Clinical Cancer Investigation Journal 

About: Clinical Cancer Investigation Journal is an academic journal published by Medknow. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Cancer & Medicine. It has an ISSN identifier of 2278-0513. Over the lifetime, 797 publications have been published receiving 1688 citations.

Age shift: Breast cancer is occurring in younger age groups - Is it true?

Abstract: Context: Carcinoma of the breast is the most common malignancy in females. At present carcinoma breast is the leading cancer in urban India and has overtaken cancer cervix in incidence. Epidemiological studies at regional and global levels suggest the occurrence of carcinoma breast at a younger, premenopausal age in Indian and Asian women as compared with western women. Knowledge of this factor emphasizes the need to modify the timing of modalities of detection of early carcinoma and its management. According to literature, majority of carcinoma breast cases in the western countries present in Stages I and II of the disease whereas in India majority cases present in Stage III of the disease. The objective of this study is to observe age of occurrence of breast cancer and stage of cancer in this health facility. Other epidemiological factors such as diabetes and obesity were also recorded. Materials and Methods: A record based descriptive study was conducted in 100 patients of histopathologically confirmed breast cancer. Results: Mean age of subjects was 50.1 ± 10.5 years. Age distribution showed two peaks at 41-50 years and 51-60 years with 42 and 24 patients, respectively. Subjects who also had co-existing diabetes, hypertension, and obesity were 14, 14 and 6%, respectively. This study shows that 45% of the total patients were having advanced carcinoma breast (Stage III) at the time of reporting and 77% of these patients were below 50 years of age. Conclusion: Breast cancer is now occurring increasingly in younger age groups in India when compared with western countries and a more aggressive nature of the disease strikes Indian women in their reproductive period. This stresses the need for change in modalities of early cancer detection, modifying, and adjusting control efforts and multidisciplinary therapeutic efforts.

Epidemiology of epithelial ovarian cancer, a single institution-based study in India

Abstract: Background: Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of mortality among all cancers of female genital tract in countries where effective cervical cancer screening program exists. As the world's population ages, remarkable increase in the total number of ovarian cancer cases are expected. This is preliminary epidemiological study to decide priorities in ovarian cancer research. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted with primary epithelial ovarian cancer cases registered in J. K. Cancer Institute, Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), from 2007 to 2009. Patients' age at diagnosis, clinical feature, parity of patients, tumor histological type, Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, chemotherapy regimens, and overall survival data were collected and analyzed. Results: One hundred and sixty-three cases of primary ovarian epithelial cancer were analyzed. Patients' mean age at diagnosis was 55.98 ± 9.24 (median = 55). Serous adenocarcinoma (49.69%) was the most prevalent type of histopathology followed by endometroid (19.1%), mucinous (10.42%) and clear cell (4.29%). Combination of taxane and platin was most commonly used first line regimen in newly diagnosed as well as in relapsed patients post 1 year. Survival was not significantly different in various histopathology (log-rank P = 0.7406), but advancing stage demonstrated gradually poor survival (log-rank P Conclusion: Research efforts should be in the direction to find early diagnostic and effective screening tools as well as better therapeutic approaches for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

Correlation between gallstones characteristics and gallbladder mucosal changes: A retrospective study of 313 patients

Abstract: Background and Aim: Gallbladder (GB) cancer has poor prognosis as it progresses very fast. Etiology or pathogenesis of GB cancer is still obscure and very little is known about it. A better understanding of risk factors that lead to its development could help improve the management options. Presence of stones in GB generates varied mucosal reaction which results in different types of histopathological changes. Our aim was to correlate the various types of mucosal response like inflammation, hyperplasia, metaplasia, and carcinoma to different gall stones characteristics (like number and morphology type). Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of 346 cases of removed GB was done which was based on the histological changes. A total of 313 (90%) were associated with gallstones and the rest 33 cases (10%) were of acalculous cholecystitis. The changes in mucosa of calculous GB (313 cases) were studied and correlation between the mucosal changes and the number and type of stones was evaluated. Varied parameters of gall stones like number and morphological type were studied. Tissue section for histopathological studies was taken from fundus, body, neck, and from abnormal looking areas while doing grossing. Results: Gender study revealed a higher incidence of inflammatory changes in males, while GB hyperplasia, intestinal metaplasia, and cancer were only found in females. A progressive increase in the average age was noticed fromintestinal metaplasia to carcinoma, suggesting that the metaplasia-carcinoma succession may occur in GB cancer. Conclusion: Correlation of mucosal changes with size and morphological type of stones has suggested that there could be an association between some histological alterations of GB and cancer.

Comparative efficacy of newer antioxidants spirulina and lycopene for the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis

Abstract: Context: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a high-risk premalignant condition predominantly seen in the Indian subcontinent. The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of spirulina and lycopene in the management of OSMF. Materials and Methods: Sixty-eight subjects with clinico-pathologically diagnosed OSMF were included in the study which was conducted from March, 2013 to July, 2013. They were divided equally in two groups, Group A (spirulina group) and Group B (lycopene group). Group A was administered 500 mg spirulina in two divided doses for 3 months, and Group B was given 8 mg lycopene in two divided doses of 4 mg for 3 months. Evaluation for different clinical parameters was done at regular intervals and data was analyzed using the Student's paired t-test and Chi-square test. P <0.001 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The patients in both the groups showed improvement in all the parameters measured. Clinical improvements in mouth opening was significant in Group B (P = 0.0006), whereas ulcers/erosions/vesicles significantly (P = 0.0001) improved in the Group A. However, there was no significant improvement in pain associated with the lesion (P = 0.004) and burning sensation (P = 0.005) among the two groups. Conclusion: Lycopene can bring about significant clinical improvements in the symptoms like mouth opening, while spirulina can significantly improve ulcers/erosion/vesicles. Both the drugs also showed improvement in pain associated with the lesion and burning sensation. Thus, both the drugs appear to be promising for the treatment of OSMF.

New serum biomarkers for prostate cancer diagnosis.

Abstract: Background: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is currently used as a biomarker for diagnosis and management of prostate cancer (CaP). However, PSA typically lacks the sensitivity and specificity desired of a diagnostic marker. Objective: The goal of this study was to identify an additional biomarker or a panel of biomarkers that is more sensitive and specific than PSA in differentiating benign versus malignant prostate disease and/or localized CaP versus metastatic CaP. Methods: Concurrent measurements of circulating interleukin-8 (IL-8), Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptors 1 (sTNFR1) were obtained from four groups of men: (1) Controls (2) with elevated prostate-specific antigen with a negative prostate biopsy (elPSA_negBx) (3) with clinically localized CaP and (4) with castration resistant prostate cancer. Results: TNF-α Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC = 0.93) and sTNFR1 (AUC = 0.97) were strong predictors of elPSA_negBx (vs. CaP). The best predictor of elPSA_negBx vs CaP was sTNFR1 and IL-8 combined (AUC = 0.997). The strongest single predictors of localized versus metastatic CaP were TNF-α (AUC = 0.992) and PSA (AUC = 0.963) levels. Conclusions: The specificity and sensitivity of a PSA-based CaP diagnosis can be significantly enhanced by concurrent serum measurements of IL-8, TNF-α and sTNFR1. In view of the concerns about the ability of PSA to distinguish clinically relevant CaP from indolent disease, assessment of these biomarkers in the larger cohort is warranted.