Multidisciplinary Cancer Investigation
Volume:4 Issue: 2, Apr 2020

In late December, when the world faced a huge challenge called Corona New Virus-2019 (SARS- CoV-2), health systems faced lots of challenges. We are in Midway through or perhaps at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Infection with COVID-19 has completely disrupted nearly every aspect of daily life and is the focus of attention of almost all visual and written media. By the way, cardiovascular and cancer have been identified as risk factors for suffering from COVID-19 and death [1]. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the risk of COVID-19 as a preventive strategy. Besides, regarding health issues, staying at home is the best way to reduce the risk of being affected by COVID-19. On the other hand, patients with cancer and heart problems require regular supervision and visits. This causes conflict and anxiety for patients and makes them feel confused. Therefore, the best way to solve this conflict and prevent being affected with COVID-19; while continuing the monitoring and therapeutic adherence is using E-visits and E-service. According to the findings of Mohammadzadeh in 2019 using the E-visit was a good way to monitor the pharmacy and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection [2]. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an  infectious  disease  caused  by  severe  acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) with droplets and contact as the main means of transmission. Although most patients have mild symptoms and good prognosis after infection, some patients with cancer and heart diseases have developed severe and died from multiple organ complications. Social distancing is the best way for the prevention of COVID-19, therefore to support the social distance and continuing therapeutic adherence, the use of cyberspace and E-visit are recommended.
For more information refer to http://ijnv.ir/article-1- 695-fa.html

The diagnostic value of the D-dimer test varies with variable platelet numbers and functions in patients suffering from cancer and concomitant pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). This requires easy and reliable evaluation tests. In this study, we aimed to investigate the hypothesis that platelet functions may be more guiding in the prediction and diagnosis of PTE rather than the number of platelets in cancer pa- tients.

The clinical, laboratory and radiological findings of all patients diagnosed with PTE were retrieved, retrospectively. Comparisons were performed between “can- cer-free” and “cancer” patients. The patients were also evaluated according to their active and remission status.

The data of 232 patients with PTE were reviewed. 172 patients were cancer- free and 60 were diagnosed with cancer. The mean values of D-dimer, mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) were found to be significantly higher in patients with cancer (P=0.015, P=0.026, and P=0.023; respectively). On the other hand, mean platelet counts were significantly higher in patients without cancer (P=0.05). It was also observed that the mean values of D-dimer, Troponin-I, MPV, and PDW were found to be significantly higher in patients with active cancer (P=0.05, P=0.044, P=0.05, and P=0.042; respectively). However, the mean platelet counts were significantly higher in patients with cancer who were in remission (P=0.05).

The morphological characteristics of the platelets are more determinant than the number of platelets in cancer patients with PTE. Platelet indexes such as MPV and PDW may be useful in the prediction, diagnosis, and follow-up of PTE in patients with cancer.

The current study aimed at comparing the results of radical radiotherapy (RT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with cervical cancer and evaluating the prognostic factors.

CRT is the standard of care for locally advanced cervical cancer with the five-year survival rate of 30%–80%. In 1978-2006, a total of 716 patients with cervical cancer stage IB2-IVB were retrospectively analyzed for RT and CRT. In intracavitary brachytherapy, the median dose was 24 Gy and follow-up was 78 months. CRT was treated with 45 Gy external radiotherapy with cisplatin 40 mg/m2 given once a week.

The five-year pelvic control rate was 56.2% in the radical RT arm and 75.8% in the combined arm (P=0.01); disease-free survival and overall survival rates were 47%-56.3% (P=0.09) and 44.9%-52.5% (P=0.03), respectively. Treatment failure was detected in 317(50.5%) of 627 patients in the RT arm and in 30 (33.7%) of 89 patients in the CRT arm (Chi-squared value=8.86, P<0.01). Treatment failure rate was high in the 1st two years. Distant metastases were detected in 116 patients in the RT and 17 patients in the CRT arms. Hematological side effect rates in the CRT arm -anemia, thrombopenia, and leukopenia- were 33.7%, 13.5%, and 28.1%, respectively. The prevalence of rectitis, cystitis, and skin and subcutaneous fibrosis in the RT arm was 9.4%, 4.8%, and 2.2%, and in the CRT arm was 12.4%, 11.2%, and 13.5%, respectively.

