Halotolerant Ability and α-Amylase Activity of Some Saltwater Fungal Isolates

Four halotolerant fungal isolates originating from the saltwater Lake Urmia in Iran were selected during a screening program for salt resistance and α-amylase activity. The isolates were identified based on sequencing the ITS region and a part of the β-tubulin gene, as Penicillium chrysogenum (isolate U1; CBS 132820), Fusarium incarnatum (isolate U2; CBS 132821), and Penicillium polonicum (isolate U3; CBS 132822, and isolate U4; CBS 132823). The growth of these isolates was determined by measuring the colony diameter and mycelia dry weight in Sabouraud dextrose agar and yeast nitrogen base medium supplemented with NaCl, KCl, and LiCl. Isolate U4 showed a growth up in 15% NaCl and U1 was the only isolate that could grow in 20% KCl. None of the strains grew in a media containing LiCl. The salt supplemented medium did not increase the size of colony diameter in all isolates (p > 0.05). The ability of the selected isolates for amylase production was quantitatively tested and showed that P. polonicum isolate U4 was the most potent producer of amylase with a yield of 260.9 U/L after 60 h, whereas P. polonicum isolate U3 was the lowest one with a production level of 97.9 U/L after 48 h. P. polonicum isolate U4 could be a suitable candidate for production of amylase on an industrial scale after optimization. © 2013 by School of Pharmacy

Investigating the health of resection margins for conducting intra operative radiotherapy during breast conservative surgery

To conduct radiotherapy during operation in treating the breast cancer through breast conservative surgery method, we must ensure the healthiness of resection margins during the operation. Then, electron ray is flashed to the surrounding tissues in order to reduce the chance of the presence of any microscopic cancer cells. The present research studies the ability of Frozen in diagnosing the health or involvement of margins during the operation and seeks to compare the results of Frozen with the results of gold standard (permanent pathology) diagnostic method in patients suffering from breast cancer who have undergone breast conservative surgery and Intra-operative radiotherapy. In this observational study conducted in the form of a retrospective research, some 496 patients suffering from breast cancer who have undergone breast conservative surgery were selected through the convenience sampling method and the results of breast margin pathologies conducted through Permanent and Frozen section were compared against one another so that we may find the sensitivities and specifications of the Frozen sections in comparison with the Permanent method. In the Frozen and Permanent methods, the margins had a freedom degree of 83.1 and 98 respectively. The sensitivity and peculiarity of the Frozen section as compared to the Permanent method were 80 and 84 respectively, however the negative predictive value was 99.5. A significant relationship was observed here based on chi square test. The level of accuracy was 84.3, and the pseudo negative weas 0.5. The compliance level of the Permanent and Frozen diagnostic methods was 84.3. It is therefore concluded that the Frozen section has a good degree of compliance in determining the state of margin of the removed cancerous lump in breast conservative surgeries and false negative reports have been issued for 0.5 of the cases. Thus, it is recommended to use the Frozen section before radiotherapy to determine the freedom of margins. � 2016, Oriental Scientific Publishing Company. All rights reserved

The relationship of reproductive risk factors and histologic patterns with molecular subtypes of breast cancer

