The constant worsening of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) imposes the need for an urgent response. Use of antibiotics (AB), both due to irrational prescribing by doctors and irrational use by patients, is recognized as one of the leading causes of this problem. This study aimed to identify knowledge, attitudes, and practices about AB use and AMR within the general population, stratified by age, gender, and urban/rural areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2022 among patients who visited three health centers in the eastern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A high frequency of AB use was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic (64.2% of respondents were treated with AB). Age and place of residence have not been shown to be factors associated with AB use practices that pose a risk for AMR. However, female gender (β = 0.063; p = 0.041), better knowledge (β = 0.226; p < 0.001), and positive attitudes (β = 0.170; p < 0.001) about use of AB and towards to AMR proved to be factors associated with better practice by respondents. Women, younger respondents, and respondents from urban areas showed better knowledge, attitudes, and behavior about the use of AB and AMR during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Malignancy is one of the major public health problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Along with breakthroughs in specific oncological therapy, improving the quality of life of cancer patients and management of therapy-induced side effects need to be recognized as a priority in the comprehensive cancer patient care. Fertility loss after cancer treatment is a field requiring special attention due to its various consequences on patients themselves. Although oncofertility is well-recognized area of oncology, low- to middle-income countries are facing issues with its implementation in everyday practice. Increased awareness about fertility preservation is of high priority for all specialists who participate in the medical care of cancer patients. The absence of a systemic solution and lack of expertise led to the founding of Fertility Preservation Working Group of the Oncology Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We have made recommendations as an expert consensus with the ultimate goal of making the first step toward enhancement of oncofertility implementation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

OBJECTIVE Patients and medical professionals have a common misconception that cardiovascular diseases (CVD) predominantly affect men, which can lead to less prescribing of cardiovascular drugs to women. This study examined whether there were sex differences in the administration of cardiovascular (CV) drugs in patients admitted to the intensive care unit of the Internal Medicine Clinic of Foča University Hospital (ICFUH). MATERIALS AND METHODS The study comprised 332 patients hospitalized at the ICFUH from January 1st to June 30th, 2019. The following data on leading CVD and risks related to CV drug administration were collected: age, hyperlipidemia (HLD), diabetes mellitus (DM), chronic kidney disease (CKD), liver disease (LD), heart failure (HF), hypertension (HTN), myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke (S). The amount of the CV drugs of interest (statins, antiplatelet drugs, calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, diuretics) administered during hospitalization was expressed as the Defined Daily Dose (DDD)/100 bed-days (BD) for patients of both sexes separately. RESULTS During hospitalization in the intensive care unit of ICFUH, female patients were less likely to be treated with statins than male patients (30.1 vs. 57.5 DDD/100 BD, P<0.05). There was no difference between sexes regarding the use of antihypertensive drugs. Women were less likely to be treated by antiplatelet therapy, more precisely by acetylsalicylic acid (30.4 vs. 36.9 DDD/100 BD, P<0.05). CONCLUSION Our study indicates that there were sex differences in CV drug administration in ICFUH. Presuming that drugs used during hospitalization were at least partially a continuation of the previous therapy prescribed by the family doctor, it is possible that such differences exist in primary care.

The HERe2Cure project, which involved a group of breast cancer experts, members of multidisciplinary tumor boards (MTB) from health-care institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was initiated with the aim of defining an optimal approach to the diagnosis and treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer. After individual multidisciplinary consensus meetings were held in all oncology centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a final consensus meeting was held to reconcile the final conclusions discussed in individual meetings. Guidelines were adopted by consensus, based on the presentations and suggestions of experts, which were first discussed in a panel discussion and then agreed electronically between all the authors mentioned. The conclusions of the panel discussion represent the consensus of experts in the field of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The objectives of the guidelines include the standardization, harmonization, and optimization of the procedures for the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, all of which should lead to an improvement in the quality of health care of mentioned patients. The initial treatment plan for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer must be made by a MTB comprised of at least: A medical oncologist, a pathologist, a radiologist, a surgeon, and a radiation oncologist/radiotherapist.

