What had changed in patient incoming to ear, nose and throat policlinics during COVID-19 Pandemic?

Covid-19 Pandemic had significant effects on the diagnosis and treatment process of the patients incoming to ENT (ear-nose-throat) policlinics. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the changes caused by covid-19 pandemic on the patient profiles and visiting reasons between the pre-pandemic and pandemic same periods. The data of the patients who had visited the ENT policlinics between 01.09.2020-31.12.2020 and the pre-pandemic same period (01.09.2019-31.12.2019) is collected from the automation system of our hospital and evaluated retrospectively. The number of incoming patients to ENT policlinics had decreased by 55.38% in 2020 when compared to the same period in 2019. The percentage of patients with facial paralysis is seen to increase in 2020. Both the percentage and number of patients with upper respiratory tract infections other than covid-19 and pediatric tonsillitis and adenoiditis are seen to decrease in 2020. However, it is observed that the patient incomings with upper respiratory tract infections other than the covid-19 and pediatric tonsillitis and adenoiditis are decreased because of the precautions taken to prevent the spread of the covid-19 infection, this decrease in patient incomings to the hospital is thought to have adverse effects on the diagnose and treatment of many other diseases. [Med-Science 2023; 12(2.000): 532-5

Investigation of the relationship between anosmia in patients with COVID-19 and allergic rhinitis and eosinophil levels

Anosmia is a common symptom of COVID-19 infection. In our study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between allergic rhinitis and eosinophil levels in patients who developed anosmia after COVID-19 infection. Patients who had experienced COVID-19 infection and subsequently developed anosmia were included in the study group, while those who had experienced COVID-19 infection but did not develop anosmia were included in the control group. The patients' allergy histories and eosinophil levels were retrospectively analyzed. Our study revealed a significant difference in eosinophil levels between patients with and without anosmia (p [Med-Science 2023; 12(3.000): 685-8

Early-Onset Isolated Bilateral Pheochromocytoma As a Major Clinical Manifestation of von-Hippel Lindau Syndrome Type 2C

WOS: 000429850300010Pheochromocytoma is a rare disease that is characterized by the increased production and secretion of catecholamines from the adrenal medulla. The disease is autosomal dominant, and frequently sporadic and unilateral. Pheochromocytoma, which is diagnosed during childhood, mostly arises as a part of cancer susceptibility syndromes. Among these syndromes, von-Hippel Lindau (VHL) syndrome is dominantly inherited, and is frequently identified in childhood pheochromocytoma. VHL syndrome is clinically characterized with hemangioblastomas of the central nervous system and retina, renal cell carcinoma, and pheochromocytoma, and has been demonstrated to have a strong genotype-phenotype correlation. In this case report, we presented an 11-year-old male who was found to have early-onset isolated bilateral pheochromocytoma and V84L mutation in VHL. We aimed to emphasize that this rarely reported mutation is associated with VHL Type 2C that classically manifests with early-onset isolated bilateral pheochromocytoma

Clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment outcomes, and prognostic factors of primary thoracic soft tissue sarcoma: A multicenter study of the Anatolian Society of Medical Oncology (ASMO)

BackgroundSoft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are rare malignant tumors of embryogenic mesoderm origin. Primary thoracic STSs account for a small percentage of all STSs and limited published information is available. This study aimed to identify the prognostic factors for thoracic STSs and evaluate the disease's clinical outcomes. MethodsThe medical records of 109 patients with thoracic STSs who were treated between 2003 and 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients' survival rates were analyzed and potential prognostic factors evaluated. ResultsThe median follow-up period was 29 months (range: 1-121 months). STSs were most frequently localized on the chest wall (n = 42; 38.5\%) and lungs (n = 42; 38.5\%). The most common histological types were malignant fibrous histiocytoma (n = 23; 21.1\%), liposarcoma (n = 17; 15.6\%), and leiomyosarcoma (n = 16; 14.7\%). The median survival time of all patients was 40.3 months (95\% confidence interval, 14.22-66.37 months), with one and five-year survival rates of 93.4\% and 63.5\%, respectively. Univariate analysis of all groups revealed that metastatic stage, unresectability, tumor diameter of >10cm, tumor location other than the chest wall, and grade 3 diseases were predictable of poor survival. However, only grade 3 diseases and tumor location other than the chest wall were confirmed by multivariate analysis as poor prognostic factors. ConclusionsPrimary thoracic STSs are rarely seen malignant tumors. Our results indicated that patients with low-grade tumors and those localized on the chest wall often experienced better survival outcomes

The percentage of ALK-positive cells and the efficacy of first-line alectinib in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: is it a novel factor for stratification? (Turkish Oncology Group Study)

Introduction Alectinib is an effective second-generation ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) used in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced ALK-positive NSCLC. Recent studies demonstrated that the percentage of ALK-positive tumor cells in patient groups receiving crizotinib might affect outcomes. This study aimed to investigate whether the percentage of ALK-positive cells had a predictive effect in patients with advanced NSCLC who received first-line Alectinib as ALK-TKI. Materials and methods This retrospective study included patients with advanced-stage NSCLC who received alectinib as a first-line ALK-TKI and whose percentage of ALK-positive cells was determined by FISH at 27 different centers. Patients who received any ALK-TKI before alectinib were not included in the study. Patients were separated into two groups according to the median (40%) value of the percentage of ALK-positive cells (high-positive group >= 40% and low-positive group = 60%, the median PFS was 4.5, 17.1, and 26 months, respectively, and could not be reached in the >= 60% group. Conclusion Our study demonstrated that the efficacy of alectinib varies significantly across patient subgroups with different percentages of ALK-positive cells. If these findings are prospectively validated, the percentage of ALK-positive cells may be used as a stratification factor in randomized trials comparing different ALK-TKIs

Impact of adjuvant treatment modalities on survival outcomes in curatively resected pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma.

We examined the impact of adjuvant modalities on resected pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma (PAC)

Real life experience of patients with locally advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a Turkish oncology group study

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) and gastric cancer (GC) was shown to improve survival in recent studies. We aimed to share our real-life experience of patients who received NACT to compare the efficacy and toxicity profile of different chemotherapy regimens in our country. This retrospective multicentre study included locally advanced GC and GEJ cancer patients who received NACT between 2007 and 2021. Relation between CT regimens and pathological evaluation were analysed. A total of 794 patients from 45 oncology centers in Turkey were included. Median age at the time of diagnosis was 60 (range: 18-86). Most frequent NACT regimens used were FLOT (65.4%), DCF (17.4%) and ECF (8.1%), respectively. In the total study group, pathological complete remission (pCR) rate was 7.2%, R0 resection rate 86.4%, and D2 dissection rate was 66.8%. Rate of pCR and near-CR (24%), and R0 resection (84%) were numerically higher in FLOT arm (p > 0.05). Patients who received FLOT had also higher chemotherapy-related toxicity rate compared to patients who received other regimens (p > 0.05). Median follow-up time was 16 months (range: 1-154 months). Estimated median overall survival (OS) was 58.4months (95% CI: 35.2-85.7) and disease-free survival (DFS) was 50.7 months (95% CI: 25.4-75.9). The highest 3-year estimated OS rate was also shown in FLOT arm (68%). We still do not know which NACT regimen is the best choice for daily practice. Clinicians should tailor treatment regimens according to patients' multifactorial status and comorbidities for to obtain best outcomes. Longer follow-up period needs to validate our results