Gynecologic oncology
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Gynecologic oncology · Oct 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialA randomized study of the effectiveness of a brief psychosocial intervention for women attending a gynecologic cancer clinic.
While there are many psychosocial interventions for cancer patients, few are brief in nature. The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of a single-visit psychosocial intervention for gynecologic cancer patients. ⋯ The results of this study show that there was a positive effect towards coping and quality of life for a one-time psychosocial intervention after the first visit to a gynecologic oncology practice. Women who were randomized to the intervention but did not go were more distressed at baseline than the women who did go. This suggests that incorporating psychosocial services as an integrated part of the new patient consultation may be very important to address patient's distress. Future studies with larger sample sizes may reveal more significant differences. Strategies to overcome the poor utilization of the cancer resource center are also clearly needed to improve awareness of these resources.
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Gynecologic oncology · Oct 2008
Adjuvant radiation for early stage endometrial cancer with lymphovascular invasion.
To determine the impact of the decrease in use of postoperative pelvic external beam radiation (EBRT) in favor of intravaginal RT (IVRT) alone in patients with early stage endometrial cancer who had lymphovascular invasion (LVI). ⋯ These data suggest that the mere presence of LVI need not trigger the use of pelvic EBRT. Instead, the decision on whether to omit EBRT in patients with LVI should be made in the context of a patient's competing risk factors and comorbid conditions.
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Gynecologic oncology · Sep 2008
Impact of vaccination with Cervarix (trade mark) on subsequent HPV-16/18 infection and cervical disease in women 15-25 years of age.
Cervical cancer of both squamous and adenocarcinoma types is considered virtually 100% attributable to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. HPV-16 and -18 are the predominant types worldwide accounting for over 70% of all cervical cancer. Persistent oncogenic HPV infection has been confirmed as one key determinant in the development of cervical precancer (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN] 2+) and cervical cancer. ⋯ These individual studies include populations with different underlying risk factors, each of which shows high efficacy against both HPV-16/18 persistent infections and CIN2+. When the two studies are combined and the respective populations are evaluated, vaccine efficacy against HPV-16 and -18-related CIN2+ remains at 100%. As this vaccine is used over time in universal prophylactic HPV-16/18 vaccination of girls and women, reductions in cervical cancers at both the individual and public health levels will be appreciated.
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Gynecologic oncology · Sep 2008
ReviewA review of cross-protection against oncogenic HPV by an HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted cervical cancer vaccine: importance of virological and clinical endpoints and implications for mass vaccination in cervical cancer prevention.
Human papilloma virus (HPV)-16 and -18 are responsible for approximately 70% of invasive cervical cancers worldwide. Other oncogenic HPV types account for almost all the remainder. Importantly, HPV-45 and -31 account for approximately 10%. ⋯ The observed high level of overall protection against clinicopathological lesions, including CIN2+ in the vaccinated subjects (regardless of their HPV DNA status), predicts a potentially broader impact of the vaccine in the prevention of HPV-related precancers that goes beyond HPV-16 and -18. The prevention of persistent infections by individual types such as HPV-45 provides specific information on the protection against that type, using an alternative endpoint that relates to both precancer and cancer development. Together with sustained protection against HPV-16 and -18, protection against HPV-45 could offer an additional effect on invasive cervical cancer and may have an important impact on endocervical adenocarcinoma, which is not effectively prevented by screening and is becoming increasingly important in young women.