EUROPEAN ONCOLOGY & HAEMATOLOGY – VOLUME 7 ISSUE 2 – SUMMER 2011

Patients, families and health professionals often face difficult decisions about medical treatments and patient care. These decisions may involve moral values, religious beliefs or professional duties and guidelines. It is necessary to identify and weigh the values at stake so that individuals who are responsible for decisions can make good choices. Ethical questions and concerns […]

Numerous complex and emotive life choices punctuate the cancer journey. Difficult decisions are unavoidable. Practitioners have an important role in providing information and support to help patients and families make decisions. They also contribute to decisions in terms of care and treatment and make decisions that determine their actions and omissions. The process and impact […]

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death among women in the US.1 It is estimated that two-thirds of the invasive breast cancers will be hormone-receptor-positive and will require long-term adjuvant hormonal therapy. Reducing the effect of oestrogen is the main aim of hormonal therapy in treating […]

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Surgery remains the optimal treatment for early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, five-year survival rates for resected NSCLC without additional treatment range from 20 to 40% for stage IIIA disease to 70 to 80% for stage IA disease.1 Mortality occurs most commonly from recurrences at […]

Uterine sarcomas in general are rare: they account for 4% of all uterine malignancies.1–4 Endometrial sarcomas account for 10–15% of all uterine sarcomas. They make up fewer than 1% of all gynaecological malignancies.1,2,5,6 The reported incidence is approximately one to two cases per million women in the US.6,7 Women often present with an enlarged uterus […]

Rationale and Technology of Cone-beam Computed Tomography-based Image-guided Radiotherapy Variation of the target position is a major challenge in the clinical practice of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). Variability of the tumour position from day to day is caused by breathing, changes of the filling of hollow organs and peristaltic or more complex changes of the […]

Blood platelets could be easily overlooked as they appear inconsequential in blood smears in comparison with red cells and white cells. These small, discoid cells, 1–2μm across,1 are large in number, with 100–450 billion per litre of healthy blood, and appear as a turbid suspension in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) when erythrocytes/ leukocytes are removed by […]

Anaemia, resulting primarily from insufficient production of erythropoietin to support erythropoiesis, is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Approximately 50% of patients with CKD stage III–V have anaemia.1 This percentage increases greatly in patients receiving dialysis.2 Since the late 1980s, the availability of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) has revolutionised the management of anaemia […]

Persons with haemophilia (PWH) experience spontaneous or traumarelated bleedings, most commonly joint bleeds, which progressively lead to swelling, limitation of movement, cartilage destruction and haemophilic arthropathy.1 Regular replacement therapy with clotting factor concentrates significantly improves the quality of life in PWH, dramatically reducing the bleeding rate and preserving the joint health status.2,3 The development of […]

Anaemia in Older Persons Anaemia is very common in older individuals. The reported prevalence ranges from Owing to clinical heterogeneity (differences in methods of administration, dose of vitamin B12, outcome measures and treatment follow-up time), we did not combine the results in a metaanalysis. However, all three RCTs, which were regarded as high quality, showed […]

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic pupura (TTP) is a life-threatening disease characterised by microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia, consumptive thrombocytopenia and various organ dysfunctions, such as neurological symptoms, renal damage and fever.1 In order to ensure best treatment responses, early diagnosis and appropriate intervention are crucial. Therefore, it was proposed to reduce the diagnostic criteria to three conditions: thrombocytopenia and […]

Adequate and thorough patient data collection and management is an integral part of every modern healthcare system. Well-designed, easily accessible and secure databases are needed, particularly in the field of rare, inherited, chronic diseases that generate high economic burdens on healthcare systems. Depending on the structure and functionality of the registry, it can provide valuable […]