Search

Metastasis in retroperitoneal lymph nodes is found to be relatively chemoresistant according to various studies. The role of systematic lymphadenectomy in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer is a controversial topic. The aim of this study is to determine the rate of lymph node positivity in patients undergoing interval cytoreduction in epithelial ovarian cancer and its effect on recurrence-free and overall survival. Retrospective study of 60 patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent interval cytoreduction between January 2011 and December 2015 was done. The histopathology report was studied, and the percentage of nodal metastases was determined. The overall survival and recurrence-free survival were calculated. The association of node positivity to survival and recurrence pattern was analyzed. Our study found that the rate of lymph node positivity was 25%, and this was comparable to other studies. The median recurrence-free survival (RFS) for all patients was 24.4 months. RFS for node-positive patients was 15.7 and 26.8 months for node-negative patients (p-value 0.002). The Median overall survival for all patients was 73.6 months. The mean overall survival (OS) for patients with positive nodes was 49.9 and 51 months and for patients with negative nodes (p-value 0.492). Lymph nodes are relatively chemoresistant. The presence of nodal metastases has a significant impact on recurrence-free survival. However, its role in overall survival is not established. Systematic lymphadenectomy has prognostic implication in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

Recently, an increase of global incidence has been observed for various types of cancers. Diet, lifestyle and environmental factors have an evident correlation to the development of breast cancer. Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related death in women. Several studies also revealed that excessive free radical generation and decreased antioxidant status had been implicated in cancer. These factors rekindled our interest upon the interaction of free radicals and antioxidants and hence the present study was undertaken to evaluate the significance of non enzymic antioxidants: glutathione, albumin and ascorbic acid levels in breast cancer patients. The study population was divided into 3 groups as follows: Group I control subjects (age group 21-60), Group II: breast cancer Patients (age group 21-35) and Group III breast cancer patients (age group 36-60). Highly statistically significant increases in glutathione, albumin and ascorbic acid levels were observed in Group I as compared to other groups. No significant differences in glutathione, albumin and ascorbic acid levels were observed in a group comparison between Group II and Group III. This relative decline of non enzymic antioxidants in breast cancer patients may be due to an increased generation of reactive oxygen species or free radicals. The results obtained emphasize the need of more detailed study involving a large number of newly detected cancers for evaluating the role of these antioxidant parameters in the prevention of cancer.

Extensive research has demonstrated the protective properties of antioxidants, which scavenge reactive oxygen species and their precursors, as well as up-regulate enzymes involved in the repair of cellular damage. Several case-control studies have showed higher blood levels of antioxidants and decreased oxidative stress in younger individuals when compared with older ones. Cell damage caused by free radicals appears to be a major contributor in aging and degenerative diseases of aging such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, compromised immune system, rheumatoid arthritis and brain dysfunction. The objective of this study was to determine the variation of Circulating levels of selected antioxidants (enzymic and non enzymic) and oxidative stress marker in younger and older humans. The results showed that a majority of the younger age group participants showed a significant increase in enzymic and nonenzymic antioxidant status and a decrease in oxidative stress when compared with the older age group.