The association of prognostic awareness with quality of life, spiritual well-being, psychological distress, and pain severity in patients with advanced cancer: Results from the APPROACH Study in Indonesia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Advanced cancer patients' understanding of their illness is key for making informed treatment decisions. Despite the known importance of patients' awareness of their disease prognosis, it is debatable whether this awareness is positively, negatively, or not associated with clinical and psychological outcomes among patients with advanced cancer. This paper aims to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with prognostic awareness and its association with quality of life (QoL), spiritual well-being, pain control, and psychological distress in patients with advanced cancer in Indonesia. METHODS: This cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was part of a multicountry study titled "Asian Patient Perspectives Regarding Oncology Awareness, Care and Health (APPROACH)." Patients were asked what they knew about their cancer and treatment. QoL and spiritual well-being were measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General (FACT-G) and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Spiritual Well-being (FACIT-Sp) questionnaire. Psychological distress experienced by patients was recorded via the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Pain severity was also assessed. Data from 160 patients were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariable regression models. RESULTS: Of the 160 patients who participated, 55 (34.4%) were unaware of their cancer stage. Those who were aware of their stage of cancer were younger than those who were not aware (45.7 years vs 50.4 years, p = .015). There was no significant difference in spiritual well-being and other domains of QoL between those who were aware and those who were not aware of their advanced cancer stage. There was also no significant difference in anxiety depression or pain severity, even after adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics. SIGNIFICANT OF RESULTS: Given the high prevalence of patients who wrongly thought their cancer was curable, more could be done to improve disease and prognostic understanding among patients with advanced cancer in Indonesia. Those who were aware of their advanced cancer stage did not have a poorer QoL, nor did they have more anxiety or depression than those who were unaware. This finding suggests that concerns about the negative impact of prognostic disclosure may be unfounded.

Proportion of Hypogonadism in Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia Patients and Its Contributing Factors.

BACKGROUND: Beta thalassemia is a lifelong disease involving malformed red blood cells (RBC). One of the disease's complications is hypogonadism, in which adults tend to exhibit regression in sexual characteristics, experience sexual dysfunction, and therefore have a lower quality of life. Around 3-10% of the Indonesian population carries the beta-thalassemia gene. This study aimed to see the proportions of hypogonadism in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients and its contributing factors. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study involving 60 male patients admitted to three Indonesian general hospitals from July 2022 to July 2023. All patients were diagnosed with beta-thalassemia via chromatography hemoglobin analysis. We performed a single-time physical examination and laboratory examinations to determine FSH, LH, and free testosterone levels. The correlation between Hb and sexual hormone levels was analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. ROC curve analysis was conducted afterward. All statistical analysis was done in SPSS version 29. RESULTS: 31 out of 60 thalassemia patients had hypogonadism. Pre-transfusion Hb count was found to be linearly correlated with FSH (r = 0.388, p = 0.049), LH (r = 0.338, p = 0.008), and free testosterone (r = 0.255, p = 0.049). ROC analysis indicated that pre-transfusion Hb was viable as a predictor for hypogonadism (AUC = 0.655, 65.5% sensitivity, 67.7% specificity). CONCLUSION: We confirmed the role of pre-transfusion Hb count as a potential predictor for hypogonadism due to the tissue hypoxia mechanism and transfusion-related iron overload in TDT patients. Decreased Hb is linearly correlated with FSH, LH, and testosterone levels. Decreased Hb also downregulates these factors.

Gaucher Disease: A First Reported Adult Case in Indonesia.

A 44-year-old female presented with a distended abdomen and fatigue. On physical examination, prominent splenomegaly was found. The laboratory investigations revealed pancytopenia and decreased albumin-globulin ratio. The abdominal ultrasonography revealed splenomegaly, cholelithiasis, and cystitis, and the bone survey showed osteopenia. Differential diagnoses included leukemia, multiple myeloma, and myelofibrosis therefore bone marrow puncture was performed. However, histopathologic examination found Gaucher-like cells in the bone marrow aspiration. The finding of CD68 positivity in Gaucher-like cells by using the immunohistochemistry staining supporting Gaucher disease. To confirm the diagnosis, an examination of glucocerebroside substrate from the patient's blood plasma was performed. Glucosylsphingosine, a deacylated form of glucosylceramide, was markedly elevated. Therefore, the diagnosis of Gaucher disease was confirmed. This is the first reported adult Gaucher case diagnosed in Indonesia.

