The Establishment of the Nordic Cardio-Oncology Society

Non peer reviewe

Krabbamein í ristli og endaþarmi - yfirlitsgrein

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the Western hemisphere and the incidence increases with increasing age. Most colorectal cancers are localized with or without lymph node metastases. Up to 20% of patients present with metastatic disease, most commonly to the liver. Surgery is the only curative therapy for localized colorectal cancer and adjuvant chemotherapy is usually recommended for patients with lymph node metastases. Surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy are the key components of rectal cancer therapy. Selected patients with recurrent and metastatic disease can be salvaged with surgery but chemotherapy remains the mainstay of therapy for advanced colorectal cancer. Substantial progress has been observed in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer in recent years

Skimun fyrir krabbameinum í ristli og endaþarmi : Yfirlitsgrein um nýgengi, dánartíðni, kostnað og árangur

In this article the incidence and mortality for cancer of the colon and rectum in Iceland is discussed. The two most common screening methods, faecal immunochemical test (FIT) and colonoscopy are compared and an estimate of cost and benefits for the Icelandic society will be made. The incidence of cancer of the colon and rectum has been increasing in Iceland in last decades but mortality has decreased and survival improved. However, more individuals die from cancer of the colon and rectum than from both breast-and cervical cancer added together. It is likely that screening for cancer of the colon and rectum, could prevent at least 6 of the 28 deaths related to those cancers, occurring yearly in Iceland in screening age, given a screening ages of 50-74 years. The extra cost for the Icelandic community due to the implementation of screening for cancer of the colon and rectum will be acceptable due to the lower cost of simpler treatments, lower cancer incidence and reduced mortality.Nýgengi krabbameina í ristli og endaþarmi hefur aukist hjá bæði konum og körlum síðustu áratugina en dánartíðni hefur heldur lækkað frá sjötta áratugnum og lifun batnað vegna betri greiningar og meðferðar. Fjöldi þeirra sem látast úr ristil- og endaþarmskrabbameini er þó meiri en úr brjósta- og leghálskrabbameinum samanlagt. Viðfangsefni greinarinnar eru nýgengi og dánartíðni krabbameina í ristli og endaþarmi hérlendis. Fjallað er um tvær algengustu skimunaraðferðirnar, leit að blóði í hægðum og ristilspeglun. Þá er lagt mat á ætlaðan kostnað og ávinninning íslensks samfélags af því að skima fyrir krabbameinum í ristli og endaþarmi. Líklegt er að á Íslandi geti skipulögð lýðgrunduð skimun fyrir krabbameinum í ristli og endaþarmi komið í veg fyrir að minnsta kosti 6 dauðsföll af þeim 28 á ári sem verða úr sjúkdómnum meðal fólks á skimunaraldri, ef skimunaraldur verður 50-74 ára. Umframkostnaður fyrir samfélagið vegna skimunar fyrir krabbameinum í ristli og endaþarmi er talinn mjög ásættanlegur í ljósi þess að sparnaður verður vegna einfaldari meðferðar, lækkunar nýgengis og fækkunar dauðsfalla.English title in Web of Science: Screening for cancer of the colon and rectum A review on incidence, mortality, cost and benefit.</p

Evolution of hepatitis C virus variants following blood transfusion from one infected donor to several recipients: a long-term follow-up

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldVariants of hepatitis C virus (HCV) from a single infected blood donor and 13 viraemic recipients who were traced were examined by sequencing and cloning to determine the extent of virus diversity in hypervariable region 1. Serum-derived viral isolates were studied from the donor when his HCV infection was discovered in 1993, in his recipients that year (0.3-5 years post-transfusion) and 5 years later in the donor and six viraemic recipients who were still alive. Viral variants of broad diversity were readily demonstrated in the baseline samples of the donor (nucleotide p-distance 0.130), but significantly less (P<0.00003) diversity was observed in the recipients' first samples (p-distances within recipients 0.003-0.062). In the first blood samples of the recipients, many of the viral variants identified were closely related to a strain variant from the donor. In follow-up samples drawn 5 years later from the donor and six recipients, the p-distance among donor clones had increased (0.172, P<0.0005) compared with the recipients, who displayed significantly narrower quasispecies (0.011-0.086). A common finding was that recipients of blood components processed from the same donation differed substantially in persisting HCV infectious sequence. Markedly few changes leading to changes of amino acids had occurred during follow-up in four of six recipients. These results question the significance of the development of viral variants as a necessary phenomenon in the evolution of HCV and pathogenesis of the disease

Cancer rehabilitation: A Nordic and European perspective

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldBACKGROUND: The increasing incidence of cancer combined with prolonged survival times seen throughout the western world increases the need for rehabilitation. Diagnosis and treatment for cancer may have substantial effects on the patients' physical, psychological, social and existential well-being. The aim of this paper is to describe the current situation in cancer rehabilitation in the Nordic countries, the Netherlands and Germany. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Description of the current situation in cancer rehabilitation in the Nordic countries and literature review. RESULTS: Rehabilitation as defined by multiple organizations covers a multidimensional view on chronic disease and its effect on the patient's life. The rehabilitation systems in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands differ depending on the differing social security and health-care systems, but rehabilitation provided is largely based on a similar, multidimensional and multidisciplinary understanding of cancer rehabilitation. Research on rehabilitation efforts in European countries indicates that there is substantial evidence with regard to single interventions which can be part of cancer rehabilitation. DISCUSSION: In order to assure patients and families continuing quality of life, rehabilitation should be an integral and continuous part of all cancer car