ABSTRACT
Background: Bladder cancer is the second most common urological malignancy. Cystoscopy is the "gold standard" for the detection of bladder cancer, but is invasive and relatively expensive. This study aimed to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of serum levels of free and total sialic acids as tumor markers in the diagnosis of bladder cancer
Materials and Methods: In this study, the diagnostic value of blood samples collected from 58 patients with bladder cancer and 60 normal subjects were evaluated. The spectrophotometrical Aminoff's method was used for measuring serum levels of free and total sialic acids. After comparing the mean values for the mentioned parameters, ROC curve was used to calculate the sensitivity and specificity and other diagnostic values of markers
Results: The mean values for total sialic acid and free sialic acid were higher in cancer patients than in normal healthy controls [P<0.001]. The sensitivity and specificity of total sialic acid at the cut-off point of 48.75 mg/dL were 91% and 82%, respectively and also the sensitivity and specificity of free sialic acid at the cut-off point of 0.708 mg/dL were 81% and 80%, respectively. Moreover, a positive correlation was seen between the serum levels of total, free sialic acids and stage or grade of the tumor
Conclusion: Our results revealed that the measurement of serum levels of these parameters using some simple, non-invasive, inexpensive, and reproducible tests can diagnose the bladder cancer and provide important clinical findings on the extent of the malignancy and also reduce the number of cyctoscopies
ABSTRACT
At the present time, cancer is among the first three causes of death in developed countries and also in Iran. Considering different distribution of different types of cancers in the world and their significance in regard to morbidity and mortality, diagnosis of different kinds of cancers will be the first step in controlling these disorders. By proper planning, we can reduce the incidence rate of all types of cancers. This survey deals with epidemiological study of cancers in Kurdistan province. This was a descriptive study. Data were obtained from cancer registration system, which is a national program. In this system the data of all types of cancers, diagnosed in pathological centers, were collected and entered into the national soft ware program. Different types of cancers were encoded on the basis of ICD"O2. In this study 1294 cases of different types of cancers were collected from pathologic diagnostic centers in Kurdistan province in a period of 2 years [2003-2004]. In this survey the overall incidence rate of all types of cancer in 2003 and 2004, was 60 and 66.9 in 100000 people. 62% of cases were male and 38% female. Generally, the most common cancers in both sexes, were those of skin [22.8%], stomach [20.5%], esophagus [12.8%], urinary bladder [7.5%] and lung and bronchus [4.9%]. The most common cancers in male patients, belonged to stomach, skin, esophagus, bladder, lung, prostate, colorectal; and in female patients, cancers of skin, esophagus, stomach, breast and colorectal carcinoma were the most frequent types, respectively. The highest incidence rate of cancers had occurred in the patients who were older than 75 years. Histopathologically the most common cancers of skin, stomach and esophagus were basal cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma respectively. skin cancers were the most common cancers in Kurdistan province. But the total number of cases of cancers of all parts of Gastrointestinal tract, exceeded those of all other systems. In Females, opposed to males, esophageal cancer was more common than stomach cancer. Histopathologically, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of different cancers in Kurdistan province, in comparison to other parts of the country. The epidemiologic profile of cancers in Kurdistan province is different from other parts of our country, which requires more investigation