Serum Her-2/Neu a potential biomarker in breast cancer patients: correlation with the clinico-pathological parameters

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women, and a major cause of mortality and morbidity despite the advances in diagnosis and treatment. There is evidence that changes in HER2 protein expressions are associated with breast cancer progression

Objective: To investigate whether measuring this tumour marker in serum of breast cancer patients before and after treatment might also be useful markers in the diagnosis, screening and monitoring the malignant tumour progression and response to therapy

Methods: Serum samples were obtained from [28] apparently healthy women [Control Group] with a mean age of 40.9 +/- 7.6 years and [60] female patients complaining from primary breast cancer [Patients Group] with a mean age of 48.3 +/- 8.9 years. They were divided according to their clinical end point into: Pre-Surgical Group, Post-Surgical Group and post- chemotherapy Group. Serum Her-2/nue level was measured using ELISA kits

Results: Level of Her2/neu [3130.4 pg/ml] was significantly higher in after 6 cycles of chemotherapy group than each of control [1400.8 pg/ml], before surgery [1597 pg/ml] and after surgery [1487.4 pg/ml] [P <0.05]. Her2/neu is effective test only after 6 cycle chemotherapy with an accuracy of 95.2%. The best performance for Her2neu was observed at values >/= 1464 pg/ml [sensitivity = 95% and specificity = 6 1%]. There were significant influences of the studied personal and the pathological characteristics of the tumour upon the biomarker levels where the levels were significantly higher with the increase of tumour pathological stage and in the presence of positive status for Her2neu receptors [P <0.05]

Conclusion: In this study there was a statistically significant association between tissue HER-2/neu and serum HER-2 /neu levels in the extracellular domain. It could be concluded that using serum Her-2/neu in patients after six cycles chemotherapy could predict response to therapy

study on the prevalence of dyslipidemic disorder among residents of Karbala city

Dyslipidemia is a common health problem. The present study was to estimate the prevalence of dyslipidemia as defined by the NCEP ATP3 criteria among people living in Karbala city. The investigations were performed on a sample of 130 subjects selected arbitrarily from those attending the public clinic in AL Hussainy teaching hospital in Karbala for consultation and from some subjects accompanying the patients. Fasting blood samples for routine lipid analyses from each subject were obtained after informing them about the project and having their approval. In this sample of subjects it was found that 72.3% of them had a plasma TC level lower than 200mg/dl. This study also determined a prevalence of hypertriglyceridemias in 23.3% of study subjects who have a borderline TG level. The prevalence of high and very high TG among them were 6.9% and 4.4% respectively. The frequency of LDL-C levels above 160 mg/dl was found to be about 1% of the sample. Borderline levels of LDL-C was found in 7.3%of the sample. In the meantime the prevalence of low HDL-C levels in this study was found to be 39.2% of the subjects who had a serum level of HDL-C less than 40mg/dl. In conclusion this study demonstrated a very high prevalence of dyslipidemia among Iraqi adult subjects living in Karbala city. A public health strategy for prevention, detection and treatment of this disorder is needed

B-natriuretic peptide level as a predictor for the severity of LV dysfunction

B -Natriuretic peptide is a neurohormone normally synthesized in ventricular heart muscle and known to be released in situations when left ventricular wall stress increases, it has a variety of physiological functions on its own, that are thought to be compensatory. The aim of this study was to apply B-natriuretic peptide [BNP] as a biomarker and to correlate its levels with the severity of heart failure using certain selected parameters as indicators of cardiac function. Forty Six [46] patients with provisional diagnosis of heart failure were chosen for this work, thirty six [36] males and ten [10] females, their age ranged between 33 and 80 years. All underwent complete physical examination and ECG tracing together with ECHO/DOPPLER examination for heart failure. Eleven [11] healthy subjects were chosen as control group for purpose of comparison. The patients were divided into groups, according to Age, Gender, BMI whether they had the following selected associated diseases: [IHD, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus], smoking habit. Drugs intake, cardiac chambers dilatation including [LV in systole and diastole, RV, and LA], EF%, FS%, degree of diastolic impairment, LV Segmental wall motion abnormalities. Five ml [5ml] specimen of venous blood were aspirated from each patient, and also the control group for estimation of BNP level using ELIZA technique. There was a significant difference in mean serum BNP levels between cases of congestive heart failure and control group. Considering the subject as a positive for heart failure if his BNP level was >/= 375pmol/l, at this cutoff value there will be a sensitivity of 80.4% and specificity of 100%. Also the study showed highest values of mean BNP in those patients having restrictive pattern of diastolic dysfunction. BNP was used as a biomarker for the first time in Iraq to diagnose congestive heart failure. The role of BNP as a guide to determine the severity of heart failure and the efficacy of treatment was promising, so BNP fulfill most of the criteria in patients with suspected heart failure. At this point it was found that the mean of the right ventricular dimensions were significantly higher in the group with highest BNP quartile compared to lowest quartile BNP group, probably reflecting more severe form of impaired cardiac function and heart failure, a finding which has not been mentioned in any earlier studies in the same field

Lipid profile and the effect of some metabolic hormones on diabetic elderlies

Physiological systems have substantial reserves in younger individuals to maintain the vital activities of the body. The process of aging and intercurrent pathologic process gradually eliminates these reserves. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is age related. Because elderly patients with diabetes are living longer and are likely to use increasing amount of scarce health care resources in the next several decades, diabetes in age adults may ultimately prove to be the most important epidemic of the 21st century. The aim of this study is to investigate the interrelation between diabetes and some metabolic hormones in elderly people in order to improve status of patients with various metabolic defects of diabetes, because elderly patients with diabetes use almost twice as many inpatients and outpatients resources as elderly people without diabetes. This study was performed on 51 elderly subjects. Hormones studied included serum T3, T4 and cortisol. Other biochemical parameters included lipid profile and glucose. Results revealed increased prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, as well as increased levels of serum triglycerides in diabetic elderly than in normals. T3 and T4 showed values in patients less than in the control group, while cortisol appeared to be higher in the former. Furthermore nutritional recommendations for healthy lifestyle for elderly type 2 diabetes are very important because many persons with type 2 diabetes are overweight and insulin resistant medical nutrition therapy should emphasize lifestyle changes that result in reduced energy intake and increases expenditure through physical activity