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The National Spinal Cord Injury Registry of Iran (NSCIR-IR) is a not-for-profit, hospital-based, and prospective observational registry that appraises the quality of care, long-term outcomes and the personal and psychological burden of traumatic spinal cord injury in Iran. Benchmarking validity in every registry includes rigorous attention to data quality. Data quality assurance is essential for any registry to make sure that correct patients are being enrolled and that the data being collected are valid. We reviewed strengths and weaknesses of the NSCIR-IR while considering the methodological guidelines and recommendations for efficient and rational governance of patient registries. In summary, the steering committee, funded and maintained by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran, the international collaborations, continued staff training, suitable data quality, and the ethical approval are considered to be the strengths of the registry, while limited human and financial resources, poor interoperability with other health systems, and time-consuming processes are among its main weaknesses.
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Background: Several research priority-setting studies have been conducted in different countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Aims: We conducted a systematic review and evaluated the quality of the priority-setting reports about health research in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Methods: English and Farsi databases were searched from January to July 2016 to extract reports [up to December 2015] about priority setting in health research in the Islamic Republic of Iran. We constructed a checklist to extract data from the identified studies. Articles were studied in detail and content analysis was carried out. Relevant items were scored and analysed using Microsoft Excel.
Results: We identified 36 articles. Eight articles involved all the main stakeholders. About half the articles used valid criteria for ranking. Transparency was fulfilled in 13 articles. Upstream rules and regulations were ignored in 26 articles. An implementation plan was considered in 9 articles and context analysis was demonstrated in only 3.
Conclusions: Developing standard packages for priority setting, training of researchers and improving the capacity of organizations may improve the quality of priority-setting studies in the future.
Subject(s)
Research , Health , Health PrioritiesABSTRACT
Background: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of outer dense fiber 4 [ODF4], melanoma associated antigen A3 [MAGEA3], and MAGEAB4 mRNAs in transitional cell carcinoma [TCC], using a small amount of cell reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] on urinary exfoliated cells
Methods: We recruited a total of 105 suspected TCC patients and 54 sex- and age-matched non-TCC controls. The candidates' genetic expression patterns were investigated with RT-PCR, while reverse transcription quantitative PCR was applied to quantify and compare each mRNA level between cases and control groups
Results: The sensitivity of ODF4, MAGEA3, and MAGEAB4 RT-PCR was 54.8%, 63%, and 53.4%, whereas the specificity was 73.7%, 86%, and 94.7%, respectively. Combining ODF4, MAGEA3, and MAGEAB4 RT-PCR offered a relatively higher sensitivity [83.6%]
Conclusion: RT-PCR with ODF4, MAGEA3, and MAGEAB4 on urinary exfoliated cells could provide clinicians with a promising method to improve TCC diagnosis, especially in the case of gross hematuria and catheterization. The method used here is non-invasive, simple and convenient, and unlike cytology, it does not rely directly on expert professional opinions. These features can be of particular importance to the management of TCC patients in whom regular and lifelong surveillance is required
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Adult , Middle Aged , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/diagnosis , Urologic Neoplasms/genetics , Biomarkers, Tumor , Sperm Tail , Seminal Plasma Proteins , Antigens, Neoplasm , Neoplasm ProteinsABSTRACT
McGill pain questionnaire is the most useful standard tools for assessing pain. McGill pain questionnaire contains 78-word descriptive of the 20 subclasses forming in three main sensory, affective and evaluative domains. Due to cultural differences, the questionnaire has been translated into several languages. This study aimed to translate MPQ into Persian language and assess its reliability, validity and acceptability in patients with cancer. The study performed in Medical Oncology Department of Cancer Institute in Imam Khomeini Hospital in the Spring 2012. After translation of MPQ by two experts fluent in English, Persian version was returned to English. Then that backward translation was compared with the original questionnaire and words that did not match were reviewed. Patients with different types of cancer who suffering from chronic pain were admitted in our study. They did not receive any kind of pain killer drugs during the previous 24 hours. There was no restriction of age, sex, education, type of cancer or treatment modality. The reliability and validity of Persian-McGill pain questionnaire after interviewing patients was assessed by test-retest reliability and internal consistency [Cronbach's alpha]. In total, 84 patients were interviewed and 30 patients who were available after 24 hour with the same condition recomplete the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha of each domain was in 0.622-0.743 and total Crobach's alpha [n=84] was 0.85. Evaluative aspect has only one subgroup and because of this, it is not have Crobach's alpha. The stability coefficient [n=30] in all areas [sensory, emotional, and other domains] were 0.812-0.964. Stability coefficient among the 20 Persian McGill Pain Questionnaire [PMPQ] subclasses showed significant and reliable relationships over time for all groups. This study is the first study that assessed psychometric properties and usefulness of the MPQ in Iranian patients with cancer, showed that it is a potentially useful measure with a high validity and reliability standards
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The mitochondrial DNA [mtDNA] mutations in mitochondrial coding and non coding regions seem to be important in carcinogenesis. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate coding region [mttRNA[Phe] and tRNA[Pro]] and non-coding sequence, mitochondrial displacement loop [mtDNA D-loop], in the cancerous and non-cancerous lesions of Iranian patients with breast cancer [BC]. Genomic DNA was extracted from 50 breast tumors and surrounding normal tissue pairs as well as from 50 unrelated normal breast tissues from Iranian Kurdish population. Subsequently, PCR amplification was performed using specific primers, and then PCR products were subjected to direct sequencing. 41 genetic variants were identified in mtDNA D-loop among tumoral and non-tumoral tissues but not in tRNA[Phe] and tRNA[Pro] sequences. Our findings indicated that C182T, 194insT, 285insA and 16342delT were just found in BC tumors whereas 302insC, C309T and C16069T found in both tumors and surrounding normal tissues. Although our findings showed that the observed genetic variations were not restricted to breast cancer tissues, some genetic changes were found only in BC tumors. Our results, in agreement with the evidence from earlier studies, confirm that the mtDNA genetic alterations might be implicated in tumor initiation, progression and development.
