Clinical Profile and Outcomes of Carcinoma Penis Patients Receiving Systemic Therapy at an Indian tertiary care Center: A Retrospective Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Penile cancer is a rare malignancy with scant data on the impact of systemic therapy on outcomes. METHODS: Retrospective observational study of patients with a histological diagnosis of carcinoma penis treated with systemic therapy at the Tata Memorial Centre (Mumbai, India) between August 2010 and February 2018. Primary objective was overall survival (OS); secondary objectives included assessment of clinical characteristics, treatment approaches, and toxicity profiles. RESULTS: We included 91 patients with penile carcinoma who received systemic therapy at our center. Intent of therapy was curative in 71 patients (78%), and palliative in 20 (22%). Median age was 57 years (interquartile range [IQR], 50-65.5) for curatively treated patients and 58.5 years (IQR, 44-65.2) for those with advanced disease. Common presenting symptoms were lumps (70%), and pain (57%). Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) with paclitaxel + platinum was administered to 19 patients (20.9%), of which 7 (37%) attained complete or partial response. Six patients (31.5%) underwent R0 surgery post-NACT. All 71 patients underwent primary surgery; 47 (66.2%) undergoing partial penectomy. Of the 20 patients treated with palliative first-line chemotherapy, 4(20%) attained a partial response. Median OS of patients treated in curative and palliative settings was 33.8 months (95% CI, 17.2-not recorded) and 11.4 months (95% CI, 9.53-23.3), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with penile cancer treated with systemic therapy have poor outcomes. Little over a third of the patients respond to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and those with advanced disease have poor survival despite systemic therapy, emphasizing the need for early detection and optimum management of primary and nodal disease.

Low-dose versus standard-dose olanzapine with triple antiemetic therapy for prevention of highly emetogenic chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients with solid tumours: a single-centre, open-label, non-inferiority, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: Olanzapine is an effective antiemetic agent but it results in substantial daytime somnolence when administered at the standard dose. Our aim was to compare the efficacy of low-dose versus standard-dose olanzapine after highly emetogenic chemotherapy in patients with solid tumours. METHODS: This was a single-centre, open-label, non-inferiority, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial done in a tertiary care referral centre in India (Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai). Patients aged 13-75 years with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-2, who were receiving doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide or high-dose cisplatin for a solid tumour were eligible. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1), with block randomisation (block sizes of 2 or 4) and stratified by sex, age (≥55 or <55 years), and chemotherapy regimen, to receive low-dose (2·5 mg) oral olanzapine or standard-dose (10·0 mg) oral olanzapine daily for 4 days, in combination with a triple antiemetic regimen. Study staff were masked to treatment allocation but patients were aware of their group assignment. The primary endpoint was complete control, defined as no emetic episodes, no rescue medications, and no or mild nausea in the overall phase (0-120 hours), assessed in the modified intention-to-treat (mITT) population (ie, all eligible patients who received protocol-specified treatment, excluding those who had eligibility violations and who withdrew consent after randomisation). Daytime somnolence was the safety endpoint of interest. Non-inferiority was shown if the upper limit of the one-sided 95% CI for the difference in the complete control proportions between the treatment groups excluded the non-inferiority margin of 10%. This study is registered with the Clinical Trial Registry India, CTRI/2021/01/030233, is closed to accrual, and this is the final data analysis. RESULTS: Between Feb 9, 2021, and May 30, 2023, 356 patients were pre-screened for eligibility, of whom 275 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned (134 to the 2·5 mg olanzapine group and 141 to the 10·0 mg olanzapine group). 267 patients (132 in the 2·5 mg group and 135 in the 10·0 mg group) were included in the mITT population, of whom 252 (94%) were female, 15 (6%) were male, and 242 (91%) had breast cancer. 59 (45%) of 132 patients in the 2·5 mg olanzapine group had complete control in the overall phase versus 59 (44%) of 135 in the 10·0 mg olanzapine group (difference -1·0% [one-sided 95% CI -100·0 to 9·0]; p=0·87). In the overall phase, there were significantly fewer patients in the 2·5 mg olanzapine group than in the 10·0 mg olanzapine group with daytime somnolence of any grade (86 [65%] of 132 vs 121 [90%] of 135; p<0·0001) and of severe grade on day 1 (six]5%] vs 54 [40%]; p<0·0001). INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest that olanzapine 2·5 mg is non-inferior to 10·0 mg in antiemetic efficacy and results in reduced occurrence of daytime somnolence among patients receiving highly emetic chemotherapy and should be considered as a new standard of care. FUNDING: Progressive Ladies Welfare Association.

Resurgence of Emergency Total Laryngectomy: An Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic.

