Browsing by Author "Ip, Teresa"

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    Oncological benefit versus cardiovascular risk in breast cancer patients treated with modern radiotherapy
    (2022) Acevedo, Francisco; Ip, Teresa; Orellana, María; Martínez, Gonzalo; Gabrielli, Luigi; Andia, Marcelo; Besa, Cecilia; Pinto, Mauricio P.; Sánchez, Cesar; Merino, Tomas
    Radiotherapy (RT) is an essential part of breast cancer (BC) treatments. Unfortunately, heart exposure to radiation can also impair the long-term survival of patients. Our study aimed to quantify the oncological benefit and the cardiovascular (CV) risk associated with modern RT in a real-world cohort of BC patients. Our descriptive study enrolled BC patients who received adjuvant RT. Ten-year overall survival (OS) was estimated using Predict® version 2.1 (National Health Service, London, UK). The basal risk of CV events was estimated using the American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) CV score. Treatment volumes and mean cardiac doses were obtained from RT treatment plan records. The increased risk of CV events due to RT was estimated using a model proposed by Darby. The risk of acute myocardial infarction or stroke mortality was estimated using HeartScore® (European Society of Cardiology, Brussels, Belgium). A total of 256 BC patients were included in the study. The average age of patients was 57 years old (range: 25–91); 49.6% had left BC. The mean cardiac dose was 166 cGy (interquartile range (IQR) 94–273); the estimated hazard ratio (HR) for CV disease was HR 1.12 (confidence interval (CI) 1.04–1.24). The estimated baseline 10-year CV risk was 5.6% (0.2 to 51.2); CV risk increased by 0.9% (range 0.02–35.47%) after RT. The absolute risk of 10-year mortality from CV disease was 2.5% (0.1–9); RT was associated with an estimated 4.9% survival benefit (3.73–6.07) against BC death and a 0.23% (0.17–0.29) estimated increase in CV mortality. Modern RT decreased 10-year BC mortality by 4% but increased CV mortality by 0.2% in this cohort. Our findings encourage the implementation of personalized adjuvant RT treatments that balance risks and benefits to improve long-term BC patient survival.
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    Retrospective study on disparities in time-to-treatment by health insurance system in Chilean breast cancer patients
    (2025) Acevedo, Johanna; Ip, Teresa; Maureira, Lea; Sánchez Rojel, César Giovanni; Osorio, Claudia; Carvajal, Claudia; Araos, Rafael; Letelier, Hernan; Acevedo, Francisco; Merino, Tomas
    Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in the Americas, and the second leading cause of cancer death. Disparities in the time to treatment can significantly impact patient outcomes and typically affect lower socioeconomic individuals and/or ethnic minorities. Our study sought to evaluate disparities in time to treatment at three health institutions in Chile according to their type of health insurance (public or private). METHODS Our study analyzed a database of breast cancer patients diagnosed between 2017 and 2018. Analyses included descriptive statistics and a linear regression model that incorporated clinical and demographic variables. Additionally, using a proportional risks model, we analyzed the association between clinical variables and mortality. RESULTS Public health insurance (National Health Fund, FONASA) was associated with longer time-to-treatment and extended treatment times versus private health insurance (Social Security Institutions, ISAPRE; p < 0.0001). As expected, a more advanced stage at diagnosis was associated with lower survival. Our proportional risks model found that age was a predictor of breast cancer mortality in stage II patients. Also, total treatment time significantly increased the risk of breast cancer mortality in stage I patients. Conversely, total treatment time did not affect mortality on stages II or III. CONCLUSIONS We found significant disparities in the time to treatment of Chilean breast cancer patients using FONASA versus private ISAPRE. FONASA patients experience delays in the initiation of treatment and longer total treatment times compared to their private insurance counterparts. Finally, longer time-to-treatment was associated with more advanced stages and increased mortality.
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    Risk factors for loco-regional recurrence in breast cancer patients: A retrospective study
    (2018) Merino Lara, Tomas Rodrigo; Ip, Teresa; Domínguez Covarrubias, Francisco José; Acevedo Claros, Francisco Nicolás; Medina Araya, Lidia; Villarroel, Alejandra; Camus Appuhn, Mauricio Gonzalo; Vinés Vásquez, Eugenio; Sánchez Rojel, César Giovanni