The effect of parity, breastfeeding history, and duration on clinical and pathological characteristics of breast cancer patients.

Background/aim: The study is aimed to determine the relationship between the delivery and breastfeeding history of the patients and the clinicopathological properties of breast cancer. Materials and methods: A questionnaire was utilized for the study, which included the age of diagnosis, the number of children at the time of diagnosis, the age of the children, and the breastfeeding period of each child. Results: The study included 828 patients. The median age at diagnosis was 47 years for parous women and 42 years for nonparous women (p < 0.001). The tumor size of the patients diagnosed within the breastfeeding period was significantly larger compared to the other patients. Estrogen and progesterone receptor positivity were lower in patients diagnosed during breastfeeding. Additionally, the mean number of positive lymph nodes, dissected lymph nodes, and positive lymph node/dissected lymph node ratio in parous and breastfed patients with a nonmetastatic disease were statistically significantly higher in multivariable analysis than those patients who were nulliparous and have not breastfed. Conclusion: Breast cancer is seen at a later age in patients who are parous than those who have never given birth. Patients who are parous and have breastfed tend to present with a higher stage of the disease.

Germline mutational variants of Turkish ovarian cancer patients suspected of Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) by next-generation sequencing.

Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) syndrome is characterized by an increased risk of developing breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) due to inherited genetic mutations. Understanding the genetic variants associated with HBOC is crucial for identifying individuals at high risk and implementing appropriate preventive measures. The study included 630 Turkish OC patients with confirmed diagnostic criteria of The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) concerning HBOC. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples, and targeted Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was performed. Bioinformatics analysis and variant interpretation were conducted to identify pathogenic variants (PVs). Our analysis revealed a spectrum of germline pathogenic variants associated with HBOC in Turkish OC patients. Notably, several pathogenic variants in BRCA1, BRCA2, and other DNA repair genes were identified. Specifically, we observed germline PVs in 130 individuals, accounting for 20.63% of the total cohort. 76 distinct PVs in genes, BRCA1 (40 PVs), BRCA2 (29 PVs), ATM (1 PV), CHEK2 (2 PVs), ERCC2 (1 PV), MUTYH (1 PV), RAD51C (1 PV), and TP53 (1PV) and also, two different PVs (i.e., c.135-2 A>G p.? in BRCA1 and c.6466_6469delTCTC in BRCA2) were detected in a 34-year-old OC patient. In conclusion, our study contributes to a better understanding of the genetic variants underlying HBOC in Turkish OC patients. These findings provide valuable insights into the genetic architecture of HBOC in the Turkish population and shed light on the potential contribution of specific germline PVs to the increased risk of OC.

Central nervous system metastasis in gynecologic cancers: Seeking the prognostic factors.

OBJECTIVE: Central nervous system (CNS) metastasis originating from gynecological cancer is a very rare and late manifestation of the disease. Therefore, there is still limited data on prognostic factors for survival. The objective of the present study is to identify prognostic factors for survival in patients with CNS metastasis originating from gynecological cancer. STUDY DESIGN: The present retrospective study analyzed the patients with gynecological cancers who were treated due to CNS metastases between January 1999 and December 2019 at Istanbul University Hospital. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients with CNS metastasis of gynecological origin were included in the study. The median age at the time of CNS metastasis was 59 (range 34-93). The median time from initial cancer diagnosis to CNS metastasis was 24.9 (range: 0-108.2) months. Most patients had epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) (76.6%), followed by endometrial cancer (EC) (14.8%), cervical cancer (CC) (4.3%), and vulvar cancer (VC) (4.3%). By multivariate analysis, the presence of extracranial metastasis (HR: 5.10; 95% CI: 1.71-15.18), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≥3 (HR: 2.92; 95% CI: 1.36-6.26), palliative care only for the treatment of CNS metastasis (HR: 1.47; 95% CI: 0.58-4.11), and treatment-free interval (TFI) <6 months (HR: 2.74; 95% CI: 1.23-6.08) were independent factors that associated with worse survival. CONCLUSION: Patients with CNS metastasis who have favorable prognostic factors are considered to be appropriate candidates for aggressive and long-term treatment strategies. Extracranial metastasis, ECOG performance status, treatment history of CNS metastasis, and TFI were determined as independent prognostic factors that improved survival. TFI might be taken into account as a prognostic factor for patients with CNS metastasis in gynecological cancer.

Efficacy and Safety of Trastuzumab Emtansine in Her2 Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer: Real-World Experience.

AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) in cases with metastatic breast cancer (mBC) in different lines of treatment. METHOD: Retrospective analysis of T-DM1 results of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) positive 414 cases with mBC from 31 centers in Turkey. FINDINGS: Except 2, all of the cases were female with a median age of 47. T-DM1 had been used as second-line therapy in 37.7% of the cases and the median number of T-DM1 cycles was 9. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) times were different according to the line of treatment. The median OS was found as 43, 41, 46, 23 and 17 months for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th line, respectively (p = 0.032) while the median PFS was found as 37, 12, 8, 8 and 8 months, respectively (p = 0.0001). Treatment was well tolerated by the patients. The most common grade 3-4 adverse effects were thrombocytopenia (2.7%) and increased serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (2%). DISCUSSION: The best of our knowledge this is the largest real-life experience about the safety and efficacy of T-DM1 use in cases with mBC after progression of Her2 targeted treatment. This study suggests and supports that T-DM1 is more effective in earlier lines of treatment and is a reliable option for mBC.

Efficacy of Palbociclib and Endocrine Treatment in Heavily Pretreated Hormone Receptor-positive/HER2-negative Advanced Breast Cancer: Retrospective Multicenter Trial

Background: The synthesis of CDK4/6 inhibitors with endocrine treatment in two series of treatment has been widely accepted as the standard for patients with estrogen receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer. In spite of this, the activity of CDK4/6 inhibitors in patients with metastatic breast cancer who have progressed despite receiving multiple lines of treatment is not well understood. Aims: To report the activity and safety of a CDK4/6 inhibitor (palbociclib) in patients in whom at least three lines of treatment for ER+ metastatic breast cancer had failed. Study Design: Multicenter retrospective observational cohort study. Methods: In this retrospective observational cohort study, we included 43 patients who received palbociclib after at least three lines of systemic treatment for ER+/HER2− metastatic breast cancer. Results: The median progression-free survival in our population was 7 months (25th-75th percentile, 4-10), and the median overall survival was 11 months (25th-75th percentile, 6-19). Although there were some adverse events, palbociclib was generally well tolerated, so dose reduction was needed for only six patients (14%). Conclusion: The efficacy of palbociclib among heavily treated hormone receptor-positive/HER2− patients with advanced breast cancer was acceptable in terms of clinical benefit, and it was generally well tolerated among this population.