Pattern of malignancies in valley is different from rest of the India. Gastrointestinal malignancies are the commonest malignancies in Kashmir valley followed by lung cancer in males and breast cancer in females.
Purpose:Tumor bleeding continues to remain a challenge in an oncological setting, and radiotherapy has been studied as a local hemostatic agent. We studied the role of local radiotherapy in controlling bleeding at our center.Materials and Methods:We reviewed 25 treated cases (cancer urinary bladder: 12, lung cancer: 5, cervical cancer: 4, uterine cancer: 1, rectal cancer: 2, schwanoma: 1) at our center from March 2008 to December 2010. All patients had either an advanced or recurrent disease. Radiotherapy schedule was either 20 Gray in 5 fractions or 15 Gray in 5 fractions and was delivered with Cobalt 60.Results and Conclusion:Of 25 patients, 22 (88%) responded, and there was complete cessation of bleeding. Both 15 Gray and 20 Gray dose schedule had equal efficacy. Treatment was well tolerated without any intermission. Radiotherapy is a safe and effective option in controlling tumor bleeding.
Background and Objectives:Malignant spinal cord compression is an oncologic emergency, unless diagnosed early and treated appropriately, can lead to permanent neurological impairment and compromised quality of life of patients. We analyzed the epidemiology and the effect of common interventions on the outcome in these patients.Patients and Methods:We conducted a prospective study of 77 patients in the year 2014 and recorded relevant patient and disease characteristics. All patients received corticosteroids. Eight patients were operated upon, and radiotherapy was delivered in 62 patients.Results:Most of the patients were in the age group of 41–60 years and there was no gender preponderance in patients. Female breast cancer was the most common incident (15.5%) malignancy followed by multiple myeloma, lung, and prostatic carcinoma. Lower dorsal spine was the most common site of compression (35%) followed by lumbar (31%) and mid-dorsal (26%) spine. 70 (91%) patients had cord compression subsequent to bone metastasis while as other patients had leptomeningeal metastasis. In 31 (40%) patients, spinal cord compression was the presenting symptom. Overall, only 26 patients had motor improvement after treatment.Conclusion:Grade of power before treatment was predictive of response to treatment and overall outcome of motor or sensory functions. Neurodeficit of more than 10 days duration was associated with poor outcome in neurological function.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a rare malignancy in Kashmir with distinct pattern, hence we planned to study its clinicodemographic and survival profile. Kashmir has unique lifestyle and dietary habits which may be the source of carcinogenic compounds, most likely implicated in causation of NPC. A total of 148 patients of NPC registered from January 2000 to December 2014 were analyzed. The Mean ± SD age was 45.15 ± 17.092 years (range 11-85 years). The males were 72.3 % (N = 107) with male: female ratio of 2.61:1. Most of the patients were from rural area 81.90 % (N = 95) and non-smokers were 53.44 % (N = 62). Neck swelling was commonest presentation. WHO Type III NPC was commonest histopathological diagnosis 65.3 % (N = 92). Stage IV 36.1 % (N = 51) was commonest stage followed by stage III was 32 % (N = 46). Majority of the patients of NPC received CCRT 68.7 % (N = 78) followed by SCRT 13 % (N = 15) and Induction ? CCRT 13 % (N = 15). The overall mean survival of NPC was 49.56 months. There was no significant correlation of age, gender, smoking, histopathology and treatment on the overall survival. However the stage was the only strong predictor of overall survival. Also the patients with intracranial extension had low survival which is turn depicts the advanced stage of disease. NPC survival is directly related to the stage of the disease irrespective of the treatment modality received. The negative EBV status in our patients implies that there are other risk factors involved in the causation of NPC for which further studies are needed to establish the etiological insult.
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