A New Prognostic Index in Young Breast Cancer Patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic role of pan immune-inflammation value (PIV) in young breast cancer patients. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Medical Oncology, Afyon University of Health Sciences, School of Medicine Hospital, Turkey, between January 2010 and December 2020. METHODOLOGY: Patients who were under the age of 40 years at the time of diagnosis were included. Patients' characteristics and disease parameters were recorded. PIV was calculated according to (neutrophil x platelet x monocyte/lymphocyte, i.e. NxPxM/L) formula. Since a cut-off value with max sensitivity and specificity could not be obtained with ROC analysis, the median value of PIV was used as cut-off value. The relationship between PIV and pathological parameters was evaluated by ROC curves. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for OS and the log-rank test was used to evaluate the survival differences between the two groups, according to the optimal cut-off point. RESULTS: Based on the PIV cut-off value of 121 (49.8%) patients were in the low PIV and 122 (50.2%) patients were in the high PIV group. The patients in the high PIV group had a statistically significantly more advanced AJCC stage, and were younger patients. In the survival analysis, it was observed that the survival was worse in the high PIV group but this difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.112). CONCLUSION: Higher PIV levels at the time of diagnosis can be another prognostic marker. However, to clarify the PIV prognostic value, it needs to be validated in larger, multi-centre prospective clinical studies. Key Words: Breast cancer, Pan immune-inflammation value (PIV), Prognosis, Young women.

The Prognostic Effects of Clinicopathological Features on Rectal Cancer Patients undergoing Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of clinicopathological features on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in in-patients with local advanced rectal cancer (LARC) who received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Clinic of Radiation Oncology, Kayseri Training and Research Hospital and Kayseri City Hospital, Turkey, between January 2014 and June 2019. METHODOLOGY: The pre-nCRT, post-nCRT, and postoperative imaging methods of 51 patients, who were operated upon, were examined. Radiological images (CT and MRI) of the patients were reviewed using the hospital's PACS system. Pathology reports and preparations were re-evaluated, and TNM staging and the pathological tumour regression grade (pTRG) were graded according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer's (AJCC) 2018 version. For the descriptive statistics of the data, the mean, standard deviation, lowest-highest median, frequency, and ratio values were used. Cox regression (univariate-multivariate analysis) and Kaplan-Meier curves were used for survival analysis. RESULTS: In the univariate model, the postoperative pathological T and N stages (ypT and ypN), pathological stage, positive lymph node count (pLN+, pathological sampling) and lymphovascular invasion (LVI) positivity had a significant effect (p <0.05) on DFS. In the multivariate reduced model, a significant independent (p <0.05) effect of the ypT and pLN+ number was observed on DFS. In the univariate model, the pathological tumour diameter after nCRT, the ypT, perineural invasion (PNI) positivity, and relapse presence had a significant effect (p <0.05) on OS. In the multivariate reduced model, a significant independent (p <0.05) effect of recurrence was observed on OS. CONCLUSION: LVI, the ypTN stage, and the pLN+ number affected the disease-free survival, while the residual tumour diameter after nCRT, ypT stage, and PNI affected the overall survival. The predicted DFS time decreased as the ypT stage increased and the predicted OS time decreased as the recurrence increased. Key Words: Rectal cancer, Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, Disease-free survival, Overall survival.

Comparison of Patients with and Without Hiatal Hernia Repair during Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: Single-centre Experience.

OBJECTIVE:  To evaluate whether the concomitant repair of hiatal hernias during laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy has an effect on the outcome of the surgery in patients with hiatal laxity and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms during preoperative preparations. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of  General Surgery, Kayseri City Training and Research Hospital, Health Science University, Kayseri, Turkey, from 2016 to 2020. METHODOLOGY: Reflux symptom index questionnaire (RSI) is used in patients with GERD symptoms and in cases where hiatal hernia is detected in routine endoscopy. Preoperative and postoperative periods can be compared with this non-invasive and short-term test. RESULTS:  Thirty-five patients were included in the study. The mean age of the included patients was 36.0 ± 9.8 (range, 21- 54) years, 80% of them were female. The preoperative median BMI was 43.9 (IQR, 41-50.7), and the postoperative mean BMI was 31.3 ± 5.1 (range, 23.2-40.6) Kg/m2. The median calculated RSI of the patients in the preoperative period was 8 (IQR, 2-13), and the postoperative median was 5.1 (IQR, 0-8) (p = 0.028). It was observed that 24 (68.6%) of the patients had improvement in their symptoms, 7 (20%) patients had worsening, 3 (8.6%) patients did not experience a change, and only one (2.9%) patient developed de novo GERD symptoms.  Conclusion: No statistically significant difference was observed in individuals undergoing LSG and known to have GERD, hiatal hernia repair and cruroraphy in addition to LSG regarding reduction of  GERD symptoms. Key Words: Sleeve gastrectomy, Reflux symptom index score, Gastroesophageal reflux disease.