Practical Clinical Consensus Guidelines for the Management of Cancer Associated Anemia in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Purvish M. ParikhCancer-associated anemia (CAA) remains a major unmet need that compromises overall survival (OS) and quality of life (QoL). Currently, available guidelines do not take into consideration the unique challenges in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Our CAA patients have to battle preexisting impaired nutritional status, depleted body iron stores, financial limitations, and difficulty in having easily accessible affordable healthcare. Hence, we fulfilled the need of guidelines for LMIC. A group of subject experts were put together, given background literature, met in a face-to-face discussion, voted using Delphi process, and finally agreed on the contents of this guideline document. As many as 50% of cancer patients will have significant anemia (hemoglobin < 10 g/dL) at initial diagnosis. It is most commonly seen with gastrointestinal malignancies, head and neck cancers, and acute leukemias. The hemoglobin falls further after initiation of cancer directed therapy, due to chemotherapy itself or heightened nutritional deficiency. Its evaluation should include tests for complete blood count, red blood cell morphology, reticulocyte count, Coombs test, and levels of vitamin B12 and folic acid. Iron status should be monitored using test to measure serum iron, total iron binding capacity, transferring saturation, and serum ferritin levels. A minimum of 50% of cancer patients with anemia require iron supplements. The preferred mode of therapy is with intravenous (IV) iron using ferric carboxymaltose (FCM). Most patients respond satisfactorily to single dose of 1000 mg. It is also safe and does not require use of a test dose. Significant anemia is found in at least half of all cancer patients in India, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation region, and other LMIC countries. Its awareness among healthcare professionals will prevent it from remaining undiagnosed (in up to 70% of all cancer patients) and adversely affecting OS and QoL. The benefits of treating them with IV iron therapy are quick replenishment of iron stores, hemoglobin returning to normal, better QoL, and avoiding risk of infections/reactions with blood transfusions. Many publications have proven the value of single-dose FCM in such clinical situations. CAA has been proven to be an independent prognostic factor that adversely affects both QoL and OS in cancer patients. Use of FCM as single IV dose of 1000 mg is safe and effective in the majority of patients with CAA.

Indian Expert Opinion on Cancer Care during COVID-19 Pandemic.

Coronavirus pandemic has increased human disease burden, as well as economic distress globally. Being in an immunocompromised state, patients with cancer comprise an important at-risk population for novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. It is necessary to modify individualized clinical management for every cancer patient in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, additional safety precautions for the cancer care providers are mandatory. This review will provide general recommendations in the Indian context optimizing the same.

South Asian Declaration-Consensus Guidelines for COVID-19 Vaccination in Cancer Patients.

We provide the South Asian Declaration, containing the consensus guidelines for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in cancer patients.

De Novo Presentation of Sarcoidosis on Restaging FDG PET/CT in Rectal Carcinoma With Self-resolution.

Sarcoidosis is a systemic disorder of unknown etiology characterized by development of noncaseating granulomas in more than 1 organ system. Development of sarcoidosis during or immediately after chemotherapy and immunotherapy is not uncommon. We present a 61-year-old woman in whom restaging F-FDG PET/CT detected asymptomatic sarcoidosis after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for carcinoma rectum, which resolved spontaneously by the end of adjuvant chemotherapy with no specific treatment. Recognition of anatomic-metabolic pattern of sarcoidosis could prevent erroneous upstaging of the primary malignancy during restaging PET/CT following chemotherapy, and such lesions may show self-resolution.

Radiation treatment for chemotherapy-resistant non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the left thigh.

Extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) arising in soft tissue is rare. This study describes a rare case of chemo-resistant large B-cell NHL of skeletal muscle, characterized by voluminous swelling in the thigh which responded well to radiotherapy. In this patient, recurrent NHL showed refractoriness to various chemotherapy regimens and was treated with radiation therapy repeatedly with excellent local response and no evidence of disease for 18 months. Most of the published literature describes surgery or chemotherapy as treatment for NHL soft tissue. This is the first case report describing the durable response with radiation without in-field recurrence in chemo-resistant large B-cell NHL skeletal muscle.