Search

Background: The sudden emergence of the novel and severe 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) would be expected to impact the mental health of healthcare workers and thus represent a challenge to psychological resilience. In order to reduce psychological impacts, more research data are needed to help develop evidence-based strategies. We conducted a single center, cross-sectional study, with the aim of assessing the immediate psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on medical and paramedical staff in a cancer treatment center providing continuous health care during the pandemic. Methods: From April 19th to May 5th, 2020, medical and nursing staff from Oncology and Hematology Center of Mohammed VI University Teaching Hospital was invited to participate with a self-report questionnaire. We used Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS), and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) to evaluate stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia, respectively. Additional information on demographic characteristics, medical history, exposure to COVID-19, and accessed mental health services were included in the questionnaire. Results: We received 93 completed questionnaires. Among all healthcare workers included in this study, 30.1% reported stress, 32.3% had anxiety, 30.1% reported depression, and 31.2% had insomnia symptoms. Occupation, female gender, concomitant chronic diseases, history of mental disorders, and history of contact with suspected or confirmed patients were risk factors for psychological disturbances, whereas care provided by hospital decision-makers, and full coverage of all departments with protective measures were protective factors. Conclusion: During the initial phase of COVID-19 outbreak in Morocco, about one-third of the respondents reported moderate to severe psychological impact, and more than half rated their anxiety, depression symptoms, and insomnia as moderate to severe. Our findings emphasize the importance ...........

Background: Oligometastatic disease state is a recent concept of metastatic cancer defined as an intermediate of spread between localized and widely spread metastases. Oligometastatic prostate cancer (PCa) is being diagnosed with a greater frequency during the last decade. Multiple modalities of management of oligometastatic PCa are proposed from targeting all sites of metastases to the treatment of the primary. Objective: To review the literature regarding management of oligometastatic PCa. Method: PubMed and ScienceDirect electronic databases were queried for English and French language from 2014 to 2021. Keywords use included "cancer de prostate, oligométastases, oligometastasis and prostate cancer". Preclinical, prospective and retrospective studies were included. Result & discussion: There were rare published randomized controlled trials evaluating the treatment of oligometastatic PCa. Prospective and retrospective data suggest benefit of primary tumor treatment and Metastasis-directed therapy (MDT), especially using stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Oligometastatic PCa was defined by number of metastatic lesions clinically evident or radiographically detected (3 to 5). Treatment of the primary (radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy) was associated to a better local control, cancer specific survival, and longer median time to castration resistant PCa. MDT using SBRT has improved distant progression-free survival (DPFS), local progression-free survival (LPFS) in many studies. Conclusions: Available data suggest that local therapies such as prostatectomy and radiotherapy can be performed safely and might prevent the need for future palliative treatments. Similarly, MDT such as SBRT carry a low risk of toxic effects and provides excellent local control. Further trials are necessary and should aim to report outcomes in a consistent and systematic manner.

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has been developing in Morocco officially since March 2, 2020. Although the country has put in place measures to contain the spread of the epidemic, the consequences have been significant and have affected all the fields. The purpose of this study was to assess one special field that we tend to omit: the spirituality in cancer patients. Methods: During covid19 pandemic, ninety patients with cancer responded to our questionnaire in Mohammed 6 Hospital in oncology department, from May 4th to May 25th 2020. A thirty-nine questions questionnaire was used, with four major items: About beliefs, worship/practice, spiritual activities and about the pandemic. Results: Patients over 50 years old were the most predominant: 43.3%, with a male predominance 66.7%. More than half (53.3%) were married. More than half of our patients reported the beneficial effect of their beliefs during this pandemic and had resort to god more than before. Prayer and being interested in Quran and Shariaa were beneficial for most than 50% of patients. Most of our patients didn’t see this pandemic as a punishment but as a test and an opportunity to repent. Conclusion: When dealing with crisis, people react in different ways according their background, their beliefs and their experience, but most patients tend to focus on themselves and their -relationship with god/religion- then they focus on the external world.

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in developed countries. It mainly concerns postmenopausal women. The objective of our work is to report the experience of the radiotherapy oncology department of the oncology-hematology hospital (HOH) of the Mohammed IV University Hospital of Marrakesh in the management of endometrial cancer. We retrospectively analyzed 85 cases of endometrial cancer treated by radiotherapy (external radiotherapy and /or brachytherapy) in our institution between 2014 and 2019. The data collected from our patients concerned the epidemiological, clinical, therapeutic and evolutionary aspects of this cancer. The median age of the patients was 58 years [37, 82], 88% were postmenopausal. The average consultation time was 08 months. The master symptom was post-menopauseal bleeding in 85% of the patients. Pathological examination showed endometrioid adenocarcinoma in 83% of cases. After workup, 51% of patients were stage I (IA 17%, IB 35%), 25% stage II, 23% stage III (IIIA 3%, IIIB 9% and IIIC 10%) and 1% stage IVA according to the classification of the International Federation of Obstetric Gynecology (FIGO). After surgery, 77% of patients received external beam radiation therapy. The dose delivered was between 46 and 50 Gray (Gy) over a mean spread of 42 days associated with concomitant chemotherapy in 16% of cases. Intravaginal brachytherapy was delivered to 98% of patients. It represented the only adjuvant treatment in 27% of cases, after external radiotherapy in 73% of cases. Adjuvant chemotherapy was received in 36% of patients. After a mean follow-up of 3 years, 82% of patients were still followed in a situation of good control of their disease, 8% of cases of local recurrence and 10% of distant metastasis.

Para testicular rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare malignant tumour, which usually presents as a painless mass in the scrotum or groin. A case of paratesticular embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in a 16-year-old male, with a history of left testicular ectopia treated with orchiopexy, is being reported here who presented with chronic scrotal swelling. Paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare non germ cell tumour of scrotal sac in children and young adult/teens which can invade testis at presentation. Embryonal variant is the most common type. 40% cases can have metastasis to retroperitoneal lymph node. Diagnosis can be done on high degree of clinical suspicion coupled with biopsy and immunohistochemistry. Multimodality approach of treatment is often beneficial for patients.