Arginine intake is associated with oxidative stress in a general population.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the association between protein and arginine from meat intake and oxidative stress in a general population.

Methods: Data came from the Health Survey for Sao Paulo (ISA-Capital), a cross-sectional population-based study in Brazil (N = 549 adults). Food intake was estimated by a 24-h dietary recall.

Polymorphisms in the p27kip-1 and prohibitin genes denote novel genes associated with melanoma risk in Brazil, a high ultraviolet index region.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a major environmental risk factor to the development of cutaneous melanoma as it induces pyrimidine dimers in DNA. Genes that exert their function by arresting the cell cycle are critical to avoid carcinogenic mutations, allowing the processing of DNA repair systems. This study was carried out to evaluate the role of polymorphisms in cell cycle genes such as TP53, p27, CDKN2A, prohibitin, and GADD153 in melanoma risk as well as their influence on known risk factors in a high UV index region.

Burnt sugarcane harvesting: particulate matter exposure and the effects on lung function, oxidative stress, and urinary 1-hydroxypyrene.

Non-mechanised sugarcane harvesting preceded by burning exposes workers and the people of neighbouring towns to high concentrations of pollutants. This study was aimed to evaluate the respiratory symptoms, lung function and oxidative stress markers in sugarcane workers and the residents of Mendonça, an agricultural town in Brazil, during the non-harvesting and harvesting periods and to assess the population and individual exposures to fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)).

Ethnicity and cutaneous melanoma in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil: a case-control study.

Background: Over the last century the incidence of cutaneous melanoma has increased worldwide, a trend that has also been observed in Brazil. The identified risk factors for melanoma include the pattern of sun exposure, family history, and certain phenotypic features. In addition, the incidence of melanoma might be influenced by ethnicity.

European ancestry and polymorphisms in DNA repair genes modify the risk of melanoma: a case-control study in a high UV index region in Brazil.

Background: UV radiation is the major environmental factor related to development of cutaneous melanoma. Besides sun exposure and the influence of latitude, some host characteristics such as skin phototype and hair and eye color are also risk factors for melanoma. Polymorphisms in DNA repair genes could be good candidates for susceptibility genes, mainly in geographical regions exposed to high solar radiation.

[Interaction between dietary intake and GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms in head and neck cancer risk: a case-control study in São Paulo, Brazil].

A hospital-based case-control study was conducted to investigate the potential interaction between dietary factors and polymorphisms in phase II metabolic enzymes GSTM1 and GSTT1, associated with head and neck cancer risk. The study included 103 histologically confirmed incident cases and 101 controls. Food intake was estimated with a validated food frequency questionnaire.

DNA damage and repair in leukocytes of melanoma patients exposed in vitro to cisplatin.

Resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs can be an obstacle to a successful treatment of cancer patients in part associated with individual response and differences in the DNA repair system. The Comet assay is an informative test to investigate DNA damage and repair in cells in response to a variety of DNA-damaging agents, including chemotherapeutic drugs. The aim of this study was to assess leukocytes damage after in-vitro cisplatin treatment and DNA repair action using the Comet assay in 20 patients with melanoma and 20 cancer-free individuals.

Establishment and characterization of androgen-independent human prostate cancer cell lines, PcBra1, PcBra2, and PcBra3.

One of the main obstacles for understanding biological events involved in cancer is the lack of experimental models for in vitro studies especially for prostate cancer (PC). There are a limited number of PC cell lines being the majority originated from metastatic tumors mostly acquired from American Tissue Cell Culture which demands importation an expensive and bureaucratic process. Also it is well known that there are ethnic differences between populations concerning the behavior of tumors and the research based on cell lines derived from Brazilians should be interesting.

Establishment and characterization of human bladder cancer cell lines BexBra1, BexBra2, and BexBra4.

Bladder cancer (BC) is the fourth most common cancer in the USA. In Brazil, BC represents 3% of the total existing carcinomas in the population and represents the second highest incidence among urological tumors. The majority of bladder cancer cell lines available were derived from Caucasians and established in the seventies or eighties.

Polymorphisms in alcohol metabolizing genes and the risk of head and neck cancer in a Brazilian population.

Aims: The incidence of head and neck cancer (HNC) in Brazil has increased substantially in recent years. This increase is likely to be strongly associated with alcohol and tobacco consumption, but genetic susceptibility also should be investigated in this population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of polymorphisms in genes of alcohol metabolism enzymes and the risk of HNC.

