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    Design and Implementation of a Technological Platform To Establish a National Cancer Registry in Chile
    (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2026-01-03)
    Carla Taramasco
    ;
    René Noel
    ;
      1
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      2Scopus© Citations 2
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    Arsenic in drinking water and breast cancer: a case–control study from a high exposure area in Northern Chile
    (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2025-07-08)
    Estela Blanco
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    ;
    Liliana Pérez
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    Marian Herrera
    ;
    Viviana Durán
      6
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    Effects on Quality of Life of a Telemonitoring Platform amongst Patients with Cancer (EQUALITE): A Randomized Trial Protocol
    (2024)
    Felipe Martínez
    ;
    Carla Taramasco
    ;
    Manuel Espinoza
    ;
    ;
    Carolina Goic
    <jats:p>Cancer, a pervasive global health challenge, necessitates chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatments for many prevalent forms. However, traditional follow-up approaches encounter limitations, exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, telemonitoring has emerged as a promising solution, although its clinical implementation lacks comprehensive evidence. This report depicts the methodology of a randomized trial which aims to investigate whether leveraging a smartphone app called Contigo for disease monitoring enhances self-reported quality of life among patients with various solid cancers compared to standard care. Secondary objectives encompass evaluating the app’s impact on depressive symptoms and assessing adherence to in-person appointments. Randomization will be performed independently using an allocation sequence that will be kept concealed from clinical investigators. Contigo offers two primary functions: monitoring cancer patients’ progress and providing educational content to assist patients in managing common clinical situations related to their disease. The study will assess outcomes such as quality of life changes and depressive symptom development using validated scales, and adherence to in-person appointments. Specific scales include the EuroQol Group’s EQ-5D questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). We hypothesize that the use of Contigo will assist and empower patients receiving cancer treatment, which will translate to better quality of life scores and a reduced incidence of depressive symptoms. All analyses will be undertaken with the intention-to-treat principle by a statistician unaware of treatment allocation. This trial is registered in ClinicalTrials under the registration number NCT06086990.</jats:p>
    Scopus© Citations 2  2
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    Retrospective study on disparities in time-to-treatment by health insurance system in Chilean breast cancer patients
    (Medwave Estudios Limitada, 2025-04-10) ;
    Teresa Ip
    ;
    Lea Maureira
    ;
    Cesar Sanchez
    ;
    Claudia Osorio
    Introduction 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 &lt; 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.
      3
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    Differential Effects of a Telemonitoring Platform in the Development of Chemotherapy-Associated Toxicity: A Randomized Trial Protocol
    (2024)
    Felipe Martínez
    ;
    Carla Taramasco
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    Manuel Espinoza
    ;
    ;
    Carolina Goic
    <jats:p>Chemotherapy requires careful monitoring, but traditional follow-up approaches face significant challenges that were highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, exploration into telemonitoring as an alternative emerged. The objective is to assess the impact of a telemonitoring platform that provides clinical data to physicians overseeing solid tumor patients, aiming to enhance the care experience. The methodology outlines a parallel-group randomized clinical trial involving recently diagnosed patients with solid carcinomas preparing for curative intent chemotherapy. Eligible adult patients diagnosed with specific carcinoma types and proficient in Spanish, possessing smartphones, will be invited to participate. They will be randomized using concealed allocation sequences into two groups: one utilizing a specialized smartphone application called Contigo for monitoring chemotherapy toxicity symptoms and accessing educational content, while the other receives standard care. Primary outcome assessment involves patient experience during chemotherapy using a standardized questionnaire. Secondary outcomes include evaluating severe chemotherapy-associated toxicity, assessing quality of life, and determining user satisfaction with the application. The research will adhere to intention-to-treat principles. This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06077123).</jats:p>
      4Scopus© Citations 2
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    Scopus© Citations 4  21
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    Serological study of CoronaVac vaccine and booster doses in Chile: immunogenicity and persistence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies
    (2022)
    Leonardo Vargas
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    Nicolás Valdivieso
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    Fabián Tempio
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    Valeska Simon
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    Daniela Sauma
