International Journal of Cancer Management
Volume:11 Issue: 3, Mar 2018

The present study aimed to apply the Health Belief Model (HBM) in breast self-examination among the female university students in Iran.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 384 female students at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Isfahan, Iran. Participants were selected via simple random sampling and completed the Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale (CHBMS). Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 20, and the two-tailed P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Distribution of the study population across the stages of change was as follows: pre-contemplation (n = 107; 42.8%), contemplation (n = 55; 22%), preparation (n = 32; 12.8%), action (n = 33; 13.2%), and maintenance (n = 23; 19%). Mean scores of the HBM constructs were as follows: perceived susceptibility (8.77 ± 4.16), perceived severity (24.63 ± 5.80), perceived benefits (22.96 ± 12.86), and perceived barriers (27.21 ± 17.18).
According to the results, few students were in the action and maintenance stages of breast self-examination and had inadequate knowledge regarding some of the risk factors for breast cancer. Therefore, it is recommended that educational programs be implemented to provide comprehensive information on the risk factors for breast cancer, perceived susceptibility, and self-efficacy.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common malignancy in gastrointestinal tract.
This study was conducted to investigate the frequency of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), over-expression in patients with ESCC, and its correlation with pathologic response in cases undergoing neo-adjuvant, chemoradiation, and survival.
In this cross sectional study, 68 patients with non-metastatic esophageal SCC, who had undergone neo-adjuvant chemotherapy containing cisplatin and 5FU in conjunction with radiotherapy between 2007 and 2014 were evaluated. HER2 expression assessed by Immunohistochemistry and HER2 score was also calculated for each specimen. Tumor response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy was evaluated in surgical blocks according to tumor regression grading (TRG) system. Patients were followed up every 3 months in first 2 years and every 6 months afterwards.
The result of Hercep test was positive in 42.8% of cases, among whom 33.8% were 2 and 8.8% were 3. Her2 score was above 100 in 38.3%. Complete pathologic response was observed in 32.3%. There was no significant difference in the rate of complete response between patients with positive and negative HER-2 over-expression (P = 0.71). There was also no significant correlation between Her2 score among groups with favorable and unfavorable response to chemoradiation (P = 0.796 and 0.743). There was no difference in overall survival in Her2 positive and negative groups (3 years survival was 45 and 54 months, P = 0.32). Overall survival significantly reduced in patients with Her2 score above 100 (P = 0.045).
Her2 positive in ESCC had no effect on tumors biologic behaviors and its response to chemoradiation. Although no correlation was observed between Her2 expression and survival; Her2 score above 100 was associated with shorter survival.

Colorectal cancer is a highly prevalent cancer across the world, which is associated with significant mortality. Therefore, special attention must be paid to the prevention and care of this fatal disease. The present study aimed to evaluate the effective methods to prolong the survival of colorectal cancer patients and determine the influential factors in their longevity using the exponentiated Weibull statistical model.
Medical records of 446 colorectal cancer patients referring to Taleghani Hospital in Tehran, Iran during 1985 - 2013 were reviewed. The exponentiated Weibull model is an extended version of the Weibull model, which is used to investigate the survival of colorectal cancer patients and assess the influential factors in their survival and longevity. We also compared the model with the Weibull-exponential model for better practice.
Mean survival rate of the patients was 4.52 ± 0.182 years. According to the exponentiated Weibull model, age at diagnosis was the only significant influential factor in the survival of colorectal cancer patients (P = 0.002). Other factors such as gender, tumor size, family history of colorectal cancer, tumor site, and body mass index had no significant effects on the survival of these patients. The proposed model was considered superior to the Weibull-exponential model due to the lower Akaike’s information criterion.
According to the results, age of colorectal cancer patients at the time of diagnosis is the most important influential factor in increasing their survival and reducing the mortality rate. Therefore, it is recommended that proper care be provided for the elderly patients with colorectal cancer, especially at the onset of the disease.

Thyroid nodules in the majority of cases are symptom-free; but, their clinical significance is due to being differentiated from malignancy. The outbreak of thyroid cancer (TC) is gradually soaring because of lifestyle turning into westernization in developing nations such as Iran. Thus, the current research has been performed pursuing the goal to identify the most critical risk factors in the thyroid cancerous individuals with thyroid nodules in northern Iran during a decade.
This study is of historical cohort type. A total of 33,530 files of the patients referring to the medical clinic through 2003 to 2013 have been examined and 1,817 thyroid nodule afflicted patients have been diagnosed and the data about these patients includes 70 recorded variables The data have been analyzed by logistic regression in interval Censored data at significance level 0.05 applying SPSS and Strata software.
A total of 1 594 (87.7%) of the patients consist of women in the mean age bracket 41.07 ± 13.81. Also, the mean age of those with TC is 38.15 ± 13.52. Among the most significant factors identified in thyroid malignancies in the patients with thyroid nodules, we can note severe obesity, bilateral nodules, abnormal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and T4 hormones, phosphorus, calcium, and thyroglobulin.
Regarding the incidence raise of TC, it is required to identify the malignancy risk factors. It is recommended to carry out some studies on the role of abnormal T4 hormone, phosphorus, calcium, and thyroglobulin in thyroid malignancies in the patients suffering from thyroid nodules.

