| 1. |
- Girma Kebede, Betlehem, et al.
(författare)
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Communicative challenges among physicians, patients, and family caregivers in cancer care: An exploratory qualitative study in Ethiopia
- 2020
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 15:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Cancer is a growing concern in Ethiopia. Though communication is essential for the treatment process, few studies have looked at communication in Ethiopian cancer care. Due to the large number of patients and scarcity of resources, it is vital to understand how to manage consultations in order to effectively help as many patients as possible in this challenging work environment. Thus, research is needed to analyze and understand the communicative challenges experienced by physicians, patients, and family caregivers, in order to successfully handle patient care in practice. Objective We explore communication in Ethiopian cancer care and present the main challenges faced by physicians, patients, and family caregivers. Methods This explorative qualitative study was conducted at the Oncology Department of the Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Specialized Teaching Hospital (TASH) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A triangulation of data collection methods was used: 91 audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews and 21 video-recordings of authentic interactions during hospital rounds. The aim was to obtain as complete a picture as possible of communication from the perspectives of physicians, patients, and family caregivers. The interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis and the identified themes were supported by excerpts from the transcribed recordings. Results Eight themes emerged from the data. Workload and time pressure, in combination with restricted space for privacy, limited the possibilities for physicians to deliver detailed information and provide emotional support. Furthermore, patient literacy levels, in combination with no or little cancer awareness, financial problems, reliance on traditional and religious treatments, the stigma of cancer, and a fatalistic attitude, resulted in delays in patients seeking care and participating in positive health behaviors, and, subsequently, often resulted in an unwillingness to openly discuss problems with physicians and adhere to treatment. The study also illustrates the paramount role of family in physician-patient communication in Ethiopia. Though family caregivers provide a valuable interpreting support when patients have limited language skills, they can also prevent patients from sharing information with physicians. Another important finding is that family caregivers were often responsible for making decisions about treatment and avoided telling patients about a poor prognosis, believing that conveying bad news may upset them. All of these themes have important implications for the role of ethically acceptable communication in patient-centered care. Conclusions This study has identified a number of serious challenges for successful and ethically acceptable health communication in Ethiopian cancer care. The study contributes to our understanding of the complexity around the role of family, combined with patients’ dependency on family members for communication, support, and access to care, which creates particular ethical dilemmas for the medical staff. The questions raised by this study concern how to organize consultations to achieve patient-centered health communication, while maintaining a constructive alliance with the family and not jeopardizing the patient’s continued access to care. The integration of communication training for medical students in Ethiopia, with a focus on ethical guidelines for family-centered patient consultation suitable for these circumstances, would be an essential step.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Aapro, Matti, et al.
(författare)
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The MAGIC survey in hormone receptor positive (HR+), HER2-negative (HER2−) breast cancer: When might multigene assays be of value?
- 2017
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Ingår i: Breast. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-9776 .- 1532-3080. ; 33, s. 191-199
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2017 Background A modest proportion of patients with early stage hormone receptor-positive (HR+), HER2-negative (HER2−) breast cancer benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. Traditionally, treatment recommendations are based on clinical/pathologic criteria that are not predictive of chemotherapy benefit. Multigene assays provide prognostic and predictive information that can help to make more informed treatment decisions. The MAGIC survey evaluated international differences in treatment recommendations, how traditional parameters are used for making treatment choices, and for which patients treating physicians feel most uncertain about their decisions. Methods The MAGIC survey captured respondents' demographics, practice patterns, relevance of traditional parameters for treatment decisions, and use of or interest in using multigene assays. Using this information, a predictive model was created to simulate treatment recommendations for 672 patient profiles. Results The survey was completed by 911 respondents (879 clinicians, 32 pathologists) from 52 countries. Chemo-endocrine therapy was recommended more often than endocrine therapy alone, but there was substantial heterogeneity in treatment recommendations in 52% of the patient profiles; approximately every fourth physician provided a different treatment recommendation. The majority of physicians indicated they wanted to use multigene assays clinically. Lack of reimbursement/availability were the main reasons for non-usage. Conclusions The survey reveals substantial heterogeneity in treatment recommendations. Physicians have uncertainty in treatment recommendations in a high proportion of patients with intermediate risk features using traditional parameters. In HR+, HER2− patients with early disease the findings highlight the need for additional markers that are both prognostic and predictive of chemotherapy benefit that may support more-informed treatment decisions.
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| 4. |
- Abraha, Aynalem, et al.
