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Evidence to justify survival benefit of local therapy of the breast (LT) for breast cancer patients who are metastatic at presentation (MBC) is weak. The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of LT on survival in MBC patients. Patients who had received (1) radiotherapy, (2) surgery, (3) surgery and radiotherapy as LT, and (4) no LT in four groups of 25 were evaluated for 1-and 4-year cause-specific survival (CSS). One-and 4-year CSS in four groups were (1) 76% and 60%, (2) 84% and 56% (3) 80% and 52%, and (4) 48% and 16%, respectively. When controlling for age and site of metastasis as covariates, grouping significantly correlated with survival: F (3, 94): 2.93, P 0.04. Post hoc analysis revealed that the mean survival of group 2: (M 23.39, SE 2.53) was higher than group 4: (M 13.63, SE 2.52, P = 0.03). Surgery as a single modality LT for MBC may provide survival benefit.

Patients with prostate cancer who receive systemic androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and local treatments have a high likelihood to experience depression, anxiety and fatigue. The present study aimed to determine the effects of Frankl's group logotherapy sessions on alleviating these symptoms in individuals with moderate-to highrisk prostate cancer who were receiving pelvic radiotherapy. A quasi-experimental study with pretest-post-test was conducted in which 30 patients were assigned either to the experimental (n = 15) or to the control (n = 15) group. The implicated research instruments were as follows: Beck's Depression Inventory, Beck's Anxiety Inventory, Okayama et al.'s Cancer Fatigue Scale and Luthans' Psychological Capital Questionnaire. The results of the ANCOVA showed that logotherapy significantly affected anxiety (F = 42.51, p < 0.001), depression (F = 39.36, p < 0.001), cancer fatigue (F = 16.54, p < 0.001) and psychological capital (F = 39.86, p < 0.001) in the experimental group compared to the control group, indicating that logotherapy sessions with an emphasis on meanings, aims and values of life, when accompanied by peer interaction, can improve mood and function as well as contributing to positive psychological capital in intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer patients during their treatments.

Delivering radiotherapy to the postmastectomy chest wall can be achieved using matched electron fields. Surgical defects of the chest wall change the dose distribution of electrons. In this study, the improvement of dose homogeneity using simple, nonconformal techniques of thermoplastic bolus application on a defect is evaluated. The proposed phantom design improves the capability of film dosimetry for obtaining dose profiles of a patient's anatomical condition. A modeled electron field of a patient with a postmastectomy inward surgical defect was planned. High energy electrons were delivered to the phantom in various settings, including no bolus, a bolus that filled the inward defect (PB0), a uniform thickness bolus of 5 mm (PB1), and two 5 mm boluses (PB2). A reduction of mean doses at the base of the defect was observed by any bolus application. PB0 increased the dose at central parts of the defect, reduced hot areas at the base of steep edges, and reduced dose to the lung and heart. Thermoplastic boluses that compensate a defect (PB0) increased the homogeneity of dose in a fixed depth from the surface; adversely, PB2 increased the dose heterogeneity. This study shows that it is practical to investigate dose homogeneity profiles inside a target volume for various techniques of electron therapy.

Growing evidence demonstrates that cancer-associated broblasts (CAF) are responsible for tumor genesis, growth, metastasis, and treatment response. Therefore, targeting these cells may contribute to tumor control. It has been proposed that targeting key molecules and pathways of proliferative functions can be more effective than killing CAFs. In this regard, multicellular aggregates, like spheroids, can be used as human tumor models. Spheroids closely resemble human tumors and mimic many of their features. Micro uidic systems are ideal for cultivation and study of spheroids. These systems can be designed with different biological and synthetic matrices in order to have a more realistic simulation of the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this study, we investigated the effect of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on 3D spheroid invasion of MDA-MB cells exposed to hydrogel matrix derived from CAFs. The number of invasive cells signi cantly decreased in CAF-ECM hydrogel treated with ATRA (p < 0.05), which indicates that ATRA could be effective for CAFs normalization. This experiment was done using an agarose-alginate micro uidic chip. As compared with common methods, such hydrogel casting is an easier method for chip fabrication and can even reduce costs by 50%.

Background:Radiotherapy is frequently used in treatment approaches of pelvic malignancies. Nevertheless, it has some known systemic effects on blood cells and the immune system that possibly results in their susceptibility to infection. Probiotics are live microbial food ingredients that provide a health advantage to the consumer. Honey has prebiotic properties. The aim of this clinical trial was to investigate probable effects of probiotic or probiotics plus honey on blood cell counts and serum IgA levels in patients receiving pelvic radiotherapy.Materials and Methods:Sixty-seven adult patients with pelvic cancer were enrolled. Patients were randomized to receive either: (1) Probiotic capsules (including: Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium longum, and Streptococcus thermophiles) (n = 22), (2) probiotic capsules plus honey (n = 21) or (3) placebo capsules (n = 24) all for 6 weeks. Blood and serum samples were collected for one week before radiotherapy and 24-72 h after the end of radiotherapy.Results:White blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), platelet counts, and serum IgA level were not significantly changed in patients taking probiotic (alone or plus honey) during pelvic radiotherapy. The mean decrease in RBC count was 0.52, 0.18, and 0.23 × 106 cells/μL, WBC count was 2.3, 1.21, and 1.34 × 103 cells/μL and platelet count was, 57.6, 53.3, and 66.35 × 103 cells/μL for the probiotic, probiotic plus honey, and placebo groups, respectively. The mean decrease of serum IgA was 22.53, 29.94, and 40.73 mg/dL for the probiotic, probiotic plus honey, and placebo groups, respectively.Conclusion:The observed nonsignificant effect of probiotics may be in favor of local effects of this product in the gut rather than systemic effects, however, as a trend toward a benefit was indicated, further studies are necessary in order to extract effects of probiotics or probiotic plus honey on hematologic and immunologic parameters in patients receiving pelvic radiotherapy.

Background: Executive dysfunction has been proposed as a fundamental impairment in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, existing findings are inconsistent. Objectives: The present study aimed at evaluating the behavioral profile for executive functions (EF) in adolescents compared to healthy individuals using the Farsi translation of the behavior rating inventory of executive function (BRIEF). Methods: In this study, 34 participants (aged 5-16) with ASD were compared to 36 age and gender matched typically developing (TD) children using the BRIEF and childhood autism rating scale (CARS), and raven progressive matrices (RPM). Results: All subscales of the BRIEF were significantly higher in children and adolescents with ASD. Working memory was impaired in 88% of the ASD group, and the inhibition subscale had the highest mean score. The visual response subscale of CARS correlated significantly with the metacognition index (MCI) and global executive composite (GEC) of the BRIEF. A slight negative significant correlation was found between the BRIEF planning/organization T-score and age in the group with ASD. Conclusions: Adolescents with ASD have difficulties in every day executive functioning, mostly in working memory and inhibition. These deficits are related to some aspects of social and sensory impairments seen in ASD.