INTRODUCTION: Malaysian women have a 1 in 20 chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime. Sabah, formerly known as North Borneo, is part of East Malaysia with a population of 3.39 million and more than 30 ethnic groups. We conducted a 2 year prospective epidemiological study to provide unreported data of breast cancer from this part of the world and to recognise which particular group of patients are more likely to present with advanced disease.
METHODS: All newly diagnosed breast cancers seen at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu, from January 2005 to December 2006 were included in the study. Patient and tumour characteristics, including age, race, education, socioeconomic background, parity, practice of breast feeding, hormonal medication intake, menopausal status, family history, mode of presentation, histology, grade, stage of disease and hormonal receptors status were collected and analysed.
RESULTS: A total of 186 patients were seen. The commonest age group was 40 to 49 years old (32.3%). Chinese was the commonest race (30.6%) followed by Kadazan-Dusun (24.2%). The commonest histology was invasive ductal carcinoma (88.4%). Stages at presentation were Stage 0- 4.8%, Stage I- 12.9%, Stage II- 30.1%, Stage III- 36.6% and Stage IV- 15.6%. The estrogen and progesterone receptor status was positive in 59.1% and 54.8% of cases, respectively. 73.7% of Chinese patients presented with early cancer compared to 36.4% of the other races. Patients who presented with advanced disease were also poor, non-educated and from rural areas. 20.4% of patients defaulted treatment; most of them opted for traditional alternatives.
CONCLUSIONS: Sabahan women with breast cancer present late. Great efforts are needed to improve public awareness of breast cancer, especially among those who have higher risk of presenting with advanced disease.
Synchronous cancers are defined as malignant tumours that occur simultaneously, each of which must be distinct with no possibility of one being the metastasis of the other. A 65 year old gentleman presented to us with two month history of epigastric pain associated with anaemia, loss of appetite and weight. He has no history of malignancy in his family. Colonoscopy revealed tumours at transverse colon and caecum. Intra-operatively, tumours were sited at caecum, transverse colon and jejunum. Tumours were diagnosed as synchronous adenocarcinoma histopathologically with loss of expression of MLH1 and MSH2. From literature search, this is the first reported triple synchronous tumours of the caecum, transverse colon and jejunum. We believe that this gentleman developed triple synchronous tumour through the sporadic MSI pathway.
Gallbladder tuberculosis (GT) is an extremely rare condition. This is thought to be due to the protective property of bile against the infection. Clinical and radiological diagnosis of GT is difficult. We describe a case of GT who initially presented to us with jaundice, a right hypochondrial mass and computed tomographic findings suggestive of gallbladder empyema. Diagnosis was made from histopathological examination of the resected gallbladder which revealed epitheloid granulomas with caseating necrosis and presence of Langhan's giant cells. From a literature search and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first GT to be reported in South East Asia.
Sabah, formerly known as North Borneo, is part of East Malaysia. 52.2 percent of patients with breast cancer in Sabah presented at advanced stages and up to 20.4 percent of patients defaulted proper treatment, opting for traditional therapy. We performed a two-year prospective study looking at the treatment trends of breast cancer in Sabah.
True and pseudoaneurysms of the visceral arteries are uncommon. They represent 0.1-0.2 percent of all vascular aneurysms. Visceral artery aneurysms (VAAs) should be treated due to their propensity to rupture and associated high mortality. We describe a 58-year-old man with pseudoaneurysm of the inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery and who presented with post-motor vehicle accident abdominal pain and a pulsatile epigastic mass. Computed tomography (CT) showed a pseudoaneurysm of the visceral artery, and selective mesenteric angiography showed the aneurysm to be arising from the inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery. The aneurysm was successfully treated with endovascular coil embolisation. CT angiogram at one month post-procedure revealed persistent occlusion of the aneurysm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported pseudoaneurysm of inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery secondary to blunt abdominal trauma from a motor vehicle accident and also the first reported VAA from Malaysia.
Open surgical repair of axillosubclavian artery injuries is technically demanding and associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Endovascular intervention has emerged as a valuable alternative to open surgical repair. This report presents three cases with axillosubclavian artery injuries managed with endovascular intervention. All three cases had a pseudoaneurysm of the axillosubclavian artery with one case associated with an arteriovenous fistula. They were successfully treated with endovascular stenting and balloon angioplasty. There were no observed acute complications. No complications or recurrence have occurred, with a mean follow-up of 26 months. Endovascular intervention for axillosubclavian artery injuries is less invasive, safe and effective; however, data concerning the long-term effects and complications associated with this technique are lacking.
Objective: Native fistula creation for hemodialysis in patients who have exhausted all their superficial veins presents a challenge to vascular practice. We review our experience in transposed basilic vein fistula (BVT) creation and its usage for hemodialysis. Materials and Methods: We analyzed the hospital operative registry from January 2009 till June 2012 to identify the total number of BVT created in our center. Medical records of all patients were traced, and patients were interviewed using a standard proforma. In our center, BVT is performed as a two-stage procedure. All patients were routinely assessed with duplex scan preoperatively and postoperatively. Results: Two hundred thirty-nine patients were recruited in the study. Of these patients, 50.6% were male and 49.4% were female. Mean age was 53.4 years. Of these patients, 81.2% had history of other previous fistula creation. Risk factors profile includes diabetes mellitus in 59.8%, hypertension in 86.2%, and smoking in 13.0%. Of these patients, 84.5% had no operative complication. Commonest complication was wound infection, 6.3%, followed by hemorrhage or hemotoma required surgical intervention, 5.9%, and pseudoaneurysm, 1.3%. Primary and secondary patencies were at 84.2% and 86.1% at 1 year and 67.7% and 70.5% at 3 years, respectively. Conclusion: BVT is a credible option for challenging patients with absence of superficial veins for native fistula creation with good patency and low operative complication rate. Preoperative ultrasound assessment improves patient selection and outcome of BVT.