Complete pathological response in patients with HER2 positive breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant therapy in Colombia / Respuesta patológica completa de pacientes con cáncer de mama HER2 positivo tratadas con quimioterapia neoadyuvante en Colombia.

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and the leading cause of death by cancer in women in Colombia. Approximately 15 to 20% of breast cancers overexpress HER2. Objective: To analyze the relationship between multiple clinical and histological variables and pathological complete response in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant therapy in a specialized cancer center in Colombia. Materials and methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of non-metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant therapy between 2007 and 2020 at the Instituto de Cancerología Las Americas Auna (Medellín, Colombia). Assessed parameters were tumor grade, proliferation index, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2 status, type of neoadjuvant therapy, pathologic complete response rates, and overall survival. Results: Variables associated with low pathologic complete response rates were tumor grades 1-2 (OR = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.37-0.81; p = 0.03), estrogen receptor positivity (OR =0.65; 95%; CI = 0.43-0.97; p=0.04), and progesterone receptor positivity (OR = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.29-0.65; p = 0.0001). HER2 strong positivity (score 3+) was associated with high pathological complete response rates (OR = 3.3; 95% CI = 1.3-8.35; p=0.013). Five-year overall survival was 91.5% (95% CI = 82.6-95.9) in patients with pathological complete response and 73.6% (95% CI = 66.4-79.6) in patients who did not achieve pathological complete response (p = 0.001). Additionally, the pathological complete response rate was three times higher in patients receiving combined neoadjuvant chemotherapy with anti-HER2 therapy than in those with chemotherapy alone (48% versus 16%). Conclusions: In patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, tumor grade 3, estrogen receptor negativity, progesterone receptor negativity, strong HER2 positivity (score 3+), and the use of the neoadjuvant trastuzumab are associated with higher pathological complete response rates.

Complete pathological response in patients with HER2 positive breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant therapy in Colombia / Respuesta patológica completa de pacientes con cáncer de mama HER2 positivo tratadas con quimioterapia neoadyuvante en Colombia

Introduction. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and the leading cause of death by cancer in women in Colombia. Approximately 15 to 20% of breast cancers overexpress HER2. Objective. To analyze the relationship between multiple clinical and histological variables and pathological complete response in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant therapy in a specialized cancer center in Colombia. Materials and methods. We performed a retrospective analysis of non-metastatic HER2- positive breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant therapy between 2007 and 2020 at the Instituto de Cancerología Las Americas Auna (Medellín, Colombia). Assessed parameters were tumor grade, proliferation index, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2 status, type of neoadjuvant therapy, pathologic complete response rates, and overall survival. Results. Variables associated with low pathologic complete response rates were tumor grades 1-2 (OR = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.37-0.81; p = 0.03), estrogen receptor positivity (OR = 0.65; 95%; CI = 0.43-0.97; p=0.04), and progesterone receptor positivity (OR = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.29-0.65; p = 0.0001). HER2 strong positivity (score 3+) was associated with high pathological complete response rates (OR = 3.3; 95% CI = 1.3-8.35; p=0.013). Five-year overall survival was 91.5% (95% CI = 82.6-95.9) in patients with pathological complete response and 73.6% (95% CI = 66.4-79.6) in patients who did not achieve pathological complete response (p = 0.001). Additionally, the pathological complete response rate was three times higher in patients receiving combined neoadjuvant chemotherapy with anti- HER2 therapy than in those with chemotherapy alone (48% versus 16%). Conclusion. In patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, tumor grade 3, estrogen receptor negativity, progesterone receptor negativity, strong HER2 positivity (score 3+), and the use of the neoadjuvant trastuzumab are associated with higher pathological complete response rates.

