Coming dissertations at MedFak
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Daily Experiences and Perceived Quality of Care for Patients with Liver Cirrhosis
Link: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-517092
Aim and methods: This thesis aimed to study patients’ experiences with illness in their day-to-day lives and their perceived quality of care before and after implementing a 24-month adjunctive registered nurse-based outpatient intervention in liver cirrhosis. Qualitative data was used to explore patient perspectives on day-to-day life and healthcare experiences related to liver cirrhosis. The patient-perceived quality of care following the adjunctive registered nurse-based outpatient care was studied in a pragmatic, randomised controlled multicentre study, preceded by a study protocol.
Results: Liver cirrhosis led to physical symptoms sometimes appearing rapidly. Fatigue, fear and social stigma affected daily life, resulting in cancelled activities and creating an unpredictable daily life situation. Patients with liver cirrhosis lacked adequate support to learn about the disease and manage it. They sought a trustworthy relationship with healthcare providers. When this was lacking, they felt neglected. After 12 months, the adjunctive registered nurse-based outpatient care revealed an improvement in patient-perceived quality of care. Enhancements were observed in 7 out of 22 questionnaire items regarding: patient participation, access to outpatient care, and feeling understood. However, these improvements were not sustained after 24 months.
Conclusions: Fluctuating liver cirrhosis symptoms and constant worry significantly impact patients’ daily lives. Patients expressed a wish to be more involved in their healthcare and support in understanding and managing their illness. Structured registered nurse-based outpatient care for liver cirrhosis could complement physician-based care to meet patient desires for a more person-centred approach, continuity and care coordination.
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HER2-receptor quantification in breast cancer patients by imaging with ABY-025 Affibody and PET
Link: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-517674
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women worldwide. Human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) is overexpressed in up to 20% of breast cancer cases and is considered an important prognostic factor and a therapeutic target. With the introduction of HER2-targeted therapy, it was important to recognize patients who will likely benefit from such treatment. Immunohistochemistry staining performed on a tumor biopsy, with in situ hybridization to detect gene amplification if needed, is the current gold standard method for HER2 receptor quantification. However, in cases with multiple metastases, it is both unfeasible and impractical to perform multiple biopsies without risking higher morbidity. Molecular imaging with tracers specifically targeting HER2 receptors provides a non-invasive approach, which allows full body quantification without the serious side effects associated with invasive biopsies. The molecule of focus in this thesis work is Affibody ZHER2:2891 (ABY-025) molecule that has a high affinity and selectivity towards HER2 receptors.
This thesis is based on four original articles. The first part focused on the aspect of breast cancer imaging using HER2-targeting gallium-labeled tracer 68Ga-ABY-025 in positron emission tomography (PET) and its role in predicting breast cancer outcome. The second part was to investigate the effect of different risk factors on developing brain metastasis, the overall survival and the effect of HER2-targeted treatment on breast cancer brain metastasis based on Uppsala County cancer registry.
We demonstrated that HER2-binding Affibody PET kinetics can be explained using a two-tissue compartment model and SUV values correlated well with the influx rates calculated using kinetic modeling, supporting its use to measure actual HER2 receptor binding. Phase II study demonstrated the potential of 68Ga-ABY-025 PET to predict the treatment outcome more accurately compared to biopsy HER2-status that uses the traditional immunohistochemistry staining and in situ hybridization techniques. 68Ga-ABY-025 PET provided accurate staging and reduced false positive 18F-FDG PET results in HER2-positive cases. HER2-positive molecular subtypes were associated with an increased risk of developing brain metastasis. Yet, longer survival times were observed in HER2-positive subtypes receiving HER2-targeted therapy.
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Surveillance and follow-up of early prostate cancer
Link: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-515875
Active surveillance (AS) for prostate cancer was introduced to address overtreatment resulting from prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing. Despite advancements such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and targeted biopsies, PSA remains crucial in prostate cancer diagnostics, leading to ongoing challenges of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. This thesis aimed to investigate different aspects of AS and follow-up of early prostate cancer and provide new insights to reduce overtreatment and enhance surveillance and follow-up. In Paper I, the rationale and methodology of a randomized controlled trial, the Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance Trigger trial/Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group study no. 17 (PCASTt/SPCG17), were outlined. This trial's objective is to evaluate the safety of an AS protocol based on MRI and standardized triggers for repeat biopsies and transition to radical treatment. Patient recruitment is anticipated to conclude in 2024. Paper II investigated the risks of biochemical recurrence, metastatic disease, and prostate cancer-related death in patients following radical prostatectomy. The analysis was conditioned on time after radical prostatectomy without biochemical recurrence. For patients with favourable histopathology in prostatectomy specimens and no biochemical recurrence five years post-prostatectomy, the probability of developing metastatic disease or dying from prostate cancer within 20 years after surgery was very low. This suggests shorter follow-up for selected patients. Paper III compared outcomes of AS for men from different healthcare regions in Sweden with varying traditions of AS. Regions with lower uptake in AS demonstrated a higher probability of transitioning from AS to radical treatment, but no difference in AS failure. The results suggest overtreatment in regions with low uptake in AS. Paper IV explored the associations between potential triggers for transitioning from AS to radical treatment and the transition to treatment. We analysed how this association changed with the introduction of prostate MRI. We found an increasingly strong association between triggers, particularly histopathological progression, and transition. However, most treated men had not experienced histopathological progression. The introduction of MRI did not contribute much to the change. In conclusion, this thesis outlines an ongoing study on defined triggers for transitioning from AS to radical treatment, suggests shorter follow-up after radical prostatectomy for selected patients, reveals overtreatment in regions with low uptake in AS, and shows an increasing use of histopathological progression as a trigger for transition to radical treatment.