BACKGROUND: The rapidly growing knowledge regarding factors controlling tumour growth, with the new modalities of therapy acting on the biological activity of the tumours draw the attention of most cancer researches nowadays and represent a major focus for clinical oncology practice. For the detection of HER2/neu protein overexpression and gene amplification, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in-situ hybridisation (ISH) is the recommended techniques, respectively, with high concordance between the two techniques. The current United Kingdom recommendations for HER2/neu testing are either for a two-tier system using IHC with reflex ISH testing in equivocal positive cases, or a one-tier ISH strategy. AIM: To compare the results of HER2/neu gene status in patients with breast carcinoma obtained by chromogenic in situ hybridisation with those obtained by immunohistochemistry, and to compare these results with hormonal receptors expression by immunohistochemistry and with age of patients.METHODS: Immunohistochemistry technique was used for evaluation of status of estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) and HER2/neu protein expression in 448 Iraqi patients with invasive breast carcinoma with different grades and histological types and then chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) technique was applied for all scores of HER2/neu to detect the gene status and compare the results in all negative, equivocal and positive cases by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The cases were referred from different centres, and IHC and CISH techniques were done in central public health laboratory in Baghdad over 28 months, from July 2013 to November 2015. A comparison of the results was made to find the relationship between HER2/neu and hormone receptors status and other clinical parameters like patients age. RESULTS: The mean age of the study cases was 49.08 years, ranging from 24 to 83 years. Of the 448 cases of breast carcinoma, 44 (9.8%) cases were of score 0 by IHC, none of them (0%) showed HER2/neu gene amplification by CISH. 71(15.8%) cases were of score 1 by IHC, 15 (21.12%) of them showed HER2/neu gene amplification by CISH, all were of low amplification. There were 306 (68.3%) cases of score 2 by IHC, of which 102 (33.33%) cases showed HER2/neu gene amplification by CISH, with 79 (25.81%) of them with low amplification and 23 (7.51%) cases with high amplification, while only one case (0.32%) remained in equivocal category. In score 3, all the 27 (6.0%) cases showed gene amplification with 12 (44.44%) cases with low amplification and 15 (55.55) cases with high amplification with overall percentage of gene amplification in score 3 of 100%. There was a significant inverse relationship between hormone receptors (ER and PR) status and HER2/neu gene amplification. No significant relationship was found between the patient’s age and HER2/neu gene amplification.CONCLUSION: Although immunohistochemistry is a widely used, less expensive and reliable test, we strongly advice performance of chromogenic in situ hybridization in assessment of HER2/neu gene status in all cases diagnosed with breast carcinoma as significant number of cases that were reported as negative by immunohistochemistry showed positive amplification by chromogenic in situ hybridization and can get benefit from anti-HER2 targeted treatments.
Millions of pilgrims and visitors from numerous parts of the world flock to Karbala (one of the most prominent ideological and religious places in central Iraq) each year to visit the holy shrines in Karbala due to their sanctity. Many improvements have been made to the Two Holy Shrines (THS), the Shrines of Imam Husayn and Imam Abbas, and the area between them (ATHS), due to the high temperatures in this region and to improve pedestrian thermal comfort. Studies on improving outdoor thermal comfort in Karbala are scarce. Hence, this research aims to look into historical and current architectural changes and how they affect thermal comfort. On the hottest summer day, the ENVI-met software program was used to simulate the building des
... Show MoreObjectives: To assess the coping strategies of parents of children with autism and the relationship of
different strategies with their educational level.
Methodology: A descriptive analytical study was carried out from Feb. 14th, 2013 through April, 10th
, 2013 in
several private rehabilitation centers of autism in Baghdad city. A non- probability (purposive) sample of 100
autistic children and 100 of their parents (father or mother) was assessed by a questionnaire which consisted of
two parts; the first part is concerned with the demographic characteristics of the child and demographic
characteristics of the parents; the second part consisted of 50 questions about coping strategies that were
distributed on 8 doma
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) is still a severe threaft for human health currently, and the researches about it is a focus topic worldwide.
