Journal of the National Cancer Institute
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Mar 2012
ReviewQuality of life, fertility concerns, and behavioral health outcomes in younger breast cancer survivors: a systematic review.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women younger than age 50 years. Cancer treatments in younger women may cause premature menopause, infertility, and negative psychosocial effects. In this systematic review, we examined three key domains of functioning that are particularly relevant for younger breast cancer survivors: health-related quality of life (QOL), menopausal symptoms and fertility concerns, and behavioral health outcomes. ⋯ Younger women with breast cancer were found to experience distinct psychosocial and menopause-related concerns, weight gain, and physical inactivity. A need for more longitudinal research, including efforts at intervention to manage these symptoms and adverse health outcomes, remains.
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Feb 2012
Comparative StudyA three-gene model to robustly identify breast cancer molecular subtypes.
Single sample predictors (SSPs) and Subtype classification models (SCMs) are gene expression-based classifiers used to identify the four primary molecular subtypes of breast cancer (basal-like, HER2-enriched, luminal A, and luminal B). SSPs use hierarchical clustering, followed by nearest centroid classification, based on large sets of tumor-intrinsic genes. SCMs use a mixture of Gaussian distributions based on sets of genes with expression specifically correlated with three key breast cancer genes (estrogen receptor [ER], HER2, and aurora kinase A [AURKA]). The aim of this study was to compare the robustness, classification concordance, and prognostic value of these classifiers with those of a simplified three-gene SCM in a large compendium of microarray datasets. ⋯ Our results suggest that adequate classification of the major and clinically relevant molecular subtypes of breast cancer can be robustly achieved with quantitative measurements of three key genes.
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Feb 2012
Comparative StudyComparative effectiveness of oxaliplatin vs non-oxaliplatin-containing adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer.
The addition of oxaliplatin to adjuvant 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) improves survival of patients with stage III colon cancer in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). However, RCT participants are younger, healthier, and less racially diverse than the general cancer population. Thus, the benefit of oxaliplatin outside RCTs is uncertain. ⋯ The addition of oxaliplatin to 5-FU appears to be associated with better survival among patients receiving adjuvant colon cancer treatment in the community.