Menopausal Acne - Challenges And Solutions.

Although acne is a disease predominant in adolescence, it is being increasingly observed in adult life, including the menopausal period. The etiology of menopausal acne is multifactorial, with hormonal imbalance being the major culprit. There is a relative increase of androgens in the menopausal female that leads to clinical hyperandrogenism manifesting as acne, hirsutism and androgenetic alopecia. Other endocrine disorders including thyroid abnormalities, hyperprolactinemia and insulin resistance also play a role. Genetics, stress, dietary changes, lack of sleep and exercise and other lifestyle changes are implicated as trigger factors. Most menopausal women with isolated few acne lesions have normoandrogenic serum levels and do not require extensive investigations. However, baseline investigations including total testosterone are useful. Patients must also be evaluated for associated comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia. A detailed history can help to exclude polycystic ovarian syndrome, late-onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia or medications as a cause of acne. The evaluation of menopausal acne and the approach to treatment depend on the severity of acne and associated features. In patients with mild acne without virilization, prolonged topical therapy is the mainstay of treatment. Though combined oral contraceptives are effective, they are relatively contraindicated in the postmenopausal period. Spironolactone is the first choice of therapy in the subset of patients that require oral anti-androgen therapy. Procedural treatment can be useful as it can also help in the treatment of associated acne scars and concomitant skin aging. It is also important to focus on lifestyle changes such as reducing stress, controlling obesity, having a healthy diet, exercise and proper skin care routine to reduce acne. The focus of this article is on the clinical presentation and management challenges of menopausal acne, which represents a special subtype of acne.

Adjuvant Radiation Therapy and Temozolomide in Gliosarcoma: Is It Enough? Case Series of Seven Patients.

OBJECTIVE: We present our experience of gliosarcoma (GSM) in oncology tertiary care center over the last 5 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We carried out a retrospective analysis of seven patients with GSM diagnosed between April 2008 and December 2012. Demographic data, clinicopathological data, treatment strategies employed, details of recurrence, and survival patterns were reviewed. RESULTS: The median age at diagnosis was 54 years, ranging between 34 and 63 years with a female predominance (57.1% females). Headache and neurological deficit were the most common symptoms with parietal region being the most common site of lesion. Subtotal resection followed by concurrent chemoradiation therapy was delivered to six patients. The results following completion of planned schedule of concurrent chemoradiotherapy were quite disappointing with two patients having no evidence of disease, one patient was lost to follow-up, and other three had progressive disease. One patient with progressive disease subsequently received eight cycles of bevacizumab on a clinical trial protocol. Fifteen-month posttreatment, she had stable disease on follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience suggests that despite treatment, the diagnosis of GSM portends a poor prognosis and the use of bevacizumab could represent a treatment approach to improve outcome in these patients. Although the role of targeted therapy in GSM remains unclear because of paucity of experience, the treatment decision should be according to patient's performance status, ability, and willingness to receive additional treatment.

Simultaneous integrated boost by Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (SIB-IMRT) in patients undergoing breast conserving surgery - A clinical and dosimetric perspective.

AIM: To study feasibility of simultaneous integrated boost by intensity modulated radiotherapy (SIB-IMRT) in patients undergoing breast conserving surgery and its impact on cosmesis and dosimetry. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 2014 and June 2017, all breast cancer patients fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled in a prospective study conducted at a tertiary cancer centre in North India. All patients received adjuvant radiotherapy by simultaneous integrated boost technique following breast conserving surgery. Clinical information including patient and pathological characteristics, observed acute and chronic toxicities along with cosmesis using Harvard score were recorded and analysed. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed for those variables which were found to be significant (p < 0.050) to study the influence of clinicopathological and dosimetric factors on toxicity and cosmetic outcome. RESULTS: Maximum acute skin toxicity during treatment was Grade 0-1 in 68.2% and Grade 2-3 in 31.8% of cases, respectively. Fibrosis was the commonest late toxicity with ≥Grade II fibrosis being noted in 16.3% of cases. Assessment of global cosmesis at 12 months follow-up showed good/excellent cosmesis in 88.4% of cases. Mean age, tumor size and homogeneity index (HI) were the significant factors associated with fair or poor cosmetic outcome and ≥Grade 2 fibrosis on multivariate analysis. Telengectasia and breast edema were more frequent in patients with larger tumor size/GTV volume. There were 5 recurrences including 1 ipsilateral local breast tumor recurrence. CONCLUSION: SIB-IMRT is a dosimetrically feasible option in patients undergoing breast conserving surgery and provides good/excellent cosmetic outcome.

Primary Cutaneous Amyloidosis: A Clinical, Histopathological and Immunofluorescence Study.

