Farooq Jan

Cancer trends in Kashmir; common types, site incidence and demographic profiles: National Cancer Registry 2000-2012

BACKGROUND An assessment of cancer incidence in population is required for prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and resource allocation. This will also guide in the formation of facilities for diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up for these patients. The demographic trend of cancer will help to identify common types and etiological factors. Efforts at clinical, research and administrative levels are needed to overcome this problem. SETTINGS AND DESIGN Present retro prospective study was conducted in regional cancer center of a tertiary care hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS After permission from ethics committee, a retro prospective study of 1 year duration was undertaken to study the profile of cancer patients and to compare it with other cancer registries in India. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Pearsons Chi-square test and simple linear regression were used. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version-16 (University of Bristol information services (www.bristol.ac.uk/is/learning/resources) was used. RESULTS The overall incidence of cancer in Kashmir is on the increase and common sites of cancer are esophagus and gastroesophageal (GE) junction, lung, stomach, colorectal, lymphomas, skin, laryngopharynx, acute leukemias, prostate and brain in males.In females common sites are breast, esophagus and GE junction, ovary, colorectal, stomach, lung, gallbladder, lymphomas, acute leukemias and brain. CONCLUSION Cancers of esophagus, stomach and lungs have a high incidence both in men and women in Kashmir. Future studies on sources and types of environmental pollution and exposures in relation to these cancers may improve our understanding of risk factors held responsible for causation of these malignancies in this region. This will help in the allocation of available resources for prevention and treatment strategies.

Cost analysis of in-patient cancer chemotherapy at a tertiary care hospital

AIM Cancer remains a major health problem in all communities worldwide. Rising healthcare costs associated with treating advanced cancers present a significant economic challenge. It is a need of the hour that the health sector should devise cost-effective measures to be put in place for better affordability of treatments. To achieve this objective, information generation through indigenous hospital data on unit cost of in-patient cancer chemotherapy in medical oncology became imperative and thus hallmark of this study. DESIGN AND SETTING The present prospective hospital based study was conducted in Medical Oncology Department of tertiary care teaching hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS After permission from the Ethical Committee, a prospective study of 6 months duration was carried out to study the cost of treatment provided to in-patients in Medical Oncology. Direct costs that include the cost of material, labor and laboratory investigations, along with indirect costs were calculated, and data analyzed to compute unit cost of treatment. RESULTS The major cost components of in-patient cancer chemotherapy are cost of drugs and materials as 46.88% and labor as 48.45%. The average unit cost per patient per bed day for in-patient chemotherapy is Rs. 5725.12 (

A "Near-Miss Lethal Accident Case" in MR Suit of a Tertiary Care Hospital

125.96). This includes expenditure incurred both by the hospital and the patient (out of pocket). CONCLUSION The economic burden of cancer treatment is quite high both for the patient and the healthcare provider. Modalities in the form of health insurance coverage need to be established and strengthened for pooling of resources for the treatment and transfer of risks of these patients.

Radioactive waste management in a hospital

A “near miss” is an unpleasant event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage but had the potential to do so, but for a fortunate break in the chain of events. We present a near-miss case which occurred in the MR suite of a tertiary care hospital. Although the MR is considered a very safe procedure, if MR safety guidelines are not adhered to, adverse and catastrophic events to the extent of patient deaths are known to have occurred. It is hoped that this incident will prompt hospitals to document and follow MR safety protocols for patient and staff safety. Although MRI is an extremely safe procedure rarely MR adverse incidents have resulted in serious physical injury or even death. The incident is an eye opener regarding potential adverse events lurking in the relatively safe MR environment and provides an opportunity to rectify the inadequacies in MR safety.