ABSTRACT
Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease at morphologic and molecular levels, which is considered the most commonly occurring cancer in women. RAD51, a DNA-repairing protein, involves homologous recombination and has a vital role in genome stability. Polymorphism of the RAD51 gene, and its overexpression, has been proposed to be associated with the development of breast cancer. Overexpression of RAD51 in many types of human cancer including metastatic breast cancer may signify its potential use as a biomarker. Considering the numerous reports on the role of the 5'-UTR-RAD51 polymorphism in breast cancer, this study aimed to investigate the utility of RAD51 gene expression and its variants G135C and G172T as a possible foretelling factor of breast cancer development. DNA sequencing and immunohistochemistry of RAD51 were conducted on 103 samples from patients diagnosed with sporadic breast cancer and 80 samples from a control group. The results demonstrated that the RAD51 variants, G135C and G172T, were significantly presented in the breast cancer tissue compared with the control group. RAD51 expression was mainly shown in the cytoplasm of malignant cells (56% of cases) and significantly correlated with p53 and G135C, C135C variants. Moreover, the occurrence of the G172T variant was significantly associated with the expression of estrogen receptor. Interestingly, 21/26 (81%) of the triple-negative breast cancer showed G135C and C135C genotypes that were significantly associated with the expression of RAD51 (73%). In conclusion, the G135C and C135C variants together with the cytoplasmic expression of RAD51 may have clinical potential as a prognostic predictor for breast cancer development and aggressiveness.
Subject(s)
5' Untranslated Regions , Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Neoplasm Proteins , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Rad51 Recombinase , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Proteins/biosynthesis , Neoplasm Proteins/genetics , Rad51 Recombinase/biosynthesis , Rad51 Recombinase/genetics , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/enzymology , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/genetics , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/pathologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: As the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnoses in Saudi Arabia has recently increased due to better diagnostic techniques, the incidence of diagnosed HCC metastasis has also increased. Here, we report a case of HCC metastasis to the rib with an initially atypical presentation of mastalgia caused by extrahepatic metastasis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 31-year-old woman with a prior hepatitis B viral infection presented with a mass in the left breast accompanied by mastalgia for a 6-month duration. The patient's liver enzymes were elevated, and her serum α-fetoprotein level was particularly high. Computed tomography of her chest and abdomen showed a soft-tissue mass adhering to the upper chest wall, rib deterioration, and multiple hepatic lesions. A needle biopsy was immunohistochemically analyzed for Glypican-3, Pan-CK, and CK7 and was confirmed to be metastatic HCC. CONCLUSIONS: This metastatic HCC case is unique because it initially presented as mastalgia. We should consider the possibility of metastatic disease when assessing patients with unusual presentations who have risk factors for metastatic carcinoma.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/diagnosis , Liver Neoplasms/diagnosis , Mastodynia/diagnosis , Adult , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/surgery , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Liver Neoplasms/surgery , Mastodynia/surgery , PrognosisABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the effect of a new peptide new nerve growth factor (NNGF) on the healing of divided sciatic nerves in rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty Sprague-Dawley rats of 250-300g were divided into two groups (group 1 - study group and group 2 - control group). Under ketamine intramuscular anesthesia sciatic nerves were exposed, divided and repaired using 10/0 dexon. Study animals had 10mg/kg body weight of NNGF added to the repair. Electromyographic studies of the hind libs were carried out after 8weeks. The average stimulation was 50mA for 200µS and four twitches (T) were recorded. The animals were euthanized and the sciatic nerves were removed for histological analysis. RESULTS: There were no deaths in either of the groups. Electromyographic study showed that in the control group the average T1-T4 was 0.587±0.17% and in the study group the average was 87.89±5.02% (p value of 0.001). Histologically the control group showed regenerated axons sprouting from the proximal segment of cut nerve with empty endoneurial channels, while in the study group whole nerve trunks were seen within endoneurial channels. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the NNGF has a positive influence on the experimental healing of sciatic nerves in animals.
