1,721,496 research outputs found
Surveying the experience of living with metastatic breast cancer: comparing face-to-face and online recruitment
No full textWith its growing use, the Internet offers researchers a novel approach in reaching those they seek to study locally, nationally or globally. The purpose of this paper is to describe our experience of using the Internet as one means of recruiting to a research study exploring the experience of women with metastatic breast cancer and to compare the methodological issues of using face-to-face and online approaches to survey recruitment. The survey incorporated the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) quality of life measure, a patient experience with care measure and open ended text questions about respondents’ physical, emotional and practical needs. Recruitment was done face-to-face in two cancer centres and on the Breast Cancer Care (it is the UK’s leading provider of information, practical assistance and emotional support for anyone affected by breast cancer) Website, recruiting 110 people in the cancer centres and 125 from the Website. The age range was 25–84. Website respondents were significantly younger than cancer centre respondents (<0.000). They also had significantly lower social well-being on the FACT-B scale and were less satisfied with information and advice (<0.000) and their personal experience of care (<0.010). Finally, we consider the role of the Internet in research and the methodological and ethical challenges this presents both now and in the future
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
The incidence of symptomatic thromboembolism in patients receiving adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy for early stage breast cancer
No full textThromboembolism is a well recognised complication of systemic chemotherapy and cancer. Its incidenceis frequently not reported in clinical trials of adjuvant chemotherapy for early stage breast cancer. Ourown experience suggested that thromboembolic complications were common and we undertook a retrospective review of consecutive patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy to determine the incidence and morbidity/mortality of this complication. A total of 280 consecutive patients were identified who had received adjuvant ECMF chemotherapybetween January 2001 and February 2007. Thromboembolic events occurred in 21 patients (7.5%). Eventswere distributed across chemotherapy cycles, but were more common during CMF chemotherapy (18 cases vs 3 cases). Patients over the age of 60 years appeared to be at particular risk of thromboembolism with an event rate of 27% (15/56 patients). Thromboembolic events were associated with dose delays and cessation of chemotherapy in some patients. With a median follow up of 28 months there is nosignificant difference in the incidence of breast cancer recurrence (16.7% vs 14.3%, p ¼ 0.9) or overallsurvival (89.5% vs 89.9%, p ¼ 0.8) between patients who experienced a thromboembolic event duringadjuvant chemotherapy and those who did not. Based on the incidence of thromboembolism in our unselected patient population we believe that further prospective studies are indicated seeking to identify those patients at increased risk of this important complication who might benefit fromthromboprophylaxis
Quality of life and experience of care in women with metastatic breast cancer: a cross-sectional survey
Full text linkContext: Despite developments in the medical management of metastatic breast cancer, little is known about the quality of life (QoL) and experience of care in women with it.Objectives: To explore QoL, experience of care, and support needs of women living with metastatic breast cancer in the U.K.Methods: Questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study, undertaken in two U.K. cancer centers and online via the Breast Cancer Care website, assessing QoL and experience of care in 235 women with metastatic breast cancer.Results: QoL was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy—Breast QoL measure. Overall, QoL was low (mean 89.0, standard deviation 21.8) for total score. Low scores were seen uniformly in physical, social, emotional, and functional well-being domains. Symptom burden was a significant problem, with over one-third of women (34%) reporting high levels of pain and other uncontrolled symptoms. In multiple regression analysis, social well-being was significantly better for older women (P < 0.001) but was lower in those with bone metastases only (P = 0.002). Functional well-being was significantly higher in women without children (P = 0.004). Satisfaction with experience of care was low and appeared to be predominantly in the hospital setting, with little evidence of involvement of general practitioners and palliative care services.Conclusion: Despite improvements in treatment and survival of women with metastatic breast cancer, this group reports high symptom burden and dissatisfaction with elements of their care, indicating that alternative models of service delivery should be explored
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
Late relapse (>2 years) on surveillance in stage I non-seminomatous germ cell tumours; predominant seminoma only histology
No full textObjectives: surveillance is a standard management approach following orchidectomy for stage I non-seminomatous and mixed germ cell tumours. Patients who relapse following this approach are treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy, with retroperitoneal lymph node dissection considered for patients with post-chemotherapy residual masses.Patients and methods: we reviewed the clinicopathological data for all patients who relapse greater than 24 months after commencing our surveillance programme.Results: between 1989 and 2008, 453 patients with a median age of 30 years were entered into our surveillance program for stage I non-seminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCTs) after orchidectomy alone. All primary tumour specimens contained NSGCT, with seminomatous elements identified in 168 cases (37%). One-hundred patients (22%) relapsed and the majority of relapses occurred within the first 2 years (76 ? 12 months, 15 ? 12 months ? 2 years). Nine patients relapsed after more than 2 years of surveillance. We found a high incidence of pure seminoma (56%) at sites of metastatic disease in this group. All late-relapsing patients were alive and disease free at a median follow up of 45 months from relapse.Conclusions: we recommend that late-relapsing patients with normal serum alpha fetoprotein levels undergo biopsy to define histologically the nature of recurrent disease. In those with pure seminoma retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for post chemotherapy residual masses can be avoide
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