International Journal of Breast Cancer最新文献

Background: Research suggests that fear of cancer could be a significant predictor influencing participation in cancer screening. However, no tools have been validated to measure breast cancer fear among women in Bangladesh, while the Breast Cancer Fear Scale (BCFS) has been extensively examined in Western contexts. Thus, this study intends to validate the Bangla version of the BCFS among female university students aged (> 18) years, given the urgent need for a culturally relevant tool to evaluate fear associated with breast cancer screening practices in this population. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 among female university students in Bangladesh. Participants were aged > 18 years, able to read Bangla, and had no personal or familial history of cancer or chronic illnesses. Data were collected via an online survey using a random sampling method, resulting in 456 eligible participants after data cleaning. The BCFS was translated into Bangla following the standard forward-backward translation process. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) were conducted to evaluate the structure of the scale factor. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity were also assessed. Results: The results showed that the mean age of the participants was 22.91 (SD: 1.12). The Bangla version of the BCFS showed a single-factor structure, high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.939), and good test-retest reliability (r = 0.53, p < 0.001). The CFA results are consistent with the EFA findings, confirming that the scale is a good fit for the one-factor structure. The loadings range from 0.679 (Fear1) to 0.920 (Fear4) in the total sample, indicating that the items are significant indicators of the latent construct. The BCFS demonstrated an acceptable model fit, with RMSEA values below the 0.08 cutoff and SRMR values well below the 0.05 threshold across all samples. Additionally, the GFI, AGFI, NFI, TLI, and CFI values were all above the recommended thresholds, indicating a high fit for the model. Conclusions: The Bangla version of the BCFS has proven to be a powerful and reliable tool for gauging the multifaceted nature of breast cancer fear among Bangladeshi women, particularly female university students. This culturally tailored instrument holds the potential to shed light on the psychological barriers that hinder breast cancer screening.

Breast cancer stands as the utmost prevalent malignancy in women, impacting the epithelial tissue of the breast and often displaying resistance to effective treatment due to its diverse molecular and histological features. Current treatment modalities may exhibit decreasing efficacy over time and can lead to disease progression. The mitochondria, a crucial organelle responsible for cellular metabolism and energy supply, stand highly sensitive to both heat and reactive oxygen species, presenting an assuring target for photodynamic and photothermal therapies (PTTs) in cancer cure. The employment of nanodrug carriers for combination deliveries holds promise in addressing challenges related to drug degradation and off-target toxicity. By circumventing the reticuloendothelial system, nanocarriers bolster the drug's bioavailability at the intended site and ensure controlled codelivery of multiple drugs, thereby maintaining the normal pharmacokinetic features and the regular pharmacodynamic characteristics of different therapeutic mechanisms. The precision and efficacy of this innovative technology have revolutionized drug delivery, substantially enhancing treatment effectiveness. In the pursuit of targeting mitochondrial modifications in cancer cells, various combination therapies such as photodynamic therapy (PDT), PTT, and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) have been explored. These therapies have improved the efficiency of mitochondria-targeted cancer treatment due to their advantageous properties of minimal toxicity, noninvasiveness, reduced drug resistance, and a safer profile. Our review article provides an exhaustive overview of alterations in the mitochondrial environment in BC, their impact on BC development, potential mitochondrial targets for BC treatment, nanotherapeutic approaches for targeting mitochondria, and the limitations of these approaches.

Purpose: Breast cancer patients are subjected to many hardships during chemotherapy which negatively affects the patient's quality of life. The current study was conducted to identify aspects with low scores and produce untoward effects on the quality of life. Results: The results of the study showed that the social functioning domain achieved high quality of life mean score of 76.68 ± 32.94 while emotional functioning attained 38.18 ± 29.61. The most apparent symptoms detected were insomnia and fatigue followed by pain and loss of appetite. Regarding EORTC-BR45, higher score and better quality of life were observed in the body image domain with a mean score of 60.72 ± 37.19, while the future perspective domain achieved low quality of life of 35.41 ± 42.9, and the most obvious symptom for patients was upset by hair loss. Conclusion: The results of the study showed the impact of chemotherapy on the lives of patients and highlighted the aspects that need greater focus by healthcare providers in Jordan. In addition to providing treatment, emotional and psychological support are necessary to improve the quality of life for these women.

