Background: In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel COVID-19 infection a pandemic. Among high-risk patients infected by the virus, upper gastrointestinal cancer patients similar to other immunosuppressed patients are vulnerable to develop more severe infections. Most of the routine activities of medical centers, especially cancer surgery centers around the world, are affected by this epidemic. Thus, some modifications are needed to adjust international protocols to deal with upper gastrointestinal cancers in all the world. Methods: The headings of upper gastrointestinal cancer management protocols have been discussed among the university-affiliated professors in different disciplines involved in upper gastrointestinal cancer management. The discussions were done through an interactive application (WhatsApp & Telegram) in which participants considered the headlines and the latest news about COVID-19. Under each heading, we provide the consensus of all members in the related disciplines. Recommendations and Conclusion: In each specialty, all members agreed to choose minimal intervention. The members know that some recommendations may interfere with the routine best-practice recommendations and decrease the quality measures in the patient's outcome. Therefore, these recommendations are valid just in epidemic COVID-19 situation. According to the consensus of cancer surgery professors in several cancer surgery centers, gastric cancer  with T1, T2 and T3 but N0 should be upfront operated but in T3 or N1 or more, the surgery after six courses of chemotherapy should be postponed until the end of the COVID-19  Epidemic and in this phase no diagnostic laparoscopy will be performed , but in the esophageal cancer, T1,T2 and N0 should be upfront operated but T3, T4 and N1 or more, a PET-CT scan will be performed. In the status of high uptake and severe dysphagia, the stent placement is reasonable but in low uptake without any dysphagia, only conservation is our suggestion. Keywords: Upper Gastrointestinal Cancers; COVID-19; Outbreak; Cancer Surgery Centers; Consensus

This study was conducted to determine effectiveness of group hope training and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) on hope and quality of life among children with cancer. This was a quasi-experimental research with pretest, posttest, and follow-up consisting of control group. Statistical population consisted of male and female children with cancer referring to Amir Kabir Hospital and Cancer Association of Tabasom during 2016; these children were at age range of 7-18 and demanded to participate in group hope training and NLP sessions. Participants who were at least at first grade, maximally secondary school degree, and were under chemical treatment, were selected as sample members. 60 members were selected using convenient sampling method then assigned randomly to three groups of hope training, NLP training, and control. Children's Quality of Life Questionnaire and Snyder's Children's Hope Scale were used as research instruments. Data analysis was done using MANOVA and ANOVA. Findings indicated a significant difference between hope training and NLP one. Both interventions had almost the same effect on quality of life while group hope training had higher effect on dependent variables. Results showed that LNP group training led to increase quality of life and hope predicting 70% and 40% of their variances, respectively. In addition, findings showed effectiveness of group hope training on increase in quality of life and hope and could predict 53% and 84% of their variances, respectively. According to the findings obtained from study, group LNP training and group hope training could increase quality of life and hope.  

Fluorine 18-deoxyglucose (18FDG) is often used in Positron Emission Tomography (PET). PET imaging is one of the useful tool which is used to cancer detection and management. PET growth is limited due to problems that depend on the production of Fluorine-18.Imaging results are strongly dependent on the information of nuclear reaction cross section data. This study is done to calculate the stopping power, RCSDA, simulated and distributed absorbed dose of F-18, in water. In order to access these goals, we use the Geant4/Gate simulation and the Bethe-Bloch theory model. The results of this simulation and this theory model are in good agreement with each other .The main point of this paper is the presentation of a theoretical approach to the production of Fluorine-18 by using protons production through the main nuclear fusion reaction and the side fusion reaction   uses helium-3 as a catalyzed.

Background: Apoptosis induction is one of the effective mechanisms in cancer therapy. So far, a variety of natural sources have been identified for inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. This study proposed identifying promising active drug pharmacophores of soil actinomycetes with the capability of apoptosis induction in A549 cells, a human alveolar adenocarcinoma cell line. Methods: The crude extract of Nocardia carnea UTMC 863 was obtained from UTBC (University of Tehran Biocompound Collection). After 48 hours of exposure, cell viability, gene expression, and apoptosis rate were determined using MTT, quantitative real-time-PCR, and flow cytometry. Results: The MTT assay exhibited that the effective concentrations of UTMC863 and doxorubicin (positive control) were 24 µg/ml and 1 µM, respectively. UTMC 863 with the concentration of 24 µg/ml as well as doxorubicin could induce apoptosis in A549 cell line. Also, the expression of apoptosis-related genes was increased in the UTMC863 group compared to the untreated group (p<0.01). Conclusion: The crude extract of Nocardia carnea UTMC 863 can induce apoptosis in A549 cells, and it may be one of the promising pharmacophores for cancer therapy.

