As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, medical universities were closed in Romania, between March 2020 and July 2020. The educational process was transferred to an on-line environment, in person contact becoming nonexistent outside the group of people from one’s household. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the mental health status in medical undergraduates in Romania during lockdown. A questionnaire was used in April 2020 to collect information regarding the life of students during social isolations and to assess the mental health of students using a self reported 1-7 scale on 21 relevant endpoints. After data quality control, the remaining 1978 data entries were analysed in SPSS 20. We identified multiple factors that may contribute to the mental health of undergraduate students, such as: partner status and offline contact, personality traits, social media and streaming platforms usage. There were differences regarding the mental health status indicated by endpoints between: genders, living environment, owning a pet, etc. This study describes how mental health, a neglected subject in the Romanian public health arena, is influenced by various factors during lockdowns. Further research should be conducted and appropriate measures should be taken to prevent the degradation of mental health in medical students under pandemic circumstances.
Background: Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a stimulating protein for cell proliferation and differentiation. An amplification of its signaling pathway has been frequently reported in numerous malignant tumors. Specific polymorphisms of the genes encoding proteins involved in this cellular pathway may constitute risk factors for carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to identify the most relevant polymorphisms of EGF and their signaling pathways and their relation to carcinogenesis.
Methods: The study included 40 full-text articles published between January 2010 and May 2020, extracted from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct databases in May 2020, using the following keywords: EGF OR epidermal growth factor AND polymorphism AND cancer OR neoplasia OR tumor.
Results: We identified relevant polymorphisms of the EGF signaling pathway that were involved in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, glioma, lung cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and head and neck cancer. Rs4444903 variants have been widely studied and the association with numerous tumors has been confirmed by multiple studies. Other frequently investigated polymorphisms are –191C/A and –216G>T.
Conclusion: The polymorphisms of EGF signaling pathway have been widely studied in connection to various malignancies. Some predisposing variants are common in different forms of cancer. These polymorphisms might be general risk factors for carcinogenesis.
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