Does primary tumor localization has prognostic importance in seminoma patients?: Turkish Oncology Group Study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether primary tumor localization may be a risk factor for relapse and survival in seminomatous germ cell tumors (GCT) patients. METHODS: In our study, 612 seminomatous GCT patients diagnosed in 22 centers between 01.01.1989 and 03.02.2019 were retrospectively evaluated. Patient interview information, patient files and electronic system data were used for the study. RESULTS: The primary tumor was localized in the right testis in 305 (49.9%) patients and in 307 (50.1%) in the left testis. Mean age of the patients was 36 years (range 16-85±10.4). The median follow-up period was 47 months (1-298). Recurrence was observed in 78 (12.7%) patients and 29 (4.7%) died during the follow-up period. Four-year overall survival (OS) was 95.4% and 4-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 84.5%. The relationship between localization and relapse was significant in 197 patients with stage 2 and stage 3 (p=0.003). In this patient group, 41 (20.8%) relapses were observed. Thirty (73.2%) of the relapses were in the right testis and 11 (26.8%) in the left testis. Four-year OS was 92.1% in patients with right tumor; and 98.7% in patients with left tumor (p=0.007). When 612 patients were evaluated with a mean follow-up of 4 years, there was a 6.6% survival advantage in patients with left testicular tumor and this difference was significant (p=0.007). CONCLUSION: Survival rates of patients with primary right testicular localization were worse compared with left testicular localization, and relapse rates were higher in stage 2 and 3 patients with right testicular localization.

Prognostic factors for survival in metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients with brain metastases receiving targeted therapy.

BACKGROUND: The primary objective of our study was to examine the clinical outcomes and prognosis of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) with brain metastases (BMs) receiving targeted therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-eight patients from 16 oncology centers for whom complete clinical data were available were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: The median age was 57 years (range 30-80). Most patients underwent a nephrectomy (n = 41; 70.7%), were male (n = 42; 72.4%) and had clear-cell (CC) RCC (n = 51; 87.9%). Patients were treated with first-line suni-tinib (n = 45; 77.6%) or pazopanib (n = 13; 22.4%). The median time from the initial RCC diagnosis to the diagnosis of BMs was 9 months. The median time from the first occurrence of metastasis to the development of BMs was 7 months. The median overall survival (OS) of mRCC patients with BMs was 13 months. Time from the initial diagnosis of systemic metastasis to the development of BMs (<12 months; p = 0.001), histological subtype (non-CC; p<0.05) and number of BMs (>2; p<0.05) were significantly associated with OS in multivariate analysis. There were no cases of toxic death. One mRCC patient with BMs (1.7%) experienced treatment-related cerebral necrosis. All other toxicities included those commonly observed with VEGF-TKI therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The time from the initial diagnosis of systemic metastasis to the development of BMs (<12 months), a non-CC histological subtype, and a greater number of BMs (>2) were independent risk factors for a poor prognosis.

Tendency of cancer patients and their relatives to use internet for health-related searches: Turkish Oncology Group (TOG) Study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to reveal the habits of using internet by cancer patients and their relatives to access health-related information and services in Turkey. METHODS: An 18-item questionnaire survey was applied in cancer patients and their relatives. RESULTS: A total of 1106 patients (male, 37.3%, and female, 62.7%) and their relatives were included in the study. The responders had been using internet to obtain health information about oncological diseases, once a month (34.2%), 1-2 times a week (27.4%) or 2-3 times a month (21.9%). After diagnosis of cancer was made, participants more frequently (64.4%) investigated health-related issues, while 64.9% of them considered internet as an important search tool, and 16.7% of them had thought to give up cancer therapy under the influence of internet information. Some (33.1%) participants had used herbal medicine, and 16.7% of them had learnt these herbal products from internet. Still 12.7% of them had not questioned the accuracy of internet information, while 26.9% of them indicated that they had not shared the internet information about cancer with their physicians, and 13 % of them searched information in internet without asking their physicians. CONCLUSION: Cancer patients and their relatives showed a higher tendency to use health-related internet information which may mislead them, and can result in treatment incompliance. Health professionals should offer evidence-based information to the patients and their relatives through internet.

Cutaneous melanoma in Turkey: analysis of 1157 patients in the Melanoma Turkish Study.