CXCL8, MMP1, MMP2, and FN1 Gene Expression and Tumor Extension in Nasopharyngeal Cancer Patients: A Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: There are correlations between tumor staging, lymph node involvement, and patient survival in Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) which is one of the most common types of cancer in Indonesia.  The inflammation process plays a role in tumor progression over the long term and this marked by increased proinflammatory cytokine and gene overexpression. This study aims to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in NPC using T and N staging. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of NPC patients in Cipto Mangunkusumo, Jakarta, between 2018 and 2022. DEGs were identified based on the amount of mRNA detected on paraffin blocks with a 1.5- to -1.5-fold change and an adjusted p-value of <0.05. RESULTS: We included 48 subjects. The mean age of subjects was 47.75 (10.48) years, and most were male (77.1%). Non-keratinized squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histopathology type. Differences in the tumor size of the T4 and non-T4 in metastatic (33.3%) group when compared to the non-metastatic (37.5%) group were insignificant (p = 0.763). The proportion of N3 subjects in the metastatic vs non-metastatic group was different significantly (83.3% vs. 50%, p = 0.030). Gene expression analysis showed that C-X-C motif ligand 8 (CXCL8), matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP1), matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP2), and fibronectin-1 (FN1) genes of the T4 and non-T4 group to be different significantly. CONCLUSION: There was significant finding in the N3 subjects of the metastatic and non-metastatic groups. The DEGs of CXCL8, MMP1, MMP2, and FN1 were statistically significant in the T4 when compared to the non-T4 group.

Palliative Screening Tools to Identify Palliative Care Consultation at Tertiary Hospital.

BACKGROUND: The need of palliative care is increasing, but it is not all achievable. It is necessary to identify palliative patients in order to provide the proper care according to the needs of the patients. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital has been making the identification using a palliative-patient screening questionnaire, but no performance assessment has been carried out on the screening tool. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the screening-tool questionnaire used on palliative-care patients at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in order to assess the need of palliative-care consultation and to find out the optimal cut-off point of palliative care screening tools. METHODS: The design of this study is cross-sectional and was conducted at Cipto Mangunkusumo National Central Public Hospital in July - October 2019. The sampling was collected by consecutive sampling. The reliability test was performed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The internal consistency was measured by the Cronbach's-Alpha coefficient. The criterion-validity test was run by an evaluation using the Pearson test. RESULTS: There were 64 subjects collected, the largest age group was 51-70 years (50%). Cancer was the main disease found in most of the subjects (56 people / 87.5%). The most common comorbidity was kidney disease (11 people). The most common palliative score distribution was 6 (15 people). The average score was 7.51. The mortality rate at the hospital was 51.6%, 33 patients from a total of 64 patients. From the palliative score distribution curve, the AUC value was 0.687 with a 95% CI (0.557-0.818). The optimal cut-off point was 8. All patients were palliative according to expert opinion based on WHO criteria. CONCLUSION: The performance of this tool is sufficient to screen palliative patients in a terminal and complex condition, but requires improvements to screen for patients who need early palliative care. The optimal cut-off point to determine the limit of consultation on palliative patients is found at score 8.

The relationship of vascular endothelial growth factor and osteopontin expression with 3-year progression-free survival of locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer patients treated with platinum-based chemoradiation.

Introduction: The incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is high, with new cases accounting for 5.2% of all malignancies in Indonesia. Most cases are detected at an advanced stage, and recurrences are common. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and osteopontin (OPN) are important markers in tumorigenesis that serve as prognostic predictors. This study aims to determine the correlation of VEGF and OPN expression with 3-year progression-free survival (PFS). Material and methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed 155 patients with locally advanced NPC. Data were obtained from medical records between 2015 and 2017. The locally advanced sample of this disease that met the inclusion criteria was stained with H&E before being prepared in a paraffin block. Furthermore, the immunohistochemistry staining results for VEGF and OPN were observed with ImageJ 1.50i and calculated semi-quantitatively using the histoscore. Results: The 3-year PFS obtained was 39%, with a median of 23 months. Vascular endothelial growth factor expression was detected in 113 of 155 samples (72.9%), while positive OPN expression was discovered in 99 of 155 samples (63.8%). There was a correlation between VEGF (p = 0.747) and OPN expression (p = 0.584) and 3-year PFS. Positive VEGF and OPN expression in the subgroup of patients with stage IVB and N3 tumors was related to improved 3-year PFS (p < 0.05). This was similar to the positive VEGF expression in the subgroup of patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Vascular endothelial growth factor and OPN remained potential prognostic predictors in NPC. Patients with positive VEGF and OPN expression in N3, IVB, and neoadjuvant treatment had significantly improved 3-year PFS.

