Publications by authors named "Ashwaq Al Olayan"

Introduction: Despite extensive studies of the impact of COVID-19 on patients with cancer, there is a dearth of information from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Our study aimed to report pertinent MENA COVID-19 and Cancer Registry (MCCR) findings on patient management and outcomes.

Methods: MCCR was adapted from the American Society of Clinical Oncology COVID-19 Registry to collect data specifically from patients with cancer and SARS-CoV-2 infection from 12 centers in eight countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, and Morocco.

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Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranked first among cancers reported in males and ranked third amongst females in Saudi Arabia. CRC cancer symptoms or symptoms secondary to treatment, such as diarrhea, constipation, fatigue and loss of appetite are very common and has significant negative effects on the quality of life (QoL).

Methods: This project was a cross-sectional study of colorectal cancer survivors diagnosed between 1 January 2015 and May 2017.

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Outbreaks of infectious etiology, particularly those caused by a novel virus that has no known treatment or vaccine, may result in the interruption of medical care provided to patients with cancer and put them at risk for undertreatment in addition to the risk of being exposed to infection, a life-threatening event among patients with cancer. This article describes the approach used to manage patients with cancer during a large-scale Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus hospital outbreak in Saudi Arabia to ensure continuity of care and minimize harm from treatment interruption or acquiring infection. The approach taken toward managing this high-risk situation (COVID-19) could be easily adopted by health care organizations and would be helpful to ensure readiness for the occurrence of future outbreaks of different infectious etiologies like those recent episodes of new coronavirus.

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Purpose: This study investigated the features of oncology patients with confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) at the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs-Riyadh during the outbreak of June 2015 to determine the clinical course and outcome of affected patients.

Methods: The patients' demographic information, cancer history, treatment pattern, information about MERS-coronavirus (CoV) infection, history of travel, clinical symptoms, test results, and outcome were collected and analyzed as part of a quality improvement project to improve the care and safety of our patients. Only patients with confirmed infection were included.

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Introduction: The implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines is one of the most effective interventions for improving quality of care. A gap between guidelines and clinical practice often exists, which may result in patients not receiving appropriate care. This project aimed at improving adherence to lung cancer guidelines at our institution.

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Background: Lung cancer management is getting more complex due to the rapid advances in all aspects of diagnostic and therapeutic options. Developing guidelines is critical to help practitioners provide standard of care.

Methods: The Saudi Lung Cancer Guidelines Committee (SLCGC) multidisciplinary members from different specialties and from various regions and healthcare sectors of the country reviewed and updated all lung cancer guidelines with appropriate labeling of level of evidence.

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Objective. To investigate the risk factors, clinical characteristics, treatment modalities, and outcomes in Saudi patients with HCC and propose points for early detection of the disease. Methods.

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Targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is an important treatment option for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These targeted therapies have been studied extensively in NSCLC in first line and subsequent lines, including maintenance in empiric fashion or in patients with tumors harboring the EGFR mutations. In this manuscript, we will review in details the evolutions of these targeted therapy in the management of NSCLC.

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Recognizing the significant prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Saudi Arabia, and the difficulties often faced in early and accurate diagnoses, evidence-based management, and the need for appropriate referral of HCC patients, the Saudi Association for the Study of Liver diseases and Transplantation (SASLT) formed a multi-disciplinary task force to evaluate and update the previously published guidelines by the Saudi Gastroenterology Association. These guidelines were later reviewed, adopted and endorsed by the Saudi Oncology Society (SOS) as its official HCC guidelines as well. The committee assigned to revise the Saudi HCC guidelines was composed of hepatologists, oncologists, liver surgeons, transplant surgeons, and interventional radiologists.

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Introduction: Gastric cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. Appropriate staging and treatment options relate to the stage of disease and performance status of the patient.

Case Report: Here we present the case of a 72 year old male, with an initial presentation of apparently locally advanced gastric cancer.

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