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Ewart E, Barton A, Chen L, Cuthbert R, Toplak K, Burrows A. Assurance of Timely Access to Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment by a Regional Breast Health Clinic Serving Both Urban and Rural-Remote Communities. Curr Oncol 2023; 30:1232-1242. [PMID: 36661744 PMCID: PMC9858490 DOI: 10.3390/curroncol30010095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
In response to breast cancer diagnostic regional wait times exceeding both national and provincial standards and to symptomatic patient referrals for diagnostic mammography taking longer than abnormal screening mammography referrals, the Rae Fawcett Breast Health Clinic (RFBHC) was opened in 2017 in a mid-sized Canadian hospital serving both urban and rural-remote communities. We investigated whether the RFBHC improved wait times to breast cancer diagnosis, improved compliance with national and provincial breast cancer standards, and decreased the wait time disparity associated with referral source. Statistical analyses of wait time differences were conducted between patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer prior to and after the RFBHC establishment. Study group compliance with national and provincial standards and wait time differences by referral source were also analysed. A survey was administered to assess overall patient experience with the RFBHC and clinic wait times. RFBHC patients had a shorter mean wait to breast cancer diagnosis (24.4 vs. 45.7 days, p ≤ 0.001) and a shorter mean wait to initial breast cancer treatment (49.1 vs. 78.9 days, p ≤ 0.001) than pre-RFBHC patients. After the RFBHC establishment, patients who attended the RFBHC had a shorter mean wait time to breast cancer diagnosis (24.4 vs. 36.9 days, p = 0.005) and to initial treatment (49.1 vs. 73.1 days, p ≤ 0.001) than patients who did not attend the clinic. Compliance with national and provincial breast cancer standards improved after the RFBHC establishment and the wait time disparity between screening mammography referrals and symptomatic patient referrals decreased. Survey results indicate that the RFBHC is meeting patient expectations. We concluded that the establishment of a breast health clinic in a Canadian center serving urban and rural-remote communities improved breast diagnostic services.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Ross Cuthbert
- Department of Surgery, The University of British Columbia, 2775 Laurel Street, 11th Floor, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
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da Silva RGD, Araujo CAS. Initiatives to reduce the waiting time to initiate oncological treatment: a scoping literature review. Rev Panam Salud Publica 2022; 46:e170. [PMID: 36382252 PMCID: PMC9642818 DOI: 10.26633/rpsp.2022.170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective. To identify the managerial actions proposed and employed to reduce the waiting time to initiate oncological treatments in the public health system and its application in Latin America. Method. We searched seven databases in December 2020. Search terms were conceptualized into three groups: waiting time, cancer, and terms related to public sector. The eligibility criteria included theoretical or empirical academic articles written in English, Spanish, or Portuguese, that focused on managerial solutions to face oncological healthcare queues' dilemma. Results. The search returned 1 255 articles, and 20 were selected and analysed in this review. Results show that most of the proposals are related to the process and people dimensions. The actions related to the process dimension were mainly associated with programming new treatment pathways and integrating cancer systems. People's dimension initiatives referred mostly to task forces and groups of specialists. Some initiatives were related to implementing technological solutions and the technology dimension, mainly concerning radiotherapy devices' acquisition. Conclusion. Few studies focus on analysing actions to minimize waiting time to initiate oncological treatments. The prevalence of conceptual and illustrative case studies indicates the lack of research maturity on this theme. Future studies should focus on setting the field's theoretical foundations, considering the existing paradigms, or developing new ones. There is a need for empirical studies applying a multidisciplinary approach to face the oncological treatment waiting time challenge and proposing new and innovative initiatives.
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Walsh RL, Lofters A, Moineddin R, Krzyzanowska M, Grunfeld E. Primary Care Continuity and Wait Times to Receiving Breast Cancer Chemotherapy: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study Using CanIMPACT Data. Curr Oncol 2021; 28:4786-4804. [PMID: 34898582 PMCID: PMC8628668 DOI: 10.3390/curroncol28060405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Wait times to chemotherapy are associated with morbidity and mortality in breast cancer patients; however, it is unclear how primary care physician (PCP) continuity impacts these wait times, or whether this association is different in immigrants, who experience cancer care inequities. We assessed the association between PCP continuity and the contact-to-chemotherapy interval (wait time from when a patient first presents to healthcare to the first day of receiving breast cancer chemotherapy), with a specific look at the immigrant population. (2) Methods: Population-based, retrospective cohort study of women who were diagnosed with stage I–III breast cancer in Ontario who received surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. We used quantile regression at the median and 90th percentile to quantify the effect of PCP continuity on the contact-to-chemotherapy interval, performing a separate analysis on the immigrant population. (3) Results: Among 12,781 breast cancer patients, including 1706 immigrants, the median contact-to-chemotherapy interval (126 days) was 3.21 days shorter (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.47–5.96) in symptom-detected patients with low PCP continuity, 10.68 days shorter (95% CI 5.36–16.00) in symptom-detected patients with no baseline PCP visits and 17.43 days longer (95% CI 0.90–34.76) in screen-detected immigrants with low PCP continuity compared to the same groups with high PCP continuity. (4) Conclusions: Higher PCP continuity was not associated with a change in the contact-to-chemotherapy interval for most of our study population, but was associated with a marginally longer interval in our symptom-detected population and a shorter contact-to-chemotherapy interval in screen-detected immigrants. This highlights the importance of PCP continuity among immigrants with positive screening results. Additionally, having no PCP visits at baseline was associated with a shorter contact-to-chemotherapy interval in symptom-detected patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Lin Walsh
- Department of Family & Community Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
- Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada; (A.L.); (R.M.); (E.G.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Aisha Lofters
- Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada; (A.L.); (R.M.); (E.G.)
