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Background: Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is one of the important molecules involved in lung cancer initiation and progression. Studies on over expression of EGFR and its survival in relation with Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients have yielded controversial results. Prevalence of EGFR expression in NSCLC patients and 6-month survival in south Indian population is unknown.Methods: We carried out a prospective study in tertiary hospital. Diagnosed patients with NSCLC were included in the study and were interviewed with questionnaire containing demography and investigations like Chest X-ray, CT thorax, Bronchoscopy were recorded. EGFR expression analysis was done for all patients and were followed up monthly for 6 months and details of survival and treatment were collected. Cox regression analysis was used to assess their survival.Results: 50 patients with NSCLC were included. Forty-four (88%) were men, median age of study group was 65 years. Twenty-seven patients (54%) had Adenocarcinoma, 14 patients (28%) had Squamous cell carcinoma, 7 patients (14%) had poorly differentiated carcinoma and 2 patients (4%) had large cell carcinoma. Thirty-four (68%) samples were positive for EGFR expression. On multivariate analysis we found patients who took chemotherapy and with good performance status (Karnofsky score >65 and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group >2.5) had better survival at 6 months.Conclusions: Patients with EGFR positivity had better survival with chemotherapy but worse with radiotherapy. Patients who took chemotherapy and had good performance status had better survival on multivariate analysis. We didn’t find any correlation between EGFR positivity and poor survival.
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PURPOSE: Asthma is a complex disease caused by interplay of genes and environment on the genome of an individual. Copy number variations (CNVs) are more common compared to the other variations that disrupt genome organization. The effect of CNVs on asthma subgenome has been less studied compared to studies on the other variations. We report the assessments of CNV burden in asthma genes of normal cohorts carried out in different geographical areas of the world and discuss the relevance of the observation with respect to asthma pathogenesis. METHODS: CNV analysis was performed using Affymerix high-resolution arrays, and various bioinformatics tools were used to understand the influence of genes on asthma pathogenesis. RESULTS: This study identified 61 genes associated with asthma and provided various mechanisms and pathways underlying asthma pathogenesis. CCL3L1, ADAM8, and MUC5B were the most prevalent asthma genes. Among them, CCL3L1 was found across all 12 populations in varying copy number states. This study also identified the inheritance of asthma-CNVs from parents to offspring creating the latent period for manifestation of asthma. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed CNV burden with varying copy number states and identified susceptibility towards the disease manifestation. It can be hypothesized that primary CNVs may not be the initiating event in the pathogenesis of asthma and additional preceding mutations or CNVs may be required. The initiator or primary CNVs sensitize normal cohorts leading to an increased probability of accumulating mutations or exposure to allergic stimulating agents that can augment the development of asthma.
Subject(s)
Humans , Asthma , Cohort Studies , Computational Biology , DNA Copy Number Variations , Genetic Markers , Genome , Inheritance Patterns , Parents , WillsABSTRACT
Aims: Procalcitonin, the prohormone precursor of calcitonin rises in serum response to bacterial infections. Circulating PCT levels decrease when the infection is controlled by the host immune system or antibiotic therapy. The present study was conducted to measure the diagnostic and prognostic utility of procalcitonin in tuberculosis. Methodology: The study group consisted of forty patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and forty normal controls (NC). Blood was collected from NC and PTB (labeled as PTB-0). Patients underwent the 4-drug chemotherapy for 2 months following which blood was collected again (labeled as PTB-2). They were continued into the next 4 months of the 2-drug regimen. Blood was collected thereafter and labeled as PTB-6. All blood samples were semiquantitatively analyzed for procalcitonin. Results: Serum PCT was < 0.5 ng/ml in thirty seven out of forty normal controls and > 2 ng/ml in three. The prohormone level was > 2ng/ml in fifteen and > 10 ng/ml in the rest of the PTB-0 subjects, thus indicating that PCT levels served as a useful marker of infection in PTB patients at diagnosis. After 2 months of intensive treatment the number of patients with PCT levels > 10 ng/ml increased to thirty two in PTB-2. Only 8 patients recorded plasma PCT levels > 2 ng/ml. At the end of 6 months of treatment, PCT values in all patients had decreased to < 2 ng/ml. Conclusion: Serum PCT seemed to show diagnostic and prognostic utility at the end of treatment however, PCT is not specific for tuberculosis alone and may be raised in other lung infections. Future studies with quantitative analysis of PCT in tuberculosis in comparison to other lung infections are needed for better understanding of the role of PCT in PTB.
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We report a case of reversible blindness in a lady with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with nephritis and accelerated hypertension. CT scan brain revealed a symmetric hypodense lesion of the occipital lobes , which disappeared in two weeks time with treatment.