Iranian Journal of Blood and Cancer
Volume:9 Issue: 1, Mar 2017

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Several risk factors such as age, family history of breast cancer, marital status, early menarche and late menopause are related to breast cancer. Obesity is also a main health problem associated with breast cancer incidence and subsequent mortality. Association between obesity and expansion of breast cancer may be due to excessive sex steroid hormone production, particularly estrogen. Moreover, adipose tissue is not only a source of estrogen secretion, but also a producer of certain ‘‘adipocytokines” including leptin. Leptin is a neuroendocrine hormone with 167 amino acid produced predominantly by white adipose tissue. Leptin after binding to receptor activate JAK/STAT/MAP. Leptin also increased expression of cyclin D1 and cdk2 and induces proliferation. It may also develop mammary tumor growth via multiple mechanisms like pro-inflammatory, oxidative, and anti-apoptotic proangiogenic effects. Leptin can increase aromatase activity in MCF-7 cell line which may increase estrogen production and subsequently induce tumor cell growth. Hyperinsulinism through enhanced leptin production by adipose tissue can affect poor breast cancer prognosis.

Cancer has the highest disease-related mortality rate in Iran. Reduced activity of paraoxonase reported in patients with cancer may be due to a reduction in its antioxidant properties and a subsequent increased risk of developing cancer. We aimed to assess antioxidant and oxidative status in patients with cancer through measuring the activity of PON1 as an antioxidant enzyme and determining MDA as a marker of oxidative stress.
This case-control study was conducted on 50 patients with colon, lung, blood or breast cancer and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls matching during 2014-2015. Paraoxonase-1 and arylesterase activities were measured with paraoxon and phenylacetate substrates and their malondialdehyde levels and serum lipid profile were determined through spectrophotometry.
Serum paraoxonase activity was lower in patients with cancer (28.52±2.77 IU/L) compared with the healthy subjects (96.57±1.49 IU/L; P0.05). Serum VLDL, LDL and total cholesterol levels differed significantly between the two groups (P The results obtained showed a reduction in paraoxonase activity and an increased lipid oxidation in the patients with cancer and thereby reduced the antioxidant power of paraoxonase and weakened the body’s antioxidant system.

As a T helper type 1 (Th1) derived cytokine, Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) is an important regulator of inflammatory immune responses. Furthermore, IFN-γ plays an essential role in defense against tumors and intracellular pathogens. This study was designed to assess the pattern of IFN-γ production in human leukemic (Jurkat and Molt-4) T cell lines in vitro.
Jurkat and Molt-4 cells were cultured in whole RPMI-1640 media. The cells were imbedded at a density of 2×106 cell/ml. The cells were stimulated with different concentrations of Phytoheamagglutinin (PHA) (2-10 µg/ml), phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) (1-25 ng/ml) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1-4 μg/ml) for activation and cytokine production for 48 hours. Then the cell-conditioned media were used for IFN-γ assay. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was done for comparing the groups statistically.
PHA and PMA substantially augmented IFN-γ level in human leukemic T cells (Molt-4 and Jurkat) in a dose-dependent manner after 48 hours of incubation compared with untreated control cells, whereas LPS did not have any significant effect on IFN-γ production in human leukemic T cell lines compared with unstimulated cells.
human leukemic Jurkat and Molt-4 T cell lines could potentially produce IFN-γ with different amounts. PHA was a more potent stimulator of IFN-γ production than PMA. Molt-4 cell line could produce more IFN-γ than Jurkat cell line. These cells could be appropriate for studying the mechanisms of action of immunomodulators as well as screening the IFN-γ stimulators/inhibitors.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is reported to be associated with a high risk of recurrence, poor overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) rates. This study evaluated the clincopathological features and survival of non-metastatic TNBC women in the capital of Iran compared with other areas of the world.
In a retrospective study, 119 women with TNBC based on the criteria were analyzed in this study during 2007-2015. A number of clinicopathological variables, OS and DFS were determined in all patients. The mean follow-up was 38 months, which 6 patients lost to follow-up and 16 died of the disease and therefore were censored from the study.
The mean age at diagnosis was 44.9 years (range: 21-85 years). 31.9% were older than 50 years. The 2- and 5-years OS rates were 96% and 88.1%, respectively; whereas, the 2- and 5-years DFS rates were 87% and 74.1%, respectively. Right breast tumor and lymph node involvement were more common in patients younger than 50 years, but vascular invasion was more observed in patients aged ≥50 years. There was no significant difference between menopause status, age and Ki-67 index for OS or DFS.
The prevalence of TNBC was more common in women younger than 50 years. Ki-67 index, menopausal status and age could contribute to prognosis and survival of patients.

Survival of patients with multiple myeloma has improved substantially because of availability of new therapies including autotransplants, immunomodulating drugs and proteasome-inhibitors. Second primary cancers have emerged as an important determinant of morbidity and mortality among cancer survivors. Even though there is an increased risk of new cancers of the lymphoreticular and haematopoetic system, it is very rare for Hodgkin’s lymphoma to occur as a second malignancy following autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT) for myeloma. We report a case of a female with plasma cell leukemia treated with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation and lenalidamide maintenance. She developed cervical lymphadenopathy 4.5 years after the APBSCT, biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma, nodular sclerosis type. Since she developed allergic reaction to ABVD, she was given 6 cycles of COPP chemotherapy and is in complete remission now.