Intraoperative fluorescence imaging with aminolevulinic acid detects grossly occult breast cancer: a phase II randomized controlled trial.

Background: Re-excision due to positive margins following breast-conserving surgery (BCS) negatively affects patient outcomes and healthcare costs. The inability to visualize margin involvement is a significant challenge in BCS. 5-Aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride (5-ALA HCl), a non-fluorescent oral prodrug, causes intracellular accumulation of fluorescent porphyrins in cancer cells.

Approaches to pre-formulation R and D for phytopharmaceuticals emanating from herb based traditional Ayurvedic processes.

Botanicals constitute a large part of the drugs from the traditional medicine (TM) and ethno medicine (EM) known for their history of safe use (HOSU). Phytopharmaceuticals having a base of such origin offer high advantages as they come with safety profiles, and often allow extrapolation of the HOSU data, under certain circumstances. However, while current pharmaceutical technologies are being adopted by the industry to make phytopharmaceuticals with such origin, there is a need for preformulation research and development (R and D) during formulation.

Awareness of diagnosis and psychiatric morbidity among cancer patients--a study from South India.

Awareness regarding cancer diagnosis and its relationship to psychiatric morbidity was studied in 294 newly admitted cancer patients at an oncology center in South India. Fifty-four percent of patients were aware that they had cancer and were able to discuss their diagnosis; 46% of patients reported nonawareness of diagnosis. Discriminant function analysis revealed that oral cancers and relatives' awareness of the cancer was more prevalent in the group aware of diagnosis.

Psychological well-being among cancer patients receiving radiotherapy--a prospective study.

The impact of cancer on the psychological well-being of newly diagnosed cancer patients before and during the course of radiotherapy was assessed in 70 consecutive cancer patients. Most of the patients were over 40 years of age, women, illiterate and from a lower socioeconomic group. During the course of treatment there was a decrease in the well-being scores on some dimensions such as perceived family and primary group support.

Porphyrin binding to quadrupled T4G4.

We have recently reported the cation-induced self-assembly of DNA oligomers of the general sequence C4T4G4T1-4G4 into high-molecular weight multistranded structures [Marotta, S.P., Tamburri, P.

Sacral chordomas: a 10-year study.

A retrospective analysis of 14 cases of sacral chordoma seen between 1984 and 1993 at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology is reported. The mean patient age was 54 years, with 13 males and one female. Seventy-one per cent of patients presented with symptoms related to a painful sacral mass.

Dysgerminoma of the ovary: a retrospective study.

A retrospective analysis of 22 patients with ovarian dysgerminoma who were treated between 1980 and 1987 was carried out. The median age at presentation was 24.5 years.

Efficacy and safety of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on the frequency and severity of radiation mucositis in patients with head and neck carcinoma.

Purpose: Based on the clinical evidence of mucosal protection by GM-CSF during cytotoxic chemotherapy, a pilot study was undertaken to determine the safety and mucosal reaction of patients receiving GM-CSF while undergoing definitive conventional fractionated radiotherapy in head and neck carcinoma.

Methods And Materials: Patients were considered eligible if buccal mucosa and oropharynx were included in the teleradiation field. Ten adult patients with squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (buccal mucosa--8 and posterior 1/3 tongue--2) were entered into the trial.

Extrapolated response dose as a potential tool in radiotherapy and chemo-radiotherapy of head and neck cancers.

An analysis of head and neck cancer patients treated by radiotherapy (RT) alone (114 patients) and by chemo-radiotherapy (RT + CT) (115 patients) was carried out; the doses varied from 40-77 Gy and 35-71 Gy in RT and RT + CT groups respectively. The chemotherapy (CT) (induction/concurrent) drugs used were 5-FU, cisplatin, methotrexate either single or in combination. Extrapolated response dose values were evaluated with alpha/beta values of 10, 2.

Descriptive epidemiology of childhood cancers in Bangalore, India.

While fairly complete and reliable incident data on childhood cancers are available from the registries in India, mortality and survival information is not. Information concerning the latter was obtained by the Bangalore cancer registry through active follow-up involving visits to homes of patients. Between 1982 and 1989, 617 cases of cancers in childhood were registered, giving an age-standardized incidence rate of 84.

Importance of anatomical subsite in correlating risk factors in cancer of the oesophagus--report of a case--control study.

In Bangalore, cancer of the oesophagus is the third most common cancer in males and fourth most common in females with average annual age-adjusted incidence rates of 8.2 and 8.9 per 100,000 respectively.

Improving cancer radiotherapy with 2-deoxy-D-glucose: phase I/II clinical trials on human cerebral gliomas.

Purpose: Evaluation of tolerance, toxicity, and feasibility of combining large fraction (5 Gy) radiotherapy with 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG), an inhibitor of glucose transport and glycolysis, which has been shown to differentially inhibit repair of radiation damage in cancer cells.

