Djaswadi Dasuki

Methylation Status and Immunohistochemistry of BRCA1 in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

BACKGROUND Cancer initiation and progression are controlled by genetic and epigenetic events. One epigenetic process which is widely known is DNA methylation, a cause of gene silencing. If a gene is silenced the protein which it encodes will not expressed. OBJECTIVES 1. Identify the methylation status of BRCA1 in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC)and assess BRCA1 protein expression in tumor tissue. 2. Examine whether BRCA1 gene methylation and BRCA1 protein are associated with survival of epithelial ovarian cancer patients. METHODS The study design was a prospective-cohort study, conducted at Sardjito hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. RESULTS A total of 69 cases were analyzed in this study. The data showed that the methylation status of BRCA1 in EOC was positive in 89.9%, with clear protein expression of BRCA1 in 31.9%. Methylation status and expression of BRCA1 were not prognosticators of EOC patients. Menarche, CA125 level, clinical stage and residual tumor were independent factors for prognosis.

Malignancy Risk Scoring of Hydatidiform Moles

BACKGROUND Several risk factors leading to malignant transformation of hydatidiform moles have been described previously. Many studies showed that prophylactic chemotherapy for high risk hydatidiform moles could significantly decrease the incidence of malignancy. Thus, it is essential to discover a breakthrough to determine patients with high risk malignancy so that prophylactic chemotherapy can be started as soon as possible. OBJECTIVES Development of a scoring system of risk factors as a predictor of hydatidiform mole malignant transformation. MATERIALS AND METHODS This research is a case control study with hydatidiform mole and choriocarcinoma patients as subjects. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Odds ratios (OR), attributable at risk (AR : OR-1) and risk index (ARxβ) were calculated for develoipment of a scoring system of malignancy risk. The optimal cut-off point was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS This study analyzed 34 choriocarcinoma cases and 68 benign hydatidiform mole cases. Four factors significantly increased the risk of malignancy, namely age≥35 years old (OR:4.41, 95%CI:1.07- 16.09, risk index 5); gestational age≥12 weeks (OR:11.7, 95%CI:1.8-72.4, risk index 26); uterine size greater than the gestational age (OR:10.2, 95%CI:2.8-36.6, risk index 21); and histopathological grade II-III (OR:3.4, 95%CI:1.1-10.6, risk index 3). The lowest and the highest scores for the risk factors were zero and 55, respectively. The best cut-off point to decide high risk malignancy patients was ≥31. CONCLUSIONS Malignant transformation of hydatidiform moles can be predicted using the risk scoring by analyzing the above four parameters. Score≥31 implies high risk patients so that prophylactic chemotherapy can be promptly administered for prevention.

KORELASI TINGGI BADAN IBU DENGAN PANJANG BADAN BAYI BARU LAHIR DI KOTA PALU

Background: Body length of newborn babies is related to health in adulthood. Some studies suggested that short people tend to have lower intellectual performance that can reduce working capacity, poor reproductive performance and increase risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In addition, the less the body’s length of newborns the more adverse long-term health such as obesity, cardiometabolic disorders, and neuro psychiatric conditions were encountered. Objective: To determine the relation of mothers’ height with body length newborns in Palu. Samples are babies born in the first 24-72 hours of private hospitals, health centers, and maternity clinics in Palu. Method: An observational study with cross sectional design. The independent variable is the mothers’ height and the dependent variable is the length of the body of the newborns. Data collection used questionnaires. Data analysis used linear regression. Result and Discussion: There was a correlation between the height of mothers with the body length of newborns (r = 0.26) (p <0.001). There was a significant relationship between mothers’ upper arm circumference, the amount of iron preparations consumed, the height of the father (p <0.001) as well as maternal education (p <0.020) and the sex of the newborn (p <0.015) with the body length of newborns. There was no significant relationship between body length of newborns with socioeconomic status (p <0.861). Conclusion: Mothers’ height is not the main factor affecting the body length of newborns in the city of Palu. Education to newly wed couples and pregnant women about the importance of knowledge that body length of newborns is not only influenced by genetic factors but also by the maternal intake. Keywords: Mothers’ height, newborn body length