Esophageal and head and neck cancer

Clinical Nutrition for Oncology Patients provides clinicians with the information they need to help cancer survivors and patients make informed choices about their nutrition and improve their short-term and long-term health. This comprehensive resource outlines nutritional management recommendations for care prior to, during, and after treatment and addresses specific nutritional needs and complementary therapies that may be of help to a patient. This book is written by a variety of clinicians who not only care for cancer survivors and their caregivers but are also experts in the field of nutritional oncology.

Análise bioética da relação médico-paciente na perícia médica da Previdência Social

Esta dissertação apresenta e discute resultados de pesquisa desenvolvida como pré-requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de mestre em Bioética, Ética Aplicada e Saúde Coletiva junto ao Programa de Pós-graduação em Bioética, Ética Aplicada e Saúde Coletiva da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, em regime de associação com a Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, a Fundação Oswaldo Cruz e a Universidade Federal Fluminense. A pesquisa de metodologia qualitativa analisou material empírico composto por amostra de registros da Ouvidoria da Previdência Social contendo reclamações sobre o atendimento médico-pericial. A Previdência integra o campo da seguridade social e tem a vida e suas intercorrências na população de segurados como seu objeto de cuidados e controles. O benefício auxílio-doença é o mais frequentemente concedido entre todos os benefícios da Previdência sendo devido somente a seus segurados em dupla condição de vulnerabilidade, doentes e incapazes para o trabalho. A verificação da condição de incapacidade para o trabalho é realizada pelos médicos peritos da Previdência Social como pré-requisito para acesso ao benefício e funciona como mecanismo de controle de custos. Os resultados do estudo evidenciam que a tarefa de controle de acesso, realizada na interface com o segurado, exige um deslocamento da atividade médica da função assistencial para a pericial em decorrência da natureza da tarefa médico-pericial, onde o lugar do controle é o da exceção beneficente. Tal atribuição condiciona um risco da atividade médico-pericial que entendemos ser de ordem moral. As reclamações sobre o atendimento médico na perícia previdenciária foram compreendidas como índices de disfunções nesta interface, assim como os registros de violência em torno desta atividade. Resultantes da prática de limites de acesso ao benefício, na forma em que estes limites estão colocados. A análise desta interface coloca em relevo o paradoxo da proteção securitária que funciona retirando da proteção partes de sua população e caracteriza a relação médico-paciente na perícia médica da Previdência Social como moralmente conflituosa. A pesquisa na linha de uma bioética crítica, que enfatiza as políticas públicas que afetam a vida, entendeu Previdência Social como biopolítica e a atividade médico-pericial como expressão de biopoder, nos termos da filosofia política de Michel Foucault. Cabe à sociedade refletir seriamente sobre essas práticas de controle e definir o alcance e a forma da proteção securitária tendo em vista que esta proteção tensiona necessidades individuais e coletivas. Cabe a todos e a cada um ter em mente a dimensão ética da política previdenciária.

Efeito da dieta da suplementação de ômega-3 sobre marcadores metabólicos e inflamatórios em mulheres na pós-menopausa com síndrome metabólica

Pós-graduação em Ginecologia, Obstetrícia e Mastologia - FMB

Computer-assisted virtual autopsy using surgical navigation techniques

UNLABELLED OBJECTIVE; Virtual autopsy methods, such as postmortem CT and MRI, are increasingly being used in forensic medicine. Forensic investigators with little to no training in diagnostic radiology and medical laypeople such as state's attorneys often find it difficult to understand the anatomic orientation of axial postmortem CT images. We present a computer-assisted system that permits postmortem CT datasets to be quickly and intuitively resliced in real time at the body to narrow the gap between radiologic imaging and autopsy. CONCLUSION Our system is a potentially valuable tool for planning autopsies, showing findings to medical laypeople, and teaching CT anatomy, thus further closing the gap between radiology and forensic pathology.