Tocilizumab as a Treatment for 'Cytokine Storm Syndrome' in COVID-19: A Case Report.

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) which is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been a problem worldwide, particularly due to the high rate of transmission and wide range of clinical manifestations. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multiorgan failure are the most common events observed in severe cases and can be fatal. Cytokine storm syndrome emerges as one of the possibilities for the development of ARDS and multiorgan failure in severe cases of COVID-19. This case report describes a case of a 53-year-old male patient who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. Further evaluation in this patient showed that there was a marked increase in IL-6 level in blood accompanied with hyperferritinemia, which was in accordance with the characteristic of cytokine storm syndrome. Patient was treated with tocilizumab, a monoclonal antibody and is an antagonist to IL-6 receptor. The binding between tocilizumab and IL-6 receptors effectively inhibit and manage cytokine storm syndrome. Although this case report reported the efficacy of tocilizumab in managing cytokine storm syndrome, tocilizumab has several adverse effects requiring close monitoring. Further clinical randomized control trial is required to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab administration in participants with various clinical characteristics and greater number of subjects.

The Difference in the Cyclin D1 Expression in Advanced Stage Nasopharyngeal Cancer based on Treatment Response: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is the most common type of head and neck cancer in Indonesia (28.4%). Reports showed that 18.9% of cases came with advanced stage. Chemotherapy play important role in advanced stage. However, patients with the same stage of the disease may have different treatment response, likely due to the different tumor biological characteristics. Cyclin D1 is a protein involved in the cell cycle, which will stimulate proliferation. This study aimed to examine the proportion of cyclin D1 in NPC and its association with treatment response. METHODS: a retrospective cohort study was conducted on advanced NPC patients that underwent chemotherapy at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital from 2015 until 2018. Cyclin D1 immunohistochemistry staining was done by antigen retrieval methods using the cyclin D1 NovocastraTM monoclonal antibody. The cyclin D1 expression was evaluated with h-score. Treatment response was reviewed based on the RECIST 1.1 criteria. RESULTS: fifteen subjects (48.4%) had a positive expression of cyclin D1. Higher proportion of cyclin D1 positive was found in responsive group compare with non-responsive group (66.7% vs. 33.3%, p = 0.032). Statistically significant difference in mean h-score was observed between the subjects who responded and those who did not respond (116.24 SD57.80 vs. 77.97 SD45.27, p = 0.048). CONCLUSION: this study suggests that a higher expression of cyclin D1 is associated with a good treatment response in NPC patients.

Characteristics of Palliative Patients, Insights of Patients and Families, and the Impact of Estimated Survival Time on Therapy Decisions.

BACKGROUND: chronic and terminal diseases require holistic therapy that covers the biopsychosocial aspect, and it can be found in palliative therapy. Patients who receive palliative therapy exhibit very diverse profiles. As such, researchers are keen to study the general characteristics of palliative patients. In addition, researchers will also assess the patient's and their family's insight that influences the success of the therapy and the impact of estimated survival time in making treatment decisions. METHODS: this research used cross-sectional descriptive analytic study and secondary data of 300 palliative patients who consult to Psychosomatic Palliative Team at Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. The data were processed using SPSS version 25. The data processed included: sociodemographic characteristics, length of stay, incidence of death in hospital, DNR cases, the patient's and their family's insight, and the impact of estimated survival time on treatment decisions. RESULTS: most palliative patients were women (52.0%) aged 51 - 60 years (27.0%), unemployed (29.0%), and suffered from cancer (55.3%). In addition, the patients were generally treated for less than 1 month (83.6%), died in the hospital (37.3%), and consented to DNR orders (36.7%). These DNR cases are highly correlated to the family's understanding regarding the prognosis of the patient's condition (p = 0.022). The family's understanding of the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment goals (92.3%, 81.3%, and 87.7%) was better than the patient's (79.0%, 64.0%, and 69.7%). Furthermore, no link was found between the therapy choice (optimal, withholding, and withdrawing therapies) with the patient's estimated survival time (p = 0.174). CONCLUSION: female, elderly, and cancer patients most often get palliative therapy. The consent for DNR orders to palliative patient is notably frequent. Currently, the family's insight is much better than the patient's, which means that health care providers need to improve patient education and information. In addition, patients and families generally still opt for optimal therapy despite low estimated survival time.

