Cancer patients may experience a decrease in cognitive functioning before, during and after cancer treatment. So far, the Quality of Life Group of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment ...of Cancer (EORTC QLG) developed an item bank to assess self-reported memory and attention within a single, cognitive functioning scale (CF) using computerized adaptive testing (EORTC CAT Core CF item bank). However, the distinction between different cognitive functions might be important to assess the patients' functional status appropriately and to determine treatment impact. To allow for such assessment, the aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate separate item banks for memory and attention based on the EORTC CAT Core CF item bank. In a multistep process including an expert-based content analysis, we assigned 44 items from the EORTC CAT Core CF item bank to the memory or attention domain. Then, we conducted psychometric analyses based on a sample used within the development of the EORTC CAT Core CF item bank. The sample consisted of 1030 cancer patients from Denmark, France, Poland, and the United Kingdom. We evaluated measurement properties of the newly developed item banks using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and item response theory model calibration. Item assignment resulted in 31 memory and 13 attention items. Conducted CFAs suggested good fit to a 1-factor model for each domain and no violations of monotonicity or indications of differential item functioning. Evaluation of CATs for both memory and attention confirmed well-functioning item banks with increased power/reduced sample size requirements (for CATs greater than or equal to 4 items and up to 40% reduction in sample size requirements in comparison to non-CAT format). Two well-functioning and psychometrically robust item banks for memory and attention were formed from the existing EORTC CAT Core CF item bank. These findings could support further research on self-reported cognitive functioning in cancer patients in clinical trials as well as for real-word-evidence. A more precise assessment of attention and memory deficits in cancer patients will strengthen the evidence on the effects of cancer treatment for different cancer entities, and therefore contribute to shared and informed clinical decision-making.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose
Several variations in the anatomy and injury of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) have been studied since 1885. The aim of our study was to analyze the available data on the LFCN and ...find a true prevalence to help in the planning and execution of surgical procedures in the area of the pelvis, namely inguinal hernia repair.
Methods
A search of the major medical databases was performed for LFCN anatomy. The anatomical data were collected and analyzed.
Results
Twenty-four studies (
n
= 1,720) were included. The most common pattern of the LFCN exiting the pelvis was medial to the Sartorius as a single branch. When it exited in this pattern, it did so on average 1.90 cm medial to the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS).
Conclusions
The LFCN and its variations are important to consider especially during inguinal hernia repair, abdominoplasty, and iliac bone grafting. We suggest maintaining a distance of 3 cm or more from the ASIS when operating to prevent injury to the LFCN.
Highlights • Prenatally stressed rats show signs of anhedonia and anxiety. • Prenatal stress causes a decrease in IGF-1 in the hippocampus and the frontal cortex of adult rats. • Decrease in IGF-1 in ...the brain may be due to changes in IGFBP levels.
Advances in cancer care delivery require revision and further development of questionnaires assessing patients’ perceived quality of care. This study pre‐tested the revised EORTC satisfaction with ...cancer care core questionnaire applicable in both the cancer inpatient and outpatient settings, and its new, outpatient‐specific complementary module. The process of revision, development of the extended application, and pre‐testing of these questionnaires was based on phases I to III of the “EORTC Quality of Life Group Module Development Guidelines.” In phase III, patients in 11 countries in four European regions, South America and Asia completed provisional versions of the questionnaires. Fifty‐seven relevant issues selected from literature reviews and input from experts were operationalized into provisional items, and subsequently translated into ten languages. Assessment of understanding, acceptability, redundancy and relevance by patients (n = 151) from oncology inpatient wards, and outpatient chemotherapy, radiotherapy and consultation settings, led to retention of, deletion of and merging of 40, 14 and 6 items respectively. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for hypothesized questionnaire scales were above 0.80. Our results provide preliminary support for the 33‐item EORTC Satisfaction with cancer care core questionnaire and the 7‐item complementary module specific for the outpatient care setting. A large scale phase IV cross‐cultural psychometric study is now underway.
The purpose of our study was to assess if the Polish translation of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Colorectal Cancer (CRC)‐Specific Quality of Life ...Questionnaire (QLQ‐CR29) is an acceptable and psychometrically valid measure to collect quality of life (QoL) data in Polish patients with CRC for use in clinical trials and clinical practice. A total of 150 patients undergoing treatment for CRC were prospectively enrolled in the study. Psychometric assessment of the translated QLQ‐CR29 structure, reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and clinical validity was subsequently performed. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranged from 0.70–0.89, indicating acceptable internal consistency. For test–retest reliability, the ICCs for each item ranged from 0.59–0.91, with exceptions for urinary incontinence and dysuria, indicating good to excellent reproducibility. In multi‐trait scaling analyses, the criterion for item convergent and divergent validity was satisfied. The correlations between the EORTC QLQ‐CR29 and QLQ‐C30 scales were mostly low (r < .40), with a few items demonstrating higher correlations. The known group comparisons analyses demonstrated the ability of the questionnaire to distinguish between patients’ differing age, stoma status, and treatment intent. The Polish translation of the QLQ‐CR29 is a psychometrically reliable and valid tool. The results of this study are congruent with that of EORTC validation.
