Combining mammaglobin and carcinoembryonic mRNA markers for early detection of micrometastases from breast cancers - a molecular study of 59 patients

Introduction: As many as 30% of node-negative breast cancer patients relapse within five years, suggesting that current histological detection methods are inadequate for identifying metastatic disease. Detecting small number of cancer cells in the breast tissue or lymph node by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays using a combination of tissue and cancer specific markers might be very useful in the early detection or monitoring of the treatment. Mammaglobin is a member of the uteroglobin gene family and appears to be expressed only in breast tissue. Carcinoembryonic antigen has been the preferred molecular marker for detection of micro metastases in lymph nodes in almost all carcinomas. Materials and Methods: Samples were collected from randomly chosen breast cancer patients undergoing modified mastectomy or breast conserving surgery between September 2003 and July 2004. RT-PCR was applied to study the expression of MMG and CEA markers. Breast cancer micrometastases in axillary lymph nodes were also assessed. Results: The MMG marker was positive in 9/10 normal breast tissues, 3/ 3 breast fibroadenomas and 37/39 of breast carcinoma tissues, giving an overall sensitivity of 94%. The sensitivity was 80% for metastatic lymph node samples. On the other hand CEA showed 95% sensitivity for malignant breast tumors and 100% sensitivity for metastatic lymph nodes. Conclusions: RT-PCR using a combination of MMG and CEA markers is a powerful tool to complement current routine histopathology techniques for detection of breast cancer metastasis in axillary nodes

Fly fauna of livestock’ s of Marvdasht County of Fars Province in the South of Iran

Flies damage the livestock industry in many ways, including damages, physical disturbances, the transmissions of pathogens and the emergence of problems for livestock like Myiasis. In this research, the fauna of flies of Marvdasht County was investigating, which is one of the central counties of Fars province in southern Iran. In this study, a total of 20 species of flies from 6 families and 15 genera have been identified and reported. The species collected are as follows: Muscidae: Musca domestica Linnaeus, 1758, Musca autumnalis* De Geer, 1776, Stomoxys calci-trans** Linnaeus, 1758, Haematobia irritans** Linnaeus, 1758 Fanniidae: Fannia canicularis* Linnaeus, 1761 Calliphoridae: Calliphora vomitoria* Linnaeus, 1758, Chrysomya albiceps* Wiedemann, 1819, Lu-cilia caesar* Linnaeus, 1758, Lucilia sericata* Meigen, 1826, Lucilia cuprina* Wiedemann, 1830 Sarcophagidae: Sarcophaga africa* Wiedemann, 1824, Sarcophaga aegyptica* Salem, 1935, Wohl-fahrtia magnifica** Schiner, 1862 Syrphidae: Eristalis tenax* Linnaeus, 1758, Syritta pipiens* Linnaeus, 1758, Eupeodes nuba* Wiedemann, 1830, Syrphus vitripennis** Meigen, 1822, Scaeva albomaculata* Macquart, 1842 Species identified with * for the first time in the county and the species marked with ** are reported for the first time from the Fars province

Ectopic Cushing's syndrome secondary to lung and mediastinal tumours - Report from a tertiary care centre in Iran

Introduction: Ectopic Cushing's syndrome (ECS) secondary to neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) of the lung and mediastinum are rarely encountered. In this study, we present our experience in Iran on 15 patients with ECS secondary to lung and mediastinal tumours over a period of 27 years. Material and methods: Since 1985, 15 patients with ECS secondary to lung and mediastinal tumours have been diagnosed and prospectively followed by the endocrinology team of Taleghani Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The clinical signs and symptoms, laboratory findings, radiological features, immunohistochemical characteristics, management strategies and outcome data are here presented. Results: There were six women and nine men, aged 26-70 years, all presenting with typical features of Cushing's syndrome. Based on histopathologic evaluations, four patients had small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and seven patients had pulmonary NETs, one patient had a thymic NET, and one case was diagnosed as a lung tumourlet. The mean ± SD serum cortisol, 24h urine free cortisol and plasma ACTH were 47.2 ± 20.5 μg/dL, 2,702 ± 5,439 μg/day, and 220 ± 147 pg/mL, respectively. Pulmonary lesions ranged in diameter from 1.1 to 4 cm (mean 1.9 ± 1.1 cm). One patient had a 10 cm mediastinal mass. The duration of follow up in these cases was between one month and seven years (mean 29.9 ± 27.5 months). The four patients with SCLC died within three months of diagnosis. Conclusion: Our data demonstrates the protean clinical and laboratory manifestations of ECS secondary to lung and mediastinal tumours, the problems encountered in diagnosis, and the need for a multidisciplinary approach. This study confirms other series from Western Europe and North America that, unlike the SCLC patients who show a poor outlook, ECS secondary to lung carcinoids has a more favourable prognosis