Factors Associated with Pain in Palliative Patients and the Role of Spiritual Services in Pain Management.

BACKGROUND: pain is one of the most often symptoms experienced by patients with advanced or chronic diseases which can cause a decrease in the quality of life of palliative patients. Pain in palliative patients has not yet received enough attention, especially factors associated with pain and its management. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with pain in palliative patients and also assess whether there is a two-way relationship between psychological factors and pain. In addition, we will also see whether spiritual services play a role in relieving pain. METHODS: cross-sectional study were used and secondary data were obtained from medical records of 285 palliative patients at Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia. The data were processed to determine the psycho-socio-demographic characteristics, the reciprocal relationships of psychological and pain aspects, and the relationship of pharmacological therapy (opioids), non-pharmacological therapy (spiritual services), and combination of both therapies in pain management. RESULTS: of the 285 palliative patients, 60.3% had pain, which was found more in cancer patients (74.4% vs 25.6%). Pain was found more in patients aged 41-60 years (51.1%), women (51.2%), and unemployed (30.2%). The severity of the pain was found to be significant in patients with depressive symptoms (p=0.045), while patients with anxiety symptoms (p=0.155) and sleep disorders (p=0.619) had no significant relationship. Pain experienced by palliative patients was not statistically significant in causing depression (p=0.058), anxiety (p=0.107), and sleep disorder (p=0.639). Moreover, pain management with opioids, spiritual services, or combination of them turned out to have significant results (p=0.022). CONCLUSION: pain in palliative patients is mainly experienced by cancer patients and the elderly. Psychological factors affect the condition of pain, so the management that includes biopsychosocial aspect will be able to reduce pain significantly.

Expression of Biomarkers CXCR4, IL11-RA, TFF1, MLF1P in Advanced Breast Cancer Patients with Bone Metastatic: a Diagnostic Study.

AIM: to analyze expression of biomarkers CXCR4, IL11-RA, TFF1 and MLF1P, and clinicopathology in advanced breast cancer patients with bone metastatic. METHODS: this is a cross-sectional study. Analysis was done against a total of 92 breast cancer patients, including 46 bone metastatic patients and 46 non-bone metastatic patients. Immunohistochemistry and microarray analysis was performed in 81 formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) samples from 81 patients were used. Data were collected through medical records, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and microarray with nanoString nCounterTM. RESULTS: this article is part one of a two stage reporting research results. In part one we got the results of the IHC analysis, IL11-RA with cut-off ≥103.5 showed OR 3.803 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.375-10.581), p=0.010, MLF1P with cut-off ≥83.0 OR 2.784 (95% CI, 1.009-7.681), p=0.048, and ER+ OR 7.640 (95 % CI, 2.599-22.459), p<0.000, were associated with bone metastastic incidences in advanced breast cancer, and were statistically significantly different. A combination of IL-11RA, MLF1P and ER+, showed an accuracy of approaching 80% to discriminate between bone metastatic and non bone metastatic in advanced breast cancer patients. CONCLUSION: IL11-RA, MLF1P, and ER+ were the determinants that were associated with increasing bone metastasis incidence.

Opioid Use in Cancer Pain Management in Indonesia: a Call For Attention.

Severe pain is a major problem for cancer patients, and pain management often requires the use of opioids. Indonesia is one of the countries where the use of opioids for cancer patients is extremely low, and this calls for attention, as many cancer patients in the country undergo unnecessary suffering as the consequence of this opioid underuse. The inability to assess pain correctly, failure to determine the correct dose, fear of addiction, overly tight regulation, all contribute to the failure to implement rational use of opioids for cancer patients. Breakthrough pain, a problem which requires special attention not only because it is commonly found but also requires proper knowledge to handle them. These hurdles are discussed in the present review, in order to bring a better understanding about the correct use of opioids in severe cancer pain. Some examples where opiods are used inappropriately in cancer pain management are also discussed.

Hemostatic status of pre and post intracoronary injection of peripheral blood stem cells in patients with recent myocardial infarction.

