancer now the leading cause of mortality among Latinos, a greater need exists for ethnically and culturally appropriate interventions like patient navigation to facilitate Latinas' successful entry into, and progression through, the cancer care

  12. Sonographic Diagnosis of Tubal Cancer with IOTA Simple Rules Plus Pattern Recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tongsong, Theera; Wanapirak, Chanane; Tantipalakorn, Charuwan; Tinnangwattana, Dangcheewan

    2017-11-26

    Objective: To evaluate diagnostic performance of IOTA simple rules plus pattern recognition in predicting tubal cancer. Methods: Secondary analysis was performed on prospective database of our IOTA project. The patients recruited in the project were those who were scheduled for pelvic surgery due to adnexal masses. The patients underwent ultrasound examinations within 24 hours before surgery. On ultrasound examination, the masses were evaluated using the well-established IOTA simple rules plus pattern recognition (sausage-shaped appearance, incomplete septum, visible ipsilateral ovaries) to predict tubal cancer. The gold standard diagnosis was based on histological findings or operative findings. Results: A total of 482 patients, including 15 cases of tubal cancer, were evaluated by ultrasound preoperatively. The IOTA simple rules plus pattern recognition gave a sensitivity of 86.7% (13 in 15) and specificity of 97.4%. Sausage-shaped appearance was identified in nearly all cases (14 in 15). Incomplete septa and normal ovaries could be identified in 33.3% and 40%, respectively. Conclusion: IOTA simple rules plus pattern recognition is relatively effective in predicting tubal cancer. Thus, we propose the simple scheme in diagnosis of tubal cancer as follows. First of all, the adnexal masses are evaluated with IOTA simple rules. If the B-rules could be applied, tubal cancer is reliably excluded. If the M-rules could be applied or the result is inconclusive, careful delineation of the mass with pattern recognition should be performed. Creative Commons Attribution License

  13. The Current Landscape of 3D In Vitro Tumor Models: What Cancer Hallmarks Are Accessible for Drug Discovery?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodenhizer, Darren; Dean, Teresa; D'Arcangelo, Elisa; McGuigan, Alison P

    2018-04-01

    Cancer prognosis remains a lottery dependent on cancer type, disease stage at diagnosis, and personal genetics. While investment in research is at an all-time high, new drugs are more likely to fail in clinical trials today than in the 1970s. In this review, a summary of current survival statistics in North America is provided, followed by an overview of the modern drug discovery process, classes of models used throughout different stages, and challenges associated with drug development efficiency are highlighted. Then, an overview of the cancer hallmarks that drive clinical progression is provided, and the range of available clinical therapies within the context of these hallmarks is categorized. Specifically, it is found that historically, the development of therapies is limited to a subset of possible targets. This provides evidence for the opportunities offered by novel disease-relevant in vitro models that enable identification of novel targets that facilitate interactions between the tumor cells and their surrounding microenvironment. Next, an overview of the models currently reported in literature is provided, and the cancer biology they have been used to explore is highlighted. Finally, four priority areas are suggested for the field to accelerate adoption of in vitro tumour models for cancer drug discovery. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Screening prior to Breast Cancer Diagnosis: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erica B. Friedman

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. In November 2009, the U.S. Preventative Service Task Force (USPSTF revised their breast cancer screening guidelines. We evaluated the pattern of screening subsequent to the altered guidelines in a cohort of women. Methods. Our database was queried for the following variables: age, race, method of diagnosis, mass palpability, screening frequency, histology, and stage. Statistical analyses were performed using Pearson’s chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests. Results. 1112 women were diagnosed with breast cancer from January 2010 to 2012. The median age at diagnosis was 60 years. Most cancers were detected on mammography (61%. The majority of patients had invasive ductal carcinoma (59%, stage 0 (23%, and stage 1 (50% cancers. The frequency of screening did not change significantly over time (P=0.30. However, nonregular screeners had an increased risk of being diagnosed with later stage breast cancer (P<0.001 and were more likely to present with a palpable mass compared to regular screeners (56% versus 21%; P<0.001. Conclusions. In our study, screening behavior did not significantly change in the years following the USPSTF guidelines. These results suggest that women who are not screened annually are at increased risk of a delay in breast cancer diagnosis, which may impact treatment options and outcomes.

  15. Sociodemographic Factors and Late-stage Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in India: A Hospital-based Study

    OpenAIRE

    Sathwara, Jignasa Amrutlal; Balasubramaniam, Ganesh; Bobdey, Saurabh C; Jain, Aanchal; Saoba, Sushama

    2017-01-01

    Context: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the major causes of cancer mortality in India. Late-stage diagnosis of BC is associated with poor survival. Identification of factors affecting late presentation of the disease could be an effective step to reduce BC mortality. Aims: To study the association of sociodemographic factors with BC stage at diagnosis. Settings and Design: The study is a retrospective analysis from the case records from a single institution. Subjects and Methods: Data for the y...

  16. Imaging techniques in the diagnosis of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, T.; Stotzka, R.; Neiber, H.J.; Eppler, W.; Gemmeke, H.

    2000-01-01

    Breast cancer is a frequent cause for death of women in the western world. Detection of anomalies in early pathological stages and immediate treatment are essential for successful cure. Early stages of breast cancer are indicated by the occurance of microcalcifications. Their shape and spatial arrangement are of high diagnostic value. The process of recognition and three-dimensional reconstruction of clustered microcalcifications requires a good expert knowledge and a high abstract imagination capability. Therefore, it is useful to detect calcifications automatically in mammograms and present their spatial relationship in an animated 3D-model. This automatic process is done in a mammography workstation with the objective not to replace a medical doctor but to provide a second expert opinion. This will lead to a more reliable diagnosis. (orig.)

  17. Computer-aided diagnosis in medical imaging: historical review, current status and future potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doi, Kunio

    2007-01-01

    Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) has become one of the major research subjects in medical imaging and diagnostic radiology. In this article, the motivation and philosophy for early development of CAD schemes are presented together with the current status and future potential of CAD in a PACS environment. With CAD, radiologists use the computer output as a "second opinion" and make the final decisions. CAD is a concept established by taking into account equally the roles of physicians and computers, whereas automated computer diagnosis is a concept based on computer algorithms only. With CAD, the performance by computers does not have to be comparable to or better than that by physicians, but needs to be complementary to that by physicians. In fact, a large number of CAD systems have been employed for assisting physicians in the early detection of breast cancers on mammograms. A CAD scheme that makes use of lateral chest images has the potential to improve the overall performance in the detection of lung nodules when combined with another CAD scheme for PA chest images. Because vertebral fractures can be detected reliably by computer on lateral chest radiographs, radiologists' accuracy in the detection of vertebral fractures would be improved by the use of CAD, and thus early diagnosis of osteoporosis would become possible. In MRA, a CAD system has been developed for assisting radiologists in the detection of intracranial aneurysms. On successive bone scan images, a CAD scheme for detection of interval changes has been developed by use of temporal subtraction images. In the future, many CAD schemes could be assembled as packages and implemented as a part of PACS. For example, the package for chest CAD may include the computerized detection of lung nodules, interstitial opacities, cardiomegaly, vertebral fractures, and interval changes in chest radiographs as well as the computerized classification of benign and malignant nodules and the differential diagnosis of

  18. Oral and head and neck cancer. Special listing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-09-01

    This Special Listing of Current Cancer Research Projects is a publication of the International Cancer Research Data Bank (ICRDB) Program of the National Cancer Institute. Each Listing contains descriptions of ongoing projects in one selected cancer research area. The research areas include: Human cancer etiology and epidemiology; Experimental carcinogenesis and pathology; Preclinical diagnosis and therapy; Clinical diagnosis and prognosis; Clinical therapy; Rehabilitation and psychological aspects of treatment; Training programs for dental professionals; Broad clinical programs

  19. The detection, diagnosis, therapy, and pre-clinical biology of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-01-01

    The Cancergram covers clinical aspects of cancers of the mammary glands, the fat pads and the supporting tissues. Abstracts included concern certain specific types of neoplasms which occur in the breast, and in ancillary tissues related to the breast (axillary lymph nodes, etc.). Also included are selected studies on receptors and the physiological aspects of lactation, pregnancy, and ontogeny related to cancer of the breast. The topic includes clinically relevant aspects of the prevention, detection, diagnosis, evaluation, and therapy of breast cancer. With certain exceptions, pre-clinical studies of tissue culture systems or animal model studies which are not directly related to primary human disease are excluded

  20. Molecular biology-based diagnosis and therapy for pancreatic cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujita, Hayato; Ohuchida, Kenoki; Mizumoto, Kazuhiro; Tanaka, Masao

    2011-01-01

    Mainly described are author's investigations of the title subject through clinical and basic diagnosis/therapeutic approach. Based on their consideration of carcinogenesis and pathological features of pancreatic cancer (PC), analysis of expression of cancer-related genes in clinically available samples like pancreatic juice and cells biopsied can result in attaining their purposes. Desmoplasia, a pathological feature of PC, possibly induces resistance to therapy and one of strategies is probably its suppression. Targeting stem cells of the mesenchyma as well as those of PC is also a strategy in future. Authors' studies have revealed that quantitation of hTERT (coding teromerase) mRNA levels in PC cells micro-dissected from cytological specimens is an accurate molecular biological diagnostic method applicable clinically. Other cancer-related genes are also useful for the diagnosis and mucin (MUC) family genes are shown to be typical ones for differentiating the precancerous PC, PC and chronic pancreatisis. Efficacy of standard gemcitabine chemotherapy can be individualized with molecular markers concerned to metabolism of the drug like dCK. Radiotherapy/radio-chemotherapy are not so satisfactory for PC treatment now. Authors have found elevated MMP-2 expression and HGF/c-Met signal activation in irradiated PC cells, which can increase the invasive capability; and stimulation of phosphorylation and activation of c-Met/MARK in co-culture of irradiated PC cells with messenchymal cells from PC, which possibly leads to progression of malignancy of PC through their interaction, of which suppression, therefore, can be a new approach to increase the efficacy of radiotherapy. Authors are making effort to introducing adenovirus therapy in clinic; exempli gratia (e.g.), the virus carrying wild type p53, a cancer-suppressive gene, induces apoptosis of PC cells often having its mutated gene. (T.T.)

  1. Integration of Breast Cancer Secretomes with Clinical Data Elucidates Potential Serum Markers for Disease Detection, Diagnosis, and Prognosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziegler, Yvonne S; Moresco, James J; Yates, John R; Nardulli, Ann M

    2016-01-01

    Cancer cells secrete factors that influence adjacent cell behavior and can lead to enhanced proliferation and metastasis. To better understand the role of these factors in oncogenesis and disease progression, estrogen and progesterone receptor positive MCF-7 cells, triple negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231, DT22, and DT28 cells, and MCF-10A non-transformed mammary epithelial cells were grown in 3D cultures. A special emphasis was placed on triple negative breast cancer since these tumors are highly aggressive and no targeted treatments are currently available. The breast cancer cells secreted factors of variable potency that stimulated proliferation of the relatively quiescent MCF-10A cells. The conditioned medium from each cell line was subjected to mass spectrometry analysis and a variety of secreted proteins were identified including glycolytic enzymes, proteases, protease inhibitors, extracellular matrix proteins, and insulin-like growth factor binding proteins. An investigation of the secretome from each cell line yielded clues about strategies used for breast cancer proliferation and metastasis. Some of the proteins we identified may be useful in the development of a serum-based test for breast cancer detection, diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring.

  2. Survival in HIV-infected patients after a cancer diagnosis in the cART Era: results of an italian multicenter study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gotti, Daria; Raffetti, Elena; Albini, Laura; Sighinolfi, Laura; Maggiolo, Franco; Di Filippo, Elisa; Ladisa, Nicoletta; Angarano, Gioacchino; Lapadula, Giuseppe; Pan, Angelo; Esposti, Anna Degli; Fabbiani, Massimiliano; Focà, Emanuele; Scalzini, Alfredo; Donato, Francesco; Quiros-Roldan, Eugenia

    2014-01-01

    We studied survival and associated risk factors in an Italian nationwide cohort of HIV-infected individuals after an AIDS-defining cancer (ADC) or non-AIDS-defining cancer (NADC) diagnosis in the modern cART era. Multi-center, retrospective, observational study of HIV patients included in the MASTER Italian Cohort with a cancer diagnosis from January 1998 to September 2012. Malignancies were divided into ADC or NADC on the basis of the Centre for Disease Control-1993 classification. Recurrence of cancer and metastases were excluded. Survivals were estimated according to the Kaplan-Meier method and compared according to the log-rank test. Statistically significant variables at univariate analysis were entered in a multivariate Cox regression model. Eight hundred and sixty-six cancer diagnoses were recorded among 13,388 subjects in the MASTER Database after 1998: 435 (51%) were ADCs and 431 (49%) were NADCs. Survival was more favorable after an ADC diagnosis than a NADC diagnosis (10-year survival: 62.7%±2.9% vs. 46%±4.2%; p = 0.017). Non-Hodgkin lymphoma had lower survival rates than patients with Kaposi sarcoma or cervical cancer (10-year survival: 48.2%±4.3% vs. 72.8%±4.0% vs. 78.5%±9.9%; pcancer showed better survival (10-year survival: 65.1%±14%) than lung cancer (1-year survival: 28%±8.7%), liver cancer (5-year survival: 31.9%±6.4%) or Hodgkin lymphoma (10-year survival: 24.8%±11.2%). Lower CD4+ count and intravenous drug use were significantly associated with decreased survival after ADCs or NADCs diagnosis. Exposure to cART was found to be associated with prolonged survival only in the case of ADCs. cART has improved survival in patients with an ADC diagnosis, whereas the prognosis after a diagnosis of NADCs is poor. Low CD4+ counts and intravenous drug use are risk factors for survival following a diagnosis of ADCs and Hodgkin lymphoma in the NADC group.

  3. Presentations to general practice before a cancer diagnosis in Victoria: a cross-sectional survey

    OpenAIRE

    Lacey, K; Bishop, JF; Cross, HL; Chondros, P; Lyratzopoulos, Georgios; Emery, JD

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To assess variations in the number of general practitioner visits preceding a cancer diagnosis, and in the length of the interval between the patient first suspecting a problem and their seeing a hospital specialist. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Analysis of data provided to the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES; survey response rate, 37.7%) by 1552 patients with one of 19 cancer types and treated in one of five Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre hospitals, 1 October 20...

