A decade of letrozole: FACE

Third-generation nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitors (AIs), letrozole and anastrozole, are superior to tamoxifen as initial therapy for early breast cancer but have not been directly compared in a head-to-head adjuvant trial. Cumulative evidence suggests that AIs are not equivalent in terms of potency of estrogen suppression and that there may be differences in clinical efficacy. Thus, with no data from head-to-head comparisons of the AIs as adjuvant therapy yet available, the question of whether there are efficacy differences between the AIs remains. To help answer this question, the Femara versus Anastrozole Clinical Evaluation (FACE) is a phase IIIb open-label, randomized, multicenter trial designed to test whether letrozole or anastrozole has superior efficacy as adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)- and lymph node-positive breast cancer. Eligible patients (target accrual, N = 4,000) are randomized to receive either letrozole 2.5 mg or anastrozole 1 mg daily for up to 5 years. The primary objective is to compare disease-free survival at 5 years. Secondary end points include safety, overall survival, time to distant metastases, and time to contralateral breast cancer. The FACE trial will determine whether or not letrozole offers a greater clinical benefit to postmenopausal women with HR+ early breast cancer at increased risk of early recurrence compared with anastrozole

Analysis of Discomfort During a 4-Hour Shift in Quay Crane Operators Objectively Assessed Through In-Chair Movements

This study aims to investigate the existence of possible changes in postural strategies adopted by quay crane operators during a 4-h shift performed in a simulated environment. In particular, the analysis is carried out by analyzing the trend of in-chair-movement (ICM) as indicator of discomfort and fatigue. Using a pressure sensitive mat placed on the seat pan, average and peak body-seat pressure and trunk center-of-pressure (COP) time series were acquired and processed to calculate ICMs with two methods based on pressure changes and one which considers the COP shifts. The results show a well-defined linear trend for ICM, which was detected by all the tested approaches, with significant increases occurring after 45–60 min from the beginning of the shift. However, the method which employs COP data appears potentially more adequate to accurately identify ICM due to its relative insensitivity to external factors associated with individual’s anthropometry and body composition and presence of external vibrations. Future developments of the study will be focused on establishing the suitability of the method as non-invasive early predictor of fatigu