Introducción. El adenocarcinoma de seno es el tipo de cáncer más frecuente y con mayor tasa de mortalidad asociada en mujeres en Colombia. Aproximadamente entre el 15 al 20 % de estos cánceres sobreexpresan el gen HER2. Objetivo. Analizar las asociaciones existentes entre múltiples variables clínicas e histológicas con respecto a la respuesta patológica completa en pacientes con cáncer de mama HER2 positivo que fueron tratadas con quimioterapia neoadyuvante en un centro especializado en el tratamiento del cáncer en Colombia. Materiales y métodos. Se realizó un análisis retrospectivo de las pacientes con cáncer de mama HER2 positivo, no metastásicas, que recibieron quimioterapia neoadyuvante entre el 2007 y el 2020 en el Instituto de Cancerología Las Américas Auna (Medellín, Colombia). Se evaluaron los parámetros de grado tumoral, índice de proliferación, estatus de receptores de estrógeno y de progesterona, tipo de quimioterapia neoadyuvante recibida, tasas de respuesta patológica completa y supervivencia global. Resultados. Las variables asociadas con tasas de respuesta patológica completa más bajas fueron grados tumorales 1-2 (OR = 0,55; IC 95% = 0,37-0,81; p= 0,03), positividad de receptores de estrógeno (OR = 0,65; IC 95 % = 0,43-0,97; p = 0,04) y positividad de receptores de progesterona (OR = 0,44; IC 95 % = 0,29-0,65; p = 0,0001). La positividad fuerte para HER2 (puntaje 3+) se asoció a tasas de respuesta patológica completa más altas (OR = 3.3; IC 95 % = 1,3-8,35; p = 0,013). La supervivencia global a cinco años fue del 91,5 % (IC 95 % = 82,6-95,9) en pacientes con respuesta patológica completa y del 73,6 % (IC 95 % = 66.4-79.6) en pacientes sin respuesta patológica completa (p = 0.001). La tasa de respuesta patológica completa fue tres veces mayor en los pacientes que recibieron quimioterapia neoadyuvante con terapia anti-HER2 comparado con aquellos que recibieron quimioterapia sola sin agentes anti-HER2 (48 % versus 16 %). Conclusión. En pacientes con cáncer de mama con sobreexpresión de HER2, grado tumoral tres, receptores de estrógeno y progesterona negativos, positividad fuerte para HER2 (puntaje 3+) y uso de quimioterapia neoadyuvante con trastuzumab se asociaron con mayores tasas de respuesta patológica completa.

Pericarditis Aguda asociada a infección por COVID-19 / Acute pericarditis associated with COVID-19 infection

RESUMEN La infección por el coronavirus de tipo 2 causante del síndrome respiratorio agudo grave (SARS-COV2, por sus siglas en inglés), ha sido asociada con múltiples manifestaciones cardiovasculares. El mecanismo por el cual el virus afecta el corazón es objeto de discusión; sin embargo, se ha planteado que el receptor de la enzima convertidora de angiotensina (ACE2) sirve como entrada directa del virus. Así mismo, un estado de inflamación mediado por una tormenta de citoquinas puede generar falla multiorgánica y explicar algunas manifestaciones cardíacas. Las principales asociaciones al sistema cardiovascular reportadas en la infección por COVID-19 son el síndrome coronario agudo, la falla cardiaca aguda, el choque cardiogénico y las arritmias. La pericarditis aguda es un síndrome inflamatorio de etiología principalmente viral, pero su relación con la infección por SARS-COV2 parece ser infrecuente, con pocos reportes en la literatura. Se presenta el caso de una paciente que desarrolló pericarditis concomitante a la infección por SARS-COV2.

SUMMARY Infection by coronavirus type 2 that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) has been associated with multiple cardiovascular manifestations. The mechanism by which the virus affects the heart is under discussion; however, it has been proposed that the angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 (ACE2) serves as a direct entry point for the virus; likewise, the state of inflammation mediated by cytokine storm can generate multiorgan failure, explaining some cardiac manifestations. The main associations to the cardiovascular system reported in COVID-19 infection are acute coronary syndrome, acute heart failure, cardiogenic shock and arrhythmias. Acute pericarditis is an inflammatory syndrome of mainly viral etiology, and its relationship to SARS-CoV-2 infection seems infrequent, with few reports in the literature. We present the case of a patient who developed pericarditis, concomitant with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Oncological resection, myasthenia gravis and staging as prognostic factors in thymic tumours: a Chilean case series.

BACKGROUND: Thymic epithelial tumours are rare and highly heterogeneous. Reports from the United States suggest an overall incidence of 0.15 per 100,000/year. In contrast, the incidence of these tumours in Latin America is largely unknown and reports are scarce, somewhat limited to case reports. METHODS: Herein, we report a series of 38 thymic tumours from a single institution, retrospectively incorporated into this study. Patient characteristics and outcomes including age, sex, stage, paraneoplastic syndromes, treatment regimens and the date of decease were obtained from medical records. RESULTS: Most cases in our series were females and young age (<50 years old) and early stage by Masaoka-Koga or the Moran staging systems. Also, a 34% of patients had myasthenia gravis (MG). Next, we analysed overall survival rates in our series and found that the quality of surgery (R0, R1 or R2), MG status and staging (Masaoka-Koga, Moran or TNM) were prognostic factors. Finally, we compared our data to larger thymic tumour series. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our study confirms complete surgical resection as the standard, most effective treatment for thymic epithelial tumours. Also, the Masaoka-Koga staging system remains as a reliable prognostic factor but also the Moran staging system should be considered for thymomas.

