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Background and Objective: In the therapeutic strategy of rectal cancer, radiotherapy has consolidated its important position and frequent use in current practice due to its indications as neoadjuvant, adjuvant, definitive, or palliative treatment. In recent years, total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) has been established as the preferred regimen compared to concurrent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT). In relation to better outcomes, the percentage of patients who achieved pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant treatment is higher in the case of TNT. This study aimed to analyze the response to TNT compared to neoadjuvant CRT regarding pCR rate and the change in staging after surgical intervention. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective study on 323 patients with rectal cancer and finally analyzed the data of 201 patients with neoadjuvant treatment, selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients received CRT neoadjuvant therapy or TNT neoadjuvant therapy with FOLFOX or CAPEOX. Results: Out of 157 patients who underwent TNT treatment, 19.74% had pathological complete response, whereas in the group with CRT (n = 44), those with pCR were 13.64%. After neoadjuvant treatment, the most frequent TNM classifications were ypT2 (40.30%) and ypN0 (79.10%). The statistical analysis of the postoperative disease stage, after neoadjuvant therapy, showed that the most frequent changes were downstaging (71.14%) and complete response (18.41%). Only four patients (1.99%) had an upstaging change. The majority of patients (88.56%) initially presented clinical evidence of nodal involvement whereas only 20.9% of the patients still presented regional disease at the time of surgical intervention. Conclusions: By using TNT, a higher rate of stage reduction is obtained compared to the neoadjuvant CRT treatment. The post-neoadjuvant-treatment imagistic evaluation fails to accurately evaluate the response. A better response to TNT was observed in young patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the traumas suffered by patients following the oncological diagnosis and the expectation of the surgical intervention, it is important to unitary and multidimensional identify the psychological status, using a single interview structured to cover these psychological vulnerabilities. The overall psychological picture can help the psycho-oncologist to adapt his psychotherapeutic interventions to relieve the stress caused by the oncological diagnosis and specific treatment. 58 patients with a breast cancer diagnosis and 61 patients with breast lumps diagnosis who were waiting for the histopathological result, received several scales for assessing emotional distress, the level self-esteem, depression, anxiety and cognitive dysfunctions levels. The analysis of the answers led to the multidimensional identification of differences between the two categories of patients and establishing correlations between personality traits and the development of certain psychological changes. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed between patients with breast cancer and those with breast lumps awaiting histopathological diagnosis, in the areas of self-esteem, depression and cognitive schemas. Diagnosed patients have predominantly dysfunctional attitudes such as negative emotions and cognitive schemas related to catastrophe and self-deprecation, while undiagnosed patients, have cognitive schemas related to low tolerance for frustration and absolutist requirements and lower dysfunctional attitudes. A global assessment with a single psychological tool can capture the overall picture of the cancer patient, including possible triggers and maintenance of symptoms, with the psychological consequences of the disease that are reflected somatically, as well as predisposing factors in the history that generates these feelings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Psychosocial factors are correlated with the risk of breast cancer, by the lack of externalization of feelings and aggressive tendencies, or with a negative prognosis, by the presence of a high level of stress and reduced coping abilities. Impairment of psychological status should be assessed early to identify quantifiable psychooncological changes, such as depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. These indicators, measured in this study, may become psychometric markers for predicting the existence of the neoplastic process, prior to histopathological evaluations. Methods. 58 patients diagnosed with breast cancer and in different stages of evolution and 61 breast lumps patients were evaluated for depression, anxiety and self-esteem. Results. The correlation of depression and anxiety levels according to the evolutionary stage of the disease was as follows: in stage I cases of severe depression with significant anxiety predominate, in stage II mild depression predominates with insignificant anxiety, in stage III depression predominates moderate with significant anxiety, while in stage IV moderate depression with significant anxiety predominates. Conclusions. The presence of significant anxiety in the uncertainty phase and the anxious-depressive clinical picture can be an alarm signal for the initiation of specific psychotherapeutic strategies, to increase the adaptive potential and resilience to the disease to ensure a therapeutic collaboration of the patient by increasing adherence and compliance. the proposed therapeutic plan. Relatively sudden anxiety in a young woman, risk factors for breast cancer, and deficient cognitive impairment require intensified clinical and paraclinical investigations to confirm early oncological diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer currently represents one of the most important public health problems. Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of strong correlations between the vegetative nervous system and the role it plays in the initiation of the oncogenetic process and the progression of cancer. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the involvement of the sympathetic and parasympathetic vegetative nervous system in the evolution of gastric cancer, according to the stage of tumor differentiation. In this current paper we have included a number of four patients diagnosed with gastric cancer post UGI (Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) and have analyzed relations that exist between the tumor differentiation degree and the metanephrine and normetanephrine serum level in the blood of the patients. Following the research, we have observed an increased value of the metanephrine and normetanephrine serum level in the patient which displayed the lowest degree of differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]