Impact of road traffic noise annoyance on health-related quality of life: results from a population-based study

Purpose  

To estimate the impact of traffic-related noise annoyance on health-related quality of life (HrQoL) in a population-based study and potential effect modification by gender.     

Über einen Fall einer Choledochuscyste

Zusammenfassung Es wird über eine 50j?hrige Patientin berichtet, bei der eine totale Exstirpation einer Choledochuscyste mit Erfolg ausgeführt wurde. In Anbetracht des Alters der Patientin ist kaum anzunehmen, da? die Cyste durch eine kongenitale Mi?bildung bedingt ist, es dürfte sich vielmehr um ein im Laufe der Zeit entstandenes Krankheitsbild handeln, dessen Ursache nicht gekl?rt werden kann. Eine anormale Verlaufsrichtung des Ductus choledochus war bei der Operation nicht mit Sicherheit festzustellen. Vielleicht handelt es sich doch in unserem Fall um eine Schw?che der Wand des Ductus choledochus (Dreesmann). Wegen der mit Erfolg durchgeführten exstirpation der Cyste erscheint der Fall bemerkenswert. Mit 1 Textabbildung.     

TGFBI expression is associated with a better response to chemotherapy in NSCLC

Background  

Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent neoplasias in developed countries. Advances in patient survival have been limited and the identification of prognostic molecules is needed. Resistance to treatment is strongly related to tumor cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix and alterations in the quantity and nature of molecules constituting the tumor cell niche. Recently, transforming growth factor beta-induced protein (TGFBI), an extracellular matrix adaptor protein, has been reported to be differentially expressed in transformed tissues. Loss of TGFBI expression has been described in several cancers including lung carcinoma, and it has been suggested to act as a tumor suppressor gene.     

Loss of HLA-A,B,C and de novo expression of HLA-D in colorectal cancer

One hundred primary colorectal carcinomas and 19 metastases were studied for the expression of HLA-A,B,C and HLA-D antigens using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against framework determinants and a sensitive immunoperoxidase technique on frozen sections. With MAb W6/32, 65 tumors were intensely stained for HLA-A,B,C; 22 showed a reduced staining intensity, in 5 carcinomas a minor or major subset of the tumor cells lacked HLA-A,B,C, and in 8 cases all tumor cells were unreactive. The loss of HLA-A,B,C was inversely correlated with the degree of differentiation. No relation was found to type, stage and site of the tumor, or to age and sex of the patients. With MAb 2.06, 58 tumors were HLA-D negative, 20 exhibited small positive foci, 19 showed a patchy staining pattern, and 3 were homogeneously HLA-D positive. There was no apparent correlation between HLA-D expression and any of the clinico-pathological features mentioned, nor was it related to the loss of HLA-A,B,C. About half of the metastases displayed the same staining pattern for HLA-A,B,C and -D as the respective primary tumors. The remainder differed from the primary carcinoma by gain or loss of HLA antigens.     

Herpesviruses and the transplanted lung: looking at the air side

Herpesviruses may cause substantial complications after lung transplantation. Especially their interaction with lung tissue cells may result in adverse effects for the transplant patients, and may lead to severe end organ disease or to chronic transplant rejection and to development of bronchiolitis obliterans (BOS). However, the determination of the patients' local virus replication in the lung is still problematic. While the virus load in blood can be easily quantified nowadays, the determination of the virus load in the lung compartment can not be easily achieved, especially due to the individually different and not predictable dilution of virus during sampling of the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). In the following a short overview will be given about the different herpesviruses and their possible influence on the transplanted lung as well as about a method to determine the original virus load at the air surface of the lung. The quantitative data achieved by this method underline that some herpesviruses are often present at much higher levels at the air surface of the transplanted lung than in the blood, and that their influence on transplant survival may have been substantially underestimated so far.     

Outcome of radiotherapy in T1 glottic carcinoma: a population-based study

We evaluated the radiation outcome and prognostic factors in a population-based study of early (T1N0M0) glottic carcinoma. Survival parameters and prognostic factors were evaluated by uni- and multivariate analysis in 316 consecutive irradiated patients with T1 glottic carcinoma in the Comprehensive Cancer Center West region of the western Netherlands. Median follow-up was 70 months (range 1–190 months). Five and ten-year local control was 86 and 84%. Disease specific survival was 97% at 5 and 10 years. In multivariate analysis, pre-existent laryngeal hypertrophic laryngitis was the only predictive factor for local control (relative risk = 3.0, P = 0.02). Comorbidity was prognostic for overall survival. No factor was predictive for disease specific survival. Pre-existent laryngeal hypertrophic laryngitis is a new risk factor associated with reduced local control in T1 glottic carcinoma treated with radiotherapy.     

Nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding provision of sexual health care in patients with cancer: critical review of the evidence

Background  The experience of living with cancer is associated with a variety of consequences in several central aspects of a patient’s quality of life, including intimacy, body image, human relationships, sexuality, and fertility. Despite their importance, incidence, and impact on psychosocial well-being, sexual health care (SHC) is a matter not frequently dealt with by nurses in daily practice. Goals of work  The purpose of this study was to gather evidence regarding knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of oncology nurses toward sexual health issues and to identify salient and latent key factors which influence provision of SHC in the context of cancer. Materials and methods  A critical review of the literature was conducted over a period of three decades and 18 original research articles were retrieved and analyzed. Results  A comprehensive data analysis revealed that, although oncology nurses hold relatively liberal attitudes and recognize provision of sexual health care as an important nursing role, they possess limited sexual knowledge and communication skills, while often avoid or fail to effectively respond to patients’ sexual concerns. Nine possible influential key factors have been studied: incorrect assumptions toward sexual issues, comfort, sexual knowledge, professional nursing role, patient- and nurse-related issues, work environment-related issues, continuing education activities, and society-related factors. Conflicting findings are reported. Conclusions  The findings of the present study propose that there is an evident need of dispelling the myths about sexual health in cancer care. Besides, continuing education activities and availability of education materials could assist nurses to adequately address sexual concerns while caring for patients with cancer. This paper was presented as an oral presentation at the 7th Congress of the Balkan Union of Oncology (BUON) in Kusadasi, Turkey, 15-19 October 2008, and it was awarded as the best nursing oral presentation.