- Department of Family & Community Medicine, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, ON M5S 1B2, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
- Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
| | - Rahim Moineddin
- Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada; (A.L.); (R.M.); (E.G.)
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
- Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
| | - Monika Krzyzanowska
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Department of Medical Oncology & Hematology, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2C1, Canada;
- Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M6, Canada
| | - Eva Grunfeld
- Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada; (A.L.); (R.M.); (E.G.)
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, ON M5G 0A3, Canada
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Elechalawar CK, Hossen MN, McNally L, Bhattacharya R, Mukherjee P. Analysing the nanoparticle-protein corona for potential molecular target identification. J Control Release 2020; 322:122-136. [PMID: 32165239 PMCID: PMC7675788 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Revised: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
When nanoparticles are introduced into biological systems, host proteins tend to associate on the particle surface to form a protein layer termed the "protein corona" (PC). Identifying the proteins that constitute the PC can yield useful information about nanoparticle processing, bio-distribution, toxicity and clearance. Similarly, characterizing and identifying proteins within the PC from patient samples provides opportunities to probe disease proteomes and identify molecules that influence the disease process. Thus, nanoparticles represent unique probing tools for discovery of molecular targets for diseases. Here, we report a first review on target identification using nanoparticles in biological samples based on analysing physico chemical interactions. We also summarize the evolution of the PC surrounding various nano-systems, comment on PC signature, address PC complexity in fluids, and outline challenges associated with analysing the PC. In addition, the influence on PC formation of various nanoparticle parameters is summarized; nanoparticle characteristics considered include size, charge, temperature, and surface modifications for both organic and inorganic nanomaterials. We also discuss the advantages of nanotechnology, over other more invasive and laborious methods, for identifying potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Md Nazir Hossen
- Department of Pathology, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Lacey McNally
- Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Resham Bhattacharya
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Priyabrata Mukherjee
- Department of Pathology, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Peggy and Charles Stephenson Cancer Center, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
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Lameijer JRC, Voogd AC, Pijnappel RM, Setz-Pels W, Broeders MJ, Tjan-Heijnen VCG, Duijm LEM. Delayed breast cancer diagnosis after repeated recall at biennial screening mammography: an observational follow-up study from the Netherlands. Br J Cancer 2020; 123:325-332. [PMID: 32390006 PMCID: PMC7374543 DOI: 10.1038/s41416-020-0870-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Revised: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Delay in detection of breast cancer may worsen tumour characteristics, with progression of tumour size and a higher risk of metastatic lymph nodes. The purpose of this study was to investigate delayed breast cancer diagnosis after repeated recall for the same mammographic abnormality at screening. Methods This was a retrospective study performed in two cohorts of women enrolled in a mammography screening programme in the Netherlands. All women aged 50−75 who underwent biennial screening mammography either between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2006 (cohort 1) or between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2016 (cohort 2) were included. Results The cohorts showed no difference in proportions of women with delayed breast cancer diagnosis of at least 2 years (2.2% versus 2.8%, P = 0.29). Most delays were caused by incorrect BI-RADS classifications after recall (74.2%). An increase in mean tumour size was seen when comparing sizes at initial false-negative recall and at diagnosis of breast cancer (P < 0.001). Conclusions The proportion of women with a long delay in breast cancer confirmation following repeated recall at screening mammography has not decreased during 20 years of screening. These delays lead to larger tumour size at detection and may negatively influence prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joost R C Lameijer
- Department of Radiology, Catharina Hospital Eindhoven, Michelangelolaan 2, 5623 EJ, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
| | - Adri C Voogd
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, GROW, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P Debyelaan 1, 6229 HA, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Department of Epidemiology, GROW, Maastricht University, P Debyelaan 1, 6229 HA, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Department of Research, Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organization (IKNL), Godebaldkwartier 419, 3511 DT, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Ruud M Pijnappel
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,Dutch Expert Centre for Screening, Wijchenseweg 101, 6538 SW, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Wikke Setz-Pels
- Department of Radiology, Catharina Hospital Eindhoven, Michelangelolaan 2, 5623 EJ, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Mireille J Broeders
- Dutch Expert Centre for Screening, Wijchenseweg 101, 6538 SW, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department for Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Vivianne C G Tjan-Heijnen
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, GROW, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P Debyelaan 1, 6229 HA, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Lucien E M Duijm
- Dutch Expert Centre for Screening, Wijchenseweg 101, 6538 SW, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Radiology, Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital, Weg door Jonkerbos 100, 6532 SZ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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