Search

Purpose: To compare the efficacy and adverse effect profiles of the first-line treatment of patients with KRAS wild type metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) in Turkey who were treated based on regimens including bevacizumab, cetuximab and panitumumab., Methods: This retrospective multicenter observational study involved a total of 238 patients who received chemotherapy in combination with either bevacizumab or cetuximab or panitumumab as first-line therapy for KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer. Patients with full medical records having pathological diagnosis of CRC adenocarcinoma were included in the study. The demographic, laboratory, histopathological and clinical characteristics of the patients were determined, and three groups were compared based on the study variables., Results: The mean age of the entire sample (n=238) was 58±11 years, 64% of which were male. The most frequent tumor localization was the rectum (37%) and G2 was the most common tumor grade (59.7%). About 63% of the patients had metastatic disease at diagnosis, with the most common site of metastasis being lung (14.7%) and liver (52.5%). Overall survival (OS) was 63.9%, while 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 91.7, 56.6 and 36.9%, respectively. The expected mean survival was 49.1 months (95% CI, 42.9-55.3). The 1-, 3- and 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates following first-line treatment were 65.3, 26.1 and 5.6%, respectively, while disease free survival (DFS) in patients without metastasis at diagnosis was 68.5%. An analysis carried out disregarding which treatment the patients received (FOLFOX or FOLFIRI) revealed that a panitumumab-containing combination resulted in poorer prognosis compared to bevacizumab or cetuximab-containing combination (p<0.001). With regard to the adverse effect profile, the most common adverse effects were neuropathy and neutropenia in patients receiving FOLFOX-bevacizumab; neutropenia and perforation in patients receiving FOLFIRI-bevacizumab; rash and pustular infection in patients receiving FOLFIRI-cetuximab; and diarrhea in patients who received FOLFIRI-panitumumab combination., Conclusion: This is the first multicenter study performed in Turkey evaluating the response to treatment and adverse effects in patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer.

Objectives: In this study, they investigated whether mean thrombocyte volume (MPV) and MPV/platelet count ratio have a prognostic significance in advanced NSCLC or not., Methods: A total of 496 NSCLC patients at stage IIIB/IV and did not meet exclusion criteria were included in the study. The demographic features (age, gender, smoking habit), clinical characteristics (performance status, weight loss, disease stage, first-line treatment regimen), laboratory tests (levels of hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase and calcium as well as MPV, MPV/platelet count ratio and counts of white blood cell, platelet), and histological features (histologic type, tumor grade) were recorded., Results: The MPV levels of all patients were determined as 10.2 {plus minus} 3.4 (range, 6.4-14.1 fL). With ROC curve analysis, the MPV/PC ratio was associated with a sensitivity of 67.8% and a specificity of 84.8% at a cutoff value of 0.47424 for presence of brain metastasis at the time of diagnosis. Univariate analysis showed that OS was significantly shorter in the group with an increased MPV level than in the other group (median OS time 6.8 months vs. 11.5 months, log-rank, P = .032). Multivariate analysis confirmed that an increased MPV level was an independent poor prognostic factor for OS (HR: 1.704, 95% CI: 1.274-3.415, P = .014)., Conclusions: Unlike results of previous studies, the study showed that increased MPV was an important prognostic factor in patients with NSCLC. Hence, an increased MPV level may be used as a prognostic biomarker to estimate for poor overall survival in patients with NSCLC., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Several prognostic factors have been studied in NSCLC, although it is unknown which is most useful. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether pre-treatment serum albumin level has prognostic value in patients with Stage IIIB NSCLC., Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included a total of 204 patients with Stage IIIB NSCLC who met the inclusion criteria. Pre-treatment serum albumin levels and demographic, clinical, and histological characteristics, as well as laboratory variables were recorded. A cut-off value was defined for serum albumin level and the patients were stratified into four groups on thios basis., Results: The majority of the patients was males and smokers, with a history of weight loss, and squamous histological type of lung cancer. The mean serum albumin level was 3.2±1.7 g/dL (range, 2.11-4.36 g/dL). A cut-off value 3.11 g/dL was set and among the patients with a lower level, 68% had adenocarcinoma and 82% were smokers. The patients with low serum albumin levels had a lower response rate to e first-line chemotherapy with a shorter progression-free survival and overall survival. Multivariate analysis showed that low serum albumin level was an independent poor prognostic factor for NSCLC., Conclusions: This study results suggest that low serum albumin level is an independent poor prognostic factor in patients with Stage IIIB NSCLC, associated with reduction in the response rate to first-line therapy and survival rates.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common cancers. Most of the patients are inoperable at the time of diagnosis, and the prognosis is poor. Many prognostic factors have been identified in prior studies. However, it is not clear which factor is more useful. In this study, we investigated whether uric acid, the last breakdown product of purine metabolism in humans, has a prognostic significance in advanced NSCLC. A total of 384 NSCLC patients at stage IIIB/IV and who did not meet exclusion criteria were included in this retrospective cross-sectional study. The patients' serum uric acid levels before first-line chemotherapy and demographic (age, gender, smoking), clinical (performance status, weight loss, disease stage, first-line treatment regimen), laboratory (hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase), and histologic (histologic type, tumor grade) characteristics were recorded. First, a cut-off value was determined for serum uric acid level. Then, the patients were stratified into four groups (quartiles) based on their serum uric acid levels. Descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate analyses, and survival analyses were used. Majority of the patients were males, smokers and metastatic at time of diagnosis and had history of weight loss and adenocarcinoma upon pathological examination. The serum uric acid levels of all patients were determined as 4.9±2.9 (range 1.9-11.3). The patients were stratified according to quartiles of serum uric acid concentration with cutoff values defined as <3.08 mg/dL (lowest quartile, Group 1), 3.09-5.91 mg/dL (Group 2), 5.92-7.48 mg/dL (Group 3), and >7.49 mg/dL (highest quartile, Group 4). Among the patients who had serum uric acid levels over 7.49, it was observed that those who also had squamous cell carcinoma had a greater rate of brain metastasis, a shorter time lapse until brain metastasis, and lower overall survival rate. It can be assumed that NSCLC patients who had histologically shown squamous cell carcinoma display brain metastasis and poor prognosis. It can be recommended to repeat this study with larger patient series including immunohistochemical, molecular, and wider laboratory investigations.

The administration of antineoplastic agents are associated with various vascular events. A case of acute bilateral renal infarction in a patient with non-small cell lung carcinoma during chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine is reported. The patient was misdiagnosed as having renal colic. To our knowledge, bilateral renal infarction following cisplatin and gemcitabine has not been reported previously. Renal infarction should be considered in the differential diagnosis of flank pain in a patient treated with gemcitabine and cisplatin.