International Journal of Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Research
Volume:13 Issue: 4, Oct 2019

It is well-known that Aurora kinase A (AURKA) shows oncogenic properties in various tumor types including gastric cancer (GC). Moreover, previous studies have demonstrated that AURKA has a specific androgen receptor (AR) binding site in its promoter; thus, it could be regulated by AR. Since it has been shown that AR overexpresses in gastric cancer (GC) as a male-predominant tumor, the goal of this study was to evaluate the association between AR and AURKA and its prognostic value in GC patients.

We assessed the expression profile of AURKA in 60 fresh GC and adjacent non-tumor tissues and 50 normal gastric specimen by qRT-PCR, and investigated the association of AURKA expression with clinicopathological features. Furthermore, we evaluated possible correlation between AURKA and AR to elucidate a novel prognostic marker using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model.

Among GC patients, 65% (39/60) overexpressed AURKA relative to normal gastric tissues. AURKA overexpression was significantly correlated with the AR overexpression in GC patients. Although AURKA expression alone was not remarkably associated with poor outcome, we provided some evidence that combined evaluation of AURKA and AR expression could independently predict survival of GC patients adjusted for other variables (HR=1.7, CI=1.314-3.833 p=0.042).

These results indicate that AR and AURKA may crosstalk to promote GC progression. Our findings have clinical importance because they suggest simultaneous assessment of AURKA and AR expression as a novel potential prognostic marker.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is an important cause of death following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The association between cholesterol and aGVHD was previously described potentially resulting from pro-inflammatory responses associated with hypercholesterolemia. The aim of this study was to correlate T-cell subsets in donor bone marrow (BM) samples with their levels of cholesterol and associate these results with recipients who developed aGVHD and those who did not.

A prospective study was performed in 39 donor samples. T-cell subsets were analyzed by flow cytometry.

Eleven (28%) donors had hypercholesterolemia. Donor samples with hypercholesterolemia had less Tregs compared to donors with normal levels of cholesterol (22.69 (IQR=30.6) cells/µL vs 52.62 (IQR=44.68) cells/µL, p=0.04). Among all the cohort, aGVHD was observed in 21%: 36% from donors with hypercholesterolemia versus 14% from donors with normal levels of cholesterol. 

As we described the association between hypercholesterolemia and diminished Tregs, our results might suggest that normalizing the levels of total cholesterol in the donor, prior performing allo-HSCT, might be an effective approach to diminish the risk of the receptor to develop aGVHD.

Hematopoetic stem cell transplantation is considered as a standard treatment for cancer patients to stay hopeful toward treatment outcome. However, these patients experience many complications which might affect different aspects of their life. The aim of this study was to investigate the lived experience of patients after hematopoetic stem cell transplantation and introduce supportive care strategies.

In this study, Van Manen’s Hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used. Eleven patients (7 males and 4 females) were chosen by targeted sampling from visitors of Shariati Hospital’s outpatient clinic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and the final data were analyzed by MAXQDA 10 software.

Data analysis revealed that the main theme was resiliency with two sub-themes of “not surrendering to disease” and “feeling closer to God”.

Participants declared that transplantation was like a second chance for life and considered this opportunity as a gift from God to overcome their disease. According to our findings, spirituality aids can help patients control the disturbances following HSCT and health professionals can use constructive strategies to support patients with spiritual needs.

Breast cancer survivors make up a growing population facing treatment that poses long – standing adverse effects including chemotherapy- related sleep disorders and fatigue. There is limited knowledge of patients' lived experiences of chemotherapy- induced sleep disorders and fatigue. The aim of this study was to explore sleep quality and fatigue among breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy

One hundred fifteen patients were included in this census-based cross-sectional study. Data were collected through the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Brief Fatigue Inventory four days after the chemotherapy session. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS software version 13 and P<0.05 was considered significant in all tests.

The mean hours of sleep were 5.6±1.83 in the range of 2 to 10 hours. The mean score of fatigue of participants was 5.59±1.67. Based on the cutting point, 57.4%, 20.9%, and 21.7% of participants had a moderate (4-6.9), mild (0.1-3.9), and severe (7-9.9) level of fatigue, respectively. The mean score of sleep quality among the participants was equal to 14.06±3.06, with a maximum and minimum of 7 and 21. The results of Spearman correlation coefficient showed that there is a significant relationship between fatigue and quality of sleep )0.210).

