Introduction: With the advent of era of targeted cancer therapy, the serious side effects of chemoradiotherapy have been minimised. Considering the success story of anti-HER2/neu drugs in breast cancer oncology, the present study was conducted. The study evaluates the immunohistochemical expression of HER2/neu in endometrioid cancer among Iraqi patients. Aim: To assess the immunohistochemical expression of HER2/neu in endometrioid carcinoma of uterus and to find the relationship of this expression with FIGO stage and grade and with patient age. Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional study, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of 62 hysterectomy specimens that were diagnosed as endometrioid carcinoma in the teaching laboratories in the Medical City complex, Baghdad were retrieved and assessed by three pathologists using the same scoring system for HER2/neu as in breast cancer with positivity regarded as +2 or +3. Statistical correlation using Chi-square test analysis was done. Results: Out of 62 cases of endometrioid carcinoma, 30 (48.38%) were positive for HER2/neu and a significant statistical relationship between expression of this marker with histological grade and patient age was seen. The cases which were immunohistochemically positive for HER2/neu were closely associated with high grade morphology and patients younger than 40-year-old. Conclusion: Endometrioid carcinoma is a type of endometrial adenocarcinoma commonly having a well differentiated morphology (Grade I) and low stage at presentation. The study concludes that young patients with a high grade endometrioid carcinoma would hopefully benefit from the application of targeted anti-HER2/neu therapy in future.
Exogenous levothyroxine dose modulation and euthyroidism achievement is a persistent challenge in clinical settings. This study strives to assess the adequacy of treatment and identify the patients’ factors that can be used to estimate the euthyroid levothyroxine dose. A secondary objective was to assess vitamin D supplementation impact on thyroid status.
A review of a prospectively collected information from 142 female patients from Baghdad Center of Nuclear Medicine from June 2019 until March 2020 who were receiving levothyroxine for different causes was done. After a follow-up period, the patients’ thyroid tests were assessed and the euthyroid doses for each cause category were statistically analyzed. Thyroid function was
... Show MoreBackground: Sex variations in coronary artery disease (CAD) are well documented. However, sex differences in coronary artery calcium (CAC) and its role in the detection of coronary artery stenosis remain controversial. Objective: To assess the impact of sex variation on coronary artery calcification and its efficacy in predicting coronary artery stenosis. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study including 230 consecutive patients with suspected CAD (120 men and 110 women) referred for coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). The study analyzed sex-based differences in the sensitivity and specificity of coronary artery calcification (CAC) for detecting moderate to severe stenosis across various coronary arteries
... Show MoreBackground: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy and the second leading cause of mortality among women in Iraq forming 23% of cancer related deaths. The low survival from the disease is a direct consequence to the advanced stages at diagnoses. Aim: To document the composite stage of breast cancer among Iraqi patients at the time of diagnosis; correlating the observed findings with other clinical and pathological parameters at presentation. Patients and Methods: A retrospective study enrolling the clinical and pathological characteristics of 603 Iraqi female patients diagnosed with breast cancer. The composite stage of breast cancer was determined according to UICC TNM Classification System of Breast Cancer and the Ameri
... Show MoreNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), characterized by hepatic fat accumulation in individuals consuming little or no alcohol, has become highly prevalent globally. Oxidative stress plays a central role in instigating inflammation and cell death pathways driving NAFLD progression. This case–control study aimed to elucidate the association between circulating levels of the pivotal non-enzymatic antioxidants – coenzyme Q10 and vitamins E and C – and liver injury parameters among 60 Iraqi NAFLD patients versus 30 healthy controls. NAFLD diagnosis entailed over 5% hepatic steatosis on ultrasound excluding other etiologies. Patients spanned three age groups: 20–29, 30–39, an
BACKGROUND: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid carcinoma that represents a set of characteristic of nuclear features in which the diagnosis is depend. AIM: The study aimed to review different variants of PTC which has different malignant potential in correlation with many prognostic and clinical factors in Iraq. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Paraffin blocks of 227 cases of PTC were selected, subtyped, and grouped according to the malignant potential. The prognostic and clinical factors were studied. RESULTS: The mean age was (39.29 ± 12.17) years, with female predominance (86.3%), where (55.5%) of them below 40 years, conventional variant was most common (40.1%), followed by papillary microcarcinoma
... Show MoreLeishmania species are the causative agent of a tropical disease known as leishmaniasis. Previous studies on the old world species Leishmania major, showed that the amastigotes form which resides inside the macrophage of the vertebrate host, utilize host’s sphingolipids for survival and proliferation. In this study, gene expression of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) subunit two (MmLCB2) of the mouse macrophage cell line (RAW264.7), which is the first enzyme in the de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis, was detected in both infected and non-infected macrophages. This was detected under condition where available sphingolipid was reduced, with the new world species Leishmania mexicana. Results of qPCR analysis showed that there was no differen
... Show MoreBackground: Osteoarthritis is a complicated, chronic disorder of cartilage and bone, associated with homeostasis of bio-elements. The current study aims to assess the role of serum progranulin levels among Iraqi patients with knee osteoarthritis. Patients and Methods: The study encompassed 50 patients aged 52.50 ± 3.12 years (25 males and 25 females), admitted to the at the Baghdad Medical City through the period from November 2021 to March 2022. All individuals were identified by physicians in a Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic and the clinical data was collected along with the assess¬ment of biochemical parameters. Fasting serum glucose, lipid profile, calcium, magnesium, alkaline phosphatase, vitamin D3, and p
... Show MoreBackground: Patients requiring renal biopsies have various glomerular diseases according to their demographic characteristics.
Objective: To study types of glomerular disease among adult Iraqi patients in a single center in Baghdad/Iraq
Material and Methods: A total of 120 native kidney biopsies were studied. All biopsies were adequate and were processed for Light Microscopy.
The age range of the study patients was 17-67 years, with a mean of 38.5 years. The mean follow up period was 28 weeks (4-52 weeks)
Indication for biopsy included: Nephrotic syndrome (N=72; 60%), Asymptomatic proteinuria (N=21; 17.5%), acute nephritic presentation (N=17; 14.16%), asymptomatic haematuria (N=10; 8.33%).
Results: Primary glomerulonephrit