  4. Feature selection using genetic algorithm for breast cancer diagnosis: experiment on three different datasets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aalaei, Shokoufeh; Shahraki, Hadi; Rowhanimanesh, Alireza; Eslami, Saeid

    2016-01-01

    This study addresses feature selection for breast cancer diagnosis. The present process uses a wrapper approach using GA-based on feature selection and PS-classifier. The results of experiment show that the proposed model is comparable to the other models on Wisconsin breast cancer datasets. To

  5. Warning dreams preceding the diagnosis of breast cancer: a survey of the most important characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burk, Larry

    2015-01-01

    There are rare reports of warning dreams about breast cancer in the dream literature and even fewer in the medical literature. Anxiety about breast cancer is increasing due to uncertainty about conflicting guidelines regarding mammography screening. The purpose of the study was to survey women with breast cancer who had warning dreams prior to diagnosis to determine the most common and important characteristics of these dreams. Eighteen women with a known diagnosis of breast cancer completed a survey of 19 Yes or No questions about their warning dreams and submitted dream narratives. The five most common characteristics of warning dreams in descending order of frequency reported in the survey were: a sense of conviction about the importance in 94%; the dreams were more vivid, real or intense than ordinary in 83%; an emotional sense of threat, menace or dread in 72%; the use of the specific words breast cancer/tumor in 44%; and the sense of physical contact with the breast in 39%. Warning dreams of breast cancer were often reported to be life changing experiences that prompted medical attention leading directly to diagnosis. Further research needs to be done to determine the frequency of such dreams in women without known breast cancer in order to assess the predictive value of a warning dream. These preliminary results suggest that keeping a dream diary might be a useful adjunct to routine self-examination as part of a breast self-care program, particularly for women in a high-risk category. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Effectiveness and efficiency of CT-colonography compared to conventional colonoscopy for the early detection and diagnosis of colorectal cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiebinger, Cora

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Health political background: Colorectal cancer (CC is the second most common cancer and cause of cancer death for both men and women in Germany. Various methods for early detection of CC exist, including conventional coloscopy which is reimbursed within the scope of cancer screening, as well as computertomography-coloscopy (CTC which is currently not reimbursed. Scientific background: CTC is a mere diagnostic procedure which has a lower risk of perforation than conventional coloscopy. However, as it is an x-ray procedure, it exposes the patient to radiation. Conventional coloscopy is considered the gold standard due to its high sensitivity and specificity for locating adenomas. Furthermore, it offers the advantage that in addition to extended diagnostic measures therapeutic measures can be undertaken during the procedure. Research questions: This HTA-report aims to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of CTC in comparison to conventional coloscopy in the early detection and diagnosis of colorectal cancer and/or its precursors and which ethical and legal aspects have to be considered. Methods: The systematic literature search (27 international literature data bases yielded a total of 1,713 abstracts. After a two-step selection process 36 publications remained to be assessed. Results: The results regarding the effectivity of CTC in diagnosis and screening for colorectal cancer and/or its precursors are partly promising, however, they are very heterogeneous. Therefore, regarding its sensitivity and specificity, CTC cannot be considered an equivalent alternative to conventional coloscopy for diagnosis and screening. The heterogeneity of results is due to technical (device type, settings, patient dependent (preparation and operator dependent (training factors. No economic results for a comparison of the procedures for diagnosis exist. Regarding the cost-effectiveness of a CTC-screening, international model calculations are available. According

  7. Bronchoscopic diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lung cancer employing sedation with fentanyl and midazolam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minami, Daisuke; Nakasuka, Takamasa; Ando, Chihiro; Iwamoto Md, Yoshitaka; Sato, Ken; Fujiwara, Keiichi; Shibayama, Takuo; Yonei Md PhD, Toshirou; Sato, Toshio

    2017-09-01

    Sedation with fentanyl and midazolam during bronchoscopic examination is commonly employed by pulmonary physicians in the USA and Europe. We assessed the efficacy of such sedation in the bronchoscopic diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer. We retrospectively evaluated data from 102 patients who underwent transbronchial biopsies (TBB) for diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer. Bronchoscopies with and without fentanyl were performed in 61 (group A) and 41 (group B) patients, respectively. Midazolam was administered to all patients. Medical records were retrieved, and between-group comparisons were made using unpaired Student's t-tests. The mean fentanyl dose was 49.5 μg (range: 10-100 μg), and midazolam doses in groups A and B were 4.29mg (range: 1-14mg) and 5.54mg (range: 1-12mg), respectively. Diagnostic histological specimens were obtained from 75.4% and 65.8% of group A and B patients, respectively (P = 0.30). The diagnostic sensitivities for lung cancer, via at least one of TBB, cytological brushing, or bronchial washing, in groups A and B were 88.5% and 70.4%, respectively (P = 0.035). Moreover, lesion diagnostic sensitivities, via at least one of TBB, cytological brushing, and bronchial washing, in groups A and B were 98.1% and 68.0%, respectively (P = 0.01). Fentanyl and midazolam sedation during bronchoscopy facilitated the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lung cancers. Copyright © 2017 The Japanese Respiratory Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Hospitalization Rates and Predictors of Rehospitalization Among Individuals With Advanced Cancer in the Year After Diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitney, Robin L; Bell, Janice F; Tancredi, Daniel J; Romano, Patrick S; Bold, Richard J; Joseph, Jill G

    2017-11-01

    Purpose Among individuals with advanced cancer, frequent hospitalization increasingly is viewed as a hallmark of poor-quality care. We examined hospitalization rates and individual- and hospital-level predictors of rehospitalization among individuals with advanced cancer in the year after diagnosis. Methods Individuals diagnosed with advanced breast, colorectal, non-small-cell lung, or pancreatic cancer from 2009 to 2012 (N = 25,032) were identified with data from the California Cancer Registry (CCR). After linkage with inpatient discharge data, multistate and log-linear Poisson regression models were used to calculate hospitalization rates and to model rehospitalization in the year after diagnosis, accounting for survival. Results In the year after diagnosis, 71% of individuals with advanced cancer were hospitalized, 16% had three or more hospitalizations, and 64% of hospitalizations originated in the emergency department. Rehospitalization rates were significantly associated with black non-Hispanic (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.29; 95% CI, 1.17 to 1.42) and Hispanic (IRR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.20) race/ethnicity; public insurance (IRR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.23 to 1.47) and no insurance (IRR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.35); lower socioeconomic status quintiles (IRRs, 1.09 to 1.29); comorbidities (IRRs, 1.13 to 1.59); and pancreatic (IRR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.95 to 2.20) and non-small-cell lung (IRR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.54 to 1.86) cancers versus colorectal cancer. Rehospitalization rates were significantly lower after discharge from a hospital that had an outpatient palliative care program (IRR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.83 to 0.97) and were higher after discharge from a for-profit hospital (IRR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.56). Conclusion Individuals with advanced cancer experience a heavy burden of hospitalization in the year after diagnosis. Efforts to reduce hospitalization and provide care congruent with patient preferences might target individuals at higher risk. Future work might

  9. Age of diagnosis of breast cancer in china: almost 10 years earlier than in the United States and the European union.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Qing-Kun; Li, Jing; Huang, Rong; Fan, Jin-Hu; Zheng, Rong-Shou; Zhang, Bao-Ning; Zhang, Bin; Tang, Zhong-Hua; Xie, Xiao-Ming; Yang, Hong-Jian; He, Jian-Jun; Li, Hui; Li, Jia-Yuan; Qiao, You-Lin; Chen, Wan-Qing

    2014-01-01

    The study aimed to describe the age distribution of breast cancer diagnosis among Chinese females for comparison with the United States and the European Union, and provide evidence for the screening target population in China. Median age was estimated from hospital databases from 7 tertiary hospitals in China. Population-based data in China, United States and European Union was extracted from the National Central Cancer Registry, SEER program and GLOBOCAN 2008, respectively. Age-standardized distribution of breast cancer at diagnosis in the 3 areas was estimated based on the World Standard Population 2000. The median age of breast cancer at diagnosis was around 50 in China, nearly 10 years earlier than United States and European Union. The diagnosis age in China did not vary between subgroups of calendar year, region and pathological characteristics. With adjustment for population structure, median age of breast cancer at diagnosis was 50~54 in China, but 55~59 in United States and European Union. The median diagnosis age of female breast cancer is much earlier in China than in the United States and the European Union pointing to racial differences in genetics and lifestyle. Screening programs should start at an earlier age for Chinese women and age disparities between Chinese and Western women warrant further studies.

  10. An investigation of routes to cancer diagnosis in 10 international jurisdictions, as part of the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership: survey development and implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weller, David; Vedsted, Peter; Anandan, Chantelle; Zalounina, Alina; Fourkala, Evangelia Ourania; Desai, Rakshit; Liston, William; Jensen, Henry; Barisic, Andriana; Gavin, Anna; Grunfeld, Eva; Lambe, Mats; Law, Rebecca-Jane; Malmberg, Martin; Neal, Richard D; Kalsi, Jatinderpal; Turner, Donna; White, Victoria; Bomb, Martine

    2016-01-01

    Objectives This paper describes the methods used in the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership Module 4 Survey (ICBPM4) which examines time intervals and routes to cancer diagnosis in 10 jurisdictions. We present the study design with defining and measuring time intervals, identifying patients with cancer, questionnaire development, data management and analyses. Design and setting Recruitment of participants to the ICBPM4 survey is based on cancer registries in each jurisdiction. Questionnaires draw on previous instruments and have been through a process of cognitive testing and piloting in three jurisdictions followed by standardised translation and adaptation. Data analysis focuses on comparing differences in time intervals and routes to diagnosis in the jurisdictions. Participants Our target is 200 patients with symptomatic breast, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer in each jurisdiction. Patients are approached directly or via their primary care physician (PCP). Patients’ PCPs and cancer treatment specialists (CTSs) are surveyed, and ‘data rules’ are applied to combine and reconcile conflicting information. Where CTS information is unavailable, audit information is sought from treatment records and databases. Main outcomes Reliability testing of the patient questionnaire showed that agreement was complete (κ=1) in four items and substantial (κ=0.8, 95% CI 0.333 to 1) in one item. The identification of eligible patients is sufficient to meet the targets for breast, lung and colorectal cancer. Initial patient and PCP survey response rates from the UK and Sweden are comparable with similar published surveys. Data collection was completed in early 2016 for all cancer types. Conclusion An international questionnaire-based survey of patients with cancer, PCPs and CTSs has been developed and launched in 10 jurisdictions. ICBPM4 will help to further understand international differences in cancer survival by comparing time intervals and routes to cancer

  11. Critical analysis of imaging methods for the detection and diagnosis of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendonca, Maria Helena Siqueira

    1999-01-01

    Breast cancer is a significant health problem. Early diagnosis of the disease is mandatory to increase the effectiveness of the treatment, to augment the chances of cure and to permit conservative surgery. The use of imaging methods is essential in the early diagnosis of the disease. Imaging methods advantages and disadvantages, use and limitations, specificity and sensitivity are presented and discussed. (author)

  12. Ultrasonic diagnosis of hepatic metastases in patients with stomach cancer and colon cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kye, Jong Sik; Lim, Jae Hoon; Ko, Young Tae; Ahn, Chi Yul

    1987-01-01

    To assess the value of hepatic ultrasound in cancer patients, a prospective evaluation was performed by comparing the preoperative ultrasound report and surgeon's diagnosis at the time of operation in 86 patients with stomach cancer and 26 patients with colon cancer. In a total of 112 patients considered to have a metastasis free liver on ultrasound scanning 10 patients were turned out to have had hepatic metastasis at the time of laparotomy. Among these, 4 patients had miliary metastasis, 4 patients had nodular metastasis at the dome of the right hepatic lobe, and 2 patients had surface metastasis or direct invasion from the primary tumor. These observations suggest that false negative preoperative hepatic ultrasound scanning is 9% had this is considered due to small size of the metastatic lesions, and lesions roundabout the dome of the right hepatic lobe or surface metastasis. Thus one should keep in mind the possibility of miliary metastasis in cancer patient was has coarse hepatic echotexture. In addition, the hepatic dome as well as hepatic surfaces should be searched carefully as the lesions in these areas tend to be easily neglected by ultrasound

  13. Coping response following a diagnosis of breast cancer: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrabi, Esmat; Hajian, Sepideh; Simbar, Masoomeh; Hoshyari, Mohammad; Zayeri, Farid

    2015-12-01

    Coping with breast cancer is an important health issue that results in adjustments to the disease in survivors. The present systematic review aims to synthesize the evidence about the coping strategies used by women who are primary breast cancer survivors to adjust to their new situations in their lives. Searches were conducted using Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Wiley Online Library, and PsycINFO, using the terms "breast cancer," "breast malignancy," "coping strategies," "coping behaviors," and "adjustment" from January 2000 to July 2015. Only relevant studies in English were selected at the end of the search. Only those papers were selected that focused on coping strategies/behaviors that were used by breast cancer survivors. Searching the electronic databases resulted in 2390 articles. Ultimately, 20 studies met the inclusion criteria of the present study and were included in the review. Two reviewers independently reviewed all relevant articles using the same inclusion criteria. The reviewers completed a quality assessment using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment scales for observational studies. The more frequent coping strategies that patients with breast cancer used in the studies were 1) seeking social support (9 studies), 2) positive reframing and reappraisal behaviors as problem focused strategies (7 studies), 3) religious/spirituality-focused efforts (8 studies), 4) emotional expression as positive emotion-focused strategies (3 studies), and 5) avoidance and distraction as avoidance orientated strategies (6 studies). Women with different ethnicities and educational levels used different coping strategies with breast cancer, and they used different strategies in different phases of the disease. This systematic review revealed that seeking social support and emotion-focused efforts were the main coping strategies that women with breast cancer diagnosis used, especially in the early phase of breast cancer diagnosis. This information about the coping

  14. Real-time Raman spectroscopy for in vivo, online gastric cancer diagnosis during clinical endoscopic examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duraipandian, Shiyamala; Sylvest Bergholt, Mads; Zheng, Wei; Yu Ho, Khek; Teh, Ming; Guan Yeoh, Khay; Bok Yan So, Jimmy; Shabbir, Asim; Huang, Zhiwei

    2012-08-01

    Optical spectroscopic techniques including reflectance, fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy have shown promising potential for in vivo precancer and cancer diagnostics in a variety of organs. However, data-analysis has mostly been limited to post-processing and off-line algorithm development. In this work, we develop a fully automated on-line Raman spectral diagnostics framework integrated with a multimodal image-guided Raman technique for real-time in vivo cancer detection at endoscopy. A total of 2748 in vivo gastric tissue spectra (2465 normal and 283 cancer) were acquired from 305 patients recruited to construct a spectral database for diagnostic algorithms development. The novel diagnostic scheme developed implements on-line preprocessing, outlier detection based on principal component analysis statistics (i.e., Hotelling's T2 and Q-residuals) for tissue Raman spectra verification as well as for organ specific probabilistic diagnostics using different diagnostic algorithms. Free-running optical diagnosis and processing time of < 0.5 s can be achieved, which is critical to realizing real-time in vivo tissue diagnostics during clinical endoscopic examination. The optimized partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models based on the randomly resampled training database (80% for learning and 20% for testing) provide the diagnostic accuracy of 85.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 82.9% to 88.2%] [sensitivity of 80.5% (95% CI: 71.4% to 89.6%) and specificity of 86.2% (95% CI: 83.6% to 88.7%)] for the detection of gastric cancer. The PLS-DA algorithms are further applied prospectively on 10 gastric patients at gastroscopy, achieving the predictive accuracy of 80.0% (60/75) [sensitivity of 90.0% (27/30) and specificity of 73.3% (33/45)] for in vivo diagnosis of gastric cancer. The receiver operating characteristics curves further confirmed the efficacy of Raman endoscopy together with PLS-DA algorithms for in vivo prospective diagnosis of gastric cancer

  15. Survival in HIV-infected patients after a cancer diagnosis in the cART Era: results of an italian multicenter study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daria Gotti

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: We studied survival and associated risk factors in an Italian nationwide cohort of HIV-infected individuals after an AIDS-defining cancer (ADC or non-AIDS-defining cancer (NADC diagnosis in the modern cART era. METHODS: Multi-center, retrospective, observational study of HIV patients included in the MASTER Italian Cohort with a cancer diagnosis from January 1998 to September 2012. Malignancies were divided into ADC or NADC on the basis of the Centre for Disease Control-1993 classification. Recurrence of cancer and metastases were excluded. Survivals were estimated according to the Kaplan-Meier method and compared according to the log-rank test. Statistically significant variables at univariate analysis were entered in a multivariate Cox regression model. RESULTS: Eight hundred and sixty-six cancer diagnoses were recorded among 13,388 subjects in the MASTER Database after 1998: 435 (51% were ADCs and 431 (49% were NADCs. Survival was more favorable after an ADC diagnosis than a NADC diagnosis (10-year survival: 62.7%±2.9% vs. 46%±4.2%; p = 0.017. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma had lower survival rates than patients with Kaposi sarcoma or cervical cancer (10-year survival: 48.2%±4.3% vs. 72.8%±4.0% vs. 78.5%±9.9%; p<0.001. Regarding NADCs, breast cancer showed better survival (10-year survival: 65.1%±14% than lung cancer (1-year survival: 28%±8.7%, liver cancer (5-year survival: 31.9%±6.4% or Hodgkin lymphoma (10-year survival: 24.8%±11.2%. Lower CD4+ count and intravenous drug use were significantly associated with decreased survival after ADCs or NADCs diagnosis. Exposure to cART was found to be associated with prolonged survival only in the case of ADCs. CONCLUSIONS: cART has improved survival in patients with an ADC diagnosis, whereas the prognosis after a diagnosis of NADCs is poor. Low CD4+ counts and intravenous drug use are risk factors for survival following a diagnosis of ADCs and Hodgkin lymphoma in the NADC group.

