Brazilian National Cancer Institute

Background Spondyloarthritis (SpA) has been classified as an ‘MHC-I-opathy,’ with HLA-B27 recognized as a major genetic factor half a century ago [1]. Additionally, other MHC-I alleles, including HLA-B7, B35, B38, and B40 (B60/B61), have been implicated in increasing the risk of SpA [2-4]. A recent publication from our group showed an overall HLA-B27 positivity rate of 4.35% in Brazilian healthy people [5]. Objectives To evaluate each allelic frequency (AF) of HLA-B and to assess whether the frequencies of genotypes (GF) containing HLA-B27 in heterozygosis adhere to Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) in a substantial sample of healthy individuals in Brazil. Methods Using the Brazilian Registry of Volunteer Bone Marrow Donors (REDOME) database, this cross-sectional ecological study analyzed the multiallelic HLA-B site in healthy donors aged 18 to 60 years. HWE was checked by chi-square test of independence. Results Between 1994 and 2022, 5,389,143 healthy individuals were included in REDOME. In addition to HLA-B27, other 34 different alleles were identified. Table 1 presents the AF of each HLA-B, along with the expected and observed GF. Approximately half of the observed genotypes (15 out of 34) adhered to HWE, while the remaining 19 did not. Figure 1 shows the difference in observed from expect GF.View this table: • View inline • View popup Table 1. Allelic and Genotype containing HLA-B27 frequencies in Brazilian Bone Marrow Donors • Download figure • Open in new tab • Download powerpoint Conclusion The noncompliance with HWE equilibrium in this sizeable and diverse sample of healthy individuals may be explained by the extensive miscegenation within the Brazilian genetic background, shaped by colonization and internal migratory flows. Further investigations involving Brazilian SpA patients are essential to elucidate the potential implications of these findings on the prevalence and phenotype features of SpA in Brazil. REFERENCES [1] Kuiper JJ, Prinz JC, Stratikos E, Kuśnierczyk P, Arakawa A, Springer S, et al. EULAR study group on ‘MHC-I-opathy’: identifying disease-overarching mechanisms across disciplines and borders. Ann Rheum Dis. 2023;82(7):887-96.[2] Laza IM, Ventades NG, Hervella M, de-la-Rúa C. Contribution of ancient human remains analysis to the understanding of the variability in HLA-B gene variants in relation to the diagnosis of spondyloarthropathies. J Autoimmun. 2018; 94:70-82. [3] Reveille JD, Zhou X, Lee M, Weisman MH, Yi L, Gensler LS, et al. HLA class I and II alleles in susceptibility to ankylosing spondylitis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2019;78(1):66-73. [4] Wu X, Wu J, Li X, Wei Q, Lv Q, Zhang P, et al. The Clinical Characteristics of Other HLA-B Types in Chinese Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients. Front Med (Lausanne). 2020; 7:568790. [5] Resende GG, Saad CGS, de Oliveira DCM, de Sousa Bueno Filho JS, Sampaio-Barros PD, de Medeiros Pinheiro M. HLA-B27 positivity in a large miscegenated population of 5,389,143 healthy blood marrow donors in Brazil. Adv Rheumatol. 2023;63(1):16. Acknowledgements NIL Disclosure of Interests None declared

Objective: To analyze the evidence on the effect of topical agents to prevent radiodermatitis in cancer patients. Methods: Systematic review of double-blind randomized clinical studies built according to JBI recommendations and search in the databases MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, LILACS, Web of Science, Embase and Scopus, in addition to the Gray Literature. The JBI critical assessment tool for randomized clinical trials was used to assess the possibility of bias, GRADE for the quality of evidence, and Gradepro® to recommend them. Results: Thirteen studies were selected that evaluated different topical agents to prevent radiodermatitis, namely: corticosteroids, with antioxidant action and herbal medicines. The methodological quality of each study was appropriate. Still, the quality of evidence generated by pooling them was low, regardless of the type of topical agent employed, suggesting that confidence in its effect is limited and weakening the strength of the recommendation. Conclusions: Some topical agents have shown promise for the prevention of radiodermatitis, but the evidence gathered here about their effectiveness does not indicate their use for the prevention of radiodermatitis in cancer patients.

