Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Outcome And Haemato-Toxicity Of Two Chemotherapy Regimens For Childhood Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma In A Kenyan Hospital, William Macharia

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Background: Effectiveness and toxicity of childhood cancer treatments have never been evaluated in Kenya since introduction of structured care in the early seventies.

Objective:To evaluate effectiveness and toxicity of two treatment protocols for Non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL).

Design: Historical cohort study using medical records.

Setting: Kenyatta National Hospital, a tertiary care and medical teaching hospital.

Subjects: Children ≤ 15 years with diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Main outcome measures: Primary outcomes were median survival, event free survival and toxicity.

Results: Out of 101 records, only 26 (25.7%) met inclusion criteria. Baseline characteristics were similar in the two treatment arms. …

Expression And Function Of Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1 Alpha In Human Melanoma Under Non-Hypoxic Conditions, Caroline N. Mills, Sandeep S. Joshi, Richard M. Niles

Biochemistry and Microbiology

Background

Hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) protein is rapidly degraded under normoxic conditions. When oxygen tensions fall HIF-1α protein stabilizes and transactivates genes involved in adaptation to hypoxic conditions. We have examined the normoxic expression of HIF-1α RNA and protein in normal human melanocytes and a series of human melanoma cell lines isolated from radial growth phase (RGP), vertical growth phase (VGP) and metastatic (MET) melanomas.

Results

HIF-1α mRNA and protein was increased in RGP vs melanocytes, VGP vs RGP and MET vs VGP melanoma cell lines. We also detected expression of a HIF-1α mRNA splice variant that lacks part …

Obesity And Cancer, Rickie Brawer, Phd, Mph, Nancy Brisbon, Md, James Plumb, Md

Department of Family & Community Medicine Faculty Papers

Obesity has become the second leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States, trailing only tobacco use. Weight control, dietary choices, and levels of physical activity are important modifiable determinants of cancer risk. If multi-factorial approaches to prevention and management are not implemented, obesity will likely become the leading modifiable cause of death in the coming years. Physicians have a key role in integrating these approaches into clinical care and advocating for systemic prevention efforts. This article provides: 1) an introduction to the epidemiology and magnitude of childhood and adult obesity; 2) the relationship of overweight/obesity to …

A Generalized Beta Model For The Age Distribution Of Cancers: Application To Pancreatic And Kidney Cancer., Tengiz Mdzinarishvili, Michael X. Gleason, Leo Kinarsky, Simon Sherman

Journal Articles: Eppley Institute

The relationships between cancer incidence rates and the age of patients at cancer diagnosis are a quantitative basis for modeling age distributions of cancer. The obtained model parameters are needed to build rigorous statistical and biological models of cancer development. In this work, a new mathematical model, called the Generalized Beta (GB) model is proposed. Confidence intervals for parameters of this model are derived from a regression analysis. The GB model was used to approximate the incidence rates of the first primary, microscopically confirmed cases of pancreatic cancer (PC) and kidney cancer (KC) that served as a test bed for …

Old Disease, New Targets--Part-I, Solid Malignancies, Shiyam Kumar, Nehal Masood, Asim Jamal Shaikh

Department of Radiation Oncology

Targeted agents are now an integral part of treatment regimens for some cancers. Trastuzumab is established in treatment of human epidermal receptor 2 (Her2) positive breast cancers, with improvements in both, the disease free and over all survival. Monoclonal antibody (MoAB) against vascular growth factor receptor (VEGF), bevacizumab and cetuximab a MoAB against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are establishing their role in a many cancers after making their mark in colorectal cancer. Sorafenib and sunitinib have success stories in renal carcinoma. The Sorafenib Hepatocellular Carcinoma Assessment Randomized Protocol (SHARP) trial has established sorafenib role in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, while …

Basement Membrane Proteoglycans: Modulators Par Excellence Of Cancer Growth And Angiogenesis., Renato V. Iozzo, Jason J. Zoeller, Alexander Nyström

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Proteoglycans located in basement membranes, the nanostructures underling epithelial and endothelial layers, are unique in several respects. They are usually large, elongated molecules with a collage of domains that share structural and functional homology with numerous extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors and surface receptors. They mainly carry heparan sulfate side chains and these contribute not only to storing and preserving the biological activity of various heparan sulfate-binding cytokines and growth factors, but also in presenting them in a more "active configuration" to their cognate receptors. Abnormal expression or deregulated function of these proteoglycans affect cancer and angiogenesis, and are critical …

Cancer Of The Penis: Case Report, D. K. Kiptoon, P. M. Ngugi, F. S. Rana

Pathology, East Africa

Two patients with penile carcinoma are presented after management at a district hospital in Kenya. Both had undergone ritual circumcision as teenagers and presented late. HR was a 73 year old who presented with a fungating penile mass for which a partial penectomy was performed after wedge biopsy confirmed malignancy. He thereafter declined to have the surgical specimen sent for histology and took the amputated stump for burial in his compound to avoid bad omen. GK was 25 years old and presented with a fungating mass and underwent partial penectomy after a histological diagnosis was made. He absconded from follow-up …

Factors Influencing Early Detection Of Breast Cancer In African American Women, Tamrah Joy Parker

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

Background. African American women are more likely to have breast cancer diagnosed at a later stage than Caucasian women and with a five year death rate 1.5 times greater than Caucasian women. Mammography screening detects breast cancer in its early stages and can reduce mortality.

Objective. To examine factors influencing early detection of breast cancer for African American women.

Methods. A convenience sample of 39 African American women 50 years of age and older was selected from two local Baptist churches in eastern North Carolina. Eligibility criteria included ability to read and write in English with no prior or present …

'Why I Feel Bad': Refinement On The Effects Of Prostate Cancer Upon Lifestyle Questionnaire And An Initial Exploration Of Its Links With Anxiety And Depression Among Prostate Cancer Patients, Christopher Sharpley, Vicki Bitsika, David Christie

Vicki Bitsika

Objective: To psychometrically refine a standardized scale for identifying those lifestyle changes that were most likely to contribute to anxiety and depression among prostate cancer (PCa) patients.

Methods: Three hundred and eighty-one PCa patients who had received their initial diagnosis between one and 96 months completed a survey of background variables, anxiety and depression inventories and the 36-item Effects of Prostate Cancer upon Lifestyle Questionnaire (EPCLQ).

Results: Levels of anxiety (24%) and depression (26%) were similar to those previously reported for PCa patients. The EPCLQ was shown to have satisfactory psychometric properties and significantly predicted anxiety and depression scores and …

Post-Operative Extended Volume External Beam Radiation Therapy In High Risk Esophageal Cancer Patients: A Prospective Experience, E. Yu, P. Tai, J. Younus, R. Malthaner, P. Truong, L. Stitt, G. Rodrigues, R. Ash, R. Dar, B. Yaremko, A. Tomiak, B. Dingle, M. Sanatani, M. Vincent, W. Kocha, D. Fortin, R. Inculet

Edward Yu

Background and purpose: Extended volume external beam radiation therapy (RT) following esophagectomy is controversial. This prospective study evaluates the feasibility of extended volume RT treatment in high-risk esophagectomy patients with cervical anastomosis receiving post–operative combined chemo-radiation therapy. Patients and methods: From 2001-2006, 15 patients with resected esophageal cancer were prospectively accrued to this pilot study, to evaluate the adverse effects of extended volume RT. Eligibility criteria were pathologically proven esophageal malignancy, T3-4, N0-1, disease amenable to surgical resection and esophagectomy with or without resection margin involvement. Patients with distant metastases (M1) and patients treated with previous RT were excluded. All …