| 1. |
- Engström, Terese, et al.
(författare)
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Hormone receptor mRNA and protein levels as predictors of premenopausal tamoxifen benefit
- 2024
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Medical Journal Sweden AB. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 63, s. 125-136
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and purpose: Tamoxifen remains an important adjuvant treatment in premenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Thus, determination of hormone receptors is important. Here, we compare cytosol-based methods, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and gene expression (GEX) analysis for determining hormone receptor status in premenopausal breast cancer patients from a randomised tamoxifen trial, to evaluate their performance in identifying patients that benefit from tamoxifen. Patients and Methods: Premenopausal patients (n=564) were randomised to 2 years of tamoxifen or no systemic treatment. Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status by protein expression measured by cytosol-based methods and IHC, and mRNA by GEX analysis were compared in 313 patients with available data from all methods. Kaplan Meier estimates and Cox regression were used to evaluate the treatment-predictive value for recurrence-free interval (RFi) and overall survival (OS). Median follow-up for event-free patients was 26 (RFi) and 33 (OS) years. Results: The mRNA data of ESR1 and PGR distributed bimodally, patterns confirmed in an independent cohort. Kappa-values between all methods were 0.76 and 0.79 for ER and PR, respectively. Tamoxifen improved RFi in patients with ER-positive (ER+) or PR-positive (PR+) tumours (Hazard Ratio [HR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]), cytosol-ER+ 0.53 [0.36–0.79]; IHC-ER+ 0.55 [0.38–0.79]; GEX-ER+ 0.54 [0.37–0.77]; cytosol-PR+ 0.49 [0.34–0.72]; IHC-PR+ 0.58 [0.40–0.85]; GEX-PR+ 0.55 [0.38–0.80]). Results were similar for OS. Interpretation: These methods can all identify patients that benefit from 2 years of tamoxifen with equal performance, indicating that GEX data might be used to guide adjuvant tamoxifen therapy.
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| 2. |
- Hörberger, Filip, et al.
(författare)
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Pencil beam scanning proton therapy for mediastinal lymphomas in deep inspiration breath-hold : a retrospective assessment of plan robustness
- 2024
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Medical Journals Sweden. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 63, s. 62-69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose/background: The aim of this study was to evaluate pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton therapy (PT) in deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) for mediastinal lymphoma patients, by retrospectively evaluating plan robustness to the clinical target volume (CTV) and organs at risk (OARs) on repeated CT images acquired throughout treatment.Methods: Sixteen mediastinal lymphoma patients treated with PBS-PT in DIBH were included. Treatment plans (TPs) were robustly optimized on the CTV (7 mm/4.5%). Repeated verification CTs (vCT) were acquired during the treatment course, resulting in 52 images for the entire patient cohort. The CTV and OARs were transferred from the planning CT to the vCTs with deformable image registration and the TPs were recalculated on the vCTs. Target coverage and OAR doses at the vCTs were compared to the nominal plan. Deviation in lung volume was also calculated.Results: The TPs demonstrated high robust target coverage throughout treatment with D98%,CTV deviations within 2% for 14 patients and above the desired requirement of 95% for 49/52 vCTs. However, two patients did not achieve a robust dose to CTV due to poor DIBH reproducibility, with D98%,CTV at 78 and 93% respectively, and replanning was performed for one patient. Adequate OAR sparing was achieved for all patients. Total lung volume variation was below 10% for 39/52 vCTs.Conclusion: PBS PT in DIBH is generally a robust technique for treatment of mediastinal lymphomas. However, closely monitoring the DIBH-reproducibility during treatment is important to avoid underdosing CTV and achieve sufficient dose-sparing of the OARs.
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| 3. |
- Ask, Samuel, et al.
(författare)
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The effect of psychosocial interventions for sexual health in patients with pelvic cancer : a systematic review and meta-analysis
- 2024
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Medical Journals Sweden AB. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 63:1, s. 230-239
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to explore and evaluate the effect of psychosocial interventions in improving sexual health outcomes among post-treatment patients with pelvic cancer.Methods: Inclusion and exclusion criteria were pelvic cancer survivors; psychosocial interventions; studies with a control group and measures of sexual health. Five databases were searched for literature along with an inspection of the included studies' reference lists to extend the search. Risk of bias was assessed with the RoB2 tool. Standardised mean difference (SMD) with a random effects model was used to determine the effect size of psychosocial interventions for sexual health in patients with pelvic cancers.Results: Thirteen studies were included, with a total number of 1,541 participants. There was a large heterogeneity regarding the type of psychosocial intervention used with the source found in a leave one out analysis. Six studies showed statistically significant improvements in sexual health, while three showed positive but non-significant effects. The summary effect size estimate was small SMD = 0.24 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.05 to 0.42, p = 0.01).Discussion: There is limited research on psychosocial interventions for sexual health in pelvic cancer patients. There are also limitations in the different pelvic cancer diagnoses examined. Commonly, the included articles examined physical function rather than the whole sexual health spectrum. The small effect sizes may in part be due to evaluation of psychosocial interventions by measuring physical dysfunction. Future research should broaden sexual health assessment tools and expand investigations to more cancer types.
