ABSTRACT
Still there is no standard regimen for the treatment of patients with advanced gallbladder malignancy who suffer from poor quality of life. Hence we wanted to evaluate the quality of life in patients with advanced gallbladder cancer treated with either 5-fluorouracil [5-Fu] and Folinic acid [FA] or with Gemcitabine [Gem] plus Cisplatin [Cis]. Records of all patients, including quality of life questionnaire were reviewed retrospectively. These patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic adenocarcinoma of gallbladder were seen in oncology clinic at Ziauddin Hospital and Baqai Institute of Oncology Karachi. Out of 40 patients, twenty received 5-FU with Folinic Acid [FA] [Group-1] and remaining twenty patients received Gem plus Cis [Group-2]. In Group-I, out of twenty patients, two [10%] were males and eighteen [90%] were females. Eleven [55%] patients showed relief in few symptoms for a mean duration of 5.9 [ +/- 3.3] months. There was no major impact of treatment on improving quality of life. In Group-II, out of twenty, three [15%] were males and seventeen [85%] were female patients who were treated with Gemcitabine plus Cisplatin.In this group sixteen [80%] patients showed a significant improvement in quality of life with relief of many symptoms for a mean duration of 6.2 [ +/- 3.4] months. Gemcitabine plus Cisplatin is effective in the management of patients with advanced gallbladder cancer and showed improvement in quality of life as compared to, 5-Fu with FA which does not result in improving the quality of life and is ineffective
ABSTRACT
A prospective, non randomized multi-institutional study was conducted to assess the clinicopathological features and incidence of familial lung cancer in patients presenting in major oncology centres in Karachi. A total of 71 patients were interviewed all but 4 were married. Majority belong to middle and low income group. More than half did not have University education. More than two third were urban dwellers. About half had white collared jobs. Tobacco use was rampant in the study population. Majority had good ECOG performance status at presentation. More then 50% had diabetes and hypertension and comorbids. Chest pain, cough, weight loss and breathlessness were the chief presenting complaints, while consolidation/collapse, effusion and lymph adenopathy were major physical findings. Half of the study population underwent bronchoscopy biopsy as diagnostic procedure. Three fourth of them had NSCLC. Squamous cell carcinoma was the major histological type. Among NSCLC early and advanced staged disease was evenly distributed while extensive disease was predominant stage of SCLC. Family size, particularly the extended family, in our population appears to be fairly large. No direct