Advances in cancer treatment have resulted in a growing number of cancer survivors.However, powerful treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and some cancer drugs are not without risks, including the potential for serious, long-term damage to the heart. Cardiology and oncology specialists often collaborate to mitigate these risks when treating cancer patients. This joining is known as cardio-oncology.The main goals of cardio-oncology are to screen for and actively manage modifiable cardiovascular risk factors and diseases in cancer patients. Cardio-oncology plays an increasingly active role at every stage of cancer therapy, including baseline risk assessment pretreatment, surveillance and prevention during treatment, response to acute complications, and assessment of survivors’ post-cardiotoxic treatments. Cancer treatmenthas been optimized through new treatment strategies. The first cardio-oncology clinic in Iran was instituted about 4 years ago (2017) at Shaheed Rajaei Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center in Tehran, which is the first cardio-oncology clinic in the Middle East. It provides care for cancer patients with a history of cardiovascular disease or risk for cardiotoxicity during cancer therapy. Also, all patients are enrolledin the multicenter cardio-oncology Toxicity Registry research database, and 13 other hospitals from different centers in the whole country are involved in the registry. The establishment of the cardio-oncology clinic with a focus on the patient registry is discussed in this article.

Background: Recently, it has been shown that, piRNAs as a new class of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), play crucial roles in germline development and carcinogenesis. Despite this, the study on the effects of piRNAs polymorphism (piR-SNP) on colorectal cancer (CRC) risk is scarce. We evaluate the impact of rs11776042 in piRNA 015551 on CRC initiation and development in the Iranian population. Matherials & METHODS: The association of novel polymorphisms rs11776042 in piRNA 015551 gene with CRC risk using a case-control study on the Iranian population was estimated. All subjects were evaluated by TETRA primer-Amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction (TP-ARMS- PCR assay) Results: The genotypes frequency was 27%, 68% and 0.05% for C/C, C/T and T/T in controls and 31%, 65% and 0.04% in CRC patients respectively. The frequency of the C allele was 63% in patients versus 61% in controls and, T allele frequency was 37% in patients versus 39% in controls. Conclusion: No significant difference was found in genotype and allele frequencies between the cases and controls for rs11776042 polymorphism in piRNA 015551 in our population.  

Progress in cancer stem cells has opened up a new window to develop better cancer treatment methods. Several pre-clinical and clinical trial studies use CSCs targeting via surface markers method and inhibition of stem cell pathway to eradicate cancer. Albite, some important question was unclear about CSCs origin and molecular mechanism of self-renewal, the structure of CSCs markers and so on, but the eradication of these cells eliminate cancer. In this review, we have argued about the CSC surface markers on different cancers, the mechanisms of action, and therapeutic procedures related to the cancer biomarkers. Then, we have discussed the challenges of these therapies.

Background: Although not having a high incidence, ovarian cancer still leads to the most common cancer-related death among women diagnosed with gynecologic malignancies. The present study aims to highlight this disease’s epidemiology, risk factors, and the significance of developing improved early detection strategies.Methods: Articles were accessed from PubMed and Google Scholar without a time limit. Full-text English studies that mentioned epidemiology and risk factors of ovarian cancer were included in this review.Results: The highest incidence and mortality rates are observed in Central and Eastern Europe, while rates are relatively low in some parts of Asia and Africa. The risk factors for this disease include family history, hormonal factors, nutrition, diet, and physical activity. We also discussed some protective factors. There are no reliablescreening methods for ovarian cancers. The most common diagnostic methods include a pelvic exam, a transvaginal ultrasound, and several imaging tests.Conclusions: The mortality rate of ovarian cancer is gradually increasing; thus, preventative measures are required to reduce the lifetime risk of ovarian cancer and improve the mortality rate.