The relationship between empathic tendencies and altruistic behaviours in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine the relationship between the empathic tendencies and altruistic behaviours of adolescents. METHODS: This descriptive and correlational study was conducted with 323 high school students in the 2017-2018 academic year. Data were collected using a sociodemographic characteristics form, the altruism scale and the empathic tendency scale. Descriptive statistics were evaluated using the bivariate correlation test and the linear regression test. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 16.06 ± 1.19 (min = 14, max = 20), and 50.8% of them were female. The adolescents' mean scores on the empathic tendency and altruism scales were 65.71 ± 9.08 and 67.84 ± 9.25, respectively. A statistically significant moderate positive relation was found between the adolescents' empathic tendencies and their altruistic behaviours (r = 0.369, p = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The empathic tendency skills and altruistic behaviours of adolescents who participated in this study were at a good level. It is important to plan and apply educational programmes that develop adolescents' empathic tendencies and altruistic behaviours and to teach them positive social behaviours such as altruism.

Genome Instability Profiles Predict Disease Outcome in a Cohort of 4,003 Patients with Breast Cancer.

PURPOSE: The choice of therapy for patients with breast cancer is often based on clinicopathologic parameters, hormone receptor status, and HER2 amplification. To improve individual prognostication and tailored treatment decisions, we combined clinicopathologic prognostic data with genome instabilty profiles established by quantitative measurements of the DNA content. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We retrospectively assessed clinical data of 4,003 patients with breast cancer with a minimum postoperative follow-up period of 10 years. For the entire cohort, we established genome instability profiles. We applied statistical methods, including correlation matrices, Kaplan-Meier curves, and multivariable Cox proportional hazard models, to ascertain the potential of standard clinicopathologic data and genome instability profiles as independent predictors of disease-specific survival in distinct subgroups, defined clinically or with respect to treatment. RESULTS: In Cox regression analyses, two parameters of the genome instability profiles, the S-phase fraction and the stemline scatter index, emerged as independent predictors in premenopausal women, outperforming all clinicopathologic parameters. In postmenopausal women, age and hormone receptor status were the predominant prognostic factors. However, by including S-phase fraction and 2.5c exceeding rate, we could improve disease outcome prediction in pT1 tumors irrespective of the lymph node status. In pT3-pT4 tumors, a higher S-phase fraction led to poorer prognosis. In patients who received adjuvant endocrine therapy, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or a combination, the ploidy profiles improved prognostication. CONCLUSIONS: Genome instability profiles predict disease outcome in patients with breast cancer independent of clinicopathologic parameters. This applies especially to premenopausal patients. In patients receiving adjuvant therapy, the profiles improve identification of high-risk patients.

High Levels of Chromosomal Copy Number Alterations and TP53 Mutations Correlate with Poor Outcome in Younger Breast Cancer Patients.

Prognosis in young patients with breast cancer is generally poor, yet considerable differences in clinical outcomes between individual patients exist. To understand the genetic basis of the disparate clinical courses, tumors were collected from 34 younger women, 17 with good and 17 with poor outcomes, as determined by disease-specific survival during a follow-up period of 17 years. The clinicopathologic parameters of the tumors were complemented with DNA image cytometry profiles, enumeration of copy numbers of eight breast cancer genes by multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization, and targeted sequence analysis of 563 cancer genes. Both groups included diploid and aneuploid tumors. The degree of intratumor heterogeneity was significantly higher in aneuploid versus diploid cases, and so were gains of the oncogenes MYC and ZNF217. Significantly more copy number alterations were observed in the group with poor outcome. Almost all tumors in the group with long survival were classified as luminal A, whereas triple-negative tumors predominantly occurred in the short survival group. Mutations in PIK3CA were more common in the group with good outcome, whereas TP53 mutations were more frequent in patients with poor outcomes. This study shows that TP53 mutations and the extent of genomic imbalances are associated with poor outcome in younger breast cancer patients and thus emphasize the central role of genomic instability vis-a-vis tumor aggressiveness.