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| 4. |
- Ekberg, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lymphoma incidence and short-term survival - a Swedish Lymphoma Register Study
- 2024
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Medical Journals Sweden. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 63, s. 164-168
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background & purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic posed a large challenge for healthcare systems across the world. Comprehensive data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on incidence and mortality in lymphoma are lacking.Patients/methods: Using data from the Swedish lymphoma register, we compare incidence and 1-year survival of lymphoma patients in Sweden before (2017-2019) and during the pandemic (2020 and 2021).Results: Fewer patients were diagnosed with lymphomas during March-June 2020, but the annual incidence rates for 2020 and 2021 were similar to those of 2017-2019. A larger proportion of patients presented with stage IV disease during 2021. There were no differences in other base-line characteristics nor application of active treatment in pre-pandemic and pandemic years. One-year overall survival was not inferior among lymphoma patients during the pandemic years compared to pre-pandemic years i.e., 2017-2019.Interpretation: The COVID-19 pandemic had limited impact on the incidence and mortality of lymphoma in Sweden.
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| 7. |
- Heyman, Sofia, et al.
(författare)
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Reduction of elective lymph node volume in radiotherapy of early anal squamous cell cancer : a comparative study between two Swedish university hospitals
- 2024
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Medical Journals Sweden. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 63:1, s. 118-124
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Anal squamous cell cancer (ASCC) in early stages (T1–2N0M0) is treated with chemoradiotherapy with a 3-year overall survival (OS) exceeding 90%. In Swedish guidelines, it has been optional to include the external iliac and presacral lymph node (LN) stations in radiotherapy (RT) treatment fields in early ASCC. Two Swedish hospitals treating ASCC (SU: Sahlgrenska University Hospital; UU: Uppsala University Hospital) have chosen different approaches since 2010.Material and methods: This study included consecutive patients with early ASCC (T1–2N0M0) treated between 2010 and 2017 at both sites (SU n = 70; UU n = 46). Data were retrieved from medical records and RT charts.Results: At SU, the external iliac and presacral LN stations were included in elective LN irradiation in 96.8% (n = 60) and 95.2% (n = 59) patients compared to 2.4% (n = 1) and 29.3% (n = 12) at UU. The mean elective LN volume was 2,313 cc (interquartile range [IQR] 1,951–2,627) in the SU cohort compared to 1,317 cc (IQR 1,192–1,528) in the UU cohort, p < 0.0001. No case of regional LN recurrence was seen in either cohort. Disease specific survival (DSS) at 5 years was 95.7% (confidence interval [CI] 90.1–100.0) in the SU cohort and 97.8% (CI 93.2–100.0) in the UU cohort (p 0.55). OS at 5 years was 84.5% (CI 76.1–93.0) in the SU cohort and 82.6% (CI 69.6–89.1) in the UU cohort (p 0.8).Interpretation: We found no differences in regional recurrence, DSS or OS between the cohorts treated with different elective LN volumes. In this population-based study, reduction of RT volume in early ASCC did not lead to inferior outcome.
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| 8. |
- Jonsson, Håkan, et al.
