RESUMOOBJETIVO. Identificar as possíveis fases de atraso na condução de pacientes com câncer de mama atendidas em um hospital público, desde a suspeita até o diagnóstico e o início do tratamento. MÉTODOS. Estudo retrospectivo, no qual foram analisados em pacientes com câncer de mama atendidas consecutivamente no Serviço de Oncologia do Hospital Estadual Mário Covas, durante o ano de 2006, os dados relativos aos intervalos de tempo transcorrido entre a suspeita, o diagnóstico e o início do tratamento adjuvante sistêmico. RESULTADOS. Sessenta e oito mulheres foram incluídas. A média de idade foi de 56,3 anos (desvio padrão: 12,2 anos). Entre os intervalos analisados, o maior atraso ocorreu entre a suspeita mamográfica de câncer e a realização da biópsia (mediana de 72 dias, variação de 4 a 1095 dias), sendo este significativamente maior (p<0,001) quando comparado aos demais intervalos analisados. Além disso, considerando particularmente este intervalo, verifica-se que foi significativamente maior nas pacientes com câncer de mama de estadio avançado, comparativamente àquelas de estadio inicial (p=0,014). CONCLUSÃO. Pacientes com câncer de mama tratadas em serviço público sofrem atrasos importantes, principalmente no período de diagnóstico de sua doença. Com base em nossos dados, otimizar o intervalo entre a mamografia e a obtenção da biópsia de lesões suspeitas parece ser a estratégia mais profícua. O tamanho do tumor, a presença ou ausência de receptores hormonais e a presença de linfonodos axilares e metástases são os mais consistentes indicadores prognósticos para mulheres com carcinoma mamário de estadio inicial 3 . O câncer de mama pode ser detectado pelo auto-exame das mamas e/ou pela realização de mamografia e/ou ultra-sonografia, devendo ser confirmado por meio da biópsia da lesão 3 . A biópsia deve conter todos os elementos necessários para o adequado manejo clínico da paciente sob o ponto de vista prognóstico e terapêutico 4 . Com este objetivo, realiza-se na avaliação pela imunoistoquímica a pesquisa da presença de receptores hormonais (estrógeno e progesterona) e do marcador c-erb-2 4 . O estadiamento da doença no momento da instituição do tratamento é um dos fatores mais importantes (se não o mais importante) na determinação prognóstica do paciente. Deste modo, atrasos que levem à demora diagnóstica e/ou terapêutica permitem o crescimento tumoral com potencial detrimento para as chances de cura dos pacientes. UNITERMOSO acesso e o tempo para o diagnóstico e tratamento do câncer de mama variam nas diversas regiões do país, dependendo de fatores geográficos e socioeconômicos. Estudo preliminar, realizado nos três serviços de oncologia clínica ligados à Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, em Santo André, mostrou que o atraso no diagnóstico do câncer de mama está, em grande parte, relacionado ao tempo que a paciente demora a procurar os serviços de saúde a partir da detecção do primeiro sintoma ou sinal (por exemplo, a palpação de nódulo ou outra alteração na mama) 5 . A partir do primeiro sintoma, a mediana de ...

In our analysis, TTC after surgery for ovarian cancer with curative intent was not associated with higher risk of disease recurrence or death. However, this association was influenced by the rate of optimal debulking and definition of "late" initiation of chemotherapy, so we must be careful when applying these data to patients with complete resection.

PurposePatients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) -positive metastatic tumors treated in the public health system in Brazil do not have access to trastuzumab. This study aimed to estimate the impact of the lack of access to anti-HER2 therapies on the mortality of these patients.MethodsOn the basis of published data, the number of patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer in 2016 who should receive anti-HER2 targeted therapy was estimated. Three different treatment groups were considered for this hypothetical cohort: chemotherapy alone, chemotherapy plus trastuzumab, and chemotherapy plus trastuzumab and pertuzumab. The number of patients alive after 2 years of follow-up was estimated on the basis of the efficacy results of the pivotal trials considering these interventions.ResultsIt was calculated that 2,008 women will be diagnosed with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer in Brazil in 2016. It was estimated that only 808 women would be alive in 2018 if they receive only chemotherapy (which is the treatment offered by the public health system). On the other hand, the bar rises to 1,408 women alive in 2018 if they receive chemotherapy plus trastuzumab and 1,576 women alive in 2018 if they receive the gold standard of chemotherapy plus trastuzumab and pertuzumab.ConclusionTrastuzumab is included in the WHO’s list of essential medications, but the Brazilian public health system does not yet provide this treatment to its population with advanced disease. The introduction of trastuzumab and pertuzumab would have a positive effect, preventing premature deaths in women with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer in Brazil.

