Sociodemographic Parameters of Esophageal Cancer in Northwest India: A Regional Cancer Center Experience of 10 Years.

Background: Despite various advances in the treatment of Esophageal Cancer (EC), being one of the least responsive tumors to cancer therapy, the overall prognosis remains poor. Therefore, it is significant to understand various sociodemographic factors associated with EC to find out various schemes for primary prevention of the disease.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of medical records of the EC patients registered in the regional cancer center of northwest India from January 2003 to December 2012.

Isolated clival metastasis as the cause of abducens nerve palsy in a patient of breast carcinoma: A rare case report.

Metastatic lesions to the clivus have been reported in various cancers including lung cancer, prostate carcinoma, skin melanoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma. There have been only a few reports of breast cancer presenting with isolated clival metastasis. We report a case of 35-year-old lady, who was known case of breast carcinoma presented with diplopia as the only sign of clival metastasis.

Analysis of patterns of palliative radiotherapy in north west India: a regional cancer center experience.

Background: Palliative radiotherapy (PRT) is the eventual requirement in 30-50% of all cancer patients. PRT is primarily aimed to relieve pain and prevent/treat collapse or fracture in case of bone metastasis, to reduce edema in patients with cranial metastasis, and to control distressing symptoms of rapid primary growth. An audit of PRT planned in a busy cancer center can help in the characterization of the requirements of the patients and the formulation of institutional policies.

Cancer related fatigue: A ubiquitous problem yet so under reported, under recognized and under treated.

Background: Cancer related fatigue (CRF) is a problem that is highly under reported, under recognized and thus, under treated. About 80% of patients receiving chemotherapy/radiotherapy experience CRF, making it the most common side effect of cancer treatment. Functional assessment of chronic illness therapy fatigue (FACIT-F) version-4 is a 13 item questionnaire that has been used to measure the level of fatigue of cancer patients during their daily activities over the past 7 days.

Addition of magnetic resonance imaging to computed tomography-based three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy planning for postoperative treatment of astrocytomas: Changes in tumor volume and isocenter shift.

Introduction: Postoperative radiotherapy is the current gold standard treatment in astrocytomas. Computed tomography (CT)-based radiotherapy planning leads to either missing of the tumor volume or underdosing. The aim of this prospective study was to study the changes in tumor volume on addition of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to CT-based three-dimensional radiotherapy treatment planning of astrocytomas.

Malignant mesenchymal tumor of male breast: primary chondrosarcoma.

Breast Sarcomas have relatively been rare and accounted for 1% of all primary malignant tumors of the breast. Pure and primary chondrosarcoma of the male breast would be an extremely rare tumor. It might arise either from the breast stroma itself, or from underlying bone or cartilage.

Comparison of single versus multiple fractions for palliative treatment of painful bone metastasis: first study from north west India.

Background: Bone metastasis is a usual cause of pain in advanced cancer. Conventional radiation schedules require larger hospital stay and thus are not suitable for patients with poor general condition. This prospective observational study aims to compare the pain-relieving efficacy of different radiation fractionation schedules, i.

Comparative analysis of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in head and neck cancer and carcinoma cervix during concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Background: Cisplatin is widely used as radio sensitizer in head and neck cancer (HNC) and carcinoma cervix (CaCx). This study aims to see comparative nephrotoxicity of cisplatin in HNC and in CaCx without obstructive uropathy treated by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT).

Materials And Methods: Fifty patients of HNC and 50 patients of CaCx stage II/III without obstructive uropathy were included in this study.

Double primary malignancies: a clinical & pathological analysis report from a regional cancer institute in India.

Background: Patients which have diagnosed with a cancer, have a life time risk for developing another de novo malignancy depending on various inherited, environmental and iatrogenic risk factors. Cancer victims could survive longer due to settling treatment modalities, and then would likely develop a new metachronous malignancy.This article aims to report our observed trend of increasing, in prevalence of both synchronous and metachronous second primary malignancy, among the cancer victims, and to review the relevant literature.

Diagnosis of post-radiotherapy local failures in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a prospective institutional study.

Background: This prospective study was conducted to evaluate and compare the efficacies of nasopharyngoscopy and CT scan in the diagnosis of local failure of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Methods: Total 52 patients of histopathologically proven nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), were included in this study. For every patient computed tomography (CT), nasopharyngoscopy and nasopharyngeal biopsies were performed 3 months after completion of EBRT.