Since the study findings revealed that patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy experience different degrees of sleep disorders and fatigue and due to the little attention paid to this issue in the medical field, there is a need for more detailed studies to improve the quality of sleep and reduce fatigue in these patients.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a major health problem affecting a significant portion of population. Primary complications are Pulmonary Embolism (PE) in the short term and Post-Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS) in the long term. Thrombolytic drugs act by activating plasminogen which in turn forms the enzyme plasmin. Plasmin consequently degrades blood clots by breaking down the fibrin molecules which make up the clots help to degrade the already formed clot. They can be used using different route of administration, doses and durations. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the outcome of thrombolytic therapy in terms of the efficacy, safety and effectiveness of the medicines.

Electronic searches of databases (MEDLINE and Google Scholar) were queried for articles written in English since 2000 GC. A total of 760 results were obtained using the search keys, and after excluding duplicates, 275 articles were selected. Finally, 9 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which met the language of publication, study design and exclusion criteria were included in this systematic review.

The data were obtained from nine trials (6 countries), providing a study-level data of 1309 participants. Almost all studies revealed that thrombolytic treatment was effective in the management of acute DVT. In most of the studies, the rate of rethrombosis was lower in case of thrombolytic than standard management. Hence, addition of thrombolytic results in persistence and increases the clinical benefits. Thrombolytic therapy was very effective in reversing closed veins, in boosting the patency rate, while reflux was higher in patients treated with anticoagulants.

Thrombolytic offers potential advantages over the standard treatment of DVT by reducing the proportion of patients with chronic disabling leg symptoms (such as PTS) by triple in the longer term. However, the incident of major bleeding was higher in patients receiving thrombolytics

In vitro impact of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and 17b-estradiol (E2) in osteogenic differentiation of castrated rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMMSC) still need to be clarified.

The viability, proliferation and density of cultured rBMMSC isolated from sham operated (Sham) and castrated (Cast) male rats were evaluated. rBMMSC were cultured with osteogenic differentiating medium (ODM) in the presence of DHT (5,10 nM) and E2 (10,100 nM). Osteogenesis was evaluated by alizarin red staining and measurement of calcium deposition and bone alkaline phosphatase (B-ALP) activity.

Population doubling (PD) of rBMMSC isolated from Cast rats was significantly lower (P<0.05) compared to that isolated from Sham rats. rBMMSC from Cast rats showed low scattered calcified nodule after culturing in ODM and did not cause a significant increase in calcium deposition and B-ALP activity compared to rBMMSCs from Sham rats. Exposure of rBMMSC isolated from Cast rats to DHT (5 nM) or E2 (10 nM) in ODM showed medium scattered calcified nodules with significantly higher (P<0.05) calcium deposition and B-ALP activity. Moreover, exposure of rBMMSC to DHT (10 nM) or E2 (100 nM) showed high scattered calcified nodules with higher (P<0.01) calcium deposition and B-ALP activity

These results indicated that the presence of testes might participate in controlling the in vitro proliferation and osteogenic differentiation capacity of rBMMSCs. DHT and E2 can enhance the osteogenic capacity of rBMMSCs in a dose-dependent manner. Based on these observations, optimum usage of DHT and E2 can overcome the limitations of MSCs and advance the therapeutic bone regeneration potential in the future.

Childhood Iron deficiency anemia is one of the main health problems around the world especially underdeveloped countries. Supplementation with micronutrients specifically iron supplementation can be considered as a therapeutic strategy to prevent and treatment of this type of anemia. The aim of the present study is to compare the therapeutic effects of zinc plus iron and iron alone supplementation on the clinical and laboratory features of children with iron deficiency anemia referred to our Hospital in 2016.

88 patients aged 6 months to 4 years old with iron deficiency anemia and after applying exclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups to receive zinc plus iron sulfate or iron sulfate alone supplement for one month. After treatment, clinical symptoms and lab test data including CBC, TIBC and serum iron and ferritin levels were again evaluated. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS15.

After one month of treatment, the clinical symptoms relived significantly in both groups. Also, there was significant changes between the mean value of laboratory parameters before and after treatment within each group (P <0.05). However, after one month of treatment there was no significant difference between the two groups (P> 0.05).

The study revealed both iron alone and zinc plus iron supplementation are effective on the treatment of iron deficiency anemia but there are no significant difference and preference between these two types of treatment.