Ali Murat Tatli

Use of chemotherapy at the end of life in Turkey

BackgroundAn increasing number of patients receive palliative chemotherapy near the end of life. The aim of this study is to evaluate the aggressiveness of chemotherapy in Turkish individuals near the end of life.MethodsPatients diagnosed with solid tumors and died from 2010 to 2011 in the medical oncology department of Akdeniz University were included in the study. Data about the diagnosis, treatment details and imaging procedures were collected.ResultsThree hundred and seventy-three people with stage IV solid tumors died from 2010 to 2011 in our clinic. Eighty-nine patients (23.9%) patients underwent chemotherapy in the last month of life while 39 patients (10.5%) received chemotherapy in the last 14 days. The probability of undergoing chemotherapy in the last month of life was influenced by: age, ‘newly diagnosed’ patients, and performance status. There was no significant association of chemotherapy in the last month of life with gender and tumor type. Having a PET-CT scan did not alter the chemotherapy decision.ConclusionIn conclusion, chemotherapy used in the last month of life in a tertiary care center of Turkey is high. Increasing quality of life should be a priority near the end of life and physicians should consider ceasing chemotherapy and direct the patient to early palliative care.

Isolated Uterine Metastasis of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma

Introduction. Most common metastasis sites of breast cancer are the lungs, bones, liver, and brain, whereas uterine involvement by metastatic breast disease is rare. Metastatic carcinoma of the uterus usually originates from other genital sites, most commonly being from the ovaries. Invasive lobular carcinoma spreads to gynecologic organs more frequently than invasive ductal carcinoma. Case Report. A 57-year-old postmenopausal woman was diagnosed with breast carcinoma 2 years ago and modified radical mastectomy was performed. Pathological examination of tumor revealed invasive ductal carcinoma, stage IIIc. She presented with abdominal pain and distension. Diagnostic workup and gynecologic examination revealed lesions that caused diffuse thickening of the uterus wall. Endometrial sampling was performed for confirmation of the diagnosis. She underwent total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Breast carcinoma metastases in endometrium and myometrium were confirmed histopathologically and immunohistochemically. Conclusion. We herein report the first case of isolated uterine patient who had invasive ductal carcinoma of breast.

Risk Factors for Stage IV Breast Cancer at the Time of Presentation in Turkey

BACKGROUND Breast cancer (BC) is the one of the most common cancers in women. It is also a leading cause of death. Unfortunately, some patients initially present with distant metastases and are diagnosed with stage IV disease that is nearly always, by then, incurable. This retrospective analysis investigated the risk factors for stage IV BC that may underlie such late presentation. MATERIALS AND METHODS In all, 916 patients with BC who visited the medical oncology polyclinic of eight different centres in Turkeybetween December 2011 and January 2013 were analysed. RESULTS A total of 115 patients (12.6%) presented with stage IV disease. In univariate analysis; to comparing these with patients at other stages, no statistical difference was found for median diagnosis age or age at menarche (p=0.611 and p=0.820), whereas age at menopause and age at first live birth were significant (p=0.018 and p=0.003). No difference was detected in terms of accompanying diseases, use of oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy, smoking, alcohol consumption and the rate of family history of BC between the patients (p=0.655, p=0.389, p=0.762, p=0.813, p=0.229, p=0.737). However, screening methods were employed less often, the rate of illiteracy was higher, and the rate of other cancers was higher in patients with stage IV BC (p=0.022, p=0.022, p=0.018). No statistical difference was observed between the patients in terms of tumour histopathology, and status of oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, or human epidermal growth factor-2 receptor (p=0.389, p=0.326, p=0.949, p=0.326). Grade 3 tumours were more frequent in patients with stage IV disease (p<0.001). On multivariate analysis, risk factors for stage IV breast cancer at the time of presentation were found to be age at first live birth and educational level (p=0.003 and p=0.047). CONCLUSIONS Efforts should be made to perform mammography scans, in particular, at regular intervals through national training programs for all women, particularly those with family histories of breast and other types of cancer, and to establish early diagnosis of BC long before it proceeds to stage IV. Additionally, womens education had better be upgraded. In order to make women aware of BC, national education-programmes must be organised.

Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor: A Rarely Seen Submucosal Lesion of the Stomach

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare mesenchymal benign tumor which is generally seen in children and in young adults. It is especially located in the lungs. In histopathological examination, neoplastic fusiform cells originating from a subtype of accessory immune system cells which are called fibroblastic reticulum cells are seen (Kouichi and Youichirou, 2008). Although IMT is histopathologically benign, imaging methods show its tendency for local recurrence and invasion. In most of the cases, it may not be possible to make a distinction whether it is malign or benign. Complete surgical resection is the most important treatment method. In this study, we have discussed the findings of our case having a gastric submucosal located IMT in light of the current literatures.

Clinicopathologic features and molecular subtypes of breast cancer in young women (age ≤35).

INTRODUCTION Breast cancer in young women is a relatively rare disease; however it tends to be more aggressive and is the leading cause of cancer death in this population. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical and biological features of breast cancer arising in young Turkish breast cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients with breast cancer aged 35 or less (≤35 years) were selected for the study. In total 211 cases were included. Pathologic features; histologic subtypes, grade, lymphovascular invasion, axillary involvement, and stage were recorded for each. RESULTS The most common subtype was luminal B (36.5%), followed by luminal A (30.8%), triple negative (23.2%) and HER2+(9.5%) subtypes. Twelve percent of the patients had stage 4, 32.7% had stage 3, 46.4% had stage 2, and 6.2% had stage 1 disease at the time of diagnosis. Mean tumour diameter was 3.87 cm (range 0.3-13 cm). The axillary lymph nodes were positive in 74.4% of the patients, while lympho-vascular invasion was seen in 56.4%. Some 9.5% of patients had grade 1, 51.2% had grade 2, and 31.8% had grade 3 tumors. CONCLUSIONS Young women with breast cancer in Turkey are more likely to present with luminal B subtype. Tumors in young women are more likely to present with advanced disease, to be high grade and and to have more lymphovascular invasion. Further research should focus on whether we need new treatment strategies for young patients with breast carcinoma.

Use of Blood Transfusion at the End of Life: Does it Have Any Effects on Survival of Cancer Patients?

BACKGROUND Treatment of anemia is an important issue in the palliative care setting. Blood transfusion is generally used for this purpose in supportive care. However the place of blood transfusion in terminally ill cancer cases is less far established. OBJECTIVE We aimed to outline the use of transfusions and to find the impact of blood transfusion on survival in patients with advanced cancer and very near to death. DESIGN Patients dying in 2010-2011 with advanced cancer were included in the study. We retrospectively collected the data including age, type of cancer, the duration of last hospitalisation, ECOG performance status, Hb levels, transfusion history of erythrocytes and platelets, cause and the amount of transfusion. The anaemic patients who had transfusion at admission were compared with the group who were not transfused. Survival was defined as the time between the admission of last hospitalisation period and death. RESULTS Three hundred and ninety eight people with solid tumours died in 2010-2011 in our clinic. Ninety percent of the patients had anemia at the time of last hospitalisation. One hundred fifty three patients had erythrocyte transfusion at admission during the last hospitalisation period (38.4%). In the anaemic population the duration of last hospitalisation was longer in patients who had erythrocyte transfusion (15 days vs 8 days, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Patients who had blood transfusion at the end of life lived significantly longer than the anaemic patients who were not transfused. This study remarks that blood transfusions should not be withheld from terminal cancer patients in palliative care.

Multicenter epidemiologic study on hepatocellular carcinoma in Turkey.

