Introduction: Following the nationwide lockdown in India, most hospitals shut down elective surgeries including cancer surgeries. We continued operating on patients with cancer at a tertiary referral center in Western India, which also served as a COVID care center. We also constructed a questionnaire, exclusive to surgeons, to determine the changes in treatment strategies as well as the response to the pandemic. Methods: The complications of all cases operated in the study period (March 22, 2020-June 30, 2020) were graded using the Clavien-Dindo classification. Also, an anonymous structured questionnaire was constructed and e-mailed to all surgical oncologists working at our institute. Results: Of the 118 patients having an operation, 18 had complications. There were 12 Grade I/II and 6 Grade III complications but none of our patients had Grade-IV/V complications. When the staff of the main operating theater tested COVID positive, the complex was shut down. However surgical oncology work continued at an affiliated institute about 10 km away from the main hospital. Conclusion: We had favorable outcomes while operating on cancer patients in a COVID care center. The results of our questionnaire proved that surgeons were willing to risk their personal safety to provide surgical oncology care.
Sebaceous differentiation can be normally seen in salivary glands. An entity first described by Hamperi. Sebaceous components are present in several salivary gland tumors like Warthin's tumor and mucoepidermoid tumor. But, if the sebaceous component predominates, it is known as a sebaceous adenoma. If lymphatic stroma in the background is prominent, it qualifies as sebaceous lymphadenoma. The term was coined and properly described by McGavran et al., differentiating it from similar appearing tumors like Warthin's tumor, sebaceous adenoma, and mucoepidermoid tumor. Clinicians, as well as pathologists, need to be aware of this entity as it is known to undergo malignant degeneration. Since it is a benign entity, the most common symptom is painless parotid swelling. The patient in this case also presented with painless parotid swelling and underwent preoperative FNAC and MRI. But, the diagnosis was made after surgical excision. The patient recovered well after surgery and is being followed. Since this disease is known for malignant degeneration and recurrence careful diagnosis is required. Histopathological picture may be confused with other common entities like Warthin also known as papillary cystadenoma lymphomatosum since both have sebaceous and lymphoid components. McGavran differentiated between both entities. Sebaceous lymphadenoma can convert to sebaceous adenocarcinoma and is thus important to know the correct diagnosis, even if it is postoperative since recurrence may be associated with malignant changes. Sometimes, the picture may be confused with lymphoma and in that case, immunotyping can come as a rescue for diagnosis. The authors of this report intend to report this rare entity and emphasize the need for clinicians and pathologists being aware of it and keeping it as a differential while dealing with a similar parotid tumor.
Introduction We document our data on the course of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in cancer patients in an attempt to help optimize their management in India and globally. Material and Methods Between February 2020 and January 2021, participating oncologists from Pune (members of the Oncology Group of Pune) documented effect of COVID-19 infection in their cancer patients. Binomial logistic regression analysis as well as correlation analysis was done using Pearson Chi-square test to determine significance of clinical factors. Results A total of 29 oncologists from 20 hospitals contributed their data involving 147 cancer patients who developed COVID-19 infections. COVID-19 infection resulted in higher deaths (likelihood ratio of 4.4) amongst patients with hematological malignancies (12/44 = 27.2%) as compared with those with solid tumors (13/90 = 14.4%, p = 0.030). Patients with uncontrolled or progressive cancer (11/34 = 32.4%) when they got infected with COVID-19 had higher mortality as compared with patients whose cancer was under control (14/113 = 12.4%; p = 0.020). Complication of thromboembolic episodes (seen in eight patients; 5.4% cases) was associated with higher risk (25.6 times) of death (five-eighths; 62.5%) as compared with those who did not develop it (20/139;14.4%; p <0.001). Discussion Patients with cancer should be advised to take strict precautions to reduce the risk of being infected with COVID-19. They should also be given priority for COVID-19 vaccination. If infected with COVID-19, patients with hematological malignancy and uncontrolled cancer are at higher risk of morbidity and mortality. When they are being treated (OPD or inpatient basis), additional precautions are necessary to ensure their exposure to potential COVID-19 virus is minimized. If they get infected with COVID-19, they should be given aggressive treatment to prevent complications, especially thromboembolic episodes. If they develop any thromboembolic complication, their risk of dying are significantly higher, and management should be modified accordingly.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.