Background and Objectives: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) displays marked geographic and histopathological heterogeneity, and prognostic determinants in non-endemic regions remain incompletely defined. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of clinicopathological characteristics and treatment modalities on survival outcomes among patients with stage II–IVA NPC treated with curative intent at a single tertiary cancer center. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 81 consecutive patients with histologically confirmed NPC treated between 2000 and 2022. Demographic, clinical, and treatment parameters were extracted from institutional records. Survival outcomes—including disease-free survival (DFS), locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS)—were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Prognostic variables identified in univariate analysis were further assessed by multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression (Cox’s model). Results: The cohort included 59 men (72.8%) and 22 women (27.2%), with a median age of 50.8 years (range, 19–78). Most patients presented with locally advanced disease (T3–T4, 53.1%; N2, 60.5%; stage III–IVA, 87.7%). Non-keratinizing undifferentiated carcinoma (World Health Organization [WHO] type III) was the predominant histology (71.6%), followed by the non-keratinizing differentiated subtype (17.3%). Median DFS and OS were 94.6 and 139.4 months, respectively. According to the univariate analysis, histological subtypes and a family history of cancer were significantly associated with DFS, whereas comorbid systemic disease showed an unexpected association with longer DMFS. The multivariable Cox model identified the histological subtype as an independent predictor of disease recurrence (HR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.00–4.94; p = 0.049). For OS, both histological subtype (HR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.10–5.25; p = 0.029) and age at diagnosis (HR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.02–1.09; p = 0.005) were independent adverse prognostic factors. Conclusions: In this long-term, single-center study from a non-endemic region, histological subtype emerged as the most powerful determinant of prognosis, significantly influencing both DFS and OS. Patients with non-keratinizing undifferentiated (WHO type III) carcinoma demonstrated superior outcomes compared with those with differentiated histology. Additionally, increasing age at diagnosis was independently associated with poorer OS. In contrast, inflammatory and nutritional biomarkers, the Pan-Immune–Inflammation Value (PIV) and the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), showed no prognostic significance. These findings underscore the continued prognostic relevance of histopathologic classification and age and highlight the need for large-scale, standardized studies integrating Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) status and host-related factors in non-endemic NPC populations.

Background and Objective: Bladder cancer (BC) is the ninth most common malignancy worldwide. Squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC), a rare histological variant, accounts for approximately 2–5% of all BC cases. Compared to urothelial carcinoma, the predominant subtype, research on SqCC remains limited and shows inconsistent findings regarding prognosis. This study aimed to compare survival outcomes between patients with SqCC and those with pure urothelial carcinoma (PUC). Methods: This retrospective, observational study analyzed pathology reports from 2549 transurethral resections of bladder tumors and 632 cystectomies performed at our institution between 1 December 2010 and 31 December 2023. Following pathological re-evaluation, 33 patients with SqCC and 132 with PUC were identified. After 1:3 propensity score matching, 20 patients with SqCC and 58 with PUC were included in the final analysis. Demographic, clinicopathological features, and survival outcomes were compared between groups. Results: The median follow-up was 2.31 years (range: 0.17–13.50). No significant differences in baseline demographic or clinical characteristics were observed, except for the type of surgery. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated no significant differences in disease-free survival (DFS; p = 0.961) or overall survival (OS; p = 0.847) between SqCC and PUC groups. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified T stage, nodal involvement, and adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) as independent predictors of DFS, while sex and metastasis at diagnosis were significant predictors of OS. Conclusion: Survival outcomes (DFS and OS) did not significantly differ between patients with SqCC and patients with PUC. Prognosis was more closely associated with disease stage at diagnosis, sex, and adjuvant CT. Further large-scale studies are warranted.

Background/Objectives: There is an unmet need to improve outcomes in patients with metastatic Ewing sarcoma (ES). This retrospective, multicenter study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the topotecan–cyclophosphamide (TC) regimen in adult patients with metastatic ES who had previously been treated with chemotherapy. Methods: This study enrolled 75 patients who were treated at five oncology centers in Turkey between 2011 and 2020. Patients were treated with the TC regimen, consisting of topotecan at 0.75 mg/m²/day and cyclophosphamide at 250 mg/m²/day, given daily for 5 days and repeated every 21 days. Results: The median progression-free survival was 3.06 months (95% CI, 2.91–3.22), and the median overall survival was 6.16 months (95% CI, 5.14–7.18). Patients who received the TC regimen in the second line demonstrated longer OS (7.55 months 95% CI, 5.37–14.17) compared to those who received it in the third line or later (5.70 months 95% CI, 4.07–6.60) (p = 0.005). When the TC regimen was used in the second line, the disease control rate was 50%, whereas in the third line or later, the DCR was 10.8%. In the entire group, the DCR was 30.7%. The most common toxicity was transient cytopenia. Conclusions: This study showed that the use of the TC regimen in the second line resulted in better efficacy and overall survival outcomes compared to its use in the third line or later. However, in the entire population, the TC regimen demonstrated only a modest effect on metastatic ES. TC can be considered one of the palliative treatment options for metastatic ES.

