Although word-of-mouth (WOM) activity has been studied as an outcome variable of other constructs such as satisfaction, less attention has been given to the antecedents and moderators of WOM when ...considering WOM as a central construct. Hence, we propose a model of WOM antecedents and moderators using a meta-analytic review. The results show that all antecedents have significant effects on WOM activity, with customer commitment showing the strongest effect. The following hypotheses are also supported: (1) WOM valence is a significant moderator, (2) cross-sectional studies show a stronger influence of satisfaction and loyalty on WOM activity than longitudinal studies, and (3) studies of WOM behavior show a weaker link between loyalty and WOM activity than studies of WOM intentions. In addition, we show that satisfaction has a stronger relationship with positive WOM than loyalty, whereas (dis)loyalty has a stronger relationship with negative WOM than does (dis)satisfaction. We discuss this finding based on the different natures of positive and negative WOM.
Multimodality Imaging of Prostate Cancer Ghafoor, Soleen; Burger, Irene A; Vargas, Alberto H
The Journal of nuclear medicine (1978),
10/2019, Letnik:
60, Številka:
10
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Prostate cancer is a very heterogeneous disease, and contemporary management is focused on identification and treatment of the prognostically adverse high-risk tumors while minimizing overtreatment ...of indolent, low-risk tumors. In recent years, imaging has gained increasing importance in the detection, staging, posttreatment assessment, and detection of recurrence of prostate cancer. Several imaging modalities including conventional and functional methods are used in different clinical scenarios with their very own advantages and limitations. This continuing medical education article provides an overview of available imaging modalities currently in use for prostate cancer followed by a more specific section on the value of these different imaging modalities in distinct clinical scenarios, ranging from initial diagnosis to advanced, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. In addition to established imaging indications, we will highlight some potential future applications of contemporary imaging modalities in prostate cancer.
Over more than a century of systematic observational seismology, the instrumental capabilities to detect, record, and analyze elastic waves and other physical variables associated with the source, ...medium, and recording site of earthquakes have evolved substantially ...
This paper analyzes Game Theory (GT) from the point of view of moral psychology and makes explicit some of its assumptions regarding the human person as a moral agent, as well as the ends of human ...action, and reciprocity. Using a largely philosophical methodology, we will argue that GT assumes an instrumental form of rationality underpinned by a logic of self-interest, hence placing individuals, communities, and their social practices in service of external goods and their maximization. Because of this, GT is not adequate to describe the entirety of human social existence and interaction. Nevertheless, by revealing these assumptions, GT can be amplified with another form of rationality based on realist ethics and a personalist anthropology reinforced by the logic of gift. This rationality values the singularity of each person as a holistic unity, as the center of the social realm and as an end in herself called to growth and flourishing with others, nurturing the human community through giving and receiving. We will thus provide a wider philosophical framework for GT with a series of non-mathematical axioms of what can be called a Game Metatheory (GMt). These axioms refer to society as a complex system, not to particular interactions. GMt axioms are not a model of social games, but rather an axiomatic description of social life as a game, revealing its systematic character, complexity, and possible deterioration.
Abstract Context Comparative reviews of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (CT; with different radiotracers) have shown that ...metastasis detection in advanced cancers is more accurate than with currently used CT and bone scans. However, the ability of WB-MRI and positron emission tomography/CT to assess therapeutic benefits has not been comprehensively evaluated. There is also considerable variability in the availability and quality of WB-MRI, which is an impediment to clinical development. Expert recommendations for standardising WB-MRI scans are needed, in order to assess its performance in advanced prostate cancer (APC) clinical trials. Objective To design recommendations that promote standardisation and diminish variations in the acquisition, interpretation, and reporting of WB-MRI scans for use in APC. Evidence acquisition An international expert panel of oncologic imagers and oncologists with clinical and research interests in APC management assessed biomarker requirements for clinical care and clinical trials. Key requirements for a workable WB-MRI protocol, achievable quality standards, and interpretation criteria were identified and synthesised in a white paper. Evidence synthesis The METastasis Reporting and Data System for Prostate Cancer guidelines were formulated for use in all oncologic manifestations of APC. Conclusions Uniformity in imaging data acquisition, quality, and interpretation of WB-MRI are essential for assessing the test performance of WB-MRI. The METastasis Reporting and Data System for Prostate Cancer standard requires validation in clinical trials of treatment approaches in APC. Patient summary METastasis Reporting and Data System for Prostate Cancer represents the consensus recommendations on the performance, quality standards, and reporting of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging, for use in all oncologic manifestations of advanced prostate cancer. These new criteria require validation in clinical trials of established and new treatment approaches in advanced prostate cancer.
