Social Support and Hopelessness in Patients with Breast Cancer

Oztunc, Gursel,Yesil, Pinar,Paydas, Semra,Erdogan, Semra Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.1

Background: Patients with breast cancer can experience a feeling of hopelessness very deeply in the adjustment process, and the social support provided during this period can be effective in increasing the level of hope. The present study aimed to identify breast cancer patients' social support and hopelessness level. Materials and Methods: The target population of this analytical study was all breast cancer patients (total of 85) who had treatment in the oncology department of a university hospital located in Adana/Turkey and who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected through "Personal Information Form", "Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS)" and "Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support" (MSPSS). Analysis was performed using Shapiro Wilk, One Way ANOVA Welch, Student t-test, Mann Whitney U, and Kruskall Wallis tests. Homogeneity of variance was tested with the Levene, Bonferroni and Games Howell tests. Mean scores and standard deviation values are given as descriptive statistics. Results: Average age of the participants with breast cancer is $48.6{\pm}10.6$. Of all the participants, 84.7% are married, 49.4% graduated from primary school, 81.2% are housewives, and 82.4% had children. The participants' multidimensional perceived social support total scores were found to be high ($57.41{\pm}13.97$) and hopelessness scale scores low ($5.49{\pm}3.80$). There was a reverse, linear relationship between hopelessness scale scores and social support total scores (r=-0.259, p=0.017). A statistically significant relationship was found between hopelessness scores and education level and having children, occupation, income status, and education level of spouses (p<0.05). Conclusions: The present study indicates that hopelessness of the patients with breast cancer decreased with the increase in their social support. Therefore, activating patient social support systems is of importance in increasing their level of hope.

Retrospective Analysis of 498 Primary Soft Tissue Sarcomas in a Single Turkish Centre

Duman, Berna Bozkurt,Gunaldi, Meral,Ercolak, Vehbi,Afsar, Cigdem Usul,Sahin, Berksoy,Erkisi, I. Melek Koksal,Kara, Oguz,Paydas, Semra,Gonlusen, Gulfiliz,Sertdemir, Yasar Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.8

Background: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) must be managed with a team involving pathologists, radiologists, surgeons, radiation therapists and medical oncologists. Treatment modalities and demographic charasteristics of Turkish STS were analysed in the current study. Material-Methods: Primary adult STS followed between 1999-2010 in Cukurova University Medical Faculty Department of Medical Oncology were analzied retrospectively Results: Of the total of 498 patients, 238 were male and 260 female. The most seen adult sarcomas were leomyosarcoma (23%). Localization of disease was upper extremity (8.8%), lower extremity (24.7%), head-neck 8.2%, thoracic 8%, retroperitoneal 5.6%, uterine 12.4%, abdominal 10%, pelvic region 3.6 and other regions 10%. Some 13.1% were early stage, 10.2% locally advanced, 8.2% metastatic and 12.2% recurrent disease. Patients were treated with neoadjuvant/adjuvant (12%) or palliative chemotherapy (7.2%) and 11.4% patients did not receive chemotherapy. Surgery was performed as radical or conservative. The most preferred regimen was MAID combination chemotherapy in the rate of 17.6%. The most common metastatic site was lung (18.1%). The overall survival was 45 months (95%CI 30-59), 36 months in men and 55 months in women, with no statistically significant difference (p=0.5). The survival rates were not different between the group of adjuvant and palliative chemotherapy (respectively 28 versus 18 months) (p=0.06), but radical surgery at 37 months was better than 22 months for conservative surgery (p=0.0001). No differences were evident for localization (p=0.152). Locally advanced group had higher overall survival rates (72 months) than other stages (p=0.0001). Conclusion: STS can be treated successfully with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The survival rates of Turkish people were higher in locally advanced group; these results show the importance of multimodality treatment approach and radical surgery.

