Interventions for preventing osteoradionecrosis of the jaws in adults receiving head and neck radiotherapy.

Background: Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the jaws is among the most serious oral complications of head and neck cancer radiotherapy, arising from radiation-induced fibro-atrophic tissue injury, manifested by necrosis of osseous tissues and failure to heal, often secondary to operative interventions in the oral cavity. It is associated with considerable morbidity and has important quality of life ramifications. Since ORN is very difficult to treat effectively, preventive measures to limit the onset of this disease are needed; however, the effects of various preventive interventions has not been adequately quantified.

Opium Addiction and Risk of Laryngeal and Esophageal Carcinoma.

Introduction: Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption have a well-known effect on the development of upper aerodigestive tract carcinomas, but such a role for opium is questionable. This study was designed to assess the correlation between opium inhalation and cancer of the larynx and upper esophagus.

Materials And Methods: Fifty eight patients with laryngeal cancer, ninety eight patients with upper esophageal cancer and twenty seven healthy individuals with no evidence of head and neck or esophageal malignancies were selected from Otolaryngology and Radiation Oncology Department of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.

Effect of saffron on liver metastases in patients suffering from cancers with liver metastases: A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Objective: Cancer represents the second cause of mortality in the world. Saffron as a medicinal plant is known for its anti-cancer and anti-depressant properties. In this randomized double blind clinical trial, the effects of saffron on response to treatment in patients suffering from liver metastasis were evaluated.

The Prognostic Role of Tumor Marker CA-125 in B-Cell non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Background: B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is a common malignancy of lymphoid tissues. Different types of NHL show various behaviors, prognoses, and responses to treatment. Evaluation of disease activity in NHL can be helpful in managing and even increasing the patient's survey.

Serum chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5/RANTES) level might be utilized as a predictive marker of tumor behavior and disease prognosis in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma.

Purpose: Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and the most common gastrointestinal cancer in Iran. Chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5/RANTES) is one of the most potent angiogenic factors that plays an important role in tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. We aimed to assess the serum level of CCL5 in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and its relation with histological grade and tumor stage, as well as the disease prognosis.

Hepatitis-C Infection Incidence Among the non-Hodgkin's B-cell Lymphoma Patients in the Northeast of Iran.

Background: Various infectious agents like Ebstein Barr Virus (EBV), HTLV-1 and Helicobacter pylori have known as etiologic factors in different sub-types of lymphoma. Although Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has not only been important for its hepatotropism and hepatitis development, but also in recent years its association with some forms of non- Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), especially B cell NHL, has reported.In some countries, the rate of B cell NHL development in HCV infected patients was four times more than general population, and then association between HCV infection and B-NHL has proposed in many studies.

Pathodiagnostic parameters and evaluation of O⁶- methyl guanine methyl transferase gene promoter methylation in meningiomas.

Histopathological evaluation and grading of meningioma give important prognostic information. We evaluated retrospectively monotonous sheeting, necrosis, hypercellularity, nuclear pleomorphism, small cell changes, brain invasion, mitosis, mast cells, psammoma bodies, MIB-1 labeling index (MIB-1 LI) and histological grade of 230 primary meningioma tumors according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) classification. To reveal any possible association between clinical features and promoter hypermethylation of O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) as an important epigenetic modification in many human cancers, we also evaluated the methylation status of MGMT in meningiomas by a SYBR-green-based real-time PCR method.

Primary gastrointestinal lymphoma.

Background: Extranodal lymphoma may arise anywhere outside lymph nodes mostly in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract as non-Hodgkin's disease. We reviewed the clinicopathological features and treatment results of patients with primary GI lymphoma.

Materials And Methods: A total number of 30 cases with primary GI lymphoma were included in this study.

Systematic review of the predictors of positive margins in gastric cancer surgery and the effect on survival.

