Symptom monitoring in cancer and fully automated advice on supportive care: Patients' perspectives on self-management strategies and the eHealth self-management application Oncokompas.

Objective: The web-based application Oncokompas was developed to support cancer patients to self-manage their symptoms. This qualitative study was conducted to obtain insight in patients' self-management strategies to cope with cancer and their experiences with Oncokompas as a fully automated behavioural intervention technology.

Methods: Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 22 participants (10 head and neck cancer survivors and 12 incurably ill patients).

Maternal killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors and paternal human leukocyte antigen ligands in recurrent pregnancy loss cases in Turkey.

Objective: The survival of a semi-allogeneic fetus depends on several immunological mechanisms, and it has been suggested that recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) could develop as a result of one or more immunological abnormalities.

Methods: Compatibility between partners for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotypes and the relationships between maternal killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) and paternal HLA-Bw4/Bw6 and HLA-C1/C2 supra-groups were investigated in 25 couples with RPL in comparison to healthy couples with children. HLA and KIR genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers and/or sequence-specific oligonucleotides.

The relevance of uniform reporting in oral leukoplakia: definition, certainty factor and staging based on experience with 275 patients.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the definition of oral leukoplakia, proposed by the WHO in 2005 and taking into account a previously reported classification and staging system, including the use of a Certainty factor of four levels with which the diagnosis of leukoplakia can be established. In the period 1997-2012 a hospital-based population of 275 consecutive patients with a provisional diagnosis of oral leukoplakia has been examined. In only 176 patients of these 275 patients a firm diagnosis of leukoplakia has been established based on strict clinicopathological criteria.

Assisted reproductive technique outcome in testicular sperm extraction-intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles with poor female response: a report on 8 years' experience.

Objective: To evaluate the outcome in couples composed of azoospermia and a poor responder female undergoing assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs).

Study Design: A retrospective study was performed involving 97 men suffering from nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) whose partners had a poor response to ovarian stimulation. Poor response was defined as retrieval of fewer than 5 oocytes.

Ovarian stimulation in women with high and low body mass index: GnRH agonist versus GnRH antagonist.

This study evaluated women with a high body mass index (BMI) (>40 kg/m(2)) and low BMI (<18 kg/m(2)) undergoing assisted reproduction treatment and determined whether the type of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue used has an impact on cycle parameters and outcome. The study analysed 65 women with high BMI and 118 with low BMI. In the former group, polycystic ovarian syndrome was significantly more prevalent in the agonist long protocol (ALP) group (P=0.