e13731 Background: Drug approval processes by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) often shape regulatory decisions globally. This study describes the particularities of drug approval of systemic therapies for sarcomas by the FDA and EMA and compares them with those of three Latin American regulatory authorities: Brazil's ANVISA, Argentina's ANMAT, and Mexico's COFEPRIS. The aim is to elucidate the similarities and differences in approval practices, which may inform future regulatory strategies in these regions. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive review of all cancer drugs approved by the FDA and EMA for the treatment of sarcoma over the past 15 years and matched to approvals in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. These countries were chosen due to their population size and the accessibility of their health agencies’ databases. The regulatory agencies’ websites were consulted for the registration of drugs approved between January 1 st , 2009, and January 1 st , 2024. We analyzed the characteristics of studies, availability of approvals based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs), overall survival (OS), and the interval between FDA and EMA approvals compared to each of the three assessed Latin American regulatory agencies. Additionally, we included drugs granted tissue-agnostic approval, recognizing the potential necessity for sarcoma treatments to be guided by biomarker-driven decisions. Results: Over the past 15 years, 19 drugs have been approved for by the FDA to treat sarcomas, and 13 by the EMA. The FDA led the approvals, granting authorization to 18 of these treatments first, with Trabectedin being the sole exception, approved earlier by the EMA and COFEPRIS. Mifamurtide is the only new drug against sarcoma licensed by the EMA but not by the FDA. During this period Argentina approved 8 of these drugs, Mexico 7, and Brazil 6. When comparing the median approval times, there was a 3.03-year interval from the FDA to the Latin American agencies (range: -6 to 5.7 years) and a 3.22-year interval from the EMA (range: -0.2 to 11.8 years). Phase 3 trial-based approvals constituted 83.3% for COFEPRIS, 75% for ANMAT, 66.7% for ANVISA, 61.5% for EMA, and 36.8% for FDA. Regarding approvals contingent on OS data, ANMAT had 37.5%, ANVISA: 33.3%, COFEPRIS 28.5%, compared to EMA 23%, and FDA 10.5%. Additionally, within this timeframe, 52.3% of FDA approvals were contingent on biomarkers, compared to 50% for EMA, 10.5% for ANVISA, and 5.2% for both ANMAT and COFEPRIS. Conclusions: The observed discrepancies in drug approval timelines and the lower number of drug approvals in Latin American countries, as compared to those by the FDA and EMA, may exacerbate disparities in treatment accessibility for sarcoma patients in these regions. Approvals of sarcoma drugs by regulatory agencies of Latin American countries were more frequently conditioned to phase 3 trials and overall survival benefit.

