Psychometric Assessment of SpiDiscI: Spiritual Distress Scale for Palliative Care Patients in India.

Objectives: Spirituality has an impact on the quality of life of palliative care patients and it influences the way in which they experience their disease. Spiritual distress is a common issue among palliative care patients in India that is best assessed through a tool specifically designed for them. This study presents the findings of a psychometric assessment of SpiDiscI: a 16-item spiritual distress scale for Hindi speaking palliative care patients in India.

Developing a Screening Tool for Serious Health-related Suffering for Low- and Middle-Income Countries - Phase-1: Domain Identification and Item Generation.

Objectives: The Lancet Commission on Global Access to Palliative Care and Pain Relief reported significant levels of health-related suffering globally, with the highest incidence in the low- and middle-income countries. The report describes suffering as health-related when it is associated with illness or injury of any kind and suffering as serious when it cannot be relieved without professional intervention and when it compromises physical, social, spiritual, and/or emotional functioning. This paper describes the preliminary development phase of a tool for screening Serious Health-related Suffering (SHS) at individual patient level, suitable to the healthcare settings in India.

Targeting cancer signaling pathways by natural products: Exploring promising anti-cancer agents.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death and significantly burdens the healthcare system. Due to its prevalence, there is undoubtedly an unmet need to discover novel anticancer drugs. The use of natural products as anticancer agents is an acceptable therapeutic approach due to accessibility, applicability, and reduced cytotoxicity.

Impact of noncoding RNAs on cancer directed immune therapies: Now then and forever.

Accumulating evidence demonstrates that the host genome's epigenetic modifications are essential for living organisms to adapt to extreme conditions. DNA methylation, covalent modifications of histone and interassociation of noncoding RNAs facilitate the cellular manifestation of epigenetic changes in the genome. Out of various factors involved in the epigenetic programming of the host, noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) such as microRNA (miRNA), long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), circular RNA, snoRNA and piRNA are new generation noncoding molecules that influence a variety of cellular processes like immunity, cellular differentiation and tumor development.

Molecular signature of postmortem lung tissue from COVID-19 patients suggests distinct trajectories driving mortality.

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms that manifest lung abnormalities during severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, we performed whole-transcriptome sequencing of lung autopsies from 31 patients with severe COVID-19 and ten uninfected controls. Using metatranscriptomics, we identified the existence of two distinct molecular signatures of lethal COVID-19. The dominant 'classical' signature (n=23) showed upregulation of the unfolded protein response, steroid biosynthesis and complement activation, supported by massive metabolic reprogramming leading to characteristic lung damage.

Liquid biopsy: a step closer to transform diagnosis, prognosis and future of cancer treatments.

Over the past decade, invasive techniques for diagnosing and monitoring cancers are slowly being replaced by non-invasive methods such as liquid biopsy. Liquid biopsies have drastically revolutionized the field of clinical oncology, offering ease in tumor sampling, continuous monitoring by repeated sampling, devising personalized therapeutic regimens, and screening for therapeutic resistance. Liquid biopsies consist of isolating tumor-derived entities like circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA, tumor extracellular vesicles, etc.

Radiological evaluation of metastatic lymph nodes in carcinoma cervix with emphasis on their infiltrative pattern.

Background & Objectives: Imaging has been added to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2018 staging system of cervical carcinoma. This study was performed to assess the impact of imaging in staging and to ascertain the prevalence and pattern of nodal metastasis on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) in patients with cervical carcinoma who were treated based on FIGO 2009 staging system.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted to evaluate all patients with biopsy-proven cervical carcinoma who underwent CECT of abdomen at a tertiary cancer centre in north India from April 2017 to April 2019 and for whom either baseline or follow up scans were available.

Analysis of miR-375-3p, miR-197-3p, and miR-15a-5p Expression and Their Clinical Relevance as Biomarkers in Lung Cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important regulatory role and serve as biomarkers in various human cancers. However, their role in the prognosis and predicting response to therapy in Indian lung cancer patients is not fully explored. We collected surgically resected tumors and paired adjacent normal lung tissues from 29 early-stage and tissue biopsies from 103 locally advanced and metastatic lung cancer patients in this prospective study.

Corrigendum: A Perspective on the Success and Failure of BCG.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.

T1 mapping as a surrogate marker of chemotherapy response evaluation in patients with osteosarcoma.

Objectives: To characterize baseline T1 values of tumors, measure changes after the course of chemotherapy, and evaluate its potential as a marker of response assessment in patients with osteosarcoma.

Materials And Methods: A total of 35 patients (male:female = 27:8; age = 17.9 ± 6 years; metastatic:localized = 11:24) with biopsy-proven osteosarcoma were analyzed prospectively.

