Indications for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and survival in old adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerd Faxén-Irving

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Background : Many diseases striking old adults result in eating difficulties. Indications for selecting individuals for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG are unclear and everybody may not benefit from the procedure. Objective : The aim of this study was to evaluate indications for and survival after PEG insertion in patients older than 65 years. Design and Methods : A retrospective analysis including age, gender, diagnosis, indication, and date of death was made in 201 consecutive individuals, 94 male, mean age 79±7 years, who received a nutritional gastrostomy. Results: Dysphagia was present in 86% of the patients and stroke was the most common diagnosis (49%. Overall median survival was 123 days and 30-day mortality was 22%. Patients with dementia and Mb Parkinson had the longest survival (i.e. 244 and 233 days, while those with other neurological diseases, and head and neck malignancy had the shortest (i.e. 75 and 106 days. There was no difference in mortality in patients older or younger than 80 years, except in patients with dementia. Conclusions: Old age should not be a contraindication for PEG. A high 30-day mortality indicates that there is a need of better criteria for selection and timing of PEG insertion in the elderly.

Analysis of the asymmetric shortest queue problem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adan, I.J.B.F.; Wessels, J.; Zijm, W.H.M.

1990-01-01

In this paper we study a system consisting of two parallel servers with different service rates. Jobs arrive according to a Poisson stream and generate an exponentially distributed workload. On arrival a job joins the shortest queue and in case both queues have equal lengths, he joins the first

Analysis of the asymmetric shortest queue problem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adan, I.J.B.F.; Wessels, J.; Zijm, W. H M

1991-01-01

In this paper we study a system consisting of two parallel servers with different service rates. Jobs arrive according to a Poisson stream and generate an exponentially distributed workload. On arrival a job joins the shortest queue and in case both queues have equal lengths, he joins the first

Analysis of the symmetric shortest queue problem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adan, I.J.B.F.; Wessels, J.; Zijm, W.H.M.

1990-01-01

In this paper we study a system consisting of two identical servers, each with exponentially distributed service times. Jobs arrive according to a Poisson stream. On· arrival a job joins the shortest queue and in case both queues have equal lengths, he joins either queue with probability ½. By using

Analysis of the symmetric shortest queue problem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adan, I.J.B.F.; Wessels, J.; Zijm, W.H.M.

1990-01-01

In this paper we study a system consisting of two identical servers, each with exponentially distributed service times. Jobs arrive according to a Poisson stream. On arrival a job joins the shortest queue and in case both queues have equal lengths, he joins either queue with probability 1/2. By

The time-varying shortest path problem with fuzzy transit costs and speedup

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rezapour Hassan

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we focus on the time-varying shortest path problem, where the transit costs are fuzzy numbers. Moreover, we consider this problem in which the transit time can be shortened at a fuzzy speedup cost. Speedup may also be a better decision to find the shortest path from a source vertex to a specified vertex.

Competitive Survival of Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhimurium and Shigella dysenteriae in Riverbed Sediments

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Abia, AL

2016-11-01

Full Text Available °C, only E. coli and S. typhimurium survived throughout the 28 experimental days. V. cholerae had the shortest survival time at this temperature and was not detected in any of the sediment chambers 24 h after inoculation. S. dysenteriae only survived...

The median hazard ratio: a useful measure of variance and general contextual effects in multilevel survival analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, Peter C; Wagner, Philippe; Merlo, Juan

2017-03-15

Multilevel data occurs frequently in many research areas like health services research and epidemiology. A suitable way to analyze such data is through the use of multilevel regression models (MLRM). MLRM incorporate cluster-specific random effects which allow one to partition the total individual variance into between-cluster variation and between-individual variation. Statistically, MLRM account for the dependency of the data within clusters and provide correct estimates of uncertainty around regression coefficients. Substantively, the magnitude of the effect of clustering provides a measure of the General Contextual Effect (GCE). When outcomes are binary, the GCE can also be quantified by measures of heterogeneity like the Median Odds Ratio (MOR) calculated from a multilevel logistic regression model. Time-to-event outcomes within a multilevel structure occur commonly in epidemiological and medical research. However, the Median Hazard Ratio (MHR) that corresponds to the MOR in multilevel (i.e., 'frailty') Cox proportional hazards regression is rarely used. Analogously to the MOR, the MHR is the median relative change in the hazard of the occurrence of the outcome when comparing identical subjects from two randomly selected different clusters that are ordered by risk. We illustrate the application and interpretation of the MHR in a case study analyzing the hazard of mortality in patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction at hospitals in Ontario, Canada. We provide R code for computing the MHR. The MHR is a useful and intuitive measure for expressing cluster heterogeneity in the outcome and, thereby, estimating general contextual effects in multilevel survival analysis. © 2016 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2016 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A cytogenetic model predicts relapse risk and survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in morphologic complete remission.

Science.gov (United States)

Rashidi, Armin; Cashen, Amanda F

2015-01-01

Up to 30% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and abnormal cytogenetics have persistent cytogenetic abnormalities (pCytAbnl) at morphologic complete remission (mCR). We hypothesized that the prognostic significance of pCytAbnl in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in mCR varies with cytogenetic risk group. We analyzed the data on 118 patients with AML and abnormal cytogenetics who underwent HSCT in mCR, and developed a risk stratification model based on pCytAbnl and cytogenetic risk group. The model distinguished three groups of patients (Pcytogenetics (n=25) had the shortest median time to relapse (TTR; 5 months), relapse-free survival (RFS; 3 months), and overall survival (OS; 7 months). The group with favorable/intermediate risk cytogenetics and without pCytAbnl (n=43) had the longest median TTR (not reached), RFS (57 months), and OS (57 months). The group with pCytAbnl and favorable/intermediate risk cytogenetics, or, without pCytAbnl but with unfavorable risk cytogenetics (n=50) experienced intermediate TTR (18 months), RFS (9 months), and OS (18 months). In conclusion, a cytogenetic risk model identifies patients with AML in mCR with distinct rates of relapse and survival following HSCT. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shortest Path Problems in a Stochastic and Dynamic Environment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Cho, Jae

2003-01-01

.... Particularly, we develop a variety of algorithms to solve the expected shortest path problem in addition to techniques for computing the total travel time distribution along a path in the network...

An Application of Multi-Criteria Shortest Path to a Customizable Hex-Map Environment

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-26

47 Appendix A. Shortest Path Code ( VBA ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Appendix B. Quad Chart...efficient shortest path algorithm into the modeling environment, namely Excel VBA . While various algorithms offer the potential for more efficiency in...graphical interface is extremely intuitive and easily accessible to a user with no prior knowledge of the system. Since the Metz model is based on the

External Memory Algorithms for Diameter and All-Pair Shortest-Paths on Sparse Graphs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arge, Lars; Meyer, Ulrich; Toma, Laura

2004-01-01

We present several new external-memory algorithms for finding all-pairs shortest paths in a V -node, Eedge undirected graph. For all-pairs shortest paths and diameter in unweighted undirected graphs we present cache-oblivious algorithms with O(V · E B logM B E B) I/Os, where B is the block-size a...

Finding Shortest Paths on Terrains by Killing Two Birds with One Stone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaul, Manohar; Wong, Raymond Chi-Wing; Yang, Bin

2013-01-01

With the increasing availability of terrain data, e.g., from aerial laser scans, the management of such data is attracting increasing at- tention in both industry and academia. In particular, spatial queries, e.g., k -nearest neighbor and reverse nearest neighbor queries, in Euclidean and spatial...... network spaces are being extended to ter- rains. Such queries all rely on an important operation, that of finding shortest surface distances. However, shortest surface dis- tance computation is very time consuming. We propose techniques that enable efficient computation of lower and upper bounds...... of the shortest surface distance, which enable faster query processing by eliminating expensive distance computations. Empirical studies show that our bounds are much tighter than the best-known bounds in many cases and that they enable speedups of up to 43 times for some well-known spatial querie...

Optimal solution for travelling salesman problem using heuristic shortest path algorithm with imprecise arc length

Science.gov (United States)

Bakar, Sumarni Abu; Ibrahim, Milbah

2017-08-01

The shortest path problem is a popular problem in graph theory. It is about finding a path with minimum length between a specified pair of vertices. In any network the weight of each edge is usually represented in a form of crisp real number and subsequently the weight is used in the calculation of shortest path problem using deterministic algorithms. However, due to failure, uncertainty is always encountered in practice whereby the weight of edge of the network is uncertain and imprecise. In this paper, a modified algorithm which utilized heuristic shortest path method and fuzzy approach is proposed for solving a network with imprecise arc length. Here, interval number and triangular fuzzy number in representing arc length of the network are considered. The modified algorithm is then applied to a specific example of the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP). Total shortest distance obtained from this algorithm is then compared with the total distance obtained from traditional nearest neighbour heuristic algorithm. The result shows that the modified algorithm can provide not only on the sequence of visited cities which shown to be similar with traditional approach but it also provides a good measurement of total shortest distance which is lesser as compared to the total shortest distance calculated using traditional approach. Hence, this research could contribute to the enrichment of methods used in solving TSP.

Structural parcellation of the thalamus using shortest-path tractography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kasenburg, Niklas; Darkner, Sune; Hahn, Ute

2016-01-01

that parcellation of the thalamus results in p-value maps that are spatially coherent across subjects. Comparing to the state-of-the-art parcellation of Behrens et al. [1], we observe some agreement, but the soft segmentation exhibits better stability for voxels connected to multiple target regions.......We demonstrate how structural parcellation can be implemented using shortest-path tractography, thereby addressing some of the shortcomings of the conventional approaches. In particular, our algorithm quantifies, via p-values, the confidence that a voxel in the parcellated region is connected...... to each cortical target region. Calculation of these statistical measures is derived from a rank-based test on the histogram of tract-based scores from all the shortest paths found between the source voxel and each voxel within the target region. Using data from the Human Connectome Project, we show...

The shortest path algorithm performance comparison in graph and relational database on a transportation network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Miler

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In the field of geoinformation and transportation science, the shortest path is calculated on graph data mostly found in road and transportation networks. This data is often stored in various database systems. Many applications dealing with transportation network require calculation of the shortest path. The objective of this research is to compare the performance of Dijkstra shortest path calculation in PostgreSQL (with pgRouting and Neo4j graph database for the purpose of determining if there is any difference regarding the speed of the calculation. Benchmarking was done on commodity hardware using OpenStreetMap road network. The first assumption is that Neo4j graph database would be well suited for the shortest path calculation on transportation networks but this does not come without some cost. Memory proved to be an issue in Neo4j setup when dealing with larger transportation networks.

Multiple Object Tracking Using the Shortest Path Faster Association Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhenghao Xi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available To solve the persistently multiple object tracking in cluttered environments, this paper presents a novel tracking association approach based on the shortest path faster algorithm. First, the multiple object tracking is formulated as an integer programming problem of the flow network. Then we relax the integer programming to a standard linear programming problem. Therefore, the global optimum can be quickly obtained using the shortest path faster algorithm. The proposed method avoids the difficulties of integer programming, and it has a lower worst-case complexity than competing methods but better robustness and tracking accuracy in complex environments. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm takes less time than other state-of-the-art methods and can operate in real time.

Special cases of the quadratic shortest path problem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sotirov, Renata; Hu, Hao

2017-01-01

The quadratic shortest path problem (QSPP) is the problem of finding a path with prespecified start vertex s and end vertex t in a digraph such that the sum of weights of arcs and the sum of interaction costs over all pairs of arcs on the path is minimized. We first consider a variant of the QSPP

DiversePathsJ: diverse shortest paths for bioimage analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Uhlmann, Virginie; Haubold, Carsten; Hamprecht, Fred A; Unser, Michael

2018-02-01

We introduce a formulation for the general task of finding diverse shortest paths between two end-points. Our approach is not linked to a specific biological problem and can be applied to a large variety of images thanks to its generic implementation as a user-friendly ImageJ/Fiji plugin. It relies on the introduction of additional layers in a Viterbi path graph, which requires slight modifications to the standard Viterbi algorithm rules. This layered graph construction allows for the specification of various constraints imposing diversity between solutions. The software allows obtaining a collection of diverse shortest paths under some user-defined constraints through a convenient and user-friendly interface. It can be used alone or be integrated into larger image analysis pipelines. http://bigwww.epfl.ch/algorithms/diversepathsj. michael.unser@epfl.ch or fred.hamprecht@iwr.uni-heidelberg.de. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Effective caching of shortest paths for location-based services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Christian S.; Thomsen, Jeppe Rishede; Yiu, Man Lung

2012-01-01

Web search is ubiquitous in our daily lives. Caching has been extensively used to reduce the computation time of the search engine and reduce the network traffic beyond a proxy server. Another form of web search, known as online shortest path search, is popular due to advances in geo...

Shortest-path network analysis is a useful approach toward identifying genetic determinants of longevity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J R Managbanag

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Identification of genes that modulate longevity is a major focus of aging-related research and an area of intense public interest. In addition to facilitating an improved understanding of the basic mechanisms of aging, such genes represent potential targets for therapeutic intervention in multiple age-associated diseases, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. To date, however, targeted efforts at identifying longevity-associated genes have been limited by a lack of predictive power, and useful algorithms for candidate gene-identification have also been lacking. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have utilized a shortest-path network analysis to identify novel genes that modulate longevity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Based on a set of previously reported genes associated with increased life span, we applied a shortest-path network algorithm to a pre-existing protein-protein interaction dataset in order to construct a shortest-path longevity network. To validate this network, the replicative aging potential of 88 single-gene deletion strains corresponding to predicted components of the shortest-path longevity network was determined. Here we report that the single-gene deletion strains identified by our shortest-path longevity analysis are significantly enriched for mutations conferring either increased or decreased replicative life span, relative to a randomly selected set of 564 single-gene deletion strains or to the current data set available for the entire haploid deletion collection. Further, we report the identification of previously unknown longevity genes, several of which function in a conserved longevity pathway believed to mediate life span extension in response to dietary restriction. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This work demonstrates that shortest-path network analysis is a useful approach toward identifying genetic determinants of longevity and represents the first application of

Prograph Based Analysis of Single Source Shortest Path Problem with Few Distinct Positive Lengths

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Bhowmik

2011-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper we propose an experimental study model S3P2 of a fast fully dynamic programming algorithm design technique in finite directed graphs with few distinct nonnegative real edge weights. The Bellman-Ford’s approach for shortest path problems has come out in various implementations. In this paper the approach once again is re-investigated with adjacency matrix selection in associate least running time. The model tests proposed algorithm against arbitrarily but positive valued weighted digraphs introducing notion of Prograph that speeds up finding the shortest path over previous implementations. Our experiments have established abstract results with the intention that the proposed algorithm can consistently dominate other existing algorithms for Single Source Shortest Path Problems. A comparison study is also shown among Dijkstra’s algorithm, Bellman-Ford algorithm, and our algorithm.

The Shortest Path Problems in Battery-Electric Vehicle Dispatching with Battery Renewal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minfang Huang

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Electric vehicles play a key role for developing an eco-sustainable transport system. One critical component of an electric vehicle is its battery, which can be quickly charged or exchanged before it runs out. The problem of electric vehicle dispatching falls into the category of the shortest path problem with resource renewal. In this paper, we study the shortest path problems in (1 electric transit bus scheduling and (2 electric truck routing with time windows. In these applications, a fully-charged battery allows running a limited operational distance, and the battery before depletion needs to be quickly charged or exchanged with a fully-charged one at a battery management facility. The limited distance and battery renewal result in a shortest path problem with resource renewal. We develop a label-correcting algorithm with state space relaxation to find optimal solutions. In the computational experiments, real-world road geometry data are used to generate realistic travel distances, and other types of data are obtained from the real world or randomly generated. The computational results show that the label-correcting algorithm performs very well.

Evaluation of Shortest Paths in Road Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farrukh Shehzad

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Optimization is a key factor in almost all the topics of operations research / management science and economics.The road networks can be optimized within different constraints like time, distance, cost and traffic running onthe roads.This study is based on optimization of real road network by means of distances. Two main objectives arepursued in this research: 1 road distances among different routes are composed in detail; 2 two standardalgorithms (Dijkstra and Floyd-Warshall algoritms are applied to optimize/minimize these distances for bothsingle-source and all-pairs shortest path problems.

The Shortest QRS Duration of an Electrocardiogram Might Be an Optimal Electrocardiographic Predictor for Response to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jan-Yow; Lin, Kuo-Hung; Chang, Kuan-Cheng; Chou, Che-Yi

2017-08-03

QRS duration has been associated with the response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). However, the methods for defining QRS duration to predict the outcome of CRT have discrepancies in previous reports. The aim of this study was to determine an optimal measurement of QRS duration to predict the response to CRT.Sixty-one patients who received CRT were analyzed. All patients had class III-IV heart failure, left ventricular ejection fraction not more than 35%, and complete left bundle branch block. The shortest, longest, and average QRS durations from the 12 leads of each electrocardiogram (ECG) were measured. The responses to CRT were determined using the changes in echocardiography after 6 months. Thirty-five (57.4%) patients were responders and 26 (42.6%) patients were non-responders. The pre-procedure shortest, average, and longest QRS durations and the QRS shortening (ΔQRS) of the shortest QRS duration were significantly associated with the response to CRT in a univariate logistic regression analysis (P = 0.002, P = 0.03, P = 0.04 and P = 0.04, respectively). Based on the measurement of the area under curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve, only the pre-procedure shortest QRS duration and the ΔQRS of the shortest QRS duration showed significant discrimination for the response to CRT (P = 0.002 and P = 0.038, respectively). Multivariable logistic regression showed the pre-procedure shortest QRS duration is an independent predictor for the response to CRT.The shortest QRS duration from the 12 leads of the electrocardiogram might be an optimal measurement to predict the response to CRT.

Spatial interpolation of fine particulate matter concentrations using the shortest wind-field path distance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Longxiang Li

Full Text Available Effective assessments of air-pollution exposure depend on the ability to accurately predict pollutant concentrations at unmonitored locations, which can be achieved through spatial interpolation. However, most interpolation approaches currently in use are based on the Euclidean distance, which cannot account for the complex nonlinear features displayed by air-pollution distributions in the wind-field. In this study, an interpolation method based on the shortest path distance is developed to characterize the impact of complex urban wind-field on the distribution of the particulate matter concentration. In this method, the wind-field is incorporated by first interpolating the observed wind-field from a meteorological-station network, then using this continuous wind-field to construct a cost surface based on Gaussian dispersion model and calculating the shortest wind-field path distances between locations, and finally replacing the Euclidean distances typically used in Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW with the shortest wind-field path distances. This proposed methodology is used to generate daily and hourly estimation surfaces for the particulate matter concentration in the urban area of Beijing in May 2013. This study demonstrates that wind-fields can be incorporated into an interpolation framework using the shortest wind-field path distance, which leads to a remarkable improvement in both the prediction accuracy and the visual reproduction of the wind-flow effect, both of which are of great importance for the assessment of the effects of pollutants on human health.

MARKETING DATABASES – THE SHORTEST WAY TO CLIENT’S HEART

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Popa Adela Laura

2008-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to present the potential which could be offered by managing databases in direct marketing through gathering the information that could offer the shortest and efficient way to the clients needs. The paper includes the necessary steps to make this activity a real success

A new approach to shortest paths on networks based on the quantum bosonic mechanism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang Xin; Wang Hailong; Tang Shaoting; Ma Lili; Zhang Zhanli; Zheng Zhiming, E-mail: jiangxin@ss.buaa.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Mathematics, Informatics and Behavioral Semantics, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 100191 Beijing (China)

2011-01-15

This paper presents quantum bosonic shortest path searching (QBSPS), a natural, practical and highly heuristic physical algorithm for reasoning about the recognition of network structure via quantum dynamics. QBSPS is based on an Anderson-like itinerant bosonic system in which a boson's Green function is used as a navigation pointer for one to accurately approach the terminals. QBSPS is demonstrated by rigorous mathematical and physical proofs and plenty of simulations, showing how it can be used as a greedy routing to seek the shortest path between different locations. In methodology, it is an interesting and new algorithm rooted in the quantum mechanism other than combinatorics. In practice, for the all-pairs shortest-path problem in a random scale-free network with N vertices, QBSPS runs in O({mu}(N) ln ln N) time. In application, we suggest that the corresponding experimental realizations are feasible by considering path searching in quantum optical communication networks; in this situation, the method performs a pure local search on networks without requiring the global structure that is necessary for current graph algorithms.

Experiments with the auction algorithm for the shortest path problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Jesper; Pedersen, Ib

1999-01-01

The auction approach for the shortest path problem (SPP) as introduced by Bertsekas is tested experimentally. Parallel algorithms using the auction approach are developed and tested. Both the sequential and parallel auction algorithms perform significantly worse than a state-of-the-art Dijkstra-l......-like reference algorithm. Experiments are run on a distributed-memory MIMD class Meiko parallel computer....

Study on k-shortest paths with behavioral impedance domain from the intermodal public transportation system perspective

OpenAIRE

Pereira, Hernane Borges de Barros; Pérez Vidal, Lluís; Lozada, Eleazar G. Madrid

2003-01-01

Behavioral impedance domain consists of a theory on route planning for pedestrians, within which constraint management is considered. The goal of this paper is to present the k-shortest path model using the behavioral impedance approach. After the mathematical model building, optimization problem and resolution problem by a behavioral impedance algorithm, it is discussed how behavioral impedance cost function is embedded in the k-shortest path model. From the pedestrian's route planning persp...

Differences in physical environmental characteristics between adolescents' actual and shortest cycling routes: a study using a Google Street View-based audit.

Science.gov (United States)

Verhoeven, Hannah; Van Hecke, Linde; Van Dyck, Delfien; Baert, Tim; Van de Weghe, Nico; Clarys, Peter; Deforche, Benedicte; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle

2018-05-29

The objective evaluation of the physical environmental characteristics (e.g. speed limit, cycling infrastructure) along adolescents' actual cycling routes remains understudied, although it may provide important insights into why adolescents prefer one cycling route over another. The present study aims to gain insight into the physical environmental characteristics determining the route choice of adolescent cyclists by comparing differences in physical environmental characteristics between their actual cycling routes and the shortest possible cycling routes. Adolescents (n = 204; 46.5% boys; 14.4 ± 1.2 years) recruited at secondary schools in and around Ghent (city in Flanders, northern part of Belgium) were instructed to wear a Global Positioning System device in order to identify cycling trips. For all identified cycling trips, the shortest possible route that could have been taken was calculated. Actual cycling routes that were not the shortest possible cycling routes were divided into street segments. Segments were audited with a Google Street View-based tool to assess physical environmental characteristics along actual and shortest cycling routes. Out of 160 actual cycling trips, 73.1% did not differ from the shortest possible cycling route. For actual cycling routes that were not the shortest cycling route, a speed limit of 30 km/h, roads having few buildings with windows on the street side and roads without cycle lane were more frequently present compared to the shortest possible cycling routes. A mixed land use, roads with commercial destinations, arterial roads, cycle lanes separated from traffic by white lines, small cycle lanes and cycle lanes covered by lighting were less frequently present along actual cycling routes compared to the shortest possible cycling routes. Results showed that distance mainly determines the route along which adolescents cycle. In addition, adolescents cycled more along residential streets (even if no cycle lane was

Analysis of the asymmetric shortest queue problem : part 2: numerical analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adan, I.J.B.F.; Wessels, J.; Zijm, W.H.M.

1990-01-01

In this paper we study a system consisting of two parallel servers with different service rates. Jobs arrive according to a Poisson stream and generate an exponentially distributed workload. On arrival a job joins the shortest queue and in case both queues have equal lengths, he joins the first

Analysis of the asymmetric shortest queue problem : Part 1: theoretical analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adan, I.J.B.F.; Wessels, J.; Zijm, W.H.M.

1990-01-01

In this paper we study a system consisting of two parallel servers with different service rates. Jobs arrive according to a Poisson stream and generate an exponentially distributed workload. On arrival a job joins the shortest queue and in case both queues have equal lengths. be joins the first

Establishment Of The Shortest Route A Prototype For Facilitation In Road Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sumaira Yousuf Khan

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Calculating the shortest path between two locations in a road network is a significant problem in network analysis. Roads play a pivotal role in day to day activities of masses live in places and areas. They travel for various purposes that are to study to work to shop and to supply their goods and the like from one place to another place. Even in this modern era roads remain one of the mediums used most frequently for travel and transportation. Being ignorant of the shortest routes people sometimes have to travel long distances consume extra precious time money and bare undesirable mental stress. Karachi is the second most populated and the seventh biggest city of the world. It is the central place of Pakistan which is famous for industry banking trade and economic activity and there are places which frequently visit by the inhabitants for their miscellaneous requirements. Federal Board of Revenue FBR is one of the departments that deal with taxation and revenue generation in the country. A common man residing near or distant areas often visit FBR to settle their business property and tax related issues. In order to facilitate the masses an effort is being made to develop a prototype based on Dijkstras Algorithm DA to establish a shortest route that will help individuals in navigation and subsequently alleviate difficulties faced by them in travelling road networks.

Efficient evaluation of shortest travel-time path queries through spatial mashups

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Detian

2017-01-07

In the real world, the route/path with the shortest travel time in a road network is more meaningful than that with the shortest network distance for location-based services (LBS). However, not every LBS provider has adequate resources to compute/estimate travel time for routes by themselves. A cost-effective way for LBS providers to estimate travel time for routes is to issue external route requests to Web mapping services (e.g., Google Maps, Bing Maps, and MapQuest Maps). Due to the high cost of processing such external route requests and the usage limits of Web mapping services, we take the advantage of direction sharing, parallel requesting and waypoints supported by Web mapping services to reduce the number of external route requests and the query response time for shortest travel-time route queries in this paper. We first give the definition of sharing ability to reflect the possibility of sharing the direction information of a route with others, and find out the queries that their query routes are independent with each other for parallel processing. Then, we model the problem of selecting the optimal waypoints for an external route request as finding the longest simple path in a weighted complete digraph. As it is a MAX SNP-hard problem, we propose a greedy algorithm with performance guarantee to find the best set of waypoints in an external route request. We evaluate the performance of our approach using a real Web mapping service, a real road network, real and synthetic data sets. Experimental results show the efficiency, scalability, and applicability of our approach.

Efficient evaluation of shortest travel-time path queries through spatial mashups

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Detian; Chow, Chi-Yin; Liu, An; Zhang, Xiangliang; Ding, Qingzhu; Li, Qing

2017-01-01

In the real world, the route/path with the shortest travel time in a road network is more meaningful than that with the shortest network distance for location-based services (LBS). However, not every LBS provider has adequate resources to compute/estimate travel time for routes by themselves. A cost-effective way for LBS providers to estimate travel time for routes is to issue external route requests to Web mapping services (e.g., Google Maps, Bing Maps, and MapQuest Maps). Due to the high cost of processing such external route requests and the usage limits of Web mapping services, we take the advantage of direction sharing, parallel requesting and waypoints supported by Web mapping services to reduce the number of external route requests and the query response time for shortest travel-time route queries in this paper. We first give the definition of sharing ability to reflect the possibility of sharing the direction information of a route with others, and find out the queries that their query routes are independent with each other for parallel processing. Then, we model the problem of selecting the optimal waypoints for an external route request as finding the longest simple path in a weighted complete digraph. As it is a MAX SNP-hard problem, we propose a greedy algorithm with performance guarantee to find the best set of waypoints in an external route request. We evaluate the performance of our approach using a real Web mapping service, a real road network, real and synthetic data sets. Experimental results show the efficiency, scalability, and applicability of our approach.

ESHOPPS: A COMPUTATIONAL TOOL TO AID THE TEACHING OF SHORTEST PATH ALGORITHMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. J. de A. LIMA

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The development of a computational tool called EShoPPS – Environment for Shortest Path Problem Solving, which is used to assist students in understanding the working of Dijkstra, Greedy search and A*(star algorithms is presented in this paper. Such algorithms are commonly taught in graduate and undergraduate courses of Engineering and Informatics and are used for solving many optimization problems that can be characterized as Shortest Path Problem. The EShoPPS is an interactive tool that allows students to create a graph representing the problem and also helps in developing their knowledge of each specific algorithm. Experiments performed with 155 students of undergraduate and graduate courses such as Industrial Engineering, Computer Science and Information Systems have shown that by using the EShoPPS tool students were able to improve their interpretation of investigated algorithms.

A Universal Concept for Robust Solving of Shortest Path Problems in Dynamically Reconfigurable Graphs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean Chamberlain Chedjou

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper develops a flexible analytical concept for robust shortest path detection in dynamically reconfigurable graphs. The concept is expressed by a mathematical model representing the shortest path problem solver. The proposed mathematical model is characterized by three fundamental parameters expressing (a the graph topology (through the “incidence matrix”, (b the edge weights (with dynamic external weights’ setting capability, and (c the dynamic reconfigurability through external input(s of the source-destination nodes pair. In order to demonstrate the universality of the developed concept, a general algorithm is proposed to determine the three fundamental parameters (of the mathematical model developed for all types of graphs regardless of their topology, magnitude, and size. It is demonstrated that the main advantage of the developed concept is that arc costs, the origin-destination pair setting, and the graph topology are dynamically provided by external commands, which are inputs of the shortest path solver model. This enables high flexibility and full reconfigurability of the developed concept, without any retraining need. To validate the concept developed, benchmarking is performed leading to a comparison of its performance with the performances of two well-known concepts based on neural networks.

Shortest triplet clustering: reconstructing large phylogenies using representative sets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sy Vinh Le

2005-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Understanding the evolutionary relationships among species based on their genetic information is one of the primary objectives in phylogenetic analysis. Reconstructing phylogenies for large data sets is still a challenging task in Bioinformatics. Results We propose a new distance-based clustering method, the shortest triplet clustering algorithm (STC, to reconstruct phylogenies. The main idea is the introduction of a natural definition of so-called k-representative sets. Based on k-representative sets, shortest triplets are reconstructed and serve as building blocks for the STC algorithm to agglomerate sequences for tree reconstruction in O(n2 time for n sequences. Simulations show that STC gives better topological accuracy than other tested methods that also build a first starting tree. STC appears as a very good method to start the tree reconstruction. However, all tested methods give similar results if balanced nearest neighbor interchange (BNNI is applied as a post-processing step. BNNI leads to an improvement in all instances. The program is available at http://www.bi.uni-duesseldorf.de/software/stc/. Conclusion The results demonstrate that the new approach efficiently reconstructs phylogenies for large data sets. We found that BNNI boosts the topological accuracy of all methods including STC, therefore, one should use BNNI as a post-processing step to get better topological accuracy.

The Resource constrained shortest path problem implemented in a lazy functional language

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hartel, Pieter H.; Glaser, Hugh

The resource constrained shortest path problem is an NP-hard problem for which many ingenious algorithms have been developed. These algorithms are usually implemented in Fortran or another imperative programming language. We have implemented some of the simpler algorithms in a lazy functional

Investigation of survival time and disability characteristics in 5 subjects with bilateral thalamus infarction near median line%双侧中线旁丘脑梗死5例致残特点及生存期调查

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

翟明; 刘江; 钟静玫; 林岚

2002-01-01

@@ Background:Bilateral thalamus infarction near median line is uncommon in clinic.Reports concerned with this conditions were more less.It is characterized by conscious disorder and Korsakoff syndrome.The main caused may be the injury of intralaminar nuclei,dorsomedial nuclei,and injury of cortical matter,mammalillary bodies,fasciculus thalamicus around cerebral chamer III.Comprehensing the disability characteristics in pateints with bilateral thalamus infarction near median line is important for direction of rehabilitation.While study of survival time will improve evaluation of prognosis. Design:Patients recruited from June 1997～ October 2000 were analyzed. Unit:Intraneural Department of First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province. Subjects:55 subjects with MRI proved bilateral thalamus infarction near median line entered study.These patients included 3 women,2 men(age ranging from 50 to 77 years old,mean age:68.6 years).The period from onset to admission ranged from 5 hours to 2 days.All subejcts experienced acute bilateral thalamus infarction near median line.All had hypertension previously,1 had diabetes,2 had auricular fibrillation. Intervention:All patients received management which was conducted according to protocol for treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular diseases. Patients clinical characteristics were summari-zed and analyzed.Follow up was conducted to determine the survival period. Main evaluation indexes:Survival time and conscious disorder were evaluated. Result:All patients showed different level of conscious disorder.3 cases developed thalamic dementia,2 developed vision numb,In 1 case,condition progressively deteriorated manifesting as moderate coma progressed to deep coma,and bilateral mydriasis.Finally,this patients died of central respiratory and circulatory failure after 8 days.4 cases with favorable prognosis discharged,3 out of them died within 1 year after discharge.Survival subject suffered from reduced memory was followed up till now

Floyd-warshall algorithm to determine the shortest path based on android

Science.gov (United States)

Ramadiani; Bukhori, D.; Azainil; Dengen, N.

2018-04-01

The development of technology has made all areas of life easier now, one of which is the ease of obtaining geographic information. The use of geographic information may vary according to need, for example, the digital map learning, navigation systems, observations area, and much more. With the support of adequate infrastructure, almost no one will ever get lost to a destination even to foreign places or that have never been visited before. The reasons why many institutions and business entities use technology to improve services to consumers and to streamline the production process undertaken and so forth. Speaking of the efficient, there are many elements related to efficiency in navigation systems, and one of them is the efficiency in terms of distance. The shortest distance determination algorithm required in this research is used Floyd-Warshall Algorithm. Floyd-Warshall algorithm is the algorithm to find the fastest path and the shortest distance between 2 nodes, while the program is intended to find the path of more than 2 nodes.

A review of therapy-related myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukaemia (t-MDS/AML) in Irish patients: a single centre experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Maung, Su W; Burke, Cathie; Hayde, Jennifer; Walshe, Janice; McDermott, Ray; Desmond, Ronan; McHugh, Johnny; Enright, Helen

2017-07-01

To demonstrate the incidence, characteristics, treatment and outcomes of patients with therapy-related myelodysplastic syndromes and therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia (t-MDS/AML) in a tertiary referral centre. Patients meeting the diagnostic criteria for t-MDS/AML from 2003 to 2014 were reviewed to analyse their diagnostic features, details of antecedent disorder and treatment, approach to management and survival. 39 patients who developed t-MDS/AML were identified with incidence of 8.7%. Median age and gender distribution were similar to de novo MDS but t-MDS/AML patients had greater degree of cytopenia and adverse karyotypes. Time to development of t-MDS/AML was shortest for patients with antecedent haematological malignancy compared to solid tumours and autoimmune disorders (46, 85 and 109 months). Patients with prior acute leukaemia had the shortest latency and poor overall survival. Treatment options included best supportive care (56%), Azacitidine (31%) or intensive chemotherapy/allogeneic transplant (13%). Median OS of all patients was 14 months. Survival declined markedly after two years and 5-year OS was 13.8%. Longer survival was associated with blast count MDS/AML patients showed unique characteristics which influenced their treatment and outcomes. IPSS-R may be useful in risk-adapted treatment approaches and can predict outcomes. Survival remains poor but improved outcomes were seen with allogeneic transplantation. Azacitidine may be effective in patients unfit for intensive therapies.

An Efficient Shortest Path Routing Algorithm for Directed Indoor Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sultan Alamri

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Routing systems for outdoor space have become the focus of many research works. Such routing systems are based on spatial road networks where moving objects (such as cars are affected by the directed roads and the movement of traffic, which may include traffic jams. Indoor routing, on the other hand, must take into account the features of indoor space such as walls and rooms. In this paper, we take indoor routing in a new direction whereby we consider the features that a building has in common with outdoor spaces. Inside some buildings, there may be directed floors where moving objects must move in a certain direction through directed corridors in order to reach a certain location. For example, on train platforms or in museums, movement in the corridors may be directed. In these directed floor spaces, a routing system enabling a visitor to take the shortest path to a certain location is essential. Therefore, this work proposes a new approach for buildings with directed indoor spaces, where each room can be affected by the density of the moving objects. The proposed system obtains the shortest path between objects or rooms taking into consideration the directed indoor space and the capacity of the objects to move within each room/cell.

Degree distribution of shortest path trees and bias of network sampling algorithms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bhamidi, S.; Goodman, J.A.; Hofstad, van der R.W.; Komjáthy, J.

2013-01-01

In this article, we explicitly derive the limiting distribution of the degree distribution of the shortest path tree from a single source on various random network models with edge weights. We determine the power-law exponent of the degree distribution of this tree and compare it to the degree

Degree distribution of shortest path trees and bias of network sampling algorithms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bhamidi, S.; Goodman, J.A.; Hofstad, van der R.W.; Komjáthy, J.

2015-01-01

In this article, we explicitly derive the limiting degree distribution of the shortest path tree from a single source on various random network models with edge weights. We determine the asymptotics of the degree distribution for large degrees of this tree and compare it to the degree distribution

Training shortest-path tractography: Automatic learning of spatial priors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kasenburg, Niklas; Liptrot, Matthew George; Reislev, Nina Linde

2016-01-01

Tractography is the standard tool for automatic delineation of white matter tracts from diffusion weighted images. However, the output of tractography often requires post-processing to remove false positives and ensure a robust delineation of the studied tract, and this demands expert prior...... knowledge. Here we demonstrate how such prior knowledge, or indeed any prior spatial information, can be automatically incorporated into a shortest-path tractography approach to produce more robust results. We describe how such a prior can be automatically generated (learned) from a population, and we...

Functional Median Polish

KAUST Repository

Sun, Ying

2012-08-03

This article proposes functional median polish, an extension of univariate median polish, for one-way and two-way functional analysis of variance (ANOVA). The functional median polish estimates the functional grand effect and functional main factor effects based on functional medians in an additive functional ANOVA model assuming no interaction among factors. A functional rank test is used to assess whether the functional main factor effects are significant. The robustness of the functional median polish is demonstrated by comparing its performance with the traditional functional ANOVA fitted by means under different outlier models in simulation studies. The functional median polish is illustrated on various applications in climate science, including one-way and two-way ANOVA when functional data are either curves or images. Specifically, Canadian temperature data, U. S. precipitation observations and outputs of global and regional climate models are considered, which can facilitate the research on the close link between local climate and the occurrence or severity of some diseases and other threats to human health. © 2012 International Biometric Society.

Enhanced secondary analysis of survival data: reconstructing the data from published Kaplan-Meier survival curves.

Science.gov (United States)

Guyot, Patricia; Ades, A E; Ouwens, Mario J N M; Welton, Nicky J

2012-02-01

The results of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) on time-to-event outcomes that are usually reported are median time to events and Cox Hazard Ratio. These do not constitute the sufficient statistics required for meta-analysis or cost-effectiveness analysis, and their use in secondary analyses requires strong assumptions that may not have been adequately tested. In order to enhance the quality of secondary data analyses, we propose a method which derives from the published Kaplan Meier survival curves a close approximation to the original individual patient time-to-event data from which they were generated. We develop an algorithm that maps from digitised curves back to KM data by finding numerical solutions to the inverted KM equations, using where available information on number of events and numbers at risk. The reproducibility and accuracy of survival probabilities, median survival times and hazard ratios based on reconstructed KM data was assessed by comparing published statistics (survival probabilities, medians and hazard ratios) with statistics based on repeated reconstructions by multiple observers. The validation exercise established there was no material systematic error and that there was a high degree of reproducibility for all statistics. Accuracy was excellent for survival probabilities and medians, for hazard ratios reasonable accuracy can only be obtained if at least numbers at risk or total number of events are reported. The algorithm is a reliable tool for meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness analyses of RCTs reporting time-to-event data. It is recommended that all RCTs should report information on numbers at risk and total number of events alongside KM curves.

Median forehead flap - beyond classic indication

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Cristian R. Jecan

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The paramedian forehead flap is one of the best options for reconstruction of the median upper two-thirds of the face due to its vascularity, color, texture match and ability to resurface all or part of the reconstructed area. The forehead flap is the gold standard for nasal soft tissue reconstruction and the flap of choice for larger cutaneous nasal defects having a robust pedicle and large amount of tissue. Materials and Methods. We are reporting a clinical series of cutaneous tumors involving the nose, medial canthus, upper and lower eyelid through a retrospective review of 6 patients who underwent surgical excision of the lesion and primary reconstruction using a paramedian forehead flap. Results. The forehead flap was used for total nose reconstruction, eyelids and medial canthal reconstruction. All flaps survived completely and no tumor recurrence was seen in any of the patients. Cosmetic and functional results were favorable. Conclusions. The forehead flap continues to be one of the best options for nose reconstruction and for closure of surgical defects of the nose larger than 2 cm. Even though is not a gold standard, median forehead flap can be an advantageous technique in periorbital defects reconstruction.

Calculating Graph Algorithms for Dominance and Shortest Path

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sergey, Ilya; Midtgaard, Jan; Clarke, Dave

2012-01-01

We calculate two iterative, polynomial-time graph algorithms from the literature: a dominance algorithm and an algorithm for the single-source shortest path problem. Both algorithms are calculated directly from the definition of the properties by fixed-point fusion of (1) a least fixed point...... expressing all finite paths through a directed graph and (2) Galois connections that capture dominance and path length. The approach illustrates that reasoning in the style of fixed-point calculus extends gracefully to the domain of graph algorithms. We thereby bridge common practice from the school...... of program calculation with common practice from the school of static program analysis, and build a novel view on iterative graph algorithms as instances of abstract interpretation...

Enhanced secondary analysis of survival data: reconstructing the data from published Kaplan-Meier survival curves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guyot Patricia

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The results of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs on time-to-event outcomes that are usually reported are median time to events and Cox Hazard Ratio. These do not constitute the sufficient statistics required for meta-analysis or cost-effectiveness analysis, and their use in secondary analyses requires strong assumptions that may not have been adequately tested. In order to enhance the quality of secondary data analyses, we propose a method which derives from the published Kaplan Meier survival curves a close approximation to the original individual patient time-to-event data from which they were generated. Methods We develop an algorithm that maps from digitised curves back to KM data by finding numerical solutions to the inverted KM equations, using where available information on number of events and numbers at risk. The reproducibility and accuracy of survival probabilities, median survival times and hazard ratios based on reconstructed KM data was assessed by comparing published statistics (survival probabilities, medians and hazard ratios with statistics based on repeated reconstructions by multiple observers. Results The validation exercise established there was no material systematic error and that there was a high degree of reproducibility for all statistics. Accuracy was excellent for survival probabilities and medians, for hazard ratios reasonable accuracy can only be obtained if at least numbers at risk or total number of events are reported. Conclusion The algorithm is a reliable tool for meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness analyses of RCTs reporting time-to-event data. It is recommended that all RCTs should report information on numbers at risk and total number of events alongside KM curves.

A 2D analytical cylindrical gate tunnel FET (CG-TFET) model: impact of shortest tunneling distance

Science.gov (United States)

Dash, S.; Mishra, G. P.

2015-09-01

A 2D analytical tunnel field-effect transistor (FET) potential model with cylindrical gate (CG-TFET) based on the solution of Laplace’s equation is proposed. The band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) current is derived by the help of lateral electric field and the shortest tunneling distance. However, the analysis is extended to obtain the subthreshold swing (SS) and transfer characteristics of the device. The dependency of drain current, SS and transconductance on gate voltage and shortest tunneling distance is discussed. Also, the effect of scaling the gate oxide thickness and the cylindrical body diameter on the electrical parameters of the device is analyzed.

A 2D analytical cylindrical gate tunnel FET (CG-TFET) model: impact of shortest tunneling distance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dash, S; Mishra, G P

2015-01-01

A 2D analytical tunnel field-effect transistor (FET) potential model with cylindrical gate (CG-TFET) based on the solution of Laplace’s equation is proposed. The band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) current is derived by the help of lateral electric field and the shortest tunneling distance. However, the analysis is extended to obtain the subthreshold swing (SS) and transfer characteristics of the device. The dependency of drain current, SS and transconductance on gate voltage and shortest tunneling distance is discussed. Also, the effect of scaling the gate oxide thickness and the cylindrical body diameter on the electrical parameters of the device is analyzed. (paper)

Survival after stereotactic biopsy of malignant gliomas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coffey, R.J.; Lunsford, L.D.; Taylor, F.H.

1988-01-01

For many patients with malignant gliomas in inaccessible or functionally important locations, stereotactic biopsy followed by radiation therapy (RT) may be a more appropriate initial treatment than craniotomy and tumor resection. We studied the long term survival in 91 consecutive patients with malignant gliomas diagnosed by stereotactic biopsy: 64 had glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and 27 had anaplastic astrocytoma (AA). Sixty-four per cent of the GBMs and 33% of the AAs involved deep or midline cerebral structures. The treatment prescribed after biopsy, the tumor location, the histological findings, and the patient's age at presentation (for AAs) were statistically important factors determining patient survival. If adequate RT (tumor dose of 5000 to 6000 cGy) was not prescribed, the median survival was less than or equal to 11 weeks regardless of tumor histology or location. The median survival for patients with deep or midline tumors who completed RT was similar in AA (19.4 weeks) and GBM (27 weeks) cases. Histology was an important predictor of survival only for patients with adequately treated lobar tumors. The median survival in lobar GBM patients who completed RT was 46.9 weeks, and that in lobar AA patients who completed RT was 129 weeks. Cytoreductive surgery had no statistically significant effect on survival. Among the clinical factors examined, age of less than 40 years at presentation was associated with prolonged survival only in AA patients. Constellations of clinical features, tumor location, histological diagnosis, and treatment prescribed were related to survival time

Factors predicting survival following noninvasive ventilation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Peysson, S; Vandenberghe, N; Philit, F; Vial, C; Petitjean, T; Bouhour, F; Bayle, J Y; Broussolle, E

2008-01-01

The involvement of respiratory muscles is a major predicting factor for survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Recent studies show that noninvasive ventilation (NIV) can relieve symptoms of alveolar hypoventilation. However, factors predicting survival in ALS patients when treated with NIV need to be clarified. We conducted a retrospective study of 33 consecutive ALS patients receiving NIV. Ten patients had bulbar onset. We determined the median survivals from onset, diagnosis and initiation of NIV and factors predicting survival. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier test and Cox proportional hazard models. The median initial and maximal total uses of NIV were 10 and 14 h/24h. The overall median survival from ALS onset was 34.2 months and worsened with increasing age and bulbar onset of the disease. The median survival from initiation of NIV was 8.4 months and was significantly poorer in patients with advanced age or with airway mucus accumulation. Survival from initiation of NIV was not influenced by respiratory parameters or bulbar symptoms. Advanced age at diagnosis and airway mucus accumulation represent poorer prognostic factors of ALS patients treated with NIV. NIV is a helpful treatment of sleep-disordered breathing, including patients with bulbar involvement. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Depression and Liver Transplant Survival.

Science.gov (United States)

Meller, William; Welle, Nicole; Sutley, Kristen; Thurber, Steven

Patients who underwent liver transplantation and experienced clinical depression have heretofore evinced lower survival rates when compared to nondepressed counterparts. To investigate the hypothesis that transplant patients who seek and obtain medical treatment for depression would circumvent the prior reduced survival findings. A total of 765 patients with liver transplants were scrutinized for complications following transplantation. Further, 104 patients experienced posttransplant depression as manifested by diagnosis and treatment by medical personnel. Survival analyses were conducted comparing hazard and survival curves for these selected individuals and the remainder of transplant patients. Contrary to prior data and consistent with the aforementioned hypothesis, median survival durations, survival curves, and hazard functions (controlling for age and prolonged posttransplant survival for the depressed patients were better. The improved survival for the depressed patients may simply be related to an amelioration of depressed symptoms via antidepressant medications. However, this interpretation would only be congruent with reduced hazard, not elevated survival, beyond the norm (median) for other transplant participants. Assuming the reliability and generalization of our findings, perhaps a reasonable and compelling interpretation is that combined with the effectiveness of antidepressant medications, the seeking and receiving treatment for depression is a type of proxy measure of a more global pattern of adherence to recommended posttransplant medical regimens. Copyright © 2017 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Children's route choice during active transportation to school: Difference between shortest and actual route

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dessing, D.; Vries, S.I. de; Hegeman, G.; Verhagen, E.; Mechelen, W. van; Pierik, F.H.

2016-01-01

Background: The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of environmental correlates that are associated with route choice during active transportation to school (ATS) by comparing characteristics of actual walking and cycling routes between home and school with the shortest possible

Approaching the Brachistochrone Using Inclined Planes--Striving for Shortest or Equal Travelling Times

Science.gov (United States)

Theilmann, Florian

2017-01-01

The classical "brachistochrone" problem asks for the path on which a mobile point M just driven by its own gravity will travel in the shortest possible time between two given points "A" and "B." The resulting curve, the cycloid, will also be the "tautochrone" curve, i.e. the travelling time of the mobile…

Donation return time at fixed and mobile donation sites

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, Patricia M.; High, Patrick M.; Schlumpf, Karen S.; Johnson, Bryce R.; Mast, Alan E.; Rios, Jorge A.; Simon, Toby L.; Wilkinson, Susan L.

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND This study investigated the effect of blood donation environment, fixed or mobile with differing sponsor types, on donation return time. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Data from 2006 through 2009 at six US blood centers participating in the Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study-II (REDS-II) were used for analysis. Descriptive statistics stratified by whole blood (WB), plateletpheresis (PP), and double red blood cell (R2) donations were obtained for fixed and mobile locations, including median number of donations and median interdonation interval. A survival analysis estimated median return time at fixed and mobile sites, while controlling for censored return times, demographics, blood center, and mandatory recovery times. RESULTS Two-thirds (67.9%) of WB donations were made at mobile sites, 97.4% of PP donations were made at fixed sites, and R2 donations were equally distributed between fixed and mobile locations. For donations at fixed sites only or alternating between fixed and mobile sites, the highest median numbers of donations were nine and eight, respectively, and the shortest model-adjusted median return times (controlling for mandatory eligibility times of 56 and 112 days) were 36 and 30 days for WB and R2 donations, respectively. For PP donations, the shortest model-adjusted median return time was 23 days at a fixed location and the longest was 693 days at community locations. CONCLUSION WB, PP, and R2 donors with the shortest time between donations were associated with fixed locations and those alternating between fixed and mobile locations, even after controlling for differing mandatory recovery times for the different blood donation procedures. PMID:21745215

DESIGNING APPLICATION OF ANT COLONY SYSTEM ALGORITHM FOR THE SHORTEST ROUTE OF BANDA ACEH CITY AND ACEH BESAR REGENCY TOURISM BY USING GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE MATLAB

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Durisman Durisman

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Banda Aceh city and Aceh Besar Regency are two of the leading tourism areas located in the province of Aceh. For travelling, there are some important things to be considered, such as determining schedule and distance of tourism. Every tourist certainly chooses the shortest route to reach the destination since it can save time, energy, and money. The purpose of this reserach is to develop a method that can be used in calculating the shortest route and applied to the tourism of Banda Aceh city and Aceh Besar regency. In this reserach, Ant Colony Optimization algorithm is used to determine the shortest route to tourism of Banda Aceh city and Aceh Besar regency. From the analysis made by using both manual calculation and  GUI MATLAB program application test, the shortest route can be obtained with a minimum distance of 120.85 km in one travel. Based on the test result, the application for tourism (in Banda Aceh city and Aceh Besar regency shortest route searching built by utilizing the Ant Colony Optimization algorithm can find optimal route.  Keyword: tourism, the shortest route, Ant Colony Optimization

Performance analysis of parallel identical machines with a generalized shortest queue arrival mechanism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Houtum, Geert-Jan; Adan, I.J.B.F.; Wessels, J.; Zijm, Willem H.M.

In this paper we study a production system consisting of a group of parallel machines producing multiple job types. Each machine has its own queue and it can process a restricted set of job types only. On arrival a job joins the shortest queue among all queues capable of serving that job. Under the

Association between time to disease progression end points and overall survival in patients with neuroendocrine tumors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Singh S

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Simron Singh,1 Xufang Wang,2 Calvin HL Law1 1Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Center, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; 2Novartis Oncology, Florham Park, NJ, USA Abstract: Overall survival can be difficult to determine for slowly progressing malignancies, such as neuroendocrine tumors. We investigated whether time to disease progression is positively associated with overall survival in patients with such tumors. A literature review identified 22 clinical trials in patients with neuroendocrine tumors that reported survival probabilities for both time to disease progression (progression-free survival and time to progression and overall survival. Associations between median time to disease progression and median overall survival and between treatment effects on time to disease progression and treatment effects on overall survival were analyzed using weighted least-squares regression. Median time to disease progression was significantly associated with median overall survival (coefficient 0.595; P=0.022. In the seven randomized studies identified, the risk reduction for time to disease progression was positively associated with the risk reduction for overall survival (coefficient on −ln[HR] 0.151; 95% confidence interval −0.843, 1.145; P=0.713. The significant association between median time to disease progression and median overall survival supports the assertion that time to disease progression is an alternative end point to overall survival in patients with neuroendocrine tumors. An apparent albeit not significant trend correlates treatment effects on time to disease progression and treatment effects on overall survival. Informal surveys of physicians’ perceptions are consistent with these concepts, although additional randomized trials are needed. Keywords: neuroendocrine tumors, progression-free survival, disease progression, mortality

Survival After Palliative Radiotherapy in Patients with Breast Cancer and Bone-only Metastases.

Science.gov (United States)

Nieder, Carsten; Dalhaug, Astrid; Pawinski, Adam; Mannsåker, Bård; Haukland, Ellinor

Patients with bone-only metastases survive longer than patients with widespread visceral disease. We analyzed the prognostic impact of different baseline parameters, such as abnormal blood tests and receptor status in patients who received local radiotherapy, in addition to contemporary systemic treatment, according to national guidelines. Retrospective uni- and multivariate analyses of 57 consecutive female patients treated in the time period 2007-2014 (median follow-up=29 months). The median age was 59 years and the median time interval from the initial diagnosis of breast cancer was 57 months. The median survival was 23 months from radiotherapy and 32 months from initial diagnosis of metastatic disease. Five-year survival rates were 13 and 21%, respectively. Survival after radiotherapy was significantly longer in patients who were prescribed higher radiation doses; 29 months after ≥30 Gy and 10 months after radiotherapy improves survival in patients with bone-only disease suitable for local therapy. Copyright © 2016 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.

Impact of different treatment methods on survival in advanced pancreatic cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brasiuniene, B.; Juozaityte, E.; Barauskas, G.

2005-01-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of different treatment methods on survival of patients treated for advanced pancreatic cancer at Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital from 1987 to 2003. Data on 262 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer treated from 1987 to 2003 were analyzed retrospectively. Four groups of patients were analyzed. One hundred eighty patients underwent palliative bypass or endoscopic bile duct stenting or observation alone. Forty three patients in addition to surgery were treated by radiotherapy. Twenty five patients received gemcitabine in standard doses and schedules. Fourteen patients received concomitant chemoradiotherapy (with gemcitabine or 5-fluorouracil). All patients were grouped by treatment method and median survival was analyzed. Median survival of patients treated by palliative surgery only or observation alone was 1.9 month, and for patients treated by palliative surgery and radiotherapy was 6.1 months (p=0.00007). Median survival of patients treated with gemcitabine was 9.5 months (p<0.001), and median survival of patients treated with concomitant chemoradiotherapy was 8.5 months (p=0.00003). Patients diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in addition to surgical treatment should be treated by chemotherapy, concomitant chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy. (author)

Shortest path problem on a grid network with unordered intermediate points

Science.gov (United States)

Saw, Veekeong; Rahman, Amirah; Eng Ong, Wen

2017-10-01

We consider a shortest path problem with single cost factor on a grid network with unordered intermediate points. A two stage heuristic algorithm is proposed to find a feasible solution path within a reasonable amount of time. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, computational experiments are performed on grid maps of varying size and number of intermediate points. Preliminary results for the problem are reported. Numerical comparisons against brute forcing show that the proposed algorithm consistently yields solutions that are within 10% of the optimal solution and uses significantly less computation time.

Survival and clinical outcome of dogs with ischaemic stroke

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gredal, Hanne Birgit; Toft, Nils; Westrup, Ulrik

2013-01-01

The objectives of the present study were to investigate survival time, possible predictors of survival and clinical outcome in dogs with ischaemic stroke. A retrospective study of dogs with a previous diagnosis of ischaemic stroke diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed....... The association between survival and the hypothesised risk factors was examined using univariable exact logistic regression. Survival was examined using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression. Twenty-two dogs were identified. Five dogs (23%) died within the first 30days of the stroke event. Median survival in 30-day...... survivors was 505days. Four dogs (18%) were still alive by the end of the study. Right-sided lesions posed a significantly increased risk of mortality with a median survival time in dogs with right-sided lesions of 24days vs. 602days in dogs with left sided lesions (P=0.006). Clinical outcome was considered...

Sosiaalisen median mahdollisuudet Tilastokeskukselle

OpenAIRE

Vesterinen, Anu

2011-01-01

Tämän opinnäytetyön aiheena oli sosiaalisen median mahdollisuudet Tilastokeskuksen viestinnässä. Työn tavoitteena oli kartoittaa sosiaalisen median käyttöön liittyviä mahdollisuuksia ja haasteita sekä selvittää siihen liittyviä odotuksia Tilastokeskuksen henkilöstön keskuudessa. Työn teoriaosuudessa tarkasteltiin sosiaalista mediaa käsitteenä ja esiteltiin sosiaalisen median käyttöä organisaation ulkoisen viestinnän välineenä. Opinnäytetyössä selvitettiin teoriatietoon pohjautuen sekä ca...

A shortest-path graph kernel for estimating gene product semantic similarity

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Alvarez Marco A

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Existing methods for calculating semantic similarity between gene products using the Gene Ontology (GO often rely on external resources, which are not part of the ontology. Consequently, changes in these external resources like biased term distribution caused by shifting of hot research topics, will affect the calculation of semantic similarity. One way to avoid this problem is to use semantic methods that are "intrinsic" to the ontology, i.e. independent of external knowledge. Results We present a shortest-path graph kernel (spgk method that relies exclusively on the GO and its structure. In spgk, a gene product is represented by an induced subgraph of the GO, which consists of all the GO terms annotating it. Then a shortest-path graph kernel is used to compute the similarity between two graphs. In a comprehensive evaluation using a benchmark dataset, spgk compares favorably with other methods that depend on external resources. Compared with simUI, a method that is also intrinsic to GO, spgk achieves slightly better results on the benchmark dataset. Statistical tests show that the improvement is significant when the resolution and EC similarity correlation coefficient are used to measure the performance, but is insignificant when the Pfam similarity correlation coefficient is used. Conclusions Spgk uses a graph kernel method in polynomial time to exploit the structure of the GO to calculate semantic similarity between gene products. It provides an alternative to both methods that use external resources and "intrinsic" methods with comparable performance.

External Data Structures for Shortest Path Queries on Planar Digraphs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arge, Lars; Toma, Laura

2005-01-01

In this paper we present space-query trade-offs for external memory data structures that answer shortest path queries on planar directed graphs. For any S = Ω(N 1 + ε) and S = O(N2/B), our main result is a family of structures that use S space and answer queries in O(N2/ S B) I/Os, thus obtaining...... optimal space-query product O(N2/B). An S space structure can be constructed in O(√S · sort(N)) I/Os, where sort(N) is the number of I/Os needed to sort N elements, B is the disk block size, and N is the size of the graph....

Sosiaalisen median markkinointistrategia

OpenAIRE

Tran, Jenny

2017-01-01

Insinöörityön tavoitteena oli suunnitella toimeksiantajayritykselle sopiva sosiaalisen median markkinointistrategia ja avustaa sen toteutuksessa sekä tuottaen sisältöä sovittuihin kanaviin. Pyrkimyksenä oli myös kouluttaa yrityksen henkilökuntaa käyttämään sosiaalista mediaa yleisellä tasolla ja markkinoinnissa tutustuttamalla heidät sosiaalisen median erilaisiin kanaviin ja mainostyökaluihin. Opinnäytetyössä keskityttiin tutkimaan Facebookissa toimivaa markkinointia ja siinä toimivia mai...

Stereotactic Radiosurgery in the Management of Brain Metastases: An Institutional Retrospective Analysis of Survival

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frazier, James L.; Batra, Sachin; Kapor, Sumit; Vellimana, Ananth; Gandhi, Rahul; Carson, Kathryn A.; Shokek, Ori; Lim, Michael; Kleinberg, Lawrence; Rigamonti, Daniele

2010-01-01

Purpose: The objective of this study was to report our experience with stereotactic radiosurgery performed with the Gamma Knife (GK) in the treatment of patients with brain metastases and to compare survival for those treated with radiosurgery alone with survival for those treated with radiosurgery and whole-brain radiotherapy. Methods and Materials: Prospectively collected demographic and clinical characteristics and treatment and survival data on 237 patients with intracranial metastases who underwent radiosurgery with the GK between 2003 and 2007 were reviewed. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to compare survival by demographic and clinical characteristics and treatment. Results: The mean age of the patient population was 56 years. The most common tumor histologies were non-small-cell lung carcinoma (34.2%) and breast cancer (13.9%). The median overall survival time was 8.5 months from the time of treatment. The median survival times for patients with one, two/three, and four or more brain metastases were 8.5, 9.4, and 6.7 months, respectively. Patients aged 65 years or greater and those aged less than 65 years had median survival times of 7.8 and 9 months, respectively (p = 0.008). The Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS) at the time of treatment was a significant predictor of survival: those patients with a KPS of 70 or less had a median survival of 2.9 months compared with 10.3 months (p = 0.034) for those with a KPS of 80 or greater. There was no statistically significant difference in survival between patients treated with radiosurgery alone and those treated with radiosurgery plus whole-brain radiotherapy. Conclusions: Radiosurgery with the GK is an efficacious treatment modality for brain metastases. A KPS greater than 70, histology of breast cancer, smaller tumor volume, and age less than 65 years were associated with a longer median survival in our study.

Variations in survival after cardiac arrest among academic medical center-affiliated hospitals.

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Michael Christopher Kurz

Full Text Available Variation exists in cardiac arrest (CA survival among institutions. We sought to determine institutional-level characteristics of academic medical centers (AMCs associated with CA survival.We examined discharge data from AMCs participating with Vizient clinical database-resource manager. We identified cases using ICD-9 diagnosis code 427.5 (CA or procedure code 99.60 (CPR. We estimated hospital-specific risk-standardized survival rates (RSSRs using mixed effects logistic regression, adjusting for individual mortality risk. Institutional and community characteristics of AMCs with higher than average survival were compared with those with lower survival.We analyzed data on 3,686,296 discharges in 2012, of which 33,700 (0.91% included a CA diagnosis. Overall survival was 42.3% (95% CI 41.8-42.9 with median institutional RSSR of 42.6% (IQR 35.7-51.0; Min-Max 19.4-101.6. We identified 28 AMCs with above average survival (median RSSR 61.8% and 20 AMCs with below average survival (median RSSR 26.8%. Compared to AMCs with below average survival, those with high CA survival had higher CA volume (median 262 vs.119 discharges, p = 0.002, total beds (722 vs. 452, p = 0.02, and annual surgical volume (24,939 vs. 13,109, p<0.001, more likely to offer cardiac catheterization (100% vs. 72%, p = 0.007 or cardiac surgery (93% vs. 61%, p = 0.02 and cared for catchment areas with higher household income ($61,922 vs. $49,104, p = 0.004 and lower poverty rates (14.6% vs. 17.3%, p = 0.03.Using discharge data from Vizient, we showed AMCs with higher CA and surgical case volume, cardiac catheterization and cardiac surgery facilities, and catchment areas with higher socioeconomic status had higher risk-standardized CA survival.

Comparison of Genetic Algorithm and Hill Climbing for Shortest Path Optimization Mapping

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Fronita Mona

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP is an optimization to find the shortest path to reach several destinations in one trip without passing through the same city and back again to the early departure city, the process is applied to the delivery systems. This comparison is done using two methods, namely optimization genetic algorithm and hill climbing. Hill Climbing works by directly selecting a new path that is exchanged with the neighbour’s to get the track distance smaller than the previous track, without testing. Genetic algorithms depend on the input parameters, they are the number of population, the probability of crossover, mutation probability and the number of generations. To simplify the process of determining the shortest path supported by the development of software that uses the google map API. Tests carried out as much as 20 times with the number of city 8, 16, 24 and 32 to see which method is optimal in terms of distance and time computation. Based on experiments conducted with a number of cities 3, 4, 5 and 6 producing the same value and optimal distance for the genetic algorithm and hill climbing, the value of this distance begins to differ with the number of city 7. The overall results shows that these tests, hill climbing are more optimal to number of small cities and the number of cities over 30 optimized using genetic algorithms.

[Effect of nutritional support on survival in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis].

Science.gov (United States)

López Gómez, J J; Ballesteros Pomar, Ma D; Vázquez Sánchez, F; Vidal Casariego, A; Calleja Fernández, A; Cano Rodríguez, I

2011-01-01

Malnutrition affects morbidity and mortality of patients with ALS. The nutrition unit should evaluate these patients early and regularly providing the necessary steps in the evolution of the disease. A retrospective cohort study in which we analyzed 46 patients diagnosed with ALS, 21 of them received nutritional therapy. We studied age, mode of onset, date of entry into a nutritional protocol, placement of PEG and survival. We performed a test of Breslow comparing patients who were at nutritional protocol with those not receiving nutritional support, and those who received early nutritional therapy with those with delayed nutrition. There was an increase in median survival for patients in nutritional therapy in bulbar ALS (452 vs 55 days) and in spinal ALS (1,798 vs 357 days) (p = 0.002). The median delay in the initiation of nutritional therapy in spinal ALS was 557 days while in bulbar ALS was 230 days. The survival in the spinal ALS of those who entered into nutritional protocol before the median survival was 325 days to 181 days (p = 0.09) while in bulbar ALS those who entered before had a median survival of 435 days to 177 days (p = 0.38). The entry of patients with ALS in a nutritional protocol increases survival. There is an advantage in the evolution of patients with early nutritional treatment.

Impacts of Different Mobile User Interfaces on Students’ Satisfaction for Learning Dijkstra’s Shortest Path Algorithm

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Mazyar Seraj

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This paper describes an experimental study of learning Dijkstra’s shortest path algorithm on mobile devices. The aim of the study is to investigate and compare the impacts of two different mobile screen user interfaces on students’ satisfaction for learning the technical subject. A mobile learning prototype was developed for learning Dijkstra’s shortest path algorithm on Apple iPhone 4 operated on iPhone operating system (iOS, and Acer Inconia Tab operated on an Android operating system. Thirty students, who are either currently studying or had previously studied Computer Networks, were recruited for the usability trial. At the end of each single session, students’ satisfaction interacting with the two mobile devices was measured using QUIS questionnaire. Although there is no significant difference in students’ satisfaction between the two different mobile screen interfaces, the subjective findings indicate that Acer Inconia Tab gained higher scores as compared to Apple iPhone 4.

Impact of reconstruction methods and pathological factors on survival after pancreaticoduodenectomy

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Salah Binziad

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Surgery remains the mainstay of therapy for pancreatic head (PH and periampullary carcinoma (PC and provides the only chance of cure. Improvements of surgical technique, increased surgical experience and advances in anesthesia, intensive care and parenteral nutrition have substantially decreased surgical complications and increased survival. We evaluate the effects of reconstruction type, complications and pathological factors on survival and quality of life. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study to evaluate the impact of various reconstruction methods of the pancreatic remnant after pancreaticoduodenectomy and the pathological characteristics of PC patients over 3.5 years. Patient characteristics and descriptive analysis in the three variable methods either with or without stent were compared with Chi-square test. Multivariate analysis was performed with the logistic regression analysis test and multinomial logistic regression analysis test. Survival rate was analyzed by use Kaplan-Meier test. Results: Forty-one consecutive patients with PC were enrolled. There were 23 men (56.1% and 18 women (43.9%, with a median age of 56 years (16 to 70 years. There were 24 cases of PH cancer, eight cases of PC, four cases of distal CBD cancer and five cases of duodenal carcinoma. Nine patients underwent duct-to-mucosa pancreatico jejunostomy (PJ, 17 patients underwent telescoping pancreatico jejunostomy (PJ and 15 patients pancreaticogastrostomy (PG. The pancreatic duct was stented in 30 patients while in 11 patients, the duct was not stented. The PJ duct-to-mucosa caused significantly less leakage, but longer operative and reconstructive times. Telescoping PJ was associated with the shortest hospital stay. There were 5 postoperative mortalities, while postoperative morbidities included pancreatic fistula-6 patients, delayed gastric emptying in-11, GI fistula-3, wound infection-12, burst abdomen-6 and pulmonary infection-2. Factors

Thrombosed persistent median artery causing carpal tunnel syndrome associated with bifurcated median nerve: A case report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salter, M.; Sinha, N. R.; Szmigielski, W.

