ABSTRACT
To investigate the association of cytokine gene polymorphism with the development of breast cancer. The study was carried out in Uludag University Medical School, Bursa, Turkey. The study included 38 patients with breast cancer admitted to trie Medical Oncology outpatient clinic, and 24 healthy controls, age and sex matched, from the Internal Medicine Department between 2004 and 2005. All genotyping of tumor necrosis factor-a [TNF-alpha] tumor growth factor-beta1 [TGF-beta1], interleukin [IL]-10, IL-6, and interferon-gamma [IFN-gamma] experiments were performed using polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primers. The frequencies of IL-6-174GC genotype and IL-10 [-1082, -819, -592] GCC/ATA haplotype were significantly higher in the patient group [P=0.0008] when compared with controls [P=0.020]. Significantly lower - frequencies of IL-10 [-1082, -819, -592] ACC/ATA haplotype were observed in the patient group in comparison to the controls [f=0.026]. The distribution of IFN-gamma +874, TNF-alpha 308, andTGF-[beta1 codon 10-25 genotypes failed to show any statistical significant association with the development of breast cancer. Our data suggest that IL-10 [-1082, -819, -592] GCC/ATA haplotype and IL-6-174 GC genotype seem to be potential risk factors for the development of breast cancer. The presence of IL-10ACC/ATA haplotype may be protective for the oncogenesis of breast cancer
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related death. The majority of gastric cancers show distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis. At present, there is no general agreement over one standard chemotherapy regimen for metastatic gastric cancer. AIMS: We evaluated the activity and toxicity of the combination of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), epirubicin and cisplatin (FEP) in previously untreated patients with metastatic gastric cancer. SETTING AND DESIGN: Medical Oncology Department of Uludag University Faculty of Medicine, Bursa; retrospective study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-eight patients received 5-FU 300 mg/m2 on Days 1-5, epirubicin 50 mg/m2 on Day 1 and cisplatin 60 mg/m2 on Day 1, every 4 weeks. A median of 3.5 cycles was administered. The response rate, time to disease progression, survival and toxic effects were analyzed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Overall survival and time to progression were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: There were 4 partial responses and 1 complete response (overall response rate 7.3%); 16 patients had stable disease. Median progression-free and overall survival rates were 3.1 months (95% CI 1.9-4) and 6 months (95% CI 4.2-7), respectively. The principal toxicity was myelosupression. Grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 27.9%, anemia in 17.6%, and thrombocytopenia in 11.7% of patients. Non-hematological toxicity was mild and manageable. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that FEP combination as used at the doses and schedules in this study has inferior activity against metastatic gastric cancer.