Discrepancy between clinical and pathological staging of laryngeal carcinoma: a dilemma to be solved.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the degree of discrepancy between the clinical and pathological staging of laryngeal carcinoma, and the potential impact of this discrepancy on the outcomes and prognosis. METHODS: This study was conducted on 127 patients who underwent total laryngectomy over five years (October 2016-October 2021). Data collected from pretherapeutic clinical staging regarding the extent of the tumor affection of different laryngeal subsites was compared to the postsurgical pathological assessment. RESULTS: Overall, 12 out of 127 patients (9.4%) in the current study, were clinically over-staged from T3 to T4 due to radiological diagnosis of tumor infiltration of laryngeal cartilages that proved pathologically to be free of tumor. Additionally, discordance in the N stage was found in 12.6% (n = 16). However, stage discrepancy did not have a significant impact on the prognosis and survival. CONCLUSION: Discordance between clinical and pathological TNM staging of laryngeal carcinoma may affect the decision making and the choice of the treatment options. Some improvement can be probably achieved with advancements and higher accuracy of the preoperative diagnostic tools.

Penile cancer care in the Netherlands: increased incidence, centralisation, and improved survival.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) incidence and centralisation trends in the Netherlands over the past three decades, as well as the effect of centralisation of PSCC care on survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the Netherlands PSCC care is largely centralised in one national centre of expertise (Netherlands Cancer Institute [NCI], Amsterdam). For this study, the Netherlands Cancer Registry, an independent nationwide cancer registry, provided per-patient data on age, clinical and pathological tumour staging, follow-up, and vital status. Patients with treatment at the NCI were identified and compared to patients who were treated at all other centres. The age-standardised incidence rate was calculated with the European Standard Population. The probability of death due to PSCC was estimated using the relative survival. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was performed to evaluate predictors of survival. RESULTS: A total of 3160 patients were diagnosed with PSCC between 1990 and 2020, showing a rising incidence (P < 0.001). Annual caseload increased at the NCI (1% in 1990, 65% in 2020) and decreased at other (regional) centres (99% to 35%). Despite a relatively high percentage of patients with T2-4 (64%) and N+ (33%) at the NCI, the 5-year relative survival was higher (86%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 82-91%) compared to regional centres (76%, 95% CI 73-80%, P < 0.001). Patients with a pathological T2 tumour were treated with glans-sparing treatment more often at the reference centre than at the regional centres (16% vs 5.0%, P < 0.001). After adjusting for age, histological grading, T-stage, presence of lymph node involvement and year of diagnosis, treatment at regional centres remained a predictor for worse survival (hazard ratio 1.22, 95% CI 1.05-1.39; P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: The incidence of PSCC in the Netherlands has been gradually increasing over the past three decades, with a noticeable trend towards centralisation of PSCC care and improved relative survival rate.

Secondary Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Prostate: A Case Report

Background: Among prostate cancer, primary prostate squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a rare condition with low incidence, and secondary prostate SCC is rarer with fewer cases reported globally. This report presents an extremely rare case of secondary prostate SCC that metastasised from lung cancer. Case Presentation: This study reports the case of a 77-year-old man who presented with acute urinary retention and dysuria and was admitted to our hospital. Physical and digital rectal examinations were conducted and revealed the overfilling of the suprapubic bladder and a slightly enlarged prostate without palpable nodules, respectively. The patient was tested negative for total and free prostate antigens (PSA) and had large masses in the upper lobes of both lungs and an irregularly enlarged prostate in the computed tomography images. The patient was inserted immediately with 18F triple-cavity Foley catheter to drain haematuria with blood clots. The patient was treated with electric coagulation haemostasis and transurethral resection of the prostate and subjected to postoperative histopathological analysis, which revealed the diagnosis of SCC. The patient was advised to undergo further radiation therapy and chemotherapy but rejected all follow-up treatments for lungs and prostate. The patient recovered uneventfully and was discharged 7 days after the operation. The patient remained alive after 6 months of follow-up. Conclusions: Secondary prostate SCC is an extremely rare type of tumour. Surgical intervention plays a role in stopping bleeding and relieving urination problems, and timely treatment may led to favourable prognosis (AU)