Background: Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NEN) originate in many body parts, with 70% reported from the gastrointestinal system, 25% from the lungs. NENs of the breast account for < 1% of all NENs. The primary breast NEN nomenclature was changed in the most recent World Health Organization classification in 2019. Since the pathological classification has changed several times, there are no definitive data on treatment management. Methods: In this study, patients followed up in our clinic were pathologically reevaluated according to the latest classification. Results: The clinical characteristics, treatments, recurrence, and survival status of 36 patients with early stage primary breast NEN were examined. A statistically significant difference was determined in respect of overall survival (OS) for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Score (ECOG PS), type of surgery, age ≥ 70 years, PR positivity, and tumor size. A low ECOG PS, younger age, breast-conserving surgery (BCS), and small tumor diameter were associated with better survival. A low ECOG PS, early stage, BCS, and fewer than 4 malignant lymph nodes were associated with better disease-free survival. All the patients in this study were at an early stage and were treated for typical breast cancer, although some patients diagnosed with neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) received cisplatin and etoposide treatment. Conclusions: In our study, the prognosis of breast NEN patients was better than the literature data. Maybe the prognosis of patients evaluated as breast NEN according to the new classification is better than the older classification groups.

The survival outcomes of cancer patients exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the duration required to resume oncological treatment, and the subsequent course of their malignancy remain areas with limited data. This retrospective study evaluated 128 cancer patients hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment between April 2020 and October 2023. Of the cohort, 39.8% were women and 60.2% were men. Findings revealed that patients with metastatic lung involvement faced a 3.34-fold increased risk of death during the acute infection. In the post-COVID survival cohort, multivariate analysis indicated that younger age, higher hemoglobin levels, higher systemic inflammatory index, lower pan-immune inflammation value, and absence of active cancer were associated with longer survival. Additionally, vaccine-related survival differences were observed; however, these findings should be interpreted cautiously as they likely reflect confounding factors such as prioritizing high-risk patients for certain vaccine types rather than a direct causal relationship. Notably, while treatment delays were common among patients with disease progression, these delays did not result in a statistically significant difference in overall survival during the long-term follow-up.

Background: Outcomes with enzalutamide in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) are influenced by tumor burden, disease kinetics, and host factors. We evaluated the relative prognostic impact of metastatic pattern, laboratory markers, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) dynamics in a real-world cohort. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 72 patients with mCRPC treated with enzalutamide. Progression-Free Survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS) were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were utilized to identify independent predictors of survival, incorporating clinical variables (visceral metastases, bone tumor burden), kinetic parameters (Time to Castration Resistance [TTCR], Time to PSA Nadir [TTN]), and host factors (Charlson Comorbidity Index [CCI], Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS), Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index [SII], HALP score). Results: Visceral metastasis was a dominant predictor of poor outcomes, increasing the risk of death by 4.0-fold (HR: 4.05; 95% CI: 1.84–8.89; p < 0.001). A high skeletal tumor burden (≥5 bone lesions) was identified as a critical threshold, associated with a 5.5-fold increase in mortality risk (HR: 5.53; p < 0.001). Delays in initiating enzalutamide significantly compromised survival, with each 1-month delay increasing the risk of death by 7.3% (HR: 1.07; p = 0.003). While early PSA decline (≥50% at 3 months) did not independently predict OS, a prolonged TTN (>12 months) was associated with superior survival. Notably, host-related factors, including age, CCI, and ECOG PS, were not found to be significantly associated with survival outcomes in this specific dataset. Conclusions: Our preliminary findings suggest that survival in real-world mCRPC patients treated with enzalutamide may be influenced predominantly by intrinsic tumor biology—specifically anatomical extent and resistance kinetics—rather than host frailty or comorbidity burden. However, given the retrospective and single-center nature of this study, these findings should be considered hypothesis-generating and require validation in larger, multi-center cohorts. Host-related variables (including age and CCI) were evaluated but were not retained as independent predictors in the final multivariable model. Early initiation of therapy and monitoring of kinetic markers like TTN and TTCR offer superior prognostic stratification compared to static baseline characteristics.