Axillary Ultrasound in the Management of the Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patient

Axillary lymph node status remains an important prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer. Axillary ultrasound (AUS) is an important tool in the workup of patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer and also has an emerging role evaluating the axilla after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This review discusses the value of AUS in the workup and management of patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer and describes its role given the recent changes in axillary management.     

Cross sectional quality of life assessment in patients with androgenetic alopecia

Assessment of quality of life (QOL) of patients with androgenetic alopecia (AGA) has become increasingly important, both in order to evaluate the influence of the disease on patients and the therapy they require. We aimed to assess QOL in subjects complaining from AGA and evaluated the effects of various sociodemographic factors affecting their QOL. QOL was assessed in 400 patients with AGA and 100 controls using the World Health Organization Quality of life (WHOQOL‐BREF) questionnaire. Four domains (physical, psychological, social, and environmental) and two items (overall perception of QOL and health) of the WHOQOL‐BREF were the primary end points of this study. Patients had a lower QoL and less general satisfaction in all four domains of assessment than controls. The social impact was significantly higher in patients < 30 years of age (P = .003). Patients with severer form of AGA significantly had higher scores in all domains compared to those with less severe forms. Disease severity negatively impacted all the four domains significantly (P = .021). AGA harmfully affected the patient's QOL which warns the physicians to pay more attention to QOL impairment in patients of AGA for the better understanding of the disease burden on individual patients.     

Compaction of Cohesive Granular Material: Application to Carbon Paste

Carbon-like materials such as the anode and the ramming paste play a crucial role in the efficiency of the Hall–Héroult process. The mechanical behavior of these materials during forming processes is complex and still ill-understood. This work aimed to investigate experimentally the mechanical behavior of a carbon paste used in the aluminum industry under different loading conditions. For this purpose, experiments consisting of (1) relaxation tests at different compaction levels, (2) quasi-static cyclic tests at several amplitudes, (3) monotonic compaction tests at varied strain rates, and (4) vibrocompaction tests at different frequencies were carried out. The obtained results highlight some fundamental aspects of the carbon paste behavior such as the strain rate’s effect on the paste compressibility, the hardening-softening behavior under cyclic loadings, the effect of cycling amplitude on the stress state and the paste densification, and the frequency effect on the vibrocompaction process. These results pave the way for the development of reliable rheological models for the modeling and the numerical simulation of carbon pastes forming processes.     

Most patients are eligible for an alternative to conventional whole breast irradiation for early‐stage breast cancer: A National Cancer Database Analysis

We evaluated the proportion of patients eligible for alternatives to standard whole breast irradiation (WBI) following breast‐conserving surgery using the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Using the 2016 dataset, Stage I‐III patients were identified. Eligibility for hypofractionated WBI (HFRT), accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) and endocrine therapy (ET‐alone) was defined using eligibility from large clinical trials as well as consensus guidelines. For patients with pN0 breast cancer, 20.6% and 37.0% were eligible for ET‐alone based on the CALGB 9343/PRIME‐II trials, respectively. In terms of HFRT, 72.5% and 50.4% were eligible based on IMPORT LOW/ASTRO HFRT guidelines, respectively. Based on IMPORT LOW/GEC‐ESTRO trial/ASTRO guidelines/ABS guidelines/GEC‐ESTRO guidelines, 72.5%, 86.1%, 39.0%, 72.5%, 45.7%, respectively, were eligible for APBI. Of those who qualify for HFRT per ASTRO guidelines, approximately 90% were eligible for APBI and 50% for ET‐alone. This analysis shows that a large proportion of patients with node‐negative breast cancer are eligible for HFRT, APBI and/or ET‐alone after breast‐conserving surgery.     

Role of Resveratrol as Radiosensitizer by Targeting Cancer Stem Cells in Radioresistant Prostate Cancer Cells (PC-3)

Aim of Work: Here, we examined the role of resveratrol as a radiosensitizer by targeting cancer stem cells in radioresistant prostate cancer cells (PC-3) using stem cell markers CD44, CD49b and CD29, SOX2, OCT4, CXCR4, DCLK1 and EMT markers such as VIM and E-cadherin. Material and Methods: This study was an in vitro study involving PC-3 cell line which was dividing into four groups. Group I (CO): Control group composed of cells grown in the same medium without treatment with ionizing radiation or resveratrol. Group II (IR): Cells were treated with ionizing radiation alone. Group III (RV): Cells were treated with resveratrol alone. Group VI (IR&RV): The cells were treated with ionizing radiation and resveratrol in combination. The viability of cells was assessed by MTT assay. Genes of interest were measured by RT-PCR and the radiosensitizing efficacy of RV on proliferating cancer cells was determined by clonogenic assay. Results: Ionizing radiation significantly reduced PC-3 viability, lowered stem cell markers and affected epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) genes expression at all doses (2, 4, 6 and 8 Gray). Resveratrol significantly decreased PC-3 viability and lowered stem cell markers and EMT genes expression at concentrations 35, 70 and 140 µM. Combining resveratrol treatment with ionizing radiation leads to significant reduction in cell viability and stem cell markers genes which was noticed with increasing the radiation dose when compared to ionizing radiation alone treated group. Conclusion: Resveratrol has a radiosensitizing effect, that ability is triggered by reducing the expression of cancer stem cell markers and affecting EMT markers. Resveratrol showed to be a good candidate for further studies as anticancer drug in the treatment of human prostate cancer.