Criterios PERCIST, Hopkins y parámetros metabólicos de la PET/TC como factores pronósticos en el cáncer escamoso de cabeza y cuello / PERCIST and Hopkins criteria and PET/CT metabolic parameters as prognostic factors in squamous head and neck cancer

Objetivo Valorar la utilidad clínica de los criterios PERCIST, Hopkins y de los cambios en los parámetros cuantitativos de la PET/TC con [18F]FDG como factores pronósticos para la supervivencia libre de progresión (SLP) y la supervivencia cáncer específica (SCE) en pacientes con cáncer escamoso de cabeza y cuello tratados mediante quimiorradioterapia. Material y métodos Se valoraron retrospectivamente 40 pacientes (34 hombres) diagnosticados de cáncer escamoso de cabeza y cuello durante un intervalo de 8 años. Se utilizaron los criterios PERCIST y Hopkins para determinar la respuesta al tratamiento. Así mismo, se cuantificaron las variaciones de los parámetros metabólicos SUV máximo (ΔSUVmax), volumen metabólico tumoral (ΔMTV) y glicólisis tumoral total (ΔTLG) entre los estudios PET/TC pre- y postratamiento. El modelo de regresión de Cox, las curvas ROC y el método de Kaplan-Meier se aplicaron para el análisis de factores pronósticos y curvas de supervivencia. Resultado El seguimiento medio fue de 39,4 meses produciéndose 24 recidivas-progresiones y 22 muertes. Tanto los criterios PERCIST y Hopkins como los tres parámetros metabólicos fueron factores predictivos en análisis univariante y solo el ΔSUVmax en el multivariante. El análisis de supervivencia mostró curvas de SLP y SCE significativamente diferentes para los cinco parámetros considerados. Conclusión La aplicación de los criterios PERCIST y Hopkins, así como los ΔSUVmax, ΔMTV y ΔTLG de los estudios PET/TC demostraron ser factores pronósticos para la supervivencia en pacientes de nuestro entorno tratados por cáncer de cabeza y cuello. Los resultados podrían ayudar a personalizar el tratamiento (AU)

Aim To assess the clinical utility of PERCIST and Hopkins criteria and changes in [18F]FDG PET/CT quantitative parameters as prognostic factors for progression-free survival (PFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated by chemoradiotherapy. Material and methods Forty patients (34 men) diagnosed with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma were retrospectively assessed over an interval of 8 years. PERCIST and Hopkins criteria were used to assess response to treatment. Variations in the metabolic parameters maximum SUV (ΔSUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (ΔMTV) and total lesion glycolysis (ΔTLG) between pre- and post-treatment PET/CT studies were also determined. Cox regression model, ROC curves and Kaplan-Meier method were used for the analysis of prognostic factors and survival curves. Results The average follow-up was 39.4 months, with 24 progressions and 22 deaths. Both PERCIST and Hopkins criteria and the three metabolic parameters were predictive factors in the univariate analysis and only ΔSUVmax in the multivariate analysis. Survival analysis showed statistically significant differences in PFS and CSS curves for the five parameters considered. Conclusion Application of PERCIST and Hopkins criteria as well as ΔSUVmax, ΔMTV and ΔTLG from PET/CT studies proved to be prognostic factors for survival in patients in our setting treated for head and neck cancer. The results could help to personalize treatment (AU)

DNA-Methylome-Based Tumor Hypoxia Classifier Identifies HPV-Negative Head and Neck Cancer Patients at Risk for Locoregional Recurrence after Primary Radiochemotherapy.

