Publications by authors named "Wendy Munoz-Montano"

Background: Traditionally, serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) has been used as a key biomarker for pancreatic cancer and recently other biomarkers which reflect the systemic immune and inflammatory responses also have been explored as potential prognostic factors. The study aims to evaluate the significance of pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and serum CA 19-9 as prognostic factor in pancreatic cancer patients.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted in 153 consecutive patients with pancreatic cancer in Instituto Nacional de Cancerología from 2013 to 2018.

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Background: Programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression is a predictive biomarker in patients with lung cancer, but its role in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) remains unclear. Evidence suggests that higher PD-L1 expression is correlated with worse survival. CALGB is the main scoring system used to predict the benefit of chemotherapy treatment.

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Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second cause of cancer death in the world and is estimated to have been responsible for almost 935,000 deaths during 2020.

Objective: Describe clinicopathological features, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in CRC patients under 30 years.

Method: This is a retrospective cohort study in patients under 30 years diagnosed with CRC.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the safety of using taxane-based chemotherapy for breast cancer during pregnancy, focusing on the risks for both mothers and newborns.
  • It involved 103 patients, primarily treated with paclitaxel and anthracyclines, with a median taxane initiation at 28 weeks of gestation.
  • Results showed a low incidence of severe adverse events, with a high live birth rate and generally favorable obstetric outcomes, supporting the use of taxanes during pregnancy when necessary.
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(1) Background: recent evidence suggests that long low-dose capecitabine regimens have a synergistic effect with endocrine therapy as aromatase inhibitors (AIs), and might increase overall survival for hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative, metastatic breast cancer compared to both treatments. We performed a retrospective study to confirm the efficacy and expand the safety data for capecitabine plus AI (a combination henceforth named XELIA) for this indication. (2) We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of 163 hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer patients who received either the XELIA regimen, capecitabine, or an aromatase inhibitor (AI) as single agents in first-line treatment.

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Background: Interindividual survival and recurrence rates in cases of locoregional colon cancer following surgical resection are highly variable. The aim of the present study was to determine whether elevated pre-operative and post-operative CEA values are useful prognostic biomarkers for patients with stage I-III colon cancer who underwent surgery with curative intent.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study in patients with histologically confirmed stage I-III primary colonic adenocarcinoma who underwent radical surgical resection at Mexico's National Cancer Institute, between January 2008 and January 2020.

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Background: After tumor resection, a preventive diverting loop ileostomy creation is a routine surgical procedure to prevent anastomotic leakage and infections and to preclude secondary surgeries. Despite its benefits, several studies have proposed potential complications that extend the disease course by impairing the feasibility of adjuvant chemotherapy and adherence.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of ileostomy complications on the adherence to adjuvant treatment and overall survival (OS) of colon cancer (CC) patients.

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Background: Survival and recurrence rates following locoregional colon cancer surgical resection are highly variable. Currently used tools to assess patient risk are still imperfect. In the present work, we evaluate, for the first time, the prognostic value of the recently developed HALP (hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet) index in Hispanic colon cancer patients.

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Background: Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but aggressive neoplasia that usually presents at advanced stages. Even though some advances have been achieved in the management of patients with MPM, this malignancy continuous to impose a deleterious prognosis for affected patients (12-18 months as median survival, and 5-10% 5-year survival rate), accordingly, the recognition of biomarkers that allow us to select the most appropriate therapy are necessary.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry semi-quantitative analysis was performed to evaluate four different biomarkers (ERCC1, RRM1, RRM2, and hENT-1) with the intent to explore if any of them was useful to predict response to treatment with continuous infusion gemcitabine plus cisplatin.

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Purpose: Pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) poses a clinical challenge and its prognosis remains controversial. During the pregnancy and postpartum periods, the breast undergoes biological events that may uniquely influence disease behavior and treatment response. This study aimed to assess if a PABC diagnosis influences survival compared to non-PABC.

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Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is rare and aggressive neoplasia, with a poor prognosis; furthermore, the monetary cost of its treatment represents a major challenge for many patients. The economic burden this malignancy imposes is underscored by the fact that asbestos exposure, which is the most frequent risk factor, is much more prevalent in the lower socioeconomic population of developing countries. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and cost of continuous infusion of low-dose Gemcitabine plus Cisplatin (CIGC) as a treatment strategy for patients with unresectable MPM.

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Chemo-radiotherapy and systemic therapies have proven satisfactory outcomes as standard treatments for various thoracic malignancies; however, adverse pulmonary effects, like pneumonitis, can be life-threatening. Pneumonitis is caused by direct cytotoxic effect, oxidative stress, and immune-mediated injury. Radiotherapy Induced Lung Injury (RILI) encompasses two phases: an early phase known as Radiation Pneumonitis (RP), characterized by acute lung tissue inflammation as a result of exposure to radiation; and a late phase called Radiation Fibrosis (RF), a clinical syndrome that results from chronic pulmonary tissue damage.

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Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is an important outcome measure in Oncology.

Aim Of The Study: To validate the Mexican-Spanish version of the QLQ-OV28 questionnaire to assess HRQL in women with ovarian cancer (OC).

Methods: The QLQ-C30 and QLQ-OV28 instruments were applied to women with OC attending a cancer center in Mexico.

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Purpose: Neutrophils are among the key cellular players in the inflammatory milieu produced in patients with breast cancer (BC), and strong evidence exists in terms of the prognostic value of assessing the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with BC. In this study we sought to determine whether the baseline NLR correlates with pathological complete response (pCR), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) in patients with locally advanced BC in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) setting.

Methods: We analyzed the pretreatment NLR from the first blood count of patients treated from 2007 to 2015 in terms of pCR, DFS, and OS in patients with locally advanced BC.

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Purpose: In lung cancer patients, radiation therapy modifies lung architecture, resulting in functional deterioration, which worsens symptoms and reduces quality of life.

Methods And Materials: A multicenter, prospective, longitudinal study was conducted in a cohort of patients with locally advanced and oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT). A wide array of pulmonary function tests (forced spirometry, body plethysmography, impulse oscillometry, carbon monoxide diffusing capacity, fraction of exhaled nitric oxide, arterial blood gases, and 6-minute walk test) were used to evaluate lung function at baseline; after radiation therapy; and at 6, 12, 24, and 48 weeks after CCRT.

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Background: Several breast cancer (BC) trials have adopted pathological complete response (pCR) as a surrogate marker of long-term treatment efficacy. In patients with luminal subtype, pCR seems less important for outcome prediction. BC is a heterogeneous disease, which is evident in residual tumors after neoadjuvant-chemotherapy (NAC).

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Purpose: Low-dose, prolonged infusion of gemcitabine has effects similar to standard doses in several cancers. We evaluated the toxicity and efficacy of low-dose gemcitabine in prolonged infusion plus cisplatin in patients with advanced pleural mesothelioma.

Methods: Patients with mesothelioma received gemcitabine (250 mg/m(2)) in a 6-h infusion plus cisplatin (35 mg/m(2)) on days 1 and 8 every three weeks.

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