To determine the frequency of mucositis and associated outcomes in patients receiving radiotherap... more To determine the frequency of mucositis and associated outcomes in patients receiving radiotherapy (RT) for head and neck cancer through a systematic review of recently published literature. According to the study protocol, databases were searched for randomized clinical trials (English only, 1996-1999) of patients with head and neck cancer receiving RT with or without chemotherapy that reported one or more outcomes of interest. Thirty-three studies (n=6181 patients) met inclusion criteria. Mucositis was defined using a variety of scoring systems. The mean incidence was 80%. Over one-half of patients (56%) who received altered fractionation RT (RT-AF) experienced severe mucositis (grades 3-4) compared to 34% of patients who received conventional RT. Rates of hospitalization due to mucositis, reported in three studies (n=700), were 16% overall and 32% for RT-AF patients. Eleven percent of patients had RT regimens interrupted or modified because of mucositis in five studies (n=1267) reporting this outcome. Data insufficiency or heterogeneity prohibited analysis of mucositis severity and other associated outcomes, such as oral pain, dysphagia and opioid use. Mucositis is a frequent, severe toxicity in patients treated with RT for head and neck cancer. While it appears that mucositis may lead to hospitalization and treatment interruptions, its overall impact on outcomes has not been adequately investigated.
standard treatment medication. Cognitive educators met once a week for 26 weeks with participants... more standard treatment medication. Cognitive educators met once a week for 26 weeks with participants in their homes for 90 minutes. Participants were asked to do about an hour of “homework” 5 days a week. Study participants were diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s disease, between 58-85 years old, and had a minimum 2 year college education, MMSE of 20 or higher, a participating study partner and were stabilized on one of 3 cholinesterase inhibitors. The study examines the benefits of the intervention program through neuro-psychological testing (e.g., MMSE, ADAScog, NPI, CDIS, BDAE, FAS, CSDD, QofL) of participants before and after the treatment. The results will compare experimental to evaluated comparison participants. Conclusions: Preliminary findings suggest that the intervention is feasible and well liked by treatment participants. There was no attrition. Results for all 16 participants will be reported for the first time at the Prevention Conference.
Introduction: We examined treatment patterns, clinical outcomes, and cost of treatment for NHL pa... more Introduction: We examined treatment patterns, clinical outcomes, and cost of treatment for NHL patients refractory to rituximab (no response or duration of less than 6 months) in US community outpatient hematology/oncology practices. Methods: Patients with an NHL diagnosis receiving antineoplastic treatment after failing rituximab were selected from a de-identified electronic medical record (EMR) database installed at 14 practices in 8 states. Any systemic chemo/immunotherapy regimen starting within 6 months of the end of a rituximab-containing treatment course was eligible for analysis, except rituximab monotherapy which could not be distinguished from maintenance treatment. Treatment-free interval (TFI) was calculated from last day of the post-rituximab regimen until start of the next antineoplastic regimen. Survival was calculated from day 1 of the regimen. Both were censored at the last active visit date if no event was recorded in the EMR at database cut-off (3/31/04). Hematolo...
Objectives: To quantify the incidence of major adverse events (AEs) occurring in hospital or with... more Objectives: To quantify the incidence of major adverse events (AEs) occurring in hospital or within 30 days after surgery in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and to identify risk factors for these AEs. Methods: Systematic review and analysis of studies published in English since 1990. Studies of iso-lated standard CABG reporting postoperative incidence of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, gastro-intestinal bleeding, renal failure, or death in hospital or within 30 days were eligible for inclusion. Incidence of these events was calculated overall and for selected patient groups defined by all elective CABG versus mixed (some non-elective); mean ejection fraction < 50 % versus> 50%; mean age < 60 versus> 60 years; primary CABG versus some reoperations; randomised controlled trials versus cohort studies; and single centre versus multicentre studies. Odds ratios of selected AEs were computed according to group risk factors. Results: 176 studi...
Saccadic eye movements (SEMs) are rapid eye movements that aid vision through the redirection of ... more Saccadic eye movements (SEMs) are rapid eye movements that aid vision through the redirection of sight from target to target. Normal SEM is distinguished by a consistent relationship between peak velocity, amplitude, and duration (latency and termination). There are several disorders of the saccades that affect these parameters and are apparent in Gaucher disease type 3 (GD3) and monogangliosidosis 2 (GM2). A targeted literature review was conducted to describe SEM disorders and their manifestations in GM2 and GD3 and to assess its use as an endpoint in clinical trials. In both diseases, SEM disorders may include horizontal saccadic initiation failure and slowed horizontal and downward saccades. SEMs play a critical role in coordination and the ability to perform activities of daily living (reading, interpretation, navigation of the visual environment, and social interactions). In GD3, SEM disorders were associated with significant impairment in hand-eye coordination and manual dext...
Background. Cancer patients often have their chemotherapy dose delayed or reduced to mitigate che... more Background. Cancer patients often have their chemotherapy dose delayed or reduced to mitigate chemotherapy-induced side effects such as thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, anemia, etc. In situations where the patient is responding to the chemotherapy, such dose delay and dose reduction may minimize the effectiveness of the chemotherapy and lead to poorer clinical outcomes. In this study, we analyzed the characteristics of dose delay among cancer patients on chemotherapy in the US. Methods. Pooled data over the period 2000–07 from a large electronic database of 15 community and 3 hospital-based outpatient oncology clinics in the US were analyzed. Adult patients with a cancer diagnosis were grouped as: lung, breast, ovarian, H&N, colorectal, other solid cancers, hematologic and mixed cancers. Chemotherapies used were grouped into platinum, anthracycline, gemcitabine, taxane-based and other regimens. Among patients with complete chemotherapy plan information, each subsequent cycle of the ch...