PURPOSE: To develop a large Turkish National Melanoma registry in order to define demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with melanoma. METHODS: The data was collected from 1635 patients with melanoma through a web-based registry system in 22 centers. Herein we present the results of 1157 patients with cutaneous melanoma. RESULTS: The patient median age was 56.4 years and 646 (55.8%) were males. The commonest subtype was superficial spreading type (357, 30.9%). The commonest primary site was the lower extremities (N=353, 30.5%). The most common Breslow thickness was 1-2 mm (361 patients, 43.5%). Only 104 (12.5%) patients had a thickness <1mm. Among 694 patients with available data, 136 (19.6%) presented with stage 4 disease while the most frequent stage was stage 3, encountered in 393 (56.6% patients). CONCLUSION: Our melanoma registry is the largest in our country providing a snapshot view of cutaneous melanoma and its care. Our patients presented with more advanced stages and they had worse prognosis compared to SEER database.

PTEN loss is not associated with trastuzumab resistance in metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Although the clinical benefits of trastuzumab are well known, intrinsic or acquired resistance is a commonly encountered clinical condition. A potential resistance mechanism is aberrant downstream signal transmission due to loss of phosphatase and tensine homologue (PTEN). This study investigated the relationship between trastuzumab response and loss of PTEN in metastatic breast cancer patients. METHODS: Patients with histologically confirmed human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive metastatic breast cancer, who were treated with trastuzumab were enrolled into the study. PTEN expression was immunohistochemically evaluated. RESULTS: The patient median age was 50 years. Of 38 patients, 6 (15.8%) showed PTEN loss. No statistically significant difference was found between trastuzumab response, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) and PTEN loss (p=0.538). CONCLUSION: The activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway resulting from PTEN loss was not found to be correlated with trastuzumab response and survival. PTEN loss should not lead to exclusion of patients from the potential to benefit from trastuzumab administration.

p95-HER2 and trastuzumab resistance in metastatic breast cancer; is immunohistochemistry appropriate?

PURPOSE: Unraveling the mechanisms underlying the resistance to trastuzumab is important for amending the prognosis of patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive metastatic breast cancer. Experimentally, it has been shown that p95-HER2 positive breast tumors are resistant to trastuzumab. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive and prognostic importance of p95-HER2 expression by immunohistochemistry in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab. METHODS: Only patients who had a histological diagnosis of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer and who had received first line therapy containing trastuzumab were enrolled in the study. Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze p95-HER2 expression in the tissue blocks of the patients. RESULTS: The study was performed on 38 patients aged between 30 and 84 years. In 14 patients (36.8%), p95-HER2 was positive, whereas it was negative in the remaining 24 patients (63.2%). There was no significant correlation between p95-HER2 expression and overall survival, response to trastuzumab, and progression-free survival (PFS). CONCLUSION: Unlike previous reports, there was no correlation between the p95-HER2 expression and resistance to trastuzumab. It may be argued that an analysis using immunohistochemistry is inadequate for determining p95- HER2. In order to ascertain whether immunohistochemistry is an appropriate method, studies with larger patient groups are needed.

An international survey of practice patterns and difficulties in cancer pain management in Southeastern Europe: a Turkish & Balkan Oncology Group common initiative.

PURPOSE: While pain is highly prevalent in cancer patients and its management is universally challenging, it is more commonly undertreated in the developing world. Southeastern European countries have limited resources and manpower to allocate for delivery of effective care for cancer-related pain. The purpose of this study was to explore the practice methods and the barriers to effective pain management in Southeastern Europe. METHODS: We conducted a Web-based survey using a specially designed questionnaire among physicians practicing in member countries of the Balkan Union of Oncology (BUON). RESULTS: A representative from each of the member countries of BUON (including Armenia and Georgia) and close to 100 physicians from 8 countries responded. The majority (89%) of respondents were medical oncologists and had been practising for 10 years on average. For pain assessment, only 35.4% of the physicians used a formal pain scale. Of the respondents 34.1% were not able to reach the optimal doses of narcotic medications while managing cancer pain, mostly due to concerns about toxicity, such as constipation and nausea. Most physicians listed their inability to consult sub-specialists to seek assistance for improving pain management cases as one of the major difficulties in day-to- day clinical practice, along with lack of time. CONCLUSIONS: The limitations faced by our respondents seem to be related mostly to the shortcomings of the respective health care systems, along with the need for more experience and knowledge about the titration of pain medications and dealing with toxicities.

Daily life of a Turkish medical oncologist.

There are many changes occurring in the Turkish health care system, including but not limited to consolidation of public hospitals and administrative takeover of some university hospitals by the Ministry of Health. Because of its unique situation, Marmara University Hospital is at the center of these changes. The adaptation process will continue for another year or so, after which it is hoped that a better health care environment will have been created for patients with cancer in Turkey.