  16. Use of Self-Care and Practitioner-Based Forms of Complementary and Alternative Medicine before and after a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alissa R. Link

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. We examine factors associated with self-care, use of practitioner-based complementary and alternative medicine (CAM, and their timing in a cohort of women with breast cancer. Methods. Study participants were women with breast cancer who participated in the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project. Self-care is defined as the use of multivitamins, single vitamins, botanicals, other dietary supplements, mind-body practices, special diets, support groups, and prayer. Within each modality, study participants were categorized as continuous users (before and after diagnosis, starters (only after diagnosis, quitters (only before diagnosis, or never users. Multivariable logistic regression was used for the main analyses. Results. Of 764 women who provided complete data, 513 (67.2% initiated a new form of self-care following breast cancer diagnosis. The most popular modalities were those that are ingestible, and they were commonly used in combination. The strongest predictor of continuous use of one type of self-care was continuous use of other types of self-care. Healthy behaviors, including high fruit/vegetable intake and exercise, were more strongly associated with continuously using self-care than starting self-care after diagnosis. Conclusions. Breast cancer diagnosis was associated with subsequent behavioral changes, and the majority of women undertook new forms of self-care after diagnosis. Few women discontinued use of modalities they used prior to diagnosis.

  17. One month after diagnosis: quality of life, coping and previous functioning in siblings of children with cancer

    OpenAIRE

    Houtzager, BA; Grootenhuis, MA; Hoekstra-Weebers, JEHM; Last, BF

    2005-01-01

    Background The aim of the present study is to describe the quality of life (QoL) of siblings of children with cancer and to predict it according to their health before the diagnosis of cancer in the ill child and their ways of coping with the illness. Methods Participants were 83 siblings from 56 families - 46 girls and 37 boys, aged 7-18. The assessment took place 1 month to 8 weeks after the diagnosis of cancer in the ill child. The siblings' QoL was assessed with the TNO-AZL children's qua...

  18. Parent-child communication patterns during the first year after a parent's cancer diagnosis: the effect on parents' functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazendam-Donofrio, Stacey; Hoekstra, Harald; van der Graaf, Winette; van de Wiel, Harry; Visser, Annemieke; Huizinga, Gea; Hoekstra-Weebers, Josette

    2009-09-15

    Good parent-child communication is thought to help families adjust more easily during stressful events such as parental cancer. Families dealing with cancer who communicate openly have reported less psychological distress. The first year after diagnosis may be particularly stressful. The authors investigated parents' quality of life (QOL) and stress-response symptoms and parent-child communication during the first year after diagnosis and examined possible relationships between communication and parents' functioning. Recently-diagnosed cancer patients (N=70) and spouses (N=55) participated within 4 months of diagnosis (T1) and 6 months (T2) and 12 months later (T3). Parents reported on communication with the children (PACS) and on their own physical and psychosocial functioning (RAND-36) and stress-response symptoms (IES). Parent-child communication remained stable throughout the first year after diagnosis and was similar to communication in families 1 year to 5 years after diagnosis. Patients' functioning improved and cancer-related distress decreased significantly. Spouses' cancer-related distress decreased; their functioning fluctuated through the year. In concurrent analyses, patients' open communication with the children related only to T1 intrusion. Spouses' open communication related to T3 psychosocial functioning; problem communication related to T1 and T2 psychosocial functioning and T2 avoidance. In prospective analyses, no significant relationships were found between parent-child communication and change in parents' functioning. Communication between parents and children remained stable over time; patients' and spouses' functioning improved. Parent-child communication seems to have a limited affect on parents' functioning. Copyright (c) 2009 American Cancer Society.

  19. Sepsis: Current Definition, Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taeb, Abdalsamih M; Hooper, Michael H; Marik, Paul E

    2017-06-01

    Sepsis is a clinical syndrome that results from the dysregulated inflammatory response to infection that leads to organ dysfunction. The resulting losses to society in terms of financial burden, morbidity, and mortality are enormous. We provide a review of sepsis, its underlying pathophysiology, and guidance for diagnosis and management of this common disease. Current established treatments include appropriate antimicrobial agents to target the underlying infection, optimization of intravascular volume to improve stroke volume, vasopressors to counteract vasoplegic shock, and high-quality supportive care. Appropriate implementation of established treatments combined with novel therapeutic approaches promises to continue to decrease the impact of this disease.

  20. Cancer survivors' views of work 3 years post diagnosis: a UK perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amir, Ziv; Neary, David; Luker, Karen

    2008-07-01

    The impact of cancer on people's working lives is an increasingly important concern but knowledge on this issue is very limited in the UK. Forty-one people of working age were purposively selected from the North Western Cancer Intelligence Service and interviewed by telephone to describe their experiences to returning to work following diagnosis and treatment. The data was subject to qualitative thematic analysis using NVIVO software. The results indicated the importance of returning to work from diagnosis and through treatment which was then followed by a re-assessment of work-life balance when people recovered from primary treatment and were back in employment. The principle motivations for returning to work were a quest for normality and financial pressures. One barrier to returning to work was the lack of medical advice from cancer specialists and general practitioners regarding the appropriate time to get back to work. A good relationship with their employer/manager was a major influence on returning to work and appeared to be related to duration of service rather than occupational status. These findings demonstrate the importance of paid work to people diagnosed with cancer and highlight the need to improve the support from medical professionals, especially oncology nurses.

  1. A neglected issue on sexual well-being following breast cancer diagnosis and treatment among Chinese women.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fengliang Wang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Changes to sexual well-being can be one of the most problematic quality of life issues following the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate changes to sexual well-being following breast cancer, to expand upon the existing body of knowledge pertaining to breast cancer and sexuality, and to provide the necessary information for implementing future interventions that may help improve the quality of life in breast cancer patients. METHODS: This study was mixed with qualitative and quantitative designs. Twenty patients with breast cancer were recruited for in-depth interviews. The central questions covered a patient's cancer experience and perceptions of sexual activities following breast cancer. According to the findings of the qualitative study, we performed a quantitative study using a structured questionnaire to collect data on patient's experience and attitude to sexual well-being following breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. RESULTS: Based on the qualitative analysis, seven main themes emerged: (1 Decrease in sexual frequency; (2 Lack of sexual interest; (3 Menopausal symptoms; (4 Body image changes; (5 Effects on marital relationship; (6 Misconceptions about sex; (7 The need for professional consultation. Results from the quantitative study further supported the findings from the qualitative analysis, where changes to sexual well-being were common following cancer diagnosis and treatment and it was a neglected issue among Chinese women. CONCLUSIONS: The present study highlights the significant changes to sexual well-being following breast cancer, in addition to the lack of knowledge and misconceptions of sexual activity among patients. Addressing these problems will help improve a patient's quality of life. The findings of this study could help healthcare professionals recognize the sexual issues faced by women with breast cancer and ultimately promote a healthy life.

  2. The clinical valuation of serum FPSA/FPSA in the diagnosis of prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong Xingxiang; Liu Siping; Zheng Jixiang; Wang Juxin; Zhang Xiaowen; Fan Hongdeng

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To explore the clinical valuation of serum of serum free prostate-specific antigen/total prostate-specific antigen (FPSA/TPSA) ratio in the diagnosis of prostate cancer with time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay. Methods: Selected randomly 115 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia and 58 patients with prostate cancer, sixty healthy physical examinees were chosen as normal control. Serum TPSA, FPSA and FPSA/TPSA ratio were measured with time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay. Results: When TPSA was between 4.0-45.5 μg/L, there was the rang of overlapping of TPSA in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer patients. TPSA couldn't be a differential mark for the two conditions (t=1.76, P>0.05). But there were significant differences in the FPSA/TPSA ratio between the two conditions (t=2.74, P<0.05). When the reference value was FPSA/TPSA ≤0.15 in differential diagnosis of prostate cancer, it maintained a high sensitivity (91.5%), improved specificity (78.6%) and reliability (79.8%). It also improved positive predictive value (82.5%) and negative predictive value (96.5%) to a certain extent. Conclusion: FPSA/TPSA ratio could make up for the shortage of only TPSA and improved the early detection rate of prostate cancer. It also reduced unnecessary biopsy worth popularizing. (authors)

  3. The Association between Statin Use and the Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer in a Population-Based Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breau, Rodney H.; Karnes, R. Jeffrey; Jacobson, Debra J.; McGree, Michaela E.; Jacobsen, Steven J.; Nehra, Ajay; Lieber, Michael M.; St. Sauver, Jennifer L.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose The effect of statin medication use on risk of prostate cancer is unknown. Materials and Methods We examined data from a longitudinal, population-based cohort of 2447 men between the ages of 40 and 79 that were followed from 1990 to 2007. Information on statin use was self-reported and obtained by biennial questionnaires. A randomly selected subset of men (634; 26%) completed biennial urologic examinations that included serum PSA measurements. Information on prostate biopsy and prostate cancer was obtained through review of community medical records. Results Of 634 statin users, 38 (6%) were diagnosed with prostate cancer compared to 186 (10%) of 1813 non-statin users. Statin use was associated with a decreased risk of receiving a prostate biopsy (HR: 0.31; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.40), prostate cancer diagnosis (HR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.25, 0.53) and high-grade (Gleason ≥7) prostate cancer diagnosis (HR: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.58). Statin use was also associated with a non-significant decreased risk of exceeding a PSA threshold of 4.0 ng/mL (HR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.35, 1.13). In addition, longer duration of statin use was associated with lower risk of these outcomes (all tests for trend pStatin use is associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer diagnosis. This association may be explained by decreased detection or cancer prevention. PMID:20620405

  4. Awareness and current knowledge of breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akram, Muhammad; Iqbal, Mehwish; Daniyal, Muhammad; Khan, Asmat Ullah

    2017-10-02

    Breast cancer remains a worldwide public health dilemma and is currently the most common tumour in the globe. Awareness of breast cancer, public attentiveness, and advancement in breast imaging has made a positive impact on recognition and screening of breast cancer. Breast cancer is life-threatening disease in females and the leading cause of mortality among women population. For the previous two decades, studies related to the breast cancer has guided to astonishing advancement in our understanding of the breast cancer, resulting in further proficient treatments. Amongst all the malignant diseases, breast cancer is considered as one of the leading cause of death in post menopausal women accounting for 23% of all cancer deaths. It is a global issue now, but still it is diagnosed in their advanced stages due to the negligence of women regarding the self inspection and clinical examination of the breast. This review addresses anatomy of the breast, risk factors, epidemiology of breast cancer, pathogenesis of breast cancer, stages of breast cancer, diagnostic investigations and treatment including chemotherapy, surgery, targeted therapies, hormone replacement therapy, radiation therapy, complementary therapies, gene therapy and stem-cell therapy etc for breast cancer.

  5. Impact of time since diagnosis and mortality rate on cancer-associated venous thromboembolism - the Scandinavian Thrombosis and Cancer (STAC) cohort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blix, Kristine; Gran, Olga V; Severinsen, Marianne T

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication in cancer, and studies suggest that aggressive cancers harvest the highest risk of VTE. However, competing risk by death may result in over-estimation of VTE risk in cancers with high mortality. Therefore, we estimated the risk...... narrowed for all cancer sites after competing risk by death was taken into account (from 1-10% to 1-4%). CONCLUSION: The risk of VTE by cancer sites was influenced by the mortality rate and the time since cancer diagnosis. Our findings suggest that the cancer itself is a major contributor to VTE risk...... and that competing risk by death should be taken into account when exploring VTE risk in cancer. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved....

  6.  DNA microarray-based gene expression profiling in diagnosis, assessing prognosis and predicting response to therapy in colorectal cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Przemysław Kwiatkowski

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available  Colorectal cancer is the most common cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. It is considered as a biological model of a certain type of cancerogenesis process in which progression from an early to late stage adenoma and cancer is accompanied by distinct genetic alterations.Clinical and pathological parameters commonly used in clinical practice are often insufficient to determine groups of patients suitable for personalized treatment. Moreover, reliable molecular markers with high prognostic value have not yet been determined. Molecular studies using DNA-based microarrays have identified numerous genes involved in cell proliferation and differentiation during the process of cancerogenesis. Assessment of the genetic profile of colorectal cancer using the microarray technique might be a useful tool in determining the groups of patients with different clinical outcomes who would benefit from additional personalized treatment.The main objective of this study was to present the current state of knowledge on the practical application of gene profiling techniques using microarrays for determining diagnosis, prognosis and response to treatment in colorectal cancer.

  7. The reciprocal relationship between coping mechanisms and lung cancer diagnosis: findings of a prospective study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oancea C

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Cristian Oancea,1 Cristian Suciu,2 Bogdan Timar,3 Ion Papava,4 Marius Raica,2 Ovidiu Burlacu5 1Department of Pulmonology, 2Department of Microscopic Morphology/Histology, 3Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, 4Department of Neurosciences, 5Department of Surgical Semiology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania Background/purpose: Lung cancer is a major stress factor for the affected individual, leading to psychological distress in over 50% of the diagnosed patients. Since coping styles describe different patterns in approaching serious problems, our study aimed at ascertaining if the diagnosis of lung cancer has an impact on the patient’s coping styles and if there is a difference in psychical response among patients with different coping styles, as assessed by variance of anxiety and depression scores after diagnosis. Patients and methods: In this prospective study, a cohort of 50 patients were evaluated using the COPE scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire 7 (GAD-7, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9, both prior to and 1 month after learning about their lung cancer diagnosis. The baseline and the final parameters were compared and stratified with respect to coping styles.Results: We observed that 1 month after learning the diagnosis, the patients had a significantly higher GAD-7 score (median score 12 vs 4 points; p<0.001. At the same time, the PHQ-9 score was significantly higher at the 1 month follow-up time-point (median score 16 vs 7; p=0.002. The increases in the anxiety scores were significant in patients with initial social support (13 vs 3; p=0.014 and avoidance coping style (14 vs 6; p=0.003. Regarding the depression scores, after the diagnosis, the only significant increase was observed in patients with initial avoidance coping style (18 vs 5; p=0.014.Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that patients who receive the diagnosis for cancer show a significant

  8. Impact of Marital Status on Tumor Stage at Diagnosis and on Survival in Male Breast Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adekolujo, Orimisan Samuel; Tadisina, Shourya; Koduru, Ujwala; Gernand, Jill; Smith, Susan Jane; Kakarala, Radhika Ramani

    2017-07-01

    The effect of marital status (MS) on survival varies according to cancer type and gender. There has been no report on the impact of MS on survival in male breast cancer (MBC). This study aims to determine the influence of MS on tumor stage at diagnosis and survival in MBC. Men with MBC ≥18 years of age in the SEER database from 1990 to 2011 were included in the study. MS was classified as married and unmarried (including single, divorced, separated, widowed). Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the 5-year cancer-specific survival. Multivariate regression analyses were done to determine the effect of MS on presence of Stage IV disease at diagnosis and on cancer-specific mortality. The study included 3,761 men; 2,647 (70.4%) were married. Unmarried men were more often diagnosed with Stage IV MBC compared with married (10.7% vs. 5.5%, p Unmarried men (compared with married) were significantly less likely to undergo surgery (92.4% vs. 96.7%, p unmarried males with Stages II, III, and IV MBC have significantly worse 5-year cancer-specific survival compared with married. On multivariate analysis, being unmarried was associated with increased hazard of death (HR = 1.43, p Unmarried males with breast cancer are at greater risk for Stage IV disease at diagnosis and poorer outcomes compared with married males.

  9. Serum miRNAs as Biomarkers for the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Thyroid Cancer: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmoudian-Sani, Mohammad-Reza; Mehri-Ghahfarrokhi, Ameneh; Asadi-Samani, Majid; Mobini, Gholam-Reza

    2017-07-01

    Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy and accounts for 1% of cancers. In recent years, there has been much interest in the feasibility of using miRNAs or miRNA panels as biomarkers for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. miRNAs are noncoding RNAs with 21-23 nucleotides that are highly conserved during evolution. They have been proposed as regulators of gene expression, apoptosis, cancer, and cell growth and differentiation. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Google Scholar, PubMed (NLM), LISTA (EBSCO), and Web of Science were searched. The serum level of miRNAs (miRNA-375, 34a, 145b, 221, 222, 155, Let-7, 181b) can be used as molecular markers for the diagnosis and prognosis of thyroid cancer in the serum samples of patients with thyroid glands. Given that most common methods for the screening of thyroid cancer cannot detect the disease in its early stages, identifying miRNAs that are released in the bloodstream during the gradual progression of the disease is considered a key method in the early diagnosis of thyroid cancers.

