SummaryBackgroundPrevious efforts to report estimates of cancer incidence and mortality in India and its different parts include the National Cancer Registry Programme Reports, Sample Registration System cause of death findings, Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Series, and GLOBOCAN. We present a comprehensive picture of the patterns and time trends of the burden of total cancer and specific cancer types in each state of India estimated as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2016 because such a systematic compilation is not readily available.MethodsWe used all accessible data from multiple sources, including 42 population-based cancer registries and the nationwide Sample Registration System of India, to estimate the incidence of 28 types of cancer in every state of India from 1990 to 2016 and the deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) caused by them, as part of GBD 2016. We present incidence, DALYs, and death rates for all cancers together, and the trends of all types of cancers, highlighting the heterogeneity in the burden of specific types of cancers across the states of India. We also present the contribution of major risk factors to cancer DALYs in India.Findings8·3% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 7·9–8·6) of the total deaths and 5·0% (4·6–5·5) of the total DALYs in India in 2016 were due to cancer, which was double the contribution of cancer in 1990. However, the age-standardised incidence rate of cancer did not change substantially during this period. The age-standardised cancer DALY rate had a 2·6 times variation across the states of India in 2016. The ten cancers responsible for the highest proportion of cancer DALYs in India in 2016 were stomach (9·0% of the total cancer DALYs), breast (8·2%), lung (7·5%), lip and oral cavity (7·2%), pharynx other than nasopharynx (6·8%), colon and rectum (5·8%), leukaemia (5·2%), cervical (5·2%), oesophageal (4·3%), and brain and nervous system (3·5%) cancer. Among these cancers, the age-standardised incidence rate of breast cancer increased significantly by 40·7% (95% UI 7·0–85·6) from 1990 to 2016, whereas it decreased for stomach (39·7%; 34·3–44·0), lip and oral cavity (6·4%; 0·4–18·6), cervical (39·7%; 26·5–57·3), and oesophageal cancer (31·2%; 27·9–34·9), and leukaemia (16·1%; 4·3–24·2). We found substantial inter-state heterogeneity in the age-standardised incidence rate of the different types of cancers in 2016, with a 3·3 times to 11·6 times variation for the four most frequent cancers (lip and oral, breast, lung, and stomach). Tobacco use was the leading risk factor for cancers in India to which the highest proportion (10·9%) of cancer DALYs could be attributed in 2016.InterpretationThe substantial heterogeneity in the state-level incidence rate and health loss trends of the different types of cancer in India over this 26-year period should be taken into account to strengthen infrastructure and human resources for cancer prevention and control at both the national and state levels. These efforts should focu...

Ewing's sarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumour occurring in children and adolescents and exists in two different clinicopathological entities: osseous Ewing's sarcoma (OES) and extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma (EES). Five cases of primary epidural EES are described, which presented with non-specific symptoms leading to a long diagnostic delay. The median age at diagnosis was 22 years (range 13-36 years). The median diagnostic delay was 3 months. All patients had one or more neurological deficits. All underwent surgical exploration with a laminectomy and partial resection followed by adjuvant radiotherapy to a dose of 46-50 Gy and chemotherapy with VAC (vincristine, adriamycin and cyclophosphamide) alternating with ICE (ifosphamide, cisplatin and etoposide) for at least six cycles. The mean follow-up period is 21.2 months (range 11-32 months). Four of the five patients achieved a complete remission and are disease free at the time of writing this report. Two patients have a residual neurological deficit--both having presented with long history of neurological deficit. Primary spinal epidural EES should be suspected whenever young patients present with back pain and/or radicular pain, have abnormal neurology and an extradural mass is demonstrated on MRI. Surgical excision followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (50 Gy) and combination chemotherapy (VAC alternating with ICE) achieved local and systemic control in these patients. A greater number of patients and longer follow up are required to evolve a generally accepted treatment policy for this aggressive but potentially curable malignancy.

The study demonstrates that MR is an indispensable imaging modality in radiotherapy for planning brain tumors.