BACKGROUND Hepatocellular cancer (HCC) is one of the important health problems in Turkey, being very common and highly lethal. The aim of this study was to determine clinical, demographic features and risk factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS Nine hundred and sixth-three patients with HCC from 13 cities in Turkey were included in this study. RESULTS Only 205 (21%) of the 963 patients were women, with a male:female predominance of 4.8:1 and a median age of 61 years. The etiologic risk factors for HCC were hepatitis B in 555 patients (57.6%), 453 (81%) in men, and 102 (19%) in women, again with male predominance, hepatitis C in 159 (16.5%), (14.9% and 22.4%, with a higher incidence in women), and chronic alcohol abuse (more than ten years) in 137 (14.2%) (16.8% and 4.9%, higher in males). The Child-Pugh score paralleled with advanced disease stage amd also a high level of AFP. CONCLUSIONS According to our findings the viral etiology (hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections) in the Turkish population was the most important factor in HCC development, with alcohol abuse as the third risk factor. The Child-Pugh classification and AFP levels were determined to be important prognostic factors in HCC patients.

Primary mucinous adenocarcinoma of the bladder: complete response with FOLFOX-4 regimen.

Adenocarcinoma of the urinary bladder comprises 0.5–2% of all bladder carcinomas. The mucinous subtype is rare and comprises 20% of primary bladder adenocarcinomas [1, 2]. The histologic appearance of the bladder adenocarcinoma can be of enteric, signet ring, mucinous, clear cell, hepatoid, or mixed types. The most common form of bladder adenocarcinoma is metastatic adenocarcinoma that usually focuses on the rectum, stomach, endometrium, breast, prostate, and ovaries [3–5]. We report a case of primary mucinous adenocarcinoma of the bladder, similar in immunohistochemistry to colon carcinoma, which exhibited complete response to a FOLFOX regimen.

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) Elevation Gastric Adenocarcinoma and Importance of AFP Change in Tumor Response Evaluation

BACKGROUND Elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels in adults are considered abnormal. This parameter is used mostly in the diagnosis and follow-up of hepatocellular carcinomas and yolk sac tumors. Among the other rare tumors accompanied with elevated serum AFP levels, gastric cancer is the most common. In this study, we evaluated the follow-up and comparison of the treatment and marker response of patients with metastatic gastric cancer who had elevated serum AFP levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed a retrospective study, including all consecutive patients with advanced gastric cancer, who received systemic chemotherapy with elevated AFP level. RESULTS Seventeen metastatic gastric cancer patients with elevated AFP levels at the time of diagnosis were evaluated. Fourteen (82.4%) were males and three (17.6%) were females. The primary tumor localization was the gastric body in 8 (76.4%), cardia in 7 (41.2%), and antrum in 2 (11.8%). Hepatic metastasis was observed in 13 (76.4%) at the time of diagnosis. When the relationship of AFP levels and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) response of the patients with their radiologic responses was evaluated, it was found that the radiologic response was compatible with AFP response in 16 (94.1%) patients and with CEA response in 12 (70.6%); however, in 5 (29.4%) patients no accordance was observed between radiological and CEA responses. CONCLUSIONS Follow-up of AFP levels in metastatic gastric cancer patients with elevated AFP levels may allow prediction of early treatment response and could be more useful than the CEA marker for follow-up in response evaluation.

Pilomatrix carcinoma of the scalp with pulmonary metastasis: A case report of a complete response to oral endoxan and etoposide.

Pilomatrix carcinoma is an extremely rare skin tumor derived from basaloid cells in the hair follicles; it often exhibits locally aggressive behavior with a tendency toward local recurrence. The average age of occurrence is 45 years, and there appears to be a male to female incidence ratio of 4:1. Although pilomatrix carcinomas are predominantly identified in the neck and scalp, there are studies in the literature reporting other tumor development sites, including the upper extremities, torso and popliteal fossa. If diagnosed at an early stage, this malignant tumor is generally treated with wide surgical resection. However, for the advanced-stage tumors, there are no standard treatment procedures known to produce good results. The current study presents the case of a 76-year-old male with pilomatrix carcinoma originating from the scalp with metastases to the lung. The patient had a rapid and complete clinical response following an oral combination chemotherapy regimen of cyclophosphamide and etoposide.