Application of Comprehensive Genomic Profiling-Based Next-Generation Sequencing Assay to Improve Cancer Care in a Developing Country.

PURPOSE: Identifying actionable oncogenic mutations have changed the therapeutic landscape in different types of tumors. This study investigated the utility of comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP), a hybrid capture-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay, in clinical practice in a developing country. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, CGP was performed on clinical samples from patients with different solid tumors recruited between December 2016 and November 2020, using hybrid capture-based genomic profiling, at the individual treating physicians' request in the clinical care for therapy decisions. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were estimated to characterize the time-to-event variables. RESULTS: Patients median age was 61 years (range: 14-87 years), and 64.7% were female. The most common histological diagnosis was lung primary tumors, with 90 patients corresponding to 52.9% of the samples (95% CI 45.4-60.4%). Actionable mutations with FDA-approved medications for specific alterations correspondent to tumoral histology were identified in 58 cases (46.4%), whereas other alterations were detected in 47 different samples (37.6%). The median overall survival was 15.5 months (95% CI 11.7 months-NR). Patients who were subjected to genomic evaluation at diagnosis reached a median overall survival of 18.3 months (95% CI 14.9 months-NR) compared to 14.1 months (95% CI 11.1 months-NR) in patients who obtained genomic evaluation after tumor progression and during standard treatment (P = .7). CONCLUSION: CGP of different types of tumors identifies clinically relevant genomic alterations that have benefited from targeted therapy and improve cancer care in a developing country to guide personalized treatment to beneficial outcomes of cancer patients.

Immunotherapy at any line of treatment improves survival in patients with advanced metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with chemotherapy (Quijote-CLICaP).

BACKGROUND: To compare survival outcomes of patients with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received immunotherapy as first-, second- or beyond line, versus matched patients receiving standard chemotherapy with special characterization of hyperprogressors. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 296 patients with unresectable/metastatic NSCLC treated with either, first-, second-, third- or fourth-line of immunotherapy was conducted. A matched comparison with a historical cohort of first-line chemotherapy and a random forest tree analysis to characterize hyperprogressors was conducted. RESULTS: Median age was 64 years (range 34-90), 40.2% of patients were female. A total of 91.2% of patients had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score ≤ 1. Immunotherapy as first-line was given to 39 patients (13.7%), second-line to 140 (48.8%), and as third-line and beyond to 108 (37.6%). Median overall survival was 12.7 months (95% CI 9.67-14 months) and progression-free survival (PFS) of 4.27 months (95% CI 3.97-5.0). Factors associated with increased survival included treatment with immunotherapy as first-line (P < 0.001), type of response (P < 0.001) and PD-L1 status (P = 0.0039). Compared with the historical cohort, immunotherapy proved to be superior in terms of OS (P = 0.05) but not PFS (P = 0.2). A total of 44 hyperprogressors were documented (19.8%, [95% CI 14.5-25.1%]). Leukocyte count over 5.300 cells/dL was present in both hyperprogressors and long-term responders. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who receive immune-checkpoint inhibitors as part of their treatment for NSCLC have better overall survival (OS) compared with matched patients treated with standard chemotherapy, regardless of the line of treatment.

Uso del Propóleo en odontología / Use of propolis in dentistry

El propóleo, es una sustancia compleja, de origen vegetal, que preparan las abejas a partir de la recolección de resinas producidas en algunas plantas (principalmente árboles). Una de las actividades más importantes del propóleo es su actividad antimicrobiana la cual se le atribuye básicamente a los flavonoides, es un compuesto bioactivo de grandes potencialidades para el tratamiento como antiséptico de aftas en la boca, herpes, amigdalitis, ayuda en la cicatrización de las heridas, antiinflamatorio, anticaries, cirugía oral, endodoncia, periodoncia y patología oral entre otras. Es importante destacar que existen diversos estudios enfocados en la eliminación de la caries dental relacionados con el propóleo con el fin de determinar la inhibición del crecimiento de varios microorganismos bucales, los cuales han sugerido que esta sustancia natural interfiere en la inhibición de la actividad enzimática de varias proteínas que so necesarias para el crecimiento y desarrollo de los mismos, contribuyendo a la posible solución de un problema de salud pública como es la caries dental. Esta revisión está basada en proporcionar una visión actualizada sobre el uso del propóleo en el área de odontología

The propolis is a complex substance of plant origin; is a resinous mixture that honey bees collect from tree buds and other plants, (primarily trees). Its antimicrobial activity is one of the most important ones, which is mainly attributed to flavonoids. Propolis is an effective bioactive compound used as an antiseptic for the treatment of aphte in the mouth, herpes and amygdalitis. It is also used for injury healing, as an anti- inflammatory, anticaries, oral surgery, endodontic, periodontics and oral pathology, among others. It is worth noting, there are several studies on the elimination of cavities relating to propolis in order to determine its effect as a growth inhibitor on numerous oral microorganisms. These studies make us believe that this natural substance interferes with the inhibition of the enzymatic activity of several proteins that are necessary for their growth and development of microorganisms, contributing as a solution for dental cavities which is a public health problem. This review is aimed at providing an updated viewpoint on the use of propolis in dentistry