Patterns of care for vulvar cancer and insights from revised FIGO staging: a retrospective study.

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics and patterns of care among women diagnosed with vulvar malignancy at a tertiary care teaching institute. Additionally, the study aimed to analyse the implications of revised FIGO staging system on stage shift and patient outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted, wherein hospital records of biopsy-proven cases of vulvar cancers managed over a period of 10 years were comprehensively reviewed.

Indian Brachytherapy Society consensus recommendations for brachytherapy in breast cancer.

Purpose: This consensus statement of Indian Brachytherapy Society (IBS) aims to generate practical and reproducible guidelines allowing for direct implementation in the Indian scenario.

Material And Methods: IBS board of directors appointed a panel of physicians with expertise in breast cancer and, in particular, breast brachytherapy, to develop a consensus statement. First, a literature review on breast brachytherapy was conducted, focusing on randomized trials, prospective studies, and multi-institutional series.

Low-dose-rate, high-dose-rate, and pulsed-dose-rate intra-cavitary brachytherapy for cervical cancer: The very first comparison study.

Purpose: For cervical cancer patients, intra-cavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) is utilized with various dose-rate systems, such as low-dose-rate (LDR), high-dose-rate (HDR), and pulsed-dose-rate (PDR). This retrospective analysis aimed to compare the therapeutic outcomes of cervical cancer patients treated with either LDR-, HDR-, or PDR-ICBT.

Material And Methods: A total of 613 patients were treated with pelvic external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), followed by either LDR- (271 patients), HDR- (259 patients), or PDR- (83 patients) ICBT.

Clinical and toxicity outcomes with 3D based-HDR surface mold brachytherapy in skin cancer.

Introduction: Surface mold brachytherapy (SMBT) is an established treatment modality in skin cancer, especially in accessible areas, and has shown comparable outcomes to surgery. We have presented our results for the skin tumor treatment with SMBT treated with high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy in terms of clinical outcomes and toxicity at our institute.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective analysis, 15 patients with skin cancer were treated with customized tube-based SMBT at our institute between January 2019 and July 2021.

The modern landscape of radiotherapy in thyroid malignancies.

Thyroid carcinoma is the most common malignancy of the endocrine system and accounts for nearly 1.5% of all new cancer cases in India. The incidence of thyroid cancers is on the rise secondary to multiple factors including the widespread use of radiological imaging.

Evaluation of doses to pelvic lymph node regions from image-guided high-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy for carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

Purpose: Interstitial brachytherapy (ISBT) is indicated for intact cervical carcinoma (IN-CC) if intracavitary brachytherapy (ICRT) is not feasible and also in vault carcinoma (VA-C). We aimed to evaluate the doses to pelvic lymph node regions in IN-CC and VA-C treated with ISBT.

Material And Methods: Ten patients (6 IN-CC, 4 VA-C) were chosen for this dosimetric study.

Brachytherapy training in India: Results from the GEC-ESTRO-India survey.

Introduction: Brachytherapy (BT) is integral in treatment of gynecological malignancies and is also an option for many other cancers. Data on training and proficiency levels of early career oncologists is limited. Like other continents a survey was conducted for early career oncologists in India.

Factors affecting the incorporation of extracorporeally irradiated autograft for the treatment of bone tumours-a retrospective analysis from a tertiary referral centre.

Purpose: Re-implantation of the tumor bearing autograft following extracorporeal radiation therapy (ECRT) has been established as an oncologically safe biological reconstruction technique following resection of bone sarcomas. However, factors affecting the ECRT graft-host bone incorporation have not been fully investigated. An insight into the factors that influence graft incorporation can circumvent the complications and increase graft survival.

Determinants and impact of diagnostic interval in bone sarcomas: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Diagnostic delays in cancers are frequent in developing countries due to poor health infrastructure. Existing literature from developed countries suggests that diagnostic interval in bone sarcomas is primarily dictated by tumour biology with no impact on survival. This study evaluates the social and biological determinants of the diagnostic interval in bone sarcomas in a resource-challenged setting and assesses its impact on treatment outcomes.

Oligometastatic breast cancer: An institutional analysis.

Introduction: Oligometastatic represents a distinctive subset of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Incidence has been reported, in 1-5% of all newly diagnosed MBC. Literature is very sparse, especially from India.

Moment of truth-adding carboplatin to neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative breast cancer improves overall survival: An individual participant data and trial-level Meta-analysis.

Importance: Carboplatin increases the pathological complete remission (pCR) rate in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) when added to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, however, evidence on its effect on survival outcomes is controversial.

Methods: The study was prospectively registered at PROSPERO (CRD42021228386). We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Clinical Trials, and conference proceedings from January 1, 2004 to January 30, 2022 for relevant randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy in TNBC patients, with carboplatin in the intervention arm and standard anthracycline taxane (AT) in the control arm.

Development and validation of a prognostic score at baseline diagnosis for Ewing sarcoma family of tumors: a retrospective single institution analysis of 860 patients.

Introduction: Prognostic scores in Ewing sarcoma including baseline clinical and laboratory characteristics are necessary for pre-treatment risk stratification. In this study, we formulated and validated a prognostic model for baseline risk categorization in Ewing sarcoma.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective single-institutional study was conducted on Ewing sarcoma patients treated uniformly between January 2003 and December 2018.

Cancer of the cervix uteri: 2021 update.

Since the publication of the 2018 FIGO Cancer Report, giant strides have been made in the global effort to reduce the burden of cervical cancer, with the World Health Organization (WHO) rolling out a global strategy for cervical cancer elimination, aiming for implementation by 2030. In over 130 countries, including low- and middle-income countries, HPV vaccination is now included in the national program. Screening has seen major advances with wider implementation of HPV testing.

Adjuvant treatment in cervical, vaginal and vulvar cancer.

Primary surgical management is successful as the sole therapeutic modality in the majority of women with early-stage cervical, vaginal and vulvar cancer, but the presence of certain risk factors in the surgico-pathological specimen indicates a poorer prognosis. Adjuvant treatment can improve overall survival in such cases. Important risk factors in cervical cancer include intermediate-risk factors (large tumor size, deep cervical stromal invasion, lymph-vascular space invasion) and high-risk factors (positive or close margins, lymph nodes, or parametrial involvement).

Dual partial arc volumetric-modulated arc therapy: The game changer for accelerated hypofractionated whole-breast radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated tumor cavity boost in early breast cancer - A comparative dosimetric study with single partial arc volumetric-modulated arc therapy.

Introduction: In a previous study, we demonstrated clinical and dosimetric feasibility of single partial arc volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for accelerated hypofractionated whole breast radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) to lumpectomy cavity for early breast cancer. In this dosimetric study, we compared dual partial arcs versus single arc.

Patients And Methods: Fifteen consecutive patients for treatment with hypofractionated accelerated radiotherapy with SIB using VMAT were planned with single partial arc in an earlier study, initial result of which is published elsewhere.