Kaposi sarcoma is a rare disease and there is a gap in the literature about which chemotherapeutics should be applied, especially for the classical type. We aimed to present our institutional data on the demographic characteristics, treatment, and treatment efficacy in 16 Kaposi sarcoma (KS) patients treated with chemotherapy. We retrospectively analyzed the demographic and clinical characteristics, and the chemotherapeutic agents administered to the 16 KS patients diagnosed in our center and treated with chemotherapy, based on the medical records obtained. The median age, gender, type of KS, site of involvement, cytotoxic agents administered, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety profiles of the patients were evaluated. The median age at disease onset was 61.07 years (range, 39.4–85.8 years). Among the patients, 1 had immunosuppression-related KS, 4 had AIDS-related KS, and 11 had classical KS. In the first-line cytotoxic therapy, 7 patients received pegylated-liposomal doxorubicin (PLD), 6 patients received paclitaxel, 2 patients received oral etoposide, and 1 patient received the adriamycin, bleomycin, and vincristine regimen. In the Kaplan–Meier analysis, the PFS was 39.9 months (95% CI, 7.7–72.0). In the first-line setting, a significant difference in terms of PFS was observed between the PLD- and paclitaxel-treated groups (not reached vs. 12.8 months, p = 0.033). The OS was 66.1 months (95% CI, 30.2–102.0). The ORR of the 16 patients was 43.8%, and their DCR was 81.3%. No grade 3 or 4 toxicity was observed. This retrospective study showed that PLD seems better than paclitaxel in terms of PFS and response rates and it has shown to have a good safety profile in KS patients.

Endometrial endometrioid carcinoma (EEC) represents approximately 75–80% of endometrial carcinoma cases. Three hundred thirty-six patients with EEC followed-up in the authors’ medical center between and 2010–2018 were included in our study. Two hundred seventy-two low- and intermediate- EEC patients were identified using the European Society for Medical Oncology criteria and confirmed by histopathological examination. Recurrence was reported in 17 of these patients. The study group consisted of patients with relapse. A control group of 51 patients was formed at a ratio of 3:1 according to age, stage, and grade, similar to that in the study group. Of the 17 patients with recurrent disease, 13 patients (76.5%) were stage 1A, and 4 patients (23.5%) were stage 1B. No significant difference was found in age, stage, and grade between the case and control groups (p>0.05). Body mass index, parity, tumor size, lower uterine segment involvement, SqD, and Ki-67 index with p<0.25 in the univariate logistic regression analysis were included in the multivariate analysis. Ki-67 was statistically significant in multivariate analysis (p=0.018); however, there was no statistical significance in SqD and other parameters. Our data suggest that the Ki-67 index rather than SqD needs to be assessed for recurrence in patients with low- and intermediate-risk EEC.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer type in women and may be inherited, mostly in an autosomal dominant pattern. The clinical diagnosis of BC relies on the published diagnostic criteria, and analysis of two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are strongly associated with BC, are included in these criteria. The aim of this study was to compare BC index cases with non-BC individuals in terms of genotype and diagnostic features to investigate the genotype/demographic information association. Mutational analyses for the BRCA1/BRCA2 genes was performed in 2475 individuals between 2013-2022 from collaborative centers across Turkey, of whom 1444 with BC were designated as index cases. Overall, mutations were identified in 17% (421/2475), while the percentage of mutation carriers in cases of BC was similar, 16.6% (239/1444). BRCA1/BRCA2 gene mutations were detected in 17.8% (131/737) of familial cases and 12% (78/549) of sporadic cases. Mutations in BRCA1 were found in 4.9%, whereas 12% were in BRCA2 (p<0.05). Meta-analyses were performed to compare these results with other studies of Mediterranean-region populations. Patients with BRCA2 mutations were significantly more common than those with BRCA1 mutations. In sporadic cases, there was a lower proportion with BRCA1/BRCA2 variants, as expected, and these results were consistent with the data of Mediterranean-region populations. However, the present study, because of the large sample size, revealed more robust findings than previous studies. These findings may be helpful in facilitating the clinical management of BC for both familial and non-familial cases.

