Breast cancer research and treatment
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Breast Cancer Res. Treat. · Jul 2010
Evaluation of screening instruments for depression and anxiety in breast cancer survivors.
Although cases of anxiety and depression post-breast cancer can be reliably identified using a structured psychiatric interview, such interviews are time consuming for both practitioner and patient and effective screening tools would increase detection rates. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDS) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in screening for depression and anxiety in a population of breast cancer survivors. For this purpose, The Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders was administered to 200 breast cancer survivors to identify those suffering from an anxiety and/or depressive disorder. ⋯ A HADS total score (HADS-T) of >13 and an EDS of >9 had sensitivities of 96 and 91% and specificities of 74 and 84%, respectively, in screening for anxiety and/or depression. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that both the EDS and HADS can be used reliably as screening tests for anxiety and depression in this cohort. In both cases, a lower cut-off score than normally recommended delivers optimal screening properties.
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Breast Cancer Res. Treat. · Jul 2010
Comparative StudySentinel lymph node identification with radiopharmaceuticals in patients with breast cancer: a comparison of 99mTc-tin colloid and 99mTc-phytate efficiency.
Sentinel lymph node biopsy with lymphoscintigraphy has become the standard method for the detection of axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients. However, there is no standardized radiopharmaceutical. For the detection of axillary lymph node metastasis by lymphoscintigraphy and sentinel node biopsy in patients with breast cancer, we compared the results between subareolar injection of (99m)Tc-tin colloid and injection of (99m)Tc-phytate. ⋯ Among 412 patients with (99m)Tc-tin colloid, the sentinel node was identified by lymphoscintigraphy in 364 cases (88.3%) and by a gamma probe in 369 cases (89.6%). Among 104 patients with (99m)Tc-phytate, 101 cases (97.1%) were identified by lymphoscintigraphy and 101 cases (97.1%) were identified by a gamma probe. The identification rates by lymphoscintigraphy and gamma probe were superior with (99m)Tc-phytate, as compared with (99m)Tc-tin colloid, with a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05 for both methods). (99m)Tc-phytate is a better choice than (99m)Tc-tin colloid for identification of the sentinel node in breast cancer patients.