PURPOSE: Tumor hypoxia is a paradigmatic negative prognosticator of treatment resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The lack of robust and reliable hypoxia classifiers limits the adaptation of stratified therapies. We hypothesized that the tumor DNA methylation landscape might indicate epigenetic reprogramming induced by chronic intratumoral hypoxia. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: A DNA-methylome-based tumor hypoxia classifier (Hypoxia-M) was trained in the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas)-HNSCC cohort based on matched assignments using gene expression-based signatures of hypoxia (Hypoxia-GES). Hypoxia-M was validated in a multicenter DKTK-ROG trial consisting of human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative patients with HNSCC treated with primary radiochemotherapy (RCHT). RESULTS: Although hypoxia-GES failed to stratify patients in the DKTK-ROG, Hypoxia-M was independently prognostic for local recurrence (HR, 4.3; P = 0.001) and overall survival (HR, 2.34; P = 0.03) but not distant metastasis after RCHT in both cohorts. Hypoxia-M status was inversely associated with CD8 T-cell infiltration in both cohorts. Hypoxia-M was further prognostic in the TCGA-PanCancer cohort (HR, 1.83; P = 0.04), underscoring the breadth of this classifier for predicting tumor hypoxia status. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight an unexplored avenue for DNA methylation-based classifiers as biomarkers of tumoral hypoxia for identifying high-risk features in patients with HNSCC tumors. See related commentary by Heft Neal and Brenner, p. 2954.

Advanced-stage tongue squamous cell carcinoma: a machine learning model for risk stratification and treatment planning.

BACKGROUND: A significant number of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) patients are diagnosed at late stage. OBJECTIVES: We primarily aimed to develop a machine learning (ML) model based on ensemble ML paradigm to stratify advanced-stage TSCC patients into the likelihood of overall survival (OS) for evidence-based treatment. We compared the survival outcome of patients who received either surgical treatment only (Sx) or surgery combined with postoperative radiotherapy (Sx + RT) or postoperative chemoradiotherapy (Sx + CRT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 428 patients from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were reviewed. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models examine OS. In addition, a ML model was developed for OS likelihood stratification. RESULTS: Age, marital status, N stage, Sx, and Sx + CRT were considered significant. Patients with Sx + RT showed better OS than Sx + CRT or Sx alone. A similar result was obtained for T3N0 subgroup. For T3N1 subgroup, Sx + CRT appeared more favorable for 5-year OS. In T3N2 and T3N3 subgroups, the numbers of patients were small to make insightful conclusions. The OS predictive ML model showed an accuracy of 86.3% for OS likelihood prediction. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Patients stratified as having high likelihood of OS may be managed with Sx + RT. Further external validation studies are needed to confirm these results.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cervical Cancer Incidence, Survival, and Mortality by Histologic Subtype.

PURPOSE: We conducted an integrated population-based analysis of histologic subtype-specific cervical cancer incidence, survival, and incidence-based mortality by race and ethnicity, with correction for hysterectomy prevalence. METHODS: Using the SEER 21 and 18 registries, we selected primary cases of malignant cervical cancer diagnosed among women ≥ 15 years. We evaluated age-adjusted incidence rates among cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2018 (SEER21) and incidence-based mortality rates among deaths from 2005 to 2018 (SEER18), per 100,000 person-years. Rates were stratified by histologic subtype and race/ethnicity (incidence and mortality), and stage, age at diagnosis, and county-level measures of social determinants of health (incidence only). Incidence and mortality rates were corrected for hysterectomy using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We estimated 5-year relative survival by histologic subtype and stratified by stage at diagnosis. RESULTS: Incidence rates of cervical squamous cell carcinoma were highest in Black and Hispanic women, while incidence rates of cervical adenocarcinoma (ADC) were highest among Hispanic and White women, particularly for localized ADC. County-level income and education variables were inversely associated with squamous cell carcinoma incidence rates in all racial and ethnic groups but had less influence on ADC incidence rates. Black women had the highest overall mortality rates and lowest 5-year relative survival, irrespective of subtype and stage. Disparities in survival were particularly pronounced for Black women with regional and distant ADC, compared with other racial/ethnic groups. CONCLUSION: Although Black women are less likely to be diagnosed with ADC compared with all other racial/ethnic groups, they experience the highest mortality rates for this subtype, likely attributed to the poor survival observed for Black women with regional and distant ADC.

