Mechanisms and Treatment of Weight Loss in Cancer

Weight loss and the development of cancer cachexia are well known to contribute to the morbidity and mortality of cancer patients. Loss of body mass is most commonly due to an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. The aim of this study was to examine the nature of the negative energy balance in cancer patients and evaluate several new approaches to redress the host-tumour imbalance in cancer cachexia

Identification of diagnostic upper gastrointestinal cancer tissue type‑specific urinary biomarkers

Several potential urinary biomarkers exhibiting an association with upper gastrointestinal tumour growth have been previously identified, of which S100A6, S100A9, rabenosyn‑5 and programmed cell death 6‑interacting protein (PDCD6IP) were further validated and found to be upregulated in malignant tumours. The cancer cohort from our previous study was subclassified to assess whether distinct molecular markers can be identified for each individual cancer type using a similar approach. Urine samples from patients with cancers of the stomach, oesophagus, oesophagogastric junction or pancreas were analysed by surface‑enhanced laser desorption/ionization‑time‑of‑flight mass spectrometry using both CM10 and IMAC30 (Cu2+‑complexed) chip types and LC‑MS/MS‑based mass spectrometry after chromatographic enrichment. This was followed by protein identification, pattern matching and validation by western blotting. We found 8 m/z peaks with statistical significance for the four cancer types investigated, of which m/z 2447 and 2577 were identified by pattern matching as fragments of cathepsin‑B (CTSB) and cystatin‑B (CSTB); both molecules are indicative of pancreatic cancer. Additionally, we observed a potential association of upregulated α‑1‑antichymotrypsin with pancreatic and gastric cancers, of PDCD6IP, vitelline membrane outer layer protein 1 homolog (VMO1) and triosephosphate isomerase (TPI1) with oesophagogastric junctional cancers, and of complement C4‑A, prostatic acid phosphatase, azurocidin and histone‑H1 with oesophageal cancer. Furthermore, the potential pancreatic cancer biomarkers CSTB and CTSB were validated independently by western blotting. Therefore, the present study identified two new potential urinary biomarkers that appear to be associated with pancreatic cancer. This may provide a simple, non‑invasive screening test for use in the clinical setting.</p

Caregiving among community-dwelling grandparents in Jamaica

Grandparents play invaluable caregiving roles in the general upbringing of grandchildren. The objective of the present study is to provide a profile of grandparents providing care to co-resident grandchildren younger than 18 years old in Jamaica. A subsample of 451 grandparents providing care to co-resident grandchildren under than 18 years old was derived from a larger nationally-representative community-based study of 2943 older adults residing in Jamaica. Data pertaining to caregiving, demography, health, socioeconomic status, and social participation were analysed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Seventy one percent of grandparents were involve in regular care of their grandchildren. Hypertension (65.9%), arthritis (39.5%) and diabetes (27.2%) were the most common non-communicable diseases among grandparents. Approximately 60% of grandparents relied on family members for income and few reported other sources. Attendance at religious services was high at 78% while only about 40% were involved in voluntary activities. Only age was confirmed as a significant predictor of frequency of care in multivariate analyses with grandparents 80 years and older being 64% less likely to be involved in regular care compared to 60-69 year olds. In conclusion, grandparents are actively engaged in the provision of care to grandchildren. Specific health and social interventions are required to support and empower grandparents in their caregiving roles