Iranian Journal of Breast Diseases
Year:2009 | Volume:1 | Issue:3 (3)|Papers Count:11

CKN2A is a tumor suppressor gene encoding a protein which acts in repression of Cdk4/6, and reduction of pRb phosphorylation. CKN2A gene can be inactivated by a variety of genetic and epigenetic events, including methylation. To investigate the methylation status of the CKN2A gene exon 1 in Iranian patients with breast carcinoma, promoter methylation was studied by methylation specific PCR (MSP), and restriction enzyme-related PCR (REP). An analysis of 65 patients by MPS and RPE showed hypermethylation of CKN2A in 29% (19.78) and 35% (23.78) of specimens, respectively. The pathological history of cancerous tissue sections suggested that CKN2A gene might be inactivated at the early stages in breast cancer, and that it is one of the epigenetic factors affecting the progress of the cancer.

Introduction: There are many interventions for encouraging the women to do breast self-examination. In this study, we aimed to review the studies on the effectiveness of health education interventions to improve women behaviors related to breast self- examination.Materials & methods: In this study, efforts have made to search for related materials in Pubmed and ISI Web of Science. It was attempted then to retrieve full-text copies of all relevant findings, and to read, include and classify in review the publications that focused on impact assessment of any health education intervention to facilitate earlier diagnosis of breast cancer.Findings: Most of the studies were done in the form of training methods and most of the trainers were the health personnel but in some cases peer educators and family members of the patients with breast cancers had been used as trainers, too. The trained groups were different from aspect of age, race and ethnicity, literacy level and job and in some studies we found that first- level relatives of patients with breast cancer had considered as an important group which needed training.Conclusion: Educational interventions for improving the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of the women act as an important factor in exploration and early treatment of breast cancers. The educational interventions done by nurses and other health professionals provide more effective educational interventions than physicians and attention to suitable place for introducing this kind of educations such as health care facilities and classes in worksite tend to more successes.

Background: Breast cancer is the major cause of death in 40-44 years old females and is the most common site specific cancer in them. Some of prognostic factors are tumor size, pathologic grade, auxiliary lymph nodes, ER, PR, P53 and HER-2-neu that are effective in prognosis and therapeutic plan. Frequency and relationship of the last four markers with each other and with menopause and age are discussed in this article.Material and methods: 200 female patients with pathology documented ductal or lobular breast cancer were studied in a 3 years period by IHC method for ER, PR, P53 and HER-2-neu.All the patients were female mean age of 49.6 years (ED=+ 11.36) from 26-81 years old.Results: ER was positive in 142 cases (71%), PR was positive in 131 cases (65.5%), P53 was positive in 63 cases (31.5%), and HER-2-neu was positive in 143 cases (71.5%).There was a significant positive correlation between ER and PR (P<0.05).there was a significant negative correlation between P53 and ER or PR. There was a significant positive correlation only between ER and age.There werenot any correlation between each marker and menopause.HER-2-neu indicates the worst prognosis and better response to chemotherapy. There was a significant difference of HER-2-neu in the reference texts (25%- 37%) and this research (71.5%), which may be caused by genetic differences.Conclusion: there is some differences between Iranian and other patients in prognostic factors, so we must consider these differences for diagnosis, treatment and fallow up of breast cancer patients in Iran.

Objectives: To determine: 1) whether muscle relaxation and guided imagery techniques have a significant impact on distress and pain, 2) which of the individual or the group treatments are more effective.Material and Method: All studies have been published from 1997-2007 in CINAHL, Medline, Cancer Lit. Were extracted and selected at the basis on study design and inclusion criteria with the guide of key words. 24 studies were found that related to our considered subjects. All of them were reviewed by two expert reviewers, 16 of them were excluded and 8 articles according to our main inclusion criteria were selected and evaluated.Results: 7 studies showed that relaxation and guided imagery have significant impact on pain and distress reduction and one study concluded the effectiveness on the first and second intervention stages but had not significant impact on the final stage. Furthermore, studies wich employed group treatment had significantly larger effects compared to studies that individual approaches for pain and distress. However, number of articles that assessed the pain was not enough to ascertain the rigorous findings.Conclusion: Overall, the results support the use of muscle relaxation and guided imagery techniques in to managing distress and pain in breast cancer patients. However, more well-designed studies are needed.

