How to Fill in the Database Search Fields
Definitions of Database Search Fields
How to Use Checklist Boxes, Radio Buttons and Select List Boxes
How to Fill in the Database Search Fields |
Abnormality
- Check "Yes" in the "Sole Abnormality" field in the Cases Quick
and Full Searches
to find cases that contain this chosen abnormality and no other.
- Enter a single or multiple entries, separated by a comma.
- Click the "And" radio button to get results with all of the multiple
entries or the "Or" radio button to get results with any of the multiple entries.
- Use standard wildcard characters, i.e., '*' matches a string
of any length and '_' matches a single character.
All abnormality searches are automatically wildcarded on the right, but not on the left.
Thus, a wildcard must be used to obtain the derivative chromosomes containing the chosen abnormality,
e.g., ‘*t(2;10)(p21;q22)’ will present all the 'der' chromosomes with this translocation.
- Use "not" to exclude an entry from results, e.g., '+7, not +2'.
Age
- Enter simple integers, e.g., '4' or '25' or ranges, e.g., '4-8' or '>10'.
- Use 0 to denote less than 6 months.
Authors
- Enter a single author or multiple authors, separated by a comma.
Results will contain references with all authors specified.
- Use standard name format without periods after
initials, e.g., 'Johnson H'
- Entering 'Mendel' will match any author whose last name is
'Mendel', regardless of initials.
- Entering 'Mendel G' will match only an author whose last
name is 'Mendel' and whose only initial is 'G'.
- Use standard wildcard characters, i.e., '*' matches a string
of any length and '_' matches a single character.
- Entering 'Mendel *', with an internal space, is equivalent
to entering 'Mendel'.
- Entering 'Mendel*', with no internal
space, will match any author whose last name begins
with 'Mendel', including, for example, 'Mendelsohn H'.
- Use the single-character wildcard ('_') to represent the following non-English
characters in a name (
ö,
å,
é,
ä,
ü,
Ö,
Å,
É
).
Breakpoint
- Check "Yes" in the "Sole Abnormality" field in the Cases Quick
and Full Searches
to find cases that contain this chosen abnormality and no other.
- Enter a single or multiple entries, separated by a comma.
and Full Searches
to find cases that contain this chosen breakpoint and no other.
- Click the "And" radio button to get results with all of the multiple
entries or the "Or" radio button to get results with any of the multiple entries.
- Use standard wildcard characters, i.e., '*' matches a string
of any length and '_' matches a single character.
- Breakpoints have an implicit
wildcard for band numbers, e.g., '1p' will
match any breakpoint on 1p, and '14q3' will match
breakpoints on 14q31 or 14q32.
- Use "not" to exclude an entry from results, e.g., '2q21, not 2p13'.
Clones
- Enter simple integers, e.g., '4' or '25' or ranges, e.g., '4-8' or '>10'.
Chromosomes
- Enter simple integers, e.g., '46' or '50' or ranges, e.g., '46-50' or '>62'.
Genes
- Enter gene designation to find rearranged gene, e.g., 'BCR'.
- Enter gene designations separated by slash '/' to find gene fusions only,
e.g., 'BCR/ABL1'. Wildcard(s) may be used, e.g. ‘BCR/*’ or ‘*/ABL1’.
- Use plus '+' before gene designation to retrieve amplifications associated
with homogeneously staining regions, giant marker chromosomes, ring chromosomes,
and double minutes, e.g., '+MYCN'.
Journal
Morphology
- Use morphology designation followed by '(all subtypes)'
to get all subclassified cases within entry (i.e.
'Acute myeloid leukemia (all subtypes)' will present AML
NOS and FAB types M0-M7)
Special Hereditary Disorder
Special Morphology
Year
- Enter simple integers, e.g., '1995' or range, e.g., '1992-1997' or '>1996'.
Definitions of Database Search Fields |
Abnormality:
- Abnormal element of a karyoptype, e.g., 't(1;6)(p21;q12)'.
- The nomenclature for chromosomal abnormalities follows the
recommendations proposed by
ISCN (1995). See ISCN Abbreviated Terms
and Symbols for a brief summary and explanation of terms and symbols.
The short ISCN (1995) system
for designating structural chromosome
abnormalities is used. Therefore, the transcription of some complex
rearrangements originally described in the detailed system may
give rise to some ambiguities. However, the bands
involved in an aberration are always specified. Otherwise, no
attempts have been made to "interpret" karyotypic changes; e.g.,
inferred breakpoints were not cataloged. Nor have obvious mistakes been
corrected: Breakpoints localized to non-existing bands are listed
as given in the original report.
- Only clonal aberrations are recorded in the database.
- Chronic myeloid leukemias with t(9;22) as the sole abnormality
are not registered.
- Breakpoint:
- Cytogenetic band location of abnormality, e.g., '1p21', as defined by ISCN (1995).
- Case Number:
- Identification number used in database for each individual case within
a reference. Multiple different tumors cytogenetically investigated in
the same case are indicated by capital letters A, B, etc, following
the Case Number.
- Clinical Association:
- Provides information on associations between clinical parameters, most commonly
outcome, and chromosomal changes and/or gene rearrangements resulting from chromosome
aberrations. Information on 'Abnormality', 'Breakpoint' and/or ‘Gene’ may not always be available.
- Clone:
- Identical karyotype of one subset of cells from a sample. The operational
definition of a clone follows the recommendation of ISCN (1995):
At least two cells with the same extra chromosome or structural aberration,
or three cells with the same missing chromosome.