Extended Delay to Treatment for Stage III-IV Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer and Survival: Balancing Risks During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, patients may encounter lung cancer care delays. Here, we sought to examine the impact of extended treatment delay for stage III-IV non-small-cell lung cancer on patient survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) and National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) data, Cox regression analysis with penalized smoothing splines was performed to examine the association between treatment delay and all-cause mortality for stage III-IV lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. In the NCDB, propensity score-matched analysis was used to compare cumulative survival in patients who received "early" versus "delayed" treatment (ie, 0-30 vs. 90-120 days following diagnosis). RESULTS: Cox regression analysis of the NLST (n = 392) and NCDB (n = 275,198) cohorts showed a decrease in hazard ratio the longer treatment was delayed. In propensity score-matched analysis, no significant differences in survival were found between early and delayed treatment for patients with stage IIIA, IIIB (T3-4,N2,M0), IIIC, and IV (M1B-C) adenocarcinoma and patients with IIIA, IIIB, IIIC, and IV squamous cell carcinoma (all log-rank P > .05). For patients with stage IIIB (T1-2,N3,M0) and stage IV (M1A) adenocarcinoma, delayed treatment was associated with improved survival (log-rank P = .03, P = .02). The findings were consistent in sensitivity analysis accounting for wait time bias. CONCLUSION: In this national analysis, for patients with stage III-IV adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, an extended treatment delay by 3 to 4 months was not associated with significantly decreased overall survival compared to prompt treatment. These findings can be used to guide decision-making during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Global Landscape of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Incidence and Mortality in 2020 and Projections to 2040: New Estimates From GLOBOCAN 2020.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the burden of esophageal cancer in 185 countries in 2020 and projections for the year 2040. METHODS: Estimates of esophageal cancer cases and deaths were extracted from the GLOBOCAN database for 2020. Age-standardized incidence and mortality rates were calculated overall, by sex, histologic subtype (adenocarcinoma [AC] and squamous cell carcinoma [SCC]), country, and level of human development for 185 countries. The predicted burden of incidence and mortality in 2040 was calculated based on global demographic projections. RESULTS: Globally, there were an estimated 604,100 new cases of, and 544,100 deaths from, esophageal cancer in 2020, corresponding to age-standardized incidence and mortality rates of 6.3 and 5.6 per 100,000, respectively. Most cases were SCCs (85% [512,500 cases]) and 14% (85,700 cases) were ACs. Incidence and mortality rates were 2- to 3-fold higher in male (9.3 and 8.2, respectively) compared with female (3.6 and 3.2, respectively) individuals. Global variations in incidence and mortality were observed across countries and world regions; the highest rates occurred in Eastern Asia and Southern and Eastern Africa and the lowest occurred in Western Africa and Central America regions. If rates remain stable, 957,000 new cases (141,300 AC cases and 806,000 SCC cases) and 880,000 deaths from esophageal cancer are expected in 2040. CONCLUSIONS: These updated estimates of the global burden of esophageal cancer represent an important baseline for setting priorities in policy making and developing and accelerating cancer control initiatives to reduce the current and projected burden. Although primary prevention remains key, screening and early detection represent important components of esophageal cancer control in high-risk populations.

Comparison of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy in early-stage cervical cancer patients with intermediate-risk factors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The presence of intermediate risk factors reduces the predictability of radical hysterectomy, demanding the use of adjuvant therapy for treatment of Early stage cervical cancer (ESCC) patients. Adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) has been widely used with varied efficacy and safety issues. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to update the available evidence and assess the effect of post-surgical adjuvant RT versus adjuvant CRT on survival rate and complications/toxicities in management of ESCC patients with intermediate risk factors. PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science (WOS) and CENTRAL were searched using a combination of relevant keywords. All studies comparing outcomes of adjuvant RT versus CRT in ESCC patients with intermediate-risk factors in terms of recurrence free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS) and toxicities/complications were included. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis was carried out. The risk of bias assessment was done using Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) for retrospective cohort studies and Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool was used for randomized clinical trials. Eleven retrospective cohort studies and two randomized clinical trials were included in this review. Adjuvant CRT was found to have better RFS with ESCC patients with multiple intermediate risk factors with OR 3.11 95% CI [1.04, 4.99], p < 0.0001; i2 = 6%. However, similar benefit was observed between both regimens in presence of a single intermediate risk factor OR 1.80 95% CI [0.96, 3.36], p = 0.07; i2 = 0%. Grade 3 or 4 haematological toxicity among patients receiving post-surgical adjuvant RT versus adjuvant CRT showed increased association of toxicity with adjuvant CRT with OR 7.73 95%CI [3.40, 17.59], p < 0.0001; i2 = 62%. Adjuvant CRT shows favourable RFS and OS in ESCC patients with multiple intermediate risk factors. CRT also showed greater incidence of grade 3 or 4 haematological and non-haematiological toxicity, however, the same could be well tolerated when used within the recommended dosage.

