The interdisciplinary and psychosocial gap in cancer survivorship: A longitudinal study in a Latin American Cancer Center.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is lack of information on the quality of care provided to the rapidly increasing population of cancer survivors in Latin America. Our study attempts to address this gap and to identify areas needed to be improved. METHODS: A random sample of 210 breast and colorectal cancer survivors were selected from a hospital-based registry in Chile. Cancer registry information, electronic chart review, and personal interviews were used to assess medical and nonmedical care over a 5-year period. Survivorship care practices were compared to a standardized reference based on the US Institute of Medicine domains and the American Cancer Association guidelines. RESULTS: Over 80% of breast and colorectal cancer survivors received appropriate medical care, ongoing testing surveillance and risk factors assessment. Only a third of survivors were assessed for psychosocial disorders and 25% of them received interdisciplinary care. Overall, 66.1% of breast and 58.6% of colorectal cancer survivors reached the expected quality level of cancer survivorship care according to the reference standard (p < .001). CONCLUSION: Medical care practices reached a high standard in a leading cancer center in Latin America. However, a much stronger psychosocial assessment and interdisciplinary care is needed to improve survivorship cancer quality care.

Latin American Consensus on the Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is well known as a serious health problem worldwide, especially in low-income countries or those with limited resources, such as most countries in Latin America. International guidelines cannot always be applied to a population from a large region with specific conditions. This study established a Latin American guideline for care of patients with head and neck cancer and presented evidence of HNSCC management considering availability and oncologic benefit. A panel composed of 41 head and neck cancer experts systematically worked according to a modified Delphi process on (1) document compilation of evidence-based answers to different questions contextualized by resource availability and oncologic benefit regarding Latin America (region of limited resources and/or without access to all necessary health care system infrastructure), (2) revision of the answers and the classification of levels of evidence and degrees of recommendations of all recommendations, (3) validation of the consensus through two rounds of online surveys, and (4) manuscript composition. The consensus consists of 12 sections: Head and neck cancer staging, Histopathologic evaluation of head and neck cancer, Head and neck surgery-oral cavity, Clinical oncology-oral cavity, Head and neck surgery-oropharynx, Clinical oncology-oropharynx, Head and neck surgery-larynx, Head and neck surgery-larynx/hypopharynx, Clinical oncology-larynx/hypopharynx, Clinical oncology-recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer, Head and neck surgery-reconstruction and rehabilitation, and Radiation therapy. The present consensus established 48 recommendations on HNSCC patient care considering the availability of resources and focusing on oncologic benefit. These recommendations could also be used to formulate strategies in other regions like Latin America countries.

[Radio and chemotherapy in gallbladder cancer: a Latin American Consensus]. / Terapias perioperatorias en el cáncer de vesícula biliar resecable: conclusiones del Consenso Latinoamericano de Manejo del Cáncer de Vesícula Biliar.

No randomized controlled trials have been conducted in gallbladder cancer to establish standard treatments. We therefore conducted the first Latin American Consensus meeting for the management of gallbladder cancer. In this paper we report the conclusions of the experts' panel for (neo) adjuvant treatment of resectable gallbladder cancer. These are based on the review of the literature, the discussion of the participating experts and the vote of the assistants (surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and others). The reviewed topics were the role or adjuvant radiochemotherapy in T1 bN0M0, T2-3 N0-1M0 and T4 N0-1 M0 disease and doses, schedules and drugs for radiochemotherapy.

Mammography correlates to better survival rates in breast cancer patients: a 20-year experience in a University health institution.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy in women. We retrieved medical records from >2,000 Chilean BC patients over the 1997-2018 period. The objective was to assess changes in clinical presentation or prognosis of our patients throughout these 20 years of practice. Although most variables did not display significant variations, we observed a progressive increase in stage IV BC over this period. Our data showed that tumour stage III/IV or HER2-enriched subtype tumours were associated with poorer prognosis. In contrast, we found that patients diagnosed by mammography had better overall survival. We speculate that better screenings and more sensitive imaging could explain the unexpected rise in stage IV cases. Our results support mammography screenings as an effective measure to reduce BC-related mortality.

