Lack of Impact of Race Alone on Cervical Cancer Survival in Brazil

Objective: To analyze differences in survival between black and non-black women diagnosed with cervical cancer and treated at the National Cancer Institute in Brazil. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted using medical records of patients who were treated for cervical cancer between 2006 and 2009 at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics of black and non-black patients were compared using the chi-square test. Survival functions over five years were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier estimator and compared using the log-rank test. Associations between race and mortality risk were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model. P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The study included 1,482 women, of whom 188 (12.7%) were black, 1,209 (81.6%) were non-black and 85 (5.7%) were of unspecified race. The age at diagnosis of the patients ranged from 19 to 84 years (mean 50.1 years; SD±13.2). Hemoglobin <12 g/dL at the time of diagnosis (p=0.008) and absence of surgery as primary treatment (p = 0.005) were more frequent among black women. Cox analysis adjusted for these two factors showed no statistically significant difference in the mortality risk associated with cervical cancer among black and non-black women (HR=1.1 95% CI 0.9-1.5; p=0.27). Conclusion: After adjusting for hemoglobin levels and surgery, race alone was not shown to be a prognostic factor for patients with cervical cancer.

Patterns of Care and Outcome of Elderly Women Diagnosed With Cervical Cancer in the Developing World.

Scarce data exist about the impact of age in cervical cancer (CC) patients in the developing world. The objective of the current study was to examine the patterns of care and outcome of elderly patients treated in a developing country. Medical records of patients treated from 2006-2009 at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute were reviewed. Patients were divided between women 70 years or older and women younger than 70 years. The χ tests were used and odds ratios were calculated. Survival was examined using the Kaplan-Meier method. Single and multivariate Cox proportional hazards modeling were used. A total of 1482 patients were analyzed: 1339 patients younger than 70 years and 143 patients 70 years or older. A marked difference in treatment was noted, even after stratifying by disease stage. Only 21% of the older patients underwent surgical treatment compared with 27.6% of the younger. After adjusting for confounding variables, the hazard ratio for death from CC in the elderly was 1.05 (95% confidence interval, 0.81-1.36; P = 0.11). These results corroborate previous data from developed countries: elderly patients have more advanced disease at diagnosis, and age is an important factor in the allocation of treatment for patients with CC. Worse outcome seemed to be mainly the result of more advanced stage and treatment allocation rather than age itself.

Perfil dos pacientes com diagnóstico de câncer de sítio primário desconhecido em um centro terciário de atenção oncológica / Profile of patients with diagnosis of cancer of unknown primary site in a tertiary cancer center

Introdução: O câncer de sítio primário desconhecido caracteriza-se pela presença de doença metastática ao diagnóstico, sem localização do tumor primário. Objetivo: Conhecer o perfil dos pacientes com diagnóstico de câncer de sítio primário desconhecido em um centro de oncologia terciário. Material e método: Estudo retrospectivo e descritivo no qual foram analisados os prontuários dos pacientes com câncer de sítio primário oculto entre 2002 e 2012. Resultados: Entre os 68 prontuários analisados, observou-se que o adenocarcinoma é o tipo histológico mais frequente (39,71%) seguido pelo carcinoma espinocelular (29,41%). Os sítios de metástases mais recorrentes foram a região cervical (38,23%), fígado (20,58%) e peritônio (16,71%). A imuno-histoquímica foi realizada em 44,12%, os pacientes com acometimento cervical não se beneficiaram da elucidação diagnóstica por este meio, devido à falta de marcadores específi cos para este sítio. Em relação ao tratamento, 60,29% dos pacientes foram submetidos a alguma modalidade terapêutica, sendo a quimioterapia a mais comum, onde a cisplatina foi o antineoplásico mais utilizado de forma isolada (11,76%) e o esquema etoposídeo e cisplatina mais realizado em combinação (7,35%). Conclusão: O estudo está em consonância com os dados da literatura sobre o perfil destes pacientes; entretanto, apesar dos avanços nas técnicas diagnósticas, esta síndrome ainda representa um desafio na prática oncológica.

Introduction: Cancer is characterized by the presence of metastatic disease at diagnosis, without location of the primary tumor. Aim: To know the profile of patients diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary site in a tertiary cancer center. Methods: A retrospective study in which the medical records of patients with cancer of unknown primary site were analyzed between 2002 and 2012. Results: From the 68 charts analyzed adenocarcinoma was found to be the most common histological type (39.71 %), followed by squamous-cell carcinoma (29.41%). The most frequent metastasis sites were the cervical region (38.23%), liver (20.58%) and peritoneum (16.71%). Immunohistochemistry was performed on 44.12%, patients with cervical involvement did not benefi t from such diagnostic clarification due to lack of specific markers for this site. Regarding treatment, 60.29% of patients underwent some form of therapy, the most common being chemotherapy, where cisplatin was the most often antineoplastic used alone (11.76%) and etoposide plus cisplatin the most often used regimen used in combination (7.35%). Conclusion: The study is consistent with published data on the profile of these patients. Despite the advances in diagnostic techniques, however, this syndrome is still a challenge in oncology practice.