Received 2018-11-12 Received in revised form 2019-05-22 Accepted 2019-05-29 INTRODUCTION Breast cancer is the most common malignant disease in women (1). It makes up about 26.5% of all newly discovered malignancies in the European female population and is responsible for 17.5% of the deaths. In males, this type of cancer is rare (one man per 100 women) (2). The frequency of the disease differs in various parts of the world. It is rarely seen before the age of 30, it rises with age and reaches its maximum around the age of 50 (3). The incidence of breast cancer in the world increases by 1-2% per year, and it is estimated that in the first decade of the third millennium, almost one million of women will suffer from breast cancer (4). However, in spite of the increasing possibilities of treatment, survival depends primarily on the extent and stage of the disease at the time of detection. In the early stage of the disease in which the largest number of patients is detected, healing is quite possible. Still, 24-30% of patients with lymph node negative and 50-60% with lymph node positive breast cancer will develop relapse. At the moment of diagnosis metastatic disease is present in 6-10% of patients (5). Treatment of breast cancer is multidisciplinary. Combination of surgical treatment, radiation and systemic therapeutic treatment ensure good results in patient survival. The type and order of particular treatments must be planned multidisciplinary by surgeons-oncologists, radiotherapists and internists-oncologists (6). Clinical features of tumor such as size, the existence of tumor cells in the armpit lymph nodes, and distant metastases are considered essential in determining prognosis and choices of treatment. Prognostic factors, derived from breast tissue after biopsy or surgery, have significance in measuring tumor aggressiveness and general disease prognosis. The standard prognostic parameters are patient (menopausal status, age) and tumor related (tumor size, histological type, axillary lymphatic status, tumor gradient, ER, PR and HER2 status). Some of them (ER, PR and HER2 status) have a predictive value because the best therapeutic modality is chosen based on these. According to St. Gallen Consensus and ESMO recommendations from year 2013 breast cancers fall into different types according to histopathological findings and results of predictive and prognostic tests. Based on this, specific therapeutic approach is recommended. When luminal A type patient receive only endocrine therapy, and chemotherapy is considered only in cases of high risk tumor (with four or more positive lymph nodes, tumor size T3 or tumor grade 3). When luminal B-like type (HER2 negative) patient is treated using chemotherapy and endocrine therapy. When luminal B-like (HER2 positive) patient is treated using chemotherapy, anti-HER2 and endocrine therapy. In case of non-luminal (HER2 positive) breast cancer type chemoand anti-HER2 therapy is recommended. In patients with basal-like (triple-negative) cancer application of chemotherapy is indicated (7).

There is a daily increase in the number of patients with malignant diseases, but with the advances in modern oncology research, the number of survivors treated with malignant diseases is becoming larger and larger. The survival rate after completing oncology therapy is increasing on a daily basis, so that malignant diseases belonging to the category of terminal diseases are now referred to as 'chronic illnesses'. In this specific group of patients, the risk from cardiovascular diseases is increasing nowadays. A new challenge for the future cardiologists will certainly pose the treatment of this group of patients. A cardiological approach in oncological patient treatment is an important issue. The cardiologist focuses on risk stratification and prevention of cardiovascular complications in the oncological patient in relation to his or her pre-existing condition, and in relation to the type of specific oncology therapy applied, and on further follow-up during therapy and after its completion. This implies that it is necessary to create cardio-oncology teams in our institutions treating the oncological patients. There is a considerable need for education in a new field, which presents the intersection between two clinical disciplines, i.e. cardiology and oncology, and for special education of cardiologists concerning all types of chemotherapy and their potential cardiotoxic effects. The oncologist, on the other hand, must be trained to recognize any possible early signs and symptoms of cardiac complications concerning the therapy applied and to seek further cardiac care for the patients. The aim of this review article is to assist the doctors treating this group of patients in their daily practice and to highlight the need for a multidisciplinary approach, as well as the creation of a cardio-oncology team for a comprehensive and integrative approach to a cardio-oncological patient.