Risk factors for loco-regional recurrence in breast cancer patients: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Although fairly uncommon, loco-regional recurrence in breast cancer (BC) has major consequences for the patient. Several predictors for locoregional have been previously reported from large randomized clinical trials mainly from Europe & North America; data from other geographical areas are somewhat scarce. Here we performed a retrospective review of medical records in a single academic center in Chile, searching for predictors of breast tumor recurrence. RESULTS: Median patient follow up was 61 months, 5 year overall survival (OS) rate was 94.2% (95% CI 93-95.3). We found that 108 out of 2,754 (5.3%) patients had loco-regional recurrence. The 2-year loco-regional control was 98% (95% CI 97.3-98.7) and 5-year was 94% (95% CI 92.6-95.4). Univariate analysis showed a correlation between recurrence and being <50 year-old, positive surgical margins, advanced stage, subtype, and presence of LVI and omission of adjuvant radiotherapy. Only the absence of adjuvant RT was predictor of locoregional recurrence in multivariable (p< 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study population presents high local control of BC. Age, surgical margins, stage, molecular subtype and absence of adjuvant radiotherapy were associated with loco-regional recurrence. Prospective trials and long-term follow up are required in order to confirm these results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed medical records from 2,201 BC patients at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile from 1997 to 2016. Collected data included: age at diagnosis, tumor size, axillary involvement, molecular subtype, margin status, histological grade, lympho-vascular invasion (LVI) and ipsilateral recurrence.

Manejo de queloides mediante combinación de cirugía y radioterapia con haz de electrones / Management of keloid through combination of surgery and radiotherapy with electron beam

INTRODUCCIÓN Y OBJETIVO: La formación de queloides condiciona un deterioro en la calidad de vida de los pacientes por causar desfiguración cosmética, dolor y prurito. A pesar de que existe una amplia gama de opciones terapéuticas e incluso combinación de estas, aún existen tasas de recurrencia elevadas que hacen del tratamiento de los queloides un desafío complejo. Recogemos nuestra tasa de recurrencia de queloides en diferentes áreas corporales tras cirugía asociada a radioterapia con haz de electrones en el postoperatorio inmediato mediante un protocolo de radioterapia definido. MATERIAL Y MÉTODO: Estudio de tipo ambispectivo en los centros de Cirugía Plástica del Hospital del Salvador y Clínica Santa María en Santiago (Chile) entre 2010 y 2017 sobre pacientes intervenidos por queloides mediante cirugía y tratamiento protocolizado con radioterapia de electrones. Excluimos pacientes que no asistieron al tratamiento con radioterapia, o se realizó después de 24 horas, o no se les realizó seguimiento durante al menos 3 meses. Evaluamos datos demográficos, clínicos, antecedentes de procedimientos anteriores frustrados, número de queloides y recurrencia. Utilizamos como prueba estadística chi-cuadrado con significancia estadística p ≤ 0.05. RESULTADOS: Estudiamos un total de 15 pacientes con un total de 32 queloides intervenidos en distintas áreas corporales con seguimiento promedio de 862 días. En todos realizamos el procedimiento sin inconvenientes y con buena tolerancia. El promedio de recidiva total fue del 34%, siendo la zona de mayor recurrencia la dorsal (83%) y la de menor la auricular donde no hubo recidivas. CONCLUSIONES: En nuestra experiencia, el tratamiento quirúrgico escisional de los queloides, seguido de radioterapia con haz de electrones según el protocolo expuesto, resultó sin recidivas en la zona auricular

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Keloids cause deterioration in the quality of life of patients due to cosmetic disfigurement, pain and pruritus. Although there is a wide range of therapeutic options and even a combination of these, there are still high recurrence rates that make keloids treatment a challenge. We report our rate of recurrence of keloid in different body areas after surgery associated with radiotherapy electron beam in the immediate postoperative period using a defined radiotherapy protocol. METHODS: An ambispective study was carried out in the Plastic Surgery Unit at Salvador Hospital and Santa María Clinic in Santiago (Chile) between 2010 and 2017, colleting patients operated on by keloids with surgery and protocolized treatment of electron radiation therapy. Patients who did not attend the radiotherapy treatment, it was performed after 24 hours, or they were not followed up for at least 3 months, were excluded. We evaluated demographic, clinical data, past history of frustrated procedures, keloid number and keloid recurrence. Chi-square statistical test was used using statistical significance p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 15 patients with 321 keloids in different body areas were treated, with an average follow-up time of 862 days. All patients underwent surgical and radiotherapy treatment without inconveniences and good tolerance. The average total recurrence was 34%, with the greatest recurrence in the dorsal area (83%) and with no recurrences in the auricular one. CONCLUSIONS: Excisional surgical treatment of keloids, followed by beam radiation therapy according to the protocol described, results in no recurrence in the auricular área

Prophylactic cranial irradiation in small cell lung cancer.

Prophylatic cranial irradiation (PCI) in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a treatment under evaluation for about 30 years. Since the first randomized trials, it was clear that its use significantly decreased the brain metastasis rate. However, its effect on overall survival was not demonstrated. Retrospective reviews suggested that PCI could induce late neurologic damage. In recent years, two large randomized trials did not confirm this deleterious effect and even suggested a beneficial effect on survival. A recent meta-analysis including almost 1,000 randomized patients confirmed an improvement in overall survival. We discuss here the different aspects of this preventive treatment in a potentially curable disease.