2011-01-01

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome is a sporadically occurring abnormality due to compression of median nerve. It is exceedingly rare for it to be caused by thrombosis of persistent median artery. Case Report: A forty two year old female was referred for ultrasound examination due to ongoing wrist pain, not relived by pain killers and mild paraesthesia on the radial side of the hand. High resolution ultrasound and Doppler revealed a thrombosed persistent median artery and associated bifurcated median nerve. The thrombus resolved on treatment with anticoagulants. Conclusions: Ultrasound examination of the wrist when done for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome should preferably include looking for persistent median artery and its patency. (authors)

Audit in radiation therapy: long-term survival and cost of treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevens, G.; Firth, I.

1997-01-01

In order to determine the cost of radiation treatment and the survival rate of a cohort of patients treated in a 6 month period in 1988, estimates of the capital and recurrent costs of this service were made for the calendar year 1988, expressed as $A(1988). Data collected prospectively included workload statistics (including number of attendances), field treated and complexity of treatment. Patient and tumour-related data included tumour site, intent of treatment and survival. The survival rate of patients during this period was determined in June 1995. The cost per field in 1988 was estimated at $A44.32. The 1988 costs of courses of definitive, adjuvant and palliative radiation therapy were estimated at $A2545, $A2482 and $A929, respectively. The major contributor to the cost of salaries and consumables within the Radiation Oncology Department (81.6%), with capital costs accounting for 13.5%, overheads accounting for 4.5% of the costs and planned admissions accounting for 0.2%. The median survival time of 580 patients with malignant disease treated during this period in 1988 was 12.4 months. The overall 5 year survival rate was 27%. For 105 patients treated definitively with radiation therapy, the median and 5 year survival rate figures were 26.0 months and 40%. For 149 patients treated with adjuvant radiation therapy, the 5 year survival rate was 62% (median survival rate not reached). For 279 patients treated palliatively, median and 5 year survival rate figures were 5.2 months and 3%. The cost per month of survival for all patients with malignancy was $A67; the figures for definitive , adjuvant and palliative treatments being $A74, $A48 and $A105, respectively. A sensitivity analysis indicated that these figures were robust. The cost of radiation treatment per field was comparable to reports for other centres and emphasizes the utility of radiation therapy as a cost-effective cancer treatment modality. 7 refs., 6 tabs., 2 figs

Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy Improves Survival in Patients With Hypopharyngeal Cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paximadis, Peter, E-mail: ppaximad@med.wayne.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI (United States); Yoo, George; Lin, Ho-Sheng; Jacobs, John [Department of Otolaryngology, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI (United States); Sukari, Ammar [Department of Medical Oncology, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI (United States); Dyson, Greg [Department of Oncology, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI (United States); Christensen, Michael; Kim, Harold [Department of Radiation Oncology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI (United States)

2012-03-15

Purpose: To retrospectively review our institutional experience with hypopharyngeal carcinoma with respect to treatment modality. Methods and Materials: A total of 70 patients with hypopharyngeal cancer treated between 1999 and 2009 were analyzed for functional and survival outcomes. The treatments included surgery alone (n = 5), surgery followed by radiotherapy (RT) (n = 3), surgery followed by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) (n = 13), RT alone (n = 2), CRT alone (n = 22), induction chemotherapy followed by RT (n = 3), and induction chemotherapy followed by CRT (n = 22). Results: The median follow-up was 18 months. The median overall survival and disease-free survival for all patients was 28.3 and 17.6 months, respectively. The 1- and 2-year local control rate for all patients was 87.1% and 80%. CRT, given either as primary therapy or in the adjuvant setting, improved overall survival and disease-free survival compared with patients not receiving CRT. The median overall survival and disease-free survival for patients treated with CRT was 36.7 and 17.6 months vs. 14.0 and 8.0 months, respectively (p < .01). Of the patients initially treated with an organ-preserving approach, 4 (8.2%) required salvage laryngectomy for local recurrence or persistent disease; 8 (16.3%) and 12 (24.5%) patients were dependent on a percutaneous gastrostomy and tracheostomy tube, respectively. The 2-year laryngoesophageal dysfunction-free survival rate for patients treated with an organ-preserving approach was estimated at 31.7%. Conclusions: Concurrent CRT improves survival in patients with hypopharyngeal cancer. CRT given with conventional radiation techniques yields poor functional outcomes, and future efforts should be directed at determining the feasibility of pharyngeal-sparing intensity-modulated radiotherapy in patients with hypopharyngeal tumors.

Cancer survival classification using integrated data sets and intermediate information.

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Kim, Shinuk; Park, Taesung; Kon, Mark

2014-09-01

Although numerous studies related to cancer survival have been published, increasing the prediction accuracy of survival classes still remains a challenge. Integration of different data sets, such as microRNA (miRNA) and mRNA, might increase the accuracy of survival class prediction. Therefore, we suggested a machine learning (ML) approach to integrate different data sets, and developed a novel method based on feature selection with Cox proportional hazard regression model (FSCOX) to improve the prediction of cancer survival time. FSCOX provides us with intermediate survival information, which is usually discarded when separating survival into 2 groups (short- and long-term), and allows us to perform survival analysis. We used an ML-based protocol for feature selection, integrating information from miRNA and mRNA expression profiles at the feature level. To predict survival phenotypes, we used the following classifiers, first, existing ML methods, support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF), second, a new median-based classifier using FSCOX (FSCOX_median), and third, an SVM classifier using FSCOX (FSCOX_SVM). We compared these methods using 3 types of cancer tissue data sets: (i) miRNA expression, (ii) mRNA expression, and (iii) combined miRNA and mRNA expression. The latter data set included features selected either from the combined miRNA/mRNA profile or independently from miRNAs and mRNAs profiles (IFS). In the ovarian data set, the accuracy of survival classification using the combined miRNA/mRNA profiles with IFS was 75% using RF, 86.36% using SVM, 84.09% using FSCOX_median, and 88.64% using FSCOX_SVM with a balanced 22 short-term and 22 long-term survivor data set. These accuracies are higher than those using miRNA alone (70.45%, RF; 75%, SVM; 75%, FSCOX_median; and 75%, FSCOX_SVM) or mRNA alone (65.91%, RF; 63.64%, SVM; 72.73%, FSCOX_median; and 70.45%, FSCOX_SVM). Similarly in the glioblastoma multiforme data, the accuracy of miRNA/mRNA using IFS

A MODIFIED GENETIC ALGORITHM FOR FINDING FUZZY SHORTEST PATHS IN UNCERTAIN NETWORKS

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A. A. Heidari

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In realistic network analysis, there are several uncertainties in the measurements and computation of the arcs and vertices. These uncertainties should also be considered in realizing the shortest path problem (SPP due to the inherent fuzziness in the body of expert's knowledge. In this paper, we investigated the SPP under uncertainty to evaluate our modified genetic strategy. We improved the performance of genetic algorithm (GA to investigate a class of shortest path problems on networks with vague arc weights. The solutions of the uncertain SPP with considering fuzzy path lengths are examined and compared in detail. As a robust metaheuristic, GA algorithm is modified and evaluated to tackle the fuzzy SPP (FSPP with uncertain arcs. For this purpose, first, a dynamic operation is implemented to enrich the exploration/exploitation patterns of the conventional procedure and mitigate the premature convergence of GA technique. Then, the modified GA (MGA strategy is used to resolve the FSPP. The attained results of the proposed strategy are compared to those of GA with regard to the cost, quality of paths and CPU times. Numerical instances are provided to demonstrate the success of the proposed MGA-FSPP strategy in comparison with GA. The simulations affirm that not only the proposed technique can outperform GA, but also the qualities of the paths are effectively improved. The results clarify that the competence of the proposed GA is preferred in view of quality quantities. The results also demonstrate that the proposed method can efficiently be utilized to handle FSPP in uncertain networks.

Survival of Anisakis simplex in arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomia) during frozen storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Ann M; Ton, My N; Wekell, Marleen M; MacKenzie, Alan P; Dong, Faye M

2005-07-01

Survival of naturally occurring larvae of Anisakis simplex in fresh arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomia) was determined after storage for specified periods at four freezing temperatures. All larvae were killed by 96, 60, 12, and 9 h at temperatures of -15, -20, -30, and -40 degrees C, respectively. The average percentages of live larvae per fillet at the next shortest holding time were as follows: 72 h at -15 degrees C, 0 to 3%; 48 h at -20 degrees C, 11 to 30%; 9 h at -30 degrees C, 5%; and 6 h at -40 degrees C, 0 to 3%. Larval survival was directly related to fillet thickness or weight (P < or = 0.05). Larval death was directly correlated to freezing temperatures. Holding time necessary to kill larval nematodes decreased as storage temperature decreased.

Survival in Response to Multimodal Therapy in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Prasongsook, Naiyarat; Kumar, Aditi; Chintakuntlawar, Ashish V; Foote, Robert L; Kasperbauer, Jan; Molina, Julian; Garces, Yolanda; Ma, Daniel; Wittich, Michelle A Neben; Rubin, Joseph; Richardson, Ronald; Morris, John; Hay, Ian; Fatourechi, Vahab; McIver, Bryan; Ryder, Mabel; Thompson, Geoffrey; Grant, Clive; Richards, Melanie; Sebo, Thomas J; Rivera, Michael; Suman, Vera; Jenkins, Sarah M; Smallridge, Robert C; Bible, Keith C

2017-12-01

Historical outcomes in anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) have been dismal. To determine whether an initial intensive multimodal therapy (MMT) is associated with improved ATC survival. MMT was offered to all patients with newly diagnosed ATC treated at the Mayo Clinic from 2003 through 2015; MMT vs care with palliative intent (PI) was individualized considering clinical status and patient preferences. Outcomes were retrospectively analyzed by American Joint Committee on Cancer stage and treatments compared with patient cohort data from 1949 through 1999. Forty-eight patients (60% male; median age, 62 years); 18 treated with PI, 30 with MMT. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival determined by Kaplan-Meier method. Median OS and 1-year survival for the later cohort were 9 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 4 to 22 months] and 42% (95% CI, 28% to 56%) vs 3 months and 10% for the earlier cohort. Median OS was 21 months compared with 3.9 months in the pooled MMT vs PI groups for the later cohort [hazard ratio (HR), 0.32; P = 0.0006]. Among only patients in the later cohort who had stage IVB disease, median OS was 22.4 vs 4 months (HR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.03 to 0.44; P = 0.0001), with 68% vs 0% alive at 1 year (MMT vs PI). Among patients with stage IVC cancer, OS did not differ by therapy. MMT appears to convey longer survival in ATC among patients with stage IVA/B disease. Copyright © 2017 Endocrine Society

Influence of drag force upon the shortest time trajectory of an aircraft

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Andrei CRAIFALEANU

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The shortest time trajectory of an aircraft between two given locations is determined using a simple mathematical model. By taking into account the drag force (viscous friction force with the air, a problem of variational calculus is obtained which consists in determining two functions that minimize a functional, subject to a non-holonomic constraint. The trajectory is determined directly, by numerical integration of Euler equations with multipliers. Three types of drag forces were considered: constant, linear and quadratic. The results are verified through comparison to the values obtained from numerical minimization of the involved functional approximate forms.

A comparison of freeway median crash frequency, severity, and barrier strike outcomes by median barrier type.

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, Brendan J; Savolainen, Peter T

2018-08-01

Median-crossover crashes are among the most hazardous events that can occur on freeways, often resulting in severe or fatal injuries. The primary countermeasure to reduce the occurrence of such crashes is the installation of a median barrier. When installation of a median barrier is warranted, transportation agencies are faced with the decision among various alternatives including concrete barriers, beam guardrail, or high-tension cable barriers. Each barrier type differs in terms of its deflection characteristics upon impact, the required installation and maintenance costs, and the roadway characteristics (e.g., median width) where installation would be feasible. This study involved an investigation of barrier performance through an in-depth analysis of crash frequency and severity data from freeway segments where high-tension cable, thrie-beam, and concrete median barriers were installed. A comprehensive manual review of crash reports was conducted to identify crashes in which a vehicle left the roadway and encroached into the median. This review also involved an examination of crash outcomes when a barrier strike occurred, which included vehicle containment, penetration, or re-direction onto the travel lanes. The manual review of crash reports provided critical supplementary information through narratives and diagrams not normally available through standard fields on police crash report forms. Statistical models were estimated to identify factors that affect the frequency, severity, and outcomes of median-related crashes, with particular emphases on differences between segments with varying median barrier types. Several roadway-, traffic-, and environmental-related characteristics were found to affect these metrics, with results varying across the different barrier types. The results of this study provide transportation agencies with important guidance as to the in-service performance of various types of median barrier. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Sosiaalisen median riskit yritysmaailmassa

OpenAIRE

Kilpinen, Joni

2015-01-01

Sosiaalisen median palveluista on kirjoitettu lukuisia kirjoja ja artikkeleita, joissa niitä ylistetään varsinkin yritysnäkökulmasta. Vaikka sosiaalinen media on muuttanut olennaisesti tapaa, jolla keskustella, mainostaa, etsiä ja jakaa tietoa, piilee sen palveluiden käytössä kuitenkin erilaisia uhkakuvia. Yritykset ja asiantuntijat pelkäävät sosiaalisen median avoimuuden aiheuttavan suuria tietoturvariskejä. Lisäksi asiantuntijat ovat varoitelleet sosiaalisessa mediassa olevista haittaohjelm...

GPU Accelerated Vector Median Filter

Science.gov (United States)

Aras, Rifat; Shen, Yuzhong

2011-01-01

Noise reduction is an important step for most image processing tasks. For three channel color images, a widely used technique is vector median filter in which color values of pixels are treated as 3-component vectors. Vector median filters are computationally expensive; for a window size of n x n, each of the n(sup 2) vectors has to be compared with other n(sup 2) - 1 vectors in distances. General purpose computation on graphics processing units (GPUs) is the paradigm of utilizing high-performance many-core GPU architectures for computation tasks that are normally handled by CPUs. In this work. NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) paradigm is used to accelerate vector median filtering. which has to the best of our knowledge never been done before. The performance of GPU accelerated vector median filter is compared to that of the CPU and MPI-based versions for different image and window sizes, Initial findings of the study showed 100x improvement of performance of vector median filter implementation on GPUs over CPU implementations and further speed-up is expected after more extensive optimizations of the GPU algorithm .

Brain metastases in lung cancer. Impact of prognostic factors on patient survival

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smrdel, U.; Zwitter, M.; Kovac, V.

2003-01-01

Background. Brain metastases are common patterns of dissemination in lung cancer patients. In this paper we would like to assess the pattern of brain metastases in lung cancer patients and the impact of prognostic factors on the survival of lung cancer patients with brain metastases. Patients and methods. In the year 1998 there were 974 registered patients with lung cancer in Slovenia, six hundred and fifteen of them were treated at the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana and we analyzed them. Among 615 patients 137 (22.3 %) of them have had brain metastases during a natural course of disease. Results. For 12 patients presenting with solitary brain metastases (most of them were undertaken metastasectomy) median survival was 7.6 months, while in patients with multiple brain metastases the median survival was 2.8 months (p 0.0018). Of the 137 patients 45 (32.8 %) were small cell lung cancer patients, 43 (31.4 %) were adenocarcinoma patients and 19 (13.9 %) were squamous cell carcinoma patients. Patients with performance status (WHO scale) less than 2 had the median survival time 3.7 months while patients with performance status 2 or more had median survival time 2.7 moths (p=0.0448). Conclusions. Patients with solitary brain metastases had better survival comparing with those who had multiple metastases. It is surprisingly that the portion of brain metastases patients with adenocarcinoma is almost equal to those with small-call lung cancer therefore, the prophylactic cranial radiation becomes actual for both groups of patients. The performance status of patients with brain metastases remains very important prognostic factor. (author)

Switching non-local median filter

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Jyohei; Koga, Takanori; Suetake, Noriaki; Uchino, Eiji

2015-06-01

This paper describes a novel image filtering method for removal of random-valued impulse noise superimposed on grayscale images. Generally, it is well known that switching-type median filters are effective for impulse noise removal. In this paper, we propose a more sophisticated switching-type impulse noise removal method in terms of detail-preserving performance. Specifically, the noise detector of the proposed method finds out noise-corrupted pixels by focusing attention on the difference between the value of a pixel of interest (POI) and the median of its neighboring pixel values, and on the POI's isolation tendency from the surrounding pixels. Furthermore, the removal of the detected noise is performed by the newly proposed median filter based on non-local processing, which has superior detail-preservation capability compared to the conventional median filter. The effectiveness and the validity of the proposed method are verified by some experiments using natural grayscale images.

A minimum resource neural network framework for solving multiconstraint shortest path problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Junying; Zhao, Xiaoxue; He, Xiaotao

2014-08-01

Characterized by using minimum hard (structural) and soft (computational) resources, a novel parameter-free minimal resource neural network (MRNN) framework is proposed for solving a wide range of single-source shortest path (SP) problems for various graph types. The problems are the k-shortest time path problems with any combination of three constraints: time, hop, and label constraints, and the graphs can be directed, undirected, or bidirected with symmetric and/or asymmetric traversal time, which can be real and time dependent. Isomorphic to the graph where the SP is to be sought, the network is activated by generating autowave at source neuron and the autowave travels automatically along the paths with the speed of a hop in an iteration. Properties of the network are studied, algorithms are presented, and computation complexity is analyzed. The framework guarantees globally optimal solutions of a series of problems during the iteration process of the network, which provides insight into why even the SP is still too long to be satisfied. The network facilitates very large scale integrated circuit implementation and adapt to very large scale problems due to its massively parallel processing and minimum resource utilization. When implemented in a sequentially processing computer, experiments on synthetic graphs, road maps of cities of the USA, and vehicle routing with time windows indicate that the MRNN is especially efficient for large scale sparse graphs and even dense graphs with some constraints, e.g., the CPU time taken and the iteration number used for the road maps of cities of the USA is even less than  ∼ 2% and 0.5% that of the Dijkstra's algorithm.

Dose dependency of the frequency of micronucleated binucleated clone cells and of division related median clone sizes difference. Pt. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagemann, G,; Kreczik, A.; Treichel, M.

1996-01-01

Following irradiation of the progenitor cells the clone growth of CHO cells decreases as a result of cell losses. Lethally acting expressions of micronuclei are produced by heritable lethal mutations. The dependency of the frequency of micronucleated binucleated clone cells and of the median clone sizes difference on the radiation dose was measured and compared to non-irradiated controls. Using the cytokinesis-block-micronucleus-method binucleated cells with micronuclei were counted as ratio of all binucleated cells within a clone size distribution. This ratio (shortened: micronucleus yield) was determined for all clone size distributions, which had been exposed to different irradiation doses and incubation times. The micronucleus yields were compared to the corresponding median clone sizes differences. The micronucleus yield is linearly dependent on the dose and is independent of the incubation time. The same holds true for the division related median clone sizes difference, which as a result is also linearly dependent on the micronucleus yield. Due to the inevitably errors of the cell count of micronucleated binucleated cells, an automatic measurement of the median clone sizes differences is the preferred method for evaluation of cellular radiation sensitivity for heritable lethal mutations. This value should always be determined in addition, if clone survival fractions are used as predictive test because it allows for an estimation of the remission probability of surviving cells. (orig.) [de

Functional Median Polish

KAUST Repository

Sun, Ying; Genton, Marc G.

2012-01-01

polish is demonstrated by comparing its performance with the traditional functional ANOVA fitted by means under different outlier models in simulation studies. The functional median polish is illustrated on various applications in climate science

Survival in patients with brain metastases treated with radiotherapy holoencefalica at the National Institute of Cancerology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ospino, Rosalba; Cendales, Ricardo; Tria, Jaime

2009-01-01

Objective: To describe the overall survival among patients with brain metastases treated with whole brain radiation therapy at the Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia (INC) during 2004-2006. Methods: A survival study was conducted. All patients with brain metastases treated with whole brain radiotherapy were included. Frequencies, central tendency, and dispersion measures were used to describe discrete and continuous variables. Survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meyer method. Results: 109 patients were included and the vital status was updated in 85 patients (80%). The median follow-up time was 2.76 months. 78 deaths were observed; the median survival time was 5.2 months and the cumulated one-year overall survival 25.5%. Karnofsky index, extra-cranial metastases, type of lesion, and recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) were significant prognostic factors. The overall median survival for recursive partitioning analysis class I was 7.2 months; class II 6.9 months; class III 1.8 months. Conclusion: Overall survival INC are similar than previous international series for RPA class I and III, while it was better in RPA class II.

Five Roots Pattern of Median Nerve Formation

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Konstantinos Natsis

2016-04-01

Full Text Available An unusual combination of median nerve’s variations has been encountered in a male cadaver during routine educational dissection. In particular, the median nerve was formed by five roots; three roots originated from the lateral cord of the brachial plexus joined individually the median nerve’s medial root. The latter (fourth root was united with the lateral (fifth root of the median nerve forming the median nerve distally in the upper arm and not the axilla as usually. In addition, the median nerve was situated medial to the brachial artery. We review comprehensively the relevant variants, their embryologic development and their potential clinical applications.

Acute myeloid leukemia: survival analysisof patients at a university hospital of Paraná

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Sergio Lunardon Padilha

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the prognostic factors correlated with survival of patients with acute myeloid leukemia at the Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal do Paraná between 2003 and 2009, as well as to investigate the clinical and epidemiological profile. Methods: The overall survival and disease-free survival were statistically evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test and multivariate evaluation by Cox regression analysis. Results: The study population was predominantly younger than 60 years old (81,6%, had intermediate cytogenetic risk (40.8%, in first complete remission after induction chemotherapy (46.9%, with a white blood count at diagnosis of less than 30 × 109 /L (57.1% and de novo acute myeloid leukemia (62.2%. Survival curves showed that better prognosis was related to age below 60 years (median:12,4 months; p-value = 0,2227; Odds Ratio = 0,6676, good pro- gnostic cytogenetic markers (median: 97.7 months; p-value = 0.0037; Odds Ratio = 0.4239 and white blood cell count at diagnosis of less than 30 × 109 /L (median survival: 23.6 months; p- value = 0.0001; Odds Ratio = 0.3651. Regarding the French-American-British subgroups, the median overall survival was 23.5 months for M0, M1 and M2, 97.7 months for M3 and 7.4 months for M4, M5, M6, and M7 (p-value = 0.0288. Conclusion: Prognostic factors strongly influenced patient survival, as well as guided treat- ment. Moreover, these factors were consistent with the available literature adjusted for the population in question.

New graphic AUC-based method to estimate overall survival benefit: pomalidomide reanalysis.

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Fenix-Caballero, S; Diaz-Navarro, J; Prieto-Callejero, B; Rios-Sanchez, E; Alegre-del Rey, E J; Borrero-Rubio, J M

2016-02-01

Difference in median survival is an erratic measure and sometimes does not provide a good assessment of survival benefit. The aim of this study was to reanalyse the overall survival benefit of pomalidomide from pivotal clinical trial using a new area under curve (AUC)-based method. In the pivotal trial, pomalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone showed a significant survival benefit over high-dose dexamethasone, with a difference between medians of 4.6 months. The new AUC method applied to the survival curves, obtained an overall survival benefit of 2.6 months for the pomalidomide treatment. This average difference in OS was calculated for the 61.5% of patients for whom the time to event is reliable enough. This 2-month differential would have major clinical and pharmacoeconomic implications, on both cost-effectiveness studies and on the willingness of the healthcare systems to pay for this treatment. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Fifteen-Year Biochemical Relapse-Free Survival, Cause-Specific Survival, and Overall Survival Following I125 Prostate Brachytherapy in Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer: Seattle Experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sylvester, John E.; Grimm, Peter D.; Wong, Jason; Galbreath, Robert W.; Merrick, Gregory; Blasko, John C.

2011-01-01

Purpose: To report 15-year biochemical relapse-free survival (BRFS), cause-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) outcomes of patients treated with I 125 brachytherapy monotherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer early in the Seattle experience. Methods and Materials: Two hundred fifteen patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were consecutively treated from 1988 to 1992 with I 125 monotherapy. They were prospectively followed as a tight cohort. They were evaluated for BRFS, CSS, and OS. Multivariate analysis was used to evaluate outcomes by pretreatment clinical prognostic factors. BRFS was analyzed by the Phoenix (nadir + 2 ng/mL) definition. CSS and OS were evaluated by chart review, death certificates, and referring physician follow-up notes. Gleason scoring was performed by general pathologists at a community hospital in Seattle. Time to biochemical failure (BF) was calculated and compared by Kaplan-Meier plots. Results: Fifteen-year BRFS for the entire cohort was 80.4%. BRFS by D'Amico risk group classification cohort analysis was 85.9%, 79.9%, and 62.2% for low, intermediate, and high-risk patients, respectively. Follow-up ranged from 3.6 to 18.4 years; median follow-up was 15.4 years for biochemically free of disease patients. Overall median follow-up was 11.7 years. The median time to BF in those who failed was 5.1 years. CSS was 84%. OS was 37.1%. Average age at time of treatment was 70 years. There was no significant difference in BRFS between low and intermediate risk groups. Conclusion: I 125 monotherapy results in excellent 15-year BRFS and CSS, especially when taking into account the era of treatment effect.

Particle swarm optimization for determining shortest distance to voltage collapse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arya, L.D.; Choube, S.C. [Electrical Engineering Department, S.G.S.I.T.S. Indore, MP 452 003 (India); Shrivastava, M. [Electrical Engineering Department, Government Engineering College Ujjain, MP 456 010 (India); Kothari, D.P. [Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (India)

2007-12-15

This paper describes an algorithm for computing shortest distance to voltage collapse or determination of CSNBP using PSO technique. A direction along CSNBP gives conservative results from voltage security view point. This information is useful to the operator to steer the system away from this point by taking corrective actions. The distance to a closest bifurcation is a minimum of the loadability given a slack bus or participation factors for increasing generation as the load increases. CSNBP determination has been formulated as an optimization problem to be used in PSO technique. PSO is a new evolutionary algorithm (EA) which is population based inspired by the social behavior of animals such as fish schooling and birds flocking. It can handle optimization problems with any complexity since mechanization is simple with few parameters to be tuned. The developed algorithm has been implemented on two standard test systems. (author)

Survival of patients with Ewing's sarcoma in Yazd-Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Akhavan, Ali; Binesh, Fariba; Shamshiri, Hadi; Ghanadi, Fazllolah

2014-01-01

The Ewing's sarcoma family is a group of small round cell tumors which accounts for 10-15% of all primary bone neoplasms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival of Ewing's sarcoma patients in our province and to determine of influencing factors. All patients with documented Ewing's sarcoma/ primitive neuroectodermal tumor(PNET) family pathology were enrolled in this study during a period of eight years. For all of them local and systemic therapy were carried out. Overall and event free survival and prognostic factors were evaluated. Thirty two patients were enrolled in the study. The median age was 17.5 years. Twenty (65.2%) were male and 9 (28.1%) were aged 14 years or less. Mean disease free survival was 26.8 (95%CI; 13.8-39.9) months and five year disease free survival was 26%. Mean overall survival was 38.7 months (95%CI; 25.9-50.6) and median overall survival was 24 months. Five year overall survival was 25%. From the variables evaluated , only presence of metastatic disease at presentation (p value=0. 028) and complete response (p value =0. 006) had significant relations to overall survival. Survival of Ewing's sarcoma in our province is disappointing. It seems to be mostly due to less effective treatment. Administration of adequate chemotherapy dosage, resection of tumor with negative margins and precise assessment of irradiation volume may prove helpful.

Shortest multiple disconnected path for the analysis of entanglements in two- and three-dimensional polymeric systems

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Kröger, Martin

2005-06-01

We present an algorithm which returns a shortest path and related number of entanglements for a given configuration of a polymeric system in 2 or 3 dimensions. Rubinstein and Helfand, and later Everaers et al. introduced a concept to extract primitive paths for dense polymeric melts made of linear chains (a multiple disconnected multibead 'path'), where each primitive path is defined as a path connecting the (space-fixed) ends of a polymer under the constraint of non-interpenetration (excluded volume) between primitive paths of different chains, such that the multiple disconnected path fulfills a minimization criterion. The present algorithm uses geometrical operations and provides a—model independent—efficient approximate solution to this challenging problem. Primitive paths are treated as 'infinitely' thin (we further allow for finite thickness to model excluded volume), and tensionless lines rather than multibead chains, excluded volume is taken into account without a force law. The present implementation allows to construct a shortest multiple disconnected path (SP) for 2D systems (polymeric chain within spherical obstacles) and an optimal SP for 3D systems (collection of polymeric chains). The number of entanglements is then simply obtained from the SP as either the number of interior kinks, or from the average length of a line segment. Further, information about structure and potentially also the dynamics of entanglements is immediately available from the SP. We apply the method to study the 'concentration' dependence of the degree of entanglement in phantom chain systems. Program summaryTitle of program:Z Catalogue number:ADVG Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/ADVG Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University of Belfast, N. Ireland Computer for which the program is designed and others on which it has been tested: Silicon Graphics (Irix), Sun (Solaris), PC (Linux) Operating systems or monitors under which the

Survival of adult female elk in yellowstone following wolf restoration

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Evans, S.B.; Mech, L.D.; White, P.J.; Sargeant, G.A.

2006-01-01

Counts of northern Yellowstone elk (Cervus elaphus) in northwestern Wyoming and adjacent Montana, USA, have decreased at an average rate of 6-8% per year since wolves (Canis lupus) were reintroduced in 1995. Population growth rates of elk are typically sensitive to variations in adult female survival; populations that are stable or increasing exhibit high adult female survival. We used survival records for 85 radiocollared adult female elk 1-19 years old to estimate annual survival from March 2000 to February 2004. Weighted average annual survival rates were approximately 0.83 (95% CI = 0.77-0.89) for females 1-15 years old and 0.80 (95% CI = 0.73-0.86) for all females. Our estimates were much lower than the rate of 0.99 observed during 1969-1975 when fewer elk were harvested by hunters, wolves were not present, and other predators were less numerous. Of 33 documented deaths included in our analysis, we attributed 11 to hunter harvest, 14 to predation (10 wolf, 2 unknown, 1 cougar [Puma concolor], and 1 bear [Ursus sp.]), 6 to unknown causes, and 2 to winter-kill. Most deaths occurred from December through March. Estimates of cause-specific annual mortality rates were 0.09 (0.05-0.14) for all predators, 0.08 (0.04-0.13) for hunting, and 0.07 (0.03-0.11) for wolves specifically. Wolf-killed elk were typically older (median = 12 yr) than hunter-killed elk (median = 9 yr, P = 0.03). However, elk that winter outside the park where they were exposed to hunting were also younger (median = 7 yr) than elk that we did not observe outside the park (median = 9 yr, P wolves and hunters may reflect characteristics of elk exposed to various causes of mortality, as well as differences in susceptibility. Unless survival rates of adult females increase, elk numbers are likely to continue declining. Hunter harvest is the only cause of mortality that is amenable to management at the present time.

Surgical Resection for Hepatoblastoma-Updated Survival Outcomes.

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Sunil, Bhanu Jayanand; Palaniappan, Ravisankar; Venkitaraman, Balasubramanian; Ranganathan, Rama

2017-09-30

Hepatoblastoma is the most common liver malignancy in the pediatric age group. The management of hepatoblastoma involves multidisciplinary approach. Patients with hepatoblastoma who underwent liver resection between 2000 and 2013 were analyzed and survival outcomes were studied. The crude incidence rate of hepatoblastoma at the Madras Metropolitan Tumor Registry (MMTR) is 0.4/1,00,000 population per year. Twelve patients underwent liver resection for hepatoblastoma during the study period; this included eight males and four females. The median age at presentation was 1.75 years (Range 5 months to 3 years). The median serum AFP in the study population was 20,000 ng/ml (Range 4.5 to 1,40,000 ng/ml). Three patients had stage I, one patient had stage II, and eight patients had stage III disease as per the PRETEXT staging system. Two patients were categorized as high risk and ten patients were categorized as standard risk. Seven of these patients received two to four cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (PLADO regimen), and one patient received neoadjuvant radiation up to 84 Gy. Major liver resection was performed in nine patients. Nine patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. The most common histological subtype was embryonal type. Microscopic margin was positive in three cases. One patient recurred 7 months after surgery and the site of failure was the lung. The 5-year overall survival of the case series was 91%. The median survival was 120 months. Liver resections can be safely performed in pediatric populations after neoadjuvant treatment. Patients undergoing surgery had good disease control and long-term survival.

Determinants of survival after liver resection for metastatic colorectal carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Parau, Angela; Todor, Nicolae; Vlad, Liviu

2015-01-01

Prognostic factors for survival after liver resection for metastatic colorectal cancer identified up to date are quite inconsistent with a great inter-study variability. In this study we aimed to identify predictors of outcome in our patient population. A series of 70 consecutive patients from the oncological hepatobiliary database, who had undergone curative hepatic surgical resection for hepatic metastases of colorectal origin, operated between 2006 and 2011, were identified. At 44.6 months (range 13.7-73), 30 of 70 patients (42.85%) were alive. Patient demographics, primary tumor and liver tumor factors, operative factors, pathologic findings, recurrence patterns, disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were analyzed. Clinicopathologic variables were tested using univariate and multivariate analyses. The 3-year CSS after first hepatic resection was 54%. Median CSS survival after first hepatic resection was 40.2 months. Median CSS after second hepatic resection was 24.2 months. The 3-year DFS after first hepatic resection was 14%. Median disease free survival after first hepatic resection was 18 months. The 3-year DFS after second hepatic resection was 27% and median DFS after second hepatic resection 12 months. The 30-day mortality and morbidity rate after first hepatic resection was 5.71% and 12.78%, respectively. In univariate analysis CSS was significantly reduced for the following factors: age >53 years, advanced T stage of primary tumor, moderately- poorly differentiated tumor, positive and narrow resection margin, preoperative CEA level >30 ng/ml, DFS <18 months. Perioperative chemotherapy related to metastasectomy showed a trend in improving CSS (p=0.07). Perioperative chemotherapy improved DFS in a statistically significant way (p=0.03). Perioperative chemotherapy and achievement of resection margins beyond 1 mm were the major determinants of both CSS and DFS after first liver resection in multivariate

Incidence and survival in non-hereditary amyloidosis in Sweden

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Hemminki Kari

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Amyloidosis is a heterogeneous disease caused by deposition of amyloid fibrils in organs and thereby interfering with physiological functions. Hardly any incidence data are available and most survival data are limited to specialist clinics. Methods Amyloidosis patients were identified from the Swedish Hospital Discharge and Outpatients Registers from years 2001 through 2008. Results The incidence of non-hereditary amyloidosis in 949 patients was 8.29 per million person-years and the diagnostic age with the highest incidence was over 65 years. Secondary systemic amyloidosis showed an incidence of 1 per million and a female excess and the largest number of subsequent rheumatoid arthritis deaths; the median survival was 4 years. However, as rheumatoid arthritis deaths also occurred in other diagnostic subtypes, the incidence of secondary systemic amyloidosis was likely to be about 2.0 per million. The median survival of patients with organ-limited amyloidosis was 6 years. Most myeloma deaths occurred in patients diagnosed with unspecified or ‘other’ amyloidosis. These subtypes probably accounted for most of immunoglobulin light chain (AL amyloidosis cases; the median survival time was 3 years. Conclusions The present diagnostic categorization cannot single out AL amyloidosis in the Swedish discharge data but, by extrapolation from myeloma cases, an incidence of 3.2 per million could be ascribed to AL amyloidosis. Similarly, based on rheumatoid arthritis death rates, an incidence of 2.0 could be ascribed to secondary systemic amyloidosis.

ACL2 Meets the GPU: Formalizing a CUDA-based Parallelizable All-Pairs Shortest Path Algorithm in ACL2

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David S. Hardin

2013-04-01

Full Text Available As Graphics Processing Units (GPUs have gained in capability and GPU development environments have matured, developers are increasingly turning to the GPU to off-load the main host CPU of numerically-intensive, parallelizable computations. Modern GPUs feature hundreds of cores, and offer programming niceties such as double-precision floating point, and even limited recursion. This shift from CPU to GPU, however, raises the question: how do we know that these new GPU-based algorithms are correct? In order to explore this new verification frontier, we formalized a parallelizable all-pairs shortest path (APSP algorithm for weighted graphs, originally coded in NVIDIA's CUDA language, in ACL2. The ACL2 specification is written using a single-threaded object (stobj and tail recursion, as the stobj/tail recursion combination yields the most straightforward translation from imperative programming languages, as well as efficient, scalable executable specifications within ACL2 itself. The ACL2 version of the APSP algorithm can process millions of vertices and edges with little to no garbage generation, and executes at one-sixth the speed of a host-based version of APSP coded in C – a very respectable result for a theorem prover. In addition to formalizing the APSP algorithm (which uses Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm at its core, we have also provided capability that the original APSP code lacked, namely shortest path recovery. Path recovery is accomplished using a secondary ACL2 stobj implementing a LIFO stack, which is proven correct. To conclude the experiment, we ported the ACL2 version of the APSP kernels back to C, resulting in a less than 5% slowdown, and also performed a partial back-port to CUDA, which, surprisingly, yielded a slight performance increase.

Impact of CD133 positive stem cell proportion on survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kase, Marju; Minajeva, Ave; Niinepuu, Kristi; Kase, Sandra; Vardja, Markus; Asser, Toomas; Jaal, Jana

2013-01-01

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of CD133-positive (CD133+) cancer stem cell proportions on treatment results of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. Patients with GBM (n = 42) received postoperative radiotherapy (± chemotherapy). Surgically excised GBM tissue sections were immunohistochemically examined for CD133 expression. The proportions of CD133+ GBM cells were determined (%). The proportion of CD133+ GBM stem cells was established by 2 independent researchers whose results were in good accordance (R = 0.8, p < 0.01). Additionally, CD133 expression levels were correlated with patients overall survival. The proportion of CD133+ cells varied between patients, being from 0.5% to 82%. Mean and median proportions of CD133+ cells of the entire study group were 33% ± 24% (mean ± SD) and 28%, respectively. Clinical data do not support the association between higher proportion of stem cells and the aggressiveness of GBM. Median survival time of the study group was 10.0 months (95% CI 9.0–11.0). The survival time clearly depended on the proportion of CD133+ cells (log rank test, p = 0.02). Median survival times for patients with low (< median) and high (≥ median) proportion of CD133+ cells were 9.0 months (95% CI 7.6–10.5) and 12.0 months (95% CI 9.3–14.7), respectively. In multivariate analysis, the proportion of CD133+ cells emerged as a significant independent predictor for longer overall survival (HR 2.0, 95% CI 1.0–3.8, p = 0.04). In patients with higher stem cell proportion, significantly longer survival times after postoperative radiotherapy were achieved. Underlying reasons and possible higher sensitivity of GBM stem cells to fractionated radio-therapy should be clarified in further studies

The Ultrasonographic Findings of Bifid Median Nerve

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Hee Jin; Park, Noh Hyuck; Joh, Joon Hee; Lee, Sung Moon

2009-01-01

We wanted to evaluate the ultrasonographic findings of bifid median nerve and its clinical significance. We retrospectively reviewed five cases (three men and two women, mean age: 54 years) of incidentally found bifid median nerve from 264 cases of clinically suspected carpal-tunnel syndrome that were seen at our hospital during last 6 years. Doppler sonography was performed in all five cases and MR angiography was done in one case for detecting a persistent median artery. The difference (ΔCSA) between the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the bifid median nerve at the pisiform level (CSA2) and the cross-sectional area proximal to the bifurcation(CSA1) was calculated. The incidence of a bifid median nerve was 1.9%. All the patients presented with a tingling sensation on a hand and two patients had nocturnal pain. All the cases showed bifurcation of the nerve bundle proximal to the carpal tunnel. The margins appeared relatively smooth and each bundle showed a characteristic fascicular pattern. A persistent median artery was noted between the bundles in four cases. ΔCSA was more than 2 mm 2 in four cases. Bifid median nerve with a persistent median artery is a relatively rare normal variance and these are very important findings before performing surgical intervention to avoid potential nerve injury and massive bleeding. We highly suggest that radiologists should understand the anatomical characteristics of this anomaly and make efforts to detect it

Comparison of the efficiency of two algorithms which solve the shortest path problem with an emotional agent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petruseva Silvana

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the comparison of the efficiency of two algorithms, by estimation of their complexity. For solving the problem, the Neural Network Crossbar Adaptive Array (NN-CAA is used as the agent architecture, implementing a model of an emotion. The problem discussed is how to find the shortest path in an environment with n states. The domains concerned are environments with n states, one of which is the starting state, one is the goal state, and some states are undesirable and they should be avoided. It is obtained that finding one path (one solution is efficient, i.e. in polynomial time by both algorithms. One of the algorithms is faster than the other only in the multiplicative constant, and it shows a step forward toward the optimality of the learning process. However, finding the optimal solution (the shortest path by both algorithms is in exponential time which is asserted by two theorems. It might be concluded that the concept of subgoal is one step forward toward the optimality of the process of the agent learning. Yet, it should be explored further on, in order to obtain an efficient, polynomial algorithm.

Social Security: a financial appraisal for the median voter.

Science.gov (United States)

Galasso, V

Several explanations have been proposed for why voters continue to support unfunded social security systems. Browning (1975) suggests that the extremely large unfunded pension systems of most democracies depend on the existence of a voting majority composed of middle-aged and older people who fail to fully internalize the cost of financing the system. In fact, when voting, economically rational workers consider only their current and future contributions to the system and their expected pension benefits--not their past contributions, which they regard as sunk costs. If, for a majority of voters, the expected continuation return from social security exceeds the return from alternative assets, an unfunded social security system is politically sustainable. This article explores the validity of Browning's proposition by quantifying the returns that U.S. voters in presidential elections from 1964 to 1996 have obtained, or expect to obtain, from Social Security. Did "investments" in Social Security outperform alternative forms of investment, such as mutual funds or pension funds, for a majority of the voters? What can be expected for the future? The U.S. Social Security system redistributes income within age cohorts on the basis of sex, income, and marital status. To account for some of these features, the median voter is represented by a family unit whose members--a husband who accounts for 70 percent of household earnings and a wife who accounts for 30 percent--make joint economic and voting decisions. Thus, retirement and survival benefits paid out to the spouse of an insured worker can be included in the calculation of Social Security returns. Interval estimates of voters' family incomes from the U.S. Census Bureau were used to obtain the median voter's household earnings. The median voter's age is derived from the ages of those who voted in presidential elections, not from the ages of the entire electorate. The median voter's contributions to Social Security are the

Switching non-local vector median filter

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Jyohei; Koga, Takanori; Suetake, Noriaki; Uchino, Eiji

2016-04-01

This paper describes a novel image filtering method that removes random-valued impulse noise superimposed on a natural color image. In impulse noise removal, it is essential to employ a switching-type filtering method, as used in the well-known switching median filter, to preserve the detail of an original image with good quality. In color image filtering, it is generally preferable to deal with the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) components of each pixel of a color image as elements of a vectorized signal, as in the well-known vector median filter, rather than as component-wise signals to prevent a color shift after filtering. By taking these fundamentals into consideration, we propose a switching-type vector median filter with non-local processing that mainly consists of a noise detector and a noise removal filter. Concretely, we propose a noise detector that proactively detects noise-corrupted pixels by focusing attention on the isolation tendencies of pixels of interest not in an input image but in difference images between RGB components. Furthermore, as the noise removal filter, we propose an extended version of the non-local median filter, we proposed previously for grayscale image processing, named the non-local vector median filter, which is designed for color image processing. The proposed method realizes a superior balance between the preservation of detail and impulse noise removal by proactive noise detection and non-local switching vector median filtering, respectively. The effectiveness and validity of the proposed method are verified in a series of experiments using natural color images.

Bridging Locoregional Therapy Prolongs Survival in Patients Listed for Liver Transplant with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xing, Minzhi [Yale School of Medicine, Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging (United States); Sakaria, Sonali [Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine (United States); Dhanasekaran, Renumathy [Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (United States); Parekh, Samir; Spivey, James [Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine (United States); Knechtle, Stuart J. [Duke University School of Medicine, Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery (United States); Zhang, Di [University of Pittsburgh, Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health (United States); Kim, Hyun S., E-mail: kevin.kim@yale.edu [Yale School of Medicine, Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging (United States)

2017-03-15

Background and AimsTo evaluate the long-term survival benefit of bridging locoregional therapy (LRT) prior to orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within Milan criteria.MethodsOur transplant center registry was studied for all HCC patients within the Milan criteria who were listed for OLT from 1998 to 2013. Baseline clinical characteristics and median overall survival (OS) were calculated and stratified by LRT, OLT status, and wait times. Survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan–Meier estimation and log-rank test.ResultsOf 265 listed, 205 underwent OLT (mean follow-up 7.6 years). Of 205, 111 received bridging LRT (A), and 94 did not (B). Both were similar in demographics and tumor characteristics (p > 0.05). Median OS from HCC for A/B were 86.4 vs. 68.9 months (p = 0.01). Median OS from OLT for A/B were 74.6 vs. 63.6 months (p = 0.03). On multivariate analysis, independent predictors for survival from HCC were bridging LRT (p = 0.002) and high wait time (p = 0.008); independent predictors for survival from OLT were bridging LRT (p = 0.005) and high wait time (p = 0.005). Of 60 who were listed but did not undergo transplant, 44 received LRT (C) and 16 received best supportive care (D). Median OS from HCC for C/D were 37.1 vs. 24.8 months (p = 0.03).ConclusionsBridging LRT and high wait times were independent positive prognostic factors for survival from HCC diagnosis and OLT.

Bridging Locoregional Therapy Prolongs Survival in Patients Listed for Liver Transplant with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xing, Minzhi; Sakaria, Sonali; Dhanasekaran, Renumathy; Parekh, Samir; Spivey, James; Knechtle, Stuart J.; Zhang, Di; Kim, Hyun S.

2017-01-01

Background and AimsTo evaluate the long-term survival benefit of bridging locoregional therapy (LRT) prior to orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within Milan criteria.MethodsOur transplant center registry was studied for all HCC patients within the Milan criteria who were listed for OLT from 1998 to 2013. Baseline clinical characteristics and median overall survival (OS) were calculated and stratified by LRT, OLT status, and wait times. Survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan–Meier estimation and log-rank test.ResultsOf 265 listed, 205 underwent OLT (mean follow-up 7.6 years). Of 205, 111 received bridging LRT (A), and 94 did not (B). Both were similar in demographics and tumor characteristics (p > 0.05). Median OS from HCC for A/B were 86.4 vs. 68.9 months (p = 0.01). Median OS from OLT for A/B were 74.6 vs. 63.6 months (p = 0.03). On multivariate analysis, independent predictors for survival from HCC were bridging LRT (p = 0.002) and high wait time (p = 0.008); independent predictors for survival from OLT were bridging LRT (p = 0.005) and high wait time (p = 0.005). Of 60 who were listed but did not undergo transplant, 44 received LRT (C) and 16 received best supportive care (D). Median OS from HCC for C/D were 37.1 vs. 24.8 months (p = 0.03).ConclusionsBridging LRT and high wait times were independent positive prognostic factors for survival from HCC diagnosis and OLT.

Solving fuzzy shortest path problem by genetic algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Syarif, A.; Muludi, K.; Adrian, R.; Gen, M.

2018-03-01

Shortest Path Problem (SPP) is known as one of well-studied fields in the area Operations Research and Mathematical Optimization. It has been applied for many engineering and management designs. The objective is usually to determine path(s) in the network with minimum total cost or traveling time. In the past, the cost value for each arc was usually assigned or estimated as a deteministic value. For some specific real world applications, however, it is often difficult to determine the cost value properly. One way of handling such uncertainty in decision making is by introducing fuzzy approach. With this situation, it will become difficult to solve the problem optimally. This paper presents the investigations on the application of Genetic Algorithm (GA) to a new SPP model in which the cost values are represented as Triangular Fuzzy Number (TFN). We adopts the concept of ranking fuzzy numbers to determine how good the solutions. Here, by giving his/her degree value, the decision maker can determine the range of objective value. This would be very valuable for decision support system in the real world applications.Simulation experiments were carried out by modifying several test problems with 10-25 nodes. It is noted that the proposed approach is capable attaining a good solution with different degree of optimism for the tested problems.

Multiple neoplasms, single primaries, and patient survival

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amer, Magid H

2014-01-01

Multiple primary neoplasms in surviving cancer patients are relatively common, with an increasing incidence. Their impact on survival has not been clearly defined. This was a retrospective review of clinical data for all consecutive patients with histologically confirmed cancer, with emphasis on single versus multiple primary neoplasms. Second primaries discovered at the workup of the index (first) primary were termed simultaneous, if discovered within 6 months of the index primary were called synchronous, and if discovered after 6 months were termed metachronous. Between 2005 and 2012, of 1,873 cancer patients, 322 developed second malignancies; these included two primaries (n=284), and three or more primaries (n=38). Forty-seven patients had synchronous primaries and 275 had metachronous primaries. Patients with multiple primaries were predominantly of Caucasian ancestry (91.0%), with a tendency to develop thrombosis (20.2%), had a strong family history of similar cancer (22.3%), and usually presented with earlier stage 0 through stage II disease (78.9%). When compared with 1,551 patients with a single primary, these figures were 8.9%, 15.6%, 18.3%, and 50.9%, respectively (P≤0.001). Five-year survival rates were higher for metachronous cancers (95%) than for synchronous primaries (59%) and single primaries (59%). The worst survival rate was for simultaneous concomitant multiple primaries, being a median of 1.9 years. The best survival was for patients with three or more primaries (median 10.9 years) and was similar to the expected survival for the age-matched and sex-matched general population (P=0.06991). Patients with multiple primaries are usually of Caucasian ancestry, have less aggressive malignancies, present at earlier stages, frequently have a strong family history of similar cancer, and their cancers tend to have indolent clinical behavior with longer survival rates, possibly related to genetic predisposition

Survival after Radiofrequency Ablation in 122 Patients with Inoperable Colorectal Lung Metastases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gillams, Alice, E-mail: alliesorting@gmail.com [The London Clinic, Radiology Department (United Kingdom); Khan, Zahid [Countess of Chester Hospital (United Kingdom); Osborn, Peter [Queen Alexandra Hospital (United Kingdom); Lees, William [University College London Medical School (United Kingdom)

2013-06-15

Purpose. To analyze the factors associated with favorable survival in patients with inoperable colorectal lung metastases treated with percutaneous image-guided radiofrequency ablation. Methods. Between 2002 and 2011, a total of 398 metastases were ablated in 122 patients (87 male, median age 68 years, range 29-90 years) at 256 procedures. Percutaneous CT-guided cool-tip radiofrequency ablation was performed under sedation/general anesthesia. Maximum tumor size, number of tumors ablated, number of procedures, concurrent/prior liver ablation, previous liver or lung resection, systemic chemotherapy, disease-free interval from primary resection to lung metastasis, and survival from first ablation were recorded prospectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed, and factors were compared by log rank test. Results. The initial number of metastases ablated was 2.3 (range 1-8); the total number was 3.3 (range 1-15). The maximum tumor diameter was 1.7 (range 0.5-4) cm, and the number of procedures was 2 (range 1-10). The major complication rate was 3.9 %. Overall median and 3-year survival rate were 41 months and 57 %. Survival was better in patients with smaller tumors-a median of 51 months, with 3-year survival of 64 % for tumors 2 cm or smaller versus 31 months and 44 % for tumors 2.1-4 cm (p = 0.08). The number of metastases ablated and whether the tumors were unilateral or bilateral did not affect survival. The presence of treated liver metastases, systemic chemotherapy, or prior lung resection did not affect survival. Conclusion. Three-year survival of 57 % in patients with inoperable colorectal lung metastases is better than would be expected with chemotherapy alone. Patients with inoperable but small-volume colorectal lung metastases should be referred for ablation.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy improves survival outcome in muscle-invasive bladder cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Byun, Sang Jun; Kim, Jin Hee; Oh, Young Kee; Kim, Byung Hoon

2015-01-01

To evaluate survival rates and prognostic factors related to treatment outcomes after bladder preserving therapy including transurethral resection of bladder tumor, radiotherapy (RT) with or without concurrent chemotherapy in bladder cancer with a curative intent. We retrospectively studied 50 bladder cancer patients treated with bladder-preserving therapy at Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center from January 1999 to December 2010. Age ranged from 46 to 89 years (median, 71.5 years). Bladder cancer was the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage II, III, and IV in 9, 27, and 14 patients, respectively. Thirty patients were treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and 20 patients with RT alone. Nine patients received chemotherapy prior to CCRT or RT alone. Radiation was delivered with a four-field box technique (median, 63 Gy; range, 48.6 to 70.2 Gy). The follow-up periods ranged from 2 to 169 months (median, 34 months). Thirty patients (60%) showed complete response and 13 (26%) a partial response. All patients could have their own bladder preserved. Five-year overall survival (OS) rate was 37.2%, and the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 30.2%. In multivariate analysis, tumor grade and CCRT were statistically significant in OS. Tumor grade was a significant prognostic factor related to OS. CCRT is also considered to improve survival outcomes. Further multi-institutional studies are needed to elucidate the impact of RT in bladder cancer

Median Nerve Conduction in Healthy Nigerians: Normative Data

African Journals Online (AJOL)

of median nerve disease using multiple studies, and rendering ... Aim: To develop normative values for motor and sensory median nerve ..... Table 5: Comparison of median motor nerve conduction study parameters to studies elsewhere. Study.

Early post-operative magnetic resonance imaging in glioblastoma: correlation among radiological findings and overall survival in 60 patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majos, Carles; Cos, Monica; Castaner, Sara; Gil, Miguel; Plans, Gerard; Lucas, Anna; Bruna, Jordi; Aguilera, Carles

2016-01-01

To evaluate early post-operative magnetic resonance (EPMR) as a prognostic tool after resection of glioblastoma. Sixty EPMR examinations were evaluated for perioperative infarct, tumour growth between diagnosis and EPMR, contrast enhancement pattern, and extent of resection (EOR). The EOR was approached with the subjective evaluation of radiologists and by quantifying volumes. These parameters were tested as predictors of survival using the Kaplan-Meier method. Contrast enhancement was found in 59 patients (59/60; 98 %). Showing a thin-linear pattern of enhancement was the most favourable finding. Patients with this pattern survived longer than patients with thick-linear (median overall survival (OS) thin-linear=609 days; thick-linear=432 days; P =.023) or nodular (median OS = 318 days; P =.001) enhancements. The subjective evaluation of the EOR performed better than its quantification. Patients survived longer when resection was total (median OS total resection=609 days; subtotal=371 days; P =.001). When resection was subtotal, patients survived longer if it was superior to 95 % (median OS resection superior to 95 %=559 days; inferior to 95 %=256 days; P =.034). EPMR provides valuable prognostic information after surgical resection of glioblastomas. A thin-linear pattern of contrast enhancement is the most favourable finding. Further prognostic stratification may be obtained by assessing the EOR. (orig.)

Early post-operative magnetic resonance imaging in glioblastoma: correlation among radiological findings and overall survival in 60 patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Majos, Carles [IDI Centre Bellvitge, HU de Bellvitge, Department of Radiology, Barcelona (Spain); Centro de Investigacion en Red en Bioingenieria, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Barcelona (Spain); Hospital Duran i Reynals, IDI Centre Bellvitge, Barcelona (Spain); Cos, Monica; Castaner, Sara [IDI Centre Bellvitge, HU de Bellvitge, Department of Radiology, Barcelona (Spain); Gil, Miguel [ICO l' Hospitalet, HU de Bellvitge, Department of Medical Onclogy, Barcelona (Spain); Plans, Gerard [HU de Bellvitge, Department of Neurosurgery, Barcelona (Spain); Lucas, Anna [ICO l' Hospitalet, HU de Bellvitge, Department of Radiotherapy Oncology, Barcelona (Spain); Bruna, Jordi [HU de Bellvitge, Department of Neurology, Barcelona (Spain); Aguilera, Carles [IDI Centre Bellvitge, HU de Bellvitge, Department of Radiology, Barcelona (Spain); Centro de Investigacion en Red en Bioingenieria, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Barcelona (Spain)

2016-04-15

To evaluate early post-operative magnetic resonance (EPMR) as a prognostic tool after resection of glioblastoma. Sixty EPMR examinations were evaluated for perioperative infarct, tumour growth between diagnosis and EPMR, contrast enhancement pattern, and extent of resection (EOR). The EOR was approached with the subjective evaluation of radiologists and by quantifying volumes. These parameters were tested as predictors of survival using the Kaplan-Meier method. Contrast enhancement was found in 59 patients (59/60; 98 %). Showing a thin-linear pattern of enhancement was the most favourable finding. Patients with this pattern survived longer than patients with thick-linear (median overall survival (OS) thin-linear=609 days; thick-linear=432 days; P =.023) or nodular (median OS = 318 days; P =.001) enhancements. The subjective evaluation of the EOR performed better than its quantification. Patients survived longer when resection was total (median OS total resection=609 days; subtotal=371 days; P =.001). When resection was subtotal, patients survived longer if it was superior to 95 % (median OS resection superior to 95 %=559 days; inferior to 95 %=256 days; P =.034). EPMR provides valuable prognostic information after surgical resection of glioblastomas. A thin-linear pattern of contrast enhancement is the most favourable finding. Further prognostic stratification may be obtained by assessing the EOR. (orig.)

Does delay in diagnosing colorectal cancer in symptomatic patients affect tumor stage and survival? A population-based observational study

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Visser Otto

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Diagnosing colorectal cancer (CRC at an early stage improves survival. To what extent any delay affects outcome once patients are symptomatic is still unclear. Our objectives were to evaluate the association between diagnostic delay and survival in symptomatic patients with early stage CRC and late stage CRC. Methods Prospective population-based observational study evaluating daily clinical practice in Northern Holland. Diagnostic delay was determined through questionnaire-interviews. Dukes' stage was classified into two groups: early stage (Dukes A or B and late stage (Dukes C or D cancer. Patients were followed up for 3.5 years after diagnosis. Results In total, 272 patients were available for analysis. Early stage CRC was present in 136 patients while 136 patients had late stage CRC. The mean total diagnostic delay (SE was 31 (1.5 weeks in all CRC patients. No significant difference was observed in the mean total diagnostic delay in early versus late stage CRC (p = 0.27. In early stage CRC, no difference in survival was observed between patients with total diagnostic delay shorter and longer than the median (Kaplan-Meier, log-rank p = 0.93. In late stage CRC, patients with a diagnostic delay shorter than the median had a shorter survival than patients with a diagnostic delay longer than the median (log-rank p = 0.01. In the multivariate Cox regression model with survival as dependent variable and median delay, age, open access endoscopy, number and type of symptoms as independent variables, the odd's ratio for survival in patients with long delay (>median versus short delay (≤median was 1.8 (95% confidence interval (CI 1.1 to 3.0; p = 0.01. Tumor-site was not associated with patient survival. When separating late stage CRC in Dukes C and Dukes D tumors, a shorter delay was associated with a shorter survival in Dukes D tumors only and not in Dukes C tumors. Conclusion In symptomatic CRC patients, a longer diagnostic and

Survival and clinical outcome of dogs with ischaemic stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Gredal, H; Toft, N; Westrup, U; Motta, L; Gideon, P; Arlien-Søborg, P; Skerritt, G C; Berendt, M

2013-06-01

The objectives of the present study were to investigate survival time, possible predictors of survival and clinical outcome in dogs with ischaemic stroke. A retrospective study of dogs with a previous diagnosis of ischaemic stroke diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed. The association between survival and the hypothesised risk factors was examined using univariable exact logistic regression. Survival was examined using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression. Twenty-two dogs were identified. Five dogs (23%) died within the first 30days of the stroke event. Median survival in 30-day survivors was 505days. Four dogs (18%) were still alive by the end of the study. Right-sided lesions posed a significantly increased risk of mortality with a median survival time in dogs with right-sided lesions of 24days vs. 602days in dogs with left sided lesions (P=0.006). Clinical outcome was considered excellent in seven of 17 (41%) 30-day survivors. Another seven 30-day survivors experienced new acute neurological signs within 6-17months of the initial stroke event; in two of those cases a new ischaemic stroke was confirmed by MRI. In conclusion, dogs with ischaemic stroke have a fair to good prognosis in terms of survival and clinical outcome. However, owners should be informed of the risk of acute death within 30days and of the possibility of new neurological events in survivors. Mortality was increased in dogs with right-sided lesions in this study. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiple neoplasms, single primaries, and patient survival

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amer MH

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Magid H Amer Department of Medicine, St Rita's Medical Center, Lima, OH, USA Background: Multiple primary neoplasms in surviving cancer patients are relatively common, with an increasing incidence. Their impact on survival has not been clearly defined. Methods: This was a retrospective review of clinical data for all consecutive patients with histologically confirmed cancer, with emphasis on single versus multiple primary neoplasms. Second primaries discovered at the workup of the index (first primary were termed simultaneous, if discovered within 6 months of the index primary were called synchronous, and if discovered after 6 months were termed metachronous. Results: Between 2005 and 2012, of 1,873 cancer patients, 322 developed second malignancies; these included two primaries (n=284, and three or more primaries (n=38. Forty-seven patients had synchronous primaries and 275 had metachronous primaries. Patients with multiple primaries were predominantly of Caucasian ancestry (91.0%, with a tendency to develop thrombosis (20.2%, had a strong family history of similar cancer (22.3%, and usually presented with earlier stage 0 through stage II disease (78.9%. When compared with 1,551 patients with a single primary, these figures were 8.9%, 15.6%, 18.3%, and 50.9%, respectively (P≤0.001. Five-year survival rates were higher for metachronous cancers (95% than for synchronous primaries (59% and single primaries (59%. The worst survival rate was for simultaneous concomitant multiple primaries, being a median of 1.9 years. The best survival was for patients with three or more primaries (median 10.9 years and was similar to the expected survival for the age-matched and sex-matched general population (P=0.06991. Conclusion: Patients with multiple primaries are usually of Caucasian ancestry, have less aggressive malignancies, present at earlier stages, frequently have a strong family history of similar cancer, and their cancers tend to have indolent

Second hematopoietic SCT for leukemia relapsing after myeloablative T cell-depleted transplants does not prolong survival.

Science.gov (United States)

McIver, Z A; Yin, F; Hughes, T; Battiwalla, M; Ito, S; Koklanaris, E; Haggerty, J; Hensel, N F; Barrett, A John

2013-09-01

Patients with leukemia relapsing after allogeneic hematopoietic SCT have a dismal prognosis. A second SCT offers a further opportunity for cure, but has a high rate of treatment failure. To determine the utility of this option, we analyzed 59 consecutive patients relapsing after a myeloablative HLA-matched sibling T cell-depleted (TCD) SCT. Twenty-five patients (13 relapsing within 6 months and 12 relapsing between 6 and 170 months after the first SCT) received a T-replete second SCT. Thirty-eight patients relapsing early had a shorter survival than the 21 patients relapsing later (median 96 vs 298 days, P=0.0002). In patients relapsing early, the second SCT did not improve OS compared with patients receiving non-SCT treatments (median survival 109 vs 80 days, P=0.41). In patients relapsing late, despite an early trend in favor of second SCT, survival was comparable for patients receiving a second SCT compared with non retransplanted patients (median survival 363.5 vs 162 days, P=0.49). Disappointingly, our results do not demonstrate an important survival benefit for a second T-replete allogeneic SCT to treat relapse following a TCD SCT.

Relationships between the Brook Street Terrane and Median Tectonic Zone (Median Batholith) : evidence from Jurassic conglomerates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tulloch, A.J.; Kimbrough, D.L.; Landis, C.A.; Mortimer, N.; Johnston, M.R.

1999-01-01

U-Pb zircon ages of 237-180 Ma and c. 280 Ma of seven granitoid clasts from the Rainy River Conglomerate which lies within the eastern Median Tectonic Zone (Median Batholith) in Nelson, and the Barretts Formation of the Brook Street Terrane in Southland, constrain the depositional ages of both units to be no older than c. 180-200 Ma (Early Jurassic). The minimum age of the Rainy River Conglomerate is constrained by the 147 +2 -1 Ma (Latest Jurassic) emplacement age of the One Mile Gabbronorite (new name: previously western Buller Diorite). The ages and chemistry of five of the granitoid clasts are broadly compatible with derivation from rocks that are now represented by Triassic plutons of the Median Tectonic Zone (Median Batholith), although ages as young as 180 Ma are slightly outside the range of the latter as currently exposed in New Zealand. The age (273-290 Ma, 237 +/- 3 Ma) and chemistry of the other two clasts (one each from Rainy River Conglomerate and Barretts Formation) suggest derivation from the Brook Street Terrane. Similarity in stratigraphic age, depositional characteristics, granitoid clast ages and composition between Rainy River Conglomerate and Barretts Formation suggests that they are broadly correlative and collectively overlapped a combined Brook Street Terrane - Median Batholith (MTZ) before the Late Jurassic (147 +2 -1 Ma). Sedimentary overlap may also have continued across to Middle Jurassic conglomeratic strata in the Murihiku Terrane to the east of the Brook Street Terrane. A U-Pb zircon age of 261 +/- 2 Ma is reported for Pourakino Trondhjemite of the Brook Street Terrane. (author). 56 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs

The tomography of human mobility - what do shortest-path trees reveal?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thiemann, Christian [Eng. Sci. and Appl. Math, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (United States); Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen (Germany); Grady, Daniel; Brockmann, Dirk [Eng. Sci. and Appl. Math, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (United States)

2010-07-01

Similar to illustrating the anatomy of organs using pictures of tissue slices taken at various depths, we construct shortest-path trees of different nodes to create tomograms of large-scale human mobility networks. This tomography allows us to measure global properties of the system conditioned on a reference location in the network to gain a fuller characterization of a node. It also suggests a canonical coordinate system for representing complex networks and dynamical processes thereon in a simplified way, revealing a new symmetry in the human mobility networks we investigated. Furthermore, introducing the notion of tree similarity, we devised a new technique for clustering nodes with similar topological footprint, yielding a unique and efficient method for community identification and topological backbone extraction. We applied these methods to a multi-scale human mobility network obtained from the dollar-bill-tracking site wheresgoerge.com and to the U.S. and world-wide air transportation network.

