Publications by authors named "Ismael Ghanem"

Introduction: The initial SARS-CoV-2 pandemic wave in Spain in 2020 precipitated significant paradigm shifts in gastrointestinal oncology patient management. This study captures the "Zeitgeist" of this period by analyzing adaptive strategies, treatment modifications, and survival outcomes, leveraging a 3-year follow-up perspective to extract insights from this unprecedented experience.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study utilizing the RETUD-TTD registry, encompassing 703 patients across 19 Spanish centers in April 2020.

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Gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) is a significant global health issue with poor prognosis, despite advancements in treatment. Although molecular classifications, such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), provide valuable insights, their clinical utility remains limited. We performed a multi-layered functional analysis using TCGA RNA sequencing data to better define molecular subtypes and explore therapeutic implications.

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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by its poor prognosis. The current challenge remains the absence of predictive biomarkers. Cytokines are crucial factors in the pathogenesis and prognosis of PDAC.

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Background: The rising incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) among young patients is alarming. We aim to characterize the clinico-pathological features and outcomes of patients with early-onset CRC (EOCRC), as well as the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We included all patients with pathologically confirmed diagnoses of CRC at Hospital Universitario La Paz from October 2016 to December 2021.

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Background: Anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC) is an infrequent tumor whose treatment has not changed since the 1970s. The aim of this study is the identification of biomarkers allowing personalized treatments and improvement of therapeutic outcomes.

Methods: Forty-six paraffin tumor samples from ASCC patients were analyzed by whole-exome sequencing.

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GATA4 and GATA6 are transcription factors involved in the differentiation and development of PDAC. GATA6 expression is related to the classic molecular subtype, while its absence is related to the basal-like molecular subtype. The aim was to determine the clinical utility of IHC determination of GATA4 and GATA6 in a series of patients with resected PDAC.

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Despite its relative low incidence, PDAC is one of the most aggressive and lethal types of cancer, being currently the seventh leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with a 5-year survival rate of 10.8%. Taking into consideration the necessity to improve the prognosis of these patients, this research has been focused on the discovery of new biomarkers.

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Background: The prognosis of patients with stage II and stage III colon cancer is heterogeneous. Clinical and pathological characteristics, such as tumor budding, may help to further refine the recurrence risk. Methods: We included all the patients with localized colon cancer at Hospital Universitario La Paz from October 2016 to October 2021.

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Background: Patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer must cope with the negative effects of cancer and complications.

Aim: To evaluate psychological distress, quality of life, and coping strategies in patients with advanced colorectal cancer compared to non-colorectal cancer based on sex.

Methods: A prospective, transversal, multicenter study was conducted in 203 patients; 101 (50%) had a colorectal and 102 (50%) had digestive, non-colorectal advanced cancer.

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Objectives: Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) has been linked to greater psychological distress, whereas hope appears to act as a protective factor against in patients with cancer. The aim of this study is to analyse the modifying effect of uncertainty in the presence of anxiety and depression in patients with advanced lung cancer.

Methods: Multicentre, prospective, observational, cross-sectional study of 145 individuals with advanced lung cancer.

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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive disease with an overall 5-year survival rate of just 5%. A better understanding of the carcinogenesis processes and the mechanisms of the progression of PDAC is mandatory. Fifty-two PDAC patients treated with surgery and adjuvant therapy, with available primary tumors, normal tissue, preneoplastic lesions (PanIN), and/or lymph node metastases, were selected for the study.

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This study examines the mediating role of social support between anxious preoccupation and resilience in patients with cancer during COVID-19. NEOetic_SEOM is a prospective, multicenter study involving individuals with advanced, unresectable cancer who completed the following scales: Resilience (BCRS), Social Support (Duke-UNC-11), and anxious preoccupation subscale of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (M-MAC) before starting antineoplastic treatment. Between March 2020 and July 2021, 507 patients (55% male; mean age, 65) were recruited.

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The aim of this study was to compare physicians' and patients' estimates of risk of relapse and toxicity. A prospective, cross-sectional, multicenter study including 735 patients with cancer and 29 oncologists. Physicians' appraisals of risk of relapse with and without chemotherapy (27.

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Squamous cell carcinoma is the most frequent histologic type of anal carcinoma. The standard of care since the 1970s has been a combination of 5-fluorouracil, mitomycin C, and radiotherapy. This treatment is very effective in T1/T2 tumors (achieving complete regression in 80-90% of tumors).

