"OPERATION PHALCO"-Adapted Physical Activity for Breast Cancer Survivors: Is It Time for a Multidisciplinary Approach?

The international literature emphasizes the importance of physical activity (PA) in the first steps after cancer surgery. The regular practice of physical exercise causes positive adaptations on several functional capacities, with positive consequences on patients' quality of life. This project aims to evaluate the effect of a post-operative training protocol, structured by taking into account both cancer-related issues and the presence of comorbidities, on functional capacities and quality of life of breast cancer survivors. Therefore, it was necessary to create a synergy between oncologists (referring physicians), sport medicine physicians (risk stratification and exercise prescription) and kinesiologists (trainers). Thirty-five post-surgery BC patients decided on a voluntary basis to attend an online Adapted PA (APA) protocol for 4 months, twice a week (APA Group) or Usual Care Group (UC Group). Functional capacity of the APA Group significantly increased, by 13.1% (p = 0.000), whereas perceived exertion decreased by 19.7% (p = 0.020). In the same group, the general health evaluated through the questionnaire EORTC-QLQ-C30 increased (p = 0.050). No differences were found in the UC Group. Operation Phalco, creating a network between oncologists, sports medicine physicians and kinesiologists, confirms the importance of structuring a post-operative path where APA should be included as early as possible in the cancer patient care.

Sonographic and clinical effects of botulinum toxin Type A combined with extracorporeal shock wave therapy on spastic muscles of children with cerebral palsy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the combined sonographic and clinical effects of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) and extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) versus BoNT-A alone in children with cerebral palsy. METHODS: Ten children with spastic cerebral palsy were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Group 1 received BoNT-A injection into the spastic muscles of the affected limbs plus three ESWT sessions. Group 2 received BoNT-A alone. Assessment was performed before and 1 month after injection. Sonographic outcomes were injected muscles echo intensity and their hardness percentage, and clinical outcomes the modified Ashworth scale and the Tardieu scale. RESULTS: At 1-month evaluation, significant differences in the injected muscles percentage of hardness (P = 0.021) and the modified Ashworth scale (P = 0.001) were found between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the hypothesis that the combined effects of BoNT-A and ESWT derive from their respective action on neurological and non-neural rheological components in spastic muscles.

Discrete event simulation of a proton therapy facility: a case study.

Proton therapy is a type of particle therapy which utilizes a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue. The main difference with respect to conventional radiotherapy (X-rays, γ-rays) is the capability to target tumors with extreme precision, which makes it possible to treat deep-seated tumors and tumors affecting noble tissues as brain, eyes, etc. However, proton therapy needs high-energy cyclotrons and this requires sophisticated control-supervision schema to guarantee, further than the prescribed performance, the safety of the patients and of the operators. In this paper we present the modeling and simulation of the irradiation process of the PROSCAN facility at the Paul Scherrer Institut. This is a challenging task because of the complexity of the operation scenario, which consists of deterministic and stochastic processes resulting from the coordination-interaction among diverse entities such as distributed automatic control systems, safety protection systems, and human operators.