Impact of active smoking on survival of patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma harboring an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation

Lung cancer in smokers and non-smokers demonstrates distinct genetic profiles, and cigarette smoking affects epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) function and causes secondary EGFR tyrosine kinase resistance. We evaluated the effect of active smoking in patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. A total of 132 metastatic lung adenocarcinoma patients, diagnosed between 2008 and 2013, with known EGFR mutation status, were evaluated retrospectively. Among these patients, 40 had an activating EGFR mutation. Patients who continued smoking during the treatment were defined as active smokers. Former smokers and never smokers were together defined as non-smokers. The outcomes of the treatment in relation to the EGFR mutation and smoking status were evaluated. The median follow-up time was 10.5 months. The overall response rate for the first-line therapy was significantly higher among the EGFR-mutant patients (p = 0.01), however, smoking status had no impact on the response rate (p = 0.1). The EGFR-mutant active smokers progressed earlier than the non-smokers (p < 0.01). The overall survival (OS) of the non-smokers and patients treated with erlotinib was significantly longer (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01, respectively). Smoking status did not affect the OS in EGFR wild type tumors (p = 0.49) but EGFR-mutant non-smokers had a longer OS than the active smokers (p = 0.01).The active smokers treated with erlotinib had poorer survival than the non-smokers (p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis of EGFR-mutant patients showed that erlotinib treatment at any line and non-smoking were independent prognostic factors for the OS (p = 0.04 and p = 0.01, respectively). Smoking during treatment is a negative prognostic factor in metastatic lung adenocarcinoma with an EGFR mutation

Endometrial carcinoma and paraneoplastic immune thrombocytopenia

Background: Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in developed countries. Autoimmune thrombocytopenia is a rare cause of thrombocytopenia in solid tumors and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case reported associated with clear cell endometrial cancer. Case report: A 52-year-old woman patient diagnosed with endometrial carcinoma and total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy has been performed. After three cycles of chemotherapy, patient developed grade IV thrombocytopenia, which lasted for one month despite chemotherapy interruption. Bone marrow biopsy and some other tests were performed and she was diagnosed to have autoimmune thrombocytopenia. Conclusion: Autoimmune thrombocytopenia is a diagnosis of exclusion. Immune-mediated paraneoplastic syndrome include autoimmune thrombocytopenia is well known in hematological cancers, but it is rare in solid tumors. New developments in the treatment of primary cancer by clarification of paraneoplastic syndromes immunology should be considered

Correlation of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor use with weight gain and metabolic parameters

WOS: 000325901500009Objective: Psychotropic drugs during the treatment period of psychiatric disorders can cause changes in metabolic parameters such as weight, lipid profile, fasting glucose level, and resting metabolic rate. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) use with weight gain and metabolic parameters. Methods: In this study, the resting metabolic rates (RMR) of 14 male patients intended to use selective serotonin re uptake inhibitor at least three months, were measured baseline, first and third month after SSRI use. Body weight, percentage body fat, body mass index and waist/hip ratio were measured before treatment, at the end of the first and second weeks and the first, second and third months. Laboratory tests including total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, VLDL, triglycerides and fasting blood glucose were performed before treatment and at the end of the third month. The correlation of body weight changes with RMR changes was also analyzed. Results: RMR did not differ in the beginning, first month and third month. No statistically significant difference was found in RMR between the beginning and the third month. RMR significantly decreased in the increased-dose group while it wasn't changed in the constant-dose group. No correlation was found between RMR changes and body weight changes. The mean body weight decreased significantly between the beginning and the first week and the first month. Even though the mean body weight of all patients was higher in the third month than the beginning, no statistically significant difference was found. The total cholesterol levels, body lipid ratio, and waist/hip ratio increased significantly between initiation of treatment and the third month. Conclusion: As a result, we suggest that SSRI's use did not cause body weight increase due to reduction in RMR. The waist/hip ratio, total cholesterol levels were increased in the third month. Further studies which look more closely to fat metabolism in patients under SSRI's treatment are necessary

The effect of grape seed extract on radiation-induced oxidative stress in the rat liver

