• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2673-2680
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• 2013

Tobacco abuse is a major preventable cause of premature death and disease, including various cancers. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey India (GATS) 2009-10 revealed that more than one-third of adults use tobacco in one form or the other. Nearly two in five smokers and smokeless tobacco users made attempts to quit the habit in the past 12 months. Tobacco dependence is a chronic condition characterized by susceptibility of relapse over years. It can be well handled by sustained professional support from health care providers mainly through behavioral counseling and pharmacotherapy. Dental professionals can play a pivotal role in diagnosing and effectively managing tobacco dependence. Dental Institutions have rapidly grown in last two decades across the country and so has the curriculum been adapted to improve student competencies to accommodate changing disease patterns and technological advances, but not in regard to tobacco cessation. Untapped dental manpower like undergraduates, dental hygienists and other paramedical staff need effective training to be more penetrative. The present review paper explores the potential role of dental training institutions and recommends various approaches to counter public health jeopardy of tobacco related diseases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8549-8556
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• 2014

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the world top ten most common cancers with its highest occurrence in the Indian subcontinent and different aggressive and etiological behavioural patterns. The scenario is only getting worst with the 5 year survival rates dropping to 50%, persistent treatment failures and frequent cases of relapse/recurrence. One of the major reasons for these failures is the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs), a small population of cancer cells that are highly tumourigenic, capable of self-renewal and have the ability to differentiate into cells that constitute the bulk of tumours. Notably, recent evidence suggests that cancer stem cells are especially resistant to conventional therapy and are the "drivers" of local recurrence and metastatic spread. Specific markers for this population have been investigated in HNSCC in the hope of developing a deeper understanding of their role in oral cancer pathogenesis, elucidating novel biomarkers for early diagnosis and newer therapeutic strategies. This review covers the fundamental relevance of almost all the CSC biomarkers established to date with a special emphasis on their impact in the process of oral tumourigenesis and their potential role in improving the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of OSCC patients.

• Journal of Multimedia Information System
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.175-182
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• 2021

Oral cancer is ranked second most diagnosed cancer among Indian population and ranked sixth all around the world. Oral cancer is one of the deadliest cancers with high mortality rate and very less 5-year survival rates even after treatment. It becomes necessary to detect oral malignancies as early as possible so that timely treatment may be given to patient and increase the survival chances. In recent years deep learning based frameworks have been proposed by many researchers that can detect malignancies from medical images. In this paper we have proposed a deep learning-based framework which detects oral cancer from histopathology images very efficiently. We have designed our model to split the color channels and extract deep features from these individual channels rather than single combined channel with the help of Efficient NET B3. These features from different channels are fused by using feature fusion module designed as a layer and placed before dense layers of Efficient NET. The experiments were performed on our own dataset collected from hospitals. We also performed experiments of BreakHis, and ICML datasets to evaluate our model. The results produced by our model are very good as compared to previously reported results.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.245-262
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• 2020

In recent years, nanotechnology has revolutionized global healthcare and has been predicted to exert a remarkable effect on clinical medicine. In this context, the clinical use of nanomaterials for cancer diagnosis, fertility preservation, and the management of infertility and other pathologies linked to pubertal development, menopause, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) has substantial promise to fill the existing lacunae in reproductive healthcare. Of late, a number of clinical trials involving the use of nanoparticles for the early detection of reproductive tract infections and cancers, targeted drug delivery, and cellular therapeutics have been conducted. However, most of these trials of nanoengineering are still at a nascent stage, and better synergy between pharmaceutics, chemistry, and cutting-edge molecular sciences is needed for effective translation of these interventions from bench to bedside. To bridge the gap between translational outcome and product development, strategic partnerships with the insight and ability to anticipate challenges, as well as an indepth understanding of the molecular pathways involved, are highly essential. Such amalgamations would overcome the regulatory gauntlet and technical hurdles, thereby facilitating the effective clinical translation of these nano-based tools and technologies. The present review comprehensively focuses on emerging applications of nanotechnology, which holds enormous promise for improved therapeutics and early diagnosis of various human reproductive tract diseases and conditions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.4623-4627
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• 2014

