Basic and Clinical Cancer Research
Volume:3 Issue: 3, Summer- Autumn 2011

Background The induction of cancers incidence by exogenous agents, such as chemical, radiation and especially research on viruses is an interested area of active basic subjects and clinical investigation. Prominent researches sounds a high prevalence of HBV marker has been found in patients with leukemia as compared to the general population. Present study was conducted from 1996 to 2010 among patients with chronic acute myeloid leukemia and corresponding with non malignant patients. In this investigation, Cytochemical staining, immunophenotyping, cytogenetic /molecular cytogenetics, Elisa, enzyme immunoassay and Western blot, were the main subject of laboratory manipulation. Hepatitis B virus was diagnosed in one non malignant control patient (%0.004) and four infected with leukemia patients (%3). The differences of leukemic patients revealed statistical significant when compared with non malignant patients (P=0.0047). In this pilot study, the prevalence of HBV infection was higher in patients with leukemia than in patients as non malignant patients. Our findings are also important as they are among the first to suggest here a potentially significant influence of HBV infection may plays a probably major role in the process of myeloid malignant development. However, the number of cases are not large enough to draw firm conclusion. Moreover, we suggest that this pilot study, issue warrants further investigation by large consortium project.

Increasing cost of cancer in the world and particularly in developing countries, postulates need for public participation in cancer control activities, including prevention, treatment and supportive care. We studied role of different factors on the success of advertising through short message services (SMS) for public donations for cancer control activities. Based on a conceptual model, we studied association of participants’ interest for public donation with demographic factors and factors related to the message success including media success, and perceived social success. We collected data from health professionals and general public who used mobile phones and SMS by questionnaire. Overall, 560 subjects completed the questionnaire. From the factors related to the message, we found content of message had the greatest effect on the public motivation to donate. In addition, among factors related to the media, transmission process, and among the perceived aspects of the message, “social norms” and “reliability and credibility“had significant effect on the success of the SMS message to increase peoples’ willingness to donate for cancer patients. Female were more keen on the donation than the men and there was inverse association between education level and the willingness to pay. Advertisement through SMS seems to be effective methods to motivate the public donations for cancer. Different factors, particularly perceptive aspects, are associated with promotion of the people and their motivation for the donation. with promotion of the people and their motivation for the donation.

The development of chemoresistance represents a major obstacle in the successful treatment of cancers such as Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL). With the recognition of important roles for both p53 and its more recently described paralog p73 in mediating the activity of anti-cancer drugs, there has been increasing recognition that cellular resistance to anthracyclines could and does arise through failure of p53 family member signalling. Despite these advances in understanding how cells respond to DNA damage in vitro, and how this is affected by molecular genetic changes which affect p53 family member signalling, the contribution of these to in vivo chemoresistance has not been definitively established. Our major task now is to determine how these changes operate individually and collectively in vivo to produce the phenotype of clinical chemoresistance, and how we can translate this knowledge into clinically useful strategies to improve the outcome of chemotherapy. In this study we used two cell lines derived from Nigerian patients with Burkitt's lymphoma in a suspension type cell culture. The reduction of the tetrazolium salt to a blue-black formazan product by living not by dead cells can be used to measure growth inhibitory effects (cell proliferation inhibitory) of tumor cells. An alternative option for p53+ (resistant) cells is to use a PGP reversal agent in combination with DOX, but reducing the dose of DOX when combined with chemosensitizer. The altered cellular dose in chemoresistant cell lines may provide a rational basis for the use of modified anthracycline based regimens in chemosensitizers, preferably non-genotoxic, in the treatment of tumors expressing chemoresistance phenotype with p53 over-expression.

In spite of clinically useful photon and electron beams, high energy linacs produce secondary particles such as neutrons (photo-neutron production). Neutrons have important roles during treatment with high energy photons in terms of protection and dose escalation. In this project, neutron dose equivalent of 18 MV Varian accelerators is calculated by TLD600 and TLD700. For neutron and photon dose discrimination, first TLDs were calibrated versus definite gamma and neutron doses. Gamma calibration was done in two procedures; by standard 60Co source and by accelerator 18 MV photon beam. For neutron calibration by 241Am-Be source, irradiations were done in several different time intervals. Neutron dose equivalent was calculated in the central axis, on the phantom surface and depths of 1, 2, 3.3, 4, 5 and 6 cm. No photo-neutron dose was achieved on the phantom surface and depths of 1, 2, 3.3 cm. The maximum photo-neutron dose equivalent was 50 mSv*Gy-1 at the depth of 5 cm. Photon absorbed dose calculation in central axis has an error of 5%. Neutron dose variation in different depths doesn’t show a regular procedure and in it seems to be due to the TLD inaccuracy for neutron dosimetry.

Breast cancer is a complicated disease and has various clinical manifestations and prognosis. The aim of this study is to make a breast cancer model suitable for basic, preclinical and clinical studies. Five virgin Bulb/c mice aged 6 weeks and spontaneous Murine Mammary Adenocarcinoma Cells (MMAC) were used. After anesthesia induction, 1-3 million of MMACs were subcutaneously injected into the mice’s right flank. Four weeks after the tumor induction, tumor size in both length and width were weekly measured using caliper for 4 weeks. Histopathology studies were done 2 months later by Scraff-Boom-Richardson grading. Visible tumors were appeared after 4 weeks. Take-rate of all cells was nearly 100%. Tumor sizes reached 0.6±0.1 mm3, 1.1±0.3, 1.68±0.5 and 3±0.7 cm3 with at fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth weeks respectively. The histopathological studies using H & E method showed invasive ductal carcinoma, grade II/III. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of breast cancer progression and metastasis has extremely gained from mouse models in which some stages of tumor progression are recapitulated.

There is a variation in trends of oral cancers all over the world. Many studies have reported evidence of increasing incidence in oral cancers during recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate time trends and changes in demographic distribution of oral cancers incidence in Isfahan during 1991-2010. In this retrospective analytic study, we collected and recorded data on patients with oral cancers at Oral Pathology Department of Dental School of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences during 1991-2010. Collected data include age at presentation, gender, primary site, and histologic type of cancer. Statistical analysis performed using Jointpoint Regression Program version 3 and SPSS version 18. We analyzed data from 231 Pathology reports. The most frequent cancer was squamous cell carcinoma. Comparing the two time intervals (1991-2000) and (2001-2010), we found that carcinomas and salivary gland tumors had decreased while there was an increase in incidence of sarcomas and lymphomas. Gingiva was the most common site (46%) of oral cancers followed by tongue with (18%) through these 20 years. Male to female ratio was decreased from 1.4 to 1.1 during these two decades of study. According to this study, there might be some changes in risk factors as well as changes in the diagnosis of oral cancers in Isfahan that calls for further investigations.