ABSTRACT
Background: Head and neck cancer [HNC] represents more than 550,000 cases annually. It accounts for 380,000 deaths every year. Despite aggressive treatment, only 35% to 55% of patients who present with locally advanced HNC remain alive and free of disease 3 years after standard curative treatment. Thirty percent to 40% of patients develop locoregional recurrences, and distant metastases occur in 20% to 30%. Most recurrences appear quickly within 2 years of initial treatment and an additional 10% of patients will have evidence of distant metastases at the time of first presentation
Purpose: To retrospectively determine the prognostic effect of T stage in locally advanced head and neck cancer
Patients and Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 40 patients diagnosed with locally advanced head and neck cancer. Patients were diagnosed by a tissue biopsy and they were staged by endoscope and CT neck or MRI neck with contrast. They received their treatment and were followed up every 3 months by CTs
Results: We found a statistically significant correlation between T stage and both PFS and OS in HNC [95%, CI 1.00 - 3.10, p=0.04 and 95% CI 1.01 - 2.65, p=0.05 respectively]. We did not find any other statistically significant correlation between other patients sub-groups such as age, gender, smoking, affected site, stage, lymph node infiltration, receiving induction chemotherapy, receiving radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy, and response to treatment and between PFS and OS
Conclusion: This study confirmed that the T stage of the tumor is an important prognostic factor in locally advanced head and neck cancer
ABSTRACT
Background: The prognostic value of Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio [PLR] in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer [NSCLC] is still indistinct. We conducted this study to assess the prognostic significance of pretreatment PLR in patients with unresectable NSCLC
Aim of the Work: to assess the prognostic significance of pre-treatment PLR in patients with NSCLC
Material and Methods: we retrospectively reviewed 130 patients treated for NSCLC with definitive/palliative chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy in Ain-Shams University hospital, Clinical Oncology department between January 2014 and December 2016. Pre-treatment CBC was available for the 130 patients to calculate PLR by dividing the absolute platelet count by the absolute lymphocytic count
Results: Out of 130 patients with available pre-treatment complete blood picture, population age ranged from 23 to 87 years. Male to female ratio was 4.8:1. Adenocarcinoma presents 51% of cases. Unresectable stage II and stage III present 2% and 27% respectively, while Stage IV presents 69%. Using a cut-off value of 150, high PLR>150 was significantly associated with poor overall survival [OS] [median OS: 10.33 months; 95% CI: 6.23-14.42], compared to patients with PLR<150; [median OS: 24.63 months, 95% CI: 11.5-37.76, p=0.008], but not PFS. In multivariate analysis, PLR>150 was an independent poor prognostic factor for OS; [HR=1.9, 95% CI; 1.092-3.3, p=0.023]
Conclusion: High PLR is associated with poor OS in patients with unresectable NSCLC
ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy [NAC] in breast cancer induces a pCR in only 30-35% of patients. We canft depend only on clinical and pathological factors to distinguish the patients who have no chance of a pCR or not. Moreover, the NAC scenario is the perfect setting to study possible changes in TIL levels. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes [TIL] [CD] 8+ are essential components of tumor-specific cellular adaptive immunity. However, only few studies have addressed the significance of [CD8+] TIL in patients with breast cancer
Patients and Methods: we assessed the stromal and intratumral TIL, CD+8 in pretreatment core biopsy by immuohistochemistry [IHC] in 45 patients with breast cancer received neoadjuvant anthracyclin and docetaxel chemotherapy. CD8 classified into high or low according to the inter quartile range. Tumors with >/= 50% intratumoral or stromal lymphocytes were designated lymphocyte predominant breast cancer [LPBC]
Results: we found statistically significant correlation with high CD8 and DFS and smaller tumor residual [95% CI, 18.6-22.9; P= 0.01] and [p=0.003] respectively. But there was no significant difference regarding pCR or OS between high and low groups
Conclusion: this study confirmed that the CD8 TIL is an important prognostic and predictive factor in breast cancer
ABSTRACT
Aim: The aim of the study is to find differences and factors associated to musculoskeletal disorders in male and female patients in primary health care units in Egypt. Subjects and Methods: This is an exploratory cross-sectional study of a sample of 396 patients with musculoskeletal disorders- 44.7% men and 55.3% women - in primary health care settings in a rural and urban area. Aside from demographic characteristics, the questionnaires included the modified Nordic Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) items, duration of disease, family history, physical activities, effect of MSD on life, other diseases and an abbreviated depression score. Male and female patients were compared in the analysis. Chi-square, t-test, ANOVA were used as significance tests. Results: The primary MSD for men (36%) and women (40%) is back pain. The age of female patients with back pain was 8.4 years younger (p=0.001) than that of male patients. Women with neck pain were 15.9 years (p=0.001) younger than the men and those with a rheumatic disorder, 18.8 years (p=0.02). Factors related to MSDs in men are accidents, strenuous work and smoking; while factors for women are hormonal medication, family history of MSDs and less physical activities. There was no difference between men and women as regards the depression scores for each MSD. Conclusion: Female patients suffer from musculoskeletal diseases at a significantly younger age than male patients. Both genders have different risk factors associated with MSDs. Depression scores for MSDs are low.
ABSTRACT
Background: the Internet has become an important tool for social interaction, information, and entertainment. Studies have shown that the percentage of students using the Internet has increased dramatically. However, as the Internet has moved into homes, schools, Internet cafes, and businesses, there has been a rapidly growing public awareness of the potential adverse effects arising from excessive, maladaptive or addictive Internet usage, which are a condition also known by terms such as problematic Internet use [PIU], Internet dependence and pathological Internet use
Aim of the study: 1- To determine the general characteristics of Internet users among Al-Azhar under graduate university students in Cairo. 2- To explore the problematic Internet use [PIU] among under graduate university students based on the Internet activities . 3- To investigate the difference between males and females regarding PIU
Materials and methods: a cross sectional study was conducted on a sample of 600 undergraduate university students including both scientific and literary collages of Al-Azhar Universities for girls and boys in Cairo. This sample was chosen randomly through on line questionnaire. All participants voluntarily participated in the present study to identify the extent of problematic Internet use among university students. On line self-administered questionnaire that designed to include different items
Results: female students had significantly lower PIU levels on all dimensions [i.e., social comfort, loneliness/depression, diminished impulse control and distraction] than those of males. Furthermore, the results reveal that the students who use internet frequently [3-6 hours/day] and those who use it for entertainment [e.g., game], chat, news [policy or sports news] and social networking purposes have significantly higher PIU levels on all dimensions than the students who use it for less than 3 hours/day or for scientific purposes. Moreover, multiple regression analyses reveal that gender and time spent online daily are significant predictors of PIU and its all dimension except for diminished impulse control only time spent online daily is the predictor.
Conclusion: males are more at risk than females in terms of problematic Internet use. The effect of duration of daily internet use on cognitions about PIU was found to be significant in all analyses.
Recommendation: the students should be informed about the association between long use of internet /day and PIU to protect them from negative consequences PIU
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Young Adult , Students , UniversitiesABSTRACT
Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease in developed nations and is a complex has high social and economic costs. Asthma and its associated intermediate phenotypes are under a substantial degree of genetic control. Identifying the genes underlying asthma offers a means of better understanding its pathogenesis.IL-13 is a critical mediator of asthma and allergy. Recent attention has focused on the mechanisms that it uses to induce tissue alterations. IL-13 is a potent stimulator of eosinophilic inflammation, airway fibrosis, mucus metaplasia and airway hyperresponsiveness, Common single-nucleotide polymorphisms in IL-13 are associated with allergic phenotypes in several ethnically diverse populations. In particular, IL13+2044G-A is expected to result in the nonconservative replacement of arginine 130 [R130] with glutamine [Q]. IL-13 variant was able to engage T cells, which depends on enhanced IL-13 mediated Th2 differentiation. Data indicate that natural variation in the coding region of IL-13 may be an important genetic determinant of susceptibility to allergy. Increased serum IgE levels have been found in carriers of IL13+2044A in several populations, raising the possibility that expression of IL-13 R130Q and increased IgE class switching might be mechanistically linked]
Objective: To outline the association of the IL-13 genetic variant R130Q with childhood bronchial asthma and its relation to various clinical and laboratory phenotypes of the disease
Methods: The study was carried out from July 2005 to June 2006. Patients asthmatics enrolled from Allergy and Immunology Unit of Ain Shams University Children's Hospital. All the studied children were subjected to: history taking, careful clinical examination, CBC, serum total IgE by the ELISA technique and detection of IL-13 gene polymorphism [R130Q] by PCR amplification followed by sequencing
Results: The results of the present study showed a significant difference between asthmatic children and controls regarding the frequency of distribution of R130Q genotype which was present in 50% of patients and 15% of controls. No significant differences were observed between patients with IL-13 polymorphism R130Q and those without as regards family history, URTI, food allergy or asthma grading. The serum total IgE as percent of normal was significantly higher in asthmatic patients as compared to controls. While no significant difference was observed between both groups as regard the absolute eisinophilic count[AEC]. Serum total IgE was significantly higher in asthmatics with GA genotype as compared to those with GG genotype. A similar finding was also observed among control group. Finally a significantly higher AEC was observed in controls with GA as compared to GG genotype
Conclusion: the common variant IL-13 gene polymorphism R130Q is associated with the risk of development of pediatric asthma as reflected by the higher laboratory parameters of asthma namely serum total IgE and AEC. Further studies should focus also on other loci on 5q 31-33 such as within the IL-4 and IL-5 genes in the production of the allergic phenotypes and it becomes a necessity to establish the exact genetic profile of our Egyptian asthmatic children. This will help to direct future research in the field of gene therapy of asthma to suit asthmatic children in our country