Expression Profiles and Prognostic Value of Multiple Inhibitory Checkpoints in Head and Neck Lymphoepithelioma-Like Carcinoma.

Background: Inhibitory checkpoints are promising antitumor targets and predictive biomarkers in a variety of cancers. We aimed to identify the expression levels and prognostic value of multiple inhibitory checkpoints supported by preclinical and clinical evidence in head and neck lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (HNLELC). Methods: The expression of seven inhibitory checkpoints were evaluated in the tumor nest (TN) and tumor stroma (TS) of 102 HNLELC specimens using immunohistochemistry and digital pathology, and an inhibitory checkpoint-based signature (ICS) was subsequently constructed using the LASSO Cox regression model. Results: PD-L1, B7H3, and IDO-1 were mostly expressed in the TN, with median H-score of TN vs TS: 63.6 vs 14.6; 8.1 vs 1.0; 61.5 vs 34.7 (all P < 0.001), whereas PD-1, TIM-3, LAG-3, and VISTA were mainly observed in the TS, with median H-score of TN vs TS: 0.2 vs 12.4, 3.4 vs 7.1, 6.2 vs 11.9, 16.4 vs 47.2 (all P < 0.001), respectively. The most common simultaneously expressed combinations consisted of PD-L1 + B7H3 + IDO-1 + TIM-3 + LAG-3 + VISTA and B7H3 + IDO-1 + TIM-3 + LAG-3 in the TN (both occurring in 8.8% of patients) and PD-L1 + B7H3 + IDO-1 in the TS (4.9%). In addition, high-ICS patients had shorter 5-year disease-free (40.6% vs 81.7%; P < 0.001), regional recurrence-free (63.5% vs 88.2%; P = 0.003), and overall survival (73.5% vs 92.9%; P = 0.006) than low-ICS patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that ICS represented an independent predictor, which could significantly complement the predictive performance of TNM stage for 3-year (AUC 0.724 vs 0.619, P = 0.014), 5-year (AUC 0.727 vs 0.640, P = 0.056), and 10-year disease-free survival (AUC 0.815 vs 0.709, P = 0.023). Conclusions: The expression of inhibitory checkpoints and ICS classifier may increase the prognostic value of the TNM staging system and guide the rational design of personalized inhibitory checkpoint blockade therapy in HNLELC.

Nivolumab Combination Therapy in Advanced Esophageal Squamous-Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: First-line chemotherapy for advanced esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma results in poor outcomes. The monoclonal antibody nivolumab has shown an overall survival benefit over chemotherapy in previously treated patients with advanced esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma. METHODS: In this open-label, phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned adults with previously untreated, unresectable advanced, recurrent, or metastatic esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive nivolumab plus chemotherapy, nivolumab plus the monoclonal antibody ipilimumab, or chemotherapy. The primary end points were overall survival and progression-free survival, as determined by blinded independent central review. Hierarchical testing was performed first in patients with tumor-cell programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression of 1% or greater and then in the overall population (all randomly assigned patients). RESULTS: A total of 970 patients underwent randomization. At a 13-month minimum follow-up, overall survival was significantly longer with nivolumab plus chemotherapy than with chemotherapy alone, both among patients with tumor-cell PD-L1 expression of 1% or greater (median, 15.4 vs. 9.1 months; hazard ratio, 0.54; 99.5% confidence interval [CI], 0.37 to 0.80; P<0.001) and in the overall population (median, 13.2 vs. 10.7 months; hazard ratio, 0.74; 99.1% CI, 0.58 to 0.96; P = 0.002). Overall survival was also significantly longer with nivolumab plus ipilimumab than with chemotherapy among patients with tumor-cell PD-L1 expression of 1% or greater (median, 13.7 vs. 9.1 months; hazard ratio, 0.64; 98.6% CI, 0.46 to 0.90; P = 0.001) and in the overall population (median, 12.7 vs. 10.7 months; hazard ratio, 0.78; 98.2% CI, 0.62 to 0.98; P = 0.01). Among patients with tumor-cell PD-L1 expression of 1% or greater, a significant progression-free survival benefit was also seen with nivolumab plus chemotherapy over chemotherapy alone (hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.65; 98.5% CI, 0.46 to 0.92; P = 0.002) but not with nivolumab plus ipilimumab as compared with chemotherapy. The incidence of treatment-related adverse events of grade 3 or 4 was 47% with nivolumab plus chemotherapy, 32% with nivolumab plus ipilimumab, and 36% with chemotherapy alone. CONCLUSIONS: Both first-line treatment with nivolumab plus chemotherapy and first-line treatment with nivolumab plus ipilimumab resulted in significantly longer overall survival than chemotherapy alone in patients with advanced esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma, with no new safety signals identified. (Funded by Bristol Myers Squibb and Ono Pharmaceutical; CheckMate 648 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03143153.).

