Letter to the Editor
Surgical margins assessment reduces re-excision rates in breast-conserving surgery
Dear Editor,
Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) followed by radiation therapy for breast cancer offers improved cosmetic results and comparable long-term survival rates as mastectomy.1 However,...
Original Article
Clinical efficacy and long-term immunogenicity of an early triple dose regimen of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination in cancer patients
The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Initial studies have reported an increased vulnerability of patients with...
Editorial
Early COVID-19 booster is beneficial in cancer patients
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and its corresponding coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first reported as a cluster of pneumonia cases in...
Letter to the Editor
Multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic: An emerging model of care
Dear Editor,
Lung cancer management is progressively complex and multidisciplinary input is often needed. The recent publication of CheckMate 816 heralds a paradigm shift...
Original Article
Characteristics of anti-transcriptional intermediary factor 1 gamma autoantibody-positive dermatomyositis patients in Singapore
Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are a heterogeneous group of acquired, systemic autoimmune conditions characterised by muscular and extramuscular manifestations. As a subset within the...
Images in Medicine
A recurring nasal mass
A 56-year-old Chinese man presented to the Ear, Nose and Throat clinic with months of unilateral right-sided nasal obstruction. He reported occasional mucopurulent discharge...
Letter to the Editor
Early rehabilitation to improve functional outcomes in childhood cancer in Singapore
Dear Editor,
We conducted a prospective, single-centre cohort study to review the impact of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme in children with cancer in Singapore....
Commentary
‘Roe’lling with the punches: Telehealth contraception and abortion
Unsafe abortion is a global health issue as it is a key preventable cause of maternal mortality. It has been estimated that up to...
Review Article
Exploring loss and grief during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review of qualitative studies
As of mid October 2022, the World Health Organization recorded that more than 620 million people worldwide have been infected by SARS-CoV-2, the virus...
Review Article
Barriers to breast cancer screening in Singapore: A literature review
Breast cancer is a major public health concern and a leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide, including Singapore.1 According to the 2018...
Letter to the Editor
Palliative dialysis in hospice: A paradox or promising answer?
Dear Editor,
End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have higher mortality, hospital admissions and invasive procedures towards the end of life.1 However, many of them (82%)...
Letter to the Editor
Telepalliative care during the pandemic: Lessons for the future
Dear Editor,
Mok et al. gave hope for cautious optimism for the acceptance of telemedicine for palliative care—which will be referred to as “telepalliative care”...
Original Article
A Descriptive Study of the Demography, Symptomology, Management and Outcome of the First 300 Patients Admitted to an Independent Hospice in Singapore
Modern society views death as an aberration which has to be postponed and, if possible, prevented at all cost. Death is just unacceptable and...
Original Article
Serum Selenium in the General Population of Singapore, 1993 to 1995
The current disease pattern in Singapore (an island state of 3.3 million people composed of 76% Chinese, 14% Malays, 7% Asian Indians and 3%...
Original Article
Plasma Vitamins A, C and E in the General Population of Singapore, 1993 to 1995
The current disease pattern in Singapore (an island state of 3.3 million people composed of 76% Chinese, 14% Malays, 7% Asian Indians and 3%...
Others
Laparoscopic Telesurgery Between the United States and Singapore
Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication technologies to provide medical information and healthcare services. Early applications include medical use of the telephone and facsimile.
This...
Review Article
End-of-life Care: Challenges and Obligations in Setting Limits to Life-sustaining Therapy
A patient with recurrent stroke disease and severe pneumonia did not respond to the previous courses of antibiotics. The medical team decided to switch...
Original Article
Measuring Quality of Life in Chinese Cancer Patients: A New Version of the Functional Living Index for Cancer (Chinese)
Health-related quality of life (QOL) is recognised as an important aspect of patient care. In oncology studies, it may stand as the primary end-point....
Review Article
Current Concepts of Tumour Metastasis
Tumour metastasis, or the spread of cancer cells from a primary tumour to distant sites, remains the principal cause of treatment failure and poor...
Original Article
Trends in Cancer Incidence Among Singapore Malays: A Low-risk Population
Cancer is now one of the most common causes of death in the world. Inspection of changes in cancer incidence in ethnically or geographically...
Others
Cutaneous and Subcutaneous Metastases of Adenocarcinoma of the Colon and Rectum
Cutaneous metastasis from colorectal adenocarcinoma is an interesting condition not only because of its rarity, it occurs in less than 4% of patients with...
Others
Parathyroid Carcinoma: A Case Series
Parathyroid carcinomas account for 1% to 3% of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT).1 Patients usually present with a severe form of hyperparathyroidism at diagnosis,...
