RESUMO
Background: The utilization of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) strategy is a beneficial approach in integrating the knowledge and proficiencies of various fields to produce thorough and advantageous cancer treatment plans for patients. Nevertheless, MDT has yet to be widely adopted in Indonesia. In this study, the authors examined an early form of MDT in Indonesia that does not involve dedicated meetings, referred as independent multidisciplinary work (IMW). The objective is to investigate the differences in survival rates of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients who underwent treatment with and without IMW. Materials and methods: This study has a retrospective cohort design. Data were collected from the medical records of newly diagnosed stage 3 and 4 NPC patients between 2016 and 2018. The subjects were divided into two groups: the IMW group and the non-IMW group. The primary end point of the study is overall survival rate between the two groups. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, log-rank test, and cox proportional hazard analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results: This study included a total of 124 patients with NPC, 81 patients in the IMW group and 43 patients in the non-IMW group. At the end of the 36-month follow-up period, the median survival of the IMW group was not reached, while in the non-IMW, it was 12 months [95% confidence intervals (95% CI), 8.78-15.22], hazard ratio (HR): 0.47 (95% CI, 0.28-0.78; P<0.01). The 1-year survival rate was 66.7% in the IMW group versus 46.5% in the non-IMW group (HR=0.7, 95% CI 0.49-0.99; P=0.03); the 2-year survival rate was 40.7% in the IMW group versus 16.3% in the non-IMW group (HR=0.4, 95% CI 0.19-0.83; P<0.01). Daniel Rizky, Vina Yunarvika, and Yasjudan Rastrama Putra, these authors contributed equally to this work. In the multivariate analysis, the IMW approach, ECOG (The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) status, distant metastasis, and treatment approach were significantly associated with survival outcome. Conclusion: The use of IMW approach in the treatment of NPC was associated with a better survival outcome compared to non-IMW treatment.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) have been linked to the risk of developing certain cancers. This study aimed to analyze the association between obesity markers, MetS and survival outcomes of patients with breast cancer. METHODS: This study retrospectively investigated patients with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2-), nonmetastatic breast cancer diagnosed between January 2010 and December 2019. Data on clinical conditions, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), MetS, time of metastasis and death were collected. RESULTS: A total of 223 breast cancer patient records were eligible for analysis. Obesity (BMI ≥ 25) was found in 38.1% of cases. Abdominal obesity measured as WHR ≥ 0.85 was found in 48.9%. Metabolic syndrome was detected in 56.1% of patients and was associated with older age (OR = 2.196, p = 0.005), postmenopausal status (OR = 2.585, p = 0.001), obesity (OR = 5.684, p = 0.001) and abdominal obesity (OR = 2.612, p = 0.001). Obesity was not associated with poor disease-free survival (DFS) or overall survival (OS), while abdominal obesity was modestly associated with poor DFS (HR = 1.539, p = 0.083) and OS (HR = 3.117; p = 0.019). Multivariate analysis revealed that WHR ≥ 0.85 was independently associated with unfavorable DFS (HR = 1.907, p = 0.027). Patients with MetS had a similar survival rate to those with normal metabolism. CONCLUSION: In Indonesian women with HR+/HER2- breast cancers, obesity and MetS were not associated with poor survival outcomes. The abdominal obesity marker (WHR) was more accurate in predicting unfavorable DFS.