Assessing the Clinical, Economic, and Health Resource Utilization Impacts of Prefilled Syringes Versus Conventional Medication Administration Methods: Results From a Systematic Literature Review.

Objective: The objective of this systematic review was to assess the clinical, economic, and health resource utilization outcomes associated with the use of prefilled syringes in medication administration compared with traditional preparation methods.

Data Sources: We conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate outcomes such as medication errors, wastage, time savings, and contamination in prefilled syringes. Our search encompassed multiple databases, including PubMed and Embase, for studies published between January 1, 2017, and November 1, 2022.

A randomised wait-list controlled trial to evaluate Emotional Freedom Techniques for self-reported cancer-related cognitive impairment in cancer survivors (EMOTICON).

Background: Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a prevalent source of comprised quality of life in cancer survivors. This study evaluated the efficacy of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) on self-reported CRCI (sr-CRCI).

Methods: In this prospective multicentre randomised wait-list controlled study (ClinicalTrials.

PSMA expression on neovasculature of solid tumors.

The use of prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) binding agents, labelled with diagnostic and therapeutic radio-isotopes is opening the potential for a new era of personalized management of prostate carcinoma. A wide variety of immunohistochemistry studies have shown PSMA also to be upregulated on the endothelial cells of the neovasculature of a wide variety of other solid tumors where it may facilitate endothelial cell sprouting and invasion through its regulation of lytic proteases that have the ability to cleave the extracellular matrix. Similar to the introduction of PSMA-targeting theranostics in prostate carcinoma, overexpression of PSMA on newly formed tumor vessels may serve as a target for imaging and subsequent treatment of cancer through the use of agents that are capable of blocking PSMA in its function or through PSMA-mediated delivery of chemotherapeutics or radiation agents.

Medication review using a Systematic Tool to Reduce Inappropriate Prescribing (STRIP) in adults with an intellectual disability: A pilot study.

A Systematic Tool to Reduce Inappropriate Prescribing (STRIP), which includes the Screening Tool to Alert doctors to Right Treatment (START) and the Screening Tool of Older Peoples' Prescriptions (STOPP), has recently been developed in the Netherlands for older patients with polypharmacy in the general population. Active involvement of the patient is part of this systematic multidisciplinary medication review. Although annual review of pharmacotherapy is recommended for people with an intellectual disability (ID), a specific tool for this population is not yet available.

Stable metabolic disease on FDG-PET provides information on response to endocrine therapy for breast cancer.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess whether outcome in advanced breast cancer patients is related to metabolic response to endocrine therapy determined by fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET).

Methods: We retrospectively identified 21 consecutive breast cancer patients receiving endocrine therapy for metastatic disease (mean number of previous therapies 3.6±3.

CA 15.3 measurements for separating FDG PET/CT positive from negative findings in breast carcinoma recurrence. Factors influencing the area under the ROC curve.

Unlabelled: In breast cancer CA 15.3 is considered the tumour marker of choice. CA 15.

Validation of the Freund Clock Drawing Test as a screening tool to detect cognitive dysfunction in elderly cancer patients undergoing comprehensive geriatric assessment.

Objective: We aimed to validate the Freund Clock Drawing Test (CDT), with its predefined cutoff score of ≤4, as a screening tool to detect elderly cancer patients in need of a more in-depth cognitive evaluation within a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA).

Methods: Patients aged 70 years or older with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of cancer were evaluated with a full CGA, including CDT and Folstein Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) as gold standard. Validation of the Freund CDT was defined in terms of diagnostic accuracy of the test through receiver operating characteristics (ROC)-analysis.

Reproducibility of FDG PET based metabolic tumor volume measurements and of their FDG distribution within.

Aim: The aim of this study was to report on the reproducibility of F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET MTV (metabolic tumor volume) 40% and MTV2.5, as well as on the intratumor reproducibility in patients, predominantly suffering from lung cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).

Methods: Nineteen patients (14 men) who underwent a baseline staging FDG PET-CT examination and a second radiotherapy treatment planning FDG PET-CT examination prior to treatment initiation within 17 days (range: 7-37 days) from each other were included.

Serum tumor markers and PET/CT imaging for tumor recurrence detection.

When confronted with a suspicious rise in CA 15.3 in asymptomatic breast cancer patients following primary treatment and negative or equivocal conventional imaging findings, FDG PET/CT allows assessment of the site and extent of the recurring disease with an accuracy of 83%. Both FDG PET and FDG PET/CT are superior when compared to CT alone for the purpose of recurrence detection in patients suffering from ovarian carcinoma who have completed primary therapy but demonstrate a rising serum CA-125 level.

Fulvestrant (Faslodex) in advanced breast cancer: clinical experience from a Belgian cooperative study.

Fulvestrant (Faslodex) is a new estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist with no agonist effects that is licensed for the treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone-sensitive advanced breast cancer (ABC) who have progressed/recurred on prior antiestrogen therapy. The Faslodex Compassionate Use Program (CUP) provides expanded access to fulvestrant in countries where it is not yet available for patients who are not eligible to enter clinical trials. This analysis pools data from 402 patients who received fulvestrant as part of the CUP in Belgium, predominantly as 3rd- to 5th-line endocrine therapy for ABC.

Phosphorylated HER-2 tyrosine kinase and Her-2/neu gene amplification as predictive factors of response to trastuzumab in patients with HER-2 overexpressing metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

Aim: Trastuzumab (T), a humanised monoclonal antibody against HER-2, is active in HER-2-positive MBC patients. However, nearly 60% of the patients do not benefit from T, stressing the need for additional predictive markers. The following markers could be implicated in response to T: (1) the magnitude of Her-2 gene amplification; (2) the co-expression of the other HER family receptors, possibly responsible for HER-2 trans-activation; (3) the activated status of HER-2; (4) the activated status of downstream effectors as mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), p38 and p27.

Comparison of L-758,298, a prodrug for the selective neurokinin-1 antagonist, L-754,030, with ondansetron for the prevention of cisplatin-induced emesis.

Substance P is localised in brainstem regions associated with emesis. Based on studies in the ferret, it was postulated that a neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor antagonist would have antiemetic activity as monotherapy in humans receiving chemotherapy. L-758,298 is a water-soluble, intravenous (i.

Intra-arterial radionuclide infusion as an aid to assess chemotherapy perfusion patterns.

Regional treatment of advanced head and neck cancer by intra-arterial infusion has been tried for several years. The aim of such treatment is to increase the concentration of the drug in the tumor area while decreasing systemic toxicity. The exact localization of the intra-arterial catheter is thereby the key to effective treatment.