Sema Sezgin Goksu

Hepatitis B reactivation related to everolimus.

Reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) during chemotherapy is a well known complication in patients with chronic hepatitis B and cancer. The clinical manifestations range from subclinical elevation of liver enzymes to severe, potentially fatal fulminant hepatitis. Reactivation can occur in a patient with previous inactive HBV infection; either an inactive carrier or a patient with resolved hepatitis. Everolimus is a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor approved in renal cell carcinoma, neuroendocrine tumours and breast cancer. mTOR inhibitors are a new generation of drugs for targeted treatment; therefore, little about their side effects is known. Here, we report a patient with renal cell carcinoma who experienced a flare of hepatitis B infection during treatment with everolimus. Clinicians should be aware of HBV reactivation in patients who are undergoing treatment with everolimus, and screening for hepatitis B infection and prophylactic antiviral treatment should be considered.

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.

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.

Survival Results and Prognostic Factors in T4 N0-3 Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients According to the AJCC 7 th Edition Staging System

BACKGROUND The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) published a new staging system (7th edition) in 2009. In our study, we evaluated the survival results and prognostic factors among T4 local advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) patients in a large heterogeneous group, in accordance with this new system. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively evaluated the files of 122 T4 N0-3 M0 LA-NSCLC patients, identified according to the new staging system, treated at two centers between November 2003 and June 2012. Variables correlating with univariate survival at p<0.20 were later included in multivariate Cox regression analysis. Here, selection of relevant predictors of survival was carried out in accordance with the likelihood ratio formula with p<0.05 regarded as significant. RESULTS The median age was 60 and the median follow-up period was 17.4 months. Median overall survival (OS) was 18.3 months, the 1 year overall survival (OS) rate was 72%, and the 5 year OS rate was 28%. Statistically significant predictors of survival were (p<0.20) ECOG-PS (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status), age, T4 factor subgroup, stage and primary treatment in OS univariate analysis. On multivariate analysis for OS ECOG-PS (p=0.001), diagnostic stage (p=0.021), and primary treatment (p=0.004) were significant. In the group receiving non-curative treatment, the median OS was 11.0 months, while it was 19.0 months in the definitive RT group and 26.6 months in the curative treatment group. There was a significant difference between the non-curative group and the groups which had definitive RT and curative operations (respectively p<0.001 and p=0.001) in terms of OS, but not between the groups which had definitive RT and curative operations. The median event free survival (EFS) rate was 9.9 months, with rates of 46% and 19% at 3 and 5 years, respectively. On univariate analysis of EFS rate with ECOG-PS, weight loss and staging, statistical significance was found only for thorax computerized tomography (CT)+18F-fluorodeoxy-glucose positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT) use, stage and primary treatment (p<0.20). In multivariate analysis with EFS, only the primary treatment was statistically significant (p=0.001). In the group receiving non-curative treatment, the median EFS was 10.5 months while in the curative operation group it was 14.7 months. When all the primary treatment groups were taken into consideration, grade III/IV side effect was observed in 57 patients (46.6%). Esophagitis was most prominent among those that received definitive radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS Independent prognostic factors among these 122 heterogeneous LA-NSCLC T4 N0-3 M0 patients were age at diagnosis, ECOG-PS, stage and primary treatment, the last also being a significant prognostic indicator of EFS. Our findings point to the importance of appropriate staging and a multidisciplinary approach with modern imaging methods in this patient group. In those with T4 lesions, treatment selection and the effective use of curative potential should be the most important goal of clinical care.

Is Human Kallikrein 11 in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Treated Chemoradiotherapy Associated with Survival?

Purpose Involvement of human kallikreins (hKs) in human cancers has been reported and several hKs are promising biomarkers of various cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of hK11 expression in patients with non-metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods The study included 44 patients with NSCLC. hK11 expression was determined by immunohistochemical staining. Results The estimation of disease-free and overall survival by Kaplan-Meier was 11 months and 17 months, respectively. The estimation of overall survival by Kaplan-Meier was significantly higher in patients with hK11 strongly positive (2+) than in those with hK11 weakly positive (1+) (20 months vs. 11 months, p=0.032). Although not statistically different, the estimation of disease-free survival by Kaplan-Meier was higher in patients with hK11 strongly positive (2+) than in those with hK11 weakly positive (1+) (12 months vs. 9 months, p=0.113). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the overall survival rates were significantly associated with response to chemoradiotherapy and the degree of staining with hK11. Conclusion The stronger hK11 expression in NSCLC appears to be associated with better survival rates. hK11 may be a prognostic biomarker of NSCLC.