Median and ulnar neuropathies in university guitarists.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Rachel H; Hutcherson, Kimberly J; Kain, Jennifer B; Phillips, Alicia L; Halle, John S; Greathouse, David G

2006-02-01

Descriptive study. To determine the presence of median and ulnar neuropathies in both upper extremities of university guitarists. Peripheral nerve entrapment syndromes of the upper extremities are well documented in musicians. Guitarists and plucked-string musicians are at risk for entrapment neuropathies in the upper extremities and are prone to mild neurologic deficits. Twenty-four volunteer male and female guitarists (age range, 18-26 years) were recruited from the Belmont University School of Music and the Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music. Individuals were excluded if they were pregnant or had a history of recent upper extremity or neck injury. Subjects completed a history form, were interviewed, and underwent a physical examination. Nerve conduction status of the median and ulnar nerves of both upper extremities was obtained by performing motor, sensory, and F-wave (central) nerve conduction studies. Descriptive statistics of the nerve conduction study variables were computed using Microsoft Excel. Six subjects had positive findings on provocative testing of the median and ulnar nerves. Otherwise, these guitarists had normal upper extremity neural and musculoskeletal function based on the history and physical examinations. When comparing the subjects' nerve conduction study values with a chart of normal nerve conduction studies values, 2 subjects had prolonged distal motor latencies (DMLs) of the left median nerve of 4.3 and 4.7 milliseconds (normal, DMLs are compatible with median neuropathy at or distal to the wrist. Otherwise, all electrophysiological variables were within normal limits for motor, sensory, and F-wave (central) values. However, comparison studies of median and ulnar motor latencies in the same hand demonstrated prolonged differences of greater than 1.0 milliseconds that affected the median nerve in 2 additional subjects, and identified contralateral limb involvement in a subject with a prolonged distal latency. The other 20

Progression-free survival as a potential surrogate for overall survival in metastatic breast cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beauchemin C

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Catherine Beauchemin,1 Dan Cooper,2 Marie-Ève Lapierre,1 Louise Yelle,3 Jean Lachaine11Université de Montréal, Faculté de pharmacie, Montreal, 2Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS, 3Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal – Hôpital Notre-Dame, Département de médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaBackground: Progression-free survival (PFS and time to progression (TTP are frequently used to establish the clinical efficacy of anti-cancer drugs. However, the surrogacy of PFS/TTP for overall survival (OS remains a matter of uncertainty in metastatic breast cancer (mBC. This study assessed the relationship between PFS/TTP and OS in mBC using a trial-based approach.Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review according to the PICO method: 'Population' consisted of women with mBC; 'Interventions' and 'Comparators' were standard treatments for mBC or best supportive care; 'Outcomes' of interest were median PFS/TTP and OS. We first performed a correlation analysis between median PFS/TTP and OS, and then conducted subgroup analyses to explore possible reasons for heterogeneity. Then, we assessed the relationship between the treatment effect on PFS/TTP and OS. The treatment effect on PFS/TTP and OS was quantified by the absolute difference of median values. We also conducted linear regression analysis to predict the effects of a new anti-cancer drug on OS on the basis of its effects on PFS/TTP.Results: A total of 5,041 studies were identified, and 144 fulfilled the eligibility criteria. There was a statistically significant relationship between median PFS/TTP and OS across included trials (r=0.428; P<0.01. Correlation coefficient for the treatment effect on PFS/TTP and OS was estimated at 0.427 (P<0.01. The obtained linear regression equation was ΔOS =−0.088 (95% confidence interval [CI] −1.347–1.172 + 1.753 (95% CI 1.307–2.198 × ΔPFS (R2=0.86.Conclusion: Results of

Prognostic classification index in Iranian colorectal cancer patients: Survival tree analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amal Saki Malehi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic index for separating homogenous subgroups in colorectal cancer (CRC patients based on clinicopathological characteristics using survival tree analysis. Methods: The current study was conducted at the Research Center of Gastroenterology and Liver Disease, Shahid Beheshti Medical University in Tehran, between January 2004 and January 2009. A total of 739 patients who already have been diagnosed with CRC based on pathologic report were enrolled. The data included demographic and clinical-pathological characteristic of patients. Tree-structured survival analysis based on a recursive partitioning algorithm was implemented to evaluate prognostic factors. The probability curves were calculated according to the Kaplan-Meier method, and the hazard ratio was estimated as an interest effect size. Result: There were 526 males (71.2% of these patients. The mean survival time (from diagnosis time was 42.46± (3.4. Survival tree identified three variables as main prognostic factors and based on their four prognostic subgroups was constructed. The log-rank test showed good separation of survival curves. Patients with Stage I-IIIA and treated with surgery as the first treatment showed low risk (median = 34 months whereas patients with stage IIIB, IV, and more than 68 years have the worse survival outcome (median = 9.5 months. Conclusion: Constructing the prognostic classification index via survival tree can aid the researchers to assess interaction between clinical variables and determining the cumulative effect of these variables on survival outcome.

The outcome and survival of palliative surgery in thoraco-lumbar spinal metastases: contemporary retrospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nemelc, R M; Stadhouder, A; van Royen, B J; Jiya, T U

2014-11-01

Purpose: To evaluate outcome and survival and to identify prognostic variables for patients surgically treated for spinal metastases. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 86 patients, surgically treated for spinal metastases. Preoperative analyses of the ASIA and spinal instability neoplastic scores (SINS) were performed. Survival curves of different prognostic variables were made by Kaplan–Meier analysis and the variables entered in a Cox proportional hazards model to determine their significance on survival. The correlation between preoperative radiotherapy and postoperative wound infections was also evaluated. Results: Survival analysis was performed on 81 patients,37 women and 44 men. Five patients were excluded due to missing data. Median overall survival was 38 weeks [95 % confidence interval (CI) 27.5–48.5 weeks], with a 3-month survival rate of 81.5 %. Breast tumor had the best median survival of 127 weeks and lung tumor the worst survival of 18 weeks. Univariate analysis showed tumor type, preoperative ASIA score (p = 0.01) and visceral metastases(p = 0.18) were significant prognostic variables for survival.Colon tumors had 5.53 times hazard ratio compared to patients with breast tumor. ASIA-C score had more than 13.03 times the hazard ratio compared to patients with an ASIA-E score. Retrospective analysis of the SINS scores showed 34 patients with a score of 13–18 points, 44 patients with a score of 7–12 points, and 1 patient with a score of 6 points. Preoperative radiotherapy had no influence on the postoperative incidence of deep surgical wound infections (p = 0.37). Patients with spinal metastases had a median survival of 38 weeks postoperative. The primary tumor type and ASIA score were significant prognostic factors for survival. Preoperative radiotherapy neither had influence on survival nor did it constitute a risk for postoperative surgical wound infections.

Bronchoscopic management of patients with symptomatic airway stenosis and prognostic factors for survival.

Science.gov (United States)

Okiror, Lawrence; Jiang, Li; Oswald, Nicola; Bille, Andrea; Rajesh, Pala; Bishay, Ehab; Steyn, Richard; Naidu, Babu; Kalkat, Maninder

2015-05-01

Interventional bronchoscopy is effective in the management of patients with symptomatic airway obstruction for both malignant and benign conditions. The main aim of this study is to report our experience with emergency interventional bronchoscopy in patients with symptomatic airway obstruction and identify prognostic factors for survival. This is a retrospective observational study of patients undergoing emergency interventional bronchoscopy over a 4-year period. Survival times were analyzed separately for patients with benign and malignant airway obstruction by the Kaplan-Meier method. Between June 2009 and July 2013, 168 emergency interventional bronchoscopies were performed in 112 patients for airway obstruction. The median age was 63 years (range, 20 to 86), and 91 patients (54%) patients were female. Seventy-two cases (43%) had airway obstruction due to malignant disease. There were 3 in-hospital deaths (2.7%). Median survival of the study population was 5.6 months (range, 0 to 51) with a median follow-up of 7.3 months (range, 0 to 51). Median survival for patients with malignant airway obstruction was 3.5 months (range, 0 to 21), and 9.8 months (range, 0.1 to 51) for those with benign disease. Airway intervention facilitated palliative chemotherapy in 32 patients (44%) of those with malignant airway obstruction. At multivariate analysis in patients with malignant airway obstruction, presence of stridor (hazard ratio 1.919, 95% confidence interval: 1.082 to 3.404, p = 0.026) and not receiving postprocedure chemotherapy (hazard ratio 2.05, 95% confidence interval: 1.156 to 3.636, p = 0.014) were independent prognostic factors for death. Emergency interventional bronchoscopy for airway obstruction is safe, relieved symptoms, and facilitated palliative chemotherapy, which improved survival. Copyright © 2015 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Illness perceptions predict survival in haemodialysis patients.

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Chilcot, Joseph; Wellsted, David; Farrington, Ken

2011-01-01

Illness perceptions have been shown to be important determinants of functional and psychosocial outcomes, including quality of life and treatment adherence in end-stage renal disease patients. The aim of this prospective study was to determine whether haemodialysis patients' illness perceptions impact upon survival. Haemodialysis patients from a UK renal service completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire. Over the study period (May 2007 to December 2010), all-cause mortality was recorded as the endpoint. 223 patients were followed up for a median of 15.9 months (min. 10 days, max. 42.7 months). The median dialysis vintage was 17.6 months (min. 4 days, max. 391.3 months). Treatment control perceptions demonstrated a significant association with mortality (HR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.83-0.99, p = 0.03). After controlling for covariates, including age, albumin, extra renal comorbidity and depression scores, perception of treatment control remained a significant predictor of mortality (HR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.80-0.99, p = 0.03). Patients' perceptions of treatment control (dialysis therapy) predict survival independently of survival risk factors, including comorbidity. Studies are required to test whether psychological interventions designed to modify maladaptive illness perceptions influence clinical outcomes in this patient setting. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Hyperfractionated Accelerated Radiotherapy (HART) for Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma: Toxicity and Survival Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dandekar, Prasad [Head and Neck/Thyroid Unit, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, Surrey (United Kingdom); Harmer, Clive; Barbachano, Yolanda [Department of Clinical Research and Development, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, Surrey (United Kingdom); Rhys-Evans, Peter; Harrington, Kevin; Nutting, Christopher [Head and Neck-Thyroid Unit, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Chelsea, London (United Kingdom); Newbold, Kate [Head and Neck/Thyroid Unit, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, Surrey (United Kingdom); Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Chelsea, London (United Kingdom)

2009-06-01

Purpose: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is one of the most aggressive cancers, and the current protocol of hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy was initiated to improve survival while limiting toxicities. Methods and Materials: All patients with ATC from 1991 to 2002 were accrued and received megavoltage radiotherapy from the mastoid processes to the carina up to 60 Gy in twice-daily fractions of 1.8 and 2 Gy, 6 hours apart. Results: Thirty-one patients were accrued with a median age of 69 years, and 55% were women. Debulking was performed in 26%, and total thyroidectomy, in 6%, whereas 68% received radical radiotherapy alone. Local control data were available for 27 patients: 22% had a complete response, 26% had a partial response, 15% showed progressive disease, and 37% showed static disease. Median overall survival for all 31 patients was 70 days (95% confidence interval, 40-99). There was no significant difference in median survival between patients younger (70 days) and older than 70 years (42 days), between men (70 days) and women (49days), and between patients receiving postoperative radiotherapy (77 days) and radical radiotherapy alone (35 days). Grade III or higher skin erythema was seen in 56% patients; desquamation in 21%; dysphagia in 74%; and esophagitis in 79%. Conclusion: The current protocol failed to offer a significant survival benefit, was associated with severe toxicities, and thus was discontinued. There is a suggestion that younger patients with operable disease have longer survival, but this would require a larger study to confirm it.

Survival following salvage abdominoperineal resection for persistent and recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the anus: do these disease categories affect survival?

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Severino, N P; Chadi, S A; Rosen, L; Coiro, S; Choman, E; Berho, M; Wexner, S D

2016-10-01

This study aimed to investigate the results of salvage abdominoperineal excision (APR) in patients with persistent or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA). Patients with anal neoplasia were identified from a prospective database. Patients with invasive SCCA with demonstrated failure of chemoradiation therapy (CRT) who underwent salvage APR for one of three disease categories (persistent,  24 months post-CRT) were included. The primary outcome was overall survival after salvage APR. Tumour size, metastatic lymph nodes (LN), circumferential resection margin positivity (CRM) and neurolymphovascular invasion (NLVI) were correlated with the outcome. Thirty-six patients with a median 3-year overall survival of 46% (median follow-up 24 months) underwent salvage APR due to persistent or recurrent SCCA (14 men, mean age 59 years). Eleven (31%) patients were diagnosed with persistent disease, 17 (47%) with early and 8 (22%) with late recurrence. Two-year overall survival of Stage 0/I/II and III/IV disease was 81.5% and 33.74%, respectively (P = 0.022). Overall disease stage was associated with disease categorization (P = 0.009): patients with persistent disease or early recurrence had a significantly higher disease stage than patients with late recurrence (OR = 20.9 and 17.2). Despite apparently improved survival in patients with late disease recurrence on live table analysis, no significant difference was identified in overall survival when stratified by disease category on log-rank test analysis. Persistent and recurrent disease does not show any significant difference in survival, but patients with late recurrence may have a better prognosis. Colorectal Disease © 2016 The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland.

Craniotomy and Survival for Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma.

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Rae, Ali I; Mehta, Amol; Cloney, Michael; Kinslow, Connor J; Wang, Tony J C; Bhagat, Govind; Canoll, Peter D; Zanazzi, George J; Sisti, Michael B; Sheth, Sameer A; Connolly, E Sander; McKhann, Guy M; Bruce, Jeffrey N; Iwamoto, Fabio M; Sonabend, Adam M

2018-04-04

Cytoreductive surgery is considered controversial for primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). To investigate survival following craniotomy or biopsy for PCNSL. The National Cancer Database-Participant User File (NCDB, n = 8936), Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER, n = 4636), and an institutional series (IS, n = 132) were used. We retrospectively investigated the relationship between craniotomy, prognostic factors, and survival for PCNSL using case-control design.  In NCDB, craniotomy was associated with increased median survival over biopsy (19.5 vs 11.0 mo), independent of subsequent radiation and chemotherapy (hazard ratio [HR] 0.80, P < .001). We found a similar trend with survival for craniotomy vs biopsy in the IS (HR 0.68, P = .15). In SEER, gross total resection was associated with increased median survival over biopsy (29 vs 10 mo, HR 0.68, P < .001). The survival benefit associated with craniotomy was greater within recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) class 1 group in NCDB (95.1 vs 29.1 mo, HR 0.66, P < .001), but was smaller for RPA 2-3 (14.9 vs 10.0 mo, HR 0.86, P < .001). A surgical risk category (RC) considering lesion location and number, age, and frailty was developed. Craniotomy was associated with increased survival vs biopsy for patients with low RC (133.4 vs 41.0 mo, HR 0.33, P = .01), but not high RC in the IS. Craniotomy is associated with increased survival over biopsy for PCNSL in 3 retrospective datasets. Prospective studies are necessary to adequately evaluate this relationship. Such studies should evaluate patients most likely to benefit from cytoreductive surgery, ie, those with favorable RPA and RC.

Ten-Year Survival in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis After Lung Transplantation.

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ten Klooster, Liesbeth; Nossent, George D; Kwakkel-van Erp, Johanna M; van Kessel, Diana A; Oudijk, Erik J; van de Graaf, Ed A; Luijk, Bart; Hoek, Rogier A; van den Blink, Bernt; van Hal, Peter Th; Verschuuren, Erik A; van der Bij, Wim; van Moorsel, Coline H; Grutters, Jan C

2015-12-01

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and lethal fibrosing lung disease with a median survival of approximately 3 years after diagnosis. The only medical option to improve survival in IPF is lung transplantation (LTX). The purpose of this study was to evaluate trajectory data of IPF patients listed for LTX and to investigate the survival after LTX. Data were retrospectively collected from September 1989 until July 2011 of all IPF patients registered for LTX in the Netherlands. Patients were included after revision of the diagnosis based on the criteria set by the ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT. Trajectory data, clinical data at time of screening, and donor data were collected. In total, 98 IPF patients were listed for LTX. During the waiting list period, 30 % of the patients died. Mean pulmonary artery pressure, 6-min walking distance, and the use of supplemental oxygen were significant predictors of mortality on the waiting list. Fifty-two patients received LTX with a median overall survival after transplantation of 10 years. This study demonstrated a 10-year survival time after LTX in IPF. Furthermore, our study demonstrated a significantly better survival after bilateral LTX in IPF compared to single LTX although bilateral LTX patients were significantly younger.

Extended shortest path selection for package routing of complex networks

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Ye, Fan; Zhang, Lei; Wang, Bing-Hong; Liu, Lu; Zhang, Xing-Yi

The routing strategy plays a very important role in complex networks such as Internet system and Peer-to-Peer networks. However, most of the previous work concentrates only on the path selection, e.g. Flooding and Random Walk, or finding the shortest path (SP) and rarely considering the local load information such as SP and Distance Vector Routing. Flow-based Routing mainly considers load balance and still cannot achieve best optimization. Thus, in this paper, we propose a novel dynamic routing strategy on complex network by incorporating the local load information into SP algorithm to enhance the traffic flow routing optimization. It was found that the flow in a network is greatly affected by the waiting time of the network, so we should not consider only choosing optimized path for package transformation but also consider node congestion. As a result, the packages should be transmitted with a global optimized path with smaller congestion and relatively short distance. Analysis work and simulation experiments show that the proposed algorithm can largely enhance the network flow with the maximum throughput within an acceptable calculating time. The detailed analysis of the algorithm will also be provided for explaining the efficiency.

Postoperative serum CEA level as predictive factor for survival in patients with colorectal cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemberger, J.J.; Bogar, M.L.; Takacs Kucsera, M.F.; Csernetics, I.F.

2002-01-01

Aim: It is known that routine follow-up of patients with resected colorectal cancer includes serial CEA determinations. In this retrospective study we have investigated relationship between CEA level and survival and whether achieved results enable differentiation of tumors with slow and rapid growth. Material and Methods: Mainly between 1995 and 1999 periodic CEA determination by IRMA were performed in 269 patients after curative resection of colorectal carcinoma. Number of CEA determination/patient were 2-16(median 6). Survival ranged 4,5 and>249,7 months. Based on CEA results patients were divided in group with normal (<10ng/ml) and elevated (=10ng/ml) values regardless of postoperative treatment. Survival curves were computed by Kaplan-Meier method and difference was evaluated by logrank test and difference between proportions. Results:Normal end elevated CEA was found in 193 and 76 patients, respectively. The difference of survival curves between patients with normal and elevated CEA are highly significant (p<0,0001). However, only 10 months after tumor resection is the difference between survived proportions significant suggesting already presence of CEA produced micrometastases contributing to progression of neoplastic process. The mean survival time at normal and elevated CEA values are 142,54±17,86(median 128,60±24,04) and 34,15±4,28 (median 25,20±1,97) months, respectively. No significant difference of survival was found regarding tumor localization. Conclusion:The results show that with regard to CEA level it is possible to divide colorectal tumors on marker negative and positive. Marker negative are with slower growth and relatively good prognosis. Marker positive are associated with elevated CEA level and with considerable shorter survival. Postoperative CEA level is valuable parameter in prediction of patient's outcome

Fast and accurate global multiphase arrival tracking: the irregular shortest-path method in a 3-D spherical earth model

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Huang, Guo-Jiao; Bai, Chao-Ying; Greenhalgh, Stewart

2013-09-01

The traditional grid/cell-based wavefront expansion algorithms, such as the shortest path algorithm, can only find the first arrivals or multiply reflected (or mode converted) waves transmitted from subsurface interfaces, but cannot calculate the other later reflections/conversions having a minimax time path. In order to overcome the above limitations, we introduce the concept of a stationary minimax time path of Fermat's Principle into the multistage irregular shortest path method. Here we extend it from Cartesian coordinates for a flat earth model to global ray tracing of multiple phases in a 3-D complex spherical earth model. The ray tracing results for 49 different kinds of crustal, mantle and core phases show that the maximum absolute traveltime error is less than 0.12 s and the average absolute traveltime error is within 0.09 s when compared with the AK135 theoretical traveltime tables for a 1-D reference model. Numerical tests in terms of computational accuracy and CPU time consumption indicate that the new scheme is an accurate, efficient and a practical way to perform 3-D multiphase arrival tracking in regional or global traveltime tomography.

Socioeconomic Status, Not Race, Is Associated With Reduced Survival in Esophagectomy Patients.

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Erhunmwunsee, Loretta; Gulack, Brian C; Rushing, Christel; Niedzwiecki, Donna; Berry, Mark F; Hartwig, Matthew G

2017-07-01

Black patients with esophageal cancer have worse survival than white patients. This study examines this racial disparity in conjunction with socioeconomic status (SES) and explores whether race-based outcome differences exist using a national database. The associations between race and SES with overall survival of patients treated with esophagectomy for stages I to III esophageal cancer between 2003 and 2011 in the National Cancer Data Base were investigated using the Kaplan-Meier method and proportional hazards analyses. Median income by zip code and proportion of the zip code residents without a high school diploma were grouped into income and education quartiles, respectively and used as surrogates for SES. The association between race and overall survival stratified by SES is explored. Of 11,599 esophagectomy patients who met study criteria, 3,503 (30.2%) were in the highest income quartile, 2,847 (24.5%) were in the highest education quartile, and 610 patients (5%) were black. Before adjustment for SES, black patients had worse overall survival than white patients (median survival 23.0 versus 34.7 months, log rank p race was not. Prior studies have suggested that survival of esophageal cancer patients after esophagectomy is associated with race. Our study suggests that race is not significantly related to overall survival when adjusted for other prognostic variables. Socioeconomic status, however, remains significantly related to overall survival in our model. Copyright © 2017 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MEDIAN: Wireless broadband LAN for multimedia applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vliet, P.J. van

1998-01-01

MEDIAN is one of the projects in the mobile domain of the Advanced Communications Technologies and Services (ACTS) programme of the European Commission. The main obiective of the MEDIAN project is to evaluate and implement a high speed Wireless Customer Premises / Local Area Network (WCPN/WLAN)

On Preliminary Test Estimator for Median

OpenAIRE

Okazaki, Takeo; 岡崎, 威生

1990-01-01

The purpose of the present paper is to discuss about estimation of median with a preliminary test. Two procedures are presented, one uses Median test and the other uses Wilcoxon two-sample test for the preliminary test. Sections 3 and 4 give mathematical formulations of such properties, including mean square errors with one specified case. Section 5 discusses their optimal significance levels of the preliminary test and proposes their numerical values by Monte Carlo method. In addition to mea...

Survival benefit of levetiracetam in patients treated with concomitant chemoradiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy with temozolomide for glioblastoma multiforme.

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Kim, Young-Hoon; Kim, Tackeun; Joo, Jin-Deok; Han, Jung Ho; Kim, Yu Jung; Kim, In Ah; Yun, Chang-Ho; Kim, Chae-Yong

2015-09-01

A chemosensitizing effect of levetiracetam (LEV) has been suggested because LEV inhibits O-6 methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT). However, the survival benefit of LEV has not been clinically documented. The objective of this study was to assess the survival benefit of LEV compared with other antiepileptic drugs as a chemosensitizer to temozolomide for patients with glioblastoma. In total, 103 consecutive patients with primary glioblastoma who received concomitant chemoradiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy with temozolomide were retrospectively reviewed, and 58 patients (56%) received LEV during temozolomide chemotherapy for at least 3 months. A Cox regression survival analysis was performed to adjust for confounding factors, including age, extent of lesion, Karnofsky performance scale score, extent of removal, and MGMT promoter methylation status. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for patients who received LEV in combination with temozolomide (PFS: median, 9.4 months; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.5-11.3 months; OS: median, 25.7 months; 95% CI, 21.7-29.7 months) were significantly longer than those for patients who did not receive LEV (PFS: median, 6.7 months; 95% CI, 5.8-7.6 months; OS: median, 16.7 months; 95% CI, 12.1-21.3 months; P = .010 and P = .027, respectively). In multivariate analysis, the variables that were identified as significant prognostic factors for OS were preoperative Karnofsky performance scale score (hazard ratio [HR], 0.37; P = .016), MGMT promoter methylation (HR, 0.30; P = .002), and receipt of LEV (HR, 0.31; P benefit in patients with glioblastoma who receive temozolomide-based chemotherapy. A prospective randomized study may be indicated. © 2015 American Cancer Society.

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Is Related to Poor Survival in Glioblastomas: Single-Institution Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Youngmin; Lee, Hyung-Sik; Hur, Won-Joo; Sung, Ki-Han; Kim, Ki-Uk; Choi, Sun-Seob; Kim, Su-Jin; Kim, Dae-Cheol

2013-01-01

Purpose There are conflicting results surrounding the prognostic significance of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) status in glioblastoma (GBM) patients. Accordingly, we attempted to assess the influence of EGFR expression on the survival of GBM patients receiving postoperative radiotherapy. Materials and Methods Thirty three GBM patients who had received surgery and postoperative radiotherapy at our institute, between March 1997 and February 2006, were included. The evaluation of EGFR expression with immunohistochemistry was available for 30 patients. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression were used for statistical analysis. Results EGFR was expressed in 23 patients (76.7%), and not expressed in seven (23.3%). Survival in EGFR expressing GBM patients was significantly less than that in non-expressing patients (median survival: 12.5 versus 17.5 months, p=0.013). Patients who received more than 60 Gy showed improved survival over those who received up to 60 Gy (median survival: 17.0 versus 9.0 months, p=0.000). Negative EGFR expression and a higher radiation dose were significantly correlated with improved survival on multivariate analysis. Survival rates showed no differences according to age, sex, and surgical extent. Conclusion The expression of EGFR demonstrated a significantly deleterious effect on the survival of GBM patients. Therefore, approaches targeting EGFR should be considered in potential treatment methods for GBM patients, in addition to current management strategies. PMID:23225805

Anterolateral minithoracotomy versus median sternotomy for mitral valve disease: a meta-analysis.

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Ding, Chao; Jiang, Da-ming; Tao, Kai-yu; Duan, Qun-jun; Li, Jie; Kong, Min-jian; Shen, Zhong-hua; Dong, Ai-qiang

2014-06-01

Mitral valve disease tends to be treated with anterolateral minithoracotomy (ALMT) rather than median sternotomy (MS), as ALMT uses progressively smaller incisions to promote better cosmetic outcomes. This meta-analysis quantifies the effects of ALMT on surgical parameters and post-operative outcomes compared with MS. One randomized controlled study and four case-control studies, published in English from January 1996 to January 2013, were identified and evaluated. ALMT showed a significantly longer cardiopulmonary bypass time (P=0.001) and aortic cross-clamp time (P=0.05) compared with MS. However, the benefits of ALMT were evident as demonstrated by a shorter length of hospital stay (PALMT decreased significantly as compared with MS (P=0.05); however, the incidence of peri-operative mortality (P=0.62), re-operation for bleeding (P=0.37), neurologic events (P=0.77), myocardial infarction (P=0.84), gastrointestinal complications (P=0.89), and renal insufficiency (P=0.67) were similar to these of MS. Long-term follow-up data were also examined, and revealed equivalent survival and freedom from mitral valve events. Current clinical data suggest that ALMT is a safe and effective alternative to the conventional approach and is associated with better short-term outcomes and a trend towards longer survival.

Scoring system predictive of survival for patients undergoing stereotactic body radiation therapy for liver tumors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kress Marie-Adele S

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT is an emerging treatment option for liver tumors. This study evaluated outcomes after SBRT to identify prognostic variables and to develop a novel scoring system predictive of survival. Methods The medical records of 52 patients with a total of 85 liver lesions treated with SBRT from 2003 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-four patients had 1 lesion; 27 had 2 or more. Thirteen lesions were primary tumors; 72 were metastases. Fiducials were placed in all patients prior to SBRT. The median prescribed dose was 30 Gy (range, 16 – 50 Gy in a median of 3 fractions (range, 1–5. Results With median follow-up of 11.3 months, median overall survival (OS was 12.5 months, and 1 year OS was 50.8%. In 42 patients with radiographic follow up, 1 year local control was 74.8%. On univariate analysis, number of lesions (p = 0.0243 and active extralesional disease (p  Conclusions SBRT offers a safe and feasible treatment option for liver tumors. A prognostic scoring system based on the number of liver lesions, activity of extralesional disease, and KPS predicts survival following SBRT and can be used as a guide for prospective validation and ultimately for treatment decision-making.

Survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in the San Joaquin Valley: a comparison with California Cancer Registry data.

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Atla, Pradeep R; Sheikh, Muhammad Y; Mascarenhas, Ranjan; Choudhury, Jayanta; Mills, Paul

2012-01-01

Variation in the survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is related to racial differences, socioeconomic disparities and treatment options among different populations. A retrospective review of the data from medical records of patients diagnosed with HCC were analyzed at an urban tertiary referral teaching hospital and compared to patients in the California Cancer Registry (CCR) - a participant in the Survival Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The main outcome measure was overall survival rates. 160 patients with the diagnosis of HCC (M/F=127/33), mean age 59.7±10 years, 32% white, 49% Hispanic, 12% Asian and 6% African American. Multivariate analysis identified tumor size, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, portal vein invasion and treatment offered as the independent predictors of survival (p <0.05). Survival rates across racial groups were not statistically significant. 5.6% received curative treatments (orthotopic liver transplantation, resection, rediofrequency ablation) (median survival 69 months), 34.4% received nonsurgical treatments (trans-arterial chemoembolization, systemic chemotherapy) (median survival 9 months), while 60% received palliative or no treatment (median survival 3 months) (p <0.001). There was decreased survival in our patient population with HCC beyond 2 years. 60% of our study population received only palliative or no treatment suggesting a possible lack of awareness of chronic liver disease as well as access to appropriate surveillance modalities. Ethnic disparities such as Hispanic predominance in this study in contrast to the CCR/SEER database may have been a contributing factor for poorer outcome.

Is Human Papillomavirus Associated with Prostate Cancer Survival?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariarosa Pascale

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The role of human papillomavirus (HPV in prostate carcinogenesis is highly controversial: some studies suggest a positive association between HPV infection and an increased risk of prostate cancer (PCa, whereas others do not reveal any correlation. In this study, we investigated the prognostic impact of HPV infection on survival in 150 primary PCa patients. One hundred twelve (74.67% patients had positive expression of HPV E7 protein, which was evaluated in tumour tissue by immunohistochemistry. DNA analysis on a subset of cases confirmed HPV infection and revealed the presence of genotype 16. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, HPV-positive cancer patients showed worse overall survival (OS (median 4.59 years compared to HPV-negative (median 8.24 years, P=0.0381. In multivariate analysis age (P<0.001, Gleason score (P<0.001, nuclear grading (P=0.002, and HPV status (P=0.034 were independent prognostic factors for OS. In our cohort, we observed high prevalence of HPV nuclear E7 oncoprotein and an association between HPV infection and PCa survival. In the debate about the oncogenic activity of HPV in PCa, our results further confirm the need for additional studies to clarify the possible role of HPV in prostate carcinogenesis.

Seven-month prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is prognostic in patients with prostate cancer initially diagnosed with distant metastases.

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Nieder, Carsten; Haukland, Ellinor; Pawinski, Adam; Norum, Jan

2018-03-05

Recent research suggests that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ≤ 0.2 ng/dl at 7 months is prognostic for better survival with androgen deprivation therapy for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer regardless of chemotherapy with docetaxel. These results were derived from a group of clinical trial participants. Therefore, we performed a confirmatory analysis in patients treated outside of trials. Furthermore, we limited inclusion to those who presented with metastases at the initial diagnosis of prostate cancer (synchronous metastases). A retrospective analysis of a comprehensive regional database was performed. The oncology care in this region (Nordland County, Northern Norway) was provided by one center. Patients who were diagnosed between January 01, 2004 and December 31, 2016 were included. Of 101 patients, 90 were alive at 7 months and had their PSA value measured. Their median age was 68.5 years. Only six patients (7%) achieved PSA ≤ 0.2 ng/dl at 7 months. The median value was 4.05 ng/dl. Median overall survival was shortest in patients with PSA > 4.0 ng/dl (22 months). For patients with PSA between 0.3 and 4.0 ng/dl, median survival was 54 months (p = 0.0001). No further increase was seen in the small group with lower PSA. Statistical significance was also found for a cutoff of ≤ 1.0 ng/dl (55 vs. 32 months). PSA at 7 months predicts overall survival. Given that only 7% of patients achieved PSA ≤ 0.2 ng/dl, confirmation of this particular cutoff requires additional studies in other populations.

Stratified analysis of 800 Asian patients after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy with a median 64 months of follow up.

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Abdel Raheem, Ali; Kim, Dae Keun; Santok, Glen Denmer; Alabdulaali, Ibrahim; Chung, Byung Ha; Choi, Young Deuk; Rha, Koon Ho

2016-09-01

To report the 5-year oncological outcomes of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy from the largest series ever reported from Asia. A retrospective analysis of 800 Asian patients who were treated with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy from July 2005 to May 2010 in the Department of Urology and Urological Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea was carried out. The primary end-point was to evaluate the biochemical recurrence. The secondary end-point was to show the biochemical recurrence-free survival, metastasis-free survival and cancer-specific survival. A total of 197 (24.65%), 218 (27.3%), and 385 (48.1%) patients were classified as low-, intermediate- and high-risk patients according to the D'Amico risk stratification risk criteria, respectively. The median follow-up period was 64 months (interquartile range 28-71 months). The overall incidence of positive surgical margin was 36.6%. There was biochemical recurrence in 183 patients (22.9%), 38 patients (4.8%) developed distant metastasis and 24 patients (3%) died from prostate cancer. Actuarial biochemical recurrence-free survival, metastasis-free survival, and cancer-specific survival rates at 5 years were 76.4%, 94.6% and 96.7%, respectively. Positive lymph node was associated with lower 5-year biochemical recurrence-free survival (9.1%), cancer-specific survival (75.7%) and metastasis-free survival (61.9%) rates (P < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, among all the predictors, positive lymph node was the strongest predictor of biochemical recurrence, cancer-specific survival and metastasis-free survival (P < 0.001). Herein we report the largest robot-assisted radical prostatectomy series from Asia. Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy is confirmed to be an oncologically safe procedure that is able to provide effective 5-year cancer control, even in patients with high-risk disease. © 2016 The Japanese Urological Association.

A comparison of survival of patients treated for AIDS-related central nervous system lymphoma with and without tissue diagnosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufmann, Thomas; Nisce, Lourdes Z.; Coleman, Morton

1996-01-01

Purpose: This is a retrospective review of the treatment outcome of radiation therapy (RT) in acquired immunedeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients with presumed primary central nervous system (CNS) non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), with and without tissue verification. Methods and Materials: Twenty-seven patients with AIDS-related CNS NHL were treated between 1986 and 1992. They were divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of nine patients with a positive histology for NHL. They were treated with dexamethasone (DXM) and whole brain RT. Group 2 consisted of 18 patients who, because of unique circumstances, were treated without histologic confirmation of NHL. Rapid clinical and/or radiologic response to DXM and whole-brain RT was interpreted as NHL. Results: For group 1, the response rate was 87.5%, mean survival 6.1 months, and median survival 4.5 months. For group 2, the response rate was 72.2%, mean survival 5.2 months, and median survival 4.5 months. The overall response rate was 76.9%, mean survival 5.8 months, and median survival 4.5 months. Conclusions: In instances where a tissue diagnosis cannot be established, a positive response to an empiric trial of DXM and RT to 20 Gy may constitute presumptive evidence of NHL

Goseki grade and tumour location influence survival of patients with gastric cancer.

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Calik, Muhammet; Calik, Ilknur; Demirci, Elif; Altun, Eren; Gundogdu, Betul; Sipal, Sare; Gundogdu, Cemal

2014-01-01

Owing to the variability of histopathological features and biological behaviour in gastric carcinoma, a great number of categorisation methods such as classical histopathologic grading, Lauren classification, the TNM staging system and the newly presented Goseki grading method are used by pathologists and other scientists. In our study, we aimed to investigate whether Goseki grade and tumour location have an effects on survival of gastric cancer cases. Eighty-four patients with gastric adenocarcinoma were covered in the investigation. The importance of Goseki grading system and tumour location were analysed in addition to the TNM staging and other conventional prognostic parameters. The median survival time in our patients was 35 months (minimum: 5, maximum: 116). According to our findings, there was no relation between survival and tumour size (p=0.192) or classical histological type (p=0.270). In contrast, the Goseki grade and tumour location significantly correlated with survival (p=0.007 and p<0.001, respectively). Additionally, tumours of the intestinal type had a longer median survival time (60.0 months) than diffuse tumours (24.0 months). In addition to the TNM staging system, tumour location and the Goseki grading system may be used as significant prognostic parameters in patients with gastric cancer.

Dual pathology proximal median nerve compression of the forearm.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Murphy, Siun M

2013-12-01

We report an unusual case of synchronous pathology in the forearm- the coexistence of a large lipoma of the median nerve together with an osteochondroma of the proximal ulna, giving rise to a dual proximal median nerve compression. Proximal median nerve compression neuropathies in the forearm are uncommon compared to the prevalence of distal compression neuropathies (eg Carpal Tunnel Syndrome). Both neural fibrolipomas (Refs. 1,2) and osteochondromas of the proximal ulna (Ref. 3) in isolation are rare but well documented. Unlike that of a distal compression, a proximal compression of the median nerve will often have a definite cause. Neural fibrolipoma, also called fibrolipomatous hamartoma are rare, slow-growing, benign tumours of peripheral nerves, most often occurring in the median nerve of younger patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such dual pathology in the same forearm, giving rise to a severe proximal compression of the median nerve. In this case, the nerve was being pushed anteriorly by the osteochondroma, and was being compressed from within by the intraneural lipoma. This unusual case highlights the advantage of preoperative imaging as part of the workup of proximal median nerve compression.

Efficient Scalable Median Filtering Using Histogram-Based Operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Oded

2018-05-01

Median filtering is a smoothing technique for noise removal in images. While there are various implementations of median filtering for a single-core CPU, there are few implementations for accelerators and multi-core systems. Many parallel implementations of median filtering use a sorting algorithm for rearranging the values within a filtering window and taking the median of the sorted value. While using sorting algorithms allows for simple parallel implementations, the cost of the sorting becomes prohibitive as the filtering windows grow. This makes such algorithms, sequential and parallel alike, inefficient. In this work, we introduce the first software parallel median filtering that is non-sorting-based. The new algorithm uses efficient histogram-based operations. These reduce the computational requirements of the new algorithm while also accessing the image fewer times. We show an implementation of our algorithm for both the CPU and NVIDIA's CUDA supported graphics processing unit (GPU). The new algorithm is compared with several other leading CPU and GPU implementations. The CPU implementation has near perfect linear scaling with a speedup on a quad-core system. The GPU implementation is several orders of magnitude faster than the other GPU implementations for mid-size median filters. For small kernels, and , comparison-based approaches are preferable as fewer operations are required. Lastly, the new algorithm is open-source and can be found in the OpenCV library.

The survival rate of self-immolators in Kermanshah Province 2010- 2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farid Najafi

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Self-immolation is one of the most violent methods of suicide, which is spreading in Iran. The highest rate of deaths due to committing suicide and self-immolation in Iran is observed in Kermanshah province. This research was conducted to study the survival rate and the factors that influence survival among the ones who commit self-immolation in Kermanshah province. Methods: In this study, all the cases who did not survive, as well as all the ones who were hospitalized due to self-immolation in Kermanshah province during 2010 and 2011 were examined. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the survival function, and in order to do the comparisons, Logrank test and Cox Regression were employed using Stata 12 software. Results: The results indicated that during 2010 and 2011, 343 individuals committed self-immolation in Kermanshah Province, while, 288 (84% were women. Also, it was found that 184 (53% did not survive, the mean and median of survival time in those who committed suicide deliberately, were 33±2.6 and 11±2 days respectively. Estimation of survival rate using Logrank test indicated that survival rate had a significant relationship with age, mental disorders, drug addiction, and TBSA (Total Body Surface Area, while it did not suggest a statistically significant relationship with gender, marital status and cause of injury. After multivariate analysis using Cox regression, only two variables of age and TBSA could remain in the model and the other variables were excluded from the model. Conclusion: The death toll due to self-immolation is very high and the mean and median of survival time among the people who committed self-immolation is very low. Therefore, it is recommended that remedial action be performed quickly without wasting time.

Competitive Survival of Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhimurium and Shigella dysenteriae in Riverbed Sediments.

Science.gov (United States)

Abia, Akebe Luther King; Ubomba-Jaswa, Eunice; Momba, Maggy Ndombo Benteke

2016-11-01

Studies on the survival of bacterial enteric pathogens in riverbed sediments have mostly focused on individual organisms. Reports on the competitive survival of these pathogens in riverbed sediments under the same experimental setup are limited. We investigated the survival of Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium, Vibrio cholerae and Shigella dysenteriae in riverbed sediments of the Apies River. Experiments were performed in flow chambers containing three sediment types and connected to aquarium pumps immersed in river water to maintain continuous water circulation. Each chamber was inoculated with ~10 7  CFU/mL (final concentration) of each microorganism and kept at 4, 20 and 30 °C. Chambers were sampled on days 0, 1, 2, 7, 14 and 28. At 4 °C, only E. coli and S. typhimurium survived throughout the 28 experimental days. V. cholerae had the shortest survival time at this temperature and was not detected in any of the sediment chambers 24 h after inoculation. S. dysenteriae only survived until day 7. At an increased temperature of 20 °C, only S. dysenteriae was not detected on day 28 of the experiment. At 30 °C, V. cholerae and Salmonella survived longer (28 days) than E. coli (14 days) and S. dysenteriae (4 days). Vibrio cholerae was shown to have the highest T 90 values (32 days) in all sediment types at 20 and 30 °C. We conclude that the sediments of the Apies River present a favourable environment for the survival of indicator and pathogenic bacteria depending on the prevailing temperature.

Expression of nerve growth factor and heme oxygenase-1 predict poor survival of breast carcinoma patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noh, Sang Jae; Chung, Myoung Ja; Moon, Woo Sung; Kang, Myoung Jae; Jang, Kyu Yun; Bae, Jun Sang; Jamiyandorj, Urangoo; Park, Ho Sung; Kwon, Keun Sang; Jung, Sung Hoo; Youn, Hyun Jo; Lee, Ho; Park, Byung-Hyun

2013-01-01

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin and has been suggested to induce heme oxygenase-1 (HO1) expression. Although the role of HO1 in tumorigenesis remains controversial, recent evidence suggests NGF and HO1 as tumor-progressing factors. However, the correlative role of NGF and HO1 and their prognostic impact in breast carcinoma is unknown. We investigated the expression and prognostic significance of the expression of NGF and HO1 in 145 cases of breast carcinoma. Immunohistochemical expression of NGF and HO1 was observed in 31% and 49% of breast carcinoma, respectively. The expression of NGF and HO1 significantly associated with each other, and both have a significant association with histologic grade, HER2 expression, and latent distant metastasis. The expression of NGF and HO1 predicted shorter overall survival of breast carcinoma by univariate and multivariate analysis. NGF expression was an independent prognostic indicator for relapse-free survival by multivariate analysis. The combined expression pattern of NGF and HO1 was also an independent prognostic indicator of overall survival and relapse-free survival. The patients with tumors expressing NGF had the shortest survival and the patients with tumor, which did not express NGF or HO1 showed the longest survival time. This study has demonstrated that individual expression of NGF or HO1, and the combined NGF/HO1 expression pattern could be prognostic indicators for breast carcinoma patients

Portfolio optimization using median-variance approach

Science.gov (United States)

Wan Mohd, Wan Rosanisah; Mohamad, Daud; Mohamed, Zulkifli

2013-04-01

Optimization models have been applied in many decision-making problems particularly in portfolio selection. Since the introduction of Markowitz's theory of portfolio selection, various approaches based on mathematical programming have been introduced such as mean-variance, mean-absolute deviation, mean-variance-skewness and conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) mainly to maximize return and minimize risk. However most of the approaches assume that the distribution of data is normal and this is not generally true. As an alternative, in this paper, we employ the median-variance approach to improve the portfolio optimization. This approach has successfully catered both types of normal and non-normal distribution of data. With this actual representation, we analyze and compare the rate of return and risk between the mean-variance and the median-variance based portfolio which consist of 30 stocks from Bursa Malaysia. The results in this study show that the median-variance approach is capable to produce a lower risk for each return earning as compared to the mean-variance approach.

The Effect of Radiation Dose and Chemotherapy on Overall Survival in 237 Patients With Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Li; Correa, Candace R.; Zhao Lujun; Hayman, James; Kalemkerian, Gregory P.; Lyons, Susan; Cease, Kemp; Brenner, Dean; Kong Fengming

2009-01-01

Purpose: To study the effects of radiation dose, chemotherapy, and their interaction in patients with unresectable or medically inoperable Stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods and Materials: A total of 237 consecutive Stage III NSCLC patients were evaluated. Median follow-up was 69.0 months. Patients were treated with radiation therapy (RT) alone (n = 106), sequential chemoradiation (n = 69), or concurrent chemoradiation (n = 62). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Radiation dose ranged from 30 to 102.9 Gy (median 60 Gy), corresponding to a bioequivalent dose (BED) of 39 to 124.5 Gy (median 72 Gy). Results: The median OS of the entire cohort was 12.6 months, and 2- and 5-year survival rates were 22.4% and 10.0%, respectively. Multivariable Cox regression model demonstrated that Karnofsky performance status (p = 0.020), weight loss < 5% (p = 0.017), chemotherapy (yes vs. no), sequence of chemoradiation (sequential vs. concurrent; p < 0.001), and BED (p < 0.001) were significant predictors of OS. For patients treated with RT alone, sequential chemoradiation, and concurrent chemoradiation, median survival was 7.4, 14.9, and 15.8 months, and 5-year OS was 3.3%, 7.5%, and 19.4%, respectively (p < 0.001). The effect of higher radiation doses on survival was independent of whether chemotherapy was given. Conclusion: Radiation dose and use of chemotherapy are independent predictors of OS in Stage III NSCLC, and concurrent chemoradiation is associated with the best survival. There is no interaction between RT dose and chemotherapy.

Survival and prognostic factors in 321 patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy for oligo-metastases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fode, Mette Marie; Høyer, Morten

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To establish a model to predict survival after SBRT for oligo-metastases in patients considered ineligible for surgical resection (SR) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Overall survival (OS) rates were estimated in 321 patients treated for 587...... metastases with SBRT over 13years. Patients were treated for a variety of metastasis types with colorectal cancer (CRC) being the most frequent (n=201). RESULTS: With a median follow-up time of 5.0years, the median OS was 2.4years (95% CI 2.3-2.7) and the survival rates were 80%, 39%, 23% and 12% at 1, 3, 5...... and 7.5years after SBRT, respectively. WHO performance status (PS) (0-1) (HR 0.49; pSBRT chemotherapy (HR 0.59; p

Yttrium-90 Radioembolization for Unresectable Standard-chemorefractory Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: Survival, Efficacy, and Safety Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rafi, Shoaib; Piduru, Sarat M. [Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Interventional Radiology and Image Guided Medicine, Department of Radiology (United States); El-Rayes, Bassel; Kauh, John S. [Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology (United States); Kooby, David A.; Sarmiento, Juan M. [Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Surgical Oncology in Surgery (United States); Kim, Hyun S., E-mail: kevin.kim@emory.edu [Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Interventional Radiology and Image Guided Medicine, Department of Radiology (United States)

2013-04-15

To assess the overall survival, efficacy, and safety of radioembolization with yttrium-90 (Y90) for unresectable standard-chemorefractory intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Patients with unresectable standard-chemorefractory ICC treated with Y90 were studied. Survival was calculated from the date of first Y90 procedure. Tumor response was assessed with the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors criteria on follow-up computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans. National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria (NCI CTCAE), version 3, were used for complications. Statistical analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meier estimator by the log rank test. Nineteen patients underwent a total of 24 resin-based Y90 treatments. Median survival from the time of diagnosis and first Y90 procedure was 752 {+-} 193 [95 % confidence interval (CI) 374-1130] and 345 {+-} 128 (95 % CI 95-595) days, respectively. Median survival with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 1 (n = 15) and ECOG performance status 2 (n = 4) was 450 {+-} 190 (95 % CI 78-822) and 345 {+-} 227 (95 % CI 0-790) days, respectively (p = .214). Patients with extrahepatic metastasis (n = 11) had a median survival of 404 {+-} 309 (95 % CI 0-1010) days versus 345 {+-} 117 (95 % CI 115-575) days for patients without metastasis (n = 8) (p = .491). No mortality was reported within 30 days from first Y90 radioembolization. One patient developed grade 3 thrombocytopenia as assessed by NCI CTCAE. Fatigue and transient abdominal pain were observed in 4 (21 %) and 6 (32 %) patients, respectively. Y90 radioembolization is effective for unresectable standard-chemorefractory ICC.

Papillary carcinoma in median aberrant thyroid (ectopic) - case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Hebbar K, Ashwin; K, Shashidhar; Deshmane, Vijaya Laxmi; Kumar, Veerendra; Arjunan, Ravi

2014-06-01

Median ectopic thyroid may be encountered anywhere from the foramen caecum to the diaphragm. Non lingual median aberrant thyroid (incomplete descent) usually found in the infrahyoid region and malignant transformation in this ectopic thyroid tissue is very rare. We report an extremely rare case of papillary carcinoma in non lingual median aberrant thyroid in a 25-year-old female. The differentiation between a carcinoma arising in the median ectopic thyroid tissue and a metastatic papillary carcinoma from an occult primary in the main thyroid gland is also discussed.

Survival time and effect of selected predictor variables on survival in owned pet cats seropositive for feline immunodeficiency and leukemia virus attending a referral clinic in northern Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Spada, Eva; Perego, Roberta; Sgamma, Elena Assunta; Proverbio, Daniela

2018-02-01

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) are among the most important feline infectious diseases worldwide. This retrospective study investigated survival times and effects of selected predictor factors on survival time in a population of owned pet cats in Northern Italy testing positive for the presence of FIV antibodies and FeLV antigen. One hundred and three retrovirus-seropositive cats, 53 FIV-seropositive cats, 40 FeLV-seropositive cats, and 10 FIV+FeLV-seropositive cats were included in the study. A population of 103 retrovirus-seronegative age and sex-matched cats was selected. Survival time was calculated and compared between retrovirus-seronegative, FIV, FeLV and FIV+FeLV-seropositive cats using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis was used to study the effect of selected predictor factors (male gender, peripheral blood cytopenia as reduced red blood cells - RBC- count, leukopenia, neutropenia and lymphopenia, hypercreatininemia and reduced albumin to globulin ratio) on survival time in retrovirus-seropositive populations. Median survival times for seronegative cats, FIV, FeLV and FIV+FeLV-seropositive cats were 3960, 2040, 714 and 77days, respectively. Compared to retrovirus-seronegative cats median survival time was significantly lower (P<0.000) in FeLV and FIV+FeLV-seropositive cats. Median survival time in FeLV and FIV+FeLV-seropositive cats was also significant lower (P<0.000) when compared to FIV-seropositive cats. Hazard ratio of death in FeLV and FIV+FeLV-seropositive cats being respectively 3.4 and 7.4 times higher, in comparison to seronegative cats and 2.3 and 4.8 times higher in FeLV and FIV+FeLV-seropositive cats as compared to FIV-seropositive cats. A Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis showed that FIV and FeLV-seropositive cats with reduced RBC counts at time of diagnosis of seropositivity had significantly shorter survival times when compared to FIV and Fe

Robust median estimator in logisitc regression

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hobza, T.; Pardo, L.; Vajda, Igor

2008-01-01

Roč. 138, č. 12 (2008), s. 3822-3840 ISSN 0378-3758 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1M0572 Grant - others:Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (ES) MPO FI - IM3/136; GA MŠk(CZ) MTM 2006-06872 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Logistic regression * Median * Robustness * Consistency and asymptotic normality * Morgenthaler * Bianco and Yohai * Croux and Hasellbroeck Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 0.679, year: 2008 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2008/SI/vajda-robust%20median%20estimator%20in%20logistic%20regression.pdf

Dual pathology proximal median nerve compression of the forearm.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Siun M; Browne, Katherine; Tuite, David J; O'Shaughnessy, Michael

2013-12-01

We report an unusual case of synchronous pathology in the forearm- the coexistence of a large lipoma of the median nerve together with an osteochondroma of the proximal ulna, giving rise to a dual proximal median nerve compression. Proximal median nerve compression neuropathies in the forearm are uncommon compared to the prevalence of distal compression neuropathies (eg Carpal Tunnel Syndrome). Both neural fibrolipomas (Refs. 1,2) and osteochondromas of the proximal ulna (Ref. 3) in isolation are rare but well documented. Unlike that of a distal compression, a proximal compression of the median nerve will often have a definite cause. Neural fibrolipoma, also called fibrolipomatous hamartoma are rare, slow-growing, benign tumours of peripheral nerves, most often occurring in the median nerve of younger patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such dual pathology in the same forearm, giving rise to a severe proximal compression of the median nerve. In this case, the nerve was being pushed anteriorly by the osteochondroma, and was being compressed from within by the intraneural lipoma. This unusual case highlights the advantage of preoperative imaging as part of the workup of proximal median nerve compression. Copyright © 2013 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fontan fenestration closure and event-free survival.

Science.gov (United States)

Imielski, Bartlomiej R; Woods, Ronald K; Mussatto, Kathleen A; Cao, Yumei; Simpson, Pippa M; Tweddell, James S

2013-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the association of open and closed Fontan fenestration status with event-free survival. All patients who underwent a fenestrated Fontan procedure at our institution from January 1994 through June 2007 were reviewed. Patient information was obtained from the medical records. The patients were assigned to 1 of 2 study groups, open or closed, according to their most recent fenestration status. Clinically relevant morbid events were tabulated, and Kaplan-Meier event analysis was used to create event-free probability curves with log-rank comparisons. A total of 161 patients were classified as open and 51 as closed. The median interval to an event was 1.1 years (interquartile range, 0.1-3.3 years) after the Fontan procedure. The median interval to closure was 1.2 years (interquartile range, 0.7-3.3 years). The median interval to an event was 1.5 years (interquartile range, 0.1-4.6 years) in the closed group and 1.1 years (interquartile range, 0.1-3.3 years) in the open group. Event-free probability analysis revealed no significant difference between the 2 groups (P = .15). The median follow-up arterial oxygen saturation was greater in the closed group (96.0%; interquartile range, 94.0%-97.0%) than in the open group (91.0%; interquartile range, 86.0%-95.0%; P < .0001). Fenestration closure was associated with greater arterial oxygen saturation but not greater event-free survival. The interval to an event was slightly less than the interval to fenestration closure, suggesting potential merit in the evaluation of earlier fenestration closure. Adoption of specific fenestration management guidelines might help improve the overall outcomes and enhance the quality of future studies. Copyright © 2013 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Determinants of IPO survival on the Johannesburg securities exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brownhilder Ngek Neneh

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper was to establish the determinants of IPO survival on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE. Using the Kaplan-Meier test, this study established that firms less than five years prior to listing on the JSE have a significant smaller mean survival time; firms with a gross proceed less than the median have a significant shorter mean survival time; overpriced IPOs have a significant higher survival time; IPOs listed during the hot market period on the JSE have a significant smaller mean survival time and IPOs with return on asset, operating profit margin, and return on equity less than or equal to zero have a low mean survival time. Also, being in the internet industry significantly shortens the mean survival time of an IPO. Moreover, based on the Cox Proportional Hazard model, it was established that the determinants of IPO survivability on the JSE are the firms’ age, size, market period, return on equity and operating profit margin are. These findings provide investors and companies in the JSE with empirical evidence of the determinants of IPO survivability of the JSE. As such, investors are advised to consider these factors when selecting their portfolios

Median nail dystrophy involving the thumb nail

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahulkrishna Kota

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Median canaliform dystrophy of Heller is a rare entity characterized by a midline or a paramedian ridge or split and canal formation in nail plate of one or both the thumb nails. It is an acquired condition resulting from a temporary defect in the matrix that interferes with nail formation. Habitual picking of the nail base may be responsible for some cases. Histopathology classically shows parakeratosis, accumulation of melanin within and between the nail bed keratinocytes. Treatment of median nail dystrophy includes injectable triamcinalone acetonide, topical 0.1% tacrolimus, and tazarotene 0.05%, which is many a times challenging for a dermatologist. Psychiatric opinion should be taken when associated with the depressive, obsessive-compulsive, or impulse-control disorder. We report a case of 19-year-old male diagnosed as median nail dystrophy.

Large window median filtering on Clip7

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mathews, K N

1983-07-01

Median filtering has been found to be a useful operation to perform on images in order to reduce random noise while preserving edges of objects. However, in some cases, as the resolution of the image increases, so too does the required window size of the filter. For parallel array processors, this leads to problems when dealing with the large amount of data involved. That is to say that there tend to be problems over slow access of data from pixels over a large neighbourhood, lack of available storage of this data during the operation and long computational times for finding the median. An algorithm for finding the median, designed for use on byte wide architecture parallel array processors is presented together with its implementation on Clip7, a scanning array of such processors. 6 references.

Small median tumor diameter at cure threshold (lung cancers in male smokers predicts both chest X-ray and CT screening outcomes in a novel simulation framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldwasser, Deborah L; Kimmel, Marek

2013-01-01

The effectiveness of population-wide lung cancer screening strategies depends on the underlying natural course of lung cancer. We evaluate the expected stage distribution in the Mayo CT screening study under an existing simulation model of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression calibrated to the Mayo lung project (MLP). Within a likelihood framework, we evaluate whether the probability of 5-year NSCLC survival conditional on tumor diameter at detection depends significantly on screening detection modality, namely chest X-ray and computed tomography. We describe a novel simulation framework in which tumor progression depends on cellular proliferation and mutation within a stem cell compartment of the tumor. We fit this model to randomized trial data from the MLP and produce estimates of the median radiologic size at the cure threshold. We examine the goodness of model fit with respect to radiologic tumor size and 5-year NSCLC survival among incident cancers in both the MLP and Mayo CT studies. An existing model of NSCLC progression under-predicts the number of advanced-stage incident NSCLCs among males in the Mayo CT study (p-value = 0.004). The probability of 5-year NSCLC survival conditional on tumor diameter depends significantly on detection modality (p-value = 0.0312). In our new model, selected solution sets having a median tumor diameter of 16.2-22.1 mm at cure threshold among aggressive NSCLCs predict both MLP and Mayo CT outcomes. We conclude that the median lung tumor diameter at cure threshold among aggressive NSCLCs in male smokers may be small (<20 mm). Copyright © 2012 UICC.

The Effects of Public Access Defibrillation on Survival After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bækgaard, Josefine S; Viereck, Søren; Møller, Thea Palsgaard; Ersbøll, Annette Kjær; Lippert, Freddy; Folke, Fredrik

2017-09-05

Despite recent advances, the average survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains 50%. Accordingly, placement of automated external defibrillators in the community as part of a public access defibrillation program (PAD) is recommended by international guidelines. However, different strategies have been proposed on how exactly to increase and make use of publicly available automated external defibrillators. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effect of PAD and the different PAD strategies on survival after OHCA. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched on August 31, 2015 for observational studies reporting survival to hospital discharge in OHCA patients where an automated external defibrillator had been used by nonemergency medical services. PAD was divided into 3 groups according to who applied the defibrillator: nondispatched lay first responders, professional first responders (firefighters/police) dispatched by the Emergency Medical Dispatch Center (EMDC), or lay first responders dispatched by the EMDC. A total of 41 studies were included; 18 reported PAD by nondispatched lay first responders, 20 reported PAD by EMDC-dispatched professional first responders (firefighters/police), and 3 reported both. We identified no qualified studies reporting survival after PAD by EMDC-dispatched lay first responders. The overall survival to hospital discharge after OHCA treated with PAD showed a median survival of 40.0% (range, 9.1-83.3). Defibrillation by nondispatched lay first responders was associated with the highest survival with a median survival of 53.0% (range, 26.0-72.0), whereas defibrillation by EMDC-dispatched professional first responders (firefighters/police) was associated with a median survival of 28.6% (range, 9.0-76.0). A meta-analysis of the different survival outcomes could not be performed because of the large heterogeneity of the included studies. This systematic review showed a median overall

Survivability Research of Power Optical Transmission Network based on Complex Network%基于复杂网络的电力光传输网生存性研究

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

夏正云; 孙娜; 施建强; 黄明明

2017-01-01

电力光传输网是服务于电力系统的通信专网,其生存性高低对电力系统安全、稳定运行至关重要.首先,基于复杂网络理论给出网络生存性的定义;其次,从最短路径选择和基于平均距离的拓扑优化两个方面作为研究切入点研究网络生存性,最短路径的选择可以有效减少网络拥塞发生的概率,基于平均距离的拓扑优化可以减小网络均距,提高网络的传输效率;最后,结合A市电力光传输网东北环实例,从最短路径选择和拓扑优化两方面分析整个东北环网的生存能力.这对保障电网系统安全可靠运行、降低大规模电网事故的发生具有十分重要的意义.%Power optical transmission network is a communication private network serving electric power system. Its survivability is crucial to the security and stability of power system. First of all, the definition of network survivability is given based on complex network theory. Secondly, the network survivability is studied from two aspects: the shortest path selection and the topology optimization based on the average distance. The selection of the shortest path can effectively reduce the probability of network congestion. Topology optimization based on average distance can reduce the average distance of the network and improve the transmission efficiency. Finally, combining with the northeast ring of A city power transmission network, the survivability of the whole northeast ring network is analyzed from two aspects of the shortest path selection and topology optimization. This is of great significance to ensure the safe and reliable operation of power grid system and reduce the occurrence of large-scale power grid accidents.

Prolonged survival when temozolomide is added to accelerated radiotherapy for glioblastoma multiforme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guckenberger, Matthias; Mayer, Mario; Sweeney, Reinhart A.; Flentje, Michael [University Hospital Wuerzburg (Germany). Dept. of Radiation Oncology; Buttmann, Mathias [University Hospital Wuerzburg (Germany). Dept. of Neurology; Vince, Giles H. [University Hospital Wuerzburg (Germany). Dept. of Neurosurgery

2011-09-15

The goal of this study was to evaluate accelerated radiotherapy with and without temozolomide (TMZ) for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). This retrospective analysis evaluated 86 patients with histologically proven GBM who were treated with accelerated radiotherapy of 1.8 Gy twice daily to a total dose of 54 Gy within 3 weeks. Median age was 62 years and median Karnofsky index was 90. A total of 41 patients received radiotherapy only from 2002-2005 and 45 patients were treated with TMZ concomitantly and after radiotherapy from 2005-2007. Median overall survival (OS) was 12.5 months and 2-year OS was 15.4%. Patient characteristics were well balanced between the two groups except for better performance status (p = 0.05) and higher frequency of retreatment for the first recurrence (p = 0.02) in the TMZ group. Age at diagnosis (HR 2.83) and treatment with TMZ (HR 0.60) were correlated with OS in the multivariate analysis: treatment with and without TMZ resulted in median OS of 16 months and 11.3 months, respectively. Hematological toxicity grade > II was observed in 2/45 patients and 5/37 patients during simultaneous radiochemotherapy and adjuvant TMZ. TMZ added to accelerated radiotherapy for GBM resulted in prolonged overall survival with low rates of severe hematological toxicity. (orig.)

Prolonged survival when temozolomide is added to accelerated radiotherapy for glioblastoma multiforme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guckenberger, Matthias; Mayer, Mario; Sweeney, Reinhart A.; Flentje, Michael; Buttmann, Mathias; Vince, Giles H.

2011-01-01

The goal of this study was to evaluate accelerated radiotherapy with and without temozolomide (TMZ) for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). This retrospective analysis evaluated 86 patients with histologically proven GBM who were treated with accelerated radiotherapy of 1.8 Gy twice daily to a total dose of 54 Gy within 3 weeks. Median age was 62 years and median Karnofsky index was 90. A total of 41 patients received radiotherapy only from 2002-2005 and 45 patients were treated with TMZ concomitantly and after radiotherapy from 2005-2007. Median overall survival (OS) was 12.5 months and 2-year OS was 15.4%. Patient characteristics were well balanced between the two groups except for better performance status (p = 0.05) and higher frequency of retreatment for the first recurrence (p = 0.02) in the TMZ group. Age at diagnosis (HR 2.83) and treatment with TMZ (HR 0.60) were correlated with OS in the multivariate analysis: treatment with and without TMZ resulted in median OS of 16 months and 11.3 months, respectively. Hematological toxicity grade > II was observed in 2/45 patients and 5/37 patients during simultaneous radiochemotherapy and adjuvant TMZ. TMZ added to accelerated radiotherapy for GBM resulted in prolonged overall survival with low rates of severe hematological toxicity. (orig.)

Survival of patients with multiple sclerosis in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brønnum-Hansen, Henrik; Koch-Henriksen, Nils; Hyllested, K

1994-01-01

We estimated survival probability and excess death rates for patients with MS on the basis of data from the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Registry, which includes virtually all patients diagnosed with MS in Denmark (population, five million) since 1948. We reviewed and reclassified all case records...... in women (versus 46 years). The median survival time from diagnosis was 22 years in men (versus 37 years) and 28 years in women (versus 42 years). The excess death rate between onset and follow-up (observed deaths per 1,000 person-years minus the expected number of deaths in a matched general population...

ABO blood type correlates with survival on prostate cancer vaccine therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Muthana, Saddam M; Gulley, James L; Hodge, James W; Schlom, Jeffrey; Gildersleeve, Jeffrey C

2015-10-13

Immunotherapies for cancer are transforming patient care, but clinical responses vary considerably from patient to patient. Simple, inexpensive strategies to target treatment to likely responders could substantially improve efficacy while simultaneously reducing health care costs, but identification of reliable biomarkers has proven challenging. Previously, we found that pre-treatment serum IgM to blood group A (BG-A) correlated with survival for patients treated with PROSTVAC-VF, a therapeutic cancer vaccine in phase III clinical trials for the treatment of prostate cancer. These results suggested that ABO blood type might influence efficacy. Unfortunately, blood types were not available in the clinical records for all but 8 patients and insufficient amounts of sera were left for standard blood typing methods. To test the hypothesis, therefore, we developed a new glycan microarray-based method for determining ABO blood type. The method requires only 4 μL of serum, provides 97% accuracy, and allows simultaneous profiling of many other serum anti-glycan antibodies. After validation with 220 healthy subjects of known blood type, the method was then applied to 74 PROSTVAC-VF patients and 37 control patients from a phase II trial. In this retrospective study, we found that type B and O PROSTVAC-VF patients demonstrated markedly improved clinical outcomes relative to A and AB patients, including longer median survival, longer median survival relative to Halabi predicted survival, and improved overall survival via Kaplan-Meier survival analysis (p = 0.006). Consequently, blood type may provide an inexpensive screen to pre-select patients likely to benefit from PROSTVAC-VF therapy.

