• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1643-1649
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• 2015

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate clinicopathological characteristics of our early stage breast cancer patients who are epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpressed/amplified (HER2+), the efficacy of trastuzumab treatment and survival results. Materials and Methods: Patients with HER2-positive early stage breast cancer receiving adjuvant trastuzumab were investigated retrospectively. Clinicopathological features of 210 patients and treatment outcome were analysed. To evaluate survival rates, the Kaplan-Meier method was used. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted with the Cox regression model. Results: Mean age of the patients was 51.8, 71.9% being postmenopausal. Some 37.6% of patients were node negative, and 31% had T1 tumor size and 52.4% were positive for estrogen receptor. Of 210 patients, 89.5% completed planned 52 weeks adjuvant trastuzumab treatment. The median follow up was 27.5 months (6.0-86.0). Relapse free survival (RFS) was 68.0 months (95% CI: 62.1-74.0) and overall survival (OS) was 74.8 months (95% CI: 69.5-80.1). The 3 year OS for all patients was 92.0% and RFS was 79.6%. During follow up, relapse was detected at the rate of 14.3%. Trastuzumab associated cardiotoxicity was found at the rate of 3.3%. In univariate analyses, larger tumor size and grade III were significantly associated (p<0.05) with RFS. Multivariate analyses of covariates displaying p<0.05 identified grade III as an independent prognostic factor. Conclusions: In the present study, it was established that trastuzumab had a satisfactory safety profile and treatment efficacy as in other clinical studies and that among clinicopathological factors evaluated, only being grade 3 had a significant effect on RFS. The occurrence of relapse with adjuvant trastuzumab makes it necessary to identify molecular predictors, which will define this group better and help explain resistance to anti HER2 based therapies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.4323-4328
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• 2015

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cause of deaths of cancer in women. Nowadays, following completion of imaging methods, mainly fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and core biopsy methods have been used for establishing cytopathological diagnosis although discussions regarding superiority continue. Materials and Methods: Those with a complaint of "mass in breast" along with those diagnosed to have a mass as a result of routine physical examination among all patients applying to our clinic between 01.01.2009 and 31.12.2011 were retrospectively assessed. Totals of 146 and 64 patients with complete radiological observation who had undergone FNAB and core biopsies, respectively, were evaluated. Postoperative pathological results of patients of both groups receiving surgery were also taken into consideration. All results were compared in terms of false positivity/negativity, sensitivity/specifity, surgery types and distribution of postoperative results with regard to diagnoses along with those of malignant/benign masses with regard to quadrants determined. Results: Diagnostic malignancy power of mammographic BIRADS classification was 87.3%. However, the value was 75% in the core biopsy group. Sensitivity and specifity following comparison of FNAB and postoperative pathology results of those receiving surgery were 85.4% and 92.9% while they were 93.5% and 100% in the core biopsy group. Diagnostic malignancy power, calculated by determining AUC in ROC analysis, of FNAB was 89.1% while that of core biopsy was 96.7%. Conclusions: It was shown that core biopsy is superior to FNAB in terms of sensitivity, specificity and accurate histopathological classification. However; quick, cheap and basic diagnosis by means of FNAB should not be ignored. Sensitivity of FNAB is rather high in experienced hands and furthermore it would be expected to be lower than with core biopsy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.5233-5236
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• 2012

CK2 is a serine threonine kinase that participates in a variety of cellular processes with more than 300 defined substrates. This critical enzyme is known to be upregulated in cancers, but the role of this upregulation in carcinogenesis is not yet fully understood but c-myc, one of the defined CK2 substrates, is a well-known proto-oncogene that is normally essential in developmental process but is also involved in tumor development. We evaluated the optimal enzyme and substrate concentrations for CK2 activity in both neoplastic and non-neoplastic human lung tissues using the c-$myc^{424-434}$ peptide (EQKLISEEDL) as a substrate. The activities measured for the neoplastic tissue were 600-750 U/mg protein while those for the control tissue was in the range of 650-800 U/mg. $K_m$ value for c-myc peptide was determined as $0.33{\mu}M$ in non-neoplastic tissue and $0.18{\mu}M$ in neoplastic tissue. In this study, we did not observe an increased activity in the neoplastic tissue when compared with the non-neoplastic lung tissue, but we recorded two times higher affinity for c-$myc^{424-434}$ in cancer tissue. Considering the metabolic position of c-$myc^{424-434}$, our results suggest that phosphorylation by CK2 may be important in dimerization and thus it might affect the regulation of c-myc in cancer tissues.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3627-3629
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• 2016

