Indian J Med Res
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Stereotactic biopsy is used for sampling of suspicious non-palpable lesions identified on mammography or digital breast tomosynthesis which are not visible on ultrasound. Stereotactic biopsy is preferable to surgical excision biopsy and helps avoid surgery for benign lesions. Providing tissue diagnosis in patients with early breast cancer may help in formulating a management strategy. ⋯ The important pitfalls and their management as well as ways to ensure quality assurance have also been elaborated upon. Data regarding uptake of stereotactic biopsy in other parts of the world have been discussed using evidence from existing registries and databases and attempts made to quantify the need of the technique in the Indian set-up. In the absence of a national breast screening programme and limited resources in India, a hub and spoke model has been proposed as a viable model for healthcare providers for providing stereotactic biopsy.
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Cervical cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among economically disadvantaged women. The symptoms of pain, discharge, constipation, foul smell, insomnia and depression can be controlled with inexpensive medicines such as oral morphine, maintenance oral metronidazole, antidepressants and laxatives. ⋯ Palliative radiotherapy is a cost-effective intervention to reduce vaginal discharge, bleeding, pressure effects and nociceptive or neuropathic pain caused by pelvic and para-aortic disease. The role of palliative radiotherapy in patients with malignant fistulae is discussed and the literature on hypo-fractionated pelvic radiotherapy is briefly reviewed.
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Review
Defining the role of high-dose radiation in oligometastatic & oligorecurrent cervical cancer.
Around 5-8 per cent of women diagnosed with cervical cancer present with metastatic disease at presentation and 16-25 per cent of patients fail at either within irradiated fields or at distant sites post-curative therapy in advanced cervical cancers. Conventionally, chemotherapy with palliative intent constituted the mainstay of treatment with modest survival outcomes and radiation therapy was reserved for symptomatic benefit only. ⋯ With a better understanding of the molecular biology of the metastases and recurrence pattern, emphasis is laid upon total eradication of the disease rather than offering relief from symptoms. This article summarizes the role of radiation therapy in limited metastatic disease and recurrent cervical cancer.
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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and breast cancer cause substantial morbidity and mortality in women and are major public health concerns. Breast cancer survivors are at a greater risk for CVD-related mortality compared to women without breast cancer. ⋯ With improvements in breast cancer prevention and treatment, there is a significant improvement in survival and this shifts focus from disease control to long term effects of treatment and quality of life. Assessing CVD and minimizing complications from cancer therapy are important treatment goals.
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The global increase in cancer burden is a challenge for countries with scarce resources. Amongst all the malignancies, gynaecological cancer still continues to have a high incidence and prevalence leading to significant morbidity and mortality. While a multipronged strategy of decreasing the gynaecological cancer burden is a global priority, one of the key strategies to decrease the morbidity and mortality is to train gynaecological oncology specialists. ⋯ While it is a positive step to initiate such training programmes in a country like India, there are still gaps in the uniformity of curriculum and training. Also, exposure to modern practices in gynaecologic oncology surgery, chemotherapy and technology in radiation oncology, especially brachytherapy, is still insufficient in many centres. This review discusses some of the challenges and opportunities in the still evolving programmes for training gynaecologic oncologists in India.