• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.7
• /
• pp.4209-4214
• /
• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is among the five most common cancers and ranks first among cancers diagnosed in Iranian women. Screening and treatment of this disease with molecular methods, especially regarding high incidences at early age and advanced stage, is essential. Several genes with altered expression have been identified by cDNA microarray studies in breast cancer, with the Bcl-2 gene indicated as a likely candidate. In this study, we studied Bcl-2 gene expression levels in parallel tumor and non-tumor breast tissues. Materials and Methods: Forty samples including 21 tumor, 16 non tumor (marginal) and 3 benign breast tissues which were all pathologically diagnosed, were subjected to RNA extraction and polyA RT-PCR with the expression level of Bcl-2 quantified using real-time PCR. Results: There is higher expression levels of the Bcl-2 gene in tumor samples compared with marginal samples, but not attaining significance(p>0.05). Bcl-2 expression in 14 (66.7%) of the cases of tumor samples and 9 (56.3%) cases of the marginal samples were positive. Comparison of the expression of the Bcl-2 gene in histological grade showed that a high expression of Bcl-2 was associated with a high histological grade (p<0.41). Conclusions: Our data suggests that dysregulated Bcl-2 gene expression is potentially involved in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. Using gene expression analysis may significantly improve our ability for screening cancer patients and will prove a powerful tool in the diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of the disease whilst aiding the cooperative group trials in the Bcl-2 based therapy project.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.50-55
• /
• 2002

Objectives: Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy with favorable histologic and prognostic characteristics. Total or near total thyroidectomy has been used as a standard surgical procedure. The aims of this study are to determine the extent of resection of thyroid gland and to find the influencing factors of lymph node metastasis. Materials and Methods: The authors reviewed the records of 194 patients of thyroid cancer surgically treated at Department of General Surgery, Inje University Busan Paik Hospital from January, 1996 to December, 2000. Pathologic classifications, surgical procedures, and lymph node metastasis were analyzed. Results: There were 163 women and 31 men. The age ranged from 12 to 79 years old (mean age 43.2 years). The histological classifications of 194 cases revealed papillary cancer in 171 cases (88.1%), follicular cancer in 17 cases (8.8%), undifferentiated cancer in 3 cases (1.6%), medullary cancer in 2 cases (1.0%) and mixed cancer in 1 case (0.5%). Among the 194 patients, lobectomy was perfomed in 31 patients, subtotal thyroidectomy in 30 patients, near total thyroidectomy in 82 patients and total thyroidectomy in 51 patients. In the subgroup of papillary carcinoma 141 cases with lymph node dissection, lymph node metastasis had no statistical significance according to sex, age and primary tumor size. Conclusions: The mainly performed surgical procedures were total thyroidectomy and near total thyroidectomy. In thyroid cancer surgery, the extent of resection was influenced by age, differentiation and primary tumor size. The lymph node dissection should be decided by lymph node metastasis identified by preoperative radiologic evaluation or intraoperative lymph node findings.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.216-222
• /
• 2016

Purpose: To evaluate the benefit of adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) for retroperitoneal liposarcoma (RPLS) following gross tumor removal. Materials and Methods: We reviewed 77 patients with primary RPLS surgically treated between January 2000 and December 2013. Cases with gross residual disease were excluded. Tumor grade was evaluated according to the French Federation of Cancer Centers Sarcoma Group (FNCLCC) system. Adjuvant RT was delivered to 32 patients (42%) using external beam RT alone. Median follow-up time was 36 months (range, 5 to 169). Results: Among 77 patients, 33 (43%) presented with well-differentiated, 31 (40%) with de-differentiated, 8 (10%) with myxoid/round and 4 (5%) with pleomorphic morphology. The RT group included less well-differentiated subtype than surgery group (28% vs. 53%). During follow up, 34 patients (44%) showed local recurrence. Local recurrence rate was lower in the RT group (38%) compared to the surgery group (49%). The 3-year local control rate (LC) was 55.6%, and the 3-year overall survival (OS) was 82.1%. Tumor histology and FNCLCC grade were significantly associated with local recurrence. There was no statistical significance of adding adjuvant RT in LC (p = 0.312). However, patients with tumor histology other than well-differentiated subtype showed marginally decreased local recurrence rate after adjuvant RT (3-year LC, RT 43.9% vs. no RT 35.3%; p = 0.087). Conclusion: RPLS patients receiving RT experienced less local recurrence. We suggest that the addition of adjuvant RT may be related to improvement of LCs, especially in patients with non-favorable histologic subtypes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.12
• /
• pp.5059-5062
• /
• 2015

