Breast Cancer in Hong Kong, Southern China: The First Population-Based Analysis of Epidemiological Characteristics, Stage-Specific, Cancer-Specific, and Disease-Free Survival in Breast Cancer Patients: 1997–2001

Background: Cancer registries have been set up worldwide to provide information for cancer health planning. There are known variations in breast cancer incidence and mortality worldwide. However, breast cancer incidence, pathological characteristics, and survival data is still underreported in Asian countries. This is the first comprehensive population-based breast cancer study performed using population database of the Hong Kong Cancer Registry. Methods: A retrospective review of medical records of 8,961 subjects who were diagnosed with breast cancer between January 1, 1997 to December 31, 2001 and followed up to December 31, 2007. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the epidemiological and clinical data. Estimates of overall, disease-free, and cancer-specific survival at 5 years were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and stage-specific relative survival rates were calculated. Results: A total of 7,630 breast cancer patients' medical records and dataset were available during this period, and 7,449 subjects were eligible for the final analysis. Median follow-up was 84 months. A total of 47.4% were diagnosed with breast cancer at age 49 years and younger;22.2%, 46.9%, 10.8%, and 4.1% presented at stages I, II, III, and IV, respectively. A total of 53.5% had ER-positive cancer, and 20.3% had HER2-positive cancers;13.4% had triplenegative cancers. The relative, cancer-specific, and diseasefree survival rates at 5 years were 84%, 85.2%, and 81.2%, respectively. Discussion. We performed the first comprehensive population-based breast cancer epidemiology study in Southern China using the Hong Kong Cancer Registry database. This provides a baseline study cohort for comparative studies with other Asian countries and Chinese who have migrated to the West. © The Author(s) 2011. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

How to Develop Patient-Centered Research: Some Perspectives Based on Surveys Among People With Rheumatic Diseases in Scandinavia

Patient-centered research addresses the research agenda of patients and captures aspects of health and functioning that they consider important. Yet, those who live with a disease or condition have limited influence when it comes to setting the research agenda, and we know little about how they experience being participants in research studies. Furthermore, knowledge is limited concerning factors enhancing or hindering patients' participation in trials and the format that people with rheumatic diseases and their families prefer for dissemination of the results from clinical research. This perspective article describes the research priorities of people with rheumatic diseases in Scandinavia, their experiences and attitudes concerning participation in research projects, and which format for research information they prefer. Based on results from 3 surveys organized by the Scandinavian Rheumatism Associations and on related research literature, the possible implications for future research also are discussed

Th2 cell hyporesponsiveness during chronic murine schistosomiasis is cell intrinsic and linked to GRAIL expression

Chronic infections are associated with progressively declining T cell function. Infections with helminth parasites, such as Schistosoma mansoni, are often chronic and characterized by the development of strong Th2 responses that peak during the acute stage of infection and then decline despite ongoing infection; this minimizes Th2-dependent immunopathology during the chronic stage of infection. We sought to understand the basis for the decline in Th2 responses in chronic schistosomiasis. Using IL-4 reporter mice (mice that express EGFP as a reporter for Il4 gene expression) to identify Th2 cells, we found that Th2 cell numbers plateaued during acute infection and remained constant thereafter. However, the percentages of Th2 cells proliferating during late infection were strikingly lower than those during acute infection. Th2 cell hyporesponsiveness was evident within 10 d of initiation of the Th2 response and became progressively ingrained thereafter, in response to repeated Ag stimulation. Gene expression analyses implicated the E3-ubiquitin ligase gene related to anergy in lymphocytes (GRAIL) in the hyporesponsive state. Consistent with this, suppression of GRAIL expression using retrovirally delivered siRNA prevented the development of hyporesponsiveness induced by repeated Ag stimulation in vitro or in vivo. Together, these data indicate that the decline in Th2 cell responsiveness during chronic schistosomiasis is the net result of the upregulation of GRAIL expression in response to repeated Ag stimulation

Feeding the World Today and Tomorrow: The Importance of Food Science and Technology

This Institute of Food Technologists scientific review describes the scientific and technological achievements that made possible the modern production‐to‐consumption food system capable of feeding nearly 7 billion people, and it also discusses the promising potential of ongoing technological advancements to enhance the food supply even further and to increase the health and wellness of the growing global population. This review begins with a historical perspective that summarizes the parallel developments of agriculture and food technology, from the beginnings of modern society to the present. A section on food manufacturing explains why food is processed and details various food processing methods that ensure food safety and preserve the quality of products. A section about potential solutions to future challenges briefly discusses ways in which scientists, the food industry, and policy makers are striving to improve the food supply for a healthier population and feed the future. Applications of science and technology within the food system have allowed production of foods in adequate quantities to meet the needs of society, as it has evolved. Today, our production‐to‐consumption food system is complex, and our food is largely safe, tasty, nutritious, abundant, diverse, convenient, and less costly and more readily accessible than ever before. Scientific and technological advancements must be accelerated and applied in developed and developing nations alike, if we are to feed a growing world population.This article is published as Floros, John D., Rosetta Newsome, William Fisher, Gustavo V. Barbosa‐Cánovas, Hongda Chen, C. Patrick Dunne, J. Bruce German et al. "Feeding the world today and tomorrow: the importance of food science and technology: an IFT scientific review." Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 9, no. 5 (2010): 572-599. doi: 10.1111/j.1541-4337.2010.00127.x.</p