1,720,995 research outputs found
Predictive value of serum HER2 and CA 15-3 in patients with HER2 positive breast cancer and relapse of the disease: Preliminary study.
No full textBackground: Cancer antigen (CA) 15-3 is encoded by the MUC1 gene. It is overexpressed in breastcancer (BC) tissue, and released into the bloodstream. The human-epidermal-growth-factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a transmembrane glycoprotein with intracellular tyrosine kinase activity, that can also be measured in the blood. The role of circulating HER2 and CA 15-3 as predictive markers of relapse of the disease and in monitoring therapy in patients with metastatic BC are not well defined. The aim of this study was to analyze, whether correlation exists between preoperative serum CA 15-3 and HER2, and relapse ofthe disease in patients who underwent surgery for tissue HER2 positive (HER2+) BC.
Materials and Methods: Data regarding a series of 12 women (median age 57 years, range 35-62 years) withstage I (pT1, N0-1mi, M0) tissue HER2+ BC (Group 1) who developed locoregional or distant metastases during follow-up were reviewed. Controls were 14 women with age- and stage-matched tissue HER2+ BC (Group 2) who did not developed relapse of the disease. All patients underwent preoperative CA 15-3 and HER2 serum levels measurement, by a two-site sandwich immunoassay using direct chemiluminescent technology, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. A serum CA 15-3 and HER2 concentration of 30 U/mL and 15 ng/mL were defined as the upper limit of normal, respectively. A p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Overall, the mean preoperative CA 15-3 and HER2 levels were 26.0±10.8 U/mL and 18.5±9.3 ng/mL, respectively. CA 15-3 and HER2 were above the cut-off in 7 and 10 patients of Group 1, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictivevalue, and negative likelihood ratio weighted by prevalence were (CA15-3 vs.HER2) 0.78 vs. 0.77 (p=0.86), 0.70 vs. 0.85 (p=0.011), 0.58 vs. 0.83 (p<0.001), 0.85 vs. 0.78 (p=0.20), and 0.17 vs. 0.27 (p=0.08), respectively. A weak correlation between CA 15-3 and HER2 (R=0.46, p=0.05) was found. There was nosignificant relationship between age of the patients, CA 15-3 (R=-0.28, p=0.25) or HER2 (R=0.02, p=0.92).
Conclusions: In patients with HER2+ stage I BC, baseline serum CA 15-3 and HER2 are independent of age. Both have low sensitivity in detecting primary tumor, but the specificity and PPV of HER2 were significantly higher than that of CA 15-3. These serum markers do not condition the therapeutic decision-making of patients, but are useful as prognostic factor in patients who will develop locoregional or distant metastases during follow-up.
References: Lumachi F et al. Curr Med Chem 20: 596-604, 2013
Hormone receptor rate and serum markers CEA and CA 15-3 in patients with early breast cancer
No full textBackground: Breast cancer (BC) continues to be the most common cancer in
women, and subsequent a public health problem. Although BC is a progressive disease,
small tumours are more successfully treated, and have a better prognosis.
Lymph node status, tumour size, and oestrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor
(PgR) rate are primary prognostic factors able to give information on clinical outcome,
while serum tumour markers may be useful in predicting recurrence and
monitoring the therapeutic response of BC. The aim of this study was to analyze
whether relationship exist between age, ER, PgR, CEA, CA 15-3, and MIB-1 index
in patients with early BC.
Patients and Methods: Charts from a series of 196 women (median age 55 years,
range 26-82 years) who underwent curative surgery for pT1 pN0 BC were reviewed.
Patients with positive lymph nodes were excluded from the study, as well those who
underwent adjuvant chemotherapy for previous cancer. There were 15 (7.6%) pT1a,
69 (35.2%) pT1b, and 112 (66.2%) pT1c patients, aged 52.511.5, 55.912.9, and
55.811.8 years, respectively (p1⁄4NS).