Background: ALL is an irredeemable disease due to the resistance to treatment. There are several influences which are involved in such resistance to chemotherapy, including oxidative stress as a result of the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and presence of hypodiploid cells. Cluster of differentiation 26 (CD26), also known as dipeptidyl peptidase-4, is a 110 kDa, multifunctional, membrane-bound glycoprotein. Aim and objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of serum CD26 in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia patients in the post remission induction phase, as well as the relationship between CD26 activity and the oxidative stress status. Materials and Methods: CD26, total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI), in addition to activity of related enzymes myeloperoxidase, glutathione-s-transferase and xanthine oxidase, were analysed in sixty children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the post remission induction phase. Results: The study showed significant elevation in CD26, TOS and OSI levels in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the post remission induction phase in comparison to healthy control samples. In contrast, myeloperoxidase, glutathione-s-transferase and xanthine oxidase activities were decreased significantly. A significant correlation between CD26 concentration and some oxidative stress parameters was evident in ALL patients. Conclusions: Serum levels of CD26 appear to be useful as a new biomarker of oxidative stress in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the post remission induction phase, and levels of antioxidants must be regularly estimated during the treatment of children with ALL.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.13
• /
• pp.5483-5486
• /
• 2014

Recently, the transcription factor SOX11 has gained extensive attention as a diagnostic marker in a series of cancers. However, to date, the possible roles of SOX11 in breast cancer has not been investigated. In this study, immunohistochemical staining for SOX11 was performed for 116 cases of breast cancer. Nuclear SOX11 was observed in 42 (36.2%) and cytoplasmic SOX11 in 52 (44.8%) of breast cancer samples. Moreover, high expression of cytoplasmic and nuclear SOX11 was associated with clinicopathological factors, including earlier tumor grade, absence of lymph node metastasis and smaller tumor size. Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrated high nuclear SOX11 expression to be associated with more prolonged overall survival than those with low expression and it could be an independent predictor of survival for breast cancer patients. It is worthwhile to note that cytoplasmic SOX11 was not correlated with prognosis of breast cancer patients. These data suggest the possibility that nuclear SOX11 could be as a potential target for breast cancer therapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.sup3
• /
• pp.5-10
• /
• 2016

Breast cancer, the second cause of cancer-related death after lung cancer and the most common cancer in women after skin cancer, is curable if detected in early stages of clinical presentation. Knowledge as to any age cut-off points which might have significance for prognostic groups is important in screening and treatment planning. Therefore, determining a change-point could improve resource allocation. This study aimed to determine if a change point for survival might exist in the age of breast cancer diagnosis. This study included 568 cases of breast cancer that were registered in Breast Cancer Research Center, Tehran, Iran, during the period 1986-2006 and were followed up to 2012. In the presence of curable cases of breast cancer, a change point in the age of breast cancer diagnosis was estimated using a mixture survival cure model. The data were analyzed using SPSS (versions 20) and R (version 2.15.0) software. The results revealed that a change point in the age of breast cancer diagnosis was at 50 years age. Based on our estimation, 35% of the patients diagnosed with breast cancer at age less than or equal to 50 years of age were cured while the figure was 57% for those diagnosed after 50 years of age. Those in the older age group had better survival compared to their younger counterparts during 12 years of follow up. Our results suggest that it is better to estimate change points in age for cancers which are curable in early stages using survival cure models, and that the cure rate would increase with timely screening for breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.1443-1448
• /
• 2015

To investigate the significance of FOXO3a and Ki67 in human lung adenocarcinomas. Envision immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting were used to examine the protein expression of FOXO3a in 127 cases of human lung adenocarcinoma specimens. The positive rate in lung adenocarcinoma (55.9%) was lower than that in normal tissues (80%). We found that the expression of FOXO3a was closely related with the degree of differentiation, TNM staging, lymph node metastasis and survival. In addition, significant differences in the different pathological types of lung adenocarcinoma cases (P<0.01). The FOXO3a positive rate of the acini as the main type (APA) (86.7%) and the lepidic as the main type (LPA) (82.4%) was higher than the solid as the main type (SPA) (50.0%), the papilla as the main type (PPA) (42.9%) and the micropapilla as the main type (MPA) (9.4%). Moreover, the expression of FOXO3a was negatively related with Ki67 expression. Our results suggested that the expression of FOXO3a is closely correlated with the aggressiveness of lung adenocarcinoma. It was indicated that disregulation of FOXO3a might play key roles in the occurrence and development of lung a denocarcinoma and joint detection of the two markers might play an important role in diagnosing tumors.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.8
• /
• pp.3147-3152
• /
• 2015

