Distress and social dysfunction following prostate cancer treatment: a longitudinal cross-cultural comparison of Japanese and American men.

We assessed the impact of bother with urinary and bowel dysfunction on social activities among men in Japan and the United States following primary therapy for localized prostate cancer. In paired longitudinal outcomes studies, we measured general and disease-specific health-related quality of life in 400 Japanese and 427 American men who underwent radical prostatectomy or brachytherapy for localized prostate cancer. Outcomes included the social function domain of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 and the University of California, Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index, all of which are scored 0-100.

Economic evaluation alongside a clinical trial of psycho-educational interventions to improve adjustment to survivorship among patients with breast cancer.

Purpose: There is little economic research on psychosocial interventions. We aimed to collect data alongside a randomized trial to compare the costs and benefits of three psycho-educational strategies to improve transition to cancer survivorship.

Methods: We evaluated the incremental delivery costs per unit increase in energy (using the Medical Outcomes Study vitality scale) or decrease in distress (from the Revised Impact of Events Scale) in the 6 months postintervention.

The effect of erectile function on the use of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors after radical prostatectomy in Japanese and U.S. men.

Objectives: To compare patterns of phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor use between Japanese and U.S. men after radical prostatectomy.

Benefit finding in response to BRCA1/2 testing.

Background: Undergoing genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations may be accompanied by elevated worry and distress, but the potential for the experience to catalyze positive psychological and life changes has not been studied.

Purpose: This study was designed to examine the relationship between mutation carrier status, personal cancer history, and the potential positive impact of genetic testing (i.e.

Determinants of treatment regret in low-income, uninsured men with prostate cancer.

Objectives: The regret of a prostate cancer treatment choice, a significant dimension of health-related quality of life, has not been well-characterized. Little is known about its association with the fear of cancer recurrence or spirituality.

Methods: We drew subjects from a men's health study composed of a clinically heterogeneous sample of subjects enrolled from a statewide, publicly funded assistance program that provided free prostate cancer treatment for uninsured, low-income men in California.

Thiopurine methyltransferase activity combined with 6-thioguanine metabolite levels predicts clinical response to thiopurines in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background/aims: 6-Mercaptopurine and its prodrug azathioprine are effective for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Thiopurine methyltransferase is important for the metabolism of thiopurines. However, there is controversy as to the clinical utility of measuring thiopurine methyltransferase enzyme activity and 6-thioguanine nucleotide levels.

The influence of cardiovascular disease on health related quality of life in men with prostate cancer: a 4-year followup study.

Purpose: Presence of comorbid conditions has consistently been associated with less aggressive treatment and worse overall survival in men with prostate cancer. However, little is known about the impact of comorbidity on health related quality of life outcomes, which may help men and their physicians facing decisions on primary treatment.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated patterns of health related quality of life in men with both prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease during 4 years of followup in a cohort of 475 prostate cancer survivors.

Predictors of colorectal cancer screening from patients enrolled in a managed care health plan.

Background: Despite the growing recognition of the importance of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in reducing cancer mortality, national screening rates are low, indicating a critical need to understand the barriers and remedies for underutilization of CRC screening tests.

Methods: Using results from independent cross-sectional telephone surveys with patients aged>or=50 years performed before (2000; n=498) and after (2003; n=482) a quality improvement intervention for CRC screening within a large managed care health plan, the trends and predictors of CRC screening with fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and/or endoscopy (flexible sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy) were examined from a patient perspective.

Results: In 2000, patient reported screening rates within guidelines were 38% for any test, 23% for endoscopy, and 22% for FOBT.

Longitudinal quality of life in low-income men in a state-funded prostate cancer treatment program.

Objectives: To evaluate longitudinal changes in disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among a cohort of low-income men treated for prostate cancer.

Methods: Three hundred fifty-seven participants in a state-funded program that provides free prostate cancer treatment to uninsured, low-income men completed written surveys and telephone interviews containing validated measures of general and disease-specific HRQOL. Assessments were made at study enrollment and at subsequent times.

Puentes clinic: an integrated model for the primary care of vulnerable populations.

Unlabelled: Traditional primary care models for medically vulnerable populations such as the homeless and injection-drug users do not deliver optimal and efficient medical care. We propose an integrated model for the delivery of primary care to a vulnerable population emphasizing open access, outreach, groups, and a team approach to care.

Methods: We monitored the health care use patterns of a group of 408 injection-drug users during a five-year period at Puentes Clinic, an integrated primary care site within a larger county health care system, Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System of California.

Sexual function reported by Japanese and American men.

Purpose: We performed a cross-cultural comparison of sexual function and bother in men with localized prostate cancer in the United States and Japan.

Materials And Methods: A total of 447 Japanese and 427 American men with clinically localized prostate cancer were enrolled in separate studies of health related quality of life outcomes. Sexual function and bother were estimated before treatment with validated English and Japanese versions of the UCLA Prostate Cancer Index.

Sexual function following radical prostatectomy: a prospective longitudinal study of cultural differences between Japanese and American men.

We conducted a cross-cultural comparison of the recovery of sexual function and bother during the first 2 years after radical prostatectomy (RP) between American and Japanese men. A total of 275 Japanese and 283 American men who underwent RP alone were prospectively enrolled into longitudinal cohort studies of health-related quality of life outcomes. Sexual function and bother (distress) were estimated with English and validated Japanese versions of the UCLA Prostate Cancer Index before RP and 1, 2-3, 4-6, 12, 18 and 24 months after RP.