Pathological complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, but not the addition of carboplatin, is associated with improved survival in Chilean triple negative breast cancer patients: a report of real world data.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer death for Chilean women. About 11% of cases are triple-negative (TN) BC. These are characterised by poor prognosis, higher risk of early recurrence and visceral dissemination versus other BC subtypes. Current standard treatment for early-stage non-metastatic TNBC patients consists of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by surgery and radiotherapy. Pathological complete response (pCR) to NACT is associated with an increase in survival rates. In general, NACT and adjuvant regimens involve similar cytotoxic drugs. Recent studies have postulated that the use of platinum compounds in TNBC would increase response rates. However, their effects on patient survival remain uncertain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrieved and analysed medical records from a total of 156 Chilean stage I-III TNBC female patients that received NACT and compared survival rates using carboplatin (Cb)-containing versus non-Cb-containing regimens at two health cancer centres. RESULTS: Median age was 51 years (range: 24-81); 13.5% (n = 21) received Cb-containing regimens, 80.1% (n = 125) received sequential anthracyclines plus taxanes; 29.5% (n = 46) of the total group achieved pCR, 28% for the standard treatment and 35% (n = 8) for the Cb-containing group (p = 0.59). We confirmed pCR was associated with prolonged overall survival, invasive and distant disease-free survival (Log-rank p = 0.0236). But the addition of Cb was not associated with differences in survival measures (Log-rank p = 0.5216). CONCLUSIONS: To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first report on real-world data in the Chilean population assessing the effect of Cb-containing NACT in TNBC. The authors' results suggest no survival benefit by the addition of Cb to standard NACT. However, we confirm an increase in survival associated to pCR regardless of treatment.

A Molecular Stratification of Chilean Gastric Cancer Patients with Potential Clinical Applicability.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a complex and heterogeneous disease. In recent decades, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Asian Cancer Research Group (ACRG) defined GC molecular subtypes. Unfortunately, these systems require high-cost and complex techniques and consequently their impact in the clinic has remained limited. Additionally, most of these studies are based on European, Asian, or North American GC cohorts. Herein, we report a molecular classification of Chilean GC patients into five subtypes, based on immunohistochemical (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) methods. These were Epstein-Barr virus positive (EBV+), mismatch repair-deficient (MMR-D), epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like, and accumulated (p53+) or undetected p53 (p53-). Given its lower costs this system has the potential for clinical applicability. Our results confirm relevant molecular alterations previously reported by TCGA and ACRG. We confirm EBV+ and MMR-D patients had the best prognosis and could be candidates for immunotherapy. Conversely, EMT-like displayed the poorest prognosis; our data suggest FGFR2 or KRAS could serve as potential actionable targets for these patients. Finally, we propose a low-cost step-by-step stratification system for GC patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Latin American report on a molecular classification for GC. Pending further validation, this stratification system could be implemented into the routine clinic.

Enhancing Extensive and Remote LoRa Deployments through MEC-Powered Drone Gateways.

The distribution of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in remote areas and the need for network resilience in such deployments is increasingly important in smart spaces covering scenarios, such as agriculture, forest, coast preservation, and connectivity survival against disasters. Although Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technologies, like LoRa, support high connectivity ranges, communication paths can suffer from obstruction due to orography or buildings, and large areas are still difficult to cover with wired gateways, due to the lack of network or power infrastructure. The proposal presented herein proposes to mount LPWAN gateways in drones in order to generate airborne network segments providing enhanced connectivity to sensor nodes wherever needed. Our LoRa-drone gateways can be used either to collect data and then report them to the back-office directly, or store-carry-and-forward data until a proper communication link with the infrastructure network is available. The proposed architecture relies on Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) capabilities to host a virtualization platform on-board the drone, aiming at providing an intermediate processing layer that runs Virtualized Networking Functions (VNF). This way, both preprocessing or intelligent analytics can be locally performed, saving communications and memory resources. The contribution includes a system architecture that has been successfully validated through experimentation with a real test-bed and comprehensively evaluated through computer simulation. The results show significant communication improvements employing LoRa-drone gateways when compared to traditional fixed LoRa deployments in terms of link availability and covered areas, especially in vast monitored extensions, or at points with difficult access, such as rugged zones.

First-line endocrine therapy for advanced breast cancer. A real-world study at a Latin American university health institution.

