Assay for lipid peroxides in animal tissues by thiobarbituric acid reaction

Summary Background Substantial uncertainty exists about prevalence of mood disorders in patients with cancer, including those in oncological, haematological, and palliative-care settings. We aimed to quantitatively summarise the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and adjustments disorders in these settings. Methods We searched Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, and Web of Knowledge for studies that examined well-defined depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder in adults with cancer in oncological, haematological, and palliative-care settings. We restricted studies to those using psychiatric interviews. Studies were reviewed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and a proportion meta-analysis was done. Findings We identified 24 studies with 4007 individuals across seven countries in palliative-care settings. Meta-analytical pooled prevalence of depression defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD) criteria was 16·5% (95% CI 13·1–20·3), 14·3% (11·1–17·9) for DSM-defined major depression, and 9·6% (3·6–18·1) for DSM-defined minor depression. Prevalence of adjustment disorder alone was 15·4% (10·1–21·6) and of anxiety disorders 9·8% (6·8–13·2). Prevalence of all types of depression combined was of 24·6% (17·5–32·4), depression or adjustment disorder 24·7% (20·8–28·8), and all types of mood disorder 29·0% (10·1–52·9). We identified 70 studies with 10 071 individuals across 14 countries in oncological and haematological settings. Prevalence of depression by DSM or ICD criteria was 16·3% (13·4–19·5); for DSM-defined major depression it was 14·9% (12·2–17·7) and for DSM-defined minor depression 19·2% (9·1–31·9). Prevalence of adjustment disorder was 19·4% (14·5–24·8), anxiety 10·3% (5·1–17·0), and dysthymia 2·7% (1·7–4·0). Combination diagnoses were common; all types of depression occurred in 20·7% (12·9–29·8) of patients, depression or adjustment disorder in 31·6% (25·0–38·7), and any mood disorder in 38·2% (28·4–48·6). There were few consistent correlates of depression: there was no effect of age, sex, or clinical setting and inadequate data to examine cancer type and illness duration. Interpretation Interview-defined depression and anxiety is less common in patients with cancer than previously thought, although some combination of mood disorders occurs in 30–40% of patients in hospital settings without a significant difference between palliative-care and non-palliative-care settings. Clinicians should remain vigilant for mood complications, not just depression. Funding None.

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lanonc/PIIS1470-2045(11)70002-X.pdf

Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder in oncological, haematological, and palliative-care settings: a meta-analysis of 94 interview-based studies

Depression is the psychiatric syndrome that has received the most attention in individuals with cancer. The study of depression has been a challenge because symptoms occur on a broad spectrum that ranges from sadness to major affective disorder and because mood change is often difficult to evaluate when a patient is confronted by repeated threats to life, is receiving cancer treatments, is fatigued, or is experiencing pain. Although many research groups have assessed depression in cancer patients since the 1960s, the reported prevalence (major depression, 0%-38%; depression spectrum syndromes, 0%-58%) varies significantly because of varying conceptualizations of depression, different criteria used to define depression, differences in methodological approaches to the measurement of depression, and different populations studied. Depression is highly associated with oropharyngeal (22%-57%), pancreatic (33%-50%), breast (1.5%-46%), and lung (11%-44%) cancers. A less high prevalence of depression is reported in patients with other cancers, such as colon (13%-25%), gynecological (12%-23%), and lymphoma (8%-19%). This report reviews the prevalence of depression in cancer patients throughout the course of cancer.

Prevalence of depression in patients with cancer.

Raman spectroscopy can be used to measure the chemical composition of a sample, which can in turn be used to extract biological information. Many materials have characteristic Raman spectra, which means that Raman spectroscopy has proven to be an effective analytical approach in geology, semiconductor, materials and polymer science fields. The application of Raman spectroscopy and microscopy within biology is rapidly increasing because it can provide chemical and compositional information, but it does not typically suffer from interference from water molecules. Analysis does not conventionally require extensive sample preparation; biochemical and structural information can usually be obtained without labeling. In this protocol, we aim to standardize and bring together multiple experimental approaches from key leaders in the field for obtaining Raman spectra using a microspectrometer. As examples of the range of biological samples that can be analyzed, we provide instructions for acquiring Raman spectra, maps and images for fresh plant tissue, formalin-fixed and fresh frozen mammalian tissue, fixed cells and biofluids. We explore a robust approach for sample preparation, instrumentation, acquisition parameters and data processing. By using this approach, we expect that a typical Raman experiment can be performed by a nonspecialist user to generate high-quality data for biological materials analysis.