A Single-Institution Analysis of 126 Patients Treated with Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases

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Kevin B. Harris

2017-05-01

Full Text Available BackgroundThe objective of this study was to report our institutional experience with Gamma Knife® Radiosurgery (GKRS in the treatment of patients with brain metastases.MethodsRetrospectively collected demographic and clinical data on 126 patients with intracranial metastases were reviewed. The patients in our study underwent GKRS at Vidant Medical Center between 2009 and 2014. Kaplan–Meier curves were used to compare survival based on clinical characteristics for univariate analysis, and a Cox proportional hazards model was used for multivariate analysis.ResultsThe median age of the patient population was 62 years. Medicare patients constituted 51% of our patient cohort and Medicaid patients 15%. The most common tumor histologies were non-small cell lung cancer (50%, breast cancer (12.7%, and melanoma (11.9%. The median overall survival time for all patients was 5.8 months. Patients with breast cancer had the longest median survival time of 9.15 months, while patients with melanoma had the shortest median survival time of 2.86 months. On univariate analysis, the following factors were predictors for improved overall survival, ECOG score 0 or 1 vs. 2 or greater (17.0 vs. 1.8 months, p < 0.001, controlled extracranial disease vs. progressive extracranial disease (17.4 vs. 4.6 months, p = 0.0001, recursive partitioning analysis Stage I vs. II–III (18.2 vs. 6.2 months, p < 0.007, multiple GKRS treatments (p = 0.002, prior brain metastasectomy (p = 0.012, and prior chemotherapy (p = 0.021. Age, ethnicity, gender, previous external beam radiation therapy, number of brain metastases, and hemorrhagic vs. non-hemorrhagic tumors were not predictors of longer median survival time. Number of metastatic brain lesions of 1–3 vs. ≥4 (p = 0.051 and insurance status of Medicare/Medicaid vs. commercial insurance approached significance (13.7 vs. 6.8 months, p = 0.08. On multivariate analysis, ECOG

Sosiaalisen median markkinoinnin vuosikello Weecos Oy:lle

OpenAIRE

Heinämäki, Lotta; Huuskonen, Leena

2015-01-01

Opinnäytetyön tarkoitus oli luoda kokonaisvaltainen ja selkeä suunnitelma Weecos Oy:n markkinointitoimenpiteille valituissa sosiaalisen median kanavissa. Weecos on vuonna 2012 perustettu ekologisia yrityksiä yhteen keräävä verkkokauppa-alusta. Pienestä koostaan johtuen se ei ole pystynyt toteuttamaan sosiaalisen median markkinointia toivomallaan tavalla ja markkinoinnin suunnittelu ja toteutus on ollut epäsäännöllistä. Markkinointisuunnitelman tavoitteena oli helpottaa yrityksen markkinoi...

[11C]Choline PET/CT predicts survival in hormone-naive prostate cancer patients with biochemical failure after radical prostatectomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giovacchini, Giampiero; Incerti, Elena; Mapelli, Paola; Gianolli, Luigi; Picchio, Maria; Kirienko, Margarita; Briganti, Alberto; Gandaglia, Giorgio; Montorsi, Francesco

2015-01-01

Over the last decade, PET/CT with radiolabelled choline has been shown to be useful for restaging patients with prostate cancer (PCa) who develop biochemical failure. The limitations of most clinical studies have been poor validation of [ 11 C]choline PET/CT-positive findings and lack of survival analysis. The aim of this study was to assess whether [ 11 C]choline PET/CT can predict survival in hormone-naive PCa patients with biochemical failure. This retrospective study included 302 hormone-naive PCa patients treated with radical prostatectomy who underwent [ 11 C]choline PET/CT from 1 December 2004 to 31 July 2007 because of biochemical failure (prostate-specific antigen, PSA, >0.2 ng/mL). Median PSA was 1.02 ng/mL. PCa-specific survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier curves. Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between clinicopathological variables and PCa-specific survival. The coefficients of the covariates included in the Cox regression analysis were used to develop a novel nomogram. Median follow-up was 7.2 years (1.4 - 18.9 years). [ 11 C]Choline PET/CT was positive in 101 of 302 patients (33 %). Median PCa-specific survival after prostatectomy was 14.9 years (95 % CI 9.7 - 20.1 years) in patients with positive [ 11 C]choline PET/CT. Median survival was not achieved in patients with negative [ 11 C]choline PET/CT. The 15-year PCa-specific survival probability was 42.4 % (95 % CI 31.7 - 53.1 %) in patients with positive [ 11 C]choline PET/CT and 95.5 % (95 % CI 93.5 - 97.5 %) in patients with negative [ 11 C]choline PET/CT. In multivariate analysis, [ 11 C]choline PET/CT (hazard ratio 6.36, 95 % CI 2.14 - 18.94, P < 0.001) and Gleason score >7 (hazard ratio 3.11, 95 % CI 1.11 - 8.66, P = 0.030) predicted PCa-specific survival. An internally validated nomogram predicted 15-year PCa-specific survival probability with an accuracy of 80 %. Positive [ 11 C]choline PET/CT after biochemical failure predicts PCa-specific survival in hormone

SU-F-R-27: Use Local Shape Descriptor Based On Geodesic Distance to Predict Survival in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer After Radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, H; Yan, L; Huang, K; Kong, F; Jin, J [Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GA (Georgia)

2016-06-15

Purpose: The shape of the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) image represents the heterogeneity of tumor growth in various directions, and thus could be associated with tumor malignancy. We have proposed a median geodesic distance (MGD) to represent the local complexity of the shape and use a normalized MGD (NMGD) to quantify the shape, and found a potential correlation of NMGD to survival in a 20-patient pilot study. This study was to verify the finding in a larger patient cohort. Methods: Geodesic distance of two vertices on a surface is defined as the shortest path on the surface connecting the two vertices. The MGD was calculated for each vertex on the surface to display the local complexity of the shape. The NMGD was determined as: NMGD = 100*standard deviation(MGDs)/mean(MGDs). We applied the NMGD to 40 NSCLC patients who were enrolled in prospective PET image protocols and received radiotherapy. Each patient had a pre-treatment PET scan with the resolution of 4mm*4mm*5mm. Tumors were contoured by a professional radiation oncologist and triangulation meshes were built up based on the contours. Results: The mean and standard deviation of NMGD was 6.4±3.0. The OS was 33.1±16.9 months for low NMGD group, and 15.4±15.6 months for the high NMGD group. The low NMGD group had significant better OS than the high NMGD group (p=0.0013). Conclusion: NMGD could be used as a shape biomarker to predict survival and the MGD could be combined with image texture in future to increase prediction accuracy. This study was supported by Award Number 1R01CA166948 from the NIH and National Cancer Institute.

The prognostic factors affecting survival in muscle invasive bladder cancer treated with radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Woong Ki; Oh, Bong Ryoul; Ahn, Sung Ja; Nah, Byung Sik; Kwon, Dong Deuk; Park, Kwang Sung; Ryu, Soo Bang; Park, Yang Il

2002-01-01

This study analyzed the prognostic factors affecting the survival rate and evaluated the role of radiation therapy in muscle-invading bladder cancer. Twenty eight patient with bladder cancer who completed planned definitive radiotherapy in the Departments of Therapeutic Radiology and Urology, Chonnam National University Hospital between Jan. 1986 to Dec. 1998 were retrospectively analyzed. The reviews were performed based on the patients' medical records. There were 21 males and 7 females in this study. The median of age was 72 years old ranging from 49 to 84 years. All patients were confirmed as having transitional cell carcinoma with histological grade 1 in one patient, grade 2 in 15, grade 3 in 9, and uniformed in 3. Radiation therapy was performed using a linear accelerator with 6 or 10 MV X-rays. Radiation was delivered daily with a 1.8 or 2.0 Gy fraction size by 4 ports (anterior-posterior, both lateral, alternatively) or 3 ports (Anterior and both lateral). The median radiation dose delivered to the isocenter of the target volume was 61.24 Gy ranging from 59 to 66.6 Gy. The survival rate was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate analysis was performed on the prognostic factors affecting the survival rate. The survival rate was 76%, 46%, 33%, 33% at 1, 2, 3, 5 years, respectively, with 19 months of median survival. The potential factors of age (less than 70 years vs above 70), sex, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hydronephrosis, T-stage (T3a vs T3b), TUR, chemotherapy, total duration of radiotherapy, radiation dose (less than 60 Gy vs above 60 Gy), and the treatment response were investigated with uni- and multivariate analysis. In univariate analysis, the T-stage (ρ 0.078) and radiation dose (ρ = 0.051) were marginally significant, and the treatment response (ρ = 0.011) was a statistically significant factor on the survival rate. Multivariate analysis showed there were no significant prognostic factors affecting the survival rate. The

The prognostic factors affecting survival in muscle invasive bladder cancer treated with radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Woong Ki; Oh, Bong Ryoul; Ahn, Sung Ja; Nah, Byung Sik; Kwon, Dong Deuk; Park, Kwang Sung; Ryu, Soo Bang; Park, Yang Il [Chonnam National University Medical School, Chonnam National University Hospital, Kwangju (Korea, Republic of)

2002-06-15

This study analyzed the prognostic factors affecting the survival rate and evaluated the role of radiation therapy in muscle-invading bladder cancer. Twenty eight patient with bladder cancer who completed planned definitive radiotherapy in the Departments of Therapeutic Radiology and Urology, Chonnam National University Hospital between Jan. 1986 to Dec. 1998 were retrospectively analyzed. The reviews were performed based on the patients' medical records. There were 21 males and 7 females in this study. The median of age was 72 years old ranging from 49 to 84 years. All patients were confirmed as having transitional cell carcinoma with histological grade 1 in one patient, grade 2 in 15, grade 3 in 9, and uniformed in 3. Radiation therapy was performed using a linear accelerator with 6 or 10 MV X-rays. Radiation was delivered daily with a 1.8 or 2.0 Gy fraction size by 4 ports (anterior-posterior, both lateral, alternatively) or 3 ports (Anterior and both lateral). The median radiation dose delivered to the isocenter of the target volume was 61.24 Gy ranging from 59 to 66.6 Gy. The survival rate was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate analysis was performed on the prognostic factors affecting the survival rate. The survival rate was 76%, 46%, 33%, 33% at 1, 2, 3, 5 years, respectively, with 19 months of median survival. The potential factors of age (less than 70 years vs above 70), sex, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hydronephrosis, T-stage (T3a vs T3b), TUR, chemotherapy, total duration of radiotherapy, radiation dose (less than 60 Gy vs above 60 Gy), and the treatment response were investigated with uni- and multivariate analysis. In univariate analysis, the T-stage ({rho} 0.078) and radiation dose ({rho} = 0.051) were marginally significant, and the treatment response ({rho} = 0.011) was a statistically significant factor on the survival rate. Multivariate analysis showed there were no significant prognostic factors affecting the survival

Survival Outcomes in Resected Extrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: Effect of Adjuvant Radiotherapy in a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vern-Gross, Tamara Z.; Shivnani, Anand T.; Chen, Ke; Lee, Christopher M.; Tward, Jonathan D.; MacDonald, O. Kenneth; Crane, Christopher H.; Talamonti, Mark S.; Munoz, Louis L.; Small, William

2011-01-01

Purpose: The benefit of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) after surgical resection for extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma has not been clearly established. We analyzed survival outcomes of patients with resected extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and examined the effect of adjuvant RT. Methods and Materials: Data were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program between 1973 and 2003. The primary endpoint was the overall survival time. Cox regression analysis was used to perform univariate and multivariate analyses of the following clinical variables: age, year of diagnosis, histologic grade, localized (Stage T1-T2) vs. regional (Stage T3 or greater and/or node positive) stage, gender, race, and the use of adjuvant RT after surgical resection. Results: The records for 2,332 patients were obtained. Patients with previous malignancy, distant disease, incomplete or conflicting records, atypical histologic features, and those treated with preoperative/intraoperative RT were excluded. Of the remaining 1,491 patients eligible for analysis, 473 (32%) had undergone adjuvant RT. After a median follow-up of 27 months (among surviving patients), the median overall survival time for the entire cohort was 20 months. Patients with localized and regional disease had a median survival time of 33 and 18 months, respectively (p < .001). The addition of adjuvant RT was not associated with an improvement in overall or cause-specific survival for patients with local or regional disease. Conclusion: Patients with localized disease had significantly better overall survival than those with regional disease. Adjuvant RT was not associated with an improvement in long-term overall survival in patients with resected extrahepatic bile duct cancer. Key data, including margin status and the use of combined chemotherapy, was not available through the SEER database.

Pregnancy associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A retrospective case-control analysis of maternal survival outcomes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Yi-Kan; Zhang, Fan; Tang, Ling-Long; Chen, Lei; Zhou, Guan-Qun; Zeng, Mu-Sheng; Kang, Tie-Bang; Jia, Wei-Hua; Shao, Jian-Yong; Mai, Hai-Qiang; Guo, Ying; Ma, Jun

2015-01-01

Background: Pregnancy-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (PANPC) has been associated with poor survival. Recent advances in radiation technology and imaging techniques, and the introduction of chemotherapy have improved survival in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); however, it is not clear whether these changes have improved survival in PANPC. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare five-year maternal survival in patients with PANPC and non-pregnant patients with NPC. Methods: After adjusting for age, stage and chemotherapy mode, we conducted a retrospective case-control study among 36 non-metastatic PANPC patients and 36 non-pregnant NPC patients (control group) who were treated at our institution between 2000 and 2010. Results: The median age of both groups was 30 years (range, 23–35 years); median follow-up for all patients was 70 months. Locoregionally-advanced disease accounted for 83.3% of all patients with PANPC and 92.9% of patients who developed NPC during pregnancy. In both the PANPC and control groups, 31 patients (86.1%) received chemotherapy and all patients received definitive radiotherapy. The five-year rates for overall survival (70% vs. 78%, p = 0.72), distant metastasis-free survival (79% vs. 76%, p = 0.77), loco-regional relapse-free survival (97% vs. 91%, p = 0.69) and disease-free survival (69% vs. 74%, p = 0.98) were not significantly different between the PANPC and control groups. Multivariate analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model revealed that only N-classification was significantly associated with five-year OS. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that, in the modern treatment era, pregnancy itself may not negatively influence survival outcomes in patients with NPC; however, pregnancy may delay the diagnosis of NPC

Reduction of wind power induced reserve requirements by advanced shortest-term forecasts and prediction intervals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dobschinski, Jan; Wessel, Arne; Lange, Bernhard; Bremen, Lueder von [Fraunhofer Institut fuer Windenergie und Energiesystemtechnik (IWES), Kassel (Germany)

2009-07-01

In electricity systems with large penetration of wind power, the limited predictability of the wind power generation leads to an increase in reserve and balancing requirements. At first the present study concentrates on the capability of dynamic day-ahead prediction intervals to reduce the wind power induced reserve and balancing requirements. Alternatively the reduction of large forecast errors of the German wind power generation by using advanced shortest-term predictions has been evaluated in a second approach. With focus on the allocation of minute reserve power the aim is to estimate the maximal remaining uncertainty after trading activities on the intraday market. Finally both approaches were used in a case study concerning the reserve requirements induced by the total German wind power expansion in 2007. (orig.)

Phase I and II trial on infusional 5-fluorouracil and gefitinib in combination with preoperative radiotherapy in rectal cancer: 10-years median follow-up

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Antonietta Gambacorta

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the long term survival of the addition of gefitinib to chemoradiotherapy (CRT in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC. Methods and materials: This previously published multicentre, open-label, phase I-II study, enrolled patients (pts with LARC to receive CRT with concurrent 5-fluorouracil continuous intravenous infusion and a dose escalation of orally administered gefitinib, followed 6–8 weeks later by surgery. An intra-operative radiotherapy boost of 10 Gy was planned. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administrated in ypN1-2 pts. After a median f/u of >10 years, we analyzed Local Control (LC, Metastasis Free Survival (MFS, Disease Free Survival (DFS, Disease Specific Survival (DSS and Overall Survival (OS. Predictive endpoints of clinical outcomes were tested by univariate and multivariate analysis. Variables analyzed included: age, gefitinib dose and interruptions, adjuvant CT, surgery type, ypT, ypN, and TRG grade. We have also analyzed late toxicity according to CTCAEv4. Results: Of the 41 initially enrolled pts, 39 were evaluable (27M, 12F. With a median f/u of 133 months, LC, MFS, DFS, OS and DSS at 5 years were 84%; 71%; 64%; 87% and 92%, respectively. The OS and DSS at 10 years were 61,5% and 76%, respectively. Grade 3-4 late toxicity occurred in 38% of pts: sexual (28,2% and gastrointestinal toxicities (10,2%. Conclusion: Long term outcomes and late toxicity were similar to previously reported series. The addition of gefitinib did not improve outcomes in LARC. Gefitinib is not recommended for rectal cancer patients who received 5-FU based preoperative CRT. Further studies may identify if gefitinib is beneficial in selected group of patients. Keywords: Rectal cancer, Gefitinib, Log term follow-up, Chemoradiotherapy

A bridging stent to surgery in patients with esophageal and gastroesophageal junction cancer has a dramatic negative impact on patient survival

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjaer, D W; Nassar, M; Jensen, L S

2017-01-01

/female ratio was 2.64 (198/75) with a median age in the stent group (SG) of 65.1 versus 64.3 in the no stent group (NSG). Patients were comparable with respect to gender, age, smoking, TNM-classification, oncological treatment, hospital stay, tumor location, and histology. The median survival in the SG was 11...... curves were constructed for R0 resected patients. Data were compared between the stent and no-stent group by nonparametric tests. Two hundred seventy three consecutive R0 resected patients with esophageal or GEJ cancer were identified. Of these patients, 63 had a stent as a bridge to surgery. The male.......6 months compared with 21.3 months for patients treated without a bridging stent (P groups, but NSG patients exhibited a significantly better two-year survival (P = 0.017). The median recurrence-free survival...

Classical and anaplastic seminoma: Difference in survival

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bobba, V.S.; Mittal, B.B.; Hoover, S.V.; Kepka, A.

1987-01-01

The authors undertook a retrospective study of seminoma patients treated with radiation therapy between 1961 and 1985. The classical group consisted of 66 patients, of whom 47 were stage I and 19 were stage II. The anaplastic group consisted of 21 patients, of whom 11 were stage I, nine were stage II, and one was stage III. The median follow-up was 66 months. The five-year crude survival rate for the entire group was 92%, for classical 96%, and for anaplastic 78% (P<.005). Similarly, there was a significant difference (P<.005) in actuarial relapse-free survival at 5 years between classical and anaplastic seminoma. For classical stage I, the relapse-free actuarial 5-year survival rate was 96; for classical stage II, 84%. For anaplastic stage I the relapse-free actuarial 5-year survival rate was 82%, and for stage II 75%. Six patients in the classical group (9%) failed treatment. In the anaplastic group, five patients or 24 failed treatment. Therefore, the authors' data suggest a difference in survival and failure rate between classical and anaplastic seminoma. Extratesticular seminoma with anaplastic histology has an even worse prognosis

The Effect of Early Detection of Occult Brain Metastases in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Patients on Survival and Cause of Death

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niwinska, Anna; Tacikowska, Malgorzata; Murawska, Magdalena

2010-01-01

Purpose: The aim of the study is to evaluate disease-free survival, survival from the detection of brain metastases, overall survival, and cause of death in patients with occult brain metastases (Group I) vs. patients with symptomatic brain metastases (Group II). Methods and Materials: In 80 HER2-positive breast cancer patients, treated with trastuzumab and cytostatic agents for metastatic disease, magnetic resonance imaging screening of the brain was performed, and in 29 patients (36%) occult brain metastasis was detected (Group I). Whole-brain radiotherapy was delivered to Group I. This first group was compared with 52 patients who had symptomatic brain metastases (Group II) and was treated the same way, at the same clinic, during the same time period. Results: Median disease-free survival was 17 months in Group I and 19.9 months in Group II (p = 0.58). The median time interval between the dissemination of the disease and the detection of occult or symptomatic brain metastases was 9 and 15 months, respectively (p = 0.11). When the brain metastases were detected, the median survival was 9 and 8.78 months, respectively (p = 0.80). The median overall survival was 53 and 51 months, respectively (p = 0.94). In the group with occult brain metastases (Group I) 16% of patients died because of progression within the brain. In the group with symptomatic brain metastases (Group II) the rate of cerebral death was 48% (p = 0.009). Conclusions: Whole-brain radiotherapy of occult brain metastases in HER2-positive breast cancer patients with visceral dissemination produces a three-fold decrease in cerebral deaths but does not prolong survival.

Evaluation of the effects of red blood cell distribution width on survival in lung cancer patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kos, Mehmet; Hocazade, Cemil; Kos, F Tugba; Uncu, Dogan; Karakas, Esra; Dogan, Mutlu; Uncu, Hikmet G; Ozdemir, Nuriye; Zengin, Nurullah

2016-01-01

Data are available indicating that red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is higher in cancer patients compared to healthy individuals or benign events. In our study, we aimed to investigate the influence of different RDW levels on survival in lung cancer patients. Clinical and laboratory data from 146 patients with lung cancer and 40 healthy subjects were retrospectively studied. RDW was recorded before the application of any treatment. Patients were categorised according to four different RDW cut-off values (median RDW, RDW determined by ROC curve analysis, the upper limit at the automatic blood count device, and RDW cut of value which used in previous studies). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to examine the effect of RDW on survival for each cut-off level. The median age of patients was 56.5 years (range: 26-83 years). The difference in median RDW between patients and the control group was statistically significant (14.0 and 13.8, respectively, p = 0.04). There was no difference with regard to overall survival when patients with RDW ≥ 14.0 were compared to those with RDW < 14.0 (p = 0.70); however, overall survival was 3.0 months shorter in low values of its own group in each of the following cut-off values: ≥ 14.2 (p = 0.34), ≥ 14.5 (p = 0.25), ≥ 15 (p = 0.59), although no results were statistically significant. We consider that the difference between low and high RDW values according to certain cut-off values may reflect the statistics of larger studies although there is a statistically negative correlation between RDW level and survival.

Survival analysis of patients with uveal melanoma after organ preserving and liquidation treatment

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E. E. Grishina

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Rationale: Uveal melanoma is the most common primary malignancy of the eye.Aim: To evaluate survival in patients with uveal melanoma stratified according to the type of treatment and to identify factors significantly associated with their survival.Materials and methods: The study was performed on the data extracted from medical files and follow-up forms of patients with uveal melanoma seen in the Ophthalmological Clinical Hospital of the Department of Healthcare, Moscow, from 1977 to 2012. Analysis of survival was used to assess the life longevity of patients with uveal melanoma. The analysis was censored at January 2013, when vital status (dead or alive of all patients was assessed. The factors included into the study analysis, were those taken from the follow-up forms. The incidence of uveal melanoma in Moscow (2012 was 0.9 per 100,000 of the population, whereas its prevalence was 11.1 per 100,000.Results: 698 patients with uveal melanoma were included into the study, among them 260 (37% men (aged from 19 to 87 years, median age 60 years and 438 (63% women (aged from 18 to 93 years, median age 63 years; therefore, the proportion of women under the follow-up monitoring was by 26% higher than that of men. The liquidation treatment (mostly enucleation was performed in 358 (51% of the patients, whereas the organ preserving treatment in 340 (49%. At 5, 7, and 10 years of the follow-up, the disease-specific survival of patients with uveal melanoma after the organ preserving treatment (median survival has not been reached and after the liquidation treatment (median, 88 months were 89 ± 2, 83 ± 3, and 75 ± 4% versus 63 ± 3, 52 ± 4, and 47 ± 5%, respectively (р = 0.001. Overall survival and disease-specific survival of the patients after the liquidation treatment were significantly lower than in the patients after the organ-preserving treatment. According to multiple regression analysis, this was associated not with the type of

The Impact of Chemoembolization Endpoints on Survival in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Brian; Wang, Dingxin; Lewandowski, Robert J.; Riaz, Ahsun; Ryu, Robert K.; Sato, Kent T.; Larson, Andrew C.; Salem, Riad; Omary, Reed A.

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between angiographic embolic endpoints of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS This study retrospectively assessed 105 patients with surgically unresectable HCC who underwent TACE. Patients were classified according to a previously established subjective angiographic chemoembolization endpoint (SACE) scale. Only one patient was classified as SACE level 1 and thus excluded from all subsequent analysis. Survival was evaluated with Kaplan-Meier analysis. Multivariate analysis with Cox’s proportional hazard regression model was used to determine independent prognostic risk factors of survival. RESULTS Overall median survival was 21.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.9–26.4). Patients embolized to SACE levels 2 and 3 were aggregated and had a significantly higher median survival (25.6 months; 95% CI, 16.2–35.0) than patients embolized to SACE level 4 (17.1 months; 95% CI, 13.3–20.9) (p = 0.035). Multivariate analysis indicated that SACE level 4 (Hazard ratio [HR], 2.49; 95% CI, 1.41–4.42; p = 0.002), European Cooperative Oncology Group performance status > 0 (HR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.15–3.37; p = 0.013), American Joint Committee on Cancer stage 3 or 4 (HR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.27–4.60; p = 0.007), and Child-Pugh class B (HR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.09–3.46; p = 0.025) were all independent negative prognostic indicators of survival. CONCLUSION Embolization to an intermediate, sub-stasis endpoint (SACE levels 2 and 3) during TACE improves survival compared to embolization to a higher, stasis endpoint (SACE level 4). Interventional oncologists should consider targeting these intermediate, sub-stasis angiographic endpoints during TACE. PMID:21427346

Prognostic Factors for Survival in Patients with Gastric Cancer using a Random Survival Forest

Science.gov (United States)

Adham, Davoud; Abbasgholizadeh, Nategh; Abazari, Malek

2017-01-01

Background: Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the third top cause of cancer related death with about 1 million new cases and 700,000 deaths in 2012. The aim of this investigation was to identify important factors for outcome using a random survival forest (RSF) approach. Materials and Methods: Data were collected from 128 gastric cancer patients through a historical cohort study in Hamedan-Iran from 2007 to 2013. The event under consideration was death due to gastric cancer. The random survival forest model in R software was applied to determine the key factors affecting survival. Four split criteria were used to determine importance of the variables in the model including log-rank, conversation?? of events, log-rank score, and randomization. Efficiency of the model was confirmed in terms of Harrell’s concordance index. Results: The mean age of diagnosis was 63 ±12.57 and mean and median survival times were 15.2 (95%CI: 13.3, 17.0) and 12.3 (95%CI: 11.0, 13.4) months, respectively. The one-year, two-year, and three-year rates for survival were 51%, 13%, and 5%, respectively. Each RSF approach showed a slightly different ranking order. Very important covariates in nearly all the 4 RSF approaches were metastatic status, age at diagnosis and tumor size. The performance of each RSF approach was in the range of 0.29-0.32 and the best error rate was obtained by the log-rank splitting rule; second, third, and fourth ranks were log-rank score, conservation of events, and the random splitting rule, respectively. Conclusion: Low survival rate of gastric cancer patients is an indication of absence of a screening program for early diagnosis of the disease. Timely diagnosis in early phases increases survival and decreases mortality. Creative Commons Attribution License

Effect Of Lymph Node Retrieval And Ratio On The Long-term Survival And Recurrence Of Colon Cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, A.; Dadras, M.; Razzak, M. A. A.; Ahmad, K.; Vijayasekar, C.

2016-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the association of lymph node retrieval and ratio with the prognosis of colon cancer. Study Design: A cohort study. Place and Duration of Study: Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, UK, from October 2014 to March 2015. Methodology: Data was collected for adult patients who were diagnosed with primary adenocarcinoma of colon between 2003 and 2008. The follow-up period was 5-year. The data was collected from regional electronic colorectal cancer database. Kaplan-Meier graph was used to calculate and depict overall survival in different groups of patients. Result: There were a total of 370 patients with colon cancer. For Dukes stages A and B, there was no significant difference in median overall survival for patients with lymph node retrieval (< 12 nodes vs. > 12 nodes). For Dukes stage C (n=147), median survival for patients with lymph node retrieval < 12 nodes was 4 years vs. 4 years for patients with lymph node retrieval > 12 nodes (p = 0.85). Median survival for patients with lymph node ratio (LNR) < 0.125 was 4 years (range 1 - 11) vs. 3 years (range 0 - 11) for patients with LNR > 0.125 (p = 0.14). There was no significant difference in the recurrence rate based on lymph node retrieval (p = 0.87) and LNR (p = 0.97). Conclusion: Lymph node retrieval > 12 and reduced LNR < 0.125 had no significant effect on long-term survival and recurrence of colon cancer. (author)

Influence of beta blockers on survival in dogs with severe subaortic stenosis.

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Eason, B D; Fine, D M; Leeder, D; Stauthammer, C; Lamb, K; Tobias, A H

2014-01-01

Subaortic stenosis (SAS) is one of the most common congenital cardiac defects in dogs. Severe SAS frequently is treated with a beta adrenergic receptor blocker (beta blocker), but this approach largely is empirical. To determine the influence of beta blocker treatment on survival time in dogs with severe SAS. Retrospective review of medical records of dogs diagnosed with severe, uncomplicated SAS (pressure gradient [PG] ≥80 mmHg) between 1999 and 2011. Fifty dogs met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-seven dogs were treated with a beta blocker and 23 received no treatment. Median age at diagnosis was significantly greater in the untreated group (1.2 versus 0.6 years, respectively; P = .03). Median PG at diagnosis did not differ between the treated and untreated groups (127 versus 121 mmHg, respectively; P = .2). Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify the influence of PG at diagnosis, age at diagnosis, and beta blocker treatment on survival. In the all-cause multivariate mortality analysis, only age at diagnosis (P = .02) and PG at diagnosis (P = .03) affected survival time. In the cardiac mortality analysis, only PG influenced survival time (P = .03). Treatment with a beta blocker did not influence survival time in either the all-cause (P = .93) or cardiac-cause (P = .97) mortality analyses. Beta blocker treatment did not influence survival in dogs with severe SAS in our study, and a higher PG at diagnosis was associated with increased risk of death. Copyright © 2014 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Association of a Locus in the CAMTA1 Gene With Survival in Patients With Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fogh, Isabella; Lin, Kuang; Tiloca, Cinzia; Rooney, James; Gellera, Cinzia; Diekstra, Frank P; Ratti, Antonia; Shatunov, Aleksey; van Es, Michael A; Proitsi, Petroula; Jones, Ashley; Sproviero, William; Chiò, Adriano; McLaughlin, Russell Lewis; Sorarù, Gianni; Corrado, Lucia; Stahl, Daniel; Del Bo, Roberto; Cereda, Cristina; Castellotti, Barbara; Glass, Jonathan D; Newhouse, Steven; Dobson, Richard; Smith, Bradley N; Topp, Simon; van Rheenen, Wouter; Meininger, Vincent; Melki, Judith; Morrison, Karen E; Shaw, Pamela J; Leigh, P Nigel; Andersen, Peter M; Comi, Giacomo P; Ticozzi, Nicola; Mazzini, Letizia; D'Alfonso, Sandra; Traynor, Bryan J; Van Damme, Philip; Robberecht, Wim; Brown, Robert H; Landers, John E; Hardiman, Orla; Lewis, Cathryn M; van den Berg, Leonard H; Shaw, Christopher E; Veldink, Jan H; Silani, Vincenzo; Al-Chalabi, Ammar; Powell, John

Importance: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder with a poor prognosis and a median survival of 3 years. However, a significant proportion of patients survive more than 10 years from symptom onset. Objective: To identify gene variants

CA 19-9 as a Marker of Survival and a Predictor of Metastization in Cholangiocarcinoma

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Rosa Coelho

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Cholangiocarcinoma is the second most frequent primitive liver malignancy and is responsible for 3% of the malignant gastrointestinal neoplasms. The aims of this study were to determine the association of serum levels of CA 19-9 at diagnosis with other clinical data and serum liver function tests and to identify possible factors that influence the survival rates during follow-up. Methods: Retrospective observational study of 89 patients with a diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma followed at the Department of Gastroenterology during 5 years. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: Patients were followed up for a median time of 127 days (IQR: 48-564, and the median age at diagnosis was 71.0 years (IQR: 62.0-77.5. The median survival rate was 14.0 months (IQR: 4.3-23.7, and the mortality rate was 79%. Patients with CA 19-9 levels ≥103 U/L had lower albumin levels and higher levels of alanine aminotransferase and γ-glutamyltransferase. CA 19-9 levels ≥103 U/L were associated with a higher probability of metastization (p = 0.001 and lower rates of treatment with curative intent (p = 0.024. In a multivariate analysis, CA 19-9 levels Conclusion: Predictive factors for overall survival were identified, namely presence of metastasis, surgery, and chemotherapy. CA 19-9 levels ≥103 U/L were predictive factors for survival and metastization.

Survival Outcomes of Patients Treated with Hypofractionated Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Parotid Gland Tumors: a Retrospective Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karam, Sana D.; Snider, James W.; Wang, Hongkun; Wooster, Margaux; Lominska, Christopher; Deeken, John; Newkirk, Kenneth; Davidson, Bruce; Harter, K. William

2012-01-01

Background: to review a single-institution experience with the management of parotid malignancies treated by fractionated stereotactic body radiosurgery (SBRT). Findings: Between 2003 and 2011, 13 patients diagnosed with parotid malignancies were treated with adjuvant or definitive SBRT to a median dose of 33 Gy (range 25–40 Gy). There were 11 male and two female patients with a median age of 80. Ten patients declined conventional radiation treatment and three patients had received prior unrelated radiation therapy to neighboring structures with unavailable radiation records. Six patients were treated with definitive intent while seven patients were treated adjuvantly for adverse surgical or pathologic features. Five patients had clinical or pathologic evidence of lymph node disease. Conclusion: at a median follow-up of 14 months only one patient failed locally, and four failed distantly. The actuarial 2-year overall survival, progression-free survival, and local-regional control rates were 46, 84, and 47%, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed surgery as a positive predictor of overall survival while presence of gross disease was a negatively correlated factor (p < 0.05).

Malignant melanoma in 63 dogs (2001-2011): the effect of carboplatin chemotherapy on survival.

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Brockley, L K; Cooper, M A; Bennett, P F

2013-01-01

The aim of the study was to compare the effect of carboplatin chemotherapy on the survival of canine patients diagnosed with malignant melanoma after loco-regional control or as a sole therapy. A retrospective study of 63 dogs with oral, digital or cutaneous malignant melanoma treated with surgery and/or chemotherapy was undertaken. Dogs were grouped based on the anatomical site of melanoma development. For oral melanoma, dogs were subclassified into two groups: loco-regional control and gross disease. All patients in the digital and cutaneous groups had achieved loco-regional control with surgery. Comparisons between survival data for each group at each anatomical site were then made. Within the loco-regional control groups survival time was compared between those treated with and without chemotherapy post surgery. For the oral melanoma patients with gross disease survival was compared between those treated with chemotherapy and palliative therapy. The toxicity of carboplatin chemotherapy was evaluated overall. The overall median survival times for patients with oral, digital and cutaneous melanoma were 389, 1,350 days and not reached (with a median follow-up of 776 days) respectively. Median survival time was defined as "not reached" when less than 50% of the subjects died of the disease at the end of the follow-up period, or at the time they were lost to follow-up. The addition of chemotherapy to surgery did not confer a survival benefit in the loco-regional control setting when assessing survival for each anatomical site. For oral melanoma patients with gross disease there was no difference between survival of patients treated with chemotherapy and palliative intent therapy. There was however an improvement in survival in the three dogs that responded to chemotherapy (978 days; p=0.039) compared to the eight non-responders (147 days). On univariate and multivariate analysis, anatomic location was the only variable that was significantly related to survival (p=0

A Shortest-Path-Based Method for the Analysis and Prediction of Fruit-Related Genes in Arabidopsis thaliana.

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Zhu, Liucun; Zhang, Yu-Hang; Su, Fangchu; Chen, Lei; Huang, Tao; Cai, Yu-Dong

2016-01-01

Biologically, fruits are defined as seed-bearing reproductive structures in angiosperms that develop from the ovary. The fertilization, development and maturation of fruits are crucial for plant reproduction and are precisely regulated by intrinsic genetic regulatory factors. In this study, we used Arabidopsis thaliana as a model organism and attempted to identify novel genes related to fruit-associated biological processes. Specifically, using validated genes, we applied a shortest-path-based method to identify several novel genes in a large network constructed using the protein-protein interactions observed in Arabidopsis thaliana. The described analyses indicate that several of the discovered genes are associated with fruit fertilization, development and maturation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Survival and prognostic factors in patients treated with stereotactic radiotherapy for brain metastases

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Leth, Thomas; Oettingen, Gorm von; Lassen-Ramshad, Yasmin A.

2015-01-01

Abstract Background. Stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) of brain metastases is used with good effect around the world, but no consensus exists regarding which prognostic factors that are related to favourable or unfavourable prognosis after the treatment. A better definition of these factors...... will ensure a more precise application of the treatment. Material and methods. A consecutive cohort of the 198 patients treated for brain metastases with SRT without concurrent whole-brain radiation therapy at our department from 2001 to 2012 was retrospectively analysed. Results. Median survival was seven...... months and median time to clinical cerebral progression was eight months. The multivariate analysis revealed age ≥ 65 years, Performance Status ≥ 2, extracranial metastases and size of metastasis > 20 mm as independent prognostic factors related to shorter survival. No factors were independently related...

The effect of clinical performance on the survival estimates of direct restorations

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Kyou-Li Kim

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Objectives In most retrospective studies, the clinical performance of restorations had not been considered in survival analysis. This study investigated the effect of including the clinically unacceptable cases according to modified United States Public Health Service (USPHS criteria into the failed data on the survival analysis of direct restorations as to the longevity and prognostic variables. Materials and Methods Nine hundred and sixty-seven direct restorations were evaluated. The data of 204 retreated restorations were collected from the records, and clinical performance of 763 restorations in function was evaluated according to modified USPHS criteria by two observers. The longevity and prognostic variables of the restorations were compared with a factor of involving clinically unacceptable cases into the failures using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard model. Results The median survival times of amalgam, composite resin and glass ionomer were 11.8, 11.0 and 6.8 years, respectively. Glass ionomer showed significantly lower longevity than composite resin and amalgam. When clinically unacceptable restorations were included into the failure, the median survival times of them decreased to 8.9, 9.7 and 6.4 years, respectively. Conclusions After considering the clinical performance, composite resin was the only material that showed a difference in the longevity (p < 0.05 and the significantly higher relative risk of student group than professor group disappeared in operator groups. Even in the design of retrospective study, clinical evaluation needs to be included.

Locoregional Tumor Progression After Radiation Therapy Influences Overall Survival in Pediatric Patients With Neuroblastoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pai Panandiker, Atmaram S.; McGregor, Lisa; Krasin, Matthew J.; Wu Shengjie; Xiong Xiaoping; Merchant, Thomas E.

2010-01-01

Purpose: There is renewed attention to primary site irradiation and local control for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma (NB). We conducted a retrospective review to identify factors that might predict for locoregional tumor control and its impact on overall survival. Methods and Materials: Between July 2000 through August 2006, a total of 44 pediatric patients with NB received radiation therapy (RT) with curative intent using computed tomography (CT)-based treatment planning. The median age was 3.4 years and the median cumulative dose was 23.4 Gy. Overall survival and locoregional tumor control were measured from the start of RT to the date of death or event as determined by CT/magnetic resonance imaging/meta-iodobenzylguanidine. The influence of age at irradiation, gender, race, cumulative radiation dose, International Neuroblastoma Staging System stage, treatment protocol and resection status was determined with respect to locoregional tumor control. Results: With a median follow-up of 34 months ± 21 months, locoregional tumor progression was observed in 11 (25%) and was evenly divided between primary site and adjacent nodal/visceral site failure. The influence of locoregional control reached borderline statistical significance (p = 0.06). Age (p = 0.5), dose (p = 0.6), resection status (p = 0.7), and International Neuroblastoma Staging System stage (p = 0.08) did not influence overall survival. Conclusions: Overall survival in high-risk neuroblastoma is influenced by locoregional tumor control. Despite CT-based planning, progression in adjacent nodal/visceral sites appears to be common; this requires further investigation regarding target volume definitions, dose, and the effects of systemic therapy.

The prognostic significance of midline shift at presentation on survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gamburg, Eugene S.; Regine, William F.; Patchell, Roy A.; Strottmann, James M.; Mohiuddin, Mohammed; Young, A. Byron

2000-01-01

Purpose: While patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) who present with midline shift have a presumably worse prognosis, there is little literature evaluating the prognostic significance of this presentation in multivariate analysis in the context of other known prognostic factors. Methods and Materials: From March 1981 to September 1993, 219 patients underwent irradiation for intracranial glioma at our institution. One hundred fourteen patients with a diagnosis of a primary GBM were analyzed for the influence of the presence of midline shift at diagnosis on survival with respect to other known prognostic factors, including age, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), and extent of surgery. Eighty-five patients (74%) presented with midline shift. Surgical treatment consisted of subtotal/total resection in 86 patients (75%). Among patients presenting with midline shift, 68 (80%) underwent subtotal/total resection before irradiation. Results: Multivariate analysis of the entire cohort of patients found none of the potential prognostic factors analyzed to significantly influence survival. The overall median survival was 6 months. However, when multivariate analysis was limited to patients with a KPS of ≥ 70, only the presence of midline shift and age were found to significantly influence survival. Patients with a KPS ≥ 70 and with midline shift present at diagnosis had a median survival of 8 months, as compared to 14 months for those not having midline shift at presentation (p = 0.04). Patients with a KPS ≥ 70 and age > 50 years had a median survival of 5 months as compared to 11 months for those ≤ 50 (p 0.02). Conclusion: In this series, where 80% of patients who presented with a midline shift underwent decompressive resection of GBM before irradiation, the presence of midline shift at diagnosis remained an independent prognostic factor influencing survival among good performance status patients. While the role of decompressive surgery in this setting is

Patients undergoing radical prostatectomy have a better survival than the background population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreas Røder, Martin; Brasso, Klaus; Drimer Berg, Kasper

2013-01-01

underwent radical prostatectomy. Patients were followed prospectively per protocol. No patients were lost to follow-up. Overall and cause-specific survival were described using Kaplan-Meier plots. Standardized relative survival and mortality ratio were calculated based on expected survival in the age......INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to investigate standardised relative survival and mortality ratio for patients undergoing radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer at our institution. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 1995 and 2010, a total of 1,350 consecutive patients......-matched Danish population using the methods and macros described by Dickmann. The country-specific population mortality rates used for calculation of the expected survival were based on data from The Human Mortality Database. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 3.4 years (range: 0-14.3 years). A total of 59 (4...

Response, survival, and long-term toxicity after therapy with the radiolabeled somatostatin analogue [90Y-DOTA]-TOC in metastasized neuroendocrine cancers.

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Imhof, Anna; Brunner, Philippe; Marincek, Nicolas; Briel, Matthias; Schindler, Christian; Rasch, Helmut; Mäcke, Helmut R; Rochlitz, Christoph; Müller-Brand, Jan; Walter, Martin A

2011-06-10

To investigate response, survival, and safety profile of the somatostatin-based radiopeptide (90)yttrium-labeled tetraazacyclododecane-tetraacetic acid modified Tyr-octreotide ([(90)Y-DOTA]-TOC) in neuroendocrine cancers. In a clinical phase II single-center open-label trial, patients with neuroendocrine cancers were treated with repeated cycles of [(90)Y-DOTA]-TOC. Each cycle consisted of a single intravenous injection of 3.7GBq/m(2) body-surface [(90)Y-DOTA]-TOC. Additional cycles were withheld in case of tumor progression and/or permanent toxicity. Overall, 1,109 patients received 2,472 cycles of [(90)Y-DOTA]-TOC (median, two; range, one to 10 cycles per patient). Of the 1,109 patients, 378 (34.1%) experienced morphologic response; 172 (15.5%), biochemical response; and 329 (29.7%), clinical response. During a median follow-up of 23 months, 491 patients (44.3%) died. Longer survival was correlated with each: morphologic (hazard ratio [HR], 0.46; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.56; median survival, 44.7 v 18.3 months; P TOC treatment in a large cohort. Response to [(90)Y-DOTA]-TOC is associated with longer survival. Somatostatin receptor imaging is predictive for both survival after [(90)Y-DOTA]-TOC treatment and occurrence of renal toxicity.

Young patients with colorectal cancer have poor survival in the first twenty months after operation and predictable survival in the medium and long-term: Analysis of survival and prognostic markers

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Wickramarachchi RE

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objectives This study compares clinico-pathological features in young (50 years with colorectal cancer, survival in the young and the influence of pre-operative clinical and histological factors on survival. Materials and methods A twelve year prospective database of colorectal cancer was analysed. Fifty-three young patients were compared with forty seven consecutive older patients over fifty years old. An analysis of survival was undertaken in young patients using Kaplan Meier graphs, non parametric methods, Cox's Proportional Hazard Ratios and Weibull Hazard models. Results Young patients comprised 13.4 percent of 397 with colorectal cancer. Duration of symptoms and presentation in the young was similar to older patients (median, range; young patients; 6 months, 2 weeks to 2 years, older patients; 4 months, 4 weeks to 3 years, p > 0.05. In both groups, the majority presented without bowel obstruction (young - 81%, older - 94%. Cancer proximal to the splenic flexure was present more in young than in older patients. Synchronous cancers were found exclusively in the young. Mucinous tumours were seen in 16% of young and 4% of older patients (p Conclusion If patients, who are less than 40 years old with colorectal cancer, survive twenty months after operation, the prognosis improves and their survival becomes predictable.

Regularization of DT-MRI Using 3D Median Filtering Methods

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Soondong Kwon

2014-01-01

Full Text Available DT-MRI (diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging tractography is a method to determine the architecture of axonal fibers in the central nervous system by computing the direction of the principal eigenvectors obtained from tensor matrix, which is different from the conventional isotropic MRI. Tractography based on DT-MRI is known to need many computations and is highly sensitive to noise. Hence, adequate regularization methods, such as image processing techniques, are in demand. Among many regularization methods we are interested in the median filtering method. In this paper, we extended two-dimensional median filters already developed to three-dimensional median filters. We compared four median filtering methods which are two-dimensional simple median method (SM2D, two-dimensional successive Fermat method (SF2D, three-dimensional simple median method (SM3D, and three-dimensional successive Fermat method (SF3D. Three kinds of synthetic data with different altitude angles from axial slices and one kind of human data from MR scanner are considered for numerical implementation by the four filtering methods.

Survival after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Nursing Homes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pape, Marianne; Rajan, Shahzleen; Hansen, Steen Møller

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND: Survival among nursing home residents who suffers out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is sparsely studied. Deployment of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in nursing home facilities in Denmark is unknown. We examined 30-day survival following OHCA in nursing and private home...... residents. METHODS: This register-based, nationwide, follow-up study identified OHCA-patients ≥18 years of age with a resuscitation attempt in nursing homes and private homes using Danish Cardiac Arrest Register data from June 1, 2001 to December 31, 2014. The primary outcome measure was 30-day survival....... Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to assess factors potentially associated with survival among nursing and private home residents separately. RESULTS: Of 26,999 OCHAs, 2516 (9.3%) occurred in nursing homes, and 24,483 (90.7%) in private homes. Nursing home residents were older (median 83 (Q1...

Safety performance evaluation of cable median barriers on freeways in Florida.

Science.gov (United States)

Alluri, Priyanka; Haleem, Kirolos; Gan, Albert; Mauthner, John

2016-07-03

This article aims to evaluate the safety performance of cable median barriers on freeways in Florida. The safety performance evaluation was based on the percentages of barrier and median crossovers by vehicle type, crash severity, and cable median barrier type (Trinity Cable Safety System [CASS] and Gibraltar system). Twenty-three locations with cable median barriers totaling about 101 miles were identified. Police reports of 6,524 crashes from years 2005-2010 at these locations were reviewed to verify and obtain detailed crash information. A total of 549 crashes were determined to be barrier related (i.e., crashes involving vehicles hitting the cable median barrier) and were reviewed in further detail to identify crossover crashes and the manner in which the vehicles crossed the barriers; that is, by either overriding, underriding, or penetrating the barriers. Overall, 2.6% of vehicles that hit the cable median barrier crossed the median and traversed into the opposite travel lane. Overall, 98.1% of cars and 95.5% of light trucks that hit the barrier were prevented from crossing the median. In other words, 1.9% of cars and 4.5% of light trucks that hit the barrier had crossed the median and encroached on the opposite travel lanes. There is no significant difference in the performance of cable median barrier for cars versus light trucks in terms of crossover crashes. In terms of severity, overrides were more severe compared to underrides and penetrations. The statistics showed that the CASS and Gibraltar systems performed similarly in terms of crossover crashes. However, the Gibraltar system experienced a higher proportion of penetrations compared to the CASS system. The CASS system resulted in a slightly higher percentage of moderate and minor injury crashes compared to the Gibraltar system. Cable median barriers are successful in preventing median crossover crashes; 97.4% of the cable median barrier crashes were prevented from crossing over the median. Of all of

Performance evaluation of cable median barrier systems in Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-08-01

Since 2003, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has embarked on an aggressive campaign to install : median barriers to prevent cross-median crashes on freeway facilities statewide. In the few years prior to 2003, : virtually all fatalities...

Survival of Alzheimer's disease patients in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Go, Seok Min; Lee, Kang Soo; Seo, Sang Won; Chin, Juhee; Kang, Sue J; Moon, So Young; Na, Duk L; Cheong, Hae-Kwan

2013-01-01

The natural history of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has rarely been studied in the Korean population. Our study on survival analyses in Korean AD patients potentially provides a basis for cross-cultural comparisons. We studied 724 consecutive patients from a memory disorder clinic in a tertiary hospital in Seoul, who were diagnosed as having AD between April 1995 and December 2005. Deaths were identified by the Statistics Korea database. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis, and a Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess factors related to patient survival. The overall median survival from the onset of first symptoms and from the time of diagnosis was 12.6 years (95% confidence interval 11.7-13.4) and 9.3 years (95% confidence interval 8.7-9.9), respectively. The age of onset, male gender, history of diabetes mellitus, lower Mini-Mental State Examination score, and higher Clinical Dementia Rating score were negatively associated with survival. There was a reversal of risk of AD between early-onset and later-onset AD, 9.1 years after onset. The results of our study show a different pattern of survival compared to those studies carried out with western AD populations. Mortality risk of early-onset AD varied depending on the duration of follow-up. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Evaluation of the effects of red blood cell distribution width on survival in lung cancer patients

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Mehmet Kos

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Aim of the study : Data are available indicating that red blood cell distribution width (RDW is higher in cancer patients compared to healthy individuals or benign events. In our study, we aimed to investigate the influence of different RDW levels on survival in lung cancer patients. Material and methods: Clinical and laboratory data from 146 patients with lung cancer and 40 healthy subjects were retrospectively studied. RDW was recorded before the application of any treatment. Patients were categorised according to four different RDW cut-off values (median RDW, RDW determined by ROC curve analysis, the upper limit at the automatic blood count device, and RDW cut of value which used in previous studies. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to examine the effect of RDW on survival for each cut-off level. Results : The median age of patients was 56.5 years (range: 26–83 years. The difference in median RDW between patients and the control group was statistically significant (14.0 and 13.8, respectively, p = 0.04. There was no difference with regard to overall survival when patients with RDW ≥ 14.0 were compared to those with RDW < 14.0 (p = 0.70; however, overall survival was 3.0 months shorter in low values of its own group in each of the following cut-off values: ≥ 14.2 (p = 0.34, ≥ 14.5 (p = 0.25, ≥ 15 (p = 0.59, although no results were statistically significant. Discussion : We consider that the difference between low and high RDW values according to certain cut-off values may reflect the statistics of larger studies although there is a statistically negative correlation between RDW level and survival.

Treatment of primary liver tumors with Yttrium-90 microspheres (TheraSphere) in high risk patients: analysis of survival and toxicities.

Science.gov (United States)

Reardon, Kelli A; McIntosh, Alyson F; Shilling, A Tanner; Hagspiel, Klaus D; Al-Osaimi, Abdullah; Berg, Carl; Caldwell, Stephen H; Northup, Patrick G; Angle, Fritz; Mulder, Robert; Rich, Tyvin A

2009-02-01

This retrospective study was undertaken to obtain information regarding the survival and toxicities after Yttrium-90 microspheres treatment in patients with primary liver malignancies. Baseline, treatment, and follow-up data were collected and analyzed for 21 patients treated with Yttrium-90 microspheres. Survival analysis was then performed. The results of this study showed that median survival for all the patients was 120 days. Twenty of 21 patients were categorized as high-risk with a median survival of 114 days. It was also found that one high-risk patient has survived 858 days with no recurrence of disease. Acute grade 3-5 toxicities were recorded for nine patients and consisted of elevations in AST and bilirubin, thrombocytopenia, abdominal pain, ascites, nausea, fatigue, and death. This study concluded that Yttrium-90 is a low-toxicity, outpatient alternative for individuals with liver cancer and without many options. The maximal value, however, may lie in the treatment of low-risk patients.

Prognostic factors and survival in primary malignant astrocytomas of the spinal cord: a population-based analysis from 1973 to 2007.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Hadie; Avendaño, Javier; Raza, Shaan M; Gokaslan, Ziya L; Jallo, George I; Quiñones-Hinojosa, Alfredo

2012-05-20

Observational cross-sectional study. Using data from the population-based cancer registries of the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program, we analyzed demographic features, tumor and treatment characteristics, as well as survival rates in patients with primary malignant astrocytomas of the spinal cord (PMASC). PMASC is a rare neoplasm and is considered to carry the same dismal outcome as their cerebral counterparts. Our current knowledge is incomplete, and understanding the epidemiology, diagnosis, and optimal treatment still poses challenges. The SEER data from 1973 to 2007 were reviewed for pathologically confirmed primary anaplastic astrocytomas (AA) and glioblastomas of the spinal cord (C72.0). We compared the clinical features and outcomes of the cohort in uni- and multivariate fashion. Survival was calculated and compared using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank analysis. Our search criteria retrieved 135 patients diagnosed with PMASC. The median survival for PMASC was 13 months with 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival rates of 51.8%, 32.2%, and 18.7%. Patient diagnosed with AA had a median survival time of 17 months versus 10 months in patients diagnosed with glioblastomas. Adult patients observed markedly prolonged survival compared with the pediatric group, with a 16-month versus 9-month median survival, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed age at diagnosis, pediatric and adult age groups, sex, tumor histology, and extent of resection as significant predictors of survival. Interestingly, outcomes did not significantly change throughout the last decades or by receiving radiotherapy. Outcome for patients diagnosed with PMASC remains poor and presents an ongoing challenge for professionals in the field of neurospinal medicine and surgery. In our analyses of AA, adult patients, males, and patients undergoing radical resections were associated with increased survival. However, incidence of these lesions is low; hence, building strong

Individual survival curves comparing subjective and observed mortality risks.

Science.gov (United States)

Bissonnette, Luc; Hurd, Michael D; Michaud, Pierre-Carl

2017-12-01

We compare individual survival curves constructed from objective (actual mortality) and elicited subjective information (probability of survival to a given target age). We develop a methodology to estimate jointly subjective and objective individual survival curves accounting for rounding on subjective reports of perceived survival. We make use of the long follow-up period in the Health and Retirement Study and the high quality of mortality data to estimate individual survival curves that feature both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. This allows us to compare objective and subjective estimates of remaining life expectancy for various groups and compare welfare effects of objective and subjective mortality risk using the life cycle model of consumption. We find that subjective and objective hazards are not the same. The median welfare loss from misperceptions of mortality risk when annuities are not available is 7% of current wealth at age 65 whereas more than 25% of respondents have losses larger than 60% of wealth. When annuities are available and exogenously given, the welfare loss is substantially lower. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Lung Shunt Fraction prior to Yttrium-90 Radioembolization Predicts Survival in Patients with Neuroendocrine Liver Metastases: Single-Center Prospective Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludwig, Johannes M.; Ambinder, Emily McIntosh; Ghodadra, Anish; Xing, Minzhi; Prajapati, Hasmukh J.; Kim, Hyun S.

2016-01-01

ObjectiveTo investigate survival outcomes following radioembolization with Yttrium-90 (Y90) for neuroendocrine tumor liver metastases (NETLMs). This study was designed to assess the efficacy of Y90 radioembolization and to evaluate lung shunt fraction (LSF) as a predictor for survival.MethodsA single-center, prospective study of 44 consecutive patients (median age: 58.5 years, 29.5 % male) diagnosed with pancreatic (52.3 %) or carcinoid (47.7 %) NETLMs from 2006 to 2012 who underwent Y90 radioembolization was performed. Patients’ baseline characteristics, including LSF and median overall survival (OS) from first Y90 radioembolization, were recorded and compared between patients with high (≥10 %) and low ( 1.2 mg (p = 0.016), and lack of pretreatment with octreotide (p = 0.01) as independent prognostic factors for poorer survival. Tumor type and total radiation dose did not predict survival.ConclusionsLSF ≥10 %, elevated bilirubin levels, and lack of pretreatment with octreotide were found to be independent prognostic factors for poorer survival in patients with NETLMs.

Polymorphisms of LIG4, BTBD2, HMGA2, and RTEL1 genes involved in the double-strand break repair pathway predict glioblastoma survival.

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Liu, Yanhong; Shete, Sanjay; Etzel, Carol J; Scheurer, Michael; Alexiou, George; Armstrong, Georgina; Tsavachidis, Spyros; Liang, Fu-Wen; Gilbert, Mark; Aldape, Ken; Armstrong, Terri; Houlston, Richard; Hosking, Fay; Robertson, Lindsay; Xiao, Yuanyuan; Wiencke, John; Wrensch, Margaret; Andersson, Ulrika; Melin, Beatrice S; Bondy, Melissa

2010-05-10

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive type of glioma and has the poorest survival. However, a small percentage of patients with GBM survive well beyond the established median. Therefore, identifying the genetic variants that influence this small number of unusually long-term survivors may provide important insight into tumor biology and treatment. Among 590 patients with primary GBM, we evaluated associations of survival with the 100 top-ranking glioma susceptibility single nucleotide polymorphisms from our previous genome-wide association study using Cox regression models. We also compared differences in genetic variation between short-term survivors (STS; or= 36 months), and explored classification and regression tree analysis for survival data. We tested results using two independent series totaling 543 GBMs. We identified LIG4 rs7325927 and BTBD2 rs11670188 as predictors of STS in GBM and CCDC26 rs10464870 and rs891835, HMGA2 rs1563834, and RTEL1 rs2297440 as predictors of LTS. Further survival tree analysis revealed that patients >or= 50 years old with LIG4 rs7325927 (V) had the worst survival (median survival time, 1.2 years) and exhibited the highest risk of death (hazard ratio, 17.53; 95% CI, 4.27 to 71.97) compared with younger patients with combined RTEL1 rs2297440 (V) and HMGA2 rs1563834 (V) genotypes (median survival time, 7.8 years). Polymorphisms in the LIG4, BTBD2, HMGA2, and RTEL1 genes, which are involved in the double-strand break repair pathway, are associated with GBM survival.

Study of recurrent branch of median nerve (Thenar's muscular branch in relation to the flexor retinaculum and median in 64 hands (32 Men

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Amirsadri R

1998-07-01

Full Text Available Variation of recurred branch of median nerve in relation to the median and flexor retinaculum are significant for both hand surgeons and specialists always. In this study, 64 cadaver hands (32 men have been dissected. The median nerve was identified at the proximal edge of the flexor retinaculum, and in order to expose carpal tunnel the ligament was divided, and the above subjects were studied. The results are: 1 The relation of recurrent nerve to the flexor retinaculum was classified into 4 types: A In (53.1% of subjects, this branch arises from the median after the flexor retinaculum. B In (31.3% of subjects, it arises from the median in the carpal tunnel and the moves around the lower edge of flexor retinaculum and enters the thenar region. C In (14.1% of subjects, it arises from the median in the carpal tunnel and pierces the flexor retinaculum. D In (1.56% of subjects it arises, in the carpal tunnel and it divides into two subbranches here. One follows pattern A and the other pattern C. 2 In this step, the relation of the recurrent branch to the median nerve was studied. The results show that inspite of this image even though most often the recurrent branch arises from the lateral side of median, in (68.75% of subjects it arises from it's anterior surface. The MC Nemar test reveals that there is no relation between manifestation of mentioned patterns with right or left hands.

Trastuzumab and survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer.

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Kast, Karin; Schoffer, Olaf; Link, Theresa; Forberger, Almuth; Petzold, Andrea; Niedostatek, Antje; Werner, Carmen; Klug, Stefanie J; Werner, Andreas; Gatzweiler, Axel; Richter, Barbara; Baretton, Gustavo; Wimberger, Pauline

2017-08-01

Prognosis of Her2-positive breast cancer has changed since the introduction of trastuzumab for treatment in metastatic and early breast cancer. It was described to be even better compared to prognosis of Her2-negative metastatic breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of trastuzumab in our cohort. Besides the effect of adjuvant pretreatment with trastuzumab on survival of patients with metastatic Her2-positive breast cancer was analyzed. All patients with primary breast cancer of the Regional Breast Cancer Center Dresden diagnosed during the years 2001-2013 were analyzed for treatment with or without trastuzumab in the adjuvant and in the metastatic treatment setting using Kaplan-Meier survival estimation and Cox regression. Age and tumor stage at time of first diagnosis of breast cancer as well as hormone receptor status, grading, time, and site of metastasis at first diagnosis of distant metastatic disease were analyzed. Of 4.481 female patients with primary breast cancer, 643 presented with metastatic disease. Her2-positive status was documented in 465 patients, including 116 patients with primary or secondary metastases. Median survival of patients with Her2-positive primary metastatic disease was 3.0 years (95% CI 2.3-4.0). After adjustment for other factors, survival was better in patients with Her2-positive breast cancer with trastuzumab therapy compared to Her2-negative metastatic disease (HR 2.10; 95% CI 1.58-2.79). Analysis of influence of adjuvant therapy with and without trastuzumab by Kaplan-Meier showed a trend for better survival in not pretreated patients. Median survival was highest in hormone receptor-positive Her2-positive (triple-positive) primary metastatic breast cancer patients with 3.3 years (95% CI 2.3-4.6). Prognosis of patients with Her2-positive metastatic breast cancer after trastuzumab treatment is more favorable than for Her2-negative breast cancer. The role of adjuvant chemotherapy with or without

Heparanase expression is a prognostic indicator for postoperative survival in pancreatic adenocarcinoma

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Rohloff, J; Zinke, J; Schoppmeyer, K; Tannapfel, A; Witzigmann, H; Mössner, J; Wittekind, C; Caca, K

2002-01-01

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma has a median survival of less than 6 months from diagnosis. This is due to the difficulty in early diagnosis, the aggressive biological behaviour of the tumour and a lack of effective therapies for advanced disease. Mammalian heparanase is a heparan-sulphate proteoglycan cleaving enzyme. It helps to degrade the extracellular matrix and basement membranes and is involved in angiogenesis. Degradation of extracellular matrix and basement membranes as well as angiogenesis are key conditions for tumour cell spreading. Therefore, we have analysed the expression of heparanase in human pancreatic cancer tissue and cell lines. Heparanase is expressed in cell lines derived from primary tumours as well as from metastatic sites. By immunohistochemical analysis, it is preferentially expressed at the invading edge of a tumour at both metastatic and primary tumour sites. There is a trend towards heparanase expression in metastasising tumours as compared to locally growing tumours. Postoperative survival correlates inversely with heparanase expression of the tumour reflected by a median survival of 34 and 17 month for heparanase negative and positive tumours, respectively. Our results suggest, that heparanase promotes cancer cell invasion in pancreatic carcinoma and could be used as a prognostic indicator for postoperative survival of patients. British Journal of Cancer (2002) 86, 1270–1275. DOI: 10.1038/sj/bjc/6600232 www.bjcancer.com © 2002 Cancer Research UK PMID:11953884

Surrogacy of progression-free survival (PFS) for overall survival (OS) in esophageal cancer trials with preoperative therapy: Literature-based meta-analysis.

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Kataoka, K; Nakamura, K; Mizusawa, J; Kato, K; Eba, J; Katayama, H; Shibata, T; Fukuda, H

2017-10-01

There have been no reports evaluating progression-free survival (PFS) as a surrogate endpoint in resectable esophageal cancer. This study was conducted to evaluate the trial level correlations between PFS and overall survival (OS) in resectable esophageal cancer with preoperative therapy and to explore the potential benefit of PFS as a surrogate endpoint for OS. A systematic literature search of randomized trials with preoperative chemotherapy or preoperative chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer reported from January 1990 to September 2014 was conducted using PubMed and the Cochrane Library. Weighted linear regression using sample size of each trial as a weight was used to estimate coefficient of determination (R 2 ) within PFS and OS. The primary analysis included trials in which the HR for both PFS and OS was reported. The sensitivity analysis included trials in which either HR or median survival time of PFS and OS was reported. In the sensitivity analysis, HR was estimated from the median survival time of PFS and OS, assuming exponential distribution. Of 614 articles, 10 trials were selected for the primary analysis and 15 for the sensitivity analysis. The primary analysis did not show a correlation between treatment effects on PFS and OS (R 2 0.283, 95% CI [0.00-0.90]). The sensitivity analysis did not show an association between PFS and OS (R 2 0.084, 95% CI [0.00-0.70]). Although the number of randomized controlled trials evaluating preoperative therapy for esophageal cancer is limited at the moment, PFS is not suitable for primary endpoint as a surrogate endpoint for OS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.

Allegheny County Median Age at Death

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Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — The median age at death is calculated for each municipality in Allegheny County. Data is based on the decedent's residence at the time of death, not the location...

A theoretical analysis of the median LMF adaptive algorithm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bysted, Tommy Kristensen; Rusu, C.

1999-01-01

Higher order adaptive algorithms are sensitive to impulse interference. In the case of the LMF (Least Mean Fourth), an easy and effective way to reduce this is to median filter the instantaneous gradient of the LMF algorithm. Although previous published simulations have indicated that this reduces...... the speed of convergence, no analytical studies have yet been made to prove this. In order to enhance the usability, this paper presents a convergence and steady-state analysis of the median LMF adaptive algorithm. As expected this proves that the median LMF has a slower convergence and a lower steady...

Initial Stage Affects Survival Even After Complete Pathologic Remission is Achieved in Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer: Analysis of 70 Patients With Pathologic Major Response After Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Min Kyoung; Cho, Kyung-Ja; Park, Seung-Il; Kim, Yong Hee; Kim, Jong Hoon; Song, Ho-Young; Shin, Ji Hoon; Jung, Hwoon Yong; Lee, Gin Hyug; Choi, Kee Don; Song, Ho June; Ryu, Jin-Sook; Kim, Sung-Bae

2009-01-01

Purpose: To analyze outcomes and factors predictive for recurrence and survival in patients with operable esophageal carcinoma who achieved pathologic complete response (PCR) or microscopic residual disease (MRD) after preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Materials and Methods: Outcomes were assessed in 70 patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer who achieved pathologic major response (53 with PCR and 17 with MRD) after preoperative CRT. Results: At a median follow-up of 38.6 months for surviving patients, 17 of 70 patients (24.3%) experienced disease recurrence and 31 (44.3%) died. Clinical stage (II vs III; p = 0.013) and pathologic response (PCR vs. MRD; p = 0.014) were independent predictors of disease recurrence. Median overall survival (OS) was 99.6 months (95% CI, 44.1-155.1 months) and the 5-year OS rate was 57%. Median recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 71.5 months (95% CI, 39.5-103.6 months) and the 5-year RFS rate was 51.3%. Median OS of patients with Stage II and Stage III disease was 108.8 months and 39.9 months, respectively, and the 5-year OS rates were 68.2% and 27.0%, respectively (p = 0.0003). In a subgroup of patients with PCR, median OS and RFS were also significantly different according to clinical stage. Multivariate analysis showed that clinical stage was an independent predictor of RFS (p = 0.01) and OS (p = 0.008). Conclusions: Even though patients achieved major response after preoperative CRT, pretreatment clinical stage is an important prognostic marker for recurrence and survival. Patients with MRD have an increased recurrence risk but similar survival compared with patients achieved PCR.

The Investigation of Median Frequency Changes in Paraspinal Muscles Following Fatigue

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Saeed Talebian

2009-10-01

Conclusion: Median frequency shift toward low values following fatigue in global and local paraspinal muscles was seen. However, median frequency values for the local stabilizer muscle were higher than median frequency values for the global muscles.

Non-invasive ventilation effectiveness and the effect of ventilatory mode on survival in ALS patients.

