Basic & Clinical Cancer Research
Year:2019 | Volume:11 | Issue:1|Papers Count:10

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), reported cancer incidence, mortality, and prevalence of all cancer types worldwide for 2018. The results were presented in the Global Cancer Observatory (GCO) as an interactive webbased platform to present global cancer statistics1. The GCO inform cancer statistics status across the world and support cancer research. These data are the best data available for each country worldwide, including IR. Iran. . .

Background: Saffron carotenoids have been known as powerful phytochemicals in breast cancer treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-cancer properties of an important saffron carotenoid, crocin, on BT-474 which is a known HER2+ breast cancer cell line. Methods: The effect of crocin on cell viability was investigated using MTT assay. Apoptosis induction was studied via flow cytometry and Western blotting of caspase-9 and cleaved caspase-9. Involvement of unfolded protein response (UPR) was also investigated via RT-PCR study of the XBP1 gene. Results: The results showed that crocin treatment decreases the viability of BT-474 cells and induces early and late apoptosis in these cells. The mechanism of crocin action was through the induction of caspase-9 expression and cleavage. Furthermore, we found that crocin induced XBP1 gene splicing in these cells. Conclusion: The present study provides important evidence that crocin induces apoptosis in BT-474 cells. In addition, the activation of UPR may play a role in the anticancer effects of crocin.

Background: Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) has recently been introduced as a reproductive choice for individuals who carry a disease-causing BRCA1/2 mutation. Since this technology has not yet been launched for patients at the Cancer Institute of Imam Khomeini Hospital harboring gene mutations that predispose patients to breast cancer, this study aimed to introduce a PGD-based model using a single cell lymphocyte instead of an embryonic blastomere. Methods: Two affected and unrelated women with a known mutation in BRCA1/2 were enrolled in this study. Each patient (together with her siblings) was considered as an embryo derived from a hypothetical couple. Blood samples were collected from these individuals as well as their parents. Linkage analysis was performed. Following this process, a mutation-free individual and a mutation carrier was selected from the first and second family, respectively. A single lymphocyte was then extracted from their freshly taken peripheral blood, and afterwards Nested Multiplex PCR was performed. Results: PGD confirmed that the individual from the first family is free of a mutation and the second one is a pathogenic mutation carrier. Conclusion: Our results suggested that PGD is a viable choice to offer to families with "Hereditary Breast Cancer Syndrome", who have been diagnosed with a known pathogenic mutation. Our introduced model can be used as a possible option by other laboratories that are planning to launch this technology.

Background: Prostate cancer (PC) is the second most common malignancy among men, accounting for 12. 5% of all cancers. The development of molecular studies (such as RNA expression analysis) aids the characterization of this cancer, the development of new targets for therapy, and the introduction of novel prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers. Recent studies have confirmed Mammalian Sterile 20-Like kinase (MST1) as a tumor suppressor gene, which has been introduced as a biomarker for some specific cancers. In this study, we focus on MST1 expression levels in the WBC of PC patients, due to the inheritance pattern of PC. Methods: This case-control study was conducted in two groups (20 patients with PC and 20 healthy individuals). After RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, quantitative Real-Time PCR was done in order to determine the MST1 expression level. GAPDH was selected as an internal control gene. Statistical analysis was performed using “ Rotor-Gene Q series software 2. 3. 1” and “ Rest 2. 0. 13 software” . Results: This study, carried out on 20 PC patients aged 50-70 and 20 healthy individuals shows that MST1 expression level in the WBC samples of PC patients is approximately 62% lower compared to normal individuals (P<0. 01). Conclusion: Introducing the reduced expression level of MST1 as a prostate cancer biomarker requires complementary research. However, in this study, biomarker validation and potential of MST1 has been approved.

