Maintaining a good glycemic control is crucial in the management of diabetes mellitus (DM) as it is associated with the reduction in both macro and microvascular complications of the disease. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), which provides the day-today blood glucose levels, is a simple and practical tool for maintaining a good glycemic control. Although SMBG is widely practiced in other countries, its use in India is very limited. Even when used, it is not carried out is a structured manner. There seems to be a lack of education about the purpose of SMBG and the correct process and schedule to be followed. This highlights the unmet need for country-specific SMBG recommendations. In order to fulfil this need, a panel of expert endocrinologists/ diabetologists came together under the aegis of Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI). They reviewed the current literature, combined the evidences with their clinical knowledge and expertise, and developed consensus recommendations for SMBG practice in India. This document provides a comprehensive review of the current literature on SMBG and presents the recommendations made by the expert panel.

Therapy was safe. The responses, time to treatment progression and survival are encouraging for patients with aggressive refractory disease.

The interplay between host immunity and tumour cells has opened the possibility of targeting tumour cells by modulation of the human immune system. Cancer immunotherapy involves the treatment of a tumour by utilizing the recombinant human immune system components to target the pro-tumour microenvironment or by revitalizing the immune system with the ability to kill tumour cells by priming the immune cells with tumour antigens. In this review, current immunotherapy approaches to cancer with special focus on dendritic cell (DC)-based cancer vaccines are discussed. Some of the DC-based vaccines under clinical trials for various cancer types are highlighted. Establishing tumour immunity involves a plethora of immune components and pathways; hence, combining chemotherapy, radiation therapy and various arms of immunotherapy, after analysing the benefits of individual therapeutic agents, might be beneficial to the patient.

APCEDEN demonstrated highly convincing survival benefits when compared with the control group.

Of the most prevalent solid tumors with advanced disease, prostate and ovarian cancer and non-small cell lung carcinoma have the fewest therapeutic options. Herein, we report the case of a 63-year-old male with metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma showing substantial remission post-administration of personalized dendritic cell-based vaccine APCEDEN® in combination with chemotherapeutic drug Mitoxantrone. Therapeutic response displayed an interesting clinical correlation validated by PET scan images showing decreased fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) avidity in the prostate gland, reduced skeletal metastases further established by the drop in serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) levels and expression of immune assessment markers (IFN-γ, Tregs, neutrophil lymphocyte ratio and platelet lymphocyte ratio). This case demonstrates the potential efficacy of dendritic cell immunotherapy, showing a potent antitumor activity by enhancing the host immune responses, and improving quality of life.