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Attempts for early detection of gastric cancer have recently focused on host's genetic susceptibility factors and gene-environment interactions. We have, herein, studied the association of MTHFR C677T single nucleotide polymorphism [SNP] and its interaction with Helicobacter pylori infection, smoking, age and gender on the risk of gastric cancer among an Iranian population. Gastric cancer patients [n = 450] and cancer-free controls [n = 780] were studied for serum H. pylori-specific IgG antibodies by ELISA and MTHFR C677T polymorphism [SNP] by PCR-RFLP. Demographic and life style data were collected through patient interviews. Unconditional logistic regression model estimated odds ratio [OR] and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals [CI]. The interactions of MTHFR genotype with H. pylori infection [P = 0.03], age [P = 0.049] and gender [P = 0.007] were statistically significant. Accordingly, MTHFR C677T carriers who were also positive for H. pylori infection exhibited 80% [OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.0-2.9] significant excess risk of non-cardia gastric cancer. Furthermore, subjects over the age of 50 or female subjects carrying MTHFR C677T SNP showed 40 [OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.0-2.0] and 100 [OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.2-3.2] percent increased risk of gastric cancer, respectively. MTHFR C677T SNP seems to increase the risk of gastric cancer and the effect is significantly inflated by interactions with H. pylori infection, age and gender
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Stomach cancer is the most common cancer in Iran. A multi-ethnic population and wide variation in the environmental risk factors may lead to variations in cancer risk within this country. We have designed an ecological study and evaluated geographical variation regarding mortality from stomach cancer and its established risk factors in Iran. We used the Iranian National Causes of Death Registry and estimated the age-standardized mortality rates [ASMR] of stomach cancer in 29 Iranian provinces, stratified by sex and area of residence [rural/urban]. The average ASMR of stomach cancer among Iranian males was 15 per 100, 000 and females it was 8.1 per 100, 000. The highest and lowest mortality rates were observed in Kurdistan with an ASMR of 29.1 per 100, 000 in northwestern Iran and Hormozgan that had and ASMR of 5.0 per 100, 000 in southern Iran. Males had approximately a two-fold higher ASMR compared to females, as did rural residents when compared with urban residents. The prevalence of H.pylori infection was about 90% in the province of Ardabil [a high-risk area] and 27% in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan [a low-risk area]. The wide geographical variation and high mortality rate of stomach cancer in Iran is likely due to differences in the exposure to the environmental risk factors among people living in the high-and low-risk areas, particularly H. pylori infection, a well-established risk factor of stomach cancer
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Selective IgA deficiency [IgAD] [serum IgA concentration of <0.07 g/l] is the most common primary immunodeficiency in Caucasians, with an estimated prevalence of 1/600. There are strong indications for involvement of genetic factors in development of the disease and the frequency of several extended major histocompatibility complex haplotypes [including HLA-A1, B8, DR3, DQ2] have previously been shown to be increased among Caucasian patients with IgAD. PCR was used to type HLA B, DR, and DQ alleles in 29 Iranian individuals with IgAD and 299 Swedish individuals with IgAD. The results indicate a strong association with the HLA B14, DR1 alleles in Iranian subjects and HLA B8, B12, B13, B14, B40, DR1, DR3, DR7, DQ2 and DQ5 alleles in Swedish subjects. Differences in HLA association of IgAD in Iran and Sweden confirm the notion of a genetic background of the disease and that multiple, potentially different genes within the MHC region might be involved in the pathogenesis of IgAD in different ethnic groups