    <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>Chile was severely affected by COVID19 outbreaks but was also one of the first countries to start a nationwide program to vaccinate against the disease. Furthermore, Chile became one of the fastest countries to inoculate a high percentage of the target population and implemented homologous and heterologous booster schemes in late 2021 to prevent potential immunological waning. The aim of this study is to compare the immunogenicity and time course of the humoral response elicited by the CoronaVac vaccine in combination with homologous versus heterologous boosters.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>We compared the immunogenicity of two doses of CoronaVac and BNT162b2 vaccines and one homologous or heterologous booster through an ELISA assay directed against the ancestral spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Sera were collected from individuals during the vaccination schedule and throughout the implementation of homologous and heterologous booster programs in Chile.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>Our findings demonstrate that a two-dose vaccination scheme with CoronaVac induces lower levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies than BNT162b2 in a broad age range (median age 42 years; interquartile range (IQR) 27-61). Furthermore, antibody production declines with time in individuals vaccinated with CoronaVac and less noticeably, with BNT162b2. Analysis of booster schemes revealed that individuals vaccinated with two doses of CoronaVac generate immunological memory against the SARS-CoV-2 ancestral strain, which can be re-activated with homologous or heterologous (BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1) boosters. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the antibody response with the heterologous booster regime was considerably higher (induction fold BNT162b2: 11.2x; ChAdoX1; 12.4x; CoronaVac: 6.0x) than the responses induced by the homologous scheme. Both homologous and heterologous boosters induced persistent humoral responses (median 122 days, IQR (108-133)), although heterologous boosters remained superior in activating a humoral response after 100 days.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>Two doses of CoronaVac induces antibody titers against the SARS-CoV-2 ancestral strain which are lower in magnitude than those induced by the BNT162b2 vaccine. However, the response induced by CoronaVac can be greatly potentiated with a heterologous booster scheme with BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 vaccines. Furthermore, the heterologous and homologous booster regimes induce a durable antibody response which does not show signs of decay 3 months after the booster dose.</jats:p> </jats:sec>
    Scopus© Citations 14  1
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    Challenges in surveillance of all cancer cases: The Chilean National Cancer Registry
    (2024)
    Carla Taramasco
    ;
    Carla Rimassa
    ;
    <jats:p>Cancer causes millions of deaths worldwide, making its registration essential. There are clinical, hospital, and population-based registries in place. The latter is the gold standard for information on cancer incidence and survival in a defined region. Chile has five population-based registries located in specific areas of the country. The Chilean National Cancer Registry emerged with the challenge of creating a tool encompassing all three types of registries to identify the number of cancer cases by type. Its design involved a series of actions to achieve consensus among various actors regarding information, validation, and events to be registered. Four stages were identified in the care and registration process: suspected diagnosis, morphological confirmation (biopsy), clinical resolution (oncology committee, including treatment recommendations), treatment, and oncological follow-up. The platform's development (from 2018 to 2021) involved gathering information and agreements on the requirements for co-designing the registry, including a successful pilot program with over 20 public and private healthcare facilities that recorded nearly 7500 cancer cases. The deployment and use of the National Cancer Registry at a national level depends on the healthcare authority. It is an information system that continuously and systematically collects, stores, processes, and analyzes data on all cancer cases and types occurring in the country. This work presents the design and development of the tool, the challenges addressed, as well as its strengths and weaknesses.</jats:p>
      7
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    High Burden of Intestinal Colonization With Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria in Chile: An Antibiotic Resistance in Communities and Hospitals (ARCH) Study
    (2023) ;
    Rachel M Smith
    ;
    Ashley Styczynski
    ;
    Felipe Sánchez
    ;
    Lea Maureira
    <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>Antimicrobial resistance is a global threat, heavily impacting low- and middle-income countries. This study estimated antimicrobial-resistant gram-negative bacteria (GNB) fecal colonization prevalence in hospitalized and community-dwelling adults in Chile before the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>From December 2018 to May 2019, we enrolled hospitalized adults in 4 public hospitals and community dwellers from central Chile, who provided fecal specimens and epidemiological information. Samples were plated onto MacConkey agar with ciprofloxacin or ceftazidime added. All recovered morphotypes were identified and characterized according to the following phenotypes: fluoroquinolone-resistant (FQR), extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant (ESCR), carbapenem-resistant (CR), or multidrug-resistant (MDR; as per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria) GNB. Categories were not mutually exclusive.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>A total of 775 hospitalized adults and 357 community dwellers were enrolled. Among hospitalized subjects, the prevalence of colonization with FQR, ESCR, CR, or MDR-GNB was 46.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 42.9–50.0), 41.2% (95% CI, 37.7–44.6), 14.5% (95% CI, 12.0–16.9), and 26.3% (95% CI, 23.2–29.4). In the community, the prevalence of FQR, ESCR, CR, and MDR-GNB colonization was 39.5% (95% CI, 34.4–44.6), 28.9% (95% CI, 24.2–33.6), 5.6% (95% CI, 3.2–8.0), and 4.8% (95% CI, 2.6–7.0), respectively.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>A high burden of antimicrobial-resistant GNB colonization was observed in this sample of hospitalized and community-dwelling adults, suggesting that the community is a relevant source of antibiotic resistance. Efforts are needed to understand the relatedness between resistant strains circulating in the community and hospitals.</jats:p> </jats:sec>
    Scopus© Citations 10  2