Objective: Clinical guidelines recommend the use of endocrine therapy (ET) in advanced hormone receptor positive (HR+) human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 negative (HER2-) breast cancer (BC) patients in the absence of visceral disease or ET resistance. Furthermore, studies indicate similar response and survival rates using ET or cytotoxic chemotherapy (CT).Methods: Herein, we assessed clinical characteristics, type of systemic therapy and survival rates of advanced HR + HER2-BC patients in our database.Results: A total of 172 advanced HR + HER2-BC patients were treated at our institution between 1997 and 2019. Sixty percent received first-line ET (4% received combined ET). Median age of this subset was 55 years (range: 30-86). Similarly, the median age of patients that received CT was 54 years (range: 21-83). Over time, 30% of patients received ET in the 2000-2005 period; this increased to 70% in the 2016-2019 period (p = .045). Overall survival (OS) was 97 months and 51 months for patients treated with ET or CT, respectively (p = .002).Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge this is the first study assessing the use of ET in Chilean advanced HR + HER2-BC patients. Several patients in our institution receive CT without indication. The increase in ET usage over time can be attributed to better and faster immunohistochemical detection methods for Estrogen Receptor (ER), changes in educational and government policies, and a wider variety of ET options. Finally, clinical trials have failed to demonstrate a substantial benefit of CT over ET in this setting.

Retrospective Analysis of Chilean and Mexican GI Stromal Tumor Registries: A Tale of Two Latin American Realities.

PURPOSE: Like other malignancies, GI stromal tumors (GIST) are highly heterogeneous. This not only applies to histologic features and malignant potential, but also to geographic incidence rates. Several studies have reported GIST incidence and prevalence in Europe and North America. In contrast, GIST incidence rates in South America are largely unknown, and only a few studies have reported GIST prevalence in Latin America. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Our study was part of a collaborative effort between Chile and Mexico, called Salud con Datos. We sought to determine GIST prevalence and patients' clinical characteristics, including survival rates, through retrospective analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 624 patients were included in our study. Our results found significant differences between Mexican and Chilean registries, such as stage at diagnosis, primary tumor location, CD117-positive immunohistochemistry status, mitotic index, and tumor size. Overall survival (OS) times for Chilean and Mexican patients with GIST were 134 and 156 months, respectively. No statistically significant differences in OS were detected by sex, age, stage at diagnosis, or recurrence status in both cohorts. As expected, patients categorized as being at high risk of recurrence displayed a trend toward poorer progression-free survival in both registries. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest report from Latin America assessing the prevalence, clinical characteristics, postsurgery risk of recurrence, and outcomes of patients with GIST. Our data confirm surgery as the standard treatment of localized disease and confirm a poorer prognosis in patients with regional or distant disease. Finally, observed differences between registries could be a result of registration bias.

Impact of SCHC Compression and Fragmentation in LPWAN: A Case Study with LoRaWAN.

The dawn of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm has brought about a series of novel services never imagined until recently. However, certain deployments such as those employing Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN)-based technologies may present severe network restrictions in terms of throughput and supported packet length. This situation prompts the isolation of LPWAN systems on islands with limited interoperability with the Internet. For that reason, the IETF's LPWAN working group has proposed a Static Context Header Compression (SCHC) scheme that permits compression and fragmentation of and IPv6/UDP/CoAP packets with the aim of making them suitable for transmission over the restricted links of LPWANs. Given the impact that such a solution can have in many IoT scenarios, this paper addresses its real evaluation in terms not only of latency and delivery ratio improvements, as a consequence of different compression and fragmentation levels, but also of the overhead in end node resources and useful payload sent per fragment. This has been carried out with the implementation of middleware and using a real testbed implementation of a LoRaWAN-to-IPv6 architecture together with a publish/subscribe broker for CoAP. The attained results show the advantages of SCHC, and sustain discussion regarding the impact of different SCHC and LoRaWAN configurations on the performance. It is highlighted that necessary end node resources are low as compared to the benefit of delivering long IPv6 packets over the LPWAN links. In turn, fragmentation can impose a lack of efficiency in terms of data and energy and, hence, a cross-layer solution is needed in order to obtain the best throughput of the network.

