• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.431-435
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• 2015

Background: Although childhood cancer is a rare disease, 100,000 children younger than 15 years of age die from cancer each year, the majority of them in developing countries. More data need to be gathered and published particularly in developing countries to better understand the scale of the problem. Aims: This study aimed to describe the patterns of childhood cancers in Saudi Arabia over a period of ten years (1999-2008). Materials and Methods: This descriptive retrospective study was based on secondary data from the Saudi Cancer Registry from 1999 to 2008. All Saudi cases (both genders), under the age of 15 years, who were diagnosed with cancer during the study period, were included in this study. Results: Childhood cancer in Saudi Arabia, in the period between 1999 and 2008, accounted for about 8% of total cancer cases. The most common encountered cancers were leukemia (34.1%), followed by lymphoma (15.2%), brain (12.4%), and kidney cancers (5.3%). The overall incidence of childhood cancers increased from 8.8 per 100,000 in 1999 to 9.8 per 100,000 in 2008. The incidence rates of cancers per 100,000 in the years 1999 and 2008 were generally higher among males, (9.4 and 11.5 in males vs. 8.3 and 8.1 in females). The highest incidence rate in the surveyed years was apparent in the birth to age 4 years group. Conclusions: Cancer is an important public health problem in Saudi Arabia and a major ascending contributor to mortality and morbidity in children. More studies are required to describe the patterns of childhood cancers and related risk factors in Saudi Arabia.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6715-6717
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• 2015

Background: The purpose of this study was to provide epidemiological and histological data of thyroid cancers in Togo. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of cases of thyroid cancers diagnosed from 2000 to 2014 (15 years) at the pathology laboratory of the Sylvanus Olympio Teaching Hospital of $Lom{\acute{e}}$. All cases of review of a thyroid sample (biopsies, surgical specimens) were collected from the data records of that laboratory. Results: Thyroid cancers represented 1.1% (7930cases) of all cancers registered during the study period. Mean age was $45.4{\pm}0.3$ years and the proportion of females was 78.3%. We identified 92.4% carcinomas and 7.6% lymphomas. Carcinomas were well differentiated in 80 cases and were dominated by the papillary type (47 cases). Metastasis was observed in 13% of patients. The pTNM classification evaluated in 18 cases showed a predominance of grade I (13 cases). Lymphomas were dominated by lymphoma diffuse large B-cell (5 cases). Conclusions: This study is the first global standard for thyroid cancer pathology in Togo. The high frequency of follicular form suggests an unrecognized iodine deficiency. The improvement of the technical platform of the LAP (immunohistochemistry) will increase the diagnosis of rare forms of thyroid cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6027-6032
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• 2012

Purpose: To identify cancer patient and relatives beliefs, information needs, information-seeking behavior and information sources about cancer and treatment. Methods: This research was conducted at two hospitals of a university. Data was collected via questionnaires and the Turkish version of the Miller Behavioral Style Scale (MBSS) to assess information-seeking behavior. The sample included 82 patients and 54 relatives. Results: Patients were receiving treatment mostly for breast, gynecologic, lung cancer and leukemia/ lymphoma. All of them indicated that they want to be informed by a doctor about their diagnosis and treatment first. Other information sources were internet, media and nurses. The majority of the patients and half of their relatives agreed that "cancer is curable and preventable disease". Only 2.5% of patients agreed with the statement "I don't want to get information about disease which disturbs me". According the data obtained from MBSS; the mean patients MBSS score ($6.41{\pm}3.2$) was higher than their relatives ($5.46{\pm}3.1$). Respondents with higher education and younger age indicated more information-seeking behavior. Conclusions: Patients and their relatives differ in some of their information-seeking behavior. Patients beliefs and their strategies for coping with their illness can constrain their wish for information and their efforts to obtain it. Healthcare professionals need to assess and be sensitive to the information-seeking behavior of cancer patients and their relatives.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5565-5570
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• 2014

