Assessing Changes in Colon Cancer Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Four-Year Analysis at a Romanian University Hospital

Feier, Catalin Vladut Ionut; Santoro, Rebecca Rosa; Faur, Alaviana Monique; Muntean, Calin; Olariu, Sorin

doi:10.3390/jcm12206558

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 58 publications

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“…[1,2] Owing to elusive early symptoms and a propensity for high malignancy, the majority of CRC cases receive diagnoses at advanced stages, posing a significant threat to human life and health. [3,4] Currently available treatments include surgery, radiotherapy and small molecule-based therapies such as chemotherapy and hormone therapy. [5][6][7] However, the utility of these approaches had shown limited efficacy in substantially extending the overall survival of patients diagnosed with advanced CRC, which prompted the development of new therapeutic tactics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Precision Immunotherapy of Colorectal Cancer through Chemo‐Photothermal Nanoparticles via Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Mediated Apoptotic Pathways

Wang,

Bi,

et al. 2024

Advanced Therapeutics

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) stands out as one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal cancers. Current treatment strategies for CRC are significantly hindered by systemic toxicity and suboptimal therapeutic efficacy. This study aims to overcome these limitations by developing a robust tumor‐targeting chemo‐photothermal strategy, combining Bortezomib (BTZ) as a proteasome inhibitor, IR780 iodide as a near‐infrared dye, and Photothermal Therapy (PTT) agent, with hyaluronic acid (HA) serving as the shell for tumor targeting, denoted as HA/PB@IR780. The investigations reveal the impressive tumor‐targeting affinity of HA/PB@IR780, leading to a synergistic chemo‐photothermal therapeutic effect both in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, this material demonstrates the capability for drug release triggered by low pH conditions. Moreover, HA/PB@IR780 induced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), triggered cells apoptosis via the PERK‐CHOP‐Bcl‐2 pathway, and induced Immunogenic Cell Death (ICD) in CT26 cells. Importantly, HA/PB@IR780 selectively targets tumor sites, mitigating systemic toxic side effects and significantly extending the survival of CT26 tumor‐bearing mice. In conclusion, this designed tumor‐targeting nanocarrier represents a promising and potentially effective platform for the precise treatment of CRC.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Precision Immunotherapy of Colorectal Cancer through Chemo‐Photothermal Nanoparticles via Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Mediated Apoptotic Pathways

Wang,

Bi,

et al. 2024

Advanced Therapeutics

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Osteoporosis: a problem still faulty addressed by the Romanian healthcare system. Results of a questionnaire survey of people aged 40 years and over

Jianu,

Buda,

Căpățână

et al. 2024

Front. Med.

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PurposeWe aimed to investigate the knowledge and awareness level of osteoporosis, its risk factors, the possible causes of underdiagnosis, as well as the preventive measures and lifestyle behavior of the Romanian population.Patients and methodsA non-interventional, cross-sectional study was performed, consisting of an in-person survey, in 10 pharmacies located in both urban and rural settings in Romania. The survey was distributed to patients ≥40 years old.ResultsOf 189 respondents, 78.8% were women, the majority age group being 60–69 (31.7%) and 50–59 (30.7%) years old and coming from urban areas (69.3%). Although 75.1% of participants declared knowing about osteoporosis, having a moderate level of knowledge, and women being more aware of the pathology, 77.3% have never performed a DXA test. Moreover, participants already diagnosed with osteoporosis did not show a better disease knowledge than those without a diagnosis. Nearly half of the respondents did not know that a family history of the disease increases the risk of developing it and 60% of them thought that symptoms may develop before a fracture occurs. The preventive strategies tend to be disregarded and thus, underused. Moreover, 42.9% of participants reported being diagnosed with osteoporosis, do not undergo treatment, although they are aware of the existence of effective strategies. The dataset was used to build a participant compatibility network. The network’s clustering revealed six relevant communities, which are not correlated with questionnaire results but reflect the patterns of feature associations.ConclusionPreventive and therapeutic osteoporosis education programs are urgently needed in the Romanian population to decrease disability and high mortality risks and thus, to improve the quality of life.

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Changes in Pancreatic Cancer Management and Surgical Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Puia,

Feier,

Gaborean

et al. 2024

Medicina

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Background and Objectives: This study evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the surgical management of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) at a tertiary care hospital in Romania. The objective was to compare surgical volumes, tumor characteristics, and patient outcomes across three periods: pre-COVID, pandemic, and post-COVID. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of 622 PDAC patients who underwent surgery between February 2018 and February 2024 was conducted. The key variables analyzed included tumor size, type of surgery (curative vs. palliative), use of neoadjuvant therapy, postoperative complications, and ICU monitoring, among others. Results: During the pandemic, there was a 25% decrease in surgical interventions compared the number performed during the pre-pandemic period, with a significant increase in the number of patients undergoing surgical intervention following neoadjuvant treatment (p = 0.009) in the post-pandemic period. Post-pandemic, surgical volumes increased by 10%, and tumor sizes were smaller (p = 0.029). Postoperative outcomes, such as complications, remained stable across the periods, but intensive care unit monitoring increased significantly during the pandemic and post-pandemic periods. Hospital stay durations were significantly shorter during and after the pandemic (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic led to delays in PDAC surgeries, but post-pandemic improvements in surgical volumes and early diagnosis are evident; however, further optimization of screening and treatment protocols is essential for improving patient outcomes.

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Assessing Changes in Colon Cancer Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Four-Year Analysis at a Romanian University Hospital

Cited by 3 publications

References 58 publications

Enhanced Precision Immunotherapy of Colorectal Cancer through Chemo‐Photothermal Nanoparticles via Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Mediated Apoptotic Pathways

Enhanced Precision Immunotherapy of Colorectal Cancer through Chemo‐Photothermal Nanoparticles via Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Mediated Apoptotic Pathways

Osteoporosis: a problem still faulty addressed by the Romanian healthcare system. Results of a questionnaire survey of people aged 40 years and over

Changes in Pancreatic Cancer Management and Surgical Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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