Vaccination-associated adenopathy is a frequent imaging finding after administration of COVID-19 vaccines that may lead to a diagnostic conundrum in patients with manifest or suspected cancer, in ...whom it may be indistinguishable from malignant nodal involvement. To help the medical community address this concern in the absence of studies and evidence-based guidelines, this special report offers recommendations developed by a multidisciplinary panel of experts from three of the leading tertiary care cancer centers in the United States. According to these recommendations, some routine imaging examinations, such as those for screening, should be scheduled before or at least 6 weeks after the final vaccination dose to allow for any reactive adenopathy to resolve. However, there should be no delay of other clinically indicated imaging (eg, for acute symptoms, short-interval treatment monitoring, urgent treatment planning or complications) due to prior vaccination. The vaccine should be administered on the side contralateral to the primary or suspected cancer, and both doses should be administered in the same arm. Vaccination information-date(s) administered, injection site(s), laterality, and type of vaccine-should be included in every preimaging patient questionnaire, and this information should be made readily available to interpreting radiologists. Clear and effective communication between patients, radiologists, referring physician teams, and the general public should be considered of the highest priority when managing adenopathy in the setting of COVID-19 vaccination.
Provide evidence- and expert-based recommendations for optimal use of imaging in advanced prostate cancer. Due to increases in research and utilization of novel imaging for advanced prostate cancer, ...this guideline is intended to outline techniques available and provide recommendations on appropriate use of imaging for specified patient subgroups.
An Expert Panel was convened with members from ASCO and the Society of Abdominal Radiology, American College of Radiology, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, American Urological Association, American Society for Radiation Oncology, and Society of Urologic Oncology to conduct a systematic review of the literature and develop an evidence-based guideline on the optimal use of imaging for advanced prostate cancer. Representative index cases of various prostate cancer disease states are presented, including suspected high-risk disease, newly diagnosed treatment-naïve metastatic disease, suspected recurrent disease after local treatment, and progressive disease while undergoing systemic treatment. A systematic review of the literature from 2013 to August 2018 identified fully published English-language systematic reviews with or without meta-analyses, reports of rigorously conducted phase III randomized controlled trials that compared ≥ 2 imaging modalities, and noncomparative studies that reported on the efficacy of a single imaging modality.
A total of 35 studies met inclusion criteria and form the evidence base, including 17 systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis and 18 primary research articles.
One or more of these imaging modalities should be used for patients with advanced prostate cancer: conventional imaging (defined as computed tomography CT, bone scan, and/or prostate magnetic resonance imaging MRI) and/or next-generation imaging (NGI), positron emission tomography PET, PET/CT, PET/MRI, or whole-body MRI) according to the clinical scenario.
Cancers of unknown primary (CUP) have traditionally been treated empirically, with a dismal prognosis. Compared with standard diagnostic tests, including CT and MRI, imaging with ...18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET or PET/CT has shown the capacity to better identify the primary tumour site and detect additional sites of metastasis. However, its clinical impact is not well established. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of prior studies to assess the impact of FDG-PET or PET/CT on the management of patients with CUP.
Pubmed and EMBASE databases were searched up to 4th February 2021. Studies that reported the proportion of patients with CUP who experienced a management change after FDG-PET or PET/ computed tomography (CT) were included and the proportions were pooled using the random-effects model. Study quality was assessed using QUADAS-2. Subgroup analysis was conducted to explore heterogeneity.