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the histopathological pattern of thyroid lesions among Saudi patients and to highlight the age and gender variations of these lesions as base line data. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data from thyroid specimens received at the Department of Pathology, King Fahad Hospital, Madinah, Saudi Arabia from January 2006 to December 2013. Results: The 292 thyroidectomy specimens received during the study period came from 230 (78.8%) females and 62 (21.2%) males giving a female: male ratio of 3.7:1. Age of the patients ranged from 14 to 95 years with a mean age 39.7 years. Two hundred and eleven (72.3%) cases were found to be non-neoplastic and 81 (27.7%) cases were neoplastic. The non-neoplastic group included: colloid goiter, including both diffuse and nodular goiter (170 cases; 58.2%), nodular hyperplasia (28 cases; 9.6%), Hashimoto/chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (12 cases; 4.1%), and Grave's disease (1 case; 0.3%). In neoplastic lesions, there were 7 benign tumors and 74 malignant tumors. Among the benign tumors, 5 were follicular adenomas and 2 were Hurthle cell adenomas. Papillary carcinoma was the commonest malignant tumor accounting for 87.8% of all thyroid malignancies, followed by lymphoma, follicular carcinoma and medullary carcinoma. The size of papillary carcinoma was more than 2 cm in 40 cases (76.9%). Conclusions: Non-neoplastic thyroid lesions were more common than neoplastic ones. Colloid goiter was the most common lesion. Follicular adenoma was the commonest benign tumor and papillary carcinoma was the commonest malignant lesion. There appears to be a slightly increased trend of papillary carcinoma diagnosis, most being diagnosed at an advanced stage.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5297-5304
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• 2015

Background: The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Cancer Registry (PAECCR) program has made availability of a common cancer incidence database possible in Pakistan. The cancer incidence data from nuclear medicine and oncology institutes were gathered and presented. Materials and Methods: The cancer incidence data for the last 30 years (1984-2014) are included to describe a data set of male and female patients. The data analysis concerning occurrence, trends of common cancers in male and female patients, stage-wise distribution, and mortality/follow-up cases is also incorporated for the last 10 years (2004-2014). Results: The total population of provincial capital Lahore is 9,800,000. The total number of cancer cases was 80,390 (males 32,156, females 48,134). The crude incidence rates in PAECCR areas were 580.8/$10^5$ during 2010 to 885.4/$10^5$ in 2014 (males 354.1/$10^5$, females 530.1/$10^5$). The cancer incidence rates for head and neck (15.70%), brain tumors (10.5%), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL, 9.53%) were found to be the highest in male patients, whereas breast cancer (46.7%), ovary tumors (6.80%), and cervix (6.31%) cancer incidence rates were observed to be the most common in female patients. The age range distribution of diagnosed and treated patients in conjunction with the percentage contribution of cancer patients from 15 different cities of Punjab province treated at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology, Lahore are also included. Leukemia was found to be the most common cancer for the age group of 1-12 years. It has been identified that the maximum number of diagnosed cases were found in the age range of 51-60 years for males and 41-50 years for female cancer patients. Conclusions: Overall cancer incidence of the thirty years demonstrated that head and neck and breast cancers in males and in females respectively are the most common cancers in Punjab province in Pakistan, at rates almost the highest in Asia, requiring especial attention. The incidence of brain, NHL, and prostate cancers among males and ovarian and cervix cancers among females have increased rapidly. These data from a major population of Punjab province should be helpful for implementation of appropriate planning, prevention and cancer control measures and for determination of risk factors within the country.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.384-394
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• 2014

Purpose: To improve professional intensive care by analyzing admission causes, causes of death, disease conditions, and treatment processes in patients with hematological malignancies admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in South Korea. Methods: This was a retrospective study approved by IRB, and conducted on admission with 559 adults, in the hematology ICU of a hospital located in Seoul. The study was carried out from April 2009 to March 2012. Data were analyzed using SAS. Results: Pneumonia was the most frequent cause of ICU admission and death, followed by sepsis. The condition at discharge was death (53.6%), recovery (39.9%), or hopeless (5.1%). Mortality of patients in states of incomplete remission was higher than that of patients with complete remission and of patients with multiple myeloma, severe aplastic anemia, and lymphoma. Conclusion: Results show that pneumonia and sepsis are the most frequent causes of ICU admission and for the death of patients with hematological malignancies. The most frequent status at discharge of patients with hematological malignancies was death (53.6%), with mortality of patients at Incomplete Remission status, of mechanically ventilated patients, and of patients on continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) being higher than others.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.83-92
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• 2004

Gene expression profile is numerical data of gene expression level from organism measured on the microarray. Generally, each specific tissue indicates different expression levels in related genes, so that we can classify cancer with gene expression profile. Because not all the genes are related to classification, it is needed to select related genes that is called feature selection. This paper proposes a new gene selection method using forward selection method in regression analysis. This method reduces redundant information in the selected genes to have more efficient classification. We used k-nearest neighbor as a classifier and tested with colon cancer dataset. The results are compared with Pearson's coefficient and Spearman's coefficient methods and the proposed method showed better performance. It showed 90.3% accuracy in classification. The method also successfully applied to lymphoma cancer dataset.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4607-4611
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• 2012

