Cancer
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Randomized clinical trial of a family intervention for prostate cancer patients and their spouses.
Few intervention studies have been conducted to help couples manage the effects of prostate cancer and maintain their quality of life. The objective of this study was to determine whether a family-based intervention could improve appraisal variables (appraisal of illness or caregiving, uncertainty, hopelessness), coping resources (coping strategies, self-efficacy, communication), symptom distress, and quality of life in men with prostate cancer and their spouses. ⋯ Men with prostate cancer and their spouses reported positive outcomes from a family intervention that offered them information and support. Programs of care need to be extended to spouses who likely will experience multiple benefits from intervention.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
FOLFOX in patients aged between 76 and 80 years with metastatic colorectal cancer: an exploratory cohort of the OPTIMOX1 study.
Patients older than 75 years of age are usually excluded from metastatic colorectal cancer randomized studies. The OPTIMOX1 study evaluated FOLFOX7, a simplified (s) leucovorin (LV) and 5-fluorouracil (5FU) regimen (sLV5FU2) with high-dose oxaliplatin, in a new oxaliplatin stop-and-go strategy. An exploratory cohort of patients aged 76 to 80 years was included in the study. ⋯ The efficacy of FOLFOX-based treatment was maintained in patients >75 years with both FOLFOX regimens. The oxaliplatin stop-and-go management strategy performed well in this population.
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Comparative Study
Quality of life and sexual problems in disease-free survivors of cervical cancer compared with the general population.
The purpose of this study was to identify problems related to long-term quality of life (QOL) and sexual function in cervical cancer survivors. ⋯ These findings can increase the awareness of healthcare providers to the potential need for counseling and other interventions among women who have been successfully treated for cervical cancer and could help them improve their impaired QOL.
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Higher prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and alkaline phosphatase (ALK-P) levels predicted worse survival in men with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). In the current study, the authors evaluated the combined effects of PSA and ALK-P on survival. ⋯ ALK-P significantly predicted OS in men with HRPC who had bone metastases. In patients with normal ALK-P levels, higher PSA levels were associated with improved survival.
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Screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (CT) is controversial. In favor of screening, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and those at greatest risk are identified readily on the basis of age and smoking history. In addition, it is well established that CT is far more sensitive than chest radiography in detecting lung cancer when it is small and asymptomatic. ⋯ Furthermore, healthcare resources are finite. Therefore, even if the benefits do outweigh the harms, the cost-effectiveness of CT screening for lung cancer still will need to be considered in the context of competing healthcare alternatives. The objectives of this article were 3-fold: 1) to review the basic principles of screening and study designs related to cancer screening, 2) to summarize the results of the observational and analytical studies of CT screening that have been reported to date, and 3) to describe the design of the 2 ongoing, randomized controlled trials of CT screening and what may be learned from these studies in the near future.