The nutritional literacy of breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and its association with treatment self-regulation and perceived social support.

PURPOSE: Chemotherapy can lead to malnutrition and post-menopausal recurrence among breast cancer (BC) patients, who need to achieve nutritional literacy (NL) to cope. The objective of this study was to explore the NL level in Chinese BC patients receiving chemotherapy and its predictors including both internal motivation and the external environment. METHODS: A total of 326 BC female patients from three hospitals were enrolled. Participants completed the Nutrition Literacy Measurement Scale for Chinese Adult (NLMS-CA), Chinese version from the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ-C), and the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) to assess NL, treatment self-regulation, and social support. Stepwise multivariate linear regression was used to identify the main factors of NL. RESULTS: The total NL score was 151.31 ± 16.85, the "knowledge understanding" dimension had the lowest score. In the final regression model, patients with higher scores for "autonomous motivation" and "introjected regulation" on the TSRQ-C and "family support" and "other support" on the PSSS, higher educational levels and average monthly household incomes and endocrine therapy had higher NL levels (adjusted R2 = 66.7%, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The overall NL score among Chinese BC patients receiving chemotherapy was satisfactory, but the knowledge understanding score was low. Higher autonomous motivation, introjected regulation, family support and other support scores, higher educational and household income levels, and endocrine therapy were predictors of NL in female patients. Interventions should be designed according to the specific performances and predictors of NL in female patients.

The influence of nutrition literacy, self-care self-efficacy and social support on the dietary practices of breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: A multicentre study.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy experience adverse reactions, which lead to poor nutritional status. The objective of this study was to explore the dietary practice of Chinese breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and to analyse the influence of nutrition literacy, self-care self-efficacy and perceived social support on dietary practice. METHOD: A total of 295 participants from three hospitals in China were enrolled. The Dietary Nutritional Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Questionnaire; Nutrition Literacy Measurement Scale for Chinese Adults; Strategies Used by People to Promote Health and Perceived Social Support Scale were administered. Multiple linear regressions were used to identify influencing factors. RESULTS: The dietary practice of patients were generally satisfactory. Nutrition literacy (r = 0.460, p < 0.001), self-care self-efficacy (r = 0.513, p < 0.001) and perceived social support (r = 0.703, p < 0.001) were positively correlated with dietary practice. The main factors influencing participants' dietary practice were nutrition literacy, self-care self-efficacy, perceived social support, living environment, cancer stage, body mass index, chemotherapy cycle and average monthly household income (all p < 0.05). The model explained 59.0% of the variance in dietary practice. CONCLUSIONS: Health professionals should emphasize breast cancer patients' dietary practice throughout the entire chemotherapy course, and dietary interventions should be designed by oncology nurses based on patients' nutrition literacy, self-care self-efficacy and perceived social support. Female patients who have a higher body mass index and income, live in rural areas, have a lower education level, have stage I cancer and have undergone numerous chemotherapy cycles are the focus population of intervention.

Overexpression of PSMC2 promotes the tumorigenesis and development of human breast cancer via regulating plasminogen activator urokinase (PLAU).

Emerging evidence has declared that Proteasome 26S subunit ATPase 2 (PSMC2) is involved in tumor progression. However, its role in breast cancer has not been investigated. Therefore, we sought to establish a correlation between breast cancer and PSMC2. PSMC2 expression in tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry. Loss-of-function study was used to evaluate the effects of PSMC2 knockdown in cell proliferation, apoptosis and migration. A gene microarray was performed to explore the potential downstream of PSMC2 with the help of Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). The effects of the PSMC2/PLAU axis on breast cancer were examined in vitro. Compared to para-cancer tissues, PSMC2 level was considerably elevated in breast cancer, which was significantly correlated with tumor grade. Knockdown of PSMC2 suppressed breast cancer progression in vitro and in vivo. The mechanistic research revealed that PSMC2 promotes the development and progression of human breast cancer through interacting with PLAU. Outcomes of our study showed that overexpression of PSMC2 provide tumorigenic and metastatic advantages in breast cancer, which may involve the regulation of PLAU. This study not only reveals a critical mechanism of breast cancer development, but also provides a promising therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment.