BACKGROUND: Diffuse astrocytomas constitute the largest group of primary malignant human intracranial tumours. They are classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) into three histological malignancy grades: diffuse astrocytomas (grade II), anaplastic astrocytomas (grade III) and glioblastoma (grade IV) based on histopathological features such as cellular atypia, mitotic activity, necrosis and microvascular proliferation. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a 170-kDa transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor expressed in a variety of normal and malignant cells regulating critical cellular processes. When activated, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) triggers several signalling cascades leading to increased proliferation and angiogenesis and decreased apoptosis and hence associated with aggressive progression of the tumour. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) level is known to be a strong indicator associated with the aggressive behaviour of the tumour and acts as a prognostic factor for evaluating the survival rate. AIM: To evaluate the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in different grades of astrocytoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded astrocytic tumours of 44 patients were collected from the archival material of pathology department of Ghazi Al Hariri Teaching Hospital during the period from June to December 2018. Hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections were used to characterise the tumours histologically based on cellularity, nuclear hyperchromasia, polymorphism, mitotic activity, vascular proliferation and necrosis with or without pseudopallisading of tumour cells. Diagnosis and grading of astrocytic tumours in this study were made according to WHO criteria (2016). Using a monoclonal antibody to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and immunohistochemical analysis, the expression and distribution of epidermal growth factor receptor in astrocytic tumours were examined. RESULTS: The study included 1 case pilocytic astrocytoma (grade I), 20 cases diffuse astrocytoma (grade II), 5 cases anaplastic astrocytoma (grade III) and 18 cases of glioblastoma (grade IV). Expression of EGFR was found in 38.88% of the glioblastoma samples (grade IV). However, none of the astrocytomas of WHO grades I, II and III showed immunoreactivity for EGFR protein. Different patterns of immunoreactive cells and significant intratumor heterogeneity of EGFR expression were observed in glioblastomas. CONCLUSION: The immunohistochemical expression of Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was restricted only to high-grade astrocytic tumours, namely glioblastoma, thus may use to predict glioblastoma.
Oral carcinoma is the 6th most common cancer in the world. MicroRNAs are small non-coding single stranded RNAs. They have been shown to be capable of altering mRNA expression; thus some are oncogenic or tumor suppressive in nature. The salivary microRNA-31 has been proposed as a sensitive marker for oral malignancy since it was abundant in saliva more than in plasma. A total of 55 whole saliva samples were collected from 35 cases diagnosed with OC their ages and gender matched with 20 healthy subjects. TaqManq RT-PCR was performed for RNA samples. Mean age was 52.23+13.73 years in cases (range:17-70 years) with male predominance represented 69%. Risk of smoking and alcoholism was highly significant. The median fold change of miR-31 was sign
... Show MoreType 2 diabetes mellitus which abbreviate as T2DM is a complex endocrine and metabolic disorder arisingfrom genetic and environmental factors interaction which in turn induce various degrees of insulin functionalalteration on peripheral tissues. Globally, T2DM has develop into a public health problem. Therefore, Thestudy included (75) patients(37 female and 38 males) suffering from T2DM who visit al-kadhimiya teachinghospital with age range 20-80 years and (70) as healthy controls with age range 20-70 years. All studiedgroups were evaluated CMV IgG by ELISA,B. urea, S. Creatinine, cholesterol and triglyceride the resultsshowed that B.urea, S.creatinine and serum cholesterol showed a non-significant differences between studiedgroup,
... Show MoreBackground: Oral squamous cell carcinoma is the most prevalent malignant neoplasm of the oral cavity which results from accumulated genetic and epigenetic alterations. It is not always inexorable and may be reversible if early intervention in the process can occur to prevent further genetic mutation and disease progression. The FHIT gene is a tumor suppressor gene located in FRA3B region which is the most active common fragile site, where DNA damage leading to aberrant transcripts and translocations frequently occur. The WWOX is a tumor suppressor gene that plays a central role in tumor suppression through transcriptional repression and apoptosis, with its apoptotic function the more prominent of the two. This study aimed to evaluate and co
... Show MoreBackground: Oncogenesis in the oral cavity is widely believed to result from cumulative genetic alterations that cause a transformation of the mucosa from normal to dysplastic to invasive carcinoma. The p16 gene produces p16 protein, which in turn inhibits phosphorylation of retinoblastoma (Rb), p16 play a significant role in early carcinogenesis. A number of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family, HER2/neu, has received much attention because of its therapeutic implications. The aims of the study were to evaluate and compare the immunohistochemical expression of the cell cycle protein P16 INK4a and c-erbB2 (HER2/neu) in NOM, OED, and OSCC. Correlate both marker expression with each other as well as with various clinicopathological
... Show MoreMale reproductive health is intricately regulated by molecular and physiological processes, with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) playing a crucial role. AhR is activated by various ligands and influences the onset and progression of diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of AhR on spermatogenesis in adult male rats were affected by resveratrol (RES) and CH223191, an AhR antagonist. The study include forty rats were randomly divided into four equal groups: Control group, DMSO group, RES group and AhR‾ group, the rats received respective treatments intraperitoneally twice weekly for 60 days, and various parameters related to male reproductive health were evaluated. The AhR that activation by the RES treatment w
... Show MoreBackground: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most prevalent malignant neoplasm of the oral cavity that exhibits certain histological variations. Verrucous carcinoma (VC) is an uncommon exophytic low-grade well-differentiated variant of SCC. Cellular differentiation and morphology play important roles in cell functions and maintenance of structural integrity .As the cancer is a malignant process in which disorder of the cell growth and behavior occurs, such changes may differ in different tumor types and within different grades of the same tumor. Materials and Methods:Forty two formalin – fixed, paraffin – embedded tissue blocks were included in this study (30 blocks were diagnosed as OSCC and 12 blocks were diagnosed as OV
... Show MoreBackground: Acne vulgaris is one of the top three most commonly encountered dermatological problems worldwide in both primary and secondary care. Human keratinocytes express functional TLR2 heterodimers. An increased expression of TLR2 was detected in the epidermis of inflammatory acne lesions, as observed in normal skin; the expression level increased with the degree of differentiation of the keratinocytes. TLR2 expression is upregulated in inflammatory acne lesions and induced by C. acnes. The current study conducted to assess the oral isotretinion treatment effect on the acne vulgaris patients by evaluated the Toll Like Receptor 2 as a major immune system marker in Acne vulgaris immune re
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