Dystrophic Cutaneous Calcification and Metaplastic Bone Formation due to Long Term Bisphosphonate Use in Breast Cancer.

Bisphosphonates are widely used in the treatment of breast cancer with bone metastases. We report a case of a female with breast cancer presented with a rash around a previous mastectomy site and a discharge lesion on her right chest wall in August 2010. Biopsy of the lesion showed dystrophic calcification and metaplastic bone formation. The patients history revealed a long term use of zoledronic acid for the treatment of breast cancer with bone metastasis. We stopped the treatment since we believed that the cutaneous dystrophic calcification could be associated with her long term bisphosphonate therapy. Adverse cutaneous events with bisphosphonates are very rare, and dystrophic calcification has not been reported previously. The dystrophic calcification and metaplastic bone formation in this patient are thought to be due to long term bisphosphonate usage.

Predictors of clock drawing test (CDT) performance in elderly patients attending an internal medicine outpatient clinic: A pilot study on sun exposure and physical activity

Influence of sun exposure and physical activity on cognition has not been evaluated simultaneously. We aimed to evaluate predictors of clock drawing test (CDT) performance on n=125 patients attending an internal medicine outpatient clinic. Interview data was gathered on sociodemographic, health-related and lifestyle factors referring to the last year. Factors associated with obtaining a score >0 and a full score (10/10) were analyzed by univariate (UVA) and multivariate (MVA) logistic regression analyses. Mean age of the participants was 72 ± 5, 58% were women and 17% were illiterate. Mean CDT score was 4.70 ± 2.27, 61.6% scored >0 and 21.6% scored 10/10. Both duration of walking and summer sun exposure predicted a CDT score >0 in UVA. However only summer sun exposure was an independent predictor (odds ratio=OR=1.73, 95% confidence interval=CI=1.16-2.57). Other factors independently associated with obtaining a score >0 were education level (OR=2.70, 95%CI=1.77-4.12) and cerebrovascular disease (CVD) history (OR=0.08, 95%CI=0.008-0.78). Factors independently associated with obtaining a full score were weight (OR=1.05, 95%CI=1.00-1.10), education level (OR=2.04, 95%CI=1.38-3.00) and visiting the clinic alone (OR=3.92, 95%CI=1.354-11.39). Our study shows that CDT can be utilized to unravel the lifestyle factors associated with cognitive function. To our knowledge, this is the first study to suggest an association between sun exposure and cognition.

Bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin (BEP) combination with concurrent imatinib mesylate (GLEEVEC) in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patient with mesenchymal tumor

Imatinib is now indicated as the first line therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Treatment of CML with imatinib is generally well tolerated and the risk of severe adverse affects is low. Many new drugs including targeted therapy are combined with antineoplastic agents safely. We here report a patient with CML who developed concurrent mesenchymal tumor while undergoing therapy with imatinib and treated with combination chemotherapy including bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin, as well as imatinib without severe toxicity.

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Breast Cancer–Related Lymphedema: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical effect of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in patients with secondary lymphedema after breast cancer treatment. DESIGN Prospective clinical pilot study. SETTING Education and research hospital. PARTICIPANTS Women with a diagnosis of lymphedema secondary to breast cancer (N=11). INTERVENTIONS Patients were treated for 12 sessions of ESWT with 2500 impulses each. The treatment frequency was 4Hz in multiple shock mode. The energy flow density during treatment was equal to a working pressure of 2 bar. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome measure was volumetric measurements. The secondary outcome measures were the short version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (QuickDASH) and the brief version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF). Assessments were conducted by the same investigator at baseline, posttreatment, and at 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment for all patients. RESULTS Significant reduction was found in the amount of lymphedema with ESWT treatment in all patients, and this reduction was maintained for 6 months. A statistically significant reduction was observed in volumetric measurements for the follow-up period (P=.001). The mean volume displacement of the affected upper extremity before treatment was 870.45±384.19mL at 6 months, and after the treatment it was 604.54±381.74mL. In addition, improvements were observed in the QuickDASH functional assessment tool and in the physical health domain of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire (P=.002 and P=.007, respectively). CONCLUSIONS ESWT was shown to provide a reduction in the amount of lymphedema in patients with lymphedema secondary to breast cancer. Also, a marked improvement was observed in the functional status and quality of life of study patients. Treatment efficacy was maintained in the long term. As a noninvasive, novel, and effective method, ESWT is a promising treatment modality for the treatment of lymphedema, which is a chronic, progressive, and refractory condition.