Thirty-eight studies (involving 2795 patients) were included. The pooled proportion of patients with management changes was 35% (95% confidence interval 31%–40%). There was substantial heterogeneity among the studies (Q-test, p < 0.01; I2 = 82%). The specific reason for management change was more commonly detection of the primary site (22% 95% CI 18–28%) than detection of additional metastatic sites (14% 95% CI 10–19%). The pooled proportions of patients with management changes were similar among numerous subgroups (range, 32.8%–38.2%).
FDG-PET or PET/CT had a meaningful impact on the management of patients with CUP. Approximately, a third of patients had their management changed because of FDG-PET or PET/CT results, and this finding was consistent across numerous subgroups.
•In 38 studies with cancer of unknown primary, 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography changed management 35%.c.•These were related to find the primary site (22%) or additional metastatic sites (14%).•Similar pooled proportions were seen across subgroups (32.8–38.2%).
Objectives
To correlate the ultrasound (US) measurements of the median nerve cross‐sectional area (CSA) and the measurements of its stiffness by shear wave elastography (SWE) with the severity grade ...of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) using electrodiagnostic testing (EDT) and to determine the cutoff points for CSA and SWE measurements to allow us to discriminate patients with moderate and severe CTS from those with mild or negative EDT findings.
Methods
Seventy‐three patients with 105 hands with a clinical suspicion of CTS were studied with US and SWE. We measured the median nerve CSA and elasticity (E) at the tunnel inlet (CSAu and Eu), in the quadratus pronator (CSAo and Eo), and the differences (CSAu – CSAo and Eu – Eo).
Results
The nerve area and stiffness increased according to the EDT severity of CTS; the CSA increased proportionally as CTS increased from negative to severe according to EDT, and the stiffness was not different between patients with negative and mild EDT findings but was higher in patients with moderate and severe EDT findings versus negative and mild EDT findings. The cutoff points of a CSAu of 14 mm2 or greater and an Eu – Eo of 57 kPa or greater together allowed the discrimination of moderate and severe CTS from the rest.
Conclusions
The joint use of US and SWE is an alternative to EDT in the clinical management and treatment of patients with a clinical suspicion of CTS.
Objectives
To review the diagnostic performance of contemporary imaging modalities for determining local disease extent and nodal metastasis in patients with newly diagnosed cervical cancer.
Methods
...Pubmed and Embase databases were searched for studies published from 2000 to 2019 that used ultrasound (US), CT, MRI, and/or PET for evaluating various aspects of local extent and nodal metastasis in patients with newly diagnosed cervical cancer. Sensitivities and specificities from the studies were meta-analytically pooled using bivariate and hierarchical modeling.
Results
Of 1311 studies identified in the search, 115 studies with 13,999 patients were included. MRI was the most extensively studied modality (MRI, CT, US, and PET were evaluated in 78, 12, 9, and 43 studies, respectively). Pooled sensitivities and specificities of MRI for assessing all aspects of local extent ranged between 0.71–0.88 and 0.86–0.95, respectively. In assessing parametrial invasion (PMI), US demonstrated pooled sensitivity and specificity of 0.67 and 0.94, respectively—performance levels comparable with those found for MRI. MRI, CT, and PET performed comparably for assessing nodal metastasis, with low sensitivity (0.29–0.69) but high specificity (0.88–0.98), even when stratified to anatomical location (pelvic or paraaortic) and level of analysis (per patient vs. per site).
Conclusions
MRI is the method of choice for assessing any aspect of local extent, but where not available, US could be of value, particularly for assessing PMI. CT, MRI, and PET all have high specificity but poor sensitivity for the detection of lymph node metastases.
Key Points
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Magnetic resonance imaging is the method of choice for assessing local extent.
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Ultrasound may be helpful in determining parametrial invasion, especially in lower-resourced countries.
•
Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography perform similarly for assessing lymph node metastasis, with high specificity but low sensitivity.
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