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Sancho, Jesus; Servera, Emilio; Morelot-Panzini, Capucine; Salachas, François; Similowski, Thomas; Gonzalez-Bermejo, Jesus

2014-03-01

Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) prolongs survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but there are no data with which to compare the effectiveness of the different ventilator modes - volume (Vol-NIV) or pressure-cycled (Pres-NIV) ventilation - in ALS. We aimed to determine whether the ventilatory mode has an effect on ventilation effectiveness and survival of ALS patients using NIV. We used a retrospective study that included all ALS patients for whom NIV was indicated in two referral units: one using Vol-NIV and the other using Pres-NIV. Demographic, functional and nocturnal gas exchange parameters at NIV initiation were recorded. Eighty-two ALS patients ventilated using Pres-NIV and 62 using Vol-NIV were included. No differences were found in survival from NIV initiation between Vol-NIV (median 15.00 (7.48-22.41) months) and Pres-NIV (median 15.00 (10.25-19.75) months, p = 0.533) patients. Effective NIV was achieved in 72.41% Vol-NIV patients and in 48.78% Pres-NIV patients (p NIV. In conclusion, although Vol-NIV provides more effective ventilation, Vol-NIV and Pres-NIV present similar survival in ALS. Effectiveness of NIV is related to the severity of bulbar dysfunction.

Intraneural synovial sarcoma of the median nerve

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Rahul Kasukurthi

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Synovial sarcomas are soft-tissue malignancies with a poor prognosis and propensity for distant metastases. Although originally believed to arise from the synovium, these tumors have been found to occur anywhere in the body. We report a rare case of synovial sarcoma arising from the median nerve. To our knowledge, this is the twelfth reported case of intraneural synovial sarcoma, and only the fourth arising from the median nerve. Because the diagnosis may not be apparent until after pathological examination of the surgical speci­men, synovial sarcoma should be kept in mind when dealing with what may seem like a benign nerve tumor.

Association between hypogonadism, symptom burden, and survival in male patients with advanced cancer.

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Dev, Rony; Hui, David; Del Fabbro, Egidio; Delgado-Guay, Marvin O; Sobti, Nikhil; Dalal, Shalini; Bruera, Eduardo

2014-05-15

A high frequency of hypogonadism has been reported in male patients with advanced cancer. The current study was performed to evaluate the association between low testosterone levels, symptom burden, and survival in male patients with cancer. Of 131 consecutive male patients with cancer, 119 (91%) had an endocrine evaluation of total (TT), free (FT), and bioavailable testosterone (BT); high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP); vitamin B12; thyroid-stimulating hormone; 25-hydroxy vitamin D; and cortisol levels when presenting with symptoms of fatigue and/or anorexia-cachexia. Symptoms were evaluated by the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale. The authors examined the correlation using the Spearman test and survival with the log-rank test and Cox regression analysis. The median age of the patients was 64 years; the majority of patients were white (85 patients; 71%). The median TT level was 209 ng/dL (normal: ≥ 200 ng/dL), the median FT was 4.4 ng/dL (normal: ≥ 9 ng/dL), and the median BT was 22.0 ng/dL (normal: ≥ 61 ng/dL). Low TT, FT, and BT values were all associated with worse fatigue (P ≤ .04), poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (P ≤ .05), weight loss (P ≤ .01), and opioid use (P ≤ .005). Low TT and FT were associated with increased anxiety (P ≤ .04), a decreased feeling of well-being (P ≤ .04), and increased dyspnea (P ≤ .05), whereas low BT was only found to be associated with anorexia (P = .05). Decreased TT, FT, and BT values were all found to be significantly associated with elevated CRP and low albumin and hemoglobin. On multivariate analysis, decreased survival was associated with low TT (hazards ratio [HR], 1.66; P = .034), declining Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (HR, 1.55; P = .004), high CRP (HR, 3.28; P male patients with cancer, low testosterone levels were associated with systemic inflammation, weight loss, increased symptom burden, and decreased survival. A high frequency of

Natural Killer/T-cell Neoplasms: Analysis of Incidence, Patient Characteristics, and Survival Outcomes in the United States.

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Kommalapati, Anuhya; Tella, Sri Harsha; Ganti, Apar Kishore; Armitage, James O

2018-05-04

Limited data are available regarding the incidence, survival patterns, and long-term outcomes of natural killer (NK)/T-cell neoplasms in the United States. We performed a retrospective study of patients with NK/T-cell neoplasms diagnosed from 2001 to 2014 using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program database. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the overall survival difference among the subgroups. Multivariate analyses were used to determine the factors affecting survival. For the 797 patients with NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, the median age at diagnosis was 53 years, and males tended to be younger at diagnosis (P < .0001). The incidence of the disease increased from 0.4 in 2001 to 0.8 in 2014 per 1,000,000 individuals. The incidence was significantly greater in Hispanic patients compared with that in non-Hispanic patients (rate ratio, 3.03; P = .0001). The median overall survival was 20 months (range, 2-73 months) and varied significantly according to the primary site (P < .0001) and the disease stage at diagnosis (P < .0001). NK/T-cell lymphoma patients had an increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia (standardized incidence ratio, 18.77; 95% confidence interval, 2.27-67.81). For the 105 NK/T-cell leukemia patients, the median age at diagnosis was 58 years (range, 4-95 years). The overall incidence of the disease was 0.09 per 1,000,000 individuals and was significantly greater in males (rate ratio, 0.41; P < .0001). Unlike NK/T-cell lymphoma, no racial disparities were found in the incidence. The median overall survival was 17 months (range, 0-36 months). The incidence of NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, in the United States has at least doubled in the past decade, with the greatest predilection among Hispanics. Patients with NK/T-cell lymphoma might have an increased risk of the subsequent development of acute myeloid leukemia. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Small flow rate can supply inwardly migrating shortest-period planets

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Taylor S.F.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The number of exoplanets found with periods as short as one day and less was surprising given how fast these planets had been expected to migrate into the star due to the tides raised on the star by planets at such close distances. It has been seen as improbable that we would find planets in such a small final fraction of their lives [1]. The favored solution has been that the tidal dissipation is much weaker than expected, which would mean that the final infall would be a larger fraction of the planets’ life. We find no reason, however, to exclude the explanation that a small number of planets are continuously sent migrating inwards such that these planets indeed are in the last fraction of their lives. Following the observation that the distribution of medium planets disfavors tidal dissipation being significantly weaker than has been found from observations of binary stars [2], we now show that the numbers of planets in such a “flow” of excess planets migrating inwards is low enough that even depletion of the three-day pileup is a plausible source. Then the shortest period occurrence distribution would be shaped by planets continuously being sent into the star, which may explain the depletion of the pileup in the Kepler field relative to the solar neighborhood [3]. Because Kepler observes above the galactic plan, [3] suggested the Kepler field may include an older population of stars. The tidal dissipation strength in stars due to giant planets may be not greatly weaker than it is in binary stars.

Post-relapse survival in patients with Ewing sarcoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrari, Stefano; Luksch, Roberto; Hall, Kirsten Sundby; Fagioli, Franca; Prete, Arcangelo; Tamburini, Angela; Tienghi, Amelia; DiGirolamo, Stefania; Paioli, Anna; Abate, Massimo Eraldo; Podda, Marta; Cammelli, Silvia; Eriksson, Mikael; Brach del Prever, Adalberto

2015-06-01

Post-relapse survival (PRS) was evaluated in patients with Ewing sarcoma (EWS) enrolled in chemotherapy protocols based on the use of high-dose chemotherapy with busulfan and melfalan (HDT) as a first-line consolidation treatment in high-risk patients. EWS patients enrolled in ISG/SSG III and IV trials who relapsed after complete remission were included in the analysis. At recurrence, chemotherapy based on high-dose ifosfamide was foreseen, and patients who responded but had not received HDT underwent consolidation therapy with HDT. Data from 107 EWS patients were included in the analysis. Median time to recurrence (RFI) was 18 months, and 45 (42%) patients had multiple sites of recurrence. Patients who had previously been treated with HDT had a significantly (P = 0.02) shorter RFI and were less likely to achieve a second complete remission (CR2). CR2 status was achieved by 42 (39%) patients. Fifty patients received high-dose IFO (20 went to consolidation HDT). The 5-year PRS was 19% (95% CI 11 to 27%). With CR2, the 5-year PRS was 48% (95% CI 31 to 64%). Without CR2, median time to death was six months (range 1-45 months). According to the multivariate analysis, patients younger than 15 years, recurrence to the lung only, and RFI longer than 24 months significantly influenced the probability of PRS. Age, pattern of recurrence, RFI, and response to second-line chemotherapy influence post-relapse survival in patients with recurrent Ewing sarcoma. No survival advantage was observed from chemotherapy consolidation with HDT. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

PD-L1 expression associated with worse survival outcome in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Bella Hai; Montgomery, Renn; Fadia, Mitali; Wang, Jiali; Ali, Sayed

2018-02-01

There is currently a need to identify prognostic biomarkers to assist in a risk adopted approach in treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) has been studied as a prognostic biomarker in a number of tumors given its central role in antitumoral immune response evasion. Four previously published analyses found PD-L1 positivity to be an adverse survival prognostic factor in MPM. This study aims to further investigate the relationship between PD-L1 expression in mesothelioma tissues and survival outcome. Clinical data of MPM patients from a single institution between 2006 and 2016 were reviewed. Patient's archived tissues were stained with PD-L1 (Clone Ventana SP263). PD-L1 positivity was defined as > 1% membranous staining regardless of intensity. Data from fifty eight patients were analyzed. Median age was 73, majority was male (49, 84%) and had ECOG between 0 and 2 (46, 79%). Most common histopathological subtype was epithelioid (42, 72%), 9 (16%) biphasic subtype and 7 (12%) sarcomatoid. Thirty one patients (53%) received best supportive care and twenty seven patients (47%) received chemotherapy or combination treatment. Forty-two patients had positive PD-L1 expression (72.4%). The median survival time for PD-L1 negative group is 15.5 months and 6 months for the positive group. Positive PD-L1 expression is independently correlated with worse prognosis (HR = 2.02; 95% CI, 1.005-4.057; P-value = 0.0484). Our analysis found a higher percentage of MPM patients with positive PD-L1 (> 1%) compared to other studies. Highly positive PD-L1 expression was associated with statistically significantly lower median survival time. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

SubID, a non-median dichotomization tool for heterogeneous populations, reveals the pan-cancer significance of INPP4B and its regulation by EVI1 in AML.

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Irakli Dzneladze

Full Text Available Our previous studies demonstrated that INPP4B, a member of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, is overexpressed in a subset of AML patients and is associated with lower response to chemotherapy and shorter survival. INPP4B expression analysis in AML revealed a right skewed frequency distribution with 25% of patients expressing significantly higher levels than the majority. The 75% low/25% high cut-off revealed the prognostic power of INPP4B expression status in AML, which would not have been apparent with a standard median cut-off approach. Our identification of a clinically relevant non-median cut-off for INPP4B indicated a need for a generalizable non-median dichotomization approach to optimally study clinically relevant genes. To address this need, we developed Subgroup Identifier (SubID, a tool which examines the relationship between a continuous variable (e.g. gene expression, and a test parameter (e.g. CoxPH or Fisher's exact P values. In our study, Fisher's exact SubID was used to reveal EVI1 as a transcriptional regulator of INPP4B in AML; a finding which was validated in vitro. Next, we used CoxPH SubID to conduct a pan-cancer analysis of INPP4B's prognostic significance. Our analysis revealed that INPP4Blow is associated with shorter survival in kidney clear cell, liver hepatocellular, and bladder urothelial carcinomas. Conversely, INPP4Blow was shown to be associated with increased survival in pancreatic adenocarcinoma in three independent datasets. Overall, our study describes the development and application of a novel subgroup identification tool used to identify prognostically significant rare subgroups based upon gene expression, and for investigating the association between a gene with skewed frequency distribution and potentially important upstream and downstream genes that relate to the index gene.

SubID, a non-median dichotomization tool for heterogeneous populations, reveals the pan-cancer significance of INPP4B and its regulation by EVI1 in AML.

Science.gov (United States)

Dzneladze, Irakli; Woolley, John F; Rossell, Carla; Han, Youqi; Rashid, Ayesha; Jain, Michael; Reimand, Jüri; Minden, Mark D; Salmena, Leonardo

2018-01-01

Our previous studies demonstrated that INPP4B, a member of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, is overexpressed in a subset of AML patients and is associated with lower response to chemotherapy and shorter survival. INPP4B expression analysis in AML revealed a right skewed frequency distribution with 25% of patients expressing significantly higher levels than the majority. The 75% low/25% high cut-off revealed the prognostic power of INPP4B expression status in AML, which would not have been apparent with a standard median cut-off approach. Our identification of a clinically relevant non-median cut-off for INPP4B indicated a need for a generalizable non-median dichotomization approach to optimally study clinically relevant genes. To address this need, we developed Subgroup Identifier (SubID), a tool which examines the relationship between a continuous variable (e.g. gene expression), and a test parameter (e.g. CoxPH or Fisher's exact P values). In our study, Fisher's exact SubID was used to reveal EVI1 as a transcriptional regulator of INPP4B in AML; a finding which was validated in vitro. Next, we used CoxPH SubID to conduct a pan-cancer analysis of INPP4B's prognostic significance. Our analysis revealed that INPP4Blow is associated with shorter survival in kidney clear cell, liver hepatocellular, and bladder urothelial carcinomas. Conversely, INPP4Blow was shown to be associated with increased survival in pancreatic adenocarcinoma in three independent datasets. Overall, our study describes the development and application of a novel subgroup identification tool used to identify prognostically significant rare subgroups based upon gene expression, and for investigating the association between a gene with skewed frequency distribution and potentially important upstream and downstream genes that relate to the index gene.

The validity of EORTC GBM prognostic calculator on survival of GBM patients in the West of Scotland.

Science.gov (United States)

Teo, Mario; Clark, Brian; MacKinnon, Mairi; Stewart, Willie; Paul, James; St George, Jerome

2014-06-01

It is now accepted that the addition of temozolomide to radiotherapy in the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) significantly improves survival. In 2008, a subanalysis of the original study data was performed, and an online "GBM Calculator" was made available on the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) website allowing users to estimate patients' survival outcomes. We tested this calculator against actual local survival data to validate its use in our patients. Prospectively collected clinical data were analysed on 105 consecutive patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy following surgical treatment of GBM between December 2004 and February 2009. Using the EORTC online calculator, survival outcomes were generated for these patients and compared with their actual survival. The median overall survival for the entire cohort was 15.3 months (range 2.8-50.5 months), with 1-year and 2-year overall survival of 65.7% and 19%, respectively. This is in comparison to the median overall predictive survival of 21.3 months, with 1-year and 2-year survival of 95% and 39.5%, respectively. Case by case analysis also showed that the survival was overestimated in nearly 80% of patients. Subgroup analyses showed similar overestimation of patients' survival, except calculator Model 3 which utilised MGMT status. Use of the EORTC GBM prognostic calculator would have overestimated the survival of the majority of our patients with GBM. Uncertainty exists as to the cause of overestimation in the cohort although local socioeconomic factors might play a role. The different calculator models yielded different outcomes and the "best" predictor of survival for the cohort under study utilised the tumour MGMT status. We would strongly encourage similar local studies of validity testing prior to employing the online prognostic calculator for other population groups.

Supra-complete surgery via dual intraoperative visualization approach (DiVA) prolongs patient survival in glioblastoma.

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Eyüpoglu, Ilker Y; Hore, Nirjhar; Merkel, Andreas; Buslei, Rolf; Buchfelder, Michael; Savaskan, Nicolai

2016-05-03

Safe and complete resection represents the first step in the treatment of glioblastomas and is mandatory in increasing the effectiveness of adjuvant therapy to prolong overall survival. With gross total resection currently limited in extent to MRI contrast enhancing areas, the extent to which supra-complete resection beyond obvious contrast enhancement could have impact on overall survival remains unclear. DiVA (dual intraoperative visualization approach) redefines gross total resection as currently accepted by enabling for the first time supra-complete surgery without compromising patient safety. This approach exploits the advantages of two already accepted surgical techniques combining intraoperative MRI with integrated functional neuronavigation and 5-ALA by integrating them into a single surgical approach. We investigated whether this technique has impact on overall outcome in GBM patients. 105 patients with GBM were included. We achieved complete resection with intraoperative MRI alone according to current best-practice in glioma surgery in 75 patients. 30 patients received surgery with supra-complete resection. The control arm showed a median life expectancy of 14 months, reflecting current standards-of-care and outcome. In contrast, patients receiving supra-complete surgery displayed significant increase in median survival time to 18.5 months with overall survival time correlating directly with extent of supra-complete resection. This extension of overall survival did not come at the cost of neurological deterioration. We show for the first time that supra-complete glioma surgery leads to significant prolongation of overall survival time in GBM patients.

Use and duration of chemotherapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer according to tumor subtype and line of therapy.

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Seah, Davinia S E; Luis, Ines Vaz; Macrae, Erin; Sohl, Jessica; Litsas, Georgia; Winer, Eric P; Lin, Nancy U; Burstein, Harold J

2014-01-01

Benefits of chemotherapy vary in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). This article describes the impact of tumor subtype and the line of therapy on the duration of chemotherapy. Clinicopathologic characteristics were extracted from the medical records of 199 consecutive patients with MBC at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and analyzed according to subtype. Tumor subtypes were classified as hormone receptor (HR)-positive, triple-negative (TNBC), or HER2-amplified breast cancer. Duration of chemotherapy of each line was defined as the start of a chemotherapy regimen to the start of the next line of therapy as a result of progression or toxicity. There were 96, 44, and 59 patients with HR(+), TNBC, and HER2-amplified breast cancer, respectively. Median age at MBC diagnosis was 53 years. Median overall survivals were 32 and 54 months for HER2-amplified disease, 36 months for HR(+) breast cancer, and 17 months for TNBC (Pchemotherapy for every line. The median duration of chemotherapy in HER2-amplified patients remained at more than 4 months even out to sixth-line therapy. Patients with TNBC tended to receive the shortest duration of chemotherapy for every line of therapy. Tumor subtypes influence the number of lines, duration of chemotherapy, and survival. Among patients with HR(+) and HER2-amplified disease who undergo chemotherapy beyond the third line, substantial rates of prolonged therapies suggest clinical benefit. The role of advanced (greater than third) chemotherapy lines in improving survival of all patients with MBC warrants further study.

Primary Sinonasal Malignant Melanoma: Effect of Clinical and Histopathologic Prognostic Factors on Survival

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Sercan Göde

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Mucosal melanoma is a rare malignancy arising from melanocytes of the mucosal surfaces. The pattern and frequency of oncogenic mutations and histopathological biomarkers have a role on distinct tumour behaviour and survival. Aims: To assess the rate of C-KIT positivity and its effect on survival of surgically treated sinonasal malignant melanoma patients with other histopathological biomarkers and clinical features. Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods: Seventeen sinonasal malignant melanoma patients with a mean age of 65.41 (39-86 years were included. Overall survival and disease-specific survival rates were calculated. The impact of age, gender, stage and extent of the disease, type of surgery, and adjuvant therapies were also taken into consideration. The effect of mitotic index, pigmentation, S100, HMB-45, Melan-A and C-KIT on survival were evaluated. Results: Median tumour size was 20 mm (interquartile range=27.5 mm. Pigmentation was present in 7 (41.2% cases. Median number of mitoses per millimetre squared was 11 (interquartile range=13. Melan A was positive in 7 (41.2% patients, ulceration was present in 6 cases (35.3%, and necrosis was present in (47.1% 8 cases. Six patients (35.3% were positive for S100, 14 (82.4% specimens stained positive for HMB-45 and C-KIT (CD117 was positive in 9 cases (52.9%. Three patients (16.7% developed distant metastasis. Five year overall and disease free survival rates were 61.4% and 43.8%, respectively. Conclusion: Although C-KIT positive sinonasal malignant melanoma patients (52.9% can be candidates for targeted tumour therapies, the studied clinical or histopathological features along with C-KIT seem to have no significant effect on survival in a small group of patients with sinonasal malignant melanoma

Cold intolerance following median and ulnar nerve injuries : prognosis and predictors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruijs, A.C.J; Jaquet, J-B.; van Riel, W. G.; Daanen, H. A M; Hovius, S.E.R.

This study describes the predictors for cold intolerance and the relationship to sensory recovery after median and ulnar nerve injuries. The study population consisted of 107 patients 2 to 10 years after median, ulnar or combined median and ulnar nerve injuries. Patients were asked to fill out the

Cold intolerance following median and ulnar nerve injuries : prognosis and predictors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruijs, A.C.J.; Jaquet, J.B.; Riel, W.G. van; Daanen, H.A.M.; Hovius, S.E.R.

2007-01-01

This study describes the predictors for cold intolerance and the relationship to sensory recovery after median and ulnar nerve injuries. The study population consisted of 107 patients 2 to 10 years after median, ulnar or combined median and ulnar nerve injuries. Patients were asked to fill out the

Robust non-local median filter

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Matsuoka, Jyohei; Koga, Takanori; Suetake, Noriaki; Uchino, Eiji

2017-04-01

This paper describes a novel image filter with superior performance on detail-preserving removal of random-valued impulse noise superimposed on natural gray-scale images. The non-local means filter is in the limelight as a way of Gaussian noise removal with superior performance on detail preservation. By referring the fundamental concept of the non-local means, we had proposed a non-local median filter as a specialized way for random-valued impulse noise removal so far. In the non-local processing, the output of a filter is calculated from pixels in blocks which are similar to the block centered at a pixel of interest. As a result, aggressive noise removal is conducted without destroying the detailed structures in an original image. However, the performance of non-local processing decreases enormously in the case of high noise occurrence probability. A cause of this problem is that the superimposed noise disturbs accurate calculation of the similarity between the blocks. To cope with this problem, we propose an improved non-local median filter which is robust to the high level of corruption by introducing a new similarity measure considering possibility of being the original signal. The effectiveness and validity of the proposed method are verified in a series of experiments using natural gray-scale images.

Determinants of survival in adult HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy in Oromiyaa, Ethiopia

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Andinet Worku Alemu

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Background: The antiretroviral treatment (ART scale-up service has been a recent development in Ethiopia, but its impact on mortality has not been well investigated. The aim of this study was to assess the early survival outcome of the scale-up service by utilizing routine hospital data. Methods: All adult HIV/AIDS patients who started on antiretroviral treatment in Shashemene and Assela hospitals from January 1, 2006 to May 31, 2006 were included and followed up for 2 years. Data were extracted from standard patient medical registrations. Kaplan–Meier curves were used to estimate survival probability and the Cox proportional hazard model was applied to determine predictors of mortality. Two alterative assumptions (real case and worst case were made in determining predictors of mortality. Results: The median age of patients was 33 years and 57% were female. Eighty-five percent had CD4 <200 cells/µL with a median CD4 count of 103 cells/µL. The median survival time was 104.4 weeks. A total of 28 (10.3% deaths were observed during the 2-year period and 48 patients (18% were lost to follow up. The majority of deaths occurred in the first 4 months of treatment. In multivariate analysis, 2-year survival was significantly associated with the clinical stage of the disease, baseline hemoglobin, and cotrimoxazole prophylaxis therapy (CPT at or before ART initiation in both assumptions. The median CD4 count and body weight showed a marked improvement during the first 6 months of treatment, followed by stagnation thereafter. Conclusion: The study has shown an overall low mortality but a high loss to follow-up rate of the cohort. Advanced clinical stage, anemia, low body weight, and lack of CPT initiation were independent predictors of mortality – but not gender. CPT initiation should be encouraged in routine HIV care services, and patient retention mechanisms have to be strengthened. Stagnation in immunological and weight recovery after the first 6

Usefulness of ultrasound assessment of median nerve mobility in carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Park, Gi-Young; Kwon, Dong Rak; Seok, Jung Im; Park, Dong-Soon; Cho, Hee Kyung

2018-01-01

Background Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral compression neuropathy of the upper extremity. Recently, dynamic ultrasound (US) imaging has shown differences in median nerve mobility between the affected and unaffected sides in CTS. Purpose The present study was performed to compare the median nerve mobility between patients with CTS and healthy individuals, and to correlate median nerve mobility with the severity of CTS. Material and Methods A total of 101 patients (128 wrists) with CTS and 43 healthy individuals (70 wrists) were evaluated. Electrodiagnostic studies were initially conducted to determine the neurophysiological grading scale (NGS). The cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve and the grade of median nerve mobility were measured using US. Results The mean grade of median nerve mobility in the CTS group (1.9) was significantly lower than that in the control group (2.6; P mobility and distal motor latency of the median nerve (r = -0.218, P = 0.015), NGS (r = -0.207, P = 0.020) and CSA of the median nerve (r = -0.196, P = 0.028). Conclusion The grade of median nerve mobility was negatively correlated with the severity of CTS. US assessment of median nerve mobility may be useful in diagnosing and determining the severity of CTS.

Association of collagen architecture with glioblastoma patient survival.

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Pointer, Kelli B; Clark, Paul A; Schroeder, Alexandra B; Salamat, M Shahriar; Eliceiri, Kevin W; Kuo, John S

2017-06-01

OBJECTIVE Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant primary brain tumor. Collagen is present in low amounts in normal brain, but in GBMs, collagen gene expression is reportedly upregulated. However, to the authors' knowledge, direct visualization of collagen architecture has not been reported. The authors sought to perform the first direct visualization of GBM collagen architecture, identify clinically relevant collagen signatures, and link them to differential patient survival. METHODS Second-harmonic generation microscopy was used to detect collagen in a GBM patient tissue microarray. Focal and invasive GBM mouse xenografts were stained with Picrosirius red. Quantitation of collagen fibers was performed using custom software. Multivariate survival analysis was done to determine if collagen is a survival marker for patients. RESULTS In focal xenografts, collagen was observed at tumor brain boundaries. For invasive xenografts, collagen was intercalated with tumor cells. Quantitative analysis showed significant differences in collagen fibers for focal and invasive xenografts. The authors also found that GBM patients with more organized collagen had a longer median survival than those with less organized collagen. CONCLUSIONS Collagen architecture can be directly visualized and is different in focal versus invasive GBMs. The authors also demonstrate that collagen signature is associated with patient survival. These findings suggest that there are collagen differences in focal versus invasive GBMs and that collagen is a survival marker for GBM.

Survival with breast cancer: the importance of estrogen receptor quantity.

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Shek, L L; Godolphin, W

1989-02-01

The survival of 1184 British Columbian women whose primary breast cancers were diagnosed and assayed for estrogen receptor (ER) between 1975 and 1981 was studied. Median follow-up was 60 months. ER concentrations yielded greater prognostic information than simple positive and negative categories. When ER data were divided into four strata: less than or equal to 1, 2-9, 10-159 and greater than or equal to 160 fmol/mg cytosol protein, the association of higher ER with prolonged survival was highly significant (P less than 0.0001) and independent of TNM stage, nodal status and menopausal status. ER less than or equal to 1 and ER = 2-9 groups were distinct with respect to overall disease-specific survival. Patient age did not predict survival when controlled for ER. Prolonged recurrence-free survival was associated with higher ER (P = 0.0001) for at least 5 years after diagnosis. This significant trend persisted after adjustments for nodal status, TNM stage, menopausal status and the type of systemic adjuvant therapy.

Peripheral venous blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio predicts survival in patients with advanced gastric cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy

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Chen L

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Li Chen,1 Yanjiao Zuo,1 Lihua Zhu,2 Yuxin Zhang,3 Sen Li,1 Fei Ma,4 Yu Han,5 Hongjiang Song,1 Yingwei Xue11Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 2Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei, 3Department of General Surgery, Mudanjiang First People’s Hospital, Mudanjiang, 4Department of Breast Surgery, 5Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of ChinaBackground: Accurate and useful predictors of gastric carcinoma treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy are lacking at present. We aim to explore the potential prognostic significance of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR in advanced gastric cancer receiving S-1 plus oxaliplatin (SOX or oxaliplatin and capecitabine (XELOX regimen.Methods: We enrolled 91 patients with advanced gastric cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy from August 2008 to September 2015. The peripheral venous blood samples were collected before neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The NLR was divided into two groups: low NLR <2.17 group and high NLR ≥2.17 group. Univariate analysis on disease-free survival (DFS and overall survival (OS were generated using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Prognostic factors were assessed by univariate analyses, and the independent prognostic factors were evaluated using multivariate analysis (Cox’s proportional-hazards regression model.Results: The univariate analysis showed that median DFS and median OS were worse for high NLR values than low NLR values before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (median DFS: 19.97 and 26.87 months, respectively, P=0.299; median OS: 25.83 and 29.73 months, respectively, P=0.405. Multivariate analysis showed that the NLR before neoadjuvant

Early α-fetoprotein response predicts survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with sorafenib

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Lee SH

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Sangheun Lee,1,* Beom Kyung Kim,2–5,* Seung Up Kim,2–5 Jun Yong Park,2–5 Do Young Kim,2–5 Sang Hoon Ahn,2–6 Kwang-Hyub Han2–6 1Department of Internal Medicine, International St Mary’s Hospital, Catholic Kwandong University, Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Internal Medicine, 3Institute of Gastroenterology, 4Liver Cancer Special Clinic, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 5Liver Cirrhosis Clinical Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 6Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Science, Seoul, Republic of Korea.   *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: It is not clear whether tumor marker responses can predict survival during sorafenib treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC. We investigated whether the α-fetoprotein (AFP response is associated with survival in patients with advanced HCC treated with sorafenib. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 126 patients with advanced HCC treated with sorafenib between 2007 and 2012. An AFP response was defined as >20% decrease from baseline. At 6–8 weeks after commencing sorafenib, AFP and radiological responses were assessed by modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Results: The median overall survival (OS and progression-free survival (PFS were 6.2 and 3.5 months, respectively. Of the study population, a partial response (PR was identified in 5 patients (4.0%, stable disease (SD in 65 patients (51.6%, and progressive disease (PD in 57 patients (44.4%, respectively. AFP non-response was an independent prognostic factor for poor OS (median 10.9 months for AFP response vs 5.2 months for AFP non-response, together with Child-Pugh B, tumor diameter ≥10 cm, and portal vein invasion (all P<0.05, and PFS (median 5.3 months for AFP response vs 2.9 months for AFP non-response, together with tumor diameter ≥10 cm and portal vein invasion (all P<0.05. SD or PR was more frequently found

Monitoring of Juvenile Yearling Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Survival and Passage at Bonneville Dam, Spring 2010

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Ploskey, Gene R.; Faber, Derrek M.; Weiland, Mark A.; Carlson, Thomas J.

2012-09-01

The purpose of this study was to estimate the survival for yearling Chinook salmon and steelhead smolts during spring 2010 in a portion of the Columbia River that includes Bonneville Dam. The study estimated smolt survival from a virtual release at Bonneville Dam to a survival array 81 km downstream of Bonneville Dam. We also estimated median forebay residence time, median tailrace egress time, and spill passage efficiency (SPE), as required in the Columbia Basin Fish Accords. A single release design was used to estimate survival from Bonneville Dam to a primary array located 81 km downstream of Bonneville. The approach did not include a reference tailrace release. Releases of acoustic-tagged smolts above John Day Dam to Hood River contributed to the formation of virtual releases at a Bonneville Dam forebay entrance array and at the face of the dam. A total of 3,880 yearling Chinook salmon and 3,885 steelhead smolts were tagged and released in the investigation. The Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) tag model number ATS-156dB, weighing 0.438 g in air, was used in this investigation.

Lung cancer: Incidence and survival in Rabat, Morocco.

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Lachgar, A; Tazi, M A; Afif, M; Er-Raki, A; Kebdani, T; Benjaafar, N

2016-12-01

Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, but epidemiologic data from developing countries are lacking. This article reports lung cancer incidence and survival in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. All lung cancer cases diagnosed between 2005 and 2008 were analyzed using data provided by the Rabat Cancer Registry. The standardized rate was reported using age adjustment with respect to the world standard population, and the observed survival rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Three hundred fifty-one cases were registered (314 males and 37 females), aged 27-90 years (median, 59 years). The most common pathological type was adenocarcinoma (40.2%) followed by squamous cell carcinoma (31.9%); the majority of cases were diagnosed at stage IV (52%). The age-standardized incidence rate was 25.1 and 2.7 per 100,000 for males and females, respectively, and the overall observed survival rates at 1 and 5 years were 31.7% and 3.4%, respectively. The clinical stage of disease was the only independent predictor of survival. The survival rate of lung cancer in Rabat is very poor. This finding explains the need for measures to reduce the prevalence of tobacco and to improve diagnostic and therapeutic facilities for lung cancer. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Modelling survival: exposure pattern, species sensitivity and uncertainty.

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Ashauer, Roman; Albert, Carlo; Augustine, Starrlight; Cedergreen, Nina; Charles, Sandrine; Ducrot, Virginie; Focks, Andreas; Gabsi, Faten; Gergs, André; Goussen, Benoit; Jager, Tjalling; Kramer, Nynke I; Nyman, Anna-Maija; Poulsen, Veronique; Reichenberger, Stefan; Schäfer, Ralf B; Van den Brink, Paul J; Veltman, Karin; Vogel, Sören; Zimmer, Elke I; Preuss, Thomas G

2016-07-06

The General Unified Threshold model for Survival (GUTS) integrates previously published toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic models and estimates survival with explicitly defined assumptions. Importantly, GUTS accounts for time-variable exposure to the stressor. We performed three studies to test the ability of GUTS to predict survival of aquatic organisms across different pesticide exposure patterns, time scales and species. Firstly, using synthetic data, we identified experimental data requirements which allow for the estimation of all parameters of the GUTS proper model. Secondly, we assessed how well GUTS, calibrated with short-term survival data of Gammarus pulex exposed to four pesticides, can forecast effects of longer-term pulsed exposures. Thirdly, we tested the ability of GUTS to estimate 14-day median effect concentrations of malathion for a range of species and use these estimates to build species sensitivity distributions for different exposure patterns. We find that GUTS adequately predicts survival across exposure patterns that vary over time. When toxicity is assessed for time-variable concentrations species may differ in their responses depending on the exposure profile. This can result in different species sensitivity rankings and safe levels. The interplay of exposure pattern and species sensitivity deserves systematic investigation in order to better understand how organisms respond to stress, including humans.

Factors influencing local control and survival for patients undergoing stereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial metastases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suh, John H.; Barnett, Gene H.; Sohn, Jason W.; Fernandez-Vicioso, Eduardo; Kupelian, Patrick A.

1996-01-01

PURPOSE: To identify factors affecting local control and survival for patients undergoing stereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial metastases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 3/90-10/95, 99 patients (median age 58, range 29-83; 44 women, 55 men) with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic intracranial metastases measuring < 4 cm in diameter and ≥ 1 cm from optic chiasm and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) ≥ 70 underwent modified linear accelerator-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Patients characteristics included 20 with recurrent disease, 66 with solitary lesions, and 42 with systemic disease. Forty six patients underwent surgical resection prior to SRS (16 biopsy, 3 subtotal resection (STR), and 21 gross total resection (GTR)). Eighty of 99 patients underwent whole brain radiation treatments (median 4005 cGy/15 fx, range 2200-6000 cGy). A total of 154 lesions were treated with 143 being evaluable on follow-up CT or MRI scans. Radiosurgery parameters (median) were the following: volume 2.8 cc (range 0.1-38 cc) and a peripheral dose of 1700 cGy (range 500-2400 cGy) with normalization to the 80% line (range 50-90%). Survival was measured from the date of SRS. Local control was defined as stabilization or decrease in size of the intracranial lesion(s). RESULTS: The following factors were analyzed with respect to local control and survival: 1) solitary vs. multiple lesions, 2) Age < or ≥ 60, 3) sex, 4) radiosensitive vs. radioresistant (renal cell and melanoma) histologies, 5) recurrent vs. newly diagnosed lesions, 6) KPS (70-80 vs. 90-100), 7) extent of surgery (biopsy vs. STR/GTR), 8) use of whole brain radiation treatments, 9) absence or presence of systemic disease, 10) dose (< or ≥ 1500 cGy) and 11) volume (< or ≥ 3 cc). On univariate analysis, survival was significantly influenced by female sex, presence of solitary lesion, absence of systemic disease, and extent of surgery. On multivariate analysis, female sex (p=0.0037), absence of systemic disease

Survival in 76 cats with epilepsy of unknown cause: a retrospective study.

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Szelecsenyi, Arlette Cornelia; Giger, Urs; Golini, Lorenzo; Mothersill, Ian; Torgerson, Paul R; Steffen, Frank

2017-11-01

Survival of cats with epilepsy of unknown cause (EUC) has not been reported. Seizure semiology and its relationship to treatment outcome and survival was studied in a population of 76 cats. A questionnaire for seizure semiology was developed based on experimental data. Seizure semiology was characterised by owner interviews at least one year after discharge. Seizures were classified as (1) primary generalised and (2) focal without and (3) with secondary generalisation. Median age at seizure onset was four (range 0.3-18) years. One-third of cats with EUC presented with primary generalised seizures and 78 per cent of those with initially focal seizures progressed to secondary generalised seizures. Clinical signs of generalised seizures included sudden onset of loss of consciousness and tonic-clonic seizures, while cats with focal seizures had unilateral signs. Antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy was initiated in 62 cats. Complete remission rate was 42 per cent and the median survival time was 3.2 (range 1-11) years with or without AED, and 91 per cent were still alive at the time of interview. Neither semiology nor seizure type predicted survival, response to treatment and outcome in cats with EUC. A seizure-free status of more than 12 months was observed in 79 per cent of cats without AED. © British Veterinary Association (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Expression of the antiapoptotic protein BAG3 is a feature of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and its overexpression is associated with poorer survival.

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Rosati, Alessandra; Bersani, Samantha; Tavano, Francesca; Dalla Pozza, Elisa; De Marco, Margot; Palmieri, Marta; De Laurenzi, Vincenzo; Franco, Renato; Scognamiglio, Giosuè; Palaia, Raffaele; Fontana, Andrea; di Sebastiano, Pierluigi; Donadelli, Massimo; Dando, Ilaria; Medema, Jan Paul; Dijk, Frederike; Welling, Lieke; di Mola, Fabio Francesco; Pezzilli, Raffaele; Turco, Maria Caterina; Scarpa, Aldo

2012-11-01

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most deadly cancers, being the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Long-term survival reaching 15% is achieved in less than 5% of patients who undergo surgery, and median survival is only 6 months in those with inoperable lesions. A deeper understanding of PDAC biologic characteristics as well as novel prognostic markers are therefore required to improve outcomes. Herein we report that BAG3, a protein with recognized anti-apoptotic activity, was expressed in 346 PDACs analyzed, but was not expressed in the surrounding nonneoplastic tissue. In a cohort of 66 patients who underwent radical resection (R0), survival was significantly shorter in patients with high BAG3 expression (median, 12 months) than in those with low BAG3 expression (median, 23 months) (P = 0.001). Furthermore, we report that BAG3 expression in PDAC-derived cell lines protects from apoptosis and confers resistance to gemcitabine, offering a partial explanation for the survival data. Our results indicate that BAG3 has a relevant role in PDAC biology, and suggest that BAG3 expression level might be a potential marker for prediction of patient outcome. Copyright © 2012 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sosiaalisen median rooli kunnan viestinnässä

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Selkämaa, Kati

2016-01-01

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli selvittää sosiaalisen median roolia kunnan viestinnässä sekä tutkia, miten sosiaalista mediaa hyödynnetään kuntien viestinnässä. Teoriaosuudessa tarkasteltiin sosiaalista mediaa, tutustuttiin sen tunnetuimpiin sovelluksiin sekä perehdyttiin kuntien viestintään yleisesti. Työssä tarkasteltiin myös kuntien viestintään vaikuttavia ja sitä sääteleviä lakeja. Kuntien sosiaalisen median käyttöön tutustuttiin Kuntaliiton tekemän viestintätutkimuksen tulosten pohjalt...

Development of guidelines for cable median barrier systems in Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-12-01

Since 2003, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has embarked on an aggressive campaign to install : median barriers to prevent cross-median crashes on freeway facilities statewide. In the few years prior to 2003, : virtually all fatalities...

Within the genome, long telomeres are more informative than short telomeres with respect to fitness components in a long-lived seabird

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bauch, Christina; Becker, Peter H.; Verhulst, Simon

Telomeres, DNA-protein structures at chromosome ends, shorten with age, and telomere length has been linked to age-related diseases and survival. In vitro studies revealed that the shortest telomeres trigger cell senescence, but whether the shortest telomeres are also the best biomarker of ageing is

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with lung cancer: Prevalence, severity, and common pathogenesis

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Griffin JP

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To develop a clinical prediction model of contribution of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD to the pathogenesis of lung cancer, by reporting the estimated prevalence and severity by GOLD criteria in a single-institution cohort of patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer. Primary objective was investigating the effects of impaired lung function with various histological cell types on crude survival, while considering the initial staging of disease extent. Materials & methods: A total of 441 patients, in this historical cohort from electronic medical records, completed spirometry prior to invasive diagnostic procedures and initial treatment of their lung cancer. All statistical analyses, including ANOVA and survival analysis, were performed using SAS version 9.1 software. Results: Estimated prevalence of COPD was 79.1% (95% confidence interval: 71.3%-82.9%. Lung function as measured by spirometry was a significant predictor of survival time in months (p<0.0001 both with and without adjusting for tumor-cell-type, age, and stage of disease. Median survival was similar (p=0.32 and longer among those patients with normal pulmonary function, those with restrictive disease patterns, and those with COPD–GOLD-1 defects. Median survival was shortest among patients with COPD–GOLD-4 impairment (p=0.001. Those patients with COPD–GOLD-2 and COPD-GOLD-3 impairment levels had intermediate survival times (p=0.003. Conclusions: This investigation suggests that strategies for early detection and slowing the progression of COPD before the development of lung cancer might increase patient survival. As demonstrated in this study, the presence and severity of COPD in lung cancer patients is an independent predictor of survival time, different from the established staging of initial extent of disease.

Effect of 153Sm-EDTMP on survival time in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and multiple bone metastases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan Wei; Zheng Zongyuan; Xu Guangpu

2004-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the effect on survival of Samarium-153-ethylene diamine tetramethylene phosphonate (153Sm-EDTMP) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and multiple bone metastases. Methods: From 1993 to 1999, 160 patients (127 men, 33 women; median age 35 years) presented with NPC and multiple bone metastases. Of these, 40 patients had undergone chemotherapy, and 72 palliative radiotherapy. Patients were randomly divided into four groups: Group 1 (N = 20) received analgesics (control); Groups 2, 3 and 4 (N = 80, 40, and 20, respectively) received one, two or three courses, respectively, of 153Sm-EDTMP (77.7 MBq/kg/course; course interval, 4 wk). Results: Eight patients died of non-cancer-related causes, and 24 were lost to follow-up. The median survival time for Group 1 (7.8 months) was significantly less (p < 0.05) than that of Groups 2, 3 and 4 (11.6, 13.4 and 12.8 months, respectively). Patients given 153Sm-EDTMP who had had revious external radiation survived longer (p < 0.05) than those in the other treatment groups. Conclusions: Internal radiotherapy with 153Sm-EDTMP can extend survival time in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and multiple bone metastases; when combined with external radiotherapy in appropriate patients, its effect on survival time is enhanced.. (authors)

Embolotherapy for Neuroendocrine Tumor Liver Metastases: Prognostic Factors for Hepatic Progression-Free Survival and Overall Survival

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, James X.; Rose, Steven; White, Sarah B.; El-Haddad, Ghassan; Fidelman, Nicholas; Yarmohammadi, Hooman; Hwang, Winifred; Sze, Daniel Y.; Kothary, Nishita; Stashek, Kristen; Wileyto, E. Paul; Salem, Riad; Metz, David C.; Soulen, Michael C.

2017-01-01

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to evaluate prognostic factors for survival outcomes following embolotherapy for neuroendocrine tumor (NET) liver metastases.Materials and MethodsThis was a multicenter retrospective study of 155 patients (60 years mean age, 57 % male) with NET liver metastases from pancreas (n = 71), gut (n = 68), lung (n = 8), or other/unknown (n = 8) primary sites treated with conventional transarterial chemoembolization (TACE, n = 50), transarterial radioembolization (TARE, n = 64), or transarterial embolization (TAE, n = 41) between 2004 and 2015. Patient-, tumor-, and treatment-related factors were evaluated for prognostic effect on hepatic progression-free survival (HPFS) and overall survival (OS) using unadjusted and propensity score-weighted univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsMedian HPFS and OS were 18.5 and 125.1 months for G1 (n = 75), 12.2 and 33.9 months for G2 (n = 60), and 4.9 and 9.3 months for G3 tumors (n = 20), respectively (p  50 % hepatic volume demonstrated 5.5- and 26.8-month shorter median HPFS and OS, respectively, versus burden ≤50 % (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in HPFS or OS between gut or pancreas primaries. In multivariate HPFS analysis, there were no significant differences among embolotherapy modalities. In multivariate OS analysis, TARE had a higher hazard ratio than TACE (unadjusted Cox model: HR 2.1, p = 0.02; propensity score adjusted model: HR 1.8, p = 0.11), while TAE did not differ significantly from TACE.ConclusionHigher tumor grade and tumor burden prognosticated shorter HPFS and OS. TARE had a higher hazard ratio for OS than TACE. There were no significant differences in HPFS among embolotherapy modalities.

Embolotherapy for Neuroendocrine Tumor Liver Metastases: Prognostic Factors for Hepatic Progression-Free Survival and Overall Survival

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, James X. [Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United States); Rose, Steven [University of San Diego Medical Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United States); White, Sarah B. [Medical College of Wisconsin, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United States); El-Haddad, Ghassan [Moffitt Cancer Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United States); Fidelman, Nicholas [University of San Francisco Medical Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United States); Yarmohammadi, Hooman [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United States); Hwang, Winifred; Sze, Daniel Y.; Kothary, Nishita [Stanford University Medical Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United States); Stashek, Kristen [Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Pathology (United States); Wileyto, E. Paul [University of Pennsylvania, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology (United States); Salem, Riad [Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United States); Metz, David C. [Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine (United States); Soulen, Michael C., E-mail: michael.soulen@uphs.upenn.edu [Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United States)

2017-01-15

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to evaluate prognostic factors for survival outcomes following embolotherapy for neuroendocrine tumor (NET) liver metastases.Materials and MethodsThis was a multicenter retrospective study of 155 patients (60 years mean age, 57 % male) with NET liver metastases from pancreas (n = 71), gut (n = 68), lung (n = 8), or other/unknown (n = 8) primary sites treated with conventional transarterial chemoembolization (TACE, n = 50), transarterial radioembolization (TARE, n = 64), or transarterial embolization (TAE, n = 41) between 2004 and 2015. Patient-, tumor-, and treatment-related factors were evaluated for prognostic effect on hepatic progression-free survival (HPFS) and overall survival (OS) using unadjusted and propensity score-weighted univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsMedian HPFS and OS were 18.5 and 125.1 months for G1 (n = 75), 12.2 and 33.9 months for G2 (n = 60), and 4.9 and 9.3 months for G3 tumors (n = 20), respectively (p < 0.05). Tumor burden >50 % hepatic volume demonstrated 5.5- and 26.8-month shorter median HPFS and OS, respectively, versus burden ≤50 % (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in HPFS or OS between gut or pancreas primaries. In multivariate HPFS analysis, there were no significant differences among embolotherapy modalities. In multivariate OS analysis, TARE had a higher hazard ratio than TACE (unadjusted Cox model: HR 2.1, p = 0.02; propensity score adjusted model: HR 1.8, p = 0.11), while TAE did not differ significantly from TACE.ConclusionHigher tumor grade and tumor burden prognosticated shorter HPFS and OS. TARE had a higher hazard ratio for OS than TACE. There were no significant differences in HPFS among embolotherapy modalities.

Prostate specific antigen bounce is related to overall survival in prostate brachytherapy.

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Hinnen, Karel A; Monninkhof, Evelyn M; Battermann, Jan J; van Roermund, Joep G H; Frank, Steven J; van Vulpen, Marco

2012-02-01

To investigate the association between prostate specific antigen (PSA) bounce and disease outcome after prostate brachytherapy. We analyzed 975 patients treated with (125)I implantation monotherapy between 1992 and 2006. All patients had tumor Stage ≤ 2c, Gleason score ≤ 7 prostate cancer, a minimum follow-up of 2 years with at least four PSA measurements, and no biochemical failure in the first 2 years. Median follow-up was 6 years. Bounce was defined as a PSA elevation of +0.2 ng/mL with subsequent decrease to previous nadir. We used the Phoenix +2 ng/mL definition for biochemical failure. Additional endpoints were disease-specific and overall survival. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to adjust for potential confounding factors. Bounce occurred in 32% of patients, with a median time to bounce of 1.6 years. More than 90% of bounces took place in the first 3 years after treatment and had disappeared within 2 years of onset. Ten-year freedom from biochemical failure, disease-specific survival, and overall survival rates were, respectively, 90%, 99%, and 88% for the bounce group and 70%, 93%, and 82% for the no-bounce group. Only 1 patient (0.3%) died of prostate cancer in the bounce group, compared with 40 patients (6.1%) in the no-bounce group. Adjusted for confounding, a 70% biochemical failure risk reduction was observed for patients experiencing a bounce (hazard ratio 0.31; 95% confidence interval 0.20-0.48). A PSA bounce after prostate brachytherapy is strongly related to better outcome in terms of biochemical failure, disease-specific survival, and overall survival. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A high ratio of apoptosis to proliferation correlates with improved survival after radiotherapy for cervical adenocarcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheridan, Mary T.; Cooper, Rachel A.; West, Catharine M.L.

1999-01-01

Purpose: A retrospective study was made of the role of apoptosis in determining radiotherapy outcome in 39 adenocarcinoma of the cervix. A comparison was also made of the detection of apoptosis by morphology and the TdT dUtp nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay. Methods and Materials: The level of apoptosis was assessed in paraffin-embedded sections by cell morphology, the TUNEL assay, and a combination of the two. A total of 2,000 cells were counted per section, to obtain apoptotic (AI) and mitotic (MI) indices. Results: Patients with a high AI had a higher survival rate than those with a low AI, however, the difference was not significant. Using a ratio of apoptosis to proliferation indices, patients with an AI:MI > median had significantly better survival than those with AI:MI < median. This was true where the AI was quantified by morphology alone (p = 0.030) or in combination with the TUNEL assay (p = 0.008). Where the AI was quantified by a combination of morphology and TUNEL, the 5-year survival rates for women with AI:MI greater or less than the median were 81% and 25%, respectively. Conclusion: A high ratio of AI:MI in adenocarcinoma of the cervix indicates a good prognosis. A combination of the TUNEL assay and morphology provided the best discrimination between outcome groups

Benign meningiomas: primary treatment selection affects survival

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Condra, Kellie S.; Buatti, John M.; Mendenhall, William M.; Friedman, William A.; Marcus, Robert B.; Rhoton, Albert L.

1997-01-01

Purpose: To examine the effect of primary treatment selection on outcomes for benign intracranial meningiomas at the University of Florida. Methods and Materials: For 262 patients, the impact of age, Karnofsky performance status, pathologic features, tumor size, tumor location, and treatment modality on local control and cause-specific survival was analyzed (minimum potential follow-up, 2 years; median follow-up, 8.2 years). Extent of surgery was classified by Simpson grade. Treatment groups: surgery alone (n = 229), surgery and postoperative radiotherapy (RT) (n = 21), RT alone (n = 7), radiosurgery alone (n = 5). Survival analysis: Kaplan-Meier method with univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: At 15 years, local control was 76% after total excision (TE) and 87% after subtotal excision plus RT (SE+RT), both significantly better (p = 0.0001) than after SE alone (30%). Cause-specific survival at 15 years was reduced after treatment with SE alone (51%), compared with TE (88%) or SE+RT (86%) (p = 0.0003). Recurrence after primary treatment portended decreased survival, independent of initial treatment group or salvage treatment selection (p = 0.001). Atypical pathologic features predicted reduced 15-year local control (54 vs. 71%) and cause-specific survival rates (57 vs. 86%). Multivariate analysis for cause-specific survival revealed treatment group (SE vs. others; p = 0.0001), pathologic features (atypical vs. typical; p = 0.0056), and Karnofsky performance status (≥80 vs. <80; p = 0.0153) as significant variables. Conclusion: Benign meningiomas are well managed by TE or SE+RT. SE alone is inadequate therapy and adversely affects cause-specific survival. Atypical pathologic features predict a poorer outcome, suggesting possible benefit from more aggressive treatment. Because local recurrence portends lower survival rates, primary treatment choice is important

Clinical outcomes and survival in AA amyloidosis patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yavuz Ayar

Full Text Available Abstract Aim Amyloid A amyloidosis is a rare complication of chronic inflammatory conditions. Most patients with amyloid A amyloidosis present with nephropathy and it leads to renal failure and death. We studied clinical characteristics and survival in patients with amyloid A amyloidosis. Methods: A total of 81 patients (51 males, 30 females with renal biopsy proven amyloid A amyloidosis were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into good and poor outcomes groups according to survival results. Results: Most of the patients (55.6% had nephrotic range proteinuria at diagnosis. Most frequent underlying disorders were familial Mediterranean fever (21.2% and rheumatoid arthritis (10.6% in the good outcome group and malignancy (20% in the poor outcome group. Only diastolic blood pressure in the good outcome group and phosphorus level in the poor outcome group was higher. Serum creatinine levels increased after treatment in both groups, while proteinuria in the good outcome group decreased. Increase in serum creatinine and decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate of the poor outcome group were more significant in the good outcome group. At the time of diagnosis 18.5% and 27.2% of all patients had advanced chronic kidney disease (stage 4 and 5, respectively. Median duration of renal survival was 65 ± 3.54 months. Among all patients, 27.1% were started dialysis treatment during the follow-up period and 7.4% of all patients underwent kidney transplantation. Higher levels of systolic blood pressure [hazard ratios 1.03, 95% confidence interval: 1-1.06, p = 0.036], serum creatinine (hazard ratios 1.25, 95% confidence interval: 1.07-1.46, p = 0.006 and urinary protein excretion (hazard ratios 1.08, 95% confidence interval: 1.01-1.16, p = 0.027 were predictors of end-stage renal disease. Median survival of patients with organ involvement was 50.3 ± 16 months. Conclusion Our study indicated that familial Mediterranean fever constituted

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

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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

Influence of histological subtype on survival after combined therapy of surgery and radiation in WHO grade 3 glioma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shirai, Katsuyuki; Suzuki, Yoshiyuki; Okamoto, Masahiko

2010-01-01

World Health Organization (WHO) grade 3 glioma is one of the common brain tumors and has three main histological subtypes, including anaplastic astrocytoma (AA), anaplastic oligoastrocytoma (AOA) and anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO). However, most previous studies have considered AOA and AO as one group because of the difficult differential diagnosis between AOA and AO. Therefore the prognostic difference among patients with these histological subtypes has been unclear. In this study, 68 patients with histologically proven WHO grade 3 glioma, consecutively received postoperative radiotherapy at the Gunma University Hospital, Japan, between 1983 and 2005, were investigated to assess the impact of histological subtype on the survival. The number of AA, AOA and AO patients was 41, 16 and 11, respectively. The mean and median follow-up periods were 72 and 48 months, respectively. The number of patients treated with gross total resection, partial resection and biopsy was 14, 38 and 16, respectively. The mean and median radiation doses were 58±5 Gy and 60 Gy, respectively. The 5-year overall survival rates of AA, AOA and AO were 21%, 38% and 80%, and median survival period were 16 months, 58 months and not reached, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that the histological subtype (P<0.01) and extent of surgery (P<0.01) were significant prognostic factors for survival. Selective comparison showed that overall survival of patients with AA was significantly worse than for those with AOA (P=0.01) and AO (P<0.01). The overall survival of patients with AO was better than for those with AOA; however, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.14). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that histological subtype, age and extent of surgery were the significant independent variable for survival (P<0.01, P<0.01 and P=0.04). In our study, histological subtype was one of the most important prognostic factors of WHO grade 3 glioma. (author)

The Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio at Diagnosis Is Significantly Associated with Survival in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Patients

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Matteo Piciucchi

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Different inflammation-based scores such as the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR, the Odonera Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI, the Glasgow Prognostic Score, the platelet/lymphocyte ratio, and the C-reactive protein/albumin ratio have been found to be significantly associated with pancreatic cancer (PDAC prognosis. However, most studies have investigated patients undergoing surgery, and few of them have compared these scores. We aimed at evaluating the association between inflammatory-based scores and PDAC prognosis. In a single center cohort study, inflammatory-based scores were assessed at diagnosis and their prognostic relevance as well as that of clinic-pathological variables were evaluated through multiple logistic regression and survival probability analysis. In 206 patients, age, male sex, tumor size, presence of distant metastasis, access to chemotherapy, and an NLR > 5 but not other scores were associated with overall survival (OS at multivariate analysis. Patients with an NLR < 5 had a median survival of 12 months compared to 4 months in those with an NLR > 5. In the 81 patients with distant metastasis at diagnosis, an NLR > 5 resulted in the only variable significantly associated with survival. Among patients with metastatic disease who received chemotherapy, the median survival was 3 months in patients with an NLR > 5 and 7 months in those with an NLR < 5. The NLR might drive therapeutic options in PDAC patients, especially in the setting of metastatic disease.

The survival time of chocolates on hospital wards: covert observational study.

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Gajendragadkar, Parag R; Moualed, Daniel J; Nicolson, Phillip L R; Adjei, Felicia D; Cakebread, Holly E; Duehmke, Rudolf M; Martin, Claire A

2013-12-14

To quantify the consumption of chocolates in a hospital ward environment. Multicentre, prospective, covert observational study. Four wards at three hospitals (where the authors worked) within the United Kingdom. Boxes of Quality Street (Nestlé) and Roses (Cadbury) on the ward and anyone eating these chocolates. Observers covertly placed two 350 g boxes of Quality Street and Roses chocolates on each ward (eight boxes were used in the study containing a total of 258 individual chocolates). These boxes were kept under continuous covert surveillance, with the time recorded when each chocolate was eaten. Median survival time of a chocolate. 191 out of 258 (74%) chocolates were observed being eaten. The mean total observation period was 254 minutes (95% confidence interval 179 to 329). The median survival time of a chocolate was 51 minutes (39 to 63). The model of chocolate consumption was non-linear, with an initial rapid rate of consumption that slowed with time. An exponential decay model best fitted these findings (model R(2)=0.844, P<0.001), with a survival half life (time taken for 50% of the chocolates to be eaten) of 99 minutes. The mean time taken to open a box of chocolates from first appearance on the ward was 12 minutes (95% confidence interval 0 to 24). Quality Street chocolates survived longer than Roses chocolates (hazard ratio for survival of Roses v Quality Street 0.70, 95% confidence interval 0.53 to 0.93, P=0.014). The highest percentages of chocolates were consumed by healthcare assistants (28%) and nurses (28%), followed by doctors (15%). From our observational study, chocolate survival in a hospital ward was relatively short, and was modelled well by an exponential decay model. Roses chocolates were preferentially consumed to Quality Street chocolates in a ward setting. Chocolates were consumed primarily by healthcare assistants and nurses, followed by doctors. Further practical studies are needed.

Asbestos Exposure and Survival in Malignant Mesothelioma: A Description of 122 Consecutive Cases at an Occupational Clinic

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E Skammeritz

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Background: The natural history and etiology of malignant mesothelioma (MM is already thoroughly described in the literature, but there is still debate on prognostic factors, and details of asbestos exposure and possible context with clinical and demographic data, have not been investigated comprehensively. Objectives: Description of patients with MM, focusing on exposure, occupation, survival and prognostic factors. Methods: Review of medical records of patients with MM from 1984 to 2010 from a Danish Occupational clinic. Survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and prognostic factors were identified by Cox regression analysis. Results: 110 (90.2% patients were male, and 12 (9.8% were female. The median (interquartile rang [IQR] age was 65 (13 years. Pleural MM was seen in 101 (82.8% patients, and peritoneal in 11 (9.0%; two (1.6% had MM to tunica vaginalis testis, and eight (6.6% to multiple serosal surfaces. We found 68 (55.7% epithelial tumors, 26 (21.3% biphasic, and 6 (4.9% sarcomatoid. 12 (9.8% patients received tri-modal therapy, 66 (54.1% received one-/two-modality treatment, and 36 (29.5% received palliative care. Asbestos exposure was confirmed in 107 (91.0% patients, probable in four (3.3%, and unidentifiable in 11 (9.0%. The median (IQR latency was 42 (12.5 years. Exposure predominantly occurred in shipyards. The median overall survival was 1.05 (95% CI: 0.96–1.39 years; 5-year survival was 5.0% (95% CI: 2.0%–13.0%. Female sex, good WHO performance status (PS, epithelial histology and tri-modal treatment were associated with a favorable prognosis. Conclusion: MM continuously presents a difficult task diagnostically and therapeutically, and challenges occupational physicians with regard to identification and characterization of asbestos exposure.

PSA response to cabazitaxel is associated with improved progression-free survival in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: the non-interventional QoLiTime study.

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Hammerer, Peter; Al-Batran, Salah-Eddin; Windemuth-Kieselbach, Christine; Keller, Martin; Hofheinz, Ralf-Dieter

2018-03-01

To evaluate the association between prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response and progression-free and overall survival in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with cabazitaxel. Men with mCRPC receiving cabazitaxel (25 mg/m 2 , every 3 weeks) plus oral prednis(ol)one (10 mg/day) were enrolled in the non-interventional, prospective QoLiTime study. Main outcome measures were progression-free survival and overall survival, in all patients and in those who showed a ≥ 50 or a ≥ 30% decrease in PSA relative to baseline after four cycles of cabazitaxel, as well as quality-of-life parameters. Of the 527 men (median age 72 years), 266 received ≥ 4 cycles of cabazitaxel and had PSA response data. After four cycles, 34.6% of men achieved a PSA decrease ≥ 50% and 49.6% a decrease ≥ 30%. Median progression-free survival was 7.7 (95% CI 6.2, 9.5) months, and overall survival was 19.5 (95% CI 16.0, 30.9) months, corresponding to 1-year event rates of 39.4 and 78.8%, respectively. Median progression-free survival was longer in PSA responders versus non-responders (15.7 vs 5.5 months at 50% cut-off; 15.7 vs 5.3 months for 30% cut-off; both P PSA response after four cycles of cabazitaxel is associated with improved progression-free survival in men with mCRPC treated with cabazitaxel plus prednis(ol)one.

Palliative Radiotherapy in the Local Management of Stage IVB Esophageal Cancer: Factors Affecting Swallowing and Survival.

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Suzuki, Gen; Yamazaki, Hideya; Aibe, Norihiro; Masui, Koji; Tatekawa, Kotoha; Sasaki, Naomi; Kimoto, Takuya; Nishimura, Takeshi; Nakashima, Akihiro; Takenaka, Tadashi; Fujiwara, Hitoshi; Ishikawa, Takeshi; Yamada, Kei

2017-06-01

To clarify the role of external-beam radiotherapy in the local management of state IVB esophageal cancer. We reviewed records of 31 patients with histopathologically-proven squamous cell carcinoma who underwent radiotherapy for their primary lesion. The change in dysphagia score from before to after treatment was assessed. Nutritional support-free survival (NSFS) was also evaluated. The median overall survival was 6 months. The overall rate of improvement in dysphagia score was 73% (23/31). The median NSFS was 5 months. Age at presentation esophageal cancer is an effective treatment option for dysphagia. Factors highly associated with improvement of swallowing are age, tumor location, and tumor length. Response to radiotherapy is the most important factor in improving NSFS. Copyright© 2017, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.

Huge heterogeneity in survival in a subset of adult patients with resected, wild-type isocitrate dehydrogenase status, WHO grade II astrocytomas.

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Poulen, Gaëtan; Gozé, Catherine; Rigau, Valérie; Duffau, Hugues

2018-04-20

OBJECTIVE World Health Organization grade II gliomas are infiltrating tumors that inexorably progress to a higher grade of malignancy. However, the time to malignant transformation is quite unpredictable at the individual patient level. A wild-type isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH-wt) molecular profile has been reported as a poor prognostic factor, with more rapid progression and a shorter survival compared with IDH-mutant tumors. Here, the oncological outcomes of a series of adult patients with IDH-wt, diffuse, WHO grade II astrocytomas (AII) who underwent resection without early adjuvant therapy were investigated. METHODS A retrospective review of patients extracted from a prospective database who underwent resection between 2007 and 2013 for histopathologically confirmed, IDH-wt, non-1p19q codeleted AII was performed. All patients had a minimum follow-up period of 2 years. Information regarding clinical, radiographic, and surgical results and survival were collected and analyzed. RESULTS Thirty-one consecutive patients (18 men and 13 women, median age 39.6 years) were included in this study. The preoperative median tumor volume was 54 cm 3 (range 3.5-180 cm 3 ). The median growth rate, measured as the velocity of diametric expansion, was 2.45 mm/year. The median residual volume after surgery was 4.2 cm 3 (range 0-30 cm 3 ) with a median volumetric extent of resection of 93.97% (8 patients had a total or supratotal resection). No patient experienced permanent neurological deficits after surgery, and all patients resumed a normal life. No immediate postoperative chemotherapy or radiation therapy was given. The median clinical follow-up duration from diagnosis was 74 months (range 27-157 months). In this follow-up period, 18 patients received delayed chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for tumor progression. Five patients (16%) died at a median time from radiological diagnosis of 3.5 years (range 2.6-4.5 years). Survival from diagnosis was 77.27% at 5 years. None of the

MEAN OF MEDIAN ABSOLUTE DERIVATION TECHNIQUE MEAN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

eobe

development of mean of median absolute derivation technique based on the based on the based on .... of noise mean to estimate the speckle noise variance. Noise mean property ..... Foraging Optimization,” International Journal of. Advanced ...

[The survival prediction model of advanced gallbladder cancer based on Bayesian network: a multi-institutional study].

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Z H; Geng, Z M; Chen, C; Si, S B; Cai, Z Q; Song, T Q; Gong, P; Jiang, L; Qiu, Y H; He, Y; Zhai, W L; Li, S P; Zhang, Y C; Yang, Y

2018-05-01

Objective: To investigate the clinical value of Bayesian network in predicting survival of patients with advanced gallbladder cancer(GBC)who underwent curative intent surgery. Methods: The clinical data of patients with advanced GBC who underwent curative intent surgery in 9 institutions from January 2010 to December 2015 were analyzed retrospectively.A median survival time model based on a tree augmented naïve Bayes algorithm was established by Bayesia Lab software.The survival time, number of metastatic lymph nodes(NMLN), T stage, pathological grade, margin, jaundice, liver invasion, age, sex and tumor morphology were included in this model.Confusion matrix, the receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve were used to evaluate the accuracy of the model.A priori statistical analysis of these 10 variables and a posterior analysis(survival time as the target variable, the remaining factors as the attribute variables)was performed.The importance rankings of each variable was calculated with the polymorphic Birnbaum importance calculation based on the posterior analysis results.The survival probability forecast table was constructed based on the top 4 prognosis factors. The survival curve was drawn by the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences in survival curves were compared using the Log-rank test. Results: A total of 316 patients were enrolled, including 109 males and 207 females.The ratio of male to female was 1.0∶1.9, the age was (62.0±10.8)years.There was 298 cases(94.3%) R0 resection and 18 cases(5.7%) R1 resection.T staging: 287 cases(90.8%) T3 and 29 cases(9.2%) T4.The median survival time(MST) was 23.77 months, and the 1, 3, 5-year survival rates were 67.4%, 40.8%, 32.0%, respectively.For the Bayesian model, the number of correctly predicted cases was 121(≤23.77 months) and 115(>23.77 months) respectively, leading to a 74.86% accuracy of this model.The prior probability of survival time was 0.503 2(≤23.77 months) and 0.496 8

Electroacupuncture and Acupuncture Promote the Rat’s Transected Median Nerve Regeneration

OpenAIRE

Ho, C. Y.; Yao, C. H.; Chen, W. C.; Shen, W. C.; Bau, D. T.