Objective: A descriptive study was carried out to examine patient satisfaction among women attending the Iranian Centre for Breast Cancer.Methods: A specially designed patient satisfaction questionnaire was distributed to all attendees and they were asked to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire contained items on satisfaction with care organization, physical environment, personnel communication skills, clinical care, and overall satisfaction.Results: In all, 425 women participated in the study. The mean age of women was 40.4 years (SD= 11.6), most were married (81%) and housewives (69%). A vast majority of women were very satisfied or satisfied with physical environment, personnel communication skills, and clinical care received. Eighty- two per cent of respondents were very satisfied or satisfied with the clinic’s overall performance. There was a significant agreement between patients’ overall satisfaction and satisfaction with physical environment, personnel communication skills, and clinical care. There was greatest agreement between patients’ overall satisfaction and satisfaction with examination room (Kappa= 0.21, P<0.0001) and with physicians’ consultation (Kappa= 0.20, P<0.0001). None of the demographic variables showed any significant association with patients’ overall satisfaction.Conclusion: The findings suggest that the physical environment and physicians’ style of consultation contribute most to the patients’ overall satisfaction.

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women According to Iranian Ministry of Health, Medical and Education, incidence of breast cancer was 5981 case from 1384. The age adjusted incidence rate was 24 per 100,000 in 2006.Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, one hundred and ten patients with breast cancer (ages 20-60 yrs) were compared with one hundred and ten age- and sex-matched women hospitalized for other reasons. Briefly cases were women with insitu or invasive, histological confirmed breast cancer diagnosed no more than 1 year before the interview and with no previous diagnoses of cancer at other sites. Controls were women with no history of cancer admitted to Imam Hospital for acute, non- neoplastic, non- gynecological condition, unrelated to hormonal or digestive tract disease or to long- term modification of diet or hospital visitor. Odds ratios were calculated and Mantel-Haenzel and Logistic regression methods after adjustment for potential confounders were used for statistical analysis.Results: Odds ratios [with 95 percent confidence intervals] for weight, height, BMI & waist to hip were 1.06 (0.46-2.46), 1.25 (0.52-2.99), 1 (0.43-2.29), 1.53 (0.62-3.74) in non-menopause and 0.17 (0.02-1.08), 0.2 (0.7-2.02), 0.28 (0.04-1.98), 1.0990.37- 44.7) in menopause women.Conclusion: The present study suggests that weight, height, BMI and waist/hip aren’t premenopause or menopause risk factors of breast cancer.

Objective: Invasive breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Due to declining mortality rates that are, in part, attributed to the use of screening mammography and effective adjuvant therapy, more women are surviving of their breast cancer. Also cervical cancer is one of the most common gynecological cancer and after breast cancer is on of the most women malignancy. This study for evaluated the effect of tamoxifen on cervical cytology and association of this with cervical cancer.Methods: The review of the literature between 1980-2008 that association of tamoxifen to another malignancy were evaluated. Also all of case cohort and observational studies was included that evaluated association of tamoxifen to cervical/endometrial lesion or cancer.Results: 892 Journal were showed the association of tamoxifen to another cancer that 182 were about gynecological cancer followed tamoxifen and breast cancer. But only 55 of these papers were about effect of tamoxifen on cervical cytology and 4 were about isolated cervical metastasis followed tamoxifen used in patients with breast cancer.Conclusion: The association of tamoxifen to uterine malignancy was diagnosed but cervical malignancy followed this drug was rare. But vaginal bleeding or vaginal discharge was occurred before all of these malignancies. Annual pap smear and gynecological exam with sampling of cervix and uterus if vaginal bleeding or discharge was occurred, can be help to diagnosis these malignancies as soon as possible.

Granulomatous mastitis (GM) is a rare chronic inflammatory disease of the breast with unknown etiology. Rarely GM is associated with systemic manifestations specially erythema nodosum. At the first time, Adams DH in 1987 from UK presented a patient with GM, erythema nodosum and monoarthritis and after that, rare similar cases has been published in the medical literature. Clinically and mammographically, GM may mimics carcinoma of the breast. However that is a benign disease and awareness of such an entity prevent unnecessary mastectomies. We report a case of GM with erythema nodosum (EN) and monoarthritis in a pregnant woman and diagnostic and treatment modalities are discussed.