International Journal of Cancer Management
Volume:3 Issue: 4, Autumn 2010

Muttappallymyalil et al published a paper regarding the “Attitudes and practice of nurses in imparting knowledge on Brest Self Examination” (BSE) in previous issue of the journal [1]. In their conclusion they recommend that educational programs are needed in this group of health professionals promote the practice of teaching women to perform BSE. A recent Cochrane review has failed to find any benefits for regular BSE in reducing the mortality rate of women due to breast cancer. Further, regular BSE appears to increase the number of unnecessary breast biopsies due to palpation of benign lesions [2]. When a woman detects a lump in one of her breasts it is most likely to be benign, however this often causes anxiety and can lead further, sometimes invasive, investigations such as fine needle aspiration (FNA), sonograms, mammograms and also breast biopsy. Such investigations are potentially harmful and costly for patients and/or the healthcare service. New guidelines don’t recommend regular BSE for all women. Women should be aware of potential drawbacks of BSE. Women may encounter a lump or changes in shape and skin colour of their breasts during daily activities such as getting washed or dressed. Sometimes breast changes may be detected by their partner. The role of regular BSE in addition to these activities is uncertain. Regardless of the role of BSE it is recommended that women who encounter any unusual mass in their breast, whether accidentally or during BSE visit a physician for necessary followup.

Present investigations were carried out to evaluate an ethanolic extract of Oxalis corniculata Linn. For its anticancer and antioxidant activity in Ehrlich acsites carcinoma (EAC) - induced in swiss albino mice. Cancer was induced in mice by aspiration of peritoneal fluid of EAC inoculated mice and diluted to get 1x106 cells/ml in phosphate buffer. Cancerous animals were divided into four groups having six mice in each in which Group III and IV cancerous animals were treated with the ethanolic extract of Oxalis corniculata Linn. One hundred and 400 mg/kg b.w. respectively, whereas Group V cancerous animals received standard drug cyclophosphamide 25 mg/kg b.w. The test and standard drugs were administered orally 24 hrs after the inoculation of EAC for 9 days. The several changes of antitumor potential of EEOC were accessed. Biochemical parameters such as total protein, albumin, Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), lipid peroxidation and enzymatic antioxidants were determined. The present study revealed that EEOC showed significant antitumor and antioxidant activities in EAC bearing mice. The dose dependent reduction in body weight, tumor volume, packed cell volume, tumor cell counts and increase in median survival time (MST) and percentage increase in life span in EEOC treated animals were observed. There was a significant increase in RBC count; Hb content in EEOC treated animals and reduction in total WBC count. There was a significant increase in total protein and albumin content, but decrease in AST, ALT and ALP contents in EEOC treated animals. A significant decrease in liver MDA levels and increase in catalase and reduced glutathione levels were observed in EEOC treated animals. Results conclude that the EEOC was effective in inhibiting the tumor growth in ascitic and solid tumor models. The biochemical and antioxidants studies were also supported its antitumor properties.

The most common cancer among women is breast cancer which accounts for 27% of all cancers. According to the National Cancer Institute's reports, the risk of breast cancer among American women is 13%. The current study aims to evaluate the level of risk perception of breast cancer and to identify its related factors amongst female employees. This project was a cross-sectional study and participants were female employees working in hospitals and other organizations in the city of Ilam,Iran. A standard questionnaire was prepared using the Gail's model. Excluding criteria for perception risk were age less than 20 years and a history of breast cancer. Two hundred forty nine women participated in the study, and their mean age and standard deviation were 33.4 and 7 years respectively. The participants were divided into the medical and non- medical employee groups. Ninety seven point two percent of the participants had high school diploma or higher education levels, and 80.3% were married. Twelve subjects (4.8%) had a history of breast cancer among their first- grade relatives (mother or sisters); and 16 subjects had a history of breast cancer among their second- grade relatives. Occupation, familial history of cancer and breast tissue biopsy were significantly related to perception risk in this study, and the breast cancer perception risk was higher in the medical group compared to the non-medical group. Most women did not show a true estimation of breast cancer; however, those working in the relevant professions such as nurses and midwives can show a higher estimation. A higher knowledge of breast cancer will result in a higher perception risk and chasing relevant preventive and remedial cares.

The aim of this study was to evaluate over expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene in localized prostate cancers and determine its relation with clinical and pathological factors affecting the progression of the disease. In the tissue samples of the patients with prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy, EGFR expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry technique. Those with scores 2 and 3 were considered to be positive for the expression. The relation between gene expression and grade was evaluated by chi-square test. Of 100 tissue samples evaluated, 80 and 20 had Gleason score (GS) < 7 and ≥ 7, respectively. Also, 68 and 32 had PSA level ≤ 10 and >10, respectively. A total of 59 samples were positive for EGFR expression, of whom, 46 had GS < 7 and 13 had GS > 7 (P-value = 0.39). Forty patients had PSA < 10 and 19 had PSA > 10 (P-value = 0.5). Fifty-nine percent of the patients with localized prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy were EGFR positive. No significant relation was found between EGFR and grading (GS) or PSA.

