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Background The role of Procarbazine Lomustine and Vincristine (PCV) chemotherapy is already established in terms of improving survival in low-grade glioma (LGG). This improved survival has led to the increasing administration of PCV to LGG patients over the past years. However, like other chemotherapies, serious hematological and non-hematological toxicities may occur. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity profile of PCV and its clinical relevance in our practice. Materials and Methods We reviewed 63 patients of LGG retrospectively who received chemotherapy PCV between January 2015 and January 2018 at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Lahore. Results Significant hematological toxicity as grade 3 anemia, thrombocytopenia, and neutropenia occurred in 19%, 27%, and 46% respectively with PCV. Other toxicities such as neurotoxicity, vomiting and derangement of liver enzymes occurred in 3.2%, 19%, and 19% respectively. Patients who were on concurrent anticonvulsants had no increase in PCV toxicity. Survival was not impacted by hematological toxicities up to grade 3. Conclusion PCV chemotherapy is associated with major hematological, hepatic, and clinical toxicities (vomiting, constipation, and neuropathy). Hematological toxicities influenced the course of treatment in terms of delays and interruptions.

To analyze the factors predicting survival outcomes in treatment naive oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). A comprehensive review of 531 oral tongue carcinoma patients treated with upfront surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy was conducted from 2004–2018. The mean age of presentation was 53 years (11–86) with a male to female ratio of 1.3:1. The associated risk factors were smoking (21%), betel nut (16%), naswar (9%) and alcohol (1%). Most of the cases were either well (45.1%) or moderately (46.2%) differentiated. Surgery was performed in 164 patients alone while 368 were treated with surgery in combination with adjuvant modalities. Overall (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) were 66 and 71%, respectively, with a median follow up of 2.5 years. Cox regression analysis showed nodal positivity, increased depth of invasion (DOI) and higher lymph node ratio (LNR) as significant prognosticators impacting OS and DSS. Nodal volume, DOI and LNR are the most consistent predictors of poor outcome in OTSCC. Nodal positivity, depth of invasion > 5 mm and lymph node ratio > 0.04 adversely affect OS and DSS.

Background Recurrence or progressive disease in head and cancers is considered to have poor prognosis. Although various chemotherapeutic agents have been tried in palliative settings but there is a lack of definitive standard protocol. The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the outcome of methotrexate in recurrent or persistent squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck in our institution. Material and methods Between January 2006 to December 2009, 103 patients with recurrent or persistent head and neck cancers were identified from Head and Neck Database at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center. All the patients had good performance status (ECOG 0–1) prior to the start of palliative chemotherapy. All the patients received intravenous methotrexate 40 mg/m 2 weekly. Response, toxicity and mean time to progression were determined. Results Response to methotrexate; complete response (CR) in 10 (10%), partial response (PR) in 11 (11%), stable disease (SD) in 60 (60%) and progressive disease (PD) in 19 (19%) of patients respectively. Chemotherapy related toxicity were; grade 4 febrile neutropenia in 6 (5%), grade 4 mucositis in 6 (5%), deranged liver functions in 17 (16%) patients. Mean time to progression was 7.5 months (range: 1–39 months). Conclusions The disease control in our study is comparable in the already published literature. Although various drug regimens have been employed in the past very little has been gained in slowing the progression of the disease.

e12033 Background: Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer for any South Asian population and majority of the patients present with locally advanced or metastatic disease. We report on response and survival of primary locally advanced non-metastatic breast cancer in women treated with neoadjuvant Adriamycin/Taxanes (AT) based regimens at our institute. Methods: Between 1995 to 2009 the hospital information system identified 517 women with pathologically confirmed locally advanced breast cancer. All patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with AT based regimen followed by surgery. Median age was 43 years (range 17-71 years). AJCC stage; stage II 54% and stage III 46% of the patients. Axillary nodes were palpable in 72% of the patients at presentation. Histological sub-types; infiltrating ductal carcinoma 95%, infiltrating lobular carcinoma 3% and others 2% respectively. Pathological grade was I/II in 44% and grade III 56% of the patients. ER, PR, and Her2-neu receptors were positive in 44%, 40% and 24% of the patients respectively. Twenty one percent of the patients had triple negative breast cancer. Post operative radiotherapy was delivered to 94% of the patients. Patients with positive ER/PR receptors also received hormonal manipulation. Results: Following neo-adjuvant chemotherapy, pathological response was; complete response (CR) 13.5%, partial response 21%, stable disease 52% and progressive disease in 13% of the patients respectively. Breast conservation was possible in 36% of the patients. The 5 year disease free survival in patients with and without CR was 81% and 36% respectively. On multivariate analysis, T stage (p = 0.001) and response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.001) were found to be independent predictors for disease free survival. Conclusions: Pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a predictor of long term survival. Chemotherapy regimens with high response rates merit evaluation in randomized trials to improve outcome in locally advanced breast cancer.