Background: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays a vital role in the activation and inactivation of receptor tyrosine kinases. Mutations in exons 19 and 21 of EGFR are commonly found to be associated with non small cell lung carcinoma and triple negative breast cancer, enhancing sensitivity to EGFR targeting chemotherapeutic agents. Since amplification and prolonged activation of EGFR molecules have been identified in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC), we investigated whether OSCCs carried mutations in exons 19 and 21 of EGFR to their incidence. Materials and Methods: Tumor chromosomal DNA isolated from forty surgically excised oral squamous cell carcinoma tissues was subjected to PCR amplification with intronic primers flanking exons 19 and 21 of the EGFR gene. The PCR amplicons were subsequently subjected to direct sequencing to elucidate the mutation status. Results: Data analysis of the EGFR exon 19 and 21 coding sequences did not show any mutations in the forty OSCC samples that were analyzed. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to have investigated the genetic status of exons 19 and 21 of EGFR in Indian OSCCs and identified that mutation in EGFR exon 19 and 21 may not contribute towards their genesis. The absence of mutations also indicates that oral cancerous lesions may not be as sensitive as other cancers to chemotherapeutic agents targeting EGFR.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6541-6544
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• 2015

Background: Laryngeal malignancy is a common malignancy of the head and neck region. Affected patients usually present with features that are characteristic of certain subsites. The larynx is oncologically divided into three: supraglottis, glottis and subglottis. Studies from Western countries have shown that the glottis is the commonest subsite to harbour laryngeal malignancy. However, the supraglottis has been reported to be the commonest subsite in developing countries, including examples in the Indian subcontinent. To our knowledge, no study has been carried out in western Nepal about the epidemiology of laryngeal cancer to date. The purpose of this study was to analyse the epidemiology of laryngeal cancer in relation to its risk factors, age distribution,and preferred subsites and to see if there is any recent change in the subsite wise distribution of laryngeal malignancy in western Nepal. Materials and Methods: Patients of all ages and both sexes with suspected laryngeal malignancy were enrolled in the initial study. Detailed history taking and clinical examination was performed to find out the involved subsite in relation to the clinical features. Direct laryngoscopy was performed to further confirm the subsite and to take biopsy from the growth under general anesthesia. After confirmation of malignancy from the biopsy report, patients were finally included in the study. Data were analysed and observations were made to find out the distribution of laryngeal malignancy in different subsites. Results: The supraglottic larynx was the commonest subsite to harbor laryngeal malignancy. Smoking and alcohol were found to be the common risk factors. The mean age of the patients was in their sixties. Conclusions: Laryngeal malignancy is common in elderly individuals. Supraglottic laryngeal malignancy is the commonest laryngeal malignancy in people who smoke and drink alcohol in Nepal. Avoidance of alcohol use and smoking will be a milestone to reduce the incidence of laryngeal cancers and associated mortality.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.4169-4172
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• 2012

Background: The majority of women in rural India have poor or no access to cervical cancer screening services, although one.quarter of all cervical cancers in the world occur there. Several large trials have proven the efficacy of low-tech cervical cancer screening methods in the Indian context but none have documented the necessary components and processes of implementing this evidence in a low-resource setting. Methods: This paper discusses a feasible model of implementation of cervical cancer screening programme in low-resource settings developed through a pilot research project carried out in rural Tamilnadu, India. The programme used visual inspection of cervix after acetic acid application (VIA) as a screening tool, nurses in the primary care centres as the primary screeners and peer educators within Self-Help Women groups to raise community awareness. Results: The uptake of screening was initially low despite the access to a screening programme. However, the programme witnessed an incremental increase in the number of women accessing screening with increasing community awareness. Conclusions: The investigators recommend 4 key components to programme implementation in low-resource setting: 1) Evidence-based, cost-effective test and treatment available within the reach of the community; 2) Appropriate referral pathways; 3) Skilled health workers and necessary equipment; and 4) Optimisation of health literacy, beliefs, attitudes of the community.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7839-7842
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• 2014

