ABSTRACT
Introduction: Brain metastasis (BM) is significantly seen in lung adenocarcinoma and adversely affects survival. We aimed to evaluatethe factors affecting the prognosis in patients with BM diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma. Materials and Methods: Patients with BM between 2012 and 2022 were reviewed retrospectively. Demographic characteristics of the patients, primary tumor characteristics,presence of mutation, BM number, localization, size, development time, and treatment characteristics were evaluated. Inflammatoryindices at the time of BM were examined. The overall survival time was calculated. Results: About 92.9% of 113 patients were male, the median age was 62 years (54.5–68.5), and follow‑up was 8 months (3–18). BM was detected at the time of diagnosis in 62 (54.9%)of the patients, whereas BM developed later in 51 (45.1%) patients. Systemic treatment was applied to 72.5% of the patients. Survivalwas lower in patients with BM at diagnosis (4 vs. 14 months, P < 0.001). Primary tumor maximum standardized uptake value level was higher on fluorodeoxyglucose‑positron emission tomography‑computed tomography at diagnosis in patients with late BM (P = 0.004). The development time of BM was 9 months (4–16), and the median survival was 8 months (6.2–9.8). There was no difference betweentumor localization or inflammatory indices and the development of BM and prognosis. The presence of BM at diagnosis and lack of systemic treatment were found to be factors that independently reduced survival (P < 0.001, P = 0.007). Conclusion: The presence of BM at diagnosis significantly reduces survival. It has been observed that systemic treatments applied in addition to local treatments have a positive effect on the prognosis.
ABSTRACT
SUMMARY OBJECTIVES: Black cumin is widely used as a spice and as a traditional treatment. The active ingredient in black cumin seeds is thymoquinone. Thymoquinone has shown anticancer effects in some cancers. We planned to investigate its anticancer effect on pancreatic cancer cell lines. METHODS: Thymoquinone chemical component in various doses was prepared and inoculated on pancreatic cancer cell culture, healthy mesenchymal stem cells, and peripheral blood mononuclear cell culture. IC50 values were calculated by absorbance data and measuring cell viability by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide staining of cells incubated with thymoquinone at 24, 48, and 72 h. RESULTS: There was dose-related cytotoxicity. Maximal cytotoxicity was observed at 24 h and 100 μM thymoquinone concentrations in pancreatic cancer cell culture and mesenchymal stem cells. Any concentration of thymoquinone was not cytotoxic to peripheral blood mononuclear cell. Thymoquinone even caused proliferation at a concentration of 6.25 μM. CONCLUSIONS: Since the cytotoxic concentration of thymoquinone on pancreatic cancer cell culture and mesenchymal stem cells is the same, it is not appropriate to use thymoquinone to achieve cytotoxicity in pancreatic cancer. However, since thymoquinone provides proliferation in peripheral blood mononuclear cell at a noncytotoxic dose, it may have an immune activator effect. Therefore, in vivo studies are needed to investigate the effect of thymoquinone on the immune system.