The Effect of Pain Self-Management Education on Pain Severity and Quality of Life in Metastatic Cancer Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Proper pain control in cancer patients is one of the prime needs of metastatic cancer patients. It is, then, one of the essential objectives of health care workers. The present study aimed to pinpoint the impact of pain self-management education on the pain severity and the quality of life in patients with metastatic cancers using complementary medicine approaches. METHODS: This clinical trial study was performed in the Oncology Specialty Clinic of Ahvaz Golestan Hospital on 82 metastatic cancer patients picked based on inclusion criteria. They were randomly assigned to two groups: the intervention group and one as the control group. In the intervention group, pain self-management was taught in the three steps of providing information, skill development, and guidance. Self-management approaches were also practically taught face to face along with feedback. Furthermore, the quality of life was measured at 1-and 3-month follow-ups and the pain severity was measured during 7 weeks. In the control group, the quality of life questionnaire and the pain severity checklist were given to the participants to fill out. Finally, data were analyzed through SPSS version 22 in general and repeated-measures ANOVA and Friedman tests. RESULTS: It was observed that after the intervention, the trend of pain severity during weeks 1-7 was significantly different in the intervention and control groups (P < 0.0001). In addition, a significant difference was observed for the quality of life at 1 and 3 months after the intervention between the two studied groups (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Findings of the present study indicate a positive impact of pain self-management on improving pain severity and the indicators of quality of life in metastatic cancer patients. Accordingly, the current study findings can help nurses, nursing students, and other team members improve pain control skills and subsequently increase the quality of life in patients with metastatic cancers.

The Polymorphism of miR-146a (rs2910164) and Breast Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis of 17 Studies.

BACKGROUND: Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes responsible for coding microRNAs (miRNAs) are shown to be crucial in progression of Breast Cancer (BC). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this meta-analysis is to obtain more definitive and reliable results due to the ambiguity and inconsistency of the previous findings in this regard. This study aimed at clarifying the association of mir14a polymorphisms with breast cancer. METHODS: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases for papers published before August 10, 2019. Afterward, genotypes' distribution, genotyping methods and ethnicity groups were extracted and Overall analyses were conducted. A total number of seventeen researches on 7676 subjects and 7476 controls were found to meet our criteria in this meta-analysis. RESULTS: Our observations confirmed the increased risk in breast cancer with rs 2910164 polymorphism in three genetic models: allele contrast fixed genetic model, Recessive fixed genetic model and CC vs. GG genetic model (P value 0.0109, 0.0404 and 0.0019, respectively). CONCLUSION: The rs2910164 polymorphism is associated with increased breast cancer risk. We suggest that more multicenter studies with larger samples investigate this matter to further clarify the association and verify our findings.

Positive correlation between interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene 86bp VNTR polymorphism and colorectal cancer susceptibility: a case-control study.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. Genetic variations in cytokine genes and their receptors lead to the severity of the disease. The interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN) is a cytokine that inhibits interleukin-1 (IL-1) activity by binding to IL-1 receptors. Also, interleukin-4 (IL-4) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine that can play an important role in several cancers. The present case-control study was aimed to evaluate the association of IL-4 and IL1RN VNTR polymorphisms with the susceptibility to CRC in a sample of Iranian population provided by the Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Disease at Taleghani Hospital, Tehran. A total of 123 patients diagnosed with CRC and 152 healthy controls were recruited in the present study. Genomic DNA was extracted by salting out method from whole blood and genotyping of IL1RN and IL-4 VNTR polymorphisms were determined by PCR-based technology. Our study manifested the frequency of 1/2 and 2/4 genotypes of IL1RN 68bp VNTR polymorphism are significantly different between both groups (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.01 respectively). However, we could not find any correlation between IL-4 VNTR polymorphism and CRC cancer. It seems that 1/2 and 2/4 genotypes of IL1RN are correlated with CRC susceptibility in our population, although, more studies are needed to confirm our results.

Deoxyribonuclease I gene polymorphism and susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus.

The DNASE1 gene is regarded as one of the susceptible genes for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Recent studies have detected the presence of a variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphisms at intron 4 in this gene. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of current polymorphism on SLE susceptibility in a sample of the Iranian population. The study included 163 patients and 180 unrelated healthy controls. The VNTR polymorphisms in the DNASE1 gene were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The genotypic frequency investigation indicated that 3/6 genotype frequency in patients affected with SLE was more than healthy controls (P = 0.004). Moreover, 3/4 and 4/6 genotype frequencies in healthy cohort were further in comparison with patient cohort (P = 0.0001). Findings of the present study manifested that 3/6 genotype in patients affected with SLE was significantly more than healthy controls, thus it can be regarded as a risk factor, while 3/4 and 4/6 genotypes were significantly higher in healthy controls which can be considered as a protective factor.