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BACKGROUND: In order to document the understanding of current evidence for the management of triple negative breast cancer and application of this knowledge in daily practice, we conducted an interactive survey of practicing Indian oncologists. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A core group of academic oncologists devised two hypothetical triple negative cases (metastatic and early breast cancer, respectively) and multiple choice options under different clinical circumstances. The respondents were practicing oncologists in different Indian cities who participated in either an online survey or a meeting. The participants electronically chose their preferred option based on their everyday practice. RESULTS: A total of 152 oncologists participated. Just over half (53.8%) preferred taxane based chemotherapy as first-line chemotherapy in the metastatic setting. In the adjuvant setting, a taxane regimen was chosen by 61%. Over half of respondents (52.6%) underestimated the baseline survival of a patient with node positive triple-negative tumor and 18.9% overestimated this survival compared to the estimate of the Adjuvant! program. DISCUSSION: This data offers insight into the perceptions and practice of a diverse cross-section of practicing oncologists in India with respect to their therapeutic choices in metastatic and adjuvant settings in triple negative breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the extent and specificity of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, the most used sources of information and the usefulness of these sources among Asian-Indian adolescents who were born in the USA and whose parents emigrated from India. Although 86% knew that having unsafe sex with a person infected with HIV could transmit HIV, 47% did not know that sharing a razor with an HIV-positive person could do so, and a significant proportion believed that donating blood (27%) and taking blood tests (14%) could transmit HIV. Television was the most used source of information, but school programmes on HIV/AIDS were considered the most useful source. The results indicated that to be effective, HIV/AIDS prevention programmes must assess the gap in scientific knowledge and beliefs, and clarify misconceptions, reinforce school programmes to present clear messages about the transmission of HIV/AIDS and utilize television to reach adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In search of genetic alterations responsible for high fetal hemoglobin (Hb F) phenotypes in the population of eastern India, 91 probands were screened for four polymorphisms by sequencing and/or restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. These are the A>G allele on the rs4895441 locus in the intergenic region between HBS1L and MYB on chromosome 6, the G>A allele on the rs4671393 locus on chromosome 2 (BCL11A gene), the A>C allele on the rs2071348 (HBBP1 gene) and the XmnI polymorphism (rs7482144, -158 position of HBG2) on chromosome 11. We found a significant association (p = 0.002 and 0.0013) of Hb F levels with rs2071348 and rs4895441, respectively. However, the polymorphism rs4671393 gene did not show significant association with Hb F levels (p = 0.0655). As is well known, the XmnI polymorphism (p <0.0001) showed the strongest association.

Immigrants depend on within-group social networks for social support during the acculturation process. Within-group social networks are linked to higher mutual concern and reciprocity, lower acculturative stress, and lower depression among immigrants Studies are limited, however, about immigrants' social support in the contexts of global connectedness and transnational connectivity. Grounded in social capital approach and immigrant health framework, this qualitative, community-based study examined the social networks of immigrant men from India to New York City. Drawing upon the participants' narratives, the author illustrates the ways that social capital influences social networking and acculturative stress in post-immigration sociocultural contexts along with its implications for community-based interventions.

Point mutations of alpha-globin genes in homozygous or in compound heterozygous states cause severe alpha-thalassemia (alpha-thal). Here we describe a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism-based method for easy detection of the point mutation Hb Sallanches [alpha104(G11)Cys-->Tyr, TGC>TAC], earlier detected by a sequencing technique. In a cohort of 104 unrelated putative alpha-thal patients, nine carried the mutation and two were homozygotes. The mutation occurred on both the alpha2- or alpha1-globin genes. The phenotypes, in conjunction with other point mutations or deletions, are presented. Earlier detected in Pakistan and Punjab of India, it is probably present all over the Indian subcontinent.

This study qualitatively explored social capital available to individuals (N = 17) within a community-based purposive sample of adult male immigrants from India in New York City (NYC). Analysis of in-depth interview data identified possible pathways for social capital's influences upon acculturative stress. The study defined social capital in terms of the participants' social relationships among peers, in the workplace, and with their ethnic community. Their relationships were assessed in terms of support, trust, and reciprocity. Among the recent immigrants, hopelessness and frustration about future work prospects were associated with symptoms of depression and substance abuse. The participants identified wealth as a distinct marker of social class and they described social class as a combination of education and occupation. Social class largely determined the particular peer and community networks each participant joined. Participants relied upon ongoing connections with family in India, despite their geographic separation, to relieve acculturative stress. Social support from peers was the participants' most useful and immediate resource for alleviating acculturative stress. For participants of lower socioeconomic status, acculturative stress was compounded by social-relationship expectations and norms from India that persisted within NYCs immigrant community. Namely, lower-SES participants were more likely to experience frustration and setbacks when they sought out intimate social relationships with women.

