Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Pro12Ala/C161T Genotypes and Risky Haplotype Altering Risk of Breast Cancer: A Turkish Case-Control Study.

Breast cancer (BC) has a high incidence rate among women worldwide, and the mechanisms and etiology of this disease are not yet fully understood. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), a nuclear hormone receptor that plays important roles in energy metabolism and cellular differentiation, is also suggested to be effective in cancer development. However, the results of studies investigating the cancer association with PPARgamma are inconsistent, creating a need for further investigation of the effects of this transcription factor on BC risk.

Evaluation of Local CYP17A1 and CYP19A1 Expression Levels as Prognostic Factors in Postmenopausal Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer Cases.

There is growing attention focused on local estrogen production in the breast tissue and its possible role in breast cancer initiation and progression. Understanding the underlying mechanisms for estrogen synthesis and the microenvironment consisting of tumor and its surrounding adipose tissue might open new avenues in breast cancer prevention, prognosis and treatment. In order to obtain insight, we compared peritumoral and tumor tissue expressions of CYP17A1 and CYP19A1 genes, which play an important role in estrogen biosynthesis.

Neopterin and Soluble CD14 Levels as Indicators of Immune Activation in Cases with Indeterminate Pattern and True Positive HIV-1 Infection.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the roles of the plasma immune activation biomarkers neopterin and soluble CD14 (sCD14) in the indirect assessment of the immune activation status of patients with the indeterminate HIV-1 (IHIV-1) pattern and a true HIV-1-positive infection (PCG).

Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive study included eighty-eight patients with the IHIV-1 pattern, 100 patients in the PCG, and 100 people in a healthy control group (HCG). Neopterin and sCD14 levels were determined by competitive and sandwich ELISA methods, respectively.

Preliminary Study: Prominent miRNAs of Breast Malignant Tissues Compared to Normal Tissues in Turkish Patients with Breast Cancer.

miRNA involvement has been observed in almost every type of cancer, including breast cancer. The etiology of abnormal expression of miRNAs in cancer is still not clearly understood. In order to obtain insight into miRNA de-regulation in breast cancer, we analyzed expression levels of five breast cancer-related miRNAs, miRNA21, miRNA155, miRNA19a, miRNA17-5p and let7a miRNA, in both malignant and neighboring non-tumoral paraffin-embedded tissues of 47 patients with invasive ductal breast cancer.

Increased gastric cancer risk with PTEN IVS4 polymorphism in a Turkish population.

We aimed to investigate the association of the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) IVS4 polymorphism with a gastric cancer (GC) risk in the Turkish population. A hospital-based case-control study was conducted in 93 patients with GC, and 113 healthy controls. The PTEN IVS4 (rs no: 3830675) polymorphism was determined by using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

HER2 Ile655Val and PTEN IVS4 polymorphisms in patients with breast cancer.

Although HER2/PTEN pathway is commonly disrupted in cancer, association of HER2 and PTEN polymorphisms with breast cancer (BC) remains controversial. We investigated the HER2 Ile655 Val and PTEN IVS4 polymorphisms in patients with BC in Turkish population. HER2 Ile655Val (rs 1136201) and PTEN IVS4 (rs 3830675) polymorphisms were determined using polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in blood samples of 118 BC patients and 118 age-matched healthy controls.

Combined effect of CYP1B1 codon 432 polymorphism and N-acetyltransferase 2 slow acetylator phenotypes in relation to breast cancer in the Turkish population.

Background: Breast cancer (BC), is more prevalent in subjects who have had prolonged exposure to heterocyclic amines, aromatic amines and high levels of oestradiol. Cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1) and N-acetyltransferase2 (NAT2) have complementary role in metabolism of xenobiotics such as arylamines and heterocyclic amines, CYP1B1 also hyroxylates 17-beta oestradiol. CYP1B1*3 polymorphism and seven missense and four silent polymorphisms of NAT2 were investigated.