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Background: Population-based cancer survival is a key indicator for assessing the effectiveness of cancer control by a health care system in a specific geographic area. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in India, accounting for over one quarter of all female cancers. The objective of this study was to estimate the 5-year survival of female patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2012 and 2015 from the existing Population-Based Cancer Registries (PBCRs) in India. Methods: In total, 17,331 patients who had breast cancer diagnosed between 2012 and 2015 from 11 PBCRs were followed until June 30, 2021. Active methods were used to track the vital status of registered breast cancer cases. The study conducted survival analysis by calculating the difference between the date of first diagnosis and the date of death or censoring to estimate observed survival and relative survival using the actuarial survival approach and the Ederer-II approach, respectively. Results: The 5-year age-standardized relative survival (95% confidence interval [CI]) of patients with breast cancer was 66.4% (95% CI, 65.5%-67.3%). Mizoram (74.9%; 95% CI, 68.1%-80.8%), Ahmedabad urban (72.7%; 95% CI, 70.3%-74.9%), Kollam (71.5%; 95% CI, 69.2%-73.6%), and Thiruvananthapuram (69.1%; 95% CI, 67.0%-71.2%) had higher survival rates than the national average. Conversely, Pasighat had the lowest survival rate (41.9%; 95% CI, 14.7%-68.6%). The 5-year observed survival rates for localized, regional, and distant metastasis in the pooled PBCRs were 81.0%, 65.5%, and 18.3%, respectively. Conclusions: The overall disparity in survival rates was observed across 11 PBCRs, with lower survival rates reported in Manipur, Tripura, and Pasighat. Therefore, it is imperative to implement comprehensive cancer control strategies widely throughout the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of the present study was to study the pattern of microbial flora, their susceptibility patterns, and clinical variables among bloodstream infections in febrile neutropenic patients with solid tumors and hematological malignancies in the paediatric age group in North-East India. Methods: It was a retrospective and observational study done in a single tertiary care cancer centre in North-East India. The study period was from 1st January 2020 to 31st December 2021. The study population included all the patients below the age of 18 years who developed febrile neutropenia during treatment for a diagnosed cancer. Results: A total of 378 blood culture samples were studied. Febrile neutropenia was found in 252 patients (66.7%). There were 45 positive blood cultures (17.8%) among them. Gram-negative and gram-positive organisms accounted for 62% and 38% of all positive cultures respectively. Escherichia coli (39%) was the most common gram-negative isolate, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (32%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (18%) and Acinetobacter baumannii (7%). Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) was the most common gram-positive isolate (47%). Sensitivity to beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor (BL/BLI) antibiotics like cefaperazone/sulbactam was seen in 60% of Pseudomonas isolates. Sensitivity to colistin was noted in 89% of Klebsiella and 82% of E. coli isolates. The incidence of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was 50%. Conclusion: The knowledge of the microbiological profile and resistance patterns among patients treated for paediatric cancer with febrile neutropenia is a key factor in deciding the antimicrobial policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Traditional transthoracic oesophagectomy is associated with high perioperative morbidity. Minimally Invasive Oesophagectomy (MIE) techniques have been shown to have a decreased incidence of respiratory complications and an improvement in perioperative outcomes, such as length of hospital stay and wound infection rates. Aim: To evaluate the incidence of postoperative respiratory complications, 30-day mortality, and length of hospital stay among patients with carcinoma of the oesophagus undergoing, Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) oesophagectomy. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Anaesthesiology in a new thoracic oncology unit at a Tertiary Cancer care centre, Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati, Assam, India. A total of 67 patients with resectable oesophageal cancer who underwent VATS oesophagectomy from September 2019 to December 2021 were included. Patients who had surgery by open thoracotomy and inoperable cases were excluded. The patients' clinicodemographic profile, intra- and postoperative variables, and complications were studied. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. A p-value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant at a 5% level of significance. Results: Out of 67 patients, 45 (67.2%) were male, and 22 (32.8%) were female. The age ranged from 33 to 78 years with a median age of 55 years (IQR 47-61). The median body weight was 45 kg (IQR 42-53). Nineteen (28.4%) patients developed postoperative complications, including respiratory distress in 7 (10.4%) and anastomotic leakage in 5 (7.5%) patients. Other complications included symptomatic Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, pneumonia, mediastinitis, Multiorgan Dysfunction Syndrome (MODS) with sepsis, seizure and cardiac arrest, and surgical re-exploration. The 30-day mortality was 2.98%. The median length of hospital stay was 19 days (Interquantile Range (IQR) 16-22), which was higher in those with complications (p<0.001). One-lung ventilation was associated with a higher risk of postoperative respiratory complications (p=0.077). Conclusion: VATS oesophagectomy, even in a new thoracic oncology unit, was associated with lower perioperative complications, a shorter hospital length of stay, and decreased mortality compared to historical controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oesophageal cancer both squamous cell [SCC] and adenocarcinoma have poor outcomes with high morbidity and mortality. Our hospital-based registry for year 2017-2018 showed that oesophageal cancer constituted 22.7% of annual case load. The main objective of this study was to determine the presence of HER-2 receptors in patients with oesophageal carcinoma in our region., Methodology: From September 2018 to September 2019, data regarding expression of HER-2 receptors was analysed in 133 patients of oesophageal carcinoma. Data were statistically described as frequencies (number of cases) and percentages where appropriate. Chi-square and Fischer's exact test was used to find out the association between categorical variables. A P value less than 0.05 was considered as statistical significant at 95% confidence interval. The statistical analysis was performed using SSPS [statistical package for the social sciences] software version 17.0., Results: A total of 133 patients were taken into study. Majority of patients were males (96) with mean age of 52 years. Squamous cell carcinoma was predominant histology. HER-2 receptor positivity was seen in 6.01% of patients. Patients with HER-2 receptor positivity presented in advanced stage with poor functional status and poor grades of differentiation. Statistically significant correlation of Her-2 expression was seen with stage (p = 0.001) and pathology of tumour (p = 0.0001)., Conclusion: Squamous cell carcinoma of oesophagus still predominates in North-eastern part of India. For studying the role of effective targeted therapies knowledge of frequency of HER-2 receptor positivity is of utmost importance in our population, and our study aims to answer this question. The present study shows low prevalence of HER-2 neu overexpression in our community, probably due to disproportionately high incidence of SCC compared to adenocarcinoma. Patients with HER-2 receptor positivity presented in advanced stage with poor functional status and poor grades of differentiation.