2013-01-01

Background. Acupuncture and electroacupuncture treatments of damaged nerves may aid nerve regeneration related to hindlimb function, but the effects on the forelimb-related median nerve were not known. Methods. A gap was made in the median nerve of each rat by suturing the stumps into silicone rubber tubes. The influences of acupuncture and electroacupuncture treatments on transected median nerve regeneration were evaluated from morphological, electrophysiological, and functional angles. Resu...

Predictive factors of long-term colorectal cancer survival after ultrasound-controlled ablation of hepatic metastases.

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Hernández-Socorro, Carmen Rosa; Saavedra, Pedro; Ramírez Felipe, José; Bohn Sarmiento, Uriel; Ruiz-Santana, Sergio

2017-04-21

The risk factors associated to long-term survival were assessed in patients with liver metastases of colorectal carcinoma undergoing ablative therapies. Single-centre cohort study, retrospectively analysed and prospectively collected consecutive patients with unresectable metastatic liver disease of colorectal carcinoma treated with ablative therapies between 1996 and 2013. Factors associated with survival time were identified using Cox's proportional hazard model with time-dependent covariates. A forward variable selection based on Akaike information criterion was performed. Relative risk and 95% confidence intervals for each factor were calculated. Statistical significance was set as P<.05. Seventy-five patients with liver metastases of colorectal cancer, with a mean age of 65.6 (10.3) underwent 106 treatments. Variables selected were good quality of life (RR 0.308, 95% CI 0.150-0.632) and tumour extension (RR 3.070, 95% CI 1.776-5.308). The median overall survival was 18.5 months (95% CI 17.4-24.4). The survival prognosis in median was 13.5 vs. 23.4 months for patients with and without tumour extension, and 23.0 vs. 12.8 months for patients with good and fair or poor quality of life, respectively. Good quality of life and tumour extension were the only statistically significant predictors of long-term survival in patients of colorectal carcinoma with liver metastatic disease undergoing ablative treatment with ultrasound. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Expression of the Antiapoptotic Protein BAG3 Is a Feature of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma and Its Overexpression Is Associated With Poorer Survival

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rosati, Alessandra; Bersani, Samantha; Tavano, Francesca; Dalla Pozza, Elisa; de Marco, Margot; Palmieri, Marta; de Laurenzi, Vincenzo; Franco, Renato; Scognamiglio, Giosuè; Palaia, Raffaele; Fontana, Andrea; di Sebastiano, Pierluigi; Donadelli, Massimo; Dando, Ilaria; Medema, Jan Paul; Dijk, Frederike; Welling, Lieke; di Mola, Fabio Francesco; Pezzilli, Raffaele; Turco, Maria Caterina; Scarpa, Aldo

2012-01-01

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most deadly cancers, being the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Long-term survival reaching 15% is achieved in less than 5% of patients who undergo surgery, and median survival is only 6 months in those with inoperable lesions. A

Perioperative Mortality and Long-Term Survival in 80 Dogs and 32 Cats Undergoing Excision of Thymic Epithelial Tumors.

Science.gov (United States)

Garneau, Mark S; Price, Lori Lyn; Withrow, Stephen J; Boston, Sarah E; Ewing, Patty J; McClaran, Janet Kovak; Liptak, Julius M; Berg, John

2015-07-01

To examine perioperative mortality, long-term survival, causes of death, and prognostic factors for dogs and cats undergoing surgical excision of thymic epithelial tumors (TETs). Multi-institutional case series. Eighty dogs and 32 cats. Follow-up information was obtained for dogs and cats that underwent surgical excision of a TET between 2001 and 2012. Perioperative mortality was 20% in dogs and 22% in cats. No independent risk factors for perioperative mortality were identified. The estimated median survival time for all dogs was 1.69 years (95% CI 0.56-4.32) and the 1- and 4-year survival rates were 55% (95% CI 44-67) and 44% (95% CI 32-56). The estimated median survival time for all cats was 3.71 years (95% CI 0.56-unestimatable) and the 1- and 4-year survival rates were 70% (95% CI 53-87) and 47% (95% CI 0-100). Of animals that survived to discharge, 42% of dogs and 20% of cats eventually died of TET-related causes. The presence of paraneoplastic syndromes (hazard ratio [HR] 5.78, 95% CI 1.64-20.45, P = .007) or incomplete histologic margins (HR 6.09, 95% CI 1.50-24.72, P = .01) were independently associated with decreased survival in dogs. No significant predictors of survival were identified in cats. Conclusions regarding the effect of chemotherapy or radiation therapy could not be made. While there is substantial risk of perioperative death in dogs and cats undergoing surgery for TETs, many animals that survive to discharge have prolonged survival. Survival is significantly decreased in dogs with paraneoplastic syndromes or incomplete histologic margins. © Copyright 2014 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: impact of pulmonary follow-up and mechanical ventilation on survival. A study of 114 cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanjuán-López, Pilar; Valiño-López, Paz; Ricoy-Gabaldón, Jorge; Verea-Hernando, Héctor

2014-12-01

To study the impact of ventilatory management and treatment on the survival of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Retrospective analysis of 114 consecutive patients admitted to a general hospital, evaluating demographic data, type of presentation, clinical management, treatment with mechanical ventilation and survival. descriptive and Kaplan-Meier estimator. Sixty four patients presented initial bulbar involvement. Overall mean survival after diagnosis was 28.0 months (95%CI, 21.1-34.8). Seventy patients were referred to the pulmonary specialist (61.4%) and 43 received non-invasive ventilation (NIV) at 12.7 months (median) after diagnosis. Thirty seven patients continued to receive NIV with no subsequent invasive ventilation. The mean survival of these patients was 23.3 months (95%CI, 16.7-28.8), higher in those without bulbar involvement, although below the range of significance. Survival in the 26 patients receiving programmed NIV was higher than in the 11 patients in whom this was indicated without prior pulmonary assessment (considered following diagnosis, P<.012, and in accordance with the start of ventilation, P<.004). A total of 7 patients were treated invasively; mean survival in this group was 72 months (95%CI, 14.36-129.6), median 49.6±17.5 (95%CI, 15.3-83.8), and despite the difficulties involved in home care, acceptance and tolerance was acceptable. Long-term mechanical ventilation prolongs survival in ALS. Programmed pulmonary assessment has a positive impact on survival of ALS patients and is key to the multidisciplinary management of this disease. Copyright © 2014 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Clinical and survival impact of FDG PET in patients with suspicion of recurrent cervical carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pallardy, Amandine; Testard, Aude; Resche, Isabelle; Bridji, Boumediene; Bodet-Milin, Caroline; Oudoux, Aurore; Ansquer, Catherine; Campion, Loic; Bourbouloux, Emmanuelle; Sagan, Christine; Kraeber-Bodere, Francoise; Rousseau, Caroline

2010-01-01

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the contribution of 18 F-FDG PET to the clinical management and survival outcome of patients suspected of recurrent cervical carcinoma and in line with the hypothesis that early diagnosis of recurrent cervical cancer may improve overall survival. A total of 40 patients underwent conventional imaging (CI) and FDG PET/CT for suspected cervical cancer. Clinical management decisions were recorded with CI and additional PET/CT. Discordances and concordances between CI and PET/CT results were compared to the final diagnosis as based on histopathology analysis or follow-up considered as the gold standard. The final diagnosis was established pathologically (n=25) or by median clinical follow-up for 48 months after the PET (n=15). The PET/CT was positive in 76% (20/26) of patients compared to 19% (6/26) with CI. Globally PET/CT modified the treatment plan in 55% (22/40) of patients and in 75% (18/24) when the CI was negative prior to PET/CT. These changes led to the use of previously unplanned therapeutic procedures in 37.5% (15/40). When FDG PET was positive for recurrence (>3 foci), the median overall survival was 12 months (2-70) compared to patients with PET findings with ≤1 focus for which the median survival was not attained (p=0.007). A multivariate analysis of prognostic factors demonstrated that abnormal FDG uptake (>3 foci) was the most significant factor (p<0.03) for death from cervical cancer. FDG PET is a valuable tool in the case of suspected recurrence of cervical cancer on account of its impact on treatment planning and especially in predicting patient outcome. (orig.)

Median Filtering Methods for Non-volcanic Tremor Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Damiao, L. G.; Nadeau, R. M.; Dreger, D. S.; Luna, B.; Zhang, H.

2016-12-01

Various properties of median filtering over time and space are used to address challenges posed by the Non-volcanic tremor detection problem. As part of a "Big-Data" effort to characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of ambient tremor throughout the Northern San Andreas Fault system, continuous seismic data from multiple seismic networks with contrasting operational characteristics and distributed over a variety of regions are being used. Automated median filtering methods that are flexible enough to work consistently with these data are required. Tremor is characterized by a low-amplitude, long-duration signal-train whose shape is coherent at multiple stations distributed over a large area. There are no consistent phase arrivals or mechanisms in a given tremor's signal and even the durations and shapes among different tremors vary considerably. A myriad of masquerading noise, anthropogenic and natural-event signals must also be discriminated in order to obtain accurate tremor detections. We present here results of the median methods applied to data from four regions of the San Andreas Fault system in northern California (Geysers Geothermal Field, Napa, Bitterwater and Parkfield) to illustrate the ability of the methods to detect tremor under diverse conditions.

Outcome and prognostic factors following curative-intent surgery for oral tumours in dogs: 234 cases (2004 to 2014).

Science.gov (United States)

Sarowitz, B N; Davis, G J; Kim, S

2017-03-01

To describe the long-term outcomes and prognostic factors associated with curative-intent surgery for oral tumours in a large series of dogs. Retrospective review of records for dogs with oral tumours treated with curative-intent surgery. Data collected included signalment, weight, surgical procedure, lymph node staging results, computed tomography results, tumour size, histopathology results including margin evaluation, complications, adjunctive therapies, local recurrence or metastasis, date and cause of death and owner satisfaction. Median cause-specific survival was shortest for malignant melanoma (206 days) and osteosarcoma (209 days). Local recurrence rate was highest for fibrosarcoma (54·2%) and distant metastatic rate was highest for malignant melanoma (30%). Curative-intent surgery resulted in complete surgical margins in 85·2% of cases. Results suggest tumour type, completeness of excision, tumour size, and age may affect disease-free interval and cause-specific survival. Fibrosarcoma had a higher risk of recurrence compared to other tumour types. © 2017 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.

The Effect of Coexistence of a Pair of Mutated Oncogenes on the Survival Rate of Invasive Breast Carcinoma Patients

Science.gov (United States)

Nair, D. R.

2017-12-01

The purpose of this project was to determine the effect of two mutated oncogenes on the survival rate from invasive breast carcinoma when in comparison to the mutation of a single oncogene on the survival rate. An oncogene is defined as a gene, that when mutated, can lead to cancer. The two oncogenes used in this project were human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and c-myc (MYC). HER2 and MYC are both oncogenes that contribute to the formation of cancer. HER2 proteins are receptors on breast cells, and when the HER2 gene is mutated, there is an overexpression of HER2 protein on the breast cell. This makes the breast cells proliferate uncontrollably. MYC is a gene that codes for a transcription factor that plays a role in cell cycle progression. The overexpression of MYC also leads to the proliferation of cells. I hypothesized that if there is a mutation in both the MYC and HER2 genes, then the survival rate of invasive breast carcinoma patients will be lower compared to patients with the mutations of only MYC or HER2. To test this hypothesis, we conducted individual gene searches in CBioPortal for HER2 in the datasets from the studies titled TCGA Nature 2012, TCGA Cell 2015, and TCGA Provisional. We conducted individual gene searches in CBioPortal for MYC in the same datasets. The survival rate data was then exported and analyzed for patients with mutations of either HER2 or MYC and with mutations of both genes. To determine the cases that had both HER2 and MYC mutations, we found the overlapping cases in both HER2 and MYC groups for all three datasets. We calculated the median of the survival data for cases where either HER2 or MYC was mutated and cases where both MYC and HER2 were mutated. From the first dataset, the median of MYC data was 95.53, HER2 data was 95.83, and both HER2 and MYC data was 91.24. In the second dataset, the median of MYC data was 92.17 , HER2 data was 93.5, and both HER2 and MYC data was 87.95 . In the third dataset, the median

Extraneural metastases of medulloblastoma: desmoplastic variants may have prolonged survival.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Robert J; Khakoo, Yasmin; Yhu, Stephen; Wolden, Suzanne; De Braganca, Kevin C; Gilheeney, Stephen W; Dunkel, Ira J

2015-04-01

Extraneural metastases from CNS medulloblastoma are rare and poorly described. The purpose of this study is to describe the clinical and radiological characteristics of a large single institution series of patients with medulloblastoma who developed extraneural metastases. We retrospectively reviewed a departmental database over a 20 year period for all patients with medulloblastoma who developed extraneural metastases. Chart and imaging reviews were performed, and overall survival (OS) estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. We found 14 patients with medulloblastoma and extraneural metastases. The median age at initial diagnosis was 16.3 years (range, 3.2-44.2), and the most common subtype was desmoplastic (n = 6, 42.9%). After initial gross total resection, most patients received radiation therapy alone (n = 10, 71.4%). Metastases to bone were most common (n = 11, 78.6%) followed by metastases to bone marrow (n = 6, 42.9%), usually to the spine. The median time from initial diagnosis to first extraneural metastasis was 1.5 years (range, 0.2-17.4), and the median OS from extraneural metastasis to death was 3.3 years (range, 0-18). The Kaplan-Meier estimate of 5 year OS from extraneural metastasis diagnosis was 40.0% (95% CI, 20.2-79.2). Extraneural metastases from medulloblastoma may rarely develop after initial diagnosis to involve bone and bone marrow. We found that desmoplastic variant extraneural tumors had longer survival than nondesmoplastic variants, suggesting that histopathological and more recent molecular subtyping have important roles in determining the prognosis of medulloblastoma patients. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Clinical findings and survival time in dogs with advanced heart failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Beaumier, Amelie; Rush, John E; Yang, Vicky K; Freeman, Lisa M

2018-04-10

Dogs with advanced heart failure are a clinical challenge for veterinarians but there are no studies reporting clinical features and outcome of this population. To describe clinical findings and outcome of dogs with advanced heart failure caused by degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD). Fifty-four dogs with advanced heart failure because of DMVD. For study purposes, advanced heart failure was defined as recurrence of congestive heart failure signs despite receiving the initially prescribed dose of pimobendan, angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), and furosemide >4 mg/kg/day. Data were collected for the time of diagnosis of Stage C heart failure and time of diagnosis of advanced heart failure. Date of death was recorded. At the diagnosis of advanced heart failure, doses of pimobendan (n = 30), furosemide (n = 28), ACEI (n = 13), and spironolactone (n = 4) were increased, with ≥1 new medications added in most dogs. After initial diagnosis of advanced heart failure, 38 (70%) dogs had additional medications adjustments (median = 2 [range, 0-27]), with the final total medication number ranging from 2-10 (median = 5). Median survival time after diagnosis of advanced heart failure was 281 days (range, 3-885 days). Dogs receiving a furosemide dose >6.70 mg/kg/day had significantly longer median survival times (402 days [range, 3-885 days] versus 129 days [range 9-853 days]; P = .017). Dogs with advanced heart failure can have relatively long survival times. Higher furosemide dose and non-hospitalization were associated with longer survival. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Lapset median käyttäjinä

OpenAIRE

Jalonen, Taru; Suomela, Sonja

2010-01-01

Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu Tiivistelmä Hyvinkää Sosiaali-, terveys- ja liikunta-ala Hoitotyön koulutusohjelma Terveydenhoitaja AMK Sairaanhoitaja AMK Taru Jalonen, Sonja Suomela Lapset median käyttäjinä Vuosi ‎2010‎ Sivumäärä ‎63‎ Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli selvittää lasten tottumuksia ja kokemuksia mediasta sekä ‎niiden herättämiä tunteita. Lisäksi selvitimme lasten käyttämiä mediaympäristöjä sekä median ‎näkymistä lasten leikeissä. Tämä työ on os...

Promising survival with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armstrong, John; Raben, Adam; Zelefsky, Michael; Burt, Michael; Leibel, Steve; Burman, Chandra; Kutcher, Gerard; Harrison, Louis; Hahn, Cathy; Ginsberg, Robert; Rusch, Valerie; Kris, Mark; Fuks, Zvi

1997-01-01

Purpose: Local failure is a major obstacle to the cure of locally advanced non small-cell lung cancer. Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3-DCRT) selects optimal treatment parameters to increase dose to tumor and reduce normal tissue dose, potentially representing an enhancement of the therapeutic ratio of radiation therapy for lung cancer. We performed this analysis of 45 non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with 3-DCRT alone, to evaluate the ability of computer derived lung dose volume histograms to predict serious pulmonary toxicity, to assess the feasibility of this approach, and to examine the resulting survival. Methods: There were 28 males (62%) and 17 females (38%). The median age was 65 (range: 38-82). Tumor stage was Stage I/II in 13%, IIIa in 42%, and IIIb in 44%. The histology was squamous in 44%, adenocarcinoma in 36%, and other non-small cell histologies in the others. Only 47% of patients. had combined favorable prognostic factors (i.e. KPS ≤ 80, and ≤5% wt. loss). The median dose of radiation to gross disease was 70.2 Gy (range: 52.2-72 Gy) delivered in fractions of 1.8 Gy, 5 days per week. Results: Seven patients did not complete 3-DCRT due to disease progression outside the port. Follow-up data are mature: the median follow up of the 6 survivors is 43.5 months (35-59). Thoracic progression occurred in 46%. Median survival (all 45 patients.) is 15.7 months and survival is 32% at 2 years and 12% at 59 months. Pulmonary toxicity ≥grade 3 occurred in 9% of patients. Dose volume histograms were available in 31 patients and showed a correlation between risk of pulmonary toxicity and indices of dose to lung parenchyma. Grade 3 or higher pulmonary toxicity occurred in 38% ((3(8))) of patients with >30% of lung volume receiving ≥25 Gy, versus 4% ((1(23))) of patients with ≤30% lung receiving ≥25 Gy (P = 0.04). Grade 3 or higher pulmonary toxicity occurred in 29% ((4(14))) of patients with a predicted pulmonary normal tissue

Surgical and survival outcomes of lung cancer patients with intratumoral lung abscesses.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamanashi, Keiji; Okumura, Norihito; Takahashi, Ayuko; Nakashima, Takashi; Matsuoka, Tomoaki

2017-05-26

Intratumoral lung abscess is a secondary lung abscess that is considered to be fatal. Therefore, surgical procedures, although high-risk, have sometimes been performed for intratumoral lung abscesses. However, no studies have examined the surgical outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer patients with intratumoral lung abscesses. The aim of this study was to investigate the surgical and survival outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer patients with intratumoral lung abscesses. Eleven consecutive non-small cell lung cancer patients with intratumoral lung abscesses, who had undergone pulmonary resection at our institution between January 2007 and December 2015, were retrospectively analysed. The post-operative prognoses were investigated and prognostic factors were evaluated. Ten of 11 patients were male and one patient was female. The median age was 64 (range, 52-80) years. Histopathologically, 4 patients had Stage IIA, 2 patients had Stage IIB, 2 patients had Stage IIIA, and 3 patients had Stage IV tumors. The median operative time was 346 min and the median amount of bleeding was 1327 mL. The post-operative morbidity and mortality rates were 63.6% and 0.0%, respectively. Recurrence of respiratory infections, including lung abscesses, was not observed in all patients. The median post-operative observation period was 16.1 (range, 1.3-114.5) months. The 5-year overall survival rate was 43.3%. No pre-operative, intra-operative, or post-operative prognostic factors were identified in the univariate analyses. Surgical procedures for advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients with intratumoral lung abscesses, although high-risk, led to satisfactory post-operative mortality rates and acceptable prognoses.

Optimal design of work zone median crossovers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-01

The use of temporary median crossovers in work zones allows for the closure of one side of a multi-lane roadway while : maintaining two-way traffic on the opposite side. This process provides the ability for construction and maintenance crews : to co...

Overall survival and disease-free survival in endometrial cancer: prognostic factors in 276 patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tejerizo-García A

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Álvaro Tejerizo-García,1 Jesús S Jiménez-López,1 José L Muñoz-González,1 Sara Bartolomé-Sotillos,1 Laura Marqueta-Marqués,1 Gregorio López-González,1 José F Pérez-Regadera Gómez21Service of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2Radiation Oncology Service, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, SpainObjective: The aim of the study reported here was to assess the disease-free survival and overall survival of patients with endometrial cancer and to determine independent factors affecting the prognosis.Materials and methods: This was a retrospective study of a single-center clinical series of 276 patients (mean age 64 years with histologically confirmed cancer of the corpus uteri. The standard treatments were extrafascial total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with selective pelvic/para-aortic node dissection, according to risk for recurrence. Actuarial overall survival and disease-free survival were estimated according to the Kaplan–Meier method. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to assess the prognostic significance of the different variables.Results: The estimated median follow-up, determined using the inverse Kaplan–Meier method, was 45 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 41.2–48.8 for disease-free survival and 46 months (95% CI 43.0–49.0 for overall survival. The statistically significant variables affecting disease-free survival and overall survival were age, serous-papillary and clear-cell histological types, outer-half myometrial invasion, advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO stage, tumor grades G2 and G3, incomplete surgical resection, positive lymph nodes, lymphovascular space invasion, tumor remnants of >1 cm after surgery, and high-risk group. In the multivariate Cox regression model, predictors of tumor recurrence included advanced FIGO stage (hazard ratio [HR] 4.90, 95% CI 2.57–9.36, P < 0.001 and tumor grades G2 (HR 4.79, 95

Long-term disease-free survival in advanced melanomas treated with nitrosoureas: mechanisms and new perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Durando, Xavier; Thivat, Emilie; D'Incan, Michel; Sinsard, Anne; Madelmont, Jean-Claude; Chollet, Philippe

2005-11-15

Median survival of metastatic malignant melanoma is 6.0 to 7.5 months, with a 5-year survival of approximately 6.0%. Although long-term complete remissions are rare, few reports describe cases after chemotherapy. Fifty-three patients with metastatic melanoma were treated with Cystemustine, a chloroethyl nitrosourea (CENU) (60 or 90 mg/m2). We describe 5 cases, presenting with complete response with long-term disease-free survival of long-term remission of 14, 12, 9, 7 and 6 years after Cystemustine therapy alone. Long-term survival has already been described in literature, but in all cases they have been obtained after chemotherapy associated with or followed by surgery. But despite these noteworthy and encouraging but also rare results, it appears essential to increase Cystemustine efficiency.

Survival, durable tumor remission, and long-term safety in patients with advanced melanoma receiving nivolumab.

Science.gov (United States)

Topalian, Suzanne L; Sznol, Mario; McDermott, David F; Kluger, Harriet M; Carvajal, Richard D; Sharfman, William H; Brahmer, Julie R; Lawrence, Donald P; Atkins, Michael B; Powderly, John D; Leming, Philip D; Lipson, Evan J; Puzanov, Igor; Smith, David C; Taube, Janis M; Wigginton, Jon M; Kollia, Georgia D; Gupta, Ashok; Pardoll, Drew M; Sosman, Jeffrey A; Hodi, F Stephen

2014-04-01

Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) is an inhibitory receptor expressed by activated T cells that downmodulates effector functions and limits the generation of immune memory. PD-1 blockade can mediate tumor regression in a substantial proportion of patients with melanoma, but it is not known whether this is associated with extended survival or maintenance of response after treatment is discontinued. Patients with advanced melanoma (N = 107) enrolled between 2008 and 2012 received intravenous nivolumab in an outpatient setting every 2 weeks for up to 96 weeks and were observed for overall survival, long-term safety, and response duration after treatment discontinuation. Median overall survival in nivolumab-treated patients (62% with two to five prior systemic therapies) was 16.8 months, and 1- and 2-year survival rates were 62% and 43%, respectively. Among 33 patients with objective tumor regressions (31%), the Kaplan-Meier estimated median response duration was 2 years. Seventeen patients discontinued therapy for reasons other than disease progression, and 12 (71%) of 17 maintained responses off-therapy for at least 16 weeks (range, 16 to 56+ weeks). Objective response and toxicity rates were similar to those reported previously; in an extended analysis of all 306 patients treated on this trial (including those with other cancer types), exposure-adjusted toxicity rates were not cumulative. Overall survival following nivolumab treatment in patients with advanced treatment-refractory melanoma compares favorably with that in literature studies of similar patient populations. Responses were durable and persisted after drug discontinuation. Long-term safety was acceptable. Ongoing randomized clinical trials will further assess the impact of nivolumab therapy on overall survival in patients with metastatic melanoma.

Cigarette smoking is associated with adverse survival among women with ovarian cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Præstegaard, Camilla; Jensen, Allan; Jensen, Signe M

2017-01-01

,149 (57%) women died during a median follow-up period of 7.0 years. Among women diagnosed with ovarian cancer, both current (pHR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.08-1.28) and former smokers (pHR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.02-1.18) had worse survival compared with never smoking women. In histotype-stratified analyses...

National incidence, management and survival of urachal carcinoma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dearbhaile C. Collins

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Urachal carcinoma is an uncommon cancer whose rarity has precluded its study and evidence-based management strategies are lacking. This study assessed all urachal carcinomas in Ireland and clinical parameters in order to improve understanding. Urachal carcinomas diagnosed from 1994 to 2011 were identified from the National Cancer Registry in Ireland. Data obtained included patient age, gender, diagnostic year, pathology, tumor stage, patient treatment strategies and survival. Twenty-six urachal carcinomas were identified, the majority being adenocarcinoma. This comprised 0.3% of all invasive bladder tumors. Patients were predominantly male (62% and over 50 years of age (58%. Twenty-two patients (85% underwent surgery, with only six (23% undergoing chemotherapy. On average, median overall survival was 2.6 years (range 0-15.2 yrs. Survival was longer in women (5 vs. 1.9 yrs, patients under 50 years of age (3.6 vs. 1.9 yrs, those without confirmed metastasis (4.1 vs. 0.7 yrs and those who received chemotherapy (3.6 vs. 2.6 yrs. The overall survival of urachal carcinoma in Ireland is less than expected from published literature. This study highlights the need for centralization of rare tumors with international collaboration to identify the optimal treatment strategy and improve outcome.

Postoperative Respiratory Function and Survival After Pneumonectomy in Dogs and Cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Majeski, Stephanie A; Steffey, Michele A; Mayhew, Philipp D; Hunt, Geraldine B; Holt, David E; Runge, Jeffrey J; Kass, Philip H; Mellema, Matthew

2016-08-01

To describe indications for, and outcomes after, pneumonectomy in dogs and cats, including assessment of immediate postoperative respiratory function in comparison to dogs undergoing single lung lobectomy. Retrospective case series. Dogs (n=16) and cats (n=7) with naturally occurring pulmonary disease. Medical records (1990-2014) of dogs and cats undergoing right or left pneumonectomy were reviewed. Data retrieved included signalment, history, preoperative diagnostics, operative descriptions, postoperative data including respiratory function, and postdischarge outcomes. For respiratory function comparisons, medical records of dogs having undergone a single lung lobectomy via median sternotomy (n=15) or intercostal thoracotomy (n=15) were reviewed. Twenty-three cases (16 dogs, 7 cats) were included. Pneumonectomy was performed for congenital (1 dog, 1 cat), neoplastic (8 dogs, 1 cat), and infectious (7 dogs, 5 cats) disease. Postoperative aspiration pneumonia occurred in 2 dogs; 15 of 16 dogs (94%) and 6/7 cats (86%) survived to hospital discharge. After pneumonectomy, dogs had a significantly higher postoperative PaO2 on 21% oxygen (P=.033) and lower postoperative A-a gradient (P=.004) compared to dogs undergoing single lung lobectomy. Survival times (right-censored at last follow-up) for dogs ranged from 2 days to 7 years (estimated median=1,868 days) and for cats from 1-585 days. Dogs and cats have acceptable respiratory function immediately postoperatively and most have protracted long-term survival after pneumonectomy for a variety of pulmonary diseases. © Copyright 2016 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Trends in adult leukemia incidence and survival in Denmark, 1943-2003

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thygesen, Lau Caspar; Nielsen, Ove Juul; Johansen, Christoffer

2009-01-01

The etiology of leukemia is largely unknown. Ecological data indicating trends in incidence and survival can provide information about changes in risk factors, can reflect underlying changes in diagnostic classification, and can measure therapeutic advances. From the records of the Danish Cancer...... Registry with registration starting from 1943, we calculated age-specific, period-specific, and age-standardized (world standard) incidence rates of chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL), acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for persons above the age...... of 18. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and median survival times were calculated. Between 1943 and 2003, there were 26,036 cases of leukemia reported. The age-specific incidence rates of CLL, CML, and AML were higher for older men and women, while the incidence rates of ALL by age were more homogeneous...

Survival data for postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy comprising cisplatin plus vinorelbine after complete resection of non-small cell lung cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Kenmotsu, Hirotsugu; Ohde, Yasuhisa; Wakuda, Kazushige; Nakashima, Kazuhisa; Omori, Shota; Ono, Akira; Naito, Tateaki; Murakami, Haruyasu; Kojima, Hideaki; Takahashi, Shoji; Isaka, Mitsuhiro; Endo, Masahiro; Takahashi, Toshiaki

2017-09-01

Despite the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant cisplatin (CDDP)-based chemotherapy for patients who have undergone surgical resection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), few reports have presented survival data for Asian patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy involving a combination of CDDP and vinorelbine (VNR). This study was performed to evaluate the survival of patients with NSCLC who received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy comprising CDDP + VNR. We retrospectively evaluated patients with NSCLC who received adjuvant chemotherapy comprising CDDP + VNR at the Shizuoka Cancer Center between February 2006 and October 2011. One hundred patients who underwent surgical resection of NSCLC were included in this study. The patients' characteristics were as follows: median age 63 years (range 36-74 years), female 34%, never-smokers 20%, and non-squamous NSCLC 73%. Pathological stages IIA, IIB, and IIIA were observed in 31, 22, and 47% of patients, respectively. The 5- and 2-year overall survival rates were 73 and 93%, respectively. The 5- and 2-year relapse-free survival rates were 53 and 62%, respectively. Univariate analysis of prognostic factors showed that patient characteristics (sex, histology, and pathological stage) and CDDP dose intensity were not significantly associated with survival. In 48 patients who developed NSCLC recurrence, the 5-year survival rate after recurrence was 29%, and the median survival time after recurrence was 37 months. Our results suggest that the prognosis after surgical resection of NSCLC and adjuvant chemotherapy comprising CDDP + VNR might be improving compared with previous survival data of adjuvant chemotherapy for NSCLC.

A retrospective review of outcome and survival following surgery and adjuvant xenogeneic DNA vaccination in 32 dogs with oral malignant melanoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Treggiari, Elisabetta; Grant, Jessica Pauline; North, Susan Margaret

2016-06-01

A xenogeneic DNA vaccination has been licensed for use in dogs with locally controlled stage II and III oral malignant melanoma (OMM). At present, there are limited outcome data for dogs with OMM treated with surgery and immunotherapy. The aim of this study is to retrospectively review the outcome and survival of 32 dogs affected by OMM that were treated with a combination of surgery and the xenogeneic DNA vaccination (with the addition of radiotherapy in some cases) and to determine the influence of surgical margins and delay in receiving vaccination. The overall median survival time (MST) was 335 days (95% CI: 301-540 days), and the overall median progression-free survival (PFS) was 160 days (mean 182 days, 95% CI: 132-232 days). Stage, completeness of surgical margins and delay in administration of the vaccine did not appear to statistically influence survival or PFS, although these results may reflect the low statistical power of the study due to small numbers. Further studies are required to assess whether the addition of any adjuvant treatment to surgery, including immunotherapy, is able to significantly prolong survival in cases of canine oral melanoma.

Sosiaalisen median markkinointisuunnitelma uudelle hoitoalan konseptoidulle työvaatemallistolle

OpenAIRE

Leppälä, Sanna

2017-01-01

Opinnäytetyössä pohdittiin keinoja saada uuden konseptoidun työvaatemalliston näkyvyyttä esille sosiaalisen median keinoin. Toimeksiantaja-yrityksenä toimi suomalainen Virtually Oy ja kohteena oli sen uusi hoitajille suunnattu työvaatemallisto. Malliston ympärille halutaan luoda kestävä brändi ja sosiaalisen median markkinointi on tukemassa brändin tunnettavuutta ja myyntiä. Sosiaalinen media ei yritysten välisessä liiketoiminnassa toimi ainoana markkinoinnin työkaluna, vaan se on tukemas...

Long-term event-free and overall survival after risk-adapted melphalan and SCT for systemic light chain amyloidosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Landau, H; Smith, M; Landry, C; Chou, J F; Devlin, S M; Hassoun, H; Bello, C; Giralt, S; Comenzo, R L

2017-01-01

Stem cell transplantation (SCT), an effective therapy for amyloid light chain (AL) amyloidosis patients, is associated with low treatment-related mortality (TRM) with appropriate patient selection and risk-adapted dosing of melphalan (RA-SCT). Consolidation after SCT increases hematologic complete response (CR) rates and may improve overall survival (OS) for patients with SCT with or without consolidation. Melphalan was administered at 100 (14%), 140 (52%) and 200 (34%) mg/m 2 . The TRM rate at 100 days was 5%. RA-SCT resulted in CR in 24% (3 months) and 48% (12 months) of patients. The CR rate was particularly high (62%) in patients offered bortezomib consolidation. With a median follow-up among survivors of 7.7 years, median event-free survival (EFS) with RA-SCT was 4.04 years (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.41-5.01 years); median OS was 10.4 years (95% CI: 7.3-not achieved). Patients with CR at 12 months after SCT had significantly longer EFS (P=0.01) and OS (P=0.04). In a multivariate analysis, melphalan dose had no impact on EFS (P=0.26) or OS (P=0.11). For selected patients, RA-SCT was safe and was associated with extended long-term survival. With the availability of novel agents for consolidation, RA-SCT remains a very effective and important backbone treatment for AL amyloidosis.

Adjuvant Chemotherapy After Radical Cystectomy for Urothelial Bladder Cancer: Outcome and Prognostic Factors for Survival in a French Multicenter, Contemporary Cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Pouessel, Damien; Bastuji-Garin, Sylvie; Houédé, Nadine; Vordos, Dimitri; Loriot, Yohann; Chevreau, Christine; Sevin, Emmanuel; Beuzeboc, Philippe; Taille, Alexandre de la; Le Thuaut, Aurélie; Allory, Yves; Culine, Stéphane

2017-02-01

In the past decade, adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) after radical cystectomy (RC) was preferred worldwide for patients with muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer. In this study we aimed to determine the outcome of patients who received AC and evaluated prognostic factors associated with survival. We retrospectively analyzed 226 consecutive patients treated in 6 academic hospitals between 2000 and 2009. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression adjusted for center to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals were used. The median age was 62.4 (range, 35-82) years. Patients had pT3/pT4 and/or pN+ in 180 (79.6%) and 168 patients (74.3%), respectively. Median lymph node (LN) density was 25% (range, 3.1-100). Median time between RC and AC was 61.5 (range, 18-162) days. Gemcitabine with cisplatin, gemcitabine with carboplatin, and MVAC (methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin) regimens were delivered in 161 (71.2%), 49 (21.7%), and 12 patients (5.3%) of patients, respectively. The median number of cycles was 4 (range, 1-6). Thirteen patients (5.7%) with LN metastases also received adjuvant pelvic radiotherapy (ART). After a median follow-up of 4.2 years, 5-year overall survival (OS) was 40.7%. In multivariate analysis, pT ≥3 stage (HR, 1.73; P = .05), LN density >50% (HR, 1.94; P = .03), and number of AC cycles Classical prognostic features associated with survival are not modified by the use of AC. Patients who derived benefit from AC had a low LN density and received at least 4 cycles of treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lecturers' and Students’ Perception on Learning Dijkstra’s Shortest Path Algorithm Through Mobile Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mazyar Seraj

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In recent years, many studies have been carried out on how to engage and support students in e-learning environments. Portable devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs, Tablet PCs, mobile phones and other mobile equipment have been used as parts of electronic learning environments to facilitate learning and teaching for both lecturers and students. However, there is still a dearth of study investigating the effects of small screen interfaces on mobile-based learning environments. This study aims to address two objectives: (i investigate lecturer and student difficulties encountered in teaching-learning process in traditional face-to-face classroom settings, and (ii to explore lecturer and student perceptions about learning the subject through mobile devices. This paper presents the results of a qualitative study using structured interviews to investigate lecturer and student experiences and perceptions on teaching and learning Dijkstra’s shortest path algorithm via mobile devices. The interview insights were then used as inputs to define user requirements for a mobile learning prototype. The findings show that the lecturers and students raised many issues about interactivity and the flexibility of effective learning applications on small screen devices, especially for a technical subject.

Prescription dose and fractionation predict improved survival after stereotactic radiotherapy for brainstem metastases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leeman Jonathan E

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Brainstem metastases represent an uncommon clinical presentation that is associated with a poor prognosis. Treatment options are limited given the unacceptable risks associated with surgical resection in this location. However, without local control, symptoms including progressive cranial nerve dysfunction are frequently observed. The objective of this study was to determine the outcomes associated with linear accelerator-based stereotactic radiotherapy or radiosurgery (SRT/SRS of brainstem metastases. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 38 tumors in 36 patients treated with SRT/SRS between February 2003 and December 2011. Treatment was delivered with the Cyberknife™ or Trilogy™ radiosurgical systems. The median age of patients was 62 (range: 28–89. Primary pathologies included 14 lung, 7 breast, 4 colon and 11 others. Sixteen patients (44% had received whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT prior to SRT/SRS; ten had received prior SRT/SRS at a different site (28%. The median tumor volume was 0.94 cm3 (range: 0.01-4.2 with a median prescription dose of 17 Gy (range: 12–24 delivered in 1–5 fractions. Results Median follow-up for the cohort was 3.2 months (range: 0.4-20.6. Nineteen patients (52% had an MRI follow-up available for review. Of these, one patient experienced local failure corresponding to an actuarial 6-month local control of 93%. Fifteen of the patients with available follow-up imaging (79% experienced intracranial failure outside of the treatment volume. The median time to distant intracranial failure was 2.1 months. Six of the 15 patients with distant intracranial failure (40% had received previous WBRT. The actuarial overall survival rates at 6- and 12-months were 27% and 8%, respectively. Predictors of survival included Graded Prognostic Assessment (GPA score, greater number of treatment fractions, and higher prescription dose. Three patients experienced acute treatment-related toxicity consisting of

Survival rates and predictors of survival among colorectal cancer patients in a Malaysian tertiary hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Magaji, Bello Arkilla; Moy, Foong Ming; Roslani, April Camilla; Law, Chee Wei

2017-05-18

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death globally. It is the second most common cancer among both males and females in Malaysia. The economic burden of colorectal cancer is likely to increase over time owing to its current trend and aging population. Cancer survival analysis is an essential indicator for early detection and improvement in cancer treatment. However, there was a scarcity of studies concerning survival of colorectal cancer patients as well as its predictors. Therefore, we aimed to determine the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates, compare survival rates among ethnic groups and determine the predictors of survival among colorectal cancer patients. This was an ambidirectional cohort study conducted at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All Malaysian citizens or permanent residents with histologically confirmed diagnosis of colorectal cancer seen at UMMC from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2010 were included in the study. Demographic and clinical characteristics were extracted from the medical records. Patients were followed-up until death or censored at the end of the study (31st December 2010). Censored patients' vital status (whether alive or dead) were cross checked with the National Registration Department. Survival analyses at 1-, 3- and 5-year intervals were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test was used to compare the survival rates, while Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was carried out to determine the predictors of 5-year colorectal cancer survival. Among 1212 patients, the median survival for colorectal, colon and rectal cancers were 42.0, 42.0 and 41.0 months respectively; while the 1-, 3-, and 5-year relative survival rates ranged from 73.8 to 76.0%, 52.1 to 53.7% and 40.4 to 45.4% respectively. The Chinese patients had the lowest 5-year survival compared to Malay and Indian patients. Based on the 814

Multiparametric analysis of magnetic resonance images for glioma grading and patient survival time prediction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garzon, Benjamin; Emblem, Kyrre E.; Mouridsen, Kim; Nedregaard, Baard; Due-Toennessen, Paulina; Nome, Terje; Hald, John K.; Bjoernerud, Atle; Haaberg, Asta K.; Kvinnsland, Yngve

2011-01-01

Background. A systematic comparison of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) options for glioma diagnosis is lacking. Purpose. To investigate multiple MR-derived image features with respect to diagnostic accuracy in tumor grading and survival prediction in glioma patients. Material and Methods. T1 pre- and post-contrast, T2 and dynamic susceptibility contrast scans of 74 glioma patients with histologically confirmed grade were acquired. For each patient, a set of statistical features was obtained from the parametric maps derived from the original images, in a region-of-interest encompassing the tumor volume. A forward stepwise selection procedure was used to find the best combinations of features for grade prediction with a cross-validated logistic model and survival time prediction with a cox proportional-hazards regression. Results. Presence/absence of enhancement paired with kurtosis of the FM (first moment of the first-pass curve) was the feature combination that best predicted tumor grade (grade II vs. grade III-IV; median AUC 0.96), with the main contribution being due to the first of the features. A lower predictive value (median AUC = 0.82) was obtained when grade IV tumors were excluded. Presence/absence of enhancement alone was the best predictor for survival time, and the regression was significant (P < 0.0001). Conclusion. Presence/absence of enhancement, reflecting transendothelial leakage, was the feature with highest predictive value for grade and survival time in glioma patients

Multiparametric analysis of magnetic resonance images for glioma grading and patient survival time prediction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garzon, Benjamin (Dept. of Circulation and Medical Imaging, NTNU, Trondheim (Norway)), email: benjamin.garzon@ntnu.no; Emblem, Kyrre E. (The Interventional Center, Rikshospitalet, Oslo Univ. Hospital, Oslo (Norway); Dept. of Radiology, MGH-HST AA Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston (United States)); Mouridsen, Kim (Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus Univ., Aarhus (Denmark)); Nedregaard, Baard; Due-Toennessen, Paulina; Nome, Terje; Hald, John K. (Dept. of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Rikshospitalet, Oslo Univ. Hospital, Oslo (Norway)); Bjoernerud, Atle (The Interventional Center, Rikshospitalet, Oslo Univ. Hospital, Oslo (Norway)); Haaberg, Asta K. (Dept. of Circulation and Medical Imaging, NTNU, Trondheim (Norway); Dept. of Medical Imaging, St Olav' s Hospital, Trondheim (Norway)); Kvinnsland, Yngve (NordicImagingLab, Bergen (Norway))

2011-11-15

Background. A systematic comparison of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) options for glioma diagnosis is lacking. Purpose. To investigate multiple MR-derived image features with respect to diagnostic accuracy in tumor grading and survival prediction in glioma patients. Material and Methods. T1 pre- and post-contrast, T2 and dynamic susceptibility contrast scans of 74 glioma patients with histologically confirmed grade were acquired. For each patient, a set of statistical features was obtained from the parametric maps derived from the original images, in a region-of-interest encompassing the tumor volume. A forward stepwise selection procedure was used to find the best combinations of features for grade prediction with a cross-validated logistic model and survival time prediction with a cox proportional-hazards regression. Results. Presence/absence of enhancement paired with kurtosis of the FM (first moment of the first-pass curve) was the feature combination that best predicted tumor grade (grade II vs. grade III-IV; median AUC 0.96), with the main contribution being due to the first of the features. A lower predictive value (median AUC = 0.82) was obtained when grade IV tumors were excluded. Presence/absence of enhancement alone was the best predictor for survival time, and the regression was significant (P < 0.0001). Conclusion. Presence/absence of enhancement, reflecting transendothelial leakage, was the feature with highest predictive value for grade and survival time in glioma patients

Does Full Wound Rupture following Median Pilonidal Closure Alter Long-Term Recurrence Rate?

Science.gov (United States)

Doll, Dietrich; Matevossian, Edouard; Luedi, Markus M; Schneider, Ralf; van Zypen, Dominic; Novotny, Alexander

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the recurrence rate of wound rupture in primary pilonidal sinus disease (PSD) after median closure. A total of 583 patients from the German military cohort were interviewed. We compared the choice of surgical therapy, wound dehiscence (if present) and long-term recurrence-free survival for patients with primary open treatment, marsupialization and primary median treatment (closed vs. secondary open, respectively). Actuarial recurrence rate was determined using the Kaplan-Meier calculation with a follow-up of up to 20 years after primary PSD surgery. Patients with excision followed by primary open wound treatment showed a significantly lower 5- than 10-year recurrence rate (8.3 vs. 11.2%) compared to the patients with primary midline closure (17.4 vs. 20.5%, p = 0.03). The 20-year recurrence rate was 28% in primary open wound treatment versus 44% in primary midline closure without wound rupture. In contrast to these findings, long-term recurrence rates following secondary open wound treatment (12.2% at 5 years vs. 17.1% at 10 years) tended to be higher (although not significantly, p = 0.57) compared to primary open treatment (8.3% at 5 years vs. 11.2% at 10 years). There was no statistical difference in long-term recurrence rates between secondary open and primary midline closure (p = 0.7). Hence, despite only a short wound closure time experienced before wound rupture, the patient does not fully benefit from an open wound treatment in terms of recurrence rate. The postoperative pilonidal sinus wound rupture of primary midline closures did not significantly increase the 5- and 10-year long-term recurrence rates compared to uneventfully healing primary midline closures. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Lung Shunt Fraction prior to Yttrium-90 Radioembolization Predicts Survival in Patients with Neuroendocrine Liver Metastases: Single-Center Prospective Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ludwig, Johannes M. [Yale University, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging (United States); Ambinder, Emily McIntosh [John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Diagnostic Radiology (United States); Ghodadra, Anish [University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United States); Xing, Minzhi [Yale University, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging (United States); Prajapati, Hasmukh J. [The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United States); Kim, Hyun S., E-mail: kevin.kim@yale.edu [Yale University, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging (United States)

2016-07-15

ObjectiveTo investigate survival outcomes following radioembolization with Yttrium-90 (Y90) for neuroendocrine tumor liver metastases (NETLMs). This study was designed to assess the efficacy of Y90 radioembolization and to evaluate lung shunt fraction (LSF) as a predictor for survival.MethodsA single-center, prospective study of 44 consecutive patients (median age: 58.5 years, 29.5 % male) diagnosed with pancreatic (52.3 %) or carcinoid (47.7 %) NETLMs from 2006 to 2012 who underwent Y90 radioembolization was performed. Patients’ baseline characteristics, including LSF and median overall survival (OS) from first Y90 radioembolization, were recorded and compared between patients with high (≥10 %) and low (<10 %) LSF. Baseline comparisons were performed using Fisher’s exact tests for categorical and Mann–Whitney U test for continuous variables. Survival was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Univariate (Wilcoxon rank-sum test) and multivariate analyses (Cox Proportional Hazard Model) for risk factor analysis were performed.ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference in age, gender, race, tumor properties, or previous treatments between patients with high (n = 15) and low (n = 29) LSF. The median OS was 27.4 months (95 %CI 12.73–55.23), with 4.77 months (95 %CI 2.87–26.73) for high and 42.77 months (95 %CI 18.47–59.73) for low LSF (p = 0.003). Multivariate analysis identified high LSF (p = 0.001), total serum bilirubin >1.2 mg (p = 0.016), and lack of pretreatment with octreotide (p = 0.01) as independent prognostic factors for poorer survival. Tumor type and total radiation dose did not predict survival.ConclusionsLSF ≥10 %, elevated bilirubin levels, and lack of pretreatment with octreotide were found to be independent prognostic factors for poorer survival in patients with NETLMs.

Characteristics of 49 patients who survived for 5 years following radical radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer: the potential for cure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mac Manus, Michael P.; Wada, Morikatsu; Matthews, Jane P.; Ball, David L.

2000-01-01

Purpose: To investigate the long-term curative potential of radical radiation therapy (RT) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by studying characteristics of patients from a large prospective database who survived > 5 years after RT, and by analyzing survival beyond 5 years. Methods and Materials: Five-year survivors were identified from a database containing information on 488 patients given radical RT following presentation to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute with NSCLC between 1984 and 1990. Additional data were obtained from case notes of survivors. RT was computed tomography (CT)-planned, conventionally-fractionated, and given without chemotherapy. Results: Actuarial survival for 49 5-year survivors was 65% at 10 years. Five 5-year survivors had documented disease progression within the first 5 years and subsequently died. Of 44 patients free-from-progression (FFP) at 5 years, an estimated 81% remained FFP in the second 5 years. Age and histology were not significant prognostic factors, and only 22 patients (4.5%) had weight loss > 10%. For 277 patients who had not undergone thoracotomy, median RT dose was 60 Gy and survival at 5 and 10 years was 7% and 3%, respectively. For 207 patients who received radical RT post-thoracotomy, median dose was 60 Gy and survival at 5 and 10 years was 24% and 18%, respectively. Five-year survivors of post-thoracotomy RT had been treated for gross residual disease (n = 10), positive-margin (n = 6), or probable microscopic residual disease (n = 17). Failure to regain ECOG performance status = 0 post-thoracotomy was associated with reduced survival (p 5 years after radical RT for NSCLC remained FFP in the following 5 years and were apparently cured. RT alone can cure small but significant numbers of patients. Long-term results of combined chemotherapy/RT protocols, which are associated with increased median survival, are awaited for comparison

Sosiaalisen median rooli mikroyrittäjän ostoprosessissa

OpenAIRE

Martikainen, Inkeri

2014-01-01

Opinnäytetyön tavoite oli selvittää sosiaalisen median rooli mikroyrittäjän ostoprosessissa; miten mikroyrittäjä hakee tietoa sosiaalisesta mediasta ja millainen vaikutus sieltä löytyvillä käyttäjäarvioilla on ostopäätökseen. Opinnäytetyö tehtiin erään finanssialan yrityksen toimeksiantona. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli antaa digitaalisen markkinoinnin ammattilaisille tietoa siitä, miten mikroyrittäjiä voidaan tavoittaa sosiaalisen median kautta, ja saada näin uusia asiakkaita. Tutkimus...

Peritumoral interstitial fluid flow velocity predicts survival in cervical carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hompland, Tord; Lund, Kjersti V.; Ellingsen, Christine; Kristensen, Gunnar B.; Rofstad, Einar K.

2014-01-01

Background and purpose: High tumor interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) is associated with poor outcome in locally advanced carcinoma of the uterine cervix. We have recently developed a noninvasive assay of the IFP of tumors, and in this assay, the outward interstitial fluid flow velocity at the tumor surface (v 0 ) is measured by Gd-DTPA-based DCE-MRI and used as a parameter for IFP. Here, we investigated the independent prognostic significance of v 0 in cervical cancer patients given cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy with curative intent. Patients: The study involved 62 evaluable patients from a cohort of 74 consecutive patients (Stage IB through IIIB) with a median follow-up of 5.5 years. Results: The actuarial disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) at 5 years were 67% and 76%, respectively. Significant associations were found between v 0 dichotomized about the median value and DFS and OS, both in the total patient cohort and a subcohort of 40 Stage IIB patients. Multivariate analysis involving stage, tumor volume, lymph node status, and v 0 revealed that only v 0 provided independent prognostic information about DFS and OS. Conclusion: This investigation demonstrates a strong, independent prognostic impact of the pretreatment peritumoral fluid flow velocity in cervical cancer

Time to treatment as a quality metric in lung cancer: Staging studies, time to treatment, and patient survival

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, Daniel R.; Liao, Kai-Ping; Swisher, Stephen G.; Blumenschein, George R.; Erasmus, Jeremy J.; Buchholz, Thomas A.; Giordano, Sharon H.; Smith, Benjamin D.

2015-01-01

Purpose: Prompt staging and treatment are crucial for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We determined if predictors of treatment delay after diagnosis were associated with prognosis. Materials and methods: Medicare claims from 28,732 patients diagnosed with NSCLC in 2004–2007 were used to establish the diagnosis-to-treatment interval (ideally ⩽35 days) and identify staging studies during that interval. Factors associated with delay were identified with multivariate logistic regression, and associations between delay and survival by stage were tested with Cox proportional hazard regression. Results: Median diagnosis-to-treatment interval was 27 days. Receipt of PET was associated with delays (57.4% of patients with PET delayed [n = 6646/11,583] versus 22.8% of those without [n = 3908/17,149]; adjusted OR = 4.48, 95% CI 4.23–4.74, p < 0.001). Median diagnosis-to-PET interval was 15 days; PET-to-clinic, 5 days; and clinic-to-treatment, 12 days. Diagnosis-to-treatment intervals <35 days were associated with improved survival for patients with localized disease and those with distant disease surviving ⩾1 year but not for patients with distant disease surviving <1 year. Conclusion: Delays between diagnosing and treating NSCLC are common and associated with use of PET for staging. Reducing time to treatment may improve survival for patients with manageable disease at diagnosis

Baseline Tumor Size Is an Independent Prognostic Factor for Overall Survival in Patients With Melanoma Treated With Pembrolizumab.

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Richard W; Elassaiss-Schaap, Jeroen; Kefford, Richard F; Hwu, Wen-Jen; Wolchok, Jedd D; Joshua, Anthony Michael; Ribas, Antoni; Hodi, F Stephen; Hamid, Omid; Robert, Caroline; Daud, Adil I; Dronca, Roxana S; Hersey, Peter; Weber, Jeffrey S; Patnaik, Amita; de Alwis, Dinesh P; Perrone, Andrea M; Zhang, Jin; Kang, Soonmo Peter; Ebbinghaus, Scot W; Anderson, Keaven M; Gangadhar, Tara

2018-04-23

To assess the association of baseline tumor size (BTS) with other baseline clinical factors and outcomes in pembrolizumab-treated patients with advanced melanoma in KEYNOTE-001 (NCT01295827). BTS was quantified by adding the sum of the longest dimensions of all measurable baseline target lesions. BTS as a dichotomous and continuous variable was evaluated with other baseline factors using logistic regression for objective response rate (ORR) and Cox regression for overall survival (OS). Nominal P values with no multiplicity adjustment describe the strength of observed associations. Per central review by RECIST v1.1, 583 of 655 patients had baseline measurable disease and were included in this post hoc analysis. Median BTS was 10.2 cm (range, 1-89.5). Larger median BTS was associated with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 1, elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), stage M1c disease, and liver metastases (with or without any other sites) (all P ≤ 0.001). In univariate analyses, BTS below the median was associated with higher ORR (44% vs 23%; P BTS below the median remained an independent prognostic marker of OS (P BTS below the median and PD-L1-positive tumors were independently associated with higher ORR and longer OS. BTS is associated with many other baseline clinical factors but is also independently prognostic of survival in pembrolizumab-treated patients with advanced melanoma. Copyright ©2018, American Association for Cancer Research.

Shifting paradigms in the estimation of survival for castration-resistant prostate cancer: A tertiary academic center experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Afshar, Mehran; Evison, Felicity; James, Nicholas D; Patel, Prashant

2015-08-01

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) has retained a guarded prognosis, with historical survival estimates of 18 to 24 months. However, the landscape of available therapy has changed, and the emphasis has altered from supportive to active treatment. Few large series from real-world populations exist in the contemporary era with fully mature survival data to confirm the indication based on clinical trials that patients with CRPC are surviving far longer than the historical estimates. We aim to review a large patient cohort with CRPC and provide mature survival data. Using the electronic histopathology database at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK, all prostate-specific antigentest results between April 2006 and September 2007 were extracted, and patients satisfying the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) definition of hormone failure were identified. Electronic records were reviewed and variables were collected, including survival, treatment, biochemistry, histopathology, and demographics. Probability of survival, and of developing metastasis or CRPC, was determined using the Kaplan-Meier method. Patients were stratified into 3 groups, namely, D0--no metastasis at diagnosis but later appearance, D1--no metastasis at diagnosis or at last follow-up, and D2--metastasis at diagnosis. From 8,062 patient-prostate-specific antigen episodes, we identified 447 patients meeting the criteria. A notes review revealed 147 patients with CRPC. Median overall survival (OS) from diagnosis was 84.7 months (95% CI: 73-89), and 129 deaths had occurred (88%). Median OS from diagnosis for D0, D1, and D2 patients was 100.4, 180.1, and 58.9 months, respectively (Pdata benefit clinicians and patients in understanding prognosis and treatment choices. Importantly, our patients were diagnosed before the current wave of novel therapeutics for CRPC, so survival for men diagnosed today may be more than our findings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of different infliximab dose regimens on treatment response and drug survival in 462 patients with psoriatic arthritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glintborg, Bente; Gudbjornsson, Bjorn; Krogh, Niels Steen

2014-01-01

Icelandic patients at baseline [median 3.1 (interquartile range 3.0-3.8) vs 2.3 (2.1-2.9) mg/kg, P drug survival than...... Icelandic patients (1183 vs 483 days). In univariate analyses stratified by country, time until dose escalation, response rates, drug survival and 1-year's disease activity were independent of starting dose. Drug survival was shorter among patients not receiving concomitant MTX. CONCLUSION: In clinical...... practice, > 70% of Icelandic and Danish PsA patients treated with infliximab received sustained doses below the 5 mg/kg every 8 weeks recommended in international guidelines. Lower starting doses did not affect drug survival or response....

Ultrahigh-frequency ultrasound of fascicles in the median nerve at the wrist.

Science.gov (United States)

Cartwright, Michael S; Baute, Vanessa; Caress, James B; Walker, Francis O

2017-10-01

An ultrahigh-frequency (70 MHZ) ultrasound device has recently been approved for human use. This study seeks to determine whether this device facilitates counting of fascicles within the median nerve at the wrist. Twenty healthy volunteers underwent imaging of the median nerve at the wrist bilaterally. The number of fascicles in each nerve was counted by two independent raters. The mean fascicle number was 22.68. Correlation was strong between the two raters (r = 0.68, P nerve area did not predict fascicle number. Those with bifid median nerves and persistent median arteries had lower fascicle density than those without anatomic anomalies (1.79 vs. 2.29; P = 0.01). Fascicles within the median nerve at the wrist can be readily imaged. Ultrahigh-frequency ultrasound technology may be informative in a variety of disorders affecting the peripheral nervous system. Muscle Nerve 56: 819-822, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Improved survival with combined modality treatment for Stage IV breast cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nervi, C.; Arcangeli, G.; Concolino, F.; Cortese, M.

1979-01-01

Between 1974 and 1977, 85 patients with breast cancer at first postmastectomy relapse were irradiated (Radiation 3500 to 6000 rad--3/5 weeks) to all clinically evident lesions. Radiation fields were properly shaped to include a maximum 40% active bone marrow. After 3 to 4 weeks rest, chemotherapy was started as adjuvant therapy for residual or subclinical disease (ADR 30 mg/M 2 Day 1 and 8, 5-FU 400 mg/M 2 Day 1 and 8, CY 100 mg/M 2 Day 1 through 14: repeated after 14 days). ADR was discontinued at 500/M 2 and substituted by MTX 30 mg/M 2 Day 1 and 8 for a total of 2 years. Irradiated sites were chest wall in 35, supraclavicular and internal mammary nodes in 22, bone in 56, single lung lesions in 12, brain in 24. Controls were 52 comparable but non-randomized patients treated with chemotherapy only. Forty days after x-irradiation 68 patients (80%) were free of disease (NED) while in 17 cases (20%) some residual was still present (RED). In 28 of 68 cases (41%) NED after x-irradiation and 13 of 17 (76%) in RED group developed second relapse after a median interval of 26 and 20 mos., respectively. Four of 52 patients (8%) in the control group had complete regression with a median interval to second relapse of 7 mos. Median survival was 30 mos., 24 mos., and 13 mos., respectively, for NED, RED and chemotherapy only. Eighteen patients (26%) are free of disease after 36 to 48 mos. in the combined modality group; none in the chemotherapy group. Combined treatment cases did not show untolerable myelodepression. In 10 long-surviving patients a marked subcutaneous and skin fibrosis developed because of drug additive effect. Stage IV breast cancers rendered clinically free of disease with x-irradiation and subsequently treated with chemotherapy survive significantly longer than with chemotherapy alone

Survival signalling and apoptosis resistance in glioblastomas: opportunities for targeted therapeutics

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Krakstad Camilla

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM is the most common primary brain tumour in adults and one of the most aggressive cancers in man. Despite technological advances in surgical management, combined regimens of radiotherapy with new generation chemotherapy, the median survival for these patients is 14.6 months. This is largely due to a highly deregulated tumour genome with opportunistic deletion of tumour suppressor genes, amplification and/or mutational hyper-activation of receptor tyrosine kinase receptors. The net result of these genetic changes is augmented survival pathways and systematic defects in the apoptosis signalling machinery. The only randomised, controlled phase II trial conducted targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR signalling with the small molecule inhibitor, erlotinib, has showed no therapeutic benefit. Survival signalling and apoptosis resistance in GBMs can be viewed as two sides of the same coin. Targeting increased survival is unlikely to be efficacious without at the same time targeting apoptosis resistance. We have critically reviewed the literature regarding survival and apoptosis signalling in GBM, and highlighted experimental, preclinical and recent clinical trials attempting to target these pathways. Combined therapies simultaneously targeting apoptosis and survival signalling defects might shift the balance from tumour growth stasis to cytotoxic therapeutic responses that might be associated with greater therapeutic benefits.

Survival after failure of first-line chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer patients: differences between Japan and the rest of the world.

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Takashima, Atsuo; Iizumi, Sakura; Boku, Narikazu

2017-07-01

In this review, we focus on post-progression survival after first-line chemotherapy of advanced gastric cancer, and particularly the differences between Japan and the rest of the world. We reviewed 15 recent phase III trials of which 4 were solely recruited from Japanese and 11 from rest of the world. The patient characteristics age, performance status, previous gastrectomy and the number of metastatic sites were similar in Japan and rest of the world. However, the diffuse histological type was more common in Japan. While overall survival was longer in Japan (10.5-14.1 vs. 7.9-12.2 months), progression-free survival tended to be shorter in Japan (3.6-6.0 vs. 3.1-7.4 months). Post-progression survival calculated as the difference between median overall survival and progression-free survival was clearly longer in Japan (6.9-8.6 vs. 2.4-6.2 months). The proportion of patients receiving second-line chemotherapy (%2nd-CX) was quite different in Japan and rest of the world (69-85% vs. 11-59%). Correlations between %2nd-CX and post-progression survival were strong (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient; ρ = 0.86, P < 0.001). Correlations between %2nd-CX and ratio of post-progression survival to total overall survival were also strong (ρ = 0.84, P < 0.001). Because a survival benefit of second-CX was documented in several phase III trials, it can be concluded that higher %2nd-CX partly contributed to extended post-progression survival. However, considering that second-CX increased survival only by ~1.5 months at median, other factors such as third-line chemotherapy may have some influences to prolonged post-progression survival. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Overall Survival Benefit From Postoperative Radiation Therapy for Organ-Confined, Margin-Positive Prostate Cancer

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Dillman, Robert O.; Hafer, Russell; Cox, Craig; McClure, Stephanie E.

2011-01-01

Purpose: Radical prostatectomy for invasive prostate cancer is associated with positive margin rates in 10% to 50% of resected specimens. Postoperative radiation therapy may benefit patients who have organ-confined prostate cancer with positive margins. Methods and Materials: We performed a retrospective analysis to examine whether adjunctive radiation therapy enhanced long-term survival for prostate cancer patients who underwent prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer but with positive margins. We used the Hoag Cancer Center database to identify patients diagnosed with invasive prostate cancer. Relative and overall survival rates were calculated. Results: Among 1,474 patients diagnosed with localized invasive prostate cancer during the years 1990 to 2006 and undergoing prostatectomy, 113 (7.7%) were identified who had positive margins and did not have local extension of disease, positive lymph nodes, or distant metastases. A total of 17 patients received adjunctive radiation therapy (Group A), whereas 96 did not (Group B; 3 received hormonal therapy). Both groups had a median age of 64 years and median follow-up of 7.5 years. In Group A, no patients have died as of last follow-up, but in Group B, 18 have died. Estimated 10-year and 15-year overall survival rates were both 100% for Group A compared with 85% and 57% respectively for Group B (p 2 = 0.050, log rank). Relative 10- and 15 year survival rates were both 100% for Group A compared with 100% and 79% respectively for Group B. Conclusions: This retrospective analysis suggests that prostate cancer patients with localized disease but positive margins do derive a survival benefit from adjuvant radiation therapy.

Local control and survival in spinal cord compression from lymphoma and myeloma

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Wallington, M.; Mendis, S.; Premawardhana, U.; Sanders, P.; Shahsavar-Haghighi, K.