Dexmedetomidine Versus Midazolam for Sedation During Medical Thoracoscopy: A Pilot Randomized-Controlled Trial (RCT).

Background: Studies comparing the utility of dexmedetomidine with other drugs for sedation during medical thoracoscopy are lacking. In this pilot study, we compared dexmedetomidine with midazolam for sedation in thoracoscopy.

Methods: Consecutive subjects were randomized to receive either dexmedetomidine (n=30) (group D) or midazolam (n=30) (group M).

A Perspective on the Success and Failure of BCG.

TB continues to be one of the major public health threats. BCG is the only available vaccine against TB and confers significant protection against the childhood disease. However, the protective efficacy of BCG against adult pulmonary TB, which represents a larger burden of disease, is highly variable.

Effect of Meditation and Breathing Exercises on the Well-being of Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection under Institutional Isolation: A Randomized Control Trial.

Objectives: The corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected every domain of human health be it physical or mental. The uncertainty of disease progression in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to major psychological and psychiatric concerns that should not be overlooked. The interventions should be directed to the vulnerable population to help them mitigate the stress and anxiety caused by the infection and isolation.

Acute critical care course for interns to develop competence.

Background All medical graduates must know how to stabilize and manage critically ill patients. A 2-day intensive course, called the acute critical care course (ACCC), was conducted to train interns in technical and non-technical skills for managing a patient whose condition is deteriorating. This analysis aims to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of ACCC for interns.

Evaluation of the programmed death-ligand 1 mRNA expression and immunopositivity and their correlation with survival outcomes in Indian lung cancer patients.

The presence of membranous immunopositivity of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in tumors serves as a key determinant of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, there are very limited studies on the evaluation of the PD-L1 mRNA expression and immunopositivity and their correlation with therapeutic response and survival outcomes, especially in Indian lung cancer patients. In this prospective study, conducted between 2017 and 2020, we collected biopsies and surgically resected tumors from 173 lung cancer patients.

Communication skills training through 'role play' in an acute critical care course.

Background: . Effective patient-doctor communication is a key component of patient-centred care, which is one of the six pillars of quality healthcare delivery. Structured and effective communication skills training for healthcare providers is the need of hour in medical education.

Long-Term Survivors of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Tertiary Care Centre Experience.

Prognosis of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is poor and goal of treatment is mainly palliative unless there is limited metastatic disease which is surgically resectable. Here, we report a case series of long-term survivors treated predominantly with chemotherapy. This is a single-center retrospective analysis of patients of mCRC.

Need for Palliative Care in Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cross-sectional Observational Study.

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disorder causing inflammation in the joints and achieving remission is often the primary goal of physicians. We evaluated the suffering from RA and assessed the need for palliative care services in these patients.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was done in 100 adult RA cases who attended the outpatient department.

Early Referral to Palliative Care for Advanced Oral Cancer Patients: A Quality Improvement Initiative in Oncology Center at All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Objectives: Oral cancers have high epidemiologic burden in India, and most oral cancer patients at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences present in advanced stages. Their symptomatic needs are often not adequately addressed and the referrals to palliative medicine clinic are for severe pain or terminal stages. Using quality improvement methods, we aimed to provide early referral to palliative care for advanced oral cancer patients.

Development and Progress of a Collaborative Learning Model for Quality Improvement in the Field of Palliative Care in India.

Quality is central to healthcare and even more so in the field of palliative care. Palliative care approach is centered around discovering facets of care crucial to improving the quality of life of the patient; be it symptom control, emotional concerns, impact on social roles or reviving the sense of spiritual connectedness. Although there are essential and desirable standards for quality of services, the journey taken by a service, toward quality improvement (QI), is often complex and uncharted.

Patients' Awareness of Advanced Disease Status, Psychological Distress and Quality of Life Among Patients With Advanced Cancer: Results From the APPROACH Study, India.

Background: Prognostic disclosure to patients with advanced cancer facilitates treatment decisions and goals of care discussions. However, the perspectives of patients, families and physicians differ in this regard across different cultures. Non-disclosure of cancer diagnosis or prognosis is commonly observed in family-centric cultures such as India.

Celiac Plexus Block - An Old Technique with New Developments.

Background: Celiac plexus block (CPB) is an interventional technique known to be effective in the management of abdominal pain caused by pancreatic cancer.

Objective: To review the journey of CPB as an interventional analgesic technique from its inception to its current status in the field of cancer pain management.

Study Design: Descriptive review.

Trends in breast and cervical cancer in India under National Cancer Registry Programme: An Age-Period-Cohort analysis.

Background: Trend analysis in cancer quantifies the incidence rate and explains the trend and pattern. Breast and cervical cancers are the two most common cancers among Indian women which contributed 39.4 % to the total cancer in India for the year 2020.