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An optical characterization method is proposed for shrinkage and refractive index of laterally oxidized AlGaAs and AlAs layers. The proposed approach involves angular dependence calculations of Fabry-Perot dip wavelength in a cavity and was found to yield more realistic layer structures than conventional ellipsometry. It can also conduct measurements without the time-consuming sample preparation required in transmission electron microscopy.

Background: Outside clinical trials, long term follow-up data from large series of women treated with adjuvant trastuzumab are lacking. We here report such data from a Belgian cohort for premature trastuzumab discontinuation and 5 year outcome. Patients and Methods: A year prior to its reimbursement (June 1st 2007), the Belgian health authorities offered adjuvant trastuzumab to women with a HER-2 amplified breast cancer as given in HERA: following completion of loco-regional therapy, at least 4 cycles of chemotherapy (CT) (neo-adjuvant or adjuvant) or radiotherapy whichever was last. Demographics, histopathologic features, baseline (55%) and follow-up left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) together with 5 yr breast cancer related events (BCRE) were centrally recorded. Outcome was reported by grade (< or > grade 3), lymph node (pN) status (neg/pos), hormone receptor (HR) status (neg/pos) and timing of CT (adjuvant/neo-adjuvant). Results: 917 pts were included. Files on histopathology, demographics, LVEF and therapy are available for 887 (97%) pts, outcome for 738 (80%). Median age at diagnosis was 53 years (25-81); 56% of tumors were >pT1, 57% pN+, 72% grade 3, 59% HR-positive for estrogen receptor (ER) and/or progesterone receptor (PR). CT was neo-adjuvant in 20% and adjuvant in 80%. Radiotherapy and endocrine therapy were given respectively in 86% and 50%. Median follow-up was 63 (range 8-90) months. Premature (<1 year) treatment discontinuation occurred in 17% of pts mainly because of decrease in LVEF (asymptomatic in 7.2%; symptomatic in 1.2%). A BCRE appeared in 128 pts (17%) on average 31 months (range 4-76) after diagnosis. BCRE was metastatic in 96 pts (13%) and mostly (71 %) limited to one organ at diagnosis. Most likely involved were liver (18%), lung (17%), brain (16%) and bone (13%). 7% of patients died of breast cancer. Patients receiving neo-adjuvant CT had more advanced disease and were more likely to develop a distant BCRE (24%) as were patients receiving adjuvant CT (10%); In both populations, the following parameters further affected distant BCRE: lymph node involvement, grade 3, negative HR, and negative PR in ER-positive disease (table 1). We here focus on 636 pts with outcome data. Breast cancer related events (119, 19%) occurred on average 31 months (4-74) after diagnosis and was mainly metastatic, with preference for liver or lungs only (17%), bone only (15%) or brain only (14%). 44 (7%) pts died of breast cancer. Patients who had chemotherapy administered in the neoadjuvant setting (20%) clearly had more advanced disease with more chance to develop a distant relapse (24%) and breast cancer related death (17%). These figures were respectively 11 % and 4% when chemotherapy was given in the adjuvant setting (80%). In both populations, the following variables were most prognostic for metastatic relapse: lymph node involvement (28% vs 16% neo; 13% vs 7% adj), grade 3 (24% vs 18% neo; 14% vs 8% adj), a negative HR-status (26% vs 21 % neo; 14% vs 9% adj) and a negative PR status (27% vs 16% neo; 13% vs 7% adj). Discussion: Outside a clinical trial, ≥ 80% of patients eligible for adjuvant trastuzumab are able to complete treatment. Outcome at 5 years is favorable with low symptomatic cardiac toxicity and a 13% incidence of metastatic relapse, being lowest in pN-, < grade 3, HR+ and ER+/PR+ tumors. Longer follow-up is needed to differentiate a relapse pattern by HR-status as PR positive cases might relapse at a later moment. This work is funded by the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI-RIZIV). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Decisions about systemic treatment in women with metastatic breast cancer are currently based on the presence of estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR) or Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 (HER2 receptors) in the primary tumor. Recently, several studies have reported significant discordances in ER, PR and HER2 status between the primary tumor and metastatic lesions and this may vary by metastatic site. Prognostic implications remain unclear although alterations in ER, PR and/or HER2 can influence metastatic management. This study represents one of the largest studies evaluating how frequent receptor discordances occur in liver metastasis, whether this alters therapeutic options and impacts prognosis. Patients and methods: 246 breast cancer patients with histological confirmed liver metastasis were analyzed in this retrospective study. