Publications by authors named "Mairead MacKenzie"

Accurate information about locoregional treatments in breast cancer neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) trials is vital to support surgical decision-making and allow meaningful interpretation of long-term oncological outcomes. This systematic review (PROSPERO registration CRD42023470891) aimed to describe the current practice of outcome reporting in NST studies. A systematic search identified primary research studies published 01/01/2018-08/09/2023 reporting outcomes in patients receiving NST for breast cancer followed by locoregional treatment.

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Purpose: To use robust consensus methods with individuals with lived breast cancer experience to agree the top 10 research priorities to improve information and support for patients undergoing breast cancer surgery in the UK.

Methods: Research uncertainties related to information and support for breast cancer surgery submitted by patients and carers were analysed thematically to generate summary questions for inclusion in an online Delphi survey. Individuals with lived breast cancer experience completed two Delphi rounds including feedback in which they selected their top 10 research priorities from the list provided.

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Introduction: Neoadjuvant systemic anticancer therapy (neoSACT) is increasingly used in the treatment of early breast cancer. Response to therapy is prognostic and allows locoregional and adjuvant systemic treatments to be tailored to minimise morbidity and optimise oncological outcomes and quality of life. Accurate information about locoregional treatments following neoSACT is vital to allow the translation of downstaging benefits into practice and facilitate meaningful interpretation of oncological outcomes, particularly locoregional recurrence.

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Objectives: Aspirin could be offered for colorectal cancer prevention for the UK general population. To ensure the views of the general population are considered in future guidance, we explored public perceptions of aspirin for preventive therapy.

Design: We conducted an online survey to investigate aspirin use, and awareness of aspirin for cancer prevention among the UK general population.

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Background: Breast reconstruction is offered to improve quality of life for women after mastectomy for breast cancer, but information regarding the long-term patient-reported outcomes of different reconstruction procedures is currently lacking. The Brighter study aimed to evaluate long-term patient-reported outcomes after immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) in a population-based cohort.

Methods: Women who underwent mastectomy with IBR for breast cancer in England between 1 January 2008 and 31 March 2009 were identified from National Health Service Hospital Episode Statistics.

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Article Synopsis
  • Platelet activation is linked to the spread of cancer, and ongoing trials are testing if aspirin can help prevent this process by reducing platelet activation.
  • A study involving 716 cancer patients measured a specific biomarker (U-TXM) related to platelet activation after treatment and its relation to patient factors and aspirin use.
  • Results showed that while lower doses of aspirin significantly reduced U-TXM levels across different cancer types, higher doses didn’t provide any additional benefit; elevated U-TXM levels suggest ongoing malignancy activity, especially in patients with colorectal and gastro-oesophageal cancers.
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  • Women considering immediate breast reconstruction need comprehensive information on potential future surgeries to make informed choices about their options.
  • A study examined data from nearly 17,000 women who had immediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy, focusing on the frequency of revisions and secondary procedures over periods of 3, 5, and 8 years.
  • Results indicated that those who had implant-only reconstructions faced significantly higher rates of revisions and secondary surgeries compared to those who underwent autologous reconstructions.
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Background: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 2020 guidelines recommends aspirin for colorectal cancer prevention for people with Lynch syndrome. Strategies to change practice should be informed by understanding the factors influencing prescribing.

Aim: To investigate the optimal type and level of information to communicate with GPs to increase willingness to prescribe aspirin.

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Article Synopsis
  • The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence suggests that people with Lynch syndrome should think about taking daily aspirin to lower their risk of colorectal cancer.
  • Researchers talked to 15 people with Lynch syndrome and 23 healthcare providers to understand the challenges and needs around using aspirin as prevention.
  • It’s important for doctors and patients to communicate better about the risks and benefits of aspirin, as many patients are unsure if they should take it or who to ask about it.
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High-quality randomised clinical trials testing moderately fractionated breast radiotherapy have clearly shown that local control and survival is at least as effective as with 2 Gy daily fractions with similar or reduced normal tissue toxicity. Fewer treatment visits are welcomed by patients and their families, and reduced fractions produce substantial savings for health-care systems. Implementation of hypofractionation, however, has moved at a slow pace.

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We undertook a systematic review to synthesise the data on attitudes and behaviour towards the use of aspirin for cancer prevention, and healthcare providers' attitudes towards implementing aspirin in practice. Searches were carried out across 12 databases (e.g.

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Introduction: Breast reconstruction (BR) is offered to improve quality of life for women with breast cancer undergoing mastectomy. As most women will be long-term breast cancer survivors, high-quality information regarding the long-term outcomes of different BR procedures is essential to support informed decision-making. As different techniques vary considerably in cost, policymakers also require high-quality cost-effectiveness evidence to inform care.

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Purpose: CDK4/6 inhibitors are used to treat estrogen receptor (ER)-positive metastatic breast cancer (BC) in combination with endocrine therapy. PALLET is a phase II randomized trial that evaluated the effects of combination palbociclib plus letrozole as neoadjuvant therapy.

Patients And Methods: Postmenopausal women with ER-positive primary BC and tumors greater than or equal to 2.

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Plain English Summary: Breast cancer is a diverse and varied disease. Recent research has shown that the collection of multiple biopsies before surgery can help researchers determine how the cancer is responding to treatment and can predict for long-term outcomes. However biopsies can be uncomfortable, and sometimes clinicians and research teams in hospitals may be reluctant to offer clinical trials requiring several biopsies to patients who have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

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Article Synopsis
  • A Delphi survey was conducted with 50 oncology nurses and 18 patients in the UK to identify key research priorities in oncology nursing through three rounds of feedback and rating.
  • Consensus was achieved on 50 out of 107 research topics, focusing on areas such as prevention, screening, and early diagnosis, while there was less agreement on issues like symptoms and side effects.
  • The study highlighted the importance of involving both nurses and patients in setting research agendas, revealing their differing priorities but a shared emphasis on improving cancer care from diagnosis through to palliative treatment.
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Background: There is a considerable body of pre-clinical, epidemiological and randomised data to support the hypothesis that aspirin has the potential to be an effective adjuvant cancer therapy.

Methods: Add-Aspirin is a phase III, multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised trial with four parallel cohorts. Patients who have undergone potentially curative treatment for breast (n=3100), colorectal (n=2600), gastro-oesophageal (n=2100) or prostate cancer (n=2120) are registered into four tumour specific cohorts.

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Biobanking in the twentieth century will become of increasing importance in health research. Regulation and governance of biobanks must be open and transparent to ensure public trust and confidence and increase donation. Effective Lay Involvement all levels in biobank organisations should be standard practice helping ensure patient benefit remains the central aim and assisting the Promotion of Biobanks and Recruitment of Donors.

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The importance of intratumour genetic and functional heterogeneity is increasingly recognised as a driver of cancer progression and survival outcome. Understanding how tumour clonal heterogeneity impacts upon therapeutic outcome, however, is still an area of unmet clinical and scientific need. TRACERx (TRAcking non-small cell lung Cancer Evolution through therapy [Rx]), a prospective study of patients with primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), aims to define the evolutionary trajectories of lung cancer in both space and time through multiregion and longitudinal tumour sampling and genetic analysis.

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