Quality of life after surgery, external beam irradiation, or brachytherapy for early-stage prostate cancer.

Background: The primary treatments for clinically localized prostate cancer confer equivalent cancer control for most patients but disparate side effects. In the current study, the authors sought to compare health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes after the most commonly used treatments.

Methods: A total of 580 men completed the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36, the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Prostate Cancer Index, and the American Urological Association Symptom Index before and through 24 months after treatment with radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), or brachytherapy (BT).

Prostate cancer knowledge among low income minority men.

Purpose: We identified sociodemographic characteristics that predict poor disease understanding in low income, uninsured men with prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: A total of 399 low income, uninsured men with prostate cancer participating in the Men's Health Survey done by researchers at University of California-Los Angeles Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center completed questionnaires assessing their knowledge of prostate cancer. Logistic regression was used to identify sociodemographic factors, eg age, education level, language preference, ethnicity and relationship status, associated with poor prostate cancer knowledge.

Outcomes in men denied access to a California public assistance program for prostate cancer.

Objectives: To improve access to prostate cancer treatment for low income uninsured men, California initiated a program called

Impact: Improving Access, Counseling and Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer. The program administered free treatment, case management, counseling, and educational materials to all eligible men until budget cuts led to a state-mandated suspension of enrollment and the establishment of a temporary waitlist in February 2005. To assess the effect of suspension of enrollment on patient outcomes, the authors compared health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in waitlisted and enrolled men.

All Roads Lead to Rome: Update on Rome III Criteria and New Treatment Options.

The recently published Rome III criteria reflect current understanding of functional gastrointestinal disorders. These criteria include definitions of these conditions and their pathophysiologic subtypes and offer guidelines for their management. At the 2006 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, a panel of experts discussed these criteria as they pertain to irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, and chronic constipation.

Contextual life stress and coping strategies as predictors of adjustment to breast cancer survivorship.

Background/purpose: The study presented here examined the influence of contextual life stress and coping strategies on change in adjustment over the year following completion of treatment for breast cancer. We also investigated whether contextual stressful life events moderate the relationship between coping strategies and adjustment, such that cancer-specific emotional approach coping processes would predict better psychosocial outcomes only in the context of lower life stress and would have less impact on adaptation in the context of heightened life stress.

Methods: In a sample of women (n = 558) who had recently completed treatment for nonmetastatic breast cancer and were part of a psychoeducational intervention trial to facilitate the transition to survivorship, life stress in the year prior to study entry, cancer-specific coping strategies, and general and cancer-specific adjustment were assessed at baseline, and adjustment outcomes (i.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines and depression in a familial cancer registry.

Patients undergoing cancer treatment (e.g., interferon or IL-2 treatment) develop depression, and there is a positive relationship between their depression and circulating levels of proinflammatory cytokines.

Intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions of ester linked 1,3,9-decatrienes: cis/trans selectivity in thermal and Lewis acid promoted reactions of ethylene-tethered and benzo-tethered systems.

High cis (i.e., endo) diastereoselectivities are witnessed in heat-promoted intramolecular Diels-Alder (IMDA) reactions of ethylene-tethered hexadienyl acrylates.

The role of prevention in oncology practice: results from a 2004 survey of American Society of Clinical Oncology members.

Purpose: In 2004, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Cancer Prevention Committee surveyed the members to describe involvement in clinical prevention activities.

Methods: A previously administered survey, with updated items on genetics, chemoprevention, and survivorship, was mailed to a stratified random sample of 2,000 domestic members and a convenience sample of 3,144 international members.

Results: A total of 49.

Patterns of care in early-stage breast cancer survivors in the first year after cessation of active treatment.

Purpose: Patterns of health care use have not been well described for breast cancer survivors. The purpose of this study was to describe the health service use in a survivor cohort.

Patients And Methods: Women with stage I or II breast cancer were recruited (n = 558) after primary treatment for a multicenter, randomized trial of psychoeducational interventions for facilitating transition to survivorship; 418 women completed the study.

The SET domain protein Metnase mediates foreign DNA integration and links integration to nonhomologous end-joining repair.

The molecular mechanism by which foreign DNA integrates into the human genome is poorly understood yet critical to many disease processes, including retroviral infection and carcinogenesis, and to gene therapy. We hypothesized that the mechanism of genomic integration may be similar to transposition in lower organisms. We identified a protein, termed Metnase, that has a SET domain and a transposase/nuclease domain.

Geographic and socioeconomic variation in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Purpose: Within a framework of quality assessment, primary treatment choice constitutes an indicator of quality of care. This study examines geographic and socioeconomic variation in the primary treatment of men with prostate cancer during the era of prostate-specific antigen testing.

Methods: Using the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results public use data files, we identified men with localized/regional prostate cancer who underwent surgery, radiation therapy, or watchful waiting.

Outcomes from the Moving Beyond Cancer psychoeducational, randomized, controlled trial with breast cancer patients.

Purpose: Evidence suggests that the re-entry phase (ie, early period after medical treatment completion) presents distinct challenges for cancer patients. To facilitate the transition to recovery, we conducted the Moving Beyond Cancer (MBC) trial, a multisite, randomized, controlled trial of psychoeducational interventions for breast cancer patients.

Methods: Breast cancer patients were registered within 6 weeks after surgery.