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Biomedical subjects

E Myers

Publications and source records attributed to E Myers.

44 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Preliminary trial of nonrecombinant interferon alpha in recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Fourteen patients with recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) were treated with 10 x 10(6) U of nonrecombinant interferon alpha (IFN) intramuscularly (IM) daily for 3 days every 28 days. There were 11 men and 3 women, with ages ranging from 48 to 74 years. Patients had previously been treated with surgery (9 patients), radiotherapy (13 patients), or chemotherapy (8 patients). All patients had measurable disease by physical exam and radiologic evaluation and a performance status of less than or equal to 2 (ECOG). Patients were treated for a minimum of 3 months and continued on therapy until disease progression. The dose and treatment schedule of IFN was well-tolerated. Toxicities included low-grade fever, mild anorexia, and malaise. Treatment was stopped in 1 patient due to the development of atrial fibrillation. One death occurred as a complication of aspiration pneumonia 2 weeks following the onset of therapy and was not felt to be related to IFN therapy. Of the 14 patients treated, there was 1 complete response (30+ months) of a base of tongue primary. Two patients had stabilization of disease (SD, 8 and 12 months). One patient had a mixed response with resolution of subcutaneous nodules. The remaining 10 patients died of progressive disease. Immunological assessment was performed on 8 patients. The 1 patient who had a complete response was noted to have markedly low pretreatment natural killer (NK) cell activity and a subsequent sharp rise in activity after initial treatment. We conclude that low-dose cyclic IFN is well-tolerated in patients with recurrent SCCHN and has potential antitumor activity.

Aged↗

Preventive health services received by minority women aged 45-64 and the goals of healthy people 2000.

We attempted to evaluate the preventive health services received by minority women aged 45-64 in an underserved region of Boston. We compared two surveys of disease burden and preventive health services to national data sets and the goals of Healthy People 2000. We found that minority women seen both in community health centers and within the community had many cardiovascular risk factors (41-45% had hypertension, 24-29% had cholesterol > 200 mg/dL, and 49-56% had a body mass index of >27.3 kg/m(2)). Women reported that they received low rates of counseling on healthy behaviors but generally received breast and cervical cancer screening. Forty-three percent of women who were interviewed in the community had no health insurance and these women were less likely to have received a Papanicolaou test or mammogram than insured women. Lack of insurance did not predict cancer screening for women already being seen in the community health clinic.

Boston↗

Patient advocacy: one agency's positive results with the administrative law judge process.

The Visiting Nurse Service of Rochester and Monroe County, Inc., is a progressive, certified home health agency that is committed to providing a broad range of specialized high-quality care services. To assist in meeting this goal, the Visiting Nurse Service has developed a Network of Support to maximize the patients' access to Medicare home care benefits. This commitment as a patient advocate follows through to the process of dealing with Medicare denials up to the level of the Administrative Law Judge.

Community Health Nursing↗