Intimate partner violence and excess fertility among women of reproductive age in Malawi.

PURPOSE: Gender inequity and adverse health outcomes continue to be of concern among women in sub-Saharan Africa. We determined prevalence of intimate partner violence and excess fertility (having more children than desired) in reproductive age women in Malawi. We also explored factors associated with these outcomes and with spousal fertility intentions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, a total of 360 women and 410 men were recruited using multi-stage sampling from communities in a peri-urban setting in Blantyre District, Southern Malawi in 2021. Women and men were separately interviewed by trained study workers using a structured questionnaire. In addition to descriptive analyses, we used univariate and multivariate logistic regression models to assess associations of risk factors with the outcomes of intimate partner violence and excess fertility. RESULTS: Among women, lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence was 23.1%, and excess fertility was experienced by 25.6%. Intimate partner violence was associated with male partners alcohol consumption (adjusted odds ratio 2.13; P = 0.019). Women were more likely to report excess fertility if they were older (adjusted odds ratio 2.0, P<0.001, for a 5-year increase). Alcohol consumption by the male partner (adjusted odds ratio 2.14; P = 0.025) and women being able to refuse sex with their male partner (adjusted odds ratio 0.50; P = 0.036) were associated with discordant fertility preferences. CONCLUSIONS: Intimate partner violence, excess fertility, and social and health inequities continue to be prevalent in Malawi. These data suggest the underlying proximal and distal factors associated with these adverse outcomes such as alcohol consumption may be addressed through education, couple interactive communication, and community dialogue. To ensure sustainability and effectiveness, strong leadership involvement, both governmental and non-governmental, is needed.

Breastfeeding Among Women Living With HIV in the Era of Lifelong ART: An Observational Multicountry Study in Eastern and Southern Africa.

BACKGROUND: Lifelong antiretroviral treatment (ART) use is recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding (BF) women living with HIV (WLWH) to prevent perinatal HIV transmission and improve maternal health. We address 2 objectives in this analysis: (1) determine timing and factors associated with BF cessation and (2) assess the impact of BF on health of WLWH on ART. SETTING: This multicountry study included 8 sites in Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. METHODS: This was a prospective study of WLWH on lifelong ART. These women initially participated from 2011 to 2016 in a randomized clinical trial (PROMISE) to prevent perinatal HIV transmission and subsequently reenrolled in an observational study (PROMOTE, 2016-2021) to assess ART adherence, safety, and impact. RESULTS: The PROMOTE cohort included 1987 women on ART. Of them, 752 breastfed and were included in analyses of objective 1; all women were included in analyses of objective 2. The median time to BF cessation varied by country (11.2-19.7 months). Country of residence, age, and health status of women were significantly associated with time to BF cessation (compared with Zimbabwe: Malawi, adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.50, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.40 to 0.62, P < 0.001; South Africa, aHR 1.49, 95% CI: 1.11 to 2.00, P = 0.008; and Uganda, aHR 1.77, 95% CI: 1.37 to 2.29, P < 0.001). Women who breastfed had lower risk of being "unwell" compared with women who never breastfed (adjusted rate ratio 0.87, 95% CI: 0.81 to 0.95 P = 0.030). CONCLUSION: Women on lifelong ART should be encouraged to continue BF with no concern for their health. Time to BF cessation should be monitored for proper counseling in each country.

Breast cancer survival in Mexico between 2007 and 2016 in women without social security: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Essential indicators of health system performance for breast cancer are lacking in Mexico. We estimated survival and clinical stage distribution for women without social insurance who were treated under a health financing scheme that covered 60% of the Mexican population. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study cross-linking reimbursement claims for 56,847 women treated for breast cancer between 2007 and 2016 to a mortality registry. We estimated overall- and clinical stage-specific survival and breast cancer survival according to patient age, state of residence, marginalization, type of treatment facility, and patient volume of the treatment facility. We also explored the distribution of clinical stage according to age, year of treatment initiation, and state where the woman was treated. We used log-rank tests and estimated 95% CIs to compare differences between patient groups. Findings: Median age was 52 years (interquartile range [IQR] 45, 61) (Sixty five percent patients (36,731/56,847) had advanced disease at treatment initiation. Five-year overall survival was 72.2% (95% CI 71.7, 72.6). For early disease (excluding stage 0), 5-year overall survival was 89.0% (95% CI 88.4, 89.5), for locally advanced disease 69.9% (95% CI 69.0, 70.2) and for metastatic 36.9% (95% CI 35.4, 38.4). Clinical stage at treatment initiation and breast cancer survival remained unchanged in the period analyzed. Clinical stage and survival differed across age groups, state of residence, and type of facility where women received treatment. Interpretation: In the absence of population-based cancer registries, medical claims data may be efficiently leveraged to estimate essential cancer-related performance indicators. Funding: The authors received no financial support for this research.

