Adherence to BCLC recommendations for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: impact on survival according to stage

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to assess the adherence of newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma patients to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer system treatment guidelines and to examine the impact of adherence on the survival of patients in different stages of the disease. METHODS: This study included all patients referred for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma between 2010 and 2012. Patients (n=364) were classified according to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer guidelines. Deviations from the recommended guidelines were discussed, and treatment was determined by a multidisciplinary team. The overall survival curves were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method and were compared using the log-rank test. RESULTS: The overall rate of adherence to the guidelines was 52%. The rate of adherence of patients in each scoring group varied as follows: stage 0, 33%; stage A, 45%; stage B, 78%; stage C, 35%; and stage D, 67%. In stage 0/A, adherent patients had a significantly better overall survival than non-adherent patients (hazard ratio=0.19, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.09-0.42;

Clinical and pathological evaluation of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma: a single center study of 21 cases

OBJECTIVES: Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma is a rare primary malignant liver tumor that differs from conventional hepatocellular carcinoma in several aspects. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical, surgical and histopathological features of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma and to analyze the factors associated with survival. METHODS: We identified 21 patients with histopathologically diagnosed fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma over a 22-year period. Clinical information was collected from medical records and biopsies, and surgical specimens were reviewed. RESULTS: The median age at diagnosis was 20 years. Most patients were female (67%) and did not have associated chronic liver disease. Most patients had a single nodule, and the median tumor size was 120 mm. Vascular invasion was present in 31% of patients, and extra-hepatic metastases were present in 53%. Fourteen patients underwent surgery as the first-line therapy, three received chemotherapy, and four received palliative care. Eighteen patients had “pure fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma,” whereas three had a distinct area of conventional hepatocellular carcinoma and were classified as having “mixed fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.” The median overall survival was 36 months. The presence of “mixed fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma” and macrovascular invasion were predictors of poor survival. Vascular invasion was associated with an increased risk of recurrence in patients who underwent surgery. CONCLUSION: Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma was more common in young female patients without chronic liver disease. Surgery was the first therapeutic option to achieve disease control, even in advanced cases. Vascular invasion was a risk factor for tumor recurrence. The presence of macrovascular invasion and areas of conventional hepatocellular carcinoma were directly related to poor survival

Feasibility of SBRT for hepatocellular carcinoma in Brazil — a prospective pilot study

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in Brazil. SBRT is an evolving treatment in HCC patients not candidates to other local therapies. Its adoption in clinical practice has been heterogeneous, with lack of data on its generalizability in the Brazilian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective pilot study involving HCC patients after failure or ineligibility for transarterial chemoembolization. Patients received SBRT 30 to 50 Gy in 5 fractions using an isotoxic prescription approach. This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT02221778. RESULTS: From Nov 2014 through Aug 2019, 26 patients received SBRT with 40 Gy median dose. Underlying liver disease was hepatitis C, hepatitis B and alcohol-related in, respectively, 50%, 23% and 19% of patients. Median lesion size was 3.8 cm (range, 1.5–10 cm), and 46% had multiple lesions. Thirty-two percent had tumor vascular thrombosis; median pretreatment alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was 171.7 ng/mL (range, 4.2–5,494 ng/mL). 1y-local progression-free survival (PFS) was 86% (95% CI: 61% to 95%), with higher local control in doses ≥ 45Gy (p = 0.037; HR = 0.12). 1y-liver PFS, distant PFS and OS were, respectively, 52%, 77% and 79%. Objective response was seen in 89% of patients, with 3 months post-SBRT median AFP of 12 ng/mL (2.4–637 ng/mL). There were no grade 3 or 4 clinical toxicities. Grade 3 or 4 laboratory toxicities occurred in 27% of patients. CONCLUSION: SBRT is feasible and safe in patients unresponsive or ineligible for TACE in Brazil. Our study suggests doses > 45Gy yields better local control

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): screening, treatment and survival analysis in a Brazilian series

