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Barros AG, Mansinho H, Couto N, Teixeira MR, Tonin FS, Francisco R, Duarte-Ramos F. The Initial Journey of Patients with Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer (PaCTO Project): A Nationwide Survey among Portuguese Specialist Physicians. GE PORTUGUESE JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY 2024; 31:262-272. [PMID: 39114325 PMCID: PMC11305690 DOI: 10.1159/000533178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
Introduction We aimed to characterize the initial healthcare journey of metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) patients in Portugal, including healthcare provision and factors affecting therapeutic decisions, namely BRCA mutations testing. Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional, web-based survey using a convenience sampling approach. Portuguese oncologists and pathologists that routinely work with mPDAC patients from the different geographical regions and settings were invited to participate in the study via email (December 2020). Descriptive statistical analyses were performed, with categorical variables reported as absolute and relative frequencies, and continuous variables with non-normal distribution as median and interquartile range (IQR) (Stata v.15.0). Results Seventy physicians participated in the study (43 oncologists, 27 pathologists). According to the responses, a median of 28 patients per center (IQR 12-70) was diagnosed with PDAC in the previous year; 22 of them referring (IQR 8-70) to mPDAC. The pointed median time from patients' first hospital admission until disease diagnosis/staging is between 2 and 4 weeks. Endoscopic ultrasound with fine-needle biopsy is available in most hospitals (86%). Around 50% of physicians request BRCA testing; the assessment of additional biomarkers besides BRCA is requested by 40% of professionals. Half of them stated that BRCA testing should be requested earlier-upon histological diagnosis, especially because the median time for results is of 4.0 weeks (IQR 4-8). PARP inhibitors such as olaparib, when available, would be the therapy of choice for most oncologists (71%) if no disease' progression occurs after 4 months. Treatments' selection is usually grounded on clinical criteria (e.g., performance status, liver function). Around 45% of patients use FOLFIRINOX/mFOLFIRINOX as the first-line therapy. Gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel is used by 35% of patients as the second-line therapy. Conclusions Physicians in Portugal support the increasing role of patient-tailored treatments in mPDAC, whose selection should be grounded on tumoral subtyping and molecular profiling. Further efforts to develop multidisciplinary teams, standardized clinical practice, and optimize the implementation of new target therapies are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anabela G. Barros
- Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Hélder Mansinho
- Hemato Oncology Department, Garcia de Orta Hospital, Almada, Portugal
| | - Nuno Couto
- Digestive Unit, Champalimaud Clinical Centre, Champalimaud Research Centre, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Manuel R. Teixeira
- Department of Laboratory Genetics, Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto (IPO Porto), Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center, Porto, Portugal
- Cancer Genetics Group, IPO Porto Research Center (CI-IPOP)/RISE@CI-IPOP (Health Research Network), School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Fernanda S. Tonin
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Postgraduate Program, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba, Brazil
- H&TRC–Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL- Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Filipa Duarte-Ramos
- Department of Pharmacy, Pharmacology and Health Technologies, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
- Research Institute for Medicine (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
- EPIUnit, Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (ISPUP), Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR), Porto, Portugal
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Guven DC, Sahin TK, Erul E, Cakir IY, Ucgul E, Yildirim HC, Aktepe OH, Erman M, Kilickap S, Aksoy S, Yalcin S. The Association between Early Changes in Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio and Survival in Patients Treated with Immunotherapy. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11154523. [PMID: 35956139 PMCID: PMC9369683 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11154523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Dynamic changes in the blood-based biomarkers could be used as a prognostic biomarker in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), although the data are limited. We evaluated the association between the neutrophil−lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and early NLR changes with survival in ICI-treated patients. We retrospectively evaluated the data of 231 patients with advanced-stage cancer. We recorded baseline clinical characteristics, baseline NLR and fourth-week NLR changes, and survival data. A compound prognostic score, the NLR2-CEL score, was developed with the following parameters: baseline NLR (<5 vs. ≥5), ECOG status (0 vs. ≥1), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI, <9 vs. ≥9), LDH (N vs. ≥ULN), and fourth-week NLR change (10% or over NLR increase). In the multivariable analyses, higher NLR (HR: 1.743, p = 0.002), 10% or over NLR increase in the fourth week of treatment (HR: 1.807, p = 0.001), higher ECOG performance score (HR: 1.552, p = 0.006), higher LDH levels (HR: 1.454, p = 0.017), and higher CCI (HR: 1.400, p = 0.041) were associated with decreased OS. Compared to patients with the lowest scores, patients in the highest score group had significantly lower OS (HR: 7.967, 95% CI: 3.531−17.979, p < 0.001) and PFS. The composite score had moderate success for survival prediction, with an AUC of 0.702 (95% CI: 0.626−0.779, p < 0.001). We observed significantly lower survival in patients with higher baseline NLR values and increased NLR values under treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deniz Can Guven
- Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey; (H.C.Y.); (O.H.A.); (M.E.); (S.K.); (S.A.); (S.Y.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Taha Koray Sahin
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey; (T.K.S.); (E.E.); (I.Y.C.); (E.U.)
| | - Enes Erul
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey; (T.K.S.); (E.E.); (I.Y.C.); (E.U.)
| | - Ibrahim Yahya Cakir
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey; (T.K.S.); (E.E.); (I.Y.C.); (E.U.)
| | - Enes Ucgul
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey; (T.K.S.); (E.E.); (I.Y.C.); (E.U.)
| | - Hasan Cagri Yildirim
- Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey; (H.C.Y.); (O.H.A.); (M.E.); (S.K.); (S.A.); (S.Y.)
| | - Oktay Halit Aktepe
- Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey; (H.C.Y.); (O.H.A.); (M.E.); (S.K.); (S.A.); (S.Y.)
| | - Mustafa Erman
- Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey; (H.C.Y.); (O.H.A.); (M.E.); (S.K.); (S.A.); (S.Y.)
| | - Saadettin Kilickap
- Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey; (H.C.Y.); (O.H.A.); (M.E.); (S.K.); (S.A.); (S.Y.)
- Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Istinye University, 34396 Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Sercan Aksoy
- Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey; (H.C.Y.); (O.H.A.); (M.E.); (S.K.); (S.A.); (S.Y.)
| | - Suayib Yalcin
- Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey; (H.C.Y.); (O.H.A.); (M.E.); (S.K.); (S.A.); (S.Y.)
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