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OBJECTIVE We investigated the outcomes of radiotherapy (RT) combined with systemic chemotherapy (CHT) including carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. METHODS This retrospective study included 105 patients. Treatment involved concurrent carboplatin and paclitaxel with RT administered weekly followed by two cycles of consolidation carboplatin and paclitaxel administered triweekly. RESULTS Comorbid disease was present in 46 (48.6%) patients. At least four cycles of CHT in the concurrent phase and both cycles of CHT in the consolidation phase were able to be administered to 92.3% and 45.4% of patients, respectively. The most common type of toxicity in the entire treatment protocol was hematological toxicity (34.8%). The objective response rate was 71.4%. Overall, recurrence was found in 71 (67.6%) patients. The most common type of recurrence was distant metastasis, which occurred in 47 (66.2%) patients. The median progression-free survival was 14 months. The 1, 2, and 3-year progression-free survival rates were 59%, 30%, and 26%, respectively. The median overall survival was 27 months. The 1, 2, and 3-year overall survival rates were 81%, 57%, and 34%, respectively. CONCLUSION The survival outcomes in this study closely match those reported in the literature. This is notable because our study included a higher proportion of patients with additional health conditions and fewer concurrent CHT cycles during RT compared to randomized studies. These findings prompt us to consider what the ideal number of concurrent CHT cycles should be when using modern involved-field RT techniques after accurate disease staging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: More than half of gastric cancer patients have no chance of resection at the time of diagnosis. In gastric cancer, which has increased frequency with age, chemotherapy efficacy and tolerability in metastatic gastric cancer aged 75 and over have been investigated due to the fact that the elderly patient population is not sufficiently involved in the studies. Methods: In our study, the clinical and demographic characteristics of patients, treatment regimens and responses, prognostic factors, grad 3-4 toxicity, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were examined. Results: In the study involving 118 patients, PFS was 5.8 months and OS was 8.4 months. A disease control rate of 38.1% was achieved with chemotherapy. Conclusion: Since the OS in this study was 10.5 months in patients with ECOG PS 0-1, 13.8 months in patients who received two lines or more, and the frequency of side effects was acceptable, we believe that this patient population should not be left untreated. Since there are acceptable survival values even with single-agent therapies, monotherapy can be recommended for patients with poor ECOG PS and combination therapies can be recommended for patients with good PS without comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We aimed to determine factors affecting mortality and survival after Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in patients who were hospitalized in the neurology intensive care unit during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and Methods: The clinical and demographic data of 29 patients aged 18 years and older who received PEG tube insertion during hospitalization in the Neurology Intensive Care Unit of Bursa City Hospital, Turkey, between February 2020 and May 2021 were examined retrospectively. Patients' demographics, clinical characteristics, and survival status were recorded. Results: We included 29 patients (16 females and 13 males) into our study. Median age was 71 (33-89) years among survivors and 75.5 (48-90) years among those who died. The groups were similar with respect to age (p = 0.119) and sex (p = 0.806). Mortality rate after PEG insertion was 66%. Mean overall survival after PEG tube insertion was 129.49 days (95% CI: 91.21-167.78). Cox regression revealed that having multiple comorbidities was associated with increased the likelihood of mortality by 2.822-fold (95% CI: 1.001-7.968, p = 0.049). Conclusions: These findings show that having multiple comorbidities was the most important factor associated with mortality among PEG recipients who were admitted to the Neurology Intensive Care Unit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since multiple comorbidities cause shorter survival, it appears that the decision to insert PEG tubes must be made extremely cautiously among these patients. However, more comprehensive studies should be conducted to clarify the effect of COVID-19 on mortality rates and survival time after PEG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is a hematological malignancy characterized by clonal proliferation and accumulation of mature, typically CD5(+) B cells in peripheral blood, bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes. We aimed to contribute to patient approach algorithms by examining the clinical and prognostic characteristics, treatment regimens used, treatment responses, that may be effective on survival of patients diagnosed with CLL who received follow-up and treatment in our center. Methods: The study included 152 patients, who were diagnosed with CLL between January 2011 and December 2021in the Hematology Clinic of Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University Faculty of Medicine Hospital and whose data could be accessed. Treatment responses, survival status and factors affecting overall survival (OS) were evaluated retrospectively. Results: 152 patients (89 men, 63 women) were included in the study. The median age was 66.71±9.89 years. In our study, the survival of the patients in the group with advanced age, high LDH, high risk modified RAI and advanced Binnet was found to be low and statistically significant. The mean follow-up period in all our CLL cases was 53.44 months. During the follow-up period, 87 patients did not receive any treatment, while 65 patients received treatment. Five-year overall survival was 63.6%, and disease-free survival was found to be 59.3%. Conclusion: In CLL patients the appropriate treatment should be selected at the appropriate time, taking into account the characteristics of the patient and the disease. In order to achieve complete remission, effective chemo-immunotherapy agents should be started at the right time in patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]