Narayana Superspeciality Hospital is a super-speciality hospital located in Howrah, West Bengal. It is a unit of the Narayana Health group and treats patients from the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata in West Bengal, India. Its sister hospital is Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, Howrah. The hospital, established by Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, is a centre for oncology and cardiac sciences facilities in Eastern India. Its tertiary care services include cardiac surgery, neurology, neurosurgery and orthopaedics.The hospital also treats patients from parts of the North Eastern states of India and neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. The cancer treatment is aligned with the treatment of organ specific cancers and is backed by integrated oncology facilities including Radiotherapy, Haemato Oncology, Paediatric Oncology, Pain and Palliation Oncology, Gynae Oncology and Advanced Brachytherapy.The hospital provides an aggregate of 41 services along with a cancer support cell, which aims to raise funds for cancer patients, physiotherapy, nutrition, preventive health checks, counselling, emergency services and trauma care..
Neonatal cardiac surgery, performed within the first 28 d of life, remains amongst the most complex areas of pediatric heart care, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In India, the burden of congenital heart disease (CHD) is substantial, with more than 200,000 affected newborns annually, nearly one-fifth requiring urgent intervention. The most common neonatal pathologies include, transposition of the great arteries, total anomalous pulmonary venous connection, arch anomalies, pulmonary atresia, truncus arteriosus, and single-ventricle variants. This narrative review gathers evidence regarding outcomes of neonatal cardiac surgery from published Indian series, a multicentric survey of 12 centres, and early registry data from Indian Association of Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgeons (IACTS). Published reports demonstrate in-hospital mortality ranging from 4.5
BACKGROUND:Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is widely regarded as a standard treatment for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC), but its cost puts it beyond the reach of many patients in low- and middle-income countries. Ujvira® (ZRC-3256; Zydus Lifesciences, India), a biosimilar version, could offer a more affordable alternative, although real-world experience with it is still limited. METHODS:This retrospective, single-center study evaluated the efficacy and safety of Ujvira® in patients with HER2-positive MBC treated at a tertiary cancer center in India. All patients had prior trastuzumab exposure and received Ujvira® 3.6 mg/kg intravenously every 21 days until progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Secondary endpoints included objective response rate (ORR), safety (graded per CTCAE v5.0), and exploratory subgroup analyses based on ECOG performance status, hormone receptor expression, comorbidities, and metastatic pattern. RESULTS:Fifty-one patients were included (mean age 58.0 ± 8.4 years; 47 (92.2%) postmenopausal). Median PFS was 6.9 months (95% CI 6.2-9.0) overall, 7.7 months in the second-line setting, and 9.1 months in the third-line setting. The ORR was 35.3%. Treatment was well tolerated; the most common adverse events were thrombocytopenia in 17 patients (33.3%) and anemia in 10 patients (19.6%). Dose reductions occurred in eight patients (15.7%), which did not affect efficacy (PFS 6.8 vs 6.9 months; p = 0.25). CONCLUSIONS:In this real-world Indian cohort, Ujvira® demonstrated efficacy and safety consistent with innovator T-DM1, with preserved outcomes even among heavily pretreated and comorbid patients. These results support Ujvira® as an effective, tolerable, and accessible therapeutic option for HER2-positive MBC in resource-limited settings.
Objectives: Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are a significant global health issue, particularly in India. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) accounts for 90% of all HNC cases and includes a diverse range of cancers originating from the lip, oral cavity, hypopharynx, nasopharynx, oropharynx, larynx, and salivary glands. This real-world study evaluated the impact of programmed cell death ligand-1 combined positive score (CPS) on treatment outcomes in Indian patients with recurrent/metastatic (R/M) SCCHN treated with cetuximab-based chemotherapy. Material and Methods: This retrospective real-world study analysed data from 139 patients with R/M SCCHN treated with cetuximab plus chemotherapy at three Indian oncology centres between May 2018 and September 2023. Patients were stratified into CPS <20 and CPS ≥20 groups, receiving either cetuximab with taxane-based or platinum–fluorouracil chemotherapy. Survival was estimated via the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Results: The overall objective response rate (ORR) was 80.6%, with similar rates across CPS groups (75.7% vs. 86.2%) and in the oral cavity subgroup. Median progression-free survival and overall survival were 9.0 and 20.0 months, respectively, with no significant differences between CPS groups in either the overall or oral cavity cohorts. Adverse events (AEs), primarily grade 3, were common and included dermatologic and gastrointestinal toxicities, with higher incidence in the oral cavity subgroup and CPS ≥20 group. However, the safety profile remained manageable. Conclusion: Cetuximab-based therapy may be appropriate for symptomatic patients with high tumour burden, regardless of CPS score, showing comparable survival benefits to existing data with manageable safety and no new AEs.