Genetic Influences on Exercise Participation in 37.051 Twin Pairs from Seven Countries

Background A sedentary lifestyle remains a major threat to health in contemporary societies. To get more insight in the relative contribution of genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in exercise participation, twin samples from seven countries participating in the GenomEUtwin project were used. Methodology Self-reported data on leisure time exercise behavior from Australia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom were used to create a comparable index of exercise participation in each country (60 minutes weekly at a minimum intensity of four metabolic equivalents). Principal Findings Modest geographical variation in exercise participation was revealed in 85,198 subjects, aged 19–40 years. Modeling of monozygotic and dizygotic twin resemblance showed that genetic effects play an important role in explaining individual differences in exercise participation in each country. Shared environmental effects played no role except for Norwegian males. Heritability of exercise participation in males and females was similar and ranged from 48% to 71% (excluding Norwegian males). Conclusions Genetic variation is important in individual exercise behavior and may involve genes influencing the acute mood effects of exercise, high exercise ability, high weight loss ability, and personality. This collaborative study suggests that attempts to find genes influencing exercise participation can pool exercise data across multiple countries and different instruments

The relative risk of second primary cancers in Queensland, Australia: A retrospective cohort study

Background Cancer survivors face an increased likelihood of being subsequently diagnosed with another cancer. The aim of this study was to quantify the relative risk of survivors developing a second primary cancer in Queensland, Australia. Methods Standardised incidence rates stratified by type of first primary cancer, type of second primary cancer, sex, age at first diagnosis, period of first diagnosis and follow-up interval were calculated for residents of Queensland, Australia, who were diagnosed with a first primary invasive cancer between 1982 and 2001 and survived for a minimum of 2 months. Results A total of 23,580 second invasive primary cancers were observed over 1,370,247 years of follow-up among 204,962 cancer patients. Both males (SIR = 1.22; 95% CI = 1.20-1.24) and females (SIR = 1.36; 95% CI = 1.33-1.39) within the study cohort were found to have a significant excess risk of developing a second cancer relative to the incidence of cancer in the general population. The observed number of second primary cancers was also higher than expected within each age group, across all time periods and during each follow-up interval. Conclusions The excess risk of developing a second malignancy among cancer survivors can likely be attributed to factors including similar aetiologies, genetics and the effects of treatment, underlining the need for ongoing monitoring of cancer patients to detect subsequent tumours at an early stage. Education campaigns developed specifically for survivors may be required to lessen the prevalence of known cancer risk factors.

Acceptability of the distress thermometer and problem list to community-based telephone cancer helpline operators, and to cancer patients and carers

Background Cancer can be a distressing experience for cancer patients and carers, impacting on psychological, social, physical and spiritual functioning. However, health professionals often fail to detect distress in their patients due to time constraints and a lack of experience. Also, with the focus on the patient, carer needs are often overlooked. This study investigated the acceptability of brief distress screening with the Distress Thermometer (DT) and Problem List (PL) to operators of a community-based telephone helpline, as well as to cancer patients and carers calling the service. Methods Operators (n = 18) monitored usage of the DT and PL with callers (cancer patients/carers, >18 years, and English-speaking) from September-December 2006 (n = 666). The DT is a single item, 11-point scale to rate level of distress. The associated PL identifies the cause of distress. Results The DT and PL were used on 90% of eligible callers, most providing valid responses. Benefits included having an objective, structured and consistent means for distress screening and triage to supportive care services. Reported challenges included apparent inappropriateness of the tools due to the nature of the call or level of caller distress, the DT numeric scale, and the level of operator training. Conclusions We observed positive outcomes to using the DT and PL, although operators reported some challenges. Overcoming these challenges may improve distress screening particularly by less experienced clinicians, and further development of the PL items and DT scale may assist with administration. The DT and PL allow clinicians to direct/prioritise interventions or referrals, although ongoing training and support is critical in distress screening.