This study aimed to explore the experiences of Iranian women regarding the barriers to and facilitating factors for cervical cancer screening. Eight focus groups (N= 86 participants) were conducted with women referred to a health center in Karaj, Iran from January to March, 2007. Purposeful sampling was used. Married women aged 18 years old and over, not suffering from Obstetrics/ Gynecological disease during last two years and being willing to participate in the study were included. Framework analysis was used to extract the themes from the data. In general, the participants stated that they were not knowledgeable regarding cervical cancer. Moreover, most of the participants had negative beliefs regarding cancer prevention, including lack of free time to do the test, cost of the test, no symptoms cue. The perceived facilitating factors verified by the participants were cues to action, health care motivator, and perceived threat. The findings of this study revealed that there are various psychosocial barriers to cervical cancer screening among Iranian women. High accessibility and availably of the test as well as health care provider's encouragements may improve the rate of cervical cancer screening

Clinical and epidemiological variation was seen between the colon cancer (CC) and rectum cancer (RC). So, there is not so much data available about the epidemiological and clinicopathological differences and prognostic factors regarding to CC and CR in Iran, we aimed to perform this study. All cases of CC and RC referred to oncology and gastroenterology wards of Taleghani General Hospital, Teheran, Iran between 2002 and 2008 were retrospectively reviewed. The research group were reviewed all medical records in the study period for collecting the required data. All patients under study were followed up until end day of 2008 (closed day) from their diagnosis. There are 856 cases of CC and 427 cases of RC. Mean survival time of CC cases was relatively higher than RC cases (P <0.05). Regarding to the age at diagnosis, about 42% of CC and 42.6% of RC patients was diagnosed less than 50 years of age. Positive family history of any cancer was relatively higher in CC (40.0%) patients than RC (31.0%) patients (P<0.05). significant difference was seen between CC and RC regarding to depth of tumor invasion, pathologic stage and type of first treatment. RC patient were diagnosed in more advanced pathologic stages. Regarding to histology type of tumor 75.0% of CC cases and 79.4% of RC cases was adenocarcinoma. Abdominal pain (74.4%) and blood per rectum (89.7%) were the most prevalent symptoms mentioned by patients for CC and RC, respectively. Distant metastasis, lymph node metastasis, lower BMI and poor grading of tumor was related to increased risk of death due to CC. Regarding to RC, only pathologic stage was determine as prognostic factor. Results of this study emphasis that RC has a poorer prognosis comparing to CC. Up to 42 percent of patients with CC and RC are lower than 50 years of age. Patterns of CC versus RC indicate major variations in demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics that suggest possible differences in etiology and pathogenesis. So we suggest that for the analysis of cancer data, CC and RC should be investigated as separate cancers and not to be as colorectal cancer. Abdominal pain and blood per rectum should be emphasis for detection of CC and RC, respectively.

Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is a protein currently used in conjunction with the digital rectal examination to detect and guide management of prostate cancer. There are several causes of increase in serum PSA including urological manipulations, medications, prostatic diseases, prostate cancer, prostate inflammation or infection, etc. some studies had reported cystoscopy to cause transient increases in PSA. The present study has been undertaken with an aim to find out the effect of rigid cystoscopy on serum PSA level. One hundred two men referring to clinic of urology of Imam Reza Hospital from 2008 to 2010 were included in this study. Their age ranged from 31-88 years with the mean of 65.85 years. Our inclusion criteria were having an indication for cystoscopy like BPH, erection disorder, signs related to prostate or bladder carcinoma. Patients with positive urine culture, any medication affecting PSA level, history of urinary retention, any urological manipulations a few days before and ejaculation 48-72 hours before PSA assessment were excluded from the study. Blood samples were taken before and 24 hours after cystoscopy for PSA measurement. PSA was measured by Sandwich ELISA test using PSA kit (pishtaz kit - made in Iran) containing monoclonal antibody. PSA level of the study cases varied from 0.1 to 21 ng/ml. Mean PSA values before and after cystoscopy were 3.004± 3.34 and 2.92 ± 2.98 respectively indicating that after cystoscopy not only PSA value did not raise but also decreased to some extent. Our findings indicate that, cystoscopy has no effect on PSA value and does not lead to its elevation. It can be concluded that serum PSA after rigid cystoscopy is an accurate and reliable finding to decide about patients condition related to prostate cancer

The Male Breast Cancer (MBC) is a very rare neoplasm which accounts for 0.5- 1% of the total cases of breast cancer. Bilateral involvement is reported to occur in fewer than 2% of all the diagnosed cases of MBC, and synchronous tumors are very rare. Because of its rarity, little is known about MBC etiology, its clinical findings and treatment. Most patients present with a painless breast mass. The prognosis does not seem to be poor compared to that of the females, and it probably has a similar stage by stage prognosis. Surgical treatment is the gold standard for MBC. The authors report a case of simultaneous bilateral male breast cancer. The aim of this case report was to contribute to the available literature by this unusual presentation of the disease.