Purpose
This international EORTC validation study (phase IV) is aimed at testing the psychometric properties of a quality of life (QoL) module related to oral health problems in cancer patients.
...Methods
The phase III module comprised 17 items with four hypothesized multi-item scales and three single items. In phase IV, patients with mixed cancers, in different treatment phases from 10 countries completed the EORTC QLQ-C30, the QLQ-OH module, and a debriefing interview. The hypothesized structure was tested using combinations of classical test theory and item response theory, following EORTC guidelines. Test–retest assessments and responsiveness to change analysis (RCA) were performed after 2 weeks.
Results
Five hundred seventy-two patients (median age 60.3, 54 % females) were analyzed. Completion took <10 min for 84 %, 40 % expressed satisfaction that these issues were addressed. Analyses suggested a revision of the phase III hypothesized scale structure. Two items were deleted based on a high degree of item misfit, together with negative patient feedback. The remaining 15 items formed one eight-item scale named OH-QoL score, a two-item information scale, a two-item scale regarding dentures, and three single items (
sticky saliva
/
mouth soreness
/
sensitivity to food
/
drink
). Face and convergent validity and internal consistency were confirmed. Test–retest reliability (
n
= 60) was demonstrated as was RCA for patients undergoing chemotherapy (
n
= 117;
p
= 0.06). The resulting QLQ-OH15 discriminated between clinically distinct patient groups, e.g., low performance status vs. higher (
p
< 000.1), and head-and-neck cancer versus other cancers (
p
< 0.03).
Conclusion
The EORTC module QLQ-OH15 is a short, well-accepted assessment tool focusing on oral problems and QoL to improve clinical management.
Trial Registration
ClinicalTrials.gov
Identifier: NCT01724333.
Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) can induce platelet activation and aggregation, but the mechanisms underlying these interactions are not well understood. This could be due in part to use of devices ...that study platelet function under quasi-static conditions with low sensitivity to measure platelet microaggregation. Therefore, in this study we investigated the pharmacological pathways and regulators of NP-induced platelet microaggregation under flow conditions at nanoscale using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and compared the data thus obtained with those generated by light aggregometry.
Blood was collected from healthy volunteers, and platelet-rich plasma was obtained. Thrombin receptor-activating peptide, a potent stimulator of platelet function, and pharmacological inhibitors were used to modulate platelet microaggregation in the presence/absence of silica (10 nm and 50 nm) and polystyrene (23 nm) NPs. Light aggregometry was used to study platelet aggregation in macroscale. Optical, immunofluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy were also used to visualize platelet aggregates.
Platelet microaggregation was enhanced by thrombin receptor-activating peptide, whereas prostacyclin, nitric oxide donors, acetylsalicylic acid, and phenanthroline, but not adenosine diphosphate (ADP) blockers, were able to inhibit platelet microaggregation. NPs caused platelet microaggregation, an effect not detectable by light aggregometry. NP-induced microaggregation was attenuated by platelet inhibitors.
NP-induced platelet microaggregation appears to involve classical proaggregatory pathways (thromboxane A2-mediated and matrix metalloproteinase-2-mediated) and can be regulated by endogenous (prostacyclin) and pharmacological (acetylsalicylic acid, phenanthroline, and nitric oxide donors) inhibitors of platelet function. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation, but not light aggregometry, is an appropriate method for studying NP-induced microaggregation.
CHMIELOWSKA K., TOMASZEWSKI K.A., POGRZEBIELSKI A., BRANDBERG Y. & ROMANOWSKA‐DIXON B. (2013) European Journal of Cancer Care 22, 88–96
Translation and validation of the Polish version of the EORTC ...QLQ‐OPT30 module for the assessment of health‐related quality of life in patients with uveal melanoma
The purpose of this study was to translate into Polish and validate the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire Ophthalmic Module (QLQ‐OPT30). The QLQ‐OPT30 was translated and pilot‐tested according to EORTC guidelines. Patients were qualified based on the histological or ophthalmoscopic and ultrasonographic diagnosis of uveal melanoma. Each patient filled out the Polish version of the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ‐C30), the QLQ‐OPT30 module and a personal questionnaire. Patients were divided into three groups according to treatment type, melanoma localisation and possible negative outcomes of the disease or treatment. Reliability and validity test were performed and patients' comments were analysed. Our study included 94 patients – 50 women (53.2%) and 44 men (46.8%) in the mean age of 58.4 (±13) years. Treatment type and melanoma location did not influence the health‐related quality of life. The QLQ‐OPT30, apart from two scales, showed positive internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficients range: 0.70–0.88). We found the Polish version of the EORTC QLQ‐OPT30 module a useful tool for measuring health‐related quality of life in uveal melanoma patients. Although its discriminative validity is somewhat limited it still can be recommended for clinical use in the Polish population.
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