Efficacy Comparison Between Weekly and Triweekly Regimens of Carboplatin-paclitaxel in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Aim:Around 40% of non-small cell lung cancers have stage 3b or 4 disease at the time of diagnosis. In the treatment, platinum-based therapy can still be used in patients who do not carry a driver mutation or who are not suitable for immunotherapy with advanced non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of weekly carboplatin-paclitaxel regimen with triweekly carboplatin-paclitaxel regimen.Materials and Methods:This is a retrospectively structured study. Patients who were followed-up and treated for lung cancer in Adana City Training and Research Hospital’s Oncology Department between January 1, 2017 and July 1, 2021 were included.Results:Out of the 104 patients, 52 (50%) patients received weekly carboplatin-paclitaxel (C-P), and 52 (50%) received C-P every 3 weeks. The mean overall survival was 19.64±2.53 months in the weekly C-P group and 17.47±1.64 months in the triweekly C-P group (p=0.675). The mean progression-free survival (PFS) was 8.5±1.01 months in the weekly C-P group and 5.76±0.61 months in the triweekly C-P group (p=0.017).Conclusion:We demonstrated that weekly C-P treatment, which is known to have fewer toxicity in NSCLC, provided better PFS compared to triweekly treatment

Evaluation of Computed Tomography, Clinical and Laboratory Findings of COVID-19 in Cancer Patients

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the computed tomography (CT), clinical andlaboratory findings of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in cancer patients and to comparethe findings between polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive and negative patients.Material and Methods: Twenty-three cancer patients with positive PCR tests and 22diagnosed as COVID-19 with clinical and radiological findings were included in the study. CTimages of the patients were evaluated simultaneously by two radiologists. Presence ofcomorbid diseases, symptoms and laboratory values were evaluated.Results: The most common CT involvement pattern was peripheral with 88.9% (n=40).Bilateral lung involvement rate was 57.8% (n=26). The most common finding was groundglass opacities (n=38, 84.5%). 35.6% (n=16) of these were accompanied by consolidation.Multifocal involvement was present in 62.2% (n=28) of the cases. The most frequentlyinvolved lobes were lower lobes. Other relatively common findings were septal thickening,subpleural streaking, and air bronchogram. The median neutrophil, lymphocyte, D-dimer,procalcitonin, C-reactive protein and lactate dehydrogenase values of the patients were 2000mm3, 1200 mm3, 1990 ng/mL, 30.7 mcg/L 15.8 mg/dl, 161 IU/L, respectively.Conclusion: Multifocal and bilateral involvement, and ground glass opacities were the mostcommon findings. However, higher rates of septal thickening, which is generally less common,suggest that the findings may be more severe in cancer patients. Most of the inflammatorymarkers were higher in PCR negative cases. Studies with more patients in multiple centers willprovide better comparison of the findings in cancer patients with the general population

Evaluation of Computed Tomography, Clinical and Laboratory Findings of COVID-19 in Cancer Patients

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the computed tomography (CT), clinical andlaboratory findings of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in cancer patients and to comparethe findings between polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive and negative patients.Material and Methods: Twenty-three cancer patients with positive PCR tests and 22diagnosed as COVID-19 with clinical and radiological findings were included in the study. CTimages of the patients were evaluated simultaneously by two radiologists. Presence ofcomorbid diseases, symptoms and laboratory values were evaluated.Results: The most common CT involvement pattern was peripheral with 88.9% (n=40).Bilateral lung involvement rate was 57.8% (n=26). The most common finding was groundglass opacities (n=38, 84.5%). 35.6% (n=16) of these were accompanied by consolidation.Multifocal involvement was present in 62.2% (n=28) of the cases. The most frequentlyinvolved lobes were lower lobes. Other relatively common findings were septal thickening,subpleural streaking, and air bronchogram. The median neutrophil, lymphocyte, D-dimer,procalcitonin, C-reactive protein and lactate dehydrogenase values of the patients were 2000mm3, 1200 mm3, 1990 ng/mL, 30.7 mcg/L 15.8 mg/dl, 161 IU/L, respectively.Conclusion: Multifocal and bilateral involvement, and ground glass opacities were the mostcommon findings. However, higher rates of septal thickening, which is generally less common,suggest that the findings may be more severe in cancer patients. Most of the inflammatorymarkers were higher in PCR negative cases. Studies with more patients in multiple centers willprovide better comparison of the findings in cancer patients with the general population