1997-01-01

Background: Between 1979 and 1989, 48 cases of extradural spinal cord and cauda equina compression in patients with lymphoma (24) and myeloma (24) received local radiation therapy for control of cord compression. Twenty five (52%) of the cases were treated by surgical decompression prior to irradiation. Thirty five (73%) of the cases received chemotherapy following the diagnosis of spinal cord compression. Post-treatment outcome was assessed at a minimum follow-up of 24 months to determine the significant clinical and treatment factors following irradiation. Results: Seventeen (71%) of the lymphoma and 15 (63%) of the myeloma patients achieved local control, here defined as improvement to, or maintenance of ambulation with minimal or no assistance for 3 months from the start of radiotherapy. At a median follow-up of 30 (2-98) for the lymphoma and 10 (1-87) months for the myeloma patients, the results showed that survival following local radiation therapy for cord compression was independently influenced by the underlying disease type in favour of lymphoma compared to myeloma (P<0.01). The median duration of local control and survival figures were 23 and 48 months for the lymphomas compared to 4.5 and 10 months for the myeloma cases. Survival was also independently influenced by preservation of sphincter function at initial presentation (P<0.02) and the achievement of local control following treatment (P<0.01). Discussion: We conclude that while disease type independently impacts on outcome following treatment of spinal cord compression in lymphoma and myeloma, within both of these disease type the achievement of local control of spinal cord compression is an important management priority, for without local control survival may be adversely affected

Prostate-Specific Antigen Persistence After Radical Prostatectomy as a Predictive Factor of Clinical Relapse-Free Survival and Overall Survival: 10-Year Data of the ARO 96-02 Trial

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Wiegel, Thomas, E-mail: thomas.wiegel@uniklinik-ulm.de [Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Ulm (Germany); Bartkowiak, Detlef; Bottke, Dirk; Thamm, Reinhard [Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Ulm (Germany); Hinke, Axel [WiSP, Research Institute Pharma GmbH, Langenfeld (Germany); Stöckle, Michael [Department of Urology, University Hospital Homburg/Saar (Germany); Rübe, Christian [Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Homburg/Saar (Germany); Semjonow, Axel [Department of Urology, University Hospital Münster (Germany); Wirth, Manfred [Department of Urology, University Hospital Dresden (Germany); Störkel, Stephan; Golz, Reinhard [Department of Pathology, HELIOS Hospital Wuppertal (Germany); Engenhart-Cabillic, Rita [Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Giessen-Marburg (Germany); Hofmann, Rainer [Department of Urology, University Hospital Giessen-Marburg (Germany); Feldmann, Horst-Jürgen [Department of Radiation Oncology, General Hospital Fulda (Germany); Kälble, Tilman [Department of Urology, General Hospital Fulda (Germany); Siegmann, Alessandra; Hinkelbein, Wolfgang [Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Berlin (Germany); Steiner, Ursula; Miller, Kurt [Department of Urology, University Hospital Berlin (Germany)

2015-02-01

Objective: The ARO 96-02 trial primarily compared wait-and-see (WS, arm A) with adjuvant radiation therapy (ART, arm B) in prostate cancer patients who achieved an undetectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after radical prostatectomy (RP). Here, we report the outcome with up to 12 years of follow-up of patients who retained a post-RP detectable PSA and received salvage radiation therapy (SRT, arm C). Methods and Materials: For the study, 388 patients with pT3-4pN0 prostate cancer with positive or negative surgical margins were recruited. After RP, 307 men achieved an undetectable PSA (arms A + B). In 78 patients the PSA remained above thresholds (median 0.6, range 0.05-5.6 ng/mL). Of the latter, 74 consented to receive 66 Gy to the prostate bed, and SRT was applied at a median of 86 days after RP. Clinical relapse-free survival, metastasis-free survival, and overall survival were determined by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Patients with persisting PSA after RP had higher preoperative PSA values, higher tumor stages, higher Gleason scores, and more positive surgical margins than did patients in arms A + B. For the 74 patients, the 10-year clinical relapse-free survival rate was 63%. Forty-three men had hormone therapy; 12 experienced distant metastases; 23 patients died. Compared with men who did achieve an undetectable PSA, the arm-C patients fared significantly worse, with a 10-year metastasis-free survival of 67% versus 83% and overall survival of 68% versus 84%, respectively. In Cox regression analysis, Gleason score ≥8 (hazard ratio [HR] 2.8), pT ≥ 3c (HR 2.4), and extraprostatic extension ≥2 mm (HR 3.6) were unfavorable risk factors of progression. Conclusions: A persisting PSA after prostatectomy seems to be an important prognosticator of clinical progression for pT3 tumors. It correlates with a higher rate of distant metastases and with worse overall survival. A larger prospective study is required to determine which patient subgroups

{sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT predicts survival after {sup 90}Y transarterial radioembolization in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

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Jreige, Mario; Mitsakis, Periklis; Gucht, Axel van der; Pomoni, Anastasia; Silva-Monteiro, Marina; Boubaker, Ariane; Nicod-Lalonde, Marie; Prior, John O.; Schaefer, Niklaus [Lausanne University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Lausanne (Switzerland); Gnesin, Silvano [Lausanne University Hospital, Institute of Radiation Physics, Lausanne (Switzerland); Duran, Rafael; Denys, Alban [Lausanne University Hospital, Department of Radiodiagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Lausanne (Switzerland)

2017-07-15

To compare the value of pretreatment functional and morphological imaging parameters for predicting survival in patients undergoing transarterial radioembolization using yttrium-90 ({sup 90}Y-TARE) for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC). We analysed data from 48 patients in our prospective database undergoing {sup 90}Y-TARE treatment for uHCC (31 resin, 17 glass). All patients underwent {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT and morphological imaging (CT and MRI scans) as part of a pretherapeutic work-up. Patients did not receive any treatment between these imaging procedures and {sup 90}Y-TARE. Kaplan-Meier estimates of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were used to assess the prognostic value of {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters, including SUV{sub max}, tumour-to-liver (T/L) uptake ratio and SUV{sub mean} of healthy liver, and morphological data, including number and size of lesions, portal-venous infiltration (PVI). Relevant prognostic factors for HCC including Child-Pugh class, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage, tumour size, PVI and serum AFP level were compared with metabolic parameters in univariate and multivariate analyses. The median follow-up in living patients was 16.2 months (range 11.4-50.1 months). Relapse occurred in 34 patients (70.8%) at a median of 7.4 months (range 1.4-27.9 months) after {sup 90}Y-TARE, and relapse occurred in 24 of 34 patients (70.8%) who died from their disease at a median of 8.1 months (range 2.2-35.2 months). Significant prognostic markers for PFS were the mean and median lesion SUV{sub max} (both P = 0.01; median PFS 10.2 vs. 7.4 months), and significant prognostic markers for OS were the first quarter (Q1) cut-off values for lesion SUV{sub max} and T/L uptake ratio (both P = 0.02; median OS 30.9 vs. 9 months). The multivariate analysis confirmed that lesion SUV{sub max} and T/L uptake ratio were independent negative predictors of PFS (hazard ratio, HR, 2.7, 95% CI 1.2-6.1, P = 0.02, for mean

Impact of socioeconomic status on survival for patients with anal cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Daniel; Gold, Heather T; Schreiber, David; Leichman, Lawrence P; Sherman, Scott E; Becker, Daniel J

2018-04-15

Although outcomes for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) have improved, the gains in benefit may not be shared uniformly among patients of disparate socioeconomic status. In the current study, the authors investigated whether area-based median household income (MHI) is predictive of survival among patients with SCCA. Patients diagnosed with SCCA from 2004 through 2013 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry were included. Socioeconomic status was defined by census-tract MHI level and divided into quintiles. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models and logistic regression were used to study predictors of survival and radiotherapy receipt. A total of 9550 cases of SCCA were included. The median age of the patients was 58 years, 63% were female, 85% were white, and 38% were married. In multivariable analyses, patients living in areas with lower MHI were found to have worse overall survival and cancer-specific survival (CSS) compared with those in the highest income areas. Mortality hazard ratios for lowest to highest income were 1.32 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.18-1.49), 1.31 (95% CI, 1.16-1.48), 1.19 (95% CI, 1.06-1.34), and 1.16 (95% CI, 1.03-1.30). The hazard ratios for CSS similarly ranged from 1.34 to 1.22 for lowest to highest income. Older age, black race, male sex, unmarried marital status, an earlier year of diagnosis, higher tumor grade, and later American Joint Committee on Cancer stage of disease also were associated with worse CSS. Income was not found to be associated with the odds of initiating radiotherapy in multivariable analysis (odds ratio of 0.87 for lowest to highest income level; 95% CI, 0.63-1.20). MHI appears to independently predict CSS and overall survival in patients with SCCA. Black race was found to remain a predictor of SCCA survival despite controlling for income. Further study is needed to understand the mechanisms by which socioeconomic inequalities affect cancer care and

Risk-adjusted survival after tissue versus mechanical aortic valve replacement: a 23-year assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaca, Jeffrey G; Clare, Robert M; Rankin, J Scott; Daneshmand, Mani A; Milano, Carmelo A; Hughes, G Chad; Wolfe, Walter G; Glower, Donald D; Smith, Peter K

2013-11-01

Detailed analyses of risk-adjusted outcomes after mitral valve surgery have documented significant survival decrements with tissue valves at any age. Several recent studies of prosthetic aortic valve replacement (AVR) also have suggested a poorer performance of tissue valves, although analyses have been limited to small matched series. The study aim was to test the hypothesis that AVR with tissue valves is associated with a lower risk-adjusted survival, as compared to mechanical valves. Between 1986 and 2009, primary isolated AVR, with or without coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), was performed with currently available valve types in 2148 patients (1108 tissue valves, 1040 mechanical). Patients were selected for tissue valves to be used primarily in the elderly. Baseline and operative characteristics were documented prospectively with a consistent variable set over the entire 23-year period. Follow up was obtained with mailed questionnaires, supplemented by National Death Index searches. The average time to death or follow up was seven years, and follow up for survival was 96.2% complete. Risk-adjusted survival characteristics for the two groups were evaluated using a Cox proportional hazards model with stepwise selection of candidate variables. Differences in baseline characteristics between groups were (tissue versus mechanical): median age 73 versus 61 years; non-elective surgery 32% versus 28%; CABG 45% versus 35%; median ejection fraction 55% versus 55%; renal failure 6% versus 1%; diabetes 18% versus 7% (pvalves; however, after risk adjustment for the adverse profiles of tissue valve patients, no significant difference was observed in survival after tissue or mechanical AVR. Thus, the hypothesis did not hold, and risk-adjusted survival was equivalent, of course qualified by the fact that selection bias was evident. With selection criteria that employed tissue AVR more frequently in elderly patients, tissue and mechanical valves achieved similar survival

Median Robust Extended Local Binary Pattern for Texture Classification.

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Liu, Li; Lao, Songyang; Fieguth, Paul W; Guo, Yulan; Wang, Xiaogang; Pietikäinen, Matti

2016-03-01

Local binary patterns (LBP) are considered among the most computationally efficient high-performance texture features. However, the LBP method is very sensitive to image noise and is unable to capture macrostructure information. To best address these disadvantages, in this paper, we introduce a novel descriptor for texture classification, the median robust extended LBP (MRELBP). Different from the traditional LBP and many LBP variants, MRELBP compares regional image medians rather than raw image intensities. A multiscale LBP type descriptor is computed by efficiently comparing image medians over a novel sampling scheme, which can capture both microstructure and macrostructure texture information. A comprehensive evaluation on benchmark data sets reveals MRELBP's high performance-robust to gray scale variations, rotation changes and noise-but at a low computational cost. MRELBP produces the best classification scores of 99.82%, 99.38%, and 99.77% on three popular Outex test suites. More importantly, MRELBP is shown to be highly robust to image noise, including Gaussian noise, Gaussian blur, salt-and-pepper noise, and random pixel corruption.

Long-term disease-free survival in advanced melanomas treated with nitrosoureas: mechanisms and new perspectives

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Sinsard Anne

2005-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Median survival of metastatic malignant melanoma is 6.0 to 7.5 months, with a 5-year survival of ~6.0%. Although long-term complete remissions are rare, few reports describe cases after chemotherapy. Fifty-three patients with metastatic melanoma were treated with Cystemustine, a chloroethyl nitrosourea (CENU (60 or 90 mg/m2. Case presentation We describe 5 cases, presenting with complete response with long-term disease-free survival of long-term remission of 14, 12, 9, 7 and 6 years after Cystemustine therapy alone. Conclusion Long-term survival has already been described in literature, but in all cases they have been obtained after chemotherapy associated with or followed by surgery. But despite these noteworthy and encouraging but also rare results, it appears essential to increase cystemustine efficiency.

Drawing Nomograms with R: applications to categorical outcome and survival data.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhongheng; Kattan, Michael W

2017-05-01

Outcome prediction is a major task in clinical medicine. The standard approach to this work is to collect a variety of predictors and build a model of appropriate type. The model is a mathematical equation that connects the outcome of interest with the predictors. A new patient with given clinical characteristics can be predicted for outcome with this model. However, the equation describing the relationship between predictors and outcome is often complex and the computation requires software for practical use. There is another method called nomogram which is a graphical calculating device allowing an approximate graphical computation of a mathematical function. In this article, we describe how to draw nomograms for various outcomes with nomogram() function. Binary outcome is fit by logistic regression model and the outcome of interest is the probability of the event of interest. Ordinal outcome variable is also discussed. Survival analysis can be fit with parametric model to fully describe the distributions of survival time. Statistics such as the median survival time, survival probability up to a specific time point are taken as the outcome of interest.

Pathological stage after neoadjuvant chemoradiation and esophagectomy superiorly predicts survival in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Chia-Chun; Cheng, Jason Chia-Hsien; Tsai, Chiao-Ling; Lee, Jang-Ming; Huang, Pei-Ming; Lin, Chia-Chi; Hsu, Chih-Hung; Hsieh, Min-Shu; Chang, Yih-Leong; Hsu, Feng-Ming

2015-01-01

Background and purpose: To assess the usefulness of pathological stage according to the 7th edition of the Union for International Cancer Control–American Joint Committee on Cancer (UICC–AJCC) as a prognostic tool in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by esophagectomy (trimodality therapy, TMT) for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Material and methods: One hundred twenty-five eligible patients completing TMT were enrolled for analysis. The clinical (cTNM7) and pathological (ypTNM7) stage groups of their tumors were prospectively classified, and re-grouped by the 6th edition (ypTNM6). Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method. The Cox proportional hazard model and the Akaike information criterion (AIC) were used to compare the performance of staging systems. Results: With a median follow-up of 24.6 months, 54 patients (43.2%) died. Forty patients (32%) achieved pathological complete remission (pCR). The median survival was 31.8 months. On multivariate analysis, ypTNM7 (but not pCR or pN) was the only independent factor affecting overall survival (p < 0.001). The ypTNM7 was superior to cTNM7 or ypTNM6 in predicting both overall and recurrence-free survival after TMT based on AIC values and Cox proportional hazard model analysis. Conclusions: In patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma undergoing TMT, ypTNM7 is the best predictor of survival

Creation of a Prognostic Index for Spine Metastasis to Stratify Survival in Patients Treated With Spinal Stereotactic Radiosurgery: Secondary Analysis of Mature Prospective Trials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, Chad; Hess, Kenneth; Bishop, Andrew J.; Pan, Hubert Y.; Christensen, Eva N.; Yang, James N.; Tannir, Nizar; Amini, Behrang; Tatsui, Claudio; Rhines, Laurence; Brown, Paul; Ghia, Amol

2015-01-01

Purpose: There exists uncertainty in the prognosis of patients following spinal metastasis treatment. We sought to create a scoring system that stratifies patients based on overall survival. Methods and Materials: Patients enrolled in 2 prospective trials investigating stereotactic spine radiation surgery (SSRS) for spinal metastasis with ≥3-year follow-up were analyzed. A multivariate Cox regression model was used to create a survival model. Pretreatment variables included were race, sex, age, performance status, tumor histology, extent of vertebrae involvement, previous therapy at the SSRS site, disease burden, and timing of diagnosis and metastasis. Four survival groups were generated based on the model-derived survival score. Results: Median follow-up in the 206 patients included in this analysis was 70 months (range: 37-133 months). Seven variables were selected: female sex (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.7, P=.02), Karnofsky performance score (HR = 0.8 per 10-point increase above 60, P=.007), previous surgery at the SSRS site (HR = 0.7, P=.02), previous radiation at the SSRS site (HR = 1.8, P=.001), the SSRS site as the only site of metastatic disease (HR = 0.5, P=.01), number of organ systems involved outside of bone (HR = 1.4 per involved system, P<.001), and >5 year interval from initial diagnosis to detection of spine metastasis (HR = 0.5, P<.001). The median survival among all patients was 25.5 months and was significantly different among survival groups (in group 1 [excellent prognosis], median survival was not reached; group 2 reached 32.4 months; group 3 reached 22.2 months; and group 4 [poor prognosis] reached 9.1 months; P<.001). Pretreatment symptom burden was significantly higher in the patient group with poor survival than in the group with excellent survival (all metrics, P<.05). Conclusions: We developed the prognostic index for spinal metastases (PRISM) model, a new model that identified patient subgroups with poor and excellent prognoses

Creation of a Prognostic Index for Spine Metastasis to Stratify Survival in Patients Treated With Spinal Stereotactic Radiosurgery: Secondary Analysis of Mature Prospective Trials

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Tang, Chad [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Hess, Kenneth [Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Bishop, Andrew J.; Pan, Hubert Y.; Christensen, Eva N. [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Yang, James N. [Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Tannir, Nizar [Department of Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Amini, Behrang [Department of Diagnostic Radiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Tatsui, Claudio; Rhines, Laurence [Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Brown, Paul [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Ghia, Amol, E-mail: ajghia@mdanderson.org [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States)

2015-09-01

Purpose: There exists uncertainty in the prognosis of patients following spinal metastasis treatment. We sought to create a scoring system that stratifies patients based on overall survival. Methods and Materials: Patients enrolled in 2 prospective trials investigating stereotactic spine radiation surgery (SSRS) for spinal metastasis with ≥3-year follow-up were analyzed. A multivariate Cox regression model was used to create a survival model. Pretreatment variables included were race, sex, age, performance status, tumor histology, extent of vertebrae involvement, previous therapy at the SSRS site, disease burden, and timing of diagnosis and metastasis. Four survival groups were generated based on the model-derived survival score. Results: Median follow-up in the 206 patients included in this analysis was 70 months (range: 37-133 months). Seven variables were selected: female sex (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.7, P=.02), Karnofsky performance score (HR = 0.8 per 10-point increase above 60, P=.007), previous surgery at the SSRS site (HR = 0.7, P=.02), previous radiation at the SSRS site (HR = 1.8, P=.001), the SSRS site as the only site of metastatic disease (HR = 0.5, P=.01), number of organ systems involved outside of bone (HR = 1.4 per involved system, P<.001), and >5 year interval from initial diagnosis to detection of spine metastasis (HR = 0.5, P<.001). The median survival among all patients was 25.5 months and was significantly different among survival groups (in group 1 [excellent prognosis], median survival was not reached; group 2 reached 32.4 months; group 3 reached 22.2 months; and group 4 [poor prognosis] reached 9.1 months; P<.001). Pretreatment symptom burden was significantly higher in the patient group with poor survival than in the group with excellent survival (all metrics, P<.05). Conclusions: We developed the prognostic index for spinal metastases (PRISM) model, a new model that identified patient subgroups with poor and excellent prognoses.

Survival rate of breast cancer patients in Malaysia: a population-based study.

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Abdullah, Nor Aini; Wan Mahiyuddin, Wan Rozita; Muhammad, Nor Asiah; Ali, Zainudin Mohamad; Ibrahim, Lailanor; Ibrahim Tamim, Nor Saleha; Mustafa, Amal Nasir; Kamaluddin, Muhammad Amir

2013-01-01

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Malaysian women. Other than hospital-based results, there are no documented population-based survival rates of Malaysian women for breast cancers. This population- based retrospective cohort study was therefore conducted. Data were obtained from Health Informatics Centre, Ministry of Health Malaysia, National Cancer Registry and National Registration Department for the period from 1st Jan 2000 to 31st December 2005. Cases were captured by ICD-10 and linked to death certificates to identify the status. Only complete data were analysed. Survival time was calculated from the estimated date of diagnosis to the date of death or date of loss to follow-up. Observed survival rates were estimated by Kaplan- Meier method using SPSS Statistical Software version 17. A total of 10,230 complete data sets were analysed. The mean age at diagnosis was 50.6 years old. The overall 5-year survival rate was 49% with median survival time of 68.1 months. Indian women had a higher survival rate of 54% compared to Chinese women (49%) and Malays (45%). The overall 5-year survival rate of breast cancer patient among Malaysian women was still low for the cohort of 2000 to 2005 as compared to survival rates in developed nations. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the strategies for early detection and intervention.

Speckle Reduction and Structure Enhancement by Multichannel Median Boosted Anisotropic Diffusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Zhi

2004-01-01

Full Text Available We propose a new approach to reduce speckle noise and enhance structures in speckle-corrupted images. It utilizes a median-anisotropic diffusion compound scheme. The median-filter-based reaction term acts as a guided energy source to boost the structures in the image being processed. In addition, it regularizes the diffusion equation to ensure the existence and uniqueness of a solution. We also introduce a decimation and back reconstruction scheme to further enhance the processing result. Before the iteration of the diffusion process, the image is decimated and a subpixel shifted image set is formed. This allows a multichannel parallel diffusion iteration, and more importantly, the speckle noise is broken into impulsive or salt-pepper noise, which is easy to remove by median filtering. The advantage of the proposed technique is clear when it is compared to other diffusion algorithms and the well-known adaptive weighted median filtering (AWMF scheme in both simulation and real medical ultrasound images.

Long term survival with whole abdominopelvic irradiation (WAI) in platinum-refractory ovarian cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cmelak, Anthony J.; Cox, Richard S.; Kapp, Daniel S.

1996-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of WAI in persistent or recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma after initial chemotherapy. Methods and Materials: Between 1970 and 1995, 41 women with persistent or recurrent ovarian carcinoma after initial surgical debulking and chemotherapy were treated with WAI. Median age was 57 years (range 27-75). Initial FIGO stages were I and II - 5 patients (12%), III - 26 (64%), and IV - 10 (24%). Tumor grade was 1 - 4 (10%), II - 16 (39%), and III - 20 (49%). Four to eighteen (median eight) cycles of chemotherapy had been given prior to WAI. Thirty-one patients had received platinum-based regimens, and 22 of these had failed within six months after completion of chemotherapy (platinum-refractory). Prior to WAI, 11 (27%) patients had microscopic residual disease, 21 (51%) had gross residual disease up to 1.5 cm, and 9 (22%) had tumors greater than 1.5 cm in maximal diameter. Median doses of 28 Gy to the abdomen and 48 Gy to the pelvis were delivered using an open-field technique with appropriate liver and kidney shielding. Results: With follow-up of 1 month to 16.5 years, the 5-year actuarial disease specific survival was 47% in all 41 patients, and 49% in 22 platinum-refractory patients. Both disease bulk at WAI (p -4 ) and initial stage (p=0.005) were of prognostic value. Five-year disease specific survivals were stage I and II - 100%, stage III - 55%, and stage IV - 27%. Five-year disease specific survival of all nonbulky (less than 1.5 cm) patients was 40%; 0% for patients with disease greater than 1.5 cm. Five-year disease specific survival for grade I - 66%, II - 59%, and III - 33%. Stage I, II, or III patients with residual disease bulk of 1.5 cm or less before WAI had a 10-year actuarial disease specific survival of 50%. Twelve patients (29%) failed to complete the planned course of WAI due to acute toxicity (most often due to prolonged thrombocytopenia). Late bowel toxicity included obstruction in one patient and

Survival chance in papillary thyroid cancer in Hungary: individual survival probability estimation using the Markov method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esik, Olga; Tusnady, Gabor; Daubner, Kornel; Nemeth, Gyoergy; Fuezy, Marton; Szentirmay, Zoltan

1997-01-01

Purpose: The typically benign, but occasionally rapidly fatal clinical course of papillary thyroid cancer has raised the need for individual survival probability estimation, to tailor the treatment strategy exclusively to a given patient. Materials and methods: A retrospective study was performed on 400 papillary thyroid cancer patients with a median follow-up time of 7.1 years to establish a clinical database for uni- and multivariate analysis of the prognostic factors related to survival (Kaplan-Meier product limit method and Cox regression). For a more precise prognosis estimation, the effect of the most important clinical events were then investigated on the basis of a Markov renewal model. The basic concept of this approach is that each patient has an individual disease course which (besides the initial clinical categories) is affected by special events, e.g. internal covariates (local/regional/distant relapses). On the supposition that these events and the cause-specific death are influenced by the same biological processes, the parameters of transient survival probability characterizing the speed of the course of the disease for each clinical event and their sequence were determined. The individual survival curves for each patient were calculated by using these parameters and the independent significant clinical variables selected from multivariate studies, summation of which resulted in a mean cause-specific survival function valid for the entire group. On the basis of this Markov model, prediction of the cause-specific survival probability is possible for extrastudy cases, if it is supposed that the clinical events occur within new patients in the same manner and with the similar probability as within the study population. Results: The patient's age, a distant metastasis at presentation, the extent of the surgical intervention, the primary tumor size and extent (pT), the external irradiation dosage and the degree of TSH suppression proved to be

Hope, optimism and survival in a randomised trial of chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Schofield, Penelope E; Stockler, M R; Zannino, D; Tebbutt, N C; Price, T J; Simes, R J; Wong, N; Pavlakis, N; Ransom, D; Moylan, E; Underhill, C; Wyld, D; Burns, I; Ward, R; Wilcken, N; Jefford, M

2016-01-01

Psychological responses to cancer are widely believed to affect survival. We investigated associations between hope, optimism, anxiety, depression, health utility and survival in patients starting first-line chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer. Four hundred twenty-nine subjects with metastatic colorectal cancer in a randomised controlled trial of chemotherapy completed baseline questionnaires assessing the following: hopefulness, optimism, anxiety and depression and health utility. Hazard ratios (HRs) and P values were calculated with Cox models for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in univariable and multivariable analyses. Median follow-up was 31 months. Univariable analyses showed that OS was associated negatively with depression (HR 2.04, P optimism, anxiety or hopefulness. PFS was not associated with hope, optimism, anxiety or depression in any analyses. Depression and health utility, but not optimism, hope or anxiety, were associated with survival after controlling for known prognostic factors in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Further research is required to understand the nature of the relationship between depression and survival. If a causal mechanism is identified, this may lead to interventional possibilities.

Supraclavicular node disease is not an independent prognostic factor for survival of esophageal cancer patients treated with definitive chemoradiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeene, Paul M; Versteijne, Eva; van Berge Henegouwen, Mark I; Bergmann, Jacques J G H M; Geijsen, Elisabeth D; van Laarhoven, Hanneke W M; Hulshof, Maarten C C M

2017-01-01

The prognostic value of supraclavicular lymph node (SCN) metastases in esophageal cancer is not well established. We analyzed the prognostic value of SCN disease in patients after definitive chemoradiation (dCRT) for esophageal cancer. We retrospectively analyzed 207 patients treated between 2003 and 2013 to identify the prognostic value of metastasis in the SCN on treatment failure and survival. All patients were treated with external beam radiotherapy (50.4 Gy in 28 fractions) combined with weekly concurrent paclitaxel 50 mg/m 2 and carboplatin AUC2. Median follow-up for patients alive was 43.3 months. The median overall survival (OS) for all patients was 17.5 months. OS at one, three and five years was 67%, 36% and 21%, respectively. For patients with metastasis in a SCN, OS was 23.6 months compared to 17.1 months for patients without metastasis in the SCN (p = .51). In multivariate analyses, higher cT status, cN status and adenocarcinoma were found to be prognostically unfavorable, but a positive SCN was not (p = .67). Median OS and median disease-free survival for tumors with SCN involvement and N0/1 disease was 49.0 months and 51.6 months, respectively, compared to 14.2 months and 8.2 months, respectively, in patients with N2/3 disease. In esophageal cancer treated with dCRT, the number of affected lymph nodes is an important independent prognostic factor, whereas involvement of a SCN is not. Supraclavicular lymph nodes should be considered as regional lymph nodes and treated with curative intent if the total number of involved lymph nodes is limited.

An investigation on the noise reduction performance of profiled rigid median barriers at highways

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Reza Monazzam

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Median barriers as a portion of a divided highway are provided to minimize the cross-median crashes. Moreover, median barriers similar to roadside noise barriers could protect people from transportation noise. Thus, there is a need to investigate various median barrier models to identify changes of insertion loss over a simple rigid barrier. In order to estimate the acoustical influence of median barrier′s profile in the shadow zone, different median barrier models are presented and their insertion losses are calculated over a frequency range from 50 to 4000 Hz using a two-dimensional boundary element method. The present investigation has clearly revealed that among the profiled median barriers, T-shape, Y-shape, and L-shape provide better performance than that of the other shapes. It is also found that among inclined barriers, V-shape barrier significantly presents higher values of attenuation. Based on the calculation of different geometrics, it has been shown that a further 2 dB (A in efficiency could be obtained by a better design of the median barrier which is labeled model "L."

A clinical-molecular prognostic model to predict survival in patients with post polycythemia vera and post essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Passamonti, F; Giorgino, T; Mora, B; Guglielmelli, P; Rumi, E; Maffioli, M; Rambaldi, A; Caramella, M; Komrokji, R; Gotlib, J; Kiladjian, J J; Cervantes, F; Devos, T; Palandri, F; De Stefano, V; Ruggeri, M; Silver, R T; Benevolo, G; Albano, F; Caramazza, D; Merli, M; Pietra, D; Casalone, R; Rotunno, G; Barbui, T; Cazzola, M; Vannucchi, A M

2017-12-01

Polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET) are myeloproliferative neoplasms with variable risk of evolution into post-PV and post-ET myelofibrosis, from now on referred to as secondary myelofibrosis (SMF). No specific tools have been defined for risk stratification in SMF. To develop a prognostic model for predicting survival, we studied 685 JAK2, CALR, and MPL annotated patients with SMF. Median survival of the whole cohort was 9.3 years (95% CI: 8-not reached-NR-). Through penalized Cox regressions we identified negative predictors of survival and according to beta risk coefficients we assigned 2 points to hemoglobin level <11 g/dl, to circulating blasts ⩾3%, and to CALR-unmutated genotype, 1 point to platelet count <150 × 10 9 /l and to constitutional symptoms, and 0.15 points to any year of age. Myelofibrosis Secondary to PV and ET-Prognostic Model (MYSEC-PM) allocated SMF patients into four risk categories with different survival (P<0.0001): low (median survival NR; 133 patients), intermediate-1 (9.3 years, 95% CI: 8.1-NR; 245 patients), intermediate-2 (4.4 years, 95% CI: 3.2-7.9; 126 patients), and high risk (2 years, 95% CI: 1.7-3.9; 75 patients). Finally, we found that the MYSEC-PM represents the most appropriate tool for SMF decision-making to be used in clinical and trial settings.

Transcatheter arterial Chemoembolization for infiltrative hepatocellular carcinoma: Clinical safety and efficacy and factors influencing patient survival

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Kichang; Kim, Jin Hyoung; Yoon, Hee Mang; Kim, Eun Joung; Gwon, Dong Il; Ko, Gi Young; Yoon, Hyun Ki; Ko, Heung Kyu

2014-01-01

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with infiltrative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to identify the prognostic factors associated with patient survival. Fifty two patients who underwent TACE for infiltrative HCC were evaluated between 2007 and 2010. The maximum diameter of the tumors ranged from 7 cm to 22 cm (median 15 cm). Of 46 infiltrative HCC patients with portal vein tumor thrombosis, 32 patients received adjuvant radiation therapy for portal vein tumor thrombosis after TACE. The tumor response by European Association for the Study of the Liver criteria was partial in 18%, stable in 47%, and progressive in 35% of the patients. The median survival time was 5.7 months (Kaplan-Meier analysis). The survival rates were 48% at six months, 25% at one year, and 12% at two years. In the multivariable Cox regression analysis, Child-Pugh class (p = 0.02), adjuvant radiotherapy (p 0.003) and tumor response after TACE (p = 0.004) were significant factors associated with patient survival. Major complications occurred in nine patients. The major complication rate was significantly higher in patients with Child-Pugh B than in patients with Child-Pugh A (p = 0.049, x 2 test). Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization can be a safe treatment option in infiltrative HCC patients with Child Pugh class A. Child Pugh class A, radiotherapy for portal vein tumor thrombosis after TACE and tumor response are good prognostic factors for an increased survival after TACE in patients with infiltrative HCCs.

Survival times with and without tube feeding in patients with dementia or psychiatric diseases in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Takayama, Keiko; Hirayama, Keisuke; Hirao, Akihiko; Kondo, Keiko; Hayashi, Hideki; Kadota, Koichi; Asaba, Hiroyuki; Ishizu, Hideki; Nakata, Kenji; Kurisu, Kairi; Oshima, Etsuko; Yokota, Osamu; Yamada, Norihito; Terada, Seishi

2017-11-01

It is widely supposed that there has been no evidence of increased survival in patients with advanced dementia receiving enteral tube feeding. However, more than a few studies have reported no harmful outcome from tube feeding in dementia patients compared to in patients without dementia. This was a retrospective study. Nine psychiatric hospitals in Okayama Prefecture participated in this survey. All inpatients fulfilling the entry criteria were evaluated. All subjects suffered from difficulty with oral intake. Attending physicians thought that the patients could not live without long-term artificial nutrition. The physicians decided whether to make use of long-term artificial nutrition between January 2012 and December 2014. We evaluated 185 patients. Their mean age was 76.6 ± 11.4 years. Of all subjects, patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (n = 78) formed the biggest group, schizophrenia patients (n = 44) the second, and those with vascular dementia (n = 30) the third. The median survival times were 711 days for patients with tube feeding and 61 days for patients without tube feeding. In a comparison different types of tube feeding, median survival times were 611 days for patients with a nasogastric tube and more than 1000 days for those with a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube. Patients with tube feeding survived longer than those without tube feeding, even among dementia patients. This study suggests that enteral nutrition for patients with dementia prolongs survival. Additionally, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube feeding may be safer than nasogastric tube feeding among patients in psychiatric hospitals. © 2017 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Finding Risk Groups by Optimizing Artificial Neural Networks on the Area under the Survival Curve Using Genetic Algorithms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalderstam, Jonas; Edén, Patrik; Ohlsson, Mattias

2015-01-01

We investigate a new method to place patients into risk groups in censored survival data. Properties such as median survival time, and end survival rate, are implicitly improved by optimizing the area under the survival curve. Artificial neural networks (ANN) are trained to either maximize or minimize this area using a genetic algorithm, and combined into an ensemble to predict one of low, intermediate, or high risk groups. Estimated patient risk can influence treatment choices, and is important for study stratification. A common approach is to sort the patients according to a prognostic index and then group them along the quartile limits. The Cox proportional hazards model (Cox) is one example of this approach. Another method of doing risk grouping is recursive partitioning (Rpart), which constructs a decision tree where each branch point maximizes the statistical separation between the groups. ANN, Cox, and Rpart are compared on five publicly available data sets with varying properties. Cross-validation, as well as separate test sets, are used to validate the models. Results on the test sets show comparable performance, except for the smallest data set where Rpart's predicted risk groups turn out to be inverted, an example of crossing survival curves. Cross-validation shows that all three models exhibit crossing of some survival curves on this small data set but that the ANN model manages the best separation of groups in terms of median survival time before such crossings. The conclusion is that optimizing the area under the survival curve is a viable approach to identify risk groups. Training ANNs to optimize this area combines two key strengths from both prognostic indices and Rpart. First, a desired minimum group size can be specified, as for a prognostic index. Second, the ability to utilize non-linear effects among the covariates, which Rpart is also able to do.

Factors predictive of survival and estimated years of life lost in the decade following nontraumatic and traumatic spinal cord injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatch, B B; Wood-Wentz, C M; Therneau, T M; Walker, M G; Payne, J M; Reeves, R K

2017-06-01

Retrospective chart review. To identify factors predictive of survival after spinal cord injury (SCI). Tertiary care institution. Multiple-variable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis for 759 patients with SCI (535 nontraumatic and 221 traumatic) included age, sex, completeness of injury, level of injury, functional independence measure (FIM) scores, rehabilitation length of stay and SCI cause. Estimated years of life lost in the decade after injury was calculated for patients vs uninjured controls. Median follow-up was 11.4 years. Population characteristics included paraplegia, 58%; complete injury, 11%; male sex, 64%; and median rehabilitation length of stay, 16 days. Factors independently predictive of decreased survival were increased age (+10 years; hazard ratio (HR (95% CI)), 1.6 (1.4-1.7)), male sex (1.3 (1.0-1.6)), lower dismissal FIM score (-10 points; 1.3 (1.2-1.3)) and all nontraumatic causes. Metastatic cancer had the largest decrease in survival (HR (95% CI), 13.3 (8.7-20.2)). Primary tumors (HR (95% CI), 2.5 (1.7-3.8)), vascular (2.5 (1.6-3.8)), musculoskeletal/stenosis (1.7 (1.2-2.5)) and other nontraumatic SCI (2.3 (1.5-3.6)) were associated with decreased survival. Ten-year survival was decreased in nontraumatic SCI (mean (s.d.), 1.8 (0.3) years lost), with largest decreases in survival for metastatic cancer and spinal cord ischemia. Age, male sex and lower dismissal FIM score were associated with decreased survival, but neither injury severity nor level was associated with it. Survival after SCI varies depending on SCI cause, with survival better after traumatic SCI than after nontraumatic SCI. Metastatic cancer and vascular ischemia were associated with the greatest survival reduction.

The impact of carboplatin and toceranib phosphate on serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) levels and survival in canine osteosarcoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Gieger, Tracy L; Nettifee-Osborne, Julie; Hallman, Briana; Johannes, Chad; Clarke, Dawn; Nolan, Michael W; Williams, Laurel E

2017-07-01

In this pilot study, 10 dogs with osteosarcoma (OSA) were treated with amputation and subsequent carboplatin chemotherapy (300 mg/m 2 IV q3wk × 4 doses) followed by toceranib phosphate (2.75 mg/kg PO q48h starting at day 14 post carboplatin). Monthly clinical monitoring and serum measurements of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were acquired. No dogs were removed from the study due to toxicity. Levels of VEGF and MMP-9 did not change over time. Seven dogs died related to local recurrence and/or pulmonary or bone metastasis and the remainder died of other causes. Median OSA-free survival was 238 d with 34% 1-year progression-free survival. Median overall survival was 253 d with 30% alive at 1.5 y and 10% alive at 2 y. Although this regimen was well-tolerated, survival times did not exceed previously published data from dogs treated with amputation plus chemotherapy alone.

Survival of nonsurgically staged patients with negative lymphangiograms who had Stage IIB carcinoma of the cervix treated by pelvic radiation plus hydroxyurea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piver, M.S.; Krishnamsetty, R.M.; Emrich, L.J.

1985-01-01

Twenty patients with Stage IIB carcinoma of the cervix who did not undergo pretherapy para-aortic lymphadenectomy, but who had negative preradiation therapy lymphangiograms, were treated with pelvic radiation plus hydroxyurea. Patients received a median of 5020 rads of pelvic radiation plus 4000 rads of radium to point A. During radiation therapy and for a total of 12 weeks, patients received hydroxyurea administered at a dose of 80 mg/kg of body weight every 3 days if the white blood cell count was greater than or equal to 2,500/mm3 and platelets were greater than or equal to 75,000/mm3. The median follow-up time was 28 months (6 to 83 months). The estimated 5-year survival rate was 92%. Seventeen patients are alive with no evidence of disease (median, 28 months); one died of intercurrent disease with no evidence of disease (17 months); one is alive with no evidence of disease after recurrence (18 months); and one died of cervical cancer (22 months). The survival rate of patients with nonsurgically staged negative pretherapy lymphangiograms who had Stage IIB cervical cancer treated by pelvic radiation therapy plus hydroxyurea approximated the improved survival rate reported for patients with negative pretherapy para-aortic lymphadenectomy who were treated with pelvic radiation therapy plus hydroxyurea. Both studies would suggest that pelvic radiation plus hydroxyurea improves the rate of survival in patients with Stage IIB cervical cancer

Survival, Durable Response, and Long-Term Safety in Patients With Previously Treated Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma Receiving Nivolumab.

Science.gov (United States)

McDermott, David F; Drake, Charles G; Sznol, Mario; Choueiri, Toni K; Powderly, John D; Smith, David C; Brahmer, Julie R; Carvajal, Richard D; Hammers, Hans J; Puzanov, Igor; Hodi, F Stephen; Kluger, Harriet M; Topalian, Suzanne L; Pardoll, Drew M; Wigginton, Jon M; Kollia, Georgia D; Gupta, Ashok; McDonald, Dan; Sankar, Vindira; Sosman, Jeffrey A; Atkins, Michael B

2015-06-20

Blockade of the programmed death-1 inhibitory cell-surface molecule on immune cells using the fully human immunoglobulin G4 antibody nivolumab mediates tumor regression in a portion of patients with advanced treatment-refractory solid tumors. We report clinical activity, survival, and long-term safety in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) treated with nivolumab in a phase I study with expansion cohorts. A total of 34 patients with previously treated advanced RCC, enrolled between 2008 and 2012, received intravenous nivolumab (1 or 10 mg/kg) in an outpatient setting once every two weeks for up to 96 weeks and were observed for survival and duration of response after treatment discontinuation. Ten patients (29%) achieved objective responses (according to RECIST [version 1.0]), with median response duration of 12.9 months; nine additional patients (27%) demonstrated stable disease lasting > 24 weeks. Three of five patients who stopped treatment while in response continued to respond for ≥ 45 weeks. Median overall survival in all patients (71% with two to five prior systemic therapies) was 22.4 months; 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 71%, 48%, and 44%, respectively. Grade 3 to 4 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 18% of patients; all were reversible. Patients with advanced treatment-refractory RCC treated with nivolumab demonstrated durable responses that in some responders persisted after drug discontinuation. Overall survival is encouraging, and toxicities were generally manageable. Ongoing randomized clinical trials will further assess the impact of nivolumab on overall survival in patients with advanced RCC. © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Long-term Survival of Six Patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme: Case Series and Review of the Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shapour Omidvari

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The median overall survival in glioblastoma multiforme is usually less than one year. Long-term survival is rare and is seen in only 3%-6% of GBM patients. The present study reports the characteristics and treatment outcomes of six cases of glioblastoma multiforme with long-term survival. A literature review is also presented.Between 1990 and 2008, 217 glioblastoma multiforme patients have been treated at our center of which six cases (four males survived for three years or longer. The mean age of the six cases was 25.7 years. All patients received postoperative radiotherapy with a mean dose of 55 gray and four patients received nitrosourea-based chemotherapy.Patients' mean survival was 5.2 years. The results of this study and review of the literature have indicated that long-term (more than three years survival is exceptional and mainly observed in younger patients with good performance status and following complete surgical tumor resection.

COLOUR IMAGE STEGANOGRAPHY USING MEDIAN MAINTENANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Arivazhagan

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Steganographic algorithms in the recent past have been producing stego images with perceptual invisibility, better secrecy and certain robustness against attacks like cropping, filtering etc. Recovering a good quality secret from a good quality stego image may not always be possible. The method proposed in this paper works in transform domain and attempts to extract the secret almost as same as the embedded one maintaining minimal changes to the cover image by using techniques like median maintenance, offset and quantization.

Mesothelioma: treatment and survival of a patient population and review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Stathopoulos, John; Antoniou, Dimosthenis; Stathopoulos, George P; Rigatos, Sotiris K; Dimitroulis, John; Koutandos, John; Michalopoulou, Pinelopi; Athanasiades, Athanasios; Veslemes, Marinos

2005-01-01

Our purpose was to evaluate the survival of patients with pleural and intraperitoneal malignant mesothelioma and, particularly, to estimate the efficacy of chemotherapy as well as radiotherapy and surgery. A review of the literature with respect to these parameters is included. Thirty-five patients with malignant mesothelioma (28 with pleural and 7 with intraperitoneal) were enrolled. Twenty-eight patients underwent chemotherapy, 7/35 radiation and 9/35 surgery (2 with pleural and 7 with abdominal disease). Combination chemotherapy included cisplatin-gemcitabine, cisplatin (or carboplatin) with premetrexed and doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide. In 2/28 patients with pleural mesothelioma the tumor was excised and in 7 with intraperitoneal disease, surgical therapy was palliative and there was survival prolongation. Radiotherapy was only palliative. Chemotherapy produced a very low response: 2/28 (7.14%) patients achieved a partial response. The median survival was 17 months, 4-year survival, 24.4% and 5-year survival, 12.12%. No serious toxicity was observed. Malignant mesothelioma of the pleura and intraperitoneum is a slow-growing disease which is indicated by the long survival, despite the failure of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery.

Electromyogram median power frequency in dynamic exercise at medium exercise intensities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ament, W; Bonga, GJJ; Hof, AL; Verkerke, GJ

The electromyogram (EMG) median power Frequency of the calf muscles was investigated during an exhausting treadmill exercise and a 20-min recovery period. The exercise was an uphill run at a speed of 5 km . h(-1) and a gradient of 20%. During exercise there was no decrease of EMG median power

Gender, Race, and Survival: A Study in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases Patients Utilizing the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Recursive Partitioning Analysis Classification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Videtic, Gregory M.M.; Reddy, Chandana A.; Chao, Samuel T.; Rice, Thomas W.; Adelstein, David J.; Barnett, Gene H.; Mekhail, Tarek M.; Vogelbaum, Michael A.; Suh, John H.

2009-01-01

Purpose: To explore whether gender and race influence survival in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients with brain metastases, using our large single-institution brain tumor database and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) brain metastases classification. Methods and materials: A retrospective review of a single-institution brain metastasis database for the interval January 1982 to September 2004 yielded 835 NSCLC patients with brain metastases for analysis. Patient subsets based on combinations of gender, race, and RPA class were then analyzed for survival differences. Results: Median follow-up was 5.4 months (range, 0-122.9 months). There were 485 male patients (M) (58.4%) and 346 female patients (F) (41.6%). Of the 828 evaluable patients (99%), 143 (17%) were black/African American (B) and 685 (83%) were white/Caucasian (W). Median survival time (MST) from time of brain metastasis diagnosis for all patients was 5.8 months. Median survival time by gender (F vs. M) and race (W vs. B) was 6.3 months vs. 5.5 months (p = 0.013) and 6.0 months vs. 5.2 months (p = 0.08), respectively. For patients stratified by RPA class, gender, and race, MST significantly favored BFs over BMs in Class II: 11.2 months vs. 4.6 months (p = 0.021). On multivariable analysis, significant variables were gender (p = 0.041, relative risk [RR] 0.83) and RPA class (p < 0.0001, RR 0.28 for I vs. III; p < 0.0001, RR 0.51 for II vs. III) but not race. Conclusions: Gender significantly influences NSCLC brain metastasis survival. Race trended to significance in overall survival but was not significant on multivariable analysis. Multivariable analysis identified gender and RPA classification as significant variables with respect to survival.

Effects of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy on survival of patients in a persistent vegetative state after stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Kunpeng; Chen, Ying; Yan, Caihong; Huang, Zhijia; Wang, Deming; Gui, Peigen; Bao, Juan

2017-10-01

To assess the effect of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy on short- and long-term survival of patients in a persistent vegetative state after stroke and determine the relevant prognostic factors. Stroke may lead to a persistent vegetative state, and the effect of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy on survival of stroke patients in a persistent vegetative state remains unclear. Prospective study. A total of 97 stroke patients in a persistent vegetative state hospitalised from January 2009 to December 2011 at the Second Hospital, University of South China, were assessed in this study. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy was performed in 55 patients, and mean follow-up time was 18 months. Survival rate and risk factors were analysed. Median survival in the 55 percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy-treated patients was 17·6 months, higher compared with 8·2 months obtained for the remaining 42 patients without percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy treatment. Univariate analyses revealed that age, hospitalisation time, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy treatment status, family financial situation, family care, pulmonary infection and nutrition were significantly associated with survival. Multivariate analysis indicated that older age, no gastrostomy, poor family care, pulmonary infection and poor nutritional status were independent risk factors affecting survival. Indeed, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy significantly improved the nutritional status and decreased pulmonary infection rate in patients with persistent vegetative state after stroke. Interestingly, median survival time was 20·3 months in patients with no or one independent risk factors of poor prognosis (n = 38), longer compared with 8·7 months found for patients with two or more independent risk factors (n = 59). Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy significantly improves long-term survival of stroke patients in a persistent vegetative state and is associated with improved nutritional status

Progesterone receptor levels independently predict survival in endometrial adenocarcinoma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nyholm, H C; Christensen, Ib Jarle; Nielsen, Anette Lynge

1995-01-01

to correlations to cancer-specific survival in a multivariate analysis including histopathological characteristics. Median patient follow-up time was 67 months with 18 cancer deaths. The PR-DCC and ER-DCC values were dichotomized according to levels previously found by us to correspond to the best agreement...... between receptor status as determined by the DCC and ICA methods (130 fmol/mg cytosol protein for ER, 114 fmol/mg for PR). Using these thresholds, we found by multivariate analysis that "high" PR-DCC levels (> 114 fmol/mg) correlated significantly (P = 0.004) with survival, independent of stage risk group...... could not be statistically evaluated due to the number of cases with eligible ICA values. However, we suggest that owing to a close correlation between DCC and ICA results, PR-ICA status may provide significant prognostic information when DCC measurements are not available....

Median mental sinus in twins.

Science.gov (United States)

Ong, S T; Ngeow, W C

1999-05-01

Sinus on the chin can be the result of a chronic apical abscess due to pulp necrosis of a mandibular anterior tooth. The tooth is usually asymptomatic, and a dental cause is therefore not apparent to the patient or the unsuspecting clinician. Not infrequently, the patient may seek treatment from a dermatologist or general surgeon instead of a dentist. Excision and repair of the fistula may be carried out with subsequent breakdown because the dental pathology is not removed. This paper reports the presence of median mental sinus of dental origin in twins. One case healed following root canal therapy while the other required both root canal therapy and surgery to eliminate the infection.

PD-L1 Expression and Survival among Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Chemotherapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Steffen Filskov; Zhou, Wei; Dolled-Filhart, Marisa

2016-01-01

with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with chemotherapy are inconsistent. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We evaluated the relationship between PD-L1 expression and overall survival (OS) among 204 patients with advanced NSCLC treated at Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark, from 2007 to 2012. PD......-positive tumors, and 50% had PD-L1 weak-positive tumors. No statistically significant association was found between PD-L1 expression and survival; adjusted hazard ratio of 1.34 (95% confidence interval, 0.88-2.03; median OS, 9.0 months) for the PD-L1 strong-positive group and 1.07 (0.74-1.55; median OS, 9...... by immunohistochemistry to be frequently expressed in patients with advanced NSCLC. However, PD-L1 expression is not a strong prognostic marker in patients with advanced NSCLC treated with chemotherapy....

Range Selection and Median

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Allan Grønlund; Larsen, Kasper Green

2011-01-01

and several natural special cases thereof. The rst special case is known as range median, which arises when k is xed to b(j 􀀀 i + 1)=2c. The second case, denoted prex selection, arises when i is xed to 0. Finally, we also consider the bounded rank prex selection problem and the xed rank range......Range selection is the problem of preprocessing an input array A of n unique integers, such that given a query (i; j; k), one can report the k'th smallest integer in the subarray A[i];A[i+1]; : : : ;A[j]. In this paper we consider static data structures in the word-RAM for range selection...... selection problem. In the former, data structures must support prex selection queries under the assumption that k for some value n given at construction time, while in the latter, data structures must support range selection queries where k is xed beforehand for all queries. We prove cell probe lower bounds...

Separate patient serum sodium medians from males and females provide independent information on analytical bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Steen Ingemann; Petersen, Per Hyltoft; Lund, Flemming; Fraser, Callum G; Sölétormos, György

2017-10-26

During monitoring of monthly medians of results from patients undertaken to assess analytical stability in routine laboratory performance, the medians for serum sodium for male and female patients were found to be significantly related. Daily, weekly and monthly patient medians of serum sodium for both male and female patients were calculated from results obtained on samples from the population >18 years on three analysers in the hospital laboratory. The half-range of medians was applied as an estimate of the maximum bias. Further, the ratios between the two medians were calculated. The medians of both genders demonstrated dispersions over time, but they were closely connected in like patterns, which were confirmed by the half-range of the ratios of medians for males and females that varied from 0.36% for daily, 0.14% for weekly and 0.036% for monthly ratios over all instruments. The tight relationship between the gender medians for serum sodium is only possible when raw laboratory data are used for calculation. The two patient medians can be used to confirm both and are useful as independent estimates of analytical bias during constant calibration periods. In contrast to the gender combined median, the estimate of analytical bias can be confirmed further by calculation of the ratios of medians for males and females.

Voimaa visuaalisuudesta : Narratiivinen kirjallisuuskatsaus visuaalisen sosiaalisen median vaikutuksista nuorten aikuisten hyvinvointiin

OpenAIRE

Viita, Shir

2017-01-01

Viita, Shir. Voimaa visuaalisuudesta – Narratiivinen kirjallisuuskatsaus visuaalisen sosiaalisen median vaikutuksista nuorten aikuisten hyvinvointiin. Kevät 2016. 52 s., 1 liite. Diakonia ammattikorkeakoulu. Sosiaalialan koulutusohjelma, sosionomin suuntautumisvaihtoehto. Sosionomi (AMK). Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on tuottaa tietoa sosiaalialan ammattilaisille visuaalisen sosiaalisen median sivustojen Instagramin ja Snapchatin vaikutuksista nuorten aikuisten hyvinvointiin. Opinnäyte...

Prognostic factors and survival in patients with radiation-related second malignant neoplasms following radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mian Xi

Full Text Available PURPOSE: To analyze the clinicopathological characteristics, treatment modalities, and potential prognostic factors of radiation-related second malignant neoplasms (SMNs in a large group of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC cases. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Institutional electronic medical records of 39,118 patients with NPC treated by definitive radiotherapy between February 1964 and December 2003 were reviewed. A total of 247 patients with confirmed SMN attributable to radiotherapy were included. RESULTS: Median latency between radiotherapy for NPC and the diagnosis of SMN was 9.5 years (range, 3.1-36.8 years. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histologic type, followed by fibrosarcoma and adenocarcinoma. Median progression-free survival and overall survival (OS of the 235 patients who underwent treatment were 17.3 months and 28.5 months, respectively. The 5-year OS rates were 42.9%, 23.7%, and 0% for the surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy groups, respectively. The independent prognostic factors associated with survival were sex, histologic type, and treatment modality in both the early stage subgroup and the advanced stage subgroup of SMN. CONCLUSIONS: Sex, histologic type, and treatment modality were the significant prognostic factors for SMN. Complete resection offers the best chance for long-term survival. In select patients with locally advanced and unresectable SMN, reirradiation should be strongly considered as a curative option.

Tracheostomy mechanical ventilation in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: clinical features and survival analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Spataro, Rossella; Bono, Valeria; Marchese, Santino; La Bella, Vincenzo

2012-12-15

Tracheostomy mechanical ventilation (TMV) is performed in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with a respiratory failure or when the non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is no longer effective. We evaluated the clinical characteristics and survival of a cohort of tracheostomized ALS patients, followed in a single ALS Clinical Center. Between 2001 and 2010, 87 out of 279 ALS patients were submitted to TMV. Onset was spinal in 62 and bulbar in 25. After tracheostomy, most patients were followed up through telephone interviews to caregivers. A complete survival analysis could be performed in fifty-two TMV patients. 31.3% ALS patients underwent tracheostomy, with a male prevalence (M/F=1.69) and a median age of 61 years (interquartile range=47-66). After tracheostomy, nearly all patients were under home care. TMV ALS patients were more likely than non-tracheostomized (NT) patients to be implanted with a PEG device, although the bulbar-/spinal-onset ratio did not differ between the two groups. Kaplan-Meyer analysis showed that tracheostomy increases median survival (TMV, 47 months vs NT, 31 months, p=0.008), with the greatest effect in patients younger than 60 at onset (TMV ≤ 60 years, 57.5 months vs NT ≤ 60 years, 38.5 months, p=0.002). TMV is increasingly performed in ALS patients. Nearly all TMV patients live at home and most of them are fed through a PEG device. Survival after tracheostomy is generally increased, with the stronger effect in patients younger than 60. This survival advantage is apparently lost when TMV is performed in patients older than 60. The results of this study might be useful for the decision-making process of patients and their families about this advanced palliative care. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Correlation of Tumor and Peritumoral Edema Volumes with Survival in Patients with Cerebral Metastases.

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Kerschbaumer, Johannes; Bauer, Marlies; Popovscaia, Marina; Grams, Astrid E; Thomé, Claudius; Freyschlag, Christian F

2017-02-01

Surgical resection in combination with radiotherapy in selected cases remains the best option for patients with cerebral metastases. Postoperative relapse of brain metastases occurs frequently and can be reduced by postoperative whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). Continuous spread of tumor cells from the primary lesions is debated as a cause of recurrence. It is well known that in gliomas, infiltration takes place within the surrounding edema. Obviously, most brain metastases are usually associated with peritumoral edema, which may act as an indicator of infiltration and more aggressive tumor biology. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the correlation of tumor and edema volumes with overall survival in patients with cerebral metastases. A total of 143 patients diagnosed with brain metastasis (male:female=1.1:1) who underwent surgical resection were included retrospectively in this analysis. Clinical data were retrieved from electronic patient files. The volumes of tumor and edema calculated by manual delineation. The ratio of edema to tumor volume was calculated, leading to dichotomization of the patients. The median tumor volume was 20.1 cc (range=0.8-90.8 cc) and the median volume of edema 49.5 cc (range=0-179.9 cc). The volume of metastases did not significantly correlate with overall survival. The ratio of edema to tumor volume was also not a prognostic factor in terms of overall survival. Only surgical resection, preoperative recursive partitioning analysis class, and postoperative addition of WBRT, as well as female sex, demonstrated beneficial effects. The extent of edema surrounding cerebral metastases does not appear to influence overall survival in patients suffering from brain metastases, although it seems to be responsible for most of the patients' symptoms. The hypothesis that the extent of edema was disadvantageous concerning survival was supported by our data. Copyright© 2017, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios

Shortest loops are pacemakers in random networks of electrically coupled axons

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Nikita eVladimirov

2012-04-01

Full Text Available High-frequency oscillations (HFOs are an important part of brain activity in health and disease. However, their origins remain obscure and controversial. One possible mechanism depends on the presence of sparsely distributed gap junctions that electrically couple the axons of principal cells. A plexus of electrically coupled axons is modeled as a random network with bidirectional connections between its nodes. Under certain conditions the network can demonstrate one of two types of oscillatory activity. Type I oscillations (100-200 Hz are predicted to be caused by spontaneously spiking axons in a network with strong (high-conductance gap junctions. Type II oscillations (200-300 Hz require no spontaneous spiking and relatively weak (low-conductance gap junctions, across which spike propagation failures occur. The type II oscillations are reentrant and self-sustained. Here we examine what determines the frequency of type II oscillations. Using simulations we show that the distribution of loop lengths is the key factor for determining frequency in type II network oscillations. We first analyze spike failure between two electrically coupled cells using a model of anatomically reconstructed CA1 pyramidal neuron. Then network oscillations are studied by a cellular automaton model with random network connectivity, in which we control loop statistics. We show that oscillation periods can be predicted from the network's loop statistics. The shortest loop, around which a spike can travel, is the most likely pacemaker candidate.The principle of one loop as a pacemaker is remarkable, because random networks contain a large number of loops juxtaposed and superimposed, and their number rapidly grows with network size. This principle allows us to predict the frequency of oscillations from network connectivity and visa versa. We finally propose that type I oscillations may correspond to ripples, while type II oscillations correspond to so-called fast ripples.

Application of median-equation approach for outlier detection in geodetic networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serif Hekimoglu

Full Text Available In geodetic measurements some outliers may occur sometimes in data sets, depending on different reasons. There are two main approaches to detect outliers as Tests for outliers (Baarda's and Pope's Tests and robust methods (Danish method, Huber method etc.. These methods use the Least Squares Estimation (LSE. The outliers affect the LSE results, especially it smears the effects of the outliers on the good observations and sometimes wrong results may be obtained. To avoid these effects, a method that does not use LSE should be preferred. The median is a high breakdown point estimator and if it is applied for the outlier detection, reliable results can be obtained. In this study, a robust method which uses median with or as a treshould value on median residuals that are obtained from median equations is proposed. If the a priori variance of the observations is known, the reliability of the new approch is greater than the one in the case where the a priori variance is unknown.

Automated digital volume measurement of melanoma metastases in sentinel nodes predicts disease recurrence and survival

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riber-Hansen, Rikke; Nyengaard, Jens R; Hamilton-Dutoit, Stephen J

2011-01-01

statistics (categorical data). In addition, disease-free and melanoma-specific survivals were calculated. Mean metastatic volume per patient was 10.6 mm(3) (median 0.05 mm(3); range 0.0001-621.3 mm(3)) and 9.62 mm(3) (median 0.05 mm(3); range 0.00001-564.3 mm(3)) with manual and digital measurement......, respectively. The Bland-Altman plot showed an even distribution of the differences, and the kappa statistic was 0.84. In multivariate analysis, both manual and digital metastasis volume measurements were independent progression markers when corrected for primary tumour thickness [manual: hazard ratio (HR): 1...

Effect of integrated surgery + radiotherapy + chemotherapy treatment on survival status and serum indexes in patients with gallbladder carcinoma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhi-Li Wei

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To study the effect of integrated surgery + radiotherapy + chemotherapy treatment on the survival status and serum indexes in patients with gallbladder carcinoma. Methods: A total of 68 patients with gallbladder carcinoma were divided into observation group (received integrated surgery + radiotherapy + chemotherapy treatment and control group (received surgery + radiotherapy according to different treatments. Differences in the content of tumor markers, growth factors and adhesion molecules in serum as well as the median survival time and survival rate in 5 years of follow-up were compared between the two groups 1 month after treatment. Results: Tumor markers β2-MG, CA19-9, CA242, CA125, CA724, CEA and AFP content in serum of observation group after treatment were significantly lower than those of control group; growth factors VEGF, FGF, EGFR and HER2 content in serum were significantly lower than those of control group while IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-3 content were significantly higher than those of control group; adhesion molecules E-selectin, ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and sE-Cd content in serum were significantly lower than those of control group; the median survival time of 5-year follow-up as well as 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rate were significantly greater than those of control group. Conclusions: Integrated treatment of surgery + radiotherapy + chemotherapy can optimize the short-term and long-term curative effect in patients with gallbladder carcinoma.

Better midterm survival in women after transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Takagi, Hisato; Umemoto, Takuya

2017-08-01

In previous meta-analyses demonstrating better midterm overall survival in women undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), unadjusted risk and odds ratios were combined. To determine whether female gender is independently associated with better survival after TAVI, we performed a meta-analysis pooling adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) based on multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched through September 2015 using PubMed and OVID. Studies considered for inclusion met the following criteria: the study population was patients undergoing TAVI; and main outcomes included midterm (mean or median ≥6 months) overall survival or all-cause mortality in women and men. An unadjusted and/or adjusted HR of all-cause mortality for women versus men was abstracted from each individual study. Of 1347 potentially relevant articles screened initially, 16 reports of eligible studies were identified and included. A primary meta-analysis of the 9 adjusted HRs demonstrated a significantly better midterm overall survival in women than men (N.=6891; HR=0.80; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.65 to 0.97; P=0.03). A secondary meta-analysis adding 5 statistically non-significant unadjusted HR also indicated better survival in women (N.=8645; HR=0.83; 95% CI: 0.72 to 0.96; P=0.01). Although statistical tests for the primary meta-analysis revealed funnel plot asymmetry in favor of women, the secondary meta-analysis produced a symmetrical funnel plot. Female gender may be independently associated with better midterm overall survival after TAVI.

Patients with brain metastases from gastrointestinal tract cancer treated with whole brain radiation therapy:Prognostic factors and survival

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Susanne Bartelt; Felix Momm; Christian Weissenberger; Johannes Lutterbach

2004-01-01

AIM: To identify the prognostic factors with regard to survival for patients with brain metastasis from primary tumors of the gastrointestinal tract.METHODS: Nine hundred and sixteen patients with brain metastases, treated with whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) between January 1985 and December 2000 at the Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Freiburg, were analyzed retrospectively.RESULTS: Fifty-seven patients presented with a primary tumor of the gastrointestinal tract (esophagus: n = 0, stomach:n = 10, colorectal: n = 47). Twenty-six patients had a solitary brain metastasis, 31 patients presented with multiple brain metastases. Surgical resection was performed in 25 patients.WBRTwas applied with daily fractions of 2 Gray (Gy) or 3 Gy to a total dose of 50 Gy or 30 Gy, respectively. The interval between diagnoses of the primary tumors and brain metastases was 22.6 mo vs8.0 mo for patients with primary tumors of the colon/rectum vs other primary tumors,respectively (P＜0.01, log-rank). Median overall survival for all patients with brain metastases (n = 916) was 3.4 mo and 3.2 mo for patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms.Patients with gastrointestinal primary tumors presented significantly more often with a solitary brain metastasis than patients with other primary tumors (P＜0.05, log-rank). In patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms (n = 57), the median overall survival was 5.8 mo for patients with solitary brain metastasis vs 2.7 mo for patients with multiple brain metastases (P＜0.01, log-rank). The median overall survival for patients with a Karnofsky performance status (KPS) ≥70was 5.5 mo vs2.1 mo for patients with KPS ＜70 (P＜0.01,log-rank). At multivariate analysis (Cox Model) the performance status and the number of brain metastases were identified as independent prognostic factors for overall survival.CONCLUSION: Brain metastases occur late in the course of gastrointestinal tumors. Pretherapeutic variables like KPS and the

Bladder Preservation for Localized Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: The Survival Impact of Local Utilization Rates of Definitive Radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozak, Kevin R.; Hamidi, Maryam; Manning, Matthew; Moody, John S.

2012-01-01

Purpose: This study examines the management and outcomes of muscle-invasive bladder cancer in the United States. Methods and Materials: Patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer diagnosed between 1988 and 2006 were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Patients were classified according to three mutually exclusive treatment categories based on the primary initial treatment: no local management, radiotherapy, or surgery. Overall survival was assessed with Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox models based on multiple factors including treatment utilization patterns. Results: The study population consisted of 26,851 patients. Age, sex, race, tumor grade, histology, and geographic location were associated with differences in treatment (all p < 0.01). Patients receiving definitive radiotherapy tended to be older and have less differentiated tumors than patients undergoing surgery (RT, median age 78 years old and 90.6% grade 3/4 tumors; surgery, median age 71 years old and 77.1% grade 3/4 tumors). No large shifts in treatment were seen over time, with most patients managed with surgical resection (86.3% for overall study population). Significant survival differences were observed according to initial treatment: median survival, 14 months with no definitive local treatment; 17 months with radiotherapy; and 43 months for surgery. On multivariate analysis, differences in local utilization rates of definitive radiotherapy did not demonstrate a significant effect on overall survival (hazard ratio, 1.002; 95% confidence interval, 0.999–1.005). Conclusions: Multiple factors influence the initial treatment strategy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, but definitive radiotherapy continues to be used infrequently. Although patients who undergo surgery fare better, a multivariable model that accounted for patient and tumor characteristics found no survival detriment to the utilization of definitive radiotherapy. These results support continued

Separate patient serum sodium medians from males and females provide independent information on analytical bias

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Steen Ingemann; Petersen, Per Hyltoft; Lund, Flemming

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: During monitoring of monthly medians of results from patients undertaken to assess analytical stability in routine laboratory performance, the medians for serum sodium for male and female patients were found to be significantly related. METHODS: Daily, weekly and monthly patient medians...... all instruments. CONCLUSIONS: The tight relationship between the gender medians for serum sodium is only possible when raw laboratory data are used for calculation. The two patient medians can be used to confirm both and are useful as independent estimates of analytical bias during constant...... calibration periods. In contrast to the gender combined median, the estimate of analytical bias can be confirmed further by calculation of the ratios of medians for males and females....

A GPU-Based Genetic Algorithm for the P-Median Problem

OpenAIRE

AlBdaiwi, Bader F.; AboElFotoh, Hosam M. F.

2016-01-01

The p-median problem is a well-known NP-hard problem. Many heuristics have been proposed in the literature for this problem. In this paper, we exploit a GPGPU parallel computing platform to present a new genetic algorithm implemented in Cuda and based on a Pseudo Boolean formulation of the p-median problem. We have tested the effectiveness of our algorithm using a Tesla K40 (2880 Cuda cores) on 290 different benchmark instances obtained from OR-Library, discrete location problems benchmark li...

Median nerve fascicular anatomy as a basis for distal neural prostheses.

Science.gov (United States)

Planitzer, Uwe; Steinke, Hanno; Meixensberger, Jürgen; Bechmann, Ingo; Hammer, Niels; Winkler, Dirk

2014-05-01

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) serves as a possible therapy to restore missing motor functions of peripheral nerves by means of cuff electrodes. FES is established for improving lower limb function. Transferring this method to the upper extremity is complex, due to a lack of anatomical data on the physiological configuration of nerve fascicles. Our study's aim was to provide an anatomical basis for FES of the median nerve in the distal forearm and hand. We investigated 21 distal median nerves from 12 body donors. The peripheral fascicles were traced back by removing the external and interfascicular epineurium and then assigned to 4 quadrants. A distinct motor and sensory distribution was observed. The fascicles innervating the thenar eminence and the first lumbrical muscle originated from the nerves' radial parts in 82%. The fascicle supplying the second lumbrical muscle originated from the ulnar side in 78%. No macroscopically visible plexus formation was observed for the distal median nerve in the forearm. The findings on the distribution of the motor branches of the median nerve and the missing plexus formation may likely serve as an anatomical basis for FES of the distal forearm. However, due to the considerable variability of the motor branches, cuff electrodes will need to be adapted individually in FES. Taking into account the sensory distribution of the median nerve, FES may also possibly be applied in the treatment of regional pain syndromes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

An elevated serum beta-2-microglobulin level is an adverse prognostic factor for overall survival in patients with early-stage Hodgkin disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Chronowski, Gregory M; Wilder, Richard B; Tucker, Susan L; Ha, Chul S; Sarris, Andreas H; Hagemeister, Fredrick B; Barista, Ibrahim; Hess, Mark A; Cabanillas, Fernando; Cox, James D

2002-12-15

The relative importance of prognostic factors in patients with early-stage Hodgkin disease remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate prognostic factors among patients who received chemotherapy before radiotherapy. From 1987 to 1995, 217 consecutive patients ranging in age from 16 to 88 years (median, 28 years) with Ann Arbor Stage I (n = 55) or II (n = 162) Hodgkin disease underwent chemotherapy before radiotherapy at a single center. Most were treated on prospective studies. Patients received a median of three cycles of induction chemotherapy. Mitoxantrone, vincristine, vinblastine, and prednisone (NOVP), doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD), mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (MOPP), cyclophosphamide, vinblastine, procarbazine, prednisone, doxorubicin, bleomycin, dacarbazine, and CCNU (CVPP/ABDIC), or other chemotherapeutic regimens were given to 160, 18, 15, 10, and 14 patients, respectively. The median radiotherapy dose was 40 Gy. Serum beta-2-microglobulin (beta-2M) levels ranged from 1.0 to 4.1 mg/L (median, 1.7 mg/L; upper limit of normal, 2.0 mg/L). We studied univariate and multivariate associations between survival and the following clinical features: serum beta-2M level above 1.25 times the upper limit of normal (n = 12), male gender (n = 113), hypoalbuminemia (n = 11), and bulky mediastinal disease (n = 94). Follow-up of surviving patients ranged from 0.9 to 13.4 years (median, 6.6 years) and 92% were observed for 3.0 or more years. Nineteen patients have died. Only elevation of the serum beta-2M level was an independent adverse prognostic factor for overall survival (P = 0.0009). The prognostic significance of a simple, widely available, and inexpensive blood test, beta-2M, has not been studied routinely in patients with Hodgkin disease and should be tested prospectively in large, cooperative group trials. Copyright 2002 American Cancer Society.DOI 10.1002/cncr.10998

Final analysis of survival outcomes in the phase 3 FIRST trial of up-front treatment for multiple myeloma.

