Mc Suresh Babu

Bloodstream infections in febrile neutropenic patients at a tertiary cancer institute in South India: A timeline of clinical and microbial trends through the years.

Introduction: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is an oncological emergency. The choice of empiric therapy depends on the locally prevalent pathogens and their sensitivities, the sites of infection, and cost. The Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines are being followed for the management of FN in India. Methods: This is a prospective observational study conducted at a tertiary care cancer centre from September 2012 to September 2014. Objectives: The objectives of this study were as follows: (1) To review the pattern of microbial flora, susceptibility pattern, and important clinical variables among bloodstream infections in febrile neutropenic patients with solid tumors and hematological malignancies. (2) As per the institutional protocol to periodically review the antibiotic policy and susceptibility pattern, and compare the findings with an earlier study done in our institute in 2010. This was a prospective study conducted from September 2012 to September 2014. Results: About 379 episodes of FN were documented among 300 patients. About 887 blood cultures were drawn. Of these, 137 (15%) isolates were cultured. Isolates having identical antibiograms obtained from a single patient during the same hospitalization were considered as one. Hence, 128 isolates were analyzed. About 74 (58%) cultures yielded Gram-negative bacilli, 51 (40%) were positive for Gram-positive cocci, and 3 (2%) grew fungi. Among Gram-negative organisms, Escherichia coli followed by Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae accounted for 78% of the isolates. Among Gram-positive cocci, Staphylococcus species accounted for 84% of the isolates. We have noted a changing trend in the antibiotic sensitivity pattern over the years. Following the switch in empirical antibiotics, based on the results of the study done in 2010 (when the empirical antibiotics were ceftazidime + amikacin), the sensitivity to cefoperazone-sulbactam has plunged from about 80% to 60%%. Similar reduction in susceptibility was noted for piperacillin-tazobactam, imipenem, and meropenem. On the contrary, there was a marked increase in sensitivity to ceftazidime (50–76%). Based on these results, we have reverted to ceftazidime + amikacin as the empirical antibiotics. Conclusion: Every institute must have a regular revision of antibiotic policy based on periodic assessment of the clinical and microbiological profile in FN. This will combat antibiotic resistance.

Acute Coronary Syndrome Manifesting as an Adverse Effect of All-trans-Retinoic Acid in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia: A Case Report with Review of the Literature and a Spotlight on Management.

Background. Acute promyelocytic leukemia is characterized by t(15;17). This leads to the formation of PML/RARα which blocks the differentiation of blasts at the stage of promyelocytes. This is reversed by all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), a vitamin A derivative. Acute myocardial ischemia is a rare side effect of ATRA. Case Report. We report a case of acute coronary syndrome manifesting as an adverse effect of ATRA in a lady with APL who had no other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Conclusions. We emphasize the need for high index of suspicion for the diagnosis of this entity. In the light of this case, the rare instances of ATRA associated acute myocardial ischemia recorded in the literature and the options available for treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia sans ATRA have been reviewed.

Correlation of BMI with breast cancer subtype and tumour size

Background Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease which is divided broadly into luminal, HER2 and basal type based on molecular profiling. Increased body mass index (BMI) has been associated with the risk of developing breast cancer but the association based on molecular subtype remains conflicting. Methods This was an observational study carried out over a period of 2 years. Nonmetastatic breast cancer patients were evaluated for the tumour subtype based on surrogate markers (ER, PR and HER2). The BMI of these patients was correlated with the tumour subtype and size. Results We studied 476 patients with breast cancer with the median age of 46 years (range, 25–86) and 58% were premenopausal. The mean BMI of the cohort was 24.1, which was significantly higher in postmenopausal women (24.9 versus 23.6, p < 0.05). Overall, only 10% of patients were obese. The mean BMI in the luminal, HER2 and TNBC subtypes was 24.7, 22.4 and 23.9, respectively (p < 0.01). Also, the mean tumour size in luminal, HER2 and TNBC subtype was 4.02, 3.80 and 4.27 cm, respectively (p = 0.158). Conclusion The average BMI was higher in patients with luminal subtype followed by TNBC and lowest for HER2 at the time of diagnosis. The mean tumour size was numerically higher for TNBC and lowest for HER2 subtype although the difference was not statistically significant. Larger studies may provide clarity of association between the BMI and tumour subtype.

A rare case of primary synovial sarcoma of lung

Synovial sarcoma of lung is a very rare tumor accounting for 0.5% of all primary lung malignancy. It presents clinically with cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, or hemoptysis, with a mass lesion on X-ray and computerized tomography scan. Diagnosis is made by histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Here, we report a case of 48-year-old male, who presented with right-sided chest pain, cough with blood-tinged sputum, and found to have primary pulmonary synovial sarcoma of lung.

Study of clinical, haematological and cytogenetic profile of patients with acute erythroid leukaemia.

Background Acute erythroid leukaemia (AEL) is a rare subtype of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), constituting <5% of all the cases of AML. The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2001 classified AEL into two types: (1) erythroid/myeloid leukaemia which required ≥50% erythroid precursors with ≥20% of the non-erythroid cells to be myeloid blasts and (2) pure erythroleukemia (pEL) with ≥80% erythroblasts. The WHO 2008 classification kept these subcategories, but made erythroleukemia a diagnosis of exclusion. There are very few studies on the clinico haematological and cytogenetic profile of this disease, considering the rarity of its occurrence and poor prognosis. Materials and methods This study was done by retrospective analysis of data from 32 case files of patients diagnosed with AEL. Clinical details noted down were the demographic profile, peripheral blood smear details and bone marrow examination details: (1) blasts-erythroblasts and myeloblasts, (2) dysplasia in the cell lineages and (3) cytogenetic abnormalities. Results The most common presenting symptom was fever. Pancytopenia at presentation was seen in 81.25% of patients. Dysplasia was observed in bone marrow in 100% of erythroblasts and in 40% of myeloblasts in erythroid/myeloid subtype. In pure myeloid subtype, myeloid and megakaryocytic dysplasias were not obvious. Complex karyotype was noticed only in patients of pEL. Conclusion AEL is a rare group of heterogeneous diseases with many neoplastic and non-neoplastic conditions mimicking the diagnosis. The clinical presentation and cytogenetics are also non-specific, presenting additional challenges to the diagnosis.

Primary breast angiosarcoma – a single institution experience from a tertiary cancer center in South India

INTRODUCTION Primary angiosarcoma of the breast is a rare entity with incidence of less than 0.05% of all malignant breast neoplasms. It occurs in young females without any associated risk factors. The tumor behaves aggressively and has a poor prognosis compared to invasive ductal carcinoma. METHOD It was a retrospective observational study done at a tertiary cancer center from January 2012 to December 2016. The medical records of patients diagnosed with primary breast angiosarcoma were reviewed for the study. Clinicopathological profile, treatment, and the outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS Four patients were diagnosed with primary breast angiosarcoma out of 2560 breast cancer patients seen over a period of 5 years. Two had metastatic disease at presentation. Among four patients, two underwent surgery of the primary tumor, whereas, all received chemotherapy either as adjuvant or palliative setting. One patient received adjuvant radiation therapy. Three patients received 2nd line and one received 3rd line chemotherapy on disease progression. After a median follow-up of 18 months one patient was surviving on 3rd line chemotherapy with trabectedin. Other three succumbed to disease after progression. CONCLUSION Due to a small number of this malignancy randomized studies are difficult to perform and optimum treatment strategy still need to be defined.

Plasmablastic lymphoma: Does prognosis differ with HIV status and site of disease?

Background: Apart from its common occurrence in the oral cavity in HIV-positive patients, plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) has also been described at extraoral sites and among immunocompetent individuals. There is sparse data quoting prognostication of PBL depending on the site of occurrence and HIV status of patients. Aims: The present study was carried out at a tertiary oncology center to address the issue whether PBLs occurring at oral and extraoral sites differ prognostically and whether HIV status of patient has any impact on prognosis. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective observational study conducted at our center on consecutive patients diagnosed with PBL, from January 2008 to December 2012. Results: We had four patients with oral PBL; three male and one female. Sites of involvement were oral tongue and buccal mucosa. Two patients died within 6 months of diagnosis due to disease progression while on treatment. One patient was lost to follow-up after achieving complete remission (CR) after chemotherapy. Only one patient completed the prescribed schedule of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and is in CR with 33 months follow-up. There were four extraoral PBL patients; three female and one male. Extraoral sites were ileocaecal region, ovary, clavicle and rectum. Three patients died within 6 months due to progressive disease during treatment. Only one patient has completed chemotherapy and is in CR with18 months follow-up. Among all these eight oral and extraoral PBL patients, four were HIV positive. Two of them are in CR after treatment (18 months and 33 months follow-up). One patient died during treatment and one patient was lost to follow-up after being in CR. Unfortunately, none of the other four HIV-negative patients could survive for more than 6 months after diagnosis. Conclusion: Both oral and extraoral PBLs have aggressive clinical course and an overall unfavorable outcome. Prognosis of HIV-associated PBL seems to be better with addition of highly active antiretroviral therapy to chemotherapy. Further large sample studies are needed to confirm these results.

