TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.
PROBLEM: Context: To investigate the prognostic value of the pre-treatment haemoglobin level in patients with advanced squamous cell head and neck cancer treated with induction polychemotherapy.', 'Seventy-two patients with advanced squamous cell head and neck cancer received primary combination chemotherapy consisting of docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) on day 1, cisplatin 100 mg/m(2) on day 1, and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 1000 mg/m(2)/day on days 1-4 (total dose 4000 mg/m(2)), repeated on days 1, 22 and 43 followed by chemoradiation. The data collected included pre-treatment haemoglobin, response to treatment, disease-free and overall survival.', 'The pre-treatment haemoglobin level was found to be a significant predictor of response to induction chemotherapy (P = 0.01) and an independent predictor of overall survival [hazard ratio (HR) 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58-1.03, P = 0.0001] and disease free survival (HR 2.09, 95% CI 1.41-3.09, P = 0.0001). Furthermore N-stage was found to be a significant prognostic factor of overall survival (HR 9.24, 95% CI 6.90-21.34, P = 0.005). The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status scale was also found to be significant for disease free survival (HR 7.66, 95% CI 2.61-22.46, P = 0.003).\Question: Does pre-treatment haemoglobin level predict response and survival after TPF induction polychemotherapy in advanced head and neck cancer patients?

SOLUTION: In patients with advanced squamous cell head and neck cancer, the haemoglobin level prior to induction chemotherapy is significantly related to outcome including response and survival.

PROBLEM: Context: Correlation between tumor volume and hormone levels in individual patients would permit calculation of the fraction of tumor removed by surgery, by measuring postoperative hormone levels. The goals of this study were to examine the relationship between tumor volume, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels, and to assess the correlation between percent tumor removal and the reduction in plasma GH and IGF-1 in patients with acromegaly.', 'The 3D region of interest-based volumetric method was used to measure tumor volume via MRI before and after surgery in 11 patients with GH-secreting adenomas. The volume of residual tumor as a fraction of preoperative tumor volume was correlated with GH levels before and after surgery. Examination of this potential correlation required selection of patients with acromegaly who 1) had incomplete tumor removal, 2) had precise measurements of initial and residual tumor, and 3) were not on medical therapy.', 'Densely granulated tumors produced more peripheral GH per mass of tumor than sparsely granulated tumors (p = 0.04). There was a correlation between GH and IGF-1 levels (p = 0.001). Although there was no close correlation between tumor size and peripheral GH levels, after normalizing each tumor to its own plasma GH level and tumor volume, a comparison of percent tumor resection with percent drop in plasma GH yielded a high correlation coefficient (p = 0.006).\Question: Does percent reduction of growth hormone levels correlate closely with percent resected tumor volume in acromegaly?

SOLUTION: Densely granulated somatotropinomas produce more GH per mass of tumor than do sparsely granulated tumors. Each GH-secreting tumor has its own intrinsic level of GH production per mass of tumor, which is homogeneous over the tumor mass, and which varies greatly between tumors. In most patients the fraction of a GH-secreting tumor removed by surgery can be accurately estimated by simply comparing plasma GH levels after surgery to those before surgery.

PROBLEM: Context: Enhanced activation of the mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) in cardiovascular tissues increases oxidative stress, maladaptive immune responses, and inflammation with associated functional vascular abnormalities. We previously demonstrated that consumption of a Western diet (WD) for 16 weeks results in aortic stiffening, and that these abnormalities were prevented by systemic MR blockade in female mice. However, the cell-specific role of endothelial cell MR (ECMR) in these maladaptive vascular effects has not been explored.', 'We hypothesized that specific deletion of the ECMR would prevent WD-induced increases in endothelial sodium channel activation, reductions in bioavailable nitric oxide, increased vascular remodeling, and associated increases in vascular stiffness in females.', 'Four-week-old female ECMR knockout and wild-type mice were fed either mouse chow or WD for 16 weeks. WD feeding resulted in aortic stiffness and endothelial dysfunction as determined in vivo by pulse wave velocity and ex vivo by atomic force microscopy, and wire and pressure myography. The WD-induced aortic stiffness was associated with enhanced endothelial sodium channel activation, attenuated endothelial nitric oxide synthase activation, increased oxidative stress, a proinflammatory immune response and fibrosis. Conversely, cell-specific ECMR deficiency prevented WD-induced aortic fibrosis and stiffness in conjunction with reductions in endothelial sodium channel activation, oxidative stress and macrophage proinflammatory polarization, restoration of endothelial nitric oxide synthase activation.\Question: Does endothelial Mineralocorticoid Receptor mediate Diet-Induced Aortic Stiffness in Females?

SOLUTION:
Increased ECMR signaling associated with consumption of a WD plays a key role in endothelial sodium channel activation, reduced nitric oxide production, oxidative stress, and inflammation that lead to aortic remodeling and stiffness in female mice.