Heredia

Researchers are evaluating and comparing the effectiveness of a manual toothbrush with a 360-degree mouth cleaner design against a standard flat-trim manual toothbrush in reducing the total bacterial load in the mouths of adults. The study focuses on measuring the change in bacterial counts in saliva before and after brushing to determine which toothbrush design better reduces bacteria. This Phase 3 clinical trial aims to provide clear evidence on how these two toothbrush types affect oral bacterial levels. Participants will use either the Colgate 360 SupraClean manual toothbrush with 0.76% sodium monofluorophosphate toothpaste or the Colgate Adult Extra Clean soft-bristle toothbrush with the same toothpaste concentration. Each brushing session is supervised on-site, lasting 2 minutes, with approximately 1.2 grams of toothpaste applied. The study includes separate periods where participants use each type of toothbrush to compare their effects. During the study visits, saliva samples will be collected at three time points: before brushing, 30 minutes after brushing, and 2 hours after brushing. These samples will be analyzed to measure bacterial load by counting colony-forming units per milliliter (LOG CFU/mL). Participants must attend all scheduled visits and follow study procedures. The researchers will monitor bacterial reduction effectiveness and ensure safety throughout the trial, which includes adults aged 18 to 65 years.

Researchers are evaluating the quality of care for patients with soft-tissue sarcoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), and bone sarcoma across expert and non-expert centers in Europe and Latin America. This observational study includes both retrospective data from January 2012 to June 2019 and prospective data from July 2019 to January 2022. The study aims to analyze how various quality indicators relate to outcomes such as relapse-free survival, overall survival, and rates of amputation, while also performing expert pathology reviews and translational research on specific sarcoma subtypes to identify biomarkers and develop preclinical models. The study involves no direct intervention on patients; instead, a tumor review will be conducted by expert centers. Data on diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes are collected in the SELNET database. Quality of care is assessed by examining multiple diagnostic and therapeutic factors, including biopsy methods, imaging studies, multidisciplinary team discussions, surgical margins, re-resections, radiotherapy use, risk assessments for GIST, and molecular status before treatment. Four sarcoma subtypes will undergo detailed translational research using tumor samples collected at diagnosis and post-treatment, including advanced genetic and protein analyses. Participants provide informed consent to join the study and may withdraw at any time without affecting their care. Throughout the study, researchers collect clinical data and monitor quality indicators such as biopsy techniques, imaging, treatment planning, surgical outcomes, and follow-up. The primary outcomes include percentages of cases meeting quality standards and correlations between care quality and patient outcomes over an average of three years. Tumor samples are used for molecular studies to explore potential biomarkers and treatment effects, supporting future clinical research.