Browsing by Author "Petric Guajardo, Militza Paulina"

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    Access disparities and underutilization of germline genetic testing in Chilean breast cancer patients
    (2023) Acevedo Claros, Francisco Nicolás; Walbaum García, Benjamín Vicente; Camus Appuhn, Mauricio Gonzalo; Manzor Véliz, Manuel; Muñiz Muñoz, María Sabrina; Medina Araya, Lidia; Petric Guajardo, Militza Paulina; Reyes, Paula; Domínguez, Francisco; Puschel Illanes, Klaus; Merino Lara, Tomás Rodrigo; Bravo, M. Loreto; Pinto, Mauricio P.; Ibáñez, Carolina; Hughes, Kevin; Sánchez Rojel, César Giovanni
    Purpose Latin American reports on genetic cancer risk assessments are scarce. In Chile, current breast cancer (BC) guidelines do not define strategies for germline genetic testing. Our study sought to quantify the disparities in access to genetic testing in Chilean BC patients, according to international standards and their clinical characteristics to explore improvement strategies.Methods Retrospective analysis of invasive BC databases including patients treated in a Public Hospital (PH) and in an Academic Private Center (AC) in Santiago, Chile between 2012 and 2021.Results Of 5438 BC patients, 3955 had enough data for National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) categorization. From these, 1911 (48.3%) fulfilled NCCN criteria for germline testing, of whom, 300 were tested for germline mutations and 268 with multigene panels. A total of 65 pathogenic variants were found in this subset. As expected, BRCA1/2 mutations were the most frequent (17.7%). Access to genetic testing was higher in AC versus PH (19.6% vs. 10.3%, p = 0.0001). Other variables associated with germline genetic testing were BC diagnosis after 2018, being 45 years old or younger at diagnosis, BC family history (FH), FH of ovarian cancer, non-metastatic disease, and triple-negative subtype.Conclusion In our cohort, 15% of BC patients who met NCCN criteria for germline testing were effectively tested. This percentage was even lower at the PH. Current recommendations encourage universal genetic testing for BC patients; however, our findings suggest that Chile is far from reaching such a goal and national guidelines in this regard are urgently needed. To our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind in Chile and Latin America.
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    Axillary web syndrome among Chilean women with breast cancer : incidence and possible predisposing factors
    (2020) Ramírez Parada, Karol Lilia; Garay-Acevedo, D.; Mella Abarca, Williams Andrés; Petric Guajardo, Militza Paulina; Sánchez Rojel, César Giovanni; McNeely, M. L.; Leao-Ribeiro, I.; Fernández Verdejo, Rodrigo
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    Correlation between Ki67 and histological grade in breast cancer patients treated with preoperative chemotherapy
    (2014) Petric Guajardo, Militza Paulina; Martínez Riquelme, Santiago Felipe; Acevedo Claros, Francisco Nicolás; Oddo Benavides, David; Artigas Barrenechea, Rocío; Camus Appuhn, Mauricio Gonzalo; Sánchez Rojel, César Giovanni
    Background and Aim: Breast cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous disease and cell proliferation markers may help to identify subtypes of clinical interest. We here analyzed the correlation between cell proliferation determined by Ki67 and HG in BC patients undergoing preoperative chemotherapy (PCT). Materials and Methods: We obtained clinical/pathological data from patients with invasive BC treated at our institution from 1999 until 2012. Expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) and Ki67 were determined by immuno-histochemistry (IHC). Clinicopathological subtypes were defined as: Luminal A, ER and/or PR positive, HER2 negative, HG 1 or 2; Luminal B, ER and/or PR positive, HER2 negative or positive and/or HG 3; triple negative (TN), ER, PR and HER2 negative independent of HG; HER2 positive, ER, PR negative and HER2 positive, independent of HG. By using Ki67, a value of 14% separated Luminal A and B tumors, independently of the histological grade. We analyzed correlations between Ki67 and HG, to define BC subtypes and their predictive value for response to PCT. Results: 1,560 BC patients were treated in the period, 147 receiving PCT (9.5%). Some 57 had sufficient clinicopathological information to be included in the study. Median age was 52 years (26-72), with 87.7% invasive ductal carcinomas (n=50). We performed IHC for Ki67 in 40 core biopsies and 50 surgical biopsies, 37 paired samples with Ki67 before and after chemotherapy being available. There was no significant correlation between Ki67 and HG (p=0.237), both categorizing patients into different subtypes. In most cases Ki67 decreased after PCT (65.8%). Only 3 patients had pathologic complete response (cPR). Conclusions: In our experience we did not find associations between Ki67 and HG. Determination of clinicopathological luminal subtypes differs by using Ki67 or HG.
