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Aim: The management of metastatic prostate cancer has progressed immensely in the last decade. This study aims to investigate the real-world clinical outcomes of metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma treated with abiraterone and enzalutamide. The findings will assist healthcare providers in making more informed decisions when choosing between these two drugs for treating these patients.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 80 patients at our tertiary care hospital was conducted from January 2015 to July 2022. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0. An independent sample T-test was used for continuous data and the chi-square test for categorical data. Medians and means were calculated for continuous or ordinal variables. Kaplan-Meier survival curves presented progression-free and overall survival (OS), with comparisons made using the log-rank test. Survival rates with 95% CIs were reported, with p < 0.05 considered significant.

Results: In our final analysis of 80 patients, the median age was 65 years, with 88% having an eastern cooperative oncology group performance status between 0 and 2. Histopathology showed adenocarcinoma in 91% of cases. Grade Group III-IV disease was present in 51.3%, and 67.5% had a Gleason Score of >8. Bilateral orchidectomy was performed in 41 patients (51.25%), with a median Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue use of 32 months. Most patients (72.5%) were castration-sensitive. Among the 80 patients, 60 (75%) were treated with abiraterone and 20 (25%) with enzalutamide. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) doubling time was >6 months in 80% of the abiraterone group and 75% of the enzalutamide group. PSA response rates were similar for both drugs, with comparable rates of progressive disease, partial response, stable disease and complete response (p = 0.036). There was no significant difference in median time to progression (19 months for abiraterone versus 18 months for enzalutamide) (95% CI 9.7-27.9; p = 0.004). The median OS for the entire cohort was 67 months (95% CI 39-94; p = 0.003).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that both abiraterone and enzalutamide are effective in prolonging progression-free and overall survival in this patient population, providing comparable safety. Further studies are recommended to validate these findings and inform clinical decision-making.

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the highest prevailing causes of female cancer-related mortality globally. A significant discrepancy in incidence has been noted between high and low-middle-income countries. The origins of CC have been accredited to the human papillomavirus (HPV) with serotypes 16 and 18 being the most prevalent. HPV vaccines, with 90%-97% efficacy, have proven safe and currently function as the primary prevention method. In addition, secondary prevention by timely screening can potentially increase the 5-year survival rate by >90%. High-precision HPV DNA testing has proven to be both highly sensitive and specific for early detection and is advocated by the WHO. Lack of public awareness, poor screening infrastructure and access to vaccines, socio-cultural concerns, along with economic, workforce-associated barriers and the presence of marginalised communities unable to access services have contributed to a continued high incidence. This article comprehensively analyses the efficacy, coverage, benefits and cost-effectiveness of CC vaccines and screening strategies including the transition from cytological screening to HPV self-sampling, while simultaneously exploring the real-world disparities in their feasibility. Furthermore, it calls for the implementation of population-based approaches that address the obstacles faced in approaching the WHO 2030 targets for CC elimination.

Background: Early colorectal cancer (CRC) symptom recognition and prompt diagnosis are crucial for the identification of cases in the earliest stage and for improving survival. This study investigates the incidence of presentation and diagnosis delays, their contributing determinants and their impact on the cancer stage at diagnosis.

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 227 CRC patients between November 2022 and October 2023. We developed a semi-structured questionnaire to collect information on the factors related to delays in the presentation and diagnosis. Presentation delay was defined as the time between the initial symptoms and the first consultation exceeding 1 month, while diagnosis delay was defined as the time between presentation and the pathological diagnosis confirmation exceeding 4 months. We examined the impact of these delays on the status of the metastatic disease and identified the determinants of the presentation and diagnosis delays.

