1,720,975 research outputs found
Breast cancer: not only a "woman's" diseases
No full textMale breast cancer (MBC) is a rare disease compared with female breast cancer (FBC), but its incidence is increasing. Because of its rarity, MBC is often compared with FBC and our current understanding regarding MBC biology, natural history and treatment strategies has been largely extrapolated from the female counterpart.
Based on age-frequency distribution, age-specific incidence rate patterns and prognostic factors profiles, MBC is considered similar to late-onset post-menopausal estrogen/progesterone receptors (ER/PR)-positive FBC. This suggests that common BC risk factors may affect both genders. Indeed, similar to BC in women, MBC is likely to be caused by the concurrent effects of different risk factors, including hormonal, environmental and genetic risk factors. However, clinical and pathological characteristics of MBC do not exactly overlap FBC. Compared with women, BC occurs in men later in life, is mostly represented by invasive ductal carcinoma with higher stage, lower grade and ER/PR expression.
Although rare, MBC remains a substantial cause for morbidity and mortality in men, probably because of its occurrence in advanced age and delayed diagnosis. MBC treatment generally follows the same indications as post-menopausal FBC. BC mortality and survival rates have improved significantly over time for both male and female BC, but the improvement for male is smaller if compared to female patients, thus suggesting a delay or non-appropriate utilization of adjuvant therapy.
Overall, much still needs to be learned about MBC and, because of its rarity, the main effort is to develop national and international consortia for moving forward in our understanding of MBC
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
Gene-environment interactions in the pre-Industrial Era: the cancer of King Ferrante I of Aragon (1431-1494).
No full textKing Ferrante I of Aragon, leading figure of the Italian Renaissance, died in 1494. The autopsy of his mummy revealed a tumor infiltrating the small pelvis. We examined the histologic and molecular features of this ancient tumor to investigate its primary origin. Hematoxylin-eosin, Van Gieson, and Alcian Blue staining showed neoplastic cells infiltrating muscular fibers and forming pseudo-glandular lumina disseminated in fibrous stroma with scarce mucus. A strong immunoreactivity of the neoplastic cells was shown for pancytokeratins and proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Molecular fingerprints were investigated by examining K-ras, BRAF, and microsatellite instability in ancient tumor DNA. Sequencing analysis showed G-to-A transition in codon 12 of K-ras. BRAF mutations and microsatellite instability were not observed. Because the presence of K-ras codon 12 mutation could be associated with exposure to chemical carcinogens, possibly present in some food items, paleodietary reconstruction of the King Ferrante I was carried out by carbon (delta(13)C) and nitrogen (delta (15)N) stable isotopes analysis. delta (13)C and delta (15)N values found in bone collagen of the King were consistent with a massive intake of animal proteins. Overall, our data show that the tumor of Ferrante I was a mucinous adenocarcinoma with molecular fingerprints characteristic of colorectal carcinogenesis linked to K-ras pathway. Paleodietary reconstruction and historical chronicles indicate a strong consumption of meat by the King. The possible abundance of dietary carcinogens, related to meat consumption, could explain the K-ras mutation causing the colorectal tumor that killed Ferrante I more than 5 centuries ago. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
PAI-1 4G/5G repeat is a target in gastric carcinomas with microsatellite instability
No full textBackground: The plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAL-1) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cancer. The 4G/5G promoter polymorphism of PAI-1 is potentially involved in regulating gene transcription. Aims: To explore the role of the PAL-1 4G/5G repeat as target of microsatellite instability (MSI), 50 gastric carcinomas (GCs), characterized for MSI, were screened. Methods: PAI-1 4G/5G was analysed by direct sequencing. Results: Allelic imbalance was observed in 5 of the 50(10%) GCs. Specifically, 2 cases (40%) harboured a G deletion and 3(60%) a G insertion in tumour compared to normal DNA. These five cases were included in the subgroup of 20 GCs (25%) with high level of MSI (MSI-H). A statistically significant association emerged between PAL-1 mutations and MSI-H status (p = 0.0073). The frequency of PAL-1 mutations was also evaluated, together with other known target genes, by analysing MSI-H GCs for mutations at selected coding repeats within genes controlling cell growth, apoptosis and DNA repair. Overall, mutation frequency ranged from 56.3% to 5.3%. Conclusion: The frequency of PAL-1 mutations here reported in MSI-H GCs is, accordingly, comparable with values obtained for real targets. The relatively high incidence of PAL-1 mutations is suggestive of a positive pressure towards selection in MSI-H GCs. (C) 2010 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
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