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    Effect of Supervised Resistance Training on Arm Volume, Quality of Life and Physical Perfomance Among Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (STRONG-B)
    (Frontiers Media SA, 2022) Ramírez Parada, Karol Lilia; López Garzón, María; Sánchez Rojel, César Giovanni; Petric Guajardo, Militza Paulina; Alfaro Barra, Margarita Eugenia; Fernández Verdejo, Rodrigo; Reyes Ponce, Álvaro Renato; Merino Pereira, Gina Francesca; Cantarero Villanueva, Irene
    Objectives: To determine the preventive effects of supervised resistance training on arms volume, quality of life, physical performance, and handgrip strength in Chilean women at high risk for breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) undergoing chemotherapy. Design: Randomized control trial. Participants: One hundred and six women at high risk for breast cancer-related lymphedema aged 18 to 70 years. Interventions: Participants will be randomized into two groups: [a] intervention, who will receive 12 weeks of supervised resistance training (STRONG-B) during adjuvant chemotherapy; and [b] control, who will receive education to promote lymphatic and venous return, maintain range of motion, and promote physical activity. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome will be arms volume measured with an optoelectric device (perometer NT1000). Secondary outcomes will be quality of life, handgrip strength, and physical performance. Primary and secondary outcomes will be measured at baseline, just after the intervention, and 3 and 6 months after. Statistical analysis will be performed following intention-to-treat and per-protocol approaches. The treatment effect will be calculated using linear mixed models. Discussion: The STRONG-B will be a tailored supervised resistance training that attempts to prevent or mitigate BCRL in a population that, due to both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, will commonly suffer from BCRL.
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    Obesity is associated with early recurrence on breast cancer patients that achieved pathological complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy
    (2022) Acevedo Claros, Francisco Nicolás; Walbaum García, Benjamín Vicente; Muñiz Muñoz, María Sabrina; Petric Guajardo, Militza Paulina; Martínez, Raúl; Guerra, Constanza; Navarro, Marisel; Córdova Delgado, Miguel; Pinto, Mauricio P.; Sánchez Rojel, César Giovanni
    Pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) is associated with good long-term prognosis in breast cancer (BC) patients. However, some patients still recur and eventually die from this disease. For years, clinical stage at diagnosis has been consistently linked to recurrence and survival in the pCR setting. Herein, we aimed to identify other potential predictors of recurrence and survival in patients that achieved pCR. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed between 2011 and 2020 in our center. We calculated overall survival (OS), invasive disease-free survival (IDFS), distant disease-free survival (DDFS), and BC-specific survival (BCSS). Among the 241 patients included into our study 36% were obese (Body Mass Index (BMI) > 29.9 kg/m2) and 47% were stage III. Multivariate analysis confirmed that obesity was a significant risk factor associated with early recurrence and poorer survival in these patients. In summary, obesity and clinical stage predict early recurrence and poorer survival in patients that achieved pCR after NCT. Pending further investigation and based on our findings we speculate that weight management could be beneficial for this subset of patients. To our knowledge, this is the first Latin American report linking obesity and recurrence within this setting.