Improvement of esophageal cancer survival in Northeast Iran: A two-decade journey in a high-risk, low- resource region.

Background And Objective: Two decades ago, an international initiative (GEMINI) was launched in a high-risk, low-resource region in Northeast Iran, aiming to investigate incidence, etiology, early detection, and treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). An earlier report from this area, highlighted poor ESCC survival rates, with a 5-year survival probability of 3.3% and the median survival time of 7 months.

EBV-Associated Gastric Cancer; An In Situ Hybridization Assay on Tissue Microarray: A Multi-Region Study from Four Major Provinces of Iran.

Background: Gastric cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. The identification of gastric cancer subtypes related to recognizable microbial agents may play a pivotal role in the targeted prevention and treatment of this cancer. The current study is conducted to define the frequency of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in gastric cancers of four major provinces, with different incidence rates of gastric cancers, in Iran.

A population-based prospective study on obesity-related non-communicable diseases in northern Iran: rationale, study design, and baseline analysis.

Background: Iran is facing an epidemiological transition with the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases, such as obesity-related disorders and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We conducted a population-based prospective study to assess the prevalence and incidence rates of CVDs and obesity-related metabolic disorders and to evaluate the predictive ability of various CVD risk assessment tools in an Iranian population.

Method: We enrolled 5,799 participants in Amol, a city in northern Iran, in 2009-2010 and carried out the first repeated measurement (RM) after seven years (2016-2017).

Decoding the expression pattern of MUC3A in gastric adenocarcinoma: unveiling the key to successful immunotherapy.

Aims: Despite the promise of immunotherapy for gastric adenocarcinoma, resistance is common, necessitating the validation of new targets. Based on our previous bioinformatics analysis, the MUC3A antigen emerged as a promising candidate for immunotherapy against gastric adenocarcinoma. However, a comprehensive understanding of its expression at protein level remains elusive, despite its crucial role in determining clinical response.

A Single nucleotide polymorphism in the ALDH2 gene modifies the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in BRCA2 p.K3326* carriers.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has a very high incidence rate in northeastern Iran. Our team previously reported the BReast CAncer gene 2 (BRCA2) p.K3326* mutation as a moderately penetrant ESCC susceptibility variant in northern Iran (odds ratio (OR) = 3.

Interpatient variability in mesothelin expression necessitates its evaluation before gastric cancer immunotherapy.

Mesothelin (MSLN) was applied for the immunotherapy of ovarian cancer and mesothelioma with a minimum expression of 60% to obtain a clinical response. Here, the authors evaluated MSLN expression as a potential target of gastric adenocarcinoma immunotherapy. The expression of MSLN was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and was reported in primary tumor (PT) and metastatic tumor (MT) sites.

Effect of rose oil on Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in comparison with omeprazole: A double-blind controlled trial.

Background And Objective: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as one of the most common ailments of gastrointestinal system diminishes quality of life and impairs physical functioning and work productivity. Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), such as omeprazole play a more dominant role in amelioration of GERD symptoms; nonetheless, there is a growing concern about their side effects. According to traditional Persian medicine (TPM), the use of rose oil is recommended to alleviate GERD symptoms.

Long-term opiate use and risk of cardiovascular mortality: results from the Golestan Cohort Study.

Aims: Tens of millions of people worldwide use opiates but little is known about their potential role in causing cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to study the association of long-term opiate use with cardiovascular mortality and whether this association is independent of the known risk factors.

Methods And Results: In the population-based Golestan Cohort Study-50 045 Iranian participants, 40-75 years, 58% women-we used Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (HRs, 95% CIs) for the association of opiate use (at least once a week for a period of 6 months) with cardiovascular mortality, adjusting for potential confounders-i.

Opium use and subsequent incidence of cancer: results from the Golestan Cohort Study.

Background: Evidence is emerging for a role of opiates in various cancers. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between regular opium use and cancer incidence.

Methods: This study was done in a population-based cohort of 50 045 individuals aged 40-75 years from northeast Iran.

Opiate and Tobacco Use and Exposure to Carcinogens and Toxicants in the Golestan Cohort Study.

Background: There is little information on human exposure to carcinogens and other toxicants related to opiate use, alone or in combination with tobacco.

Methods: Among male participants of the Golestan Cohort Study in Northeast Iran, we studied 28 never users of either opiates or tobacco, 33 exclusive cigarette smokers, 23 exclusive users of smoked opiates, and 30 opiate users who also smoked cigarettes (dual users; 21 smoked opiates and 9 ingested them). We quantified urinary concentrations of 39 exposure biomarkers, including tobacco alkaloids, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and volatile organic compounds (VOC), and used decomposition to parse out the share of the biomarker concentrations explained by opiate use and nicotine dose.

ANTXR1 (TEM8) overexpression in gastric adenocarcinoma makes the protein a potential target of immunotherapy.

Background: Despite the promise of immunotherapy for gastric adenocarcinoma, choices for the selection of effective antigenic targets are very limited. Previously published data and our own in-house computational analysis have suggested that ANTXR1 is a potential target, simultaneously expressed in malignant tumor cells and the endothelial cells of the tumors. However, the expression pattern of ANTXR1 protein in clinical samples of gastric adenocarcinoma has not been fully evaluated.