The scientific production of full professors of the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo: a view of the period of 2001-2006.

Introduction: The scientific production of institutions of higher education, as well as the dissemination and use of this published work by peer institutions, can be assessed by means of quantitative and qualitative measurements. This type of analysis can also serve as the basis of further academic actions. Variables such as the type of evaluation, the number of faculty members and the decision to include or exclude researchers who are not professors are difficult to measure when comparing different schools and institutions.

Brazilian population profile of 15 STR markers.

Allele frequencies for 15 STR markers included in the AmpFISTR Identifiler kit (D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818, and FGA) were obtained from a sample of 561 unrelated individuals from São Paulo, Brazil.

Assessment of occupational genotoxic risk among Brazilian hairdressers.

Objectives: To evaluate the genotoxic risk to hairdressers exposed daily to chemical substances such as hair dyes, waving and straightening preparations and manicurists' products by the Comet assay test (single-cell gel electrophoresis).

Methods: The Comet assay was performed on blood samples from 69 female hairdressers (36.4 +/- 10.

How useful is the assessment of lymphatic vascular density in oral carcinoma prognosis?

Background: Lymphatic vessels are major routes for metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) are difficult to recognize in tumor histological sections. D2-40 stains podoplanin, a molecule expressed in LECs, however, the potential prognostic usefulness of this molecule is not completely understood in HNSCC. We aimed to investigate the value of assessing peritumoral and intratumoral lymphatic vessel density (LVD) as prognostic marker for HNSCC.

Y-STRs in forensic medicine: DNA analysis in semen samples of azoospermic individuals.

The incidence of rape has increased, especially in metropolitan areas, such as the city of São Paulo. In Brazil, studies about it have shown that the majority of this type of crime is committed by the relatives and persons close to the victim. This has made the crime more difficult to be denounced, as only 10% of the cases are reported to competent police authorities.

Genetic polymorphisms of CYP1A1, CYP2E1, GSTM1, and GSTT1 associated with head and neck cancer.

Background: Alcohol intake and tobacco smoke, in addition to other environmental and genetic factors, have been associated with head and neck cancer. We evaluated the role of metabolic enzyme polymorphisms on the risk of head and neck cancer in a hospital-based case-control study.

Methods: CYP1A1MspI, CYP2E1PstI, GSTM1, and GSTT1polymorphisms were evaluated in 103 histologically confirmed head and neck cancer cases and 102 controls by means of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods.

Overexpression of HER2/neu oncoprotein in cytologic specimens.

Objective: To assess the rate of HER2/neu overexpression in cytologic specimens by immunocytochemistry (ICC) and compare these results in matched surgical specimens by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), when available.

Study Design: All cytologic specimens processed for HER2/neu evaluation by ICC (72 cases) and available corresponding histologic specimens (16 cases) were retrieved from our files. ICC was applied to previously Papanicolaou stained, routine fine needle aspirations specimens (64 cases) and cytocentrifuged, alcohol-fixed, fluid specimens (8 cases).

[Relationship between the outcome and the frequency of micronuclei in cells of patients with oral and oropharyngeal carcinoma].

Background: To verify the correlation between the micronucleus frequency and the presence of local recurrences or second primary lesion in patients with carcinoma of the oral cavity.

Methods: We studied the frequency of micronucleus of the oral mucosa in 27 untreated patients with carcinoma of the oral cavity and oropharynx. The patients were monthly followed after initial treatment, in an attempt to identify local recurrences or second primary lesions.

Fusion of COL1A1 exon 29 with PDGFB exon 2 in a der(22)t(17;22) in a pediatric giant cell fibroblastoma with a pigmented Bednar tumor component. Evidence for age-related chromosomal pattern in dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans and related tumors.

In contrast with classic dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DP), genetic information about the juvenile or pigmented variant forms of DP, so-called giant cell fibroblastoma (GCF) and Bednar tumor (BT), is limited. In the sole karyotyped case of BT a supernumerary ring containing chromosomes 17 and 22 sequences, similar to DP rings, was reported, whereas in three GCF cases, t(17;22) or der(22)t(17;22) with COL1A1-PDGFB fusion involving exons 11, 40, and 47, respectively, have been described. Here, we report the first cytogenetic and molecular analysis of a tumor from a 5-year-old child that contained both GCF and BT components.