Methods And Materials: Twenty patients with supratentorial glioma (Grade 3/4), following surgery were treated with four weekly fractions of oral 2DG (200 mg/kg body weight) followed by whole brain irradiation (5 Gy). Two weeks later, supplement focal radiation to the tumor (14 Gy/7 fractions) was given.

Serum vitamins' status in oral leucoplakias--a preliminary study.

Vitamins, such as A, beta carotene, C, E, B12 and folate, are the micronutrients with the strongest evidence of having a link to cancer prevention and control. Deficiency of these vitamins at the dietary, systemic or mucosal level will interact with tobacco use and increase the risk of oral precancerous lesions. The objective of this study was to (1) establish the baseline circulating levels of these vitamins in our normal population with and without tobacco use and (2) compare these levels with the values obtained in cases of oral leucoplakias.

A case-control investigation on cancer of the ovary in Bangalore, India.

Cancer of the ovary is the sixth leading cancer among females in Bangalore, and is a leading site of cancer in other population-based cancer registries in India. A case-control investigation was conducted utilizing the data from the population-based cancer registry in Bangalore. In addition to the core patient information, certain other details pertaining to consumption of tobacco, reproductive and obstetric factors and those related to the practice of family planning, including the method adopted, were available with the registry, for the period 1982-1985.

Descriptive epidemiology of lymphoid and haemopoietic malignancies in Bangalore, India.

Lymphoid and haemopoietic malignancies as a group constitute one of the important cancers in India, as elsewhere in the world. While information on incidence and mortality of these cancers, and that on survival, are available from most developed countries, there are very few reports describing this experience in developing ones. Population-based cancer registration commenced in Bangalore, India, in January 1982, under the auspices of the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Spinal cord compression by primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Epidural Cord Compression (ECC) by primary lymphomas is rare entity and constitutes less than 3% of total malignant lymphoma with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), diffuse large cell type being the most common histological subtype. In this paper 16 cases of primary NHL with cord compression seen at the Department of Medical Oncology, during the period 1988-1990 are reviewed. At presentation all patients had undergone Laminectomy with decompression of epidural mass.

Incidence, mortality and survival in cancer of the cervix in Bangalore, India.

Cancer of the cervix is the most common cancer among women in India, constituting between one-sixth to one-half of all female cancers with an age-adjusted incidence rate ranging from 19.4 to 43.5 per 100,000 in the registries under the National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) (Annual Reports, NCRP, ICMR).

Survival in breast cancer: a population-based study in Bangalore, India.

Survival from cancer reflects the aggressiveness of the disease, the effectiveness of treatment and host factors such as age. While hospital-based survival rates are typically used to evaluate the care provided in a particular hospital, population-based survival reflects the effectiveness of the overall cancer control strategy in the region. Here, we report the survival experience of 1514 breast cancer patients registered by the Bangalore population-based registry during 1982-1989.

Efficacy of an anti-tobacco community education program in India.

In a study on 'Assessment of Efficacy of an Anti-Tobacco Community Education Program' on Kolar District of Karnataka, India, an experimental and two control areas were chosen based on comparable population, health, and socioeconomic parameters. The two main objectives were to prevent individuals from taking up the tobacco habit among those who currently did not smoke or chew tobacco, and to stop the tobacco habit in those who did smoke or chew tobacco. A baseline tobacco-habit survey of the population was followed by anti-tobacco education of the community in the experimental area only.

Physical characteristics of photon and electron beams from a dual energy linear accelerator.

Clinically pertinent data of the photon beams of nominal energy 6 MV and 18 MV from a dual photon energy linear accelerator are measured using a radiation field analyser with semiconductor diodes and ionisation chambers. Percentage depth dose values are compared with available data from other linacs and BJR-17. Measurements made in the buildup region using a parallel plate chamber show a marked increase in the surface dose and dmax shifts by 3 mm and 14 mm for 6 MV and 18 MV photons, respectively as the field size is increased from 4 x 4 cm2 to the maximum.

Speech evaluation after near total laryngectomy and total laryngectomy--a comparative acoustic analysis.

The practice of Pearson's (1981) technique of near total laryngectomy with speech shunt is evaluated acoustically in 11 subjects using matched esophageal speakers. Not only do these patients vocalize earlier with effortless cease, analysis of their speech both subjectively & by acoustic analysis of the parameters seems definitely to be of superior quality. The functional utility of this technique is addressed in this study justifying its more frequent practice in unilateral lesions of larynx and hypopharynx which defy satisfactory control by conventional conservation laryngeal surgery or radiation therapy.

Carcinoma of the urinary bladder metastatic to the oral cavity.

Oral Metastasis from a carcinoma of the urinary Bladder is extremely uncommon. Two cases of transitional cell carcinoma of the Bladder, presenting eighteen and ten months after initial diagnosis, one with soft tissue metastasis in the upper alveolus and the other with bony metastasis to the mandible are discussed.