pISSN: 2228-6527
eISSN: 2228-5466
Director:
Mohammad-Ali Mohagheghi, MD
Editor-in-Chief:
Kazem Zendehdel
Vol 15 No 3 (2023)
Original Articles
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Rahim Akrami , Abbas Badakhshan
, Masoumeh Hashemian , Masoud Hiteh , Bahareh Amin , Mohammad Shafi Mojadadi , Mansoureh Feizabadi , Maasoumeh Aran , Najmeh Mahmoodabadi , Maryam Goudarzian , Salehabadi Raha , Alireza Darvishi , Homeyra Vahdati , Taibeh Nowrouzinejad , Akbar Pejhan , Mohsen Koushan , Nasrin Fazel , Ahmad Allahabadi , Abolfazl Rahmani Sani , Alireza Ghorbani , Mohammad Hassan Rakhshani , Moosaalreza Tadayonfar , Forough Mortazavi , Akram Kooshki , Roya Akbarzadeh , Mojtaba hadavifar , Ali Delbari , Hafez Heydari Zarnagh , Fatemeh Ghaffarirad , Majid Fallahi , Reza Frozen , Behnaz Souizi , Jila Agah , Ramezan Ali Khamirchi , Mohammad Shourideh Yazdi , Hessam Ghassemof , Houman Kamranian , Mehdi Molavi , Hossein Assarzadeh , Hassan Salehipour , Nasrin Hashemian Nejad , Mohammadreza Sadr , Seyed Mehdi Mirhamidi , Abolfazl Shakiba , Seyed Mehdi Razavi , Mahdi Motakeffar , Fatemeh Nodeh , Mohammad Reza Shegarf Nakhaie , Omid Gholami , Freshteh Ghorat , Mohammad Mohammad-Zadeh , Alireza Moslem , Kazem Zendehdel
Background: Appropriate priority setting in public health and biomedical research is crucial to make decisions for resource allocation and prioritizing the projects. We studied the research gaps and identified priorities for biomedical research in Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences (SabUMS), located in Sabzevar city in the northeastern part of Iran. Materials & Methods: we used both qualitative and quantitative approaches to determine the public health problems and health research priorities.The processes for priority setting included preparation, problem finding, idea generation, data cleaning and statement development, ranking, and dissemination. We used qualitative research and quantitative surveys for problem findings. We organized two workshops with researchers and public health authorities of Sabzevar city for idea generation, defining criteria for priority setting, and ranking of the research ideas. We used national and international recommendations to prepare a list of research priorities in the region for COVID-19. Results: The criteria for priority setting were concerns of the community, magnitude, and urgency of the problem. In addition, feasibility, the possibility of regional and international research collaboration, and the availability of the infrastructure and capacity to conduct research were used for ranking. The final list of priority areas for research in SabUMS included non-communicable diseases, mental health, drug abuse, accidents, and nutrition respectively. COVID-19 was considered a separate area for research. Conclusion: Experience from this study and follow-up reports would provide best practices in research development in low-resource areas and pave the way for evidence-based public health practice. -
Considering the importance of understanding COVID-19 prevalence and vaccine effectiveness in individuals dealing with bladder or prostate cancer, as well as the plausible adverse repercussions of immunization, this study was undertaken to assess the prevalence and vaccination rates of COVID-19 in this group of patient. Furthermore, the investigation seeks to evaluate potential adverse effects and the efficacy of vaccines in patients diagnosed with prostate and bladder cancer. In this cross-sectional study conducted from 2020 to 2022, we systematically extracted clinical and demographic information, COVID-19 diagnoses, clinical symptoms, and paraclinical data from the bladder and prostate cancer registry at our institution. Our analysis encompassed assessing the frequency of COVID-19 infections, vaccination rates, and the occurrence of adverse effects associated with vaccination within this specific cohort. Among the 249 enrolled patients, COVID-19 infection was confirmed in 19.4% of bladder cancer patients and 16.6% of prostate cancer patients. A substantial majority, 81% (202 patients), had received vaccination, with the Sinopharm vaccine being the preferred choice for the majority (90%). The study's outcomes reveal a vaccine efficacy of 82% in individuals with bladder cancer, while displaying a higher efficacy of 96% among patients with prostate cancer. This study provides evidence supporting the efficacy of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in reducing COVID-19-associated complications and mortality, as well as its high efficacy in patients with prostate and bladder cancer.
