Single-fraction radiation: A promising adjuvant therapy to prevent keloid recurrence.

INTRODUCTION: Keloids are characterized by collection of atypical fibroblasts with excessive deposition of extracellular matrix components. Keloids are prone to high recurrence (50%-80%) with unimodality treatment. Radiation is a promising approach among the adjuvant modalities in vogue though consensus is lacking on dose-fractionation schedule. AIM: The present study aimed to analyze the efficacy of single-fraction high-dose adjuvant radiotherapy to prevent keloid recurrence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Details of patients treated for keloids using external beam radiation therapy from January 2011 to December 2016 were retrieved from electronic medical records and radiation therapy charts and analyzed. RESULTS: Thirty-seven keloid lesions in thirty patients were analyzed. Keloids received radiation within 24-72 h postsurgery using 6 MeV electron beam. 45.9% of keloids were in the chest wall. Dose ranged between 5 Gy and 12 Gy in 1-3 fractions. Eight Gy was used in 78.4%. The single fraction was preferred in 91.9%. Good cosmesis was achieved in all except three who had wound dehiscence. Median follow-up was 32.67 months. 16.2% had recurrence. Median time to recur was 13.6 months, and median recurrence-free interval 21.23 months. Among those who received 8 Gy single fraction, 73.4% remained recurrence-free at 5 years. CONCLUSION: Albeit a retrospective analysis, ours is the only study in literature offering 8 Gy single dose, using electrons, as a postoperative adjuvant treatment to prevent recurrence in keloids. Our recurrence rates were similar to that quoted in published series. This hence can be validated in further studies as it is cosmetically acceptable, safe, painless, and cost-effective with good patient compliance.

Prognostic Factors in Primary Vaginal Cancer: A Single Institute Experience and Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND: Primary vaginal carcinoma is rare, accounting for 1-2 % of all gynecological malignancies. Being rare, most observations are based on retrospective and comparative analyses. This study was aimed to retrospectively analyze the prognostic factors and its relevance in the outcomes of primary vaginal cancers. MATERIALS: Medical records of all cases of primary vaginal cancers, presented to Department of Oncology, from 2004 to 2012, at a tertiary care center in southern India, were retrieved from electronic medical records, and were analyzed. RESULTS: The total number of cases was 32. Median age at presentation was 64.28 years. Squamous histology accounted for 84.4 %, with the rest being adenocarcinoma. Surgery was offered for five (15.6 %), and concurrent chemotherapy for 14 (43.8 %) patients. Three patients had only surgery. All others received radiotherapy. Twenty received external beam radiation (EBRT) and vaginal brachytherapy (VBT); seven only EBRT and two, adjuvant radiation. Five patients had residual disease; two, stage III, and three stage IV. Median follow-up was 55.83 months. Twelve patients were alive at last follow-up (37.5 %), while 14 were dead (43.8 %-8 of disease and 6 of other causes). Six patients were lost to follow-up (18.8 %). Twenty patients were disease free. Seven had recurrence, three loco-regional and four distant. Median overall survival (OS) was 86.1 months, disease-free survival (DFS) 90.17 months, and disease-specific survival (DSS) 97.13 months. When well and moderately differentiated tumors were taken together, the 5-year OS, DFS, and DSS rates were, 56.6, 64.3, and 82.3 %. For poorly differentiated tumors, median OS, DFS, and DSS were, 20.9, 14.6, and 20.9 months, with statistically significant advantage for better grade tumors, for DSS (p 0.050). Better 5-year OS, DFS, and DSS rates were observed for stage I + II group, with 54.9, 79.8, and 78.9 %, compared with advanced stage where the same were 54.8, 38.2, and 68.6 % (DFS-p 0.003, DSS-p 0.009). Grade and stage of tumor had statistically significant predictive value over the outcomes, while tumor size showed a significant trend. Patients treated with combination of EBRT and VBT fared well. CONCLUSION: Our study could conclude that grade of differentiation was a significant predictor of poor survival as was stage of disease. Combination of VBT and external beam radiotherapy provides good DFS.

Synchronous phalangeal metastases in upper and lower limbs from primary breast malignancy: a rare case scenario with a review of the literature.

Osseous metastasis from a primary breast cancer is common, and the skeletal related morbidity is high. However, solitary acral bony metastasis is rare and the diagnosis of these lesions poses a challenge to the physician. We describe a case of a patient treated with primary breast cancer who later presented with metastatic osteolytic bone lesions confined to a forefinger and toe.

Naughty knot: a case of nasogastric tube knotting.

Nasogastric intubation is a common procedure for enteral nutritional support in medical practice. Random spontaneous true knot formation in the tube is rarely encountered and is a cause of unanticipated trauma. This is a case of a true knot formation diagnosed with fluoroscopy and managed without untoward trauma.

Report of a case of radiation-induced new-onset vitiligo with collective review of cases in the literature of radiation-related vitiligo.

Radiation-induced hypopigmentation consistent vitiligo has been reported in a few case reports. We report herewith a case of vitiligo at the site of radiation delivery after a lag of several months in a patient with preexisting hypothyroidism without a previous or family history of vitiligo, and review the cases reported in the literature collectively.