فصلنامه بیماری های پستان ایران
سال پانزدهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 57، تابستان 1401)

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and cause of cancer-related death in women. Recent years have witnessed dramatic changes in the incidence and mortality rates of breast cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to provide a report of breast cancer incidence trends between 2003 and 2017.

This cross-sectional study examined Iran’s cancer registry reports from 2003 to 2017. We used age-specific breast cancer incidence rate of different age and sex groups in different years. This statistics were compared with predicted incidence values for Iran in international centers

The incidence of breast cancer showed an increasing trend in Iran according to national cancer registry reports between 2003 and 2017 in both women and men. In 2003 and 2017, the age-specific incidence rates of breast cancer were 15.96 and 40.72 per 100,000 women, respectively. In 2017, the highest incidence rate of breast cancer was observed in the age groups of 65-69 years (128.33 per 100,000 women) and 60-64 years (127.79 per 100,000 women) and mostly in Isfahan, Yazd, Gilan, and Alborz provinces.

The incidence of breast cancer in Iran has had an increasing trend in recent years and the reported values ​​are higher than the values ​​estimated by world scientific cancer centers. This increasing trend emphasizes the need for national policies for timely diagnosis of patients with breast cancer to increase their survival rate and quality of life.

Cardiotoxicity is an unavoidable complication after chemotherapy. The present study investigated the effect of 12 weeks of aerobic exercise (high-intensity interval training or moderate-intensity continuous training) with and without blood flow restriction on some anthropometric indices in women with breast cancer who had chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.

Twenty breast cancer patients with cardiotoxicity participated in this study (age: 21-34 years and body mass index: 26-57 kg/m2). Patients were randomly divided into groups of high-intensity interval training, moderate-intensity continuous aerobic exercise, high-intensity interval training with limited blood flow, and moderate-intensity aerobic training with limited blood flow. Patients then received the interventions for 12 weeks, three sessions per week. Before and after the intervention, data related to patients’ anthropometric indices were collected using a body composition analyzer (X-CONTACT 356) and analyzed using a MANCOVA test.

Weight, body mass index and final score of the body analyzer in the high-intensity interval training group with restricted blood flow improved significantly compared with the groups without restricting blood flow (P < 0.05). High-intensity interval training and restriction of blood flow reduced the percentage of body fat and age-appropriate body, increased muscle tissue, and the waist to hip ratio compared with moderate-intensity continuous training (P<0.05). Basal metabolic rate was not affected by exercise type but increased with blood flow restriction (P < 0.05).

The present study suggests the use of a combination of physical activity and restriction of blood flow as a solution for the recovery of breast cancer patients with treatment‑related cardiotoxicity (in the case of the components of the present study).

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the first cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide. Although admirable achievements have been made in finding new therapeutic interventions, introducing efficient approaches with the least side effect is still undoubtedly demanded. Exposure to extremely-low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) with specific parameters of frequency, intensity, and duration seems to show promising results in cancer treatments. In this study we investigated the possible anti-cancer role of ELF-EMF in BT-474 breast cancer cells.

The BT474 breast cancer cell lines and normal MCF10A cells were exposed to sinusoidal ELF-EMF (100mT, 1Hz) for 2h/d for 5 days. The survival and apoptosis rates of these cells were measured using trypan blue and flow cytometry, respectively. Also, to measure the mRNA expression level of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and ERBB2 (HER2) genes, we used real-time PCR.

ELF-EMF induced apoptosis in about 69% of BT474 (p˂0.05) but not in the MCF10A cells. Also, the gene expression analysis revealed a decrease in ERBB2 and PR expression and an increase in ER expression levels in the experimental group compared with the control group in BT-474 cells.

Exposure to an ELF-EMF of 100 mT, 1 Hz, for 5 days, 2 h/d, can induce significant apoptosis in BT474 cells. Furthermore, it can affect important genes related to breast cancer (decreasing ERBB2 and PR and increasing ER expression), which may be beneficial as possible adjuvant therapy.

Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs) are members of pattern recognition receptors that recognize various molecules, including pathogen-associated molecular patterns and dead-associated molecular patterns. These receptors are expressed by immune, non-immune, and tumor cells. Some TLRs are implicated in tumor progression, while others are involved in tumor suppression. Our study aimed to evaluate soluble TLR2, TLR4, TLR9, HMGB1, and HSP70 in breast cancer patients' sera to further understand their roles in breast cancer development.