Insurance status and access to cervical cancer treatment in a specialized cancer center in Mexico.

To describe access to complete treatment in women with cervical cancer and state-sponsored insurance versus no insurance. We conducted a retrospective observational study. The source population consisted of women treated for cervical cancer from January 2000 to December 2015 in a tertiary care hospital. We included 411 women with state-sponsored insurance and 400 without insurance. We defined access to cervical cancer treatment as complete treatment (according NCCN/ESMO (National Comprehensive Cancer Network/European Society for Medical Oncology) standards) and timely initiation of treatment (less than 4 weeks). Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were described and analyzed with logistic regression using complete treatment as the main outcome. A total of 811 subjects were included, the median age was 46 (IQR (Interquartile range) 42-50) years. Most of them were married (36.1%), unemployed (50.4%), and had completed primary school (44.0%). The most common clinical stages at diagnosis were II (38.2%) and III (24.7%). In the adjusted regression model, being married (OR (odds ratio): 4.3, 95% CI (confidence interval): 1.74-10.61) and having paid employment (OR: 2.79, 95% CI: 1.59-4.90) or state-sponsored insurance (OR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.04-2.26) were positively associated with the possibility of having a complete treatment. Women with insurance were likely to be younger and receive timely treatment compared with uninsured women. Complete treatment was associated to insurance status and advanced stages of cervical cancer. State-sponsored insurance improves access to complete treatment. Government policies are needed to avoid social and economic inequity and provide better management of cervical cancer in our country.

Prostate Cancer Risk Calculators for Healthy Populations: Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Screening for prostate cancer has long been a debated, complex topic. The use of risk calculators for prostate cancer is recommended for determining patients' individual risk of cancer and the subsequent need for a prostate biopsy. These tools could lead to better discrimination of patients in need of invasive diagnostic procedures and optimized allocation of health care resources. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the research was to systematically review available literature on the performance of current prostate cancer risk calculators in healthy populations by comparing the relative impact of individual items on different cohorts and on the models' overall performance. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of available prostate cancer risk calculators targeted at healthy populations. We included studies published from January 2000 to March 2021 in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, or German. Two reviewers independently decided for or against inclusion based on abstracts. A third reviewer intervened in case of disagreements. From the selected titles, we extracted information regarding the purpose of the manuscript, analyzed calculators, population for which it was calibrated, included risk factors, and the model's overall accuracy. RESULTS: We included a total of 18 calculators from 53 different manuscripts. The most commonly analyzed ones were the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) and European Randomized Study on Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) risk calculators developed from North American and European cohorts, respectively. Both calculators provided high diagnostic ability of aggressive prostate cancer (AUC as high as 0.798 for PCPT and 0.91 for ERSPC). We found 9 calculators developed from scratch for specific populations that reached a diagnostic ability as high as 0.938. The most commonly included risk factors in the calculators were age, prostate specific antigen levels, and digital rectal examination findings. Additional calculators included race and detailed personal and family history. CONCLUSIONS: Both the PCPR and ERSPC risk calculators have been successfully adapted for cohorts other than the ones they were originally created for with no loss of diagnostic ability. Furthermore, designing calculators from scratch considering each population's sociocultural differences has resulted in risk tools that can be well adapted to be valid in more patients. The best risk calculator for prostate cancer will be that which has been calibrated for its intended population and can be easily reproduced and implemented. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42021242110; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=242110.

Temperature should not be measured on forearm with infrared thermometers for Covid-19 screening.

Not available.

Prognostic significance of the mad1l1 1673 g:a polymorphism in ovarian adenocarcinomas

Abstract Background: Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic cancer. Although most patients respond adequately to the first-line therapy, up to 85% experience a recurrence of disease, which carries a poor prognosis. Mitotic arrest deficiency 1 is a protein that helps in the assembly of the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint by preventing anaphase until all chromatids are properly aligned. A single-nucleotide polymorphism in the MAD1L1 gene is prevalent in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer and alters the way in which it responds to chemotherapy. Objective: The objective of the study was to study the relationship between the rs1801368 polymorphism of MAD1L1 and prognosis of ovarian adenocarcinoma. Methods: A total of 118 patients in whom the MAD1L1 gene was sequenced were analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistics. Results: Patients carrying the wild-type genotype had a higher distribution of early-stage disease. Having a MAD1L1 polymorphic allele increased the risk of being non-sensitive to chemotherapy. The median disease-free survival for patients with the wild-type MAD1L1 was 46.93 months, compared to 10.4 months for patients with at least one polymorphic allele. Conclusions: The rs1801368 polymorphism of MAD1L1 gene worsens prognosis in patients with ovarian adenocarcinoma. Traditional therapy for ovarian cancer might not be optimal in patients carrying this polymorphism.