Lung cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer mortality among men in India and incidence is increasing, but actually, they are largely preventable diseases. In India, advanced stage at the time of presentation is responsible for high mortality and morbidity and early detection is the only way to reduce it. The purpose of this study is to know the level of awareness of various aspects of lung cancer among college teachers and impact of awareness programmes in its prevention and early detection. This assessment was part of Pink Chain Campaign-a campaign on cancer awareness. During the cancer awareness events in 2011-2013 at various women colleges in different parts in India, pre-test related to lung cancer was followed by awareness programme. Post-test using the same questionnaire was conducted at the end of interactive session, at 6 months and 1 year. A total of 872 out of 985 teachers participated in the study (overall response rate was 88.5 %). Mean age of the study population was 41.6 years (range 26-59 years). There was a significant increase in the level of knowledge regarding lung cancer at 6 months, and this was sustained at 1 year. Among teachers who were just asked yes or no question, 117 teachers (13.4 %) were smokers and 241 teachers (27.6 %) were alcoholics. Magazines and newspapers were sources for knowledge in 50-60 % of teachers, whereas approximately 30 % of teachers were educated by TV and Internet regarding various aspects of lung cancer. Post awareness at 6 months and 1 year, Pink Chain Campaign was the major source of knowledge related to lung cancer in more than 90 % of teachers by continuous and timely update on subject. Post awareness at 6 months and 1 year, there was a significant change in alcohol and smoking habits. Major reasons for not going for check-up were ignorance (83.1 %), fear (30.1 %) and lethargic attitude (29.3 %) initially, but over time, lack of time, lethargic attitude and hesitation became important factors after knowing various aspects of lung cancer. Knowledge of lung cancer was very low among teachers. Overall awareness of risk factors, sign and symptoms, screening modalities of lung cancer has improved in a year along with practices related to smoking and alcohol, but there was not much improvement in people undergoing regular check-ups. To inculcate safe practices in the lifestyle of people, awareness programmes such as the Pink Chain Campaign should be conducted more widely and frequently.

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of World Health Organization (WHO), Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) and Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST) guidelines when evaluating the response of cytotoxic agents in solid tumours. Patients with a solid tumour who were planned for standard chemotherapy, were aged more than 18 years and had an anticipated life expectancy of at least 12 weeks were included in the study. Patients received chemotherapy using standard protocols and were required to have a pre-treatment evaluation of tumour burden on CT. Subsequent response assessment was performed every two cycles. Each patient was evaluated by all three criteria (WHO, SWOG and RECIST) to check the applicability of a specific criterion during routine clinical practice. In total, 80 patients were included in the study. Out of these, the response criteria displayed discordance in 17 (21%) patients. Of these 17 patients, RECIST criteria were not applicable for 6 patients owing to the small lesion size. The present study shows that a particular guideline may be useful in establishing uniformity of evaluation in a desired study population but may not be the best for that population during routine clinical practice. It also indicates that each of the guidelines has its own applicability and that no guideline can outweigh the other during routine clinical practice.

Gall bladder carcinoma (GBC) is considered the fifth most common one of the most aggressive gastro intestinal tract malignancies. Owing to their large incidence randomised controlled trials have hardly been conducted to look into their optimum treatment. Over the years surgical resection has been considered the only curative treatment of these tumors. However, the outcome still remains guarded. The predominant pattern of failure is loco-regional followed by systemic. Hence, local adjuvant radiation has been used by different institutes with concurrent and adjuvant chemotherapy. The large retrospective series with their limitations showed improved survival in patients with regional spread or tumors infiltrating the liver when treated with adjuvant radiotherapy. In the present era with modern radiation techniques and target delineation radiation may further improve upon the impact without adding to the toxicity profile. Hence, radiation in gall bladder cancer needs a relook to optimize treatment outcome of such aggressive disease.

Asian Pacific J Cancer Prev, 13, 637-640 IntroductionBrain tumors though not frequent, contribute significantly to morbidity because of their relatively poor survival rate. A number studies from Western countries has reported on the pattern, incidence and mortality of brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumors. But no population based data have hitherto been reported on the descriptive epidemiology of brain and CNS tumors from India. So an attempt has been made to present the descriptive analysis of malignant brain and CNS tumors from Delhi. Materials and MethodsThe data collected by Delhi Population Based Cancer Registry (PBCR) was utilized for this study. The Delhi PBCR was established 1986 in Dr. BRAIRCH, AIIMS, New Delhi with the aim of obtaining reliable cancer morbidity and mortality data among the Delhi urban residents. Delhi, the capital of India covers an area of 1483sq.kms. The age adjusted (world population) incidence rates were 3.9 per 100,000 for males and 2.4 per 100,000 for females. Gliomas were the most frequently reported histology both in males (26.6%) and females (23.2%). A male predominance in incidence was observed for all histological classifications. The rates in Delhi are low compared to the incidences reported from developed countries.

Gastrointestinal hemorrhage in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma is common and a major contributor to mortality. These patients tend to have a very poor prognosis. This report describes five such cases in which gastrointestinal bleeding was one of the presenting problems and required urgent management. The causes of massive intermittent gastrointestinal bleeding were variceal (two cases), direct invasion of the duodenum (one case), transverse colon (one case), and stomach (one case). All five patients were inoperable because of locally advanced disease, poor general condition, or comorbid disorders and were managed with angioembolization. After transcatheter embolization, the bleeding stopped completely in two patients and was reduced significantly in the remaining three. We report the role of transhepatic arterioembolization in the management of gastrointestinal bleed in such patients, and we recommend its use more often in similar situations.