Role of chemoradiation in advanced cervical cancer.

A prospective randomized study was conducted in our department of Radiotherapy, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal to evaluating the role of chemoradiation in the management of advanced inoperable cervical cancer (stage IIB-IIIB) taking only radiation treatment as control spanning the period 1996-1999. Of the fifty patients accumulated in the study group, three patients did not complete treatment, one expired due to other causes and three were lost to follow up. Likewise, of the forty-six patients in the control group, one patient did not complete treatment and 4 were lost to follow up. Thus only 43 and 41 patients were available for the result analysis for the study and control groups respectively. The early treatment response as assessed after two months of treatment conclusion were 79.1%, 13.9%, 93.0% and 58.5%, 31.7%, 90.2% as complete response (CR), partial response (PR), and total response (TR) respectively for the study and control groups. Our patients included in this study had a median follow up of 35 months and 33 months for study and control groups respectively. For this follow up, the disease-free survival, survival with disease and overall survival were 67.4%, 7.0%, 74.4% and 43.9%, 12.2%, 56.1% for study and control groups respectively. There was an increase in early side-effects in the chemoradiation group but the difference was not significant. Because of the early side effects, treatment delays ensued in 7 patients (16.3%) and in 3 patients (7.3%) in the study and control groups respectively. There was no significant increase in the late treatment toxicities in both the groups.

Biliary and serum immunoglobulin alterations in patients of cholelithiasis.

IgG, IgA and IgM were estimated in serum, common bile duct bile and gall bladder bile by single radial immunodiffusion technique in 30 patients of cholelithiasis, which included 22 patients of cholelithiasis with non functioning gall bladder (sub group A) and 8 patients of cholelithiasis with functioning gall bladder (sub group B). 30 age and sex matched controls were also included in the study. Serum IgG, IgA and IgM were significantly raised in patients of cholelithiasis as compared to controls. However, in gall bladder bile although IgA and IgM were significantly lower (more so in sub group A) than that of control group (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001 respectively but there was no change in IgG. While in common bile duct bile, rise in all the three immunoglobulins was statistically insignificant when compared to controls.