Diagnostic performance of intraoperative assessment in grade 2 endometrioid endometrial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Endometrial carcinoma is the most common gynecologic malignancy in developed countries. Grade 2 carcinoma is associated with pelvic lymph-node metastasis, depending on selected risk factors. Intraoperative assessment (IOA) can identify patients at risk for lymph node metastasis who should undergo staging surgery. Our objective was to establish the diagnostic precision of IOA in determining the need for surgical staging in grade 2 endometrioid endometrial carcinoma. METHODS: Two hundred twenty-two patients underwent IOA. Results were compared to the final pathology report. The accuracy of the IOA parameters was calculated. Variables were evaluated in patients with positive versus negative IOA. Overall and disease-free survivals were calculated according to IOA, lymphadenectomy, and nodal metastasis. RESULTS: IOA was positive in 80 patients. It showed an accuracy of 76.13% when compared with the postoperative assessment. The best individual parameter was myometrial invasion. Nodal metastasis was observed in 16 patients in the positive IOA group and 7 patients in the negative group. Patients with lymph node metastasis had a 5-year overall survival rate of 80.9%, whereas patients without metastasis had a 5-year overall survival rate of 97.9%. CONCLUSIONS: IOA is an adequate tool to identify high-risk patients in grade 2 endometrial carcinoma. Myometrial invasion is the individual parameter that yields the highest diagnostic precision.

Prognostic Significance of the MAD1L1 1673 G: A Polymorphism in Ovarian Adenocarcinomas.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic cancer. Although most patients respond adequately to the first-line therapy, up to 85% experience a recurrence of disease, which carries a poor prognosis. Mitotic arrest deficiency 1 is a protein that helps in the assembly of the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint by preventing anaphase until all chromatids are properly aligned. A single-nucleotide polymorphism in the MAD1L1 gene is prevalent in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer and alters the way in which it responds to chemotherapy. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to study the relationship between the rs1801368 polymorphism of MAD1L1 and prognosis of ovarian adenocarcinoma. METHODS: A total of 118 patients in whom the MAD1L1 gene was sequenced were analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistics. RESULTS: Patients carrying the wild-type genotype had a higher distribution of early-stage disease. Having a MAD1L1 polymorphic allele increased the risk of being non-sensitive to chemotherapy. The median disease-free survival for patients with the wild-type MAD1L1 was 46.93 months, compared to 10.4 months for patients with at least one polymorphic allele. CONCLUSIONS: The rs1801368 polymorphism of MAD1L1 gene worsens prognosis in patients with ovarian adenocarcinoma. Traditional therapy for ovarian cancer might not be optimal in patients carrying this polymorphism.

Prognostic Significance of the MAD1L1 1673 G: A Polymorphism in Ovarian Adenocarcinomas.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic cancer. Although most patients respond adequately to the first-line therapy, up to 85% experience a recurrence of disease, which carries a poor prognosis. Mitotic arrest deficiency 1 is a protein that helps in the assembly of the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint by preventing anaphase until all chromatids are properly aligned. A single-nucleotide polymorphism in the MAD1L1 gene is prevalent in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer and alters the way in which it responds to chemotherapy. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to study the relationship between the rs1801368 polymorphism of MAD1L1 and prognosis of ovarian adenocarcinoma. METHODS: A total of 118 patients in whom the MAD1L1 gene was sequenced were analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistics. RESULTS: Patients carrying the wild-type genotype had a higher distribution of early-stage disease. Having a MAD1L1 polymorphic allele increased the risk of being non-sensitive to chemotherapy. The median disease-free survival for patients with the wild-type MAD1L1 was 46.93 months, compared to 10.4 months for patients with at least one polymorphic allele. CONCLUSIONS: The rs1801368 polymorphism of MAD1L1 gene worsens prognosis in patients with ovarian adenocarcinoma. Traditional therapy for ovarian cancer might not be optimal in patients carrying this polymorphism.

Clinical Characterization of 2 Siblings with a Homozygous SPAST Variant.

