Background: Cancer patients are in the high-risk group of getting COVID-19 infection and experiencing a severe course. Anxiety of cancer patients about how they pass this pandemic process and how changes in the health system would influence their treatment has increased together with the COVID-19 pandemic. Influence of COVID-19 on psychology of cancer patients is also a subject needed to be investigated as well as its course and prognosis. Thus, it is aimed to measure fear levels of cancer patients by a validated scale. Patients accepting to fill in the validated Fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S) scale were included in our study. Higher scores obtained from the scale means high level of COVID-19 fear was experienced. Results: A total of 66.8% of 486 patients expressed that they are very afraid of coronavirus, and 66.3% expressed that they fear from losing their lives due to coronavirus. The level of fear in the patient group having adjuvant therapy has been found statistically to be significantly higher compared with groups having neoadjuvant and metastatic/palliative therapy (p: 0.004). Conclusions: Because the increase of level of fear may lead to vital outcomes such as weakening of immune system, disturbance of treatment compliance, and worsening of prognosis, a psychological approach to cancer patients is compulsory in order to prevent fear of COVID-19 infection.

Purpose:It is estimated that type 2 diabetes mellitus affects 530 million people worldwide and 10.5 per cent of these patients have diabetic retinopathy. This study aims to investigate the predictive value of cardiometabolic control, GGT and malnutrition-related inflammation markers for predicting Diabetic retinopathy prevalence and prognosis. Materials and Methods:Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients who were consecutively admitted to Internal and Ophthalmology outpatient clinics were included in this study. Clinical, haematological and biochemical data were recorded. Cut-off values of GGT, PNI, NRI and HALP scores were determined by receiver operator characteristic curve analysis. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the association of all variables with Diabetic retinopathy. As a result, we evaluated which of these tests were predictive and prognostic for the development of diabetic retinopathy. Results:This study included 166 patients. Fasting blood glucose(p

The pivotal prognostic determinant for recurrence and survival in surgically treated gastric cancer (GC) patients remains the lymph node status. Despite the adoption of D2 lymph node dissection as the standard approach in recent years, its association with increased morbidity in elderly patients raises concerns. This study aims to explore the prognostic significance of the Positive Lymph Node Ratio (PLNR) score in the context of recurrence and survival among elderly patients with surgically treated GC. A retrospective review of files about surgically treated patients with GC was conducted. The prognostic impact of the PLNR score on overall survival (OS) was assessed through Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. The cut-off value for the PLNR, determined through ROC analysis, was identified as 0.138. This value serves as a crucial threshold, as it distinguishes patients with a higher risk of poor outcomes. Patients with a PLNR score of 0.138 or below exhibited a median OS of 111 months, whereas those with a PLNR score above 0.138 had a significantly lower median OS of 22 months (p = 0.004). Our findings revealed that the PLNR emerged as an independent predictor of survival and recurrence in patients undergoing GC resection.However, it's important to note that while valuable, the PLNR system has limitations. It does not encompass the T stage, a key factor in cancer staging. Therefore, it cannot be a direct substitute for the comprehensive information TNM staging provides. It should be used as a supplementary tool in predicting prognosis, particularly in elderly patients unsuitable for standard lymph node dissection.

Background/Objectives: Breast cancer remains the most common malignancy among women worldwide, with many patients experiencing persistent psychological symptoms that extend beyond active treatment. Among these, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression frequently co-occur and can significantly impair quality of life and treatment adherence. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of poor sleep quality and examine its associations with anxiety and depression in a large cohort of Turkish women with breast cancer. Additionally, the study sought to identify sociodemographic and clinical predictors of sleep disturbance. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 601 women with histologically confirmed breast cancer who were undergoing or had completed active treatment were recruited from a tertiary oncology center in Turkey between January 2023 and December 2023. The mean age of participants was 54 years (range 25–83). More than half of the patients were postmenopausal (56.3%), and 6% had stage IV disease. Sleep quality and psychological distress were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and multivariate regression models were employed to identify significant predictors. Results: Poor sleep quality (PSQI > 5) was identified in 33.2% of participants. Patients with poor sleep reported significantly higher anxiety and depression scores (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that being single, having children, undergoing breast-conserving surgery, and elevated anxiety scores were independent predictors of poor sleep. Additionally, marital status, menopausal status, and treatment modality were significantly associated with anxiety and depression scores. Conclusions: One-third of Turkish breast cancer patients experience clinically relevant sleep disturbances, which are strongly linked to psychological distress, particularly anxiety. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating routine psychological screening into oncologic care and highlight the need for individualized psychosocial support strategies that aim to improve both emotional well-being and overall clinical outcomes.

Objective: To compare contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) with breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in evaluating residual tumor size and pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer patients. Methods: This prospective study included patients with histopathologically confirmed breast cancer who were scheduled to receive NAC followed by surgery. All patients underwent both CEM and breast MRI before initiation of NAC and within seven days after completion of treatment. Surgery was performed at a median of 14 days after post-treatment imaging. Residual tumor size measurements obtained by both imaging modalities were compared with histopathological findings, which served as the reference standard. Pathological complete response was defined as the absence of residual invasive carcinoma in the surgical specimen. Results: A total of 74 female patients were included. CEM estimated residual tumor size within ±1 cm of histopathology in 84.7% of cases, whereas MRI achieved this accuracy in 76.4%. Agreement with histopathology was higher for CEM than for MRI. In predicting pathological complete response, CEM demonstrated higher sensitivity (91.3%) and negative predictive value compared with MRI; however, this difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.24). MRI showed slightly higher specificity. Pathological complete response was observed in 31.1% of patients. Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced mammography demonstrated performance comparable to breast MRI in assessing response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, with numerically higher sensitivity for predicting pathological complete response. CEM may represent a practical and accessible alternative to MRI, particularly in settings where MRI is unavailable or contraindicated. These findings support the clinical use of CEM as a reliable alternative imaging modality for response assessment.

Aim: Hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer which represents the most common subgroup of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Recently, further subclassification for HER2-negative tumors has emerged as HER2-low. There is limited knowledge regarding the effect of HER2-low expression on outcomes of patients with HR-positive and HER2-negative MBC treated with CDK 4/6 inhibitors plus hormonal therapy. Therefore, we evaluated survival parameters according to HER2-low status for this patient group in this study. Material and Methods: As the Turkish Oncology Group (TOG) Project, retrospectively collected data from 423 patients with HR-positive/HER2-negative MBC treated with ribociclib and palbociclib plus letrozole therapy was assessed. Included patients had metastatic first-line therapy and endocrine-sensitive disease. Survival outcomes were compared between HER2-negative and HER2-low patient groups. Conclusion: HER2-low status had no statistically significant impact on survival in patients treated with palbociclib or ribociclib plus letrozole.