Linguistic Validation of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual-Well-being-Expanded Version 4 Tool into Malayalam Language and its Feasibility in Advanced Cancer Patients Receiving Palliative Care.

Objective: The objective of this study was to validate the 'Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual-Well-being-Expanded(FACIT-SpEx) Version 4' tool in Malayalam and assess its feasibility among advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care.

Materials And Methods: The study was carried out at the outpatient Department of Cancer Palliative Medicine of Malabar Cancer Centre between November 2022 and June 2023. Initially, the FACIT-Sp-Ex version 4 tool with 23 items was translated into the Malayalam language with a forward-backward translation procedure.

Prognostic Heterogeneity Between Oral Tongue and Gingivobuccal Tumours Based on Lymph Node Ratio and Number of Positive Nodes: A Survival Analysis.

Introduction: Lymph node ratio (LNR) and number of pathological positive nodes (pN) have shown better prognostic prediction compared to laterality, size and number of nodes (single or multiple). This study evaluates the prognostic significance of LNR and the number of  pathological positive nodes in predicting the outcomes of node positive oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC). It attempts to assess the prognostic heterogeneity between oral tongue and gingivobuccal complex tumours based on the lymph node ratio and the number of pathological positive nodes.

Factors associated with survival and lost to follow-up of cervical cancer patients in a tertiary cancer centre in rural Kerala.

Cancer cervix is the second common cause of cancer death in India. It is the most curable form of any human cancer if detected at the precancerous stage. Although several factors determine the survival of the disease, the clinical stage at presentation is the single most important predictor of long-term survival.

Microglioma in a child - a further case in support of the microglioma entity and distinction from histiocytic sarcoma.

Microglia are not generally known to cause brain tumors but one bona fide case of adult microglioma has been published [9]. This tumor was highly malignant. We now report on a second, juvenile case, which showed a less aggressive course.

Patterns of care in geriatric cancer patients - An audit from a rural based hospital cancer registry in Kerala.

Background: There is deficit of data from India on elderly patients with cancer. Comprehensive geriatric assessment may lead to a better decision making capacity in this population. However, routine implementation of such assessment is resource consuming.

Metastatic lobular carcinoma of breast mimics primary cervix carcinoma: two case reports and a review of the literature.

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast exhibits unusual clinicopathological, radiological, histological, and metastatic patterns. We present here two cases of ILC of the breast that presented with an unusual pattern of metastasis involving the uterus. Our first patient presented to her primary gynaecologist with profuse vaginal bleeding and underwent total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophrectomy.

Early effect of surgery on quality of life in women with operable breast cancer.

Background: Quality of life (QOL) after a diagnosis of breast cancer varies considerably across individuals. The treatment modality of the patients significantly contributes to their QOL. The present study reports the initial findings on the early effects of surgery in patients with breast cancer.

Quality of life determinants in women with breast cancer undergoing treatment with curative intent.

Background: The diagnosis of breast cancer and its subsequent treatment has significant impact on the woman's physical functioning, mental health and her well-being, and thereby causes substantial disruption to quality of life (QOL). Factors like patient education, spousal support and employment status, financial stability etc., have been found to influence QOL in the breast cancer patient.

Disseminated Langerhans cell histocytosis in children: treatment outcome.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis is an interesting disorder with a variety of presentations and variable outcomes. This study evaluates response to treatment, recurrence, and survival in disseminated Langerhans cell histiocytosis treated at Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum, India from 1983 through 1994. Thirty-five patients with disseminated Langerhans cell histiocytosis were seen.

Pattern and outcome of neuroblastoma. A 10 year study.

Objective: To determine the clinical pattern and outcome of children with neuroblastoma.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Setting: Hospital based information from the case sheets.

Mutagen sensitivity as a predisposing factor in familial oral cancer.

Pedigree analysis of the oral cancer (OC) patients registered at our Centre had disclosed familial aggregation of oral cancer which hitherto has not been largely reported. There is a paucity of information on the genetic determinism for familial oral cancer predisposition. Therefore, we investigated constitutional chromosome abnormalities and bleomycin-induced chromosome sensitivity of 7 familial and 10 sporadic oral cancer patients and 14 unaffected family members (first-degree relatives) to determine whether these factors could give any clues regarding cancer-predisposing factors.

Chemotherapy in Hodgkin's disease.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of primary chemotherapy in patients with clinically staged Hodgkin's disease.

Design: Non randomized study.

Setting: Pediatric Oncology Division of Regional Cancer Center.