Results: The median values for presentation and diagnosis delay are 1 and 4 months, respectively. Patients aged ≥60 years were less likely to experience diagnosis delays odds ratio (OR = 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.28-0.95, p = 0.035), as opposed to those who were younger. The absence of red flag symptoms at presentation (OR = 2.73, 95% CI 1.47-5.10, p = 0.002), the utilisation of complementary and alternative medicine (OR = 2.01, 95% CI 1.12-3.61, p = 0.019) and ≥3 distinct healthcare facility visits before diagnosis (OR = 3.51, 95% CI 1.95-6.29, p < 0.001) were associated with an increased risk of diagnosis delays. Diagnosis delays were also correlated with a higher risk of metastatic disease at diagnosis (OR = 2.04, 95% CI 1.17-3.53, p = 0.011).

Conclusion: Our CRC patients experience considerable delays in their presentation and diagnosis. Diagnosis delays were observed to increase the likelihood of presenting with metastatic disease. Given the determinants and the patients' perspectives revealed in this study, future research to explore evidence-based approaches to reducing these delays is warranted.

Introduction: Hepatitis-B virus infection contributes to 40%-50% of the Hepato-cellular carcinomas (HCC) in India, while hepatitis-C virus infection accounts for 12%-32% of cases. This study aimed at determining the patterns of cancers among patients with hepatitis B and C.

Materials and methods: This was a retrospective study of cancer patients with histologically proven diagnoses of cancer registered at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai between 2017 and 2018. The proportional incidence ratio (PIR) was computed by dividing the observed number of site-specific cancer cases by the expected number.

Results: The study participants' mean (SD) age was 48.69 (±16.91) years with a male-to-female ratio of 1.36. The prevalence of hepatitis B and C was 1.93% and 1.17%, respectively. Liver cancer showed the highest occurrence rate with notably increased PIR among individuals positive for hepatitis B (males: 14.41, females: 10.89) and hepatitis C (males: 7.15, females: 10.42). Furthermore, hepatitis B-positive patients showed elevated PIR for haemato-lymphoid malignancies such as multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Limitation: The correlation between HBsAg and specific cancer types (PIRs) is limited by small case numbers, requiring careful interpretation of these findings.

Implications and conclusion: The PIR for liver cancer was heightened in both hepatitis B and C patients. Strengthened surveillance, including pre-screening for hepatitis B and C positive infection among cancer patients, as well as screening for HCCs among hepatitis seropositive individuals, is crucial to mitigate the incidence of HCC.

Background: Breast cancer incidence rates are rising in Africa and mortality is highest in West Africa. Reasons for poor survival are multifactorial but delays in seeking appropriate health care result in late presentation which contributes significantly to poor outcomes. Total delays of more than 3 months have been associated with advanced stage at presentation and poorer survival.

Method: A cross-sectional design was used to assess delays in health-seeking behaviour in consecutive breast cancer patients receiving treatment at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) from January to December 2022 using a structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were gathered to assess health-seeking behaviour in relation to delays in a presentation to a health care facility, and factors that may have influenced the delays. Statistical analysis was done using descriptive and inferential analyses.

Results: The study involved 636 participants with a mean age and SD of 52.6 ± 12 years. Most participants were diagnosed with Stage 3 or 4 breast cancer (56.5%). Ninety percent of participants had visited at least one health facility prior to seeking care at KBTH. Forty-two percent of the participants sought care at a health facility less than a month after noticing symptoms of breast cancer while 34.4% did so greater than 3 months after noticing symptoms. Delays showed a significant association with age, marital status, educational level, average monthly income and cancer stage (p < 0.05). Common reasons for delays were lack of knowledge of breast cancer signs and/or symptoms (47%), advice from family and friends (15%), financial difficulties (9%), seeking alternate treatments (7%), competing priorities (6%) and indifference (5%).

Conclusion: Lack of knowledge about breast cancer was a major cause of delay in seeking health care in this study. Education should specifically target knowledge about breast cancer and the need for appropriate and timely health seeking.