Expression and prognostic impact of CD49b in human lung cancer.

ABSTRACT: Lung cancer remains the worldwide leading cause of cancer-related death. Currently, prognostic biomarkers for the detection and stratification of lung cancer are being investigated for clinical use. The surface protein cluster of differentiation 49b (CD49b) plays an important role in promoting cell proliferation and invasion in different tumor entities and blocking CD49b improved the tumor immune response. Overexpression of CD49b has been associated with unfavorable survival rates in several malignant tumor entities, such as prostate cancer, gastric cancer and colon cancer. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the protein expression of CD49b in patients with different types of lung cancer and additionally to identify the influence of CD49b on clinicopathological characteristics and overall survival.Expression levels of CD49b were retrospective analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 92 cases of pulmonary adenocarcinoma (AC), 85 cases of squamous cell lung carcinoma (SQCLC) and 32 cases of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and patients' overall survival.A strong expression of CD49b was most seen in SQCLC (78%), followed by AC (48%) and SCLC (9%). All patients combined, strong expression of CD49b correlated significantly with poorer overall survival. However, an increased expression of CD49b correlated significantly with a poorer survival rate only in SQCLC. In AC and SCLC, no significant correlation could be demonstrated in this regard.In our study, CD49b expression was associated with poor overall survival in patients with SQCLC. Accordingly, CD49b could serve as a new prognostic biomarker and, moreover, be a potential new drug target in SQCLC.

A 10-year retrospective study of lung cancer in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Uganda. In this study, we aimed to describe the baseline characteristics and survival of patients with lung cancer at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of all patients with a histological diagnosis of lung cancer registered at UCI between January 2008 and August 2018. Data on demographic, clinical, and treatment characteristics, and vital status were abstracted and analyzed. Patients with undocumented vital status on the medical records were contacted through phone calls. We determined survival as time from histological diagnosis to death. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to estimate the median survival time and the 5-year overall survival rate. RESULTS: Of the 207 patients enrolled, 56.5% (n = 117) were female, median age was 60 years (range: 20-94), 78.7% (n = 163) were never-smokers and 18 (8.7%) were living with HIV. Presumptive anti-tuberculosis treatment was given to 23.2% (n = 48). Majority had non-small cell lung cancer (96.6%, n = 200) with 74.5% (n = 149) adenocarcinoma and 19% (n = 38) squamous cell carcinoma. All had advanced (stage III or IV) disease with 96.1% (n = 199) in stage IV. Chemotherapy (44.9%, n = 93) and biological therapy (34.8%, n = 72) were the commonest treatments used. Overall survival at 6 months, 1-, 2- and 5-years was 41.7, 29.7, 11.8, and 1.7%, respectively. The median survival time of 4.4 months was not statistically significantly different between participants with NSCLC or SCLC (4.5 versus 3.9 months, p = .335). CONCLUSION: In Uganda, adenocarcinoma is the predominant histologic subtype of lung cancer and patients are predominantly females, and non-smokers. Patients present late with advanced disease and poor overall survival. Public awareness should be heightened to facilitate early detection and improve outcomes.

Laparotomic radical hysterectomy versus minimally invasive radical hysterectomy using vaginal colpotomy for the management of stage IB1 to IIA2 cervical cancer: Survival outcomes.

