International trends in pulmonary neuroendocrine cancer studies:a scientometric study

ABSTRACT Introduction Pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors account for approximately 20% of all primary lung tumors. Few studies summarize the current body of pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors studies worldwide. Objective A quantitative scientometric analysis was conducted to evaluate the development of applications and innovations and to analyze their contribution to various areas of improvement in treatment and diagnosis of pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors. Methods We searched for studies published in the last 20 years in the databases United States National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Scopus, and Web of Science, using the terms 'pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors', 'bronchial neuroendocrine tumors', 'bronchial carcinoid tumors', 'pulmonary carcinoid', 'typical pulmonary carcinoid', 'atypical pulmonary carcinoid', 'pulmonary carcinoid and diagnosis', 'pulmonary carcinoid and treatment', 'pulmonary carcinoid and epidemiology' and 'pulmonary carcinoid and prognosis'. Results Our results showed the number of publications increased significantly over the study period and was strongly associated with the economic or financial situation of the publications' countries of origin. We observed a predominance of studies on histological diagnosis compared to treatment, and among the studies related to treatment, a predominance of retrospective studies relative to prospective studies was found. Conclusion Based on the published literature, we concluded research on pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors still seems to be incipient, because it favors studies related to histological characterization of the disease, and therapeutic studies are still predominantly of a retrospective nature.

Multidisciplinary teams: perceptions of professionals and oncological patients

SUMMARY Multidisciplinary teams are increasingly employed to treat cancer patients. This study aimed to evaluate the perception of physicians, other health care professionals, and hospitalized oncological patients regarding the multidisciplinary teams of the public and private sector. In total, 18 doctors were interviewed; 63 health professionals and 120 cancer patients. Satisfaction with the work of the multidisciplinary team was positive among patients and physicians (averages of 89.4% and 66.82% respectively), but higher among patients (p <0.0001), among women rather than men (averages of 77.5% and 85.21% respectively, p < 0.0001), elderly individuals in comparison with adults (averages of 91.98% and 76.01% respectively, p <0.0001), and in the public sector in comparison with the private sector (averages of 83.12 and 70.74 respectively, p < 0.0001). The results demonstrate that despite the difference between groups, patients and members of multidisciplinary groups were satisfied with multidisciplinary care, and some groups, such as elderly women from public services, may especially benefit from multi-professional groups.

RESUMO Equipes multidisciplinares têm sido cada vez mais empregadas no tratamento de pacientes com câncer. Este estudo buscou avaliar a percepção de médicos, profissionais e pacientes oncológicos internados em relação à sua interação com a equipe multidisciplinar tanto no setor público quanto no privado. Entrevistamos 18 médicos, 63 profissionais da área da saúde e 120 pacientes oncológicos. Em relação ao trabalho da equipe multidisciplinar, a percepção foi positiva entre os pacientes e os médicos (médias iguais a 89,4% e 66,82%, respectivamente), mas maior entre os pacientes (p<0,001), maior entre as pacientes mulheres do que entre os homens (médias de 77,5% e 85,21%, respectivamente, p<0,001), maior entre os idosos do que entre os adultos (médias de 91,98% e 76,01%, respectivamente, p<0,0001), e maior no setor público do que no setor privado (médias de 83,12% e 70,74%, respectivamente, p<0,0001). Os resultados demonstram que apesar da diferença entre grupos, tanto pacientes como membros dos grupos multidisciplinares apresentaram satisfação com o atendimento multidisciplinar, e alguns grupos, como mulheres idosas cuidadas em serviços públicos, poderão especialmente ter um impacto maior de grupo multiprofissionais.