Asude Aksoy

Oxidant/Antioxidant Status of Patients with Diabetic and Senile Cataract

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study is to evaluate the relationship of total antioxidant capacity, total oxidant status, oxidative stres and total free sulfydryl groups in patients with diabetic and nondiabetic senil cataract. The study was carried out on venous blood samples from 70 subjects admitted to the ophtalmology clinic of a research hospital. Of these, 25 were senile Type 2 diabetic patients with cataract who were using oral hypoglycemic agents or insülin. Fourty-five patients with nondiabetic senile cataract comprised the control group. Total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total free -SH levels were measured in sera of patients with cataract. Serum TAS and TOS levels were determined using a novel automated measurement method. Oxidative status was determined using TAC and TOS measurement and with the calculation of oxidative stres index. TOS and OSI levels were significantly higher in diabetic cataract than senile cataract (p=0.008, p=0.013), respectively. TAC and total free -SH levels were similiar in the two groups (p = 0.17, p=0.54). Free sulfydryl groups levels are consistent with TAC. The results of present study suggest that TOS and intensity of the oxidative stress in diabetic patients are higher, compared to other age-related cataract patients without diabetes. Since oxidative stress is important in development of diabetic complications, increased TOS and oxidative stress might have a role in the pathophysiology of diabetic cataract.

Elevated Serum Levels of SCUBE1, a Marker for Coagulation, in Patients with Breast Cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women and a major cause of death. Signal Peptide-Cub-Epidermal growth factor domain-containing protein-1 (SCUBE1) is secreted under hypoxia and inflammatory conditions from platelet alpha granules. Its biological function is uncertain, although it may be a procoagulant substance in cancer patients. SCUBE1 is useful for identifying thrombotic diseases, including cancers and acute coronary syndromes. D-dimer reflects the relationship between coagulation activation and fibrinolysis; namely, thrombosis and D-dimer levels are closely linked. This is the first investigation of the potential diagnostic and prognostic value of SCUBE1 levels in patients with BC. Fifty patients and 33 age-matched and body mass index-matched healthy controls were enrolled. Blood samples were collected before chemotherapy regimens commenced. Serum SCUBE1 and D-dimer levels were measured before adjuvant chemotherapy and were compared to the healthy controls. SCUBE1 levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. SCUBE1 and D-dimer levels were significantly higher in patients than in the controls (p = 0.03 and p < 0.001, respectively). A cut-off value of 1.55 ng/mL for SCUBE1 was associated with 62% sensitivity and 72.7% specificity and with positive predictive value of 77.5% and negative predictive value of 55.8%. Two patients with high SCUBE1 and D-dimer levels also developed pulmonary embolism. SCUBE1 may indicate hypercoagulability in patients with BC and thus help identify patients at greater risk of thrombosis and requiring anti-thrombosis treatment. SCUBE1 may also be used as an assistant test for identifying patients at risk of BC.

Protective Role of Selenium and High Dose Vitamin E against Cisplatin - Induced Nephrotoxicty in Rats.

BACKGROUND Cisplatin (CDDP) is one of the most active cytotoxic agents in the treatment of cancer. We investigated the effect of selenium (Se) with high dose vitamin E (VE) administration to prevent CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, 40 female Wistar rats were randomly divided into five equal groups. The first group, which served as the control, was administered physiological saline (2.5 cc/day, 5 days) intraperitoneally (IP), while group A was administered cisplatin (6 mg/kg BW/ single dose) plus physiological saline IP. Groups B, C, D received IP five doses of Se (1.5 mg/kg BW), and a high dose of VE (1000 mg/kg BW) (Se-VE) in combination before, simultaneously, and after CDDP, respectively. The rats were sacrificed five days after CDDP administration. Plasma malondialdehide (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase, urea, creatinine levels, renal histopathological changes were measured. RESULTS The histopathological injury score, plasma levels of MDA, urea, creatinine were found to increase in group A compared to the control (p<0.05), while plasma levels of GSH-Px, GSH and catalase decreased (p<0.05). In contrast, plasma levels of MDA decreased (p<0.05) in groups B, C, D, which were treated with Se- VE, whereas levels of GSH-Px, GSH were found to increase only for group D (p<0.05). Plasma urea, creatinine levels improved in the treatment groups compared to group A (p<0.001). Histopathological changes caused by CDDP were also significantly improved after Se-VE treatment (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Oxidative stress increases with CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Se-VE supplementation might thus play a role in the prevention of CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity in patients.

