Preliminary guideline for reporting bibliometric reviews of the biomedical literature (BIBLIO): a minimum requirements.

BACKGROUND: A bibliometric review of the biomedical literature could be essential in synthesizing evidence if thoroughly conducted and documented. Although very similar to review papers in nature, it slightly differs in synthesizing the data when it comes to providing a pile of evidence from different studies into a single document. This paper provides a preliminary guideline for reporting bibliometric reviews of the biomedical literature (BIBLIO). METHODS: The BIBLIO was developed through two major processes: literature review and the consensus process. The BIBLIO started with a comprehensive review of publications on the conduct and reporting of bibliometric studies. The databases searched included PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Cochrane Library. The process followed the general recommendations of the EQUATOR Network on how to develop a reporting guideline, of which one fundamental part is a consensus process. A panel of experts was invited to identify additional items and was asked to choose preferred options or suggest another item that should be included in the checklist. Finally, the checklist was completed based on the comments and responses of the panel members in four rounds. RESULTS: The BIBLIO includes 20 items as follows: title (2 items), abstract (1 item), introduction/background (2 items), methods (7 items), results (4 items), discussion (4 items). These should be described as a minimum requirements in reporting a bibliometric review. CONCLUSIONS: The BIBLIO for the first time provides a preliminary guideline of its own kind. It is hoped that it could contribute to the transparent reporting of bibliometric reviews. The quality and utility of BIBILO remain to be investigated further.

A human pilot study on positive electrostatic charge effects in solid tumors of the late-stage metastatic patients.

Background: Correlative interactions between electrical charges and cancer cells involve important unknown factors in cancer diagnosis and treatment. We previously reported the intrinsic suppressive effects of pure positive electrostatic charges (PEC) on the proliferation and metabolism of invasive cancer cells without any effect on normal cells in cell lines and animal models. The proposed mechanism was the suppression of pro-caspases 3 and 9 with an increase in Bax/Bcl2 ratio in exposed malignant cells and perturbation induced in the KRAS pathway of malignant cells by electrostatic charges due to the phosphate molecule electrostatic charge as the trigger of the pathway. This study aimed to examine PECs as a complementary treatment for patients with different types of solid metastatic tumors, who showed resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Methods: In this study, solid metastatic tumors of the end-stage patients (n = 41) with various types of cancers were locally exposed to PEC for at least one course of 12 days. The patient's signs and symptoms, the changes in their tumor size, and serum markers were followed up from 30 days before positive electrostatic charge treating (PECT) until 6 months after the study. Results: Entirely, 36 patients completed the related follow-ups. Significant reduction in tumor sizes and cancer-associated enzymes as well as improvement in cancer-related signs and symptoms and patients' lifestyles, without any side effects on other tissues or metabolisms of the body, were observed in more than 80% of the candidates. Conclusion: PECT induced significant cancer remission in combination with other therapies. Therefore, this non-ionizing radiation would be a beneficial complementary therapy, with no observable side effects of ionizing radiotherapy, such as post-radiation inflammation.

Effects of decaffeinated green coffee extract supplementation on anthropometric indices, blood glucose, leptin, adiponectin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in breast cancer survivors: a randomized clinical trial.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of decaffeinated green coffee extract (DGCE) supplementation on anthropometric indices, blood glucose, leptin, adiponectin, and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in breast cancer survivors with obesity. Method: A total of 44 breast cancer survivors with obesity aged between 18 and 70 years and with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 31.62 ± 4.97 kg m-2 participated in this double-blind randomized clinical trial. Eligible patients were randomized to the intervention (n = 22) and control (n = 22) groups. They received two 400 mg capsules of DGCE or two identical placebos daily for 12 weeks. Serum concentrations of leptin, adiponectin, NPY, fasting blood sugar, insulin, and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were measured at the baseline and after completion of the intervention. Also, weight, waist circumference, fat percentage, muscle percentage, and visceral fat were measured. Results: There were no significant differences in terms of changes of anthropometric indices and concentrations of leptin, adiponectin, NPY, and blood sugar between the two studied groups. Conclusion: Supplementation with DGCE in breast cancer survivors with obesity had no significant effect on anthropometric indices and blood glucose, leptin, adiponectin, and NPY levels.

