Comparison of treatment for low-risk GTN with standard 8-day MTX/FA regimen versus modified MTX/FA regimen without chemotherapy on the weekend.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcomes of patients with low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) treated with standard 8-day methotrexate/folinic acid (MTX/FA) versus modified regimen. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of patients with low-risk GTN followed at Rio de Janeiro Federal University, from January/1990-December/2017 with standard 8-day MTX/FA or modified regimen (MTX administered on the 8th day rather than 7th) to avoid treatment on the weekend. RESULTS: From 937 patients with low-risk GTN, 538 were treated with standard MTX/FA and 98 patients received modified regimen. Both groups were comparable in age (p = .749), antecedent pregnancy (p = .221), time to initiate chemotherapy (p = .926), hCG pretreatment level (p = .112) and WHO/FIGO prognostic risk score (p = .723). Patients treated with modified MTX/FA had twice of cases of metastatic lung disease compared with the standard regimen (22.5% vs 10.6%; p = .002). The rate of remission (p = .999), number of cycles to remission in the first-line (p = .966), chemoresistance (p = .500), time to switch to second-line therapy (p = .176), need for multiagent chemotherapy (p = .084), relapse (p = .122) or death (p = .475) was the same for both MTX/FA regimen. However, although patients receiving modified MTX/FA required a higher total number of remission cycles (6 vs 5 cycles; p = .004) and longer time to remission (19 vs 16 weeks; p < .001) when compared with the standard regimen, these variables showed no significant differences after multivariate logistic regression adjusted for lung metastasis. CONCLUSION: The modified 8-day MTX/FA regimen didn't compromise oncologic outcomes for women with low-risk GTN. This regimen appears to be an acceptable alternative to standard 8-day MTX/FA when treatment on weekend isn't an option.

Can carboplatin or etoposide replace actinomycin-d for second-line treatment of methotrexate resistant low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of periodic shortage of actinomycin-d (Act-d) in the treatment of Brazilian patients with low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) after methotrexate and folinic acid rescue (MTX/FA) resistance, treated alternately with carboplatin or etoposide as a second-line regimen. METHODS: Retrospective cohort that included patients with failure of first-line MTX/FA regimen for low-risk GTN treated at Rio de Janeiro Federal University, Universidade Federal de São Paulo and Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Porto Alegre, from January/2010- December/2017. RESULTS: From 356 patients with low-risk GTN treated with MTX/FA, 75 (21.1%) developed resistance, of which 40 (53.3%) received Act-d, 23 (30.7%) carboplatin and 7 (9.3%) etoposide. Although patients treated with single-agent chemotherapy as a second-line regimen had comparable clinical and primary treatment characteristics, those treated with Act-d (80%, p = 0.033) or etoposide (71.4%, p = 0.025) had higher remission rates when compared with carboplatin (47.8%). Only 29% of patients treated with carboplatin received the chemotherapy cycles without delay compared to Act-d (98%, p < 0.001) or etoposide (85%, p = 0.009). Patients treated with carboplatin had significantly more hematological toxicity, notably anemia (30.4%, p = 0.008), lymphopenia (47.7%, p < 0.001) and thrombocytopenia (43.4%, p < 0.001), as well as a higher occurrence of febrile neutropenia (14.4%, p = 0.044) and vomiting (60%, p < 0.001) than those receiving Act-d (5%, none, 2.5%, none, 10%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Carboplatin did not have a satisfactory clinical response rate, likely due to severe hematological toxicity, which postponed chemotherapy. Our results reinforce the preference for Act-d as a second-line agent in patients with low-risk GTN after MTX/FA resistance.

First-line paclitaxel and carboplatin in persistent/recurrent or advanced cervical cancer: a retrospective analysis of patients treated at Brazilian National Cancer Institute.

OBJECTIVE: Cervical cancer represents the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fourth cause of cancer death in women worldwide. In the palliative scenario, the combination of paclitaxel and cisplatin is widely used. Carboplatin is also an active agent in cervical cancer, and its association with paclitaxel could represent a well-tolerated, less toxic, and effective therapeutic option. The objective of this study was to evaluate response rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, and toxicity of carboplatin and paclitaxel in first palliative line for cervical cancer. METHODS: A retrospective search of database at Brazilian National Cancer Institute was performed, and all patients with persistent/recurrent and advanced cervical cancer treated with paclitaxel and carboplatin in first palliative line, between August 2008 and January 2010, were included. RESULTS: A total of 153 women were enrolled. Objective responses were documented in 34.6% (5.2% of complete responses and 29.4% of partial responses). With a median follow-up of 27.8 months, the median progression-free survival was 5.2 months, and the median overall survival was 10.63 months. The most common toxicity was myelosuppression: grades 3 and 4 anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia observed in 43.0%, 17.8%, and 9.2% of the cases, respectively. Neurotoxicity was presented by 30.7% of the patients. Renal toxicity was detected in 21.9% of the patients, but only 4.0% were grade 3, and none were grade 4. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective study has demonstrated that paclitaxel-carboplatin is an active and well-tolerated regimen for the treatment of advanced cervical cancer.

