Heterogeneous phenotypes occur in both Brazilian ethnic groups. Taking into account that the response to immunomodulator drugs for MS treatment changes according to the DRB1*1501 allele and African-American MS patients presented poor response to the interferons, phenotype heterogeneity of HLA loci found in this study could influence therapeutic decisions in the Brazilian MS population.

No abstract

Yeasts belonging to the genus Hansenula are rarely encountered as the cause of infection in clinical practice. A wide spectrum of infections caused by these fungi can be seen, ranging from asymptomatic fungaemia to severe disease. We describe an outbreak of 24 cases of infection due to H. anomala in an oncological hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The median age of the patients was 11 years, of whom 54.2% were female; 91.7% of the Hansenula fungaemia occurred in the haematology unit. The most frequent primary disease diagnosis was leukaemia (62.5%), and all of those infected had had a central venous catheter or peripheral venous catheter and had been treated previously with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Numerous other risk factors were observed in our cases: previous use of steroids, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and neutropenia (data not shown). No deaths could be attributed to Hansenula.

The current research aimed to understand melanoma epidemiology in Brazil and to evaluate temporal trends in incidence and mortality. The data came from Brazilian Hospital Cancer Registries, Population Based Cancer Registries, and the National Mortality Information System from 2000 to 2014. Descriptive statistics were used for epidemiological and clinical characteristics. To describe trends in change in incidence and mortality rates, the Average Annual Percentage Change (AAPC) was calculated. Between 2000 and 2013, in men, the median incidence rate rose from 2.52 to 4.84, with an AAPC of +21.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 15.4–28] and in women from 1.93 to 3.22 per 100 000, with an AAPC of +13.9% (95% CI: 8.1–20). Regarding mortality, between 2000 and 2014, the rates went from 0.85 to 0.9 per 100 000 for men (AAPC=+0.8, 95% CI: 0.4–1.1) and from 0.56 for 0.53 per 100 000 for women (AAPC=−0.1, 95% CI: −0.2 to 0). From the database, a total of 28 624 patients with melanoma were included. Most of the patients were females (51.9%), White (75%) and with stage I or II (53.2%). Sex, ethnicity, education level, geographical area of the cancer center, topography, histology, time between diagnosis and treatment, and early death were significantly associated with distant metastases. Brazil is a large country with a very young population and a low rate of melanoma incidence and prevalence that should increase over the years. Understanding the trends attributed to melanoma is important for behavioral counseling interventions that focus on promoting skin cancer prevention.