BACKGROUND Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP or SPG) consists of a heterogeneous group of disorders, clinically divided into pure and complex forms. The former is characterized by neurological impairment limited to lower-extremity spasticity. The latter presents additional symptoms such as seizures, psychomotor impairment, cataract, deafness, and peripheral neuropathy. The genetic structure of HSP is diverse, with more than 72 loci and 55 genes identified so far. The most common type is SPG4, accounting for 40% of cases. This case report describes 2 siblings presenting SPG4, one presumptive and one confirmed with a homozygous SPAST variant. CASE REPORT Two siblings born to third-degree consanguineous and healthy parents presented a SPG4 complex phenotype characterized by progressive psychomotor deterioration, mixed seizure patterns, corneal opacity, dysostotic bones, limb spasticity with extensor plantar responses, and axial hypotonia. After ruling out most inborn errors of metabolism in one of the patients, the complexity of the case derived from exome sequencing. The identification of a homozygous variant in the SPAST gene established a diagnosis for SPG4. The phenotype-genotype did not correlate to classical manifestations, most likely due to the variant's zygosity. Moreover, 34 patient's relatives were identified with SPG4 clinical manifestations or asymptomatic with the same genetic variant in heterozygous state. CONCLUSIONS We described visual loss and seizures for SPG4 complex phenotype associated with a homozygous variant in the SPAST gene. This diagnosis will lead clinicians to consider it as a differential diagnosis providing adequate genetic counseling.

What is the impact of radical hysterectomy on endometrial cancer with cervical involvement?

BACKGROUND: When endometrial carcinoma invades the cervical stroma, overall survival and disease-free survival decrease. However, it is still controversial whether patients in suspected stage II should be treated with radical hysterectomy. The goal of this study is to describe the role of radical hysterectomy in patients with endometrial carcinoma and cervical involvement. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study were a total of 239 patients with endometrial carcinoma with cervical involvement from Mexico City's National Cancer Institute were divided according to the type of hysterectomy, and the outcomes were compared using statistical analysis. RESULTS: The 5-year overall survival was 75.76% for the simple hysterectomy group and 89.19% for the radical hysterectomy group, without achieving statistical significance. The 5-year disease-free survival was 72.95% for the simple hysterectomy group and 64.31% for the radical hysterectomy group, without achieving statistical significance. Radicality was associated with longer surgical times, intraoperative complications, and bleeding over 500 ml. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with endometrial carcinoma with cervical involvement, radical hysterectomy does not improve prognosis or alter adjuvant therapy.

Role of optimal cytoreduction in patients with dysgerminoma.

BACKGROUND: Dysgerminomas are malignant ovarian germ-cell tumors that typically affect young women. Although these tumors have an excellent response to chemotherapy, surgery is an integral part of primary treatment. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate outcomes of initial cytoreduction in patients diagnosed with dysgerminomas. METHODS: Patients who underwent primary cytoreductive surgery for ovarian dysgerminoma between January 1985 and December 2013 were identified and included in the study. A comparison was made between patients who underwent optimal versus sub-optimal cytoreduction. Descriptive, comparative statistics and odds ratios were used to establish an association. Survival curves were performed with the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using a log-rank test. A value of p<0.05 was used to establish a statistical difference. RESULTS: A total of 180 patients with a histologically confirmed dysgerminoma were included in the analysis. A subsection of 37 patients in stages III/IV were analyzed. The median age at diagnosis was 21 years (IQR 18-26). Histologically, 166 (92.2%) patients had pure dysgerminomas, whereas the rest had mixed histologies. The median tumor size was 18 (IQR 12-22) cm. In all stages, factors associated with optimal cytoreduction, were higher lactate dehydrogenase levels (OR=1.01; p=0.03), higher CA125 levels (OR=1.01; p=0.04), receiving adjuvant chemotherapy (OR=0.22; p<0.01), or undergoing treatment in a specialized institution (OR=12.68; p<0.01). Patients in stages III/IV, initially managed outside our institution were less likely to be taken for cytoreduction (OR=16.88; p=0.013). Other factors, including age (OR=1.02; p=0.39), pelvic lymph-node positivity (OR=2.24; p=0.36), pregnancy during follow-up (OR=0.91: p=0.80), or recurrence of disease (OR=1.93; p=0.23) were found to be similar in both groups. Overall survival was higher in optimally cytoreducted patients (100% vs 95.7%; p=0.032) including all stages, but not if considering only stages III/IV (100% vs 90%, p=0.186); disease-free survival was the same for both groups regardless of stage (94.3% vs 91.1%; p=0.36). CONCLUSION: Patients with optimal surgeries were most likely to be treated in referral centers. Initial residual disease did not significantly alter recurrence, progression, disease-free survival, or overall survival.