Comparison of conventional Pap smear and liquid-based cytology: A study of cervical cancer screening at a tertiary care center in Bihar

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer in women in the world and it is the second most common cancer in women 15–44 years of age. Strict implementation of screening programs has led to a large decrease in cervical cancer incidence and mortality in the developed countries. In contrast, cervical cancer remains largely uncontrolled in high-risk developing countries because of ineffective or no screening programs. Conventional Pap smear method has been the mainstay of most of the screening programs for many decades. However, this technique is not without limitations, and the sensitivity and specificity of cervical cytology are relatively low. To overcome the limitations of conventional Pap smear (CPS), liquid-based cytology (LBC) was introduced in 1990s as a better tool for processing cervical samples. Objectives: This study was undertaken to compare CPS with liquid-based methods, to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of LBC over CPS in our setting, and also to evaluate the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in our population. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in Gynecological Oncology Unit of Regional Cancer Center at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, Bihar. About 310 women were enrolled in this study and the sample was taken for both conventional cytology and LBC. The smears were studied in detail and were interpreted as per the Bethesda system of reporting Pap smears. The results were compared and analyzed statistically. Results: Unsatisfactory smears were more commonly reported by conventional method (7.1%) than with liquid-based method (1.61%), and this difference is statistically significant. There was no difference in the detection of epithelial cell abnormalities using both the methods. HPV DNA for high-risk oncogenic strains (16 and 18) was detected in 6.45% of women in this study. Conclusion: LBC has been found to be more superior to conventional smears only with respect to lesser number of unsatisfactory smears, but considering the economic implications of LBC, conventional Pap is more feasible in our setting

Retrospective analysis of patients of cervical cancer a tertiary center in Bihar

Objective: A retrospective analysis of all patients with cancer of the cervix attending regional cancer center of Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, from June 2015 to June 2017. The aim of this study was to know patient demographics, histology, age, stage and status of presentation, compliance with treatment and follow-up. Materials and Methods: Five hundred and eighteen consecutively registered patients with cancer of the cervix were included in the study. Results: The prevalence of cervical cancer among gynecological malignancy was 52%. It is the second most common cancer after breast cancer at our center. Patients hailed from the various districts of Bihar (89%), India, and from Nepal (10.61%). The majority (>50%) were aged 40–59 years. Stage information was available for 71.81% of the patients, of which Stage I comprised 12.36%, Stage II, 35.21%; Stage III, 50%; and Stage IV, 2.41%. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common reported histopathology (~90%). A significant proportion of the women defaulted after registration, or after undergoing investigations (17%). Of the 68% cases planned for treatment, 50% initiated it, but only 38% completed it, About 11% of cases underwent Wertheim's hysterectomy and rest of patients were treated by radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy. Conclusion: The incidence of cervical cancer is still unacceptably high at our center. Organized cervical cancer screening needs to be adopted for early diagnosis.

Differential affinity of natural haemagglutinin of Macrobrachium rosenbergii towards vertebrate erythrocytes: effect of sex, size and moult stage on haemagglutination titre.

Lectins play important role in innate immunity of animals. The affinity of the natural haemagglutinin of the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii towards vertebrate erythrocytes and its level with relation to sex, size and moult stages were studied. The strongest agglutinating titres in haemolymph of prawns were marked against guinea pig, chicken, Clarias batrachus, and rabbit erythrocytes, and the weakest towards cattle, dog, horse and goat erythrocytes. A moderately agglutinating titre was evident in duck and human erythrocytes. The haemolymph of adult, male or intermoult stage prawns weighing more than 100 g had the highest haemagglutinating activity as compared to their respective counterparts with varied responses observed towards various erythrocytes.

Effects of polyherbal formulation 'ImmuPlus' on immunity and disease resistance of Indian major carp, Labeo rohita at different stages of growth.

A series of experiments were performed to determine the impact of polyherbal immunomodulatory formulation 'ImmuPlus' (AquaImmu) on growth, immunity and disease resistance of rohu (Labeo rohita), one of the Indian major carp at different stages of growth. Rohu larvae were fed on plankton, ImmuPlus-mixed compound feed, and plankton plus ImmuPlus-mixed compound feed (ImmuPlus added at three dose levels of 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 g/kg feed) from 4th day of hatching to 14th day. ImmuPlus-mixed diets enhanced growth of larvae, survival and disease resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila challenge, compared to only plankton-fed group. In two other experiments, advanced rohu larvae and fingerlings were fed with ImmuPlus-mixed compound feed (at 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 g/kg) for 15, 30 and 45 days. At the end of 45 days for advanced larvae and 30 days for fingerlings, the fish fed with ImmuPlus at 1.0 g/kg level showed significantly higher growth and disease resistance against A. hydrophila challenge. In a separate experiment, juveniles of rohu were fed with 1 g/kg of ImmuPlus incorporated feed for 15 and 30 days. At the end of the trial, the ImmuPlus fed fish showed enhanced non-specific immunity (as measured through nitroblue tetrazolium reduction assay, serum lysozyme activity, serum haemolysin titre and resistance against A. hydrophila challenge in non-vaccinated fish as well as specific immunity levels (as measured through bacterial agglutination titre against A. hydrophila in vaccinated fish). Incorporation of ImmuPlus at 1 g/kg level in the diet of rohu may be beneficial for enhancing disease resistance.

Immunomodulation by 'Immuplus (AquaImmu)' in giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man).

ImmuPlus, a polyherbal commercial formulation was used to modulate the immune system of commercially important giant freshwater prawn M. rosenbergii. The prawns were fed with basal diet supplemented with ImmuPlus at 1g/kg feed for 4 weeks. Results showed that the phenoloxidase activity (PO), haemagglutination and lysozyme activities were significantly elevated in ImmuPlus-fed prawn up to 3 weeks of feeding and declined after 4 weeks of feeding. The total protein level in ImmuPlus-fed prawn raised up to 2nd week of feeding. Incorporation of ImmuPlus at the rate of 1g/kg feed in the diet of prawn for 3 weeks may be beneficial in raising the immune status of prawn.