AIM: to investigate hemostatic parameter changes, such as platelet aggregation, blood and plasma viscosity, prothrombin time, APTT, CRP and fibrinogen, before and after administration of stem cell therapy. METHODS: a total of 24 patients were enrolled. Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) were harvested and injected into the infarct-related artery after 5 consecutive days of G-CSF administration. Recombinant human erythropoietin was administered at the time of intracoronary PBSCs injection. RESULTS: we were able to evaluate 11 from 24 of patients regarding hemostatic status pre-post stem cell injection. There were no significant difference between baseline vs 3 months in spontaneous aggregation (p=0.350), PT (p=0.793), aPTT (p=0.255) and TT (p=0.254). There were also no significant difference between baseline vs 3 months in plasma viscosity (p=0.442) and blood viscosity (p=0.843). Nevertheless the patient who had their blood and plasma viscosity above or below normal laboratory range return to normal level after the treatment. Both PT and APTT also show normalization value. Both Fibrinogen and CRP level show significant decrease between baseline and 3 months after treatment (p=0.009) and (p=0.04) respectively. CONCLUSION: combined G-CSF and EPO based-intracoronary infusion of PBSCs may open new perspective in the treatment of hypercoagulable state post AMI.

Factors Associated with All-Cause 30-Day Mortality in Indonesian Inpatient COVID-19 Patients at Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital.

Introduction: Indonesia, as a developing country, has limited data on the factors associated with 30-day mortality in COVID-19 patients in Indonesia. As a matter of fact, study analyzing factors associated with 30-day mortality of COVID-19 infection in Indonesia has never been conducted. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature by conducting a large-scale analysis of factors associated with 30-day mortality in COVID-19 patients in Indonesia. Method: This study employed a single-center retrospective cohort observational design, and was conducted at Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital between the years 2022 and 2023. Sampling was conducted using the consecutive sampling method. The study included patients aged 18 years and above who had been confirmed to have COVID-19 infection. Survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Result: Our study included a total of 644 patients, with 120 patients (18.6%) expiring within 30 days. In the multivariate analysis using the backward Wald method, severe COVID-19 (HR: 7.024; 95% CI: 3.971-12.744; p value: <0.0001), moderate COVID-19 infection (HR: 1.660; 95% CI: 1.048-2.629; p value: 0.031), liver cirrhosis (HR: 3.422; 95% CI: 1.208-9.691; p value: 0.021), female sex (HR: 1.738; 95% CI: 1.187-2.545; p value: 0.004), old age (HR: 2.139; 95% CI: 1.279-3.577; p value: 0.004), high leukocyte (HR: 11.502; 95% CI: 1.523-86.874; p value: 0.018), high NLR (HR: 1.720; 95% CI: 1.049-2.819; p value: 0.032), high CRP (HR: 1.906; 95% CI: 1.092-3.329; p value: 0.023), high procalcitonin (HR: 3.281; 95% CI: 1.780-6.049; p value: 0.001), and high creatinine (HR: 1.863; 95% CI: 1.240-2.800; p value: 0.003) were associated with 30-day mortality from COVID-19 infection. Subgroup analysis excluding cancer patients showed that age, D-Dimer, CRP, and PCT were associated with 30-day mortality in COVID-19 patients, while steroid therapy is protective. Conclusions: This study finds that COVID-19 severity, liver cirrhosis, sex, age, leukocyte, NLR, CRP, creatinine, and procalcitonin were associated with COVID-19 mortality within 30 days. These findings underscore the multifactorial nature of COVID-19 infection mortality. It is important, therefore, that patients which exhibit these factors should be treated more aggressively to prevent mortality.

Autologous intraarterial pancreatic bone-marrow mononuclear cells infusion in T2D patients: Changes on beta-cells function, insulin resistance, and inflammatory marker.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a progressive disease. Many drugs currently being used for the management of T2D have minimal effect on pancreatic beta cells regeneration. Cell-based therapies might provide potential benefits in this aspect. METHODS: A pilot study in five T2D patients with 12 months follow-up was performed to evaluate the effect of autologous bone marrow mononuclear stem cells (BM-MNCs) infusion into pancreatic arteries on the insulin requirement, beta-cell function, insulin resistance, and systemic inflammatory marker (CRP). RESULTS: The primary endpoint, a 50 % reduction of total insulin doses from baseline, was not achieved in this study. However, a trend of increasing fasting C-peptide (p = 0.07) and C-peptide 60' (p = 0.07) and 90' (p = 0.07) after a mixed-meal tolerance test was observed 12 months post-infusion compared to baseline levels. A similar result was observed for the homeostatic model assessment of beta cell function (HOMA1-B), an index for beta cell function. No improvement was observed for insulin resistance measured by homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA1-IR) and systemic inflammatory parameter. CONCLUSION: Intraarterial pancreatic autologous BM-MNCs infusion might potentially improve beta cell function in T2D patients, although further study is needed to confirm this finding.

