RESUMO
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, we explore how bioinformatics has paved the path to this point.
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COVID-19 , Gastrópodes , Animais , COVID-19/epidemiologia , Biologia Computacional , Humanos , Pandemias , SARS-CoV-2RESUMO
BioTechniques Editors explore the evolution of point-of-care testing over the past 2 years, inside and outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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COVID-19 , Pandemias , Testes Imediatos/tendências , HumanosRESUMO
Data credibility is very important for scientific advancement; however, experiments in biomedical research are not always reproducible.
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Pesquisa Biomédica , Reprodutibilidade dos TestesRESUMO
We take a look at how advancements in mRNA technology, immunotherapy and stem cell technology have enabled the development of cancer vaccinations.
Assuntos
Vacinas Anticâncer/uso terapêutico , Neoplasias , Medicina de Precisão , Humanos , Imunoterapia , Neoplasias/terapia , Células-Tronco , VacinaçãoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women worldwide. The benefits of chemotherapy vary depending on the treatment regimen used and the characteristic of the tumour. However, adverse drug reactions associated with chemotherapeutic agents can cause dose delays or reductions; thereby, affecting the treatment outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To explore adverse drug reactions of chemotherapeutic agents used to treat breast cancer from the patients' perspective. METHODS: A total of 110 threads from nine online discussion forums were evaluated. They were exported into NVivo for Mac where content analysis was applied. Threads were read carefully to observe emerging patterns which were then coded into sub-themes and grouped into main themes. RESULTS: The participants' characteristics on online discussion forums were often missing. Four hundred and eleven participants experienced 473 adverse drug reactions that were mainly associated with the nervous and immune systems. The forums' analysis yielded three main themes: patient-patient advice, self-medication and lifestyle changes. CONCLUSION: Online discussion forums proposed valued source of data on adverse drug reactions associated with chemotherapeutic agents and overall patients' experience with cancer. The adverse drug reactions experienced by patients changed their priorities and the way they dealt with the disease. Therefore, healthcare professionals must consider the patients' experience and attitudes towards cancer when designing a treatment plan. This can be established by increasing communication between healthcare professionals and patients.