Breast cancer is the most common cancer in reproductive age women. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and intention on fertility preservation among women diagnosed to have breast cancer. This is a multi-centre cross-sectional questionnaire study. Reproductive age women diagnosed with breast cancer attending Oncology, Breast Surgery and Gynaecology Clinics and support groups were invited to participate. Women filled in paper or electronic form of the questionnaire. 461 women were recruited and 421 women returned the questionnaire. Overall, 181/410 (44.1%) women had heard of fertility preservation. Younger age and higher education level were significantly associated with increased awareness of fertility preservation. Awareness and acceptance of the different fertility preservation methods in reproductive age women with breast cancer was suboptimal. However, 46.1% women felt that their fertility concerns affected their decision for cancer treatment in some way.
Objective: To review the outcomes of gemcitabine plus nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab)-paclitaxel for patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer. Methods: The data of patients treated with this regimen at a single oncology centre in Hong Kong between December 2014 and December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Patient data assessed included serial tumour markers (carbohydrate antigen 19-9 and/or carcinoembryonic antigen) and ultrasound, computed tomography, or positron emission tomography-computed tomography scans. The primary objective was to evaluate progression-free and overall survival. The secondary objective was to evaluate the rate of treatment-related toxicities. All adverse events were graded with the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5. Results: The data of a total of 35 patients were analysed. The median age was 61 years and the majority (77%) had stage IV disease. Histological diagnosis was available in 74% of patients. The median number of cycles received was three. A total of 31% of patients required dose reduction of nab-paclitaxel. Median progression-free survival was 4.9 months (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.4-6.4), and median overall survival was 7.5 months (95% CI = 5.6-9.4). Overall, 51% of patients received second-line or third-line chemotherapy following disease progression. Grade ≥3 neutropoenia occurred in 29% of patients and febrile neutropoenia in 6%. Grade ≥3 peripheral neuropathy occurred in 9% of patients. Conclusion: Gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel doublet chemotherapy is an effective and safe treatment for inoperable pancreatic cancer. Data from our centre are comparable to literature published to date. However, prognosis remains poor for this disease.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.