Predictors of perceived unsupportive behaviours by spouses in women with breast cancer

Background: Unsupportive responses from relatives and spouses play a significant role in the psychological adjustment of breast cancer patients and their spouses, about whom little is known about them and their unsupportive responses predictors. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of perceived spouse unsupportive behaviours in women with breast cancer and their spouses. Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional study, in which 220 couples, including women with breast cancer and their spouses, participated in random samples in chemotherapy and cancer hospitals in Iran in 2020. In the present study, data was collected using a demographic checklist and the Unsupportive Partner Behaviour scale. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, ANOVA, independent t-Test, Hochberg post-hoc test and Chi-square test were used for group comparison. Univariate and multivariate linear regression methods were also used to assess the effect size. Results: Predictors of perceived unsupportive behaviours in women were: number of children (p = 0.047), life with relatives (p = 0.051), residence in suburbs (p = 0.006), marital status (p = 0.001), education and occupation of the spouse (p = 0.026), going to the hospital alone (p = 0.001), type of treatment received (p = 0.242), duration of diagnosis (p = 0.018) and type of residence (p = 0.051). Moreover, predictors of perceived unsupportive behaviours in men included: education and occupation of men (p = 0.035) and women (p = 0.050), type of treatment received (p = 0.050), employment of women (p = 0.030) and men (p = 0.009), residence in suburbs (p = 0.014), marital status (p = 0.019) and going to the hospital alone (p = 0.006). Conclusions: The variety of socio-economic, demographic and therapeutic factors were shown to be predictors of perceived unsupportive behaviours by spouses with breast cancer that can be modified by healthcare professionals in order to increase a couple’s mutual support

Cancer Screening: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Healthcare Personnel

Background: It is crucial for medical personnel to be aware of cancer symptoms and engage in appropriate screening practices. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of Iranian healthcare staff regarding cancer warning symptoms, their attitudes towards cancer risk factors, and their willingness to undertake cancer screening tests.Method: This cross-sectional study involved administering validated questionnaires to 145 medical staff. In addition to descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were utilized to compare knowledge, attitudes, and performance of cancer screening tests. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between demographic and occupational variables and participants' knowledge and attitudes regarding cancer risk factors and screening practices.Results: The mean knowledge and attitude scores were 7.97 ± 2.01 and 35.41 ± 4.69, respectively. Among the 125 female participants aged 25-57 years, only 44% performed monthly breast self-examinations, 22.1% sought specialist physicians for breast cancer screening, and only 20.51% of female participants over the age of 40 underwent mammography. Regarding cervical cancer screening, 27.2% had undergone annual Pap smear tests, and 17.6% referred to a specialist for annual pelvic examinations. Among staff older than 45 years (24 participants), only one had undertaken an occult blood test and colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening.Conclusion: Although most healthcare workers demonstrated awareness of cancer warning signs, they did not engage in regular preventive screening practices. Regular educational programs should be implemented to encourage healthcare personnel to perform routine cancer screening

Acceptability and compliance with a breast cancer prevention campaign in the Northwest Region, Iran

Aim: Breast cancer screening intended to improve survival and treatment outcomes. This study aimed to document the acceptability and compliance of the breast cancer prevention campaigns.Materials &amp; methods: Healthy women aged 35-65 years were recruited from various regions of the Northwest of Iran. All women were invited to participate in self-examination training for the breast and then re-Assessed by clinical examination and mammography.Results: A total of 321 healthy women were recruited, and volunteered to undergo at least one breast self-examination. The first and second clinical examinations were conducted on all women. Ultimately, 272 women (84.7%) underwent mammography. The most common barriers to screening were found to be fear of positive results, fear of cancer, lack of knowledge, fear of the mammography procedure and pain, travel distance and costs.Conclusion: The most critical challenge for implementing a breast cancer prevention program was the lack of knowledge and attitude. </p

Comparison of nuclear P16 immunostaining in atypical and normal endocervical glands: A descriptive analytical study