Background: Phylloides tumors are rare breast neoplasms with a variable clinical course depending on the tumor category. Along with histologic features, the role of immunohistochemical staining has been studied in predicting their behavior. Objectives: Our aim was to evaluate the role of CD 10 immunohistochemical staining in predicting survival, recurrence and metastasis in phylloides tumor. We also evaluated correlations of other clinicopathological features with overall and disease-free survival. Materials and Methods: CD10 expression was studied in 82 phylloides tumors divided into recurrent/metastatic and non-recurrent/non-metastatic cohorts. The Chi-square test was applied to determine the significance of differences in CD10 expression between outcome cohorts. Uni and multivariate survival analyses were also performed using log-rank test and Cox regression hazard models. Results: All 3 metastatic cases, 5 out of 6 (83.3%) recurrent cases and 37out of 73 (50.7%) non-recurrent and non-metastatic cases expressed significant (2+ or 3+) staining for CD10. This expression significantly varied between outcome cohorts (p<0.03). Tumor category and histological features including mitotic count and necrosis correlated significantly with recurrence and metastasis. A significant decrease in overall and disease free survival was seen with CD10 positivity, malignant category, increased mitoses and necrosis. Neither CD10 expression nor any other clinicopathologic feature proved to be an independent prognostic indicator in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: CD10 immunohistochemical staining can be used as a predictive tool for phylloides tumor but this expression should be interpreted in conjunction with tumor category.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.10
• /
• pp.4387-4392
• /
• 2015

Background: Tight junctions (TJs) organise paracellular permeability and they have an important role in epithelial and endothelial cell polarity and permanence of barrier function. It has been demonstrated that the Claudin family constitutes an important component of them. In this study, we assessed expression patterns of of Claudin1, 4 and 7 and whether they have any relation with prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer. Materials and Methods: Expression patterns of Claudin 1,4 and 7 were examined by immunohistochemistry in 25 patients with a histopathological diagnosis of pancreatic cancer using a semiquantitative scoring of the extent and intensity of staining. After grouping the staining scores as low (final score 0-2) and high (final score 3-9) the relation between expression of Claudin 1,4 and 7 and survival was evaluated. Results: There was no significant relation between expression of Claudin 1,4 and 7 and gender and stage. No statistically significant relation was found between Claudin 1 and 4 expression and survival whereas a statistically significant relation was found between decrease in Claudin 7 expression and decrease in survival. Conclusions: Claudins have important functions other than their popular function known as adhesion. Supporting this hypothesis, we found a statistically significant relationship between increased Claudin 7 expression and increased survival time, and this suggests that Claudin 7 may exert different tumorigenic effects in pancreatic cancer other than its well-known adhesion effect.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.5
• /
• pp.2219-2224
• /
• 2012

Background: Circulating lymphocyte subsets reflect the immunological status and might therefore be a prognostic indicator in cancer patients. Our aim was to evaluate the clinical significance of circulating lymphocyte subset in gastric cancer (GC) cases. Methods: A retrospective study on a prevalent cohort of 846 GC patients hospitalized at Hospital from Aug 2006 to Jul 2010 was conducted. We calculated the patient's disease free survival (DFS) after first hospital admission, and hazard ratios (HR) from the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Our findings indicated a significantly decreased percentage of CD3+, and CD8+ cells, a significantly increased proportion of $CD4^+$, $CD19^+$, $CD44^+$, $CD25^+$, NK cells, and an increased $CD4^+/CD8^+$ ratio in GC patients as compared with healthy controls (all P < 0.05). Alteration of lymphocyte subsets was positively correlated with sex, age, smoking, tumor stage and distant metastasis of GC patients (all P<0.05). Follow-up analysis indicated significantly higher DFS for patients with high circulating $CD19^+$ lymphocytes compared to those with low $CD19^+$ lymphocytes (P=0.037), with $CD19^+$ showing an important cutoff of $7.91{\pm}2.98%$ Conclusion: Circulating lymphocyte subsets in GC patients are significantly changed, and elevated CD19+ cells may predict a favorable survival.