Addressing Palliative Sedation during Expert Consultation: A Descriptive Analysis of the Practice of Dutch Palliative Care Consultation Teams.

Main Objective: Since palliative sedation is considered a complex intervention, consultation teams are increasingly established to support general practice. This study aims to offer insight into the frequency and characteristics of expert consultations regarding palliative sedation.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of a longitudinal database.

Histological type is not an independent prognostic factor for the risk pattern of breast cancer recurrences.

Invasive lobular breast cancer (ILC) is less common than invasive ductal breast cancer (IDC) and appears to have a distinct biology. Inconsistent findings regarding disease-free survival (DFS) are probably due to the fact that histologic type is related to hormone receptor status. This study aims to determine whether the type of the primary breast cancer histology is an independent prognostic factor for DFS, the risk pattern of loco-regional recurrences and distant metastases (DM), and whether it is a prognostic factor for the site of DM.

Evaluation of the adherence to follow-up care guidelines for women with breast cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate adherence with follow-up criteria as suggested by the national guideline for breast cancer patients.

Method: Patients diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 in two hospitals were identified from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (n = 198). Compliance with the guideline was assessed retrospectively by extracting follow-up care data from patient files for a period of five years.

Antigen-specific T-T interactions regulate CD4 T-cell expansion.

The regulation of CD4 T-cell numbers during an immune response should take account of the amount of antigen (Ag), the initial frequency of Ag-specific T cells, the mix of naive versus experienced cells, and (ideally) the diversity of the repertoire. Here we describe a novel mechanism of T-cell regulation that potentially deals with all of these parameters. We found that CD4 T cells establish a negative feedback loop by capturing their cognate major histocompatibility class (MHC)/peptide complexes from Ag-presenting cells and presenting them to Ag-experienced CD4 T cells, thereby inhibiting their recruitment into the response while allowing recruitment of naive T cells.

Impact of imatinib on the pharmacokinetics and in vivo efficacy of etoposide and/or ifosfamide.

Background: Using a human small cell lung cancer (SCLC) xenografted in nude mice, we have previously reported enhanced tumor growth inhibition following chemotherapy in combination with imatinib (STI571). We therefore investigated the in vivo impact of imatinib on the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of chemotherapy.

Methods: Two different human tumors were used: SCLC6 small cell lung cancer xenografted in nude mice, and LY-3 EBV-associated human B-cell lymphoma xenografted in SCID mice.