Translation and psychometric assessment of the Persian version of the Rhodes Index of Nausea, Vomiting and Retching (INVR) scale for the assessment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting

No tools are available to assess or measure the experience of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) for Persian/Farsi speakers. The purpose of this study is to translate the Rhodes Index of Nausea, Vomiting and Retching (INVR) scale for use with Persian-speaking cancer patients. A sample of 94 cancer patients were recruited from a cancer research centre in Mashhad-Iran. A standard two phase process of scale translation and validation was conducted. In phase I, standard 'forward-backward' translation procedure was used to translate the original version of the INVR questionnaire into Persian. The translated questionnaire was reviewed and revised and a Persian version of the scale was produced. In the second phase, a multiphase instrumentation study describing the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the translated version was conducted. The inter-item correlation measured by Cronbach's alpha was 0.88. Test/re-test reliability was measured by the weighted kappa and was between 0.63 and 0.79, indicating 'substantial agreement' and stability between the initial and subsequent administrations for each item. These results demonstrate that the Persian version of the INVR is acceptable for use among Iranian cancer patients. Researchers could use this study as a model for future translation and application of psychometric instrumentation

Translation and psychometric assessment of the Persian version of the Rhodes Index of Nausea, Vomiting and Retching (INVR) scale for the assessment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting

No tools are available to assess or measure the experience of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) for Persian/Farsi speakers. The purpose of this study is to translate the Rhodes Index of Nausea, Vomiting and Retching (INVR) scale for use with Persian-speaking cancer patients. A sample of 94 cancer patients were recruited from a cancer research centre in Mashhad-Iran. A standard two phase process of scale translation and validation was conducted. In phase I, standard 'forward-backward' translation procedure was used to translate the original version of the INVR questionnaire into Persian. The translated questionnaire was reviewed and revised and a Persian version of the scale was produced. In the second phase, a multiphase instrumentation study describing the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the translated version was conducted. The inter-item correlation measured by Cronbach's alpha was 0.88. Test/re-test reliability was measured by the weighted kappa and was between 0.63 and 0.79, indicating 'substantial agreement' and stability between the initial and subsequent administrations for each item. These results demonstrate that the Persian version of the INVR is acceptable for use among Iranian cancer patients. Researchers could use this study as a model for future translation and application of psychometric instrumentation

The 9p21 locus: A potential therapeutic target and prognostic marker in breast cancer

Breast cancer is an important cause of cancer related mortality in women. Despite extensive efforts to identify valid biomarkers for risk stratification, there are relatively few with proven clinical utility. It is recognized that genetic factors play a major role in determining susceptibility to breast cancer. Recent genome-wide-association-studies and gene expression analysis have demonstrated that a locus on chromosome 9p21, which contains three genes; CDKN2B (encoding p15ink4b), CDKN2A (encoding p16ink4a and p14ARF) and the 3� end of CDKN2BAS (an antisense noncoding RNA in the INK4 locus ANRIL) are associated with an increased risk of this malignancy. ANRIL has a post transcriptional modulatory activity, which has been shown to perturb the expression of nearby genes and may play an important role in coordinating tissue remodeling through regulation of cell proliferation, apoptosis, aging, extra-cellular matrix remodeling, and inflammatory response. However, the role of ANRIL is not well understood in breast cancer. Hypermethylation of the p14ARF and p16INK4a genes is found in some tumor types. Nevertheless, further studies are necessary to confirm the clinical utility of these putative markers in risk stratification, or assessing prognosis. In this review, we have summarized the prognostic and therapeutic potential of the p14ARF and p16INK4a genes in patients with breast cancer. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Investigation of Association Between Cardiac Dose Distribution and Strain/Tissue Doppler Echocardiographic Indices During 1-Year Post-Mastectomy Radiation Therapy Follow-Up in Breast Cancer Patients

Objective: This study aimed to determine the association between cardiac dose distribution and strain and Tissue Imaging Doppler (TDI) echocardiographic indices during 1-year follow-up after Post-Mastectomy Radiotherapy (PMRT) in breast cancer patients. Methods and Materials: In this prospective cohort study, patients with left breast cancer candidate for PMRT were included. The patients treated radiation dose of 50 Gy in 25 fractions over 5 weeks. Before the radiotherapy, and 6 and 12 months after it, the patients underwent echocardiography using strain and TDI methods. The changes in echocardiographic indices and their association with cardiac radiation dose were evaluated. Results: In this study, 31 patients with mean age of 36.6 ± 4.6 years old and the cumulative doses of doxorubicin to 237 ± 5 mg/m2 were participated. Correlation between cardiac dose during radiotherapy and changes in strain and TDI echocardiographic indices showed a significant inverse relation between minimum cardiac dose and 6-month TAPSE changes (p = 0.04, r = � 0.3), maximum cardiac dose and 6-month RV strain changes (p = 0.04, r = � 0.3) and 6 and 12-month S� changes (p = 0.02, r = � 0.4 and p = 0.05, r = � 0.3), Cardiac V30 with 6 and 12-month E velocity changes (p = 0.05, r = � 0.3 and p = 0.02, r = � 0.4, respectively) and Heart V20 with 12-month E velocity changes (p = 0.04, r = � 0.3). Normal RV strain observed before starting the study in 12 patients (38.7) was found to be abnormal after 6-month follow-up (p = 0.004). Conclusion: Results of this study showed that, PMRT was associated with left heart diastolic dysfunction and right heart systolic dysfunction especially in the first 6 months after radiotherapy. © 2020, Association of Gynecologic Oncologists of India

