170 research outputs found
Parental involvement in the Early Learning Center at Tiffany Creek Elementary
No full textPlan BThe purpose of this study was to assess the current level of parental involvement in a four-year-old kindergarten program in a public elementary school. Research has shown that parental involvement in children’s schooling has a dramatic effect on children’s academic achievement (Henderson & Berla 1995; National PTA 1997; US Department of Education 1997). The benefits of effective parental involvement programs reach beyond the child to the parents and schools as well. When parents are involved in their children’s schooling, parents show increased self-confidence in parenting and are more knowledgeable about how to help their child with learning at home. When teachers and parents connect, teachers reap the benefits as well. Teachers who involve parents become better teachers and devote more time to teaching. Schools that work well with families have improved teacher morale. This research looked at a sample of parents whose children were enrolled in a four-year-kindergarten program and assessed their parental involvement attitudes and parental engagement behaviors at home and at school. The parents were asked to complete a survey regarding their attitudes and behaviors toward parent involvement. The surveys were then scored calculating the means, standard deviation, and rank order. In addition, T tests, ANOVA, and the Student-Newman-Keuls Multiple Range Test were used to determine if any significant differences existed based on gender, age, family structure, level of education, and employment status. The results of the study revealed that parents’ attitudes toward parental involvement were positive. At home, parents most performed behaviors closely tied to the classroom, such as asking their children about school projects and activities and reading notes/papers in their child’s folder. The behavior that parents performed most at school was attending school functions, such as family nights and classroom parties, while volunteering in their children’s classroom was performed less often. Using T tests and ANOV, significant differences were found in all demographic categories of the study. In regard to gender, males’ attitudes toward parental involvement were not as positive as females’ attitudes. Males engaged in parental involvement behaviors less often than females did. Age of the parent was found to make a difference in both their attitudes and behaviors toward literacy activities. Parents that were single/remarried/separated had more positive attitudes towards not wanting their children to miss school and in their belief that the teacher makes the biggest influence on their child’s success in school than married parents. In this study, two-parent families volunteered in their children’s classrooms more often than single/separated/remarried parents. Better educated parents read to their children more often and had higher expectations for their children attending college or vocational school. Parents employed full time felt that their work somewhat interfered with them spending quality time with their children. Those employed part time and unemployed reported less conflict with work-family balance conflicts. The results of the average score in the behaviors section of the survey, showed that parents employed full time engage in parental involvement activities less frequently than unemployed or those working part time. The challenge with parental involvement can be getting school personnel to recognize the value in the putting time and effort into collaborations with parents. This study concluded with recommendations for school personnel on how to improve and enhance parental involvement in their schools based on the findings in this study. Suggestions included improving teacher training in the area of parental involvement, getting teachers to recognize and value the work that parents do at home, and working to eliminate as many barriers to parental involvement as possible
Lenvatinib for the Treatment of Radioiodine-Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: Treatment Optimization for Maximum Clinical Benefit
No full textBACKGROUND: Lenvatinib is a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for treating patients with locally recurrent or metastatic progressive radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RR-DTC). In this review, we discuss recent developments in the optimization of RR-DTC treatment with lenvatinib. SUMMARY: Initiation of lenvatinib treatment before a worsening of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status and elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio could benefit patients with progressive RR-DTC. The median duration of response with lenvatinib was inversely correlated with a smaller tumor burden, and prognosis was significantly worse in patients with a high tumor burden. An 18 mg/day starting dose of lenvatinib was not noninferior to 24 mg/day and had a comparable safety profile. Timely management of adverse events is crucial, as patients with shorter dose interruptions benefitted more from lenvatinib treatment. Caution should be exercised when initiating lenvatinib in patients who have tumor infiltration into the trachea or other organs, or certain histological subtypes of DTC, as these are risk factors for fistula formation or organ perforation. The Study of (E7080) LEnvatinib in Differentiated Cancer of the Thyroid (SELECT) eligibility criteria should be considered prior to initiating lenvatinib treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence indicates that patients benefit most from lenvatinib treatment that is initiated earlier in advanced disease when the disease burden is low. A starting dose of lenvatinib 24 mg/day, with dose modifications as required, yields better outcomes as compared to 18 mg/day. Appropriate supportive care, including timely identification of adverse events, is essential to manage toxicities associated with lenvatinib, avoid longer dose interruptions, and maximize efficacy
Parent involvement in the Menomonie Middle School Educational Talent Search Program
No full textPlan BThe purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes and behaviors of parents whose children were involved in the Educational Talent Search Program at the Menomonie Middle School, in Menomonie, Wisconsin. This study surveyed the needs, attitudes and behaviors of parents in regard to their involvement with their adolescent’s education and the Educational Talent Search Program. parents whose adolescents were students at the Menomonie Middle School, in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Surveys were then analyzed using T-tests, ANOVA, and the Student-Newman-Keuls Multiple Range and the Duncan Test. Mothers were more supportive of the Educational Talent Search Program, exposure to career education, and desired more parent/child events at school than fathers Non-Caucasian parents scored more positively than Caucasian parents about the program being helpful, more parent/child events, and the school valuing their suggestions. The English language was also more difficult for them. Single parents indicated that having a busy lifestyle prevented them from attending school events more that two parent families. Parents with a high school education indicated that the English language was more difficult to understand. This study concluded with recommendations on how to improve and enhance parental involvement in the Educational Talent Search Program
Abstract 5042: Defining an optimal single time point sampling strategy representative of overall capecitabine pharmacokinetics
No full textAbstract
Background: Capecitabine is an oral chemotherapy pro-drug used to treat advanced colorectal cancer. Patients may experience hand-foot syndrome and diarrhea, among other side effects, that affect quality of life and may necessitate dose modification or discontinuation. There is significant regional variation in capecitabine tolerability, related to a myriad of factors including pharmacogenomics, dietary and cultural differences. Capecitabine dose modification, when necessary, is empirical based on toxicity suggesting a personalized dosing approach might better optimize therapy. Objective: In phase I of a personalized dosing approach, our objective was to define an optimal time point for blood sampling that best represented overall exposure of capecitabine and its metabolites.
