Melanoma in the masseter muscle

This case report presents two very unusual cases of melanomas arising within the masseter muscle. Both were metastases of unknown origin arising in young, healthy patients and presenting as asymptomatic lesions. No primary lesions were found in either case. A comprehensive search of the world literature revealed no previous similar cases.     

Interstitial pregnancy

A 20-year-old woman with an interstitial pregnancy who underwent ultrasonographic and laparoscopic imaging before surgical management is described.     

Update on zona pellucida glycoproteins based contraceptive vaccine

Zona pellucida (ZP) glycoproteins, due to their critical role in mammalian fertilization, have been proposed as candidate immunogens for development of a contraceptive vaccine. Active immunization studies in a variety of animal species, employing either native or recombinant zona proteins, has established their contraceptive potential. Hence, ZP glycoprotein-based contraceptive vaccines have a very good potential for controlling wild life population. To make it a realistic proposition, additional research inputs are required to develop new potent adjuvants and novel practical strategies for vaccine delivery. The observed ovarian dysfunction, often associated with immunization by ZP glycoproteins, is one of the major obstacles for their application in the control of human population. Ongoing studies to delineate epitopes of ZP glycoproteins that will generate an immune response capable of inhibiting fertility without any untoward effects on ovarian functions will help in determining their feasibility for human use.     

Abnormal uterine bleeding as a presentation of metastatic breast disease in a patient with advanced breast cancer on tamoxifen therapy

Introduction Extra pelvic tumours rarely metastasise to the female genital tract. Typically it is the ovaries that are involved and the primary tumours include the breast and the gastrointestinal tract. Metastatic disease involving the uterus is rare.Case report A case of metastatic breast carcinoma involving both the uterine corpus and cervix is described. The patient was known to have advanced breast carcinoma and was on tamoxifen therapy when she presented with postmenopausal bleeding. Histological assessment of the hysterectomy specimen including immunohistochemistry staining confirmed the breast carcinoma as the primary.Conclusion Unusual uterine bleeding in a patient with breast cancer, should alert the gynaecologist to the possibility of metastatic breast disease regardless of tamoxifen treatment.     

Two unusual lesions in the nasal cavity of infants--a nasal chondromesenchymal hamartoma and an aneurysmal bone cyst like lesion. More closely related than we think?

Benign reparative lesions in the head and neck region in infants are rare and often difficult to classify on histology. Discussed herein are two rare lesions in infants occurring at identical locations in the nasal cavity with striking histologic similarity but different histologic labels. One was a case of nasal chondromesenchymal hamartoma (NCMH) occurring in a 1-year-old child and the other an aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) like lesion affecting a 4-month infant. Both these lesions were locally destructive and had nearly similar clinical presentation. Both on immunohistochemistry showed myofibroblastic nature and had similar histology except that the ABC like lesion lacked the cartilage component of the former. In view of great similarity in the two lesions, it was thought that the second lesion might also represent a reparative, non-cartilage-containing counterpart of the former.     

Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of an orally active novel camptothecin analog, DRF-1042, in refractory cancer patients in a phase I dose escalation study

The objective of this study was to characterize the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), dose-limiting toxicities (DLT), pharmacokinetics, and antitumor effects of DRF-1042, a novel camptothecin analog, in refractory solid tumor patients. DRF-1042 was given for 5 consecutive days for 2 weeks, repeated every 3 weeks at 1.5 to 270 mg/m(2). Adverse events were monitored following NCI-CTC. Pharmacokinetics of lactone and total forms were determined using validated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and noncompartmental methods. Efficacy was evaluated applying World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. The 1st course was used to determine DLT and MTD. Twenty-five patients received 73 courses of therapy. Myelosuppression and diarrhea were DLTs. MTD was 120 mg/m(2)/day. AUC increased approximately linearly with dose. The t(1/2) for lactone and total forms was 9.9 and 29 hours, respectively. AUCs correlated significantly with nadir leucopenia and grade 4 diarrhea. Two complete responses (CRs) and 2 partial responses (PRs) were observed. In addition, 4 stable diseases were observed. The recommended phase II dose is 80 mg/m(2)/day.     

Impact of a course on human sexuality and adolescence

Obective: This study was conducted as part of a course on Human Sexuarity and Adodescence for school childrenmèt/ to ascertain the prior knowledge of children, source of their knowledge and whether the course was a felt need of the childrenMethod : Students were given a questionnaire before the course. Few selected questions were asked again after the last session. The course was conducted in a private co-educational. English medium school in urban Bangalore involving 392 students 13–15 years of age. The course was designed by the authors and dealt with anatomy, physiology, social and psychological aspects of growing up, HIV and contraception.Results : 55–70% of class VIII; IX and X students had learnt about sex from friends, 30% from movies, 15% from text books and only 10% from parents. Misconceptions about anatomy, childbirth, HIV were common. 90% of tenth class students felt that education in human sexuality was necessary.Conclusion: In spite of chapters on reproduction in textbooks, children turn to peers or media to gather information on sexuality. Education in human sexuality is nequired in our schools, as this need is currently not being addressed adequately in our society.