The impact of new systemic therapies on survival and time on hormonal treatment in hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative metastatic breast cancer: A population-based study in British Columbia from 2003 to 2013.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine whether new systemic therapy regimens have resulted in improved survival and increased time on first- and second-line hormonal treatment for patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) over time. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with HR-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative MBC were identified across 3 time cohorts (2003-2005, 2007-2009, and 2011-2013). Data were prospectively collected. Cases with previous, synchronous, or subsequent contralateral breast cancer were excluded. The types of first- and second-line therapies, the times on first- and second-line hormonal treatment, and the median survival times were compared across the cohorts. RESULTS: Within the time period analyzed, 9 new adjuvant systemic therapies (with or without neoadjuvant therapy) and 2 metastatic systemic therapies were approved at BC Cancer for the treatment of HR-positive, HER2-negative MBC. In the 3 time cohorts, 3953 patients diagnosed with MBC were identified. Among the 2432 patients (62%) who had HR-positive/HER2-negative disease, 2197 (90%) received at least 1 line of systemic therapy after the diagnosis of MBC, and 80% of these patients (1752 of 2197) received first- and/or second-line hormonal treatment. The median duration on hormonal treatment was 9.0 months for the first line and 6.1 months for the second line. The durations were similar across the time cohorts (range for the first line, 8.9-9.0 months; range for the second line, 6.0-6.1 months). The median survival for the entire study population was 2.0 years (95% confidence interval, 1.8-2.1 years), and there was no significant difference between the cohorts (range, 1.9-2.0 years). CONCLUSIONS: Even though more adjuvant and metastatic systemic therapies have been approved since 2003, population-level gains in survival and the time on hormonal treatment for patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative MBC have not been made over the course of a decade.

Negotiation.

Negotiation occurs whenever people cannot achieve their own goals without the cooperation of others. Our review highlights recent empirical research that investigates this ubiquitous social activity. We selectively review descriptive research emerging from social psychology and organizational behavior. This research examines negotiation behavior and outcomes at five levels of analysis: intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organizational, and virtual. At each level, we review research on negotiation processes and outcomes, and we discuss the implications of various processes and outcomes for the two functions of negotiation: value creation (integrative negotiation) and value claiming (distributive negotiation).

The role of the self-concept and the social context in determining the behavior of power holders: self-construal in intergroup versus dyadic dispute resolution negotiations.

In this work, the authors explored how a person's view of himself or herself might determine his or her use of power in a complex dispute resolution negotiation. In 3 studies of asymmetric power in negotiations, the authors demonstrated that the impact of power on motivation and behavior is moderated by both a person's self-view and the social context. In Study 1, the results revealed that in a one-on-one dispute, powerful individuals primed to hold an interdependent (as opposed to independent) self-construal are more generous in resolving their disputes with low-powered opponents. Study 2 replicated this finding but revealed a different pattern in intergroup disputes, in which powerful interdependent teams of negotiators are actually less generous than are independent teams. Study 3 provided a conceptual replication of Study 2, with the use of chronic measures of self-construal and self-reported measures of behavior. Results suggest that an interdependent self-construal may lead to a more benevolent use of power in dyadic conflicts but more exploitive uses of power in intergroup conflicts. Implications for the understanding of power and self-construal are discussed.

It's a bet! A problem-solving approach promotes the construction of contingent agreements.

Negotiators often have different expectations about the future. A contingent agreement, or a bet that makes the ultimate outcome dependent on some future event, builds on negotiators' differences. The authors argue that a problem-solving approach, in which negotiators thoroughly explore options to build on their differences, is most likely to construct contingent agreements. The authors explore two factors expected to influence this problem-solving approach, namely, negotiators' relational and accountability concerns. The authors argue when these considerations are imbalanced, negotiators are less likely to adopt a problem-solving style and construct a contingent agreement. To test this hypothesis, negotiators' relationships and accountability pressures were manipulated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants engaged in an integrative negotiation, allowing the authors to examine whether a contingent agreement was constructed and joint gain. Experiment 2 sought to replicate and extend the findings of Experiment 1 using a scenario study. Results across the two experiments support the authors' hypotheses.

Teaching information literacy skills to sophomore-level biology majors.

Many undergraduate students lack a sound understanding of information literacy. The skills that comprise information literacy are particularly important when combined with scientific writing for biology majors as they are the foundation skills necessary to complete upper-division biology course assignments, better train students for research projects, and prepare students for graduate and professional education. To help undergraduate biology students develop and practice information literacy and scientific writing skills, a series of three one-hour hands-on library sessions, discussions, and homework assignments were developed for Biological Literature, a one-credit, one-hour-per-week, required sophomore-level course. The embedded course librarian developed a learning exercise that reviewed how to conduct database and web searches, the difference between primary and secondary sources, source credibility, and how to access articles through the university's databases. Students used the skills gained in the library training sessions for later writing assignments including a formal lab report and annotated bibliography. By focusing on improving information literacy skills as well as providing practice in scientific writing, Biological Literature students are better able to meet the rigors of upper-division biology courses and communicate research findings in a more professional manner.

Stereotype reactance at the bargaining table: the effect of stereotype activation and power on claiming and creating value.

Two experiments explored the hypothesis that the impact of activating gender stereotypes on negotiated agreements in mixed-gender negotiations depends on the manner in which the stereo-type is activated (explicitly vs. implicitly) and the content of the stereotype (linking negotiation performance to stereotypically male vs. stereotypically female traits). Specifically, two experiments investigated the generality and limits of stereotype reactance. The results of Experiment 1 suggest that negotiated outcomes become more one-sided in favor of the high power negotiator when masculine traits are explicitly linked to negotiator effectiveness. In contrast, the results of Experiment 2 suggest that negotiated outcomes are more integrative (win-win) when feminine traits are explicitly linked to negotiator effectiveness. In total, performance in mixed-gender negotiations is strongly affected by the cognitions and motivations that negotiators bring to the bargaining table.

Reviving inert knowledge: analogical abstraction supports relational retrieval of past events.

We present five experiments and simulation studies to establish late analogical abstraction as a new psychological phenomenon: Schema abstraction from analogical examples can revive otherwise inert knowledge. We find that comparing two analogous examples of negotiations at recall time promotes retrieving analogical matches stored in memory-a notoriously elusive effect. Another innovation in this research is that we show parallel effects for real-life autobiographical memory (Experiments 1-3) and for a controlled memory set (Experiments 4 and 5). Simulation studies show that a unified model based on schema abstraction can capture backward (retrieval) effects as well as forward (transfer) effects.

Primacy Effects in Justice Judgments: Testing Predictions from Fairness Heuristic Theory.

We tested predictions from fairness heuristic theory that justice judgments are more sensitive to early fairness-relevant information than to later fairness-relevant information and that this primacy effect is more evident when group identification is higher. Participants working on a series of three tasks experienced resource failures that interfered with their productivity and always had the possibility of explaining problems to a supervisor. In a manipulation of the timing of fairness-relevant experiences, the supervisor refused to consider explanations on the first, second, or third of three work trials (but did consider explanations on the other two trials) or the supervisor never refused to hear the explanations. Prior to the work periods, the participants either had or had not undergone a manipulation designed to induce greater identification with the work group. As predicted, the timing of fairness-relevant experiences showed a primacy effect on fairness judgments and acceptance of authority in the high identification conditions and no evidence of such an effect in the low identification conditions. The implications of the findings for understanding the psychology of justice and for real-world justice phenomena are discussed. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.