International Journal of Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Research
Volume:6 Issue: 2, Apr 2012

Nowadays cancer patients want more detailed information and greater participation in decisions about their care. As a consequence, the demands on health care system to satisfy the complex care needs of oncology patients have increased tremendously. Methods and Materials: As part of a quality improvement exercise at the Radiation Oncology department, Allan Blair Cancer Center, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, a survey was undertaken to ascertain the level of patient satisfaction with the information and care they were receiving from their care team during their first interaction with physicians till they finish radiation. In addition, the patients’ anxiety levels during radiation were investigated as well. Both questionnaires were given to patients on first day of their radiotherapy and after the completion of their radiotherapy. Total of 122 patients were enrolled in the study and 100 of them both questionnaires pre and post radiation therapy. Majority of patients were satisfied with information they received regarding their illness (94%) and treatment toxicity (81%), but few less satisfied with the information they received regarding lifestyle issues such as diet, exercise, time off work, sexuality and smoking. The patients showed a statistically significant reduction in both their State and Trait Anxiety scores following radiotherapy (p<0.001). The results of the two-sample t-test were significantly lower in post radiation period (State trait r = 0.521, Anxiety trait r=0.701). Research has established many barriers for proper communication. The initial meeting should be unhurried and there is a risk that contents may not be grasped so, there should be planned repetitions. Several repetitions and subsequent visits may be needed for a patient to hear what is said, respond to it, and retain this information in their mind.

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are one of the major leading causes of death in the world. This study was designed and conducted because of the importance of adverse events in the cancer treatment setting and regarding this issue there is no study exploring adverse reactions of acute hematologic malignancy chemotherapy in Iranian population. This was a prospective, cross-sectional study performed at hematology-oncology and bone marrow transplantation research center. The inclusion criteria were all patients with acute hematologic malignancies such as ALL and AML, which were admitted over an 8 months period and were ≥15 years old age. Each ADR was categorized based on the WHO system organ classification. Results and The total number of detected ADRs was 310 in total of 105 patients. Eight patients (7.6 %) experienced only one ADR, eleven patients (10.5%) experienced two ADRs and eighty-six of them (82%) experienced more than two ADRs. there was a significant relationship between the number of ADRs and type of hematologic malignancy. In this regard, the patients with AML malignancy showed more number of ADRs than with ALL malignancy (p<0.05) The Gastro-intestinal system disorders were the most common affected system-organ by chemotherapy regimens (33.5%). We suggest more well designed studies to determine the relation between the number of ADRs and study factors.

Now a days researchers have shown grean interest in electromagnetic waves which spread from devices such az microwaves,satellites,tv,cell phones etc,due to various reports of their devasting effects on animal growth and health.in this study the effects of these radiations on blood cells is investigated. In the present study the effect of radiation on blood parameters in the factory workers, including welders, computer operators, individuals working in the furnace and the control group were investigated. In order to determine changes in blood parameters, blood samples were taken from the workers and then were analyzed by standard procedures and compared with control group of changes in blood parameters. Spss soft ware for data analysis and one-way ANOVA and Duncan test was used. Results have shown that individuals affected by these waves show significant increase in the amount of RBC, MCV and platelet (P <0.05). While the amount of hemoglobin, the percentage of lymphocytes and WBC was reduced. These effects could be due to the stimulatory effects of radiation on cell division in bone marrow cells is But the effects of radiation on living systems requires further research.