Despite the development of newer anti-Her2 agents, access to these medicines is still restricted with lapatinib being widely used as a second-line agent in Her2-positive metastatic breast cancer. However, lapatinib at approved doses of 1,250 to 1,500 mg/day contributes to a high pill burden and financial toxicity. In a population that has an average national per capita income of only USD 2238.1, lapatinib alone contributes to a financial burden of USD 6153.56 per year (approximately USD 500 per month). A concept of 'value meal' has been suggested - the higher bioavailability of lapatinib with the meal being exploited to reduce its administered dose. This concept was utilised in a resource-constrained tertiary care center in South India and we report the outcomes. In our institution, consecutive patients with Her2 positive metastatic breast cancer from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 who could not afford trastuzumab, lapatinib or any other anti-Her2 agent were offered low-dose lapatinib, 500 mg daily with meal. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of the safety and efficacy of this regimen. Among the 47 patients who received low-dose lapatinib, the majority had de novo metastatic disease (57.4%) and multiple visceral metastases (48.9%). The median number of lines of treatment before lapatinib was one. The disease control rate with lapatinib was 61.7%. The median progression-free survival was 7 months (95% CI: 5.6-8.4 months). The median duration of response was 4.5 months, ranging from 1.3 to 45.8 months. Only eleven patients (23.4%) experienced toxicity, mainly dermatological, with grade 3 in only one (2.1%) and no grade 4 toxicities. Low-dose lapatinib is a regimen that offers an acceptable disease control rate. This strategy requires further exploration, particularly for the benefit of resource-limited areas.

Introduction: Primary thoracic synovial sarcoma (PTSS) is a rare malignancy presenting with varying clinical manifestations. There is a paucity of data with few studies dedicated to this unique subset of neoplasms. We present our findings from one of the largest real-world studies among patients with PTSS.

Methods: This is a single-centre, real-world study in patients with PTSS included between 2017 and 2023. Survival estimates were obtained by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis.

Results: 24 patients with a median age of 34.5 years (range 16-54) presented with chest pain (n = 11, 45.8%) and dyspnea (n = 10, 41.6%). Predominant primary sites of disease were the lung (n = 12, 50%) and mediastinum (n = 6, 25%). The stage at presentation was unresectable locally advanced (n = 10, 41.6%), localised (n = 8, 33.3%) and metastatic (n = 6, 25%) with pulmonary metastases (n = 10, 62.5%) and pleural effusion (n = 4, 25%). 16 (66.6%) patients underwent surgical resection including 7 (43.8%) who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). NACT was given in ten patients producing stable disease in 5 (50%) and partial response in 3 (30%) patients, respectively, with surgery performed in 7 (70%). 11 (62.5%) operated patients had a microscopically complete resection and 10 (41.6%) received postoperative radiotherapy. Anthracyclines were given in 23 (95.8%) patients in the first line, while pazopanib was the most common therapy in the second and third lines, respectively. At a median follow-up of 32 months (range 16.7-47.2), the median overall survival (OS) was 41 months (95% CI: 23.7-58.2) and 8 months (95% CI: 1-25.6) overall and in metastatic disease, respectively. Presentation with metastases (p = 0.01) and treatment with surgical resection (p = 0.005) were significantly associated with OS on univariate analysis.

Interpretation: The locally advanced nature of the disease at presentation signifies the need for early diagnosis and technically superior definitive therapies. The survival outcomes for metastatic disease remain poor and the need for novel therapies for advanced disease remains unmet so far.

Clinical trial registration: Not applicable.

Background: Childhood leukemia (CL) is the most common type of childhood cancer worldwide and in Colombia. Thanks to therapeutic innovations and improved access, the survival of children and adolescents with leukemia has increased considerably worldwide, especially in high-income countries. In Colombia, a middle-income country, survival has also been observed to increase in big cities. However, the survival rate in intermediate cities is still unknown.

Objective: This study aimed to assess short- and long-term survival rates of children with leukemia coming from three intermediate Colombian cities as well as to compare overall survival (OS) rates versus relative survival (RS) rates of this population of children.

Methods: Data from population-based cancer registries in three Colombian cities (Bucaramanga metropolitan area, Manizales and Pasto) were analyzed. OS and RS of up to 10 years were estimated for children who were diagnosed with leukemia at ages 0-18 years between 1998 and 2018 and followed up for vital status. RS was calculated using the Pohar-Perme method. We performed a separate survival analysis by gender and by period of diagnosis (before and after 2010).