  10. Patient perspectives on delays in diagnosis and treatment of cancer: a qualitative analysis of free-text data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsonage, Rachel K; Hiscock, Julia; Law, Rebecca-Jane; Neal, Richard D

    2017-01-01

    Earlier cancer diagnosis is crucial in improving cancer survival. The International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership Module 4 (ICBP4) is a quantitative survey study that explores the reasons for delays in diagnosis and treatment of breast, colorectal, lung, and ovarian cancer. To further understand the associated diagnostic processes, it is also important to explore the patient perspectives expressed in the free-text comments. To use the free-text data provided by patients completing the ICBP4 survey to augment the understanding of patients' perspectives of their diagnostic journey. Qualitative analysis of the free-text data collected in Wales between October 2013 and December 2014 as part of the ICBP4 survey. Newly-diagnosed patients with either breast, ovarian, colorectal, or lung cancer were identified from registry data and then invited by their GPs to participate in the survey. A thematic framework was used to analyse the free-text comments provided at the end of the ICBP4 survey. Of the 905 patients who returned a questionnaire, 530 included comments. The free-text data provided information about patients' perspectives of the diagnostic journey. Analysis identified factors that acted as either barriers or facilitators at different stages of the diagnostic process. Some factors, such as screening, doctor-patient familiarity, and private treatment, acted as both barriers and facilitators depending on the context. Factors identified in this study help to explain how existing models of cancer diagnosis (for example, the Pathways to Treatment Model) work in practice. It is important that clinicians are aware of how these factors may interact with individual clinical cases and either facilitate, or act as a barrier to, subsequent cancer diagnosis. Understanding and implementing this knowledge into clinical practice may result in quicker cancer diagnoses. © British Journal of General Practice 2017.

  11. Breast Density Notification Legislation and Breast Cancer Stage at Diagnosis: Early Evidence from the SEER Registry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richman, Ilana; Asch, Steven M; Bendavid, Eran; Bhattacharya, Jay; Owens, Douglas K

    2017-06-01

    Twenty-eight states have passed breast density notification laws, which require physicians to inform women of a finding of dense breasts on mammography. To evaluate changes in breast cancer stage at diagnosis after enactment of breast density notification legislation. Using a difference-in-differences analysis, we examined changes in stage at diagnosis among women with breast cancer in Connecticut, the first state to enact legislation, compared to changes among women in control states. We used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) registry, 2005-2013. Women ages 40-74 with breast cancer. Breast density notification legislation, enacted in Connecticut in October of 2009. Breast cancer stage at diagnosis. Our study included 466,930 women, 25,592 of whom lived in Connecticut. Legislation was associated with a 1.38-percentage-point (95 % CI 0.12 to 2.63) increase in the proportion of women in Connecticut versus control states who had localized invasive cancer at the time of diagnosis, and a 1.12-percentage-point (95 % CI -2.21 to -0.08) decline in the proportion of women with ductal carcinoma in situ at diagnosis. Breast density notification legislation was not associated with a change in the proportion of women in Connecticut versus control states with regional-stage (-0.09 percentage points, 95 % CI -1.01 to 1.02) or metastatic disease (-0.24, 95 % CI -0.75 to 0.28). County-level analyses and analyses limited to women younger than 50 found no statistically significant associations. Single intervention state, limited follow-up, potential confounding from unobserved trends. Breast density notification legislation in Connecticut was associated with a small increase in the proportion of women diagnosed with localized invasive breast cancer in individual-level but not county-level analyses. Whether this finding reflects potentially beneficial early detection or potentially harmful overdiagnosis is not known. Legislation was not

  12. Current status of theranostics in prostate cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Virgolini, Irene; Decristoforo, Clemens; Uprimny, Christian [Medical University of Innsbruck, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria); Haug, Alexander [Medical University of Vienna, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Vienna (Austria); Fanti, Stefano [University of Bologna, S. Orsola Hospital Bologna, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Bologna (Italy)

    2018-03-15

    The aim of this review is to report on the current status of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-directed theranostics in prostate cancer (PC) patients. The value of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-directed PET imaging as a diagnostic procedure for primary and recurrent PC as well as the role of evolving PSMA radioligand therapy (PRLT) in castration-resistant (CR)PC is assessed. The most eminent data from mostly retrospective studies currently available on theranostics of prostate cancer are discussed. The current knowledge on {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT implicates that primary staging with PET/CT is meaningful in patients with high-risk PC and that the combination with pelvic multi parametric (mp)MR (or PET/mpMR) reaches the highest impact on patient management. There may be a place for {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT in intermediate-risk PC patients as well, however, only a few data are available at the moment. In secondary staging for local recurrence, {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/mpMR is superior to PET/CT, whereas for distant recurrence, PET/CT has equivalent results and is faster and cheaper compared to PET/mpMR. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT is superior to {sup 18}F / {sup 11}Choline PET/CT in primary staging as well as in secondary staging. In patients with biochemical relapse, PET/CT positivity is directly associated with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) increase and amounts to roughly 50% when PSA is raised to ≤0.5 ng/ml and to ≥90% above 1 ng/ml. Significant clinical results have so far been achieved with the subsequent use of radiolabeled PSMA ligands in the treatment of CRPC. Accumulated activities of 30 to 50 GBq of {sup 177}Lu-PSMA ligands seem to be clinically safe with biochemical response and PERCIST/RECIST response in around 75% of patients along with xerostomia in 5-10% of patients as the only notable side effect. On the basis of the current literature, we conclude that PSMA-directed theranostics do have a major clinical impact in diagnosis and therapy of PC patients. We recommend

  13. Application of monoclonal antibodies for diagnosis and treatment of human digestive cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Otsuji, Eigo

    2007-01-01

    Radioimmunoscintigraphic applications of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) for noninvasive detection and visualization of target tumors have grown immensely, and it suggests that Mabs can reach specifically to the targeted tumors in the human body. Radionuclides, cytotoxic drugs and anti-cancer drugs can be coupled to these specific MAbs to detect the extent of disease and/or to treat the tumors. Many of such immunoconjugates were studied for targeting therapy for cancer in animal experiments and some of them have applied to human. In this paper, we described the existing status of application of Mabs for diagnosis and immunotargeting therapy of digestive cancers. (author)

  14. Epigenetics application in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harb-de la Rosa, Alfredo; Acker, Matthew; Kumar, Raj A; Manoharan, Murugesan

    2015-10-01

    Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the Western world. Patients with bladder cancer require close monitoring, which may include frequent cystoscopy and urine cytology. Such monitoring results in significant health care cost. The application of epigenetics may allow for a risk adapted approach and more cost-effective method of monitoring. A number of epigenetic changes have been described for many cancer sites, including the urinary bladder. In this review, we discuss the use of epigenetics in bladder cancer and the potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications. A comprehensive search of the English medical literature was conducted in PubMed using the terms microRNA regulation, DNA methylation, histone modification and bladder cancer. The most important epigenetic changes include DNA methylation, histone modification and microRNA regulation. Both DNA hypomethylation and hypermethylation have been associated with higher rate of cancer. The association of epigenetic changes with bladder cancer has led to the research of its diagnostic and prognostic implications as well as to the development of novel drugs to target these changes with the aim of achieving a survival benefit. Recently, epigenetics has been shown to play a much greater role than previously anticipated in the initiation and propagation of many tumors. The use of epigenetics for the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer is an evolving and promising field. The possibility of reversing epigenetic changes may facilitate additional cancer treatment options in the future.

  15. Radioimmunoassay of CA 19-9 tumor marker in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Markov, V.V.; Slavnov, V.N.; Komissarenko, I.V.; Kovpak, N.A.; Kovalenko, A.E.; Guda, B.B.

    1999-01-01

    Applicability of determining carbohydrate antigen CA 19-9 content in blood serum, tissue extracts, and thyroid tumor aspiration biopsy samples to the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors of thyroid is studied. Radioimmunoassay was used for measurements. It is shown that determination of marker CA 19-9 in blood serum is not informationally capable for the differential diagnosis of thyroid tumors. Considerable increase in CA 19-9 concentration was found in tumor aspiration biopsy samples from patients with malignant tumors this fact can be used for preoperative diagnosis of thyroid cancer [ru

  16. Potential Applications of Nanotechnology for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua eMcCarroll

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite improvements in our understanding of pancreatic cancer and the emerging concept of personalized medicine for the treatment of this disease, it is still the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the western world. It is established that pancreatic cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease with a complex tumor microenvironment. Indeed the extensive stroma surrounding the cancer cells has been shown to be important in promoting tumor growth and metastases, as well as sequestering chemotherapeutic agents consequently decreasing delivery to the tumor cells. Nanotechnology has come to the forefront in the areas of medical diagnostics, imaging, and therapeutic drug delivery. This review will focus on the potential applications of nanotechnology for diagnosis, imaging, and delivery of therapeutic agents for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

  17. Barriers and Explanatory Mechanisms of Delays in the Patient and Diagnosis Intervals of Care for Breast Cancer in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unger-Saldaña, Karla; Ventosa-Santaulària, Daniel; Miranda, Alfonso; Verduzco-Bustos, Guillermo

    2018-04-01

    Most breast cancer patients in low- and middle-income settings are diagnosed at advanced stages due to lengthy intervals of care. This study aimed to understand the mechanisms through which delays occur in the patient interval and diagnosis interval of care. We conducted a cross-sectional survey including 886 patients referred to four major public cancer hospitals in Mexico City. Based in a conceptual model of help-seeking behavior, a path analysis strategy was used to identify the relationships between explanatory factors of patient delay and diagnosis delay. The patient and the diagnosis intervals were greater than 3 months in 20% and 65% of participants, respectively. We present explanatory models for each interval and the interrelationship between the associated factors. The patient interval was longer among women who were single, interpreted their symptoms as not worrisome, concealed symptoms, and perceived a lack of financial resources and the difficulty of missing a day of work as barriers to seek care. These barriers were more commonly perceived among patients who were younger, had lower socioeconomic status, and lived outside of Mexico City. The diagnosis interval was longer among those who used several different health services prior to the cancer hospital and perceived medical errors in these services. More health services were used among those who perceived errors and long waiting times for appointments, and who first consulted private services. Our findings support the relevance of strengthening early cancer diagnosis strategies, especially the improvement of quality of primary care and expedited referral routes to cancer services. This study's findings suggest that policy in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) should be directed toward reducing delays in diagnosis, before the implementation of mammography screening programs. The results suggest several factors susceptible to early diagnosis interventions. To reduce patient delays, the usually

  18. Diagnosis Lost: Differences between Children Who Had and Who Currently Have an Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumberg, Stephen J.; Zablotsky, Benjamin; Avila, Rosa M.; Colpe, Lisa J.; Pringle, Beverly A.; Kogan, Michael D.

    2016-01-01

    Autism spectrum disorder diagnoses sometimes change due to misdiagnosis, maturation, or treatment. This study uses a probability-based national survey--the Survey of Pathways to Diagnosis and Services--to compare currently diagnosed (n = 1,420) and previously diagnosed (n = 187) children aged 6-17 years based on retrospective parental reports of…

  19. Job tenure and self-reported workplace discrimination for cancer survivors 2 years after diagnosis: does employment legislation matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paraponaris, Alain; Teyssier, Luis Sagaon; Ventelou, Bruno

    2010-12-01

    To assess the risk of leaving employment for cancer survivors 2 years after diagnosis and the role of workplace discrimination in this risk. A representative sample of 4270 French individuals older than 17 and younger than 58 years when diagnosed with cancer in 2002 were interviewed 2 years later. Their occupational status was analyzed with the help of Probit and IV-Probit models. Overall, 66% of the cancer survivors who were working at the time of diagnosis were still employed 2 years later. Age, education level, income at diagnosis, work contract, professional status, affective support, relative prognosis at diagnosis, tumor site and treatment have contrasting impacts upon the probability of job loss across gender. Even after having controlled for these variables, self-reported workplace discrimination increases the probability of job loss by 15%. Despite protective labor law and favorable health insurance arrangements, French cancer survivors continue to experience problems to stay in or to return to the labor force. Measures targeting only the employment protection of cancer survivors do not seem to be sufficient to end prior social inequalities in job attainment. Intervention for specific populations particularly exposed to job-loss risks would also be needed. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. The value of auditing negative lower GI investigations preceding a final diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somasekar, A; James, L; Stephenson, B M; Thompson, I W; Vellacott, K D; Allison, M C

    2009-09-01

    To review all preceding 'negative' large bowel investigations in patients with a final diagnosis of colorectal cancer, and to examine whether delayed diagnosis was associated with worse outcome. Details were gathered on all patients with a new diagnosis of colorectal adenocarcinoma presenting over 4.5 years. For each patient the hospital's clinical workstation and radiology and endoscopy databases were interrogated for all flexible sigmoidoscopies, colonoscopies and barium enemas during the 5 years prior to diagnosis. Among the 570 patients, 28 (5%) had undergone colonoscopy and/or flexible sigmoidoscopy that had not shown colorectal cancer during the 5 years preceding final diagnosis, and a further 28 (5%) had undergone 'negative' barium enemas. Polyp surveillance might have missed four lesions destined to become malignant. Correspondingly there were three patients undergoing IBD surveillance found to have CRC, having had a negative complete colonoscopy within the preceding 5 years. Among patients undergoing de novo colonoscopy for diagnosis the true miss rate was only one patient per year. At August 2007, 29 (58%) of those with delayed diagnosis were still alive, compared with 216 (42%) of those diagnosed during initial investigation (chi2 = 5.04, P auditing the quality assurance of lower gastrointestinal diagnostic services. Despite the delay, late diagnosis was found to be associated with improved survival and a lower likelihood of metastatic disease.

  1. Lung cancer: Current status and prospects for the future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mountain, C.F.; Carr, D.T.

    1986-01-01

    This book contains 32 papers. Some of the titles are: Activation of cellular ras genes in human neoplasms; The valve of definitive radiation therapy of unresectable squamous cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma of the lung; Current concepts of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for small cell lung cancer, and Current status of immunotherapy for lung cancer

  2. Socioeconomic position and stage at diagnosis of head and neck cancer - a nationwide study from DAHANCA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Maja Halgren; Bøje, Charlotte Rotbøl; Kjær, Trille Kristina

    2015-01-01

    socioeconomic position and advanced stage HNSCC at diagnosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Men and women with HNSCC diagnosed between 1992 and 2008 were identified in the Danish Head and Neck Cancer Group (DAHANCA) database, which contains detailed information on all cases of HNSCC treated in Denmark. Individual...... information on the following four socioeconomic indicators: highest attained educational level, cohabitation status, disposable income and degree of urbanisation were obtained from Statistics Denmark. For the 9683 cases on which there was full information, we estimated odds ratios (ORs) for a diagnosis...... for hypopharynx cancer patients living in rural areas or provincial cities. Having one or more comorbid conditions was associated with an increased OR for advanced stage oral cancer but with a decreased OR for oropharynx cancer. CONCLUSION: In this nationwide population-based study, socioeconomic differences...

  3. Fluorescence and Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy for Breast Cancer Diagnosis During Core Needle Biopsy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Zhu, Changfang

    2007-01-01

    .... Both empirically based and model based approaches have been explored for the extraction of diagnostically useful information from the tissue spectra, as well as the diagnosis of breast cancer based...

  4. Nanoscale nuclear architecture for cancer diagnosis by spatial-domain low-coherence quantitative phase microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Pin; Bista, Rajan K.; Khalbuss, Walid E.; Qiu, Wei; Staton, Kevin D.; Zhang, Lin; Brentnall, Teresa A.; Brand, Randall E.; Liu, Yang

    2011-03-01

    Alterations in nuclear architecture are the hallmark diagnostic characteristic of cancer cells. In this work, we show that the nuclear architectural characteristics quantified by spatial-domain low-coherence quantitative phase microscopy (SL-QPM), is more sensitive for the identification of cancer cells than conventional cytopathology. We demonstrated the importance of nuclear architectural characteristics in both an animal model of intestinal carcinogenesis - APC/Min mouse model and human cytology specimens with colorectal cancer by identifying cancer from cytologically noncancerous appearing cells. The determination of nanoscale nuclear architecture using this simple and practical optical instrument is a significant advance towards cancer diagnosis.

