Impact of education on awareness towards reproductive health in women with beta-thalassemia major

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of nursing educational programs on the awareness of females with beta-thalassemia major [beta-TM] regarding their disease and reproductive health

Methods: Thirty-nine consecutive female patients with beta-TM [age range between 20 and 32 years] participated in this interventional pre-post study. All patients attended the Thalassemia Clinic of Dastgheib hospital, a referral governmental center in Shiraz, Southern Iran. Awareness of patients regarding reproductive health was evaluated by a designed questionnaire. The intervention consisted of nursing educational program regarding important issues related to reproductive health of female patients with beta-TM. Knowledge of patients was revaluated and compared with their knowledge before education. Data were analyzed using SPSS software v.21 using Paired t-test, Pearson correlation test and Mann-Whitney test

Results: Total awareness score significantly increased after education [mean +/- standard deviation [SD]: 16.12 +/- 1.67 vs. 13.69 +/- 2.35, P < 0.001]. Increased knowledge of patients after the intervention was not significantly associated with educational level or with age of the patients [P = 0.058 and P = 0.395, respectively]

Conclusions: An educational program can be helpful in increasing awareness of females with beta-TM regarding their disease and reproductive health issues resulting in increased life expectancy and quality of life

[Study of the association between estrogen receptor alpha gene expression in the levels of RNA and protein in primary breast tumors]

Estrogen receptor alpha protein status is determined by routine immunohistochemistry analysis in all malignant breast tumors. This assay has its limitations. RNA based techniques are potential complements for immunohistochemistry but it must be noticed that gene silencing may occur at different levels from RNA to protein. The aim of this study was the comparison of the results from these two assays and characterizing the tumors subgroup in which gene expression occurs at RNA level but the target protein is absent. 92 primary breast tumors including their clinical and IHC results were collected before treatment. Estrogen receptor gene expression of tumors was studied by Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction [RT PCR]. In this assay, GAPDH was used as a reference gene. 36.6% of tumors with negative estrogen receptor protein showed gene expression at mRNA level. In this subgroup most of the patient were older than 50 years and in stages 3 or 4 of breast cancer and had poor prognosis according to Nottingham prognostic index. Most cases of the perineural invasion have been seen in this subgroup. It seems that RT-PCR assay would enable us to recognize a subgroup of breast tumors with poor prognosis which expresses RNA but not protein

[ prevalence of common mutation frequency in K-ras codons 12, 13 in Iranian Colorectal Cancer patients]

Colorectal cancer [CRC] is the most gastrointestinal cancer in United States and Europe. It is the third most common cancer in Iranian men, and fourth in Iranian women. Codons 12 and 13 are the hot spots for mutations in colorectal cancer patients, which encodes the activated RAS protein. According to recent researches, somatic mutations in codons 12, 13 [exon1] of K-ras gene are discovered in 20%-50% human CRCs. The aim of this study was to estimate the contribution of K-ras gene mutations in codons 12, 13 in the incidence, and its association with clinicopathologic information like age, sex, familial history, site of primary and histology in Iranian colorectal cancer patients. In this study, we have analyzed 59 tissue specimens of colorectal cancer patients using PCR/sequencing method for codons 12, 13 of K-ras gene. 20.3% of patients [10 in codon 12 and 2 in codon 13] have shown a point mutation. About 60% of mutations occur in rectum and 41.7% in colon. More than 80% of mutations were in adenocarcinomas and less mutations in mucinous. Most mutations were found over the age of 60. Only two patients [16.6%] had a familial history for cancer. According to low rates of k-ras mutations in codons 12, 13, we can say they are not common in Iranian patients. The mutation pattern for Iranian patients differs from other nationalities. Perhaps we can find point mutations in other exons, and we suggest whole genome sequencing for our patients