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AL amyloidosis: Singapore Myeloma Study Group consensus guidelines on diagnosis, treatment and management

Amyloidosis refers to disorders characterised by the deposition of insoluble amyloid fibrils, which are pathogenic,1 resulting in organ dysfunction. Amyloidoses differ in the protein...

Clinical utility of PET/MRI in multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a haematological malignancy characterised by abnormal accumulation of malignant plasma cells and is associated with anaemia, renal impairment, hypercalcemia and...

Improving management of AL amyloidosis

In this issue of the Annals, Tan et al. on behalf of Singapore Myeloma Study Group presented the consensus guidelines on light chain (AL)...

Streamlining multidisciplinary care in sarcoma management

Dear Editor, Sarcomas are rare and heterogenous tumours that constitute fewer than 1% of adult solid cancers.1 Owing to their aggressive behaviour, relative rarity...

A perfect match: The story of robotics in gynaecology

Dear Editor, The first use of surgical robotics started in the domain of orthopaedic and urological surgery. However, it was the initial concept of using...

An approach to genetic testing in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in Singapore

Prostate cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Asian men, and with its rising incidence, is emerging as a health priority in Asia.1...

Challenges with mainstreaming genetic testing for metastatic prostate cancer treatment in Singapore

Compared with other solid tumours, patients with metastatic prostate cancer typically have better survival in the range of years.1 The long survival translates to...

The role of PIVKA-II in hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance in an Asian population

Dear Editor, Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is the most established biomarker for surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in at-risk individuals. However, its sensitivity and specificity are...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

Different strokes for different folks

Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains the most common arrhythmia since William Harvey’s observation of fibrillating auricles in open chest animal models in 1628. Willem Einthoven...

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...

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%...

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%...

Long-term Outcome and Disease Control in Near-fatal Asthma

Rising trends in mortality in asthma have been reported from many countries, including Asian countries such as Hong Kong. Asthma deaths have been associated...

Ethnicity, Obstructive Sleep Apnoea and Ischaemic Heart Disease

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a condition whereby there is snoring associated with complete or partial cessation of breathing during sleep, associated with nocturnal...

Incidence of Ischaemic Heart Disease and Stroke in Chinese, Malays and Indians in Singapore: Singapore Cardiovascular Cohort Study

Comparisons of disease frequency in different ethnic groups help to unravel the contributions of nature and nurture in their aetiology and to identify environmental...

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....

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...

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...

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...

Locally Advanced and Metastatic Breast Cancer in a Tertiary Hospital

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Singapore and accounts for 22.8% of all female cancers.1 The incidence of breast cancer...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Where the Elderly Die: The Influence of Socio-Demographic Factors and Cause of Death on People Dying at Home

The subject of place of death was brought to the forefront of the medical community in July 2004 when 2 important publications were released;...

The Influence of Maternal Ethnic Group and Diet on Breast Milk Fatty Acid Composition

Human milk is the ideal food which provides the complete nutritional requirements for infants during the first 6 months of life. The lipids accumulated...

Differential Risk for Early Breastfeeding Jaundice in a Multi-ethnic Asian Cohort

Early-onset hyperbilirubinaemia is a high-risk condition because it often presents with an acute and rapid rise in bilirubin values. Although the outcome for most...

Smoking and Nicotine Dependence in Singapore: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Study

Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death and is the fourth most common risk factor for disease. Nearly 6 million deaths occur worldwide...

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...

Prevalence and Impact of Mental and Physical Comorbidity in the Adult Singapore Population

The co-occurrence of mental and medical disorders in the same person, regardless of the chronological order in which they occurred or their causal relationship—commonly...

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...

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...

Telemedicine for palliative care: Current and future challenges

Dear Editor, We read with interest the article published in the June 2021 issue of the Annals titled “Use of telemedicine in healthcare during COVID-19...

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...

Singapore Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) Experience: Shall We Change Our Practice?

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) constitutes nearly 4% of all children diagnosed with cancer in the ethnically diverse small island city of Singapore. It is the most...

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...

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...

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...

Accuracy of self-reported height, weight and BMI in a multiethnic Asian population

Overweight and obesity continue to be one of the most critical public health issues worldwide. Body mass index (BMI) derived from height and weight...

Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae carriage in polyclinic attendees and national servicemen presenting with diarrhoea

Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess is an invasive syndrome that mainly affects people living in East Asia. It especially affects adults with diabetes and is...

Long-term outcomes of ischaemic stroke patients with diabetes in a multi-ethnic cohort in Singapore

Asia faces an epidemic of diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes in Asia is projected to grow from 114 million in 2007 to 180 million...

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...

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...