Pathological response for neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced breast cancer at NCI, Sudan: 6 years' experience

Breast cancer is the leading cancer in Sudanese females. This study was done to evaluate the clinical response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients treated at National Cancer Institute [NCI] and to compare it with the published literature. This is a retrospective study conducted in National Cancer Institute [NCI], Gezira State, Sudan during the period from April 2005 to August 2011. We studied the data for all patients who have locally advanced breast cancer and treated at NCI during study period. Patients who remained inoperable after treatment were considered as having no response to therapy. Data were introduced and analyzed using SPSS software. Data evaluated includes Patient age, disease stage, chemotherapy regimens, and number of cycles, tumor histology, grade and histopathology after chemotherapy. A total of 110 patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and fulfilled criteria for inclusion during the period 2005 to 2011 were evaluated. Majority of patients were between 30-50 years of age [63%]. Patients who achieved response and had surgery were 65%. Among those who underwent surgery 22% have complete pathological response. Most of patients who achieved complete histopathological response had six cycles of chemotherapy. this study demonstrated that neoadjuvant systemic therapy is an accepted approach for women with locally advanced breast cancer for whom immediate surgery is inappropriate, and we achieved results similar to the international literature

Clinical features of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Sudan: a study of 103 cases

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma [NPC] is the second leading cancer among men in Sudan. The objective of this work is to study the demographic and clinical features of NPC in Sudanese patients and to compare the results with international series. This is a retrospective hospital-based study conducted at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Biology and Oncology [INMO], University of Gezira; Wad Medani, Suda. Hospital records of all patients with NPC who presented during the period from January 2000 to December 2005 were reviewed. Parameters analyzed were age, sex, ethnic group, residence and clinical presentation. The total number of case records reviewed was 103. Most cases were Gezira State inhabitant [61.2%]. Age distribution ranged from 11 to 82 years with a mean age of 45.5 years. The male to female ratio was 2:1. The average duration of symptoms was 16.1 weeks. The most common clinical presentations in the order of frequency were cervical lymph node enlargement [73.2%], nasal obstruction [33.9%], hearing impairment [27.7%], epistaxis [22.3%], ear pain [18.8%] and palatal paralysis [14.3%]. The most affected ethnic group was Sudanese Arabs [74.8%]. The histological types were WHO-type III in [73.8%] of patients and WHO-type II in [26.2%] of patients, WHO type-I was not encountered in this study. Nasopharyngeal cancer is a common cancer is Sudan and affects men more than women. Patients usually present late mostly with cervical lymphadenopathy and nasal symptoms like obstruction and epistaxis