Concise genetic profile of lung carcinoma.

The WHO classification of lung cancer (2015) is based on immunohistochemistry and molecular evaluation. This also includes microscopic analysis of morphological patterns that aids in the pathological diagnosis and classification of lung cancers. Lung cancers are the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Recent advancements in identifying the etiopathogenesis are majorly driven by gene mutation studies. This has been explained by The Cancer Genome Atlas, next-generation sequencer and TRAcking non-small cell lung cancer evolution through therapy [Rx]. This article reviews the genetic profile of adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma and pulmonary carcinoids. This includes the prolific genetic alterations and novel molecular changes seen in these tumours. In addition, target- specific drugs that have shown promising effects in clinical use and trials are also briefly discussed.

The Correlation of Papanicolaou Smears and Clinical Features to Identify the Common Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer: A Retrospective and Descriptive Study from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Trinidad.

Background: Cervical cancer, the fourth most frequent cancer in women, is associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV). This study identifies risk factors and clinical findings for abnormal cervical cytology and histopathology in the Trinidad and Tobago populations. Some risk factors include early age of first coitus, a high number of sexual partners, high parity, smoking, and using certain medications, such as oral contraception. This study aims to identify the significance of Papanicolaou (pap) smears and the common risk factors that contribute to the development of premalignant and malignant cervical lesions. Method: A three-year retrospective, descriptive study of cervical cancer was conducted at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. The subject population included 215 female patients aged 18 years and older with the following documented abnormal cervical cytology: (ASCUS), ASC-H, LSIL, HSIL, Atypical Glandular cells, HPV, Adenocarcinoma, and Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Histopathology records were analysed for thirty-three of these patients. Patients' information was recorded on data collection sheets adapted from the North Central Regional Health Authority's cytology laboratory standardised reporting format request form. Results and Findings: The data were analysed via Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software edition 23 using frequency tables and descriptive analysis. The mean sample age of the population was 36.7 years, the first age of coitus was 18.1 years, the number of sexual partners was 3.8, and the number of live births was 2. LSIL was the most popular abnormal finding, 32.6%, followed by HSIL, 28.8%, and ASCUS, 27.4%. Most histopathological reports resulted in CIN I and II. Conclusions: The significant risk factors observed for cytology abnormalities and premalignant lesions were early age of coitus, a high number of sexual partners, and no use of contraception. Patients mostly presented as asymptomatic despite obtaining abnormal cytology results. Hence, regular pap smear screening should continue to be highly encouraged.

Social Environmental Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in India: A Population-Based Survey.

Background: During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, trust within a community in the projected schemes or strategies to combat COVID-19 depends on the confidence generated and launched by the government and medical employees toward the public. The "vaccination intention" within a community is determined by a range of factors, which include sociodemographic features, personal beliefs, and attitude toward vaccination. Methods: A nationwide survey was conducted involving 2000 people using a Tencent questionnaire platform. One-way ANOVA was conducted for age, education, and occupation with vaccination intention for the COVID-19 vaccine. Correlation analysis was conducted between sources, trust, and vaccination intention indicating both types of sources (official and unofficial sources) and both types of trust (trust in the social environment and in vaccines). Results: The reception of the sources of information on the COVID-19 vaccine was significantly higher from official sources (M = 5.54, SD = 1.37) and government officials (M = 5.68, SD = 1.499) compared with that from experts in medicine (M = 5.39, SD = 1.511). Among the unofficial sources, "chatting and communicating with family and friends" scored the highest (M = 4.84, SD = 1.649). In the statistics on people's trust in all aspects involved in vaccines, the level of trust in the social environment was significantly higher and more concentrated than in vaccines (M = 5.67, SD = 1.129). The level of trust in government (M = 5.80, SD = 1.256) was slightly higher than in medical personnel (M = 5.53, SD = 1.199). People's willingness to be vaccinated was generally high (M = 78.15, SD = 22.354). The demographic factors were not influential in vaccination intention. Both sources (official and unofficial sources) and trust (trust in the social environment and in vaccines) are significantly and positively correlated with vaccination intention. Information receptions from official and unofficial sources were significant positive predictors of trust in the social environment, but they were not significant predictors of trust in vaccines. The mediating effect of trust in vaccines on the relationship between receiving information from official and unofficial sources and vaccination intention was insignificant. Conclusions: This study revealed that trust in the environment is an important channel linking people's information reception and vaccination intention, explores a new path for health information communication, and attempts to provide new ideas for health information dissemination and promotion.

The Commonwealth Caribbean COVID-19: Regions Resilient Pathway During Pandemic.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has created severe humanitarian and socio-economic constrains in the world. The health crises caused by COVID-19 has focused on consistent co-operation and strong bonding between the developed, developing and the under-developed countries to overcome this challenging pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemic containment in the Caribbean Region: A review of case-management and public health strategies.

COVID-19 emerged initially from Wuhan, Hubei province, China, in late December 2019, and since then, it has spread globally to be declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The Caribbean region started reporting COVID-19 cases in early March 2020, triggering new regional public health crises. The initial suspects and confirmed cases across the Caribbean countries were mainly imported cases and from cruise ships. The clinical manifestations varied from fever, cough, and malaise in mild cases to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and shock in severe cases. The Caribbean Public Health Agency has provided frequent updates on the preventive strategies and quarantine measures across the Caribbean member states. COVID-19 has had a serious impact on the Caribbean region's health system, economy, and psychology. This review presents the Caribbean perspective of COVID-19, detailing the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, management, and preventive and surveillance measures. Vaccine hesitancy was found to be a major challenge that needs appropriate health education strategies to address the public. Strong leadership and regional collaboration among the Caribbean member states are necessary to provide optimal real-time data to the public and implement appropriate and effective guidelines in the island states.