Herbs as old potential treatments for lymphedema management: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Herbs have been reported to be effective in reducing lymphedema burden. This paper aimed to review literature reporting on herbs for lymphedema treatment. METHODS: A systematic review was performed using the PRISMA guideline. Clinical studies on herbal intervention and lymphedema were included. Evidence on the effectiveness of herbal interventions for desired outcomes including reduction of edema volume, other symptoms, quality of life and inflammation were collected and assessed in detail. RESULTS: In all twenty studies were included in this review. Of these 14 studies were randomized clinical trials and the rest were prospective pilot studies. Herbal treatment was reported for breast cancer-related lymphedema in most studies and coumarin was the most reported herb that used for lymphedema management. Edema volume reduction (17 out of 20) and symptoms improvement (15 out of 20) were the outcomes reported in most studies. CONCLUSION: Phytochemicals can be a promising pharmacotherapy for lymphedema management. However, further evidence is needed to establish definite effectiveness for the use of herbal remedies for lymphedema management.

Higher Dietary Inflammatory Index Scores are Associated with Increased Odds of Benign Breast Diseases in a Case-Control Study.

PURPOSE: Dietary inflammatory index (DII) is a new tool for assessing the inflammatory potential of diet. Since there is no study that has investigated the association of DII and benign breast diseases (BBD), the aim of our study was to compare DII scores in patients with and without BBD. METHODS: One hundred and eleven (111) subjects with BBD and 104 healthy women attending the Iranian Center for Breast Cancer affiliated with the Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research were enrolled in a case-control study. Dietary data collected using a 168­item validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Energy-adjusted DII was calculated based on FFQ. Socio demographic data were collected by interview. In addition, physical activity was measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Weight, height and waist circumference were also measured. RESULTS: After adjustment for multiple confounding variables, participants at the highest tertile of DII had increased OR for BBD (OR=1.7, 95% CI=0.75-3.95) (P-trend =0.04). CONCLUSION: The increased chance of BBD was suggested with a higher consumption of diets with inflammatory potential. However, this result should be interpreted with caution as OR was not statistically significant. Interventional studies are warranted to elucidate the role of inflammatory diets in the development of BBD.

Dietary Phytochemical Index and Benign Breast Diseases: A Case-Control Study.

Background: Dietary phytochemical index (DPI) is an inexpensive method for estimating the amounts of phytochemicals in foods. No study has investigated the association of DPI and benign breast diseases (BBD). Our study aimed to compare DPI in patients with BBD and the control group.Subjects: This is a case-control study of 115 subjects with BBD and 116 healthy women attending the Iranian Center for Breast Cancer affiliated with Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research. Energy-adjusted DPI was calculated based on data collected from 168-item validated food frequency questionnaire. Sociodemographic data, physical activity, and anthropometric measures such as body weight, height, and waist circumference were determined.Results: After adjustment for age, estrogen therapy, family history of breast disease, intake of dietary supplement, menopause status, waist circumference and physical activity, the odds ratio (OR) of BBD across the energy-adjusted DPI quartiles decreased significantly (OR = 0.3, 95%CI = 0.12-0.93) (P­trend = 0.02).Conclusion: We found that higher DPI score is related to lower BBD OR. This simple method may be used for the improvement of dietary intake to prevent BBD.

Dietary patterns and benign breast diseases: a case-control study.

Several studies have investigated the relation between benign breast diseases (BBD) and food intake. However, dietary patterns of these patients have not been taken into consideration up to now. The aim of this study is to determine the association between dietary patterns and BBD. In this case-control study, ninety-six patients with BBD and seventy controls were selected from women attending the Iranian Center for Breast Cancer affiliated with Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research. Demographic, physical activity and semi-quantitative FFQ were completed. The main dietary patterns were extracted by factor analysis. Two major dietary patterns emerged: Healthy dietary pattern including fish, poultry, eggs, low-fat dairy products, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, oil and mayonnaise, olives, fruits; and Unhealthy dietary pattern including red meats, organ and processed meats, high-fat dairy products, refined grains, sweets and desserts, animal and solid fats. After adjustment for age, BMI and energy intake, the participants in the highest tertile of Healthy dietary pattern (OR 0·44; 95 % CI 0·20, 0·99) were less likely to have BBD compared with those in the first tertile. After adjustment for other confounding variables, this relationship still remained close to significant level. However, higher consumption of Unhealthy dietary pattern was not associated with the risk of BBD. In conclusion, Healthy dietary pattern might be inversely associated with the risk of BBD; however, this result should be interpreted with caution. Future studies are needed to confirm our findings.