XELOX plus bevacizumab vs. FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab treatment for first-line chemotherapy in metastatic colon cancer: a retrospective study of the Anatolian Society of Medical Oncology.

BACKGROUND XELOX plus bevacizumab (XELOX-Bev) and FOLFIRI plus Bevacizumab (FOLFIRI - Bev) treatments are an effective strategies patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).The aim of this study was to compare efficacy of first-line XELOX-Bev treatment vs FOLFIRI-Bev treatment for mCRC. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 409 patients with mCRC who received chemotherapy were included and divided into 2 groups. Group 1 (n=298) received XELOX-Bev and Group 2 (n=111) FOLFIRI-Bev. Comparisons were made in terms of overall (OS) and progression-free (PFS) survival, response rate (RR), and grade 3-4 toxicity. RESULTS Median follow-up was 11 months in Group 1 and 15 months for Group 2. Complete remission was observed in 29 (9.7%) and 2 (1.8%) patients, partial remission in 139 (46.6%) and 27 (24.5%) , stable disease in 88 (29.5%) and 49 (44.1%) and progressive disease in 42 (14.1%) and 33 (30.0%) patients in Group 1 and 2, respectively. Median OS was 25 months (range 2-57 months, 95%CI; 22.2-27.7) for Group 1 and 20 months (range 1-67 months, 95%CI; 16.8-23.1) for Group 2 (p=0.036). Median PFS was 9.6 months (range 2-36 months, 95%CI; 8.8-10.4) for Group 1 and 9 months (range 1-44 months, 95%CI; 7.4-10.5) for Group 2 (p=0.019). Objective RR was 56.4% in Group 1 and 26.1% in Group 2 (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS First-line XELOX-Bev is more effective with a better response rate, prolongation of median PFS/OS, and a superior safety profile compared with FOLFIRI-Bev.

Impact of adjuvant treatment modalities on survival outcomes in curatively resected pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND We examined the impact of adjuvant modalities on resected pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma (PAC). METHODS A total of 563 patients who were curatively resected for PAC were retrospectively analyzed between 2003 and 2013. RESULTS Of 563 patients, 472 received adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) alone, chemoradiotherapy (CRT) alone, and chemoradiotherapy plus chemotherapy (CRT-CT) were analyzed. Of the 472 patients, 231 were given CRT-CT, 26 were given CRT, and 215 were given CT. The median recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were 12 and 19 months, respectively. When CT and CRT-CT groups were compared, there was no significant difference with respect to both RFS and OS, and also there was no difference in RFS and OS among CRT-CT, CT and CRT groups. To further investigate the impact of radiation on subgroups, patients were stratified according to lymph node status and resection margins. In node-positive patients, both RFS and OS were significantly longer in CRT-CT than CT. In contrast, there was no significant difference between groups when patients with node-negative disease or patients with or without positive surgical margins were considered. CONCLUSIONS Addition of radiation to CT has a survival benefit in patients with node-positive disease following pancreatic resection.

Recurrent petrositis due to nasopharyngeal carcinoma in an adult patient: Gradenigo's syndrome

The early diagnosis of very rare nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is so difficult, to surrounded by structures such as the orbital skull base. With the invasion of the disease, the symptoms are manifested in different ways so that it may be confusion and delay in diagnosis and treatment in this situation. Including otological symptoms (serous otitis media), Gradenigos syndrome is a rare clinical condition. The majority of published cases involve children, and the most common etiology is otitis media. We report a case of a diabetic man who presented with repeating Gradenigos syndrome symptoms due to NPC.

