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Background: Neoadjuvant treatment is the standard treatment in locally advanced ESCC. However, the optimal chemotherapy regimen is not known. Method: This is a retrospective observational cohort study conducted with propensity score matching. Patients with resectable ESCC from 13 tertiary centers from Türkiye were screened between January 2011 and December 2021. We compared the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy with the CF and the CROSS regimens in patients with ESCC. Results: Three hundred and sixty‐two patients were screened. Patients who received induction chemotherapy (n = 72) and CROSS‐ineligible (n = 31) were excluded. Two hundred and fifty nine patients received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. After propensity score matching (n = 97 in both groups), the mPFS was 18.4 months (95% CI, 9.3–27.4) and 25.7 months (95% CI, 15.6–35.7; p = 0.974), and the mOS was 35.2 months (95% CI, 18.9–51.5) and 39.6 months (95% CI 20.1–59.2; p = 0.534), in the CF and the CROSS groups, respectively. There was no difference between subgroups regarding PFS and OS. Compared with the CF group, the CROSS group had a higher incidence of neutropenia (34.0% vs. 62.9%, p < 0.001) and anemia (54.6% vs. 75.3%, p = 0.003) in all grades. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in grade 3–4 anemia, grade 3–4 neutropenia, and febrile neutropenia between groups. There were more dose reductions and dose delays in the CROSS group than in the CF group (11.3% vs. 3.1%, p = 0.026 and 34.0% vs. 17.5%, p = 0.009, respectively). The resection rate was 52.6% in the CF‐RT and 35.1% in the CROSS groups (p = 0.014). Conclusion: Favorable PFS and pCR rates and a comparable OS were obtained with the CROSS regimen over the CF regimen as neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. Several studies have shown that alterations of microbiota increase the risk of neurodegenerative disorders. We aimed to reveal whether there is a difference in the gut microbiota of patients with ALS. Materials and methods: The participants are divided into three groups. Group 1 comprised patients with ALS. Healthy family members living in the same house of the patients formed Group 2. Lastly, sex- and age-matched healthy people were included in Group 3. Fecal samples were collected in 15-mL falcon tubes and stored at –80 °C. Genomic DNA isolation was performed on samples. Bacterial primers selected from the 16S rRNA region for the bacterial genome and ITS1 and ITS4 (internal transcribed spacer) were used for the identification of DNA. Next generation sequence analysis (NGS) and taxonomic analyses were performed at the level of bacterial phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Alpha and beta diversity indexes were used. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size method (LEfSe) was applied to identify a microbial taxon specific to ALS disease. Results: The relative abundances of the Succinivibrionaceae and Lachnospiraceae families were significantly lower in patients. The dominant families among patients were Streptococcaceae and Ruminococcaceae, while the dominant families among healthy controls were Bacteroidaceae and Succinivibrionaceae. The LEfSe analysis revealed that four families (Atopobiaceae, Actinomycetaceae, Erysipelatoclostridiaceae, Peptococcacceae) differed significantly between the patients and healthy controls (LDA values> 2.5, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Comparison with family members living in the same house is the strength of this study. We found that there were changes in the microbiota of the patients, consistent with the literature. Studies that analyze the composition of the gut microbiota in the predisease period may be needed to understand whether dysbiosis is caused by the mechanisms inherent in the disease or whether it is dysbiosis that initiates the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine educational status of seasonal migrant agricultural worker (SMAW) families and their children, one of the vulnerable groups in Türkiye, under prepandemic conditions, as well as their access to educational services during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this study, designed according to the mixed research method, purposive sampling was used. The data were collected through face-to-face surveys, in-depth interviews, focus group interviews, and key person/institution interviews. The findings showed that adults and children in SMAW households were mostly primary or middle school graduates due to financial constraints, and unlike boys, girls dropped out of school due to gender-based reasons such as early marriage and the belief that girls should not be educated. With the pandemic, it revealed that the existing problems experienced by children in SMAW households regarding access to education and its sustainability have deepened further. The findings of this study suggest that without the development of necessary support mechanisms to increase the continuity of education for children who start working for the first time with their parents in the agricultural sector during the pandemic period, it is inevitable and permanent that the children who started working during this period will be disconnected from education in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by high rates of recurrence, especially in patients with residual disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Capecitabine is being used as standard adjuvant treatment in residual TNBC. We aimed to investigate the real-life data regarding the efficacy of capecitabine in residual TNBC. In this retrospective multicenter study, TNBC patients with residual disease were evaluated. Patients, who received standard anthracycline and taxane-based NAC and adjuvant capecitabine were eligible. Overall survival (OS), disease free survival (DFS) and toxicity were analyzed. 170 TNBC patients with residual disease were included. Of these, 62.9% were premenopausal. At the time of analysis, the recurrence rate was 30% and death rate was 18%. The 3-year DFS and OS were 66% and 74%, respectively. In patients treated with adjuvant capecitabine, residual node positive disease stood out as an independent predictor of DFS (p = 0.024) and OS (p = 0.032). Undergoing mastectomy and the presence of T2 residual tumor was independent predictors of DFS (p = 0.016) and OS (p = 0.006), respectively. The efficacy of capecitabine was found lower compared to previous studies. Selected patients may have further benefit from addition of capecitabine. The toxicity associated with capecitabine was found lower than anticipated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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