Quality of Care Indicators for Head and Neck Cancers: The Experience of the European Project RARECAREnet.

Monitoring and improving quality of cancer care has become pivotal today. This is especially relevant for head and neck cancers since the disease is complex, it needs multi therapy, patients tend to be older, they tend to have comorbidities and limited social support. However, information on quality of care for head and neck cancers is scarce.

Expenditures on Oncology Drugs and Cancer Mortality-to-Incidence Ratio in Central and Eastern Europe.

Background: There is a steady decline in cancer mortality in Western Europe (WE), but this trend is not so obvious in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). One of the largest discrepancies between WE and CEE is the level of investment in cancer care. The objective of our analysis was to examine the correlation between mortality-to-incidence (M/I) ratio and expenditures on oncology drugs in CEE and WE.

Is low survival for cancer in Eastern Europe due principally to late stage at diagnosis?

Background: Cancer survival has persistently been shown to be worse for Eastern European and UK/Ireland patients than those of other European regions. This is often attributed to later stage at diagnosis. However, few stage-specific survival comparisons are available, so it is unclear whether poorer quality treatment or other factors also contribute.

Quality analysis of population-based information on cancer stage at diagnosis across Europe, with presentation of stage-specific cancer survival estimates: A EUROCARE-5 study.

Background: Cancer registries (CRs) are fundamental for estimating cancer burden, evaluating screening and monitoring health service performance. Stage at diagnosis-an essential information item collected by CRs-has been made available, for the first time, by CRs participating in EUROCARE-5. We analysed the quality of this information and estimated stage-specific survival across Europe for CRs with good data quality.

Histologic subtypes of ovarian carcinoma: selected diagnostic and classification problems in Bulgaria: is low hospital volume an issue?

Purpose: To provide an overview of the morphologic subtypes of ovarian carcinomas in Bulgaria in relation to current healthcare organization using Bulgarian National Cancer Registry data. Further, we investigated hospital volume as a factor influencing the quality of care for patients with ovarian cancer.

Methods: Bulgarian National Cancer Registry ovarian carcinoma data were retrieved (2009-2011) and distribution of histologic types was analyzed.

Survival of women with cancers of breast and genital organs in Europe 1999-2007: Results of the EUROCARE-5 study.

Background: Survival differences across Europe for patients with cancers of breast, uterus, cervix, ovary, vagina and vulva have been documented by previous EUROCARE studies. In the present EUROCARE-5 study we update survival estimates and investigate changes in country-specific and over time survival, discussing their relationship with incidence and mortality dynamics for cancers for which organised screening programs are ongoing.

Methods: We analysed cases archived in over 80 population-based cancer registries in 29 countries grouped into five European regions.

Data quality at the Bulgarian National Cancer Registry: An overview of comparability, completeness, validity and timeliness.

Reporting of neoplasms in Bulgaria has been compulsory since a directive from the Ministry of Health in 1951. The quality of cancer registry data has been estimated rather infrequently in past years. We aimed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the quality of the data at the Bulgarian National Cancer Registry (BNCR).

Radiation-induced breast cancer in women with Hodgkin's disease.

Aim And Background: The aim of this study is to analyze the main clinical and pathologic characteristics of radiation-induced breast carcinomas (BC) following treatment for Hodgkin's disease (HD) and to identify the risk factors for their induction. To create a mathematical model for the prediction of expected age at which a BC might develop based on the age at treatment for HD.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-nine cases of women with BC that developed after treatment for HD in puberty or adolescence were analyzed retrospectively.

Degree of tumor regression after preoperative chemo-radiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer-Preliminary results.

Aim: The aim of this investigation is to determine the degree of tumor regression by histopathological evaluation of surgical specimen after neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy for patients with stage IIIB rectal cancer.

Background: The standard therapy for rectal carcinoma is surgical, however, preoperative radiochemotherapy will play an increasing role especially in locally advanced disease. To estimate the prognosis and the effect of radiochemotherapy the postradiochemotherapeutical pathological features are important to assess.

[Vaccines for precancer and cancer of the uterine cervix. II. Therapeutic HPV vaccines].

Vaccines are one of the most powerful immunomodulators and represent perspective direction in the modern strategy of treatment of cancer. Among the gynecological malignancies cervical cancer is the most perspective localization for the implementation of specific therapeutic vaccine, by reason of clear viral ethiopathogenesis and important medical and social effect of the disease. Nowadays, the therapeutic HPV vaccines under research, for precancer and cancer of uterine cervix aimed to eliminate the persistent viral infection.

Short versus conventional preoperative radiotherapy of rectal cancer: indications.

Purpose: Preoperative radiotherapy (RT) at high-dose short-course or at conventional fractions for rectal cancer has proven effect in increasing the tumor control. The aim of this study was to test the impact of 2 different preoperative RT schemes on local recurrence, distant metastasis and survival rates and to defi ne the indications for each of them.

Patients And Methods: The study included 84 patients with biopsy-proven rectal adenocarcinoma of the middle and lower third, clinically staged T2-T4, N0-2, M0.

Treatment results and predictors of local recurrences after breast conserving therapy in early breast carcinoma.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to access the influence of several factors on local control (LC) and overall survival (OS) in patients with early breast cancer after breast-conserving therapy.

Patients And Methods: 122 early breast cancer patients with tumor (T) up to 3 cm and breast-conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or hormonal therapy were retrospectively analysed. Factors considered to carry possible significance in relation with local recurrence were classified into 3 groups that included characteristics of the patient, of the tumor and the non-surgical treatment methods applied.

Two cases of radiation-induced cancers 20 years after treatment of first malignancies.

Studies on radiation-induced breast and thyroid cancers have demonstrated that age at exposure is a major determinant of risk, with the greatest risk being for those irradiated as children and adolescents. In measuring the outcome of treatment, the ability to provide toxicity-free survival and minimal risk of second cancer may in future be regarded as important as achieving disease-free survival or local control. Herein we present two cases of secondary cancer with good treatment outcome that occurred 20 years after treatment for primary malignancies in childhood.

Electrochemotherapy of skin tumours: comparison of two electroporation protocols.

Purpose: To study the effect of electric pulses duration and number in a sequence for electrochemotherapy of primary non-melanoma skin tumours.

Patients And Methods: Two electroporation sequences were applied: sequence A, consisting of 16 biphasic pulses of 25+25 mus duration, spaced at 0.6 ms, with a duration-number product of 0.

Nanoparticles as drug carrier system of 5-fluorouracil in local treatment of patients with superficial basal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To develop an alternative nonsurgical treatment for basal cell carcinoma using colloidal systems as drug carriers. We investigated the possibility of polybutylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles loaded with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) to be applied in local treatment of patients with basal cell carcinoma.

Patients And Methods: 32 patients (mean age 74 years, range 56-90) with histologically confirmed superficial basal cell carcinoma were treated with 5-FU-loaded polybutyl-cyanoacrylate nanoparticles.

Bone scintigraphy in the monitoring of treatment effect of bisphosphonates in bone metastatic breast cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the possibilities of whole-body bone scintigraphy (WB BSc) in the monitoring of the effect of biphosphonate treatment in patients with breast cancer and bone metastases.

Patients And Methods: 51 breast cancer patients with bone metastases, aged from 33 to 73 years, were included.WB BSc was performed on a Siemens DIACAM gamma camera, 2-4 h after i.