The Challenges and Opportunities of the Implementation of Comprehensive Genomic Profiling in Everyday Clinical Practice with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: National Results from Croatia.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has become the best example of precision oncology's impact on outcomes in everyday clinical practice, significantly changing the expectations of all stakeholders, including medical professionals, society, and most importantly, patients. Consequently, the implementation of the precision oncology concept in medical systems, in order to achieve optimal and proven curative effects in NSCLC, is imperative. In this study, we investigated the development, challenges, and results associated with the implementation of precision oncology in NSCLC on a national level in Croatia.

HSP70 In triple negative breast cancer: Prognostic value and clinical significance.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has the worst prognosis and the highest immunogenic potential of all breast cancer subtypes. It is characterized by a lack of estrogen and progesterone receptors as well as HER2. A major component of the tumor microenvironment (TME) of TNBC is tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs).

Comprehensive Genomic Profiling in the Management of Ovarian Cancer-National Results from Croatia.

Today, in the era of precision medicine, the determination of genomic instability or other potentially targetable mutations, along with BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, is a crucial component of the diagnosis and treatment management of advanced ovarian cancer. Advanced technologies such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) have enabled comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) analysis to become more feasible for routine use in daily clinical work. Here, we present the results for the first two years of an analysis of patients with advanced ovarian cancer on a national level.

Spiritual Well-Being for Croatian Cancer Patients: Validation and Applicability of the Croatian Version of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32.

Spiritual well-being is a recognized predictor of health-related quality of life in palliative patients. No research in Croatia has yet addressed this field. This study, the first of its kind in Croatia, validated a Croatian translation of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32 measure of spiritual well-being with curative Croatian oncology patients and assessed its use and value.

Precision Oncology in Metastatic Uterine Cancer; Croatian First-Year Experience of the Comprehensive Genomic Profiling in Everyday Clinical Practice.

Comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) is gradually becoming an inevitable part of the everyday oncology clinical practice. The interpretation and optimal implementation of the results is one of the hot topics of modern-day oncology. According to the recent findings, uterine cancer harbors a high level of gene alterations but is still insufficiently explored.

The relevance of macrocytosis induction during neoadjuvant dose-dense chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

The aim of this study was to explore the red blood cell changes that occur during neoadjuvant dose-dense chemotherapy (NAC) of breast cancer. Also, we investigated the role of macrocytosis as a predictive biomarker for pathological complete response and disease-free survival (DFS) in these patients. A retrospective analysis of 82 breast cancer patients' data treated with anthracycline-cyclophosphamide-paclitaxel (AC-T) NAC in three oncology institutions in south Croatia from 2013 to 2020 was carried out.

Real-World Efficacy and Safety of Bevacizumab in the First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Cervical Cancer: A Cohort Study in the Total Population of Croatian Patients.

Background: Although today it is almost preventable, cervical cancer still represents a significant cancer burden, especially in some developing parts of the world. Since the introduction of bevacizumab in the first-line treatment of metastatic disease, improvements of the outcomes were noted. However, results from randomized controlled trials are often hard to recreate in the real-world setting.

COVID-19 Pandemic Effects on Breast Cancer Diagnosis in Croatia: A Population- and Registry-Based Study.

Background: Our objective was to assess the effects of COVID-19 antiepidemic measures and subsequent changes in the function of the health care system on the number of newly diagnosed breast cancers in the Republic of Croatia.

Subjects, Materials, And Methods: We performed a retrospective, population- and registry-based study during 2020. The comparator was the number of patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer during 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Is it too expensive to fight cancer? Analysis of incremental costs and benefits of the Croatian National Plan Against Cancer.

This cost-effectiveness study analyses the expected impacts of activities proposed by the Croatian National Plan Against Cancer (NPAC) on cancer incidence and survival rates, as related to their respective costs. We evaluated the impact of the NPAC on two main outcomes, namely, reduced incidence and the improved survival of cancer patients, expressed as life years gained (LYGs), which enabled the calculation of incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) in the form of cost per LYG. In the analysis of costs, we considered both the direct costs of NPAC activities as well as the wider indirect societal costs of cancer, thus permitting the calculation of the ICER both from the narrower national health insurer's perspective (accounting only for the direct costs) and the wider societal perspective (accounting both for the direct and indirect costs).

