Neoplasms of the large intestine in elderly patients

The aim of the study was to compare 2 groups of patients with colorectal cancer treated between 1985-1995. The analysed group consisted of 228 patients aged over 70. Reference group consisted of 330 younger ones. The stage of colorectal cancer (Dukes classification) was similar in both groups. Complications of the colorectal cancer often occurred in the elderly patients (21.9% vs. 10%, respectively). The incidence of associated diseases was also higher (70.6% vs. 59.1%). Operability was similar in both groups (93% vs. 98.8%) but resectability was lower in the elderly group (67.4% vs. 80.1%, respectively). Postoperative complications were observed in the similar percent of cases except those aged over 70 (17.5% vs. 4.9%), especially after emergency operations (31.6% vs. 4.7%, respectively).     

Usefulness of biochemical tumor markers (CEA, Ca 19-9, ferritin and sialic acid) in diagnosis and prognosis of colonic neoplasms

The aim of the study was: to determine the value of CEA, Ca 19-9, ferritin and sialic acid in diagnostics, to assess the prognostic role of serum CEA and Ca 19-9 levels before surgery and to evaluate their usefulness in diagnostics of recurrences. The study included 352 patients with colorectal carcinoma (adenocarcinoma). The preoperative level of CEA was elevated in 286 patients, Ca 19-9 in 108, ferritin in 60 and sialic acid in 58 patients. All of them are poor markers in diagnostics because of the low sensitivity, respectively 47.6%, 37.0%, 16.7% and 55.2%. Preoperative high, CEA and Ca 19-9 values are associated with a significantly poorer prognosis and with frequency of recurrences.     

Multistakeholder recommendation: Survey and research directions

Recommender systems provide personalized information access to users of Internet services from social networks to e-commerce to media and entertainment. As is appropriate for research in a field with a focus on personalization, academic studies of recommender systems have largely concentrated on optimizing for user experience when designing, implementing and evaluating their algorithms and systems. However, this concentration on the user has meant that the field has lacked a systematic exploration of other aspects of recommender system outcomes. A user-centric approach limits the ability to incorporate system objectives, such as fairness, balance, and profitability, and obscures concerns that might come from other stakeholders, such as the providers or sellers of items being recommended. Multistakeholder recommendation has emerged as a unifying framework for describing and understanding recommendation settings where the end user is not the sole focus. This article outlines the multistakeholder perspective on recommendation, highlighting example research areas and discussing important issues, open questions, and prospective research directions.