Tıp Fakültesi / Faculty of Medicine

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11727/1403

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    Lung Cancer from Suspicion to Treatment: An Indicator of Healthcare Access in Turkey
    (2023) Esendagli, Dorina; 37897971
    Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Before beginning lung cancer treatment, it is necessary to complete procedures such as suspecting lung cancer, obtaining a pathologic diagnosis, and staging. This study aimed to investigate the processes from suspicion of lung cancer to diagnosis, staging, and treatment initiation. Metbods: The study was designed as a multicenter and cross-sectional study. Patients with lung cancer from various health institutions located in all geographic regions of Turkey were included in the study. The socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, the characteristics of the health institutions and geographic regions, and other variables of the lung cancer process were recorded. The time from suspicion of lung cancer to pathologic diagnosis, radiologic staging, and treatment initiation, as well as influencing factors, were investigated. Results: The study included 1410 patients from 29 different medical centers. The mean time from the initial suspicion of lung cancer to the pathologic diagnosis was 48.0 +/- 52.6 days, 39.0 +/- 52.7 days for radiologic staging, and 74.9 +/- 65.5 days for treatment initiation. The residential areas with the most suspected lung cancer cases were highly developed socioeconomic zones. Primary healthcare services accounted for only 0.4% of pa-tients with suspected lung cancer. The time to pathologic diagnosis was longer in the Marmara region, and the wait time for staging and treatment initiation was longer in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia. Patients who presented to chest disease referral hospitals with peripheral lesions, those with early-stage disease, and those who were diagnosed surgically had significantly longer wait times. Conclusion: The time between pathologic diagnosis, staging, and treatment initiation in lung cancer was longer than expected. Increasing the role of primary healthcare services and distributing socioeconomic resources more equally will contribute to shortening the time to diagnosis and improve treatment processes for lung cancer.
  • Item
    Small Cell Lung Cancer Stem Cells Display Mesenchymal Properties And Exploit Immune Checkpoint Pathways In Activated Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes
    (2021) Kursunel, M. Alper; Taskiran, Ekim Z.; Tavukcuoglu, Ece; Yanik, Hamdullah; Demirag, Funda; Karaosmanoglu, Beren; Ozbay, Feyza Gul; Uner, Aysegul; Esendagli, Dorina; 0000-0002-6619-2952; 34228218; ABF-9398-2020
    Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive tumor type with early dissemination and distant metastasis capacity. Even though optimal chemotherapy responses are observed initially in many patients, therapy resistance is almost inevitable. Accordingly, SCLC has been regarded as an archetype for cancer stem cell (CSC) dynamics. To determine the immune-modulatory influence of CSC in SCLC, this study focused on the characterization of CD44(+)CD90(+) CSC-like subpopulations in SCLC. These cells displayed mesenchymal properties, differentiated into different lineages and further contributed to CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) responses. The interaction between CD44(+)CD90(+) CSC-like cells and T cells led to the upregulation of checkpoint molecules PD-1, CTLA-4, TIM-3, and LAG3. In the patient-derived lymph nodes, CD44(+) SCLC metastases were also observed with T cells expressing PD-1, TIM-3, or LAG3. Proliferation and IFN-gamma expression capacity of TIM-3 and LAG3 co-expressing CTLs are adversely affected over long-time co-culture with CD44(+)CD90(+) CSC-like cells. Moreover, especially through IFN-gamma secreted by the T cells, the CSC-like SCLC cells highly expressed PD-L1 and PD-L2. Upon a second encounter with immune-experienced, IFN-gamma-stimulated CSC-like SCLC cells, both cytotoxic and proliferation capacities of T cells were hampered. In conclusion, our data provide evidence for the superior potential of the SCLC cells with stem-like and mesenchymal properties to gain immune regulatory capacities and cope with cytotoxic T cell responses. With their high metastatic and immune-modulatory assets, the CSC subpopulation in SCLC may serve as a preferential target for checkpoint blockade immunotherapy .