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and a major problem in the healthcare system. Nowadays, the importance of biomarkers in the diagnosis of malignancies is proven. Some studies have pointed to the role of P16 in the diagnosis of cervical cancer. The purpose of this study was to compare the nucleic reactivity with P16 antibody in atypical vs normal endocervical glands. Methods: We enrolled 60 patients who had undergone the hysterectomy due to non-endocervical causes at Alzahra University Hospital of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences to a descriptive-analytical study. We selected 25 patients with atypical endocervical glands and 35 subjects with normal glands based on the pathologic examination using hematoxylin-eosin staining. Then, we assessed the frequency of nucleic reactivity of the tissues with P16 antibody in both groups. Results: No P16 expression was observed in any of the samples from normal subjects. However, only 2 (8.0%) out of 25 samples from the atypical group, were not reactive to the P16 antibody. Also, 20 samples (80.0%) were diffusely stained continuous, whereas three samples (12.0%) were stained locally. Accordingly, in the group with atypical endocervical glands, the reaction with P16 antibody was significantly higher than that of normal endocervical glands (p= 0.001). Conclusion: P16 biomarker may play a role in the pathogenesis and progression of cervical cancer and can be used as a diagnostic marker for this purpose

Fear of cancer recurrence and its predictive factors among Iranian cancer patients

Fear of cancer recurrence (FOCR) is one of the most important psychological problems among cancer patients. In extensive review of related literature there were no articles on FOCR among Iranian cancer patients. Aim: The aim of present study was to investigation FOCR and its predictive factors among Iranian cancer patients. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-correlational study 129 cancer patients participated. For data collection, the demographic checklist and short form of fear of progression questionnaire was used. Logistic regression was used to determine predictive factors of FOCR. Result: Mean score of FOCR among participants was 44.8 and about 50% of them had high level of FOCR. The most important worries of participants were about their family and the future of their children and their lesser worries were about the physical symptoms and fear of physical damage because of cancer treatments. Also, women, breast cancer patient, and patients with lower level of education have more FOCR. Discussion: There is immediate need for supportive care program designed for Iranian cancer patients aimed at decreasing their FOCR. Especially, breast cancer patients and the patient with low educational level need more attention

Epidemiologic profile of breast cancer in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: In Iran, the latest reports from different regions indicate that incidence and mortality rates of breast cancer have significantly increased. Methods: All manuscripts were screened for eligibility according to inclusion criteria. Epidemiological, analytical, cross-sectional, descriptive, and population-based studies were recruited. Results: Pooled estimated results were ASIR = 32.10, CIR = 28.99, and APC = 7.54%. However, the results indicated an increasing trend of all incidence indexes including ASIR, CIR, and APCs. Conclusion: This is noteworthy that there has been a rapid increase in the incidence of breast cancer. The estimated results were in accordance with the last reported results of Iran

Influence of Chemotherapy on the Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Status in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Chemotherapeutic agents used in patients with cancer cause to generate the enormous amounts of free radicals associated with cell injury. In this study we assess the effects of chemotherapy regimen on oxidant/antioxidant status in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). 38 newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia were recruited in this study. All patients received cytarabine and daunorubicin as chemotherapy regimen. Plasma levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant status (TAS), and the levels of erythrocyte activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were determined before chemotherapy and 14 days after chemotherapy with cytarabine and daunorubicin. Plasma MDA concentrations increased significantly (from 2.68±0.89 nmol/L to 3.14±1.29 nmol/L) during the 14days post-chemotherapy period (P=0.04). Plasma TAS concentrations changed with chemotherapy from 1.09±0.15 mmol/L to 1.02±0.14 mmol/L with P=0.005. Erythrocyte SOD and GPX activity decreased overtime from 1157.24±543.61 U/g Hb to 984.01±419.09 U/g Hb (P=0.04) and 46.96±13.70 U/g Hb to 41.40±6.44 U/g Hb (P=0.02) respectively. We report here that there is an increase in malondialdehyde levels and a decrease in the levels of antioxidant enzymes and total antioxidant status. This suggests that chemotherapy causes these changes as a result of enormous production of reactive oxygen species in the patients with AML. Antioxidant supplementation must be approached with caution because of the probability of reduction the therapeutic efficacy of these cytotoxic drugs