Analysis of sociodemographic parameters of patients admitted in a newly established palliative care center in a regional cancer institute of north-west India.

Background: After 4 months of the establishment of palliative care center (PCC) in our institute, we present an audit of the sociodemographic parameters of admitted patients. Such an audit can help to recognize the lacuna in the management and thus help to identify the specific requirements of cancer patients that might be overlooked in a busy cancer center.

Materials And Methods: A total of 234 patients were admitted in our PCC since its inception in October 2013.

A case of CD68 negative histiocytic sarcoma of axilla masquerading as metastatic breast cancer.

Histiocytic sarcoma is a malignant proliferation of cells showing morphological and immunophenotypic features of mature tissue histiocytes. Most of the cases in the literature have reported CD68 positivity. We report a case of histiocytic sarcoma whose presentation mimicked a metastatic breast cancer.

Scattered radiation to gonads: role of testicular shielding for para-aortic and homolateral illiac nodal radiotherapy.

Background: Scattered radiation to organs at risk deserves great attention during radiotherapy especially when the concern is about fertility. Minimizing the delivery of scattered radiation to the gonads while treating abdominal nodes or pelvic fields in male patients requires adequate shielding of the testes to preserve testicular functions. We constructed a testicular shield with cerrobend for the purpose of treatment of seminoma of testis stage I and IIA disease.

Delivery of affordable and equitable cancer care in India.

The delivery of affordable and equitable cancer care is one of India's greatest public health challenges. Public expenditure on cancer in India remains below US$10 per person (compared with more than US$100 per person in high-income countries), and overall public expenditure on health care is still only slightly above 1% of gross domestic product. Out-of-pocket payments, which account for more than three-quarters of cancer expenditures in India, are one of the greatest threats to patients and families, and a cancer diagnosis is increasingly responsible for catastrophic expenditures that negatively affect not only the patient but also the welfare and education of several generations of their family.

The growing burden of cancer in India: epidemiology and social context.

Cancer can have profound social and economic consequences for people in India, often leading to family impoverishment and societal inequity. Reported age-adjusted incidence rates for cancer are still quite low in the demographically young country. Slightly more than 1 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed every year in a population of 1.

Five year retrospective survival analysis of triple negative breast cancer in North-West India.

Background: In our institute, about 10% of total cancer is female breast cancer. This analysis was performed to check triple negativity among these patients with their survival strength up to 5 years in relation to different age groups, stage and chemotherapy protocols.

Materials And Methods: 208 immunohistochemistry proved triple negative breast cancer patients registered and treated until 2008 were retrospectively selected for the study.

Evaluation of the response of concurrent high dose rate intracavitary brachytherapy with external beam radiotherapy in management of early stage carcinoma cervix.

Objectives: To evaluate local disease control and early complications of concomitant brachytherapy with external beam-radiotherapy in early stage carcinoma cervix.

Methods: Fifty patients of early stage carcinoma cervix (FIGO-IB/IIA) were randomly divided into study group concomitant external beam irradiation (EBRT) and HDR-ICBT (intra-cavitary brachytherapy, xrt = 50 Gy/25 Fr, HDR 5.2 Gy*5 Fr) and the control group EBRT followed by HDR-ICBT (xrt = 50 Gy/25 Fr, HDR 7.

Palliative Hypo-fractionated Radiotherapy in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer with Fixed Neck Nodes.

Background: The locally advanced head and neck cancer with fixed nodes are incurable and has a short survival. This study aims to evaluate the symptom relief, disease response and acute toxicity after palliative hypo-fractionated radiotherapy.

Methods: Between December 2010 to June 2011, previously untreated 50 patients who had histopathologically proved of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with fixed node of stage IV, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 2-3 were offered palliative radiotherapy (20 Gy/5Fr/5 Days).

A study of serum zinc, selenium and copper levels in carcinoma of esophagus patients.

The association of serum trace elements like selenium, zinc and copper has been found in different types of cancer. This study was conducted to see the serum level of these three trace elements in cancer esophagus patients. Biopsy confirmed cancer esophagus, 24 patients (12 males, 12 females, mean age 54.