- Country:
- Case origin when stated in publication; otherwise, in general the residence
of corresponding author.
- Gene:
- Provides information on rearranged genes located in breakpoints of acquired cytogenetic aberrations.
- Molecular consequences of known neoplasia-associated chromosome changes are registered even if
no cytogenetic investigation was performed.
- References to articles on quantitative gene alterations
as a result of unbalanced cytogenetic aberrations are not
recorded except for amplifications in homogeneously staining regions (hsr),
giant marker chromosomes, ring chromosomes (r), and double minutes (dmin).
- Gene symbols are in accordance with the most recent
Guidelines for Human Gene Nomenclature recommendations;
hence there are no dashes, Roman numerals, or Greek letters
within the gene designations.
- Investigation Number:
- Number used in database for each consecutive investigation
within a case or for a metastatic lesion at a different
location.
- Whenever a tumor was studied at different times, the
karyotypes are presented chronologically.
- From the second investigation onward, only the clones with new
abnormalities are in general listed.
- It should be noted that the relevant
chromosome aberration may be present in only one of several
karyotypes presented for the case.
- Molecular Biology Association:
- Genes rearranged as a consequence of structural chromosome changes. References are provided
to the first original publications in which the gene rearrangement was reported in a particular
tumor type.
- Morphology:
- Tumor histology.
- The nomenclature of tumor histology is based on the International Classification of
Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O), the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED),
the French-American-British (FAB) proposals for the classification of acute leukemias
and myelodysplastic syndromes, and the WHO Classification of Tumours of Soft Tissue
and Bone.
- Tumors of the lymphoreticular system, as described
according to the US National Cancer Institute Working
Formulation (WF) and Kiel classification systems for
non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), are converted to the
REAL/WHO classification. All unspecified non-Hodgkin
lymphomas are presented as 'Peripheral B-cell neoplasm, NOS'.
- When chronic myeloproliferative
disorders progress to acute myeoloid leukemia (AML), the
following classification principle has been adopted:
Patients with AML following, e.g. polycythemia vera, are entered under
the latter diagnosis if they had not received genotoxic
treatment, but as secondary AML if such treatment had been
given. AML following a myelodysplastic phase is not registered
as secondary.
- Rare tumor types grouped under 'special type',
e.g. 'Benign mesenchymal tumor, special type', are presented
in 'Special Morphology'.
- Previous Tumor:
- 'Yes' indicates benign or malignant, treated or untreated
neoplasm.
- Recurrent aberration:
- Any aberration, structural or numerical, present in two or more cases of
the same morphology or morphologic subentity, and, when applicable for
solid tumors, topography. Hence, an identical aberration reported in two
cases of AML M1 is recorded as recurrent whereas the same aberration when
present in one case each of AML M1 and AML M2 will not appear as recurrent.
Only well characterized abnormalities are presented, i.e., aberrations
preceded by a '?' or separated by 'or' and abnormalities with breakpoints
separated by '-' are excluded.
- Reference:
- When a case has been reported in more than one publication,
generally only the most recent reference is given. Therefore,
a search for the original article may not yield any results. Data
presented at congresses, conferences or workshops are not
registered, even if abstracts were published in scientific journals.
- Reference Number:
- Unique identification number used in database for each
individual reference.
- Series:
- A case is categorized as 'selected' when reported because of a
specific/unusual karyotypic feature; otherwise, the case is
classified as 'unselected'.
- Special Hereditary Disorder:
- Constitutional chromosome abnormality or Mendelian disorder,
specified in 'Special Hereditary Disorder'.
- Tissue:
- Tissue used for cytogenetic investigation. Only neoplasms
studied in direct preparations or after short-term in vitro
culture are registered.
- Topography:
- Tumor site, applicable for solid tumors, also grouped
according to organ systems, e.g. 'Respiratory system
(all sites)'.
How to Use Checklist Boxes, Radio Buttons and Select List Boxes |
Checklist Boxes
- Checklist boxes appear in two search engines: the Cases Full Searcher
(Hereditary Disorder, Race, and Immunophenotype) and the Reference
Searcher (Reference Group).
- By clicking one or more checkboxes, the search engine will find
investigations which have an entry for that field in the database.
For example, checking all boxes for "Race" will find only investigations
with entries for Asian, Black, White, and Other, but will exclude
references that did not fill in this field.
Radio Buttons
- The "No" radio button for "Sole Abnormality" is set by default in the Quick
and Full Cases Searchers. Select "Yes" if you want the chosen abnormality
to be the only aberration in a case.
- Radio buttons are found above the Abnormality, Breakpoint, Gene,
Sex, and Previous Tumor fields in both Cases and Associations Searchers.
- They are set at "And" by default. When multiple items
are entered into these fields, the search engine will find cases or associations
that contain all the items.
- Switch to "Or" and the search engine will
find cases or associations that contain some of the items.
Select List Boxes
- Single Line: Only a single item can be selected.
- Expanded: There are three options:
- The default setting for all expanded select boxes
is all, i.e., all items in the list are automatically selected.
- You may select a single item.
- You may select multiple items, as follows:
- For a PC, press [Ctrl] and [Alt] together to
highlight each item. To deselect an item, press only
the [Ctrl] key and click on the item.
- For a Mac, press [Apple] and [Alt] together to highlight each item.
To deselect an item, press [Shift] and [Apple] together and click on the item.
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