Background/aims: The tolerance of the liver is considerably low when an effective radiation (RTx) dose needs to be delivered in patients in whom either their liver or whole body area has to be irradiated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible protective effect of grape seed extract on liver toxicity induced by RTx in the rat liver. Methods: We used four groups, each consisting of 12 healthy male Wistar rats. RTx-grape seed extract group: rats were given grape seed extract (100 mg/kg) orally for seven days, following 8 Gy whole body irradiation, and grape seed extract was maintained for four days. RTx group: the same protocol was applied in this group; however, they received distilled water instead of grape seed extract. Grape seed extract group: only grape seed extract solution was administered for 11 consecutive days in the same fashion. Control group: only distilled water (orally) was administered in a similar manner. The level of malondialdehyde, an end product of lipid peroxidation, and the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, two important endogenous antioxidants, were evaluated in tissue homogenates. Results: Grape seed extract was seen to protect the cellular membrane from oxidative damage and consequently from protein and lipid oxidation. In the RTx group, malondialdehyde levels were extremely higher than those of the grape seed extract-RTx group (p0.05). Conclusions: The levels of antioxidant parameters on RTx-induced liver toxicity were restored to control values with grape seed extract therapy. Grape seed extract may be promising as a therapeutic option in RTx-induced oxidative stress in the rat liver

Disturbance of pro-oxidative/antioxidative balance in allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation

High dose chemotherapy causes increased free radical formation and depletion of tissue antioxidants. Whether allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has an effect on oxidative stress is uncertain. The aims of the study were to determine the effect of allogeneic HSCT on plasma concentrations of antioxidants and oxidative stress biomarkers, and to investigate their relationships with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), conditioning regimens, and transplant-related mortality (TRM) in patients with hernatological malignancies. Patients (n=25) undergoing allogeneic HSCT from HLA-matched sibling donors were enrolled in the study. Plasma oxidant and antioxidant status were measured at day -1 before transplantation and 30 days after HSCT. In both myeloablative (n=14) and non-myeloablative (n=11) transplant groups, the mean levels of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) increased after allogeneic HSCT (p < 0.01), whereas superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) activities decreased compared with baseline values (p < 0.01). No significant relationships were found between either the pretransplant or post-transplant mean levels of the oxidative stress parameters and the existence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), the type of conditioning regimen, or transplant related mortality (TRM). This study documents a significant disturbance of pro-oxidative/antioxidative balance in the plasma of patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT regardless of the intensity of the conditioning regimen

Does ABO blood type is a novel risk factor for osteoporosis or low bone density among postmenopausal women or not?

ABO blood types may cause a vulnerability to individuals for conditions such as malignancies or chronic diseases. However, the interaction of ABO blood types and osteoporosis is inexplicit. In this study, we focused on the role of ABO blood types on bone health by comparing bone mineral density (BMD), and the prevalence of low bone mass (LBM) and osteoporosis among postmenopausal women. Non-institutionalized postmenopausal women aged over 50 years were prospectively enrolled in the study following the measurement of BMD by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The prevalence of osteoporosis and LBM were interpreted according to T scores of either site. Self-reported blood types of participants were noted. The study included 220 postmenopausal women, and the median age of participants were 59 (11) years (min:50 years, and max:82 years). The mean BMD values at the lumbar spine, femoral total, and femoral neck of participants were 0.821±0.118 g/cm2, 0.810±0.121 g/cm2, and 0.716±0.112 g/cm2, respectively. Both mean BMD and T scores of enrollees for either site were similar across blood types (p-value &gt;0.05 for all). The prevalence of osteoporosis and LBM showed no significant association between blood groups (p=0.45, and p=0.226, respectively).The present study showed evidence of a similar BMD, the prevalence of LBM, and osteoporosis among postmenopausal women over 50 years regardless of ABO blood type. [Med-Science 2022; 11(2.000): 672-6

Optimizing waste collection in an organized industrial region: a case study

In this paper we present a case study which involves the design of a supply chain network for industrial waste collection. The problem is to transport metal waste from 17 factories to containers and from containers to a disposal center (DC) at an organized region of automobile parts suppliers. We applied the classic mixed-integer programming (MIP) model for the two-stage supply chain to the solution of this problem. The visualization of the optimal solution provided us with several interesting insights that would not be easily derived otherwise