Thai cancer journal
https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/TCJ
<p><strong>Thai Cancer Journal</strong><strong>(Print ISSN:0125-2238,Online ISSN:2730-2237) is an open access, peer-reviewed journal with broad scope covering all areas of cancer research, especially novel concepts, new methods, new regimens, new therapeutic agents, and alternative approaches for early detection and intervention of cancer. </strong></p> <p><strong><br>Focus and Scope : To promote and support academic and research publication of Cancer and the other related articles.<br><br></strong></p>มูลนิธิสถาบันมะเร็งแห่งชาติ (Thailand's National Cancer Institute Foundation)en-USThai cancer journal0125-2038<p>บทความทีตีพิมพ์ในวารสารโรคมะเร็งนี้ถือว่าเป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของมูลนิธิสถาบันมะเร็งแห่งชาติ และผลงานวิชาการหรือวิจัยของคณะผู้เขียน ไม่ใช่ความคิดเห็นของบรรณาธิการหรือผู้จัดทํา</p>The association of AFP, AST, ALT and Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio for diagnosis hepatocellular carcinoma
https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/TCJ/article/view/269551
<p>Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a tumor marker widely used in the diagnosis and monitoring of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, it is not applicable to the diagnosis of HCC in all individuals due to the possibility that some liver cancer patients may have AFP levels within the reference range. Elevated levels of AFP have also been found in patients with other liver diseases. Based on this limitation, our study aimed to investigate the combination of routine blood examinations, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), with AFP to increase sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing HCC compared to other liver diseases. This research is a retrospective descriptive study. Data were collected from patients diagnosed with HCC and liver diseases, treated at the National Cancer Institute from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022. Results: In total, 203 patients were included, with 96 had HCC and 107 had liver diseases. The area under the ROC curve for HCC diagnosis of AFP, ALT, AST, and NLR were 0.77 (0.72–0.82), 0.70 (0.64–0.76), 0.62 (0.55–0.69), and 0.57 (0.51–0.64) with optimum cut-off values of 20.7 ng/mL, 26 IU/mL, 27 IU/mL and 1.724, respectively. Of all four cut-off values, AST had the highest diagnosing sensitivity for HCC at 83.3%, but with relatively low specificity (57%). AFP had the highest specificity for diagnosing HCC at 98.1%, but the lowest sensitivity at 55.2%. when used together, the combination of AFP and AST showed the highest area under the ROC curve values of 0.74 (0.68-0.79), with sensitivity at 49% and specificity at 98.1%, albeit with reduced sensitivity compared to AFP or AST alone. In patients with AFP levels below 20 ng/mL, AST also showed the maximum area under the ROC curve of 0.67 (0.59-0.75). In conclusion, the HCC diagnostic values of AFP, AST, ALT, and NLR, as well as the combined correlation analyzed from the data, demonstrate that AFP remains a good diagnostic marker for HCC. Although it exhibits relatively low sensitivity, it has very high specificity. AST aids in increasing sensitivity in the diagnosis of HCC.</p>Yaninee JarratwisarutpornVichuda TriratatichartManeerut Mus-u-dee
Copyright (c) 2024 Thailand's National Cancer Institute Foundation
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
2024-03-082024-03-08433Symptom distress and factors related to symptom distress in advanced cancer patient at Lopburi Cancer Hospital
https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/TCJ/article/view/269730
<p>A cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection. Objective: To study the characteristics of disturbing symptoms and factors associated with disturbing symptoms in patients with advanced cancer. The sample consisted of 360 patients with advanced cancer of seven types, including lung, colon, breast, cervical, head and neck, liver and biliary tract, who received care at Lopburi Cancer Hospital between February 1, 2022-February 28, 2023. Patient medical records were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. The results showed that the sample was diagnosed with advanced cancer, classified by organ as follows: lung: 32.4%, breast: 22.2%, head and neck cancer: 15.3%, colon: 12.2%, liver: 7.0%, cervix: 6.5% and biliary tract: 4.4%. The five most common disturbing symptoms in patients with advanced cancer were pain 84%, fatigue 73%, discomfort 68%, shortness of breath 55% and anxiety 48%. The three most associated factors with disturbing symptoms were location of metastasis, method of disturbing symptom management, and palliative performance scale. Specifically, 1. Breast cancer that metastasized to bone and breast cancer that did not metastasize to brain were associated with pain P=0.001, P=0.009, respectively; breast cancer that metastasized to bone was associated with fatigue P=0.042 and breast cancer that did not metastasize to brain was associated with discomfort P=0.046. 2. The method of disturbing symptom management was associated with fatigue and discomfort P=0.001. 3. Palliative performance scale was associated with pain, fatigue, and discomfort P=0.002, P=0.016, P=0.043, respectively. The three most important disturbing symptoms in patients with advanced cancer were pain, fatigue, and discomfort. The factors associated with disturbing symptoms were location of metastasis, method of disturbing symptom management, and palliative performance scale. Further studies are needed to explore the management of pain, fatigue, discomfort, shortness of breath, and anxiety in the future.</p>Sirikanda KokaewRattanaporn Wangkahad
Copyright (c) 2024 Thailand's National Cancer Institute Foundation
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
2024-03-142024-03-14433