بابک سمیع زاده

HER2, a molecular biomarker, is routinely evaluated in breast cancer patients to guide therapeutic decisions. However, the concordance of HER2 status between core-needle biopsy (CNB) and surgical specimen (SS) samples is not always high, potentially affecting the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment. This study aims to review recent studies assessing the agreement of HER2 status between CNB and SS samples in breast cancer patients.

A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases from January 2018 to August 2023 using the keywords: concordance, core needle biopsy, resection, HER2 status. Ten articles meeting the inclusion criteria were selected for this review.

The results demonstrated variable concordance rates of HER2 status between CNB and SS samples, ranging from 83.3% to 99.5%. The primary factors influencing discordance were tumor heterogeneity, preoperative treatment, sampling error, and differing testing methods. Discordance was more prevalent in HER2-negative and HER2-low tumors compared to HER2-positive tumors.

The concordance of HER2 status between CNB and SS samples is generally high but not perfect. Therefore, retesting HER2 status on SS samples is recommended to ensure optimal treatment decisions for breast cancer patients.

Punica granatum is a non-productive form of a plant and is used for the treatment of diseases in traditional medicine. In this study, we evaluate the antibacterial activity and the total phenol compounds of Punica granatum.
Disk and well diffusion methods and MIC were used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of hydro-alcoholic extract on S. aureus and E. coli compared to standard commercial antibiotic disks. Measurement of phenol compounds were performed by Seevers and Daly colorimetric methods (Folin-ciocalteu indicator).
35 and 29 mm inhibition zones in S. aureus and 22 and 17 mm inhibition zones in E. coli were shown by disk and well diffusion method, respectively. Also, 7.8 mg/ml concentration of extract showed the MIC points for two bacteria. Phenol compound of extract was 233.15±5.1 mg/g of extraction.
Antibacterial effect of Punica granatum compared to antibiotics indicates the strong activity against examined bacteria. Extensive antibacterial study of Punica granatum is suggested.

Coronary angiography has become the largest interventional diagnostic test in recent years. As it has had large effects on anxiety and satisfaction of patients in treatment and care; the objective of the present study is to survey the reasons for which the patients, referring to cardiac ward of Valiasr hospital in Fasa, refuse to undergo coronary angiography. In this cross-sectional study, 60 individuals candidate for coronary angiography were selected. The samples were selected via census. The tool for collecting the data was a researcher-made questionnaire. The data were analyzed by SPSS-15 software, descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney test, and Kruskal- Wallis test. The mean age of the samples was 58/9±12/8 years. Financial problems, fear and anxiety, lack of awareness, and lack of confidence in the physician’s diagnosis were the most important factors. The effect of fear has been reported more in women compared to men for refusing coronary angiography (p=.037). According to the above results, financial problems, fear and anxiety, lack of awareness, and lack of confidence in the physician’s diagnosis are the factors effective in accepting coronary angiography. Therefore, more contrivances are needed to eliminate these effective factors; in order to prepare cardiac patients, who are candidate for coronary angiography, a tranquility to accept and to perform angiography.