ABSTRACT: This study compared survival outcomes for patients with stage IB1 to IIA2 (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage 2009) cervical cancer who underwent open radical hysterectomy (ORH) versus those who underwent minimally invasive radical hysterectomy (MIRH) using vaginal colpotomy (VC).Data for 550 patients who were diagnosed with cervical cancer at our institution during the period August 2005 to September 2018 was retrospectively reviewed. Of these, 116 patients who underwent radical hysterectomy (RH) were selected after applying the exclusion criteria. All MIRH patients underwent VC. Clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcomes between the ORH and MIRH groups were compared using appropriate statistical testing.Ninety one patients were treated with ORH and 25 with MIRH during the study period. Among the MIRH patients, 18 underwent laparoscopy-assisted radical vaginal hysterectomy and 7 underwent laparoscopic RH. Preoperative conization was performed more frequently in MIRH patients than in ORH patients (44% vs 22%, respectively, P = .028). The incidence of lymph node invasion was higher in the ORH group than in MIRH group (37.4% vs 12.0% respectively; P = .016). Following RH, ORH patients underwent adjuvant treatment more frequently than MIRH patients (71.4% vs 56.0%, respectively, P = .002). There were no significant differences between ORH and MIRH patients for either progression-free survival (PFS) (91.3% vs 78.7%, respectively; P = .220) or 5-year overall survival (OS) (96.6% vs 94.7%, respectively, P = .929). In univariate analysis, lympho-vascular space invasion was the only clinicopathological feature associated with decreased PFS. No other clinicopathological factors was significantly associated with PFS or OS in univariate and multivariate analyses.Despite a higher incidence of unfavorable prognostic factors in ORH patients, their survival outcomes were not different to those of MIRH patients with VC.

Prognostic value of tumor measurement parameters and SCC-Ag changes in patients with locally-advanced cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prognostic relevance of specific measurement parameters such as tumor diameter, tumor volume, tumor volume reduction rate (TVRR), and changes in the squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) level in patients with locally-advanced cervical cancer (LACC) undergoing concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 203 patients with stage IIA-IVA cervical squamous cell carcinoma who were newly diagnosed at our hospital between January 2011 and March 2015. Clinical data and pre-and post-treatment imaging information were collected and each parameter was calculated using 3DSlicer software. The pre/post-treatment tumor diameter (TDpre/post), tumor volume (TVpre/post), SCC-Ag (SCCpre/post), and TVRR, SCC-Ag reduction rate (SCCRR) were analyzed and their prognostic relevance evaluated. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 69 months. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 69.5% and 64.5%, respectively. On univariate analysis, TDpre/post, TVpre/post, TVRR, SCCpre/post and SCCRR showed significant association with OS and PFS (P < 0.05). On multivariate analysis, TDpre [Hazard ratio (HR) = 0.373, P = 0.028], TDpost (HR = 0.376, P = 0.003) and SCCpost (HR = 0.374, P = 0.001) were independent predictors of OS. TVRR (HR = 2.998, P < 0.001), SCCpre (HR = 0.563, P = 0.041), and SCCpost (HR = 0.253, P < 0.001) were independent predictors of PFS. Tumor measurement parameters showed a positive correlation with SCC-Ag (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: TDpre/post, TVpre/post, TVRR, SCCpre/post, and SCCRR were prognostic factors in LACC. TDpre/post and SCCpost showed the most significant prognostic value. TVRR and SCCpre/post were closely related to disease progression. Further studies should investigate the correlation between measurement parameters of tumor and SCC-Ag.