To determine the frequency of mucositis and associated outcomes in patients receiving radiotherap... more To determine the frequency of mucositis and associated outcomes in patients receiving radiotherapy (RT) for head and neck cancer through a systematic review of recently published literature. According to the study protocol, databases were searched for randomized clinical trials (English only, 1996-1999) of patients with head and neck cancer receiving RT with or without chemotherapy that reported one or more outcomes of interest. Thirty-three studies (n=6181 patients) met inclusion criteria. Mucositis was defined using a variety of scoring systems. The mean incidence was 80%. Over one-half of patients (56%) who received altered fractionation RT (RT-AF) experienced severe mucositis (grades 3-4) compared to 34% of patients who received conventional RT. Rates of hospitalization due to mucositis, reported in three studies (n=700), were 16% overall and 32% for RT-AF patients. Eleven percent of patients had RT regimens interrupted or modified because of mucositis in five studies (n=1267) reporting this outcome. Data insufficiency or heterogeneity prohibited analysis of mucositis severity and other associated outcomes, such as oral pain, dysphagia and opioid use. Mucositis is a frequent, severe toxicity in patients treated with RT for head and neck cancer. While it appears that mucositis may lead to hospitalization and treatment interruptions, its overall impact on outcomes has not been adequately investigated.
standard treatment medication. Cognitive educators met once a week for 26 weeks with participants... more standard treatment medication. Cognitive educators met once a week for 26 weeks with participants in their homes for 90 minutes. Participants were asked to do about an hour of “homework” 5 days a week. Study participants were diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s disease, between 58-85 years old, and had a minimum 2 year college education, MMSE of 20 or higher, a participating study partner and were stabilized on one of 3 cholinesterase inhibitors. The study examines the benefits of the intervention program through neuro-psychological testing (e.g., MMSE, ADAScog, NPI, CDIS, BDAE, FAS, CSDD, QofL) of participants before and after the treatment. The results will compare experimental to evaluated comparison participants. Conclusions: Preliminary findings suggest that the intervention is feasible and well liked by treatment participants. There was no attrition. Results for all 16 participants will be reported for the first time at the Prevention Conference.
Introduction: We examined treatment patterns, clinical outcomes, and cost of treatment for NHL pa... more Introduction: We examined treatment patterns, clinical outcomes, and cost of treatment for NHL patients refractory to rituximab (no response or duration of less than 6 months) in US community outpatient hematology/oncology practices. Methods: Patients with an NHL diagnosis receiving antineoplastic treatment after failing rituximab were selected from a de-identified electronic medical record (EMR) database installed at 14 practices in 8 states. Any systemic chemo/immunotherapy regimen starting within 6 months of the end of a rituximab-containing treatment course was eligible for analysis, except rituximab monotherapy which could not be distinguished from maintenance treatment. Treatment-free interval (TFI) was calculated from last day of the post-rituximab regimen until start of the next antineoplastic regimen. Survival was calculated from day 1 of the regimen. Both were censored at the last active visit date if no event was recorded in the EMR at database cut-off (3/31/04). Hematolo...
Objectives: To quantify the incidence of major adverse events (AEs) occurring in hospital or with... more Objectives: To quantify the incidence of major adverse events (AEs) occurring in hospital or within 30 days after surgery in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and to identify risk factors for these AEs. Methods: Systematic review and analysis of studies published in English since 1990. Studies of iso-lated standard CABG reporting postoperative incidence of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, gastro-intestinal bleeding, renal failure, or death in hospital or within 30 days were eligible for inclusion. Incidence of these events was calculated overall and for selected patient groups defined by all elective CABG versus mixed (some non-elective); mean ejection fraction < 50 % versus> 50%; mean age < 60 versus> 60 years; primary CABG versus some reoperations; randomised controlled trials versus cohort studies; and single centre versus multicentre studies. Odds ratios of selected AEs were computed according to group risk factors. Results: 176 studi...
Saccadic eye movements (SEMs) are rapid eye movements that aid vision through the redirection of ... more Saccadic eye movements (SEMs) are rapid eye movements that aid vision through the redirection of sight from target to target. Normal SEM is distinguished by a consistent relationship between peak velocity, amplitude, and duration (latency and termination). There are several disorders of the saccades that affect these parameters and are apparent in Gaucher disease type 3 (GD3) and monogangliosidosis 2 (GM2). A targeted literature review was conducted to describe SEM disorders and their manifestations in GM2 and GD3 and to assess its use as an endpoint in clinical trials. In both diseases, SEM disorders may include horizontal saccadic initiation failure and slowed horizontal and downward saccades. SEMs play a critical role in coordination and the ability to perform activities of daily living (reading, interpretation, navigation of the visual environment, and social interactions). In GD3, SEM disorders were associated with significant impairment in hand-eye coordination and manual dext...
Background. Cancer patients often have their chemotherapy dose delayed or reduced to mitigate che... more Background. Cancer patients often have their chemotherapy dose delayed or reduced to mitigate chemotherapy-induced side effects such as thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, anemia, etc. In situations where the patient is responding to the chemotherapy, such dose delay and dose reduction may minimize the effectiveness of the chemotherapy and lead to poorer clinical outcomes. In this study, we analyzed the characteristics of dose delay among cancer patients on chemotherapy in the US. Methods. Pooled data over the period 2000–07 from a large electronic database of 15 community and 3 hospital-based outpatient oncology clinics in the US were analyzed. Adult patients with a cancer diagnosis were grouped as: lung, breast, ovarian, H&N, colorectal, other solid cancers, hematologic and mixed cancers. Chemotherapies used were grouped into platinum, anthracycline, gemcitabine, taxane-based and other regimens. Among patients with complete chemotherapy plan information, each subsequent cycle of the ch...
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