Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Social Support, Psychological Distress, And Natural Killer Cell Activity In Ovarian Cancer, S. Lutgendorf, A. Sood, B. Anderson, S. Mcginn, H. Maiseri, M. Dao, J. Sorosky, Koen De Geest, J. Ritchie, D. Lubaroff
Social Support, Psychological Distress, And Natural Killer Cell Activity In Ovarian Cancer, S. Lutgendorf, A. Sood, B. Anderson, S. Mcginn, H. Maiseri, M. Dao, J. Sorosky, Koen De Geest, J. Ritchie, D. Lubaroff
Koen De Geest
PURPOSE: Psychosocial stress has been related to impaired immunity in cancer patients. However, the extent to which these relationships exist in immune cells in the tumor microenvironment in humans has not been explored. We examined relationships among distress, social support, and natural killer (NK) cell activity in ovarian cancer patients in peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), ascitic fluid, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients awaiting surgery for a pelvic mass suspected of being ovarian cancer completed psychological questionnaires and gave a presurgical sample of peripheral blood. Samples of tumor and ascites were taken during surgery, lymphocytes were then isolated, …
Endometrial Cancer: Reviving Progesterone Therapy In The Molecular Age, S. Yang, K. Thiel, Koen De Geest, Kimberly Leslie
Endometrial Cancer: Reviving Progesterone Therapy In The Molecular Age, S. Yang, K. Thiel, Koen De Geest, Kimberly Leslie
Koen De Geest
Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy and represents a major health concern because overall five-year survival rates have not improved in the last three decades. A great deal of research demonstrates that the endometrium is extremely sensitive to hormones, and a shift in the estrogen:progesterone balance is the major cause for the development of endometrial cancer. Progestin-based therapy has proven effective in a subset of patients, particularly in situations where expression of progesterone receptor (PR) is maintained. However, this approach is not routinely used in the clinic in the U.S. for several reasons. For example, many endometrial tumors …
Endometrial Cancer, Kimberly Leslie, K. W. Thiel, Michael Goodheart, Koen De Geest, Y. Jia, S. Yang
Endometrial Cancer, Kimberly Leslie, K. W. Thiel, Michael Goodheart, Koen De Geest, Y. Jia, S. Yang
Koen De Geest
Despite the questions and barriers, the incorporation of molecular therapy into treatment regimens in endometrial cancer is an exciting area of investigation with the potential to improve outcomes. Outside of the development of a reliable screening test for endometrial cancer, converting the disease to a chronic state and improving progression-free survival is our best hope to reverse the concerning trend of decreasing 5-year survival for this disease.
Social Influences On Clinical Outcomes Of Patients With Ovarian Cancer, Susan Lutgendorf, Koen De Geest, David Bender, Amina Ahmed, Michael Goodheart, Laila Dahmoush, , M, Bridget Zimmerman, Frank, J. Penedo
Social Influences On Clinical Outcomes Of Patients With Ovarian Cancer, Susan Lutgendorf, Koen De Geest, David Bender, Amina Ahmed, Michael Goodheart, Laila Dahmoush, , M, Bridget Zimmerman, Frank, J. Penedo
Koen De Geest
PURPOSE Previous research has demonstrated relationships of social support with disease-related biomarkers in patients with ovarian cancer. However, the clinical relevance of these findings to patient outcomes has not been established. This prospective study examined how social support relates to long-term survival among consecutive patients with ovarian cancer. We focused on two types of social support: social attachment, a type of emotional social support reflecting connections with others, and instrumental social support reflecting the availability of tangible assistance. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients were prospectively recruited during a presurgical clinic visit and completed surveys before surgery. One hundred sixty-eight patients with …