Background: Activation and inactivation of nuclear factor of kappa light chain gene enhancer in B cells (NFKB) is tightly regulated to ensure effective onset and cessation of defensive inflammatory signaling. However, mutations within NFKB, or change in activation and inactivation molecules have been reported in a few cancers. Although oral squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most prevalent forms of cancer in India, with a development associated with malignant transformation of precancerous lesions, the genetic status of NFKB and relative rates of change in oral precancerous lesions remain unknown. Hence in the present study we investigated all twenty four exons of NFKB gene in two precancerous lesions, namely oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) and oral leukoplakia (OL) to understand its occurrence, incidence and assess its possible contribution to malignant transformation. Materials and Methods: Chromosomal DNA isolated from twenty five each of OSMF and OL tissue biopsy samples were subjected to PCR amplification with intronic primers flanking twenty four exons of the NFKB gene. The PCR amplicons were subsequently subjected to direct sequencing to elucidate the mutation status. Results: Sequence analysis identified a novel heterozygous mutation, c.419T>A causing substitution of leucine with glutamine at codon 140 (L140Q) in an OL sample. Conclusions: The identification of a substitution mutation L140Q within the DNA binding domain of NFKB in OL suggests that NFKB mutation may be relatively an early event during transformation. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to have identified a missense mutation in NFKB in OL.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.481-492
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the evidence-based clinical practice guidelines on Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV). Methods: The research design was a non-equivalent control group with a non-synchronized design. The participants were the patients undergoing gynecologic laparoscopy. Data were collected from July, 2014 through January, 2015. The participants in the experimental group (n=35) received an assessment of risk factors of PONV, aroma therapy, and P6 acupressure method as recommended in the guidelines. Those in the control group (n=35) received usual nursing care. Data were analyzed by mean, standard deviation, t-test, ${\chi}^2$-test using SPSS/WIN 19.0 program. Results: The occurrence of nausea and vomiting, the level of nausea and vomiting, and the need for antiemetic medicine in the experimental group were significantly less than those in the control group after surgery. The levels of postoperative pain and the amounts of time for nursing activities in the experimental group were significantly reduced than those in the control group after surgery. The levels of satisfaction were significantly higher in the experiment group than that of the control group. Conclusion: The evidence-based guidelines is recommended for nursing practice as a guidance for managing PONV and helping the recovery of patients after laparoscopic surgery.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.24
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• pp.10749-10755
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• 2015

Background: In both developed and developing countries; breast cancer is the major cancer observed in women. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of nursing and mammographic intervention on women with breast cancer between the ages of 50 and 70. Materials and Methods: A training program, which was quasi-experimental and had a pretest-protest design, was applied in Kemalpaaa district of Izmir, between October 2008 and August 2010. The target population was women between the ages of 50 and 70, who were registered in the list of 3rd Family Medicine Unit in Izmir's Kemalpasa metropolis. A total of 106 women who were in conformity with the study criteria participated in the study. Research data were collected through home visits that included face-to-face interviews; Ministry of Health education material and video films were modified and used for the training. Data analysis was performed through 82 women who were paired at the first and the second phase. Results: It was observed that although the rate of breast self examination significantly increased after the training (p=0.022), the rate of clinical breast examination (p=0.122) and mammographic screening (p=0.523) did not. Differences in the stages of change after training were found to be statistically significant (p<0.001) and the group showed a progression in the stages of change in general (46.3%). In women mean scores of breast cancer awareness (p<0.000), severity (p<0.000), health motivation (p<0.000) and perception of the benefits of mammography (p<0.000) increased significantly and mean score of perception of mammography barriers decreased significantly (p<0.000) after the training. Conclusions: After the training on breast cancer and mammography it was determined that nursing interventions provided positive progression of stages of change of women, affected health beliefs positively and significantly increased BSE incidences. However, it did not have a significant effect on CBE and mammographic screening.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5611-5615
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• 2014

