Feasibility and Acceptability of Mindfulness-Based Group Visits for Smoking Cessation in Low-Socioeconomic Status and Minority Smokers with Cancer

Objective: Smoking cessation studies tailored for low-income and racial/ethnic minority cancer patients are limited. African American and low-socioeconomic status (SES) smokers have higher cancer mortality rates and are less likely to use evidence-based smoking cessation treatments compared with white and higher SES counterparts. Mindfulness training is a promising approach to address racial and SES disparities in smoking cessation. The authors assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a mindfulness-based smoking cessation (MBSC) medical group visit for low-income and racially diverse smokers with cancer. Design and intervention: The authors adapted the integrative medical group visit model used for chronic pain and included the You Can Quit smoking cessation curriculum used at the study site, Tobacco Treatment Center. The program was conducted in eight weekly 2-h visits. The authors then tested the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention for actively smoking cancer patients and cancer survivors in two pilot groups (N = 18) using a pre-post design. Setting/Location: This study took place at Boston Medical Center, a large urban safety net academic teaching hospital. Outcome measures: The authors used a medical group visit intake form to collect data on weekly cigarette intake and home practice. They also gathered additional qualitative data from focus groups and in-depth interviews. Results: Over 50% of participants (n = 10) self-identified as black and 56% reported an annual income of $20,000 or less. Over two-thirds of the participants attended four or more of the eight group visits. There was a significant decrease in weekly cigarette intake from 75.1 cigarettes at baseline to 44.3 at 3 months (p = 0.039). None of the participants quit smoking. Participants were satisfied with the program and reported positive lifestyle changes. Conclusion: MBSC group visits are feasible and acceptable among racially diverse and low-SES smokers with cancer and should be further studied in a larger cohort

Argon beam coagulator versus cystectomy for endometrioma treatment in infertile women and the impact on ovarian reserve. A case control study

Objective: To evaluate the impact of two different surgical modalities, traditional cystectomy and argon beam coagulator vaporization–ablation (ABC) of ovarian endometrioma on the ovarian reserve in terms of antimullerian hormone (AMH) and antral follicle count (AFC). Patients and methods: Eighty infertile women with ovarian endometrioma were included in this case control study. Patients were selected to undergo either traditional cystectomy (Group I, n = 40) or argon coagulator beam vaporization (Group II, n = 40). Mean serum AMH changes and antral follicle counts (AFC) were the primary and secondary outcomes of this study. Results: At 2 weeks follow-up, postoperative mean serum AMH levels were markedly decreased, though not significantly different between both treatment groups and mean AFC was higher in both groups, though statistically significant in the ABC group. Conclusion: Our study clearly demonstrated that the surgical management of endometrioma, with either ovarian cystectomy or argon beam coagulator vaporization causes a significant decrease in ovarian reserve in terms of AMH levels in women of reproductive age