Hormone receptor status and survival of medullary breast cancer patients. A Turkish cohort

Objectives: To analyze the relationship between clinical features, hormonal receptor status, and survival in patients who were diagnosed with medullary breast cancer (MBC). Methods: Demographic characteristics, histopathological features, and survival statuses of 201 patients diagnosed with MBC between 1995 and 2015 were retrospectively recorded. Survival analyses were conducted with uni- and multivariate cox regression analysis. Results: Median follow-up time was 54 (4-272) months. Median patient age at the time of diagnosis was 47 years old (26-90). Of the patients, 91.5% were triple negative. Five-year recurrence free survival time (RFS) rate was 87.4% and overalll survival (OS) rate 95.7%. For RFS, progesterone receptor (PR) negativity, atypical histopathological evaluation, absence of lymphovascular invasion, smaller tumor, lower nodal involvement were found to be favourable prognostic factors by univariate analysis (p<0.05). The PR negativity and smaller tumor were found to be favourable factors by univariate analysis (p<0.05). However, none of these factors were determined as significant independent prognostic factors for OS (p>0.05). Conclusion: Turkish MBC patients exhibited good prognosis, which was comparable with survival outcomes achieved in the literature. The PR negativity was related to a better RFS and OS rates.

Is excision repair cross-complementation Group1 expression a biological marker in nasopharynx carcinoma?

Objective: To determine the prognostic value of excision repairs cross-complementation group1 (ERCC1) gene in cases with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with platinum-containing chemotherapy (PCT). Subjects and Methods: The present study was included 33 cases in local advanced stage with NPC. ERCC1 expression was evaluated by using immunohistochemical staining in biopsy specimens. We evaluated the relationship between the degree of ERCC1 expression and clinicopathological features, response to therapy, survival rates in cases with NPC, retrospectively. Results: ERCC1 expression was not observed in 5 (15.15%) of all cases. Thirteen (39.9%) cases weakly positive (+1, +2) and 15 (45.5%) cases of all them were rather strongly positive (+3). There was no statistically significant difference between the degree of ERCC1 expression and clinicopathological features, response to treatment, survival rates (P > 0.05) in cases with NPC. Conclusions: ERCC1 expression has no predictive value for survival in cases locally advanced stage with NPC. Evaluation of ERCC1 expression is not appropriate with a biomarker to detect cases who can benefit from PCT in NPC.

Comparison of survival with somatostatin analog and chemotherapy and prognostic factors for treatment in 165 advanced neuroendocrine tumor patients with Ki-67 20% or less.

The objectives of this study were to compare progression-free survival (PFS) with somatostatin analog (SSA) versus chemotherapy (CTx) in first-line therapy and to determine the patient group in which these treatments were more effective in neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) with a Ki-67 index of 20% or less. Patients who received SSA or CTx and had unresectable locally advanced and metastatic NETs with a Ki-67 index of 20% or less were retrospectively selected from 13 centers in the Turkish database between 2000 and 2015. One hundred and sixty-five patients were enrolled. The median age was 56 years and the male-to-female ratio was 1.09. Seventy-four (45%) patients were of grade 1 NET and 91 (55%) were of grade 2. SSA was given to 104 patients, whereas 61 were treated with CTx. The objective response rate after SSA was 15.4%; another 73.1% had stable disease. The objective response rate after CTx was 36.1%, and 40.9% had stable disease (P=0.008). The median PFS in SSA patients was 21 months (95% confidence interval: 12.4–29.6), and 8 months for CTx (95% confidence interval: 5.5–10.6) (P<0.001). There was no significant difference between PFS of receiving SSA and CTx in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET) patients; however, the PFS of receiving SSA was longer in non-PNET patients (P<0.001). SSA was better treatment in advanced NET patients with a Ki-67 index of less than 5%, having a primary resected and a performance status of 0 (P<0.05). SSA may be preferred over CTx in advanced NET patients with low-to-intermediate grade.

The effect of the gastrectomy on survival in patients with metastatic gastric cancer: a study of ASMO

AIM To investigate the role of surgical resection of primary tumor on overall survival (OS) in advanced gastric cancer patients at the time of diagnosis. PATIENTS & METHODS The survival rates of metastatic gastric cancer patients whose gastric primary tumor was resected at time of diagnosis were compared with metastatic gastric cancer patients whose primary tumor was nonresected. RESULTS The median progression-free survival and OS in operated and nonoperated group were 10 versus 6, 14 versus 9 months, respectively (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, gastric resection of primary tumor, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, second-line chemotherapy had a significant effect on OS (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.52 [95% CI: 0.38-0.71], HR: 0.57 [95% CI: 0.42-0.78], HR: 1.48 [1.09-2.01]; p ≤ 0.001, p = 0.001 and p = 0.012, respectively). CONCLUSION Subpopulations of patients with metastatic gastric cancer might benefit from surgical removal of primary tumor.