Lysyl Oxidase: Its Diversity in Health and Diseases.

The mechanical properties of extracellular matrix (ECM) and connective tissues is largely dependent on the collagen and elastin structure. Lysyl oxidase (LOX) plays a critical role in the formation and repair of the ECM by oxidizing lysine residues in elastin and collagen, thereby initiating the formation of covalent cross linkages which stabilize these fibrous proteins. Due to its multiple functions both extracellularly and intracellularly, lysyl oxidase is involved in several processes in the tumorigenic pathway, in many different cancer types and stages. Alteration in LOX activity is implicated in many diseases and disorders including inflammation and inflammatory diseases, fibrosis of distinct organs and fibrotic disorders, cancer promotion and progression. There are only sparse reports of mutations or epigenetic alterations in the LOX gene. This review provides the recent clinical developments in the molecular mechanisms and pathologic process, pointing out LOX as a potential therapeutic target in translational medicine.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the superior gingivobuccal sulcus: an 11-year institutional experience of 203 cases.

OBJECTIVE: The report presents an 11-year Institutional experience of 203 cases with superior gingivobuccal sulcus tumours receiving surgical intervention at a comprehensive tertiary cancer care centre. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of superior gingivobuccal sulcus was done and data related to patient demographic profile; details of surgical procedure, follow-up and survival were collected. RESULTS: Infratemporal fossa clearance was performed in 56 patients. The 10-year overall survival and disease-free survival was observed to be 39 and 52%, respectively, with a median follow-up of 15 months. The overall survival was 40 and 36%, respectively, in cases with and without infratemporal fossa clearance. Similarly, the disease-free survival was found to be 58 and 49%, respectively, in cases with and without infratemporal fossa clearance. CONCLUSION: Patients with higher stage tumours who underwent infratemporal fossa clearance showed better overall and disease-free survival than those who did not undergo infratemporal fossa clearance.

Parotid duct relocation in buccal mucosa cancer resection.

Buccal mucosal cancer is commonly seen in India with patients presenting in advanced stages of the disease. Its excision commonly mandates division of parotid duct as a part of disease or its margin. We have adopted a simple method to salvage the parotid gland by cannulating the duct and rerouting the saliva into the oral cavity at a different site. This has now become a protocol at our center. A total of 562 patients from 2002 to 2012 have undergone this procedure. This has markedly reduced the incidence of sialocele and parotitis in early postoperative period, which may delay wound healing and subsequent radiotherapy.

Comparison of test performance of biochemical parameters in semiautomatic method and fully automatic analyzer method.

BACKGROUND: The primary health-care center (PHC) and community health center (CHC) are not well equipped with laboratory services. Semiauto analyzer-based reporting could be an effective modality, provided that the performance standard is comparable to that of the fully automatic analyzer. So, the objective of this study was to analyze the test results of biochemical parameters in semiauto and fully automatic analyzer and to compare the quality performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred forty-nine patients undergoing routine biochemical investigations in the department laboratory were enrolled in this study. Two millimeter of venous blood was collected from all the participants and processed for urea, cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), serum glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT) (aspartate aminotransferase), and serum glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) (alanine aminotransferase) by using standard kits (ERBA) in semiauto analyzer (Transasia Erba Chem5X by Calbiotech Inc. USA, semiautomated clinical chemistry analyzer) and the fully automatic analyzer (Cobas Integra 400 Roche, Germany) method. RESULTS: There was high variability in the distribution of urea, TG, SGOT, and SGPT values in both measurement methods, whereas cholesterol data followed a normal distribution (skewness: 1.522, 1.037; kurtosis: 2.373, 0.693 in semiauto and automated methods, respectively). A significant positive correlation between both the methods of assessment was observed in urea, cholesterol, TGs, SGOT, and SGPT. The mean difference for urea was -9.85 ± 23.997 (LOA: 37.189, -56.88), whereas it was highest for TG -24.34 ± 38.513 (LOA: 51.144, -99.829), suggesting that both methods can measure urea with less difference in absolute values, whereas for TG the measurement values are highly variable. CONCLUSION: The test performance of biochemical parameters such as urea, total cholesterol, TGs, SGOT, and SGPT taken by semiauto analyzer and fully automatic analyzer method of assessment were highly related and comparable.

