Zinc in various therapeutic doses was used on patients suffering from oral mucositis during cancer treatment. A meta-analysis was conducted to probe the role of oral zinc as a possible treatment option for oral mucositis. A literature search was done using PubMed, EBSCO, Cochrane, MedLine, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate and Google Scholar with key words. The analysis was directed to recognize and identify the use of zinc supplementations at a confidence interval (CI) 95% with p value significance taken as ,0.05. A total number of 21,428 articles was retrieved. After thorough screening and assessment of the eligibility criteria, 10 articles were included in qualitative and quantitative analysis in the study. The 10 articles constituted a total sample size of 299 in the case group and 294 in the control group. Oral zinc doses used were 25 mg, 30 mg, 50 mg and 220 mg capsules and mouthwash of 0.2% zinc, as well as 0.5 g of granules dissolved in 5% sodium alginate solution. Two studies showed no significance, with the overall effect 1.61. Eight studies favored zinc over a placebo with an overall effect size of 20.89 at 95% CI of 21.08 and 20.70 which was statistically significant (Z59.27, p,0.00001). This analysis suggests that zinc usage has shown significant reduction in the severity of oral mucositis but not prevention. The onset of the reaction was delayed and hastened healing. Pharyngeal mucositis, pain and quality of life of the individuals received no effect from zinc therapy.

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Background: Cancer of the uterine cervix is preventable and early detection is key to its cure. Screening methods for cervical cancer are available, however, the centres offering to screen are inadequate. The main obstacle for the success of screening efforts in women is the lack of awareness, hence a stigma about the screening procedure and the disease, not just in rural areas but also in a large group of the urban and semi-urban population. The purpose of this manuscript is to share our experiences during health camps conducted for screening women for cervical cancer, strategies adopted, leading to better compliance and complete evaluation in these women. Design and Methods: Health camps were organized for women's screening and we observed a steady improvement in their participation over a period of time, at rural and peri-urban areas close to the Hyderabad. Creating awareness, training para-medical staff, involving local voluntary bodies for conducting Pap testing and HPV subtyping, gave us optimal leads to manage these patients appropriately and recommend a suitable follow-up. Results and Conclusion: Taking a lead from studies like this and others, conducting national screening programs along with counselling for awareness of such tests and their implications to maintain good health, the burden of cervical cancer can be reduced in India.

BACKGROUND Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a rare benign chronic inflammatory disease of the breast, which is often difficult to differentiate both clinically and radiologically from infectious aetiologies such as tuberculosis, fungal infections, and also from malignancy, thus posing a diagnostic dilemma. Histopathology is essential to solve the dilemma and make a definitive diagnosis. The aim of this study is analysis of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis and its mimics. METHODS This study was done at Osmania Medical College, over a period of 3 years from 2016 to 2019. 30 cases were analysed. Clinicopathological data like pertinent history, clinical and radiological features, and cytological results, was collected from the medical records. All slides were stained with haematoxylin and eosin. RESULTS A total of 30 cases was studied. The study group included women who were 25 to 45 years old; left breast was most commonly involved. The most common presenting symptom was lump 98 % (n=29) in breast. Mammography revealed skin thickening, parenchymal heterogeneity, irregular mass and focal asymmetric density. Ultrasonography shows ill-defined hypoechoic lesions. On histology, 27 cases (90%) were diagnosed as idiopathic granulomatous mastitis and 3 cases (10%) were diagnosed as tuberculosis granulomatous mastitis. CONCLUSIONS Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis is a benign entity which has varied and nonspecific appearances on ultrasound and mammography and often mimics malignancy and various benign inflammatory conditions of breast. Histopathological examination is necessary to establish diagnosis before deciding upon treatment and also to prevent unnecessary mastectomy.

IntroductionCervical cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer in women worldwide, and it continues to be a big issue in developing countries. The current case-control study sought to determine the presence of high-risk human papillomaviruses (hr-HPV) in the development of cervical cancer, as well as their relationship with the cell cycle inhibitor gene p16INK4A in cervical cancer. MethodsThe association between p16INK4A protein and the presence of hr-HPV DNA in cervical lesions was explored in this study, which included 150 cervical cancer patients and 100 normal cervix samples. The immunohistochemistry approach was used to identify the expression of the p16INK4A protein, while the semi-quantitative polymerized chain reaction (PCR) method was used to identify the genomic identity of hr-HPV. ResultsAbout 90.67% (n=136) of the 150 case samples were found to be hr-HPV positive. Within the 136 HPVpositive samples, 45 (33.08%) show moderate expression of the p16INK4A protein, whereas 91 (66.91%) show overexpression, which is statistically significant (0.05). Among the 136 HPV-positive samples, 22.08% (N=30) were classified as having cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), with 56.66% (n=17) having CIN3, 36.66% (n=11) having CIN2, and 6.67% (n=2) having CIN1. ConclusionBased on the semi-quantitative immune staining scoring method of p16INK4A protein, genomic expression of HPV demonstrates that the expression of p16INK4A protein increases with the infectious load of the hr-HPV genome in the host cell. The result directly shows that immunostaining of the p16INK4A protein, in conjunction with the assessment of high-risk HPV in the host genome, will aid in the identification of cervical cancer in the cervix.

A 40-year-old female patient presented with history of diminished vision & bowel bladder incontinence for ten days. She also had a history of altered sensorium for two days. There was no history of trauma, seizure, loss of consciousness or fever. No past history of neurological tumours or tumours elsewhere. Patient was conscious and incoherent with a Glasgow coma scale score of 14 (E4V4M6). Bilateral pupils were reactive to light, and her vitals were stable. Higher mental functions were not elicited. Motor system, reflexes, sensory system, cerebellum, meningeal signs examinations were normal. She had a wide based gait. Examination of the optic nerve showed bilateral finger counting. All other cranial nerves were normal. Fundus examination showed bilateral pallor of optic disc. Routine blood investigations done were within normal limits and viral markers were negative. CT Brain (Plain) showed dilatation of supra tentorial ventricular system with normal 4 th ventricle suggestive of obstructive hydrocephalus and an evidence of an ill-defined hyperdense lesion (2.5 x 2.1 cms) in the pineal gland region. MRI Brain (plain) showed heterogenous mass lesion (2.7 x 2.7 x 3.7 cms) in pineal region compressing the posterior part of 3 rd ventricle with dilated supra tentorial ventricular system (Obstructive hydrocephalus) suggestive of malignant pineal tumour. A diagnosis of Pineal gland tumour was made.

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