Purpose: This study is aimed at generating consensus among women who had ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and healthcare professionals on how to improve communication about low-risk forms of DCIS and reduce affected women's diagnosis-related confusion and anxiety. Methods: We conducted a two-round online Delphi survey with affected women and professionals from across Canada. They rated items sourced from prior research and key informant interviews on a 7-point Likert scale. We retained items rated 6 or 7 by ≥ 80% of panelists. Results: Thirty-seven panelists (17 women, 20 professionals) completed Round 1 and 94.6% of those completed Round 2. Of 42 items rated, 18 were retained, 13 discarded, and 11 did not achieve consensus to retain or discard. Women and professionals agreed on 3 language approaches (use plain language, distinguish DCIS from invasive breast cancer, specify the risk of recurrence and spread) and 9 other strategies to help discuss DCIS (e.g., use visual aids, provide or refer women to culturally tailored DCIS-specific information, ensure physicians can access interpreters). Based on rating and comments, women were more enthusiastic than professionals about referring to abnormal cells rather than DCIS and scheduling longer or follow-up visits to address concerns. To disseminate these findings, panelists recommended public awareness campaigns for women and continuing education and professional society endorsement for physicians. Conclusion: These findings address gaps in prior research that recommended changing the DCIS label, but had not fully explored label preferences, or identified other ways to improve and support communication about DCIS.

Skin cancer is among the most prevalent types of cancer worldwide, and early detection is crucial for improving treatment outcomes and patient survival rates. Traditional diagnostic methods, often reliant on visual examination and manual evaluation, can be subjective and time-consuming, leading to variability in accuracy. Recent developments in machine learning, particularly using pretrained models and fine-tuning techniques, offer promising advancements in automating and improving skin cancer classification. This paper explores the application of a two-phase model using the HAM10000 dataset, which comprises a wide range of skin lesion images. The first phase employs transfer learning with frozen layers, followed by fine-tuning all layers in the second phase to adapt the models more specifically to the dataset. I evaluate nine pretrained models, including VGG16, VGG19, InceptionV3, Xception (extreme inception), and DenseNet121, assessing their performance based on accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score metrics. The VGG16 model, after fine-tuning, achieved the highest test set accuracy of 99.3%, highlighting its potential for highly accurate skin cancer classification. This study provides important insights for clinicians and researchers, demonstrating the efficacy of advanced machine learning models in enhancing diagnostic accuracy and supporting clinical decision-making in dermatology.

Background/Purpose: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, reactive lymphadenopathy after vaccination is a major concern in breast sonography, especially for patients with a history of breast cancer. The state-of-the-art literature on clinical and sonographic findings either examines a small volume of cases or limited types of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine. This study is aimed at providing vast clinical information to facilitate breast sonographic examination for participants who underwent recent SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Methods: Among different SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in the Asian Taiwanese population, reactive axillary lymphadenopathy was investigated through breast sonographic findings and clinical data analysis. The sample included participants with recent vaccination by different brands approved in Taiwan, such as the AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 (AZ) vaccine, Moderna mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccine, and Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 (BNT) vaccine. Results: A total of 291 participants received the AZ vaccine, 154 received the BNT vaccine, 222 received the Moderna vaccine, and 422 were nonvaccinated during the study period. The incidence rate for axillary reactive lymphadenopathy was 10.9, 21.3, 21.4, and 0.6, respectively. No incidence of malignancy was reported during the 6-month follow-up period. The AZ vaccine, which is a virus-vector vaccine reported a lower incidence rate than mRNA vaccines. We also found lymphadenopathy may last for more than 1 month after vaccination in this study. Conclusion: The study results provide additional supporting information for the management suggested by the recently updated revision of the Society of Breast Imaging guideline pertaining to lymphadenopathy diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-related ipsilateral lymphadenopathy and screening of mammograms.

Background: This study evaluates the effects of hydroxytyrosol (HT), a component of olive oil, on mammographic breast density reduction. We explored effects of HT on Wnt β-catenin and other pathways involved in cancer stem cell renewal, DNA repair, cell proliferation, and differentiation. Methods: Twenty-five milligrams per day oral dose of HT was given for 12 months in pre- and postmenopausal women at increased risk of breast cancer. Out of 51 patients enrolled, 41 completed the study. The annualized percent decrease in maximum mammographic volumetric breast density (max VBD%) between baseline (BL) and end of treatment (EOT) was analyzed. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and multiplex analysis was performed on the breast biopsies to compare the BL with EOT samples. Results: Max VBD% showed a nonsignificant change; however, in women 60 years or older, the max VBD% decrease was significant (3.7%, p = 0.0391), especially in those with high BL mammographic density. Using RNA-Seq, 3330 unique transcripts were identified (p < 0.05). Mitotic telophase/cytokinesis and DNA damage were upregulated, whereas Wnt, Notch, and oxidative stress-induced senescence pathways were downregulated (p < 0.05). These pathways were confirmed by NanoString nCounter where significant decrease in proliferative genes (RELA and CDK4) and Wnt pathway (R-HSA-195721 and R-HAS-201681) was observed (p < 0.05). Conclusions: HT reduced breast density only in women over 60 years, especially in those with high BL breast density. HT also reduced proliferation and affected the Wnt signaling pathway. This study lays the foundation for future larger studies in exploring a natural compound with well tolerability and overall nontoxic profile for chemoprevention of breast cancer. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02068092.

