Evaluation of chemotherapy-induced toxicity and health-related quality of life amongst early-stage breast cancer patients receiving Chinese herbal medicine in Malaysia.

Purpose: This observational study aimed to compare the outcome and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) amongst breast cancer patients using Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) and those not using CHM during chemotherapy.

Methods: A prospective, non-randomised longitudinal study was conducted in two government integrated hospitals over an 8-month period. Early-stage breast cancer patients who were (1) either already using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) or not and (2) who were on a regime of 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide were included in the study.

Dose planning study of target volume coverage with intensity- modulated radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Penang General Hospital experience.

Background: To compare the dosimetric coverage of target volumes and organs at risk in the radical treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) between intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and three- dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT).

Materials And Methods: Data from 10 consecutive patients treated with IMRT from June-October 2011 in Penang General Hospital were collected retrospectively for analysis. For each patient, dose volume histograms were generated for both the IMRT and 3DCRT plans using a total dose of 70Gy.

Paronychia induced by the epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor cetuximab.

While the development of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors has been hailed as a remarkable triumph in the field of oncology, it has inherited with it a host of cutaneous side-effects that have been increasingly observed in a substantial number of patients in the recent years. One cutaneous manifestation that may inflict significant pain and affect activities of daily living among some of the patients receiving epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors is paronychia. A case of paronychia associated with the use of cetuximab in the management of KRAS wild-type midrectal adenocarcinoma along with its management has been described.

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Penang General Hospital experience.

Purpose: To study the overall treatment time (OTT) and acute toxicity of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: This retrospective study covered all NPC patients who underwent radical IMRT treatment at the Penang General Hospital from June 2011 to February 2012. Patients of any age and stage of disease with histologically proven diagnosis were included.

Neck node bolus technique in the treatment of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma with Intensity-modulated radiotherapy.

Purpose: To study the effect of bolus versus no bolus in the coverage of the nodal tumour volume with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods And Materials: This retrospective study used data from 5 consecutive patients with NPC who were treated with bolus for large neck nodes using IMRT from November 2011-January 2012 in our institute. All these patients were treated radically with IMRT according to our institution's protocol.