Low Survival in Poor Prognosis Metastatic Germ Cell Cancer in Belarus.

Purpose: Since the development of the International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group (IGCCCG) risk classification in a 1997 study, high-income countries have reported a significant increase in survival for poor prognosis patients. There are scant data on IGCCCG risk-stratified survival from low- and middle-income countries. We assessed the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates in a contemporary cohort of Belarusian patients with advanced germ cell cancer (GCC) stratified by the IGCCCG prognostic classification and analyzed prognostic factors for survival.

The Involvement of ERCC2/XPD and ERCC6/CSB Wild Type Alleles in Protection Against Aging and Cancer.

Background: DNA helicases maintain genome stability, and their deficiency is associated with disorders resembling premature aging as well as contributes to carcinogenesis. Their functions are determined by the respective genes encoding nucleotide excision repair initiating proteins, e.g.

The Cellular Response to Oxidatively Induced DNA Damage and Polymorphism of Some DNA Repair Genes Associated with Clinicopathological Features of Bladder Cancer.

Genome instability and impaired DNA repair are hallmarks of carcinogenesis. The study was aimed at evaluating the DNA damage response in H2O2-treated lymphocytes using the alkaline comet assay in bladder cancer (BC) patients as compared to clinically healthy controls, elderly persons, and individuals with chronic inflammations. Polymorphism in DNA repair genes involved in nucleotide excision repair (NER) and base excision repair (BER) was studied using the PCR-RFLP method in the Belarusian population to elucidate the possible association of their variations with both bladder cancer risk and clinicopathological features of tumors.

Polymorphism of DNA repair genes OGG1, XRCC1, XPD and ERCC6 in bladder cancer in Belarus.

Context: The study of DNA base and nucleotide excision repair gene polymorphisms in bladder cancer seems to have a predictive value because of the evident relationship between the DNA damage response induced by environmental mutagens and cancer predisposition.

Objective: The objective was to determine OGG1 Ser326Cys, XRCC1 Arg399Gln, XPD Asp312Asn, and ERCC6 Met1097Val polymorphisms in bladder cancer patients as compared to controls.

Methods: Both groups were predominantly represented by Belarusians and Eastern Slavs.