The effect of depression and anxiety on the performance status of end-stage renal disease patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Individuals who are diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergo major changes in lifestyle. The present cross-sectional study was conducted to identify the relationship between patients who undergo hemodialysis (HD) and their performance status, and how it is influenced by the presence of the level of depression and anxiety. A total of 50 patients were recruited from HD centers in and around Chennai.

Outbreak of scrub typhus in Puducherry & Tamil Nadu during cooler months.

Background & Objectives: The southern part of India has witnessed an increase in scrub typhus (ST) during the past ten years. ST outbreaks occurred during winter months but at intervals of one to three years. With only a few reports of ST in Puducherry, this study was undertaken to look for the persistence of ST cases in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu in the winter months.

Zalutumumab plus best supportive care versus best supportive care alone in patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck after failure of platinum-based chemotherapy: an open-label, randomised phase 3 trial.

Background: No treatments are presently available to increase survival in patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck after failure of platinum-based chemotherapy. We aimed to assess efficacy and safety of zalutumumab, a human IgG1 monoclonal antibody targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor, for overall survival in such patients.

Methods: In our open-label, parallel-group, phase 3, randomised trial, we randomly allocated patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck who were regarded as incurable with standard therapy, a WHO performance status of 0-2, and progressive disease within 6 months of platinum-based therapy in a 2:1 ratio to receive zalutumumab plus best supportive care (zalutumumab group) or best supportive care with optional methotrexate (control group) at medical centres in Europe, Brazil, and Canada.

Correlates of continued tobacco use and intention to quit smoking among Russian cancer patients.

Background: Tobacco use among cancer patients is associated with adverse health outcomes. Little attention has been paid to tobacco use among cancer patients in developing countries, including Russia, where tobacco use is extremely high, and there is little public health infrastructure to address this issue.

Purpose: This study examined medical, socio-demographic, and psychological correlates of smoking status and intention to quit smoking among newly diagnosed Russian cancer patients.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the sino-nasal tract in children.

Childhood head and neck cancers are relatively uncommon. Of all head and neck cancers occurring in children, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is the most common, others being rhabdomyosarcoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. In the head and neck region, sinuses are the second commonest primary site of NHL after neck lymph nodes.

Prevalence and correlates of tobacco use among Russian cancer patients: implications for the development of smoking cessation interventions at a cancer center in Russia.

This study examined the rate of smoking among 399 cancer patients in Russia and assessed correlates of tobacco use and readiness to quit smoking. The results indicated that (a) 41.6% of patients were smokers; and (b) smokers were likely to be male, have lung or colorectal cancer, exhibit low levels of knowledge concerning the negative effects of smoking, report a low level of advantages to quitting smoking and a high level of disadvantages to quitting smoking, show low perceived risk for the adverse effects of smoking, and exhibit high fatalistic beliefs.

Smoking cessation counseling by Russian oncologists: opportunities for intervention in the Russian Federation.

The goal of this study was to examine the degree to which Russian oncologists are trained in providing smoking cessation counseling to patients and to assess physician smoking cessation practices and attitudes about providing smoking cessation treatment. Sixty-three oncologists at a large cancer center in Moscow completed a brief survey. The results showed that Russian oncologists: (a) lack training in smoking interventions; (b) rarely offer cessation treatment; (c) exhibit beliefs about smoking that may serve as barriers to providing cessation counseling; and (d) desire training in cessation counseling.