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical features, Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) screening, treatment modalities, and Overall Survival (OS) in a series of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma (NAFLD-HCC) Brazilian patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study at the Instituto do Cancer do Estado de São Paulo, at the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo with the approval of the local research ethics committee. NAFLD patients with HCC diagnosed, from May 2010 to May 2019, were included. Results: A total of 131 patients were included. Risk factors for NAFLD were present in 94.7% of the patients. Only 29% of patients were in the HCC screening program before diagnosis. HCC treatment was performed in 84.7% of patients. Cumulative survival at the end of the first year was 72%, second-year 52%, and fifth-year 32%. HCC screening before diagnosis was not significantly associated with higher cumulative survival. The independent factors associated with shorter general survival were BCLC C-D, p < 0.001, and the size of the largest nodule > 42 mm, p = 0.039. Conclusions: Although the efficacy of screening in our population regarding overall survival was hampered due to the sample size (29% had screening), BCLC stages C‒D and the size of the largest nodule larger than 42 mm were identified as independent factors of worse prognosis

Radiomic analysis of MRI to Predict Sustained Complete Response after Radiofrequency Ablation in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma - A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether quantitative textural features, extracted from pretreatment MRI, can predict sustained complete response to radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: In this IRB-approved study, patients were selected from a maintained six-year database of consecutive patients who underwent both pretreatment MRI imaging with a probable or definitive imaging diagnosis of HCC (LI-RADS 4 or 5) and loco-regional treatment with RFA. An experienced radiologist manually segmented the hepatic nodules in MRI arterial and equilibrium phases to obtain the volume of interest (VOI) for extraction of 107 quantitative textural features, including shape and first- and second-order features. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate associations between textural features and complete response. RESULTS: The study consisted of 34 patients with 51 treated hepatic nodules. Sustained complete response was achieved by 6 patients (4 with single nodule and 2 with multiple nodules). Of the 107 features from the arterial and equilibrium phases, 20 (18%) and 25 (23%) achieved AUC >0.7, respectively. The three best performing features were found in the equilibrium phase: Dependence Non-Uniformity Normalized and Dependence Variance (both GLDM class, with AUC of 0.78 and 0.76, respectively) and Maximum Probability (GLCM class, AUC of 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study demonstrates that a radiomic analysis of pre-treatment MRI might be useful in identifying patients with HCC who are most likely to have a sustained complete response to RFA. Second-order features (GLDM and GLCM) extracted from equilibrium phase obtained highest discriminatory performance

Neoliberalismo e conservadorismo: quem são os “cidadãos de bem” ressentidos? / Neoliberalism and conservatism: who are the resentful "good citizens"?

Nos últimos anos, candidatos de extrema direita, que flertam com o autoritarismo e põem em risco a democracia, ascenderam ao poder em diversos países do mundo. No Brasil, esse processo também aconteceu, e, nas eleições presidenciais de 2018, Jair Bolsonaro foi eleito com o discurso que prometia um governo “conservador nos costumes e liberal na economia”. Após dois anos e meio de mandato marcado por múltiplas crises e polêmicas, sua popularidade atingiu o grau mais baixo em maio de 2021. Contudo, de acordo com a pesquisa de opinião realizada pelo Instituto Datafolha neste mesmo mês, 24% dos entrevistados continuam avaliando seu governo como “ótimo/bom”. A partir disso, o presente estudo visa a investigar o que motiva esse apoio ao Presidente, lançando-se, para tanto, mão de estudos da Filosofia Política, da Psicanálise e da Antropologia. Conclui-se que é possível explicar pelo viés psicanalítico a motivação do grupo que permanece apoiando Jair Bolsonaro, valendo-se da categoria do ressentimento, paixão condizente com a subjetividade forjada no contexto neoliberal

Serum lipidomic profiling as a useful tool for screening potential biomarkers of hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma by ultraperformance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

