Huge decreases in the risk of breast cancer relapse over the last three decades

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate local and systemic breast cancer control by comparing the risk of relapse in breast cancer patients in 2003–2004 with that in 1972–1979 and in 1980–1986. Methods About 8,570 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2003–2004 were selected from the population-based Netherlands Cancer Registry and compared with 133 patients treated in 1972–1979 and 174 in 1980–1986. Five-year risk of relapse was calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method. Cox-proportional hazard models were applied to adjust for tumour size, nodal status and age at diagnosis. Results Patients diagnosed in 2003–2004 had smaller tumours and a less advanced nodal stage than patients diagnosed in 1972–1986. In 1972–1979, 1980–1986 and 2003–2004, treatment included mastectomy in 94%, 72% and 47%; postmastectomy radiotherapy in 75%, 70% and 30%; chemotherapy in 9%, 14% and 37% and hormonal therapy in 3%, 3% and 42% of patients, respectively. Five-year risk of locoregional and distant recurrence decreased from 37% and 34% to 15%, respectively. The 5-year risk of second primary breast cancer did not differ and was 1%, 4% and 2%, respectively. The improved relapse-free survival in patients diagnosed in 2003–2004 as compared with 1972–1979 hardly changed after adjustment (HR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.28–0.52). Conclusion Over the last decades, local breast cancer therapies have become less rigorous, whereas systemic therapy use has increased. Simultaneously, the risk of breast cancer relapse has tremendously decreased. Future novel therapies may lead to such small additional decreases in relapse rates, while the long-term side effects in breast cancer survivors will increas

Table of Contents

Table of contents for Volume 10, Issue 3 of the Linfield Magazin

Modulation of a methane Bunsen flame by upstream perturbations

In this paper the effects of an upstream spatially periodic modulation acting on a turbulent Bunsen flame are investigated using direct numerical simulations of the Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the flamelet generated manifold (FGM) method to parameterise the chemistry. The premixed Bunsen flame is spatially agitated with a set of coherent large-scale structures of specific wave-number, K. The response of the premixed flame to the external modulation is characterised in terms of time-averaged properties, e.g. the average flame height ⟨H⟩ and the flame surface wrinkling ⟨W⟩. Results show that the flame response is notably selective to the size of the length scales used for agitation. For example, both flame quantities ⟨H⟩ and ⟨W⟩ present an optimal response, in comparison with an unmodulated flame, when the modulation scale is set to relatively low wave-numbers, 4π/L ≲ K ≲ 6π/L, where L is a characteristic scale. At the agitation scales where the optimal response is observed, the average flame height, ⟨H⟩, takes a clearly defined minimal value while the surface wrinkling, ⟨W⟩, presents an increase by more than a factor of 2 in comparison with the unmodulated reference case. Combined, these two response quantities indicate that there is an optimal scale for flame agitation and intensification of combustion rates in turbulent Bunsen flames.</p

The Ginzburg-Landau theory in application

A numerical approach to Ginzburg-Landau (GL) theory is demonstrated and we review its applications to several examples of current interest in the research on superconductivity. This analysis also shows the applicability of the two-dimensional approach to thin superconductors and the re-defined effective GL parameter kappa. For two-gap superconductors, the conveniently written GL equations directly show that the magnetic behavior of the sample depends not just on the GL parameter of two bands, but also on the ratio of respective coherence lengths.Comment: To be published in Physica C, VORTEX VI Conference Proceeding

Collaborative analysis of multi-gigapixel imaging data using Cytomine

Motivation: Collaborative analysis of massive imaging datasets is essential to enable scientific discoveries. Results: We developed Cytomine to foster active and distributed collaboration of multidisciplinary teams for large-scale image-based studies. It uses web development methodologies and machine learning in order to readily organize, explore, share and analyze (semantically and quantitatively) multi-gigapixel imaging data over the internet. We illustrate how it has been used in several biomedical applications

Passive Reciprocal high-pass/low-pass 4-bit phase shifter at 2.45 GHz

This paper presents the design, fabrication and measurement of a low cost, reciprocal 4-bit phase shifter at 2.45 GHz ISM band using COTS components. High-pass/low-pass filters in π configuration are used to implement the phase shifter bit sections. SPDT switches are realized with BAP51 dual PIN diodes, with resonant inductors in the off-state to provide high isolation. The driver circuit consisting of 74AHC240 octal buffer/inverter was implemented to switch the PIN diodes and control the phase states. A compact layout of the 4-bit phase shifter and driver circuitry was fabricated on a 4-layer FR4 substrate. The total size of the PCB board was 4.9×5.3 cm. The measurement results showed an RMS phase error better than 4.1°, insertion loss better than 8.8 dB and return loss better than 13 dB. The maximum power consumption of the 4-bit phase shifter was 80 mW

Proximal Esophageal Cancer

Proximal esophageal cancer (PEC) is a highly mortal cancer with a five-year survival rate of 30%. Because second primary tumors could decrease survival in PEC patients, this research is aiming at finding out about tumors associated with PEC and their infuence on survival. With the use of a database with PEC patients, diagnosed between 1989 and 2014, it was found that head and neck cancers (H&amp;N) are the most prevalent previous tumor in PEC patients. Previous tumors have a negative effect on surivval. Prospective studies are needed to investigate on the effectiveness of prevention and surveillance methods for H&amp;N patients