Clinical Outcomes of Patients With B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Real-World Settings: Findings From the Hemato-Oncology Latin America Observational Registry Study.

Purpose: Real-world evidence on non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) management in Latin America is currently lacking. The objective of this study was to describe treatment characteristics and outcomes of NHL in Latin America.

Methods: A total of 2,967 patients with NHL with aggressive and indolent subtypes, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL), and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, with incident or prevalent diagnosis between 2006 and 2015, were retrospectively identified using clinical charts registered in the Hemato-Oncology Latin America Observational Registry.

Results of the daratumumab monotherapy early access treatment protocol in patients from Brazil with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Introduction: Daratumumab is a CD38-targeting monoclonal antibody with established efficacy and safety in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). We report results of an early access protocol (EAP) of daratumumab monotherapy for RRMM in a cohort of Brazilian patients.

Methods: Patients with RRMM and ≥3 prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory drug (IMiD), or who were double refractory to both a PI and IMiD received daratumumab, 16 mg/kg, intravenously weekly for 8 weeks, biweekly for 16 weeks, and every 4 weeks thereafter until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, loss of clinical benefit, or study conclusion or if daratumumab became available with reimbursement.

Hormone receptor-negative as a predictive factor for pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant therapy in breast cancer.

Objective: To define a predictive factor for pathologic complete response, compare the oncologic outcomes associated with the degree of pathologic response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and to analyze pathologic complete response as a prognostic factor for overall survival and progression-free survival.

Methods: A retrospective study of patients admitted to Hospital Estadual Mário Covas and Hospital Anchieta from 2008 to 2012, with locally advanced breast cancer. Hormone receptor status, HER2 status, histologic and nuclear grade, age upon diagnosis and histological type of the tumor were analyzed.

Application of prognostic score IPSET-thrombosis in patients with essential thrombocythemia of a Brazilian public service.

Introduction:: In patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET), the vascular complications contribute to morbidity and mortality. To better predict the occurrence of thrombotic events, an International Prognostic Score for Thrombosis in Essential Thrombocythemia (IPSET-thrombosis) has recently been proposed. We present the application of this score and compare its results with the usual classification system.

Fatigue in Patients With Advanced Terminal Cancer Correlates With Inflammation, Poor Quality of Life and Sleep, and Anxiety/Depression.

Purpose: To assess which laboratory and clinical factors are associated with fatigue in patients with terminal cancer.

Methods: We evaluated 51 patients with advanced incurable solid tumors using the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ) and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) scale for fatigue; the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-BR) for sleep quality; the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for anxiety and depression; the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Core Quality of Life Questionnaire, Version 3.0 (QLQ C-30); and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) for quality of life.

Epidemiological profile and prognostic factors in patients with lung cancer.

Objective: To describe the epidemiological profile of patients with lung cancer treated at a public tertiary referral hospital specializing in oncology, and to explore variables that may be related to the overall survival (OS) of these patients.

Method: Data from the medical records of all patients with invasive lung cancer consecutively seen at the Oncology Department of Hospital Estadual Mário Covas between August 2008 and December 2013 were extracted. The information obtained was submitted to statistical analysis.

Adjuvant treatment delay in breast cancer patients.

Background: to evaluate if time between surgery and the first adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy or hormone therapy) in patients with breast cancer is a risk factor for lower overall survival (OS).

Method: data from a five-year retrospective cohort study of all women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer at an academic oncology service were collected and analyzed.

Results: three hundred forty-eight consecutive women were included.

The Profile of Heparanase Expression Distinguishes Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma from Benign Neoplasms.

Introduction: The search for a specific marker that could help to distinguish between differentiated thyroid carcinoma and benign lesions remains elusive in clinical practice. Heparanase (HPSE) is an endo-beta-glucoronidase implicated in the process of tumor invasion, and the heparanase-2 (HPSE2) modulates HPSE activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of heparanases in the development and differential diagnosis of follicular pattern thyroid lesions.

Applicability of modified Glasgow Prognostic Score in the assessment of elderly patients with cancer: A pilot study.

Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between inflammatory parameters through the modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) and other clinical characteristics of elderly patients with cancer, including frailty evaluated by the Edmonton Frailty Scale (EFS).

Materials And Methods: We included patients from the oncology service at Faculdade de Medicina do ABC with a confirmed diagnosis of solid tumor aged 65 years or more at diagnosis. Patients were assessed by applying the translated and validated to Portuguese version of the EFS and also had blood sample collection for the evaluation of C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin for calculation of the mGPS.

From one side to the other: what is essential? Perception of oncology patients and their caregivers in the beginning of oncology treatment and in palliative care.

Objective: To evaluate the perception of oncology patients and their caregivers upon diagnosis and beginning of the therapy and during palliative care.