High Proportion of Potential Candidates for Immunotherapy in a Chilean Cohort of Gastric Cancer Patients: Results of the FORCE1 Study.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a heterogeneous disease. This heterogeneity applies not only to morphological and phenotypic features but also to geographical variations in incidence and mortality rates. As Chile has one of the highest mortality rates within South America, we sought to define a molecular profile of Chilean GCs (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03158571/(FORCE1)). Solid tumor samples and clinical data were obtained from 224 patients, with subsets analyzed by tissue microarray (TMA; n = 90) and next generation sequencing (NGS; n = 101). Most demographic and clinical data were in line with previous reports. TMA data indicated that 60% of patients displayed potentially actionable alterations. Furthermore, 20.5% were categorized as having a high tumor mutational burden, and 13% possessed micro-satellite instability (MSI). Results also confirmed previous studies reporting high Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positivity (13%) in Chilean-derived GC samples suggesting a high proportion of patients could benefit from immunotherapy. As expected, TP53 and PIK3CA were the most frequently altered genes. However, NGS demonstrated the presence of TP53, NRAS, and BRAF variants previously unreported in current GC databases. Finally, using the Kendall method, we report a significant correlation between EBV+ status and programmed death ligand-1 (PDL1)+ and an inverse correlation between p53 mutational status and MSI. Our results suggest that in this Chilean cohort, a high proportion of patients are potential candidates for immunotherapy treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first in South America to assess the prevalence of actionable targets and to examine a molecular profile of GC patients.

Empowering the Internet of Vehicles with Multi-RAT 5G Network Slicing.

Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is a hot research niche exploiting the synergy between Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) and the Internet of Things (IoT), which can greatly benefit of the upcoming development of 5G technologies. The variety of end-devices, applications, and Radio Access Technologies (RATs) in IoV calls for new networking schemes that assure the Quality of Service (QoS) demanded by the users. To this end, network slicing techniques enable traffic differentiation with the aim of ensuring flow isolation, resource assignment, and network scalability. This work fills the gap of 5G network slicing for IoV and validates it in a realistic vehicular scenario. It offers an accurate bandwidth control with a full flow-isolation, which is essential for vehicular critical systems. The development is based on a distributed Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) architecture, which provides flexibility for the dynamic placement of the Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) in charge of managing network traffic. The solution is able to integrate heterogeneous radio technologies such as cellular networks and specific IoT communications with potential in the vehicular sector, creating isolated network slices without risking the Core Network (CN) scalability. The validation results demonstrate the framework capabilities of short and predictable slice-creation time, performance/QoS assurance and service scalability of up to one million connected devices.

Prevalence of EGFR Mutations and Clinico-Pathological Characteristics of Chilean Lung Cancer Patients

Background: Lung cancer (LC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in Chile, causing >3,000 deaths every year. Epidemiological LC data in Chile is scarce and scattered. Here, we aimed to quantify the prevalence of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) gene mutations in a Chilean cancer center. These data may identify individuals that could benefit from targeted therapies such as Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs). Methods: A total of 1,405 Biopsies from 1,381 LC patients were retrospectively analyzed retrieving clinical data from EGFR mutants including age, gender, histological type, smoking habits and type of EGFR mutation. We also analyzed overall survival (OS) rates. Results: From all patients 21.7% had clinically relevant EGFR mutations, and a median age at diagnosis of 65 years. Most were female (64%), classified as adenocarcinomas (94.5%), and non-smokers/light smokers (93.1%). The most prevalent mutation was exon-19 deletions (50.6%) followed by Leucine-to Arginine 858; OS was 15 months. Clinical follow-up information was available for 83 patients. The use of TKIs in these patients significantly improved OS. Conclusion: The prevalence of EGFR mutations in the studied population was 21.7%, comparable to other countries in Latin America. The most frequent EGFR mutation was exon-19 deletion, OS in this group was 15 months, and TKIs significantly improved OS.

Chilean Registry for Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Latin American Perspective.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are relatively rare and highly heterogeneous neoplasms. Despite this, recent studies from North America and Central Europe have suggested an increase in incidence. In Latin America, NET data are scarce and scattered with only a few studies reporting registries. Our goal was to establish a NET registry in Chile. Here, we report the establishment and our first 166 NET patients. We observed a slight preponderance of males, a median age at diagnosis of 53 years and a median overall survival of 110 months. As anticipated, most tumors were gastroenteropancreatic (GEP). Survival analyses demonstrated that non-GEP or stage IV tumors presented significantly lower overall survival (OS). Similarly, patients with surgery classified as R0 had better OS compared to R1, R2, or no surgery. Furthermore, patients with elevated chromogranin A (CgA) or high Ki67 showed a trend to poorer OS; however, these differences did not reach statistical significance (log-rank test p = 0.07). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a NET registry in Chile. Median OS in our registry (110 months) is in line with other registries from Argentina and Spain. Other variables including age at diagnosis and gender were similar to previous studies; however, our data indicate a high proportion of small-bowel NETs compared to other cohorts, reflecting the need for NET regional registries. Indeed, these registries may explain regional discrepancies in incidence and distribution, adding to our knowledge on this seemingly rare, highly heterogeneous disease.

