The human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) gene plays a critical role in breast cancer development and progression. HER2 overexpression characterizes a biologically and clinically aggressive breast cancer subtype. In this study, 60 samples from Iraqi women with breast cancer were collected and investigated for HER2 protein in the tissue by immunohistochemistry. Also, 20 samples from healthy Iraqi women were used as a control. The results showed that 18 (30 %) patients expressed the HER2 protein. A molecular study for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was conducted on samples metastasizing to lymph nodes. DNA was extracted and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to amplify e

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents the most prevalent type of acute leukemia in adults and is responsible for approximately 80% of all cases. The tumor suppressor gene (TP53) is a gene that has been frequently studied in cancer, and mutations in this gene account for about 50% of human cancers. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene: rs1042522 and rs1642785, and a group of Iraqi patients suffering from pre-diagnostic acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Blood samples were collected from sixty patients (26 males and 34 females) and sixty controls (26 males and 34 females); these subjects were matched in gender, age, and ethnicity. Genomic DNA has been extracted fro

     The lymphotoxin alpha is a highly polymorphic gene and any genetic variation in it may lead to an increased production of cytokine LTA thus helping tumor development and progression. The aim of this work was to investigate the association of LTA polymorphism with the risk of breast cancer among Iraqi women. The findings of this study demonstrated that the age group > 50 years old formed 52% of the breast cancer patients (P <0.001). Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium analysis revealed that genotype frequencies of most SNPs in BC patients and HC were consistent with HWE. No association was found between LTA polymorphisms and BC. Moreover, seven haplotypes were detected in BC group. However, only one of them developed sign

Breast cancer is one of the comments malignant tumors worldwide especially in Iraq; it is a leading cause of death in Iraqi women. Determination of estrogen and progesterone receptors status is helpful in selecting the patients most likely to receive benefit from endocrine therapy, and provide prognostic information on recurrence and survival since their expression is related to the degree of the tumor differentiation. From November 2012 to March 2013, 150 breast cancer patients at Al-Amal Hospital in Baghdad were attended to start treatment of disease for the first time. All patients included in this study did not receive chemotherapy. Patients were asked to bring their paraffin embedded tissue blocks to participate in estrogen, progest

Background: Alopecia areata(AA) is a common autoimmune disease that causes hair loss without scarring. It occurs as a result of T-helper 1 (Th1) and Th17 cells attacking the anagen hair follicles. Genetic factors play a role in the occurrence of infection, which stimulates the production of pro and anti-inflammatory interleukins. Polymorphisms of IL-37 play a role in autoimmune diseases. However, IL37 single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNP) have not been identified in patients with AA. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the IL37 gene SNP and its relationship to AA. Methods: Genotyping of IL-37 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms SNPs were detected using sequence-specific primer-polymerase chain reaction (SSP-PCR) method was done following

Interleukin-1 β (IL-1 β) is considered to be one of the most important mediators in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases, particularly in neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized with demyelination in central nervous system (CNS). There was believe that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-1β gene can alter the structure and function of the IL-1β and consequently may have play role in MS disease. In this this study the IL-1β gene polymorphism (rs16944, rs1143634) and their association with MS in Iraqi patients were investigated. Two SNPs including IL-1β-511 (rs16944) in promoter and IL-1B+3962 (rs1143634) in encoding region, were studied using Polyme

Objective(s): To determine the impact of psychological distress in women upon coping with breast cancer.

Methodology: A descriptive design is carried throughout the present study. Convenient sample of (60) woman with breast cancer is recruited from the community. Two instruments, psychological distress scale and coping scale are developed for the study. Internal consistency reliability and content validity are obtained for the study instruments. Data are collect through the application of the study instruments. Data are analyzed through the use of descriptive statistical data analysis approach and inferential statistical data analysis approach.

Results: The study findings depict that women with breast cancer have experien

ervical cancer is one of the most frequently diag nosed malignancies representing the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in females’ worldwide, with approximately 500,000 new cases diagnosed and 280,000 deaths occurring each year. Mxi1, an antagonist of c-Myc, maps to human chromosome 10q24-q25, a region altered in a substantial fraction of prostate tumors, in prostate cancer, where a high frequency of loss and mutation of the MXI1 gene has been reported. The aim of present study was to find out the possible association of exon deletion of MXI1 gene with incidence of cervical abnormalities and cancers in some Iraqi married women. The present study include collection of 120 scraping cervical cells samples from women clinically di

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in females. In Iraq there are noticeable elevation in incidence rates and prevalence of advanced stages of breast cancer. Ferritin is intracellular iron storage protein abundant in circulation and its main application in differential diagnosis of anemia.

The level of serum ferritin was found raised in various cancers including breast cancer. The aim of this study was to assess whether the serum ferritin concentration would be altered in Iraqi women with breast cancer and it could be related to progression of disease.

Sixty eight females participated in this study. The mean age of these females was 53.25± 9.52 .The level of serum ferritin was measured in 24

Background: Polymorphisms in the TNF-α gene affect the development and progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Objective: To investigate the associations between (-806 T/C) and (-857 T/C) SNPs with rheumatoid arthritis severity and susceptibility in a sample of Iraqi patients. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Baghdad, Iraq. Twenty healthy controls and 63 patients confirmed to be newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis were included. Those are divided into two groups (patients and controls), and the patients were further subdivided into severe and mild-moderate groups. Samples from those participants were analyzed for clinical and inflammatory parameter measurements. Genotyping by the Sanger method was performed to stu