Objectives: This study is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of TachoSil in controlling lymphatic leakage in breast cancer patients undergoing axillary dissection. By examining its ability to reduce postsurgical lymphatic drainage, the study will assess its impact on complications like seroma formation, recovery time, and overall patient outcomes, including quality of life and reduced healthcare costs. Methods: Breast cancer patients treated in the Department of Surgical Oncology at King Abdulaziz Medical City were enrolled to receive either TachoSil or undergo drain placement after axillary dissection. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to observe the difference in lymphatic drainage volume over time considering other covariates, such as age, sex, family history, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), and stage. Results: The TachoSil group showed significantly lower lymphatic drainage volumes at 24 h (106.5 ± 11.3) than the control group (141.7 ± 13.0) (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in lymphatic drainage volume at 3 days (p = 0.176) and 7 days (p = 0.091). However, at 10 days, the TachoSil group exhibited significantly lower lymphatic drainage volume (19.9 ± 6.1) than the control group (44.5 ± 9.2) (p < 0.001). Repeated measures MANOVA showed a statistically significant difference in lymphatic drainage over time, with a moderate effect (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings suggest that TachoSil sealant effectively reduces early postoperative lymphatic drainage volume and maintains lower drainage rates up to 10 days following axillary dissection in breast cancer patients. The use of TachoSil sealant may have potential benefits in reducing the incidence of complications associated with lymphatic drainage and improving patient outcomes.

Purpose: Previous studies have demonstrated that many healthcare workers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) lack the appropriate training and knowledge to recognize and diagnose breast cancer at an early stage. As a result, women in LMICs are frequently diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer (Stage III/IV) with a poor prognosis. Materials and Methods: We hosted a 1-day breast cancer educational conference directed towards healthcare workers in Honduras. We conducted pre- and postcourse (1-2 months later) assessments that evaluated knowledge of screening, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer. Breast cancer specialists at the University of Minnesota and Honduras developed a 12-question assessment tool in Spanish. Results: A total of 157 people attended the course, and 86 completed the precourse knowledge assessment. The overall percentage of correct responses was 70% in the precourse assessment. Postcourse knowledge assessments were completed by 94 participants. The overall percentage of correct responses was 80% in the postcourse assessment and was significantly higher than precourse assessment scores (p < 0.0001). For the individual domains of screening, diagnosis, and treatment, the postcourse knowledge assessment scores were significantly improved as compared with the precourse scores (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: In this study, we found that a 1-day, in-person breast cancer educational course directed towards healthcare workers in Honduras resulted in improved breast cancer knowledge assessment scores. Future research and implementation strategies will include training healthcare workers throughout Honduras and determining the impact of these educational interventions on the late-stage presentation of breast cancer.

The intricate terrain of breast cancer (BC) in India is examined in this review, which also looks at screening techniques, geographical differences, epidemiological trends, and obstacles to early diagnosis. BC has a major impact in India, especially on women. The research examines data from 2014 to 2024 and finds that, although overall cancer rates are declining, there has been a noticeable increase in BC cases. While obstacles including late-stage diagnosis and restricted access to treatment contribute to lower survival rates in India compared to Western countries, regional variations underscore the need for customized screening measures. The analysis of screening methods highlights the particular difficulties that Indian women encounter, such as the limitations of mammography in a country whose breast density is higher. The review presents cutting-edge technologies like breast exams and computer-aided detection and examines alternative techniques like ultrasonography. The importance of healthcare spending on screening uptake is highlighted by the regional inequality discussion, and mobile screening camps have emerged as a workable way to get around access and cost issues. The relevance of patient education and awareness in the Indian context is emphasized in the review's conclusion. The lack of adequate health resources and sociocultural obstacles, such as the fear of cancer, highlight the necessity of early detection campaigns and thorough education programs. With a knowledge of the difficulties and achievements in BC screening procedures, this narrative review hopes to make a significant contribution to the larger conversation about managing BC in the particular setting of India.