Many countries across the world have made newborn screening (NBS) mandatory. It is a laboratory test which screens the newborns for metabolic & genetic disorders, some of which can be treated or modified if detected early in life, and thereby preventing potentially disastrous consequences and saving the baby’s life. The last four decades have witnessed rapid evolution in implementation & strategies used for NBS in US, Europe, Japan & other industrialised nations where NBS is well accepted public health policy. India is going through a progressive transitional phase of control over infant mortality & morbidity due to infections and emergence of genetic conditions. This is the right time to review NBS program in totality considering the global scenario of its initiation, growth, advances in technologies & its transfer from conventional to mass spectrometry techniques, as well as selection & nature of candidate NBS disorders. Nevertheless, the impact of this worldwide movement of NBS is inadequate in India; this review article discusses the various efforts required to successfully introduce this significant health service for population benefits as well as the lacunae & limitations still exist in 21st century in India. Based on the high-risk screening of congenital metabolic conditions using mass spectrometry in India...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. Due to a higher incidence of CRC in the western hemisphere a significant amount of research was carried out and majority of the controversies could be resolved as far as management of CRC is concerned. Recently a number of significant advances were made in the field of CRC related to surgery, systemic therapy and radiotherapy. During the last decade we have witnessed introduction of minimally invasive surgery, incorporation of more effective newer chemotherapeutic regimes and targeted therapies and refinements in radiotherapy protocols. The demographics and clinical picture of CRC seems to be different in developing countries and there is paucity of CRC related studies from developing countries. In-order to update the practicing surgeons a review of conventional controversies of CRC surgery was performed and an update on the recent developments in the field of CRC was also presented in this article.

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) constitute a rare and challenging group of solid tumor in the field of oncology. Unlike other malignancies STS can affect a wide variety of anatomical regions in the body with varied histo-pathological variants and clinical outcomes. There are controversies in the diagnosis and management of STS due to rarity and heterogeneity of the disease entity. Due to dedicated research and advances made in the field of imaging, pathology, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy certain controversies were laid to rest and treatment approach to STS could be standardized to a large extent in the recent past. A review of controversies related to STS was performed in this article and an attempt was made to present a balanced view pertaining to these issues.