Serum vitamin D concentration is inversely associated with matrix metalloproteinase-9 level in periodontal diseases.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the potential association between vitamin D deficiency and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) levels in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) across various periodontal health and disease statuses.

Methods: A total of 200 volunteers were divided into two groups according to serum vitamin D concentration (25(OH)D < 10 ng/mL and 25(OH)D ≥ 10 ng/mL). Periodontal health status was determined based on a full-mouth periodontal examination and radiographic evaluation.

Ectopic Liver Tissue on the Gallbladder: An Incidental Mass in Laparoscopy.

Ectopic liver is a rare developmental abnormality. It is often asymptomatic and could be determined during the surgery. AIthough it could be detected in different areas of the body either below or above of the diaphragm, ectopic liver is usually found on the wall of the gallbladder.

Evaluation of testicular tumour calcification with digital orchiography.

Objectives: To analyse the calcification of testicular tumours in the orchiectomy specimens detected by digital orchiography obtained in a full-field digital mammography (FFDM) unit.

Methods: Orchiectomy specimens of 37 consecutive patients were imaged by FFDM. Detected foci of calcification were stratified as: type 1, dense microcalcification; type 2, faint microcalcification; type 3, macrocalcification.

Management of neuroendocrine carcinomas of the breast: A rare entity.

Neuroendocrine (NE) carcinoma of the breast is extremely rare and constitutes less than 0.1% of all breast tumors. Only a few studies are currently available in the literature and a standard approach to treating this tumor has yet to be established.

The great mimicker: zona zoster at the mastectomy site causing contralateral intramammary lymph node enlargement.

Zona zoster is rarely observed in patients with malignancy; when present, it follows a dermatomal fashion. Involvement of widely separated regions is very rare. Hereby, zona zoster causing enlarged intramammary lymph nodes (IMLN) in the opposite breast is reported for the first time in literature.

Signet-ring cell carcinoma of the colon with leptomeningeal involvement.

Primary signet-ring cell carcinoma of the colon is rare. Most patients with this type of cancer have a poor prognosis. We describe a patient with signet-ring cell carcinoma of the colon, for whom leptomeningeal metastasis presented a variety of clinical symptoms.

Management of elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer in Turkey.

Objective: Non-small cell lung cancer is a disease that affects the elderly. However, most patients older than 70 years are less likely to receive standard therapy than their younger counterparts and the aim of the present study was to determine age-dependent variation in efficacy.

Subjects And Methods: Between 2004-2008, 40 consecutive patients older than 70 years received treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Prognostic significance of the C-erbB-2 expression in turkish non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Background: The prognostic value of c-erbB-2 expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains controversial. The prevalence of c-erbB-2 expression in NSCLC and relation to disease prognosis were therefore investigated.

Methods: Eighty-nine patients with NSCLC diagnosed at Baskent University, Adana Hospital, Medical Oncology Department, between 2000-2005 were investigated.

The effect of HER2 expression on cisplatin-based chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Introduction: The prognostic value of HER2 expression in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer remains controversial. The relationship between HER2 expression, and platinum resistance and patient survival, was investigated.

Methods: Seventy-three consecutive patients (median age, 61 years) with stage IIIB and IV non-small cell lung cancer, admitted between February 2004 and December 2006, were included in this study.

Lack of influence of cyclooxygenese-2 expression in hepatocellular carcinomas on patient survival.

Recent studies suggest that cyclooxygenese-2 (COX-2) enzyme activation may play a role in hepatocarcinogenesis. However, the clinical significance of COX-2 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains obscure. This study evaluated COX-2 expression in hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus related HCC and in HCC patients with an unknown etiology.

Serum big endothelin-1 levels in female patients with breast cancer.

Endothelin-1[ET-1] acts as a growth factor in various malignancies. Big endothelin-1 (big ET-1) is the precursor of ET-1. The aim of this study was to determine the importance of serum big ET-1 levels as a novel marker of disease in female patients with breast cancer of various clinical stages.

Signet-ring cell carcinoma of the gallbladder: a case report.

Gallbladder cancers are recognised common tumours of the gastrointestinal system. Histologically, almost all of them are adenocarcinomas. Previously, only two cases of signet-ring cell carcinoma of the gallbladder have been published, and little is known about the disease.

Prostate small cell carcinoma and skin metastases: a rare entity.

Objectives: To report a rare case of small cell carcinoma of the prostate with unusual skin metastasis.

Clinical Presentation And Interventions: A 60-year-old was evaluated for difficulty in urinating. Abdominal computed tomography scans revealed a prostatic mass invading the surrounding tissues and multiple perirectal, periprostatic, para-aortic and pericaval lymph nodes.

Serum neopterin levels in patients with breast cancer.

The aim of this study was to determine the importance of serum neopterin level in female patients with breast cancer of various clinical stages. The study consisted of 75 female patients with breast cancer who were diagnosed and treated at the Gazi University Department of Medical Oncology. The patients were classified into three representative groups and a control group: group A (n = 26), patients with newly diagnosed primary breast cancer and without metastasis; group B (n = 33), patients with metastatic breast cancer who had undergone treatment for their diseases and on whom metastasis was detected during their follow-up; group C (n = 16), off-therapy patient whose cancer had been in remission for at least 5 years; group D (n = 20) healthy controls.

Early diagnosis of cancer in renal transplant patients: a single center experience.

Renal transplantation confers increased survival with improvement of immune suppressive drugs, but certain types of neoplasm can arise as secondary complications. It is thus well known that recipients have significantly increased risk of developing de novo malignancy when compared with the age-matched general population. Cancer is the 4th most common cause of death in transplant patients after cardiovascular disease, infections and liver failure.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the stomach: a case report.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) originating from the stomach is a relatively rare entity. There are theories regarding the development of this rare tumor, but its exact pathogenesis remains obscure. Fewer than 100 cases of primary SCC of the stomach have been presented in the literature.

Primary mediastinal yolk sac tumor in a 66-year-old woman.

Objective: To report a rare case of nonseminomatous extragonadal germ cell tumor in a 66-year-old female with primary yolk sac tumor of the mediastinum.

Clinical Presentation And Intervention: A 66-year-old female was admitted to our hospital with a history of chest pain for 1 month. Computerized tomography of the thorax showed a left paracardiac mass adjacent to the aortic arch, left main pulmonary artery and pericardium.