Low-Dose Abiraterone in Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Is It Practice Changing? Facts and Facets.

PURPOSE: It is projected that approximately 50,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 2020 in India. Survival has improved because of the development of effective drugs such as abiraterone acetate, but universal accessibility to treatment is not always possible because of cost constraints in lower- and middle-income countries. Recently, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has included low-dose abiraterone (250 mg/day) with food as an alternative treatment option to full-dose abiraterone (1,000 mg/day) fasting. METHODS: The Science and Cost Cancer Consortium conducted a survey to evaluate the use of abiraterone in India and the opinions of medical oncologists about using low-dose treatment. Modeling was used to estimate potential financial benefits to individual patients and to estimate overall costs of health care in India if low-dose abiraterone is prescribed. RESULTS: Of 251 Indian medical oncologists who were invited to participate in the survey, 125 provided their e-mail address and received the survey; 118 responded (47% of the total). Of these, 25% were not aware of the recent NCCN recommendation, 55% were already prescribing low-dose abiraterone when resources were limited, 7% had already changed their practice, and 29% agreed to switch to a universal practice of using low-dose abiraterone with food; 9% of practitioners would not use low-dose abiraterone. Estimated mean per patient savings was US$3,640, with annual savings of US$182 million in India. CONCLUSION: Use of lower-dose abiraterone would increase access to treatment in India and globally and lead to large cost savings.

Sinonasal Angioleiomyoma: A Rare Entity.

The present case of angioleiomyoma of the nasal cavity in a 59-year-old male is unique, being the first case from North India and also because of its unique area of origin. The patient was referred to the Ear, Nose and Throat Outpatient Department with a diagnosis of an asymptomatic nasal mass. Biopsy done on the mass in another hospital reported angiofibroma. Excision was done after all relevant investigations. Histopathology revealed diagnosis of angioleiomyoma. Immunohistochemistry revealed desmin, SMA, and H-caldesmon positivity, consistent with the diagnosis of angioleiomyoma. Our case report thus highlights the im-portance of including this diagnosis in the differential diagnoses of nasal masses.