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BACKGROUND: Pakistan has a population of over 198 million making it the world’s sixth populous country. However, operational population-based cancer registries in Pakistan are lacking. Limited data are available based on institutional or Karachi Cancer Registry from Karachi; however, no exclusive registry for hematological malignancies is established till date. Hence, we decided to conduct a database analysis to determine the frequencies of various hematological cancers in our tertiary care center in Karachi. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective assessment of 366 patients presented to Hematology Department, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College from May 2012 to May 2016 with confirmed diagnosis of hematological cancers was performed. Data were retrieved from hospital-based tumor registry. All pro forma was filled by qualified medical research officer, which included demographic data as age, gender, history, disease type, and its stage at presentation. RESULTS: Male gender was predominant and accounted for 69.9% (n = 256) and female accounted for 30.0% (n = 110) of the total cases with the male-to-female ratio of ~2:1. The mean ages of female and male patients were 42.9 ± 20.7 and 49.7 ± 18.1 years with the median age of 45 and 51.5 years, respectively. In males, the three most frequent malignancies were chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) (16%), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (12.8% of each). In females, AML was the most common cancer accounting for 21.8% followed by CML (18.1%) and ALL (10%). CONCLUSIONS: Our institution-based tumor registry indicates CML and AML were the most common cancers in males and females, respectively, followed by ALL. Chronic lymphoid leukemia, unlike in the West, is seen infrequently in our population. National and provisional hematological tumor registry will be beneficial for future health planning and research.

INTRODUCTION: Internal quality control (IQC) is the backbone of quality assurance program. In blood banking, the quality control of blood products ensures the timely availability of a blood component of high quality with maximum efficacy and minimal risk to potential recipients. The main objective of this study is to analyze the IQC of blood products as an indicator of our blood bank performance. METHODS: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted at the blood bank of Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, from January 2014 to December 2015. A total of 100 units of each blood components were arbitrarily chosen during the study. Packed red cell units were evaluated for hematocrit (HCT); random platelet concentrates were evaluated for pH, yield, and culture; fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and cryoprecipitate (CP) were evaluated for unit volume, factor VIII, and fibrinogen concentrations. RESULTS: A total of 400 units were tested for IQC. The mean HCT of packed red cells was 69.5 ± 7.24, and in 98% units, it met the standard (

BACKGROUND: Limited information is available from developing countries in patients of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Hence, we reviewed the demographical profile along with bone marrow infiltration pattern in patients with NHL presented at Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive study, adult patients with NHL were enrolled from January 2011 to December 2015. RESULTS: One hundred and Eighty-four histopathologically confirmed cases of NHL were identified. There were 139 males and 45 females, with a male-to-female ratio of 3:1. The mean age was 48.5 ± 16.0 years with the median age of 50 years. B-symptoms were present in 80.4% of patients. Lymph node enlargement was present in 71.1% of the cases. One hundred and sixty-eight patients had B-cell lymphoma (91.3%) and 16 patients had T-cell lymphoma (8.6%). Overall 158 (85.8%) patients had aggressive lymphoma. The frequency of bone marrow infiltration in our NHL patients was found to be 31.5%. Pattern of infiltrate was diffuse (14.6%) predominantly followed by interstitial (6.5%) and paratrabecular (5.4%) types of infiltration. The least common was nodular infiltrate accounted in 9 (4.8%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: B-cell lymphoma is more frequent than T-cell lymphoma. Younger age, aggressive lymphoma, and predominance of B-symptoms are more frequently seen. Diffuse bone marrow infiltration is more common in our set up probably because of a relatively late presentation in our patients.