[Usefulness of the oncogenetic molecular counselling in adults whith familial cancer]. / Utilidad de la consulta oncogenética molecular en individuos adultos con cáncer familiar.

More than 200 cancer susceptibility syndromes (CSS) have been recognized through performing classic epidemiologic studies and genetic linkage analysis. In most CSSs clinical conditions of the patients have been identified as well as their hereditary patterns and the predisponent genes to cancer development. Cancer hereditary identification is a useful condition, since cancer family integrants may benefit of efficient strategies in early screening and in tumor prevention strategies; this consultation is performed by oncogenetic molecular medical consultants who must be scientifically competent for Human Genetics and Cancer molecular biology domains. The oncogenetic molecular consult of patients and family relatives of cancer predisposition families is a medical service in health programs of developed and developing countries; in our country this type of medical service needs to be organized and settled to be part of the integral oncology medical service. The oncogenetic molecular consultation is a structural process of assessment and communication of the associated integral problems of the cancer inherited susceptibility in familial cancer.

Se han descrito más de 200 síndromes de susceptibilidad hereditaria humana para desarrollar cáncer (SSHDC), los cuales han sido identificados a partir de estudios clásicos epidemiológicos y de análisis de ligamiento genético. En la mayoría de los SSHDC se han identificado las condiciones clínicas de los pacientes, sus patrones de herencia y los genes que predisponen al desarrollo del cáncer. La identificación de cánceres hereditarios es de gran utilidad, ya que los familiares de los pacientes podrán beneficiarse de medidas eficaces no solo en la detección precoz, sino también en la prevención de los tumores; esta identificación se realiza por medio de la consulta de especialistas en oncogenética molecular, quienes deben ser competentes en las áreas de genética humana y biología molecular del cáncer. La consulta oncogenética molecular de los pacientes y de los integrantes de familias con predisposición al cáncer es un servicio de atención médica en países desarrollados y en algunos en vías de desarrollo que se realiza desde hace más de una década; en nuestro país, este tipo de consulta requiere organizarse y establecerse para formar parte de la atención médica integral oncológica. La consulta oncogenética es un proceso estructurado de evaluación y comunicación de los problemas integrales asociados con la susceptibilidad hereditaria de padecer cáncer.

Atención de las emergencias y urgencias médico-quirúrgicas en un hospital oncológico / Emergencies and urgent medical-surgical conditions attended at a comprehensive cancer center

La incidencia global de las emergencias y urgencias médicoquirúrgicas en pacientes con cáncer ha sido descrita esporádicamente. El objetivo del estudio fue identificar los principales síntomas y diagnósticos de los pacientes que acudieron al Servicio de Urgencias del Hospital de Oncología, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. El diseño fue observacional y retrospectivo. La información fue obtenida del registro de la consulta diaria del Servicio de Admisión Continua. En un periodo de seis meses fueron atendidos 4,937 pacientes. Los cuadros clínicos evaluados como emergencias correspondieron a 3.7 %, como condiciones médicas urgentes 52.5 % y como condiciones no urgentes, 43.7 %. Los síntomas más frecuentes motivo de las consultas de emergencia o urgencias en los pacientes con cáncer fueron dolor grave en 69.5 % y deshidratación con desequilibrio hidroelectrolítico en 11.4 %. Los principales síntomas fueron provocados por el tumor primario o su diseminación metastásica, en 89 %. Los tumores malignos sólidos más frecuentes fueron los carcinomas mamario, de colon/recto, cervicouterino, broncogénico y gástrico. Las principales emergencias registradas en los pacientes con cáncer en este estudio fueron choque séptico y neutropenia severa (20 %), choque hipovolémico por sangrado en diversos sitios (16.5 %) y disnea agudizada por neumonía o derrame pleural (12 %). En aproximadamente 80 % de quienes son tratados paso a paso de manera racional, el dolor por cáncer pudo ser controlado sólo con analgésicos. La analgesia no efectiva se asoció frecuentemente con prescripción inadecuada o ingesta insuficiente de analgésicos opioides. Los servicios de urgencias establecidos funcionalmente en los hospitales monográficos de cáncer ofrecen la mejor oportunidad de tratamiento a los pacientes con cáncer con condiciones emergentes o urgentes.

The global incidence of emergencies and urgent medical?surgical conditions in cancer patients has not been well described. The aim of the study was to identify the main symptoms and diagnoses in patients seen for consultation at the Urgent Care Service in a Mexican Comprehensive Cancer Center. This was a retrospective observational study. The information was obtained from the Continuous Admission Service daily consultation records at the Oncology Hospital, National Medical Center 21st Century, Institute of Social Security, Mexico City. During a 6-month period, 4937 patients were seen for consultation. True oncologic emergencies were 3.7%, urgencies 52.5% and non-urgent were 43.7%. Most common symptoms for emergency and urgency patient consultations were severe pain (69.5%) and dehydration with electrolyte imbalance (11.4%). Prevalent symptoms were associated with the primary tumor or metastatic dissemination (89% cases). The most frequent baseline diseases were breast, colorectal, cervical, lung and stomach carcinomas. Defined oncologic emergencies in this series were septic shock and severe neutropenia (20%), hypovolemic shock due to severe bleeding (16.5%), and severe dyspnea due to pneumonia or pleural efusion (12%). Data evaluating the use of analgesic drug therapy for cancer pain alone indicate that 80% of patients report adequate analgesia. Analgesia failures were associated with an insufficient prescription or with inadequate consumption of opioid analgesics. The Urgent Care Center at a Comprehensive Cancer Center offers the best opportunity for diagnosis and treatment of emergencies and urgent care conditions in cancer patients.