Efficacy of COVID convalescent plasma therapy in hospitalized moderate coronavirus disease 2019 patients.

INTRODUCTION: Covid Convalescent Plasma (CCP) failed to demonstrate its efficacy in severe and life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. However, the role of CCP in hospitalized moderate cases is unclear. This study aims to examine the efficacy of administering CCP to hospitalized moderate coronavirus disease 2019 patients. METHODOLOGY: An open-label randomized controlled clinical trial design was used from November 2020 - August 2021 at two referral hospitals in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the primary outcome was mortality at 14 days. The secondary outcomes were mortality at 28 days, the time-to-discontinuation of supplemental oxygen, and the time-to-hospital discharge. RESULTS: This study recruited 44 subjects, and the intervention arm consisted of 21 respondents who received CCP. The control arm consisted of 23 subjects who received standard-of-care treatment. All subjects survived during the fourteen-day follow-up period, and the 28-day mortality rate in the intervention group was lower than the control (4.8% vs 13.0%; p = 0.16, HR = 4.39 (95% CI = 0.45-42.71). There was no statistically significant difference in the time-to-discontinuation of supplemental oxygen and time-to-hospital discharge. During the total follow-up period (41 days), the mortality rate in the intervention group was also lower than the control (4.8% vs 17.4%, p = 0.13, HR = 5.47, 95% CI = 0.60-49.55). CONCLUSIONS: This study concluded that in hospitalized moderate COVID-19 patients, CCP did not reduce 14-day mortality compared to the control. Mortality during 28 days and total length of stay (41 days) were lower in the CCP group compared to the control, although they did not reach statistical significance.

Factors that Influence 2-Year Progression-Free Survival Among Head and Neck Cancer Patients.

OBJECTIVES: The majority of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) come to the hospital at advanced stages. This research was conducted to determine the mortality, 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and factors that influenced PFS of HNC patients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among locally advanced HNC patients who underwent chemoradiation for the first time at RSCM from January 2015 to December 2017. Data were retrieved through medical records. Laboratory data were taken 2-4 weeks prior and 2-4 weeks after chemoradiation. PFS observation started from the first day of chemoradiation until disease progression or death. PFS data were recorded in two groups: ≤ 2 years and > 2 years. The Chi-square test was used for bivariate analysis with the Fischer-exact test as an alternative. Variables will be further tested using multivariate logistic regression tests. RESULTS: Among 216 subjects, there were 103 (47.69%) patients who did not reach overall survival (OS) > 2 years. There were 108 (50%) patients who had PFS > 2 years. Based on the results of multivariate analysis, it was found that smoking, hemoglobin level ≤ 12 g/dl, ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) 1-2, and negative therapeutic response were associated with poor PFS. Hazard ratio (HR) for 2-year PFS for Brinkman index > 250 was 1.36 (95% CI 0.93-2.00; p = 0.02); HR for Hb ≤ 12 g/dl was 1.65 (95% CI 1.13-2.42; p = 0.01); HR for ECOG 1-2 was 4.05 (95% CI 1.49-11.00; p < 0.01); and HR for negative therapeutic response was 2.37 (95% CI 1.43-3.94; p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Mortality of HNC patients within 2 years is 47.69%, with a 2-year PFS reaching 50%. Cigarette smoking, low hemoglobin levels, poor performance status, and negative therapeutic response (non-responders) negatively affect the 2-year PFS.

MUM1 Expression versus Hans Algorithm to Predict Prognosis in Indonesian Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Patients Receiving R-CHOP.

