Economics of cancer care: A community-based cross-sectional study in Kerala, India.

BACKGROUND: The estimated incidence of cancer cases in Kerala for 2014 was 31,400 and the mortality associated with it was 13,816. Although the treatment of cancer has shown remarkable advances, it has come with increasing costs. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to estimate the economic burden of cancer in Vypin Block Panchayat at Ernakulam by analyzing the average total direct and indirect cost of cancer care, socioeconomic status, and cost of cancer care between government and private hospitals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted for 2 months from March to April 2018. The study was conducted by utilizing an annotated cost questionnaire for completion by patients. Total direct and indirect cost was estimated. Appropriate statistical tests were used. RESULTS: Direct cost for cancer care contributed 75% toward the cost of illness and the remaining was found to be indirect cost. Loss of income (44%) contributed to the largest chunk of indirect cost. The average direct cost for cancer care was found to be Rs. 25,606 and the average indirect cost was Rs. 8772. The average total cost of cancer care was calculated to be Rs. 34,378. Significant statistical variation was found between the cost of cancer care in private and government hospitals. The economic burden of cancer in this Vypin Block Panchayat was found to be Rs. 218,256,977/. CONCLUSION: The ratio of average income to average cost in this study is skewed which indicates the lack of affordability for cancer care in this population. A very large gap, therefore, exits between income levels and cost of cancer care clearly indicating a vast gap between affordability and cost of treatment, which clearly necessitates the need for a definite policy and state intervention for a mass cancer care program.

Incidental gallbladder carcinoma: Utility of histopathological evaluation of routine cholecystectomy specimens.

BACKGROUND: Incidental gallbladder carcinoma (IGBC) is rare cancer diagnosed during or after cholecystectomy done for benign gallbladder disease. The concern whether routine histopathological examination is needed for all cholecystectomy specimens still remains debatable. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients diagnosed with IGBC over a period of 2 years were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical details including clinical presentation, preoperative ultrasound (USG) findings, and macroscopic features were retrieved. Diagnosis of IGBC was confirmed on microscopic examination, and staging was done using the tumor node metastasis staging system. RESULTS: Of the 4800 cholecystectomy specimens retrieved, diagnosis of IGBC was rendered in twenty cases (0.41%). Mean patient age was 50.65 years with a female preponderance. Preoperative USG detected an increase in wall thickness in six cases (30%) in contrast to gross examination which revealed the same in 55% (11/20) cases. Mucosal ulceration was observed in two cases (10%) of IGBC and seven cases (35%) did not reveal any preoperative or macroscopic findings suggestive of malignancy. Associated cholelithiasis was observed in 14 cases. Final diagnosis of IGBC was made on histomorphological assessment with tumor cells infiltrating the lamina propria in three cases (pT1b), muscularis propria in 15 cases (pT1b), and serosa in the remaining 2 cases (pT2). CONCLUSION: IGBC is a clinical masquerader which often evades the eye of a radiologist and comes as pathological surprise. Histopathological examination of cholecystectomy specimens remains the gold standard for the detection of this occult, yet notorious malignancy and assessment of the depth of invasion in IGBC guide further management.

Orbital dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans with frontal and ethmoid sinus involvement: A case report and brief review of literature.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a soft tissue sarcoma that is dermal in origin. The incidence is <0.1% of all malignancies and 1% of soft tissue sarcoma. Most commonly, it involves trunk (62%) followed by extremities (25%) and head and neck (13%). It is a slow growing tumor with locally aggressive behavior. Here, a 50-year-old female diagnosed with orbital dermatofibrosarcoma developed extra-axial component in right frontal region even on chemotherapy. Hence, the bad prognostic factors are yet to be established in dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans.

Osteosarcoma Arising in Carcinosarcoma De Novo Parotid Gland in a Young Man: An Unusual Case with Review of Literature.

Carcinosarcoma of the parotid gland, a true malignant mixed tumour is extremely rare. It may occur in a pre-existing pleomorphic adenoma or arise de novo. We report a case of carcinosarcoma de novo harbouring an osteosarcomatous element in a 35-year-old man along with review of the reported cases. Excision was done and histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis. Long term follow up has been recommended for these tumours owing to their high propensity of recurrence and metastasis. Our case discusses the importance of histopathology and limitation of preoperative imaging in the diagnosis of such an aggressive neoplasm; emphasizing the fact that possibility of carcinosarcoma should be kept in mind while dealing with salivary gland lesions even at a younger age.

