Capecitabine Plus Aromatase Inhibitor as First Line Therapy for Hormone Receptor Positive, HER2 Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer.

(1) Background: recent evidence suggests that long low-dose capecitabine regimens have a synergistic effect with endocrine therapy as aromatase inhibitors (AIs), and might increase overall survival for hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative, metastatic breast cancer compared to both treatments. We performed a retrospective study to confirm the efficacy and expand the safety data for capecitabine plus AI (a combination henceforth named XELIA) for this indication. (2) We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of 163 hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer patients who received either the XELIA regimen, capecitabine, or an aromatase inhibitor (AI) as single agents in first-line treatment. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival, and the secondary endpoints were overall survival, best objective response, and toxicity incidence. (3) Results: the median progression-free survival for patients receiving XELIA, AI, and capecitabine was 29.37 months (20.91 to 37.84; 95% CI), 20.04 months (7.29 to 32.80; 95% CI) and 10.48 (8.69 to 12.28; 95% CI), respectively. The overall response rate was higher in the XELIA group (29.5%) than in the AI (14.3%) and capecitabine (9.1%) groups. However, the differences in overall survival were not statistically significant. Apart from hand-foot syndrome, there were no statistically significant differences in adverse events between the groups. (4) Conclusions: this retrospective study suggests that progression-free survival and overall response rates improved with the XELIA regimen compared to use of aromatase inhibitors and capecitabine alone. Combined use demonstrated an adequate safety profile and might represent an advantageous treatment in places where CDK 4/6 is not available. Larger studies and randomized clinical trials are required to confirm the effects shown in our study.

Prognosis of breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy and early postpartum according to immunohistochemical subtype: A matched case-control study.

PURPOSE: Pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) poses a clinical challenge and its prognosis remains controversial. During the pregnancy and postpartum periods, the breast undergoes biological events that may uniquely influence disease behavior and treatment response. This study aimed to assess if a PABC diagnosis influences survival compared to non-PABC. METHODS: A single-center record review was performed to identify PABC patients diagnosed from January 2007 through June 2018. Two controls were matched to each PABC case by stage, immunohistochemical (IHC) subtype, age (± 3) and year of diagnosis (± 2). Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was used to assess the impact of PABC on outcomes. RESULTS: 125 PABC patients (pregnant: 62; postpartum: 63) and 250 controls were included. Median follow-up was 67.7 and 73.4 months, respectively. 4-year DFS was 62% in pregnant vs 78% in controls (p = 0.010), and 63% in postpartum vs 83% in controls (p = 0.034). Subanalysis by IHC subtype revealed a significantly inferior DFS in PABC with hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative (p = 0.032) and HER2-positive disease (p = 0.005) compared to corresponding non-PABC patients. 4-year OS was similar between case groups and controls. Multivariate analysis supported the independent impact of pregnant and postpartum status on DFS (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients diagnosed during pregnancy and early postpartum are at high risk of recurrence. Further research is warranted to better characterize PABC tumor biology and enable the identification of novel therapeutic interventions to improve treatment outcomes.

Manejo del derrame pleural, servicio de cirugía, hospital Doctor Roberto Gilbert Elizalde: Guayaquil – Ecuador: enero de 2001 – diciembre de 2003 / Handling of pleural effusion in Doctor Roberto Gilbert Elizalde hospital, surgery service: Guayaquil – Ecuador: January/2001 – December/2003

Tipo de Estudio: retrospectivo, descriptivo, analítico. Objetivo: demostrar la mayor eficiencia del uso de toracoscopía dentro de los diez primeros días en el manejo del derrame pleural sobre otros métodos. Pacientes y Métodos: Se estudió a todos los pacientes del área de cirugía, comprendidos entre 0 a 15 años de edad del hospital “Dr. Roberto Gilbert Elizalde”, que hayan sido atendidos en el período enero 2001 a diciembre 2003, con diagnóstico de neumopatías complicadas con derrame pleural. Resultados: a nivel masculino, con edades que correspondían entre 0 a 30 meses, presentó mayor porcentaje frente a otras edades con un 21.91. En el grupo femenino, el 32.02 de los pacientes correspondían entre las edades de 0-30 meses, este porcentaje fue mayor frente a otros grupos de edades. La zona urbana presentó un 43.26 de neumopatías con derrame pleural. Entre los gérmenes más cultivados se encuentran en un 57.14 el estafilococo aureus. El método de tratamiento quirúrgico más usado fue la toracotomía mínima en un 98.88, sobre la toracoscopía en 1.12 de casos. Conclusiones: esta patología presentó predominio en el grupo femenino, y en el grupo etario entre 0 a 30meses tanto en femenino como en masculino. De acuerdo al correcto manejo del paciente tras la realización de una toracotomía mínima, podemos determinar que el tiempo de uso de un tubo pleural fue: en el 49.44 de los pacientes, y lo usaron entre 1-7 días.

Study Type: Retrospective, descriptive, analytical. Objective: To prove that using thoracoscopy within the first ten days handling pleural effusion is more efficient than other methods. Patients and methods: All patients between 0 and 15 years old of the surgery area of “Dr. Roberto Gilbert Elizalde” hospital treated between January/2001 and December 2003 with the diagnosis of pneumopathy complicated with pleural effusion, were included in this study. Results: male patients from 0 to 30 moths old were up to a greater percentage compared to other ages: 21.91 . In the female group, 32.02 of patients were between ages of 0 and 30 months; this percentage was greater compared to other age groups. In urban zone the percentage of pneumopathies with pleural effusion was 43.26. Among the most frequently found germs in culture are the staphylococcus aureus (57.14 ). The surgical treatment method most frequently used was minimal thoracotomy (98.88 of cases), over thoracoscopy (1.12 of cases). Conclusions: This pathology showed predominance in female group, and in the 0 to 30 months age group as much in the female group as in the male one. According to the appropriate handling of the patient after minimal thoracotomy was carried out, we can see that the using time of a pleural tube was: 49.44 of patients used it between 1 and 7 days.