TERT promoter mutations and polymorphisms as prognostic factors in primary glioblastoma TERT promoter mutations and polymorphisms as prognostic factors in primary glioblastoma

Objective To evaluate the effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) and hormone therapy (HT) on vasomotor symptoms in women with a history of breast cancer. Methods Forty-five women were randomized to EA (n = 27) for 12 weeks or HT (n = 18) for 24 months. The number of and distress caused by hot flushes were registered daily before, during and up to 24 months after start of treatment. Results In 19 women who completed 12 weeks of EA, the median number of hot flushes/24 h decreased from 9.6 (interquartile range (IQR) 6.6–9.9) at baseline to 4.3 (IQR 1.0–7.1) at 12 weeks of treatment (p < 0.001). At 12 months after start of treatment, 14 women with only the initial 12 weeks of EA had a median number of flushes/24 h of 4.9 (IQR 1.8–7.3), and at 24 months seven women with no other treatment than EA had 2.1 (IQR 1.6–2.8) flushes/24 h. Another five women had a decreased number of flushes after having additional EA. The 18 women with HT had a baseline median number of flushes/24 h of 6.6 (IQR 4.0–8.9), and 0.0 (IQR 0.0–1.6; p = 0.001) at 12 weeks. Conclusion Electro-acupuncture is a possible treatment of vasomotor symptoms for women with breast cancer and should be further studied for this group of women.

The Swedish brain tumor registry has, since it was launched in 1999, provided significant amounts of data on histopathological diagnoses and on important aspects of surgical and medical management of these patients. The purpose is mainly quality control, but also as a resource for research. Three Swedish healthcare regions, constituting 40% of the Swedish population, have had an almost complete registration. The following parameters are registered: diagnosis according to SNOMED/WHO classification, symptoms, performance status, pre- and postoperative radiology, tumor size and localization, extent of surgery and occurrence of postoperative complications, postoperative treatment, such as radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, other treatments, complications and toxicity, occurrence of reoperation/s, participation in clinical trials, multidisciplinary conferences and availability of a contact nurse. Surgical radicality has been essentially constant, whereas the use of early (within 72 hours) postoperative CT and MRI has increased, especially for high-grade glioma, which is a reflection of quality of surgery. Survival of patients with high-grade glioma has increased, especially in the age group 60-69. Patients aged 18-39 years had a five-year survival of 40%. Waiting times for the pathological report has been slightly prolonged. Geographical differences do exist for some of the variables. Population-based registration is valuable for assessment of clinical management, which could have impact on patient care. As a result of short survival and/or the propensity to affect cognitive functions this patient group has considerable difficulties to make their voices heard in society. We therefore believe that a report like the present one can contribute to the spread of knowledge and increase the awareness for this patient group among caregivers and policy makers.