Background: The close link between molecular subtypes and different histological types of breast cancer has recently been taken into consideration. Objectives: The present study aimed at evaluating the reproductive risk factors in relation to molecular subtypes and histological features of breast cancer in a large group of Iranian patients. Methods: This historical cohort study was conducted on 1988 women diagnosed as different subtypes of breast cancers recruited in 2011 to 2016 from cancer research center in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Data on molecular markers were obtained from hospital files obtaining originally from immunohistochemical staining technique. Based on the pathological reports in hospital recorded files, the histological patterns of the cancer was also determined. The patients were followed for 5 years to assess the 5-year survival and compared the survival across the different molecular subtypes. Results: The highest mean age was found for the group with HER2-overexpression and the lowest for those with luminal A (P = 0.045). The most and the least tumor size was revealed in triple negative group and luminal A group, respectively (P = 0.035). The mean number of lymph nodes involved in breast cancer was significantly higher in luminal B subtypes compared to luminal A and triple negative subtypes (P = 0.004). The tumor stages III-IV were found in 31.6 of patients with luminal A subtype, 42.2 in patients with luminal B, 34.3 in patients with HER2 overexpression, and 26.0 in those with triple negative subtype (P = 0.006). The histological patterns of the tumor were powerfully different in terms of the molecular subtypes of tumor so that luminal A subtype was found more in ILC pattern, luminal B subtype was found more in DCIS pattern, HER2-overexpression subtype was revealed more in DCIS pattern, and triple negative subtype was found more in IDC pattern. Based on the long-term survival analysis, 5-year survival was found to be 98.3 in luminal A group, 98.3 in luminal B group, 100 in HER2 overexpression, and 98.1 in triple negative with no difference between different molecular subtypes. The lowest 5-year survival was found in the patients aged higher than 30 years at first pregnancy and live birth with triple negative subtype (survival rate of 75.0). The long-term survival was adversely associated with the tumor stage but independent to tumor molecular subtypes. Conclusions: Age at first live birth, tumor size, lymph node involvement, tumor stage, and histological pattern of breast cancer are linked to its molecular subtype. The lower long-term survival of breast cancer can be predicted by advanced age (especially in triple negative subtype) and by higher tumor stage independent to molecular subtype. © 2018, Cancer Research Center (CRC), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences

Epidemiology and histopathology of breast cancer in iran versus other middle eastern countries

Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among females worldwide. This study compares the results of the most cited published Iranian studies and studies from other Middle East countries on breast cancer with data from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and approximately 2000 cases from the Cancer Research Center of Shahid Beheshti Medical University of Iran. Methods: Data from the Cancer Registry System of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and the Cancer Research Center were obtained in addition to data from other published Iranian articles to increase the accuracy of incidence, prevalence, disease burden, risk factors, clinical staging, clinical pathology, biological markers, clinical subtypes, and survival rate of breast cancer in the last decade and compare the epidemiological data with other areas of the world. Results: Overall, breast cancer was the most common cancer in Iran. The age-standardized rate for breast cancer was 33.21 per 100,000 according to the latest national databases. The mortality rate for breast cancer has not changed in the past 30 years in Iran. The age-standardized rate for mortality was 14.2 per 100,000 with a mean age of 49.84 years. The most common cancer in Iran is invasive ductal carcinoma. In our last review, 65.5-70.5 of cases were in the early stages (1 and 2) and less than 30 were in the advanced stages. The five-year overall survival rate was estimated at 72 in women and 60 in men. The stage and number of positive lymph nodes significantly affected the survival rate. In the Gulf Cooperation Council, ASR of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was (12.9), Bahrain (46.4), Kuwait (44.3), Qatar (35.5), United Arab Emirates (19.2), and Oman (14.4) per 100,000. Conclusion: Our study shows that epidemiology and histopathology of cancer is different with other neighborhood countries and is multi-dimension and needs multi-center involvement from government authorities, clinicians and scientists. © 2018, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Traumatic Pulmonary Pneumatoceles (Pseudocyst)

Introduction: Traumatic pulmonary parenchymal cavitary lesions (TPPCs) are pulmonary pseudocysts raiding secondary to lung contusion. Method: To provide an overview of the etiology, presentation, diagnosis and treatment of TPPCs, and to discuss this in the context of a cohort of 12 retrospectively reviewed patients with TPPCs presenting to Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden, from January 2014 to December 2016. Between January 2014 and December 2016, a total of twelve trauma patients presented to Sahlgrenska University Hospital with TPPC following blunt trauma. Results: TPPCs are of limited clinical consequence. Inexperienced clinicians may treat these inappropriately. A Computed Tomography (CT) scan is the investigation of choice. Treatment is symptomatic. Intervention is indicated only in case of complications

MiR-361-5p as a promising qRT-PCR internal control for tumor and normal breast tissues

