Asian Pac J Cancer P
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Asian Pac J Cancer P · Jan 2012
Prediction of length of ICU stay using data-mining techniques: an example of old critically Ill postoperative gastric cancer patients.
With the background of aging population in China and advances in clinical medicine, the amount of operations on old patients increases correspondingly, which imposes increasing challenges to critical care medicine and geriatrics. The study was designed to describe information on the length of ICU stay from a single institution experience of old critically ill gastric cancer patients after surgery and the framework of incorporating data-mining techniques into the prediction. ⋯ Comorbidity of two or more kinds of shock is the most important factor of length of ICU stay in the studied sample. Since there are differences of ICU patient characteristics between wards and hospitals, consideration of the data-mining technique should be given by the intensivists as a length of ICU stay prediction tool.
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Asian Pac J Cancer P · Jan 2012
Validation of a palliative prognostic index to predict life expectancy for terminally ill cancer patients in a hospice consultation setting in Taiwan.
The aim of our study was to assess the practical utility of the palliative prognostic index (PPI) as a prognostic tool used by nurse specialists in a hospice consultation setting in Taiwan. ⋯ Assessment by PPI can accurately predict survival of terminal cancer patients receiving hospice consultation care. PPI is a simple tool and can be administered by nurse members of hospice consultation teams.
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Asian Pac J Cancer P · Jan 2012
Reliability and validity of the quality of life -family version (QOL-FV) in Turkish family caregivers of patients with cancer.
Family caregivers (FCs) are often the primary source of social and emotional support for cancer patients and play a major role in how well they manage their illness. The aim of this study was to create an Turkish version of the Quality of Life - Family Version (QOL-FV) and to evaluate its psychometric properties in a sample of FCs of cancer patients. ⋯ The QOL-FV, adapted into Turkish, was found to have sufficient reliability and validity.
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Asian Pac J Cancer P · Jan 2012
Effects of valproic acid on proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis and metastasis of ovarian cancer in vitro and in vivo.
Inhibitors of histone deacetylase activity are emerging as a potentially important new class of anticancer agents. In this study, we assessed the anticancer effects of valproic acid (VPA) on ovarian cancer in vitro and in vivo. Cultured SKOV3 cells were treated by VPA with different concentrations and time, then the effects on cell growth, cell cycle, apoptosis, and related events were investigated. ⋯ Treatment with VPA combined with DDP demonstrated enhanced anticancer effects. The result of flow cytometry (FCM) indicated that after VPA in vitro and in vivo, the expression of E-cadherin was increased whereas vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were decreased. This study suggests that VPA could be a novel attractive agent for treatment of ovarian cancer.
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Asian Pac J Cancer P · Jan 2011
Comparative StudyComparison of Aalen's additive and Cox proportional hazards models for breast cancer survival: analysis of population- based data from British Columbia, Canada.
Regression models for survival data have traditionally been based on the Cox regression model. However, its validity relies heavily on assumption of proportional hazards. Another restriction of the Cox model is insufficiency in dealing with time-varying covariate effects, since the regression coefficients are assumed constant. These weaknesses have generated interest in alternative approaches and with Aalen's additive model, the effect of the covariates acts on an absolute rather than a relative scale. We here fit the Cox and Aalen's additive models to breast cancer data for comparison through practical application. ⋯ Based on our findings, if the proportional hazard assumption is not satisfied, the Aalen's additive model is an appropriate alternative for the Cox model. If the proportional hazard assumption is satisfied, both models are appropriate. Generally, the two models give different pieces of information.