  5. Does the diagnosis of breast or ovarian cancer trigger referral to genetic counseling?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, C Bethan; Littell, Ramey; Hoodfar, Elizabeth; Sinclair, Fiona; Pressman, Alice

    2013-03-01

    Kaiser Permanente Northern California is a large integrated health care delivery system in the United States that has guidelines for referring women with newly diagnosed BRCA1-and BRCA2-associated cancers for genetic counseling. This study assesses adherence to genetic counseling referral guidelines within this health system. Chart review was performed to identify patients with cancer who met the following pathology-based Kaiser Permanente Northern California guidelines for referral for genetic counseling: invasive breast cancer, younger than age 40; nonmucinous epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer, younger than age 60; women with synchronous or metachronous primary cancers of the breast and ovaries; and male breast cancer. We assessed compliance with referral guidelines. An electronic notice was sent to the managing physician of patients with newly diagnosed cancer to assess the feasibility of this intervention. A total of 340 patients were identified with breast cancer at younger than age 40 or with ovarian, peritoneal, or tubal cancer between January and June, 2008. Upon chart review, 105 of these patients met pathology-based criteria for referral to genetic counseling, of whom 47 (45%) were referred within the 2-year study period. Of the 67 subjects with breast cancer, 40 subjects (60%) were referred. In contrast, only 7 (21%) of 33 patients with ovarian cancer were referred (P < 0.001). A pilot study was performed to test the feasibility of notifying managing oncologists with an electronic letter alerting them of eligibility for genetic referral of patients with new diagnosis (n = 21). In the 3 to 6 months after this notification, 12 of these 21 patients were referred for counseling including 5 of 7 patients with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. There is a missed opportunity for referring patients to genetic counseling, especially among patients with ovarian cancer. A pilot study suggests that alerting treating physicians is a feasible

  6. Statistical classifiers on multifractal parameters for optical diagnosis of cervical cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukhopadhyay, Sabyasachi; Pratiher, Sawon; Kumar, Rajeev; Krishnamoorthy, Vigneshram; Pradhan, Asima; Ghosh, Nirmalya; Panigrahi, Prasanta K.

    2017-06-01

    An augmented set of multifractal parameters with physical interpretations have been proposed to quantify the varying distribution and shape of the multifractal spectrum. The statistical classifier with accuracy of 84.17% validates the adequacy of multi-feature MFDFA characterization of elastic scattering spectroscopy for optical diagnosis of cancer.

  7. Raman microspectroscopy of nucleus and cytoplasm for human colon cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wenjing; Wang, Hongbo; Du, Jingjing; Jing, Chuanyong

    2017-11-15

    Subcellular Raman analysis is a promising clinic tool for cancer diagnosis, but constrained by the difficulty of deciphering subcellular spectra in actual human tissues. We report a label-free subcellular Raman analysis for use in cancer diagnosis that integrates subcellular signature spectra by subtracting cytoplasm from nucleus spectra (Nuc.-Cyt.) with a partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model. Raman mapping with the classical least-squares (CLS) model allowed direct visualization of the distribution of the cytoplasm and nucleus. The PLS-DA model was employed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of five types of spectral datasets, including non-selective, nucleus, cytoplasm, ratio of nucleus to cytoplasm (Nuc./Cyt.), and nucleus minus cytoplasm (Nuc.-Cyt.), resulting in diagnostic sensitivity of 88.3%, 84.0%, 98.4%, 84.5%, and 98.9%, respectively. Discriminating between normal and cancerous cells of actual human tissues through subcellular Raman markers is feasible, especially when using the nucleus-cytoplasm difference spectra. The subcellular Raman approach had good stability, and had excellent diagnostic performance for rectal as well as colon tissues. The insights gained from this study shed new light on the general applicability of subcellular Raman analysis in clinical trials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Weight Gain After Breast Cancer Diagnosis and All-Cause Mortality: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bracken, Michael B.; Sanft, Tara B.; Ligibel, Jennifer A.; Harrigan, Maura; Irwin, Melinda L.

    2015-01-01

    Background: Overweight and obesity are associated with breast cancer mortality. However, the relationship between postdiagnosis weight gain and mortality is unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of weight gain after breast cancer diagnosis and breast cancer–specific, all-cause mortality and recurrence outcomes. Methods: Electronic databases identified articles up through December 2014, including: PubMed (1966-present), EMBASE (1974-present), CINAHL (1982-present), and Web of Science. Language and publication status were unrestricted. Cohort studies and clinical trials measuring weight change after diagnosis and all-cause/breast cancer–specific mortality or recurrence were considered. Participants were women age 18 years or older with stage I-IIIC breast cancer. Fixed effects analysis summarized the association between weight gain (≥5.0% body weight) and all-cause mortality; all tests were two-sided. Results: Twelve studies (n = 23 832) were included. Weight gain (≥5.0%) compared with maintenance (breast cancer–specific mortality (HR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.00 to 1.38, P = .05). Conclusions: Weight gain after diagnosis of breast cancer is associated with higher all-cause mortality rates compared with maintaining body weight. Adverse effects are greater for weight gains of 10.0% or higher. PMID:26424778

  9. Current Diagnosis, Treatment and Etiology of Status Epilepticus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Çetin Kürşad Akpınar

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Status Epilepticus (SE is a medical emergency that causes significant morbidity and mortality and requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. Although SE can be divided into two subgroups as convulsive and nonconvulsive, treatment principles are generally similar. Treatment should be prompt and underlying cause should be corrected. Although intravenous lorazepam is the first-line treatment due to a lower risk of relapse, diazepam becomes the first choice since loeazepan is not available in our country. Even though intravenous benzodiazepine stops seizures, intravenous antiepileptic drug (phenytoin, etc. should be administered at a loading dose. Patients with refractory status epilepticus should be supported with respect to vital, respiratory, metabolic and hemodynamic aspects and followed up in an intensive care unit to monitor cerebral electrical activity. The most common cause in the etiology is the cessation of antiepileptic drugs. The aim of SE treatment is to stop seizures and prevent complications and recurrence. In this paper, current diagnosis, treatment and etiology of SE are reviewed.

  10. The value of imaging examinations in diagnosis and curative effect evaluation of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xia Xiaotian; Zhang Yongxue

    2010-01-01

    Breast cancer is a serious impact on women's physical and mental health and a life-threatening common disease. Imaging examinations have great significances in diagnosing and evaluating curative effect on breast cancer. This article aims to introduce and comprehensive the value of diagnosis and curative effect evaluation of breast cancer in the context of imaging examinations (ultrasonography, mammography, breast CT, breast MRI, breast 99 Tc m -MIBI imaging, PET, PET-CT, etc). (authors)

  11. Breast cancer diagnosis and mortality by tumor stage and migration background in a nationwide cohort study in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdoli, Gholamreza; Bottai, Matteo; Sandelin, Kerstin; Moradi, Tahereh

    2017-02-01

    Survival in breast cancer patients has steadily increased over the years, but with considerable disparities between individuals with different migration background and social position. We explored differences in diagnosis and all-cause mortality in breast cancer patients by stage of disease at the time of diagnosis and by country of birth, while considering the effect of comorbidity, regional and socio-demographic factors. We used Swedish national registers to follow a cohort of 35,268 patients (4232 foreign-born) with breast cancer between 2004 and 2009 in Sweden. We estimated relative risk ratio (RRR) for diagnosis, hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause mortality and relative excess rate (RER) for breast cancer mortality using multinomial logistic regression models, multivariable Cox proportional hazard, and Poisson regression, respectively. We observed 4178 deaths due to any causes. Among them 418 women were born abroad. Foreign-born patients were on average 3 years younger at the time of breast cancer diagnosis and had higher risk of stage II tumors compared with Sweden-born women (RRR = 1.09, 95% CI 1.00-1.19). Risk of dying was 20% higher in foreign-born compared with Sweden-born breast cancer patients, if the tumor was diagnosed at stages III-IV after adjustment for age at diagnosis, education, county of residence and Charlson's comorbidity index (HR = 1.20, 95% CI 0.95-1.51 and RER = 1.21, 95% CI 0.95-1.55). The worse prognosis in foreign-born patients with advanced tumors compared with Sweden-born patients is not explained by educational level or comorbidity. The reasons behind the observed disparities should be further studied. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Barriers to early presentation and diagnosis of breast cancer among African women living in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cynthia Pomaa Akuoko

    Full Text Available Breast cancer (BC has been described as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women especially in the developing world including sub Saharan Africa (SSA. Delayed presentation and late diagnosis at health facilities are parts of the contributing factors of high BC mortality in Africa. This review aimed to appraise the contributing factors to delayed breast cancer presentation and diagnosis among SSA women.Five databases encompassing medical and social sciences were systematically searched using predefined search terms linked with breast cancer presentation and diagnosis and sub Saharan Africa. Reference lists of relevant papers were also hand searched. Quality of quantitative and qualitative articles were assessed using the National Institute of Health (NIH Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP quality appraisal checklist. Thematic analysis was used to synthesize the qualitative studies to integrate findings.Fourteen (14 quantitative studies, two (2 qualitative studies and one (1 mixed method study merited inclusion for analysis. This review identified low knowledge of breast cancer among SSA women. This review also found lack of awareness of early detection treatment, poor perception of BC, socio-cultural factors such as belief, traditions and fear as factors impacting African women's health seeking behavior in relation to breast cancer.Improving African women's knowledge and understanding will improve behaviors related to breast cancer and facilitate early presentation and detection and enhance proper management and treatment of breast cancer.

  13. Barriers to early presentation and diagnosis of breast cancer among African women living in sub-Saharan Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akuoko, Cynthia Pomaa; Armah, Ernestina; Sarpong, Theresa; Quansah, Dan Yedu; Amankwaa, Isaac

    2017-01-01

    Background Breast cancer (BC) has been described as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women especially in the developing world including sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Delayed presentation and late diagnosis at health facilities are parts of the contributing factors of high BC mortality in Africa. This review aimed to appraise the contributing factors to delayed breast cancer presentation and diagnosis among SSA women. Methods Five databases encompassing medical and social sciences were systematically searched using predefined search terms linked with breast cancer presentation and diagnosis and sub Saharan Africa. Reference lists of relevant papers were also hand searched. Quality of quantitative and qualitative articles were assessed using the National Institute of Health (NIH) Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) quality appraisal checklist. Thematic analysis was used to synthesize the qualitative studies to integrate findings. Results Fourteen (14) quantitative studies, two (2) qualitative studies and one (1) mixed method study merited inclusion for analysis. This review identified low knowledge of breast cancer among SSA women. This review also found lack of awareness of early detection treatment, poor perception of BC, socio-cultural factors such as belief, traditions and fear as factors impacting African women’s health seeking behavior in relation to breast cancer. Conclusion Improving African women’s knowledge and understanding will improve behaviors related to breast cancer and facilitate early presentation and detection and enhance proper management and treatment of breast cancer. PMID:28192444

  14. Distinct trajectories of positive and negative affect after colorectal cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciere, Yvette; Janse, Moniek; Almansa, Josué; Visser, Annemieke; Sanderman, Robbert; Sprangers, Mirjam A G; Ranchor, Adelita V; Fleer, Joke

    2017-06-01

    Insight into trajectories of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) across the cancer continuum may improve understanding of the nature of adjustment problems. The primary aim of this study was to identify subgroups of patients with distinct trajectories of PA and NA following diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Secondary to this aim, the co-occurrence between trajectories and their association with goal-related processes was explored. CRC patients (n = 186) completed questionnaires within 1 month, 7 months, and 18 months after diagnosis. Multilevel models were used to study the trajectory of PA and NA, as measured with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Four classes with distinct PA trajectories were identified: low (18.8%), increasing (6.7%), moderate (68.2%), and high (6.3%); 2 trajectories of NA emerged: low (36.3%) and moderate (63.7%). There was no significant association between PA and NA trajectory class probabilities. The average trajectory of PA covaried with levels of goal disturbance and goal reengagement over time, while the average NA trajectory covaried with goal disturbance and goal disengagement. Compared with the general population, our sample of cancer patients suffered from a lack of positive emotions, but not a high presence of negative emotions. About one fifth of patients reported low PA up to 18 months after diagnosis and may benefit from supportive care. Furthermore, the trajectory of PA was independent of that of NA and related with a distinct goal adjustment process (i.e., goal disengagement vs. goal reengagement). This finding indicates the need to tailor psychological care to the nature of the adjustment problem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. European audit of current practice in diagnosis and treatment of childhood growth hormone deficiency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juul, Anders; Bernasconi, Sergio; Clayton, Peter E

    2002-01-01

    The present survey among members of the ESPE on current practice in diagnosis and treatment of growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD) is of great clinical relevance and importance in the light of the recently published guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of GHD by the Growth Hormone Research...... Society. We have found much conformity but also numerous discrepancies between the recommendations of the Growth Hormone Research Society and the current practice in Europe....

  16. The role of neuropsychological functioning in cancer survivors' return to work one year after diagnosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nieuwenhuijsen, Karen; de Boer, Angela; Spelten, Evelien; Sprangers, Mirjam A. G.; Verbeek, Jos H. A. M.

    2009-01-01

    Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between neuropsychological functioning and the ability to work in cancer survivors. Methods: The study involved a consecutive cohort of 45 patients who had received a primary diagnosis of cancer, were gainfully employed at

  17. Coping with a diagnosis of breast cancer among Omani women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Azri, Mohammed H; Al-Awisi, Huda; Al-Rasbi, Samira; Al-Moundhri, Mansour

    2014-07-01

    The aim of this study was to identify coping strategies experienced by Omani women after breast cancer diagnosis. Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with 19 women diagnosed with breast cancer. Several coping strategies were identified including denial, optimism, withdrawal, Islamic beliefs and practices, and the support of family members and health-care providers, but Islamic beliefs and practices were the commonest. Health-care professionals should be aware of and respect women's coping strategies and encourage them to use to reduce the psychological symptoms. They should also make family members and friends aware of their role in supporting and encouraging coping strategies. © The Author(s) 2013.

  18. Aided diagnosis methods of breast cancer based on machine learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yue; Wang, Nian; Cui, Xiaoyu

    2017-08-01

    In the field of medicine, quickly and accurately determining whether the patient is malignant or benign is the key to treatment. In this paper, K-Nearest Neighbor, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Logistic Regression were applied to predict the classification of thyroid,Her-2,PR,ER,Ki67,metastasis and lymph nodes in breast cancer, in order to recognize the benign and malignant breast tumors and achieve the purpose of aided diagnosis of breast cancer. The results showed that the highest classification accuracy of LDA was 88.56%, while the classification effect of KNN and Logistic Regression were better than that of LDA, the best accuracy reached 96.30%.

  19. Adjusting to a Diagnosis of Cancer: Processes for Building Patient Capacity for Decision-Making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emanuel, Linda; Johnson, Rebecca; Taromino, Caroline

    2017-09-01

    This short report contributes to the expanding body of qualitative research literature about the cognitive processes of newly diagnosed cancer patients as they adjust to a diagnosis of cancer. The study is based on secondary qualitative analysis of audio records collected as part of a larger NIH study (RO1D: An Interdisciplinary Perspective: A Social Science Examination of Oncofertility RL1 HD058296). Core categories illustrate the processes of "naming it," "dealing with dealing with it," and finding the "new norm" and were based on nine patient experiences. We observe that our substantive conceptual categories have equivalents in bereavement and grief literature where researchers have posited the theory that processing the diagnosis of a terminal illness is the equivalent to adjusting to a bereavement. These findings emphasize the importance of understanding real-time patient thoughts and feelings as soon after diagnosis as was possible with full patient consent.

  20. Perceptions of gender roles, gender power relationships, and sexuality in Thai women following diagnosis and treatment for cervical cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kritcharoen, Sureeporn; Suwan, Kobkaew; Jirojwong, Sansnee

    2005-05-10

    To describe patients' and their partners' perceptions of gender roles, gender power relationships, and sexuality before diagnosis of and after treatment for cervical cancer. Descriptive. Southern Thailand. 97 women with cervical cancer who received cancer treatment, including radiotherapy, and their partners. Structured interview methods were used to gather information relating to gender roles, gender power relationships, and sexuality. Gender roles, gender power relationships, and sexuality. Fifty-two percent of the women (n = 50) were diagnosed with stage II cervical cancer. The percentage of women who undertook various activities specific to gender roles before their diagnoses was higher than the percentage who undertook the same activities after treatment. An increased percentage of partners undertook the women's gender-role-specific activities after the women received cancer treatment compared with the percentage who did so before diagnosis. Little change in gender power relationships was reported. A high percentage of the couples reported changes in various aspects of their sexuality after cancer treatment compared with before diagnosis. Gender roles, gender power relationships, and sexuality changed for women with cervical cancer and their partners after the women completed cancer treatment. Open discussions among women with cervical cancer, their partners, and oncology nurses are necessary to identify culturally sensitive and appropriate solutions.