Laryngeal cancer is one of the most common head and neck cancers in India. Surgery is the preferred modality of treatment in majority of cT4a cases and selective cT3 cases of Carcinoma Larynx. COVID-19 outbreak became a global pandemic and caused significant delays and disruptions in every aspect of cancer care. Similarly, patients of laryngeal cancer presented with advanced disease and significant stridor. In such cases, Emergency total laryngectomy (ETL) proved to be a valid treatment modality in the place of conventional workup and treatment. We present our experience with Emergency laryngectomy during the COVID-19 pandemic and how we overcame its challenges. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-022-03422-5.

Rotational atherectomy in a dire situation: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Traditionally rotablation is considered as contraindicated in presence of visible thrombus or dissection. However, clinical situations may force us to undertake rotablation in presence of thrombus or dissection. We report a case of coronary rotablation done successfully in setting of acute thrombotic occlusion over an underlying non-healed dissection. CASE SUMMARY: A non-dilatable lesion in proximal left anterior descending (LAD) artery after rotablation with a 1.5 mm burr resulting in non-flow limiting Type A dissection with TIMI3 flow was left on conservative management to allow it to heal. But the patient developed ST-elevation myocardial infarction on the 9th post-intervention day due to thrombotic occlusion of the LAD at the site of dissection. At this time, we were compelled to do rotablation as a lifesaving procedure in presence of both thrombus and underlying dissection with a successful outcome. DISCUSSION: Rotablation in presence of dissection can lead to entrapment of the flap in the rotating burr leading to progression of dissection distally or sometimes there can be subintimal tracking of burr leading to perforation. In thrombotic lesions, rotablation can cause further increase in platelet activation and aggregation by the spinning burr or distal embolization of the thrombotic material promoting slow or no flow. In this unusual case with limited options for achieving successful revascularization, some out of the box steps were taken with all recommended precautions and successful outcome achieved.

Marginal Mandibulectomy Defect Reconstruction with Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous (PMMC) Flap in Cases of Carcinoma Buccal Mucosa: Experience from a Tertiary Cancer Institute.

Patients with carcinoma buccal mucosa requiring marginal mandibulectomy pose various key challenges with regard to reconstruction. To study the role and feasibility of the PMMC flap reconstruction in patients of carcinoma buccal mucosa with intact mandible. Study design: retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained data at a tertiary cancer institute in India. Inclusion criteria: all patients of carcinoma buccal mucosa undergoing marginal mandibulectomy at our institute from 1st Jan 2015 to 31st March 2018 with reconstruction done by the PMMC flap. The retrospective analysis showed 82 patients satisfied the inclusion criteria. Median age of the patients was 46 years. Seventy-seven (93.90%) patients were male while 5 (6.09%) patients were female. Median Ryle's tube dependency was 13 days. Median follow-up period was 28 months. All the patients had acceptable cosmesis and mouth opening with minimal morbidity. PMMC flap reconstruction after marginal mandibulectomy in patients with carcinoma buccal mucosa is a robust, cosmetically, and functionally acceptable option.

Laryngeal Synovial Sarcoma: a Rare Clinical Entity.

Synovial sarcomas in head and neck region are extremely rare and have an aggressive nature and an unpredictable prognosis. The principles of management are still controversial, and a multidisciplinary approach is essential in managing Synovial sarcomas. We present a case report here for its rarity along with a brief review of literature.

Acute and short term effects of successful mitral valvuloplasty on net atrio ventricular compliance and its correlation with clinical outcome.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Patients undergoing successful balloon mitral valvuloplasty (BMV) have variable improvement in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class (FC), exercise capacity (EC) and regression of systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP). Improvement in net atrioventricular compliance (Cn), one of the major determinants of above factors is not routinely assessed. Aim of present study was to assess the change in Cn after successful BMV and its correlation with above factors. METHODS: 50 patients of very severe mitral stenosis in sinus rhythm who underwent successful BMV have been studied. NYHA FC, 6 min walk test (6 MWT) and echocardiographic evaluation was done 24 h before and at 2 weeks, 12 weeks and 24 weeks after BMV. Echocardiographic parameters of patients with improvement in NYHA class of ≥2 (group A) were also compared with those with improvement in NYHA class of ≤1 (group B). RESULTS: Following successful BMV, there was progressive improvement in Cn upto 12 weeks with no further significant improvement till 24 weeks. Change in Cn showed very good correlation with change in NYHA class [r = 0.62, p < 0.01], 6 MWT [r = 0.30, p0.03] and regression of sPAP assessed at 12 weeks and was maintained upto 24 weeks. Change in MVA did not show any correlation with above factors. Group B patients had significantly lower Cn post BMV as compared to group A patients inspite of comparable MVA and trans valvular gradients. CONCLUSION: Improvement in Cn following BMV has good correlation with clinical improvement. So Cn should also be assessed along with MVA to better predict clinical outcome.