Background: One of the most widely used evaluation methods in miRNA experiments is qRT-PCR. However, selecting suitable internal controls (IC) is crucial for qRT-PCR experiments. Currently, there is no consensus on the ICs for miRNA qRT-PCR experiments in breast cancer. To this end, we tried to identify the most stable (the least expression alteration) and promising miRNAs in normal and tumor breast tissues by employing TCGA miRNA-Seq data and then experimentally validated them on fresh clinical samples. Methods: A multi-component scoring system was used which takes into account multiple expression stability criteria as well as correlation with clinical characteristics. Furthermore, we extended the scoring system for more than two biological sub-groups. TCGA BRCA samples were analyzed based on two grouping criteria: Tumor & Normal samples and Tumor subtypes. The top 10 most stable miRNAs were further investigated by differential expression and survival analysis. Then, we examined the expression level of the top scored miRNA (hsa-miR- 361-5p) along with two commonly used ICs hsa-miR-16-5p and U48 on 34 pairs of Primary breast tumor and their adjacent normal tissues using qRT-PCR. Results: According to our multi-component scoring system, hsa-miR-361-5p had the highest stability score in both grouping criteria and hsa-miR-16-5p showed significantly lower scores. Based on our qRT-PCR assay, while U48 was the most abundant IC, hsa-miR-361-5p had lower standard deviation and also was the only IC capable of detecting a significant up-regulation of hsa-miR-21-5p in breast tumor tissue. Conclusions: miRNA-Seq data is a great source to discover stable ICs. Our results demonstrated that hsa-miR-361-5p is a highly stable miRNA in tumor and non-tumor breast tissue and we. recommend it as a suitable reference gene for miRNA expression studies in breast cancer. Additionally, although hsa-miR-16-5p is a commonly used IC, it's not a suitable one for breast cancer studies. Copyright © 2021 Ghanbari et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Early parity epigenetic footprint of FOXA1 gene body in normal breast tissue of Iranian women

Background: Young age at first full-term pregnancy (FFTP) is an important factor in breast cancer risk reduction. It is postulated that this protective effect is the result of stable molecular signatures imprinted by physiological process of pregnancy, but the molecular mechanism of this protective role is unclear. The aim of the current study was to identify the effect of early FFTP on methylation status of FOXA1 gene body. FOXA1 is an essential transcription factor for mammary gland development and estrogen responsiveness of breast tissue. Methods: Fresh frozen normal breast tissues (n = 51) were collected from Iranian women who underwent cosmetic mammoplasty (27 nulliparous women and 24 parous women who have experienced first pregnancy before the age of 25). DNA was extracted and then methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) real-time PCR was used to assess FOXA1 gene body methylation. Results: Our results revealed that FOXA1 methylation level is significantly higher in early parous compared with nulliparous group (p = 0.041). Conclusion: Our study provides new hint about the association between early FFTP and epigenetic modifications within gene body of FOXA1 in normal breast tissue. More investigation is required for clarifying molecular mechanisms underlying this association in order to develop breast cancer prevention strategies. © 2019, Pasteur Institute of Iran. All rights reserved

Rapamycin-loaded, capryol� 90 and oleic acid mediated nanoemulsions: Formulation development, characterization and toxicity assessment

This study was planned to explore the capability of nanoemulsions (NEs) consisting of Capryol� 90 and oleic acid for the delivery of rapamycin (RAP). Permeability and cytotoxicity of RAP-loaded NEs were also inspected. Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were created with oleic acid and Capryol� 90 (as oil phase) and four surfactants and co-surfactants at various weight ratios (Rsm). Selected NEs from O/W region on the phase diagrams with the drug concentration of 1 mg/mL, were prepared via the spontaneous emulsification technique, characterized for particle size and subjected to stability tests at various temperatures over 9-12 months. Cumulative drug release was determined for a period of 48 h using a dialysis sac. The assay of RAP was determined using HPLC technique. Cytotoxicity of NEs was evaluated by MTT assay on breast cancer cell line, namely SKBR-3. The permeability of RAP-loaded NEs across Caco-2 monolayers was assessed by measurement of TEER (transepithelial electrical resistance) value. The intracellular uptake of coumarin 6-loaded NEs by SKBR-3 cells was also investigated using florescence microscopy. NEs containing oleic acid/Tween 20/propylene glycol, Capryol� 90/Tween 20/iso-propanol, and Capryol� 90/Cremophor® RH40/Transcutol® P showed more cytotoxicity and permeability compared with the RAP methanolic solution. The minimum toxic concentration of RAP in NE formulations was found to be 7.5 µg/mL. The highest intracellular uptake was observed for the NE composed of Capryol� 90/Tween 20/iso-propanol which was in consistent with the results obtained from cytotoxicity and permeability tests. The overall results implicated that this novel carrier was effective for enhancing RAP permeation in Caco-2 cell membrane along with enhancement of cytotoxicity. © 2018, Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. All rights reserved

