Analysis of risk factors for pulmonary complications in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer : A single-centre retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION: The most effective therapy in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS SCLC) seems to be chemotherapy (using platinum-based regimens) and thoracic radiotherapy (TRT), which is followed by prophylactic cranial irradiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The analysed group comprised 217 patients who received combined treatment for LS SCLC, i.e. chemotherapy (according to cisplatin and etoposide schedule) and TRT (concurrent in 101 and sequential in 116 patients). The influence of chemoradiotherapy (ChT-RT) schedule on treatment results (frequency of complete response, survival rates, and incidence of treatment failure and complications) was evaluated, and the frequency and severity of pulmonary complications were analysed to identify risk factors. RESULTS: The 5­year survival rates in concurrent vs. sequential ChT-RT schedules were 27.3 vs. 11.7% (overall) and 28 vs. 14.3% (disease-free). The frequencies of adverse events in relation to concurrent vs. sequential therapy were 85.1 vs. 9.5% (haematological complications) and 58.4 vs. 38.8% (pulmonary fibrosis), respectively. It was found that concurrent ChT-RT (hazard ratio, HR 2.75), a total dose equal to or more than 54 Gy (HR 2.55), the presence of haematological complications (HR 1.89) and a lung volume receiving a dose equal to or greater than 20 Gy exceeding 31% (HR 1.06) were the risk factors for pulmonary complications. CONCLUSION: Pulmonary complications after ChT-RT developed in 82% of patients treated for LS SCLC. In comparison to the sequential approach, concurrent ChT-RT had a positive effect on treatment outcome. However, this is a factor that can impair treatment tolerance, which manifests in the appearance of side effects.

Adverse Events of Cabozantinib as a Potential Prognostic Factor in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients: Real-World Experience in a Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Cabozantinib, an oral inhibitor targeting MET, AXL, and VEGF receptors, has become a key component of a sequential treatment strategy for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). The purpose of this work is to show that effective management of adverse events (AEs) during cabozantinib treatment and achieving a balance between AEs and treatment efficacy is crucial to achieving therapeutic goals. In this retrospective study, involving seventy-one metastatic RCC (mRCC) patients receiving second or subsequent lines of cabozantinib at the Department of Genitourinary Oncology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, we explored the impact of AEs on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). AEs were observed in 92% of patients. Hypothyroidism during treatment was significantly associated with prolonged OS and PFS (HR: 0.31; p < 0.001 and HR: 0.34; p < 0.001, respectively). The occurrence of hand-foot syndrome (HFS) was also linked to improved OS (HR: 0.46; p = 0.021). Patients experiencing multiple AEs demonstrated superior OS and PFS compared to those with one or no AEs (HR: 0.36; p < 0.001 and HR: 0.30; p < 0.001, respectively). Hypothyroidism and HFS serve as valuable predictive factors during cabozantinib treatment in ccRCC patients, indicating a more favorable prognosis.

Creating and field-testing the questionnaire for the assessment of knowledge about cervical cancer and its prevention among schoolgirls and female students.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire used to assess the level of general knowledge about cervical cancer, its primary and secondary prevention, and to identify sources of information about the disease among schoolgirls and female students. METHODS: THE QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WAS DIVIDED INTO FOUR PHASES: generation of issues; construction of a provisional questionnaire; testing of the provisional questionnaire for acceptability and relevance; field-testing, which aimed at ensuring reliability and validity of the questionnaire. Field-testing included 305 respondents of high school female Caucasian students, who filled out the final version of the questionnaire. RESULTS: After phase 1, a list of 65 issues concerning knowledge about cervical cancer and its prevention was generated. Of 305, 155 were schoolgirls (mean age±SD, 17.8±0.5) and 150 were female students (mean age±SD, 21.7±1.8). The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the whole questionnaire was 0.71 (range for specific questionnaire sections, 0.60 to 0.81). Test-retest reliability ranged from 0.89 to 0.94. CONCLUSION: The Cervical-Cancer-Knowledge-Prevention-64 has been successfully developed to measure the level of knowledge about cervical cancer. The results confirm the validity, reliability and applicability of the created questionnaire.

Assessment of knowledge about cervical cancer and its prevention among female students aged 17-26 years.

OBJECTIVE: To assess knowledge about cervical cancer and its primary and secondary prevention, and identify the sources of information about the disease among female high school and university students in Krakow, Poland. STUDY DESIGN: This study was based on a questionnaire consisting of 64 questions, divided into six parts: personal data, general knowledge about cervical cancer, estimation of risk factors, knowledge about primary prevention, knowledge about secondary prevention, and information sources. Data were collected from students aged 17-26 years over a 3-month period in 2011 and 2012. RESULTS: Four hundred women living in Krakow or its vicinity were included in the study. Nearly all respondents (98.5%) had heard of cervical cancer, 89.4% were aware of the risk of death associated with cervical cancer, and 44.8% believed that the disease could affect them in the future. The interviewees considered genetics and family history to be the most important risk factors, followed by infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) and having multiple sex partners. Most (91.5%) respondents had not been vaccinated against HPV, 47.9% did not know where to go to get vaccinated, and 30.1% were unaware of vaccination as a prevention method. Most (91.5%) respondents were aware of cytological screening, and 86.5% thought that they should have it done in the future. Women who had not heard of cytological screening were more likely to be unaware of cervical cancer than women who had heard about cytological screening (odds ratio 0.24, 95% confidence interval 0.11-0.49, p=0.0001). The Internet, television and newspapers were reported to be the main sources of information about the disease. CONCLUSIONS: General awareness of cervical cancer among young women in Poland is insufficient. HPV infection is not considered to be the major aetiological factor. A relatively high percentage of women in this study had never heard of the HPV vaccine as a way of preventing cervical cancer. Knowledge about cytological screening, however, appears to be much better.