Breast cancer is the commonest cause of cancer related death in women worldwide. Amplification or over-expression of the ERBB2 (HER/neu) gene occurs in approximately 15-30% of breast cancer cases and it is strongly associated with an increased disease recurrence and a poor prognosis. Determination of HER2/neu status is crucial in the treatment plan as that positive cases will respond to trastuzumab therapy. It has been used to test for HER2/neu by immunohistochemistry as a first step and then to study only the equivocal positive cases (score 2+) by in situ hybridization technique. The aim of our study is to compare between immunohistochemistry and silver in situ hybridization (SISH) in assessment of human epidermal growth factor (HER2/neu) receptors status among breast cancer patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted at The Medical City in Baghdad, from October 2016 to April 2017, where formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tumor tissue from 52 female patients (aged 33 to 71 years) with the diagnosis of breast cancer have been included in this study for the evaluation of human epidermal growth factor (HER2/neu) protein overexpression and gene amplification by immunohistochemistry and silver in situ hybridization (SISH) method respectively. Base line data about patients were obtained from their hospital records. The distribution of human epidermal growth factor (HER2/neu) protein overexpression by immunohistochemistry showed that the (+2) score/equivocally positive were seen in 24 cases, which comprise the largest number of cases in this study (46.15%). Ten cases (19.23%) for each of scores 0/negative and +1/negative were present, while (+3) score/positive was the smallest group with only 8 cases (15.38% of cases). All results of SISH were negative in the category of (0 score/negative). In the contrary, all the 8 cases in (+3 score/positive) category were showing positive SISH results. Category (+1 score/negative) HER2 showed two cases (20%) with a positive SISH result, while that of (+2 score/equivocal positive) showed 8 positive cases (about 33.33%). For the detection of HER2/neu protein overexpression and gene amplification, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in-situ hybridization (ISH) are the recommended techniques, with high concordance between the two techniques, however; performance of silver in situ hybridization in assessment of HER2/neu gene status in all cases of invasive breast carcinoma is recommended as significant number of negative cases by immunohistochemistry showed positive amplification by in situ hybridization and can be treated with anti-HER2 targeted treatments.
Background: Breast cancer is the commonest type of malignancy worldwide and in Iraq. It is a serious disease that affects the general health and cause systemic changes that affect the physical and chemical properties of saliva leading to adverse effects on oral health. This study was conducted toassess the tumor marker CA15-3 and selected elements in saliva and their relation to oral health status among breast cancer patients compared to control group. Materials and Methods: The total sample consisted of 60 women aged 35-45 years. 30 women were newly diagnosed with breast cancer before taking any treatment and surgery (study group) and 30 women without clinical signs and symptoms of breast cancer as a control group. Dental caries was record
... Show MoreBackground: Colonic cancer is a very common disease world-wide being fourth most common cancer characterized by abnormal proliferation of the inner wall of colon then taking full colon wall thickness then spreading to surrounding lymph nodes and tissues and finally distant metastasis. It is one of most complicated diseases with debilitating symptoms which becomes more sever , prominent and specific with advancing stage with high percent of fatality and relatively short survival if diagnosed late or if left untreated.Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of serum CEA & sAPRIL levels in the diagnosis and screening of colon cancer and their validity for this.Patients and methods: This study was applied on 35 patients with colonic can
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to look for the differences in the oxidative stress status in sera and saliva samples of type 2 diabetic Iraqi patients with and without proliferative diabetic retinopathy. As well as to look for the possibility whether this status can be measured in saliva as an alternative sample to that of serum, hence to achieve that total oxidant status, total antioxidant status and oxidative stress index were measured in both sera and saliva samples of two groups of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and the healthy individuals. Upon the comparison between patients without proliferative diabetic retinopathy and the control sample the results showed presence of a significant increase (p < 0.05) of total oxidant st
... Show MoreColorectal cancer (CRC), the second most fatal cancer and the 3rd most common cancer is expected to cause 0.9 million deaths globally in 2025. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is currently used in the follow-up of patients with colorectal cancer, and in this study, we are trying to find a better marker than CEA in following up on patients' health and knowing the effectiveness of the treatment used and as a diagnostic marker for colorectal cancer. To determine the significance of Cancer antigen 72-4 (CA72-4) as a prognosis predictor in patients with colorectal cancer, compare its prognostic validity to the CEA biomarker. this case-control study includes (150) participants, 100 patients (59 males and 41 females), and 50 healthy controls
... Show MorePapillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) represents the most prevalent kind of thyroid gland cancer, making up around 80% of all occurrences of thyroid cancer. Evidence shows that Syndecan-1 (SDC-1) expression is lost in a number of benign and malignant epithelial neoplasms, although its expression profile in thyroid gland neoplasms is yet unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess SDC-1 expression in papillary thyroid carcinoma patients, as well as the relationship between age and gender and SDC-1 expression. To undertake a detailed investigation of SDC-1 in normal and malignant tissues, tissue sections were used to examine SDC-1 expression in 70 tissue samples, 50 distinct PTC (6 males and 44 females) and 20 normal tissue ty
... Show MoreBreast cancer (BC) is the most common malignant tumor in women and the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. This work was conducted to estimate the roles of oxidative stress, vitamin B12, homocysteine (HCY), and DNA methylation in BC disease progression. Sixty BC patients (age range 33–80 years) and 30 healthy controls were recruited for this study. Patients with BC were split to group 1 consisted of stage II BC women (low level), and group 2 consisted of patients in stages III and IV (high level). Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPX3), HCY, and vitamin B12 levels in the study groups were measured. Also, the 5-methylcytosine (5mC) global DNA methylation levels were evaluated. The results showed a significant
... Show MoreBackground: Treatment modalities of acromegaly and disease control impact differently on glucose homeostasis and lipid changes, and consequently on cardiometabolic risk. Aim: To investigate the possible association of lipid profile changes with the glycemic control status in acromegaly patients treated with octreotide LAR. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 52 Iraqi patients with acromegaly treated with octreotide LAR and not using statins. Demographic, anthropometric, and clinical data were collected, as well as the duration of Octreotide LAR administration. The glycemic state was assessed and classified as DM, prediabetes, or normal. Plasma levels of triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and non-HDL were evalu
... Show MoreRecently on the dermatological fields, the serum levels and the roles of Zn, Cu and Mg have been studied especially in acne vulgaris, but the results were controversial. The aim of the present study is to investigate a relationship between the severity of acne and the serum levels of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and magnesium (Mg) and to demonstrate the status of serum levels of zinc, copper, and magnesium in Iraqi male patients with acne vulgaris and to compare it with those of healthy controls.This case controlled study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology and Venerology and in the Poisoning Consultation Center of Baghdad Teaching Hospital between May 2009 to January 2010. Forty- five male patients with acne vulgaris, their a
... Show MoreBackground: Breast cancer still a major cause of disability and mortality among women throughout the world. Lack of awareness and early detection programs in developing countries is a main reason for escalating the mortality.
Objectives: to assess level of awareness about breast cancer among university female students in Baghdad focusing on knowledge of breast cancer risk factors, warning symptoms and signs and knowledge about the screening method specially breast self-examination.
Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted over two months from first of march through April 2015 and included (240) female students in non- medical colleges at Al-Rusafa and A
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