The Clinical Value of Flow Cytometric DNA Content Analysis in Patients with Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate: (1) the correlation between grade and ploidy or S-phase fraction (SPF), (2) the prognostic value of DNA flow cytometric study in soft tissue sarcomas

İnvajinasyon ile prezente olan intestinal malign melanoma: olgu sunumu

Gastrointestinal tract metastasis of any malignancy is rare. Cutaneous or ocular malignant melanomas are the most common tumors that metastasize to the gastrointestinal tract. Major symptoms of these metastatic lesions are bleeding and obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract. However, malignant melanoma arising in intestinal mucosa causing intestinal obstruction is a rare clinical entity. Herein, we present a case of primary gastrointestinal tract malignant melanoma who presented initially with iron deficiency anemia, which consequently triggered an invagination of jejunal and ileal segments causing obstruction symptoms, three months later

The results of questionnaire on assessing and reporting of side effects in Turkey: “Turkish Oncology Group (TOG) Early-Late Side Effects Working Party” study

İstanbul Bilim Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi.Amaç: Bu yazıda, Türk Onkoloji Grubu Erken-Geç Yan Etkiler Çalışma Grubunun gerçekleştirdiği kemoterapi ve radyoterapiye bağlı yan etkilerin değerlendirilmesi ve kaydedilmesiyle ilgili Türkiye çapında yapılmış çok merkezli anketin sonuçları bildirildi. Gereç ve Yöntem: Kanser tedavisinin yapıldığı toplam 64 merkezin/bölümün davet edildiği ankette hasta tedavi ve takiplerine ait genel özellikler, düzenli takiplerin yapılabildiği kanser grupları, tedavilere bağlı yan etkilerin kaydedilmesi ve derecelendirilmesine ilişkin on altı soruya verilen cevaplar değerlendirildi.Objectives: To report and to discuss the data revealed from the questionnaire that was designed to recognise the assessment and reporting the side effects of chemo- and radiotherapy in cancer centres of Turkey. Methods: Sixty-four cancer centres/departments were invited to the study. Sixteen questions were designed to find out the general characteristics for evaluating and reporting acute and late toxicity in centres. The institutes' follow-up schedules and patients' general profiles that regularly come to their followup were also requested

The Outcome of Patients with Triple Negative Breast Cancer: The Turkish Oncology Group Experience

OBJECTIVE: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is generally considered as a poorer prognostic subgroup, with propensity for earlier relapse and visceral involvement. The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of non-metastatic TNBC patients from different centers in Turkey and identify clinical and pathologic variables that may effect survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1993–2007, from five different centers in Turkey, 316 nonmetastatic triple negative breast cancer patients were identified with follow-up of at least 12 months. The data was collected retrospectively from patient charts. The prognostic impact of several clinical variables were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier and Cox multivariate anayses. RESULTS: Mean age at diagnosis was 49 years (range: 24–82). The majority of the patient group had invasive ductal carcinoma (n: 260, 82.3%) and stage II disease (n: 164; 51.9%). Majority of the patients (87.7%) received adjuvant chemotherapy. 5 year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 84.6% and 71.6%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed locally advanced disease (p: 0.001), advanced pathological stage (p: 0.021), larger tumor size (T1&T2 vs T3&T4) (p<0.001), nodal positivity (p: 0.006), and extensive nodal involvement (p<0.001) as significant factors for DFS; whereas, advanced pathological stage (p: 0.017), extensive nodal involvement (p<0.001) and larger tumor size (p: 0,001) and presence of breast cancer-affected member in the family (p=0.05) were identified as prognostic factors with an impact on OS. Multivariate analysis revealed larger tumor size (T3&T4 vs T1&T2) and presence of lymph node metastases (node-positive vs node-negative) as significant independent prognostic factors for DFS (Hazard ratio (HR): 3.03, 95% CI: 1.71–5.35, p<0.001 and HR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.05–3.0, p=0.03, respectively). Higher tumor stage was the only independent factor affecting overall survival (HR: 2.81; 95% CI, 1.27–6.22, p=0.01). CONCLUSION: The outcome of patients with TNBC in this cohort is comparable to other studies including TNBC patients. Tumor size and presence of lymph node metastasis are the major independent factors that have effect on DFS, however higher tumor stage was the only negative prognostic factor for OS

Turkish Oncology Group

Background: An association between the ABO blood group and the risk of certain malignancies, including pancreatic and gastric cancer, has been reported previously. However, it is unclear whether this association is valid for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). In this study, ABO blood groups and the Rh factor were investigated in a series of GIST cases. Material and Methods: In 162 patients with GIST, blood group and Rh factor were examined and compared with a control group of 3,022,883 healthy volunteer blood donors of the Turkish Red Crescent between 2004 and 2011. The relationship of blood groups with tumor size, mitotic activity, and age were also evaluated. Results: Overall, the ABO blood group and Rh factor distributions of the 162 patients with GIST were similar to those of the general population. There were no significant differences between both ABO blood types and Rh factor in terms of tumor size, mitotic activity, and age. Conclusion: This is the first study reported on this issue. In our study, we didn't find any relationship between GIST and ABO blood group and Rh factor. However further studies with larger number of patients are needed to establish the role of blood groups in this population.WoSScopu