516 Background: In a prespecified correlative analysis of the GEICAM/2003-11_CIBOMA/2004-01 phase III clinical trial (CIBOMA trial), PAM50 non-basal status identified triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients (pts) most likely to benefit from adjuvant capecitabine (cap). FOXC1 cell plasticity/metastasis transcriptional driver assessment by standardized Veresca FOXC1 Immunohistochemistry (IHC) BC test (Veresca) has shown rigorous capacity to identify basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) subtype throughout TNBC cohorts. We sought to explore the concordance of BLBC identification by FOXC1 with PAM50 molecular subtyping and its prognostic/predictive value in the CIBOMA trial (NCT00130533). Methods: We analyzed FOXC1 expression (Veresca, Onconostic Technologies) and the Ki-67 Antigen MIB-1 (Dako) by IHC on tumors from 705 TNBC pts randomized to maintenance with cap (357, 51%) vs observation (obs) (348, 49%) after standard (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy (CT). Veresca score (VFOXC1) was defined as % of tumor cells with positive nuclear staining (Proportion Score 0-5) plus staining intensity (Intensity Score 0-3). BLBC subtyping by Veresca (cutoff ≥4) and PAM50 signature (Nanostring) were compared using ROC analysis and Kappa index (KI). Ki67 ≥20% cutoff was applied. Cox regression models were assessed to predict DRFS (primary endpoint), DFS and OS (secondary endpoints). Results: VFOXC1≥4 identified 460 (65%) BLBC pts in this CIBOMA trial cohort (229 (49.8%) treated with cap, and 231 (50.2%) in obs). VFOXC1 detection was not associated with any clinicopathological characteristic. VFOXC1 expression significantly correlated with PAM50 BLBC subtyping (ROC analysis AUC 0.874, KI 0.43) but moderately with IHC subtyping (AUC 0.548). VFOXC1 BLBC subtype was not associated with DRFS (HR=0.94; 95%CI 0.68-1.30; p=0.713) in the entire cohort. However, VFOXC1 non-BLBC subtype was a strong independent predictor of cap benefit for DRFS (univariate analysis, interaction p-value p=0.117; HR=0.53; 95%CI 0.31-0.90; p=0.019; multivariate analysis, HR=0.44; 95%CI 0.25–0.76; p=0.003). This predictive effect of VFOXC1 non-BLBC on cap benefit was also confirmed at DFS (HR=0.47; 95%CI 0.28–0.78; p=0.003) and OS (HR=0.48; 95%CI 0.24–0.96; p=0.038), and was independent of Ki67 proliferation status (multivariate DRFS; Ki67<20%, HR=0.41; 95%CI 0.20-0.82; p=0.012; Ki67≥20%, HR=0.31; 95%CI 0.10-0.97; p=0.045). VFOXC1 non-BLBC subtype had no association with clinical outcome in obs arm. Conclusions: In the CIBOMA TNBC trial, the non-BLBC definition by a single biomarker (FOXC1 Veresca) provided prognostic and predictive value of cap benefit after (neo)adjuvant CT, corroborating our previous findings by PAM50 and IHC non-BLBC subtyping. This is a pragmatic option to effectively apply findings from this trial in the real-world setting. Clinical trial information: NCT00130533 .

5009 Background: Over the last six decades, platinum-based chemotherapy has been the standard of care first-line treatment for advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC). Advanced PSCC has poor prognosis with limited treatment options. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have been associated with improved efficacy in different types of malignancies, however the benefit in PSCC is uncertain. Methods: LACOG 0218 ( NCT04224740 ) is a phase II single arm trial evaluating pembrolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy as first-line treatment in advanced PSCC. Patients (pts) with metastatic or locally advanced disease (recurrent or TanyN3M0 or T4NanyM0) not amenable to curative-intent therapy received: 5-FU 1000mg/m²/day IV D1-D4; cisplatin 70mg/m² (or carboplatin AUC 5) IV D1; and pembrolizumab 200mg IV D1 every 3 weeks (Q3W) for 6 cycles, followed by pembrolizumab 200mg IV Q3W up to 34 cycles. The primary endpoint is confirmed overall response rate (cORR) assessed by investigator (INV) according to RECIST 1.1. Considering a drop-out rate of 10%, 33 patients were required to reject the null hypothesis that ORR is 20% or less, if the true ORR is 40% (two-sided alpha level of 0.10, power 78.5%). Results: From Aug2020 to Dec2022, 37 pts were enrolled in 11 Brazilian centers and 33 pts were eligible for efficacy analysis. Median age was 56y (range, 30-76), 64.9% of pts had metastatic disease, 21.6% had recurrent disease, and 13.5% had locally advanced disease. Efficacy results are presented in the table. cORR by INV was 39.4% (95% CI 22.9-57.9); with 1 complete response and 12 partial responses. cORR INV according to PD-L1 status (66.7% in CPS 0% vs. 33.3% in CPS≥1%); TMB status (75% in high vs. 36.4% in low); and HPV16 status (HPV16 positive 55.6% vs. 35.0%). The most frequent genomic alterations detected by NGS were: TP53(57.1%), CDKN2A (51.4%), and TERT (31.4%). Treatment-related adverse events (AE) rate of any grade was 91.9% and grade 3-4 was 51.4%. Ten pts experienced Grade 5 AE, none of them related to study treatment. Immune-related AEs of any grade was 21.6% and grade 3-4 was 5.4%. 10.8% discontinued treatment due to AE. Conclusions: HERCULES is the first trial to demonstrate the efficacy of ICI in advanced PSCC with manageable safety profile. HPV16 and TMB are potential predictive biomarkers for efficacy. ICI combined with platinum-based chemotherapy is a promising treatment for advanced PSCC warranting further investigation. Clinical trial information: NCT04224740 . [Table: see text]

