Purpose: This study aims to compare the clinicopathological and prognostic features of women aged 40 years and younger and 65 years and older with breast cancer. Methods: Between January 2011 and December 2021, 136 female cases aged 40 years and younger and 223 female cases aged 65 and over were identified among all cases (1395 cases) registered as breast cancer in the file archives of Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Oncology for the study. A Chi-square (× 2) test was used for categorical variables, and an independent sample t-test for continuous variables. Log-rank test and Kaplan–Meier plots were used for survival analysis. For the statistical evaluation, p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Both overall survival (p < 0.01) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) (p = 0.01) were significantly worse in the older group. BCSS were significantly worse in the older group in Luminal B (HER2−) (p = 0.013) and HR− HER2+ (p = 0.015) subtypes detected. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, only the presence of metastases at diagnosis or follow-up (p < 0.001) and ECOG PS 2–3 status (p = 0.001) were associated with an increased risk of breast cancer-specific death. Conclusion: To our knowledge, no study directly compares these two groups. In our study, similar to many studies, more aggressive tumor features were found in young patients, but unlike many studies, mortality was found to be significantly higher in older patients. The presence of metastasis and poor ECOG PS were found to be the most influential factors in breast cancer-specific death risk.

There are conflicting data regarding the prognostic effect of microvascular density (MVD) in breast cancer and its molecular subtypes. It is thought that high levels of FOXP3 + T cells in breast cancer are associated with poor prognosis. However, data regarding FOXP3 show significant variability in the literature. In our study, we aim to measure MVD and FOXP3 + T cells in breast cancer cases and investigate their relationship with each other and their effects on breast cancer patients’ clinical and prognostic features. In our study, the results of 207 female breast cancer patients whose excisional tumoral tissue was obtained are presented. The study evaluated the findings under a light microscope using antibodies against CD34 for measuring MVD and FOXP3 for measuring FOXP3-positive T cells. CD34 ≥ 17 was categorized as high MVD, and CD34 < 17 was classified as low MVD. FOXP3 + cell count ≥ 20/mm2 was categorized as high FOXP3 positivity and < 20/mm2 as low FOXP3 positivity. The SPSS program (version 22) was used to evaluate the results statistically, and p < 0.05 was considered significant. The median age was 54.0 (27–86) years, and the median follow-up period was 60.0 (IQR: 42.6–86.5) months. In the high MVD group, a higher progesterone receptor (PR) positivity rate was detected (p = 0.035). High FOXP3 positivity was significantly associated with high nuclear grade (p = 0.003). High FOXP3 positivity was significantly associated with PR negativity and high Ki67 values ​​(p = 0.009, p = 0.012, respectively). No statistically significant correlation was found between MVD elevation and FOXP3 positivity (r = 0.063, p = 0.36). A weakly significant positive correlation was detected between high Ki67 and FOXP3 positivity (r = 0.0146, p = 0.04). A weak inverse correlation was detected between high FOXP3 positivity and PR percentage values ​​(r=-0.182, p = 0.01). While there was no significant difference in disease-free survival in cases with high MVD and high FOXP3 + T cells compared to groups with low levels, the results were not mature enough because the median values ​​in overall survival could not be reached. A significant correlation was found between high FOXP3 positivity and some aggressive tumor features; no effect on survival was detected. In contrast to literature data on luminal A breast cancer, high MVD in the luminal B (HER2-) subgroup was associated with a lower risk of recurrence. Our study is the first in the literature to evaluate the relationship between MVD measured using CD34 and FOXP3 positive T cells in breast cancer. Our study found no correlation between MVD and FOXP3 positivity, while literature data show significant correlations in some other cancers.

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.

Aim: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic increased the mortality of cancer patients by causing direct infection or collateral damage to the healthcare system. After the development of effective vaccines against COVID-19 infection, mortality rates declined. In this study, we try to investigate the vaccination among cancer patients.Methods: A survey was applied to patients with cancer in order to investigate the attitudes towards vaccination and the factors effecting vaccination in two medical oncology centers in Turkey.Results: 271 patients were included in the study. No difference was observed in the attitudes of patients towards vaccination according to cancer type. 83% of the patients were vaccinated against COVID-19. In 75% of the study population, vaccine was administered in the earliest available time. Receiving chemotherapy was the most significant reason to avoid vaccination among the study group (p=0,002). There was no significant difference in terms of treatment type for COVID-19 between patients with or without adequate vaccination. The most negative factor affecting vaccination was active chemotherapy treatment. Social relations and traditional media were the most positive factors for vaccination.Discussion: Vaccination is of vital importance for patients who are treated or on remission. Even if patients are to receive chemotherapy, they should be informed about vaccination and should be encouraged for vaccination.

Amaç: Erken evre meme kanserinde (MK) primer ve adjuvan tedavilerdeki gelişmelere rağmen hala birçok hastada uzak metastaz gelişmektedir. Özellikle son on yılda metastatik meme kanseri (MMK) tedavisinde kaydedilen önemli gelişmelere rağmen tam kür sağlanamayan bir hastalık olmaya devam etmektedir. Çalışmamızda metastatik meme kanserli hastalarda birinci basamak tedavi sonuçlarının değerlendirmeyi amaçladık. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çalışmamıza 263 metastatik meme kanseri hastası dâhil edildi. Hasta verileri retrospektif olarak analiz edildi. Bulgular: Medyan takip süresi 48.3 ay (interquartile range-IQR: 26.5-79.3) olup; 126 (%47.9) hastada de novo metastaz, 137 (%52.1) hastada ise takipte metastaz saptandı. Birinci basamak tedavi sonrası; 39 (%14.8) hastada tam yanıt, 150 (%57) hastada parsiyel yanıt, 6 (%2.3) hastada stabil hastalık ve 35 (%13.3) hastada ise progresif hastalık şeklinde sonuçlandı. Hormon reseptör (HR) ve insan epidermal büyüme faktörü (HER2) durumuna göre hasta moleküler grupları arasında birinci basamak tedavi sonrası progresyonsuz sağ kalım (PFS1) ve genel sağ kalım (OS) sürelerinde anlamlı fark saptanmamıştır ancak HER2 (+) olan gruplarda literatüre kıyasla daha uzun OS süreleri (HR- HER2+ grupta 108 ay) saptandı. Birinci basamakta uygulanan tedavi kategorilerine göre hasta grupları arasında anlamlı bir PFS1 farkı saptanmıştır (p=0.01). PFS1’de en uzun süre kemoterapi ile başlanıp hormonoterapi ile devam edilen grupta (17.8 ay), en kısa süre ise sadece kemoterapi alan grupta saptandı (4.2 ay). Birinci basamak tedavi kategorilerine göre gruplar arasında medyan OS’ de anlamlı fark saptandı (p=0.025). HR+ HER2- olgularda CDK4/6 inhibitörü temelli tedavide diğer tedavilere gör daha OS elde edilmiştir. Birinci basamak CDK4/6 inhibitörü temelli hormonoterapi alanlarda medyan OS’ ye ulaşılamadı. Sonuç: Hasta moleküler grupları arasında genel sağ kalım ve progresyonsuz sağ kalım farkı saptanmazken, literatür ile kıyaslandığında HR-HER2+ grupta genel sağ kalım süresi daha uzun, diğerlerinde benzerdi. CDK4/6 inhibitörü alanlarda medyan OS’ye ulaşılamamıştır. Birinci basamak tedavilere göre hasta gruplarında PFS1 süreleri literatüre benzer bulunmuştur.