Analysis of 23 Years of Cornea Donor Data From an Eye Bank in Turkey

Objectives: We evaluated 23 years of data for cornea donors at the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine Lions Eye Bank

Prognostic relevance of sunitinib toxicities and comparison of continuous vs. intermittent sunitinib dosing schedule in metastatic renal cell cancer patients

WOS: 000382525900009PubMed ID: 27358594Aim of the study: Sunitinib-related side effects may develop as a result of the pharmacokinetic pathway affects the of the drug. Material and methods: Data on mRCC patients were obtained from the hospital archives. Outcomes of patients were evaluated in terms of related prognostic factors, sunitinib adverse events during the treatment, and two different sunitinib dosing schedules. Results: Seventy patients diagnosed with mRCC and treated with sunitinib were analyzed for prognostic factors and survival rates. During the mean follow-up of 33.5 months, 38 (54%) patients were alive and 32 (46%) patients died. The median time of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was 27 months (12-61) and 19 months (5-45), respectively. In univariate analysis, good prognostic risk group according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSK-CC), hypothyroidism as sunitinib toxicity and patients on sunitinib treatment more than 1 year were favorable prognostic factors for OS. Leukopenia and fatigue as sunitinib toxicity were poor prognostic factors for OS. PFS and OS of the patients were not significantly different when we compared intermittent (4/2) vs. continuous treatment dosing schedules. Conclusions: As a result of this trial, having hypothyroidism as an adverse effect of sunitinib was a favorable prognostic factor for OS and PFS in mRCC patients. It was also found that 4/2 and continuous dosing schedules of sunitinib did not give rise to different outcomes in mRCC patients

Clinical significance of adiponectin expression in colon cancer patients

Purpose: Surgery is the definitive treatment for early colon cancers. Adjuvant therapies are used with the aim of eradicating micrometastases and improving cure rates. Recent studies have proposed that adiponectin might be responsible for obesity-related malignancies. We investigated the prognostic value of this cytokine. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent surgical removal of stage II or III (TNM staging) primary tumors and were followed for at least three years were included in the study given adequate specimen for immunohistochemical evaluation. Based on these criteria, 53 patients were included. Results: Mean age was 58.3 ± 10.1 years (35-78 years). The mean follow-up time was 41 months (10-96 months). Immunohistochemical evaluation identified 21 patients (39.6%) with cytoplasmic adiponectin present in their specimens. The rates of recurrence were 42.9% (9/21) and 34.4% (11/32) in patients with and without adiponectin expression, respectively. In cases with adiponectin expression, mean disease - free survival was 60.3 ± 9.03 months, and in cases without adiponectin expression, mean disease - free survival was 68.7 ± 6.67 months (P = 0.414). Mean overall survival of patients with adiponectin expression was 65 months compared to 67 months for patients without (P = 0.786). Conclusion: Adiponectin, which is secreted by adipose tissue, may have a role in the development and progression of cancer via its pro-apoptotic and/or anti-proliferative effects. Adiponectin expression in tumor tissues is likely to have a negative effect on disease - free survival in patients with stage II/III colon cancer; however, no statistically significant effect was demonstrated

Erratum to: Investigation of microRNA expression changes in HepG2 cell line in presence of URG4/URGCP and in absence of URG4/URGCP suppressed by RNA interference (vol 39, pg 11119, 2012)

WOS: 00032594840005

Public Health Rep

19315293PMCnul

Effects of metformin and pioglitazone combination on apoptosis and AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway in human anaplastic thyroid cancer cells

Avci, Cigir Biray/0000-0001-8251-4520; Ozdemir, Nilufer/0000-0002-0719-988XWOS: 000543153300001PubMed: 32589349Anaplastic cancer constitutes 1% of thyroid cancers, and it is one of the most aggressive cancers. Treatment options are external radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. the success rate with these treatment modalities is not satisfactory. We aimed to evaluate the effects of metformin (MET) and pioglitazone (PIO) combination on apoptosis and AMP-activated protein kinase/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in human anaplastic thyroid cancer cells. in this study, we evaluated the effects of MET and PIO individually and the combination of the two drugs on the cellular lines SW1736 and C643 ATC. Genes contained in the mTOR signaling pathway were examined using human mTOR Signalization RT(2)Profiler PCR Array. in C643 and SW1736 cell lines, IC(50)doses of MET and PIO were found out as 17.69 mM, 11.64 mM, 27.12 mu M, and 23.17 mu M. Also, the combination of MET and PIO was determined as an additive according to isobologram analyses. We have found the downregulation of the expression levels of oncogenic genes:AKT3, CHUK, CDC42, EIF4E, HIF1A, IKBKB, ILK, MTOR, PIK3CA, PIK3CG, PLD1, PRKCA, andRICTORgenes, in the MET and PIO combination-treated cells. in addition, expression levels of tumor suppressorgenes, DDIT4, DDIT4L, EIF4EBP1, EIF4EBP2, FKBP1A, FKBP8, GSK3B, MYO1C, PTEN, ULK1, andULK2, were found to have increased significantly. the MET + PIO combination was first applied to thyroid cancer cells, and significant reductions in the level of oncogenic genes were detected. the decreases, particularly, inAKT3, DEPTOR, EIF4E, ILK, MTOR, PIK3C, andPRKCAexpressions indicate that progression can be prevented in thyroid cancer cells and these genes could be selected as therapeutic targets.Ege Universitesi [2014-TIP-013]Ege Universitesi; This study relies on Ege University coordinatorship of scientific research projects (2014-TIP-013) Account Holder: Mehmet Erdoga

Prognostic relevance of sunitinib toxicities and comparison of continuous vs. intermittent sunitinib dosing schedule in metastatic renal cell cancer patients

Aim of the study: Sunitinib-related side effects may develop as a result of the pharmacokinetic pathway affects the of the drug

A View from Young Oncologists on Clinical Trials in Turkey: Obstacles and Solution Proposals

There is a new improvement in oncology nearly in every day as a result of preclinical or clinical. As the number of publication per capita, Turkey is far behind the other developed European countries. For example, the number of publications in oncology field is 2.134.964 in the world, it is 15.576 in our country. The most important obstacles for clinical trials in Turkey may be listed as financial problems, difficulties of working conditions, time limitation due to work intensity, inadequate experienced/trained man-power, absence of assistance team at all steps of a scientific trial, difficulties faced during project planning and ethics committee submissions, and lack of motivation. In this article, we, as young oncologists, aimed to discuss the place of Turkey in areas of scientific and clinical trials in the world; underlying causes for inadequate number, type and quality of national studies and possible solution proposals in our country