Pancreatic Carcinoma, Thrombosis and Mean Platelet Volume: Single Center Experience from the Southeast Region of Turkey

Afsar, Cigdem Usul,Gunaldi, Meral,Kum, Pinar,Sahin, Berksoy,Erkisi, Melek,Kara, Ismail Oguz,Paydas, Semra,Duman, Berna Bozkurt,Ercolak, Vehbi,Karaca, Feryal,Uyeturk, Ummugul,Guner, Sebnem Izmir Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.21

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the general characteristics of patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pancreatic cancer as well as evaluate the relationship between mean platelet volume (MPV), DVT and survival. Materials and Methods: Seventy-seven patients with pancreatic cancer, who were admitted to Cukurova University Medical Faculty, Department of Medical Oncology, were enrolled in the study Results: The mean age was $59{\pm}20$. Forty-nine (63.6%) were men and 28 women (36.4%). Sixty-eight (88.3%) patients had adenocarcinoma and 9 (11.7%) had a malignant epithelial tumor. Thirty-six (46.7%) had liver metastasis at diagnosis. Twenty-six (33.8%) patients were alive, 20 (26%) were dead and in 31 (40.2%) the status was unknown. Only 14 (18.1%) patients had DVT. In 42 (54.5%) patients MPV values were normal, in 28 (36.4%) patients they were above normal, and in 7 (9.1%) patients they were below normal. There was no statistically significant difference between gender, tumour localization, chemotherapy and survival rates (p:0.56, p:0.11, p:0.21). There was no significant difference between DVT, gender, localisation, histological subtype, the presence of metastasis, stage and if the patient had been treated with chemotherapy (p:0.5, p:0.6, p:0.2, p:0.32, p:0.1, p:0.84). There was also no significant difference between MPV and DVT (p:0.57) but there was a significant difference between liver metastasis and DVT (p:0.02). Age, stage, the presence of metastasis and DVT were prognostic in pancreatic cancer patients. Conclusions: Cases of pancreatic cancer with liver metastasis should be studied more carefully as thrombosis is more common in these patients.

Irrigation Regimes and Bio-stimulant Application Effects on Yield and Morpho-Physiological Responses of Strawberry

Burcak Kapur,Eser Celiktopuz,Mehmet Ali Sarıda?,Sevgi Payda? Kargı 한국원예학회 2018 원예과학기술지 Vol.36 No.3

In the Mediterranean region of Turkey, strawberry production is a vital part of the agricultural sector, providing high rates of employment and farm income. Optimizing water application and effective cultivation practices are of considerable importance in improving strawberry yield. In this study the response of strawberry a cultivar (Fragaria ananassa Duch. cv. Rubygem) to irrigation regimes and bio-stimulant (seaweed extract) use were investigated, by evaluating the yield and morpho-physiological parameters under high tunnel conditions in the Mediterranean environment. The amounts of irrigation water applied were 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 and 1.25 times the water surface evaporation, measured by a standard Class A pan, and the corresponding regimes were denoted as Ir50, Ir75, Ir100, and Ir125, respectively. There was a significant decrease in total berry yield and number of berries in the Ir50 irrigation regime. The maximum total berry yield was attained at Ir75 in both applications (585.7 g/plant and 521.9 g/plant under bio-stimulant and control applications, respectively). However, the results of Ir75, Ir100 and Ir125 did not reveal any significant yield benefit. The bio-stimulant application provided a significant, 17% increase, in berry yield. The stomatal conductance and leaf water potential were reduced as irrigation application rates decreased. Conversely, stomatal conductance and leaf water potential were statistically higher, 41 μmol · m<SUP>-2</SUP> · s<SUP>-1</SUP> and 0.5 bar, respectively, after the use of the bio-stimulant, as it alleviated the negative effects of water stress. Bio-stimulant application also significantly increased fruit nitrogen content by approximately 14%. In conclusion, considering the irrigation regimes of strawberries grown under high tunnels in the Mediterranean environment, water use is recommended at around 274 mm (Ir75), along with bio-stimulant application for optimal yield.