Basic and Clinical Cancer Research
Volume:10 Issue: 1, Winter 2018

Muslim cancer patients and healthcare professionals face several challenges about the necessity of fasting and its possible side effects during the holy month of Ramadan. We aimed to study the prevalence of fasting among cancer patients during Ramadan and opinions of health care professionals about fasting among cancer patients in Iran.
We conducted a cross-sectional survey during the Ramadan (July-August) in 2013. Participants were 620 cancer patients and, 187 healthcare professionals in several cancer clinics from different provinces of Iran. We used self-administered questionnaires and collected data from patients, and healthcare professionals to collect data. We performed descriptive analysis by using Stata statistical software.
Out of 620 patients who participated in this study, 428 (69%) were women. 76 (13%) of patients had fasted for at least a day during Ramadan and, from which 41 (7%) had fasted whole months because of their religious belief. Among patients who had refrained from fasting, the reasons were lack of sufficient physical strength (403, 65%), excessive thirst (141, 23%). 275 (44%) of participants had consulted with their physician about fasting. We found that more than 50% of physicians advised against fasting for patients following surgery, pre-operation, recent hospitalization, and consumption of oral or intravenous chemotherapy. Most of the healthcare professionals (68%) believed that cancer survivors could not fast even if they have no signs or symptoms or side-effects after the treatment.
Although most of the cancer patients refrain from fasting, some cancer patients practice fasting and face challenges during the holy month of Ramadan in Iran. Most patients consult about fasting in Ramadan with their doctor who has variable opinions about this issue. Development of guidelines for healthcare professional and cancer patients regarding Ramadan fasting is needed.

We studied the number of lymph nodes (LN) assessed in gastric cancer, and evaluated the association between different factors and a lower number of LN assessed.
We conducted a retrospective study in three hospitals in Tehran city, I.R. Of Iran. We used patient medical and pathological reports and obtained personal and clinical information. We studied the association of being on the N3 stage with the number of assessed lymph nodes (NALN), gender, tumor size, T stage, hospital, tumor site, histopathological diagnosis, tumor grade and age at diagnosis. In addition, we estimated the association between NALN and different clinical variables. A logistic regression model estimated the crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).
The average number of NALN was 10.48 (±6.9). We found that the probability of being diagnosed as stage N3 was significantly lower in patients who had less than 15 LN assessed compared to those who had more than 15 LN assessed in their pathology reports (OR=0.2; 95% CI 0.1-0.4). The hospital, tumor sizes were significantly associated with NALN.
Lower NALN led to stage migration and underestimation of the real tumor stage in GC patients. The LN assessments were lower than recommended by the American Joint Cancer Clinician Association in all the three hospitals included in this study. Developing national guidelines, training surgeons and pathologists, conducting regular monitoring and evaluation of the data is necessary to increase NALN and thus improve the staging of GC patients.

Colorectal cancer is one of the mostly diagnosed malignancies worldwide. The main risk factors for colorectal cancer include the mutation of tumor suppressor genes or proto-oncogenes and unhealthy lifestyle. Vegetable and fruit consumption with multiple anticancer agents can reduce the risk of colon cancer. Resveratrol, is a natural polyphenolic product that inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis through several pathways. In this study, the effects of resveratrol on β-catenin (CTNNB1) and GSK-3β expression affecting the Wnt-signaling pathway, were examined and morphology changes were analyzed in colon cancer cells with high levels of β-catenin such as HCT-116.
HCT-116 cells were seeded into 6-well plates and the cells were treated with various concentrations of resveratrol (25, 50 and 100 μM) for 24, 48 and 72 hours. β-catenin and GSK-3β expression were examined by Quantitative Real-time PCR and morphology changes were analyzed.
Our result showed that resveratrol in 25 and 50 μM concentrations of resveratrol reduces β-catenin and GSK-3β expression in 24h (p-value; 0.001). Gene expressions were found to increase in 48h and 72h treatment with resveratrol in the concentration of 50 and 100 μM (p-value; 0.001).
considering our data, we suggest that low doses of resveratrol could reduce β-catenin expression, which can affect the Wnt-signaling pathway. While, high doses can increase the GSK-3β expression, playing a role in the destruction of β-catenin, inhibition of its accumulation in the cytoplasm and nuclear, apoptosis induction and cellular proliferation inhibition. On the other hand, low doses of resveratrol can decrease GSK-3β expression and suppress proliferation.

The accurate detection of abnormal liver tissues, using an automatic classification system with accurate results in medicine is a critical issue, for which so many methods have been proposed so far. In this study, first we analyzed the liver images prepared by MRI device, using wavelet in the frequency domain, differentiated them at different levels regarding resolution, extracted the features of the images. To increase algorithm speed we reduced features vector through a method called PCA, then the selected features were classified, using a method called SVM. In cross-validation stage, we used K-fold technique for generalization of the algorithm and four different kernels were implemented and then the results were compared. Ultimately, this hybrid algorithm showed the best results with Gaussian kernel. This method was compared with some of the previous methods, showing that it could produce good results in the classification of liver images and diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors, when there are few training data available, which can be used in medical diagnoses.

The aging population, the rising incidence and prevalence of cancer and other chronic diseases are shifting the focus of medicine from the model of `cure' to one of controlling symptoms, maximizing patient's level of functioning and quality of life, as well as helping patients and families cope with a long-term illness. There is a general assumption that palliative care is best provided by different approaches, and team working styles. Every staff member has to have knowledge about what the organization as a whole can offer, as well as individual competence in his/her own field. Working in teams has become one of the solutions to the failures in the chain of care, cooperation, and the holistic view of the patient. The aim of this thesis was to gain a deeper understanding and knowledge about palliative care teams and the competences and factors that influence the success and functionality of the team.
Thorough search of the English literature was conducted using search engines such as science direct, Scopus, google and PubMed, with words that include: “multidisciplinary team”, interdisciplinary team, team work, cancer.
Introduction of care with multy disciplines was associated with improved survival, care coordination, clear decision-making, patients’ satisfaction and cost efficacy as a great benefit for the patient. Learning and teaching, innovation and problem solving are major benefits of team working for palliative care members. Such barriers include insufficient facilities, time constraint and poor interprofessional relationships.
This study gives a general introduction into palliative care teams and the factors that influence them and their work.