RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Supportive-expressive group therapy has been reported to prolong survival among women with metastatic breast cancer. However, in recent studies, various psychosocial interventions have not prolonged survival. METHODS: In a multicenter trial, we randomly assigned 235 women with metastatic breast cancer who were expected to survive at least three months in a 2:1 ratio to an intervention group that participated in weekly supportive-expressive group therapy (158 women) or to a control group that received no such intervention (77 women). All the women received educational materials and any medical or psychosocial care that was deemed necessary. The primary outcome was survival; psychosocial function was assessed by self-reported questionnaires. RESULTS: Women assigned to supportive-expressive therapy had greater improvement in psychological symptoms and reported less pain (P=0.04) than women in the control group. A significant interaction of treatment-group assignment with base-line psychological score was found (P=0.003 for the comparison of mood variables; P=0.04 for the comparison of pain); women who were more distressed benefited, whereas those who were less distressed did not. The psychological intervention did not prolong survival (median survival, 17.9 months in the intervention group and 17.6 months in the control group; hazard ratio for death according to the univariate analysis, 1.06 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.78 to 1.45]; hazard ratio according to the multivariate analysis, 1.23 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.88 to 1.72]). CONCLUSIONS: Supportive-expressive group therapy does not prolong survival in women with metastatic breast cancer. It improves mood and the perception of pain, particularly in women who are initially more distressed.
Assuntos
Neoplasias da Mama/psicologia , Psicoterapia de Grupo , Apoio Social , Adulto , Afeto , Neoplasias da Mama/mortalidade , Neoplasias da Mama/terapia , Feminino , Humanos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Metástase Neoplásica , Dor/etiologia , Dor/psicologia , Medição da Dor , Psicoterapia de Grupo/métodos , Análise de SobrevidaRESUMO
In light-adapted frogs (adaptation luminance 10(3) asb) repeated flashes of high intensity (10(5) asb) caused decrease of the b-wave in the electroretinogram as compared to the results obtained with dark-adapted animals. The amplitude changes were monotonous in all cases; they were dependent on the spacing and duration of the stimulus. With short intervals (2-10 sec) the amplitude adjusted to a new level no later than after 8 flashes. With longer intervals (30 and 60 sec), however, the amplitude decreased slowly and steadily over the whole period of experiment. Under these conditions, adjustment to a new level was prevented by disturbing factors, which additionally reduced the retinal sensitivity depending on the duration of the experiment.