Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Iraq and the United Kingdom. While the disease is frequently diagnosed among middleaged Iraqi women at advanced stages accounting for the second cause of cancer-related deaths, breast cancer often affects elderly British women yielding the highest survival of all registered malignancies in the UK. Objective: To compare the clinical and pathological profiles of breast cancer among Iraqi and British women; correlating age at diagnosis with the tumor characteristics, receptor-defined biomarkers and phenotype patterns. Methods: This comparative retrospective study included the clinical and pathological characteristics of (1,940) consecutive female patients who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer from 2014 to 2016 in Iraq (Medical City Teaching Hospital, Baghdad: 635 cases) and UK (John Radcliffe, Oxford and Queen's, BHR University Hospitals: 1,305 cases). The studied parameters in both groups comprised the age of the patient at the time of diagnosis, breast cancer histologic type, grade, tumor size, lymph node status, clinical stage at presentation, Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR) and HER2 positive tumor contents and the receptor defined breast cancer surrogate subtypes. Results: The Iraqi patients were significantly younger than their British counterparts and exhibited higher trend to present at advanced stages; reflected by larger size tumors and frequent lymph node involvement compared to the British (p<0.00001). They also had worse receptor-defined breast cancer subtypes manifested by higher rates of hormone receptor (ER/PR) negative, HER2 positive tumor contents, Triple Positive and Triple Negative phenotypes (p<0.00001). Excluding HER2 status, the significant differences in the clinical and tumor characteristics between the two populations persisted after adjusting for age among patients younger than 50 years. Conclusion: The remarkable differences in the clinical and tumor characteristics of breast cancer between the Iraqi and British patients suggest heterogeneity in the underlying biology of the tumor which is exacerbated in Iraq by the dilemma of delayed diagnosis. The significant ethnic disparities in breast cancer profiles recommend the prompt strengthening of the national cancer control plan in Iraq as a principal approach to the management of the disease.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory, immune mediated disease of the central nervous system, mostly affecting young adults with mean age of 30 years, twice as high in women compared to men. The etiology of MS is not fully elucidated. MS symptoms are directly related to demyelination and axonal loss, along with other psychological symptoms, can result in functional limitations, disability and reduced quality of life (QoL). The QoL assessments in patients with a chronic disease may contribute to improving treatment and could even be of prognostic value. The goals of this study were to compare the QoL of Iraqi patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS),using three different diseas
... Show MoreChronic renal failure (CRF) is progressive irreversible destruction of kidney tissue by disease which, if not treated by dialysis or transplant, will result in patient's death. This study was carried out on 30 patients (17 male and 13 female) with chronic renal failure. The aim of this research was studied the changes in the level of total protein ,albumin, calcium ,ionized calcium, phosphorous , iron ,ALP, LDH ,CK and FFA in patients with CRF before and after hemodialysis .The obtained results have been compared with 30 healthy subjects as control group (18male and 12 female). The results showed that there was significant increase in the level of calcium ,ionized calcium, phosphorous ,iron ,ALP,LDH,CK and FFA ,while there was a signifi
... Show MoreLeft ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) caused by high blood pressure is linked to increased mortality and arrhythmia risk. This study aimed to evaluate arrhythmia in hypertensive patients due to left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). A cross-sectional study was performed, assessing participants' blood pressure, echocardiography and electrocardiography, and Holter monitoring in certain cases. There were 300 hypertensive patients >18 years attending the cardiology unit of Baghdad medical city. The study was conducted between January–June 2022. The electrocardiograms at rest for 300 adults with hypertension were investigated. 130 (43.5%) were females, and 170 (56.5%) were males. The mean age of participants was 58 years. Forty-nine (16.3
... Show MoreBackground: since December 2019, China and in particularly Wuhan, faced an unprecedented an outbreak challenge of coronavirus disease 2019, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Clinical characteristics of Iraqi patients with COVID-19 and risk factors for mortality needed to be shared with the health care providers to improve the overall disease experience. Methods: prospective, single-center study recruited patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who were admitted to Al-Shifaa Isolation Center / Baghdad Medical City between the mid of March and the end of April 2020 until had been discharged or had died. Demographic data, information on clinical signs, symptoms, at presentation, treatment, have been collected
... Show MoreBackground: Myocardial infarction (MI) is distinguished by the necrosis of myocardial cells as a result of substantial and prolonged ischemia. Anxiety, problems sleeping, and feelings of depression are some of the most common psychosocial consequences of having a myocardial infarction. Aim: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of post-myocardial infarction on patients' levels of anxiety, depression, and quality of sleep. Method: The collection of data from 94 individuals with MI was carried out according to a descriptive cross-sectional design. Sleep quality, depression, and anxiety were evaluated using standard questionnaires. Results: 69.1% of the participants reported having trouble getting quality sleep. The perc
... Show MoreBackground. Alopecia areata (AA) is a common form of noncicatricial hair loss of unknown cause, affecting 0.1-0.2% of the general population. Most evidence supports the hypothesis that it is disease of the hair follicle of autoimmune nature mediated by T-cells, with important cytokine role. Objective of the Study. The objective of this study is to study the association and changes in serum levels of interleukin-15 (IL-15) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with AA in relation to the type, activity, and disease duration. Patients and Methods. Thirty-eight patients with AA and 22 individuals without the disease as controls were enrolled in this case-controlled study conducted in the Department of Dermatology in the Al-K
... Show MoreBackground: Asthma is a disease of the airways characterized by chronic inflammation associated with airway hyper-responsiveness and airway wall remodeling. Aims of the study: The aims of this study was to determine the prevalence of oral manifestations , identify different microorganism from oral micro flora and determination of salivary IgA and salivary flow rate in asthmatic patients taking different dose of Prednisolone in comparison with control group. Subjects, materials and methods: The study included 17 patients under treatment with Prednisolone (10-20 mg),15 patients take (20-30 mg) of Prednisolone and other 18 patients take (30 – 40mg) of Prednisolone, and 25 healthy control group (10 male and 15 female). Results : The mo
... Show Moreيسعى البحث إلى الاهتمام بإحدى الوظائف المهمة في إدارة الموارد البشرية وهي تقويم الأداء التي تواجه مجموعة من الانتقادات والآراء السلبية، اذ ظهر في الأّونة الأخيرة أنموذج جديد يمكن إن يتجاوز تلك السلبيات وهو أنموذج التغذية العكسية المتعدد المصادر درجة .وقد حاول الباحثان توظيف هذا المفهوم في اثنتين من المنظمات العامة العراقية هما (دائرة كهرباء الوسط) التابعة لوزارة الكهرباء
و (دائرة الماء والمجاري) ال
Background: Human semen contains high concentrations of fructose, zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) in bound and ionic forms for Zn and Cu. The presence of abnormal levels of fructose and those trace elements may affect spermatogenesis with regard to production, maturation, motility and fertilizing capacity of the spermatozoa.Objective: To evaluate the levels of fructose, Zn and Cu in seminal plasma in different groups of male infertility and to correlate their concentrations with various sperm parameters.Methods: The concentrations of fructose, Zn and Cu were measured in 114 semen samples from normozoospermic, oligozoospermic, astheno-zoospermic, and azoospermic men using the electrothermal-atomic absorption spectrometry for Zn and Cu determinatio
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