  1. [Thinking from the end - Does the diagnosis "cancer" make a difference to patients and carers?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bausewein, Claudia

    2013-01-01

    The diagnosis of cancer is often associated with pain, suffering and dying. Many of these aspects also apply to patients dying from non-malignant disease. Being confronted with a malignancy posts an existential threat for many patients that is linked with loss of control, challenge of autonomy and fear of the future. In contrast, patients with non-malignant disease do not realise the scope of their diagnosis and the potentially life-limiting nature of their disease. The prognosis of patients with chronic organ failure is often shorter than that of some patients with malignancies. Patients with malignant and non-malignant disease suffer from pain and many other symptoms. Tumour-oriented therapies, side effects and changes of the body image add to the suffering of cancer patients. Although consequences of the disease and the therapies are often not visible in patients with non-malignant disease, the increasing functional decline, psychosocial burden, lack of co-ordination of care, and information needs burden patients. Wishes at the end of life are similar in cancer and non-cancer patients. Access to palliative care is much easier for cancer patients than for non-cancer patients. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  2. Development of a computer aided diagnosis model for prostate cancer classification on multi-parametric MRI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alfano, R.; Soetemans, D.; Bauman, G. S.; Gibson, E.; Gaed, M.; Moussa, M.; Gomez, J. A.; Chin, J. L.; Pautler, S.; Ward, A. D.

    2018-02-01

    Multi-parametric MRI (mp-MRI) is becoming a standard in contemporary prostate cancer screening and diagnosis, and has shown to aid physicians in cancer detection. It offers many advantages over traditional systematic biopsy, which has shown to have very high clinical false-negative rates of up to 23% at all stages of the disease. However beneficial, mp-MRI is relatively complex to interpret and suffers from inter-observer variability in lesion localization and grading. Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems have been developed as a solution as they have the power to perform deterministic quantitative image analysis. We measured the accuracy of such a system validated using accurately co-registered whole-mount digitized histology. We trained a logistic linear classifier (LOGLC), support vector machine (SVC), k-nearest neighbour (KNN) and random forest classifier (RFC) in a four part ROI based experiment against: 1) cancer vs. non-cancer, 2) high-grade (Gleason score ≥4+3) vs. low-grade cancer (Gleason score work will form the basis for a tool that enhances the radiologist's ability to detect malignancies, potentially improving biopsy guidance, treatment selection, and focal therapy for prostate cancer patients, maximizing the potential for cure and increasing quality of life.

  3. Diagnosis and treatment of superficial esophageal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barret, Maximilien; Prat, Frédéric

    2018-01-01

    Endoscopy allows for the screening, early diagnosis, treatment and follow up of superficial esophageal cancer. Endoscopic submucosal dissection has become the gold standard for the resection of superficial squamous cell neoplasia. Combinations of endoscopic mucosal resection and radiofrequency ablation are the mainstay of the management of Barrett's associated neoplasia. However, protruded, non-lifting or large lesions may be better managed by endoscopic submucosal dissection. Novel ablation tools, such as argon plasma coagulation with submucosal lifting and cryoablation balloons, are being developed for the treatment of residual Barrett's esophagus, since iatrogenic strictures still hamper the development of extensive circumferential resections in the esophagus. Optimal surveillance modalities after endoscopic resection are still to be determined. The assessment of the risk of lymph-node metastases, as well as of the need for additional treatments based on qualitative and quantitative histological criteria, balanced to the patient's condition, requires a dedicated multidisciplinary team decision process. The need for trained endoscopists, expert pathologists and surgeons, and specialized multidisciplinary meetings underlines the role of expert centers in the management of superficial esophageal cancer.

  4. Diagnosis of renal cell cancer by dynamic MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Togami, Izumi; Kitagawa, Takahiro; Katoh, Katsuya

    1992-01-01

    Dynamic MRI was performed in 15 cases (16 lesions) of renal cell cancer. The enhanced pattern of the tumor was mainly evaluated and findings were compared with these of dynamic CT and renal angiography. Enhanced patterns on dynamic MRI and dynamic CT were similar, but each phase on dynamic MRI tended to be prolonged compared with dynamic CT. Many hypervascular tumors on renal angiography had prominent enhancement in an early phase on dynamic MRI, but there was no prominent enhancement in cases with tumor thrombi in the renal vein or IVC. All hypovascular tumors were enhanced to some degree without exception on dynamic MRI. Dynamic MRI is considered to be useful for the evaluation of the characterization, especially vascularity, of renal cell cancer, but we should pay attention to the differential diagnosis from other tumor in atypical cases because its enhanced patterns are various on dynamic MRI. (author)

  5. Role of MicroRNA in the Diagnosis and Therapy of Hepatic Metastases from Colorectal Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chorti, Angeliki; Bangeas, Petros; Papavramidis, Theodossis S; Tsoulfas, Georgios

    2018-05-24

    Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancies in both genders and liver metastasis appear in more than 50% of patients with colorectal cancer, worsening its morbidity and mortality rates. The existing methods for the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer seem to be insufficient to predict its aggressiveness, leading to poor outcomes for the patient. MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs, which interact with mRNAs in a post-transcriptional stage, and have been found to be involved in pathogenesis of cancer and its metastases. Their utility in diagnosis of colorectal liver metastasis gains ground through serum or tissue examination. Several miRNAs are related to colorectal cancer and its liver metastasis. Some of them have oncogenic and other tumor suppressive role in the development of colorectal liver metastasis, while many of them have been proved to be correlated with the overall survival and prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer. The aim of the present review is to give a detailed account of the different miRNAs that have been described as playing a role in hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer, emphasizing their diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic implications. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  6. MicroRNA: a new and promising potential biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of ovarian cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pal, Manish K.; Jaiswar, Shyam P.; Dwivedi, Vinaya N.; Tripathi, Amit K.; Dwivedi, Ashish; Sankhwar, Pushplata

    2015-01-01

    Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the leading cause of death among all gynecological malignancies. Despite the technological and medical advances over the past four decades, such as the development of several biological markers (mRNA and proteins biomarkers), the mortality rate of ovarian cancer remains a challenge because of its late diagnosis, which is specifically attributed to low specificities and sensitivities. Under this compulsive scenario, recent advances in expression biology have shifted in identifying and developing specific and sensitive biomarkers, such as microRNAs (miRNAs) for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. MiRNAs are a novel class of small non-coding RNAs that deregulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level, either by translational repression or by mRNA degradation. These mechanisms may be involved in a complex cascade of cellular events associated with the pathophysiology of many types of cancer. MiRNAs are easily detectable in tissue and blood samples of cancer patients. Therefore, miRNAs hold good promise as potential biomarkers in ovarian cancer. In this review, we attempted to provide a comprehensive profile of key miRNAs involved in ovarian carcinoma to establish miRNAs as more reliable non-invasive clinical biomarkers for early detection of ovarian cancer compared with protein and DNA biomarkers

  7. Health-related quality of life in women with breast cancer in Korea: do sociodemographic characteristics and time since diagnosis make a difference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chae, Young Ran; Seo, Kumin

    2010-07-01

    To describe whether levels of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) differ by sociodemographic characteristics and time since breast cancer diagnosis in women in Korea. A descriptive, cross-sectional study of women with breast cancer. An outpatient clinic of one large hospital in Seoul, Republic of Korea. A convenience sample of 244 women with breast cancer after mastectomy. Study participants completed sociodemographic characteristics and HRQOL questionnaires. Medical charts were reviewed to determine time since breast cancer diagnosis. Sociodemographic characteristics (age, marital status, employment status, education, monthly household income, and religion), time since diagnosis, and HRQOL. The psychological well-being domain scored the lowest among domains of HRQOL. Women who are younger, married, unemployed, highly educated, or religious, with higher monthly household income or with greater than one year elapsed time since diagnosis, had higher HRQOL. Study findings will be useful to establish priorities in planning nursing interventions to enhance HRQOL in care of women with breast cancer. Nursing interventions can be provided to Korean women with breast cancer who are not religious, who are older, single or widowed, or employed, with lower education level, with lower monthly household income, or with one year or less elapsed time since breast cancer diagnosis.

  8. Insurance status effects on stage of diagnosis and surgical options used in the treatment of breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukavsky, Robert; Sariego, Jack

    2015-05-01

    Insurance status has the potential to play a significant role in an individual's health care by affecting the time of diagnosis and the treatment options used. Our study reviewed insurance status as a determinant of the time of a breast cancer diagnosis as well as the surgical treatment options offered. The American College of Surgeons' National Cancer Database benchmark reports were used to examine first-course surgery stratified by the stage of breast cancer diagnosed between 2000 and 2010. The data were stratified according to insurance status with a focus on insured patients versus underinsured patients. The relations among insurance status, breast cancer stage at the time of presentation, and initial treatment offered were then evaluated. There was a statistically significant relation between breast cancer stage at the time of diagnosis and insurance status. There also was a relation between insurance status and the treatment offered. Adequately insured patients presented at an earlier stage than did underinsured patients. In addition, in patients who present with early-stage disease, insured patients had a higher rate of breast-conserving surgery than did underinsured patients, 62.4% and 55.5%, respectively. This trend continued in late-stage breast cancer, in which mastectomy was the predominant treatment option overall. Despite this, insured patients underwent breast-conserving therapy more frequently than did underinsured patients, 24.2% and 21.2%, respectively. The discrepancy of the stage of diagnosis between insured patients and underinsured patients can be attributed to a host of factors, among which are access to regular office visits and screening tests for breast cancer. In addition, the surgical treatment options used may depend on the cost of treatment and accessibility to and compliance with follow-up care.

  9. Identification of a biomarker panel for colorectal cancer diagnosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    García-Bilbao Amaia

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Malignancies arising in the large bowel cause the second largest number of deaths from cancer in the Western World. Despite progresses made during the last decades, colorectal cancer remains one of the most frequent and deadly neoplasias in the western countries. Methods A genomic study of human colorectal cancer has been carried out on a total of 31 tumoral samples, corresponding to different stages of the disease, and 33 non-tumoral samples. The study was carried out by hybridisation of the tumour samples against a reference pool of non-tumoral samples using Agilent Human 1A 60-mer oligo microarrays. The results obtained were validated by qRT-PCR. In the subsequent bioinformatics analysis, gene networks by means of Bayesian classifiers, variable selection and bootstrap resampling were built. The consensus among all the induced models produced a hierarchy of dependences and, thus, of variables. Results After an exhaustive process of pre-processing to ensure data quality--lost values imputation, probes quality, data smoothing and intraclass variability filtering--the final dataset comprised a total of 8, 104 probes. Next, a supervised classification approach and data analysis was carried out to obtain the most relevant genes. Two of them are directly involved in cancer progression and in particular in colorectal cancer. Finally, a supervised classifier was induced to classify new unseen samples. Conclusions We have developed a tentative model for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer based on a biomarker panel. Our results indicate that the gene profile described herein can discriminate between non-cancerous and cancerous samples with 94.45% accuracy using different supervised classifiers (AUC values in the range of 0.997 and 0.955.

  10. Transrectal ultrasound imaging and prostate cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goossen, Tjerk; Wijkstra, Hessel

    2003-01-01

    Prostate cancer is one of the most important causes of death from cancer in men. Ultrasound imaging is frequently used in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. This paper presents an overview of currently available ultrasound imaging techniques. The underlying principles and methods are discussed

  11. Molecular diagnosis of prostate cancer: Topical issues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. N. Knyazev

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Prostate cancer (PC is the second most common cancer and the fifth highest malignancy mortality rate in men worldwide. Although PC is detectable in 15-20% of men during life, its death risk is only about 3%. This means that not all PC cases require the same management tactics. The given review analyzes the current investigations searching for molecular biological markers to predict the course of PC and to choose its treatment policy, including that in the development of resistance to androgen-deprivation therapy.

  12. Diagnosis and treatment delays among elderly breast cancer patients with pre-existing mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iglay, Kristy; Santorelli, Melissa L; Hirshfield, Kim M; Williams, Jill M; Rhoads, George G; Lin, Yong; Demissie, Kitaw

    2017-11-01

    This study aimed to compare diagnosis and treatment delays in elderly breast cancer patients with and without pre-existing mental illness. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare data including 16,636 women 68+ years, who were diagnosed with stage I-IIIa breast cancer in the United States from 2005 to 2007. Mental illness was identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes recorded on inpatient and outpatient claims during the 3 years prior to breast cancer diagnosis. Patients were classified as having no mental illness, anxiety, depression, anxiety and depression, or severe mental illness (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other psychotic disorder). Multivariable binomial regression was used to assess the association between mental illness and delays of ≥60 and ≥90 days after adjustment for confounders. Patients with comorbid anxiety and depression had an increased risk for diagnosis delay of ≥90 days from symptom recognition (RR 1.11; 95% CI 1.00, 1.23), and those with severe mental illness had an increased risk for initial treatment delay of ≥60 days from diagnosis (RR 1.36; 95% CI 1.06, 1.74). Patients with any mental illness experienced an increased risk for adjuvant chemotherapy delay of ≥90 days from last operation (RR 1.13; 95% CI 1.01, 1.26) and each category of mental illness, except depression, showed a non-significant trend for this association. Breast cancer patients with mental illness should be closely managed by a cross-functional care team, including a psychiatrist, a primary care physician, and an oncologist, to ensure adequate care is received within an appropriate timeframe.

  13. Diagnosis of the gastric cancer by radionuclides and their labels, using catheter-type semiconductor radiation detector (CASRAD)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sassa, R [Asahi Life Foundation, Tokyo (Japan). Inst. for Adult Diseases; Iio, M; Sugita, T

    1980-08-01

    A new method of differential diagnosis of gastric cancer was reported. After intravenous /sup 32/P administration, lesions were counted by a small catheter-type radiation detector system under gastrofiberscopic direct vision control. Optimum counting time was examined in man and it was found to be between 20 to 50 hours after intravenous administration of /sup 32/P. With the currently available technology of miniature detectors, the ..beta..-emitting carcinophilic agent was still found to be the agent of choice to this end, since ..gamma..-emitting carcinophilic agents cannot provide data originated only from the gastric mucosa in question.

  14. Ontology based decision system for breast cancer diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trabelsi Ben Ameur, Soumaya; Cloppet, Florence; Wendling, Laurent; Sellami, Dorra

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, we focus on analysis and diagnosis of breast masses inspired by expert concepts and rules. Accordingly, a Bag of Words is built based on the ontology of breast cancer diagnosis, accurately described in the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System. To fill the gap between low level knowledge and expert concepts, a semantic annotation is developed using a machine learning tool. Then, breast masses are classified into benign or malignant according to expert rules implicitly modeled with a set of classifiers (KNN, ANN, SVM and Decision Tree). This semantic context of analysis offers a frame where we can include external factors and other meta-knowledge such as patient risk factors as well as exploiting more than one modality. Based on MRI and DECEDM modalities, our developed system leads a recognition rate of 99.7% with Decision Tree where an improvement of 24.7 % is obtained owing to semantic analysis.

  15. Fucosylation Is a Promising Target for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shinichiro Shinzaki

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Oligosaccharides, sequences of carbohydrates conjugated to proteins and lipids, are arguably the most abundant and structurally diverse class of molecules. Fucosylation is one of the most important oligosaccharide modifications involved in cancer and inflammation. Recent advances in glycomics have identified several types of glyco-biomarkers containing fucosylation that are linked to certain types of cancer. Fucosylated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP is widely used in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma because it is more specific than alpha-fetoprotein. High levels of fucosylated haptoglobin have also been found in sera of patients with various carcinomas. We have recently established a simple lectin-antibody ELISA to measure fucosylated haptoglobin and to investigate its clinical use. Cellular fucosylation is dependent upon fucosyltransferase activity and the level of its donor substrate, guanosine diphosphate (GDP-fucose. GDP-mannose-4,6-dehydratase (GMDS is a key enzyme involved in the synthesis of GDP-fucose. Mutations of GMDS found in colon cancer cells induced a malignant phenotype, leading to rapid growth in athymic mice resistant to natural killer cells. This review describes the role of fucosylated haptoglobin as a cancer biomarker, and discusses the possible biological role of fucosylation in cancer development.