Methods: A cross-sectional study at the oncology and palliative care outpatients clinics of the Faculdade de Medicina do ABC. Clinical and demographic data from patients and their caregivers were collected and questionnaires regarding the elements considered important in relation to the treatment were applied.

Uncaria tomentosa (cat's claw) improves quality of life in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Objective: Cat's claw (Uncaria tomentosa) is a native Amazon plant that exhibits anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. We wanted to assess its activity for symptom management of terminal cancer patients.

Methods: This prospective phase II study assessed the effects of a 100-mg dose of a dry extract of U.

Meta-analysis of adjunctive non-NK1 receptor antagonist medications for the control of acute and delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

Purpose: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a distressing chemotherapy-induced symptom that may adversely impact the quality of life of cancer patients.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search of the Pubmed, Bireme, and Cochrane databases for randomized clinical trials that were published in English and that evaluated the combination of adjunctive non-neurokinin 1 (NK1) antagonist drugs (i.e.

Carbamazepine for prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a pilot study.

Context And Objective: Nausea and vomiting are major inconveniences for patients undergoing chemotherapy. Despite standard preventive treatment, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) still occurs in approximately 50% of these patients. In an attempt to optimize this treatment, we evaluated the possible effects of carbamazepine for prevention of CINV.

Multiple myeloma: five-year experience at a University Hospital.

Objective: To present a descriptive analysis of patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma, correlating it with mortality.

Methods: A retrospective study that analyzed consecutive patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma under follow-up at the Faculdade de Medicina do ABC from 2006 to 2010.

Results: The median age was 58.

Immunohistochemistry as an important tool in biomarkers detection and clinical practice.

The immunohistochemistry technique is used in the search for cell or tissue antigens that range from amino acids and proteins to infectious agents and specific cellular populations. The technique comprises two phases: (1) slides preparation and stages involved for the reaction; (2) interpretation and quantification of the obtained expression. Immunohistochemistry is an important tool for scientific research and also a complementary technique for the elucidation of differential diagnoses which are not determinable by conventional analysis with hematoxylin and eosin.

Effectiveness of guaraná (Paullinia cupana) for postradiation fatigue and depression: results of a pilot double-blind randomized study.

Context And Objective: Guaraná (Paullinia cupana) has been used medicinally for centuries. The aim of this study is evaluate the effectiveness of guaraná in the treatment of postradiation depression and fatigue.

Design And Setting: This study had a double-blind randomized design with crossover between experimental arms, at Faculdade de Medicina da Fundação do ABC.

[Analysis of delays in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients at a public hospital].

Background: To identify potential delays in the management of patients with breast cancer examined at a public hospital, from time of suspicion until diagnosis and beginning of treatment.

Methods: Retrospective study which analyzed data related to time elapsed in different intervals between suspicion, diagnosis and onset of systemic cancer-directed treatments, of consecutive breast cancer patients cared for at the medical oncology clinic of the Mario Covas Hospital during 2006.

Results: Sixty-eight women, with a mean age of 56.

[Pulmonary hamartoma as a differential diagnosis of breast cancer metastasis: case report].

We present the case of a 60-year-old female patient who had been in menopause for 14 years and presented a pulmonary nodule on chest X-ray diagnosed in the postoperative follow-up evaluation of breast cancer. The patient had a history of mastectomy and ipsilateral axillary lymphadenectomy for invasive ductal breast carcinoma, as well as of hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and adjuvant radiotherapy. After thoracoscopic nodulectomy, the frozen section analysis revealed a pulmonary hamartoma.

[Positive/total dissected lymph nodes ratio as a prognostic factor in colon cancer].

Background: To evaluate the prognostic value of the ratio between positive and total dissected lymph nodes in patients with colon cancer who underwent primary tumor surgical resection.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of consecutive patients with colon cancer treated at hospitals affiliated to the ABC Foundation School of Medicine, Santo André. Demographic data were collected as well as information on colon cancer, treatment and clinical outcomes.

Multivitamins do not improve radiation therapy-related fatigue: results of a double-blind randomized crossover trial.

Background: Fatigue is a common symptom in cancer patients receiving radiation therapy.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a double-blind randomized crossover trial of multivitamins versus placebo in patients with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy to evaluate fatigue and quality of life.

Results: : We randomized 40 patients to either placebo or Centrum Silver.

Typical bronchopulmonary carcinoid tumors: a ramifying bronchial presentation with metastatic behavior.

Bronchopulmonary typical carcinoid tumors (BTCT) are neuroendocrine neoplasms with histologic low grade characteristics considered benign. However, despite reassuring histologic classification, some of them demonstrate an aggressive nature and metastatic behavior. During a not yet concluded study aiming at establishing criteria to predict this metastatic behavior, three uncommon cases were observed.