The Effect of High-flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen for Dyspnea in Patients with Advanced Disease: Systematic Review

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen (HFNC) for dyspnea in patients with advanced disease. Methods: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Ichu-shi Web. Inclusion criteria were: 1) randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of HFNC on dyspnea; 2) aged 18 years or older with advanced disease with hypoxemia; 3) control group was conventional oxygen therapy or noninvasive positive pressure ventilation. Exclusion criteria were: 1) patients in intensive care unit, 2) weaning from ventilator. Results: Six studies (4 from database searches, and 2 from hand searches) were included. In the 2 studies evaluating short-term intervention, one showed HFNC was more efficacious, and the other conventional oxygen was more efficacious. In the 2 studies evaluating long-term interventions: one showed HFNC was more efficacious, and the other showed no significant difference. In the 2 studies evaluating the intervention during exercise, one showed HFNC was more efficacious, and the other showed no significant difference. Conclusion: HFNC may be effective for dyspnea in patients with advanced disease associated with hypoxemia.

Diagnosis of advanced disease in cases of colorectal cancer in a developing country

Objectives Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in the world, with survival correlated with the extension of the disease at diagnosis. In many low-/middle-income countries, the incidence of CRC is increasing rapidly, while decreasing rates are observed in high-income countries. We evaluated the anatomopathological profile of 390 patients diagnosed with CRC who underwent surgical resection, over a six-year period, in the state of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. Results Adenocarcinomas accounted for 98% of the cases of primary colorectal tumors, and 53.8% occurred in female patients. The average age of the sample was 63.5 years, with 81.8% of individuals older than 50 years of age and 6.4% under 40 years of age. The most frequent location was the distal colon; pT3 status was found in 71% of patients, and pT4 status, in 14.4%. Angiolymphatic and lymph-node involvements were found in 48.7% and 46.9% of the cases respectively. Distant metastasis was observed in 9.2% of the patients. Advanced disease was diagnosed in almost half of the patients (48.1%). The women in the sample had poorly-differentiated adenocarcinomas (p=0.043). Patients under 60 years of age had a higher rate of lymph-node metastasis (p=0.044). Tumor budding was present in 27.2% of the cases, and it was associated with the female gender, themucinous histological type, and the depth of invasion (pT3 and pT4). Conclusions We conclude that the diagnosis of advanced disease in CRC is still a reality, with a high occurrence of aggressive prognostic factors, which results in a worse prognosis. (AU)

Metástasis infrecuentes en el carcinoma broncogénico / Uncommon metastases in bronchogenic carcinoma

Introducción: El pulmón es el órgano con mayor localización de enfermedad y mortalidad tumoral. En el momento del diagnóstico 55 por ciento de los casos presentan metástasis a distancia lo que implica un estadio avanzado de la enfermedad. Las metástasis cutáneas y en huesos distales de neoplasias internas son infrecuentes comparadas con las producidas en otras vísceras. La invasión cutánea puede presentarse por extensión directa de estructuras subyacentes y suelen asentar en la pared torácica anterior, por implantación accidental en maniobras diagnósticas, embolización vía linfática y por vía hematógena con posibles lesiones en zonas muy distantes y cuya aparición suele ser más precoz. Histológicamente, es el cáncer de pulmón indiferenciado el que con mayor frecuencia metastiza en la piel. Objetivo: Presentar dos casos con diagnóstico de carcinoma de pulmón células no pequeñas que desarrollaron metástasis en localizaciones infrecuentes. Presentación de los casos: Se presentan dos casos con metástasis infrecuentes de un carcinoma broncogénico. El primero a nivel nasal y el segundo en los metacarpianos y zonas blandas de la mano izquierda, ambas lesiones tumorales aparecieron en el curso del tratamiento oncológico para el cáncer del pulmón. El segundo caso fue tratado como una tendinitis y flebitis. Ambos casos evolucionaron hacia las metástasis múltiples y la muerte. Conclusiones: Se presentaron dos casos con metástasis infrecuente de un carcinoma de pulmón células no pequeñas, y aunque una vez diagnosticadas el pronóstico es malo a corto plazo, se deben de tener en cuenta para evitar diagnósticos y conductas erróneas(AU)