Abstract\ud \ud Background\ud Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection is a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as late diagnosis is the main factor for the poor survival of patients. There is an urgent need for accurate biomarkers for early diagnosis of HCC. The aim of the study was to explore the serum lipidome profiles of hepatitis B-related HCC to identify potential diagnostic biomarkers.\ud \ud \ud Methods\ud An ultraperformance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) lipidomic method was used to characterize serum profiles from HCC (n = 32), liver cirrhosis (LC) (n = 30), CHB (n = 25), and healthy subjects (n = 34). Patients were diagnosed by clinical laboratory and imaging evidence and all presented with CHB while healthy controls had normal liver function and no infectious diseases.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud The UPLC-MS-based serum lipidomic profile provided more accurate diagnosis for LC patients than conventional alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) detection. HCC patients were discriminated from LC with 78 % sensitivity and 64 % specificity. In comparison, AFP showed sensitivity and specificity of 38 % and 93 %, respectively. HCC was differentiated from CHB with 100 % sensitivity and specificity using the UPLC-MS approach. Identified lipids comprised glycerophosphocolines, glycerophosphoserines and glycerophosphoinositols.\ud \ud \ud Conclusions\ud UPLC-MS lipid profiling proved to be an efficient and convenient tool for diagnosis and screening of HCC in a high-risk population.The Fleury SA Group supported this work and AMPC received a doctorate\ud scholarship from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo –\ud FAPESP (no. 2013/03701-0). The funding agencies did not interfere in the\ud scientific aspects of the study

A list of land plants of Parque Nacional do Caparaó, Brazil, highlights the presence of sampling gaps within this protected area

Brazilian protected areas are essential for plant conservation in the Atlantic Forest domain, one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots. A major challenge for improving conservation actions is to know the plant richness, protected by these areas. Online databases offer an accessible way to build plant species lists and to provide relevant information about biodiversity. A list of land plants of “Parque Nacional do Caparaó” (PNC) was previously built using online databases and published on the website "Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil." Here, we provide and discuss additional information about plant species richness, endemism and conservation in the PNC that could not be included in the List. We documented 1,791 species of land plants as occurring in PNC, of which 63 are cited as threatened (CR, EN or VU) by the Brazilian National Red List, seven as data deficient (DD) and five as priorities for conservation. Fifity-one species were possible new ocurrences for ES and MG states

Pericardite Constritiva: Constrictive Pericarditis

Introdução: O pericárdio é uma membrana fibrosserosa que envolve o coração. Pericardite é a inflamação dos folhetos pericárdicos. Na ocorrência da Pericardite Constritiva (PC) o pericárdio encontra-se espessado, fibrótico e frequentemente calcificado, reduzindo expressivamente sua complacência e impedindo o adequado enchimento cardíaco durante a diástole. Apresentação do caso: ACAJ, sexo masculino, 39 anos, negro, natural do Pará, deu entrada no pronto-socorro da Santa Casa de Misericórdia, com queixa de edema de membros inferiores e dispneia. Relatou associação com perda ponderal e febre diária, vespertina e com calafrios. Antecedentes patológicos prévios de hipertensão arterial, diabetes mellitus tipo 2, dislipidemia e hábitos tabágicos pregressos. Apresentava-se hemodinamicamente estável, taquipneia discreta associada a estertores crepitantes bibasais, bulhas arrítmicas e abafadas com presença de estalido protodiastólico, pulsos finos e pressão arterial levemente reduzida. Hepatomegalia não pulsátil, ascite volumosa e dor a palpação de região epigástrica na avaliação abdominal. Além da presença de edema em membros inferiores. Discussão: Por se tratar de uma condição rara, em muitos momentos o diagnóstico da pericardite constritiva é feito tardiamente. Alguns exames  complementares  têm  se  mostrado  de  grande  auxílio  na presunção do diagnóstico, como a radiografia de tórax, tomografia computarizada de tórax, ressonância nuclear magnética cardíaca (RNM) e ecocardiograma transtorácico. Estes deverão se associar com achados clínicos, como o sinal de Kussmaul e o som protodiastólico. Conclusão: Percebe-se a importância do diagnóstico precoce da PC, visto que, após o tratamento, a melhora da qualidade de vida do paciente é significativa. Apesar de ser um evento raro, está associado a uma elevada mortalidade, sendo fundamental a adoção de medidas terapêuticas singulares.. A pericardiectomia pode ser uma opção no tratamento dos casos crônicos e de difícil manejo