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Background: The promoter hypermethylation of the methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase gene is a frequently used biomarker in daily clinical practice as it is associated with a favorable prognosis in glioblastoma patients treated with temozolamide. Due to the absence of adequately standardized techniques, international harmonization of the MGMT methylation biomarker is still an unmet clinical need for the diagnosis and treatment of glioblastoma patients.

Results: In this study we carried out a clinical validation of a quantitative assay for MGMT methylation detection by comparing a novel quantitative MSP using double-probe (dp_qMSP) with the conventional MSP in 100 FFPE glioblastoma samples.

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the main causes of cancer death in the elderly. The older patients constitute a heterogeneous group in terms of functional status, comorbidities, and aging-related conditions. Therefore, therapeutic decisions need to be individualized.

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Purpose: Long-term cancer survivors (LTCS) are a vulnerable and continued growing population. To date, only few studies have been conducted in the Spanish population; none of them with a comprehensive analysis of the most common problems identified for cancer survivors in order to improve their care and quality of life.

Methods: We conducted an observational descriptive study in 347 patients recruited between January 2015 and December 2016 from our newly created medical office for the specific care and follow-up of LTCS.

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Anal squamous cell carcinoma is a rare tumor. Chemo-radiotherapy yields a 50% 3-year relapse-free survival rate in advanced anal cancer, so improved predictive markers and therapeutic options are needed. High-throughput proteomics and whole-exome sequencing were performed in 46 paraffin samples from anal squamous cell carcinoma patients.

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Aim: VITAL, a phase II single-arm study, aimed to evaluate efficacy and safety of panitumumab addition to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), mitomycin-C (MMC) and radiotherapy (RT) in patients with localized squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCAC).

Methods: Adult, treatment-naïve SCCAC patients (Stage T2-T4, any N, M0) and ECOG-PS ≤2, received panitumumab (6 mg/kg, day 1 and Q2W; 8 weeks), 5-FU (1000 mg/m /d, days 1-4 and 29-32), MMC (10 mg/m , days 1 and 29) and RT 45 Gy (1.8 Gy/fraction) to the primary tumor and mesorectal, iliac and inguinal lymph nodes, plus 10-15 Gy boost dose to the primary tumor and affected lymph nodes.

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Combination treatment (chemotherapy plus immune checkpoint blockade [ICB]) has shown promising activity in terms of efficacy, but it has been suggested that its toxicity profile is less favorable compared to monotherapy. We conducted a meta-analysis of published randomized clinical trials comparing combination treatment to monotherapy (chemotherapy or ICB) in patients with metastatic solid tumors. Differences in rates of safety issues (all-grade adverse events, grade 3/4 adverse events, treatment-related deaths, treatment discontinuations) between groups were estimated.

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Introduction: The aim was to analyze the effects of pessimism, depression, fatigue, and pain on functional health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with resected, non-advanced breast cancer.

Methods: A prospective, multicenter study was conducted in 440 breast cancer patients. They completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QoL-Questionnaire-Core-30 (EORTC-QLQ-C30), and the Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R).

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), evaluate the measurement invariance with respect to sex, age, and tumor location, as well as analyze associations between life satisfaction and socio-demographic and clinical variables among individuals with resected, non-advanced cancer.

Methods: A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to explore the dimensionality of the scale and test invariance across gender, age, and tumor localization in a prospective, multicenter cohort of 713 patients who completed the following scales: SWLS, Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18).

Results: Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that the SWLS is an essentially unidimensional instrument, providing accurate scores: both McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha estimates were 0.

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This study sought to assess the psychometric properties of the 9-item Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) in patients with resected, non-metastatic cancer and eligible for adjuvant chemotherapy. A total of 568 patients were recruited from a multi-institutional, prospective, transversal study. Patients answered the SDM-Q-9 after visiting their medical oncologist who, in turn, completed the SDM-Q-Physician version.

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Context: Patients with gastrointestinal cancers are at high risk for functional problems that are generally accompanied by a decline in their overall status and intense psychological distress.

Objectives: This study compares the level of functioning in individuals with gastric cancer (GC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) and analyzes whether improved functioning can be explained by patients' psychological status and coping strategies.

Methods: This is a prospective, transversal, multicenter study in patients with nonmetastatic GC and CRC before initiating adjuvant chemotherapy.

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