Effect of Thyroidectomy on Tracheal Remodeling and Airway Physiology in Apparently Asymptomatic Patients with Goiter: A Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Tracheal airflow limitation is frequently reported in patients with goiter but is severely underestimated, and studies on how goiter and its treatment affect trachea are scarce. Moreover, the choice of the optimal treatment for individual patient with asymptomatic goiter is not straightforward. Therefore, in this study we aim to investigate the effect of goiter and subsequent thyroidectomy on tracheal anatomy and change in airflow in asymptomatic patient with goiter. METHODS: Seventy patients undergoing total/hemithyroidectomy (TT/HT) from Feb 2020 to Feb 2021 satisfying inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Neck radiograph (NR) and forced spirometry (FS) were performed preoperatively and on postoperative day 10 and 6 weeks and 3 months. RESULTS: Out of 70 patients, 84.3% patients were female, and mean duration and weight of goiter were 54.7 months and 72.21 gm, respectively. Of 70 patients, 57 were of benign pathology. Significant improvement in tracheal compression with moderate improvement in deviation was observed after surgery. Preoperative spirometry showed significant reduction in almost all parameters. After surgery, a weak improvement was observed at postoperative day 10 and 6 weeks; however, significant improvement in FEV1, PEFR, FEV1/FEV0.5, and FEF50%/FIF50% was observed at postoperative 3 months. Patient with right sided and those with ≥ 8 mm deviation were associated with poorer pulmonary function. Weak correlation was observed between neck NR and spirometry parameters. Weight of the thyroid gland significantly correlated with ratio of MVV/FEV1. CONCLUSION: Patients with asymptomatic goiter can have significant abnormal changes in airflow as evidenced by FS and NR. Thyroidectomy is followed by gradual restoration of tracheal deviation and compression with significant improvement in pulmonary airflow.

Revisiting Combination Chemotherapy as a Single Modality Palliative Therapy for Advanced Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma-a Single Institution Experience.

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is an aggressive malignancy with dismal outcome especially in metastatic setting. Consensus for ideal treatment of advanced and metastatic ATC remains elusive. This study aimed to analyze the impact of palliative chemotherapy versus supportive care on overall survival in patients with metastatic anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Patients diagnosed with ATC between the period January 2018 and December 2019 were prospectively followed. The patients opting for palliative chemotherapy received 3 weekly Paclitaxel (175 mg/m2) and Carboplatin (AUC-5). Out of the 31 patients diagnosed with ATC, clinicopathological profile of 29 patients was analyzed (2 patients who underwent upfront surgical resection with curative intent were excluded), out of which 20 patients were included in the survival analysis. The median age of presentation was 55.8 years with male:female ratio 1.9:1. Seventeen out of the total 29 patients presented with anaplastic transformation in long-standing goiter. Nineteen out of 20 (95%) patients presented with distant metastasis with lungs being the most common site. Nodal metastasis was present in all patients. Invasion of the strap muscles (90%) and trachea (80%) was the most common peri-thyroidal tissue invasion followed by invasion of the esophagus (40%), internal jugular vein (30%), and carotid artery (5%). Twelve out of the 20 patients opted for palliative chemotherapy. Overall, median survival from the time of diagnosis was 2.6 months, with median survival in patients receiving chemotherapy 3.1 months and those opting for supportive care 1.6 months (p=0.004). Out of all the factors analyzed, male sex (HR 6.521, 95% CI 1.143-37.206, p value 0.03) and vascular invasion (HR 0.066, 95% CI 0.009-0.499, p value 0.008) were poor prognostic indicators. Palliative chemotherapy showed increased survival benefit in patients with metastatic ATC. Male sex and vascular invasion were found to be significant factors associated with poor outcomes on Cox regression analysis.

Large Adrenal Lesion Series in a Tertiary Care Center in Northern India: Diagnostic and Operative Challenges.

Large adrenal tumors pose varied challenges to surgeons in terms of diagnosis, planning surgical approach, and also intra-operative difficulties in resection. The aim of this study is to discuss challenges in the management of large and difficult adrenal lesions. A retrospective analysis was done on data of all patients with large adrenal lesions/paragangliomas managed from 1 June 2016 to 30 August 2018. Forty-eight patients with adrenal lesions underwent treatment in 2 years duration. Pain in the abdomen was the most common presentation. Mean age was 34.4 years (range 2-60), female to male (23:25) and right to left side to bilateral tumor 30:16:2. Thirty-one (64.6%) patients had large adrenal masses (size > 6 cm). Surgical approaches included open transperitoneal adrenalectomy (n = 20) and laparoscopic transperitoneal (n = 9 and 2 others had conversion to open procedure). Challenges faced are described in the table below: [Table: see text] There were no major peri-operative morbidities, but two patients died in perioperative period. Large adrenal tumors pose a challenge in surgical planning, approach, and resection and need careful planning and multidisciplinary team approach to have the best outcomes.