Opium use and the risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Scant evidence exists to support the association of opium use with head and neck cancer, limited to the larynx and oral cavity. In a multicenter case-control study—Iran Opium and Cancer study, we recruited 633 cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) (254 lip and oral cavity, 54 pharynx, 327 larynx and 28 other subsites within the head and neck) and 3065 frequency-matched controls from April 2016 to April 2019. Odds ratios (ORs) for opium use and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were obtained using mixed-effects logistic regression because of heterogeneity among centers. The adjusted OR (95% CI) for regular opium use was 3.76 (2.96-4.79) for all HNSCC combined. Strong dose-response effects were observed by frequency or amount of use, and duration of use. Regular opium uses significantly increased the risk of HNSCC of the pharynx, larynx and other subsites within the head and neck with OR (95% CI) of 2.90 (1.40-6.02), 6.55 (4.69-9.13) and 5.95 (2.41-14.71), respectively. The observed associations were significant even among never tobacco smokers (including cigarette and water-pipe smoking). Moreover, by the multiplicative interaction scale, the effect of opium use could be varied by cigarette smoking on HNSCC, 8.16 (6.20-10.74). For the first time, the current study showed opium users have an increased risk of several anatomic subsites of HNSCC

Opium use and the risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Scant evidence exists to support the association of opium use with head and neck cancer, limited to the larynx and oral cavity. In a multicenter case-control study�Iran Opium and Cancer study, we recruited 633 cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) (254 lip and oral cavity, 54 pharynx, 327 larynx and 28 other subsites within the head and neck) and 3065 frequency-matched controls from April 2016 to April 2019. Odds ratios (ORs) for opium use and 95 confidence intervals (95 CIs) were obtained using mixed-effects logistic regression because of heterogeneity among centers. The adjusted OR (95 CI) for regular opium use was 3.76 (2.96-4.79) for all HNSCC combined. Strong dose-response effects were observed by frequency or amount of use, and duration of use. Regular opium uses significantly increased the risk of HNSCC of the pharynx, larynx and other subsites within the head and neck with OR (95 CI) of 2.90 (1.40-6.02), 6.55 (4.69-9.13) and 5.95 (2.41-14.71), respectively. The observed associations were significant even among never tobacco smokers (including cigarette and water-pipe smoking). Moreover, by the multiplicative interaction scale, the effect of opium use could be varied by cigarette smoking on HNSCC, 8.16 (6.20-10.74). For the first time, the current study showed opium users have an increased risk of several anatomic subsites of HNSCC. © 2020 UIC

Opium use and risk of lung cancer: A multicenter case-control study in Iran

Opium use was recently classified as a human carcinogen for lung cancer by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. We conducted a large, multicenter case-control study evaluating the association between opium use and the risk of lung cancer. We recruited 627 cases and 3477 controls from May 2017 to July 2020. We used unconditional logistic regression analyses to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95 confidence intervals (CI) and measured the association between opium use and the risk of lung cancer. The ORs were adjusted for the residential place, age, gender, socioeconomic status, cigarettes, and water pipe smoking. We found a 3.6-fold risk of lung cancer for regular opium users compared to never users (95 CI: 2.9, 4.6). There was a strong dose-response association between a cumulative count of opium use and lung cancer risk. The OR for regular opium use was higher for small cell carcinoma than in other histology (8.3, 95 CI: 4.8, 14.4). The OR of developing lung cancer among opium users was higher in females (7.4, 95 CI: 3.8, 14.5) than in males (3.3, 95 CI: 2.6, 4.2). The OR for users of both opium and tobacco was 13.4 (95 CI: 10.2, 17.7) compared to nonusers of anything. The risk of developing lung cancer is higher in regular opium users, and these results strengthen the conclusions on the carcinogenicity of opium. The association is stronger for small cell carcinoma cases than in other histology. © 2022 UICC

Opium use and risk of bladder cancer: A multi-centre case-referent study in Iran

Background: Bladder cancer (BC) is the 10th most common type of cancer worldwide and the fourth most common type of cancer in Iran. Opium use is considered as one of the risk factors for BC. We aim to assess the association between various parameters of opium use, which in Iran is mainly ingested or smoked in various forms, and the risk of BC. Method: In this multi-centre case-referent study in Iran, 717 BC cases and 3477 referents were recruited to the study from May 2017 until July 2020. Detailed histories of opium use (duration, amount, frequency) and potential confounders were collected by trained interviewers. Multivariable unconditional logistic regression models were used to measure adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95 confidence intervals (CI). The ORs were adjusted for age, gender, place of residence and pack-years of cigarette smoking. Results: Regular opium consumption was associated with an increased risk of BC (OR 3.5, 95 CI: 2.8, 4.3) compared with subjects who never used opium. Compared with continuous users, the risk decreased to one-Third for those who stopped opium more than 10 years ago. The adjusted OR for those who used both crude opium (teriak) and opium juice was 7.4 (95 CI: 4.1, 13.3). There was a joint effect of opium and tobacco (OR for users of both opium and tobacco 7.7, 95 CI: 6.0, 9.7). Conclusions: Regular opium use is associated with an approximately 4-fold risk for BC. The OR decreases along with the increasing time since stopping opium use. © 2022 The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association