Survival of patients with mucosal melanoma in Cali, Colombia: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Mucosa melanoma is a rare condition with aggressive behavior and a less favorable prognosis compared to cutaneous melanoma. The objective of this study was to estimate the overall survival and clinical outcomes of patients diagnosed with mucosal melanoma in a Colombian hospital. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Fundación Valle del Lili, a single center located in Cali, Colombia. Patients aged ≥ 18 years, both sexes, diagnosed with mucosal melanoma by histopathology study were included between 2010-2019. Patients who received extra-institutional treatment or whose vital status was unknown during follow-up were excluded. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were obtained from medical records and laboratory and pathology databases. A descriptive analysis was performed. Survival analysis was conducted using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: A total of 23 patients were included. Median age was 63 years old (IQR: 57-68) and 52.2% were woman. Clinical stage was 34.8% early, 26.1% locally advanced and 39.1% metastatic. The main primary locations were nasopharynx (30.4%), genitals (26.1%), rectum (21.7%), oral cavity (13%) and paranasal sinuses (8.7%). The majority received surgery (30.4%) and immunotherapy (26.1%) as first line treatment. Overall survival at one year was 80.8%, at three years 44.3%, and at five years 36.9%. CONCLUSION: Mucosal melanoma is a rare, aggressive disease with adverse oncological outcomes due to late diagnosis and limited treatment options. This study provides real-world data in a single-center of Colombia.

Methods and implementation of a Hospital-Based Cancer Registry in a major city in a low-to middle-income country: the case of Cali, Colombia.

PURPOSE: To describe our experience upon developing and implementing a hospital-based cancer registry (HBCR) in a quaternary-level of care private non-profit academic medical center in Cali, Colombia. METHODS: HBCRs capture, in a given institution, every single patient with a confirmed malignancy. In this study, all cases evaluated between 2014 and 2018 were included in the HBCR. In compliance with the International Agency for Research on Cancer recommendations, cases were classified as analytic or non-analytic. Data derived from an exhaustive selection of patients was stored in a computing platform owned by the institution, meeting the 2016 Facility Oncology Registry Data Standards recommendations. Quality control was performed by evaluating comparability, timeliness, validity, and completeness. RESULTS: A total of 24,405 new cases were registered between 2014 and 2018, from which 4253 (17.4%) died. Among all cases, based on the anatomic location, most common malignancies were breast (n = 1554), thyroid (n = 1346), hematolymphoid (n = 1251), prostatic (n = 805), and colorectal (n = 624). The behavior of the new cases was consistent with an incremental trend. CONCLUSION: Upon implementing the HBCR, major challenges were identified (i.e., a precise definition of cases, the development of processes for capturing new cases, a standardized data collection strategy, and carrying-out an appropriate patient follow-up). Based on our experience, the success of an HBCR largely relies on the interest from the institution, the engagement of stakeholders and financial support, that is, it depends on the adequate access over time to funding, technological, and staffing resources.

Coffee Consumption and Its Inverse Relationship with Gastric Cancer: An Ecological Study.

Coffee is the second most popular drink worldwide, and it has various components with antioxidant and antitumor properties. Due to its chemical composition, it could act as an antitumor substance in the gastrointestinal tract. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between coffee consumption and the incidence/mortality of stomach cancer in the highest-consuming countries. An ecological study using Spearman's correlation coefficient was performed. The WorldAtlas's dataset of coffee consumption and the incidence/mortality rates database of the International Agency for Research were used as sources of information. A total of 25 countries were entered to the study. There was an inverse linear correlation between coffee consumption in kg per person per year and estimated age-adjusted incidence (r = 0.5984, p = 0.0016) and mortality (r = 0.5877, p = 0.0020) of stomach cancer. Coffee may potentially have beneficial effects on the incidence and mortality of stomach cancer, as supported by the data from each country analyzed.