(författare)
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Breaking bad news in cancer care: preferences of patients, family caregivers and general public in Ethiopia
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH) 2020 Part 2, 15-16 April, 2021.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study explores the preferences of cancer patients, family caregivers, and the general public regarding breaking bad news in an Ethiopian oncology setting. The research was conducted at Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Specialized Hospital. The sample consists of patients with a confirmed cancer diagnosis, their family caregivers, and representatives from the general public with 150 subjects per cohort. A comparative cross-sectional study design and a multivariable analysis were used. The patients would like to be informed, which contradicts the perceptions of family caregivers. This creates an ethical dilemma for staff in terms of how much they involve their patients in clinical decision-making. The patients also indicate that information not to be withheld from them. In contrast, the general public prefers information about poor life expectancy to be communicated to family only, which may reflect widespread public perception of cancer as a deadly disease. The findings indicate the complexity of communication concerning breaking bad news in oncology care in Ethiopia. It requires oncologists to probe patient attitudes before information disclosure in order to find a balance between involving patients in communication at the same time as keeping a constructive alliance with family caregivers.
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| 5. |
- Abraha Woldemariam, Aynalem, et al.
(författare)
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Breaking Bad News in Cancer Care: Ethiopian Patients Want More Information Than What Family and the Public Want Them to Have.
- 2021
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Ingår i: JCO global oncology. - 2687-8941. ; 7, s. 1341-1348
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study explores the preferences of patients with cancer, family caregivers, and the general public regarding breaking bad news in an Ethiopian oncology setting.The study was conducted at Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Specialized Hospital. The sample consists of patients with a confirmed cancer diagnosis, their family caregivers, and representatives from the general public with 150 subjects per cohort. The study used a comparative cross-sectional design and multivariable data analysis.The patients would like to be informed, which contradicts the preferences of family caregivers. This creates an ethical dilemma for staff in terms of how much they involve their patients in clinical decision making. The patients also indicate that information should not be withheld from them. By contrast, the general public prefers information about poor life expectancy to be communicated to family only, which may reflect a widespread public perception of cancer as a deadly disease.The findings indicate the complexity of communication-related preferences concerning breaking bad news in oncology care in Ethiopia. It requires oncologists to probe patient attitudes before information disclosure to find a balance between involving patients in communication at the same time as keeping a constructive alliance with family caregivers.
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| 6. |
- Aesoy, R., et al.
(författare)
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An autocrine VEGF/VEGFR2 and p38 signaling loop confers resistance to 4-hydroxytamoxifen in MCF-7 breast cancer cells
- 2008
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Ingår i: Molecular Cancer Research. - 1541-7786 .- 1557-3125. ; 6:10, s. 1630-1638
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tamoxifen, a partial estrogen receptor antagonist, is part of the standard treatment of both primary and advanced breast cancers. However, significant proportions of breast cancers are either de novo resistant or develop tamoxifen resistance during the course of treatment through mechanisms which have been only partly characterized. We have previously found that high vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) expression and concomitant high p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activity within breast cancers predict a poor outcome for tamoxifen-treated patients. Here, we have molecularly dissected how VEGF/VEGFR2 and p38 are linked, and contribute to tamoxifen resistance within breast cancer using a MCF-7 BC cell model with different 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT) responsiveness. We report that MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines with tamoxifen resistance have increased secretion of VEGF and increased signaling through VEGFR2 compared with parental MCF-7 cells. 4-OHT treatment caused the ablation of VEGF secretion in parental MCF-7 cells, whereas in the tamoxifen-resistant subline, a VEGF/ VEGFR2 signaling loop was still evident upon treatment. Increased basal levels of total and phosphorylated p38 were observed in tamoxifen-resistant cells. Pharmacologic inhibition of p38 reduced the proliferation of both tamoxifen-responsive and tamoxifen-resistant cells and showed an additive growth-inhibitory effect in combination with 4-OHT. A connection between VEGF/ VEGFR2 and p38 signaling was identified by VEGF and VEGFR2 knockdown, which equally reduced both the total and the active forms of p38 in tamoxifen-resistant cells. Taken together, our results suggest that decreased sensitivityto 4-OHT is caused by a death-protecting VEGF/VEGFR2 and p38 growth factor loop in breast cancer cells. Inhibition of these signaling pathways may be beneficial to overcome tamoxifen resistance. Copyright © 2008 American Association for Cancer Research.
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| 7. |
- Andersson, Anton E, et al.
(författare)
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Delta NT-proBNP predicts cardiotoxicity in HER2-positive breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden). - 1651-226X. ; 60:4, s. 475-481
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Overall survival has improved significantly in patients with human epidermal growth receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer due to the use of the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab blocking HER2. However, patients may develop trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity (TIC) leading to congestive heart failure. Here we assessed whether analysing NT-proBNP and assessment of electrocardiography (ECG) could detect TIC during trastuzumab therapy.One hundred thirty-six patients undergoing adjuvant, neoadjuvant or palliative chemotherapy and HER2 blockade for HER2-positive breast cancer were prospectively assessed with echocardiography, ECG and N-terminal - pro hormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) testing at baseline and at 6 and 12months of trastuzumab therapy. TIC was defined as a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of less than 50% and a decline from baseline of ≥10 units.Six patients developed TIC under 12months of trastuzumab therapy (incidence 4.4%). NT-proBNP increased from 198.8±64.0pg/ml to 678.7±132.4pg/ml (p<.05) in TIC patients. With a cut-off point of 276.5pg/ml for NTproBNP and increase in NT-proBNP by 75.8pg/ml from baseline the sensitivity was 100% and the specificity 95% to detect TIC. Compared with controls, TIC patients were older (68.3±1.1years and 56.2±1.4years, respectively; p<.01), had more often diabetes mellitus (OR = 63.5, 95% CI: 5.63-915, p<.01) and atrial fibrillation (OR = 12.3; 95% CI: 1.89-74.62; p<.05) and had lower baseline LVEF (57.1±1.4% and 61.4±0.3%, respectively; p<.001). Abnormal ECGs were common in patients developing TIC.Measuring changes in NTproBNP may be used to monitor patients for TIC under trastuzumab therapy. Patients with a cardiovascular risk profile are more at risk of developing TIC.