Prognostic factors of recurrence (Early and late) and death in breast cancer patients in Iranian women

Background: Breast cancer treatment success depends upon prolonging survival with effective treatment, and constant monitoring of recurrence. Survival rate can well be improved by better understanding of prognostic factors, preventive measures, and effective treatments together with follow-up and post-treatment care. Objectives: This study is aimed to know prognostic factors effective in recurrence and death in Iranian breast cancer patients. Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted by reviewing data acquired from 1604 female breast cancer patients who were admitted to Cancer Research Center at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences between October, 1982 and March, 2014. During the follow-up, after diagnosis, 313 patients experienced recurrence then were classified into two groups: early recurrence, less than 1 year and late recurrence after 5 years. We analyzed prognostic factors of recurrence in each groups and evaluated effective factors of death in this patients. Results: Median age of patients at diagnosis was 50 years. Median follow up time was 4.33 years (range: 0.005-24.9 years). Of these patients, 210 (67.09 ) and 76 (24.28), developed distant and loco -regional recurrence. Among 313 patients, 62 (21/60) and 69 (24/04) had early and late recurrence. In the univariate analysis, tumor grade, stage of disease, ER and PR status, axillary lymph node involvement and lymph vascular invasion were the prognostic factors affecting recurrence in patients, but in the multivariate analysis, ER/PR statuswasthemostimportant independent prognostic factor affecting the early recurrenceandstage of disease were prognostic factors in late recurrence. In all of the recurrent patients, 56.86 (178 individuals) survived and 43.13 (135 individuals) died at the end of follow-up period. The most important factors of death were histologic grade, disease free survival time, site of recurrence and age of disease. Conclusions: Biologic marker, estrogen and progesterone receptors status, had most influence in early recurrence, unlike late recurrence, stage of disease had a more important role. However, lymph vascular invasion has been an effective factor either in early or late recurrence. As a result of studying effective factors in death of these patients, recurrence site, DFS, pathologic grade and patients� age at the time of recurrence came to be effective. Knowing more about affecting factors on recurrence and the death of patients with recurrence, one can try to enhance survival and quality of life in patients by adopting more effective treatments. © 2016, Iranian Journal of Cancer Prevention

Relationships between reproductive risk factors for breast cancer and tumor molecular subtypes

Background: Due to wide clinical differences in the various pathological types of breast cancer and also close associations between disease prognosis and molecular subtypes, relationships of the latter with traditional risk factors have been suggested. Hence, the present study aimed to assess any associations. Methods: This bi-center cross-sectional study was performed on 800 consecutive women with known breast cancer referred to two Comprehensive Cancer Centers in Tehran between 2006 and 2016. Baseline information related to reproductive risk profiles as well as pathological tumor diagnosis and molecular subtypes determined using immunohistochemical analysis by immune-staining for ER, PR, and HER2 molecules were collected by reviewing hospital records. Results: Of 800 samples included for immunohistochemical analysis, 314 (39.3) were diagnosed as of Luminal A subtype, 107 (13.4) as Luminal B subtype, 153 (19.1) as HER-2 over-expressing, and 226 (28.3) as triple negative. Among all reproductive risk factors initially assessed, young age was associated with HER-2 over-expression, greater tumor size and a history of abortion with the luminal B subtype, lower age at pregnancy with the luminal A subtype, and lower gravidity and a shorter duration of breastfeeding with the triple negative subtype. Conclusion: Each molecular subtype of breast cancer in our population may be associated with specific reproductive risk factors. © 2018 Asian Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention