Alterations of erythrocyte membrane lipids and adenosine triphosphatases in breast cancer patients treated with CMF: a role of antioxidant supplementation

This study was carried out on 20 premenopausal females with breast cancer submitted to modified radical mastectomy, divided into two groups: the first received cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil [CMF] as adjuvant chemotherapy and the second was given antioxidant together with the same dose of CMF for 6 cycles. Ten healthy females were served as controls. The effect of CMF with and without antioxidant supplementation on etythrocyte membrane lipids, [Na[+]/K[+]] and [Ca[2+]-Mg[2+]] adenosine triphosphatases [ATPases] in premenopausal breast cancer patients was tudied. There were significant alterations in erythrocyte membrane lipids including holesterol, phospholipids and fatty acid pattern as well as a significant increase in lipid peroxidation, in CMF-treated breast cancer patients as compared with controls was observed. These results could be explained on the basis of increased hydrolysis of fatty acyl chains of membrane phospholipids induced by increased free radical formation. Regarding the activities of erythrocyte membrane [Na[+]/K[+] and [Ca[2]-Mg[2]]-APases, both were significantly lower in cancer patients after surgery and after CMF treatment as compared with controls. After antioxidant supplementation to CMF-treated breast cancer patients, significant alterations in most of studied parameters, approaching normal values, were observed when compared with those of patients receiving CMF alone. This could be explained on the basis of a reduction in lipid peroxide levels due to the decrease n free radical stress. Accordingly, antioxidant supplementation during treatment with CMF may be of benefit in protection against the toxic effect of CMF and its metabolites among breast cancer patients

Expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-I [ICAM-1] in tissues and serum before and after treatment of colon carcinoma

Cellular adhesion molecules have been demonstrated to play an important role in the progression and metastasis of malignancy. The aim of our study was to correlate the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 [ICAM-1] in normal colonic tissues versus cancer tissues and its serum levels before treatment as well as the correlation of sICAM-1 before and after surgery and 6 cycles of chemotherapy and its relation to clinical staging and pathological grades in an attempt to find its role in diagnosis and prognosis of colon carcinoma. We investigated the immunohistochemical expression of adhesion molecule ICAM-1 in 30 primary colon carcinomas. The normal colonic tissue from the same patients served as tissue control. We studied the serum concentration of circulating ICAM-1 in these patients before and after surgery and 6 cycles of chemotherapy together with 30 controls. Strong to moderate immunostaining was found in cancerous cases and was restricted to intercellular matrix and vascular endothelial cells. ICAM-1 was more intense in well differentiated carcinomas. sICAM-1 levels were increased in all colon carcinoma before treatment compared to control and were directly proportional to the advancement of clinical stage and tumour pathological grade. sICAM-1 levels were significantly decreased after surgery and chemotherapy. Patients who did not respond to chemotherapy showed progressive increase in sICAM-1 level. Over expression of ICAM-1 might prevent cell-cell disruption and tumour dissemination. The serum level of sICAM-1 correlates well with the clinical stage and pathological grade of the disease and may be used to predict the patient response to treatment. It may be of diagnostic and prognostic significance in colon carcinoma

Effect of fixation of skin flaps on seroma formation after mastectomy

Post mastectomy seroma can lead to morbid sequelae. Thirty females, divided into 2 equal matched groups, were submitted to modified radical mastectomy for operable cancer breast in the surgical deprtment of the Medical Research Institute. For group I, dead space was reduced by suturing skin flaps to underlying chest wall muscles to determine its effect on post mastectomy seroma, while group II acted as control. Group I showed statistically significant better results than group II as regards mean total discharge [P<0.001] and mean discharge per day [P<0.001]. Wound discharge ceased within 2-4 days and 5-9 days in group [I] and [II] respectively. This technique is recommended to be used to reduce post-mastectomy seroma formation, moreover, it has beneficial clinical and economic effects