Objective: Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecologic malignancy. Identification of potential biomarkers of EC would be helpful for the detection and monitoring of malignancy, improving clinical outcomes. Methods: The Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis method was used to identify prognostic markers for EC in this study. Moreover, underlying molecular mechanisms were characterized by KEGG pathway enrichment and transcriptional regulation analyses. Results: Seven gene co-expression modules were obtained, but only the turquoise module was positively related with EC stage. Among the genes in the turquoise module, COL5A2 (collagen, type V, alpha 2) could be regulated by PBX (pre-B-cell leukemia homeobox 1)1/2 and HOXB1(homeobox B1) transcription factors to be involved in the focal adhesion pathway; CENP-E (centromere protein E, 312kDa) by E2F4 (E2F transcription factor 4, p107/p130-binding); MYCN (v-myc myelocytomatosis viral related oncogene, neuroblastoma derived [avian]) by PAX5 (paired box 5); and BCL-2 (B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2) and IGFBP-6 (insulin-like growth factor binding protein 6) by GLI1. They were predicted to be associated with EC progression via Hedgehog signaling and other cancer related-pathways. Conclusions: These data on transcriptional regulation may provide a better understanding of molecular mechanisms and clues to potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of EC.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.333-342
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• 2001

Adriamycin is a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent for cancer, including acute leukemia, lymphoma, and a number of solid human tumors. However, recent studies have recognized severe cardiotoxicity after an acute dose, which are likely the result of generation of free radicals and lipid peroxidation. Therefore, the clinical uses of adriamycin have been limited. Melatonin, the pineal gland hormone known for its ability to modulate circardian rhythm, has recently been studied in its several functions, including cancer growth inhibition, stimulating the immune system, and acting as an antioxidant and radical scavenging effects. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of melatonin administration on adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity in rat. Heart slices were prepared using a Stadie-Riggs microtome for the measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA) content used as an index of lipid peroxidation and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release as an indicator of lethal cell injury. Serious adriamycin-induced lethality was observed in rat by a single intraperitoneal injection in a dose-dependent manner. A single injection of adriamycin (25 mg/kg, i.p.) induced a lethality rate of 86%, with melatonin (10 mg/kg s.c. for 6 days) treatment reducing the adriamycin-induced lethality rate to 20%. The severe body weight loss caused by adriamycin was also significantly attenuated by melatonin treatment. Treatment of melatonin marked reduced adriamycin-induced the levels of MDA formation and LDH release. A cell damage indicated by the loss of myofibrils, swelling of the mitochondria as well as cytoplasmic vacuolization was seen in adriamycin-treated group. Melatonin attenuated the adriamycin-induced structural alterations. These data provide evidence that melatonin prevents adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity and might serve as a combination with adriamycin to limit free radical-mediated cardiotoxicity.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2004

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is a causative agent for lymphoma disease in cattle including cows worldwide. BLV shares similar virion structure and characteristics with other retroviruses. The pol gene of the BLV genome produced reverse transcriptase (RT) and integrase (IN) for important roles for BLV genome integration into host cell chromosomes that is known to be coded in the 3' side of the BLV pol gene (one third portion). In this study, we have sequenced 978 bp in the 3' side of the BLV pol gene from BLV 10C3 in order to determine the BLV IN region of it. And we compared it to the nucleotide sequences of an Australian BLV isolate. As a result, nucleotide sequences of the IN region of the Korean-type BLV pol gene were mutated at a rate of 3.7%. We can confirm that the typical mutations are such as Arg (AGG) $\rightarrow$ Lys (AAG), Thr (ACG) $\rightarrow$ Met (ATG), Ile (ATT) $\rightarrow$ Val (GTT), Asn (ACC) $\rightarrow$ His (CAC), Phe (TTT) $\rightarrow$ Leu (TTG) and Asn (ACC) $\rightarrow$ Asp (GAC). From the analysis of the sequencing data, we were able to determine the zinc-finger-like "HHCC" motif in the amino terminus of BLV IN, that was H-$X_3$-H-$X_{25}-C-X_2$-C. It was also found the DD35E motif in the IN catalytic domain as D-$X_{56}$-D-$X_{35}$-E. It fits very well to the consensus sequences of retroviral IN as well as HHCC motif.