Chilean Gastric Cancer Task Force: A study protocol to obtain a clinical and molecular classification of a cohort of gastric cancer patients.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the world's second-leading cause of neoplastic mortality. Genetic alterations, response to treatments, and mortality rates are highly heterogeneous across different regions. Within Latin America, GC is the leading cause of cancer death in Chile, affecting 17.6 per 100,000 people and causing >3000 deaths/y. Clinical outcomes and response to "one size fits all" therapies are highly heterogeneous and thus a better stratification of patients may aid cancer treatment and response.The Gastric Cancer Task Force is a Chilean collaborative, noninterventional study that seeks to stratify gastric adenocarcinomas using clinical outcomes and genomic, epigenomic, and protein alterations in a cohort of 200 patients. Tumor samples from the Pathology Department and the Cancer Center at UC-Christus healthcare network, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile will be analyzed using a panel of 143 known cancer genes (Oncomine Comprehensive Assay) at the Center of Excellence in Precision Medicine in Santiago, Chile. In addition, promoter methylation for selected genes will be performed along with tissue microarray for clinically relevant proteins (e.g., PD-L1, Erb-2, VEGFR2, among others) and Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus status. Obtained data will be correlated to 120 clinical parameters retrieve from medical records, including general patient information, cancer history, laboratory studies, comorbidity index, chemotherapy, targeted therapies, efficacy, and follow-up.The development of a clinically meaningful classification that encompasses comprehensive clinical and molecular parameters may improve patient treatment, predict clinical outcomes, aid patient selection/stratification for clinical trials and may offer insights into future preventive and/or therapeutic strategies in patients from Latin America region. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03158571, Registered on May 18, 2017.

Surgical site infection after breast cancer sur gery at 30 days and associated factors / Infección del sitio operatorio en cirugía oncológica de mama a 30 días y factores asociados

Background: The incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) in breast surgery has been higher than expected, considering this is a clean surgical procedure. Few studies have reported an incidence of less than 5.0% and most publications report an incidence of between 10.2% and 30.0%. Objective: To estimate the incidence, associated factors and interval free from infection at 30 days postsurgery in women who underwent oncological and reconstructive breast surgery. Methods: Prospective cohort study of women with breast cancer who underwent conservative or radical breast surgery at a reference medical center in Medellín, Colombia. The outcomes were SSI and time to the event. The survival analysis of freedom from infection was performed using the Kaplan Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard model for multivariate analysis. Results: Of the 308 consecutive surgical breast oncology procedures performed, 161 (52.3%) were quadrantectomies and 147 (47.7%) were mastectomies, with an SSI incidence of 16.2% (50 cases). The associated risk factors were seroma-hematoma, which occurred in 79 (25.6%) cases, hazard ratio (HR) 2.7 (95% CI 1.5-4.9); and the presence of drainage devices, HR 5.6 (95% CI 2.2-14.3). The median time to the development of SSI was 16 days. Conclusion: Our study shows that the presence of postoperative seroma-hematoma and long-term drainage device use were independent risk factors for SSI in oncological breast surgery. (c) 2016 ACIN. Published by Elsevier Espana,˜ S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Antecedentes: La incidencia de infección del sitio operatorio (ISO) en cirugía de mama ha sido mayor de lo esperado, considerando este como un procedimiento quirúrgico limpio. Pocos estudios han reportado una incidencia menor del 5,0% y la mayoría de publicaciones la ubican entre 10,2 y 30,0%. Objetivo: Estimar la incidencia, los factores asociados y el intervalo libre de infección a 30 días, en las mujeres que se sometieron a cirugía oncológica y reconstructiva de mama. Métodos: Estudio de cohorte prospectivo en mujeres con cáncer de mama, que se sometieron a cirugía de mama conservadora o radical en un centro médico de referencia de Medellín, Colombia. Los resultados fueron infección del sitio operatorio y tiempo al evento. El análisis de supervivencia libre de infección se realizó con el método de Kaplan Meier y el modelo multivariado de riesgos proporcionales de Cox. Resultados: Seguimiento a 308 procedimientos quirúrgicos oncológicos de mama consecutivos; 161 (52,3%) fueron cuadrantectomías y 147 (47,7%) mastectomías, con una incidencia de ISO de 16,2% (50 casos). Los factores de riesgo asociados fueron: seroma-hematoma 79 (25,6%), HR 2,7 (IC 95%: 1,5; 4,9) y la presencia de dispositivos de drenaje, HR 5,6 (IC 95% 2,2; 14,3). El tiempo medio para el desarrollo de SSI fue de 16 días. Conclusión: Nuestro estudio mostró que la presencia de seroma hematoma posoperatorios y el uso extendido de dispositivos de drenaje fueron factores independientes para la presentación de infección del sitio operatorio en cirugía oncológica de mama.