Context: Tobacco is the single largest cause of preventable death among adults globally, as it is in India. Despite this alarming situation, there is very minimal inclusion of tobacco in formal education systems, including the medical discipline, in India. Aims: The present study analyzed the extent of integration of tobacco control related content in Masters of Public Health (MPH) curricula of various institutes in India. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during January 2011 to May 2011 in all colleges of the country offering a MPH course. The colleges were enlisted using various internet search engines (Google Scholar, Pubmed, Medline), other published literature and snowball technique. A 50 items semi-structured questionnaire was designed, posted and e-mailed (followed by hard copy) to the Person-In-Charge of the MPH program. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics were used to profile the tobacco control content in respective institutions. All data entry and analysis was conducted using SPSS (version 16) for windows. Results: The duration of the MPH course was two years in all institutes and had accreditation with some affiliated body. Tobacco related diseases were covered under 'non communicable diseases' section by every institute. However, a mere 41.4% of institute's had faculty who had received specialized training in tobacco control. More coverage was given to health risks and effects of smoking as compared to cessation interventions (5 A's), symptoms of withdrawal and pharmacological treatments. Only 25% of institutes were in process of introducing tobacco courses into their curricula. Lack of expertise and administrative barriers were cited as perceived major problems in inclusion of tobacco control in MPH curricula. Conclusions: It can be concluded that tobacco control is not receiving adequate attention in public health curricula in India. There is a need for coordinated efforts in the area of tobacco control so as to reduce morbidity and mortality from tobacco induced diseases.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.399-405
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• 2012

The brain is the body's most organized and controlled organ, and it governs various psychological and mental functions. A brain abnormality could greatly affect one's physical and mental abilities, and consequently one's social life. Brain disorders can be broadly categorized into three main afflictions: stroke, brain tumor, and dementia. Among these, stroke is a common disease that occurs owing to a disorder in blood flow, and it is accompanied by a sudden loss of consciousness and motor paralysis. The main types of strokes are infarction and hemorrhage. The exact diagnosis and early treatment of an infarction are very important for the patient's prognosis and for the determination of the treatment direction. In this study, texture features were analyzed in order to develop a prototype auto-diagnostic system for infarction using computer auto-diagnostic software. The analysis results indicate that of the six parameters measured, the average brightness, average contrast, flatness, and uniformity show a high cognition rate whereas the degree of skewness and entropy show a low cognition rate. On the basis of these results, it was suggested that a digital CT image obtained using the computer auto-diagnostic software can be used to provide valuable information for general CT image auto-detection and diagnosis for pre-reading. This system is highly advantageous because it can achieve early diagnosis of the disease and it can be used as supplementary data in image reading. Further, it is expected to enable accurate medical image detection and reduced diagnostic time in final-reading.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.7.1-7.9
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• 2020

Objectives: This study was performed to assess the anatomy of mandibular first molars. Materials and Methods: In this in vivo study, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) volumes of 312 bilateral intact first mandibular molars from 156 patients (79 men and 77 women; average age, 35.6 ± 11.2 years) were investigated in terms of the direction of each canal's curvature in the buccolingual and mesiodistal dimensions (direction of the position of the apex in relation to the longitudinal axis of the root), the presence of an isthmus (a narrow, ribbon-shaped communication between 2 root canals) in 3 segments (0-2, 2-4, and 4-6 mm) from the apex), and the presence and number of accessory canals (smaller canals besides the main root canals, connecting the pulp to the periodontium). Data were analyzed statistically (α = 0.05). Results: Mesiolingual canals were mostly buccally and distally inclined, while mesiobuccal and distolingual canals were mostly distally curved. Isthmuses were more common in younger patients (χ² test, p < 0.05). The average numbers of accessory canals in the apical, middle, and coronal segments were 9.9 ± 4.2, 6.9 ± 2.9, and 9.3 ± 3.0 canals per segment, respectively (analysis of variance, p < 0.001). Age and sex were not associated with the number of accessory canals (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The complex anatomy of these teeth deserves attention during non-surgical or surgical endodontic treatment. Around the apex, isthmuses might be more prevalent in younger and female individuals.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.85-98
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• 2009

The fruits of Schisandra chinensis and Prunus mume have been traditionally used in the Oriental countries as an astringent against diarrhea and abdominal pain, a protectant for liver disease, an antimicrobial, and a blood tonic. However, little is known about the extract of Schizandrae Fructus and Mume Fructus (SMF-Ex) on dextran-sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of SMF-Ex on DSS-induced colitis in mice. An experimental colitis was induced by daily treatment with 5% DSS. SMF-Ex was orally administrated the single dose (80 mg/kg, body weight/day) for 7 days with one time per day. SMF-Ex reduced significantly clinical sign of DSS-induced colitis, including body weight loss, shorten colon length, increased disease activity index (DAI), and histological colon injury. SMF-Ex also inhibited significantly nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandine $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) productions in DSS-induced colitis mice. Furthermore, SMF-Ex increased significantly an superoxide anion (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) activity of the colon tissue in DSS-induced colitis mice. These results suggest that SMF-Ex administration could reduce significantly the clinical signs and inflammatory mediators, and increase antioxidant activity in DSS-induced colitis model mice and is a good candidate for further evaluation as an effective anti-ulcerative agent.