Impact of HER2 receptor status on axillary nodal burden in patients with non-luminal A invasive ductal breast carcinoma.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy in women.

Aim: To assess the impact of HER2 status on axillary lymph node (ALN) involvement in patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type (IDC-NST) both at diagnosis and during the 4-year postoperative period.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively included 375 women with an early clinical stage of non-luminal IDC-NST who between 2007 and 2013 underwent breast surgery at a clinical hospital.

Recurrent amelanotic melanoma of nasal cavity: Biological variability and unpredictable behavior of mucosal melanoma. A case report.

The aim of this report is to present a case of a patient with a recurrent nasal cavity amelanotic melanoma (AM), with emphasis on diagnosis and therapy options of this clinical entity. A 65-year-old female patient presented with pain in the right cheek region and nasal obstruction. In 2013, she was diagnosed with mucosal melanoma (MM) of the left nasal cavity.

Kaposi's sarcoma in an HIV-negative chronic lymphocytic leukemia patient without immunosuppressive therapy: A case report.

Kaposi's sarcoma is a neoplasm of endothelial cells. That vascular tumor is usually limited to the skin, but it may involve mucous membranes, visceral organs, and lymph nodes. Serological evidence has shown that human herpesvirus 8 infection is required for the development of Kaposi's sarcoma.

Bone health and adherence to vitamin D and calcium therapy in early breast cancer patients on endocrine therapy with aromatase inhibitors.

Objectives: Randomized trials involving aromatase inhibitors (AIs) in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer patients have reported increased osteoporosis risk. Bone loss can be reduced with appropriate life style, vitamin D and calcium supplements, and with bisphosphonate therapy. The aim of this analysis was to investigate adherence to vitamin D and calcium in postmenopausal breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant non-steroidal AIs, and oncologists' adherence to the bone health guidelines.

[Analysis of sentinel lymph node in early breast cancer patient - Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka].

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is an accurate method for the detection of axillary metastases in early breast cancer patients and is of value as a replacement for axillary dissection. However, variations in the methods and protocols used for the pathological evaluation of SLN exist in everyday practice. Therefore, standardization how to detect, dissect, process, stain, assess and report SNL is required in order to stratify patients into adequate prognostic groups.

[Clinical recommendations for diagnosing, treatment and monitoring patients with non-small cell lung cancer].

In Croatia, lung cancer is the most common malignant disease among male population and the third common among female population where 85% of patients have non-small cell lung cancer. Due to significance of this disease it is necessary to define and implement standardized approach for diagnostic and treatment algorithm as well to patients monitoring. Several multidisciplinary sessions were organized in achieving this goal.

Evaluation of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer in Primorsko-Goranska and Istarska County--a twenty years retrospective study.

Colorectal cancer is the second most common malignant disease in developed countries, with about one million new cases worldwide every year, accompanied with high mortality rate. We examined the survival rate and recurrence (occurrence of distant metastases and/or local recurrence) of patients with colorectal cancer in Primorsko-Goranska and Istarska County who received adjuvant chemotherapy, compared to those who did not in the period since 1980. until 1999.

The "round block" surgical technique in the management of multicentric fibroadenomas.

The "round block" surgical technique in the treatment of a female patient with multiple, multicentric fibroadenomas in both breasts is presented. The advantages of this technique for patients with multicentric benign breast lesions are minimal postoperative scar and a favourable aesthetic result. Breast dimensions and the areolar diameter were measured in 203 subjects of Primorsko-Goranska county during examination in the Out-Patient Hospital for Breast Diseases, including the operated patient.

Lung cancer and environmental chemical exposure: a review of our current state of knowledge with reference to the role of hormones and hormone receptors as an increased risk factor for developing lung cancer in man.

Lung cancer is a dominant cause of cancer mortality. The etiology of lung cancer is mainly related to cigarette smoking, airborne genotoxic carcinogens, and arsenic, but its sex-specific incidence suggests that other mechanisms, such as hormones, may also be involved in the process of carcinogenesis. A number of agents commonly present in the living environment can have dual biological effects: not only are they genotoxic / carcinogenic, but they are also hormonally active as xenoestrogens.