CRT increased pelvic control and overall survival rate based on the findings; it can be the preferred treatment modality because of its high response rate and acceptable toxicity.

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of group-based compassion-focused therapy (CFT) on depression, anxiety, and improving the quality of life (QoL) in women with feminine cancers.

A pretest-posttest control‐grouped, quasi‐experimental study was carried out on all women with cancer who were referred to the Omid Hospital of Mashhad in 2019. Thirty patients with various types of feminine cancers were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of group-based compassion-focused therapy (CFT) (n=15) or sham control (n=15). Participants in both conditions completed measures of Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI-II), and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) at pretest and posttest. Analysis of covariance was used for data analysis.

Our results showed that there was a significant difference between experimental and sham control groups in depression (F= 4/499, P<0.05, d=1.60 large) and anxiety (F=19/99, P<0.01, d=1.96 large), but there was no significant difference in participants’ QoL scale.

Group-based CFT could be considered a promising and potentially useful intervention to alleviate the depression and anxiety in cancer patients but it did not affect their QoL. Nevertheless, future randomized trials are needed.

A hypothesis is proposed here that RET rearrangements in papillary thyroid cancers are related to the disease duration and tumor progression. The most common RET rearrangements are RET/PTC1 and RET/PTC3. RET/PTC1 is more prevalent in classic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), its diffuse sclerosing variant, and papillary microcarcinoma; while RET/PTC3 is frequently found in less differentiated solid PTC. RET/PTC3 is associated with larger tumor size and multifocality in sporadic pediatric PTC. The RET rearrangements; especially RET/PTC3, which is frequently detected among Chernobyl thyroid cancers is developed after exposure to radiation at an early age, is proposed to be a potential trigger of malignancy. There are many late-stage tumors among the first-wave Chernobyl PTCs that tend to be larger and less differentiated than those detected later. The high proportion of late-stage cases shortly after the accident is explained by the neglected cases in the screening process and also by the fact that some non-exposed patients were registered as radiation-exposed. The screening was productive because of the reservoir of undiagnosed cases in the population: registered incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) among children and adolescents prior to the Chernobyl disaster was low in the Soviet Union; compared to other developed countries. In conclusion, RET rearrangements, especially RET/PTC3, were correlated with the tumor progression. If the hypothesis defended here is correct, a low prevalence of RET/PTC3 among sporadic TC is circumstantial evidence of efficient cancer diagnosis and early detection.

Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled cellular growth or proliferation. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a group of cancers mainly affecting the buccal cavity and associated area, with high rate of mortality and morbidity. Chronic consumption of alcohol, both smoking and smokeless tobacco, and betel quid are considered as the prominent determinants for the initiation and development of OSCC. The current treatment strategy of OSCC is associated with the common side effects of non-specific anticancer drug delivery. In addition, the treatment also deals with the recurrence of OSCC after completion of the therapy, which is responsible for its high mortality rate. Nanotechnology is an emerging discipline in drug delivery, disease diagnosis, and imaging. Nanoparticles are a group of colloidal carriers with approximately 1-1000 nm size range. Nanoparticles, due to large surface area to volume ratio, display different physicochemical characteristics favorable for their use in chemotherapy. The nanoparticles with options for modifications in their sizes, surface charges, drug payload, and drug bioavailability can be used as a drug delivery system. The dynamic and flexible nature of nanoparticles can be employed to both active and passive targeting of cancer cells combating the usual side effects as well as other complexities associated with the conventional chemotherapy. The nanoparticles can be regarded as the future of drug delivery in cancer therapy.