Objectives The aim of the present study was to assess the cytocompatibility of epoxy resin-based AH Plus Jet (Dentsply De Trey, Konstanz, Germany), Sealer Plus (MK Life, Porto Alegre, Brazil), calcium silicate-based Bio-C Sealer (Angelus, Londrina, PR, Brazil), Sealer Plus BC (MK Life) and AH Plus BC (Dentsply) through a tridimensional (3D) culture model of human osteoblast-like cells. Methods Spheroids of MG-63 cells were produced and exposed to fresh root canal sealers extracts by 24 h, and the cytotoxicity was assessed by the Lactate Dehydrogenase assay (LDH). The distribution of dead cells within the microtissue was assessed by fluorescence microscopy, and morphological effects were investigated by histological analysis. The secreted inflammatory mediators were detected in cell supernatants through flow luminometry (XMap Luminex). Results Cells incubated with AH Plus Jet, AH Plus BC, Sealer Plus BC and Bio-C Sealer extracts showed high rates of cell viability, while the Sealer Plus induced a significant reduction of cell viability, causing reduction on the spheroid structure. Sealer Plus and Seaker Plus BC caused alterations on 3D microtissue morphology. The AH Plus BC extract was associated with the downregulation of secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-5, IL-7, IP-10 and RANTES. Conclusions The new AH Plus BC calcium silicate-based endodontic sealer did not reduce cell viability in vitro, while led to the downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Clinical significance Choosing the appropriate endodontic sealer is a crucial step. AH Plus BC demonstrated high cell viability and downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, appearing reliable for clinical use, while Sealer Plus presented lower cytocompatibility.

Objective: To investigate the features and outcomes of breast cancer in high-risk subgroups. Materials and Methods: REB approved an observational study of women diagnosed with breast cancer from 2010 to 2019. Three radiologists, using the BI-RADS lexicon, blindly reviewed mammogram and MRI screenings without a washout period. Consensus was reached with 2 additional reviewers. Inter-rater agreement was measured by Fleiss Kappa. Statistical analysis included Mann-Whitney U, Chi-square tests for cohort analysis, and Kaplan-Meier for survival rates, with a Cox model for comparative analysis using gene mutation as a reference. Results: The study included 140 high-risk women, finding 155 malignant lesions. Significant age differences noted: chest radiation therapy (median age 44, IQR: 37.0-46.2), gene mutation (median age 49, IQR: 39.8-58.0), and familial risk (median age 51, IQR: 44.5-56.0) ( P = .007). Gene mutation carriers had smaller ( P = .01), higher-grade tumours ( P = .002), and more triple-negative ER- ( P = .02), PR- ( P = .002), and HER2- ( P = .02) cases. MRI outperformed mammography in all subgroups. Substantial to near-perfect inter-rater agreement observed. Over 10 years, no deaths occurred in chest radiation group, with no significant survival difference between gene mutation and familial risk groups, HR = 0.93 (95% CI: 0.27, 3.26), P = .92. Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of age and specific tumour characteristics in identifying high-risk breast cancer subgroups. MRI is confirmed as an effective screening tool. Despite the aggressive nature of cancers in gene mutation carriers, early detection is crucial for survival outcomes. These insights, while necessitating further validation with larger studies, advocate for a move toward personalized medical care, strengthening the existing healthcare guidelines.

Uveal melanoma is a rare malignancy originating from extracutaneous melanocytes on the uveal layer of the eyes. The incidence varies depending on the ethnic and racial global distribution, as uveal melanoma is more frequently diagnosed in non-Hispanic White subjects when compared with Hispanic, Asian, or Black individuals. Despite all the local effective management of uveal melanoma, roughly 50% of the cases will develop distant metastases. For these cases, the historical median overall survival is around 12 months. Recently, tebentafusp became the first therapy to receive Food and Drug Administration approval following a phase 3 trial demonstrating a continued long-term benefit for overall survival among adult HLA-A*02:01-positive patients with previously untreated metastatic uveal melanoma. Since 2021, high-resolution sequence-based HLA typing has been considered the gold standard for determining HLA alleles and haplotypes for the Brazilian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (REDOME) donors. To depict the HLA-A*02:01-positivity in Brazilian individuals, the REDOME database was queried out for the donors included from 2021 to 2023 and tested for HLA in high-resolution platforms. A total of 203, 44 donors were included and the frequency of the HLA-A*02:01 was 21.01%, much lower compared to the frequency in North Americans and Europeans (around 45%). Despite tebentafusp has demonstrated promising results in the treatment of uveal melanoma, the number of patients to benefit from this new approach can strongly vary by ethnic and racial issues. New strategies for the systemic treatment of advanced uveal melanoma have to be developed and tested as this disease still represents an unmet medical need.

