The integration of palliative care with oncology: the path ahead.

The delivery of comprehensive cancer care within a progressively intricate healthcare environment requires oncology providers to become well-versed in the integration of palliative care (PC). Moreover, as healthcare professionals are urged to prioritize the individual preferences of patients and their families who confront life-limiting illnesses, it has become evident that oncology patients and their families have identified their psychosocial care needs as multifaceted and distinct, calling for specialized attention from care providers. Nevertheless, this is a skill that can be acquired through learning and practice. The landscape of PC is rapidly changing, with paradigm shifting studies highlighting the importance of early concurrent palliative and oncology inpatient and outpatient care for those with new advanced cancer diagnosis. Early concurrent care can notably improve quality of life (QoL), symptom control, patient and caregiver satisfaction, reduce costs and even improve survival. There is no longer a question of if PC should be offered, but instead when referral should be completed, what is the optimal model for service delivery and what barriers are present to achieve concurrent care. Conceptual models have been identified for optimal integrated palliative and oncology care delivery. In order to provide the best integrated care however, multiple obstacles need to be overcome. This narrative review discusses the importance of early integrated oncology and PC for patients with advanced cancer diagnosis, as well as the barriers to the integration of these specialties and potential models for delivery.

Pulmonary thromboembolism and its complications in a patient in labour.

Venous thromboembolic event in pregnancy is a rare but dreaded complication. When it occurs in labour, it presents with sudden severe fetal distress and maternal haemodynamic compromise. We present to you a case where in patient was taken up for emergency caesarean section for severe fetal distress. Intraoperative ECG showed right heart strain. Hence, an immediate bedside echocardiography was done in medical intensive care unit and it picked up a swirling thrombus in right atrium which immediately got dislodged to pulmonary vessels. Postcaesarean, we faced challenge of controlling active bleeding from atonic uterus with non-surgical techniques (Bakri balloon tamponade and uterine artery embolisation) before considering anticoagulation therapy for pulmonary embolism. The patient recovered well after anticoagulation treatment.

Prenatal Diagnosis of Umbilical Artery Aneurysm with Good Fetal Outcome and Review of Literature.

Umbilical artery aneurysm is a rare condition. Till date, 14 cases are reported and only 4 had good fetal outcome. Umbilical artery aneurysm is associated with high risk of fetal aneuploidy and fetal demise. Though umbilical cord anomalies are rare, they are associated with significant fetal morbidity and mortality. We report a case of umbilical artery aneurysm which was detected at 33 weeks of gestation on ultrasonography as an anechoic cyst close to cord insertion with turbulent blood flow in it. The patient was hospitalized and with intensive fetal surveillance and early delivery, a live born fetus was achieved. Baby's karyotype was normal. Pathologic examination confirmed umbilical artery aneurysm close to cord insertion.

Delayed menopause due to ovarian granulosa cell tumour.

A patient presented to us with complaints of inability to attain menopause even at the age of 64. She has been having irregular cycles of bleeding for 5 days every 2-3 months from the age of 54. On evaluation, she was found to have endometrial hyperplasia and ultrasonography showed a homogenous solid ovarian mass of size of the 4 cm x 3.5 cm. She underwent staging laparotomy with total abdominal hysterectomy bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and infra colic omentectomy. Histopathology confirmed granulosa cell tumour of the ovary. Most commonly granulosa cell tumour presented with post-menopausal bleeding and abnormal uterine bleeding, however, women with delayed menopause also have to be evaluated thoroughly for estrogen secreting ovarian tumours. There should be an element of suspicion if patient doesn't attain menopause as specified and they need to be evaluated in detail.

Bilateral primary fallopian tube carcinoma with the classical clinical features: a case report.

Bilateral primary fallopian tube carcinoma is a rare diagnosis in our gynaecological practice. Very often, the diagnosis is mistaken for an ovarian carcinoma or a tubo-ovarian mass. A correct, preoperative diagnosis is made only in 4% of the cases. This is due to the nonspecific symptoms. The Latzko's triad of a watery vaginal discharge, a colicky lower abdominal pain and a pelvic mass is typical of a fallopian tube carcinoma, but this triad is noted only in less than 15% of the patients. Here, we are reporting such a case where the patient presented with all the classical features of a primary fallopian tube carcinoma. This case is also being reported for it's extreme rarity.

Primary amelanotic melanoma of vulva in a young, lactating female.

Primary amelanotic melanoma of the vulva is extremely rare and it is a unique variant which is difficult to differentiate from other epithelial and nonepithelial malignancies due to absence of melanin pigmentation. It can be easily mistaken for other malignancies both clinically and pathologically. The difficulties in diagnosis and treatment aggravate the poor prognosis. This case highlights the rare case of vulval amelanotic melanoma occurring in a young lactating female.

Diagnostic value of acetic acid comparing with conventional Pap smear in the detection of colposcopic biopsy-proved CIN.

AIM: To assess the role of visual inspection with acetic acid as an alternative to Pap smear and in screening program for cervical cancer in low resource settings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 225 women in the reproductive age group attending the Department of Gynecology were enrolled in the study. A Papanicolaou smear and visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid was done. All patients who tested positive on screening then underwent a colposcopy-guided biopsy. The Pap smear of a low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and above was taken as abnormal. The statistical test used was the chi-square test and results were computed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 12.0. RESULTS: Out of 225 patients, acetic acid (VIA) was positive in 27 (12%) patients and the Pap smear was abnormal in 26 (11.7%). There were 15 LSIL, 6 high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and 5 were squamous cell carcinoma. On biopsy, there were 15 mild dysplasia, 2 moderate dysplasia, 4 severe dysplasia, and 3 squamous cancers. The Pap smear had a sensitivity of 83%, specificity of 98%, and positive predictive value of 80% and negative predictive value of 97.9%. VIA had a sensitivity of 70.8%, specificity of 95%, and positive predictive value of 62.9% and negative predictive value of 96.5%. CONCLUSION: Since diagnostic values of VIA is comparable to Pap smear, and it performs well in detecting a high grade lesion, we conclude that VIA can be used as a screening modality for cervical cancer in low resource settings.