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ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Whole Brain Radiation Therapy (WBRT) has been effective in the management of brain metastases, giving good local control but has shown to have potential neurocognitive effects. Assessing its effect on neurocognitive function is decisive assessing quality of life and therapeutic decision-making. METHOD: This is an observational study at R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital from May 2022 to April 2023 involving 60 biopsy proven carcinoma patients with brain metastases fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria. All received 30Gray (Gy)/10# WBRT over 2 weeks. Neurocognitive function assessment using Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) were conducted before and at 2nd, 3rd, and 6th months post WBRT. RESULTS: The study, encompassing a median age of 58, revealed 43.3% had lung primary and 35% breast primary. Mean MMSE score was 27 pre radiation. Following WBRT, a more than equals to 3-point MMSE decrease occurred in 6.6%, 11.6%, and 18.3% at 2nd, 3rd, and 6th months post radiation respectively. Neurocognitive decline was 36% for those above 50 years and 64% for those below 50 years by the 6th month. At 2nd months 88.3% patients had controlled disease having a decrease in MMSE score by 1.6, while 11.6% with uncontrolled disease showed 3.1 MMSE change and the same trend continued at 3rd and 6th month observations. CONCLUSION: WBRT is crucial for local control of brain metastases, but neurocognitive decline, especially under 50, is of major concern. Study results offers awareness for pre-treatment counseling on WBRT benefits, risks and consideration for Hippocampal Avoidance WBRT or WBRT with memantine, and requires further extensive research.
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Aim We evaluated the prevalence of gynecologic cancers in south of Iran in 2014-2019. Methods This cross-sectional, descriptive study aimed to study 1222 patients with female gynecological cancers who were referred to the specialized oncology and radiotherapy clinics in Kerman city in south of Iran. The required information was gathered from the cases recorded in available pathology centers in Department of Health in Kerman province during 2014 -2019 years. The data analysis was done by SPSS20 software via descriptive statistics tests of Chi square, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Kruskal-Wallis, and ANOVA. Results The uterine (38.98%), and ovarian cancers (36.94%) had the highest relative frequencies. There was no significant difference in the relative frequency of female cancers in the five time intervals (p>0/01). The age average of patients was 66/15 ±58/53 years which was significantly different among different types of cancer (p<0/01). The highest and lowest age average was related to the vagina (61.89±26.64) and placenta (30.66±5.50) cancers. Conclusion The most frequent cancer in the first two years of study was ovarian cancer, while the most frequent cancer in the next three years of the study was the uterine cancer. The highest and lowest age averages were related to vagina cancer, and trophoblastic cancer, respectively.
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Introduction: It was earlier documented that concurrent systemic therapy has a beneficial effect in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients when given along with palliative local radiation. But, the data in Indian population is limited. So, we conducted the study to assess the effect of concurrent erlotinib and palliative thoracic radiotherapy as compared to palliative radiotherapy alone in patients with advanced and/or metastatic NSCLC. Material & Methods: Previously untreated patients of advanced and/or metastatic NSCLC, were included in this study, to receive either palliative radiotherapy 30Gy/10fractions with concurrent erlotinib 150mg daily (Group 1) or radiotherapy alone with similar dose-fractionation (Group 2). Symptomatic relief & quality of life (QoL) were assessed using different internationally validated tools. Results: A total of 60-patients were enrolled into the study. After 4-weeks of radiotherapy, patients in group 1 showed better improvement in QoL scoring and had more symptomatic relief than group 2. Nineteen and eleven patients of group 1 and 2 showed partial response. Median survival was 7.4 and 5.1 months in group 1 & 2, respectively. Conclusion: Our study concluded that concurrent erlotinib with palliative thoracic radiotherapy in advanced and/or metastatic NSCLC patients results in increased symptomatic relief & survival as well improvement in QoL.
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Background: Oestrogen plays a vital role in breast development and is strongly related to breast cancer. This research article delves into this paradox. Inflammation is a cancer hallmark that involve chemokine that attract inflammatory immune cells and promote breast cancer spread. E2 as a potential oestrogen can inhibit chemokine secretion, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Interestingly, atypical chemokine receptors (ACKRs), as anti-inflammatory G protein-independent transmembrane proteins, act as "scavengers," removing excessive chemokine's, resulting in reduced inflammation, and most strikingly, these genes are essential for normal breast development. This finding suggested that ACKRs may act as tumour suppressors. This study investigated whether a higher E2 level can influence the expression of its own receptors type and ACKRs. Method: In this research, a relative gene expression study been carried out on target genes estrogen receptors (ERa, ERb) and atypical chemokine receptors (ACKR2, ACKR3 & ACKR4) normalised with TOP1 endogenous control gene in MCF-7 breast cancer cells when treated with a higher E2 level including controls for calibration using RT-qPCR technique in designing the experimental assay. Result: Research outcome consistently revealed a down regulation in the m-RNA expression level of target genes at 18 h time point with statistical analysis done using nonparametric Mann‒Whitney's U-test confirming significant differences between the E2-treated and untreated groups (p < 0.05), supporting the hypothesis that E2 does modulates the expression of ACKR2, ACKR3 and ACKR4 via interplay with ERs. Conclusion: These findings highlight the seemingly contradictory roles of E2. While it can fuel tumour growth, it might also have anti-inflammatory effects through cross-talk with expressed ACKR genes. A study with an extended time of E2 exposure on MCF-7 is further proposed to assess its effect at cellular level and an auxiliary analysis at protein level can strengthen the possibility of ERs-ACKRs interplay. Research & development in protein receptors field are valuable for evolving novel cancer therapies.