Objective:To describe the flow and costs associated with the diagnosis and treatment of patients with breast cancer who come from the public healthcare system and were treated at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein.Methods:Between August 2009, and December 2011, 51 patients referred by the Unified Public Healthcare System (SUS) had access to Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein for diagnostic radiology, medical oncology, radiotherapy, and oncologic/ breast reconstruction surgery. The data were collected retrospectively from the hospital records, patient charts, pharmacy records, and from the hospital billing system.Results:The total sum spent for diagnosis and treatment of these 51 patients was US$ 1,457,500.00. This value encompassed expenses with a total of 85 hospitalizations, 2,875 outpatient visits, 16 emergency room visits, and all expenses associated with these stays at the hospital. The expenditure for treatment of each patient submitted to biopsy, breast conserving surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy without trastuzumab (a regime with taxane followed by anthracycline), radiotherapy, and 5 years of tamoxifen was approximately US$ 25,500.00.Conclusion:Strategies for cost-reduction of treatment in the private setting are necessary to enable future large-scale public-private partnerships in oncology.

Breast reduction surgery is a common procedure and the rate of incidental findings in the removed specimens varies between 0% and 4.6%. There are no guidelines about pathological evaluation of breast reduction surgery. We reviewed all pathology reports of patients undergoing breast reduction surgery in a single tertiary institution in Brazil from January 2008 to August 2014. Exclusion criteria were a personal history of breast cancer, unclear reason for mastectomy and incomplete data on the pathology report. We considered "relevant findings" flat epithelial atypia, atypical hyperplasia, carcinomas in situ and invasive carcinoma. Of 1672 specimens from breast reduction surgery, 783 met inclusion criteria. Median patient age was 40 (8-77), 91% underwent bilateral mastectomy and 57% of the specimens weighted less than 200 g. In 55% of cases, 4 or more paraffin blocks were sampled. There were 40 (5.1%) relevant findings and the most common was atypical lobular hyperplasia (16-2%). There were 3 invasive carcinomas (0.38%). In multivariate analysis, the only variables associated with a higher odds of relevant pathological findings were patient age ≥ 40 (OR 4.73 CI95% 1.98-11.3 p < 0.001) and sampling of ≥4 paraffin blocks from each specimen (OR 6.69 95% CI 2.25-19.9 p < 0.001). The incidence of pre-malignant and malignant lesions in specimens from breast reduction surgery is around 5%, but this risk is significantly higher for patients older than 40 years-old. Sampling at least 4 paraffin blocks from each specimen significantly increases detection rates.

SUMMARYGeriatricians and general practitioners often follow patients with metastatic prostate cancer. The epidemiology and basic treatment principles of metastatic prostate cancer are discussed aiming to update the topic for the non-oncologist. Hormone manipulation remains the basis of treatment, usually up to a second line of therapy. Selected cases are treated successfully with intermittent androgen ablation. When new hormone-independent clones arise, chemotherapy should be added to therapy that confers improved survival as well as better quality of life when based on taxanes. In specific situations, additional measures such as bisphosphonates and radiation therapy should be included in the treatment. As a rule, the public health system makes available the necessary medication to ensure treatment for the vast majority of patients in Brazil.

Objective To estimate the prevalence of abnormal glomerular filtration rate in elderly patients with solid tumors.Methods A retrospective study with patients aged >65 years diagnosed with solid tumors between January 2007 and December 2011 in a cancer center. The following data were collected: sex, age, serum creatinine at the time of diagnosis and type of tumor. Renal function was calculated using abbreviated Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formulae and then staged in accordance with the clinical practice guidelines published by the Working Group of the National Kidney Foundation.Results A total of 666 patients were included and 60% were male. The median age was 74.2 years (range: 65 to 99 years). The most prevalent diagnosis in the study population were colorectal (24%), prostate (20%), breast (16%) and lung cancer (16%). The prevalence of elevated serum creatinine (>1.0mg/dL) was 30%. However, when patients were assessed using abbreviated MDRD formulae, 66% had abnormal renal function, stratified as follows: 45% with stage 2, 18% with stage 3, 3% with stage 4 and 0.3% with stage 5.Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study to estimate the frequency of renal insufficiency in elderly cancer patients in Brazil. The prevalence of abnormal renal function among our cohort was high. As suspected, the absolute creatinine level does underestimate renal function impairment and should not be used as predictor of chemotherapy metabolism, excretion and consequent toxicity.

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