Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas: First registry effort in Mexico.

INTRODUCTION: Brainstem tumors comprise 10.9% of all brain tumors, and pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG) have a fatal prognosis. Some countries have developed national and international register databases to characterize their populations to aid clinical and public policy decisions. This study provides information regarding the clinical characteristics of a retrospective cohort of children with DIPG in México from 2001 to 2021, and assesses the proposed prognostic factors previously described for survival outcome. METHODS: Health institutions from Mexico were invited to contribute to a retrospective electronic registry of patients with DIPG based on the International DIPG Registry. Fisher's exact test was used to compare long- and short-term survivors. Overall survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Differences between survival curves were evaluated using the log-rank test and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. RESULTS: Total 110 patients were included. The median age of the patients at diagnosis was 7 years. Sixty patients (54.5%) presented with symptoms in less than 6 months; the most frequent symptom was ataxia (56.4%). Ninety patients received treatment (81.8%), the overall survival at 4 years was 11.4%, and 16 patients (14.5%) were admitted for palliative end-of-life care. We found no significant survival differences for any of the prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the need to develop strategies to standardize healthcare processes and enhance the quality of care to improve clinical diagnosis in Mexico. We also observed a barrier to the acceptance of palliative end-of-life care in the family and medical teams.

First contact physicians and retinoblastoma in Mexico.

BACKGROUND: Early detection and timely referral are keys to improve survival in patients with retinoblastoma (Rb). In México, one of the main obstacles for an early diagnosis is the lack of knowledge of the disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate Rb comprehension in students in their last year of medical school. PROCEDURE: A questionnaire was completed by 791 students from 12 universities. Descriptive statistics from the population were obtained and every answer to each question was analyzed. RESULTS: Only 3.3% of the students got a proficiency grade. Less than 50% diagnosed Rb when an image was shown. CONCLUSIONS: The students evaluated do not have the knowledge to detect the disease. It is necessary to develop continuous educational programs for first contact physicians.

Hepatoblastoma. Clinical experience at a single institution using the Siopel staging system.

BACKGROUND: Staging in Hepatoblastoma has recently become controversial. In developing countries diagnosis occurs mostly in advanced stages under these circumstances, we propose another option that can be considered of prognostic value. METHOD: A retrospective analysis of cases diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma (HB), treated in a single Institution, in nine years was conducted. Chemotherapeutic regimens were analyzed, as well as the number of courses administered and response to treatment. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients were studied. Patients had symptoms from 1 to 25 weeks before diagnosis. SIOP stratification was used, finding 12 cases in PRETEXT II, 6 cases in PRETEXT III, and 14 cases in PRETEXT IV. No single case was identified in PRETEXT I. CONCLUSIONS: When comparing survival using the PRETEXT system, SIOP and our study showed marked differences. These results may not be comparable due to differences in tumor volume among the same PRETEXT stratification. We believe that tumor volume is related to prognosis.

Prognostic factors including neoadjuvant chemotherapy in Mexican children with neuroblastoma.

INTRODUCTION: There are several prognostic factors in children with neuroblastoma that have been outlined in the international literature. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out analysing the medical records of patients with the pathological diagnosis of neuroblastoma seen at the Department of Oncology from the Instituto Nacional de Pediatriá (Mexico) between January 1984 to January 1997. A total of 32 clinical prognostic factors were assess in our population. RESULTS: Fifty five patients whose age ranged from 1 to 168 months old, mean of 35 months were included. Out of 32 prognostic factors only 6 including sex (p= 0.0039), metastatic disease to bone (p= 0.003), bone marrow involvement (p= 0.0027), staging system (p= 0.000015), surgical treatment (p 0,0022) and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p.005) were the most significant. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that besides the prognostic factors outlined, neoadjuvant chemotherapy is of utmost importance. It decreases tumor volume and allows surgery to be more successful, therefore believing that this variable represents a specific prognostic factor in cases of advanced neuroblastoma.

Prognostic factors including neoadjuvant chemotherapy in Mexican children with neuroblastoma

Introducción. Existen diferentes factores pronósticos en los niños con neuroblastoma, estos factores tienen diferente peso específico de acuerdo a la literatura internacional. Material y métodos. Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo, analizando los expedientes clínicos de los pacientes con el diagnóstico de neuroblastoma, tratados en el Instituto Nacional de Pediatría (México) de enero de 1984 a enero de 1997. Se analizaron un total de 32 factores pronósticos clínicos dentro de nuestra población. Resultados. Se incluyeron un total de 55 pacientes, con un rango de edad de 1 a 68 meses, con una media de 36 meses de edad. De los 32 factores pronósticos evaluados, únicamente 6 fueron significativos, los cuales incluyeron el sexo (p= 0,0039), enfermedad metastásica a hueso (p= 0,003), infiltración a médula ósea (p= 0,0027), estadificación (p= 0,000015), tratamiento quirúrgico (p= 0,0022) y el uso de quimioterapia neoadyuvante (p= 0,005). Conclusiones. En análisis de los resultados de los diferentes factores pronósticos nos permiten concluir que la quimioterapia neoadyuvante realiza un papel importante al permitir la disminución del volumen tumoral, lo que permite que la resección quirúrgica pueda ser completa. El resto de las variables que fueron significativas están asociadas directamente con la presencia de neuroblastoma en estadio avanzado

Introduction. There are several prognostic factors in children with neuroblastoma that have been outlined in the international literature. Material and methods. A retrospective study was carried out analysing the medical records of patients with the pathological diagnosis of neuroblastoma seen at the Department of Oncology from the Instituto Nacional de Pediatría (Mexico) between January 1984 to January 1997. A total of 32 clinical prognostic factors were assess in our population. Results. Fifty five patients whose age ranged from 1 to 168 months old, mean of 35 months were included. Out of 32 prognostic factors only 6 including sex (p= 0.0039), metastatic disease to bone (p= 0.003), bone marrow involvement (p= 0.0027), staging system (p= 0.000015), surgical treatment (p 0,0022) and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p.005) were the most significant. Conclusions. It was concluded that besides the prognostic factors outlined, neoadjuvant chemotherapy is of utmost importance. It decreases tumor volume and allows surgery to be more successful, therefore believing that this variable represents a specific prognostic factor in cases of advanced neuroblastoma