Indian clinical practice consensus guidelines for the management of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck.

Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are malignant tumors of the upper aerodigestive tract and are the sixth most common cancer worldwide. In India, around 30-40% of all cancers are HNCs. Even though there are global guidelines or recommendations for the management of HNCs, these may not be appropriate for Indian scenarios.

ALK1 Gene Rearranged Pulmonary Sarcomatoid Carcinoma Masquerading as Tuberculosis in a Young Male.

Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma is rare, with limited treatment options and poor prognosis. In contrast to other non small cell lung carcinomas, not much is known about its molecular biology. In an endemic country like India, lung cancer is often masked by tuberculosis and presents in advanced stages.

Nimotuzumab-cisplatin-radiation versus cisplatin-radiation in HPV negative oropharyngeal cancer.

Background: Addition of nimotuzumab to weekly cisplatin and radiation improves outcomes in head and neck cancer. HPV negative oropharyngeal cancer has unsatisfactory treatment outcomes and is a candidate for escalation of treatment. We wanted to determine whether the addition of nimotuzumab to cisplatin-radiation could improve outcomes in these poor-risk tumors.

Salvage surgery in head and neck cancer: Does it improve outcomes?

Background: Studies reporting outcomes of salvage surgery in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LAHNSCC) have inherent biases like biological and temporal selection. Our study considered all patients deemed fit for salvage surgery and compared to those who underwent surgery versus those who refused it thus throwing light on the real world benefit of salvage surgery.

Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of a phase 3 randomized trial conducted between 2012 and 2018.

Pan-Asian adapted ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management of patients with locally-advanced unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer: a KSMO-ESMO initiative endorsed by CSCO, ISMPO, JSMO, MOS, SSO and TOS.

The most recent version of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of early and locally-advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was published in 2017, and covered the diagnosis, staging, management and treatment of both early stage I and II disease and locally-advanced stage III disease. At the ESMO Asia Meeting in November 2018, it was decided by both the ESMO and the Korean Society of Medical Oncology (KSMO) to convene a special face-to-face guidelines meeting in 2019 in Seoul. The aim was to adapt the ESMO 2017 guidelines to take into account potential differences related to ethnicity, cancer biology and standard practices associated with the treatment of locally-advanced, unresectable NSCLC in Asian patients.

Aprepitant for Cough Suppression in Advanced Lung Cancer: A Randomized Trial.

Background: Although cough is a common and distressing symptom in patients with lung cancer, there is almost no evidence to guide treatment. Aprepitant, a centrally acting neurokinin-1 inhibitor, significantly decreased cough frequency in a pilot study.

Methods: Patients with advanced lung cancer and cough lasting over 2 weeks despite a cough suppressant were randomized 1:1 to aprepitant 125 mg orally on day 1 and then 80 mg orally on days 2 to 7 with physician's choice of antitussive; or to physician's choice of antitussive alone.

Third-line therapy in the epidermal growth factor receptor mutation-positive advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer.

Introduction: The treatment of lung cancer is not defined in the third-line setting and remains an unanswered question. Erlotinib is the only drug approved in the third-line setting. With the introduction of effective first- and second-line therapies, more and more patients warrant an effective third-line therapy.

A tertiary care audit of using abiraterone acetate in patients of metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

Introduction: This is a retrospective analysis to assess the safety and efficacy of abiraterone acetate (AA) in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients treated at tertiary care institute.

Materials And Methods: The clinical records of mCRPC patients treated with AA at our tertiary care institute between July 2013 and December 2015 were reviewed. The treatment efficacy, toxicities, and its determinants were analyzed.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy for medically inoperable early-stage lung cancer: Tata Memorial Hospital perspective and practice recommendations.

Background: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is now considered the standard treatment for medically inoperable early-stage non-small lung cell cancer (ES-NSCLC).

Purpose: There is a paucity of data related to outcomes with SBRT in ES-NSCLC from the developing countries. We report the early outcomes of ES-NSCLC patients treated with SBRT at our institute.

Palliative chemotherapy in head and neck cancer: balancing between beneficial and adverse effects.

: Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer in the world. Almost 2/3rds of patients have recurrent or metastatic (R/M) HNSCC. Treatment options for R/M HNSCC have evolved, with relatively little change in survival.

Randomized phase 3 open label study of quality of life of patients on Pemetrexed versus Erlotinib as maintenance therapy for advanced non squamous non EGFR mutated non small cell lung cancer.

We planned to compare pemetrexed maintenance with erlotinib maintenance in non squamous non Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) mutated non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The null hypothesis for this study was that there would be no difference in quality of life (QOL) between pemetrexed and erlotinib maintenance. The QL2 scores at 3 months were 63.

Therapeutic efficacy, prognostic variables and clinical outcome of Lu-PSMA-617 PRLT in progressive mCRPC following multiple lines of treatment: prognostic implications of high FDG uptake on dual tracer PET-CT vis-à-vis Gleason score in such cohort.

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic response, progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and clinical toxicity of Lu-PSMA-617 PSMA targeted radioligand therapy (PRLT) in the setting of heavily pre-treated metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCPRC) patients and also examine the association of prognostic variables with therapeutic outcome in such patient cohort.

Methods: We examined the medical records of mCRPC patients who had undergone Lu-PSMA-617 PRLT from March 2017 to February 2019 in our institute. Patients receiving equal to or more than two cycles were included and analyzed in this retroprospective study.

Phase I/II Study of Palliative Triple Metronomic Chemotherapy in Platinum-Refractory/Early-Failure Oral Cancer.

Purpose: Platinum-resistant oral cancer has a dismal outcome with limited treatment options. We conducted a phase I/II study to identify the optimal biologic dose (OBD) of methotrexate when given along with erlotinib and celecoxib and to assess the efficacy of this three-drug regimen in advanced oral cancer.

Methods: Patients with platinum-resistant or early-failure squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity were eligible for this study.

Palliative chemotherapy in carcinoma nasopharynx.

Introduction: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a rare malignancy. We conducted an audit of systemic therapies received in palliative setting in carcinoma nasopharynx and studied their outcomes.

Methods: Patients who underwent first-line palliative systemic chemotherapy between January 2014 and April 2017 for carcinoma nasopharynx at the department of medical oncology at authors' institute were selected for this analysis.

Gefitinib Versus Gefitinib Plus Pemetrexed and Carboplatin Chemotherapy in -Mutated Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Standard first-line therapy for -mutant advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-directed oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Adding pemetrexed and carboplatin chemotherapy to an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor may improve outcomes.

Patients And Methods: This was a phase III randomized trial in patients with advanced NSCLC harboring an -sensitizing mutation and a performance status of 0 to 2 who were planned to receive first-line palliative therapy.