Others
Pathological Pulmonary Hernia in a Patient With Metastatic Breast Cancer
Pulmonary hernia is a rare and uncommon clinical entity that has been defined as a protrusion of pleural membranes or lung parenchyma through the...
Commentary
Internationally, it is Time to Bridge the Gap between Primary and Secondary Healthcare Services for the Dying
Around two-thirds of people with incurable diseases in economically developed countries wish to die at home, but less than one third succeed in doing...
Others
Thoracic Complications of Radiofrequency Ablation of Recurrent Hepatoma
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) intended to produce complete thermal necrosis of unresectable primary or secondary hepatic malignancies have gained widespread availability and acceptance over the...
Letter to the Editor
Mohs micrographic surgery in Singapore: A long-term follow-up review
Dear Editor,
Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) has become the treatment of choice for high-risk non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) worldwide.1 Unlike wide local excision, MMS...
Original Article
Noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features and the risk of malignancy in thyroid cytology: Data from Singapore
As only 5–10% of thyroid nodules harbour malignancy, fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is important in triaging nodules requiring surgical excision from nodules that may be...
Original Article
Characteristics of unplanned hospitalisations among cancer patients in Singapore
Cancer is a pervasive global problem with growing healthcare utilisation and costs.1-3 This situation is similar in Singapore where cancer incidence is on the...
Editorial
The case for better hospitalisation selection in cancer patients
Public hospital occupancy rates and resource utilisation in Singapore are perennially high. In the last 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been...
Original Article
Opioid Use amongst Cancer Patients at the End of Life
Opioid use in terminally ill cancer patients at the end of life has been a source of concern amongst many for fear of its...
Review Article
Hospital Policy on Medical Futility — Does it Help in Conflict Resolution and Ensuring Good End-of-Life Care?
The concept of medical futility has been present since antiquity, and traditionally marked the shift in the primary goal of care to providing physical...
Original Article
Demographic Determinants of Survival in Osteosarcoma
The treatment of osteosarcoma has seen tremendous improvements over the last 3 decades of the twentieth century. Over the last decade it appears that...
Original Article
The Hidden Impact of Childhood Cancer on the Family: A Multi-Institutional Study from Singapore
Chronic childhood illnesses have varying degrees of impact on the children and their families. Some chronic conditions that have little or no impact on...
Original Article
Causes and Features of Erythroderma
Erythroderma is a dermatological reaction characterised by extensive erythema and scaling of the skin secondary to a variety of causes. An improved understanding of...
Letter to the Editor
Routine intraoperative frozen section adds little value to the management of thyroid nodules with Bethesda III cytology
Dear Editor,
We would like to highlight the need to reduce intraoperative frozen section (FS) during diagnostic hemithyroidectomy performed on thyroid nodules with Bethesda III...
Letter to the Editor
Managing buccal space tumours
Dear Editor,
The buccal space is an infrequently addressed fascial space of the head and neck region. Intrinsic tumours of the buccal space are...
Original Article
How do English-speaking Cancer Patients Conceptualise Personhood?
Understanding the way personhood or “what makes you, you” is conceptualised is pivotal to the practice of medicine. Conceptions of personhood determine the moral...
Images in Medicine
Bone in the breast: Clinical, radiological and pathological correlation
An 84-year-old woman presented with a left breast mass that had been rapidly growing over a few months. On clinical examination, there was a...
Letter to the Editor
Treatment of Ewing sarcoma in children: Results from a single centre
Dear Editor,
Ewing sarcoma is a malignant mesenchymal tumour that presents as a bone or soft-tissue sarcoma. Translocations involving the EWS gene on chromosome 22q12...
Review Article
Does pulmonary metastasectomy of colorectal metastases translate to better survival? A systematic review
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the one of most common cancers worldwide. Metastatic disease occurs in approximately half of all CRC patients, in either synchronous...
Original Article
Nation-Wide Observational Study of Cardiac Arrests Occurring in Nursing Homes and Nursing Facilities in Singapore
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a significant public health problem in Singapore and from around the world. Between 2010–12, local OHCA patients with a...
Review Article
Teleophthalmology and its evolving role in a COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review
The World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020. To control the outbreak,...
Images in Medicine
An unusual submandibular tumour
A woman in her 60s presented with a non-tender, non-enlarging swelling in the left submandibular triangle of the neck for 3 months. She had...
Letter to the Editor
Penile preserving surgery in penile cancer management
Penile cancer is a condition that accounts for approximately 0.4% of cancers among Singapore males. Overall, this is an uncommon cancer with higher rates...