A prospective exploration of symptom burden clusters in women with breast cancer during chemotherapy treatment.

Purpose: The aim was to prospectively map symptom clusters in patients with stage I-IIIa breast cancer during standard chemotherapy treatment in a randomised study.

Methods: Participants completed the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) at baseline, day 12 after the first and third cycle of FEC 75 or FEC 100, and day 12 after the last cycle of Taxotere. Cut-off values for symptom scores, a mean value based on each individual reporting a symptom including occurrence, frequency, severity and distress for inclusion in analysis, were determined.

Human hydroxylated metabolites of BDE-47 and BDE-99 are glucuronidated and sulfated in vitro.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were used worldwide as additive flame retardants and are classified as persistent, bioaccumulable and toxic environmental pollutants. In humans, the hydroxylated metabolites of 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) and 2,2',4,4',5-pentabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-99) formed in vitro have also been detected in vivo. To further characterize the metabolism of BDE-47 and BDE-99 and to identify candidate markers for monitoring the human exposure to PBDEs using non-invasive approaches, glucuronidation and sulfation of hydroxylated metabolites of BDE-47 and BDE-99 were investigated using human liver microsomes and cytoplasm, respectively.

Validation of a novel procedure for quantification of the formation of phosphoramide mustard by individuals treated with cyclophosphamide.

Purpose: Use of the patient's body surface area (mg m(-2)) as a basis for dosing does not take individual variation in metabolic capacity and rate of clearance into account. Here, we evaluated a novel approach for individual monitoring of short-lived cytotoxic agents formed from cytostatic drugs such as cyclophosphamide (CP).

Methods: The accumulated blood dose of the cytotoxic active agent phosphoramide mustard (PAM) formed from CP was measured as a reaction product with hemoglobin (Hb adduct).

Novel octabrominated phenolic diphenyl ether identified in blue mussels from the Swedish West Coast.

Hydroxylated (OH-) and methoxylated (MeO-) polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are compounds present in the marine environment and OH-PBDEs are of toxicological concern and are therefore of interest to monitor in the environment. A phenolic octaBDE was tentatively identified in the phenolic fraction of previously analyzed mussel samples after methylation of the halogenated phenolic compounds (HPCs). The aim of the present study was to confirm the identity of this compound in blue mussels and investigate whether the analyte is diOH- and/or OH-MeO-octaBDE.

A novel abbreviation standard for organobromine, organochlorine and organophosphorus flame retardants and some characteristics of the chemicals.

Ever since the interest in organic environmental contaminants first emerged 50years ago, there has been a need to present discussion of such chemicals and their transformation products using simple abbreviations so as to avoid the repetitive use of long chemical names. As the number of chemicals of concern has increased, the number of abbreviations has also increased dramatically, sometimes resulting in the use of different abbreviations for the same chemical. In this article, we propose abbreviations for flame retardants (FRs) substituted with bromine or chlorine atoms or including a functional group containing phosphorus, i.

Synthesis and tentative identification of novel polybrominated diphenyl ether metabolites in human blood.

Hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-PDBEs) are exogenous, bioactive compounds that originate, to a large extent, from anthropogenic activities, although they are also naturally produced in the environment. In the present study nine new authentic OH-PBDE reference standards and their corresponding methyl ether derivatives (MeO-PBDEs) were synthesised and characterised by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Seven of the authentic reference standards prepared were thereafter tentatively identified in a pooled human blood sample.