  16. CT diagnosis of primary lung cancer coexisting with pulmonary tuberculosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Sun Joo; Kim, Young Sook; Oh, Jae Hee; Kim, Eun Kyoung; Kim, Young Chul

    1992-01-01

    When bronchogenic carcinoma is coexisting with pulmonary tuberculosis, it is difficult to differentiate bronchogenic carcinoma from pulmonary tuberculosis radiographically. Thus, the object of this study is to define differential diagnosis of bronchogenic carcinoma by computed tomography. We analyzed CT scans of 27 patients with radiologic findings of pulmonary tuberculosis and mass of which twelve cases were pulmonary tuberculosis and fifteen cases were primary lung cancer. The location of parenchymal infiltration and the mass was the same in 60%(9/15) of the primary lung cancer in cases and 83%(10/12) of the pulmonary tuberculosis cases. The common location of the mass was the both upper lobes in 92%(11/12) of the pulmonary tuberculosis cases and 53%(8/15) of the primary lung cancer cases. The common locations of the mediastinal lymphadenopathy were 4R, 2R of the pulmonary tuberculosis cases and 4R, 10R of the primary lung cancer cases. In the feature of post enhanced lymph nodes, homogenous increased density was more frequent in primary lung cancer. Measurements of the maximum thickness part of the cavity wall was not a reliable indication of malignancy

  17. Tumor markers for diagnosis, monitoring of recurrence and prognosis in patients with upper gastrointestinal tract cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jing, Jie-Xian; Wang, Yan; Xu, Xiao-Qin; Sun, Ting; Tian, Bao-Guo; Du, Li-Li; Zhao, Xian-Wen; Han, Cun-Zhi

    2014-01-01

    To evaluate the value of combined detection of serum CEA, CA19-9, CA24-2, AFP, CA72-4, SCC, TPA and TPS for the clinical diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT) cancer and to analyze the efficacy of these tumor markers (TMs) in evaluating curative effects and prognosis. A total of 573 patients with upper GIT cancer between January 2004 and December 2007 were enrolled in this study. Serum levels of CEA, CA19-9, CA24-2, AFP, CA72-4, SCC, TPA and TPS were examined preoperatively and every 3 months postoperatively by ELISA. The sensitivity of CEA, CA19-9, CA24-2, AFP, CA72-4, SCC, TPA and TPS were 26.8%, 36.2%, 42.9%, 2.84%, 25.4%, 34.6%, 34.2% and 30.9%, respectively. The combined detection of CEA+CA199+CA242+CA724 had higher sensitivity and specificity in gastric cancer (GC) and cardiac cancer, while CEA+CA199+CA242+SCC was the best combination of diagnosis for esophageal cancer (EC). Elevation of preoperative CEA, CA19-9 and CA24-2, SCC and CA72-4 was significantly associated with pathological types (pCEA, CA19-9, CA24-2, CA72-4 and SCC decreased obviously 3 months after operations. When metastasis and recurrence occurred, the levels of TMs significantly increased. On multivariate analysis, high preoperative CA72-4, CA24-2 and SCC served as prognostic factors for cardiac carcinoma, GC and EC, respectively. combined detection of CEA+CA199+CA242+SCC proved to be the most economic and practical strategy in diagnosis of EC; CEA+CA199+CA242+CA724 proved to be a better evaluation indicator for cardiac cancer and GC. CEA and CA19-9, CA24-2, CA72-4 and SCC, examined postoperatively during follow-up, were useful to find early tumor recurrence and metastasis, and evaluate prognosis. AFP, TPA and TPS have no significant value in diagnosis of patients with upper GIT cancer.

  18. Fault diagnosis and performance evaluation for high current LIA based on radial basis function neural network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Xinglin; Wang Huacen; Chen Nan; Dai Wenhua; Li Jin

    2006-01-01

    High current linear induction accelerator (LIA) is a complicated experimental physics device. It is difficult to evaluate and predict its performance. this paper presents a method which combines wavelet packet transform and radial basis function (RBF) neural network to build fault diagnosis and performance evaluation in order to improve reliability of high current LIA. The signal characteristics vectors which are extracted based on energy parameters of wavelet packet transform can well present the temporal and steady features of pulsed power signal, and reduce data dimensions effectively. The fault diagnosis system for accelerating cell and the trend classification system for the beam current based on RBF networks can perform fault diagnosis and evaluation, and provide predictive information for precise maintenance of high current LIA. (authors)

  19. Strategies and challenges for communicating the diagnosis of cancer in cross-cultural clinical settings-Perspectives from South African healthcare professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Ottilia; Goliath, Veonna; van Rooyen, Dalena R M; Aldous, Colleen; Marais, Leonard Charles

    2017-01-01

    Communicating the diagnosis of cancer in cross-cultural clinical settings is a complex task. This qualitative research article describes the content and process of informing Zulu patients in South Africa of the diagnosis of cancer, using osteosarcoma as the index diagnosis. We used a descriptive research design with census sampling and focus group interviews. We used an iterative thematic data analysis process and Guba's model of trustworthiness to ensure scientific rigor. Our results reinforced the use of well-accepted strategies for communicating the diagnosis of cancer. In addition, new strategies emerged which may be useful in other cross-cultural settings. These strategies included using the stages of cancer to explain the disease and its progression and instilling hope using a multidisciplinary team care model. We identified several patients, professionals, and organizational factors that complicate cross-cultural communication. We conclude by recommending the development of protocols for communication in these cross-cultural clinical settings.

  20. CONCLUSION It is obvious that a diagnosis of breast cancer causes ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Sitwala

    Hack, T.F. and Degner, L.F. Coping responses following breast cancer diagnosis predict psychological adjustment three years later. Journal of Psychoncology 2004; 13 (4): 235-. 247. 15. Zakowski, S., Hall, A., Klein, L. and Baum, A. Appraised control, coping and stress in a community Sample. A test of the goodness-of-fit.

  1. Diagnosis and management of microscopic colitis: current perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bohr J

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Johan Bohr,1,3 Anna Wickbom,1,3 Agnes Hegedus,2 Nils Nyhlin,1,3 Elisabeth Hultgren Hörnquist,3 Curt Tysk1,3 1Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, 2Department of Laboratory Medicine/Pathology, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, 3School of Health and Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden Abstract: Collagenous colitis and lymphocytic colitis, together constituting microscopic colitis, are common causes of chronic diarrhea. They are characterized clinically by chronic nonbloody diarrhea and a macroscopically normal colonic mucosa where characteristic histopathological findings are seen. Previously considered rare, they now have emerged as common disorders that need to be considered in the investigation of the patient with chronic diarrhea. The annual incidence of each disorder is five to ten per 100,000 inhabitants, with a peak incidence in 60- to 70-year-old individuals and a predominance of female patients in collagenous colitis. The etiology and pathophysiology are not well understood, and the current view suggests an uncontrolled mucosal immune reaction to various luminal agents in predisposed individuals. Clinical symptoms comprise chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue, weight loss, and fecal incontinence that may impair the patient's health-related quality of life. An association is reported with other autoimmune disorders, such as celiac disease, thyroid disorders, diabetes mellitus, and arthritis. The best-documented treatment, both short-term and long-term, is budesonide, which induces clinical remission in up to 80% of patients after 8 weeks' treatment. However, after successful budesonide therapy is ended, recurrence of clinical symptoms is common, and the best possible long-term management deserves further study. The long-term prognosis is good, and the risk of complications, including colonic cancer, is low. We present an update of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of

  2. Breast Camps for Awareness and Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in Countries With Limited Resources: A Multidisciplinary Model From Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sayed, Shahin; Moloo, Zahir; Ngugi, Anthony; Allidina, Amyn; Ndumia, Rose; Mutuiri, Anderson; Wasike, Ronald; Wahome, Charles; Abdihakin, Mohamed; Kasmani, Riaz; Spears, Carol D; Oigara, Raymond; Mwachiro, Elizabeth B; Busarla, Satya V P; Kibor, Kibet; Ahmed, Abdulaziz; Wawire, Jonathan; Sherman, Omar; Saleh, Mansoor; Zujewski, Jo Anne; Dawsey, Sanford M

    2016-09-01

    Breast cancer is the most common cancer of women in Kenya. There are no national breast cancer early diagnosis programs in Kenya. The objective was to conduct a pilot breast cancer awareness and diagnosis program at three different types of facilities in Kenya. This program was conducted at a not-for-profit private hospital, a faith-based public hospital, and a government public referral hospital. Women aged 15 years and older were invited. Demographic, risk factor, knowledge, attitudes, and screening practice data were collected. Breast health information was delivered, and clinical breast examinations (CBEs) were performed. When appropriate, ultrasound imaging, fine-needle aspirate (FNA) diagnoses, core biopsies, and onward referrals were provided. A total of 1,094 women were enrolled in the three breast camps. Of those, 56% knew the symptoms and signs of breast cancer, 44% knew how breast cancer was diagnosed, 37% performed regular breast self-exams, and 7% had a mammogram or breast ultrasound in the past year. Of the 1,094 women enrolled, 246 (23%) had previously noticed a lump in their breast. A total of 157 participants (14%) had abnormal CBEs, of whom 111 had ultrasound exams, 65 had FNAs, and 18 had core biopsies. A total of 14 invasive breast cancers and 1 malignant phyllodes tumor were diagnosed Conducting a multidisciplinary breast camp awareness and early diagnosis program is feasible in different types of health facilities within a low- and middle-income country setting. This can be a model for breast cancer awareness and point-of-care diagnosis in countries with limited resources like Kenya. This work describes a novel breast cancer awareness and early diagnosis demonstration program in a low- and middle-income country within a limited resource setting. The program includes breast self-awareness and breast cancer education, clinical exams, and point-of-care diagnostics for women in three different types of health facilities in Kenya. This pilot

  3. Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Brain Metastases from the Primary Lung Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi LIU

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Lung cancer with brain metastasis was 23% to 65%, and is the most common type in brain metastasis tumors with the poor prognosis. At present, diagnosis and treatment of brain metastases from lung carcinoma and its molecular mechanism have become one hot spot of amount researches. Here, we made a systematic review of the progress of the clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of brain metastases from lung and its molecular mechanism.

  4. Breast cancer diagnosis: biographical disruption, emotional experiences and strategic management in Thai women with breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liamputtong, Pranee; Suwankhong, Dusanee

    2015-09-01

    In this article we draw on Bury's theory of biographical disruption to discuss the meanings of, and emotional experiences related to, being diagnosed with breast cancer among southern Thai women. Qualitative methods, including in-depth interviewing and drawing methods, were used to collect data from 20 women with breast cancer. The women perceived breast cancer to be a rhok raai; an evil or dread disease. They believed that breast cancer would lead to death. The disruption in their biography occurred when they detected abnormalities indicating breast cancer. The women's narratives revealed their chaotic lives upon this diagnosis and the news precipitated in them shock, fear, anxiety and loss of hope. Although they experienced chaos and disruption, the women cultivated strategies that helped them cope with their experiences by accepting their fate and adhering to Buddhist beliefs and practices. Through their narratives of biographical disruption, the women in our study offer healthcare providers knowledge that could lead to an appreciation of their needs and concerns. This knowledge is crucial for health professionals who wish to provide emotional support to women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer in Thailand and elsewhere. © 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

  5. Serum tumor markers in chronic kidney disease: as clinical tool in diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of cancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amiri, Fateme Shamekhi

    2016-01-01

    Cancer is singled out as the biggest cause of death in the world, predicted to reach 13.1 million cancer-related deaths by the year 2030. Although there are no specific tumor markers used in cancer screening, some markers can be used to assist in making a diagnosis and determining a prognosis. They can be used to follow in cases where the diagnosis is cancer through monitoring of the disease recurrence and/or evaluating the response to therapy. These markers are not specific as the number increases in multiple cases of cancer. Some markers are positive in a single type of cancer; others are detectable in more than one type. An ideal tumor marker should be highly sensitive, specific, and reliable with high prognostic value. Other characteristics of an ideal tumor marker are organ specificity and correlation of it with tumor stages. However, none of the tumor markers reported to date has all these characteristics. Influence of different stages of chronic kidney function on serum tumor markers is variable. Furthermore, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and kidney transplantation affect on tumor markers differently. Sometimes, no study has been found in the literature review. Combined serum tumor markers may also be valuable. This literature review points the role of serum tumor markers in screening, diagnosis, and follow-up of cancer patients in chronic kidney disease patients and renal allograft recipients. In addition, impact of chronic kidney disease and kidney transplantation on different serum tumor markers is briefly explored.

  6. The impact of age at diagnosis on socioeconomic inequalities in adult cancer survival in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nur, Ula; Lyratzopoulos, Georgios; Rachet, Bernard; Coleman, Michel P

    2015-08-01

    Understanding the age at which persistent socioeconomic inequalities in cancer survival become apparent may help motivate and support targeting of cancer site-specific interventions, and tailoring guidelines to patients at higher risk. We analysed data on more than 40,000 patients diagnosed in England with one of three common cancers in men and women, breast, colon and lung, 2001-2005 with follow-up to the end of 2011. We estimated net survival for each of the five deprivation categories (affluent, 2, 3, 4, deprived), cancer site, sex and age group (15-44, 45-54, 55-64, and 65-74 and 75-99 years). The magnitude and pattern of the age specific socioeconomic inequalities in survival was different for breast, colon and lung. For breast cancer the deprivation gap in 1-year survival widened with increasing age at diagnosis, whereas the opposite was true for lung cancer, with colon cancer having an intermediate pattern. The 'deprivation gap' in 1-year breast cancer survival widened steadily from -0.8% for women diagnosed at 15-44 years to -4.8% for women diagnosed at 75-99 years, and was the widest for women diagnosed at 65-74 years for 5- and 10-year survival. For colon cancer in men, the gap was widest in patients diagnosed aged 55-64 for 1-, 5- and 10-year survival. For lung cancer, the 'deprivation gap' in survival in patients diagnoses aged 15-44 years was more than 10% for 1-year survival in men and for 1- and 5-year survival in women. Our findings suggest that reduction of socioeconomic inequalities in survival will require updating of current guidelines to ensure the availability of optimal treatment and appropriate management of lung cancer patients in all age groups and older patients in deprived groups with breast or colon cancer. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  7. The impact of a breast cancer diagnosis on health-related quality of life. A prospective comparison among middle-aged to elderly women with and without breast cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karlsen, Randi V; Frederiksen, Kirsten; Larsen, Matilde B

    2016-01-01

    Background The improved survival after breast cancer has prompted knowledge on the effect of a breast cancer diagnosis on health-related quality of life (HQoL). This study compared changes in HQoL among women from before to after breast cancer diagnosis with longitudinal changes among women who...... remained breast cancer-free. Material and methods The Danish Diet, Cancer and Health study included 57 053 cancer-free persons aged 50-64 years at baseline (1993-1997). We used data from first follow-up (1999-2002) and second follow-up (2010-2012) on HQoL [Medical Outcomes Survey, short form (SF-36......)] obtained from 542 women aged 64-82 years with primary breast cancer (stages I-III) and a randomly matched sample of 729 women who remained breast cancer-free. Linear regression models were used to estimate the differences in changes in HQoL between women with and without breast cancer; the analyses were...

  8. A new intelligent classifier for breast cancer diagnosis based on a rough set and extreme learning machine: RS + ELM

    OpenAIRE

    KAYA, Yılmaz

    2014-01-01

    Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death among women all around the world. Therefore, true and early diagnosis of breast cancer is an important problem. The rough set (RS) and extreme learning machine (ELM) methods were used collectively in this study for the diagnosis of breast cancer. The unnecessary attributes were discarded from the dataset by means of the RS approach. The classification process by means of ELM was performed using the remaining attributes. The Wisconsin B...

