Synchronous papillary endometrial and ovarian cancer in a 64-year-old woman

Obesity, nulliparity, and comparatively younger age may attribute a “hormonal field effect” which leads to the development of synchronous endometrioid cancers. The morphological unit consisting of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovary as part of the Mullerian system may explain the synchronous appearance of these malignancies. Synchronous endometrial and ovarian cancer (SEOC) is defined as the simultaneous presence of these dual cancers at the time of diagnosis as opposed to metachronous cancer where these two cancers are diagnosed at different chronologic time points. Synchronous malignancies in the female genital tract are very rare entities. Synchronous endometrial and ovarian tumors must be differentiated from either primary endometrium or ovarian tumors with metastasis. The landmark criteria for diagnosing such cases have been laid down by Ulbright and Roth

Predictors of Outcome in Patients with Advanced Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Testicular Tumors

Background: Predictor factors determining complete response to treatment are still not clearly defined. We aimed to evaluate clinicopathological features, risk factors, treatment responses, and survival analysis of patient with advanced nonseminomatous GCTs (NSGCTs). Materials and Methods: Between November 1999 and September 2011, 140 patients with stage II and III NSGCTs were referred to our institutions and 125 patients with complete clinical data were included in this retrospective study. Four cycles of BEP regimen were applied as a first-line treatment. Salvage chemotherapy and/or high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) with autologous stem cell transplantation were given in patients who progressed after BEP chemotherapy. Post-chemotherapy surgery was performed in selected patients with incomplete radiographic response and normal tumor markers. Results: The median age was 28 years. For the good, intermediate and poor risk groups, compete response rates (CRR) were, 84.6%, 67.9% and 59.4%, respectively. Extragonadal tumors, stage 3 disease, intermediate and poor risk factors, rete testis invasion were associated with worse outcomes. There were 32 patients (25.6%) with non-CR who were treated with salvage treatment. Thirty-one patients died from GCTs and 94% of them had stage III disease. Conclusions: Even though response rates are high, some patients with GCTs still need salvage treatment and cure cannot be achieved. Non-complete response to platinium-based first-line treatment is a negative prognostic factor. Our study confirmed the need for a prognostic and predictive model and more effective salvage approaches

5-Fluorouracil, epirubicin and cisplatin in the treatment of metastatic gastric carcinoma: A retrospective analysis of 68 patients

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related death. The majority of gastric cancers show distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis. At present, there is no general agreement over one standard chemotherapy regimen for metastatic gastric cancer. AIMS: We evaluated the activity and toxicity of the combination of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), epirubicin and cisplatin (FEP) in previously untreated patients with metastatic gastric cancer. SETTING AND DESIGN: Medical Oncology Department of Uludag University Faculty of Medicine, Bursa; retrospective study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-eight patients received 5-FU 300 mg/m2 on Days 1-5, epirubicin 50 mg/m2 on Day 1 and cisplatin 60 mg/m2 on Day 1, every 4 weeks. A median of 3.5 cycles was administered. The response rate, time to disease progression, survival and toxic effects were analyzed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Overall survival and time to progression were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: There were 4 partial responses and 1 complete response (overall response rate 7.3%); 16 patients had stable disease. Median progression-free and overall survival rates were 3.1 months (95% CI 1.9-4) and 6 months (95% CI 4.2-7), respectively. The principal toxicity was myelosupression. Grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 27.9%, anemia in 17.6%, and thrombocytopenia in 11.7% of patients. Non-hematological toxicity was mild and manageable. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that FEP combination as used at the doses and schedules in this study has inferior activity against metastatic gastric cancer

Prognostic Factors in Operated Early Stage Lung Cancer Patients- Retrospective Single Center Data

Aim: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 85% of all lung cancers. Although curative treatment is surgery in the early stages, disease relapse is common. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the prognostic factors and outcomes of operated NSCLC cases.Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of data from 166 patients with early stage NSCLC who presented after surgery and treated and followed in our clinic between 2006-2018 was performed. Histopathologic features and clinical findings were investigated as prognostic factors.The findings were analyzed using SPSS.Results: At the time of diagnosis, median age was 61 (39-82) and 84% of the patients were male. Most common pathologic subtype was adenocarcinoma. Median disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were 76 months (%95CI:32.1-110.0) and 87 months (95%CI:59.8-114.1). ). In multivariate analysis, presence of vascular invasion was found to be independent prognostic factors for both DFS and OS (HR:2.5 and 2.3, respectively). Adenocarcinoma solid pattern was only associated with worse disease-free survival (HR: 1.7).Conclusion: In our study, we showed that the presence of vascular invasion and solid-type adenocarcinoma is associated with poor survival

Will we have a new ending for Irvin Yalom's novel? A medical oncologist view

Immuno-oncology is a very popular field of medical science right now and developments on melanoma therapy have been absolutely marvelous for medical oncologists. Following these recent improvements, I remembered Irvin Yalom's novel “Schopenhauer Cure”. Because the book was narrating a psychotherapist who died from malignant melanoma. I think after all current innovations including BRAF, MEK inhibitors, and check point inhibitors, the novels' ‘end’ would be change. It is really exciting to have scientific developments that may change the end of the story in the book even though it is published less than ten years

Higher Ki67 Expression Is Associates With Unfavorable Prognostic Factors and Shorter Survival in Breast Cancer

Background: The prognostic value of the Ki67 expression level is yet unclear in breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between Ki67 expression levels and prognostic factors such as grade, Her2 and hormone receptor expression status in breast cancers. Materials and Methods: Clinical and pathological features of the patients with breast cancer were retreived from the hospital records. Results: In this study, 163 patients with breast cancer were analyzed, with a mean age of 53.4 +/- 12.2 years. Median Ki67 positivity was 20% and Ki67-high tumors were significantly associated with high grade (p<0.001), lymphovascular invasion (p=0.001), estrogen receptor (ER) negativity (p=0.035), Her2 positivity (p=0.001), advanced stage (p<0.001) and lymph node positivity (p<0.003). Lower Ki67 levels were significantly associated with longer median relapse-free and overall survival compared to those of higher Ki67 levels. Conclusions: High Ki67 expression is associated with ER negativity, Her2 positivity, higher grade and axillary lymph node involvement in breast cancers. The level of Ki67 expression is a prognostic factor predicting relapse-free and overall survival in breast cancer patients.WoSScopu

Merkel cell carcinoma in Turkey: A multicentric study.

WOS: 000442916006728