Results: We included data from 507 children and adolescents diagnosed with leukemia. RS at 1, 5 and 10 years after diagnosis were similar between the populations for the respective timeframes (RS Bucaramanga 86.5%, 66.9% and 52.5%; Manizales 81.1%, 62.8% and 61.1%; Pasto 81.7% at 1 year, 66.2% at 5 years and 59.4% at 10 years). OS and RS were very similar for all estimates and periods. There were no clear differences in RS between genders across the three population-based cancer registries and there was an improvement in RS after 2010, particularly in Bucaramanga and Pasto.

Conclusion: Our study reports similar 5-year survival rates for CL in these Colombian cities compared to rates documented in other Latin American countries and larger Colombian cities. These are far below what is reported in high-income settings. This highlights opportunities for improvement in the Colombian health system, where numerous barriers persist in terms of suspicion, diagnosis and continuity of treatment for CL.

Objective: To determine the prognostic factors associated with postoperative morbidity for resectable pancreatic cancer at the Instituto Regional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas del Norte 'Dr. Luis Pinillos Ganoza' - IREN Norte. 2007-2022.

Materials and methods: A study was conducted with a case-based (22 patients) and control (14 patients) design nested in a cohort that included 36 patients who underwent proximal duodenopancreatectomy (Whipple) or distal pancreatectomy for pancreatic cancer.

Results: In the present study, it was found that the total number of living patients represents 86.1% of the total (36 patients). Of the total population, patients who presented only 1 complication were 13.6% and more than 1 complication were 86.4%. It was also found that the most frequent complication in the general population was gastric emptying syndrome, which was present in 50% of all patients. In the bivariate analysis, a highly significant association was observed between the low prognostic nutritional index (p < 0.001, OD = 20.400, CI = 95%: (3.377-123.245)), the type of pancreatic resection (p < 0.001, OR = 52.500, CI = 95%: (5.174-532.669)) and postoperative morbidity. In contrast, no significant association was found between age ≥65 (p = 0.062), diabetes mellitus (p < 0.908), Wirsung diameter (p < 0.432), hospital stay (p < 0.075) and postoperative morbidity. In the multivariate analysis, serum total bilirubin level ≥20 μmol/L (p = 0.778), use of preoperative biliary drainage (p = 0.176), type of pancreatojejunal anastomosis (p = 0.533) and pancreaticogastric anastomosis (p = 0.504) were not statistically significantly associated with postoperative morbidity.

Conclusion: The type of pancreatic resection and the nutritional prognostic index <40.5 are prognostic factors of postoperative morbidity in postoperative patients for resectable pancreatic cancer.

Background: Despite an increasing number of female oncologists, disparities persist in authorship representation of women, especially in high-impact journals.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate gender differences in authorship within select high-impact Indian oncology journals over a 5-year period, assessing trends in the gender gap.

Methods: Six high-impact Indian oncology journals were selected for analysis. Data on original articles, reviews and editorials published between 2017 and 2022 were collected, including authors' gender, their role as first author or corresponding author and name of the journal. Gender determination was validated through web searches. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data and to study the prevalence of female authorship across journals.

Results: A total of 2,235 articles were included. Across all journals, 30.4% of authors were female, with Journal of Cancer Research and Treatment exhibiting the highest proportion of female authors (948/2,507; 37.8%). Female authorship increased over time, with first authors rising from 33% to 41%, and corresponding authors from 29.4% to 36.4%. However, disparities persisted, and certain journals exhibited fluctuating trends. Female authorship was higher in original articles (30.9%) compared to reviews (27.8%) and editorials (24.5%). Women comprised 3.5%-24.4% of the editorial boards of the six journals.

Conclusion: Female representation, both as authors and editorial board members of Indian oncology journals is disproportionately low. Proactive measures are necessary to address these disparities and promote gender equity in academic publishing.