Prevalence and influence of overweight and obesity on clinical and epidemiological profile of breast cancer patients in the North of Mato Grosso, Brazil: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Obesity is one of the main preventable risk factors in post-menopausal breast cancer. This retrospective cross-sectional study aimed to demonstrate the clinical and epidemiological profile of breast cancer patients diagnosed in the period from 2013 to 2018 in the North of Mato Grosso, Brazil and to verify the prevalence and influence of overweight and obesity in these patients. Data were collected from patient’s medical records who were diagnosed with breast carcinoma in the Department of Oncology of Santo Antônio’s Hospital, in Sinop-MT. 196 patients were included. 99.5% were women. The majority were married, ≥50 years old (57.7%) and overweight or obese. In the overweight and obesity group the percentage of patients with invasive breast carcinoma were significantly higher when compared with eutrophic group (p=0.03). In all groups the profile of estrogen and progesterone receptors positive and HER-2 negative were more prevalent, however, the frequency of triple negative profile was higher in the overweight (7.1%) and obesity (6.3%) group when compared with control (4.3%) group, as well as the presence of hypertension and diabetes. In conclusion, it was observed a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in breast cancer patients, which contributed to modify the histological type of breast cancer (high prevalence of invasive and lobular carcinomas), increase the frequency of patients in stages 3 and 4, the percentage of triple negative profile and the frequency of other comorbidities, as hypertension and diabetes. Furthermore, metformin, an antidiabetic drug, seems to be contributing to reduce tumor development and improve the clinical profile and prognosis in diabetic breast cancer patients

A Numerical Development in the Dynamical Equations of Solitons in Optical Fibers

It was evaluated the numerical resolution of a nonlinear differential equations system that describes the solitons propagation in dielectric optical fibers, through the method of finite elements, which is implemented based on Streamline Upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) and Consistent Approximate Upwind (CAU) formulations

Um Desenvolvimento Numérico nas Equações Dinâmicas de Sólitons em Fibras Óticas

Avaliamos a resolução numérica de um sistema de equações diferenciais não-lineares, que descreve a propagação de sólitons em fibras óticas dielétricas, por meio do método de elementos finitos, implementado a partir de formulações streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) e consistent approximate upwind (CAU)

A wearable chatbot-based model for monitoring colorectal cancer patients in the active phase of treatment

Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. This study presents the findings of a prospective non-randomized clinical study for evaluating a new computational model for monitoring colorectal cancer patients in the active treatment phase using artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. For eight weeks, patients self-reported perceived symptoms and adverse effects, practiced physical activity, and data about their diet. The outcome assessment was based on comparing the intervention and control groups. Patients evaluated the model using the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) and the System Usability Scale (SUS). Patients who participated in the model reported signs and symptoms more accurately (control: 64.7%; intervention: 92.3%; p = 0.1038). In the intervention group, physical activity was more effective, and most patients (61.5%) interacted with the chatbot for at least 62.5% of the period. Results indicate that the model contributes to more assertive data collection and greater patient engagement in self-management of symptoms and adverse effects of treatment and cancer. Moreover, the model contributed to increasing the practice of light physical activity by patients. UEQ and SUS scores indicate that the model met users’ expectations and has acceptable usability