Cancer Patients In Different Stages Research Articles

Application of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics Methods in Biochemistry and Biomedicine

Application of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics Methods in Biochemistry and Biomedicine

1457P - Control of Cancer in West Bengal, India by Screening and Awareness Program

ABSTRACT Background In India there are about 2.5 million cancer patients and it increases by 1 million new cancer patients every year, which is 1/10 of total cancer burden in the world. The aim of our state based non-governmental Cancer Control Program is to reduce the cancer burden by proper awareness and screening. We also intended to teach about the early symptoms of cancer so that it can be detected early to provide appropriate treatment. Our motto is to serve people residing in remote villages of West Bengal where there are no modern medical facilities available for detection of cancer. Material and methods During the period of January 2004–April 2012, a cancer screening & awareness program had been conducted in various districts of West Bengal, twice in every month by the members of NSCBCRI. We mainly dealt with oral, lung, breast and cervical cancer. We organized the awareness camps on a prefixed day with prior permission of the representatives. The cases which were detected positive were sent to our hospital for proper treatment and advanced cases were advised for pain and palliative treatment in our institution. Result More than 80% of people participated spontaneously in awareness camps. Female cancer incidence was about 60%. We observed tobacco habits in 80% of males & 10% of females. The percentage of passive smokers among females is very high in West Bengal. Among 144256 screened population, we found 11541 (8.0%) cancer patients in different stages of the disease. Ratio of male and female patients was 3:2. A total of 4986 (72%) male and 1200 (26%) female cancers were tobacco related. Among females the incidence of cervical and breast cancer were 34% and 23%, respectively. Among male oral and lung cancer incidence were 32% and 35%, respectively. About 67% of the cancer had been detected at an early stage. Conclusion Through camps in remote rural areas of West Bengal we came to know that the majority of cancer cases are life style related. This can only be prevented by proper awareness camps. So, cancer detection and awareness camps are essential and important in rural areas to reduce the huge burden of cancer. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Symptoms in the cancer patient – Of importance for their caregivers' quality of life and mental health?

PurposeTo examine the level of symptom burden in a sample of cancer patients in a curative and palliative phase. In addition to determine a) whether the patients' symptom burden and patients' demographic variables, and b) the caregivers' demographic variables' impact on the caregivers' quality of life and mental health. MethodThis descriptive, cross-sectional study combines data from two samples. The first group consists of caregivers of hospitalized patients with cancer in the late palliative phase and the second group is caregivers of outpatients with cancer who have pain and/or use of analgesics. ResultsThe main result showed that the symptom burden was close to equal when we compared the cancer patients in the palliative and the curative phase respectively. The whole sample of patients seemed extremely tired because they scored high on items capturing fatigue or weakness. They also had problems with pain and constipation. For patients having trouble sleeping, the caregivers' reported higher level of depression, whilst caregivers' gender had impact on the caregivers' anxiety. The younger the patients the more the impact on caregivers' QOL mental health. ConclusionIn this study no significant differences were revealed when comparing symptom burden among cancer patients in different stages of the disease. Caregivers reported more depression when patients had trouble sleeping and more declined mental quality of life when patients were younger. Female caregivers reported more anxiety than male caregivers.

Salivary Total Sialic Acid Levels Increase in Breast Cancer Patients: A Preliminary Study

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women living in the Western world, even though it occurs worldwide. Cancer and cancer therapy induce multiple oral complications including dental and periodontal disease. Saliva is a complex and dynamic biologic fluid, which reflects both oral and systemic changes. While saliva is easily accessible body fluid, there has been little effort to study its value in cancer diagnosis. Sialic acids (SA), the end moieties of the carbohydrate chains, are biologically important and essential for functions of glycoconjugates that are reported to be altered in both blood and saliva of various cancer patients. Increased sialylation has been shown to be a characteristic feature in cancer tissue and blood in breast cancer patients. However, there is no data about salivary SA in breast cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate salivary total sialic acid (TSA) levels in breast cancer patients who were under chemotheraphy. The study included 15 breast cancer patients in different stages and 10 healthy individuals as age-matched controls. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected. Salivary total protein and SA levels were determined. Flow rate was calculated from salivary volume by the time of secretion. Salivary SA was significantly higher and total protein was lower in breast cancer patients compared to controls. It is concluded that sialylation may be increased in saliva of patients with breast cancer as the same way for cancer tissue and for blood . Increased salivary SA may therefore be useful as a non-invasive predictive marker for breast cancer patients and for the prevention and management of oral complications of cancer and cancer therapy to improve oral function and quality-of-life. The effects of different types of chemotherapies and different stages of the disease on salivary SA levels and salivary sialo-glycomic are worthy of being further investigated in breast cancer patients.

