The aim of this study was to detect the possible role of methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism (MTHFR C677T) in the pathogenesis of lymphoid neoplasms and to investigate the influence of this polymorphism on methotrexate toxicity in adult ALL patients treated with methotrexate maintenance therapy. There was a statistically significant increase in the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in patients with CT genotype (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.3-6.3; P = 0.007) and combined CT + TT genotype (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.5-6.6; P = 0.006). While no significant association was found between this polymorphism and ALL risk. The patients with ALL treated with methotrexate during maintenance therapy were observed for signs of toxicity. MTHFR 677C>T polymorphism (CT + TT) was significantly overrepresented among cases with hepatic toxicity (OR = 15.6; 95% CI, 2.6-81.3; P = 0.001). In addition, they were overrepresented among cases with mucositis, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and leukopenia. However, it did not reach statistical significance level. Further studies on larger number of subjects are necessary. Additional studies on the role of MTHFR gene polymorphism with environment (folate intake) interaction are needed to confirm the role of these genetic polymorphisms.
BackgroundThis work aims to compare the dosimetric performance of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), a relatively available technique in developing countries, to intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in the treatment of different stages of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Materials and MethodsAccording to the diagnostic stages, 40 NPC patients were divided into two equal groups. Three planning techniques such as 3D-CRT, seven-field IMRT (7F-IMRT) and nine-field IMRT (9F-IMRT) were compared. Dose prescriptions of 70 and 66 Gy were delivered in 35 fractions to gross planning target volume (PTV1) and bilateral retropharyngeal carcinoma (PTV2), respectively.ResultsStage I dose data for almost all of the three investigated planning techniques obey the international recommendations. The dose delivered to PTV1 and PTV2 for 3D-CRT and 7F-IMRT are statistically similar, whereas 9F-IMRT is significantly better than 3D-CRT. For organs at risk (OARs), the delivered dose is significantly better for 9F-IMRT compared with the other two techniques, whereas 7F-IMRT is significantly better than 3D-CRT.Conclusions3D-CRT is an acceptable alternative treatment technique for stage I NPC patients in developing countries suffering from the lack of advanced radiotherapy treatment techniques. 3D-CRT and 7F-IMRT have comparable performance in PTVs, while 9F-IMRT is superior in PTVs and OARs.
Background: Cancer cells support their growth and invasion by rewiring their metabolism. Therefore our aim was to explore the value of some metabolic mediators such as serum Fatty Acid Synthase (FASN) level and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) activity as well as CEA, CA 19 -9 and plasma miR-181a levels as diagnostic markers and evaluating their relationship to the clin icopathological features in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The association of fasting blood sugar (FBS) and triglyceride (TG) levels as risk factors for colorectal cancer was also assessed.The study was conducted on 70 colorectal cancer patients and 30 controls. Results: CEA, CA19-9, FASN and miR-181a levels were significantly h igher in sera of CRC patients compared to controls. miR-181a levels increased significantly according to stage and grade while CA 19 -9 increased significantly with grade not stage. LDH activ ity didn't show significant difference between CRC patients and control except for stage IV. CA19-9 and FASN were significantly increased among males while miR-181a was significantly elevated in female patients. None of the markers showed significant difference according to tumour site. Weak positive and negative correlations were observed between FASN and TG, between LDH and FBS respectively.Moreover, moderate and strong positive correlations were observed between miR-181a and FBS, between CEA and CA19-9 respectively. Conclusion: FASN showed the best diagnostic value with 96% sensitivity and 95% specificity followed by miR-181a with 95% sensitivity and 90% specificity; both were superior to LDH, CEA and CA 19-9. Moreover, miR-181a had the best association with stage and grade compared to all other studied markers.
KeywordsColorectal cancer, Metabolic mediators.Fatty acid Synthase.Lactate dehydrogenase.miR-181a.
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