[Emergencies and urgent medical-surgical conditions attended at a comprehensive cancer center]. / Atencián de las emergencias y urgencias médico-quirúrgicas en un hospital oncológico.

The global incidence of emergencies and urgent medical?surgical conditions in cancer patients has not been well described. The aim of the study was to identify the main symptoms and diagnoses in patients seen for consultation at the Urgent Care Service in a Mexican Comprehensive Cancer Center. This was a retrospective observational study. The information was obtained from the Continuous Admission Service daily consultation records at the Oncology Hospital, National Medical Center "21st Century," Institute of Social Security, Mexico City. During a 6-month period, 4937 patients were seen for consultation. True oncologic emergencies were 3.7%, urgencies 52.5% and non-urgent were 43.7%. Most common symptoms for emergency and urgency patient consultations were severe pain (69.5%) and dehydration with electrolyte imbalance (11.4%). Prevalent symptoms were associated with the primary tumor or metastatic dissemination (89% cases). The most frequent baseline diseases were breast, colorectal, cervical, lung and stomach carcinomas. Defined oncologic emergencies in this series were septic shock and severe neutropenia (20%), hypovolemic shock due to severe bleeding (16.5%), and severe dyspnea due to pneumonia or pleural efusion (12%). Data evaluating the use of analgesic drug therapy for cancer pain alone indicate that 80% of patients report adequate analgesia. Analgesia failures were associated with an insufficient prescription or with inadequate consumption of opioid analgesics. The Urgent Care Center at a Comprehensive Cancer Center offers the best opportunity for diagnosis and treatment of emergencies and urgent care conditions in cancer patients.

Interdisciplinary clinical evaluation of 58 patients with lumbar-vertebral metastases from cervico-uterine cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Metastases in the vertebrae of patients with cervical cancer (CeCa) can be difficult to diagnose, and the treatment is palliative in many cases. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the ti-me required for diagnosis, the lesion's locoregional extent and the therapeutic schemes applied, in a retrospective series of 58 patients with CeCa and with lumbar spinal metastases. METHODS: The cases were studied using an updated interdisciplinary analysis to determine the clinical and radiological variables. This study evaluated the site and extent of bone lesions and correlated these variables with instability of the spine and cord compression. RESULTS: The diagnosis of vertebrae metastases of Ce-Ca required more than 3 months in most cases. Lumbar vertebrae L4 and L5 and specifically the vertebral body were the most-frequently affected si-tes. Systemic and/or extra-compartmental-extended metastases (MosV4) were observed in 44/58 patients. Radiotherapy was the only option in this group and the palliative effect achieved was minimal, or null. In 14/58 patients there was intra compartmental-extended (MosV2) and extra-compartmental limited (MosV3) single vertebral metastases and the 3 different treatment schemes were administered. In the cases treated with marginal resection of metastases, vertebroplasty plus adjuvant radiotherapy achieved significant palliative effect. CONCLUSIONS: In the present series of patients, the diagnosis of metastases of the lumbar vertebrae was late, and the disease was advanced. The results obtained with radiotherapy in advanced stage disease did not improve the quality of life of patients. Metastasectomy was the therapeutic scheme in cases with intermediate stage disease and was the basis of the integrated treatment We believe that it is necessary to shorten the diagnostic time and to apply a staging system for vertebral metastases so that appropriate individualised selection of interdisciplinary treatment would be facilitated.

[Current perspectives in cervical cancer]. / Perspectivas actuales en el estudio y en la atención de las pacientes con cáncer cervicouterino.

Cervical cancer is a Public Health problem among women worldwide, especially in the developing world. The understanding of the HPV association with the high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and cervical cancer and the knowledge of the pre-invasive lesions natural history have strengthened the justification of different means of cancer prevention and screening programs, the application of different pre-invasive lesion treatments and particularly advances in conventional treatments of cervical cancer. In the last thirty years, cervical cancer's incidence and mortality rates have decreased in more than 75% in developed nations due to efficient application of secondary prevention based on cytology and colposcopy screening programs plus to in-office implementation of precursor lesions treatment methods. In the developing nations, these achievements can be obtained using specific steps of primary prevention, massive participation of risk patients in screening programs and improving ambulatory application of pre-invasive cervical lesion treatments. In Mexico several indicators suggest that this condition has began. New knowledge paradigms of the local immune response to HPV-cervical cancer pre-invasive and invasive lesions are being added to the construction of new preventive and therapeutic anti-cancer strategies. The preventive vaccines anti-high risk oncogenic-HPVs offer a good perspective in short term, also the use of different cellular immunotherapy strategies anti-cervical cancer as adyuvant of conventional treatments offer an encouraging panorama in not long term. In the next years, the improving of specific genes determination and their correlation with biologic features of the specific tumor which are involved on pre-invasive and invasive stages of cervical cancer will raise the understanding and the treatment of these patients.