BACKGROUND Perioperative fluorouracil plus leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel (FLOT) improves prognosis in locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC). Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte (LMR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte (PLR) ratios are prognostic biomarkers but not predictive factors. AIM To assess blood ratios’ (NLR, LMR and PLR) potential predictive response to FLOT and survival outcomes in resectable LAGC patients. METHODS This was a multicentric retrospective study investigating the clinical potential of NLR, LMR, and PLR in resectable LAGC patients, treated with at least one preoperative FLOT cycle, from 12 Portuguese hospitals. Means were compared through non-parametric Mann-Whitney tests. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis defined the cut-off values as: High PLR > 141 for progression and > 144 for mortality; high LMR > 3.56 for T stage regression (TSR). Poisson and Cox regression models the calculated relative risks/hazard ratios, using NLR, pathologic complete response, TSR, and tumor regression grade (TRG) as independent variables, and overall survival (OS) as the dependent variable. RESULTS This study included 295 patients (mean age, 63.7 years; 59.7% males). NLR was correlated with survival time ( r = 0.143, P = 0.014). PLR was associated with systemic progression during FLOT ( P = 0.022) and mortality ( P = 0.013), with high PLR patients having a 2.2-times higher risk of progression [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.89-5.26] and 1.5-times higher risk of mortality (95%CI: 0.92-2.55). LMR was associated with TSR, and high LMR patients had a 1.4-times higher risk of achieving TSR (95%CI: 1.01-1.99). OS benefit was found with TSR ( P = 0.015) and partial/complete TRG ( P < 0.001). Patients without TSR and with no evidence of pathological response had 2.1-times (95%CI: 1.14-3.96) and 2.8-times (95%CI: 1.6-5) higher risk of death. CONCLUSION Higher NLR is correlated with longer survival time. High LMR patients have a higher risk of decreasing T stage, whereas high PLR patients have higher odds of progressing under FLOT and dying. Patients with TSR and a pathological response have better OS and lower risk of dying.
The biomarker concordance between core needle biopsy (CNB) and surgical specimen (SS), in breast cancer, has long been a matter of discussion because of its influence on oncologic treatment choice. Particularly, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) status is quite important, because of the impact on breast cancer classification and target therapy. Many factors could influence the difference in biomarker status between samples, such as the technic itself, sample procedures and intratumoral heterogeneity. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) can also contribute to this variation and should be taken into consideration. We report a clinical case of a 33-year-old man who was diagnosed with right breast cancer, initially Her2 negative in the CNB. Therefore, the NAC was completed without anti-Her2 treatment. Later, after the mastectomy, revision of the SS was found to be positive for Her2, after the silver in situ hybridization (SISH) technique. Consequently, the patient lost the chance of doing anti-Her2 therapy in the neoadjuvant setting, reducing his possibility to achieve a complete pathologic response and later jeopardizing his clinical outcome.
Extramammary Paget Disease (EMPD) is an often-misdiagnosed rare disorder, whose cause remains unknown. Diagnosis is confirmed by skin biopsy. Primary treatment for EMPD is surgery. Recurrence is common in the first two years and prognosis is good if the disease is localized and there is no underlying associated cancer. Patients with invasive and metastatic EMPD are uncommon and exhibit a poor prognosis, even when there is good response to a first chemotherapy line. Multiple chemotherapeutic regimens, with varying levels of success, have been attempted, but standard of care is not established. The central nervous system seems to be a common metastatic site with better survival than visceral metastasis.We report a case of metastatic EMPD that addresses the difficulties associated with the treatment of this rare disease, that has no current guidelines.
Aromatase inhibitors (AI) are extensively used as adjuvant endocrine therapy in post-menopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer (HR+ EBC), but their impact on bone health is not negligible. This work aimed to assess bone loss, fracture incidence, and risk factors associated with these events, as well as the prognostic influence of fractures. We have conducted a retrospective cohort study of women with HR+ EBC under adjuvant therapy with AI, during a 3-year period. Four-hundred-and-fifty-one eligible women were reviewed (median age 68 years). Median time under AI was 40 months. A fracture event occurred in 8.4%, mostly in the radium and femoral neck and in older women (mean 74 vs. 68 years, p = 0.006). Age (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.01–1.07, p = 0.024) and time under AI (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.00–1.04, p = 0.037) were independent predictors of fracture, with a fair discrimination (AUC 0.71). Analysis of disease-free survival according to fracture event varied between groups, disfavoring the fracture cohort (at 73 months, survival 78.6%, 95% CI, 47.6–92.4 vs. 95.6%, 95% CI, 91.2–97.8, p = 0.027). The multivariate model confirmed the prognostic impact of fracture occurrence (adjusted HR of 3.17, 95% CI 1.10–9.11; p = 0.032). Bone health is often forgotten, despite its great impact in survivorship. Our results validate the pathophysiologic link between EBC and bone metabolism, which translates into EBC recurrence. Further research in this area may help refine these findings. Moreover, early identification of women at higher risk for fractures is warranted.
Prostate cancer is the second most frequent malignancy in men worldwide and the fifth leading cause of death. Dermatomyositis (DM) is a rare idiopathic inflammatory myopathy characterized by musculocutaneous manifestations. However, DM can also present as a paraneoplastic syndrome of an underlying neoplasm. We report a case of a 65-year-old man diagnosed with prostate adenocarcinoma in the setting of severe dysphagia, muscle weakness and a facial erythematous rash. At first, the DM-related symptoms resolved with the initial treatment for the underlying malignancy. Yet, they flared up as the tumor progressed. To sum up, DM is a rare systemic disorder with unknown etiology. There is a well-established association between DM and malignancy. Malignancy-headed therapy can improve DM manifestations and the recurrence of DM symptoms may act as an early warning of malignancy relapse.
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