Serine integrases (Ints) are a family of site-specific recombinases (SSRs) encoded by some bacteriophages to integrate their genetic material into the genome of a host. Their ability to rearrange DNA sequences in different ways including inversion, excision, or insertion with no help from endogenous molecular machinery, confers important biotechnological value as genetic editing tools with high host plasticity. Despite advances in their use in prokaryotic cells, only a few Ints are currently used as gene editors in eukaryotes, partly due to the functional loss and cytotoxicity presented by some candidates in more complex organisms. To help expand the number of Ints available for the assembly of more complex multifunctional circuits in eukaryotic cells, this protocol describes a platform for the assembly and functional screening of serine-integrase-based genetic switches designed to control gene expression by directional inversions of DNA sequence orientation. The system consists of two sets of plasmids, an effector module and a reporter module, both sets assembled with regulatory components (as promoter and terminator regions) appropriate for expression in mammals, including humans, and plants. The complete method involves plasmid design, DNA delivery, testing and both molecular and phenotypical assessment of results. This platform presents a suitable workflow for the identification and functional validation of new tools for the genetic regulation and reprogramming of organisms with importance in different fields, from medical applications to crop enhancement, as shown by the initial results obtained. This protocol can be completed in 4 weeks for mammalian cells or up to 8 weeks for plant cells, considering cell culture or plant growth time.

50 days free access (before July 18): https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1jANj_5ydpavAo Background & aims: Although it is widely recognized that muscle quality significantly influences adverse outcomes in patients with cancer, the precise definition of muscle quality remains elusive. The muscle quality index (MQI), also known as muscle-specific strength, is a relatively recent functional concept of muscle quality. It is obtained through the ratio of muscle strength to muscle mass, but its predictive value in patients with cancer remains unknown. In this study, we explored the prognostic significance of MQI in patients with cancer. Furthermore, we introduce and assess the prognostic potential of a novel muscle quality metric: the strength-to-muscle-radiodensity index (SMRi). Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on a prospective cohort study. CT scans were opportunistically used to assess body composition parameters, including skeletal muscle mass (SM in cm2) and muscle radiodensity (SMD in HU) at the third lumbar vertebra (L3). Handgrip strength (HGS) was measured. MQICT was calculated using the ratio of HGS to SM (cm2). SMRi was calculated as the ratio of HGS to SMD (HU). For analysis purposes, low MQICT and SMRi were defined using two approaches: statistical cutoffs associated with survival, and median-based distribution data. Results: A total of 250 patients were included (52.8% females, 52% adults, 20-90 years). Gastrointestinal tumors and stage III-IV were the most frequent diagnosis and stages. SMRi and MQICT were strongly positively correlated (ρ = 0.71 P < .001). Individual components of MQICT and SMRi were also positively correlated. Patients with both low MQICT and SMRi had shorter survival (log-rank P = .023 and P = .003, respectively). When applying median distribution cutoffs, SMRi emerged as the most accurate predictor of mortality (HR adjusted 3.18, 95% CI 1.50 to 6.75, C-index: 0.71), when compared to MQICT (HR adjusted 1.49, 95% CI 0.77 to 2.87, C-index: 0.68). Conclusion: This study introduces the concept and potential prognostic significance of the SMRi. The physiological and clinical implications of this new index warrant further investigation across a spectrum of diseases, including cancer. Keywords: muscle quality; muscle function; muscle radiodensity; muscle composition; cancer; survival