Background: Research shows that prostate cancer ranks second among the top five most common cancers in men. It has been confirmed that when circulating Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) transcripts are successfully detected, prostate cancer cells can be diagnosed at an early stage. A reverse transcriptase loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay was developed and compared to reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for detection of PSA. Methods: 47 patients, including 30 patients with prostate cancer, 15 with Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) and 2 healthy subjects as negative controls were included in this study. The prostate cancer cell lines (PC3 and LNCaP) of two patients were included in the study as positive controls. Next, RNA was extracted from fresh samples and a first strand cDNA synthesis kit was applied for the synthesis of cDNA. The human prostate specific antigen gene was used to design specific primers. Results: The results indicated that the control subjects and participants suffering from BPH were not positive. 13 out of 15 (86. 6%) patients suffering from localized cancer were PSA positive. PSA positive results were observed among all 15 metastatic patients and positive controls (100%). RT-LAMP is an advantageous method because it is highly sensitive (1000-fold), quite cheap, user-friendly, and safe; in addition, it can be quickly performed by visual detection using GineFinderTM dye in a water bath. Conclusion: RT-LAMP technique can be simply and reliably applied with the aid of basic instruments, and its results can be visually inspected in laboratory studies.

Background: Approximately 20 million individuals are afflicted with cancer worldwide. Gastric cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in the world today. The aim of this study was to evaluate the direct medical care costs of gastric cancer patients in a tertiary teaching hospital in Iran. Methods: The present study is descriptive-analytical, carried out in two main stages. In the first stage we designed a form based on valid international guidelines. The second step identified the costs of diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer. To analyze the cost data, descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were utilized. We used nonparametric statistical tests such as Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon in SPSS 16 software for data analysis. Results: In this study, the records of 449 gastric cancer patients who had referred to Omid tertiary teaching hospital of Mashhad between the years 2005 and 2015 were studied. According to the results, the highest average costs were related to patient hospitalization costs. Based on the significance level of the Mann Whitney test, no remarkable difference could be seen in the total costs of metastatic and non-metastatic patients (P-value: P> 0. 05). Conclusion: Organizations such as: insurance agencies, charities and financial institutions need to adopt new policies to reduce patients’ expenditures, remove financial barriers and prevent patients from facing catastrophic costs.

Background: Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) with its slow-growing and rarely metastatic nature is the most common human neoplasm. Multiple BCCs mostly result from germline mutations in the tumor suppressor gene, PTCH with a genetic transmission pattern. Multiple BCCs may also originate from radiodermatitis which is a significant side effect of ionizing radiation exposure delivered to the skin in various skin treatments. PTCH is a critical member of the Sonic Hedgehog signalling pathway and mutations in this gene have been reported in as many as 40-80% of skin cancers. Exon number 23 is a critical exon in the function of the PTCH protein. Mutations have been reported in codon 1315 of PTCH in non-melanoma skin cancers. Methods: We assessed mutations in exon 23 of the PTCH gene by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing in the peripheral blood cells of 10 patients with multiple BCCs. All of the subjects were selected from among patients with a history of radiation exposure and subsequent radiodermatitis. Results: Direct sequencing revealed a Cytosine to Thymine mutation in codon 1315 of the PTCH gene in 60% of patients, 50% of which were heterozygotes, possessing both the C and T allele, and 10% were homozygotes for the T allele in the same position. Four subjects (40%) were normal homozygotes of the C allele, similar to the normal population. Conclusion: Mutations with ID: rs 3575564 were detected in codon 1315 which transform the proline amino-acid to leucine in the PTCH protein. This transformation may affect the normal function of the PTCH protein, as reported previously. Patients with multiple BCCs who had a history of radiation exposure show a transformation from cytosine to thymine in codon number 1315 of the PTCH gene in their peripheral blood cells. Subsequent assessment of BCC tissues will clarify the somatic mutagenesis effects of radiation.

Evidence shows that there has been an increasing incidence of melanoma cancer in Iran, especially among the young population, which has led to increased mortality, disability and disablement, mostly due to the complications of disease and treatment. New treatments such as targeted therapy are extremely costly, and their results are not clear. . .

Hyperthermia is a novel method for cancer therapy. To have the best control when heating tissues in hyperthermia, the use of magnetic nanoparticles is suggested. The local control of heat is very important in this technique, to prevent the damage of healthy tissues around the tumor, and therefore it is necessary to measure changes in temperature to determine the optimum conditions in which hyperthermia can create the desired results. The type and concentration of nanoparticles and nanoparticle distribution within the cancerous tissue are key factors affecting temperature distribution throughout the hyperthermia process. . .