RESUMEN
Background: Gastric cancer is the fourth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Gastric cancer is a major cause of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide
Objective: To estimate the immunohistochemical expression of epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR] in the gastric cancer in relation to other parameters like grade and stage
Methods: Formaline fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks from 51 patients [29 male and 22 female] with gastric carcinoma were included in this study. Ten biopsies of normal gastric tissue were selected as a control group. Envision [DAKO] technique was applied to study the immunohistochem- ical expression of EGFR in paraffin embedded sections of gastric cancer
Results: Positive immunohistochemical expression of EGFR was seen in 41.2% of cases as both membranous and cytoplasmic brown staining while there was negative staining in the normal control group [p<0.05]. EGFR immunoexpression was correlated with the histological type [more in the intestinal variant than the diffuse type] [p<0.0.5]
Conclusion: These findings provides further evidence for the role of EGFR in the tumorgenensis of gastric cancer. However, EGFR could not be well correlated with stage of tumor and hence may be poor prognostic parameters of the state of malignancy
RESUMEN
To estimate the occurrence rate of sleep deprivation and to identify the environmental, staff-related and patient-related factors associated with SD among general ward patients of a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. In a cross-sectional study, a pre-tested questionnaire was administered to 108 patients admitted into the general medical and general surgical wards of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. In all, 50 [46.3%] respondents felt deprived of adequate sleep in the hospital. Worry about illness disturbed the night-time sleep of 47 [43.5%] patients; most of these had SD [70%] [p<0.001]. Other patients' noise disturbed 31.5% of study subjects and a significant majority [68%] of these had SD [p=0.003]. Over 17% of study subjects reported cell phone's ringing as a disturbing factor; more by those with SD [68%] compared to those with no SD [32%]; again the difference was significant [p=0.003]. Physical discomfort and presence of cannula were reported as disturbing factors by 41.7% and 28.7% of the study subjects respectively but these were not significantly associated with SD. Our study revealed that sleep deprivation occurs commonly among general ward patients in tertiary care setting. Factors found to be associated with SD were amenable to modification to a greater extent