A prospective study of the feasibility and acceptability of a Web-based, electronic patient-reported outcome system in assessing patient recovery after major gynecologic cancer surgery

Purpose: The purposes of this study are to evaluate the feasibility of capturing patient-reported outcomes (PROs) electronically and to identify the most common distressing symptoms in women recovering from major gynecologic cancer surgery. Methods: This was a prospective, single-arm pilot study. Eligible participants included those scheduled for a laparotomy for presumed or known gynecologic malignancy. Patients completed a Web-based STAR (Symptom Tracking and Reporting for Patients) questionnaire once preoperatively and weekly during the 6-week postoperative period. The questionnaire consisted of the patient adaptation of the NCI CTCAE 3.0 and EORTC QLQ-C30 3.0. When a patient submitted a response that was concerning, an automated email alert was sent to the clinician. The patient's assessment of STAR's usefulness was measured via an exit survey. Results: Forty-nine patients completed the study. The procedures included the following: hysterectomy ± staging (67%), resection of tumor (22%), salpingo-oophorectomy (6%), and other (4%). Most patients (82%) completed at least 4 sessions in STAR. The CTC generated 43 alerts. These alerts resulted in 25 telephone contacts with patients, 2 ER referrals, one new appointment, and one pharmaceutical prescription. The 3 most common patient-reported symptoms generating an alert were as follows: poor performance status (19%), nausea (18%), and fatigue (17%). Most patients found STAR useful (80%) and would recommend it to others (85%). Conclusion: Application of a Web-based, electronic STAR system is feasible in the postoperative period, highly accepted by patients, and warrants further study. Poor performance status, nausea, and fatigue were the most common distressing patient-reported symptoms

Measurement of the Charged Multiplicities in b, c and Light Quark Events from Z0 Decays

Average charged multiplicities have been measured separately in $b$, $c$ and light quark ($u,d,s$) events from $Z^0$ decays measured in the SLD experiment. Impact parameters of charged tracks were used to select enriched samples of $b$ and light quark events, and reconstructed charmed mesons were used to select $c$ quark events. We measured the charged multiplicities: $\bar{n}_{uds} = 20.21 \pm 0.10 (\rm{stat.})\pm 0.22(\rm{syst.})$, $\bar{n}_{c} = 21.28 \pm 0.46(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.41}_{-0.36}(\rm{syst.})$ $\bar{n}_{b} = 23.14 \pm 0.10(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.38}_{-0.37}(\rm{syst.})$, from which we derived the differences between the total average charged multiplicities of $c$ or $b$ quark events and light quark events: $\Delta \bar{n}_c = 1.07 \pm 0.47(\rm{stat.})^{+0.36}_{-0.30}(\rm{syst.})$ and $\Delta \bar{n}_b = 2.93 \pm 0.14(\rm{stat.})^{+0.30}_{-0.29}(\rm{syst.})$. We compared these measurements with those at lower center-of-mass energies and with perturbative QCD predictions. These combined results are in agreement with the QCD expectations and disfavor the hypothesis of flavor-independent fragmentation.Comment: 19 pages LaTex, 4 EPS figures, to appear in Physics Letters

Clinicopathologic features of early adenocarcinoma of the cervix initially managed with cervical conization

To evaluate the clinicopathologic features of microinvasive adenocarcinoma of the cervix in order to guide the management of patients with this disease. A retrospective review was conducted of patients diagnosed with early invasive, ≤ 5 mm stromal invasion, adenocarcinoma of the cervix by a cervical conization between 1992 and 1999 at our institution. Information was abstracted on tumor histopathologic type, grade, and depth of invasion as well as presence or absence of disease at the margins of conization, lymphovascular spread, and the presence of disease in subsequent pathology specimens including the parametrium and pelvic lymph nodes (PLNs). Thirty-three patients were identified. The mean age of the patients in the study population was 41.6 years (range, 29–53 years). Fifteen women were age 35 years or younger. Six patients had invasion ≤ 1 mm, 9 patients had invasion > 1 mm and ≤ 2 mm, 6 patients had invasion > 2 mm and ≤ 3 mm, 6 patients had invasion > 3 mm and ≤ 4 mm, and 6 patients had invasion > 4 mm and ≤ 5 mm. Three patients were treated with a conization only, 4 patients were treated with a simple hysterectomy, 25 patients were treated with a radical hysterectomy (RH) and PLN dissection (PLND), and 1 patient was treated with a radical trachelectomy and PLND. Ten patients had positive conization margins for invasive cancer, 3 patients had margins positive for adenocarcinoma in situ, 14 patients had negative margins, and in 6 patients the margin status could not be evaluated. Of the 10 patients with positive margins, 5 of 10 (50%) had residual disease in the subsequent surgical specimen. Three patients who underwent definitive management with conization alone originally had positive margins, underwent a second repeat conization, and are included in this group. Of the 16 patients with negative margins, no patient had residual disease in a subsequent surgical specimen. Of the 25 patients who underwent a RH and PLND, none had parametrial involvement and none had PLN involvement. All patients remained without evidence of disease at median follow-up of 30 months. Historically, the standard management of early invasive adenocarcinoma of the cervix has been controversial, and some clinicians continue to favor radical treatments. Based on the absence of parametrial spread and PLN involvement in early lesions, physicians and patients should consider treatment with conization with negative margins (when future fertility is desired) or simple hysterectomy. Prospective studies are required to document the safety of this approach

Clinicopathologic features of BRCA-linked and sporadic ovarian cancer

Context Most hereditary ovarian cancers are associated with germline mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2. Attempts to define the clinical significance of BRCA mutation status in ovarian cancer have produced conflicting results, especially regarding survival.Objective To determine whether hereditary ovarian cancers have distinct clinical and pathological features compared with sporadic (nonhereditary) ovarian cancers.Design and Setting Retrospective cohort study of a consecutive series of 933 ovarian cancers diagnosed and treated at our institution, which is a comprehensive cancer center as designated by the National Cancer Institute, over a 12-year period (December 1986 to August 1998).Patients The study was restricted to patients of Jewish origin because of the ease of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genotyping in this ethnic group. From the 189 patients who identified themselves as Jewish, 88 hereditary cases were identified with the presence of a germline founder mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2, The remaining 101 cases from the same series not associated with a BRCA mutation and 2 additional groups (Gynecologic Oncology Group protocols 52 and 111) with ovarian cancer from clinical trials (for the survival analysis) were included for comparison.Main Outcome Measures Age at diagnosis, surgical stage, histologic cell type and grade, and surgical outcome; and response to chemotherapy and survival for advanced-stage (III and IV) cases.Results Hereditary cancers were rarely diagnosed before age 40 years and were common after age 60 years, with mean age at diagnosis being significantly younger for BRCA1- vs BRCA2-linked patients (54 vs 62 years; P=.04). Histology, grade, stage, and success of cytoreductive surgery were similar for hereditary and sporadic cases. The hereditary group had a longer disease-free interval following primary chemotherapy in comparison with the nonhereditary group, with a median time to recurrence of 14 months and 7 months, respectively (