Breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) gene expression in a cohort of adult Egyptian patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive clonal disease, is genetically heterozygous. The prognostic role of expression of Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (BCRP) gene, which behaves as a multidrug transporter, in adult AML is ambiguous.

Objective: The objective is to assess the level of mRNA expression of BCRP gene in newly diagnosed cytogenetically normal adult Egyptian AML patients; and to clarify its potential influence and association between therapeutic responsiveness and disease free survival.

Diagnostic values of CD64, C-reactive protein and procalcitonin in ventilator-associated pneumonia in adult trauma patients: a pilot study.

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most common nosocomial infections; however, its diagnosis remains difficult to establish in the critical care setting. We investigated the potential role of neutrophil CD64 (nCD64) expression as an early marker for the diagnosis of VAP.

Methods: Forty-nine consecutive patients with clinically suspected VAP were prospectively included in a single-center study.

Interleukin 28B polymorphisms and therapy response in Egyptian hepatitis C genotype-4 patients.

Hepatitis C infection represents a major health problem in Egypt; only 20% of patients undergo spontaneous clearance of the virus and around 25% of all patients progress to develop cirrhosis. More than 90% of Egyptian patients have hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype-4. Combined pegylated interferon and oral ribavirin are the current standard therapies for HCV-4.

Association between matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) promoter polymorphisms and the susceptibility to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Egyptians.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc-dependent endopeptidases capable of extracellular matrix degradation. MMP2 is the key molecule that control invasion, tumor growth, and metastasis, and has been associated with poor prognosis in several tumors. Several epidemiological studies have focused on the associations between MMP2 promoter polymorphisms and cancer susceptibility; however, little is known about their role in hematological malignancies.

Association of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 genetic polymorphism, hepatitis C viral infection and B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: an Egyptian study.

Abstract Genetic and environmental factors are involved in the pathogenesis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The present study aimed to investigate the association between cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) genetic polymorphism, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and B-cell NHL risk in Egypt. Genotyping of CTLA-4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay for 181 adult patients with B-NHL and 200 controls.

Frequency of expression of RHAMM/CD168 in Egyptian patients with CML.

Unlabelled: RHAMM/CD168 is a cell surface receptor for hyaluronan, a glycoaminoglycan that plays a fundamental role in cell growth, differentiation and motility. It is one of the leukemia-associated antigens (LAA) identified in patients with myeloid leukemias.

We Aimed: at studying the frequency of expression of RHAMM/CD168 in Egyptian patients with CML, both in chronic phase and accelerated/blastic phase, as a potential target structure for cellular immunotherapies, and to compare it with available western records.

Evaluation of bone marrow in 143 lymphomas: the relative frequency and pattern of involvement, secondary myelopathies, pitfalls and diagnostic validity.

Unlabelled: The aim of the present study is to assess the frequency of bone marrow (BM) involvement by both bone marrow aspirate and biopsy (BMA and BMB, respectively) procedures in established cases of lymphomas at initial presentation, and to study the relative frequency of marrow disease in relation to lymphoma types, patterns of infiltration and the 2ry associated changes, as well as the diagnostic challenges. Moreover, the diagnostic validity of BMA is tested taking the results of the BMB as the true test results, in order to determine the role of each procedure in the diagnostic approach of marrow infiltration.

Patients And Method: This is a retrospective study carried out on 143 nonconsecutive Egyptian patients with lymphomas obtained from a private series during the years 2005 to 2008.

Evaluation of MIB-1 and p53 overexpression as risk factors in large cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in adults.

Background: Improvement of current results of therapy for large cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients can be achieved by optimization of initial treatment or application of risk-adapted therapy. The international prognostic index ( IPI), introduced to identify high-risk patients, was recently criticized because it was based on clinical risk factors only, ignoring important tumor molecular risk factors and it fails to identify a sector of high-risk patients, who ultimately relapse.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the value of two tumor biomarkers:MIB-1 and p53 as potential risk factors in diffuse large cell lymphoma.

Ex vivo expansion of stem cells: defining optimum conditions using various cytokines.

With the increasing information on the number, quality, and characteristics of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in umbilical cord and placental blood, this material has been found to be efficacious as an alternative source of HSC for transplantation in children. In this study, we sought to define the optimal conditions for ex vivo expansion of cord blood (CB) stem cells. These conditions include: the combinations and concentrations of hematopoietic growth factors (stem cell factor [SCF], granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF], interleukin [IL]-3, thrombopoietin [Tpo], IL-6 and Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand [Flt-3L]), the duration of culture, and the effect of serum supplementation.