Ektopowy zespół Cushinga u pacjentów z nowotworem śródpiersia lub płuc — doniesienie z ośrodka trzeciego stopnia referencyjności w Iranie

Introduction: Ectopic Cushing`s syndrome (ECS) secondary to neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) of the lung and mediastinum are rarely encountered. In this study, we present our experience in Iran on 15 patients with ECS secondary to lung and mediastinal tumours over a period of 27 years. Material and methods: Since 1985, 15 patients with ECS secondary to lung and mediastinal tumours have been diagnosed and prospectively followed by the endocrinology team of Taleghani Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The clinical signs and symptoms, laboratory findings, radiological features, immunohistochemical characteristics, management strategies and outcome data are here presented. Results: There were six women and nine men, aged 26–70 years, all presenting with typical features of Cushing’s syndrome. Based on histopathologic evaluations, four patients had small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and seven patients had pulmonary NETs, one patient had a thymic NET, and one case was diagnosed as a lung tumourlet. The mean ± SD serum cortisol, 24h urine free cortisol and plasma ACTH were 47.2 ± 20.5 μg/dL, 2,702 ± 5,439 μg/day, and 220 ± 147 pg/mL, respectively. Pulmonary lesions ranged in diameter from 1.1 to 4 cm (mean 1.9 ± 1.1 cm). One patient had a 10 cm mediastinal mass. The duration of follow up in these cases was between one month and seven years (mean 29.9 ± 27.5 months). The four patients with SCLC died within three months of diagnosis. Conclusion: Our data demonstrates the protean clinical and laboratory manifestations of ECS secondary to lung and mediastinal tumours, the problems encountered in diagnosis, and the need for a multidisciplinary approach. This study confirms other series from Western Europe and North America that, unlike the SCLC patients who show a poor outlook, ECS secondary to lung carcinoids has a more favourable prognosis. Wstep: Ektopowy zespół Cushinga (ectopic Cushing`s syndrome, ECS), który rozwija się u pacjentów mających nowotwory neuroendokrynne (neuroendocrine tumours, NET) śródpiersia lub płuc, jest zaburzeniem rzadko spotykanym. Niniejsza publikacja przedstawia doświadczenia autorów z ośrodka w Iranie, którzy w okresie 27 lat prowadzili 15 pacjentów z zespołem Cushinga wtórnym do nowotworów śródpiersia lub płuc. Materiał i metody: W okresie od 1985 zespół endokrynologów ze szpitala Taleghani Hospital w Teheranie zidentyfikował i prowadził w sposób prospektywny 15 pacjentów z objawami ECS uwarunkowanymi obecnością nowotworów śródpiersia lub płuc. Niniejsza publikacja przedstawia obraz kliniczny i objawy podmiotowe, wyniki badań laboratoryjnych i radiologicznych oraz badań immunohistochemicznych materiału tkankowegoz guzów nowotworowych, a także informacje na temat wdrożonego leczenia i jego wyników. Wyniki: W badanej grupie znalazło się 6 kobiet i 9 mężczyzn, w wieku 26–70 lat. U wszystkich pacjentów stwierdzono typowe cechy kliniczne zespołu Cushinga. Na podstawie badań histopatologicznych wycinków z guzów nowotworowych postawiono rozpoznanie drobnokomórkowego raka płuca (SCLC, small cell lung cancer) u 4 pacjentów, neuroendokrynnego nowotworu płuca (NET) bliżej nieokreślonego typu u 7 pacjentów, NET grasicy u jednej osoby oraz rozpoznanie zmiany typu tumorlet w płucu u jednej osoby. Średnie stężenie kortyzolu w surowicy ( ± odchylenie standardowe) wyniosło 47,2 ± 20,5 μg/dl, stężenie wolnego kortyzolu w moczu ze zbiórki dobowej 2.702 ± 5.439 μg/dobę, a stężenie ACTH w osoczu 220 ± 147 pg/ml. Zmiany nowotworowe w płucach miały wielkość od 1,1 do 4 cm (średni wymiar guza 1,9 ± 1,1 cm). Guz śródpiersia (u jednej osoby) miał średnicę 10 cm. Czas obserwacji wyniósł od 1 miesiąca do 7 lat (średnia 29,9 ± 27,5 miesięcy). Czterech chorych na SCLC zmarło w okresie do 3 miesięcy od postawienia rozpoznania. Wnioski: Przedstawione dane wskazują na różnorodność obrazu klinicznego i danych laboratoryjnych u pacjentów z objawami ECS w przebiegu choroby nowotworowej śródpiersia lub płuc. Konstelacja ta wymaga więc wielospecjalistycznej opieki już od momentu wdrożenia postępowania diagnostycznego. Przedstawione wyniki są zbieżne z danymi z publikacji pochodzących z Europy Zachodniej i Stanów Zjednoczonych i wskazują na stosunkowo korzystne rokowanie u pacjentów mających objawy ECS w związku z rakowiakiem płuca, w przeciwieństwie do pacjentów mających zmiany typu SCLC

