Advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors: 10-years experience from a tertiary care centre.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. We aimed to study the pattern of presentation and treatment outcome of advanced GIST patients seen by us in a 10- year period. METHODS: Medical records of GIST patients seen between years 2002-2012 were retrieved from institute as well as database maintained by authors. Patient included in this analysis had metastatic disease and unresectable and/or residual disease after surgery. RESULTS: During the study period 62 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria but 6 were lost to follow up before treatment and hence 56 patients were analysed. Median age was 45.5 years (range 17-70 years) with a male female ratio of 2:1. Thirty eight (67%) patients had metastatic disease whereas 32% patients had unresectable or incompletely resected disease. The most common primary site was small intestine in 24 (42.8%) which was followed by stomach in 11 (19.6%) patients. The most common site of metastases was liver in 27 (48%) patients. Median tumor size was 12 cm (range 4-50 cm). Thirty two (57%) patients had mitotic counts of > 5/50 HPF. All patients received imatinib. The most common response seen with imatinib was stable disease achieved in 29 (52%) patients. Imatinib was well tolerated by all patients without any drug discontinuation. The 5-year EFS and OS were 35% and 49%, respectively at a median follow up of 55 months. None of the patient or tumor factors were found to have prognostic significance in univariate survival analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This is a single center experience of advanced GIST patients where small intestine was found to be the commonest disease site with imatinib producing disease stabilization in more than half of patients. Even though the survival was comparable to published reports, the major limitation was lack of mutation analysis.

Assessment of risk factors in laryngeal cancer in India: a case-control study.

Cancer of the larynx is fourteenth most common cancer in the world. Limited data are available from India on associations with risk factors and hence the present hospital based matched case-control study was conducted. Three hundred and five laryngeal cancer patients and an equal number of healthy controls matched for their age within 2 years, sex and place of residence constituted the study population. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was administered to each individual to elicit information on their socio-demographic profile, food habits and risk factors and dietary consumption patterns. Univariate logistic regression analysis and multivariate forward stepwise conditional logistic analysis were performed. In the univariate analysis a lower consumption of roots and tubers green leaf vegetable other vegetables and fruits, and higher consumption of milk, eggs, meat, tea, alcohol , smoking, consumption of betel leaf with tobacco as well as a preference for spicy and fried foods emerged as significant positive variables. After adjusting for education, years of use of alcohol, smoking, chewing of betel leaf with tobacco in the model, low green leafy vegetables and preference for spicy foods were found to be positively related to the risk of laryngeal cancer. There was a significant difference in the dietary consumption patterns of laryngeal cancer patients and controls, indicating a role for nutritional factors in the etiology of laryngeal cancer in the Indian population.

Role of surgery in breast metastasis from carcinoma of the cervix.

Carcinoma of the cervix is the most common malignancy among women in India. Although metastatic disease is common, metastasis to breast is rare. A limited number of case reports are published in the world literature. Most of the previous reports of metastatic cervical carcinoma to breast are either autopsy series or widely disseminated disease where no treatment options were available. A rare case of cervical carcinoma presenting as metastasis in breast is reported here where palliative mastectomy improved the general condition of the patient. A female patient aged 58 years was diagnosed and treated for cervical carcinoma, FIGO stage 2B. Four months after the treatment which included both external beam and intracavitory radiotherapy, the patient presented with breast and lung metastasis. Palliative mastectomy was done which improved the general condition of the patient. Metastatic carcinoma of the cervix can present as a case of breast carcinoma. In an appropriate setting, this possibility should be kept in mind. Palliative mastectomy should be offered for patients of cervical carcinoma with metastasis to breast when needed.

An update in the management of malignant pleural effusion.

Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) usually presents in the disseminated and advanced stage of malignancy. Dyspnea is the debilitating symptom which needs palliation in these patients. Various modalities are available in the management of MPE. Careful consideration of the patient's expected survival and quality of life is needed when deciding the optimum treatment modality in such patients. In this article, different modalities of the palliative management of MPE are discussed with an attempt to derive a treatment algorithm for the management of MPE.

Association of overweight and obesity with breast cancer in India.

BACKGROUND: In women, cancer of the breast is one of the most common incident cancer and cause of death from cancer. Anthropometric factors of weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) have been associated with breast cancer risk. OBJECTIVES: To study the association of overweight and obesity with breast cancer in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A hospital-based matched case-control study was conducted. Three hundred and twenty newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and three hundred and twenty normal healthy individuals constituted the study population. The subjects in the control group were matched individually with the patients for their age ±2 years and socioeconomic status. Anthropometric measurements of weight and height were recorded utilizing the standard equipments and methodology. The paired 't' test and univariate logistic regression analysis were carried out. RESULTS: It was observed that the patients had a statistically higher mean weight, body mass index, and mid upper arm circumference as compared to the controls. It was observed that the risk of breast cancer increased with increasing levels of BMI. Overweight and obese women had Odd's redio of 1.06 and 2.27, respectively, as compared to women with normal weight. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study revealed a strong association of overweight and obesity with breast cancer in the Indian population.

Promoter Hypermethylation in Tumor Suppressing Genes p16 and FHIT and Their Relationship with Estrogen Receptor and Progesterone Receptor Status in Breast Cancer Patients from Northern India.

BACKGROUND: Aberrant DNA methylation has been recognized in human breast carcinogenesis as a common molecular alteration associated with the loss of expression of a number of key regulatory genes. The present study was undertaken to determine whether methylation and expression of p16 and FHIT genes would correlate with the estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status. METHODS: Methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction, messenger RNA (mRNA) expression analysis, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot analysis were performed to study the methylation of p16 and FHIT genes in 351 pairs of malignant/normal breast tissues. We examined the expression of ER and PR in those specimens by immunohistochemistry. Mutations of p16 and FHIT genes in tumors were detected by direct sequencing. RESULTS: The frequency of hypermethylation was 31.9% and 36.8% in p16 and FHIT genes, respectively, and showed significant harmony in concordant hypermethylation (P < .0001). In postmenopausal patients, methylation frequency in both genes is significantly higher in poorly and moderately differentiated tumors. Loss of protein expression of p16 and FHIT in 77 and 74 tumors, respectively, is associated with their methylation status in premenopausal women. CONCLUSION: We did not find any significant differences in tumor-related gene methylation patterns relevant to both ER and PR status of breast tumors.