Krystyna Nowacka

The Assessment of the Magnitude of Frontal Plane Postural Changes in Breast Cancer Patients After Breast-Conserving Therapy or Mastectomy – Follow-up Results 1 Year After the Surgical Procedure

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in Polish women. Management of breast cancer includes surgical treatment as well as adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy, and combination regimens. One of the adverse consequences of oncological management of breast cancer may involve changes in frontal plane body posture. The objective of the study was to assess the frontal plane body posture changes in women treated for breast cancer. A prospective study including 101 of female breast cancer patients subjected to surgical treatment in the period from October 2011 to October 2012 (mastectomy was performed in 51 cases while breast conserving therapy was administered in the remaining 50 cases). The body posture in the frontal plane was assessed using the computer-assisted postural assessment system with Moiré fringe analysis. No statistically significant differences were observed in pre-operational postural parameters of interest. Exam II revealed highly significant differences in SLA values; results suggesting more pronounced dysfunction were observed in the MAS group. Exam III revealed highly significant differences in PIA, SH, SD and SLA values; results suggesting more pronounced dysfunction were observed in the MAS group. Undesirable postural changes occur both in women who were treated with radical mastectomy and in those who underwent breast-conserving surgery; breast-conserving surgery is associated with decreased severity in postural abnormalities;

Sagittal Plane Postural Changes in Female Patients with Breast Cancer after Different Surgical Techniques

To the Editor: One of the important objectives of the treatment of cancer patients is to minimize the adverse effects of the treatment while striving to maintain its radicality. Delayed outcomes of anticancer treatment may lead to postural changes of patients. Direct consequences of the disturbance in proper posture include a number of adverse outcomes such as motor organ deformities, back pains, circulatory and respiratory insufficiency, or headaches (1). Due to this facts, we think that it would be interesting to determine and compare postural changes as assessed within the sagittal plane in female patients after surgical treatment of breast cancer involving different surgical techniques and to compare sagittal plane postural changes women treated of breast cancer with body posture women before surgical procedure. We carried out a cross-sectional study which involved a group of 105 women who had undergone treatment for breast cancer. With 40 women was preformed Patey method (MAS) and with 35 women was preformed Breast Conserving Therapy (BCT). Table 1 presents somatic and clinical characteristics of study groups. Photogrammetric examinations were performed for researched groups (MAS and BCT) 2 year after the surgical procedure. All patients after mastectomy had used external breast prostheses. Patient in both exanimate groups have taken part in rehabilitation session. The scheme of examination was the following: 1 Determination of body weight, height and body mass index (BMI) 2 Examination with Moir e system Posturometric examination allows to determine about 30 postural parameters assessed in the sagittal plane. A total of six measurements (selected on the basis of the difference between the mean and median values) were used in the statistical analysis: • ALPHA – lumbosacral inclination angle, • BETA – thoracolumbar inclination angle, • GAMMA – thoracic inclination angle, • LLA – lumbar lordosis angle, • TKA – thoracic kyphosis angle, • TIA – trunk inclination angle. Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Iwona Głowacka, Department of Rehabilitation, Collegium Medicum of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Maria Curie-Skłodowskiej Street 9, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland, or e-mail: iwona.glowacka@cm.umk.pl

Assessment of health behaviour of school-age youth

I n t r o d u c t i o n . Adolescence is a very important period for young people as it is the time when the patterns of health behaviour stabilize and in such form may be adopted for the rest of one’s life. This age group is also most prone to behaviour posing a risk to health and lacking behaviour good for health. The period of education is the most suitable to make teenagers aware of how much depends on themselves. Adolescence is often the time of rebellion and independent decision making which influence both the diet, way of spending fee time, personal and mental hygiene as well as abusing dangerous substance. The aim of the study was to assess the health behaviour of lower secondary school attendees in the scope of diet and physical activity by means of a questionnaire. The materials were based on research regarding health behaviour. The study group consisted of 90 students (60% male, 40% female). A questionnaire was chosen as the study method. The study was performed in 2012, from May until September. The results were comparable with HBSC results from 2006 in which 64.4% of the adolescents did not achieve the recommended physical activity minimum. The research has shown that adolescents prefer passive ways of spending their free time. Studies which monitor the state of behaviour linked with the health of the youth are carried out both internationally, nationally and locally. Poland achieves poor results in comparison to other countries when it comes to level of physical activity and amount of time spent on passive leisure.

Modern Artificial Nutrition Products as a Part of Fast-Track Conception Used in Esophageal and Gastric Cancer Oncological Surgery – Application Analysis

Introduction. The esophageal and gastric cancer cases according to European statistics and meta-analysis are now still an important clinical and epidemiological problem. Surgical resection is one of the most common methods of first choice treatment in operating cases. Patients with a cancerous tumor within the esophagus or stomach in various stages of clinical staging values of T and N, are usually characterized by a considerable degree of malnutrition, mostly of a protein - calorie type. Malnutrition in this patient group is a factor significantly influencing the quality of life and prognosis in the 5-year’s survival classification system. An important element of clinical nutrition in this case, is the introduction of specific elements of the artificial diet system based on modern methods and guidelines, for example under the “Fast - Track” surgery conception. Objective: The analysis was designed to present the latest guidelines, recommendations and specific producer examples of the use of artificial diet system products in patients with esophagus or stomach cancer, with indications for non-palliative surgical tumor resection, based on Fast- Track system conception. Material and methods: In the study, we analyzed a group of scientific publications, guidelines and recommendations, selected from international gastroenterological, surgical, nutritional and dietary literature as well as material obtained in the selection of published material about the artificial diet system and clinical supplementation international producers. Conclusion . In our analysis and literature review we showed that the use of modern artificial diet products and systems under the Fast-Track conception in oncological surgery of patients operated due the esophagus and stomach cancer is important and has a positive clinical effect.

Probiotics in food. important preventive factor in children allergy, or a controversial add-on? review of the literature

Currently, one of the most frequently discussed topics related to the problem of child allergy are food allergies. Statistical data on the number of children burdened with this type of allergy are divergent according to reports of the individual authors. But invariably publications and scientific reports point to the upward trend in the number of newly identified various forms of food allergy. According to the data (AAAAI), in the years of 1997-2007 the number of diagnoses in children under 18 years of age increased by 18%. The European Data included in the reports (EFA) also confirm a growing trend in this respect in the recent years. In addition to significant development of diagnostics and therapy of various forms of childhood food allergy attention has been drawn to factors that affect the development of a preventive of this disease. In this type of factors, probiotics are also included .