Background: Treatment response in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is heterogenous. The Hans algorithm (using 30% cut-offs for CD10, BCL6, and MUM1 protein expression) has been the most favored method to categorize DLBCL into germinal center B-cell (GCB) and non-GCB subtypes in order to predict prognosis. However, the algorithm's ability to prognosticate is not always consistent. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted on DLBCL patients receiving R-CHOP therapy at Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta from 2014 to 2017. We aimed to compare the prognostic value of Hans algorithm as well as the protein levels of CD10, BCL6, MUM1, and Ki67 at different cut-offs. Ninety-two patients were classified based on Hans algorithm and various proteins at different cut-off values were analyzed with regard to event-free survival at 24 months using survival analysis. The cut-off values were then compared using receiver operating characteristic curves. Results: A significant survival difference was observed with MUM1 expression cut-off of 50% or more (log rank p = 0.035). CD10, BCL6, Ki67, and Hans algorithm showed AUCs below or near 0.5 (0.405, 0.436, 0.498, and 0.413, respectively), whereas MUM1 showed an AUC of 0.835, in predicting events within 24 months. MUM-1 cut-off of 70.5% yielded an optimal trade-off for sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: MUM1 expression of 50% or more can help predict prognosis in DLBCL patients receiving R-CHOP therapy and can be considered as for use as a single marker to predict prognosis.

The role of IL-6, ferritin, and coagulopathy in Covid-19 clinical progression.

Background In COVID-19, the release of pro-inflammatory mediators in the cytokine storm, primarily interleukin-6 (IL-6), has been hypothesized to induce pulmonary intravascular coagulation. However, the relationship between IL-6 and coagulopathy remains unclear in COVID-19 progression. We aimed to investigate the correlation of IL-6 with D-dimer, fibrinogen, prothrombin time (PT), and ferritin. Furthermore, we also analyzed the effect of those parameters on the worsening of COVID-19 patients. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted in moderate and severe COVID-19 patients from June 2020 to January 2021. A serial evaluation of IL-6, D-dimer, fibrinogen, ferritin, and PT was performed and correlated with the patient's condition at admission and on the 14th day. The outcomes (improvement, worsening, or discharged patients) were recorded during the study. Results Of 374 patients, 73 study subjects (61 severe and 12 moderate COVID-19) were included in this study. A total of 35 out of 61 severe and one out of 12 moderate illness subjects had experienced worsening. Spearman-rank correlation of IL-6 with with ferritin, D-dimer, fibrinogen, and PT was 0.08 ( p=0.5), -0.13 ( p=0.27), 0.01 ( p=0.91), and 0.03 ( p=0.77), respectively. In ROC analysis, D-dimer (74,77%) and IL-6 (71,32%) were the highest among other variables (>60%). Conclusions In COVID-19 patients, there was a correlation between elevated IL-6 and D-dimer levels with disease deterioration. There was no correlation between elevated IL-6 levels with ferritin, D-dimer, fibrinogen, and PT levels. Therefore, changes in IL-6 and D-dimer can predict worsening in moderate and severe COVID-19 patients.

Safety and feasibility of combined granulocyte colony stimulating factor and erythropoetin based-stem cell therapy using intracoronary infusion of peripheral blood stem cells in patients with recent anterior myocardial infarction: one-year follow-up of a phase 1 study.

AIM: to assess the safety and feasibility of combined granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and erythropoietin (EPO) based intracoronary peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) therapy in patients with recent myocardial infarction (RMI) who had successful reperfusion therapy with drug-eluting stent. METHODS: a total of 18 patients diagnosed with anterior ST-segment elevation AMI who had successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stent implantation within 15 days after onset of symptom were enrolled. PBSCs were harvested and injected into the infarct-related artery after 5 consecutive days of G-CSF administration. Recombinant human erythropoietin was administered at the time of intracoronary PBSCs injection. RESULTS: there were no procedural and periprocedural complications, such as ventricular arrhythmia, visible thrombus formation, distal embolization, injury of the coronary artery associated with the cell infusion catheterization procedure or elevation of CK-MB of more than two-times. After PBSCs injection, all patients had grade III myocardial blush grade. At follow-up of 21.1±5.5 months (range 12 to 30 months) there was no death, no re-infarction, no target lesion revascularization nor re-hospitalization for heart failure. Paired cardiac MRI demonstrated no change in left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) at 3 months, but they increased significantly at one year. Despite this, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), wall motion score index (WMSI) and perfusion score index (PSI) improved at 3 months and remained stable at one year. The percentage of late gadolinium enhancement to LV mass (%LGE) were continuously improved until one year. There was no correlation between the level of CD34+, CD 45+, other cell subtypes as well as total number of PBSCs injected to the changes of LVEDV, LVESV, LVEF, WMSI, PSI, and %LGE (p >0.05). CONCLUSION: combined G-CSF and EPO based- intracoronary infusion of PBSCs in patients RAMI is safe and feasible.