Quantitative Immunoexpression of EGFR in Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders: Oral Leukoplakia and Oral Submucous Fibrosis.

Background and aims. Many oral squamous cell carcinomas develop from potentially malignant disorders (PMDs)which include a variety of lesions and conditions characterized by an increased risk for malignant transformation. Thisstudy evaluated the quantitative expression of EGFR in normal oral mucosa, oral leukoplakia and oral submucous fibrosis to predict the malignant risk in compliance with the intensity of staining with EGFR. Materials and methods. Thirty subjects were included in the study, consisting of 10 oral leukoplakia (OL), 10 oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) and 10 normal oral mucosa (NOM) as the control group. Owing to the histopathological confirmation of precancerous state of tissue, 4-µm-thick sections of tissue were taken from paraffin-embedded wax blocks for immunohistochemical staining for EGFR. Results. All the control cases showed positive expression for EGFR, while 20% of oral leukoplakia and 40% of OSMF cases showed strong expression (3+), 40% of OL and 30% of OSMF cases showed weak expression (2+), and 40% of OLand 30% of OSMF cases showed poor expression (1+) compared to controls (P=0.012). Conclusion. EGFR expression levels in the premalignant lesion appear to be a sensitive factor in predicting the neoplastic potential. This suggests that EGFR may serve as a biological marker to identify high-risk subgroups and guide prophylactic therapy with chemopreventive drugs or surgical intervention to prevent progression to carcinoma. Hence, further investigations in the direction of chemopreventive trials with a larger sample size are suggested to determine its role in the head and neck tumorigenesis.

Utility of adenosine deaminase (ADA), PCR & thoracoscopy in differentiating tuberculous & non-tuberculous pleural effusion complicating chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Pleural effusion is a common occurrence in patients with late-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD). In developing countries, many effusions remain undiagnosed after pleural fluid analysis (PFA) and patients are empirically treated with antitubercular therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of adenosine deaminase (ADA), nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) and medical thoracoscopy in distinguishing tubercular and non-tubercular aetiologies in exudative pleural effusions complicating CKD. METHODS: Consecutive stage 4 and 5 CKD patients with pleural effusions underwent PFA including ADA and PCR [65 kDa gene; multiplex (IS6110, protein antigen b, MPB64)]. Patients with exudative pleural effusion undiagnosed after PFA underwent medical thoracoscopy. RESULTS: All 107 patients underwent thoracocentesis with 45 and 62 patients diagnosed as transudative and exudative pleural effusions, respectively. Twenty six of the 62 patients underwent medical thoracoscopy. Tuberculous pleurisy was diagnosed in six while uraemic pleuritis was diagnosed in 20 subjects. The sensitivity and specificity of pleural fluid ADA, 65 kDa gene PCR, and multiplex PCR were 66.7 and 90 per cent, 100 and 50 per cent, and 100 and 100 per cent, respectively. Thoracoscopy was associated with five complications in three patients. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Uraemia remains the most common cause of pleural effusion in CKD even in high TB prevalence country. Multiplex PCR and thoracoscopy are useful investigations in the diagnostic work-up of pleural effusions complicating CKD while the sensitivity and/or specificity of ADA and 65 kDa gene PCR is poor.

Acute kidney injury due to acute cortical necrosis following a single wasp sting.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) can develop after multiple wasp or bee stings. The etiology is the acute tubular necrosis secondary to shock, pigment toxicity, interstitial nephritis, or direct nephrotoxicity of venom. We report a 40-year-old female who presented with oliguric AKI after a single wasp sting on her hand. Her history, examination, and investigations did not support any of the established causes of AKI in such settings. She did not improve with supportive management and dialysis, and kidney biopsy showed acute cortical necrosis (ACN). This is the first report of ACN after a single wasp sting.

Condyloma acuminatum associated with odontogenic myxoma: a case report.

Condylomata acuminatum is a sexually transmitted infectious disease caused by human papiloma virus on the skin. The transmission is mainly by close contact with infected person and autoinoculation. In oral cavity the condition manifests as soft pink nodules which proliferate and coalesce rapidly to form diffuse papillomatous clusters of varying size. Odontogenic myxoma is a rare tumor of jaws which occurs in the tooth-bearing areas of the mandible and maxilla. It is an uncommon, benign, but locally aggressive neoplasm. This case report highlights a 17-year-old girl with two lesions in oral cavity with soft tissue growth on the palate which has been diagnosed as Condyloma Acuminatum, treated by surgical excision and a large swelling on the right side of the mandible in the same patient diagnosed as odontogenic myxoma where marginal resection was performed.