The Effects of the Respiratory Rehabilitation Program on Perceived Self-Efficacy and Dyspnea in Patients with Lung Cancer.

PURPOSE: This study aims to examine the effects of the respiratory rehabilitation program on perceived self-efficacy and dyspnea in patients with lung cancer. METHODS: This is a quasi-experimental research study with a two-group repeated measures design with the pretest and post-test at Week 4 and Week 8. The theory of self-efficacy by Bandura was used as the conceptual framework. The sample consisted of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer Stage 4 who visited the oncology clinic in a university hospital. Twenty-eight patients were enrolled and equally allocated to the control group and experimental group. The control group received routine nursing care only, whereas the experimental group received the respiratory rehabilitation program. The program comprised dyspnea educating, breathing exercise, using handheld fans, effective coughing, respiratory strengthening training, and follow-up by phone in the third and sixth week. Data for perceived self-efficacy and dyspnea were collected before the program start and reassessment in the fourth and eighth week. Instrumentation was composed of the respiratory rehabilitation program, demographic data, perceived self-efficacy assessment for respiratory rehabilitation, and the Cancer Dyspnea Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-factor repeated measures analysis of variance and by comparing means between groups. RESULTS: The result revealed that almost all of the patients in the sample were men, and the mean age of the experimental group and control group was 65.80 years (standard deviation = 8.80) and 73.00 years (standard deviation = 7.60), respectively. There was significant different in the mean score of perceived self-efficacy and dyspnea between the experimental group and the control group (p < .050). CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of the study, the respiratory rehabilitation program should be used to promote self-efficacy and relieve dyspnea in patients with lung cancer.

Determination of irinotecan, SN-38 and SN-38 glucuronide using HPLC/MS/MS: Application in a clinical pharmacokinetic and personalized medicine in colorectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Irinotecan (CPT-11) is chemotherapy used mainly in the metastatic colorectal cancer. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the LC-MS/MS for the simultaneous determination of CPT-11, SN-38, and SN-38G. METHODS: A 100 µL of plasma was prepared after protein precipitation and analyzed on a C18 column using 0.1% acetic acid in water and 0.1% acetic acid in acetonitrile as mobile phases. The mass spectrometer worked with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in positive scan mode. The standard curves were linear on a concentration range of 5-10 000 ng/mL for CPT-11, 5-1000 ng/mL for SN-38, and 8-1000 ng/mL for SN-38G. RESULTS: In this assay, the intra and interday precision consisted of ≤9.11% and ≤11.29% for CPT-11, ≤8.70% and 8.31% for SN-38, and ≤9.90 and 9.64% for SN-38G. CONCLUSION: This method was successfully used to quantify CPT-11, SN-38, and SN-38G and applied to a pharmacokinetic study.

Correlation of UGT1A1(*)28 and (*)6 polymorphisms with irinotecan-induced neutropenia in Thai colorectal cancer patients.

UDP-glucuronosyltransferase1A1 (UGT1A1) polymorphisms have been related with irinotecan toxicity. The purpose of this study was to determine the associations between UGT1A1(*)28 and (*)6 polymorphisms and irinotecan toxicity in Thai patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. 44 metastatic colorectal cancer patients received irinotecan-based chemotherapy. Hematologic toxicities were determined in the first and second cycles of treatment. The genotypes of UGT1A1(*)28 and (*)6 were analyzed by pyrosequencing technique. The frequencies of genetic testing for UGT1A1(*)28 and (*)6 polymorphisms were 22.8% (TA6/TA7; 20.5%, TA7/TA7; 2.3%) and 15.9% (GA), respectively. No patients had the homozygous UGT1A1(*)6 (AA). Neither UGT1A1(*)28 nor UGT1A1(*)6 polymorphisms were significantly associated with severe hematologic toxicities. However, analysis of UGT1A1(*)28 and (*)6 in combination revealed an association with severe neutropenia in the first and second cycles (P = 0.044, P = 0.017, respectively). Both UGT1A1(*)28 and (*)6 polymorphisms may have an increased risk of irinotecan-induced neutropenia in Thai colorectal cancer patients.

Development of Pyrosequencing Method for Detection of UGT1A1 Polymorphisms in Thai Colorectal Cancers.

BACKGROUND: UGT1A1 is a polymorphic enzyme that has been associated with irinotecan drug metabolisms. We developed a pyrosequencing method to detect allele frequency and genotype of UGT1A1 polymorphisms (UGT1A1*28 and UGT1A1*6) in Thai colorectal cancer patients. METHOD: A pyrosequencing method was designed to determine UGT1A1 genetic polymorphisms including UGT1A1*28 (A[TA]7TAA) and UGT1A1*6 (211G>A) in 91 Thai colorectal cancers. RESULT: Genotyping by the pyrosequencing technique was 100% concordant with capillary electrophoresis sequencing. The allele frequencies for UGT1A1 genetic polymorphisms were *1/*1 (54.95%), *1/*6 (13.19%), *1/*28 (25.27%), *28/*6 (4.40%), and *28/*28 (2.20%). No homozygous mutation UGT1A1*6 was found in our population. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a rapid, reliable, more cost-effective, and simple assay to detect UGT1A1 genetic polymorphisms in routine practice before initiating irinotecan therapy. The UGT1A1*28 and UGT1A1*6 alleles were found to be similar in the Asian populations.

Long Term Outcomes of Preoperative versus Postoperative Concurrent Chemoradiation for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: Experience from Ramathibodi Medical School in Thailand.

OBJECTIVES: The study analyzed and compared the long term outcome in locally advanced rectal cancer treated with preoperative and postoperative concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of 105 patients with stage T3-T4 or regional lymph node positive adenocarcinoma of rectum treated with preoperative or postoperative CCRT at Ramathibodi Hospital during 2005 to 2010 was performed. The results of treatment were reported with 5-year overall survival (OS), 5- year locoregional recurrence free survival (LRFS), and toxicity according to preoperative versus postoperative concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) groups. RESULTS: Among 105 patients, 34 (32%) were treated with preoperative CCRT and 71 (68%) with postoperative CCRT. At the median follow-up time of 50.5 months (range 2-114 months), five-year OS and LRFS of all patients were 87% and 91.6%, respectively. The study found no difference in 5-year OS (81.7% vs 89.2 %) or LRFS (83.4% vs 95.1%) between preoperative versus postoperative CCRT. Seven cases of loco-regional recurrence were diagnosed, 4 (11.8%) after preoperative CCRT and 3 (4.2%) after postoperative CCRT. The recurrent sites were anastomosis in all patients. There was no significant factor associated with outcome after univariate and multivariate testing. Grade 3 or 4 acute and late complications were low in both preoperative and postoperative CCRT groups. CONCLUSIONS: Locally advanced rectum cancer patients experience good results with surgery and adjuvant concurrent chemoradiation.