(författare)
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Age-specific differences in breast cancer treatment between screen-detected and non-screen-detected breast cancers in women aged 40-74 years at diagnosis in Sweden 2008-2017
- 2024
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Medical Journals Sweden. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 63, s. 552-556
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We have recently demonstrated that screen-detected invasive breast cancers had more favourable tumour characteristics than non-screen-detected. The objective of the study was to analyse differences in breast cancer treatment between screen-detected and non-screen-detected cases by age at diagnosis, with and without adjustment for tumour (T) and nodal (N) status, within a nationwide, population-based mammography screening programme utilising register data.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data spanning 2008-2017 were collected from the National Quality Register for Breast Cancer. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for treatment disparities between screen-detected and non-screen-detected breast cancer.RESULTS: Among 46,481 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer aged 40-74 and invited for mammography screening, significant differences in treatment were observed. Screen-detected cases showed higher likelihoods of partial mastectomy compared to mastectomy, endocrine therapy, and radiotherapy, whereas chemotherapy and antibody therapy were less likely compared to non-screen-detected cases. However, when adjusting for surgery type, screen-detected cases showed lower likelihoods of radiotherapy. Age at diagnosis significantly influenced treatment odds ratios, with interactions observed for all treatments except radiotherapy adjusted for surgery. Differences increased with age, except for endocrine therapy. Radiotherapy adjusted for surgery type showed no age-related interaction. Adjusting for T and N did not alter these patterns.INTERPRETATION: In general, screen-detected cases received less aggressive treatment, such as mastectomy, chemotherapy, and antibody therapy, compared to non-screen-detected cases. Disparities increased with age, except for endocrine therapy and radiotherapy adjusted for surgery. Differences persisted after adjusting for T and N, suggesting that these factors cannot solely explain the results.
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| 9. |
- Karihtala, Peeter, et al.
(författare)
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Clinical trials in older patients with cancer : typical challenges, possible solutions, and a paradigm of study design in breast cancer
- 2024
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 63, s. 441-447
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: While the prevalence of older breast cancer patients is rapidly increasing, these patients are greatly underrepresented in clinical trials. We discuss barriers to recruitment of older patients to clinical trials and propose solutions on how to mitigate these challenges and design optimal clinical trials through the paradigm of IMPORTANT trial.PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a narrative review of the current literature evaluating barriers to including older breast cancer patients in clinical trials and how mitigating strategies can be implemented in a pragmatic clinical trial. RESULTS: The recognized barriers can be roughly divided into trial design-related (e.g. the adoption of strict inclusion criteria, the lack of pre-specified age-specific analysis), patient-related (e.g. lack of knowledge, valuation of the quality-of-life instead of survival, transportation issues), or physician-related (e.g. concern for toxicity). Several strategies to mitigate barriers have been identified and should be considered when designing a clinical trial dedicated to older patients with cancer. The pragmatic, de-centralized IMPORTANT trial focusing on dose optimization of CDK4/6 -inhibitors in older breast cancer patients is a paradigm of a study design where different mitigating strategies have been adopted.INTERPRETATION: Because of the existing barriers, older adults in clinical trials are considerably healthier than the average older patients treated in clinical practice. Thus, the study results cannot be generalized to the older population seen in daily clinical practice. Broader inclusion/exclusion criteria, offering telehealth visits, and inclusion of patient-reported, instead of physician-reported outcomes may increase older patient participation in clinical trials.
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| 10. |
- Karihtala, Peeter, et al.
(författare)
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Clinical trials in older patients with cancer - typical challenges, possible solutions, and a paradigm of study design in breast cancer
- 2024
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Medical Journals Sweden. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 63:1, s. 441-447
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and purpose: While the prevalence of older breast cancer patients is rapidly increasing, these patients are greatly underrepresented in clinical trials. We discuss barriers to recruitment of older patients to clinical trials and propose solutions on how to mitigate these challenges and design optimal clinical trials through the paradigm of IMPORTANT trial.Patients and methods: This is a narrative review of the current literature evaluating barriers to including older breast cancer patients in clinical trials and how mitigating strategies can be implemented in a pragmatic clinical trial.Results: The recognized barriers can be roughly divided into trial design -related (e.g . the adoption of strict inclusion criteria, the lack of pre-specified age-specific analysis), patient-related (e.g . lack of knowledge, valuation of the quality-of-life instead of survival, transportation issues), or physician-related (e.g . concern for toxicity). Several strategies to mitigate barriers have been identified and should be considered when designing a clinical trial dedicated to older patients with cancer. The pragmatic, de-centralized IMPORTANT trial focusing on dose optimization of CDK4/6 -inhibitors in older breast cancer patients is a paradigm of a study design where different mitigating strategies have been adopted.Interpretation: Because of the existing barriers, older adults in clinical trials are considerably healthier than the average older patients treated in clinical practice. Thus, the study results cannot be generalized to the older population seen in daily clinical practice. Broader inclusion/exclusion criteria, offering telehealth visits, and inclusion of patient -reported, instead of physician -reported outcomes may increase older patient participation in clinical trials.
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