1 What are the signs and symptoms suggestive of a defect in neutrophil number or function? The skin and mucous membranes are the first line of defense against infection. Once these barriers are broken, the white blood cells (WBCs), specifically…
1 What is nutritional anemia? Anemia develops when a pathological decrease in the circulating red blood cell (RBC) mass reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood below the physiologic requirements of the body. Anemia is clinically assessed by measuring the hemoglobin…
1 What is thalassemia? Normal hemoglobin (Hb) is a heterodimer of two globins produced as a result of expression of genes from the alpha (α)-globin gene cluster on chromosome 16 and two globins produced as a result of expression of…
1 What is hemolytic anemia? Hemolytic anemia involves disorders originating from either inside the red blood cell (RBC; intrinsic) or outside of the RBC (extrinsic) that cause fragility and premature breakage and clearance of RBC. 2 What is the typical…
1 What is sickle cell disease? Sickle cell disease is an autosomal recessive inherited blood disorder caused by mutation in the ß-globin gene resulting in production of an abnormal hemoglobin (Hb), hemoglobin S (HbS), which polymerizes under deoxygenated conditions leading…
1 Define fetal erythropoiesis. In the fetus, erythropoiesis begins at approximately the fourth gestational week and is primarily formed in the extravascular yolk sac. By the fifth gestational week, erythropoiesis begins within the liver. Only in the last gestational trimester…
Introduction Palliative care is dedicated to treating the whole person, which extends beyond the physiological condition to include the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual arenas—known as the biopsychosocial-spiritual model of care. With attention to all of these domains of care,…
Late toxicity management Patients who receive palliative radiation therapy (RT) generally have limited life expectancy. Historically, late toxicity has been uncommon in this population given the typically lower total radiation doses used in palliative RT and the relatively long latency…
Abdomen and pelvis radiation-related symptoms and toxicities Overview The severity of radiation-related toxicity is related to the total dose received, fraction size, and overall treatment time, in addition to other patient-related factors such as concurrent receipt of systemic therapy, prior…
Overview In the last several decades, cancer-related treatment has significantly advanced, including increased utilization of immunotherapy, improvements in surgical precision and radiation techniques, advances in palliative medicine, and greater emphasis on patient quality of life. Focal treatment of metastatic disease—in…