Comparing Anthropometric Indicators of Visceral and General Adiposity as Determinants of Overall and Cardiovascular Mortality.

Background: It is unclear which anthropometric obesity indicator best predicts adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the association of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and hip-adjusted WC with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

Methods: 50045 people aged 40-75 (58% women, median BMI: 26.

Urinary Biomarkers of Carcinogenic Exposure among Cigarette, Waterpipe, and Smokeless Tobacco Users and Never Users of Tobacco in the Golestan Cohort Study.

Background: How carcinogen exposure varies across users of different, particularly noncigarette, tobacco products remains poorly understood.

Methods: We randomly selected 165 participants of the Golestan Cohort Study from northeastern Iran: 60 never users of any tobacco, 35 exclusive cigarette, 40 exclusive (78% daily) waterpipe, and 30 exclusive smokeless tobacco (nass) users. We measured concentrations of 39 biomarkers of exposure in 4 chemical classes in baseline urine samples: tobacco alkaloids, tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and volatile organic compounds (VOC).

Epidemiology of Head and Neck Cancers in Northern Iran: A 10-Year Trend Study From Golestan Province.

Background: Golestan province, in Northern Iran, is a high-risk area for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). SCC is also the most common histological type of cancers of the head and neck region including cancers of oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx. We aimed to present the incidence rate of head and neck SCC (HNSCC) in Golestan province during 2004 and 2013.

Causes of premature death and their associated risk factors in the Golestan Cohort Study, Iran.

Objectives: To examine the causes of premature mortality (<70 years) and associated risk factors in the Golestan Cohort Study.

Design: Prospective.

Setting: The Golestan Cohort Study in northeastern Iran.

Opium Use and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study.

We examined the association between opium consumption and pancreatic cancer incidence in a large-scale prospective cohort of the general population in northeastern Iran. A total of 50,045 adults were systematically followed up (median of 7.4 years), and incident cases of pancreatic cancer were identified.

Prevalence and determinants of chronic kidney disease in northeast of Iran: Results of the Golestan cohort study.

Background: The burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasing globally in particular in fast emerging economies such as Iran. Population-based studies on prevalence of CKD in Iran are scarce. The objective of the current study was to explore the prevalence and determinants of CKD in the setting of Golestan Cohort Study (GCS), the largest prospective cohort in the Middle East.

Capillary electrophoresis with online stacking in combination with AgNPs@MCM-41 reinforced hollow fiber solid-liquid phase microextraction for quantitative analysis of Capecitabine and its main metabolite 5-Fluorouracil in plasma samples isolated from cancer patients.

The purpose of this study is the development and validation of a simple, novel, selective and fast off-line microextraction technique combining capillary electrophoresis with in-column field-amplified sample injection (FASI) for the simultaneous determination of capecitabine (CAP) and its active metabolite, 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), in human plasma. At the moment, there is a lack of using cost-effective CE tool combined with novel miniaturized sample clean-up techniques for analysis of these important anti-cancer agents in plasma samples. This paper intends to fill this gap and describe a simple off-line sample pretreatment by means of AgNPs@MCM-41 reinforced hollow fiber Solid/Liquid phase microextraction (AgNPs@MCM41-HF-SLPME) with subsequent quantitation by FASI-CE.

Mortality from respiratory diseases associated with opium use: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Recent studies have suggested that opium use may increase mortality from cancer and cardiovascular diseases. However, no comprehensive study of opium use and mortality from respiratory diseases has been published. We aimed to study the association between opium use and mortality from respiratory disease using prospectively collected data.

Opium use, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption in relation to pancreatic cancer.

Background And Aims: Although several studies have suggested opium as a risk factor for cancers of the esophagus, stomach, larynx, lung, and bladder, no previous study has examined the association of opium with pancreatic cancer. We aimed to study the association between opium use and risk of pancreatic cancer in Iran, using a case-control design. We also studied the association of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption with pancreatic cancer, for which little information was available from this population.

Multiplex H. pylori Serology and Risk of Gastric Cardia and Noncardia Adenocarcinomas.

The reported associations with gastric adenocarcinoma and seropositivity to different Helicobacter pylori antigens using multiplex serology have not been consistent across studies. We aimed to investigate the association between 15 different multiplex serology antigens and the risk of gastric cardia (GCA) and gastric noncardia (GNCA) adenocarcinomas in northeastern Iran, a population with high rates of gastric adenocarcinoma. We included 272 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma (142 GCA, 103 GNCA, and 27 unspecified) and 524 controls who were individually matched to cases for age, sex, and place of residence in a population-based case-control study.

Phenotyping and follow up of forty-seven Iranian patients with common variable immunodeficiency.

Background: Common variable immune deficiency (CVID) is a heterogeneous syndrome with a wide variety of signs and symptoms. This study describes the phenotyping and survival of the CVID patients in the allergy and clinical immunology department of Rasol-E-Akram Hospital of Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran.

Method: We retrospectively reviewed hospital files of CVID patients in our department until January 2014.

Risk of gastric cancer by water source: evidence from the Golestan case-control study.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is the world's fifth most common cancer, and the third leading cause of cancer-related death. Over 70% of incident cases and deaths occur in developing countries. We explored whether disparities in access to improved drinking water sources were associated with GC risk in the Golestan Gastric Cancer Case Control Study.