1.A Case Report of Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumour in a 9-Year-Old Girl
Kin Hup Chan ; Mohammed Saffari Mohammed Haspani ; Yew Chin Tan ; Fauziah Kassim
Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences 2011;18(3):82-86
Primary central nervous system atypical rhabdoid/teratoid tumour (ATRT) is a rare and
highly malignant tumour that tends to occur in infancy and early childhood. The majority of tumours
(approximately two-third) arise in the posterior fossa. The optimal treatment for ATRT remains
unclear. Options of treatment include surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Each of their role
is still not clearly defined until now. The prognosis of the disease is generally unfavourable. This is a
case report of ATRT in an atypical site in a 9-year-old girl.
2.Verrucous Hemangioma of the Thumb in Children: A Rare Presentation
Muhammad Izzuddin HAMZAN ; Normala BASIRON ; Fauziah KASSIM
Malaysian Journal of Dermatology 2018;40(June):59-61
Verrucous Hemangioma (VH) is a rare capillary vascular anomaly, frequently clinically mistaken toAngiokeratoma. It’s frequently reported to manifest in lower extremity and is commonly unilateral.Other locations of its presentation are scarcely reported. We demonstrated a Verrucous Hemangiomaof unusual location at the thumb of child and its surgical management which remain as a primarymodality of the treatment.
3.P16INK4a: A Potential Diagnostic Adjunct For Prediction Of Highgrade Cervical Lesions In Liquid-Based Cytology: With HPV Testing And Histological Correlation
Yin Ping Wong ; Sayyidi Hamzi Abdul Raub ; Ahmad Zailani Hatta Mohd Dali ; Fauziah Kassim ; Vicknesh Visvalingam ; Zubaidah Zakaria ; Muhammad Amir Kamaluddin ; Sharifah Noor Akmal
The Malaysian Journal of Pathology 2016;38(2):93-101
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary cause of cervical cancer and its precursors. Increased
expression of high-risk hrHPV viral oncogenes in abnormal cells might increase the expression of
p16INK4a. We aimed to determine the role of p16INK4a in detecting hrHPV-transformed epithelial
cells in liquid-based cervical cytology, and compared the results with hrHPV DNA testing by realtime
polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Fifty-seven cytological samples were tested for p16INK4a
immunomarker and hrHPV DNA. Test performance of both tests was determined by comparing
sensitivity, specificity and predictive values using available histological follow-up data as gold
standard. Of 57 samples, 36 (63.2%) showed immunoreactivity for p16INK4a and 43 (75.4%) were
hrHPV-infected. A fairly low concordance rate (k = 0.504) between p16INK4a immunolabelling
and hrHPV DNA status was noted. For prediction of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) II and
worse lesions, p16INK4a had a sensitivity and specificity of 93.5% and 60%; whereas hrHPV DNA
testing had a sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 20%. Dual testing by combining p16INK4a
and hrHPV showed sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 33.3%. In conclusion, p16INK4a is
useful in predicting severity of the cytological abnormalities. Although p16INK4a is more specific
but less sensitive than hrHPV in detecting high-grade cervical lesions, a combination of both tests
failed to demonstrate significant improvement in diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and predictive
value. Larger-scale prospective studies are required to assess further whether this biomarker should
be routinely used as primary screening tool independently or in combination with hrHPV testing to
improve diagnostic accuracy in cervical cytology.
4.Updates on Knowledge, Attitude and Preventive Practices on Tuberculosis among Healthcare Workers
Farhanah Abd Wahab ; Sarimah Abdullah ; Jafri Malin Abdullah ; Hasnan Jaafar ; Siti Suraiya Md Noor ; Wan Mohd Zahiruddin Wan Mohammad ; Abdul Aziz Mohamed Yusoff ; John Tharakan ; Shalini Bhaskar ; Muthuraju Sangu ; Mohd Shah Mahmood ; Fauziah Kassim ; Md. Hanip Rafia ; Mohammed Safari Mohammed Haspani ; Azmi Alias ; Rogelio Hernández Pando
Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences 2016;23(6):25-34
Ranking as the most communicable disease killer worldwide, tuberculosis, has accounted
with a total of 9.6 million new tuberculosis cases with 1.5 million tuberculosis-related deaths
reported globally in 2014. Tuberculosis has remain as an occupational hazard for healthcare
workers since 1920s and due to several tuberculosis outbreaks in healthcare settings in the early
1990s, the concern about the transmission to both patients and healthcare workers has been
raised. Healthcare workers have two to three folds greater the risk of active tuberculosis than the
general population. Several studies on knowledge, attitude and practices on tuberculosis among
healthcare workers worldwide have revealed that majority of the participated healthcare workers
had good knowledge on tuberculosis. Most of the healthcare workers from South India and South
Africa also reported to have positive attitude whereas a study in Thailand reported that most of
the healthcare providers have negative attitude towards tuberculosis patients. Nevertheless,
majority of the healthcare workers have low level of practice on tuberculosis prevention. An
improved communication between healthcare workers and the patients as well as their families
is the key to better therapeutic outcomes with good knowledge, attitude and preventive practice
towards tuberculosis.
5. Sharing experiences from a reference laboratory in the public health response for Ebola viral disease, MERS-CoV and H7N9 influenza virus investigations
Ravindran THAYAN ; Mohd Apandi YUSOF ; Jeyanthi SUPPIAH ; Tengku Rogayah TG ABD RASHID ; Zarina Mohd ZAWAWI ; Nor Aziyah MAT RAHIM ; Fauziah KASSIM ; Rozainanee Mohd ZAIN ; Zainah SAAT
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine 2016;9(2):201-203
An efficient public health preparedness and response plan for infectious disease management is important in recent times when emerging and exotic diseases that hitherto were not common have surfaced in countries with potential to spread outside borders. Stewardship from a reference laboratory is important to take the lead for the laboratory network, to proactively set up disease surveillance, provide referral diagnostic services, on-going training and mentorship and to ensure coordination of an effective laboratory response. In Malaysia, the Institute for Medical Research has provided the stewardship for the Ministry of Health's laboratory network that comprises of hospital pathology, public health and university laboratories. In this paper we share our experiences in recent infectious disease outbreak investigations as a reference laboratory within the Ministry of Health infectious disease surveillance network.