Cytokines secreted from bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells promote apoptosis and change cell cycle distribution of K562 cell line as clinical agent in cell transplantation.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are of special interest due their potential clinical use in cell-based therapy. Therapies engaging MSCs are showing increasing promise in the cancer treatment and anticancer drug screening applications. A multitude of growth factors and cytokines secreted from these cells are known to give such multifunctional properties, but details of their role are yet to be absolutely demonstrated. In this study, we have evaluated the influence of BMSCs on K562 cell line as chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells, with the use of a cytokine antibody array recognizing 34 cytokines. For this purpose, BMSCs were isolated and co-cultured with K562 cells; thereafter, cultured K562 alone and co-cultured K562 with BMSCs (10:1) were collected at day 7 and subjected to cell cycle distribution assay as well as annexin/PI analysis and Ki/caspase-3 assay for apoptosis assessment. In the following, the gene and protein expression levels of BAX and BCL-2 as pro- and anti-apoptotic agents were investigated. Furthermore, after 7 days' treatment, culture medium was collected from both control and experimental groups for cytokine antibody array. It was found that BMSCs resulted in a robust increase in the number of cells at G0/G1 phase and arrest the G0/G1 phase as well as significantly inducing late apoptosis in K562 cells. The significant presence of TIMP-1 (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1), and moderate elevated signals for CINC-1 (cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1) were obvious in the co-cultured conditioned media, but no significant increase was found in 32 other cytokines. It is concluded that co-culture of BMSCs with K562 cells could secrete a substantial amount of TIMP-1 and CINC-1. These cytokines could be involved in the inhibition of the K562 cell proliferation via BAX and caspase-3 cascade pathways

Effect of taurine on attenuating chemotherapy-induced adverse effects in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Objective: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effect of oral taurine supplementation on the incidence of chemotherapy-induced adverse drug reactions during chemotherapy in young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Materials and Methods: Forty young adult (aged over 16 years) with ALL, at the beginning of maintenance course of their chemotherapy, were recruited to the study. The study population was randomized in a double blind manner to receive either taurine or placebo. Life quality and adverse drug reactions were assessed using questionnaire. Blood cell count, hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), serum bilirubin, transaminases, urea, and creatinine concentrations were evaluated. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Results: Of total participants, 43.8% were female and 56.3% were male. The mean age was 19.16 ± 1.95 years (range: 16-23 years). The results indicated that the levels of white blood cells were significantly (P < 0.05) increased in taurine treated group, but other hematological values did not differ significantly in either group. Taurine administration improved liver and kidney functions, indicated by decline of serum bilirubin, transaminases, urea, and creatinine, respectively in comparison to the controls (P < 0.05). Moreover, taurine significantly reduced serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels (P < 0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion our results indicated that taurine supplementation could be a protection against chemotherapy-induced toxicities probably by its antioxidant capacity. Present study showed effectiveness of taurineon the chemotherapy-related toxicities and some of the complications during the maintenance period of treatment following coadministration in young adults with ALL

Effect of Taurine on Febrile Episodes in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effect of oral taurine on the incidence of febrile episodes during chemotherapy in young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Methods: Forty young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, at the beginning of maintenance course of their chemotherapy, were eligible for this study. The study population was randomized in a double blind manner to receive either taurine or placebo (2 gram per day orally). Life quality and side effects including febrile episodes were assessed using questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s Chi square test. Results: Of total forty participants, 43.8% were female and 56.3 % were male. The mean age was 19.16±1.95 years (ranges: 16-23 years). The results indicated that the levels of white blood cells are significantly (P<0.05) increased in taurine treated group. There was no elevation in blasts count. A total of 70 febrile episodes were observed during study, febrile episodes were significantly (P<0.05) lower in taurine patients in comparison to the control ones. Conclusion: The overall incidence of febrile episodes and infectious complications in acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients receiving taurine was lower than placebo group. Taurine’s ability to increase leukocyte count may result in lower febrile episodes