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and/or FISH were used to determine ER, PR and HER2 receptor status. We excluded patients when comparison between receptors of primary tumor and metastasis was impossible due to missing data (n = 85), when liver metastasis did not originate from breast cancer (n = 36) and when pathology was obtained from autopsy specimens (n = 38). Results: 87 patients had matched tissue samples of primary tumor and liver metastasis with possible comparison of at least one of the receptors. Table 1 summarizes changes in ER, PR, HER2 between primary and metastatic lesion. Discordance in receptor status was associated with shorter time to death (63.3 months) compared to the concordant group (75.5 months). Conclusions: A significant proportion of ER and PR show discordance between primary tumor and liver metastasis. However we could not establish the same level of discordance for the HER2 receptors as in other studies. In general, only about 1 in 5 patients gained new (endocrine or targeted) therapeutic options. Tissue confirmation remains important to evaluate whether metastatic disease has become endocrine insensitive (in approximately 1 in 5 patients), avoiding unnecessary delay in chemotherapy. Discordance in receptors may be associated with inferior prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are an established treatment modality for postmenopausal hormone-responsive breast cancer. Many of AI-treated patients experience AI-induced musculoskeletal syndrome (AIMSS), which may adversely affect quality of life and treatment adherence. The etiology underlying this syndrome remains unknown. Therefore, a well-established mouse model of human rheumatoid arthritis, collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), was used to evaluate how AIs affect bone and joints in inflammatory joint disease. Material and methods Thirty-two female DBA/1 mice were divided into 2 groups of 16 mice each; ovariectomy (OVX) or sham operation was performed at 7 weeks of age (=day 0). At day 14, arthritis was induced in all mice by injection of chicken sternal cartilage type II collagen emulsified with an equal volume of Freund's complete adjuvant, followed by a booster injection at day 21. Afterwards, mice were treated with letrozole or vehicle during 30 days. Mice were sacrificed at day 54. Parameters analyzed included clinical CIA score of paws, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, microCT of femora, histopathological examination of ankles and paws and IGF-I levels. Analysis was performed with ANOVA, post-hoc tests, general linearized and mixed models. Results As expected, OVX led to an increased lean and total body weight relative to the sham group. Repeated measurements analysis with mixed models suggested interaction between weight, time and arthritis severity. Serum IGF-I concentrations were significantly higher in the OVX group compared with the sham group, but no differences were observed between letrozole treatment and controls. Collagen immunization resulted in progressive inflammation of the paws including the ankles that increased up to day 54. Over time, clinical scores for arthritis severity were highest in the OVX/vehicle group. Both letrozole groups had an intermediate course and the lowest scores were seen in the paws of the sham/vehicle group, as expected. Histopathological examination of hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections were in line with these results. Subcapital BMD at the end of the arthritis experiments was significantly different between the four groups. Post-hoc test confirmed the negative effect of OVX versus sham procedure, in the presence or absence of letrozole treatment. MicroCT analysis showed that OVX induced a significant decrease in bone mineral density and content in both trabecular (volume and number) and cortical bone (volume, area, thickness and medullary area) compared to sham operation in vehicle-treated mice. In the letrozole group, only cortical bone (volume, area inside periost and medullary area) was significantly reduced following OVX. In addition, in the sham group, letrozole induced lower trabecular bone volume and less trabecular numbers compared to vehicle treatment. This was in contrast with the OVX groups; letrozole treatment resulted in significantly better trabecular bone parameters. Conclusion Not only bone loss but also severity of joint disease was increased by OVX. Remarkably, in contrast to what is observed in humans, letrozole treatment protected the bone and joints after OVX but had negative effects in its absence, thereby providing further evidence for a regulatory effect in joint and bone biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Whether age is an independent prognostic factor in early breast cancer remains controversial. Different cut-off values have been suggested in different studies and few studies assessed its value in triple negative breast cancer and other phenotypes. Methods: We included all primary operable breast cancer patients from our prospectively managed database in UZ Leuven, Belgium. We excluded male patients, patients treated elsewhere first, patients treated with primary systemic treatment first. We assessed the effect of age as a continuous and categorical variable for distant metastasis free interval (DMFI), locoregional free interval (LRRFI) and breast cancer specific survival (BCSS) in multivariable analysis (correcting for phenotype, tumor size, nodal status, chemo-, endocrine-, radiotherapy, type of breast and axillary surgery). We assessed the effect of age for DMFI, LRRFI and BCSS in basal-like breast cancer and other phenotypes. Results: We included 4318 patients with a mean/median age of 58/ 57 years (1170 patients were younger than 50 years) and with a median follow-up of 6,0 years. Multivariate analysis confirmed age as an independent prognostic variable for LLRFI (HR1.91; 95% CL:1.33-2.74; p = 0.0005), DMFI (HR:1.77; 95% CL:1.33-2.36; P < 0.0001) and BCSS (HR:2.35; 95% CL:1.66-2.74; P < 0.0001). The optimal cut-off value is 41 years for LLRFI and BCSS and 44 years for DMFI. We did not find an independent prognostic value for age in