/pdf/using-raman-spectroscopy-to-characterize-biological-56ndts7qm5.pdf

Using Raman spectroscopy to characterize biological materials

If not apoptosis, then what? Treatment-induced senescence and mitotic catastrophe in tumor cells.

Introduction: Cancer is a leading cause of death. People living with cancer experience a variety of symptoms. Quality of life (QOL) is a major concern of patients with terminal cancer. Symptoms affect their QOL. Management of symptoms improves distress and QOL. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the QOL among cancer patients. Materials and Methods: A survey was conducted among 768 cancer patients selected by a convenient sampling technique. Data was collected from cancer patients by interview technique using structured and validated interviewed schedule. Results: Out of 768 cancer patients, 30.2% patients were in the age group of 51–60 years, majority with head–and-neck cancer (40.1%), and 57.7% had stage III disease. QOL of majority of patients was influenced by their symptoms. 82.3% of them had low QOL scores. Conclusion: Cancer patients experienced many symptoms that affected their QOL. There is a need to develop interventions for effective management of symptoms that will empower the patients to have a greater sense of control over their illness and treatment and to improve the QOL.

Quality of life among cancer patients

Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of low-level lasers for the prevention and treatment of radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis in oral cancer patients. Material and methods Twenty-four hospitalized patients with oral cancer, scheduled to undergo radiotherapy at KMC, Manipal, were enrolled in the present study and assigned to laser (Group I)/control group (Group II). They were treated using He-Ne laser (λ = 632.8nm, output = 10 mW and energy density = 1.8 J/cm 2 ). Patients were subjected to treatment using laser scanner for 8 days and subsequently were treated using laser probe at 6 anatomic sites in the oral cavity for 5 minutes each. The patients were evaluated on each day of treatment for pain severity (NRS), functional impairment (FIS), and oral mucositis (RTOG) and were followed until the end of cancer treatment. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 10. Results Laser therapy applied prophylactically during radiotherapy can reduce the severity of oral mucositis, severity of pain, and functional impairment.

Efficacy of He-Ne Laser in the prevention and treatment of radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis in oral cancer patients

Evaluation of the antineoplastic activity of guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) in cultured HeLa cells

Sixty consecutive patients admitted to an oncology unit in a general hospital were systematically assessed to determine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders. Patients' awareness of the diagnosis of cancer and their perception of treatment intention and outcome were assessed independently by another investigator who was blind to the psychiatric diagnosis. Forty percent of the sample had a diagnosis of psychiatric disorder, based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (3rd edition, revised). Adjustment disorders comprised most of the psychiatric diagnoses. Major depression was seen in 8 (13%) patients. One third of the patients were estimated to be unaware of the diagnosis of cancer, and 82% of patients perceived the treatment given as curative. Psychiatric morbidity was significantly less common in patients who did not know they had cancer, and in those who considered treatment as curative. The prevalence of depressive disorders in our sample was higher than in medical inpatients. It is concluded that psychiatric disorders, especially affective disorders, are common among cancer patients. Awareness of nature of the illness and expected outcome can affect the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity. Further studies investigating the relationship between psychiatric morbidity and duration of illness, type and stage of cancer, disabilities and coping strategies are warranted.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3109/02841869309092441

Mamidipudi Srinivasa Vidyasagar

Papers

Quality of life among cancer patients

Efficacy of He-Ne Laser in the prevention and treatment of radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis in oral cancer patients

Evaluation of the antineoplastic activity of guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) in cultured HeLa cells

Psychiatric morbidity among cancer patients and its relationship with awareness of illness and expectations about treatment outcome.

Raman spectroscopy studies for diagnosis of cancers in human uterine cervix