Growing Teratoma Syndrome.

Growing teratoma syndrome, a disease characterized by presence of benign metastasis increasing in size and number after chemotherapy, is infrequent occurrence. Being unfamiliar with the disease entity, many oncologists misinterpret it as disease progression. Though the exact etio-pathognesis of the disease is still unidentified, but clinical characteristics are well defined. Being a chemo and radio-resistant disease, surgery offers only cure. We present a case of ovarian immature teratoma, who after chemotherapy presented with increased tumor size. Resected specimen confirms the diagnosis of mature teratoma leading to recognition of GTS. Surgery resulted in cure.

Clinicopathological Analysis of Mediastinal Masses: A Mixed Bag of Non-Neoplastic and Neoplastic Etiologies.

OBJECTIVE: The mediastinum is the central portion of the thoracic cavity, housing numerous organs and harbouring a mixed bag of non-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions. Accurate diagnosis is essential owing to the widely variable therapeutic and prognostic implications. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Cases of mediastinal masses were retrospectively reviewed from January 2011 till January 2016. Clinico-radiological records of these cases were retrieved. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was performed wherever feasible. Histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation of the excised specimens was undertaken. RESULTS: Of the 60 cases included in our study, 22 were anterior, 20 were middle and 18 posterior mediastinal masses. The majority of the patients were symptomatic (96.8%). The most common pathology was thymoma (12 cases) followed by ten cases of lymphoma, eight cases each of tubercular lymphadenopathy and schwannoma, six cases of neurofibroma, four cases of extragonadal germ cell tumours, two cases each of thymic cyst, bronchogenic cyst, retrosternal goitre, ganglioneuroma and neuroblastoma, and one case each of lipoma and thymolipoma. FNAC was done in 54 cases of which 7 cases yielded inadequate material. Immunohistochemistry was required for classification of lymphoma cases and confirmation of a mixed component in germ cell tumours. CONCLUSION: Mediastinal masses create significant diagnostic dilemma for the clinicians, radiologists and histopathologists. While imaging studies help in narrowing the differential diagnosis, accurate categorisation is not always possible. FNAC is a useful and cost effective tool. However, sampling error and complexities in performing the technique are major hurdles in the usefulness of this diagnostic modality.

Utility of Cluster of Differentiation 5 and Cluster of Differentiation 117 Immunoprofile in Distinguishing Thymic Carcinoma from Pulmonary Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Study on 1800 Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer Cases.

BACKGROUND: Mediastinum harbors a mixed bag of neoplastic lesions with varied therapeutic and prognostic implications. Distinguishing pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma from thymic carcinoma is a challenging task owing to rather nonspecific clinicoradiological features and a considerable overlap in histomorphological features. Thus, we evaluated the diagnostic utility of cluster of differentiation 5 (CD5) and CD117 immunohistochemical markers in distinguishing these tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The archives of department of histopathology were retrospectively reviewed from June 2012 to May 2016. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded blocks of 1800 cases diagnosed as nonsmall cell lung carcinoma were retrieved, and immunohistochemical expression of CD5 and CD117 was evaluated in these cases. RESULTS: Adenocarcinoma (980; 54.44%) was the most common histological subtype of lung carcinoma observed in our study. CD117 was positive in 171 out of 1800 cases (9.5%) of which 120 cases (70.17%) were adenocarcinoma, followed by 40 cases (23.4%) of squamous cell carcinoma. Immunoreactivity for CD5 was observed in 209 cases (11.61%), 200 (95.7%) cases of which were diagnosed as adenocarcinoma. None of the cases diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma on histomorphology showed CD5 immunoexpression. CONCLUSION: While thymic squamous cell carcinomas are well known for CD5 and CD117 coexpression, none of the cases of squamous cell carcinoma arising in lung express CD5. These markers are a diagnostic tool to distinguish a primary lung squamous cell carcinoma from thymic carcinoma, particularly in the setting of a central pulmonary lesion with mediastinal involvement.