Endometriosis is a prevalent benign condition arising from female reproductive system and affects about 7% to 10% of females. The association of this disorder with epithelial ovarian tumors has been a matter of interest in gynecology.
The present study was conducted to assess the association between endometriosis and different types of surface epithelial ovarian tumor.
Microscopic slides of 182 cases with the diagnosis of surface epithelial ovarian carcinoma and borderline tumor from 2007 to 2014 were reviewed for the presence of endometriosis in a tertiary gynecological center. Additional data included age, tumor size and laterality, site of endometriosis, presence of atypical endometriosis, and concomitant uterine endometrial carcinoma.
Endometriosis was found in 32 out of the 182 (17.58%) of reviewed ovarian epithelial tumor cases. They included endometrioid carcinoma (46.87%), clear cell carcinoma (18.75%), borderline epithelial tumor (31.25%), and low-grade serous papillary carcinoma (3.12%).
Endometrioid and clear cell types of ovarian tumors were most frequently associated with endometriosis.

Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP - 2) regulates several functions within human cells, including invasion, adhesion, differentiation, proliferation, and programmed death. The intercellular role of this protein in cancer progression has been extensively investigated in recent studies. Alterations in β - catenin could also promote cancer progression throughout the Wnt/β - catenin signaling pathway. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of rhBMP - 2 on the expression and localization of β - catenin in the induced oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in the buccal pouches of golden Syrian hamsters.
Buccal cavities of 57 hamsters were scrubbed by 5% 7,12 - dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) three times per week for 3.5 months. In addition, the animals in the test group (n = 29) were injected with 0.25 µg of rhBMP-on days one, seven, and 49 of the study, and biopsies were extracted afterwards. The expression of β - catenin was immunohistochemically studied in the affected tissues.
Membranous β - catenin expression was observed in 71.1% of the cells in the animals in the test group and 64.8% of the control subjects. However, no significant difference was observed between the study groups (P > 0.05). Moreover, nuclear β - catenin expression was detected in 39.1% and 23.6% of the cells in the test and control groups, respectively with a significant difference in this regard (P According to the results, rhBMP - 2 increased the nuclear localization of β - catenin in the OSCC and activated the Wnt/β - catenin signaling pathway. However, evidence is scarce on the increased invasiveness due to the loss of β - catenin membranous expression.

Traditional herbs are effective in the treatment of many diseases. It is proven that traditional herbs can decrease the risk of cancer and grow the survivals of patients.
Based on the results of our previous research, ethanol Baneh skin extract has cytotoxic effect on pc3 cells; thus, we decide to determine the effect of Baneh extracts on Bcl2 and Bax expression and amount of concentration of caspase3.
The expressions of apoptotic - related genes were determined by real time PCR and the concentration of caspase3 was determined by ELISA method.
Ethanol Baneh skin extract increased the mRNA expression of Bax and decreased the mRNA expression of Bcl2 in pc3 cells and also increased the amount of caspase3.
The result of this study indicates the Ethanol Baneh skin extract including photochemical that might be a candidate for the herbal anti - cancer drugs.

Oxidative stress has been shown to be the most significant influential factor in cancer pathogenesis. Follicular cells are affected in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), which is the most prevalent thyroid cancer associated with oxidative stress. As a noninvasive source of body metabolism, saliva has recently attracted the attention of researchers as an investigative specimen. The present study aimed to evaluate and compare the levels of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the blood and saliva samples of PTC patients and healthy control subjects.
This case-control study was conducted on the patients with PTC referring to Taleghani Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers were selected as the control group. Blood and saliva samples were obtained from all the subjects. Measurement of the MDA and TAC levels was performed using a commercial kit (ZellBio GmbH, Germany) based on colorimetric methods. Data analysis was performed in MedCalc software version 14.8.1.
In total, 33 PTC patients and 33 healthy subjects were enrolled in the study with the mean age of 34.6 ± 8.02 years. No statistically significant differences were observed in the demographic characteristics of the participants. Serum TAC and MDA levels were significantly lower and higher in the PTC group (P According to the results, PTC patients had oxidant/antioxidant imbalance, which could increase the risk of PTC. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in the TAC and MDA levels measured in the saliva of the PTC patients and control subjects. This finding could be attributed to the ultrafiltration in plasma, which involves the seeping-through of the plasma molecules, not allowing the use of saliva as a substitute for serum or plasma.

Medulloblastoma is one of the most common malignancies in children. Common clinical symptoms of patients are related to the symptoms due to tumor in the posterior cranial fossa. Presentation of patients with symptoms related to metastatic tumors in the spinal canal are unusual.
We present a 6-year-old child with symptoms of lower back pain and Paraplegia as early symptoms of medulloblastom. The Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) of spinal cord revealed multiple tumors in the spinal canal (initially diagnosed). A biopsy of the tumor was also performed. Then, whole CNS (Central Nervous System) imaging revealed tumor in the posterior cranial fossa. He had a dramatic improvement after treatment and returned to normal in all clinical signs. Four years have passed from his treatment and he is symptom free.
Presentation of Medulloblastoma with widespread spinal canal drop metastases is rare. However, spinal drop metastasis should be considered to prevent a suboptimal management in child. These patients did not consider in aspect of the treatment outcome as hopeless.

Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube is very rare among primary genital tract malignancies. Transitional cell carcinoma is among the rarest tumor subtypes that can involve the fallopian tube.
Here, we reported a 42-year-old premenopausal lady presenting with spotting, dysmenorrhea, and abdominal pain. She was found to have a pelvic mass in the right posterior cul-de-sac suspicious to be an eccentrically located leiomyoma. Histopathology examination of the resected mass revealed transitional cell carcinoma arising from the fallopian tube.
Primary fallopian tube tumors could be considered in differential diagnosis of pelvic mass and intraoperative frozen consultation is useful for correct diagnosis.