The main inhibitors of coagulation pathway are antithrombin (AT), protein C and protein S. These inhibitors are necessary to prevent thromboembolism. Hereditary deficiency of inhibitors is the main cause of alteration in balance between the anti-clotting and the formation of thrombin. Patients with this abnormality are susceptible to venous thromboembolism (VTE). Two major clinical manifestation of VTE are deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). The aim of present study was to investigate the frequency of coagulation inhibitor proteins and resistance to activated protein C (APC-R) in DVT patients from Kermanshah province of Iran with Kurdish ethic background. We investigated all patients with thrombophilia who referred to Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization from May 2011 to March 2012. The levels of protein C, protein S and antithrombin were measured using STAGO kits, France (Diagnostica Stago) and the APC-R level was detected using Pefakit® kit. After excluding patients with confounding factors, 54 patients were remained. Our results showed that acquired risk factors are the most common causes of DVT in the present study. In our study protein C deficiency was found to be the most hereditary risk factor followed in frequency by APC-R. Also, in 16 patients (29.6%) there were combined hereditary risk factors with deficiency in 2 or 3 factors. Our results showed protein C deficiency was the prevalent cause of DVT in our patients. Also, different pattern of hereditary risk factors in our patients compared to other regions of Iran could be attributed to different ethnic background of our patients.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) as pluripotent stem cells have the potential to give rise to all three germ layer cells. Also, these cells have the self-renewing ability. ESCs could differentiate into most of cell lineages. Lymphocytes generated from hematopoietic stem cells. We designed a feeder free culture condition to generate lymphoid lineage cells from ESCs. We demonstrated that IL-7 plays critical role in differentiation of ESCs into lymphoid lineage and expression of specific cell markers such as CD3, CD19 and CD25 after 14 days of differentiation by RT-PCR.

Alteration in methylation pattern of promoters is associated with tumorigenic events,(1, 2) and differentiation control,(3, 4) in several types of cells in humans. Specific hypermethylation in promoter region of some genes exist in different types of neoplastic cells.(5) DNA methylation indicates to the addition of a methyl moiety to the cytosine in a CpG dinucleotide. CpG dinucleotides tend to gather closely together in CpG islands, and are usually located in promoter region of genes.(6)In cancerous transformation, there is a change in the methylation pattern of specific genes, by which hypermethylation of CpG islands in promoter region and hypomethylation of the noncoding regions occur.(7) Methylation of CpG islands in promoter region result in gene silencing, a phenomenon that has oncogenic potential when it arises in tumor suppressor genes. The methylation status of several promoters has been analyzed in lymphoid malignancies. Roman-Gomez et al. evaluate the 39 genes involved in cell immortalization and transformation in 307 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) by Methylation Specific PCR (MSP). Of 39 genes 23 genes showed hypermethylation status in promoter region of genes including: SMC1L2, NES1, ADAMTS1, PGR, sFRP1, CDH1, ADAMTS5, CDH13, LATS1, DKK3, WIF1, LATS2, REPRIMO, sFRP5, PARK2, PACRG, HDPR1, RIZ, APAF1, ARTS, ASPP1, DIABLO and sFRP4.(8) Dunwell et al. demonstrated frequent epigenetic inactivation of THRB, BNC1, PPP2R3A, FBLN2 and MSX1 in lymphoied malignancies including B-cell and T-cell ALL.(9) The recognition of hypermethylated genes in lymphoid malignancies showing epigenetic alterations will be useful in developing targeted epigenetic therapies.(10, 11, 12)Also, Methylation changes of CpG islands in promoter region of the p57KIP2, p73, and p15 genes have been shown to have poor prognostic value in adult ALL patients with Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome-negative disease.(13) These methylation changes are stable in greater number of patients with ALL at the time of relapse. Therefore, they can be used as a marker for minimal residual disease (MDR) detection.(14)Hence, epigenetic mechanism such as hypermethylation in promoter region of genes can play important role in pathogenesis, diagnosis, prognosis, relapse detection and therapy of ALL. Nonetheless other epigenetic mechanisms such as histone modifications and small non coding RNAs such as microRNAs may have role in lymphoid malignancies.

The most frequently studied association between a hepatitis virus and Non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has been with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Association with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is less studied. In this regard mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) is more commonly associated with HCV than HBV. Still rarer is cryofibrinogenemia in these patients. Lack of symptoms in addition its rarity delays the diagnosis of cryofibrinogenemia and thus the underlying disorders like lymphoma, etc. This case report describes the diagnosis of unsuspected B cell lymphoma in a patient who presented with absolutely no hematological signs and symptoms and underscores the importance of integrated multidisciplinary approach in the diagnosis of such rare presentations of common hematological malignancies.

Patients with lymphoproliferative disorders have cellular immune deficiency and are susceptible to typical and atypical mycobacterial infections.Hairy cell leukemia is a B-cell type lymphoproliferative disorder.2-CDA is the choice of treatment for patients with hairy cell leukemia. It is a synthetic antineoplastic agent with immunosuppressive effects.We present development of pulmonary and meningeal TB in a case of hairy cell leukemia 8 months after treatment with 2-CDA.