ITGA5 is an independent prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Integrin α5 (ITGA5) was involved in a variety of cancers. However, the role of ITGA5 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) remains unknown. METHODS: The expression of ITGA5 and the corresponding clinicopathological parameters of LSCC patients the TCGA database. Five datasets (GSE51985, GSE59102, GSE84957, GSE27020, and GSE65858) were downloaded from the GEO database as validation sets. Kaplan-Meier plotter, Cox regression analysis, and nomogram were performed to determine the prognostic value of ITGA5 in LSCC. GO, KEGG, and GSEA were used to explore the underlying biological functions of ITGA5 in LSCC. The algorithms ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT were adopted to evaluate the association between ITGA5 and the infiltration of the immune cells. The algorithm pRRophetic was used to estimate the response to chemotherapeutic drugs. RESULTS: The expression of ITGA5 was higher in the LSCC samples and linked to poor overall survival and recurrence-free survival. Further, the Cox regression analysis confirmed that high expression of ITGA5 was an independent unfavorable prognostic factor. The predictive performance of nomogram based on the expression of ITGA5 was accurate and practical. The functional enrichment analysis confirmed that ITGA5 was related to the construction of the components and structures of the extracellular matrix. Finally, patients with high ITGA5 expression were more likely to benefit from docetaxel and gemcitabine. CONCLUSION: The expression of ITGA5 was elevated in the LSCC and was a predictor for prognosis and chemotherapeutic response in LSCC patients.

High expression of HOXB7 is an unfavorable prognostic factor for solid malignancies: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: HOXB7 is abnormally expressed in a variety of tumors, but its prognostic value remains unclear due to sample size limitation and outcome inconsistency in previous studies. This meta-analysis was performed to explore the effect of HOXB7 expression on prognoses and clinicopathological factors in range of the whole solid tumors. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were searched to identify included studies. Hazard ratios (HR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) and clinicopathological factors were extracted. Subgroup analyses were performed according to histopathological type, tumor occurrence systems, and HOXB7 detection methods. RESULTS: A total of 3430 solid tumors patients from 20 studies (21 cohorts) were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that high HOXB7 expression was significantly associated with worse survival (overall survival: HR = 1.98, 95%CI: 1.74-2.26, P < .001 and disease-free survival: HR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.21-2.09, P = .001), more advanced tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage (odds ratio [OR] = 2.14, 95%CI: 1.68-2.73, P < .001), positive lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.16, 95%CI: 1.74-2.70, P < .001), more distant metastasis (OR = 1.63, 95%CI: 1.01-2.63, P = .048), poorer differentiation (OR = 1.48, 95%CI: 1.14-1.91, P = .003), and higher Ki-67 expression (OR = 2.53, 95%CI: 1.68-3.84, P < .001). Subgroup analysis showed that survival of patients with HOXB7 high expression was worse in either squamous cell carcinomas or non-squamous cell carcinomas, digestive tumors or non-digestive tumors, and protein level or mRNA level. CONCLUSION: High HOXB7 expression might be a valuable biomarker of poor prognosis for solid tumors. HOXB7 promotes tumor proliferation and metastasis, and is associated with poorer differentiation, more advanced stage, even the chemotherapy resistance, suggesting that HOXB7 is a potential therapeutic target for solid tumors.

Modulation of chemoimmunotherapy efficacy in non-small cell lung cancer by sex and histology: a real-world, patient-level analysis.

BACKGROUND: It has been postulated that patient's sex impacts response to immunotherapy. Sex modulation of immunotherapy benefit, however, has not yet been explored using patient-level data, where potential confounders, as well as histologic type, can be accounted for. Here we investigated the association between sex and chemoimmunotherapy efficacy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using a large, nation-wide dataset. PATIENTS & METHODS: Stage IV NSCLC patients diagnosed in 2015 were identified in the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Patients were treated with either chemoimmunotherapy or chemotherapy alone. The efficacy of the addition of immunotherapy treatment by sex was investigated using both an adjusted Cox proportional hazards model and propensity-score matching, in both the overall cohort and stratified by histological subtype. RESULTS: 2064 (16%) patients received chemoimmunotherapy and10,733 (84%) received chemotherapy alone. Adjusted survival analysis in the overall cohort showed that both males (hazards ratio (HR)adj: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.74-0.87) and females (HRadj: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.76-0.90) had better OS when treated with chemoimmunotherapy than chemotherapy alone, with no statistically significant interaction between sex and receipt of immunotherapy (p = 0.63). Propensity matching confirmed these results. However, for those with squamous cell histology, male patients derived more benefit from chemoimmunotherapy treatment than females (HRadj: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.58-0.91 vs HRadj: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.76-1.38; p for interaction = 0.07). CONCLUSION: Male patients with squamous cell carcinoma may derive more benefit from chemoimmunotherapy treatment. Histology likely plays an important role in how sex modulates immunotherapy efficacy.