Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer Surgical Services-AIIMS, New Delhi Experience.

COVID pandemic has impacted cancer care delivery and cancer surgical services globally. There is an urgent need to study the extent of the impact of COVID on cancer surgery and individual institutional response and strategies adopted to counter the adverse impact. A review of administrative and clinical policy changes adopted at the tertiary cancer center to combat COVID pandemic and resume cancer surgical services were performed. A retrospective comparative analysis of cancer out-patient census during COVID pandemic affected year and the preceding normal year along with cancer surgery data audit for the same periods was performed to assess the impact of the pandemic on cancer surgery. In addition, COVID infection rates among cancer surgery patients and healthcare workers were evaluated. There was approximately a 50% reduction in cancer outpatient registrations during COVID pandemic affected year. A trend of increasing footfalls was noted with decreasing COVID intensity and opening of lockdowns. There was a 33% reduction in major elective surgery and a 41% reduction in emergency surgery performed during the COVID period. As far as cancer surgeries are concerned, there was a 12-50% reduction in volumes involving different subsites. Overall COVID positivity rates among cancer surgery patients was low (8.17%), and approximately 30% of healthcare workers involved in cancer surgery were tested positive for COVID during the study period. Results of the current study indicate a significant impact of COVID pandemic on cancer surgical services. There was a significant impact on outpatient visits and cancer surgery volumes. However, a multidisciplinary-coordinated team approach, effective administrative and policy implementation, adoption of revised surgical safety and anesthesia protocols, COVID screening, and testing protocols facilitated resumption of cancer surgical services without adverse impact on surgical outcomes.

Colorectal Cancers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries-Demographic Pattern and Clinical Profile of 970 Patients Treated at a Tertiary Care Cancer Center in India.

PURPOSE: Globally, colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks third in terms of incidence and second in terms of mortality. A relatively low burden of CRC has been reported from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), and there is a paucity of publications related to CRC from LMIC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A computerized comprehensive structured CRC clinical database was developed. All the patients with histopathologically proven CRC undergoing either curative and palliative multimodality management or surgical interventions between 2000 and 2019 were included in the study. A descriptive analysis of the demographic profile and clinical spectrum was performed. RESULTS: A total of 970 patients of CRC were treated between 2000 and 2019. Of these, 401 patients (41.3%) had colon cancer and 569 (58.7%) had rectal cancer. The male-to-female ratio was 1.79:1. The mean age at presentation was 47.7 years. A total of 337 (34.7%) patients qualified as young CRC (≤ 40 years of age at diagnosis). The commonest symptom among patients with colon cancer was abdominal pain; 55.6% of patients had a right-sided primary tumor as compared with 42.2% with left-sided tumors. The commonest symptom among patients with rectal cancer was bleeding per rectum. The predominant location of the tumor was in the lower rectum (58%). Majority of patients with CRC presented with locally advanced stage II and III disease. The most common histologic subtype encountered for both colon and rectal cancers was adenocarcinoma (84.8% and 81.2%, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study has revealed certain important findings related to CRC in LMIC including a higher burden of young colorectal cancer, a relatively higher proportion of rectal cancers in comparison with colon cancer, a high percentage of patients with low-rectal cancer, and advanced stage at presentation.

Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) in the management of peritoneal surface malignancies - An evidence-based review.

BACKGROUND: Traditionally, peritoneal surface malignancies (PSM) were considered terminal diseases because of their advanced nature, therefore, systemic chemotherapy was given with palliative intent only. As a result, very poor survival outcomes were observed. But with the introduction of complete Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), the scenario has changed dramatically. METHODOLOGY: An objective electronic database search was performed in Pubmed, NLM Catalog, Google scholar, Bookshelf, and Pubmed Central published in the time period from 2000 till 2020. All the randomized studies were included. In the absence of randomized studies, both prospective and retrospective studies were included. The outcomes of HIPEC were measured in terms of median survival, disease-free survival, overall survival, complications and drug toxicities. RESULTS: CRS and HIPEC are considered the standard of care for PMP and MPM even in the absence of level 1 evidence due to lack of an effective alternative treatment. In colorectal and gastric cancer, several phase-three trials are showing overall survival benefit in selected cases while there is a prophylactic and palliative role of HIPEC in gastric cancer. Three reported phase 3 trials showed positive results in ovarian cancer. In peritoneal sarcomatosis, the role of HIPEC is yet to be proven. CONCLUSION: The patient selection is the key to the successful outcomes after HIPEC. HIPEC should be performed by the experienced surgeons in specialized centres with a strong critical care and intensive care support to reduce the morbidity and mortality. Ongoing trials and future directions will prove to be an indispensable arm in the oncological armamentarium.

Clinical outcomes and technical description of unstented end to side pancreaticogastrostomy by small posterior gastrotomy.

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: Morbidity following Whipple's surgery largely depends upon the pancreatic stump anastomosis leak. Pancreaticogastrostomy is one of the techniques of pancreatic stump reconstruction and is described variously in the literature. Duct to mucosa pancreaticogastrostomy is described either by a large 3-4 cm posterior gastrotomy or by small gastrotomy of 2-3 mm with the use of internal stents along with. We describe clinical outcomes and technique of 2 layer end to side pancreatico-gastrostomy by a small posterior gastrotomy without the use of internal stents. METHODS: Hospital records of 35 patients where the technique of, small posterior gastrotomy end to side duct to mucosa pancreatico-gastrostomy without internal stents, was used for pancreatic stump reconstruction were studied retrospectively. The data were analyzed for demographic details, stage of the disease, and short term outcomes related to surgical procedure. RESULTS: The mean duration of surgery was 7.4 hours. Grade A, B, and C POPF were observed in 10 (28.5%), 3 (8.5%), and 1 (2.8%) of patients respectively. The mean time to remove pancreatic drain was 9 days, and the mean time to start oral feeds was 8.9 days. The mean hospital stay was 12.9 days (07-26). Thirty days mortality was 2.8%. CONCLUSIONS: Unstented duct to mucosa end to side pancreatico-gastrostomy technique is comparable with other pancreatico-gastrostomy techniques in outcomes in terms of POPF, morbidity, mortality, and hospital stay. However, to establish the superiority or inferiority of this technique, a larger study is recommended.

Cavernous sinus thrombosis: a late complication of head and neck surgery.

Cavernous sinus thrombosis is a rare but fatal condition arising due to various infectious and noninfectious causes. Although its incidence is very low in the setting of head and neck surgery, including radical neck dissection, a high index of suspicion with prompt treatment is the key to a successful outcome. We report a case of a 50-year-old woman with a chondrosarcoma of left lower alveolobuccal complex who underwent en bloc tumour resection with infratemporal fossa clearance and left modified radical neck dissection. Subsequently, she developed cavernous sinus thrombosis, which was successfully managed with a multidisciplinary approach. This case highlights the importance of high clinical suspicion in the postoperative setting to diagnose this potentially lethal complication.

Nodular fasciitis: a diagnostic challenge.

Nodular fasciitis is a rare benign soft tissue tumor. The similarity in the cytological appearance of nodular fasciitis to that of pleomorphic adenoma makes it difficult to diagnose preoperatively that adds to its peculiarity. We report here a case of a middle-aged female with swelling in the neck that was diagnosed as pleomorphic adenoma on cytology. Surgical excision of the swelling was done and histopathological examination revealed it to be nodular fasciitis. This case is presented to highlight the challenge of correctly diagnosing nodular fasciitis.