Effect of silymarin in the prevention of Cisplatin nephrotoxicity, a clinical trial study.

BACKGROUND Reno-protective effect of Silymarin was studied in some studies mainly on rats. In some of these studies, Silymarin was shown to have positive effects on preventing or decreasing severity of Cisplatin nephrotoxicity. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of Silymarin on Cisplatin nephrotoxicity in adult patients with malignancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this clinical trial study, 60 patients with malignancy, candidate of Cisplatin treatment were randomly enrolled in two equal groups. In patients of case group, Silymarin tablet 140 mg/bid was administrated seven days before Cisplatin administration together with Cisplatin, and in control group, Cisplatin was prescribed. Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) and serum Creatinine (Cr) were checked at the same day and 3 and 7 days after administration of Cisplatin. RESULTS Mean age of the patients in case and control groups were 51.1±14.3 y and 51.1±13.7 y respectively (p=0.99). There was no significant difference based on BUN and serum Cr in the beginning of study and three days after administration of Cisplatin in two groups of patients; however, after two weeks, BUN and serum Cr were significantly lower in the case group compared to the control group. Also, in the case group, BUN and serum Cr decreased and in the control group, they increased after two weeks after Cisplatin administration. CONCLUSION This study showed that Silymarin can decrease Cisplatin nephrotoxicity, so because of safety profile and minor adverse effect of Silymarin, we can use it as prophylaxis against Cisplatin nephrotoxicity in various Cisplatin-contained chemotherapy regimens

The Association of miR-451 and miR-21 in Plasma with Lymph Node Metastases in Breast Cancer

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The expression of some circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) in biological fluids of healthy individuals is different from cancerous patients. circulating miRNAs are a new class of cancer biomarkers because of their high stability and sensitivity, ease of measurement and specificity due to their correlation with various cancer states. According to the miR-451 and miR-21 functions in the metastasis of some cancers, the aim of this study was to investigate the differences of expression levels of miR-451 and miR-21 in the plasma of breast cancer (BC) patients with and without lymph nodes metastasis (LNM). METHODS: In this descriptive-analytical study, blood samples were collected from 47 women with BC and 24 healthy women with mammography confirmation. The presence/or absence of LNM was recognized from patients' medical records. The expression levels of miR-451 and miR-21 in the plasma, were investigated using Real-Time PCR. FINDINGS: The median of expression of miR-451 in BC patients with LNM and without LNM was 1.739 and 3.187, respectively, and its expression in lymph node metastatic patients decreased 0.444 folds in comparison with non-metastatic patients (p=0.031). The median of expression of miR-21 in patients with LNM and in non-metastatic lymph nodes patients was 5.922 and 2.157, respectively, and its expression in metastatic status was 2 folds higher than non-metastatic (p=0.029). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated that decreased miR-451 and increased miR-21 expression in plasma of BC patients was associated with LNM status