Background and Objectives: Advanced solid organ tumors, particularly breast, lung, and prostate cancers, frequently metastasize to bone, leading to debilitating skeletal-related events (SREs). Denosumab, a RANKL inhibitor, is crucial in preventing SREs. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the efficacy and adverse effect profiles of denosumab in patients with bone metastases originating from these three common cancer types. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 146 patients treated with denosumab for bone metastases. Data on demographics, SREs before and during denosumab treatment, serum creatinine, calcium, and magnesium levels (at baseline, 3, and 6 months), other adverse effects, and survival were analyzed. Results: Before denosumab, SREs were present in 36.3% of patients (breast: 43.4%, prostate: 28%, lung: 33.8%). During denosumab treatment, SRE rates markedly decreased across all groups (breast: 9.4%, prostate: 16.0%, lung: 8.8%), with no significant intergroup difference in on-treatment SREs. Significant decreases in serum calcium levels were observed at 3 and 6 months post-denosumab initiation in breast (p < 0.0001) and lung cancer patients (p = 0.001). Mean creatinine levels significantly decreased in lung (p < 0.0001) and prostate (p = 0.020) cancer patients at 3 and 6 months. Overall survival significantly differed, with lung cancer patients having the shortest median survival (p < 0.005). Conclusions: Denosumab effectively reduces the incidence of SREs in patients with bone metastases from breast, lung, and prostate cancer. However, clinicians must diligently monitor for hypocalcemia, a notable adverse effect, particularly at 3 and 6 months after starting denosumab, with specific caution warranted in patients with lung cancer.

The EGFR gene and ALK rearrangements are two genetic drivers of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The frequency of EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangement varies according to not only ethnicity but also gender, smoking status and the histological type of NSCLC. In the present study, we demonstrated the distribution of EGFR mutations in 132 NSCLC patients by using a pyrosequencing technique and the distribution of ALK rearrangements in 51 NSCLC patients by using fluorescent in situ hybridization technique in Turkey. Additionally, we compared the clinicopathological data of NSCLC patients with the mutation status of EGFR in their cancerous tissues. Both EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangements were identified in 19 (14.39 %) and 1 (1.96 %) patients, respectively. We found EGFR mutations in codon 861, 719 and 858 with the ratios of 10.52 % (2/19), 10.52 % (2/19) and 31.58 % (6/19), respectively, and deletion of exon 19 in 47.37 % (9/19) of the patients. We found the frequency of EGFR mutations to be significantly higher in female patients and nonsmokers (p = 0.043, p = 0.027, respectively). Consequently, we found EGFR mutations to be more frequent in female patients and nonsmokers. Future studies on larger patient groups would provide more accurate data to exhibit the relationship between EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangements and the clinicopathological status.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is an uncommon soft tissue sarcoma that originates from the dermis or subcutaneous tissue in the skin. While its prognosis is generally favorable, disease recurrence is relatively frequent. Because morbidity after repeated surgery may be significant, an optimized prediction of recurrence-free survival (RFS) has the potential to improve current management strategies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of the Ki-67 proliferation index with respect to RFS in patients with DFSP. We retrospectively analyzed data from 45 patients with DFSP. We calculated the Ki-67 proliferation index as the percentage of immunostained nuclei among the total number of tumor cell nuclei regardless of the intensity of immunostaining. We constructed univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models to identify predictors of RFS. Among the 45 patients included in the study, 8 developed local recurrences and 2 had lung metastases (median follow-up: 95.0 months; range: 5.2−412.4 months). The RFS rates at 60, 120, and 240 months of follow-up were 83.8%, 76.2%, and 65.3%, respectively. The median Ki-67 proliferation index was 14%. Notably, we identified the Ki-67 proliferation index as the only independent predictor for RFS in multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis (hazard ratio = 1.106, 95% confidence interval = 1.019−1.200, p = 0.016). In summary, our results highlight the potential usefulness of the Ki-67 proliferation index for facilitating the identification of patients with DFSP at higher risk of developing disease recurrences.