Medicine Access Programmes: what do patients think - a patient-reported outcome study on ribociclib in metastatic breast cancer in Australia.

This study evaluated patient-reported outcomes (PROs) of Medicine Access Programmes (MAPs) for Australian metastatic breast cancer patients on ribociclib. Limited patient awareness of MAP enrolment was identified, emphasising the need for improved education and consent processes. Most patients expressed gratitude for accessing non-funded medications and perceived enhanced medication adherence as a key benefit.

Real-World Outcomes of Ribociclib and Aromatase Inhibitor Use in First Line Hormone Receptor Positive, HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Background: International guidelines recommend combining a CDK4/6 inhibitor and endocrine therapy (ET) as first line treatment for hormone receptor (HR) positive, HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Results from MONALEESA-2 demonstrate superior progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) with ribociclib (CDK4/6 inhibitor) and ET compared to ET alone. Real world outcomes have yet to be reported.

Oncology service initiatives and research in regional Australia.

Objective: This paper reflects on the recent growth of cancer research being conducted through some of Australia's rural centres. It encompasses work being done across the fields of clinical, translational and health services research.

Design: This is a collaborative piece with contributions from rural health researchers, clinical and cancer services staff from several different regions.

Caregiver causal attributions in youth psychosis.

Aim: Caregiver causal attributions influence patient and caregiver reactions to psychosis. The current study describes common caregiver causal attributions about psychosis onset in youth, including a subset of first-episode psychosis patients, and the patient and caregiver characteristics that influence these attributions. It also examines if caregiver views are affected by contact with youth mental health services.

Mentoring in the management of hematological malignancies.

Aim: The Mentoring in Management of Haematological Malignancies (MMHM) project aimed to improve treatment outcomes, coordinate care and provide best practice for patients with hematological cancers, by developing a program of mentoring and multidisciplinary care between a regional and a metropolitan centre.

Methods: A regular multidisciplinary meeting conducted by teleconference was established between a tertiary metropolitan site and a regional practice to discuss cases of patients with hematological malignancies. Information from multidisciplinary team meetings was recorded to capture adherence to process and clinician outcomes.

Functional and biochemical alterations of the medial frontal cortex in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Context: The medial frontal cortex (MFC), including the dorsal anterior cingulate and the supplementary motor area, is critical for adaptive and inhibitory control of behavior. Abnormally high MFC activity has been a consistent finding in functional neuroimaging studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the precise regions and the neural alterations associated with this abnormality remain unclear.

Evidence for neuronal dysfunction in the anterior cingulate of patients with schizophrenia: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study at 3 T.

The anterior cingulate region is thought to be dysfunctional in schizophrenia, but whether this is the result of reduced neuronal integrity or changes in neurotransmitter systems remains an issue of debate. Fifteen male patients with schizophrenia and 14 male controls were assessed using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, with regions of interest placed in the right and left dorsal and rostral cingulate. The metabolites of interest were N-acetylaspartate (NAA), a putative neuronal marker, and glutamate + glutamine (Glx), which may index synapse number.

State, trait and biochemical influences on human anterior cingulate function.

The dorsal part of the human anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) is reliably activated in situations requiring cognitive control, especially during states of conflict. However, little is known about how individual differences in the neural characteristics of the dACC and major dimensions of behavior, affect this brain response. We recruited 28 healthy adults and employed a multi-modal neuroimaging approach combined with a task designed to specifically activate the human dACC and statistical path analysis to demonstrate clear roles for intelligence, personality and concentrations of neuronal N-acetylaspartate in determining dACC activation.

Plasma Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA is a biomarker for EBV-positive Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Purpose: Latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genomes are found in the malignant cells of approximately one-third of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) cases. Detection and quantitation of EBV viral DNA could potentially be used as a biomarker of disease activity.

Experimental Design: Initially, EBV-DNA viral load was prospectively monitored from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in patients with HL.