A pilot study of male breast cancer in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system.

Background: We report our findings on a hospital-based retrospective pilot cohort with case-controls study, which we carried out to examine genetic, environmental, and occupational risk factors in men with breast cancer.

Methods: 86 men with breast cancer were diagnosed in eight VA medical centers that agreed to collaborate on this project. A case-control analysis was conducted on a subset of the male breast cancer cases (n = 44) and age- and ethnicity-matched controls (n = 77).

Quality of life after a diagnosis of prostate cancer among men of lower socioeconomic status: results from the Veterans Affairs Cancer of the Prostate Outcomes Study.

Objectives: To evaluate prospectively the health-related and disease-specific quality of life (QOL) at diagnosis and during the first year thereafter for patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer who received care at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers.

Methods: Interviewers administered the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-QOL Questionnaire, a valid and reliable measure of health status, to 140 patients with prostate cancer at baseline (at diagnosis, before the initiation of treatment) and at 3 and 12 months thereafter at five Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. The mean changes from baseline values were analyzed statistically for patients with localized disease stratified by treatment group and separately for patients with metastatic disease.

Improving social functioning in schizophrenia by playing the train game.

Social impairments have long been recognized as a core feature of schizophrenia. Poor social, self-care, and vocational functioning are criteria for a diagnosis of schizophrenia in most diagnostic systems. Consequently, improving the social behaviors of persons with schizophrenia has been a key target of psychiatric rehabilitation techniques.

Epidemiological and clinical aspects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cancer risks.

It is well known that about 70% of cancer cases are due to environmental, dietary, or lifestyle factors. Accordingly, these cases maybe avoided by appropriate modifications. In addition, active chemoprevention has become a major interventional approach following the epidemiological observation of a beneficial effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in colon cancer prevention.