Background: Complete resection is the only definitive treatment available for gastric cancer. Factors associated with positive margins and their survival effects have been the subject of many studies, but the appropriate management for these patients is still debated. The objective of this review is to examine positive margins after gastric cancer resections by exploring predictive factors, impact on survival, and optimal strategies for re-resection.

Primary bone lymphoma: a clinicopathological retrospective study of 28 patients in a single institution.

Background: Primary bone lymphoma (PBL) is a rare disease and distinct clinicopathological entity. The optimal treatment strategy is still unclear. Because of rarity of PBL, we report our institute experience in PBL clinicopathological feature and treatment results.

Immunohistochemical assessment of MGMT expression and p53 mutation in glioblastoma multiforme.

Aims And Background: The prognosis of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains poor despite advances in surgery and adjuvant therapies. TP53 and O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGM) are tumor suppressor genes that are implicated in GBM resistance to radiation and chemotherapy. In order to assess the expression of the protein products of these two genes, 50 GBM samples were analyzed in this study.

Soluble Fas might serve as a diagnostic tool for gastric adenocarcinoma.

Background: Fas (Apo-1/CD95) and its specific ligand (FasL) are key elements in apoptosis. They have been studied in different malignancies but there are few published studies about the soluble forms of these markers (i.e.

Interactions between Glutathione-S-Transferase M1, T1 and P1 polymorphisms and smoking, and increased susceptibility to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: A complex of genetic and environmental factors is involved in carcinogenesis of the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Glutathione-S-Transferases (GSTs) are phase-II enzymes playing role in detoxification of carcinogen electrophiles. Genetic polymorphisms of GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 in association with some environmental factors and their impact on esophageal cancer susceptibility were assessed in the Iranian population.

Association between MGMT promoter hypermethylation and p53 mutation in glioblastoma.

O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is a DNA repair enzyme that removes alkyl groups from the O(6) position of guanine. MGMT is transcriptionally silenced by promoter hypermethylation in several human neoplasia. We used methylation-specific PCR (MSP) to analyze the MGMT promoter methylation status of 50 glioblastoma tumors.

Comparison of pre-operative lymphoscintigraphy with inter-operative gamma probe and dye technique regarding the number of detected sentinel lymph nodes.

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) identification by lymphoscintigraphy (LS) and biopsy are the standard method for axillary lymph node staging in low stage breast cancer patients. Many previous studies did not compare the number of SLN on LS with SLN detected during surgery. We aimed to study the accuracy of pre-operative LS for the prediction of the number of SLN detected by surgical gamma probe and the dye technique during surgery.

Expression of cell adhesion molecule CD44 in gastric adenocarcinoma and its prognostic importance.

Aim: To evaluate the relation of cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) expression with clinicopathological features of gastric adenocarcinoma, and also its effect on prognosis with an emphasis on the differences between intestinal and diffuse types.

Methods: From 2000 to 2006, 100 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma, who had undergone total or subtotal gastrectomy without any prior treatment, were studied. Haematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used for histological evaluation, including the type (Lauren's classification) and grading of the tumor.

p16 promoter hypermethylation: a useful serum marker for early detection of gastric cancer.

Aim: To determine p16 promoter hypermethylation in gastric tumoral tissue and serum samples, its impact on p16-protein expression, and correlation with clinical and histological features.

Methods: Samples were obtained from 52 histologically confirmed cases of gastric adenocarcinoma. Gastric tissue and serum of 50 age- and sex-matched individuals with normal gastroscopy and biopsy were obtained as control samples.

Aberrant p16 methylation, a possible epigenetic risk factor in familial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Aim: Detection of methylation in the p16 gene, an inhibitor of cyclin D-dependent protein kinase, as a new tumor marker for early detection of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in DNA derived from blood and serum.

Method: A large family with clustering of ESCC was assessed in Khorasan province in northeastern Iran. The family had three histologically proven cases of ESCC in two consecutive generations and several other deceased cases with histories of ESCC.