Can You See What They Are Saying? Breast Cancer Images and Text in Canadian Women’s and Fashion Magazines

Media are an important source of breast cancer information for women. Visual images influence recall and comprehension of information. Research on breast cancer in the media has infrequently focused on images. Using directed content analysis, we compared content, tone, and themes in images (n?=?91) and articles (n?=?31) in Canadian women’s and fashion (n?=?6) magazines (2005–2010). About half of the articles (51.6%) had both positive and negative tone; in contrast, 87.7% of women in the images had positive facial expressions. Women in the images were Caucasian (80.9%), young (81.3%), attractive (99.2%), had a healthy body type (93.8%), and appeared to have intact breasts (100%). Images of screening/treatment (5.5%) and visual impact of disease/treatment on the body (4.4%) were rare. The most common theme in the articles was medical issues (35.5%); in the images, it was beauty or fashion (15.4%). The potential impact of these divergent messages for breast cancer education is discussed.     

What is teamwork?

This article is a summary of a presentation given by Herbert Dixon at the Northwest Conference of Radiologic Technologists held in Edmonton in September 1991. The author discusses interdependent relationships in the workplace and how such relationships can help find solutions to problems and encourage a co-operative atmosphere.     

Pancreatic Neuroendocrine and Carcinoid Tumors: What’s New,What’s Old,and What’s Different?

Well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) can be subdivided into carcinoid and pancreatic NETs (panNETs). Recently, two therapies have been FDA approved for progressive well-differentiated pancreatic NETs but have not been submitted for use in carcinoid tumors (Yao, Shah, Ito, et al. N Engl J Med 364:514–23, 2011??; Raymond, Dahan, Raoul, et al. N Engl J Med 364:501–13, 2011??). The first is sunitinib (Sutent®, Pfizer, Inc.), an orally administered, multitargeted receptor kinase inhibitor. The second targeted agent is everolimus (Afinitor®, Novartis Pharmaceuticals), a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor (Yao, Shah, Ito, et al. N Engl J Med 364:514–23, 2011??). Both agents demonstrated improved progression-free survival but can also result in non-trivial toxicities and therefore, should only be considered in patients with progressing or symptomatic pancreatic NET. This review will discuss “new” NET therapies and provides an overview of liver directed and “older” cytotoxic treatment options. We also briefly outline “what’s different” by describing a recent genetics report identifying genetic mutations in panNETs. Such a discovery could potentially be used to stratify treatment and such studies are currently being investigated.     

What about chemoprevention for melanoma?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This paper aims to critically review the potential for a chemoprevention strategy in melanoma, and to discuss new data on candidate chemoprevention agents, as chemoprevention has been suggested as an unexplored approach in melanoma. RECENT FINDINGS: A strong scientific rationale, established long-term safety of candidate agents, and a systematic step-wise approach to chemoprevention agent development are all critical for melanoma chemoprevention research. Among potential agents, the lipid-lowering drugs, the statins, satisfy these prerequisites. SUMMARY: Chemoprevention of cutaneous melanoma can become a valid strategy complementing current prevention approaches, as long as these important prerequisites are taken into consideration.     

What is new in lymphoma?

The lymphomas are a diverse group of malignant disorders that vary with respect to their molecular features, genetics, clinical presentation, treatment approaches, and outcome. Over the past few years, there have been major advances in our understanding of the biology of these diseases, leading to a universally adopted World Health Organization classification system. New therapies are now available with the potential to improve patient outcome, and the International Prognostic Index and standardized response criteria help make clinical trials interpretable. Most notably, the chimeric antiCD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab has altered our therapeutic paradigms for B-cell disorders. Combinations of this antibody with chemotherapy and other biologic agents have shown promise in treating lymphoma. Other antibodies, radioimmunoconjugates (such as Y-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan and I-131 tositumomab), and oblimerson sodium (a BCL-2 antisense oligonucleotide) have all shown promise. New chemotherapy regimens such as bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (BEACOPP), agents such as gemcitabine, and monoclonal antibodies directed against CD30 are also being studied in Hodgkin Lymphoma. The challenge of clinical research is to optimize the use of these agents, select patients most likely to respond, and develop multitargeted strategies based on sound scientific rational, with the potential to increase the cure rate of patients with lymphomas.     

What is new in brachytherapy?

The brachytherapy was used as of the discovery of the radioactivity and became a modern method of conformational irradiation using high technology. Every year, 8-10,000 treatments are delivered, which represents 5% of the total number of irradiations in France. Its revival comes from its increasing use in the treatment of localised cancers of the prostate of favourable prognosis, because of its effectiveness comparable with that of the surgery or the external radiotherapy, its very good immediate tolerance and its better preservation of the erectile function. In 2005, more of 1000 patients were treated in France, number that should quickly rise. The gynecological brachytherapy remains essential in the treatment of the invasive cancers of the uterine cervix. It profits of the progress of the imagery and in the optimisation of the calculation of the dose distribution allowing the optimisation of the irradiation by means of stepping source afterloaders (pulsed brachytherapy). The brachytherapy in head and neck keeps its indications, especially in the exclusive or postoperative irradiation of the cancers of the oral cavity or of the oropharynx. In the treatment of the breast cancer, a new position for the modern brachytherapy should be occur with the concepts of brachytherapy boost. Lastly, many precise indications are always of topicality. Thus, the brachytherapy by permanent implants, at low dose rate, high dose rate or pulsed dose rate, associated to the tools of imagery, of optimisation and technologies of stepping source afterloaders is competing or complementary with new 3D or 4D techniques of three or four dimensional irradiation.