The overexpression of insulin-like growth factor receptor-I (IGF-IR) and the activation of its signaling pathways both play critical roles in the development and progression of gastric cancer. Dopamine (DA), a major enteric neurotransmitter, has been reported to have a wide variety of physiological functions in the gastrointestinal tract, including the stomach. We have previously reported that both DA and tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme required for the synthesis of DA, are lost in malignant gastric tissues.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The document is based on consensus among the experts and best available evidence pertaining to Indian population and is meant for practice in India.All postcholecystectomy gallbladder specimens should be opened and examined carefully by the operating surgeon and be sent for histopathological examination.All “incidental” gall bladder cancers (GBCs) picked up on histopathological examination should have an expert opinion.Evaluation of a patient with early GBC should include essential tests: A computed tomography (CT) scan (multi-detector or helical) of the abdomen and pelvis for staging with a CT chest or chest X-ray, and complete blood counts, renal and liver function tests. magnetic resonance imaging/positron emission tomography (PET)-CT are not recommended for all patients.For early stage disease (up to Stage IVA), surgery is recommended. The need for adjuvant treatment would be guided by the histopathological analysis of the resected specimen.Patients with Stage IVB/metastatic disease must be assessed for palliative e.g. endoscopic or radiological intervention, chemotherapy versus best supportive care on an individual basis. These patients do not require extensive workup outside of a clinical trial setting.There is an urgent need for multicenter trials from India covering various aspects of epidemiology (viz., identification of population at high-risk, organized follow-up), clinical management (viz., bile spill during surgery, excision of all port sites, adjuvant/neoadjuvant therapy) and basic research (viz., what causes GBC).

A 55-year old man with von Recklinghausen's disease was admitted to our hospital for investigation of weight loss, anorexia, and abdominal discomfort. Endoscopy findings revealed impairment in the extendability of the stomach by air, and barium meal studies showed a well-contracted stomach. On exploratory laparotomy, the whole of the stomach was found to be grossly shrunken with thickening of the walls suggesting a "linitis plastica" stomach. Histological findings confirmed stage III poorly differentiated diffuse infiltrative adenocarcinoma of the stomach. This report describes a rare case of "linitis plastica" stomach in a patient with peripheral neurofibromatosis (NF-1) indicating that the NF-1 disorder does not spare an individual from other common neoplastic disorders.

We performed a retrospective analysis on the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with three cycles of methotrexate (100 mg/m2 on day 1), cisplatin (90 mg/m2 on day 1) and bleomycin (20mg/m2 on day 1-5) with 21 d gap between each cycle in 44 patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the cheek, lip and tongue followed by surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin (90 mg/m2 on day 1), Mitomycin C (6 mg/m2 on day 1) and 5-fluorouracil (1000 mg/m2 120 h continuous infusion from day 1) repeated every 3 weeks for three cycles. Following induction chemotherapy, complete response was observed in 11 out of 44 patients (25%), and a partial response in a further 28 patients (64%). The overall median survival of all patients was 29 months and those in stage III and stage IV were 30 and 15 months respectively (P< 0.001). The median duration of the time to relapse in patients who responded to adjuvant chemotherapy was 28 months. The main toxic effect was vomiting followed by hematological toxicity. No treatment-related deaths occurred. The regimen showed a significant response, encouraging median survival and a good tolerability profile.

Background: The present study was carried out with an aim to perform a prospective study to establish the role of sodium tetradecyl sulfate (3 %) (STDS) as a safe and effective sclerosant in the management of primary hydroceles.Methods: Sclerotherapy was performed with 3 % STDS on an outdoor basis. The amount of sclerosant injected depended on the amount of fluid drained. All patients were given prophylactic antibiotics. Patients were clinically reassessed at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months and earlier if complications occurred. All patients were given prophylactic antibiotics.  The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 15.0. The data have been represented as frequencies and percentages. Chi-square test was used to compare the data. A total of 57 patients with primary vaginal hydrocele gave consent for being enrolled in the study. The age of patients ranged from 18 to 65 years with a mean age of 35.72±13.18 years.Results: The success rate at the end of the study was observed to be 84.2 %. As regards patient satisfaction, in present study, in a limited time period of follow up, all the patients who had a successful procedure were satisfied.Conclusion: Overall, sclerotherapy was observed to be a relatively cost-effective (including both direct and indirect costs) procedure with low complications, high satisfaction, faster return to work and a high success rate within the limited period of follow-up.