The aim of this study was to explore employed women's experiences of light or moderate arm lymphoedema following breast cancer treatment in order to gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. Twelve women took part in a semistructured interview. A qualitative method with a phenomenological approach was applied to analyse data. In order to integrate the experiences in the everyday life of the women, a critical incident method was used. The findings indicate that there are many different practical and psychosocial problems related to arm lymphoedema. Three main themes were common to all the women. These themes were: (i) Attitudes from people in their surroundings, including reactions to the problem from other people and reactions from the women on the attitudes of other people. (ii) Discovery and understanding of oedema as a chronic disease and its treatment. (iii) Coping, including both problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies. The problems integrated in daily life were of low frequency but of considerable importance to the women. In conclusion, it is of great importance that health care professionals should be aware of and have knowledge about these problems. The women's needs for expressing their experiences of arm lymphoedema may be encouraged at the time of discovery and then regularly as long as the women seek care. Efforts may be made to strengthen the women's coping skills, eventually in a multidisciplinary approach. The interaction skills of health care professionals are probably of great importance in strengthening the resources of the women leading to a positive outcome.

Due to uncertainties regarding clinically meaningful gains from adjuvant chemotherapy after colorectal cancer surgery, several Nordic Groups in the early 1990s initiated randomised trials to prove or reject such gains. This report gives the joint analyses after a minimum 5-year follow-up. Between October 1991 and December 1997, 2 224 patients under 76 years of age with colorectal cancer stages II and III were randomised to surgery alone (n = 1 121) or adjuvant chemotherapy (n = 1 103) which varied between trials (5FU/levamisole for 12 months, n = 444; 5FU/leucovorin for 4-5 months according to either a modified Mayo Clinic schedule (n = 262) or the Nordic schedule (n = 397). Some centres also randomised patients treated with 5FU/leucovorin to+/-levamisole). A total of 812 patients had colon cancer stage II, 708 colon cancer stage III, 323 rectal cancer stage II and 368 rectal cancer stage III. All analyses were according to intention-to-treat. No statistically significant difference in overall survival, stratified for country or region, could be found in any group of patients according to stage or site. In colon cancer stage III, an absolute difference of 7% (p = 0.15), favouring chemotherapy, was seen. The present analyses corroborate a small but clinically meaningful survival gain from adjuvant chemotherapy in colon cancer stage III, but not in the other presentations.

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Summary: Cardiotoxicity is a serious side effect of treatment of malignant diseases with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The underlying pathophysiologic mechanism remains unclear but clinical data suggest that the endothelium of coronary arteries may be involved. Experimental studies indicate that the endothelium is especially susceptible to 5-FU and support the hypothesis that a thrombogenic effect of 5-FU, secondary to its direct toxic effect on the endothelium, is one of the pathophysiologic mechanisms behind 5-FU-induced cardiotoxicity. In the present study we evaluate the role of antithrombotic treatment with dalteparin as protection against the thrombogenic effect of 5-FU on the vascular endothelium in a rabbit model. The effects on the vascular endothelium of 5-FU, dalteparin, and the combination of these two substances were evaluated with scanning electron microscopy 1, 3, 7, 14, and 30 days after treatment and compared with a control group. Very severe damage to the endothelium was seen in 5-FU-treated animals, often leading to intima disruption and denudation of underlying structures, with accompanying platelet accumulation and fibrin formation. The most extensive damage was observed on Day 3 after treatment. The cytotoxic effect of 5-FU was partly reversible. The combination of 5-FU and dalteparin gave lower scores on Day 3 because of less evidence of thrombotic events. However, the reversibility of the endothelial damage was poorer in this group, as well as in the group that received dalteparin alone. The findings support the hypothesis that antithrombotic treatment with dalteparin can protect against the thrombogenic effect of 5-FU, secondary to its direct toxic effect on the vascular endothelium. However, the study indicates that dalteparin per se has a toxic effect on the endothelium that is different from that of 5-FU.

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