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| 8. |
- Bayani, Jane, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of multiple transcriptomic gene risk signatures in male breast cancer
- 2021
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Ingår i: npj Breast Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2374-4677. ; 7:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Male breast cancer (BCa) is a rare disease accounting for less than 1% of all breast cancers and 1% of all cancers in males. The clinical management is largely extrapolated from female BCa. Several multigene assays are increasingly used to guide clinical treatment decisions in female BCa, however, there are limited data on the utility of these tests in male BCa. Here we present the gene expression results of 381 M0, ER+ve, HER2-ve male BCa patients enrolled in the Part 1 (retrospective analysis) of the International Male Breast Cancer Program. Using a custom NanoString™ panel comprised of the genes from the commercial risk tests Prosigna®, OncotypeDX®, and MammaPrint®, risk scores and intrinsic subtyping data were generated to recapitulate the commercial tests as described by us previously. We also examined the prognostic value of other risk scores such as the Genomic Grade Index (GGI), IHC4-mRNA and our prognostic 95-gene signature. In this sample set of male BCa, we demonstrated prognostic utility on univariate analysis. Across all signatures, patients whose samples were identified as low-risk experienced better outcomes than intermediate-risk, with those classed as high risk experiencing the poorest outcomes. As seen with female BCa, the concordance between tests was poor, with C-index values ranging from 40.3% to 78.2% and Kappa values ranging from 0.17 to 0.58. To our knowledge, this is the largest study of male breast cancers assayed to generate risk scores of the current commercial and academic risk tests demonstrating comparable clinical utility to female BCa.
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| 9. |
- Berbyuk Lindström, Nataliya, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Person- and Family-Centeredness in Ethiopian Cancer Care: Improving Communication, Ethics, Decision Making and Health
- 2020
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Ingår i: JMIR Research Protocols. - : JMIR Publications Inc.. - 1929-0748. ; 9:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Cancer is a major burden in Ethiopia. The Oncology Department of Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Specialized Hospital (TASH) in Addis Ababa is the country's sole specialist unit for cancer care. With only a handful of oncologists, a lack of resources, and a huge patient load, the work is challenging, especially in terms of achieving effective and ethical patient consultations. Patients, usually accompanied by family members, often wait for a long time to receive medical attention and frequently depart without treatment. Handling consultations effectively is essential in order to help patients as much as possible within such limitations. OBJECTIVE: The project addresses three main aims: (1) to enhance and expand the understanding of communicative and associated ethical challenges in Ethiopian cancer care; (2) to enhance and expand the understanding of the implications and use of person- and family-centered solutions to address such communicative challenges in practice, and (3) to plan and evaluate interventions in this area. METHODS: This project develops and consolidates a research collaboration to better understand and mitigate the communicative challenges in Ethiopian cancer care, with a focus on the handling and sharing of decision making, and ethical tensions between patients, staff, and family. Using theoretical models from linguistics, health communication, and health care ethics, multiple sources of data will be analyzed. Data sources currently include semi-structured interviews with the Ethiopian staff, patients, and family caregivers (91), survey data on cancer awareness (150) and attitudes to breaking bad news (450), and video-recordings of medical consultations (45). In addition, we will also develop clinical and methodological solutions to formulate educational interventions. RESULTS: The project was awarded funding by the Swedish Research Council in December 2017 for the period 2018-2021. The research ethics board in Sweden and in Ethiopia approved the conduct of the project in May 2018. The results from the studies will be published in 2020 and 2021. CONCLUSIONS: The project is a first step towards producing unique and seminal knowledge for the specific context of Ethiopia in the area of physician-patient communication research and ethics. It contributes to an understanding of the complexity around the role of family and ethical challenges in relation to patient involvement and decision making in Ethiopia. Improved knowledge in this area can provide a fundamental model for ways to improve cancer care in many other low resource settings in Africa and the Middle East, which share central cultural prerequisites (such as a strong patriarchal family structure, combined with strong and devout religiosity). The project will also serve to develop greater understanding about current challenges in Western health systems associated with greater family and patient participation in decision making. In addition, the project will also contribute to improving the education of Ethiopian health professionals working in cancer care by developing a training program to help them better understand and respond to identified challenges associated with communication.
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