1,721,050 research outputs found

    Impact of older age on local treatment decisions

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    Managing elderly breast cancer patients brings challenges both to physicians and patients themselves. There are certain controversial issues regarding local treatment of early breast cancer in this population. Since elderly patients are more likely to have comorbidities and functional limitations, they are more prone to undertreatment. Although surgical treatment in elderly patients were reported to be safe, severity and number of comorbidities are shown to be related with increased complications, hence may lead to higher mortality and lower life quality. Therefore, frailty is one of the concerns which prevents elderly patients to receive standard-of-care local treatment. Nevertheless, breast cancers developing in elderly are more likely to be low grade and luminal type. Until now, primary endocrine treatment without surgical resection, omitting whole breast irradiation after partial mastectomyand avoiding sentinel lymph node biopsy, which are otherwise accepted as standard-of-care, were questionned in healthy, low-risk, elderly fit patients. Two main issues were suggested to be considered when assessing the impact of local treatment options in this patient group; the clinical significance of treatments' effects, and the patients' expectations. Due to their vulnerability, baseline geriatric assessment should be the initial step for management in elderly breast cancer patients. Even in those who are healthy and fit with long life-expectancy, de-escalation in management might be an option in low-risk patients after considering patients' individual expectations and limited clinical benefits of standard local treatment options. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

    Value-Based Quality Care for Breast Cancer: More Than Guidelines

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    Although guidelines recommend some of the most expensive diagnostic methods and therapies, some patients do have the opportunity to use them, but some others have overused or misused such methods. The cost of cancer care is increasing, but the satisfaction levels of patients and healthcare workers have not increased in line with this rise. Value-based care for cancer, especially breast cancer, should be implemented. For this reason, all unnecessary screening, tests, treatments, and follow-up parameters should be avoided

    Myoepithelial differentiation in breast carcinoma

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    Background. The aim of presenting this work is to describe a matrix producing carcinoma with anaplastic myoepithelial cell foci, with the coexistence of in situ myoepithelial carcinoma which originated from a sclerosing adenosis. Case report. A 51-year-old perimenopausal woman presented with a hard irregular lump in her left breast. After histological confirmation of malignancy, the patient underwent a modified radical mastectomy. The tumor was composed of a sclerosed fibroadenoma and preexisting sclerosing adenosis with poorly differentiated overt carcinoma within the cartilaginous matrix. There were foci of ordinary, intermediate-grade carcinoma in situ and myoepithelial carcinoma in situ. Results. We performed immunohistochemistry by the streptavidin-biotin horseradish peroxidase method. Estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor were negative, and so was c-erbB-2. Both the invasive and the in situ components were positive for CK7, CK19, CK14, vimentin, smooth muscle actin, nerve growth factor receptor, and epidermal growth factor receptor. By contrast, CK5/6 immunoexpression was found only in the in situ component. Negativity was found for p63 and. CID 10 within the tumor. While cytoplasmic bcl-2 immunoexpression was detected in some of the tumor cells of the invasive component, intranuclear p53 expression was found to be positive not only in the invasive component but also in the in situ component of the tumor. Conclusion. The histopathological findings and the immunohistochemistry results support the derivation of the tumor from myoepithelial cells

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

    Immediate or Delayed Breast Reconstruction After Radical Mastectomy in Breast Cancer Patients: Does It Make a Difference in the Quality of Life

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    Objective: Nowadays, most of the women with breast cancer are diagnosed in early stages and benefit from regional and systemic treatments with proven efficacy. Various methods of breast reconstruction can be applied to patients who undergo mastectomy at different times. The purpose of this study is to investigate how immediate or delayed breast reconstruction affected the patients' quality of life after mastectomy. Material and Methods: Breast cancer patients who had reconstructive surgery at any time after mastectomy were included in the study. Measures for evaluating the patients' psychopathological status (SCL-R90 Symptom checklist) and quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C 30) were used. Demographical and clinical data were obtained retrospectively from the patients and their hospital records. Demographical and clinical data were analyzed retrospectively, quality of life parameters were analyzed as descriptive statistics in a single time period. Patients who had undergo immediate (28 patients) or delayed (23 patients) breast reconstruction after mastectomy in Marmara University Hospital between January 1, 2002 and December 12, 2006 were included in the study. Results: When compared with the delayed reconstruction group, patients in the immediate reconstruction group were found to be at earlier stages and thus, there was less need for radiotherapy. Delayed reconstruction was mainly utilized in patients who received adjuvant therapy and axillary lymph node dissection. There was no difference between the two groups regarding their demographical characteristics. This study revealed that immediate reconstruction, when compared to delayed reconstructive surgery, improved patient's body image, self-esteem, and family/social relations. It also increased the quality of life psychologically, socially and spiritually as well as decreased somatic complaints. Conclusion: Immediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy in compared to delayed one, positively affects the individual's quality of life

    Randomized Trial Comparing Locoregional Resection of Primary Tumor with No Surgery in Stage IV Breast Cancer at the Presentation (Protocol MF07-01): A Study of Turkish Federation of the National Societies for Breast Diseases

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    The MF07-01 trial is a phase III randomized controlled trial which compares breast cancer patients with distant metastases at presentation who receive locoregional treatment for intact primary tumor with those who do not receive such treatment. The primary objective of the study is to assess whether locoregional treatment of the primary tumor provides a better overall survival. Secondary objectives include progression-free survival, quality-of-life, and morbidity related to locoregional treatment. Locoregional treatments consist of either mastectomy or breast conserving surgery with level I-II axillary clearance in clinically or sentinel lymph node positive patients. Radiation therapy to the whole breast follows breast conserving surgery. Standard systemic therapy is given to all patients either immediately after randomization in no-locoregional treatment arm or after surgical resection of the intact primary tumor in locoregional treatment arm. The study is conducted in Turkey as a multicenter trial with central randomization. Total accrual target is 271. The trial was activated in October 2007 and authorized centers started to recruit patients since then. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier number is NCT00557986

    Autoimmune Thyroid Disease and Breast Cancer Prognosis

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    Objective: The association of breast cancer and thyroid autoimmunity has been suggested by many studies in the literature, but the causality still needed to be proven. With this study we aimed to search the correlation between thyroid autoimmunity and breast cancer prognostic factors. Materials and Methods: To this prospective cohort study 200 consecutive breast cancer patients, who were operated in our clinic were included. Patients' serum thyroid hormone, anti-thyroglobuline (anti-TG) and anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) levels and tumors' prognostic parameters (tumor size, axillary involvement, histological grade, lymphovascular invasion, receptor status, Ki-67 proliferation index) were collected. The correlation between serum thyroid autoantibody levels and tumor's prognostic factors were studied. Results: The prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity (high levels of serum anti-TPO and/or anti-TG) was 18.5% (n=37). Patients with thyroid autoimmunity had a significant lower rate of axillary involvement and a lower rate of Ki-67 proliferation index (22% vs. 46%[p=0,007] and 12.73% vs. 20.72% [p=0.025], respectively) and were more commonly included to the low-risk group (<14%) according to their Ki-67 scores (68% vs. 46%; p=0.015). Other parameters did not differ between the two groups. Conclusion: We found a favorable correlation between thyroid autoimmunity and axillary involvement and also Ki-67 proliferation index score, which are two crucial and strongly predictive parameters of breast cancer prognoses. This supports the idea of thyroid autoimmunity being a favorable prognostic parameter. Further studies are necessary to investigate the reasons of protective or predictive effect of high thyroid peroxidase levels in breast cancer patients

    Variations on the Author

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    “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
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