Despite presenting a worse prognosis and being associated with highly aggressive tumors, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by the higher frequency of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, which have been implicated in better overall survival and response to therapy. Though recent studies have reported the capacity of B lymphocytes to recognize overly-expressed normal proteins, and tumor-associated antigens, how tumor development potentially modifies B cell response is yet to be elucidated. Our findings reveal distinct effects of 4T1 and E0771 murine tumor development on B cells in secondary lymphoid organs. Notably, we observe a significant expansion of total B cells and plasma cells in the tumor-draining lymph nodes (tDLNs) as early as 7 days after tumor challenge in both murine models, whereas changes in the spleen are less pronounced. Surprisingly, within the tumor microenvironment (TME) of both models, we detect distinct B cell subpopulations, but tumor development does not appear to cause major alterations in their frequency over time. Furthermore, our investigation into B cell regulatory phenotypes highlights that the B10 Breg phenotype remains unaffected in the evaluated tissues. Most importantly, we identified an increase in CD19 + LAG-3 + cells in tDLNs of both murine models. Interestingly, although CD19 + LAG-3 + cells represent a minor subset of total B cells (< 3%) in all evaluated tissues, most of these cells exhibit elevated expression of IgD, suggesting that LAG-3 may serve as an activation marker for B cells. Corroborating with these findings, we detected distinct cell cycle and proliferation genes alongside LAG-3 analyzing scRNA-Seq data from a cohort of TNBC patients. More importantly, our study suggests that the presence of LAG-3 B cells in breast tumors could be associated with a good prognosis, as patients with higher levels of LAG-3 B cell transcripts had a longer progression-free interval (PFI). This novel insight could pave the way for targeted therapies that harness the unique properties of LAG-3 + B cells, potentially offering new avenues for improving patient outcomes in TNBC. Further research is warranted to unravel the mechanistic pathways of these cells and to validate their prognostic value in larger, diverse patient cohorts.

Background The current study presents the effort of a global collaborative group to review the management and outcomes of malignant tumors of the skull base worldwide. Patients and methods A total of 28 institutions contributed data on 3061 patients. Analysis evaluated clinical variables, survival outcomes, and multivariable factors associated with outcomes. Results The median age was 56 years (IQR 44–67). The open surgical approach was used in 55% ( n = 1680) of cases, endoscopic resection was performed in 36% ( n = 1087), and the combined approach in 9.6% ( n = 294). With a median follow‐up of 7.1 years, the 5‐year OS DSS and RFS were 65%, 71.7% and 53%, respectively. On multivariable analysis, older age, comorbidities, histology, dural/intracranial involvement, positive margins, advanced stage, and primary site were independent prognostic factors for OS, DSS, and RFS. Adjuvant RT was a protective prognostic factor. Conclusion The progress across various disciplines may have contributed to improved OS and DSS in this study compared to previous reports.

Objective To analyze the survival of patients with Chagas disease, beneficiaries of social security and social assistance, in Brazil, from 1942 to 2016. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study with data from the Brazilian Ministry of Social Security. The event of interest was death, and the survival functions were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression methods. Results In the period “onset of the disease until death”, women (HR=0.54; 95%CI 0.43–0.53) and receiving social security benefits (HR=0.13; 95%CI 0.11–0.23) were associated with longer survival. Lower survival was associated with the cardiac form of the disease (HR=2.64; 95%CI 2.23–3.12), living in a rural area (HR=1.23; 95%CI 1.14–1.21), and manifestation of the disease between the years 2000 and 2016 (HR=5.32; 95%CI 4.74–5.93). Likewise, in the period “work disability until death”, women (HR=0.51; 95%CI 0.41–0.52) and receiving social security benefits (HR=0.24; 95%CI 0,14–0.45) were associated with longer survival, as well as the cardiac form of the disease (HR=1.95; 95%CI 1.83–2.13), living in a rural area (HR=1.31; 95%CI 1.21–1.54), and manifestation of the disease between 2000 and 2016 (HR=1.53; 95%CI 1.33–1.71) were associated with lower survival. Conclusion The main predictors of mortality and survival of patients with Chagas disease who receive social security and assistance benefits in Brazil were presented. These findings can guide the definition of priorities for follow-up actions by Primary Health Care, currently recommended for the longitudinal management of the disease. Keywords: Chagas disease; Survival analysis; Cohort studies; Social welfare; Social security; Social support

