Trigeminal Schwannomas are less than 1% of intracranial tumors, of which only 7% have a cystic component. We documented 2 cases of males with cystic trigeminal Schwannomas, their symptoms, the diagnosis process and the imaging characteristics. In addition, a review of the literature is performed, with emphasis on the radiological classification of this rare entity, that constitutes a diagnostic challenge for the radiologist, who has an essential role in the approach to the disease and therefore in its management.
Description: The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge for urologic oncology and radiotherapy. Radiation oncology departments and international collaboration groups are sharing their management adaptations made in response to the pandemic. The present narrative review summarizes the current recommendations.
Relevance: There is a need to define which patients are candidates for safe treatment delay until the pandemic is over or controlled, to reduce exposure to the virus in the healthcare personnel and patients.
Conclusions: Telemedicine is recommended for follow-up visits. Active surveillance is the preferred treatment for patients with favorable intermediate risk. In greater risk disease, hormone therapy safely postpones radiotherapy up to 7 months. Radiosurgery is suggested in centers that have the necessary technology and previous experience. A moderately hypofractionated regimen is recommended if radiosurgery/ultra-hypofractionation is not available. Hypofractionation should be implemented if image-guided radiation therapy is already in place. Countries with low and middle-income economies face challenges in adopting the recommendations for prostate cancer management during the pandemic. Postponing treatment may result in the overwhelming of radiation oncology center capacity, after the pandemic.
Colombia is experiencing an epidemiologic transition, with an increasing incidence of cancerous neoplasms prevalent in high-income countries, while infection-associated tumors remain highly prevalent. According to international standards, Colombia has a deficit of radiotherapy machines (a shortage of about 47 machines) and radiation oncology specialists (a shortage of about 19 to 149 specialists based on number of centers and incident cases, respectively) to meet the national demand, which may induce an inappropriate dynamic in radiation oncology services. Estimates based on cancer incidence trends and the rate of new specialists in radiation oncology expected to graduate per year suggest that the current deficit will remain unchanged or may even increase during the next decades. The situation is critical because of the existence of a single training program in the country for a population of 45 million inhabitants and the low availability of educational programs offered in the Latin American region to cover the national demand. A comprehensive analysis of radiotherapy services should include data on medical physicists, radiotherapists, and the oncology nursing workforce; however, we found no reliable information available. A better balance between the educational programs offered and the demand for radiotherapy is highly valuable.
Background
Pathogenic germline mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) genes contribute to hereditary breast/ovarian cancer (OC) in White/mestizo Colombian women. As there is virtually no genetic data on breast cancer (BC) in Colombians of African descent, we conducted a comprehensive BRCA1/2 mutational analysis of 60 Afro-Colombian families affected by breast/OC.
Materials and Methods
Mutation screening of the complete BRCA1/2 genes for small-scale mutations and large genomic alterations was performed in these families using next-generation sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification analysis.
Results
Four pathogenic germline mutations, including one novel mutation, were identified, comprising 3 in BRCA1 and one in BRCA2. The prevalence of BRCA1/2 mutations, including one BRCA1 founder mutation (c.5123C>A) previously identified in this sample set, was 3.9% (2/51) in female BC-affected families and 33.3% (3/9) in those affected by both breast and OC. Haplotype analysis of 2 BRCA2_c.2701delC carriers (one Afro-Colombian and one previously identified White/mestizo Colombian patient with BC) suggested that the mutation arose in a common ancestor.
Conclusion
Our data showed that 2/5 (40%) mutations (including the one previously identified in this sample set) are shared by White/mestizo Colombian and Afro-Colombian populations. This suggests that these 2 populations are closely related. Nevertheless, variations in the BRCA1/2 mutational spectrum among Afro-Colombian subgroups from different regions of the country were observed, suggesting that specific genetic risk assessment strategies need to be developed.
Objective: The increase in the diagnosis of tumors in early stages, associated with similar life expectations among the different treatments, create a challenge for both patients and treating doctors when choosing the best therapeutic option. The objective is to assess the impact on the quality of life in the sexual, intestinal and urinary fields in patients with localized prostate cancer who received treatment with modern radiotherapy. Methods: Descriptive observational study in which the validated EPIC-26 and SF-36 surveys were applied in the period between December 2015 and November 2018, in order to assess quality of life in men with localized prostate cancer before and after modern radiation therapy. Results: Surveys were applied to 70 individuals. In the EPIC-26 survey, relevant changes in the quality of life for urinary incontinence were found, with a previous average score of 81.75 (100 -12.5) versus a subsequent 72.99 (100 -0). In the SF-36 Health Questionnaire it was found that there is no significant difference in the overall quality of life, with an average score of 77 (99 -31) and 76.63 (100 -39.58) respectively. Conclusion: There is a tendency to oversize the impact of radiotherapy on the quality of life when there is a curative intent in patients with localized prostate cancer. Our study only demonstrated a clinically relevant difference in urinary incontinence, which allows us to suggest that most of the alterations in the quality of life could be secondary to natural changes in aging.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.