Uso de topotecan no tratamento do tumor epitelial de óvario refratório à platina: experiência do INCA / Topotecan for tratment of platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer: the experience at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute

Introdução: O câncer de ovário é a principal causa de morte entre os tumores malignos ginecológicos nos Estados Unidos. Apesar dos avanços da terapia inicial, a maioria das pacientes apresentará recaída e necessitará de tratamento adicional. Topotecan é um agente quimioterápico estabelecido para o tratamento de câncer de ovário refratário à platina e foi utilizado como droga de escolha no Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCA) para essas pacientes. O presente estudo tem como objetivo descrever estes casos. Metodologia: Estudo de seguimento, retrospectivo edescritivo realizado através de revisão dos prontuários das pacientes, com diagnóstico de câncer epitelial de ováriorefratário à platina, que receberam tratamento com topotecan no INCA, no período de janeiro de 2003 a dezembrode 2005. Resultados: Trinta e uma pacientes preencheram critérios para inclusão no estudo. Com seguimentomediano de 12 meses (3-36), o tempo mediano livre de progressão foi de quatro meses (IC 95%; 2,1-5,8) e amediana estimada de sobrevida global foi de 14 meses (IC 95%; 5,1-22,8). A progressão locorregional foi a maiscomum, descrita em 22 (81,5%). Foram encontradas: taxas de resposta clínica de 22,6%, resposta bioquímica de25,8% e resposta radiológica de 20%. Conclusão: O presente estudo evidencia o benefício do tratamento comtopotecan na população estudada, com taxa de resposta, tempo livre de progressão e sobrevida global, que estão de acordo com os da literatura

Análise de Sobrevida em Pacientes com Câncer de Pulmão

O câncer de pulmão é uma das maiores causas de morte no mundo, sendo a primeira causa em morte por câncer entre homens no Brasil. A história natural da doença inclui elevada letalidade e evolução agressiva, quase sempre com o paciente chegando ao médico quando a doença já se encontra em fase avançada. Nos últimos 40 anos a taxa de sobrevida em neoplasias de pulmão melhorou em 8 %, nos Estados Unidos, apesar do avanço nas tecnologias de detecção precoce e no refinamento das técnicas de tratamento. Um desafio contínuo é descrever o papel das variáveis clínicas, assistenciais e demográficas dos pacientes com câncer de pulmão. Neste sentido, este trabalho avaliou uma amostra da população de pacientes acompanhados pelo Programa de Oncopneumologia, do Instituto de Doenças do Tórax e do Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho (UFRJ). Neste estudo de coorte não concorrente foi estimado a importância das variáveis clínicas, demográficas e assistenciais, na sobrevida de pacientes com câncer de pulmão. Um total de 585 pacientes foram incluídos e suas principais características são: 77,8 % de homens, 85,6 % com tipo histológico não-pequenas células, 67,7 % em estágios IIIB/IV pelo TNM, e 84,4 % com história de tabagismo. A sobrevida mediana foi de 7 meses, com 5,4 % dos pacientes permanecendo vivos em 5 anos. Tabagismo, tratamento, níveis de PS e estagiamento foram determinantes prognósticos independentes para a sobrevida desta população. Apesar das limitações do desenho de estudo retrospectivo utilizando registros médicos, estudos como este são importantes para a compreensão do padrão da doença na população.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of death in the world, and the first one in cancer-related death, in Brazil. The natural history of disease includes high lethality and aggressive clinical course, with the patient usually presenting advanced disease at first medical evaluation. Although improvement of medical technologies, early detection and newest therapies, the mortality rate was reduced only 8% in the last 40 years, in U.S.A. The role of patient’s clinical, social and health assistance characteristics, in lung cancer survival, is a continuous challenge. In this way, we evaluated a sample of patients treated at Rio de Janeiro Federal University, by Onco-Pneumology Program, a multidisciplinary group of Thorax Diseases Institute and Clementino Fraga Filho Universitary Hospital. In this non concurrent cohort study was estimated the influence of clinical, demographic and health assistance related variables in survival of lung cancer patients. A total of 585 patients were reviewed and their main characteristics are: 77,8 % males, 85,6 % with non-small-cell histology, 67,7 % IIIB/IV TNM stages, and 84,4 % with positive smoke history. The median survival time was 7 months, with 5,4 % of the patients alive in 5 years. Smoking, treatment, PS levels and TNM stage were independent prognostic determinants of survival in this population. Despite of the limitations of a retrospective design using medical records, studies like this one are important for understanding the pattern of the diseases in a population.