Results: As expected, there was a significant correlation (p<0.001) between ER and
PgR (R1⁄40.79), and CEA and CA 15-3 serum levels (R1⁄40.20), while an inverse relationship
between greatest diameter of the tumour (size) and PgR (R1⁄4-0.20) was
found. A weak correlation (p<0.05) between age of the patients and CEA
(R1⁄40.13), and size and CA 15-3 (R1⁄40.12) was also observed. The results of the
Spearman’s correlation analysis are reported in the Table.
Conclusions: In patients with early stage (pT1 pN0) BC baseline serum tumour
markers CEA and CA 15-3 have similar behaviour, as well as and hormone receptors
ER and PgR rate, but they are independent of age, and weakly related to the tumour
size
Embryology and development of the central nervous system [Embriologia e sviluppo del SNC]
No full textUltrasonic dissection system technology in breast cancer: a case-control study in a large cohort of patients requiring axillary dissection
No full textIn the sentinel node era, axillary dissection (ALND) for breast cancer (BC) is required much less frequently than in the past. However, complications, such as prolonged drainage output and seroma formation, are still observed. Harmonic dissection devices (HDDs) are widely used in laparoscopic and minimally invasive surgery to reduce collateral damage during tissue dissection, but its usefulness in breast surgery is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of HDDs compared to that of conventional dissection in performing ALND. One hundred thirty-nine women (median age 61 years, range 34-71 years) with confirmed pT1-2 primary infiltrating ductal BC undergoing curative surgery were enrolled in the study. The population was prospectively randomized between two age- and stage-matched arms: group A (cases)-68 (48.9 %) patients (HDD technique), versus group B (controls)-71 (51.1 %) patients (conventional technique). In group B, skin flaps were obtained using a scalpel, scissors, and electrocautery which was never used for ALND. In group A, for each operation time, the HDDs were used exclusively. The mean operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and drainage output were (A vs. B) 95 +/- A 22 versus 109 +/- A 25 min, 56 +/- A 12 versus 86 +/- A 15 mL, and 412 +/- A 83 versus 456 +/- A 69 mL, respectively (p < 0.01). Twenty-nine (20.9 %) patients developed an axillary seroma: 9 (13.2 %) and 20 (28.2 %) for groups A and B, respectively (p = 0.030). Our study confirms that in patients with BC requiring ALND the use of HDDs is more time efficient than conventional surgery, and reduces intraoperative bleeding, the amount of drainage, and the risk of seroma formation. These results may lead to several short- and long-term advantages. Thus, a careful evaluation of the cost-benefits of nontraditional tools, such as HDDs, should be performed in all patients undergoing modified radical or partial mastectomy and ALND for BC
Quality-of-life after breast surgery in patients with breast cancer who underwent axillary lymph node dissection using harmonic dissection devices.
No full textBackground: Axillary node dissection (ALND) is still required in patients with breast cancer (BC) but unfortunately, it can cause some complications, such as increased amount of drainage and seroma formation, which subsequently worsen their quality-of-life (QoL). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the use of a harmonic dissection device (HDD), which reduces the risk of complications, can improve the short-term postoperative QoL of patients who underwent breast surgery.
Methods: Sixty-eight women (median age 60, range 34-67 years) undergoing curative surgery for primary pT1-2 BC were enrolled in the study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups according to whether or not a HDD was used (Group 1, N=32; Group 2, N=36, respectively). Health-related QoL was measured with the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (MOS-SF-36).
Results: Age, body mass index (BMI), tumor stage, number of the removed nodes, type of surgery did not differ (p=NS) between groups. The total output of drainage was significantly reduced in Group 1, and also the formation of seromas was reduced in number. The results of the MOS-S-36 are shown in the Table.
Conclusions: In patients undergoing ALND for BC the use of a HDD reduces some postoperative complications, such as output of drainage and seroma formation. However, these benefits have a limited impact on QoL of patients, since a few parameters of the MOS-SF-36 form improve significantly
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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