Japanese journal of clinical oncology
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Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2013
Comparative StudyComparison of proxy ratings of main family caregivers and physicians on the quality of dying of terminally ill cancer patients.
Proxy data collection is a prevalent and important source of information in palliative medicine, and few studies have evaluated the level of agreement between different types of proxies. ⋯ The observed agreement between the two proxies was good, except the psychological aspects, demonstrating the validity of proxy rating of patients between physicians and main caregivers. More communications toward the end-of-life issues should be encouraged and conducted in this population. Further research is needed to determine how to best use proxy assessments to evaluate the quality of the dying process.
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Pakistan is a lesser-developed country in South-West Asia, with a large and young population. We review here the current burden of cancer in Pakistan, followed by an assessment of the current facilities for diagnosis and treatment of cancer in the country. An effort is made to define the key problems in the delivery of optimal cancer care, and some possible solutions are offered.
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Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2013
Comparative StudyEarly palliative intervention for patients with advanced cancer.
Early palliative intervention in advanced cancer patients with metastatic non-small-cell-lung cancer has been shown to improve survival time. Possibly, palliative intervention at the time of outpatient care further improves patient survival time. ⋯ The results of this study suggested that early outpatient referral and palliative intervention leads to improvement of the outcome in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer. A prospective comparative study is warranted.
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Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2013
A clinical study of transoral pharyngectomies to treat superficial hypopharyngeal cancers.
For years, it has been a major interest for surgeons and oncologists to develop a novel technique to detect hypopharyngeal cancers at an early stage and to treat the lesions in a less invasive manner. The advent of the narrow band imaging system combined endoscopy and various endoscopic approaches shed light on the new era of the minimum invasive management of superficial cancers in hypopharyngeal regions. ⋯ Endoscopic mucosal resection, endoscopic submucosal dissection and endoscopic laryngopharyngeal surgery-transoral pharyngectomies are useful procedures for treating superficial hypopharyngeal cancers. Endoscopic mucosal resection manifested the least invasiveness and may be beneficial for resecting small superficial lesions, endoscopic submucosal dissection may be advantageous for patients with difficult laryngopharyngeal exposure and endoscopic laryngopharyngeal surgery has shown the optimal effectiveness and minimal complications and can be applied to most of the hypopharyngeal sub-sites. All three procedures require a high level of technical skill and close collaboration between otolaryngologists and gastroenterologists.