A feasibility study towards cryopreservation of silkworm eggs: response of non-diapause silkworm eggs to low temperature.

Insect embryos are very sensitive to chilling temperatures and vary with species and their developmental stages. Insect eggs are small and can supercool to temperatures ranging from -5 degrees C to -40 degrees C. In general, insects rely on a variety of ecological and physiological adaptations to survive low temperatures, making cryopreservation technique significantly complex. Mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori L., Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) eggs are cleidoic with chorion (approximately 20-25 µm thick). Preservation of non-diapause eggs to a limited period is practiced usually to delay hatching. The advantage of early embryonic periods having resistance to low temperature is utilized for chilling of eggs and preservation for long periods. However, technique for cryopreservation of silkworm eggs is not yet developed and the identification of precise embryonic stage and chill sensitivity is necessary for effective silkworm cryopreservation. The paper reports the chill-sensitivity and tolerance of non-diapause silkworm embryos of mulberry silkworm at various embryonic stages. Silkworm embryo of 48h-age are relatively chill-sensitive as compared to other embryonic ages. This is vital information for the development of cryopreservation protocol for silkworm eggs.

A prospective study to assess the efficacy and toxicity of 5-flurouracil and cisplatin versus taxane and cisplatin as induction chemotherapy in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell cancer in a regional cancer center in India.

AIM: The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy and toxicity of 5-flurouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin (PF) versus taxane and cisplatin (TP) as induction chemotherapy in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: There were 50 patients in each arm, matched for age, performance state, site and stage of disease. PF arm (cisplatin - 100 mg/m2 D1, 5-FU - 1000 mg/m2 D1-D5) TP arm (docetaxel - 75 mg/m2 or paclitaxel - 175 mg/m2 on D1, cisplatin 75 mg/m2 on D2), received once in 3 weeks for 3 cycles. Patients without progressive disease underwent either surgery or chemoradiation. The primary end point was overall response rate (ORR) and secondary endpoint was toxicity. RESULTS: In a total of 100 patients in our study, 44 in PF and 47 in TP arm were evaluable. ORR was 86.6% in PF arm and 82.9% in TP arm (P = 0.71).There were more Grade 3 or 4 events of neutropenia, mucositis (P ≤ 0.05) and myelosuppression diarrhea, febrile neutropenia (P ≥ 0.05) in PF arm compared with TP arm. Post-chemotherapy hospital admissions due to toxicity were more frequent in PF arm (38.6% vs. 19%), dropout rate due to toxicity (9% vs. 0%) and deaths (6.8% vs. 2.1%) were more common in PF arm compared with TP arm. CONCLUSION: TP induction chemotherapy better tolerated than PF, which has similar efficacy, further multicenter randomized controlled studies; involving a large sample size is needed to confirm our data.

A study of triple negative breast cancer at a tertiary cancer care center in southern India.

BACKGROUND: Triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs) are a diverse and heterogeneous group of tumors that by definition lack estrogen and progesterone receptors and amplification of the HER-2 gene. The majority of the tumors classified as TNBCs are highly malignant, patients are usually young and only a subgroup of patients responds to conventional chemotherapy with a favorable prognosis. Various studies have been reported in western literature on TNBCs, all highlighting the poor prognosis of this subtype. However, extensive data from India is lacking. AIM: The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiological and clinical profile of TNBCs at our institute. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was the retrospective study carried out in Tertiary Cancer Care Center in South India. Case files of all breast cancer patients were reviewed from the hospital database registered in 1 year and TNBC patients were selected for the study. Patient's characteristic, treatment, and histological features were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 322 patients were registered during the period of 1 year and 26% (84/322) of total patients were TNBC. Median age of presentation was 44.5 years. About 94% (79/84) of patients had first full-term delivery before the age of 30 years. The most common presenting symptom was left sided breast lump. Locally advanced and early breast cancer (EBC) was 51% (43/84) and 42% (36/84), respectively. Metastatic breast cancer was seen in five patients. The highest numbers of patients were node negative disease (36.9%) [31/84], followed by N1 30.95% (26/84). Most of the patients had high-grade tumor. 94% (34/36) of cases of EBC had undergone upfront modified radical mastectomy. Invasive ductal carcinoma was the predominant histology except one who had medullary carcinoma. Twenty-four patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). There was no pathological complete remission, but all patients responded to NACT. Metastatic disease was seen in five patients. All patients had bone metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: TNBCs are highly aggressive subtype, with high grade with limited treatment options and very poor prognosis. Incidence is more in our country than the western literature. Even in our country also the incidence is varies in different region. TNBCs are significantly associated with young aged patients. There was a lack of association between tumor size and lymph node positivity.

Silkworm (Bombyx mori) cryopreservation: embryonic development as revealed by microscopic studies.

Embryo cryopreservation offers a way to safeguard against unwelcome mutations and inadvertent selection that can change its unique genetic makeup. Having a genetic repository of the silkworm genetic resources would ensure preservation of original genetic makeup and will permit to study what genes may have been lost in the selection process. For cryopreservation of eggs and embryos of silkworm, the determination of embryonic stages is a prerequisite. This study reports microscopic observations on embryonic development. The embryonic stages in the dechorionated eggs were determined in parallel comparison with the embryos isolated from intact eggs of different developmental ages.