Molecular Genetics in Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Malignancies.

Global genomic studies have detected the role of genomic alterations in the pathogenesis of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated tumors. EBV oncoproteins cause a vital shift of EBV from an infectious virus to an oncogenic form during the latent and lytic phase within the lymphoid B cells and epithelial cells. This epigenetic alteration modulates the virus and host genomes and inactivates and disrupts numerous tumor suppressors and signaling pathways. Genomic profiling has played the main role in identifying EBV cancer pathogenesis and its related targeted therapies. This article reviews the role of genetic changes in EBV-associated lymphomas and carcinomas. This includes the prolific molecular genesis, key diagnostic tools, and target-specific drugs that have been in recent clinical use.

A rapid review of recent advances in diagnosis, treatment and vaccination for COVID-19.

COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2, which originated in Wuhan, Hubei province, Central China, in December 2019 and since then has spread rapidly, resulting in a severe pandemic. The infected patient presents with varying non-specific symptoms requiring an accurate and rapid diagnostic tool to detect SARS-CoV-2. This is followed by effective patient isolation and early treatment initiation ranging from supportive therapy to specific drugs such as corticosteroids, antiviral agents, antibiotics, and the recently introduced convalescent plasma. The development of an efficient vaccine has been an on-going challenge by various nations and research companies. A literature search was conducted in early December 2020 in all the major databases such as Medline/PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar search engines. The findings are discussed in three main thematic areas namely diagnostic approaches, therapeutic options, and potential vaccines in various phases of development. Therefore, an effective and economical vaccine remains the only retort to combat COVID-19 successfully to save millions of lives during this pandemic. However, there is a great scope for further research in discovering cost-effective and safer therapeutics, vaccines and strategies to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 prevention and treatment services.

Breast cancer in Trinidad and Tobago: Etiopathogenesis, histopathology and receptor study.

Background: Breast Carcinoma (BCa) is the leading cause of cancer among females in Trinidad and Tobago (TnT). This twin-island has a diversified population of 1.3 million individuals that display and are exposed to a variety of lifestyle choices that have been linked to the development of BCa. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the risk factors that influence the development of BCa, analyze the common histopathological details, and categorize BCa based on receptor study. Methods: Cancer information for 120 BCa cases at Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex from 2012 to 2019 was retrieved, analyzed, and statistically estimated. The clinical details were categorized based on data tabulations, and histological assessment was performed to identify specific features. The receptor analysis was classified based on estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor-2 (HER-2neu) staining intensity. A descriptive data analysis and comparison were statistically evaluated in all these cases. Results: Epidemiological factors influencing the development of BCa were age with a peak of 56-65 years 27.5% (n = 33), ethnicity predominated in Indo-Trinidadians 48.33% (n = 58), and marital status primarily in unmarried/single/widowed patients 55% (n = 66). Infiltrating ductal carcinoma was the principal histopathological type 91.66% (n = 110). Receptor analysis revealed ER/PR + HER-2neu as the most common type 40% (n = 18) for therapeutic surveillance. Conclusion: This study highlights various epidemiological factors that influence the development of BCa among females in TnT. Histopathological analysis and receptor studies would provide a useful link between the tumor behavior and its prognosis.

Origin, transmission, diagnosis and management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Coronavirus has emerged as a global health threat due to its accelerated geographic spread over the last two decades. This article reviews the current state of knowledge concerning the origin, transmission, diagnosis and management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Historically, it has caused two pandemics: severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome followed by the present COVID-19 that emerged from China. The virus is believed to be acquired from zoonotic source and spreads through direct and contact transmission. The symptomatic phase manifests with fever, cough and myalgia to severe respiratory failure. The diagnosis is confirmed using reverse transcriptase PCR. Management of COVID-19 is mainly by supportive therapy along with mechanical ventilation in severe cases. Preventive strategies form the major role in reducing the public spread of virus along with successful disease isolation and community containment. Development of a vaccine to eliminate the virus from the host still remains an ongoing challenge.

Primary Bladder Neurofibroma: A Rare Case with Clinical Implications and Diagnostic Challenges.

Neurofibroma of the genito-urinary tract is rare. Urinary bladder is the commonest organ involved in cases of urinary tract involvement. Patients present early in life and there is male preponderance. We discuss here a case of primary neurofibroma of the urinary bladder in a 52-year-male presenting with haematuria, irritative bladder symptoms and pelvic mass. Cystoscopy showed a swelling in the left lateral wall. A transurethral biopsy revealed neurofibroma of the urinary bladder. Immunohistochemical studies confirmed the diagnosis.

A 36-year-old female with Krukenberg tumor from a colonic carcinoma.

Krukenberg tumor is bilateral ovarian carcinoma's metastasizing most commonly from a gastric primary followed by a colon. We report a case of 36-year-old female with bilateral ovarian mass diagnosed as Krukenberg with a work up for locating the primary site. In this case, we discuss widely the clinical aspects with histopathological features and literature review of Krukenberg tumor.

Sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma: case report and review of literature.

Sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma is a tumour with aggressive behaviour. It is a form of dedifferentiated carcinoma with high incidence of metastases to the lungs. We report a case of 55-year-old male who presented with complaints of loin pain and hematuria. The biopsy confirmed sarcomatoid variant of renal cell carcinoma.