Principios de cirugía oncológica / Principles of surgical oncology

La cirugía oncológica se desarrolló como una rama de la cirugía general, que busca facilitar la interacción entre la radioterapia, la oncología médica y las demás especialidades, para concertar un plan terapéutico integral y multidisciplinario del paciente con cáncer. En este artículo se presenta una revisión narrativa de los principios básicos del abordaje diagnóstico y terapéutico del paciente oncológico, bien sea con un diagnóstico inicial o recurrente. Se hace particular énfasis en la necesidad de plantear un tratamiento curativo de ser posible, con márgenes claros y con una aproximación quirúrgica que tenga en cuenta el comportamiento y la diseminación tumoral. Cuando la curación no sea posible, en el contexto de un tratamiento multimodal, la cirugía paliativa es una opción válida y acertada. Los principios de la cirugía oncológica deben ser interiorizados y respetados por todos los cirujanos que enfrentan y tratan pacientes con cáncer. La observancia de estos principios garantizará mejores resultados para los pacientes.

Surgical Oncology has developed as the branch of general surgery that seeks to facilitate the interaction between different specialties, such as medical oncology, radiation oncology and many others, in order to offer a complete and multidisciplinary management of the patient with cancer. In this article we present a narrative review of the basic principles for the diagnosis and therapeutic approach in the oncology patient, either in patients with new diagnosis or in those with recurrent disease. We made particular emphasis on the need to formulate a curative strategy, with clear and negative margins and taking into consideration the pattern of oncologic spread and biologic behavior. In cases where cure is not feasible, and in the context of a multimodal approach, palliative surgery is a valid and appropriate option. The basic principles of surgical oncology should be adopted and respected by all surgeons that treat patients with cancer. The proper adherence to these principles will guarantee better results for these patients.

Phyllodes tumor of the breast: a clinic-pathologic study of 77 cases in a Hispanic cohort.

INTRODUCTION: Breast Phyllodes tumors are rare breast tumors present in less than 1% of new cases of breast cancer, usually occurring among middle-aged women (40-50 yrs). OBJECTIVE: This study shows diagnostic experience, surgical management and follows up of patients with this disease during a period of ten years in a oncology referral center. METHODS: Retrospectively, breast cancer registries at the institution were reviewed, identifying 77 patients with Phyllodes tumors between 2002 and 2012, who had been operated on at the Instituto de Cancerología - Clínica Las Américas, in Medellín (Colombia). Clinical and histopathological data belonging to these cases was captured and analyzed and descriptive statistics were used. RESULTS: The follow up median was 22.5 months (IQR: 10.5-60.0), average age was 47.2 yrs (SD: 12.4), mean tumor size was 3.6 cm (SD: 4.6), 88.3% of the patients (68 cases) presented negative margins and none of them received adjuvant chemotherapy. Of the patients with Phyllodes tumors; 33.8% had benign, 31.2% had borderline and 35.0% had malignant tumor. Disease-free survival was 85.8% and overall survival was 94.5%. DISCUSSION: Reported data in this article is in accordance with what has been reported in worldwide literature. In our cohort even the high mean size of the tumors, the risk of local relapse and metastatic disease is low than previously reported in literature. Trials with longer follow up and molecular trials in Phyllodes tumors are necessary to understand the behavior of these tumors in Hispanics population.