Barriers to Timely Diagnosis and Management of Breast Cancer: Observations from a Tertiary Referral Center in Resource Poor Setting.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among females worldwide, with over 2 million cases diagnosed every year. In India, it is the most common malignancy overall (15.4%) and accounts for about 27% female cancers. Morbidity and mortality remain high despite improvements in BC therapeutics. Conventionally, a gap of more than 3 months between noticing symptoms and commencing treatment is considered delay in BC management. Delays make BC an important public health problem and lead to poor outcomes. This study aims to identify patient perceived barriers to BC management. A self-designed structured questionnaire consisting of questions pertaining to multiple aspects of BC presentation and management was prepared. The study was conducted from October 2017 to September 2018 and results were analyzed. A delay of 3 months or more was seen in 284 of the 435 patients (65.3%), among which 179 was patient delay, 69 due to provider delay, and 36 due to a combined contribution of both factors. Provider factors were associated with prolonged delay. Misdiagnosis at first consult was the most common factor perceived by patients as a barrier, followed by delay in referral, distance from hospitals, lack of information, financial constraints, and logistic issues. A significant patient and provider delay exists in BC management which prevents effective early therapy. Effective tackling of these barriers may result in the betterment of BC management outcomes. Robust screening, education of patients and providers, and awareness promotion and infrastructure development will be useful in this regard.

Comparison of Multimodal Ultrasound Imaging with Conventional Ultrasound Risk Stratification Systems in Presurgical Risk Stratification of Thyroid Nodules.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonography (US) is an indispensable tool in the management of thyroid nodules, not only for assessing tumor characteristics but also to assign risk of malignancy and guide in management. Various guidelines and US-based risk stratification systems have been proposed for this purpose. This study aims to compare the diagnostic performances of multimodal US-based risk scores (French TIRADS, TMC-RSS) with conventional US-based scoring systems (Korean TIRADS, ACR-TIRADS, ATA risk stratification). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 168 nodules from 139 patients were studied and categorized in each of the risk stratification systems. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of each system were computed. ROC curves were plotted and area under curve (AUC) for each scoring system noted. RESULTS: Thirty five (21%) of the 168 nodules were malignant on final histopathological examination. TMC-RSS fared the best in predicting malignant nodules with a sensitivity of 96.2% and specificity of 88.6%, while the PPV and NPV were 97% and 86.1%, respectively. The AUC for TMC-RSS was 0.924 (95% CI, 0.860-0.988; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Multimodal US-based risk stratification incorporating non-grayscale characteristics in addition to conventional systems like the TMC-RSS improves the diagnostic performance of ultrasound imaging of thyroid nodules.

Unusual Breast Neoplasm with Diagnostic and Management Challenges.

With the growing awareness and availability of proper screening methods, detection of breast lump is increasing globally and is now a very sensitive issue for females. The treatment of these lumps ranges from lumpectomy to wide local excision to mastectomy; hence, a proper diagnosis is very important to prevent under- or overtreatment in patients. Breast lesions are the heterogeneous diseases encompassing several distinct entities with remarkably different characteristics. While the more common forms of breast cancers are well recognized and understood better, there are many important unusual lesions and malignancies that are less known and less appreciated and can be challenging to diagnose. In such cases, due to rarity of the disease and lack of adequate treatment protocol, managing the patients can be a challenging task for surgeons and oncologist as well. In this article, we have shared our institutional experience in unusual breast lesions with emphasis on diagnostic as well as management challenges faced.

Transduodenal ampullectomy for ampullary tumors.

Transduodenal ampullectomy (TDA) is indicated for large ampullary tumors, for presence of dysplasia on endoscopic biopsy, for poor surgical candidates for pancreaticoduodenectomy, and in cases not indicated for endoscopic ampullectomy. Retrospective review of data from 2009 to 2015 revealed 11 patients who underwent TDA. Magnetic resonance imaging cholangiopancreatography (MRI-MRCP), contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) scan, side-viewing endoscopy, and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) were used for investigating the patients as required. Preoperative biopsy was done in all. Out of the 11 patients, only one had recurrence. Two patients had adenocarcinoma and were treated with pancreaticoduodenectomy. TDA is a safe surgical procedure for treatment of well-selected benign ampullary pathologies. It is also a treatment option for the cases of ampullary adenomas not amenable to endoscopic resection.