Clinical profile and treatment outcomes of metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma: A single institution experience

Background: Neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) is a rare tumor arising from the diffuse neuroendocrine system. Most of these present in the advanced stage and palliative chemotherapy remains the only option. The prognosis remains poor with the standard chemotherapy regimen of platinum and etoposide (EP) providing modest survival benefit. Methods: The study was done for 3 years at a tertiary cancer center in South India. Patients with a diagnosis of metastatic NEC were analyzed for clinical and pathological characteristics. The treatment outcomes and prognostic factors were evaluated using appropriate statistical test. Results: A total of 114 patients of metastatic NEC satisfied the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Gastrointestinal including hepatobiliary tract (33%) was the most common site of primary disease followed by lung (26%), genitourinary (15%), head and neck (14%), and unknown primary (9%). On analysis of pattern of metastasis, liver (65%) was the most common site followed by bone (54%) and lung (42%). The median overall survival was 11 months with a statistically significant difference between pulmonary and extrapulmonary disease (8 vs. 13 months; P = 0.003). Ki67% value was strongly associated with prognosis (hazard ratio 0.517, 95% confidence interval; 0.318–0.840, P = 0.008) whereas age, sex, and lactate dehydrogenase level did not show any relation with survival. Conclusion: The outcome of advanced NEC with standard chemotherapy remains poor. Larger studies with other therapeutic and novel agents are warranted to improve the treatment outcomes.

Comparison of health-related quality of life with epirubicin, cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil and docetaxel, cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy regimens as first-line systemic therapy in locally advanced inoperable or metastatic gastric or gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinoma: A prospective study from South India

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important oncologic end point for upper gastrointestinal malignancies. Unfortunately, till date, there is no published prospective data from India, comparing the HRQOL parameters between first-line chemotherapy regimens in advanced/metastatic gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: The present study aimed to compare the HRQOL of first-line systemic chemotherapy with epirubicin, cisplatin plus 5-FU (ECF) and docetaxel, cisplatin plus 5-FU (DCF) regimens in patients with locally advanced inoperable or metastatic gastric or gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinoma. The secondary end points were overall response rate, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicity profile. Results: Between December 2014 and December 2016, 65 patients were treated with ECF (n = 34) or DCF (n = 31) regimen. The baseline HRQOL scores were comparable between the two study groups, with the exception of significantly poor pain and sleep difficulties symptom score in the DCF group. After three cycles of treatment, both the groups showed improvements in most of the quality of life (QOL) parameters including global QOL score, compared with their baseline status. After six cycles of chemotherapy, the ECF group showed nonsignificant deterioration for most of the QOL parameters; but on the contrary, the DCF group maintained improved scores for most of the QOL parameters. The median survival until a definitive deterioration of global QOL score was significantly better in the DCF arm in comparison to the ECF arm (7.1 vs. 5.6 months, respectively, P = 0.000). The median OS was 9.2 months with ECF and 12.5 months with DCF regimen (P = 0.000), while median PFS was 5.7 and 7.4 months with ECF and DCF regimens, respectively (P = 0.002). Conclusions: This prospective study highlighted a better impact of DCF chemotherapy on the HRQOL of patients with advanced/metastatic gastric cancer and showed the importance of QOL assessments in clinical trials to complement the risk–benefit judgment.

Clinicopathological profile and treatment outcomes of bilateral breast cancer: A study from tertiary cancer center in South India

Background: Bilateral breast cancer (BBC) is a rare clinical entity with limited data regarding clinicopathological aspects and treatment guidelines. Materials and Methods: This was an observational study of patients diagnosed with BBC from August 2012 to July 2014. Synchronous breast cancers (SBCs) was defined as two tumors diagnosed within an interval of 6 months and metachronous breast cancer (MBC) as second cancer diagnosed after 6 months. Results: Out of 750 breast cancer patients seen during a 2-year period, 35 had BBC. Ten patients were diagnosed as SBC whereas 25 patients as MBC. Among patients with MBC, the average time for development of contralateral breast cancer was 5 years. In 8 patients, the contralateral breast cancer was detected mammography whereas rest 27 patients were detected by clinical breast examination. At a median follow-up of 24 months, 23 (66%) patients were disease free, 9 (26%) patients had disease relapse, and 3 (8%) patients succumbed to the progressive disease. Conclusions: Every patient with breast cancer should be regularly followed up with clinical breast examination at a more frequent interval. The role of frequent clinical breast examination appears more than mammography especially beyond 5 years for early detection of contralateral breast cancer.