INTRODUCCIÓN: Los tumores phyllodes mamarios son Tumores infrecuentes en la mama presentes en menos del 1% de los casos nuevos de cáncer mamario, por lo general ocurre en mujeres de mediana edad (40-50 años). OBJETIVO: Este estudio muestra la experiencia de diagnóstico, tratamiento quirúrgico y seguimiento de los pacientes con esta variedad de tumor durante un período de diez años en un centro de referencia oncológico. MÉTODOS: Retrospectivamente, los registros de cáncer de mama en la institución fueron revisados, se identificaron 77 pacientes con tumores phyllodes entre 2002 y 2012, que habían sido operados en el Instituto de Cancerología - Clínica Las Américas, en Medellín (Colombia). Los datos clínicos e histopatológicos pertenecientes a estos casos fueron recolectados y analizados utilizando técnicas de estadística descriptivas. RESULTADOS: La mediana de seguimiento fue de 22.5 meses (RIC: 10.5-60.0), la Media de edad fue de 47.2 años (DE: 12.4), tamaño medio del tumor fue de 3.6 cm (DE: 4.6), 88.3% de los pacientes (68 casos) presentaron márgenes negativos y ninguno de ellos recibieron quimioterapia adyuvante. De los pacientes con tumores phyllodes; 33.8% fueron benignos, 31.2% Borderline y 35.0% phyllodes maligno. Supervivencia libre de enfermedad fue 85.8% y la supervivencia global fue de 94.5%. DISCUSIÓN: Los datos reportados en este artículo están acordes con lo que se ha reportado en la literatura mundial. En nuestra cohorte, a pesar de que el tamaño promedio de los tumores fue mayor, el riesgo de recidiva local y las tasas de enfermedad metastásica es menor que el reportado previamente en la literatura. Los ensayos con seguimiento más prolongado, y los ensayos moleculares en tumores phyllodes son necesarios para comprender de una manera más precisa el comportamiento de estos tumores en la población hispana.

Phyllodes tumor of the breast: a clinic-pathologic study of 77 cases in a Hispanic cohort / Tumor Phyllodes de la mama: Estudio clínico-patológico de 77 casos en una cohorte hispana

Introduction: Breast Phyllodes tumors are rare breast tumors present in less than 1% of new cases of breast cancer, usually occurring among middle-aged women (40-50 yrs). Objective: This study shows diagnostic experience, surgical management and follows up of patients with this disease during a period of ten years in a oncology referral center. Methods: Retrospectively, breast cancer registries at the institution were reviewed, identifying 77 patients with Phyllodes tumors between 2002 and 2012, who had been operated on at the Instituto de Cancerología - Clínica Las Américas, in Medellín (Colombia). Clinical and histopathological data belonging to these cases was captured and analyzed and descriptive statistics were used. Results: The follow up median was 22.5 months (IQR: 10.5-60.0), average age was 47.2 yrs (SD: 12.4), mean tumor size was 3.6 cm (SD: 4.6), 88.3% of the patients (68 cases) presented negative margins and none of them received adjuvant chemotherapy. Of the patients with Phyllodes tumors; 33.8% had benign, 31.2% had borderline and 35.0% had malignant tumor. Disease-free survival was 85.8% and overall survival was 94.5%. Discussion: Reported data in this article is in accordance with what has been reported in worldwide literature. In our cohort even the high mean size of the tumors, the risk of local relapse and metastatic disease is low than previously reported in literature. Trials with longer follow up and molecular trials in Phyllodes tumors are necessary to understand the behavior of these tumors in Hispanics population.

Introducción: Los tumores phyllodes mamarios son Tumores infrecuentes en la mama presentes en menos del 1% de los casos nuevos de cáncer mamario, por lo general ocurre en mujeres de mediana edad (40-50 años) Objetivo: Este estudio muestra la experiencia de diagnóstico, tratamiento quirúrgico y seguimiento de los pacientes con esta variedad de tumor durante un período de diez años en un centro de referencia oncológico. Métodos: Retrospectivamente, los registros de cáncer de mama en la institución fueron revisados, se identificaron 77 pacientes con tumores phyllodes entre 2002 y 2012, que habían sido operados en el Instituto de Cancerología - Clínica Las Américas, en Medellín (Colombia). Los datos clínicos e histopatológicos pertenecientes a estos casos fueron recolectados y analizados utilizando técnicas de estadística descriptivas. Resultados: La mediana de seguimiento fue de 22.5 meses (RIC: 10.5-60.0), la Media de edad fue de 47.2 años (DE: 12.4), tamaño medio del tumor fue de 3.6 cm (DE: 4.6), 88.3% de los pacientes (68 casos) presentaron márgenes negativos y ninguno de ellos recibieron quimioterapia adyuvante. De los pacientes con tumores phyllodes; 33.8% fueron benignos, 31.2% Borderline y 35.0% phyllodes maligno. Supervivencia libre de enfermedad fue 85.8% y la supervivencia global fue de 94.5%. Discusión: Los datos reportados en este artículo están acordes con lo que se ha reportado en la literatura mundial. En nuestra cohorte, a pesar de que el tamaño promedio de los tumores fue mayor, el riesgo de recidiva local y las tasas de enfermedad metastásica es menor que el reportado previamente en la literatura. Los ensayos con seguimiento más prolongado, y los ensayos moleculares en tumores phyllodes son necesarios para comprender de una manera mas precisa el comportamiento de estos tumores en la población hispana.