  9. Significant changes in sexual behavior after a diagnosis of human papillomavirus-positive and human papillomavirus-negative oral cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taberna, Miren; Inglehart, Ronald C; Pickard, Robert K L; Fakhry, Carole; Agrawal, Amit; Katz, Mira L; Gillison, Maura L

    2017-04-01

    Sexual behavior and oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection are risk factors for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The effects of OSCC diagnosis and treatment on subsequent relationship stress and sexual behavior are unknown. Incident cases of HPV-positive or HPV-negative OSCC in patients who had a partnered relationship and partners of patients with oropharyngeal cancer were eligible for a study in which surveys were administered at diagnosis and at the 6-month follow-up time point to assess relationship distress, HPV transmission and concerns about health consequences, and sexual behavior. The frequency distributions of responses, stratified by tumor HPV status, were compared at baseline and follow-up. In total, 262 patients with OSCC and 81 partners were enrolled. Among the patients, 142 (54.2%) had HPV-positive OSCC, and 120 (45.8%) had HPV-negative OSCC. Relationship distress was infrequently reported, and 69% of patients felt that their relationship had strengthened since the cancer diagnosis. Both HPV-positive patients (25%) and their partners (14%) reported feelings of guilt or responsibility for the diagnosis of an HPV-caused cancer. Concern over sexual, but not nonsexual, HPV transmission to partners was reported by 50%. Significant declines in the frequency of vaginal and oral sexual behaviors were reported at follow-up, regardless of tumor HPV status. From baseline to 6 months, significant increases in abstinence from vaginal sex (from 10% to 34%; P oral sex (from 25% to 80%; P oral sex, regardless of tumor HPV status. Sexual behavior is an important quality-of-life outcome to assess within clinical trials. [See related editorial on pages 000-000, this issue.] Cancer 2017. © 2017 American Cancer Society. Cancer 2017;123:1156-1165. © 2016 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

  10. The Challenge in Diagnosis and Current Treatment of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anggoro Budi Hartopo

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH is currently underdiagnosis and consequently undertreatment in the clinical practice. A deficient in diagnostic modality and treatment availability especially in developing countries makes the CTEPH diagnosis unlikely to confirm. However, high index of clinical suspicion of CTEPH will lead to proper diagnosis and correct treatment  with significant reduction in morbidity and mortality. Left untreated, the mean survival time is 6.8 years and the three year mortality rate may be as high as 90 %. The pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of CTEPH are necessary to be shared among internists and primary care physicians, in order to improve the overall outcome of the patients.

  11. Clinically distinct trajectories of fatigue and their longitudinal relationship with the disturbance of personal goals following a cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Fabiola; Tuinman, Marrit A; Janse, Moniek; Almansa, Josué; Sprangers, Mirjam A G; Smink, Ans; Ranchor, Adelita V; Fleer, Joke; Hagedoorn, Mariët

    2017-09-01

    Most studies on fatigue in patients with cancer aggregate its prevalence and severity on a group level, ignoring the possibility that subgroups of patients may differ widely in their development of fatigue. This study aimed to identify subgroups of patients with clinically distinct trajectories of fatigue from diagnosis to 18 months post-diagnosis. As fatigue might trigger goal disturbance, the study also identified trajectories of concrete and abstract goal disturbance and longitudinally examined their co-occurrence with fatigue. Prospective design with quantitative and qualitative method of data collection. Patients with colorectal cancer (n = 183) reported on their levels of fatigue and goal disturbance shortly after diagnosis (T 1 ) and at 7 months (T 2 ) and 18 months (T 3 ) post-diagnosis. Growth mixture model analyses were performed to identify trajectories of fatigue and goal disturbance. Guidelines for the clinical relevance of fatigue were applied. Four clinically distinct trajectories of fatigue were identified as follows: (1) persistent severe fatigue (25.4%), (2) moderate fatigue (56.1%), (3) no fatigue (13.8%), and (4) rapidly improving fatigue (4.7%). The majority of patients with cancer reported high disturbance of their concrete goals, while high disturbance of abstract goals was less evident. Fatigue and concrete goal disturbance co-occurred longitudinally. The fatigue and goal disturbance experienced from diagnosis to 18 months post-diagnosis differ considerably for subgroups of patients with cancer. Fatigue and concrete goal disturbance are persistent burdens in the majority of patients. Investigating symptom burden beyond average trends can guide clinicians to identify patients most in need for treatment. Targeting goal disturbance might benefit the psychological well-being in patients suffering from persistent symptoms. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Fatigue is a common and distressing symptom at all

  12. Nanotechnology in bladder cancer: current state of development and clinical practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomlinson, Ben; Lin, Tzu-yin; Dall'Era, Marc; Pan, Chong-Xian

    2015-01-01

    Nanotechnology is being developed for the diagnosis and treatment of both nonmyoinvasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and invasive bladder cancer. The diagnostic applications of nanotechnology in NMIBC mainly focus on tumor identification during endoscopy to increase complete resection of bladder cancer while nanotechnology to capture malignant cells or their components continues to be developed. The therapeutic applications of nanotechnology in NMIBC are to reformulate biological and cytotoxic agents for intravesical instillation, combine both diagnostic and therapeutic application in one nanoformulation. In invasive and advanced bladder cancer, magnetic resonance imaging with supraparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can improve the sensitivity and specificity in detecting small metastasis to lymph nodes. Nanoformulation of cytotoxic agents can potentially decrease the toxicity while increasing efficacy. PMID:25929573

  13. Value of Detection of CAIX in the Pleural Effusion and Its Sediment in the Diagnosis of Lung Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lina PENG

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Background and objective Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX is widely expressed in a variety of malignant tumors, including-lung cancer. Our previous study has shown that the serum level of soluble form of carbonic anhydrase IX (s-CAIX was significantly higher in patients with lung cancer than that in the healthy group. The aim of this study is to detect the s-CAIX level in the pleural effusion and its sediment, and to evaluate the significance of CAIX detection in the diagnosis of lung cancer. Methods The s-CAIX level in pleural effusion of 29 lung cancer patients and 27 patients with tuberculosis was detected by ELISA. The expression of CAIX in the pleural effusion sediment of 21 lung cancer patients with malignant pleural effusion and 6 patients with benign pleural effusion was examined by immunohistochemistry. With pathological diagnosis as the gold standard, receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve of pleural effusion s-CAIX was established for the diagnosis of lung cancer with malignant pleural effusion. Results The s-CAIX level in the malignant pleural effusion was significantly higher than that in the tuberculosis group (P<0.05. The AUC of pleural effusion s-CAIX level was 0.761. At a threshold level of 109.135 pg/mL, sensitivity and specificity were 92.3% and 58.3%, respectively. The CAIX expression in all samples of the benign pleural effusion sediment was negative. The positive rate of CAIX expression in malignant pleural effusion sediment was 66.67%. Conclusion Detection of CAIX in the pleural effusion and its sediment exhibits high sensitivity and specificity, and is helpful in diagnosis of lung cancer with malignant pleural effusion.

  14. Multiparametric MR imaging in diagnosis of chronic prostatitis and its differentiation from prostate cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vivek Kumar Sah

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Chronic prostatitis is a heterogeneous condition with high prevalence rate. Chronic prostatitis has overlap in clinical presentation with other prostate disorders and is one of the causes of high serum prostate specific antigen (PSA level. Chronic prostatitis, unlike acute prostatitis, is difficult to diagnose reliably and accurately on the clinical grounds alone. Not only this, it is also challenging to differentiate chronic prostatitis from prostate cancer with imaging modalities like TRUS and conventional MR Imaging, as the findings can mimic those of prostate cancer. Even biopsy doesn't play promising role in the diagnosis of chronic prostatitis as it has limited sensitivity and specificity. As a result of this, chronic prostatitis may be misdiagnosed as a malignant condition and end up in aggressive surgical management resulting in increased morbidity. This warrants the need of reliable diagnostic tool which has ability not only to diagnose it reliably but also to differentiate it from the prostate cancer. Recently, it is suggested that multiparametric MR Imaging of the prostate could improve the diagnostic accuracy of the prostate cancer. This review is based on the critically published literature and aims to provide an overview of multiparamateric MRI techniques in the diagnosis of chronic prostatitis and its differentiation from prostate cancer.

  15. Bone remodeling and regulating biomarkers in women at the time of breast cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Song; Zhang, Yali; Tang, Li; Roh, Janise M; Laurent, Cecile A; Hong, Chi-Chen; Hahn, Theresa; Lo, Joan C; Ambrosone, Christine B; Kushi, Lawrence H; Kwan, Marilyn L

    2017-02-01

    The majority of breast cancer patients receive endocrine therapy, including aromatase inhibitors known to cause increased bone resorption. Bone-related biomarkers at the time of breast cancer diagnosis may predict future risk of osteoporosis and fracture after endocrine therapy. In a large population of 2,401 female breast cancer patients who later underwent endocrine therapy, we measured two bone remodeling biomarkers, TRAP5b and BAP, and two bone regulating biomarkers, RANKL and OPG, in serum samples collected at the time of breast cancer diagnosis. We analyzed these biomarkers and their ratios with patients' demographic, lifestyle, clinical tumor characteristics, as well as bone health history. The presence of bone metastases, prior bisphosphonate (BP) treatment, and blood collection after chemotherapy had a significant impact on biomarker levels. After excluding these cases and controlling for blood collection time, several factors, including age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, and hormonal replacement therapy, were significantly associated with bone biomarkers, while vitamin D or calcium supplements and tumor characteristics were not. When prior BP users were included in, recent history of osteoporosis and fracture was also associated. Our findings support further investigation of these biomarkers with bone health outcomes after endocrine therapy initiation in women with breast cancer.

  16. Colorectal cancer stage at diagnosis in migrants versus non-migrants (KoMigra): study protocol of a cross-sectional study in Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dahlhaus, Anne; Gerlach, Ferdinand M; Blettner, Maria; Siebenhofer, Andrea; Guethlin, Corina; Schall, Arthur; Taubenroth, Maja; Ewijk, Reyn van; Zeeb, Hajo; Albay, Zeycan; Schulz-Rothe, Sylvia; Beyer, Martin

    2014-01-01

    In Germany, about 20% of the total population have a migration background. Differences exist between migrants and non-migrants in terms of health care access and utilisation. Colorectal cancer is the second most common malignant tumour in Germany, and incidence, staging and survival chances depend, amongst other things, on ethnicity and lifestyle. The current study investigates whether stage at diagnosis differs between migrants and non-migrants with colorectal cancer in an area of high migration and attempts to identify factors that can explain any differences. Data on tumour and migration status will be collected for 1,200 consecutive patients that have received a new, histologically verified diagnosis of colorectal cancer in a high migration area in Germany in the previous three months. The recruitment process is expected to take 16 months and will include gastroenterological private practices and certified centres for intestinal diseases. Descriptive and analytical analysis will be performed: the distribution of variables for migrants versus non-migrants and participants versus non-participants will be analysed using appropriate χ2-, t-, F- or Wilcoxon tests. Multivariable, logistic regression models will be performed, with the dependent variable being the dichotomized stage of the tumour (UICC stage I versus more advanced than UICC stage I). Odds ratios and associated 95%-confidence intervals will be calculated. Furthermore, ordered logistic regression models will be estimated, with the exact stage of the tumour at diagnosis as the dependent variable. Predictors used in the ordered logistic regression will be patient characteristics that are specific to migrants as well as patient characteristics that are not. Interaction models will be estimated in order to investigate whether the effects of patient characteristics on stage of tumour at the time of the initial diagnosis is different in migrants, compared to non-migrants. An association of migration status or

  17. Micro-ring sensor used in the diagnosis of gastric cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Sichao; Cheng, Qing; Lin, Rong; Su, Da; Huang, Ying

    2016-01-01

    To find a detecting method that can be applied to the clinical screening and diagnosis, the cascaded micro-ring sensor with Vernier effect was used to distinguish gastric cancerous and normal cells. The simulation by FDTD of the cascaded microring sensor with different refractive indexes of the analyte (normal cells and gastric cancer cells) will be presented. In the simulation, with the refractive index's change Δn=0.02 for the two different analyte, the shift of sensor's resonant wavelength is 6.71nm. And the cascaded micro-ring sensor's sensitivity S is 335.5nm/RIU, and it is much larger compared to 19nm/RIU for a single ring sensor.

  18. Combination of IL-6, IL-10, and MCP-1 with traditional serum tumor markers in lung cancer diagnosis and prognosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Y W; Zhou, Z G; Wang, M; Dong, J Q; Du, K P; Li, S; Liu, Y L; Lv, P J; Gao, J B

    2016-11-03

    Early detection and treatment is critically important for lung cancer patients. Inflammatory mediators such as IL-6, IL-10, and MCP-1 participate in lung cancer regulation. CEA, CA125, and ProGRP are commonly used serum tumor markers for lung cancer. In this study, we assessed the sensitivity and specificity of CEA, CA125, and ProGRP when used in combination with IL-6, IL-10, and MCP in lung cancer diagnosis. Serum from three different groups (healthy controls, individuals with high risk for lung cancer, and lung cancer patients) was collected. Electrochemiluminescence was used to detect expressions of CEA, CA125, and ProGRP; ELISA was used to examine serum levels of IL-6, IL-10, and MCP-1. Specificity and sensitivity of single as well as combination markers in lung cancer diagnosis were determined. Results indicated that CEA, CA125, ProGRP, and MCP-1 were significantly up-regulated in lung cancer patients as compared to those in controls and high risk individuals. Higher IL-6 and IL-10 levels were observed in both lung cancer patients and high-risk individuals as compared to those in controls. Highest sensitivity (95.2%) in cancer diagnosis was achieved when all six markers were used. This was followed by a combination of IL-6, IL-10, CEA, CA125, and ProGRP (92.6%). The most sensitive (88.6%). Four-marker combination was composed of IL-6, CEA, CA125, and ProGRP. As the combined usage of CEA, CA125, ProGRP, IL-6, IL-10, and MCP-1 significantly improved sensitivity of lung cancer detection; this biomarker arrangement may be beneficial for early diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of lung cancer.

  19. A Fluorescent Tile DNA Diagnocode System for In Situ Rapid and Selective Diagnosis of Cytosolic RNA Cancer Markers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Kyung Soo; Shin, Seung Won; Jang, Min Su; Shin, Woojung; Yang, Kisuk; Min, Junhong; Cho, Seung-Woo; Oh, Byung-Keun; Bae, Jong Wook; Jung, Sunghwan; Choi, Jeong-Woo; Um, Soong Ho

    2015-01-01

    Accurate cancer diagnosis often requires extraction and purification of genetic materials from cells, and sophisticated instrumentations that follow. Otherwise in order to directly treat the diagnostic materials to cells, multiple steps to optimize dose concentration and treatment time are necessary due to diversity in cellular behaviors. These processes may offer high precision but hinder fast analysis of cancer, especially in clinical situations that need rapid detection and characterization of cancer. Here we present a novel fluorescent tile DNA nanostructure delivered to cancer cytosol by employing nanoparticle technology. Its structural anisotropicity offers easy manipulation for multifunctionalities, enabling the novel DNA nanostructure to detect intracellular cancer RNA markers with high specificity within 30 minutes post treatment, while the nanoparticle property bypasses the requirement of treatment optimization, effectively reducing the complexity of applying the system for cancer diagnosis. Altogether, the system offers a precise and rapid detection of cancer, suggesting the future use in the clinical fields. PMID:26678430

  20. Application evaluation of MR diffusion weighted imaging in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of early prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen Junkang; Lu Yanli; Yang Yi; Zhao Wenlu; Jiang Zhen; Zhang Caiyuan; Ma Qi; Zhang Yongsheng; Shan Yuxi

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the value of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of early prostate cancer. Methods: The data of 106 patients [35 with early prostate cancer (PCa), 55 with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 16 with prostatitis] were retrospectively analyzed, who underwent T 2 WI, DWI, and T 2 WI + DWI examination and all patients were confirmed by pathology. The data obtained from T 2 WI, DWI, and a combination of T 2 WI and DWI were scored and compared with pathological findings. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were analyzed for the area under the curve (Az) using Z test. Specificities, sensitivities and accuracies of the three protocols to diagnose PCa were evaluated. The ADC values of each prostate lesion were measured and compared with ANOVA test. Results: DWI missed 7 in 35 early prostate cancer, misdiagnosed 2 in 55 BPH, and 11 in 16 prostatitis. The Az values of T 2 WI, DWI, and T 2 WI + DWI for the detection of early prostate cancer were 0.846, 0.874, and 0.947, respectively. There was significant differences between T 2 WI + DWI and T 2 WI alone (Z=3.262, P=0.001), and between T 2 WI + DWI and DWI alone (Z=2.402, P=0.016). There was no significant difference between T 2 WI alone and DWI alone (Z=0.630, P=0.528). The sensitivities, specificities, and accuracies of T 2 WI, DWI, and a combination of T 2 WI and DWI for the detection of early prostate cancer were 51.43% (18/35), 80.00% (28/35), and 85.71% (30/35); 90.14% (64/71), 81.69% (58/71), and 88.73% (63/71); 77.36% (82/106), 81.13% (86/106), and 87.74% (93/106) respectively. The ADC values for detecting early PCa, BPH, and prostatitis were (723 ± 183) ×10 -3 , (1 381 ± 117) × 10 -3 , and (957 ± 175) × 10 -3 mm 2 /s.These ADC values showed statistical significance (F=131.94, P<0.01) among the three groups and also reached statistical significance between each two groups. Conclusions: DWI is valuable in detecting early prostate