Methods: A single-arm prospective pharmacokinetic cohort study of patients with advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer prescribed capecitabine monotherapy was done. Blood samples were collected pre-dose and at timed intervals between 0 and 8 hours post-dose. Plasma concentration of capecitabine and its major metabolites, 5'-deoxy-5-fluorocytidine (5'-DFCR) and 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouracil (5'-DFUR), were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS).
Results: 26 patients were enrolled; 65% were male and 42.3% had metastatic disease. Mean capecitabine dose was 2854 ± 944 mg. Hand-foot symptoms (60%), fatigue (53%) and diarrhea (30%) were the most common adverse drug reactions. Dose normalized mean (SD) AUC0-8h for capecitabine, 5’-DFCR and 5’-DFUR were 6.74 (3.0), 4.19 (1.5) and 6.33 (2.8) ng/ml*h, respectively. Spearman correlation between dose normalized concentrations and AUC at each blood draw was performed. The best estimated time points for capecitabine, 5’-DFCR and 5’-DFUR were 1.5, 2 and 2 hours with r2 values of 0.6 (p <0.01), 0.64 (p <0.001) and 0.51 (p <0.01), respectively. There was a significant correlation seen between capecitabine AUC and need for subsequent dose reduction (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Blood samples obtained between 1.5 and 2 hours post-dose provide the best estimate of capecitabine exposure. Further pharmacokinetic analysis in this cohort is ongoing. This blood draw strategy will be used in a larger trial intended to develop a personalized capecitabine dosing algorithm.
Citation Format: Stephen Welch, Wendy Teft, John Lenehan, Rommel Tirona, Karen Lumsden, Eric Winquist, Richard B. Kim. Defining an optimal single time point sampling strategy representative of overall capecitabine pharmacokinetics [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5042. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5042</jats:p
Chronic Oxaliplatin-Based Chemotherapy in a Primary Ampullary Adenocarcinoma Patient without Significant Peripheral Neuropathy: Case Report and Literature Review
No full textPeripheral neuropathy is the most common dose-limiting toxicity associated with oxaliplatin. We report on a 61-year-old female patient with advanced primary ampullary adenocarcinoma who received 35 cycles of FOLFIRINOX (5-fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) chemotherapy. The patient has tolerated this treatment without developing significant peripheral neuropathy
Chronic Oxaliplatin-Based Chemotherapy in a Primary Ampullary Adenocarcinoma Patient without Significant Peripheral Neuropathy: Case Report and Literature Review
No full textPeripheral neuropathy is the most common dose-limiting toxicity associated with oxaliplatin. We report on a 61-year-old female patient with advanced primary ampullary adenocarcinoma who received 35 cycles of FOLFIRINOX (5-fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) chemotherapy. The patient has tolerated this treatment without developing significant peripheral neuropathy.</jats:p
Case: Secondary polycythemia due to pazopanib in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma
No full textClear-cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common primary malignant renal neoplasm. Up to 30% of patients have metastatic disease at the time of initial diagnosis.1 Small molecule inhibitors of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (VEGFR TKIs) are used as first-line treatment for most patients with incurable RCC. Pazopanib is a TKI inhibiting VEGFR,1-3 as well as plateletderived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs) α and β and stem cell receptor c-kit. The most common side effects of pazopanib are diarrhea, hypertension, changes in hair colour, anorexia, nausea, and vomiting. Severe hepatic toxicity is the adverse effect of greatest concern,but is uncommon. Myelosuppressive effects are also noted, such as anemia, thrombocytopenia, and leukopenia, and are presumably mediated through c-kit inhibition. Erythrocytosis is a wellrecognized paraneoplastic syndrome associated with RCC; however, erythrocytosis due to pazopanib therapy has only recently been described. We report two cases and review of the literature related to this phenomenon.</jats:p
Effects of the duration of androgen deprivation therapy for localized or locally advanced prostate cancer in patients treated with radiotherapy
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