Introduction: The lung is the organ with the greatest location of disease and tumor mortality. At the time of diagnosis, 55 percent of the cases present distant metastases, which implies an advanced stage of the disease. Cutaneous and distal bone metastases from internal neoplasms are rare compared to those produced in other viscera. Cutaneous invasion can occur by direct extension of underlying structures and usually settle in the anterior chest wall, by accidental implantation in diagnostic maneuvers, lymphatic and hematogenous embolization with possible lesions in very distant areas and whose appearance is usually earlier. Histologically, it is undifferentiated lung cancer that most frequently metastasizes to the skin. Objective: To report two cases with a diagnosis of non-small cell lung carcinoma that developed metastases in infrequent locations. Case report: Two cases are reported with rare metastases from bronchogenic carcinoma. The first at the nasal level and the second in the metacarpals and soft areas of the left hand, both tumor lesions appeared in the course of oncological treatment for lung cancer. The second case was treated as tendinitis and phlebitis. Both cases progressed to multiple metastases and death. Conclusions: There were two cases with infrequent metastases of non-small cell lung carcinoma, and although once diagnosed the prognosis is poor in the short term, they should be taken into account to avoid misdiagnosis and misconduct(AU)

Survival Nomograms after Curative Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Radical Surgery for Stage IB2-IIIB Cervical Cancer / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop nomograms for predicting the probability of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in locally advanced cervical cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nomograms to predict the 5-year OS rates and the 2-year PFS rates were constructed. Calibration plots were constructed, and concordance indices were calculated. Evaluated variableswere body mass index, age, tumor size, tumor histology, grading, lymphovascular space invasion, positive parametria, and positive lymph nodes. RESULTS: In total 245 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical surgery were included for the construction of the nomogram. The 5-year OS and PFS were 72.6% and 66%, respectively. Tumor size, grading, and parametria status affected the rate of OS, whereas tumor size and positive parametria were the main independent PFS prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: We constructed a nomogram based on clinicopathological features in order to predict 2-year PFS and 5-year OS in locally advanced cervical cancer primarily treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical surgery. This tool might be particularly helpful for assisting in the follow-up of cervical cancer patients who have not undergone concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

"Discussion on the idea of""He""of Chinese medicine in the palliative care" / 国际中医中药杂志

The palliative care has become an important part of social civilization. Its treatment of advanced patients with no response to the treatment of patients with positive and comprehensive care, paying attention to the people-oriented conforms to the Chinese nationHeperfectly. In palliative care practice,Heconcept penetrates in the happening of the disease and development, treatment and special and complex and changeful in interpersonal relationship. The ultimate goal of He is also a palliative care. The concept of reconciliation will promote the development of palliative care.

Current situation and progress in the comprehensive treatment of locally advanced gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma / 中国肿瘤临床

Based on special biological characteristics and prognosis, the incidence of gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (GEJA) has rapidly increased over recent years, and its diagnosis and treatment remain controversial. Compared with simple surgery, neo-adjuvant and adjuvant therapies can improve the survival of patients with locally advanced GEJA. Under neo-adjuvant therapy, neo-adjuvant chemoradiation is superior to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy alone for improving the resectability, maintaining loco-regional control, and improving the quality of life of the patient. The combination of this therapy with targeted drugs may further increase the ef-ficacy of GEJA. Most data on GEJA-treated patients were obtained from randomized clinical studies on esophageal cancer or gastric cancer. Thus, prospective randomized controlled studies with a large sample size should be performed to optimize the strategy of neo-adjuvant and adjuvant therapies, and further improve the treatment outcome. In this article, studies on the comprehensive treatment of GEJA were reviewed.