We have used restriction site-dependent polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methodology for detection of the alpha-globin polyadenylation (poly A) signal mutation, AATAAA>AATA- - and Hb Sun Prairie [alpha 130(H13)Ala-->Pro, GCT>CCT (alpha2)] mutation. The former mutation produces Hb H disease in the homozygous state and occurs frequently in the Indian population. It was detected in nine of 77 putative alpha-thalassemia (alpha-thal) patients and in three of 13 beta-thal intermedia patients tested. Four of the nine alpha-thal patients were homozygotes for the mutation. The Hb Sun Prairie mutation was confirmed in two alpha-thal patients, one of whom was a homozygote and the other a heterozygote.

Because the HIV pandemic undergoes continual change in its locations and affected populations, it is crucial to study HIV risk behaviors among mobile and immigrant groups within and across borders. The impact of cross-cultural migrations and the importance of studying that impact in terms of demographic characteristics as well as cultural and environmental factors has not received adequate attention in public health research. This collaborative analysis utilizes data from three studies of immigrant groups in New York to describe and compare these factors that provide the context for risk and prevention of HIVAIDS and other health challenges. Data discussed were obtained utilizing multi-method approaches to identify and describe HIV risks among both new and more established immigrant populations within the urban settings of North America, with NYC as a central focus. Demographic and epidemiological data situate the analysis within the larger contexts of US migration and the HIV/AIDS epidemic in NYC. The authors identify risk and protective factors embedded to varying degrees in immigrants' multiple cultures and sub-cultures. The three populations studied include: 1) new Hispanic immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Central America; 2) West Indian (Caribbean) immigrants from Jamaica, Trinidad/Tobago and other anglophone Caribbean nations; and 3) South Asian immigrants from India (Indian Americans). The paper seeks differences and commonalities, focusing on the social, attitudinal and behavioral factors that contribute to increased HIV/AIDS vulnerability among these populations. The data presented also identify some of the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups, as well as other facilitators and obstacles to transmission for immigrants as they adapt to new environments. Topics addressed include factors affecting HIV/AIDS vulnerability of immigrant groups, goals and expectations, health and mental heath issues, gender role change, sexual risk, alcohol and other drug use, perception of HIV/AIDS risk and implications for prevention.

This community-based, qualitative study explored social capital resources and their influences upon HIV risk behaviors in a sample of 17 heterosexual Asian Indian immigrant men residing in New York City. Our study defined social capital as the resources available to individuals and society through social relationships. At the family, peer, and community levels, social capital's influence appeared to reduce acculturative stress and HIV risks. However, participants who lacked sexually transmitted infection and HIV transmission knowledge and/or sought peer solidarity through adherence to negative peer norms (e.g., alcohol use with sex) had elevated sexual risks for HIV. These findings suggest the promise of a social capital approach in the development of HIV prevention programs, as well as the need for HIV risk and social capital researchers to examine multiple systems of social relationships in sociocultural context.

This study retrospectively explored the links between preimmigration beliefs of life success and postimmigration experiences and their influence on acculturative stress among a group of parents who recently immigrated with their children from three non-English speaking countries-Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan-to the United States. The respondents, 75 sets of parents residing in New York City, participated in semistructured qualitative interviews. Discrepancies between the parents' anticipated life success in the United States and actual experiences after immigration were associated with the parents' expectations of their children fulfilling parents' own dreams of success. Two criteria specific to Asian culture that guided parental expectations were the responsibility of children in enhancing family pride and the role of education as a way to advance through the social class and the caste systems. Implications for understanding immigrant parents' sociocultural contexts, the potential negative impact of unrealistic expectations on children's development, and the significance of acculturative stress for parents as well as their children were discussed.

Immigrant parents and their U.S.-born children may experience stressful family conflicts over the disparate sociocultural norms of the United States and their country of origin. Such stresses may heighten adolescents' vulnerability to drug abuse. This article documents the extent of drug use in a sample of 200 U.S.-born Asian Indian adolescents. According to the study participants' self-reports on lifetime use, 28 percent had used alcohol on at least one occasion, 16.5 percent had used cigarettes, and 2.5 percent had used marijuana. Adolescents who placed importance on their parents' drug abuse prevention messages tended not to use drugs. The implications of the study's findings for drug abuse assessment, treatment, and prevention are discussed.

The problem of meeting the normative demands of two cultures (host country and country of origin) has been linked to adolescent substance use as a way to cope with conflicts with parents. This paper examines intergenerational conflict as a precursor to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among second-generation Asian-Indian adolescents (Asian Americans whose parents emigrated from India). Based on systems theory, a structural model depicting the linkage and temporal sequelae of mediating factors is presented. Risk and protective factors unique to Asian-Indian adolescents--sociodemographic, family relationship, peer bonding, psychological, cultural, and ecological--are identified. Further, the impact of gender differences on family relationships is examined. Implications of the findings for drug use prevention policies, with special emphasis on developing comprehensive primary prevention strategies, are discussed.