The study population includes 50 breast cancer patients and 25 healthy individuals. Patients provided written informed consent before participating in the study. Three milliliters of venous blood were drawn from each person, and serum samples were evaluated for Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs) titer by ELISA assay.

Soluble TLR2, TLR9, HMGB1, and HSP70 were significantly higher in patients' serum than in healthy controls. It was shown that the serum levels of TLR9 and HMGB1 were more elevated in stages II and IV of the disease.

Our results suggest that soluble TLR2, 9, and HMGB1 may be a novel prognostic factor in breast cancer, and they could be a target for immunotherapy in the future. However, more evidence is needed before introducing this to the bedside.

breast cancer is listed as the most common type of cancer in women and many patients suffer from this disease worldwide. However, the timely diagnosis of the condition can lower the rate of mortality and morbidity. Breast imaging-reporting and data system (BI-RADS) is a noninvasive scoring system. The aim of our study was to assess the BI-RADS for patients and evaluate the correspondence of BI-RADS score with pathological findings.

Ultrasound data for 250 patients who were BI-RADS 4 or above were gathered. Moreover, information like demographic data, family history, the involved breast (right or left), and the location of involvement was extracted. Furthermore, pathological grading based on the core needle biopsy or open surgery was assessed.

The mean age of the patients was 44.43 ± 13.10 years, and 20.8% had a family history of breast cancer. The number of cases categorized as BI-RADS 4A was 109 (43.6%), 39 cases (15.6%) were 4B, and 102 cases (40.8%) were 4C. Furthermore, in 128 cases (51.2%) the right breast and in 122 cases (48.8%) the left breast was involved. Age and percentage of lymphadenopathy in 4C group were significantly higher than 4A and 4B groups (P = 0.0001). Also, the location of the lesion (P = 0.004), pathologic diagnosis (P = 0.0001) and pathologic grade (P = 0.0001) were significantly different among the three categories. A total of 11.9% of 4A cases, 30.8% of 4B cases, and 90.2% of 4C cases were reported as carcinoma.

The results of our study showed that the positive predictive value for the three categories of A, B, and C were equal to 11.9%, 30.8%, and 90.2%, respectively. However, more studies are still needed to examine this index more closely.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Clinicopathological variables are important factors in deciding on breast cancer treatment. This study evaluated the association between the recurrence score generated by the Oncotype DX® 21-gene assay and classic clinicopathological variables.

A single-institution retrospective study on 44 Iraqi breast cancer patients was conducted using the Oncotype DX test at Baghdad Oncology Teaching Hospital. Patients positive for estrogen receptor and negative for ERBB2 (HER2/neu) were included. The cases were divided into three groups of low-, intermediate-, and high-risk according to the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Risk Score and were compared on clinicopathological variables.

Of the 44 women included in this study, low, intermediate, and high recurrence scores were noted in 16 (36.4%), 16 (36.4%), and 12 (27.2%) patients, respectively. The mean age of participants was 49.3 years, and the median size of the tumor was 2.3 cm. None of the examined clinicopathological variables were statistically associated with the recurrence risk score.

This study indicated that standard clinicopathological variables are not good predictors of early-stage breast cancer recurrence. Because of the high cost of the Oncotype DX test, its incorporation in breast cancer protocols needs stronger evidence.

Wearing an inappropriate bra may result in damage to the breasts, various breast diseases, or skin allergies. This study aimed to change the fabric used in different components of the bra to reduce tension and increase breast comfort during normal daily activities of women.

 Two types of commercial bra (a regular bra and a sponge bra) were modified in the gore, sidebands, and the back band using two different types of plain-knitted fabric including polyester-lycra and viscose-lycra. To assess breast movement comfort, we measured tension changes in the bra due to breast movements during normal activities using metal-thread voltage sensors located in three parts: under the cup, the bottom of the back band, and the bottom of the gore.

 The slope of the voltage-time diagram is considered as a measure of the elongation changes in the bra during movement. The slope values for the sponge bra with the sensor at the bottom of the cup were 0.0039, 0.0057, and 0.0096 for the three common movements in the experiment, and those for the regular bra were 0.0019, 0.0039, and 0.0059. Greater voltage changes in the sponge bra compared with the regular bra indicates more tension on the breast and less ease of movement under the cup for the consumer. Using polyester-knitted tape on the sides and back of the regular bra significantly reduced tension (P value <0.05) and increased comfort.

The resuts of the study indicate differences in breast movement comfort in different bra designs. Therefore, the appropriate use of different elastic fabrics in the design of bras for ordinary and everyday use of women is an important consideration in the prevention of breast diseases.