Analysis of individuals with leukemia: cancer surveillance system limitations

Completeness and Consistency of Epidemiological Variables from Hospital-Based Cancer Registries in a Brazilian State

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the completeness and consistency of data from hospital-based cancer registries (HCRs) in a Brazilian state.

METHODS

This retrospective descriptive study was based on secondary data from an HCR in the state of Espírito Santo (ES) between 2010 and 2017. The data were collected between August and November 2020 by the ES State Health Department (SESA/ES). Cancer data were obtained from the HCR of ES using the tumor registration form of the Brazilian Hospital Cancer Registry Integrator and complete databases within the SESA/ES. The incompleteness of the data was classified as excellent (<5%), good (between 5% and 10%), regular (between 10% and 20%), poor (between 20% and 50%), and very poor (>50%), according to the percentage of the absence of information. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS^® Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) version 20.0.

RESULTS

Complete data were observed for the variables of sex, date of the first hospital visit, and histological type of the primary tumor; that is, there were no missing data. Most epidemiological variables, including age, origin, date of first tumor diagnosis, previous diagnosis and treatment, location of the primary tumor, first treatment received at the hospital, date of death of the patient, and probable location of the primary tumor, were classified as having excellent completeness throughout the study period. However, the variables schooling, smoking, alcohol consumption, occupation, family history of cancer, and clinical staging of the tumor were classified as poor.

CONCLUSION

Most epidemiological variables from the HCR in the state of ES, Brazil, showed excellent completeness. It is essential to elucidate the sociodemographic and clinical variables of epidemiological importance for a better understanding of the health-disease process.

Identification of New Inhibitors with Potential Antitumor Activity from Polypeptide Structures via Hierarchical Virtual Screening

Leukemias are neoplasms that affect hematopoietic cells, which are developed by genetic alterations (mutations) that lead to the loss of proliferation control mechanisms (maturation and/or cell death). The α4β1 integrin receptor is a therapeutic target for inflammation, autoimmune diseases and lymphoid tumors. This study was carried out to search through the antagonists-based virtual screening for α4β1 receptor. Initially, seventeen (17) structures were selected (based on the inhibitory activity values, IC₅₀) and the structure with the best value was chosen as the pivot. The pharmacophoric pattern was determined from the online PharmaGist server and resulted in a model of score value equal to 97.940 with 15 pharmacophoric characteristics that were statistically evaluated via Pearson correlations, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). A refined model generated four pharmacophoric hypotheses totaling 1.478 structures set of Zinc_database. After, the pharmacokinetic, toxicological and biological activity predictions were realized comparing with pivot structure that resulted in five (ZINC72088291, ZINC68842860, ZINC14365931, ZINC09588345 and ZINC91247798) structures with optimal in silico predictions. Therefore, future studies are needed to confirm antitumor potential activity of molecules selected this work with in vitro and in vivo assays.

Vulnerability of small-scale fishers to benzene exposure and the current knowledge gap on benzene-exposure in Brazilian fishers

Fishers are a particularly vulnerable population, chronically exposed to many stresses, injuries and health conditions directly linked to their fishing activities. This includes benzene exposure through gasoline and diesel exhaust fumes. Benzene is a known carcinogen, and has been assessed in many worker groups, but reports on fisher benzene exposure are extremely scarce in the literature. This paper discusses benzene exposure in small-scale fishers and reflects on the current knowledge gap on benzene-exposure in Brazilian fishers.