Surgical treatment for different forms of hernias in sheep and goats

Sheep and goats are frequently presented with different forms of hernias to veterinary clinics. The aim of this study is to investigate the outcome of the surgical treatment of abdominal, umbilical, inguinal and scrotal hernias in sheep and goats. Fifty-eight clinical cases (sheep = 44, goat = 14) were presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia from September, 2003 to September, 2006. These animals had abdominal (sheep = 30, goat = 10), umbilical (sheep = 6, goat = 4), inguinal (sheep = 7) and scrotal (sheep = 1) hernias. All the cases of hernias in sheep and goats were subjected to full study including the history of the case, classification of hernias, the size of the hernial ring, surgical repair of the hernias, adhesions between the hernial sacs in each case, the postoperative care and follow up of the cases. The results revealed that gender had an effect on the incidence of hernia. The incidence of abdominal hernias was higher in females and the incidence of inguinal hernia was higher in males. There was a positive correlation between the history of hernia and the degree of adhesion. For the sheep, 26 out of 30 cases of abdominal hernia had good outcomes and the healing was excellent. There were postoperative complications in 4 ewes. For the goats, there were slight swellings at the site of operation in 2 out of 10 cases of abdominal hernia, while the remaining 8 cases had good outcomes. There was one case of umbilical hernia with an umbilical abscess that had broken down with sepsis formation at the surgical site. In conclusion, the success rates of surgical treatment for all types of hernias were very high and there were no significant differences in the success rates among the different types of hernias in both sheep and goats. The types of suture materials and the types of hernias had no significant effect on the outcome of the surgical treatment

Hypercalcemia and huge splenomegaly presenting in an elderly patient with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Hypercalcemia is the major electrolyte abnormality in patients with malignant tumors. It can be due to localized osteolytic hypercalcemia or elaboration of humoral substances such as parathyroid hormone-related protein from tumoral cells. In hematological malignancies, a third mechanism of uncontrolled synthesis and secretion of 1-25(OH)₂D₃from tumoral cells or neighboring macrophages may contribute to the problem. However, hypercalcemia is quite unusual in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>An 85-year-old Caucasian woman presented with low grade fever, anorexia, abdominal discomfort and fullness in her left abdomen for the last six months. She was mildly anemic and complained of fatigability. She had huge splenomegaly and was hypercalcemic. After correction of her hypercalcemia, she had a splenectomy. Microscopic evaluation revealed a malignant lymphoma. Her immunohistochemistry was positive for leukocyte common antigen, CD20 and parathyroid hormone-related peptide.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Immunopositivity for parathyroid hormone-related peptide clearly demonstrates that hypersecretion of a parathyroid hormone-like substance from the tumor had led to hypercalcemia in this case. High serum calcium is seen in only seven to eight percent of patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, apparently due to different mechanisms. Evaluation of serum parathyroid hormone-related protein and 1-25(OH)₂D₃can be helpful in diagnosis and management. It should be noted that presentation with hypercalcemia has a serious impact on prognosis and survival.</p

Study of nest architecture of scorpion Adentobotus Doria in Esfahan province, 1991

History and Objectives: Adentobotus doria has venomous and painful sting. In order to catch scorpion A.doria for clinical studies, understanding the architecture of their nest and their characteristics is essential therefore the present investigation was carried out in Isfahan province in 1991. Materials and Methods: Based on three specific characteristics the shape of entrance of the nest, (Oval shape with upper semicircle), cone shaped embarkments and the dimensions of the nest entrance (15 by 7) a descriptive study was carried out. Once nests with above characteristics were found, it is considered as the nest of A.doria. The nest was destroyed and the scorpions were caught and their taxonomy were assigned. Architecture of the nests (Length, depth, slope and shape of canals) were recorded. Results: From all 96 nests studied, A.doria was found in all the nests (100). Conclusion: From the present data, it is practical to identify and catch scorpions from the architecture of the nests