The Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) predicts toxicity and efficacy in platinum-based treated patients with metastatic lung cancer

Purpose: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death. A cumulative prognostic score based on C-reactive protein and albumin, termed the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), indicates the presence of systemic inflammatory response. GPS has been proposed as a powerful prognostic tool for patients with various types of malignant tumors, including lung cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of baseline GPS in terms of toxicity and response in lung cancer patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients and methods: Patients referred to our institution for consideration of first-line platinum-based treatment were eligible. Demographics and disease-related characteristics were recorded. Toxicity was graded according to NCI CTCAE version 3.0 throughout first-line therapy. GPS was calculated before the onset of treatment and was related to the development of toxicity. Response to first-line therapy and survival data were also collected. Results: Totally, 96 lung cancer patients were accrued. GPS was associated with increased mucositis p = 0.004), neurotoxicity (p = 0.038), neutropenia (p =0.02), dose reductions or/ and need for granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) support (p=0.005), toxicity-related termination of treatment (p=0.001) and chemotherapy-related toxic deaths (p=0.013). GPS was associated with overall survival (p=0.016) and progression-free survival (p=0.016) as well as response to treatment (p=0.05). Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that GPS assessment is predictive of the most important aspects of platinum-related toxicity and this may partly explain its associations with poor clinical outcome in patients with metastatic lung cancer. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Musculoskeletal pain illness perceptions: Factor structure of the Illness Perceptions Questionnaire-Revised

Background: The Revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (IPQ-R) is commonly used to measure illness perceptions. We tested whether the structure of the IPQ-R was appropriate for use with primary care musculoskeletal pain patients. Methods: Confirmatory (C) and exploratory (E) factor analyses (FA) were used to test whether the structure of the IPQ-R was supported for patients with knee pain (n = 393), hand pain (n = 2113) and back pain (n = 1591). CFA was used to test whether the timeline acute/chronic, timeline cyclical, consequences, personal control, treatment control, illness coherence and emotional representation dimensions of the IPQ-R were distinct; EFA was used to explore potential structure for patients’ views on the cause of their condition. Results: Goodness-of-fit indices for the CFA were below our criteria for good model fit. Removal of six items from the model improved model fit, but our criteria for good model fit was still not achieved. An interpretable factor solution could not be determined for the causal items on the questionnaire. Conclusions: Our data show limited evidence that the seven dimensions of the IPQ-R are distinct. A clear structure for the causal items was not determined. Further work is needed to develop the IPQ-R for use with primary care musculoskeletal pain patients

Effects of Zn/B nanofertilizer on biophysical characteristics and growth of coffee seedlings in a greenhouse

[[abstract]]The effects of Zn/B nanofertilizer on the biophysical characteristics and growth of coffee seedlings in a greenhouse were investigated. Zn/B nanofertilizer was prepared by loading ZnSO4 and H3BO3 on a chitosan nanoparticles emulsion that was prepared by ionic gelation with tripolyphosphate. The nanofertilizer was characterized by TEM, SEM, zeta potential value and size distribution. The nanofertilizer was sprayed on the leaves of coffee seedlings in five different doses of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 ppm. Application of the nanofertilizer enhanced the uptake of zinc, nitrogen and phosphorus. The results were found to increase the chlorophyll content and photosynthesis of the coffee. Finally, the nanofertilizer promoted growth of the coffee plants in the leaf area, height of plant and stem diameter. The nanofertilizer seems to be a great potential foliar feed for the growth of coffee and other plants.[[sponsorship]]科技部[[notice]]補正完