Characteristics of patients diagnosed with cervical cancer in Brazil: preliminary results of the prospective cohort EVITA study (EVA001/LACOG 0215).

OBJECTIVES: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide. Epidemiological and quality of life (QoL) data in patients with cervical cancer from low- and middle-income countries are scarce. We aimed to describe sociodemographic and clinicopathological characteristics and quality of life of patients with cervical cancer at diagnosis in Brazil. METHODS: EVITA is a prospective cohort study of newly diagnosed patients with cervical cancer from May 2016 to December 2017, stages I-IVB, from 16 Brazilian sites representing the five Brazilian regions. At baseline, medical evaluation was performed and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-CX24/C30 questionnaires were administered. RESULTS: A total of 631 patients were included. Mean±SD age was 49.3±13.9 years; skin color was non-white in 65.3%, and 68.0% had ≤8 years of formal education. In total, 85.1% of patients had a Pap smear. The main reasons reported by patients for not having a Pap smear were: lack of interest (46.9%), shame or embarrassment (19.7%), lack of knowledge (19.7%), and difficulty with access (9.1%). Most patients were diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic disease (FIGO clinical stage II-IV in 81.8%- stage II in 35.2%, stage III in 36.1%, and stage IV in 10.5%). Patients with clinical stage III-IV had worse physical functioning and role functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Cervical cancer in Brazil is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. Most patients have low formal education and are unemployed. Lack of interest was identified as a main reason for not having a screening test, and limited access was reported as a reason by <10% of the patients. Awareness campaigns must be a governmental priority, specially focused on the needy population, along with wide access to treatment.

Determinação da frequência de polimorfismos de cyp2d6 em mulheres brasileiras e revisão de literatura / Determination of the frequency of CYP2D6 polymorphisms in Brazilian women and literature review

O tamoxifeno (TMX),consagrado como terapia padrão no tratamento de pacientes portadoras de câncer de mama com receptores hormonais positivos, é convertido por metabolização primária e secundária no metabólito endoxifeno, que apresenta afinidade muito maior pelos receptores hormonais e é o maior responsável pelos efeitos antitumorais desta droga. A biotransformação do TMX em endoxifeno é dependente da subunidade 2D6 do citocromo P-450 (CYP2D6), cujo gene apresenta inúmeros polimorfismos que reduzem a atividade metabólica dessa via biológica, resultando em menores níveis de seu produto ativo e, possivelmente, da resposta terapêutica ao uso do TMX. Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a frequência dos polimorfismos CYP2D6*3, *4, *5, *6 e *10 e dos fenótipos de metabolização da droga TMX em pacientes portadoras de câncer de mama atendidas pelos autores no Centro de Oncologia do Hospital Sírio Libanês (HSL), além de revisar os dados sobre este tema disponíveis na literatura. Métodos: Amostras de sangue periférico de 30 pacientes foram enviadas a laboratório de referência para pesquisa dos polimorfismos descritos de CYP2D6 pela técnica de reação em cadeia da polimerase e digestão por enzimas de restrição (PCR-RFLP). Resultados: Os resultados mostraram heterozigose para polimorfismo CYP2D6*4 e *10 em 33 e 38% das mulheres, respectivamente. Utilizando a classificação de fenótipos de metabolização de TMX previamente descrita determinamos que 27% das mulheres avaliadas foram categorizadas com perfil de metabolização intermediária da droga, e 3% como metabolizadoras pobres, as quais, segundo dados atuais, parecem estar duas vezes mais sujeitas a desenvolverem recorrência de câncer de mama durante tratamento com TMX. Foi documentada uma elevada e inesperada prevalência de heterozigose do polimorfismo *10 na população estudada. Conclusões: Estudos prospectivos estão em andamento, visando definir o papel do perfil dos polimorfismos de CYP2D6 na escolha...

Tamoxifen (TMX), established as standard therapy in treating patients with breast cancer with hormone receptor positive, is converted by metabolism in primary and secondary metabolite endoxifeno, which has much higher affinity for hormone receptors and is most responsible the antitumor effects of this drug. Biotransformation of TMX in endoxifeno 2D6 is dependent on the subunit of cytochrome P-450 (CYP2D6), whose gene has many polymorphisms that reduce the metabolic activity of this biological pathway, resulting in lower levels of its active product, and possibly therapeutic response to use of TMX. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of CYP2D6 polymorphisms * 3, * 4, * 5, * 6 and * 10 and phenotypes of drug metabolizing TMX in patients with breast cancer treated by the authors at the Centre for Oncology Syrian Lebanese Hospital (HSL), and review the data on this subject available in the literature. Methods: Blood samples from 30 patients were sent to reference laboratory for research of CYP2D6 polymorphisms described the technique of polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme digestion (PCR-RFLP). Results: Results showed heterozygosity for polymorphic CYP2D6 * 4 and * 10 in 33 women and 38% respectively. Using the classification of phenotypes of metabolism of TMX described previously determined that 27% of the women studied were categorized with a profile of intermediate metabolites of the drug, and 3% as poor metabolizers, which, according to current data seem to be two times more likely to develop recurrence of breast cancer during treatment with TMX. It was documented and an unexpected high prevalence of heterozygous * 10 polymorphism in the population. Conclusions: Prospective studies are underway, aimed at defining the role of the profile of CYP2D6 polymorphisms on the choice of strategy hormonal therapy in women with breast cancer.

Differential properties of CBA/J mononuclear phagocytes recovered from an inflammatory site and probed with two different species of Leishmania.

While CBA/J mice fail to be permissive to Leishmania amazonensis-driven pathogenic processes, they heal easily following Leishmania major infection. The early-phase events are crucial to the outcome of Leishmania infection and it is known that macrophages (Mphi) are important in infection control. In the present study we investigated the role of Mphi in driving CBA/J susceptibility to L. amazonensis. We performed kinetic studies and compared the capacity of L. amazonensis and L. major to infect Mphi. There was no difference in percentages of infection or parasite burden for 6 h between the two groups. In contrast, after 12 h we observed that infection was about twice as high in L. amazonensis- than in L. major-infected Mphi. In addition, rIFN-gamma added to the cultures induced nitric oxide (NO) production, and did not modify L. amazonensis infection, although the percentage of L. major infection was significantly reduced. This reduction in L. major infection is a TNF-alpha dependent mechanism as L. major-infected Mphi expressed twice as much TNF-alpha mRNA as L. amazonensis-infected cells, and anti-TNF-alpha reversed the IFN-gamma effect. Moreover, rTNF-alpha plus IFN-gamma were able to significantly reduce the percentage of L. amazonensis-infected cells but not to the same extent as in L. major infection. Despite having higher NO production than IFN-gamma-treated cells, AMG addition to IFN-gamma-plus TNF-alpha-treated cells only partially reversed the inhibition in L. major, but not in L. amazonensis infection. Thus, in this study, we demonstrated that L. amazonensis both inactivated and resisted innate and IFN-gamma-induced Mphi killing mechanisms, indicating that the nature of the parasite and its interaction with Mphi could determine immune response polarization.