INTRODUCTION: Primary Localized Cutaneous Amyloidosis (PLCA) is a relatively rare chronic condition characterized by amyloid deposition in dermis without associated deposits in internal organs. Histopathology of cutaneous amyloidosis using Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stain shows eosinophilic hyaline material in papillary dermis, which can be further confirmed by Congo Red (CR) staining or Direct Immunofluorescence (DIF) Test or immunohistochemistry. AIM: To assess the concordance between the clinical, histo pathological and DIF findings in various subtypes of (PLCA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data was collected from patients attending the Outpatient Department (OPD) at a tertiary care centre in Karnataka, India, over a period of one and half years. A total of 50 patients with clinical features suggestive of cutaneous amyloidosis were subjected to histopathological examination with H&E, CR stain and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Among 50 clinically suspected patients, the most common subtype was macular amyloidosis (70%) and lichen amyloidosis seen only in 16%. A biphasic pattern comprising of both macular and lichen amyloidosis was seen in 14% cases. Extensor aspect of the arm was the most frequently (76%) involved area. All the cases had multiple site involvement. Immunofluorescence positivity was 88% as compared to 86% on histopathology using CR stain. Amyloid deposits were detected in 80% of clinically diagnosed macular amyloidosis cases by histopathology using CR stain and in 85.7% by DIF, whereas in 5.7% cases, it was not detectable by both CR stain and DIF. Both immunofluorescence and CR staining were able to detect amyloid in all the cases of lichen amyloidosis. In biphasic amyloidosis, amyloid was detected in 100% cases on histopathology versus 85.7% cases on immunofluorescence. CONCLUSION: CR stain and DIF are complimentary to each other for detection of macular amyloidosis. In case of lichen and biphasic amyloidosis, both CR and DIF are comparable modalities.

Diagnostic Performance of Serum Human Epididymis Protein 4 in Endometrial Carcinoma: A Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION: Endometrial Cancer (EC) is a common female malignant disorder. To date, there are no specific tumour markers for EC that may be routinely used in clinical practice for diagnosis. AIM: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the serum Human Epididymis protein 4 (HE4) as biomarker for EC and to determine its association with clinicopathological variables. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population included 60 postmenopausal women with a diagnosis of EC and 60 healthy postmenopausal female subjects (control group). Concentrations of serum HE4 and CA-125 in EC patients and control group were determined using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA). The value of serum HE4 and CA-125 for the diagnosis and prediction of stage, histology, myometrial invasion and lymph nodal metastasis was analysed. RESULTS: The mean serum HE4 and CA-125 levels were significantly higher in patients with EC than those with control group (p<0.05). Comparison for HE4 and CA-125 between different stages showed a statistically significant difference. Stage I EC patients with <50% myometrial invasion had a significantly lower mean serum HE4 value than patients with >50% myometrial invasion (p=0.007). Corresponding values of CA-125 showed a similar trend (p=0.023). There were significantly higher levels of HE4 and CA-125 in cases with lymph node involvement. The levels of serum HE4 and CA-125 were higher in the non-endometroid histology, but the difference was not statistically significant. The Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve analysis for EC and control group showed that HE4 had greater Area Under Curve (AUC) when compared with CA-125. Using ROC curve, a serum HE4 concentration of 69.8 pmol/l (AUC 0.974) and/or serum CA-125 level of 34.50 U/mL (AUC 0.714) was used to predict malignancy. Sensitivity of combined biomarkers showed no additional improvement in comparison to HE4 or CA-125 alone. CONCLUSION: Our results show that HE4 is a sensitive diagnostic serum marker for detection of EC patients, exhibiting a better diagnostic performance compared to CA-125. Good performance of HE4 in diagnosis of early stages EC indicates its usefulness as a prognostic marker and also to monitor therapy and detect early recurrence.

Impact of Adaptive Radiotherapy on Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer - A Dosimetric and Volumetric Study.

UNLABELLED: Objective of the study is to evaluate volumetric and dosimetric alterations taking place during radiotherapy for locally advanced head and neck cancer (LAHNC) and to assess benefit of replanning in them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients with LAHNC fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled in a prospective study. Planning scans were acquired both pre-treatment and after 20 fractions (mid-course) of radiotherapy. Single plan (OPLAN) based on initial CT scan was generated and executed for entire treatment course. Beam configuration of OPLAN was applied to anatomy of interim scan and a hybrid plan (HPLAN30) was generated. Adaptive replanning (RPLAN30) for remaining fractions was done and dose distribution with and without replanning compared for remaining fractions. RESULTS: Substantial shrinkage of target volume (TV) and parotids after 4 weeks of radiotherapy was reported (p<0.05). No significant difference between planned and delivered doses was seen for remaining fractions. Hybrid plans showed increase in delivered dose to spinal cord and parotids for remaining fractions. Interim replanning improved homogeneity of treatment plan and significantly reduced doses to cord (Dmax, D2% and D1%) and ipsilateral parotid (D33%, D50% and D66%) (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Use of one or two mid-treatment CT scans and replanning provides greater normal tissue sparing alongwith improved TV coverage.