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women worldwide and the second most common cancer in females in India. Receptor status may be important for survival. Objective: To analyse and correlate the clinical and morphological parameters with receptor status in breast carcinoma patients in a tertiary care institution in Southern India. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study involved 320 patients of breast cancer diagnosed in an oncology hospital over a period of $3^{1/2}$ years. Data was analysed using SPSS Version 21. Results: Some 60.6% patients with breast carcinomas belonged to the age group of 40 to 60 years. The most common histological type was infiltrating ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specified, accounting for 84.4% of patients. On immunohistochemistry, estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) were expressed in 56.3% and 53.1% of cases, respectively. Conclusions: Breast cancers in India, a developing country, occur in younger women and tend to be more aggressive with lower rates of ER and PR expression and higher histological tumor grades. Both ER and PR status of the tumors had significant associations with the patient age, pathological TNM stage and histological tumor grade.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.5053-5058
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• 2015

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the commonest cancers among women all over the world. The association of cervical cancer with human papilloma virus (HPV) is well established. Knowledge about the causal relationship between HPV and cervical cancer is important to make appropriate, evidence-based health care choices. In this context we conducted a community based study among women about the knowledge, attitude and practice about HPV infections and their health effects. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional interview based house to house survey was conducted with a validated data collection tool covering sociodemographic factors, knowledge, attitude and practice about HPV and its health effects, among 1020 women from a rural village, Perdoor, in Udupi district, Karnataka, India in 2013-14. Results: The mean age of participants was 38.9 years (SD=12.6). Study participants showed a high literacy rate (85.7%). Only 2.4% of sexually exposed women had undergone Pap smear testing. Partners of 4.4%women had undergone circumcision and they belonged to the Muslim community. Male condom usage was reported by 26 women (2.6%). However, none of the participants had heard of HPV and its health effects. Conclusions: This community based study found complete ignorance about HPV among rural South Indian women in spite of a high literacy level.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.4739-4742
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• 2013

Carboplatin, a second generation platinum drug, is widely used to treat different types of cancers. However, myelosuppression remains a major consideration in its use. Genetic polymorphisms of enzymes involved in drug disposition can influence therapeutic outcome. The homozygous null deletion of phase II metabolic gene GSTT1 that abolishes its xenobiotic- detoxifying ability may be associated with carboplatin toxicity. Further, since carboplatin generates oxidative stress, polymorphisms of oxidative stress genes that regulate the cellular level of free radicals may have important roles in generating drug- related adverse effects. We here investigated the null polymorphism of GSTT1, and the -463G>A promoter polymorphism of oxidative stress gene myeloperoxidase (MPO) for carboplatin toxicity in a population of northern India. Cancer patients who were treated with carboplatin, and developed toxicity was considered. The study group comprised of 10 patients who developed therapy- related adverse effects. Peripheral blood was taken from patients for DNA isolation. GSTT1 null genotype was determined by conducting duplex PCR and MPO-463 G>A was determined by PCR followed by RFLP. Hematologic toxicity was experienced by 5 patients, 2 of them had grade 3 and 4 toxicity and 3 others had grade 2 toxicity. They also had gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity. Remaining 5 individuals developed GI toxicity but no hematological toxicity. While GG homozygous of MPO was present in majority of patients having hematologic toxicity (in 4 out of 5 individuals), one A allele (AG genotype) was present in 4 patients who did not have any hematological toxicity. Thus variant A allele of MPO -463G>A may be related to lower hematological toxicity. These preliminary data, however, are required to be confirmed in larger studies along with other relevant polymorphisms.