triple negative breast cancer regarding DMFI and LRRFI. Results for other subtypes are subject to currently ongoing analyses. Conclusions: Overall, young age in primary operable breast cancer patients is an independent prognostic value for DMFI, LRRFI and BCSS after adjusting for known prognostic factors. In triple negative breast cancer, age did not retain independent prognostic value for DMFI and LRRFI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescent and emerging adult survivors of childhood cancer, aiming to gain a first understanding of the phenomenon, its relation to general and cancer-specific functioning, and the stability of NSSI engagement over time. Methods: Dutch-speaking survivors ( n = 125, age range = 14-25 years) participated in the first three annual waves of the Longitudinal Identity Study of Childhood Cancer Survivors study. Descriptive characteristics of lifetime NSSI were calculated. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and χ 2 -analyses were performed to examine differences in demographic and clinical characteristics between survivors with and without lifetime NSSI. To assess differences in general and cancer-specific functioning between survivors with and without lifetime NSSI, two MANOVA analyses were performed. Finally, prevalence rates of current NSSI across the three waves were calculated, followed by χ 2 -analyses to explore differences in current NSSI over time. Results: The prevalence and characteristics of lifetime NSSI engagement resembled those in the general population. Although demographic and clinical characteristics were unrelated to NSSI engagement, several meaningful differences were found in both general and cancer-specific functioning between survivors with and without NSSI. Survivors with lifetime NSSI experienced more depressive symptoms and difficulties with identity formation (i.e., lower levels of identity synthesis and higher levels of identity confusion). In addition, they experienced more post-traumatic stress symptoms and cancer-related worries, and identified less as a "cancer patient." Conclusions: This study provides a first understanding of NSSI engagement in survivors of childhood cancer, mapping the characteristics of NSSI and its associations with both general and cancer-specific functioning.

Mental illness and identity are related, with issues in identity contributing to the development of psychopathology and vice versa. However, little work has examined how mental illness and identity can become interwoven (i.e., mental illness identity). Mental illness identity may be particularly important during adolescence, as this life phase is marked by the salience of identity and an increase in psychopathology. In the present study, we conducted a qualitative examination of the high point, low point, turning point, and psychopathology-related narratives of 69 Dutch adolescents ( M age = 16.5, 75.4% female, 15.9% male, 8.7% other). The participants were diagnosed with a mood, anxiety, and/or eating disorder, and the majority of them (82.6%) were in treatment at the time of the study. We found that adolescents' mental illness identity could take different forms and that these forms may be more adaptive or maladaptive depending on the context of each adolescent's life. Furthermore, mental illness identity was related to several factors within adolescents (e.g., sense of agency) and their environment (e.g., stigma). These findings contribute to our understanding of adolescent mental illness identity and may be used to improve the treatment of their internalizing problems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Having Type 1 diabetes (T1D) may complicate the normative developmental task of personal identity formation in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Besides exploring and committing to identity choices in different life domains, youth with T1D need to integrate their illness into their identity, a process labeled as illness identity. The present study examined whether youth with T1D belonging to different personal identity trajectory classes developed differently on four illness identity dimensions (acceptance, enrichment, engulfment, rejection)., Method: This four-wave longitudinal study over a 3-year period used self-report questionnaires to examine how personal identity trajectory classes were related to illness identity over time in youth with T1D (baseline: n = 558; 54% female; age range = 14-25 years). Personal identity trajectory classes were identified using latent class growth analysis. Differential development of the four illness identity dimensions among these personal identity trajectory classes was examined using multigroup latent growth curve modeling., Results: Five personal identity trajectory classes were identified: achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, carefree diffusion, and troubled diffusion. Individuals in achievement and foreclosure displayed highest levels of diabetes integration (i.e., high levels of acceptance and enrichment; low levels of engulfment and rejection), whereas individuals in troubled diffusion displayed lowest levels of illness integration (i.e., low levels of acceptance and enrichment; high levels of engulfment and rejection)., Conclusions: The present study confirms that personal identity development relates to illness identity development over time in youth with T1D. Understanding the intricate link between personal and illness identity may help clinicians to tailor their interventions to patients' individual needs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).