Science.gov (United States)

Facon, Thierry; Dimopoulos, Meletios A; Dispenzieri, Angela; Catalano, John V; Belch, Andrew; Cavo, Michele; Pinto, Antonello; Weisel, Katja; Ludwig, Heinz; Bahlis, Nizar J; Banos, Anne; Tiab, Mourad; Delforge, Michel; Cavenagh, Jamie D; Geraldes, Catarina; Lee, Je-Jung; Chen, Christine; Oriol, Albert; De La Rubia, Javier; White, Darrell; Binder, Daniel; Lu, Jin; Anderson, Kenneth C; Moreau, Philippe; Attal, Michel; Perrot, Aurore; Arnulf, Bertrand; Qiu, Lugui; Roussel, Murielle; Boyle, Eileen; Manier, Salomon; Mohty, Mohamad; Avet-Loiseau, Herve; Leleu, Xavier; Ervin-Haynes, Annette; Chen, Guang; Houck, Vanessa; Benboubker, Lotfi; Hulin, Cyrille

2018-01-18

This FIRST trial final analysis examined survival outcomes in patients with transplant-ineligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) treated with lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone until disease progression (Rd continuous), Rd for 72 weeks (18 cycles; Rd18), or melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide (MPT; 72 weeks). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS; primary comparison: Rd continuous vs MPT). Overall survival (OS) was a key secondary endpoint (final analysis prespecified ≥60 months' follow-up). Patients were randomized to Rd continuous (n = 535), Rd18 (n = 541), or MPT (n = 547). At a median follow-up of 67 months, PFS was significantly longer with Rd continuous vs MPT (hazard ratio [HR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59-0.79; P < .00001) and was similarly extended vs Rd18. Median OS was 10 months longer with Rd continuous vs MPT (59.1 vs 49.1 months; HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.92; P = .0023), and similar with Rd18 (62.3 months). In patients achieving complete or very good partial responses, Rd continuous had an ≈30-month longer median time to next treatment vs Rd18 (69.5 vs 39.9 months). Over half of all patients who received second-line treatment were given a bortezomib-based therapy. Second-line outcomes were improved in patients receiving bortezomib after Rd continuous and Rd18 vs after MPT. No new safety concerns, including risk for secondary malignancies, were observed. Treatment with Rd continuous significantly improved survival outcomes vs MPT, supporting Rd continuous as a standard of care for patients with transplant-ineligible NDMM. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00689936 and EudraCT as 2007-004823-39. © 2018 by The American Society of Hematology.

Variant palmaris profundus enclosed by an unusual loop of the median nerve

Science.gov (United States)

CHOU, HSIU-CHU; JENG, HELLEN; KO, TSUI-LING; PAI, MAN-HUI; CHANG, CHIU-YUN; WU, CHING-HSIANG

2001-01-01

According to the usual description in most anatomy texts, the median nerve in the forearm passes between the 2 heads of pronator teres. It continues distally between flexor digitorum superficialis and profundus almost to the retinaculum. Muscular branches leave the nerve near the elbow and supply all superficial muscles of the anterior part of the forearm except flexor carpi ulnaris. Many variations of the median nerve in the forearm have been reported (Urban & Krosman, 1992). The palmaris profundus is also a rare anomaly of the forearm (Dyreby & Engber, 1982). It originates from the radial side of the common flexor tendon in the proximal forearm and inserts into the undersurface of the palmar aponeurosis. The origin of palmaris profundus may be close to the median nerve and its branches, and may be involved in compressive neuropathy of the anterior interosseous nerve. Its tendon crossing through the carpal canal has been implicated in the carpal tunnel syndrome (reviewed by Lahey & Aulicino, 1986). In some cases, palmaris profundus was found enclosed in a common fascial sheath with the median nerve (Stark, 1992; Sahinoglu et al. 1994). To indicate its close association with the median nerve, the palmaris profundus was also named ‘musculus comitans nervi mediani’ (Sahinoglu et al. 1994). This article reports an unusual loop of the median nerve encircling an anomalous palmaris profundus in the forearm, which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been previously described. PMID:11693311

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy metabolite profiles predict survival in paediatric brain tumours.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Martin; Cummins, Carole L; Macpherson, Lesley; Sun, Yu; Natarajan, Kal; Grundy, Richard G; Arvanitis, Theodoros N; Kauppinen, Risto A; Peet, Andrew C

2013-01-01

Brain tumours cause the highest mortality and morbidity rate of all childhood tumour groups and new methods are required to improve clinical management. (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) allows non-invasive concentration measurements of small molecules present in tumour tissue, providing clinically useful imaging biomarkers. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether MRS detectable molecules can predict the survival of paediatric brain tumour patients. Short echo time (30ms) single voxel (1)H MRS was performed on children attending Birmingham Children's Hospital with a suspected brain tumour and 115 patients were included in the survival analysis. Patients were followed-up for a median period of 35 months and Cox-Regression was used to establish the prognostic value of individual MRS detectable molecules. A multivariate model of survival was also investigated to improve prognostic power. Lipids and scyllo-inositol predicted poor survival whilst glutamine and N-acetyl aspartate predicted improved survival (pmodel of survival based on three MRS biomarkers predicted survival with a similar accuracy to histologic grading (p5e-5). A negative correlation between lipids and glutamine was found, suggesting a functional link between these molecules. MRS detectable biomolecules have been identified that predict survival of paediatric brain tumour patients across a range of tumour types. The evaluation of these biomarkers in large prospective studies of specific tumour types should be undertaken. The correlation between lipids and glutamine provides new insight into paediatric brain tumour metabolism that may present novel targets for therapy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stereotactic radiosurgery improves the survival in patients with solitary brain metastasis: a reasonable alternative to surgery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwan, H. Cho; Hall, Walter A.; Lee, Andrew K.; Gerbi, Bruce J.; Higgins, Patrick D.; Nussbaum, Eric S.; Chung, K.K. Lee; Bohen, Marva; Clark, H. Brent

1996-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in patients with solitary brain metastasis from extracranial primary cancer and to compare the outcome with that of external whole brain irradiation with or without surgical resection. Materials and Methods: Between September 1970 and November, 1995, 231 patients with solitary brain metastasis were treated at the Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Minnesota Hospital. One hundred twenty six patients (56%) were treated with external whole brain irradiation (WBI) only (Group 1), seventy three (32%) underwent surgical resection prior to WBI (Group 2) and thirty two (14%) underwent stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) with WBI (Group 3). Lung (38%) was the most common site of primary cancer, followed by breast (15%), unknown primary (12%), gastro-intestinal tract (10%), skin (malignant melanoma: 9%), kidney (renal cell carcinoma: 8%) and others (9%). The median dose to the whole brain was 3750 cGy in 15 fractions (ranges from 2000 cGy to 5000 cGy). The median radiosurgical dose of 17.5 Gy (range, 12-40 Gy) was delivered to the 40%-90% isodose line encompassing the target. Eighteen patients were treated with SRS for recurrent or persistent disease following WBI and 14 patients received SRS as a boost in conjunction with WBI. Actuarial survival was calculated from the date of treatment according to the Kaplan-Meier method and statistical significance was assessed with the log-rank test. Results: The actuarial median survivals were 3.8 months for Group 1 (ranges from 1 to 84 months), 10.5 months for Group 2 (ranges from 1 to 125 months) and 9.8 months for Group 3 (ranges from 1 to 36 months). The survivals at one and two years were 19% and 6% for Group 1, 47% and 19% for Group 2, and 44% and 21% for Group 3, respectively. The survival advantage of Groups 2 or 3 over Group 1 was statistically significant (p < 0.0001 by log-rank test). There was no survival advantage of surgery (Group 2) over SRS

A Hybrid Optimized Weighted Minimum Spanning Tree for the Shortest Intrapath Selection in Wireless Sensor Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matheswaran Saravanan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Wireless sensor network (WSN consists of sensor nodes that need energy efficient routing techniques as they have limited battery power, computing, and storage resources. WSN routing protocols should enable reliable multihop communication with energy constraints. Clustering is an effective way to reduce overheads and when this is aided by effective resource allocation, it results in reduced energy consumption. In this work, a novel hybrid evolutionary algorithm called Bee Algorithm-Simulated Annealing Weighted Minimal Spanning Tree (BASA-WMST routing is proposed in which randomly deployed sensor nodes are split into the best possible number of independent clusters with cluster head and optimal route. The former gathers data from sensors belonging to the cluster, forwarding them to the sink. The shortest intrapath selection for the cluster is selected using Weighted Minimum Spanning Tree (WMST. The proposed algorithm computes the distance-based Minimum Spanning Tree (MST of the weighted graph for the multihop network. The weights are dynamically changed based on the energy level of each sensor during route selection and optimized using the proposed bee algorithm simulated annealing algorithm.

A survival analysis of GBM patients in the West of Scotland pre- and post-introduction of the Stupp regime.

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Teo, Mario; Martin, Sean; Owusu-Agyemang, Kevin; Nowicki, Stefan; Clark, Brian; Mackinnon, Mairi; Stewart, Willie; Paul, James; St George, Jerome

2014-06-01

It is now accepted that the concomitant administration of temozolomide with radiotherapy (Stupp regime), in the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), significantly improves survival and this practice has been adopted locally since 2004. However, survival outcomes in cancer can vary in different population groups, and outcomes can be affected by a number of local factors including socioeconomic status. In the West of Scotland, we have one of the worse socioeconomic status and overall health record for a western European country. With the ongoing reorganisation and rationalisation in the National Health Service, the addition of prolonged courses of chemotherapy to patients' management significantly adds to the financial burden of a cash stripped NHS. A survival analysis in patients with GBM was therefore performed, comparing outcomes of pre- and post-introduction of the Stupp regime, to justify the current practice. Prospectively collected clinical data were analysed in 105 consecutive patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy (Stupp regime) following surgical treatment of GBM between December 2004 and February 2009. This was compared to those of 106 consecutive GBM patients who had radical radiotherapy (pre-Stupp regime) post-surgery between January 2001 and February 2006. The median overall survival for the post-Stupp cohort was 15.3 months (range, 2.83-50.5 months), with 1-year and 2-year overall survival rates of 65.7% and 19%, respectively. This was in comparison with the median overall pre-Stupp survival of 10.7 months, with 1-year and 2-year survival rates of 42.6% and 12%, respectively (log-rank test, p GBM patients in the West of Scotland.

Lower Bmi-1 Expression May Predict Longer Survival of Colon Cancer Patients

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Xiaodong Li

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Background: This study aimed to investigate the Bmi-1 expression and the clinical significance in colon cancer (CC. Patients and Methods: Bmi-1 expression in tumor tissue and the corresponding normal tissue was detected using immunohistological staining. The correlations between Bmi-1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics and the overall survival (OS time were analyzed. Results: The median H-scores of Bmi-1 in CC tissues and the corresponding tissues were 80.0 (0-270 and 5.0 (0-90, with no statistically significant difference (Z=-13.7, PP = 0.123. The survival rates of patients with low Bmi-1 expression were higher than those of patients with high Bmi-1 expression but the differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Bmi-1 expression in CC tissue is significantly higher than that in corresponding normal tissue. While there may be a trend towards improved survival, this is not statistically significant.

Post-listing survival for highly sensitised patients on the UK kidney transplant waiting list:A matched cohort analysis

OpenAIRE

Manook, Miriam Helen; Koeser, Leonardo Alberto; Ahmed, Zubir; Robb, Matthew; Johnson, Rachel; Shaw, Olivia Jane; Kessaris, Nicos; Dorling, Anthony; Mamode, Nizam

2017-01-01

Background: More than 40% of patients awaiting a kidney transplant in the UK are sensitised with human leucocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies. Median time to transplantation for such patients is double that of unsensitised patients at about 74 months. Removing antibody to perform an HLA-incompatible (HLAi) living donor transplantation is perceived to be high risk, although patient survival data are limited. We compared survival of patients opting for an HLAi kidney transplant with that of similar...

Survival and prognostic factors after moderately hypofractionated palliative thoracic radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oorschot, B. van; Assenbrunner, B.; Beckmann, G.; Flentje, M.; Schuler, M.

2014-01-01

Survival and prognostic variables in patients with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) requiring thoracic palliative radiotherapy using a moderately hypofractionated regime (13-15 x 3 Gy) were evaluated. From March 2006 to April 2012, 120 patients with a physician estimated prognosis of 6-12 months were treated with this regime using CT-based 3D conformal radiotherapy. We collected data on patient characteristics, comorbidities, toxicity, and treatment parameters. Radiotherapy was completed as prescribed in 114 patients (95.0 %, premature termination 5.0 %). Acute grade 3 toxicity was seen in 6.4 % of patients. The median survival of all patients was 5.8 months. Nonmetastatic patients survived significantly longer than patients with metastatic disease (median 11.7 months vs 4.7 months, p = 0.0001) and 18.6 % of nonmetastatic patients survived longer than 2 years. In 12.7 % radiotherapy started less than 30 days before death and 14.2 % of patients received radiotherapy within 14 days before death. In the multivariate analysis, good general condition, nonmetastatic disease, and a stable or improved general condition at the end of radiotherapy were significant. The treatment parameters, age, and comorbidities were not statistically significant. Our data confirm considerable effectiveness of 13 x 3 Gy with conformal radiotherapy for patients with locally confined NSCLC not fit for radical treatment and raise doubt for this regimen in metastatic patients and ECOG ≥ 2 when burden, acute toxicity, and resources are considered. (orig.) [de

The polymorphism and haplotypes of XRCC1 and survival of non-small-cell lung cancer after radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Sang Min; Hong, Yun-Chul; Park, Heon Joo; Lee, Jong-Eun; Kim, Sang Yoon; Kim, Jong Hoon; Lee, Sang-Wook; Park, So-Yeon; Lee, Jung Shin; Choi, Eun Kyung

2005-01-01

Purpose: The X-ray repair cross-complementing Group 1 (XRCC1) protein is involved mainly in the base excision repair of the DNA repair process. This study examined the association of 3 polymorphisms (codon 194, 280, and 399) of XRCC1 and lung cancer in terms of whether or not these polymorphisms have an effect on the survival of lung cancer patients who have received radiotherapy. Methods and Materials: Between January 2000 and April 2004, 229 lung cancer patients with non-small-cell lung cancer in Stages I-III were enrolled. Genotyping was performed by single base primer extension assay using the SNP-IT Kit with genomic DNA samples from all patients. The haplotype of the XRCC1 polymorphisms was estimated by PHASE version 2.1. Results: The patients consisted of 191 (83.4%) males and 38 (16.6%) females with a median age of 62 (range, 26-88 years). Sixty percent of the patients were included in Stage I-IIIa. The median progression-free and overall survival was 13 months and 16 months, respectively. The XRCC1 codon 194, histology, and stage were shown to be significant predictors of the progression-free survival. The 6 haplotypes among the XRCC1 polymorphisms (194, 280, and 399) were estimated by PHASE v.2.1. The patients with haplotype pairs other than the homozygous TGG haplotype pairs survived significantly longer (p = 0.04). Conclusions: Polymorphisms of XRCC1 have an effect on the survival of lung cancer patients treated with radiotherapy, and this effect seems to be more significant after the haplotype pairs are considered

Biochemical Control With Radiotherapy Improves Overall Survival in Intermediate and High-Risk Prostate Cancer Patients Who Have an Estimated 10-Year Overall Survival of >90%

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herbert, Christopher; Liu, Mitchell; Tyldesley, Scott; Morris, W. James; Joffres, Michel; Khaira, Mandip; Kwan, Winkle; Moiseenko, Vitali; Pickles, Thomas

2012-01-01

Purpose: To identify subgroups of patients with carcinoma of the prostate treated with radical radiotherapy that have improved overall survival when disease is biochemically controlled. Methods and Materials: A cohort of 1,060 prostate cancer patients treated with radical radiotherapy was divided into nine subgroups based on National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk category and estimated 10-year overall survival (eOS 10y) derived from the age adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index. Patients with and without biochemical control were compared with respect to overall survival. Actuarial estimates of overall survival were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used for analysis of overall survival. Results: Median follow-up was 125 months (range, 51–176 months). Only the subgroups with high or intermediate risk disease and an eOS 10y of >90% had a statistically significantly improved overall survival when prostate cancer was biochemically controlled. In all other groups, biochemical control made no significant difference to overall survival. In the subgroup with high-risk disease and eOS 10y >90%, actuarial overall survival was 86.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 78.5%–94.1%) and 62.1% (95% CI 52.9%–71.3%) for patients with biochemical control and biochemical relapse respectively (p = 0.002). In the intermediate risk group with eOS >90%, actuarial overall survival was 95.3% (95% CI 89.0%–100%) and 79.8% (95% CI 68.0%–91.6%) for biochemically controlled and biochemically relapsed patients (p = 0.033). On multivariate analysis, National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk group (p = 0.005), biochemical control (p = 0.033) and eOS 10y (p 90%.

Resection of oligometastatic lung cancer to the pancreas may yield a survival benefit in select patients--a systematic review.

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DeLuzio, Matthew R; Moores, Craig; Dhamija, Ankit; Wang, Zuoheng; Cha, Charles; Boffa, Daniel J; Detterbeck, Frank C; Kim, Anthony W

2015-01-01

To conduct a systematic review of the existing literature regarding surgical therapy for oligometastatic lung cancer to the pancreas. Data was collected on patients with singular pancreatic metastases from lung cancer from papers published between January 1970 and June 2014. This was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Kaplan-Meier and Cox Regression analyses were then used to determine and compare survival. There were 27 papers that fulfilled the search criteria, from which data on 32 patients was collected. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was the most prevalent type of primary lung malignancy, and metachronous presentations of metastases were most common. Lesions were most frequently located in the pancreatic head and consequently the most common curative intent metastasectomy was pancreaticoduodenectomy. There was a statistically significant survival benefit for patients whose metastasis were discovered incidentally by surveillance CT as opposed to those whose metastasis were discovered during a work up for new somatic complaints (p = 0.024). The overall median survival for patients undergoing curative intent resection was 29 months, with 2-year and 5-year survivals of 65% and 21% respectively. Palliative surgery or medical only management was associated with a median survival of 8 months and 2-year and 5-year survivals of 25% and 8% respectively. Curative intent resection of isolated pancreatic metastasis from lung cancer may be beneficial in a select group of patients. Copyright © 2015 IAP and EPC. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Median Solution of the Newsvendor Problem and Some Observations

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Sinha Pritibhushan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We consider the median solution of the Newsvendor Problem. Some properties of such a solution are shown through a theoretical analysis and a numerical experiment. Sometimes, though not often, median solution may be better than solutions maximizing expected profit, or maximizing minimum possible, over distribution with the same average and standard deviation, expected profit, according to some criteria. We discuss the practical suitability of the objective function set and the solution derived, for the Newsvendor Problem, and other such random optimization problems.

A Novel Dedicated Route Protection Scheme for Survivability of Link Failure in Elastic Optical Networks

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Sridhar Iyer

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The spectrally efficient transportation of the high bit rate(s data is achievable by the Elastic optical networks (EONs. However, in the EONs, owing to the failure occurrence even in an individual simple element, different service(s maybe interrupted. Hence, it is imperative that the schemes for survivability be developed so that the issues due to the possible failure(s can be overcome. In the current work, in view of survivability of the link failure(s in the EONs, we propose the Spectrum Continuity and Contiguity Established DRP (SCC-E-DRP algorithm which is a novel dedicated route protection (DRP scheme that attempts to avoid the problem of trap topology during its exploration for a pair of link disjoint path. Further, to evaluate the link disjoint paths, we resort to the use of the SCC Established Shortest Route (SCC-E-SR algorithm which is a modified Dijkstra’s algorithm based scheme that selects the path(s pair(s based on the end-toend SCC. We conduct extensive simulations considering realistic network topologies, and compare the performance of the SCCE-DRP scheme with the existing techniques. The obtained results show that, compared to the existing schemes, the SCC-E-DRP scheme achieves better results in terms of blocking probability.

18F-Fluoride PET/CT tumor burden quantification predicts survival in breast cancer.

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Brito, Ana E; Santos, Allan; Sasse, André Deeke; Cabello, Cesar; Oliveira, Paulo; Mosci, Camila; Souza, Tiago; Amorim, Barbara; Lima, Mariana; Ramos, Celso D; Etchebehere, Elba

2017-05-30

In bone-metastatic breast cancer patients, there are no current imaging biomarkers to identify which patients have worst prognosis. The purpose of our study was to investigate if skeletal tumor burden determined by 18F-Fluoride PET/CT correlates with clinical outcomes and may help define prognosis throughout the course of the disease. Bone metastases were present in 49 patients. On multivariable analysis, skeletal tumor burden was significantly and independently associated with overall survival (p breast cancer patients (40 for primary staging and the remainder for restaging after therapy). Clinical parameters, primary tumor characteristics and skeletal tumor burden were correlated to overall survival, progression free-survival and time to bone event. The median follow-up time was 19.5 months. 18F-Fluoride PET/CT skeletal tumor burden is a strong independent prognostic imaging biomarker in breast cancer patients.

WHO-defined 'myelodysplastic syndrome with isolated del(5q)' in 88 consecutive patients: survival data, leukemic transformation rates and prevalence of JAK2, MPL and IDH mutations.

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Patnaik, M M; Lasho, T L; Finke, C M; Gangat, N; Caramazza, D; Holtan, S G; Pardanani, A; Knudson, R A; Ketterling, R P; Chen, D; Hoyer, J D; Hanson, C A; Tefferi, A

2010-07-01

The 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria were used to identify 88 consecutive Mayo Clinic patients with 'myelodysplastic syndrome with isolated del(5q)' (median age 74 years; 60 females). In all, 60 (68%) patients were followed up to the time of their death. Overall median survival was 66 months; leukemic transformation was documented in five (5.7%) cases. Multivariable analysis identified age >or=70 years (P=0.01), transfusion need at diagnosis (P=0.04) and dysgranulopoiesis (P=0.02) as independent predictors of shortened survival; the presence of zero (low risk), one (intermediate risk) or >or=2 (high risk) risk factors corresponded to median survivals of 102, 52 and 27 months, respectively. Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), thrombopoietin receptor (MPL), isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) and IDH2 mutational analysis was performed on archived bone marrows in 78 patients; JAK2V617F and MPLW515L mutations were shown in five (6.4%) and three (3.8%) patients, respectively, and did not seem to affect phenotype or prognosis. IDH mutations were not detected. Survival was not affected by serum ferritin and there were no instances of death directly related to iron overload. The current study is unique in its strict adherence to WHO criteria for selecting study patients and providing information on long-term survival, practical prognostic factors, baseline risk of leukemic transformation and the prevalence of JAK2, MPL and IDH mutations.

Comparison of survival of patients with metastases from known versus unknown primaries: survival in metastatic cancer

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Riihimäki Matias

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cancer of unknown primary site (CUP is considered an aggressive metastatic disease but whether the prognosis differs from metastatic cancers of known primary site is not known. Such data may give insight into the biology of CUP and the metastatic process in general. Methods 6,745 cancer patients, with primary metastatic cancer at diagnosis, were identified from the Swedish Cancer Registry, and were compared with 2,881 patients with CUP. Patients were diagnosed and died between 2002 and 2008. The influence of the primary site, known or unknown, on survival in patients with metastases at specific locations was investigated. Hazard ratios (HRs of death were estimated for several sites of metastasis, where patients with known primary sites were compared with CUP patients. Results Overall, patients with metastatic cancers with known primary sites had decreased hazards of death compared to CUP patients (HR = 0.69 [95% CI = 0.66–0.72]. The exceptions were cancer of the pancreas (1.71 [1.54–1.90], liver (1.58 [1.36–1.85], and stomach (1.16 [1.02–1.31]. For individual metastatic sites, patients with liver or bone metastases of known origin had better survival than those with CUP of the liver and bone. Patients with liver metastases of pancreatic origin had an increased risk of death compared with patients with CUP of the liver (1.25 [1.06–1.46]. The median survival time of CUP patients was three months. Conclusions Patients with CUP have poorer survival than patients with known primaries, except those with brain and respiratory system metastases. Of CUP sites, liver metastases had the worst prognosis. Survival in CUP was comparable to that in metastatic lung cancer. The aggressive behavior of CUP may be due to initial immunosuppression and immunoediting which may allow accumulation of mutations. Upon escape from the suppressed state an unstoppable tumor spread ensues. These novel data on the epidemiology of the

Myofibroma in the Palm Presenting with Median Nerve Compression Symptoms

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Heidi Sarkozy, PA-C, BS

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Summary: A myofibroma is a benign proliferation of myofibroblasts in the connective tissue. Solitary myofibromas are a rare finding especially in an adult. We report a case of a 23-year-old man presenting with an enlarging mass over his right palm. The patient is an active weight lifter. He reported numbness and tingling in the median nerve distribution. Nerve conduction studies and magnetic resonance imaging scans suggested a tumor involving or compressing the median nerve. The final diagnosis of myofibroma was made only after the histopathological diagnosis.

Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) on corneal impression cytology specimens (CICS): study of epithelial cell survival after keratoplasty.

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Catanese, Muriel; Popovici, Cornel; Proust, Hélène; Hoffart, Louis; Matonti, Frédéric; Cochereau, Isabelle; Conrath, John; Gabison, Eric E

2011-02-22

To assess corneal epithelial cell survival after keratoplasty. Corneal impression cytology (CIC) was performed on sex-mismatched corneal transplants. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with sex chromosome-specific probes was performed to identify epithelial cell mosaicism and therefore allocate the donor or recipient origin of the cells. Twenty-four samples of corneal epithelial cells derived from 21 transplanted patients were analyzed. All patients received post-operative treatment using dexamethasone eye drops, with progressive tapering over 18 months, and nine patients also received 2% cyclosporine eye drops. Out of the 24 samples reaching quality criteria, sex mosaicism was found in 13, demonstrating the presence of donor-derived cells at the center of the graft for at least 211 days post keratoplasty. Kaplan-Meier analysis established a median survival of donor corneal epithelial cells of 385 days. Although not statistically significant, the disappearance of donor cells seemed to be delayed and the average number of persistent cells appeared to be greater when 2% cyclosporine was used topically as an additional immunosuppressive therapy. The combination of corneal impressions and FISH analysis is a valuable tool with negligible side effects to investigate the presence of epithelial cell mosaicism in sex-mismatched donor transplants. Epithelial cells survived at the center of the graft with a median survival of more than one year, suggesting slower epithelial turnover than previously described.

Prognostic Factors of Organophosphate Poisoning Between the Death and Survival Groups

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Tzeng-Jih Lin

2007-04-01

duration of PAM use was shorter than the maximum duration of urine organophosphate, although the medians of duration of PAM use were more than the medians of duration of urine organophosphate in both the survival and death groups. Prolonged coma duration, lower level of acetylcholinesterase and lower level of plasma cholinesterase were related to the poor prognosis of the patients.

Survival, safety, and prognostic factors for outcome with Regorafenib in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer refractory to standard therapies: results from a multicenter study (REBACCA) nested within a compassionate use program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adenis, Antoine; Fouchardiere, Christelle de la; Paule, Bernard; Burtin, Pascal; Tougeron, David; Wallet, Jennifer; Dourthe, Louis-Marie; Etienne, Pierre-Luc; Mineur, Laurent; Clisant, Stéphanie; Phelip, Jean-Marc; Kramar, Andrew; Andre, Thierry

2016-01-01

Randomized trials have shown a survival benefit for regorafenib over placebo in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) that progressed after standard therapies. We evaluated survival and safety outcomes in patients treated with regorafenib in a real-life setting. REBECCA is a cohort study nested within a compassionate use program designed to evaluate survival, safety, and potential prognostic factors for outcome associated with regorafenib in patients with mCRC refractory to standard therapies. Treatment effects according to various patient and tumour characteristics were evaluated using univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models. Of 1178 patients in the compassionate use program, 654 were in the full analysis set. Median follow-up was 16.5 months. Median survival was 5.6 months. The 12-month survival rate was 22 %. Survival was independently and unfavourably affected by the following variables: poor performance status, short time from initial diagnosis of metastases to the start of regorafenib, low initial regorafenib dose, >3 metastatic sites, presence of liver metastases, and KRAS mutations. We identified prognostic groups of patients with low, intermediate, and high risk of death, with a median survival of 9.2, 5.2, and 2.5 months, respectively. Five-hundred-twenty-four patients (80 %) experienced at least one regorafenib-related adverse event, most commonly, fatigue, hand-foot skin reaction, diarrhea, anorexia, arterial hypertension, and mucositis. The safety and efficacy profile of regorafenib in REBECCA are similar to those in randomized trials. Our prognostic model identified subgroups of mCRC patients who derived a minimal and maximum benefit from regorafenib. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02310477

Ranking Exponential Trapezoidal Fuzzy Numbers by Median Value

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S. Rezvani

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we want represented a method for ranking of two exponential trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. A median value is proposed for the ranking of exponential trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. For the validation the results of the proposed approach are compared with different existing approaches.

Bayesian median regression for temporal gene expression data

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Yu, Keming; Vinciotti, Veronica; Liu, Xiaohui; 't Hoen, Peter A. C.

2007-09-01

Most of the existing methods for the identification of biologically interesting genes in a temporal expression profiling dataset do not fully exploit the temporal ordering in the dataset and are based on normality assumptions for the gene expression. In this paper, we introduce a Bayesian median regression model to detect genes whose temporal profile is significantly different across a number of biological conditions. The regression model is defined by a polynomial function where both time and condition effects as well as interactions between the two are included. MCMC-based inference returns the posterior distribution of the polynomial coefficients. From this a simple Bayes factor test is proposed to test for significance. The estimation of the median rather than the mean, and within a Bayesian framework, increases the robustness of the method compared to a Hotelling T2-test previously suggested. This is shown on simulated data and on muscular dystrophy gene expression data.

Effects of temperature, nutrients, organic matter and coral mucus on the survival of the coral pathogen, Serratia marcescens PDL100.

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Looney, Erin E; Sutherland, Kathryn P; Lipp, Erin K

2010-09-01

Serratia marcescens is an enteric bacterium that causes white pox disease in elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata; however, it remains unclear if the pathogenic strain has adapted to seawater or if it requires a host or reservoir for survival. To begin to address this fundamental issue, the persistence of strain PDL100 was compared among seawater and coral mucus microcosms. Median survival time across all conditions ranged from a low of 15 h in natural seawater [with a first-order decay constant (k) = -0.173] at 30°C to a maximum of 120 h in glucose-amended A. palmata mucus (k = -0.029) at 30°C. Among seawater and mucus microcosms, median survival time was significantly greater within Siderastrea siderea mucus compared with seawater or mucus of Montastraea faveolata or A. palmata (P palmata mucus (P < 0.0001). Increasing the temperature of seawater to 35°C resulted in a significantly slower decay than that observed at 30°C (P < 0.0001). The results of this study indicate that PDL100 is not well-adapted to marine water; however, survival can be improved by increasing temperature, the availability of coral mucus from S. siderea and most notably the presence of dissolved organic carbon. © 2010 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Endovascular Thrombectomy for Ischemic Stroke Increases Disability-Free Survival, Quality of Life, and Life Expectancy and Reduces Cost

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Bruce C. V. Campbell

2017-12-01

Full Text Available BackgroundEndovascular thrombectomy improves functional outcome in large vessel occlusion ischemic stroke. We examined disability, quality of life, survival and acute care costs in the EXTEND-IA trial, which used CT-perfusion imaging selection.MethodsLarge vessel ischemic stroke patients with favorable CT-perfusion were randomized to endovascular thrombectomy after alteplase versus alteplase-only. Clinical outcome was prospectively measured using 90-day modified Rankin scale (mRS. Individual patient expected survival and net difference in Disability/Quality-adjusted life years (DALY/QALY up to 15 years from stroke were modeled using age, sex, 90-day mRS, and utility scores. Level of care within the first 90 days was prospectively measured and used to estimate procedure and inpatient care costs (US$ reference year 2014.ResultsThere were 70 patients, 35 in each arm, mean age 69, median NIHSS 15 (IQR 12–19. The median (IQR disability-weighted utility score at 90 days was 0.65 (0.00–0.91 in the alteplase-only versus 0.91 (0.65–1.00 in the endovascular group (p = 0.005. Modeled life expectancy was greater in the endovascular versus alteplase-only group (median 15.6 versus 11.2 years, p = 0.02. The endovascular thrombectomy group had fewer simulated DALYs lost over 15 years [median (IQR 5.5 (3.2–8.7 versus 8.9 (4.7–13.8, p = 0.02] and more QALY gained [median (IQR 9.3 (4.2–13.1 versus 4.9 (0.3–8.5, p = 0.03]. Endovascular patients spent less time in hospital [median (IQR 5 (3–11 days versus 8 (5–14 days, p = 0.04] and rehabilitation [median (IQR 0 (0–28 versus 27 (0–65 days, p = 0.03]. The estimated inpatient costs in the first 90 days were less in the thrombectomy group (average US$15,689 versus US$30,569, p = 0.008 offsetting the costs of interhospital transport and the thrombectomy procedure (average US$10,515. The average saving per patient treated with thrombectomy was US$4

Results of surgical excision and evaluation of factors associated with survival time in dogs with lingual neoplasia: 97 cases (1995-2008).

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Culp, William T N; Ehrhart, Nicole; Withrow, Stephen J; Rebhun, Robert B; Boston, Sarah; Buracco, Paolo; Reiter, Alexander M; Schallberger, Sandra P; Aldridge, Charles F; Kent, Michael S; Mayhew, Philipp D; Brown, Dorothy C

2013-05-15

To describe the clinical characteristics, treatments, outcomes, and factors associated with survival time in a cohort of dogs with lingual neoplasia that underwent surgical excision. Retrospective case series. Animals-97 client-owned dogs. Medical records of dogs with a lingual tumor examined between 1995 and 2008 were reviewed. Records were included if a lingual tumor was confirmed by histologic examination and surgical excision of the mass was attempted. Data were recorded and analyzed to identify prognostic factors. Clinical signs were mostly related to the oral cavity. For 93 dogs, marginal excision, subtotal glossectomy, and near-total glossectomy were performed in 35 (38%), 55 (59%), and 3 (3%), respectively. Surgery-related complications were rare, but 27 (28%) dogs had tumor recurrence. The most common histopathologic diagnoses for the 97 dogs were squamous cell carcinoma (31 [32%]) and malignant melanoma (29 [30%]). Eighteen (19%) dogs developed metastatic disease, and the overall median survival time was 483 days. Median survival time was 216 days for dogs with squamous cell carcinoma and 241 days for dogs with malignant melanoma. Dogs with lingual tumors ≥ 2 cm in diameter at diagnosis had a significantly shorter survival time than did dogs with tumors melanoma predominate. A thorough physical examination to identify lingual tumors at an early stage and surgical treatment after tumor identification are recommended because tumor size significantly affected survival time.

Intraneural hemangioma of the median nerve: A case report

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Sevinç Teoman

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Hemangiomas of the median nerve are very rare and, so far, only ten cases of intraneural hemangioma of this nerve have been reported in the literature. We present a case of 14-year-old girl who had a soft tissue mass in the region of the left wrist with signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Total removal of the mass was achieved using microsurgical epineural and interfasicular dissection. The symptoms were relieved completely, after this procedure, without any neurologic deficit. On follow-up two years later, no recurrence was observed. Whenever a child or young adult patient presents with CTS the possibility of a hemangioma involving the median nerve should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis.

Early post-treatment FDG PET predicts survival after {sup 90}Y microsphere radioembolization in liver-dominant metastatic colorectal cancer

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Sabet, Amir; Aouf, Anas; Sabet, Amin; Ghamari, Shahab; Biersack, Hans-Juergen [University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bonn (Germany); Meyer, Carsten; Pieper, Claus C. [University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Bonn (Germany); Mayer, Karin [University Hospital, Department of Medicine and Oncology, Bonn (Germany); Ezziddin, Samer [University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bonn (Germany); Saarland University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Homburg (Germany)

2014-10-29

The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of early metabolic response 4 weeks post-treatment using {sup 18}F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT in patients with unresectable hepatic metastases of colorectal cancer (CRC) undergoing radioembolization (RE) with {sup 90}Y-labelled microspheres. A total of 51 consecutive patients with liver-dominant metastases of CRC were treated with RE and underwent {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT at baseline and 4 weeks after RE. In each patient, three hepatic metastases with the highest maximum standardized uptake value (SUV{sub max}) were selected as target lesions. Metabolic response was defined as >50 % reduction of tumour to liver ratios. Survival analyses using Kaplan-Meier and multivariate analyses were performed to identify prognostic factors for overall survival (OS). Investigated baseline characteristics included age (>60 years), performance status (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group >1), bilirubin (>1.0 mg/dl), hepatic tumour burden (>25 %) and presence of extrahepatic disease. The median OS after RE was 7 months [95 % confidence interval (CI) 5-8]; early metabolic responders (n = 33) survived longer than non-responders (p < 0.001) with a median OS of 10 months (95 % CI 3-16) versus 4 months (95 % CI 2-6). Hepatic tumour burden also had significant impact on treatment outcome (p < 0.001) with a median OS of 5 months (95 % CI, 3-7) for patients with >25 % metastatic liver replacement vs 14 months (95 % CI 6-22) for the less advanced patients. Both factors (early metabolic response and low hepatic tumour burden) remained as independent predictors of improved survival on multivariate analysis. These are the first findings to show that molecular response assessment in CRC using {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT appears feasible as early as 4 weeks post-RE, allowing risk stratification and potentially facilitating early response-adapted treatment strategies. (orig.)

WHO-defined ‘myelodysplastic syndrome with isolated del(5q)' in 88 consecutive patients: survival data, leukemic transformation rates and prevalence of JAK2, MPL and IDH mutations

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Patnaik, M M; Lasho, T L; Finke, C M; Gangat, N; Caramazza, D; Holtan, S G; Pardanani, A; Knudson, R A; Ketterling, R P; Chen, D; Hoyer, J D; Hanson, C A; Tefferi, A

2010-01-01

The 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria were used to identify 88 consecutive Mayo Clinic patients with ‘myelodysplastic syndrome with isolated del(5q)' (median age 74 years; 60 females). In all, 60 (68%) patients were followed up to the time of their death. Overall median survival was 66 months; leukemic transformation was documented in five (5.7%) cases. Multivariable analysis identified age ⩾70 years (P=0.01), transfusion need at diagnosis (P=0.04) and dysgranulopoiesis (P=0.02) as independent predictors of shortened survival; the presence of zero (low risk), one (intermediate risk) or ⩾2 (high risk) risk factors corresponded to median survivals of 102, 52 and 27 months, respectively. Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), thrombopoietin receptor (MPL), isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) and IDH2 mutational analysis was performed on archived bone marrows in 78 patients; JAK2V617F and MPLW515L mutations were shown in five (6.4%) and three (3.8%) patients, respectively, and did not seem to affect phenotype or prognosis. IDH mutations were not detected. Survival was not affected by serum ferritin and there were no instances of death directly related to iron overload. The current study is unique in its strict adherence to WHO criteria for selecting study patients and providing information on long-term survival, practical prognostic factors, baseline risk of leukemic transformation and the prevalence of JAK2, MPL and IDH mutations. PMID:20485371

The frontotemporal syndrome of ALS is associated with poor survival.

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Govaarts, Rosanne; Beeldman, Emma; Kampelmacher, Mike J; van Tol, Marie-Jose; van den Berg, Leonard H; van der Kooi, Anneke J; Wijkstra, Peter J; Zijnen-Suyker, Marianne; Cobben, Nicolle A M; Schmand, Ben A; de Haan, Rob J; de Visser, Marianne; Raaphorst, Joost

2016-12-01

Thirty percent of ALS patients have a frontotemporal syndrome (FS), defined as behavioral changes or cognitive impairment. Despite previous studies, there are no firm conclusions on the effect of the FS on survival and the use of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in ALS. We examined the effect of the FS on survival and the start and duration of NIV in ALS. Behavioral changes were defined as >22 points on the ALS-Frontotemporal-Dementia-Questionnaire or ≥3 points on ≥2 items of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Cognitive impairment was defined as below the fifth percentile on ≥2 tests of executive function, memory or language. Classic ALS was defined as ALS without the frontotemporal syndrome. We performed survival analyses from symptom onset and time from NIV initiation, respectively, to death. The impact of the explanatory variables on survival and NIV initiation were examined using Cox proportional hazards models. We included 110 ALS patients (76 men) with a mean age of 62 years. Median survival time was 4.3 years (95 % CI 3.53-5.13). Forty-seven patients (43 %) had an FS. Factors associated with shorter survival were FS, bulbar onset, older age at onset, short time to diagnosis and a C9orf72 repeat expansion. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the FS was 2.29 (95 % CI 1.44-3.65, p NIV initiation (adjusted HR 2.70, 95 % CI 1.04-4.67, p = 0.04). In conclusion, there is an association between the frontotemporal syndrome and poor survival in ALS, which remains present after initiation of NIV.

Brain malformation in single median maxillary central incisor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjaer, I; Wagner, Aa; Thomsen, L L

2009-01-01

Clinical and radiographic examinations and MR scan of a 12-year-old girl with SMMCI (single median maxillary central incisor) showed impaired growth and a midline defect involving the central incisor, cranium and the midline structures in the brain, falx cerebri and pituitary gland. She had a sev...

Predictors for long-term survival free from whole brain radiation therapy in patients treated with radiosurgery for limited brain metastases

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Daniel eGorovets

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To identify predictors for prolonged survival free from salvage whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT in patients with brain metastases treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS as their initial radiotherapy approach. Material and Methods: Patients with brain metastases treated with SRS from 2001-2013 at our institution were identified. SRS without WBRT was typically offered to patients with 1-4 brain metastases, Karnofsky Performance Status ≥70, and life expectancy ≥3 mo. Three hundred and eight patients met inclusion criteria for analysis. Medical records were reviewed for patient, disease, and treatment information. Two comparison groups were identified: those with ≥1-yr WBRT-free survival (N=104, and those who died or required salvage WBRT within 3 mo of SRS (N=56. Differences between these groups were assessed by univariate and multivariate analyses.Results: Median survival for all patients was 11 mo. Among patients with ≥1-yr WBRT-free survival, median survival was 33 mo [12-107 mo] with only 21% requiring salvage WBRT. Factors significantly associated with prolonged WBRT-free survival on univariate analysis (p<0.05 included younger age, asymptomatic presentation, RTOG RPA class I, fewer brain metastases, surgical resection, breast primary, new or controlled primary, absence of extracranial metastatic disease, and oligometastatic disease burden (≤5 metastatic lesions. After controlling for covariates, asymptomatic presentation, breast primary, single brain metastasis, absence of extracranial metastases, and oligometastatic disease burden remained independent predictors for favorable WBRT-free survival.Conclusions: A subset of patients with brain metastases can achieve long-term survival after upfront SRS without the need for salvage WBRT. Predictors identified in this study can help select patients that might benefit most from a treatment strategy of SRS alone.

Effect of pretreatment psoas muscle mass on survival for patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer undergoing systemic chemotherapy.

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Ishii, Noriko; Iwata, Yoshinori; Nishikawa, Hiroki; Enomoto, Hirayuki; Aizawa, Nobuhiro; Ishii, Akio; Miyamoto, Yuho; Yuri, Yukihisa; Hasegawa, Kunihiro; Nakano, Chikage; Nishimura, Takashi; Yoh, Kazunori; Sakai, Yoshiyuki; Ikeda, Naoto; Takashima, Tomoyuki; Takata, Ryo; Iijima, Hiroko; Nishiguchi, Shuhei

2017-11-01

To the best of our knowledge, there are few previous studies that have investigated the effect of decreased skeletal muscle mass (DSMM) on survival in patients with unresectable advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) who are undergoing systemic chemotherapy. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the impact of DSMM, as determined by the psoas muscle index (PMI) following computed tomography and prior to systemic chemotherapy, on the outcomes of patients with unresectable APC (n=61). The primary endpoint used was the overall survival (OS) rate. The OS rates in the PMI-High group (exceeds the median PMI value in each gender) were retrospectively compared with those in the PMI-Low group (below the median PMI value in each gender), and factors associated with OS were investigated using univariate and multivariate analyses. The study cohort included 31 male and 30 female patients with a median age of 72 years, 13 of whom were stage IVA, and 48 were stage IVB. The median PMI in males was 4.3 cm 2 /m 2 (range, 1.6-8.2 cm 2 /m 2 ), while that in females was 2.3 cm 2 /m 2 (range, 0.7-6.1 cm 2 /m 2 ). The proportion of patients with performance status 0 in the PMI-High group was significantly high, compared with that in the PMI-Low group [83.3% (25/30) vs. 58.1% (18/31); P=0.0486]. Body mass index in the PMI-High group was significantly higher compared with that in the PMI-Low group (P=0.0154). The 1-year cumulative survival rate was 43.3% in the PMI-High group and 12.9% in the PMI-Low group (P=0.0027). Following multivariate analysis, PMI (P=0.0036), prothrombin time (P=0.0044) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (P=0.0451) were identified to be significant predictors of OS. In conclusion, DSMM, as determined by the PMI, could be a significant predictor of prognosis in patients with unresectable APC who are receiving systemic chemotherapy.

Treatment outcomes and survival in patients with primary central nervous system lymphomas treated between 1995 and 2010 – a single centre report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jezersek Novakovic, Barbara

2012-01-01

Primary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSL) are rare variants of extranodal non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas that are nowadays primarily treated with high-dose methotrexate or methotrexate-based chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy. The optimal treatment of PCNSL is still unknown and there are differences in clinical practice. With a retrospective research we evaluated our series of patients with PCNSL in regards to the patient’s characteristics, treatment results, disease specific survival and overall survival. Fifty nine patients who attended the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana between 1995 and 2010 were treated according to the protocol that was valid at the time of the patient’s admission. Between 1995 and 1999, the systemic treatment was classical CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, steroids) chemotherapy, and later on high-dose methotrexate either alone or in combination with other agents. From 1999 onwards, radiation therapy was applied according to the patient’s age and response to chemotherapy, prior to that all patients treated with CHOP were also irradiated. Patients ineligible for the systemic treatment were treated with sole radiation therapy. There was a strong female predominance in our series and the median age at diagnosis was 59.8 years. Patients had predominantly aggressive B cell lymphomas (69.5%), one patient had marginal cell lymphoma and two patients T cell lymphoma. In total, 20.3% of patients were treated just with chemotherapy, 33.9% with combined therapy and 42.4% with sole radiation therapy. The overall response rate to the primary treatment in patients treated with sole chemotherapy was 33.3%, in patients treated with combined therapy 65% and in patients treated only with radiation therapy 56%, respectively. In terms of response duration, significantly better results were achieved with combined therapy or radiation therapy alone compared to sole chemotherapy (p<0.0006). The median overall survival of the

Support vector methods for survival analysis: a comparison between ranking and regression approaches.

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Van Belle, Vanya; Pelckmans, Kristiaan; Van Huffel, Sabine; Suykens, Johan A K

2011-10-01

To compare and evaluate ranking, regression and combined machine learning approaches for the analysis of survival data. The literature describes two approaches based on support vector machines to deal with censored observations. In the first approach the key idea is to rephrase the task as a ranking problem via the concordance index, a problem which can be solved efficiently in a context of structural risk minimization and convex optimization techniques. In a second approach, one uses a regression approach, dealing with censoring by means of inequality constraints. The goal of this paper is then twofold: (i) introducing a new model combining the ranking and regression strategy, which retains the link with existing survival models such as the proportional hazards model via transformation models; and (ii) comparison of the three techniques on 6 clinical and 3 high-dimensional datasets and discussing the relevance of these techniques over classical approaches fur survival data. We compare svm-based survival models based on ranking constraints, based on regression constraints and models based on both ranking and regression constraints. The performance of the models is compared by means of three different measures: (i) the concordance index, measuring the model's discriminating ability; (ii) the logrank test statistic, indicating whether patients with a prognostic index lower than the median prognostic index have a significant different survival than patients with a prognostic index higher than the median; and (iii) the hazard ratio after normalization to restrict the prognostic index between 0 and 1. Our results indicate a significantly better performance for models including regression constraints above models only based on ranking constraints. This work gives empirical evidence that svm-based models using regression constraints perform significantly better than svm-based models based on ranking constraints. Our experiments show a comparable performance for methods

K-Shortest-Path-Based Evacuation Routing with Police Resource Allocation in City Transportation Networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunyue He

Full Text Available Emergency evacuation aims to transport people from dangerous places to safe shelters as quickly as possible. Police play an important role in the evacuation process, as they can handle traffic accidents immediately and help people move smoothly on roads. This paper investigates an evacuation routing problem that involves police resource allocation. We propose a novel k-th-shortest-path-based technique that uses explicit congestion control to optimize evacuation routing and police resource allocation. A nonlinear mixed-integer programming model is presented to formulate the problem. The model's objective is to minimize the overall evacuation clearance time. Two algorithms are given to solve the problem. The first one linearizes the original model and solves the linearized problem with CPLEX. The second one is a heuristic algorithm that uses a police resource utilization efficiency index to directly solve the original model. This police resource utilization efficiency index significantly aids in the evaluation of road links from an evacuation throughput perspective. The proposed algorithms are tested with a number of examples based on real data from cities of different sizes. The computational results show that the police resource utilization efficiency index is very helpful in finding near-optimal solutions. Additionally, comparing the performance of the heuristic algorithm and the linearization method by using randomly generated examples indicates that the efficiency of the heuristic algorithm is superior.

Prognostic value of blood pressure measured during hospitalization after acute myocardial infarction: an insight from survival trials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yap, Yee Guan; Duong, Trinh; Bland, J Martin

2007-01-01

, CAMIAT, SWORD, TRACE and DIAMOND-MI studies with left ventricular ejection fraction less than 40% or asymptomatic ventricular arrhythmia surviving more than 45 days after MI were pooled. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures and pulse pressures were measured soon after MI (median 6 days, range 0-53 days...

Factors predicting survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients on non-invasive ventilation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez Calzada, Nuria; Prats Soro, Enric; Mateu Gomez, Lluis; Giro Bulta, Esther; Cordoba Izquierdo, Ana; Povedano Panades, Monica; Dorca Sargatal, Jordi; Farrero Muñoz, Eva

2016-01-01

Non invasive ventilation (NIV) improves quality of life and extends survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. However, few data exist about the factors related to survival. We intended to assess the predictive factors that influence survival in patients after NIV initiation. Patients who started NIV from 2000 to 2014 and were tolerant (compliance ≥ 4 hours) were included; demographic, disease related and respiratory variables at NIV initiation were analysed. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier test and Cox proportional hazard models. 213 patients were included with median survival from NIV initiation of 13.5 months. In univariate analysis, the identified risk factors for mortality were severity of bulbar involvement (HR 2), Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) % (HR 0.99) and ALSFRS-R (HR 0.97). Multivariate analysis showed that bulbar involvement (HR 1.92) and ALSFRS-R (HR 0.97) were independent predictive factors of survival in patients on NIV. In our study, the two prognostic factors in ALS patients following NIV were the severity of bulbar involvement and ALSFRS-R at the time on NIV initiation. A better assessment of bulbar involvement, including evaluation of the upper airway, and a careful titration on NIV are necessary to optimize treatment efficacy.

Management of advanced colon cancer in a community hospital--impact of age on clinical management and survival.

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Mogili, Sujatha; Yousaf, Mobeen; Nadaraja, Nagendra; Woodlock, Timothy

2012-09-01

Colon cancer is more common in the elderly than in younger and middle-aged people. Cancer clinical trials focus more on younger patients and the management of elderly patients with advanced disease is still unclear. We studied all patients presenting with colon adenocarcinoma metastasis to liver at a community teaching hospital from Dec 2000 through Dec 2007 by a retrospective review of Tumor Registry data and patient chart review with focus on age, clinical management, decision making, and survival. Sixty-seven patients with a median age of 69 and a male to female ratio of 31:36 were identified. The patients with obstructive symptoms and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status on presentation though varied little by age, smaller proportion of elderly patients underwent resection of the primary bowel tumor in the presence of liver metastases with ten of 16 (63%) aged 80 or greater being managed without surgery. The percentage of patient's preference to physician's preference for patients not undergoing the primary bowel resection increased for older age group. Median survival decreased significantly with age (p management, decision-making autonomy, and survival are apparent in this study, and there was an increasing trend of patient's involvement in decision making as the age increases and, thus, affecting the age-related clinical management.

A nomogram for predicting survival in patients with breast cancer brain metastasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zhou; Sun, Bing; Wu, Shikai; Meng, Xiangying; Cong, Yang; Shen, Ge; Song, Santai

2018-05-01

Brain metastasis (BM) is common in patients with breast cancer. Predicting patient survival is critical for the clinical management of breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM). The present study was designed to develop and evaluate a prognostic model for patients with newly diagnosed BCBM. Based on the clinical data of patients with BCBM treated in the Affiliated Hospital of Academy of Military Medical Sciences (Beijing, China) between 2002 and 2014, a nomogram was developed to predict survival using proportional hazards regression analysis. The model was validated internally by bootstrapping, and the concordance index (c-index) was calculated. A calibration curve and c-index were used to evaluate discriminatory and predictive ability, in order to compare the nomogram with widely used models, including recursive partitioning analysis (RPA), graded prognostic assessment (GPA) and breast-graded prognostic assessment (Breast-GPA). A total of 411 patients with BCBM were included in the development of this predictive model. The median overall survival time was 14.1 months. Statistically significant predictors for patient survival included biological subtype, Karnofsky performance score, leptomeningeal metastasis, extracranial metastasis, the number of brain metastases and disease-free survival. A nomogram for predicting 1- and 2-year overall survival rates was constructed, which exhibited good accuracy in predicting overall survival with a concordance index of 0.735. This model outperformed RPA, GPA and Breast-GPA, based on the comparisons of the c-indexes. The nomogram constructed based on a multiple factor analysis was able to more accurately predict the individual survival probability of patients with BCBM, compared with existing models.

Conventional chemotherapy and long-term survival in multiple myeloma patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kraj, M; Poglod, R.; Sokolowska, U.; Kruk, B.; Maj, S.

2010-01-01

Objectives. The study was especially focused on the estimation of real frequency of long-term survivals in patients with multiple myeloma and finding common clinical and laboratory features present in long-term surviving patients as possible good prognostic factors. Material and methods. The survey was carried out on 600 multiple myeloma patients diagnosed before the year 2000 and treated with conventional chemotherapy in the Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine in Warsaw in the years 1962-2009. All patients who had fulfilled the requirement of more than seven years of survival from the diagnosis and beginning of treatment for myeloma were included into the study group. Results. Out of 600 studied patients with multiple myeloma 88 (14.7%) survived over 7 years including 45 (7.5%) over 10 years, 11 (1.8 %) over 15 years and 7 (1.1%) over 20 years from the disease diagnosis and beginning of antitumor treatment. Patients with long survival were younger (median age 55 years) at the time of diagnosis than the whole studied group and had normal serum creatinine, calcium and beta2-microglobulin levels. Sixty eight percent of these patients had stage I or II clinical progression, 60% presented with IgG monoclonal protein and 58% with osteolysis. Treatment with melphalan only was given to 18 patients, 30 were treated with melphalan, followed by vincristine, cyclophosphamide, BCNU, doxorubicin and prednisone or dexamethasone. Polychemotherapy was given from the time of the diagnosis to 16 patients, 15 received radiotherapy or 60C o irradiation besides chemotherapy and 9 received new agents: thalidomide, bortezomib, lenalidomide. In 66% of the evaluated cases response to treatment was good and in another 34% stabilization of the proliferative process was achieved. The mean duration of treatment till the achievement of partial response was 10 months, range: 2 - 89 months. The mean duration of good therapeutic response was 70 months. Twelve patients are alive and

Autologous cytokine-induced killer cell immunotherapy may improve overall survival in advanced malignant melanoma patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yong; Zhu, Yu'nan; Zhao, Erjiang; He, Xiaolei; Zhao, Lingdi; Wang, Zibing; Fu, Xiaomin; Qi, Yalong; Ma, Baozhen; Song, Yongping; Gao, Quanli

2017-11-01

Our study was conducted to explore the efficacy of autologous cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells in patients with advanced malignant melanoma. Materials & Methods: Here we reviewed 113 stage IV malignant melanoma patients among which 68 patients received CIK cell immunotherapy alone, while 45 patients accepted CIK cell therapy combined with chemotherapy. Results: We found that the median survival time in CIK cell group was longer than the combined therapy group (21 vs 15 months, p = 0.07). In addition, serum hemoglobin level as well as monocyte proportion and lymphocyte count were associated with patients' survival time. These indicated that CIK cell immunotherapy might extend survival time in advanced malignant melanoma patients. Furthermore, serum hemoglobin level, monocyte proportion and lymphocyte count could be prognostic indicators for melanoma.

Adverse effect of excess body weight on survival in cervical cancer patients after surgery and radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Yunseon; Ahn, Ki Jung; Park, Sung Kwang; Cho, Heung Lae; Lee, Ji Young

2017-01-01

This study aimed to assess the effects of body mass index (BMI) on survival in cervical cancer patients who had undergone surgery and radiotherapy (RT). We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 70 cervical cancer patients who underwent surgery and RT from 2007 to 2012. Among them, 40 patients (57.1%) had pelvic lymph node metastases at the time of diagnosis. Sixty-seven patients (95.7%) had received chemotherapy. All patients had undergone surgery and postoperative RT. Median BMI of patients was 22.8 kg/m2 (range, 17.7 to 35.9 kg/m2). The median duration of follow-up was 52.3 months (range, 16 to 107 months). Twenty-four patients (34.3%) showed recurrence. Local failure, regional lymph nodal failure, and distant failure occurred in 4 (5.7%), 6 (8.6%), and 17 (24.3%) patients, respectively. The 5-year actuarial pelvic control rate was 83.4%. The 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 85.1% and 65.0%, respectively. The presence of pelvic lymph node metastases (n = 30) and being overweight or obese (n = 34, BMI ≥ 23 kg/m2) were poor prognostic factors for CSS (p = 0.003 and p = 0.045, respectively). Of these, pelvic lymph node metastasis was an independent prognostic factor (p = 0.030) for CSS. Overweight or obese cervical cancer patients showed poorer survival outcomes than normal weight or underweight patients. Weight control seems to be important in cervical cancer patients to improve clinical outcomes

Immunohistochemical detection of cdc2 is useful in predicting survival in patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Hui, David; Reiman, Tony; Hanson, John; Linford, Rick; Wong, Winson; Belch, Andrew; Lai, Raymond

2005-09-01

Recent cDNA microarray studies have reported the prognostic value of several genes in mantle cell lymphoma patients. We aimed to validate the prognostic significance of three of these genes: alpha-tubulin, cdc2, and CENP-F. The protein expression of alpha-tubulin, cdc2, and CENP-F was assessed using immunohistochemistry. Their immunoreactivity in 48 formalin-fixed/paraffin-embedded mantle cell lymphoma tumors was determined by estimating the percentage of positive cells. These results were correlated with the expression of proliferation marker Ki67 and survival. Of these 48 mantle cell lymphoma patients, 41 were men and seven were women. The median age at time of diagnosis was 64.5 years, and the overall median survival was 40 months. In benign lymph nodes, the expression of cdc2 and alpha-tubulin was restricted to the germinal centers; mantle zones were negative. Expression of CENP-F was more uniformly distributed. In mantle cell lymphoma, Ki67 significantly correlated with all three markers (P50%) and cdc2 (>25%) significantly correlated with shorter survival (Por=2 correlated with worse clinical outcome, and high clinical stage (ie 4 vs survival. The prognostic significance of cdc2 and Ki67 was independent of international prognostic index and clinical stage. We have validated the prognostic value of cdc2, and confirmed that of Ki67, in a cohort of mantle cell lymphoma patients. Immunohistochemical detection of cdc2 and Ki67 may be a useful and simple method in evaluating the prognosis of mantle cell lymphoma patients.

Adverse effect of excess body weight on survival in cervical cancer patients after surgery and radiotherapy

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Choi, Yunseon; Ahn, Ki Jung; Park, Sung Kwang; Cho, Heung Lae; Lee, Ji Young [Inje University Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2017-03-15

This study aimed to assess the effects of body mass index (BMI) on survival in cervical cancer patients who had undergone surgery and radiotherapy (RT). We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 70 cervical cancer patients who underwent surgery and RT from 2007 to 2012. Among them, 40 patients (57.1%) had pelvic lymph node metastases at the time of diagnosis. Sixty-seven patients (95.7%) had received chemotherapy. All patients had undergone surgery and postoperative RT. Median BMI of patients was 22.8 kg/m2 (range, 17.7 to 35.9 kg/m2). The median duration of follow-up was 52.3 months (range, 16 to 107 months). Twenty-four patients (34.3%) showed recurrence. Local failure, regional lymph nodal failure, and distant failure occurred in 4 (5.7%), 6 (8.6%), and 17 (24.3%) patients, respectively. The 5-year actuarial pelvic control rate was 83.4%. The 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 85.1% and 65.0%, respectively. The presence of pelvic lymph node metastases (n = 30) and being overweight or obese (n = 34, BMI ≥ 23 kg/m2) were poor prognostic factors for CSS (p = 0.003 and p = 0.045, respectively). Of these, pelvic lymph node metastasis was an independent prognostic factor (p = 0.030) for CSS. Overweight or obese cervical cancer patients showed poorer survival outcomes than normal weight or underweight patients. Weight control seems to be important in cervical cancer patients to improve clinical outcomes.

Supratentorial gangliogliomas: histopathologic grading and tumor recurrence in 184 patients with a median follow-up of 8 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Luyken, Cordelia; Blümcke, Ingmar; Fimmers, Rolf; Urbach, Horst; Wiestler, Otmar D; Schramm, Johannes

2004-07-01

Supratentorial gangliogliomas (GGs) are rare tumors of the central nervous system and are commonly associated with chronic seizures. To date, only case reports and small series of patients with short-term follow-up have been available for the assessment of the potential of GGs to recur and progress. Data from 184 patients who underwent resection of GGs between 1988 and 2001 were available from the University of Bonn Epilepsy Surgery Center (Bonn, Germany). Analysis of factors that influenced tumor recurrence and patient survival, such as preoperative history, age at operation, tumor location, histopathologic findings (including immunohistochemical findings), extent of tumor resection, and recurrence evaluated on postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), was performed. The median follow-up period was 8 years (range, 1-14 years). One hundred seventy-eight patients (97%) presented with long-term seizures (> or = 2 years). The median age at surgery was 26 years (range, 2-65 years). Tumor location was temporal in 79% of patients and frontal in 12% of patients. Eleven tumors (6%) were classified as World Health Organization (WHO) Grade 2 lesions, and 2 tumors were classified as anaplastic WHO Grade 3 lesions. For 38 patients (21%), postoperative MRIs revealed residual tumors. Two years after surgery, 5 patients (3%) experienced tumor recurrence, which resulted in malignant progression in 3 patients (2%) and death in 2 patients (1%). Eighty-four percent of patients with epilepsy had complete and sustained seizure relief. The calculated 7.5-year recurrence-free survival rate was 97%. Lower rates of recurrence were found in patients with tumors classified as WHO Grade 1 lesions (P < 0.0001), patients with temporal lesions (P < 0.0001), patients who underwent complete tumor resection (P = 0.0278), and patients with long-standing epilepsy (P < 0.0001). Supratentorial GGs are benign tumors, and the surgical goal for patients with GG should be complete resection. Residual

Statin use and survival following glioblastoma multiforme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gaist, David; Hallas, Jesper; Friis, Søren

2014-01-01

with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). METHODS: We identified 1562 patients diagnosed with GBM during 2000-2009 from the Danish Cancer Registry and linked this cohort to Danish nationwide demographic and health registries. Within the GBM cohort, each patient recorded as using statins prior to diagnosis (defined as ≥2......-cause death associated with prediagnostic statin use. RESULTS: A total of 339 GBM patients were included in the analyses. Of these, 325 died during median follow-up of 6.9 months (interquartile range: 3.8-13.4 months). Prediagnostic statin use was associated with a reduced HR of death (0.79; 95% CI: 0......: 0.63-1.01). CONCLUSION: Long-term prediagnostic statin use may improve survival following GBM....

PERBANDINGAN TRANSFORMASI BOX-COX DAN REGRESI KUANTIL MEDIAN DALAM MENGATASI HETEROSKEDASTISITAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NI WAYAN YUNI CAHYANI

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Ordinary least square (OLS is a method that can be used to estimate the parameter in linear regression analysis. There are some assumption which should be satisfied on OLS, one of this assumption is homoscedasticity, that is the variance of error is constant. If variance of the error is unequal that so-called heteroscedasticity. The presence heteroscedasticity can cause estimation with OLS becomes inefficient. Therefore, heteroscedasticity shall be overcome. There are some method that can used to overcome heteroscedasticity, two among those are Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression. This research compared Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity. Applied Box-Cox power transformation on OLS result ????2point are greater, smaller RMSE point and confidencen interval more narrow, therefore can be concluded that applied of Box-Cox power transformation on OLS better of median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity.

PERBANDINGAN TRANSFORMASI BOX-COX DAN REGRESI KUANTIL MEDIAN DALAM MENGATASI HETEROSKEDASTISITAS

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NI WAYAN YUNI CAHYANI

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Ordinary least square (OLS is a method that can be used to estimate the parameter in linear regression analysis. There are some assumption which should be satisfied on OLS, one of this assumption is homoscedasticity, that is the variance of error is constant. If variance of the error is unequal that so-called heteroscedasticity. The presence heteroscedasticity can cause estimation with OLS becomes inefficient. Therefore, heteroscedasticity shall be overcome. There are some method that can used to overcome heteroscedasticity, two among those are Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression. This research compared Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity. Applied Box-Cox power transformation on OLS result ????2point are greater, smaller RMSE point and confidencen interval more narrow, therefore can be concluded that applied of Box-Cox power transformation on OLS better of median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity.

Survival Prediction in Patients Undergoing Open-Heart Mitral Valve Operation After Previous Failed MitraClip Procedures.