Indian Journal of Cancer Education and Research

 Cancer Nursing is a great challenge at present Scenario with a shift of focus from Treatment to Prevention. Early identification of warning signs and initiating comprehensive management will bring down the mortality due to malignancy. Squamous cell carcinom a of foot is a malignancy commonly misdiagnosed and undertreated. The health team should perform keen observation and monitoring in cases with non healing ulcers or growths in skin.  

Keyword: Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

 Background: Radiation sequelae can be early or late depending on the duration of occurrence. Early reactions are temporary but late reactions tend to be permanent and occur many years after treatment. Late reactions can be seen in skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle and bone in the irradiated area. Material & Method: We present here a report in which we saw all the late reactions in a single patient 18 years after radiotherapy to pelvis for cancer cervix. Results: Our patient has bone fracture, new bone formation, bone marrow widening, muscle hypertrophy, subcutaneous fibrosis and angiokeratoma developed simultaneously after 18 years of radiotherapy to pelvic area. Conclusion: All these types of late toxicities are rarely seen in the same patient and we could not find any such reports in the literature. 

Keywords: Late Radiation Toxicity; Bone; Muscle and Skin Simultaneously; Pelvis. 

 Most of the available non invasive biomarkers for the detection of human cancers are reliable in the metastatic disease or able to monitor the primary/ adjuvant chemotherapy for the relapse. Hence, an ideal biomarker especially to detect cancer at an early stage is urgently required to reduce the morbidity and mortality worldwide. microRNAs (miRNA or miR), small non-coding RNAs (18-25 nts) synthesized from the human genome were found to be involved in a variety of cellular processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation and programmed cell death. A unique tissue miRNA expression profile was found in the malignancy of breast, bladder, colon, lung, liver, brain, prostate and pancreas, had proposed their role in the diagnosis of cancer as well as the treatment prognosis. The altered expression was also associated to the metastasis of the cancer cells as well. Among the various methods used for their detection in biological fluid such as blood, urine and saliva, quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction is the most commonly employed technique. Though increasing evidences had suggested the importance of miRNAs, a quality assisted standardized procedure for their detection is fragmentary. Therefore, standardization are urgently needed mainly in the processing of sample, developing a more accurate and precision method along with the normal extracellular housekeeping RNAs which can be used for the normalization to assess the quality and quantity of miRNA. This review article discusses recent update on the role of circulating extracellular miRNA in the diagnosis of human malignancy.

Keywords: Micro RNA; Gene Silencing; Tumor Suppressor Genes; Oncogenes; RNA Interference; Quantitative Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

 Facial sling have been used traditionally in plastic surgery for treatment of facial nerve palsy. Slings can be used either in dynamic or static forms depending on the damage and type of function required. It is commonly used for upper eyelid and oral commissure. Use of static sling for lip is a well known method to maintain the competency of commissure in case of facial nerve palsy. Other conditions where facial sling is used are irreparable facial nerve injury or facial nerve resection as a part of extirpative surgery. Problem faced by patients with complex lower face reconstruction is deviation of oral commissure and drooping of saliva due to significant removal of lip tissue, bulk of the flap, effect of gravity and downward traction forces acting on the flap leading to downward pull or scar contractures. Through this article we highlight the prophylactic use of facial sling during reconstruction of complex lower face defects following cancer to prevent these complications. 

Keywords: Sling; Oral Commissure; Reconstruction. 

 This short communication provided the descriptive summary of studies on analyses of cancer/oncology journals found in PubMed database. There were total 10 studies which included analyses on multiple authorship, religious and spiritual variables (chaplain and clergy), gastric cancer, statistical methods (designs, techniques, survival analyses), errata publications and quality of randomized controlled trials in cancer/oncology journals. The few studies found in this article provided a summary of studies on analysis of cancer/oncology journals, but the evidence presented is too insufficient to allow informed decision making towards interpretation of publishing policies or editorial process among the journals.

Keywords: Cancer Journals; Oncology Journals; Publication Analysis; Trend Analysis.