Objective To analyze the survival of patients with Chagas disease, beneficiaries of social security and social assistance, in Brazil, from 1942 to 2016. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study with data from the Brazilian Ministry of Social Security. The event of interest was death, and the survival functions were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression methods. Results In the period “onset of the disease until death”, women (HR=0.54; 95%CI 0.43–0.53) and receiving social security benefits (HR=0.13; 95%CI 0.11–0.23) were associated with longer survival. Lower survival was associated with the cardiac form of the disease (HR=2.64; 95%CI 2.23–3.12), living in a rural area (HR=1.23; 95%CI 1.14–1.21), and manifestation of the disease between the years 2000 and 2016 (HR=5.32; 95%CI 4.74–5.93). Likewise, in the period “work disability until death”, women (HR=0.51; 95%CI 0.41–0.52) and receiving social security benefits (HR=0.24; 95%CI 0,14–0.45) were associated with longer survival, as well as the cardiac form of the disease (HR=1.95; 95%CI 1.83–2.13), living in a rural area (HR=1.31; 95%CI 1.21–1.54), and manifestation of the disease between 2000 and 2016 (HR=1.53; 95%CI 1.33–1.71) were associated with lower survival. Conclusion The main predictors of mortality and survival of patients with Chagas disease who receive social security and assistance benefits in Brazil were presented. These findings can guide the definition of priorities for follow-up actions by Primary Health Care, currently recommended for the longitudinal management of the disease. Keywords: Chagas disease; Survival analysis; Cohort studies; Social welfare; Social security; Social support

Objective Evaluate patient adherence and satisfaction concerning postmastectomy compressive taping. Methods This comprises a preintervention and postintervention study carried out with women ≥18 years old who underwent taping during the first 7 postoperative days at the Cancer Hospital III/National Cancer Institute. Good adherence was considered as taping maintenance for 7 days. Satisfaction levels were classified as satisfied and dissatisfied. Results A total of 124 women with a mean age of 56.54 (±11.24) were included in the study. Most lived without a partner (58.1%), had more than 8 years of study (59.7%), referred to themselves as white (68.5%) and considered their health status to be good or very good (69.4%). Regarding treatment adherence, 90.3% patients displayed adherence. Patients with no bullous lesions were more likely to adhere to taping (OR 7.00; 95% CI 1.98 to 24.74; p=0.003). Regarding satisfaction, 78.2% of the patients felt satisfied. The absence of local discomfort (OR 4.51; 95% CI 1.73 to 11.74; p=0.002) and non-existence of self-reported oedema (OR 5.81; 95% CI 1.81 to 18, 66; p=0.003) were associated with greater patient satisfaction. Conclusion Patients exhibited good adherence and felt very satisfied with the use of postmastectomy compressive taping. Trial registration number NCT04471142 .

Introduction and importance Intrathyroid thymic carcinoma (ITC) is a malignant epithelial tumor with thymic differentiation within the thyroid gland. Its frequency is up to 0.15 % of all malignant thyroid tumors. It is frequently a low-grade tumor. The clinical status is often misleading to other more advanced tumors like cervical lymph node metastasis of nonkeratinizing squamous cell carcinoma, undifferentiated variant, dedifferentiated carcinoma, and medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. Case preparation The patient came to us with the diagnosis of cervical lymph node metastasis of undifferentiated carcinoma. This patient was first diagnosed with cervical lymph node metastasis in the previous hospital. After having an ITC diagnosis, the patient was operated on the rennet of thyroid glands and had a low dose of radio-chemotherapy for recurrent prevention purposes. It is the first case of such a disease diagnosed at our hospital and also the first case reported in Vietnam. Clinical discussion ITC is rare and appears similar to all thymic carcinoma variants. The most popular type is squamous carcinoma. Immunohistochemical stains are typical for thymic origin tumors with CD5, CD117 positive. ITC is often negative for monoclonal PAX8 but positive in this case (MRQ-50 clone, Sigma-Aldrich). This finding is an exciting one that should considered. Conclusion Reporting the case increases the awareness of the disease, especially among Vietnam Doctors and patients.