Preservation of Aesthetics of Breast in Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous Flap Donor Site in Females.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In females, raising a pectoralis major myocutaneous flap is challenging and primary closure of flap donor site causes breast deformity with medial displacement of nipple areola complex. To avoid this distortion, a new method of donor site closure is devised. METHODS: A parasternal skin paddle which has better vascularity is planned while doing a pectoralis major myocutaneous flap in females and a lateral flap planned along the lateral breast curve is used to cover the donor site. The lateral flap donor site is primarily closed. This prevents medial displacement of nipple areola complex. RESULTS: A total of 47 patients underwent donor site flap closure technique. Minor complications in form of marginal necrosis near the tip of the flap were observed in 10.6 % patients. The donor breast of all these PMMC flaps had good contour and aesthetic positioning of nipple areola complex. CONCLUSION: Donor site morbidity with respect to breast distortion has not been studied so far in case of females so our study stands unique in this aspect. Using this technique of planning PMMC in females ensures a skin paddle of better vascularity and restores the breast aesthetics.

Bleomycin sclerotherapy in congenital lymphatic and vascular malformations of head and neck.

Bleomycin is an established antineoplastic drug, but recently some attempts were made to inject it locally as a sclerosing agent in cases of congenital lymphatic malformations. We present the outcome of this treatment modality tried on 10 paediatric cases of whom 9 had such malformation in the cervical region and one in the parotid region. Seven of these cases had congenital lymphatic malformation while three had haemodynamically less active congenital vascular malformation. All these children were subjected to percutaneous intralesional administration of bleomycin. The size of swelling reduced by 50% or more in seven patients out of which three showed complete or near complete response. There were no major deleterious side effects.

Rigid pediatric bronchoscopy for bronchial foreign bodies with and without Hopkins telescope.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the merits and demerits of pediatric bronchoscopy with or without the use of Hopkins telescope in 60 pediatric patients at the Otolaryngology clinic of tertiary level teaching hospital. Group-I comprised of 30 children who underwent a non-telescopic procedure, while Group-II included another 30 who went through a telescopic-guided removal using standard forceps. It was observed that due to better illumination, higher optical resolution and magnification owing to the use of the telescope, foreign body removal using this technique was completed with minimal complications. The precision in foreign body removal using telescopic-guided procedure in Group-II cases was immense though the operative time in comparison to the non-telescopic one was found to be statistically higher (P = 0.0019). This group also had a shorter hospital stay. The use of standard forceps in place of optical forceps gave an easier maneuverability through small-sized pediatric bronchoscopes, thereby giving an edge over the latter.

Low to intermediate grade salivary duct carcinoma associated with osteoclast like-giant cell tumor of parotid gland: a rare case with distinct pathological features.

Osteoclast like-giant cell tumor of the salivary gland is an extremely rare tumor with distinct pathological features and unknown histogenesis. The neoplastic nature of these tumors in itself is questionable. We present the twentieth case in English literature of primary osteoclast like-giant cell tumor with accompanying low to intermediate grade salivary duct carcinoma of parotid gland, metastasizing to the ipsilateral cervical lymph node. As far as we know this is the second case with lymph node metastasis. Due to the rarity of the tumor its exact biological course is uncertain. We present and discuss this rare case with special emphasis on the histology, immunohistochemistry, and histogenesis.

Butterfly inlay tympanoplasty: A study in Indian scenario.

Popularly myringoplasty is done by an underlay or an onlay technique using mostly temporalis fascia graft. A new technique of inlay tympanoplasty using composite cartilage perichondrium graft is applied in the present study of 20 patients, for closure of small to medium sized perforations. The results have been analysed in terms of graft take up rate and hearing improvement.