Cancer
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Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) incorporates treatments used by cancer survivors in an attempt to improve their quality of life. Although population studies have identified factors associated with its use, to the best of the authors knowledge, assessment of why patients use CAM or the barriers against its use have not been examined to date. ⋯ Attitudes and beliefs varied by key clinical and demographic characteristics, and predicted CAM use. By developing CAM programs based upon attitudes and beliefs, barriers among underserved patient populations may be removed and more patient centered care may be provided.
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Elderly patients with early-stage breast cancer (ESBC) derive a local control benefit from radiotherapy (RT) after lumpectomy, without any apparent effect on overall survival. Therefore, the use of RT is controversial. In the current study, the authors characterized updated trends in RT for elderly patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive ESBC. ⋯ RT use appears to have declined in elderly patients with ER-positive ESBC, a finding that is reflective of evidence-based practice integrating mature trial data. Further research is needed to develop tools to aid in the decision-making process regarding the delivery or avoidance of RT in this setting.
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This study evaluated the need for surveillance imaging in early-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) after planned combined-modality therapy (CMT). ⋯ Surveillance imaging with either CT or PET/CT can be omitted safely for early-stage cHL treated with a combination of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine and radiation therapy because the risk of relapse is extremely low. This observation also applies to patients with bulky disease. The elimination of surveillance imaging will also reduce healthcare expenses and cumulative radiation doses in these predominantly young patients.
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Multicenter Study
Unrelated cord blood compared with haploidentical grafts in patients with hematological malignancies.
Alternative donors, such as unrelated umbilical cord blood (UCB) and related haploidentical (haplo) donors, are more and more frequently searched for and used for patients who are candidates for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation but are without a suitable related or unrelated donor. The aim of the current retrospective study was to compare the outcome of patients after haplo and UCB grafts prepared using a nonmyeloablative conditioning regimen. ⋯ The results of the current study suggest that for patients with high-risk hematological diseases without a related or unrelated donor, haploidentical transplants are a promising alternative option that deserves further investigation.