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BackgroundCancer-related fatigue (CRF) is experienced by 50% to 90% of cancer patients and can severely affect their quality of life and functional capacity. Several randomized trials have recommended various ways to alleviate the symptoms of CRF with or without recourse to medications.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of processed honey and royal jelly on the symptoms of CRF in cancer patients who are undergoing hormone therapy, chemotherapy, chemo-radiation, or radiotherapy.MethodsFifty-two participants from the patients who visited the oncology clinic of Shohada-e-Tajrish hospital in Tehran (Iran) between May 2013 and August 2014 were selected and divided into two groups. The study group (26 patients) received processed honey and royal jelly, while the control group received pure honey. Both groups were instructed to consume their 5mL supplement twice daily for 4 weeks. Both groups were assessed at the beginning of the study, after 2 weeks, and then at the end of 4 weeks of treatment. Fatigue was measured using a visual analogue fatigue scale (VAFS) and fatigue severity scale (FSS). The results were compared between the two arms of study, and equality of probability distributions was assessed using a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test.ResultsThe mean age of the 52 patients was 54.84. After two and four weeks of treatment with processed honey and royal jelly, VAFS and FSS due to treatment was better in the study group than in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively).ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, our study provided support for the use of processed honey and royal jelly to ameliorate CRF. The positive results of this study warrant further studies in this field.Clinical Trial RegistrationThe study was registered in the Iranian Clinical Trial Registry Center (http://www.irct.ir) with the registration code: IRCT2015081423426N1.FundingThe authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Cancer patients are at risk for severe complications or death from COVID-19 infection. Therefore, the need for routine COVID-19 testing in this population was evaluated. Between 1st August and 30th October 2020, 150 cancer patients were included. Symptoms of COVID-19 infection were evaluated. All eligible individuals went through RT-PCR and serological tests for COVID-19. At the same time, 920 non-cancer patients were recruited from a random sample of individuals who were subject to routine molecular and anti-body screening tests. Of 150 cancer patients, 7 (4.7%) were RT-PCR positive. Comorbidity made a significant difference in the RT-PCR positivity of cancer patients, 71.4% positive versus 25.8% negative (P-value = 0.02). The average age for negative and positive groups was 53.3 and 58.2 respectively (P-value = 0.01). No significant difference was observed between cancer and non-cancer patients regarding COVID-19 antibody tests. However, cancer patients were 3 times less likely to have a positive RT-PCR test result OR = 0.33 (CI: 0.15–0.73). The probability of cancer patients having a positive routine test was significantly lower than non-cancer patients, and the concept that all cancer patients should be routinely tested for COVID-19 may be incorrect. Nevertheless, there may be a subgroup of patients with comorbidities or older age who may benefit from routine COVID-19 testing. Importantly, these results could not be subjected to multivariate analysis.

Background: There is still no consensus regarding the optimum treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis and its management is still mainly supportive. Vitamin E has been shown to be effective in reducing the symptoms of oral mucositis. Objectives: Aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of prophylactic systemic and topical vitamin E in reducing the signs and symptoms of oral mucositis in patients receiving chemotherapy. Patients and Methods: We conducted a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial among 76 patients with a hematologic malignancy treated with chemotherapy. Patients were randomly assigned into three groups: supplementation with vitamin E paste (group 1) and 200 mg/d vitamin E pills (group 2). Group 3 received placebo paste, identical in appearance and taste to the vit E paste, but consisting of the vehicle only. Patients were advised to use the administered medication from two days before each cycle of chemotherapy till at least 20 days after completion of each cycle. Oral exam was performed 10-14 days after each cycle of chemotherapy. Results: Patients in group 2 and 3 did not show any difference in degree of mucositis or severity of pain. However, after the second cycle, patients who were treated with topical vitamin E showed significantly less oral pain, and had fewer cases of severe mucositis compared to groups 2 and 3. Conclusions: Topical vitamin E could be beneficial in reducing the severity of oral mucositis, but no therapeutic gain would be achieved by using systemic vitamin E in this regard.

Scan to discover online Background & Objective: Gliomas are the most common type of primary intracranial tumors in adults. The expression of estrogen receptors varies in different grades of glial tumors, and some studies have suggested that this expression might have a prognostic value. It seems that estrogen receptor expression negatively correlates with the histological grade of gliomas. In the present study, we aimed to determine the expression of estrogen receptor in different glial tumors in Iranian patients and to find a possible correlation between its expression and the grade of glial tumors Methods: The brain tumors pathology reports from 2014 to 2017 in the Pathology Department of Shohaday-e Tajrish Hospital in Tehran, Iran were evaluated and 104 different gliomas: 79 cases of astrocytoma and 25 cases of oligodendroglioma were selected. All the samples were re-evaluated by a neuropathologist in order to accurately determine the tumor grade. The immunohistochemistry was carried out to detect the expression of estrogen receptor alpha and beta on brain tumors. Results: None of the samples expressed estrogen receptor alpha. In the case of estrogen receptor beta (ERβ), all samples showed various degrees of positivity: 9% weak, 40% moderate, and 51% strong expressions. The level of ERβ expression was found to be conversely correlated with tumor grade. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that ERβ is expressed in the majority (if not all) of the glial tumors and its expression was conversely related to the tumor grade. Because of well-tolerability and acceptable adverse effects, ER agonists might be considered as therapeutic agents for the patients with glial tumors .

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