Aim of the study: In this study, we will collect some laboratory results of the patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to assess the function of liver, heart, kidney and even pancreas.
Subjects and Methods: Laboratory results of the patients with COVID-19 are collected. The biochemical indices are classified and used to assess the according function of liver, heart, kidney; meantime, and blood glucose is also observed and taken as an index to roughly evaluate pancreas.
Results: There were some in
... Show MoreIn this research, nanocomposites of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and a mixture of nano silica (SiO2) and nano zirconia (ZrO2) were prepared in different weight percentages of the nano fillers to improve some of the properties of PMMA resin to be used as a denture base material. The nano filles were surface modified with a coupling agent and added to the PMMA in different amounts. Impact strength, transverse strength, hardness and roughness were tested for both control and experimental groups. The results indicate that PMMA/silica/zirconia nanocomposites, prepared with 5% by weight of both types of fillers, had a slight increase in impact s
A. chroococcum isolate was examined for its ability to produce the hydrolytic enzymes chitinase, pectinase, protease, and lipase, in an effort to enhance the growth of fava bean (Vicia faba). Biological experiment was conducted in pots with complete random design (CRD). The experiment includes three treatments: control (plant without treatment) (P), NPK fertilizer (plant + fertilizer) (PF), and A. chroococcum inoculum (plant + A. chroococcum) (PA). These treatments were performed with sterile and non-sterile soil, which were planted with fava beans. At the end of experiment (seven weeks from planting), length and weight of plant shoot and plant root were calculated. The results show that the isolate wa
... Show MoreTreated effluent wastewater is considered an alternative water resource which can provide an important contribution for using it in different purposes, so, the wastewater quality is very important for knowing its suitability for different uses before discharging it into fresh water ecosystems. The wastewater quality index (WWQI) may be considered as a useful and effective tool to assess wastewater quality by indicating one value representing the overall characteristic of the wastewater. It could be used to indicate the suitability of wastewater for different uses in water quality management and decision making. The present study was conducted to evaluate the Al-Diwaniyah sewage treatment plant (STP) effluent quality based on wastewa
... Show MoreSewage water is a mixture of water and solids added to water for various uses, so it needs to be treated to meet local or global standards for environmentally friendly waste production. The present study aimed to analyze the new Maaymyrh sewage treatment plant's quality parameters statistically at Hilla city. The plant is designed to serve 500,000 populations, and it is operating on a biological treatment method (Activated Sludge Process) with an average wastewater inflow of 107,000m3/day. Wastewater data were collected daily by the Mayoralty of Hilla from November 2019 to June 2020 from the influent and effluent in the (STP) new in Maaymyrh for five water quality standards, such as (BOD5), (COD), (TSS), (TP)
... Show MoreAir pollution evaluation of the operational processes in the East Baghdad oil field was carried out. The analysis was carried out by ICP-MS technique. Total Suspended Particles (TSP) air load was higher than Iraqi Standards and world international allowable limits of World Health Organization. The mean concentrations of gases carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, in the air were within national and world standards, while the mean concentration of nitrogen dioxide was higher than standard limits. The air of the study area is considered a good quality for CO, CO2 and NO2 with no health effect, while it is hazardous for TSP that have serious risk for people with respiratory disease. The mean concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu and
... Show MoreBackground: Determination of local bone mineral density (BMD) immediately after implant insertion play an important role in implant success rate, may offer comprehensive description of the bone, and give enough information to the surgeon prior to implant insertion and at follow up status. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the changes of local bone density in the dental implant recipient sites by using computerized tomography. Material and method: The sample consisted of (20) dental implants recipient sites, bone density assessment was done twice, immediately after implants insertion and after six months. Results: The mean HU of the bone around the implant insertion site, immediately after implant placement was 552.28 HU, and inc
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