Pretreatment hemoglobin level as a prognostic factor in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

AimEvaluate pretreatment hemoglobin values as a prognostic factor in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy.BackgroundAnemia is one of the most prevalent laboratory abnormalities in oncological disease. It leads to a decrease in cellular oxygen supply, altering radiosensitivity of tumor cells and compromising therapeutic outcomes.Materials and MethodsRetrospective evaluation of patients with HNSCC treated with cCRT. Primary and secondary endpoint was to evaluate the correlation of Hb levels (≥12.5g/dL o

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

Genomic Profiling of Sarcomas: A Promising Weapon in the Therapeutic Arsenal

Sarcomas are rare malignant mesenchymal neoplasms, and the knowledge of tumor biology and genomics is scarce. Chemotherapy is the standard of care in advanced disease, with poor outcomes. Identifying actionable genomic alterations may offer effective salvage therapeutic options when previous lines have failed. Here, we report a retrospective cohort study of sarcoma patients followed at our center and submitted to comprehensive genomic profiling between January 2020 and June 2021. Thirty patients were included, most (96.7%) with reportable genomic alterations. The most common alterations were linked to cell cycle regulation (TP53, CDKN2A/B, and RB1 deletions and CDK4, MDM2, and MYC amplifications). Most patients (96.7%) had microsatellite stability and low tumor mutational burden (≤10 muts/megabase (Mb); median 2 Muts/Mb). Two-thirds of patients had actionable mutations for targeted treatments, including five cases with alterations amenable to targeted therapies with clinical benefit within the patient’s tumor type, ten cases with targetable alterations with clinical benefit in other tumor types, and five cases with alterations amenable to targeting with drugs under investigation in a clinical trial setting. A significant proportion of cases in this study had actionable genomic alterations with available targeted drugs. Next-generation sequencing is a feasible option for identifying molecular drivers that can provide therapeutic options for individual patients. Molecular Tumor Boards should be implemented in the clinical practice to discuss genomic findings and inform clinically relevant targeted therapies

Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy—Current Practice and Future Perspectives for Recurrent/Metastatic Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma is the most common malignant epithelial neoplasm affecting the oral cavity. While surgical resection is the cornerstone of a multimodal curative approach, some tumors are deemed recurrent or metastatic (R/M) and often not suitable for curative surgery. This mainly occurs due to the extent of lesions or when surgery is expected to result in poor functional outcomes. Amongst the main non-surgical therapeutic options for oral squamous cell carcinoma are radiotherapy, chemotherapy, molecular targeted agents, and immunotherapy. Depending on the disease setting, these therapeutic approaches can be used isolated or in combination, with distinct efficacy and side effects. All these factors must be considered for treatment decisions within a multidisciplinary approach. The present article reviews the evidence regarding the treatment of patients with R/M oral squamous cell carcinoma. The main goal is to provide an overview of available treatment options and address future therapeutic perspectives

Cruzadas pela paz: práticas religiosas e projetos seculares relacionados à questão da violência no Rio de Janeiro

Ao chamar atenção para a pertinência das investigações sobre secularismos, neste artigo, busco analisar alguns aspectos de atividades seculares e religiosas que ganharam corpo no Rio de Janeiro. Escolhi descrevê-los através das relações e entrelaçamentos que estabeleceram com projetos e práticas religiosas direcionados a uma questão social que vem capturando a imaginação dos habitantes do Rio de Janeiro, a chamada "violência". As transformações do tratamento concedido à violência são encaradas como parte do processo que envolve agentes leigos e religiosos em diferentes projetos de salvação