Transthyretin, a Biomarker for Nutritional Status and Ovarian Cancer

Transthyretin, a Biomarker for Nutritional Status and Ovarian Cancer

Cell-Free DNA and RNA in Plasma as a New Molecular Marker for Prostate Cancer

Extracellular nucleic acids could serve as molecular markers in the early detection of cancer and in the prediction of disease outcome. In this study we examined six molecular markers, such as: variations in the quantity of DNA in plasma, glutathione-S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) gene methylation status in plasma, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), and plasma samples from prostate cancer patients in different stages. The combination of DNA load and GSTP1 promoter methylation status identified 83% (10/12) of the prostate cancer patients before therapy. This study shows that free circulating DNA can be detected in patients with prostate cancer compared with disease-free individuals, and suggests a new, noninvasive approach for early detection of prostate cancer.

AEROBIC EXERCISE IN THE REHABILITATION OF CANCER PATIENTS 1578

Fatigue and loss of physical performance are common and severe problems of cancer patients. In two studies, we investigated the effects of aerobic training on the physical performance of cancer patients in different stages of disease and treatment. Study 1 included 32 patients with solid tumors and lymphomas undergoing high-dose chemotherapy (HDC). Patients in the training group (T, n=16; age 42±9 years; sex 6 male, 10 female; BMI 25±5) participated in a training program consisting of walking of a treadmill, 30 minutes daily following an interval-training pattern. Training intensity corresponded to a heart rate of 80±5% of calculated maximum(220-age). Training program began immediately after discharge (16±2 days after HDC) and was carried out for 6 weeks. Patients in the control group(C, n=16; age 39±11 years; 5 male 11 female; BMI 24±3) did not train. After 6 weeks, improvement of maximal physical performance (maximal speed by treadmill stress test) was significantly higher (p<0.05) for patients in the training group than for controls (Pre: T=6,2±1,1 km/h; C=6,2±1,3 km/h, NS; post: T=8,3±1,6 km/h, C=7,5±1,3 km/h). Study 2 included 70 cancer patients with solid tumors undergoing HDC. The training group (T, n=33, age 39±10 years, 10 male, 23 female, BMI 25±6) trained with a bed cycle ergometer 30 minutes daily following an interval-training pattern by a heart rate corresponding to 70% of the maximum (220-age); training began the day after concluding chemotherapy and was carried out during hospitalization (approximately 2 weeks). Control patients (C, n=37; age 40±11 years, 10 male, 27 female, BMI 24±4) did not train. Prior to hospital admission and by discharge, maximal physical performance was evaluated with a treadmill stress-test. Loss of physical performance in the training group (T pre: 7,9±1,2 km/h; post:6,8±1,1 km/h) was 27% lower than in the control group (C pre:7,5±1,3 km/h, post:6,0±1,3 km/h). This resulted in a significantly higher physical performance in the training group than in the control group by discharge (p<0.05). Conclusion: Aerobic training is an effective method to reduce loss of physical performance of cancer patients during hospitalization following chemotherapy and to accelerate recovery after discharge.

Absence of T Cell‐Mediated Cytotoxicity in Breast Cancer Patients Against A Breast Cancer‐Derived Target Cell

ABSTRACT: Fresh E‐rosette positive lymphocytes from normal donors are not cytotoxic for the breast cancer‐derived target cell MDA‐157, although they do lyse other suspension and monolayer targets. E‐rosette positive cells from breast cancer patients in different stages of disease and from patients with benign breast disease also do not lyse MDA‐157. This remains true even when an HLA‐A or ‐B locus antigen is shared by effector and target cell. These data therefore provide no evidence for T cell sensitization in breast cancer patients.