Four-Month High-Dose Rifampicin Regimens for Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: Shorter but effective tuberculosis treatment regimens would be of value to the tuberculosis treatment community. High-dose rifampicin has been associated with more rapid and secure lung sterilization and may enable shorter tuberculosis treatment regimens. METHODS: We randomly assigned adults who were given a diagnosis of rifampicin-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis to a 6-month control regimen, a similar 4-month regimen of rifampicin at 1200 mg/d (study regimen 1 [SR1]), or a 4-month regimen of rifampicin at 1800 mg/d (study regimen 2 [SR2]).

Prevalence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline variants in an unselected pancreatic cancer patient cohort in Pakistan.

Background: BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) are the most frequently investigated genes among Caucasian pancreatic cancer patients, whereas limited reports are available among Asians. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of BRCA1/2 germline variants in Pakistani pancreatic cancer patients.

Methods: One hundred and fifty unselected and prospectively enrolled pancreatic cancer patients were comprehensively screened for BRCA1/2 germline variants using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography and high-resolution melting analyses, followed by DNA sequencing of the variant fragments.

A Scoping Review Of The Literature Of Research Ethics Committees And Ethics Review Framework In Pakistan: What We Know And What We Still Need To Learn.

Objective: To map literature on research ethics committees, institutional review boards and ethics review framework in Pakistan to identify key insights during public health emergencies and normal times.

Method: The systematic scoping review was conducted in April 2022, and comprised literature search on PubMed, World Health Organisation Global Index Medicus and Summons databases for articles published between January 2005 and February 2022. Information extracted included authors' names, year of publication, title, study methodology, and key insights under the heads of challenges and solutions.

PD-L1 is Fascinating but IDO Needs Attention in Non-HCV and Non-HBV-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients.

Background/aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common forms of liver cancer that is modulated by the immune system. Programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) has emerged as a novel therapeutic target in various cancers. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is an immunosuppressive enzyme that is associated with poor prognoses in various cancer types.

Contribution of germline PALB2 variants to an unselected and prospectively registered pancreatic cancer patient cohort in Pakistan.

Background: Partner and localizer of BRCA2 (PALB2) is a pancreatic cancer (PC) susceptibility gene reported in Caucasians. However, limited data are available among Asians. We investigated the contribution of PALB2 germline variants to Pakistani PC patients.

Forkhead box P3 and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase co-expression in Pakistani triple negative breast cancer patients.

Background: Forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) is a specific marker for immunosuppressive regulatory T (T-reg) cells. T-regs and an immunosuppressive enzyme, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), are associated with advanced disease in cancer.

Aim: To evaluate the co-expression of FOXP3 and IDO in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) with respect to hormone-positive breast cancer patients from Pakistan.

A Novel Digital Score for Abundance of Tumour Infiltrating Lymphocytes Predicts Disease Free Survival in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common type of head and neck (H&N) cancers with an increasing worldwide incidence and a worsening prognosis. The abundance of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) has been shown to be a key prognostic indicator in a range of cancers with emerging evidence of its role in OSCC progression and treatment response. However, the current methods of TIL analysis are subjective and open to variability in interpretation.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase expression and overall survival in patients diagnosed with breast cancer in Pakistan.

Background: Immune dysfunction in breast cancer patients is well established. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is an immunosuppressive enzyme that is linked with progression of cancer. IDO is overexpressed in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cases.

Intramuscular Diclofenac Vs Periprostatic Lidocaine Injection For Controlling Pain Undergoing Transrectal Ultrasound Guided Prostatic Biopsy.

Background: Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) technique for getting prostatic tissue for histopathology is now the standard procedure for malignant lesions of the prostate and imperative diagnostic investigation of patients with clinical specks of prostatic neoplasia. During TRUS guided biopsy, pain control has been important issue therefore, highly potent analgesia before this procedure should be considered on high priority according to current census. Therefore, we compared intramuscular diclofenac injection with sensory blockade of injection lidocaine to abolish pain undergoing prostatic biopsy with TRUS technique.

Comparison Of Bipolar And Monopolar Cautry Use In Turp For Treatment Of Enlarged Prostate.

Background: In recent years, bipolar Transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) has been increasingly being used by urologist instead of conventional monopolar TURP for the treatment of enlarge prostate. Bipolar TURP is considered to be more efficacious and has better clinical outcome in comparison with monopolar TURP. We compared both procedures to assess their clinical out-comes and efficacy by comparing their different parameters.