BACKGROUND: The rapidly growing knowledge regarding factors controlling tumour growth, with the new modalities of therapy acting on the biological activity of the tumours draw the attention of most cancer researches nowadays and represent a major focus for clinical oncology practice. For the detection of HER2/neu protein overexpression and gene amplification, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in-situ hybridisation (ISH) is the recommended techniques, respectively, with high concordance between the two techniques. The current United Kingdom recommendations for HER2/neu testing are either for a two-tier system using IHC with reflex ISH testing in equivocal positive cases, or a one-tier ISH strategy. AIM: To compare the results of HER2/neu gene status in patients with breast carcinoma obtained by chromogenic in situ hybridisation with those obtained by immunohistochemistry, and to compare these results with hormonal receptors expression by immunohistochemistry and with age of patients.METHODS: Immunohistochemistry technique was used for evaluation of status of estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) and HER2/neu protein expression in 448 Iraqi patients with invasive breast carcinoma with different grades and histological types and then chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) technique was applied for all scores of HER2/neu to detect the gene status and compare the results in all negative, equivocal and positive cases by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The cases were referred from different centres, and IHC and CISH techniques were done in central public health laboratory in Baghdad over 28 months, from July 2013 to November 2015. A comparison of the results was made to find the relationship between HER2/neu and hormone receptors status and other clinical parameters like patients age. RESULTS: The mean age of the study cases was 49.08 years, ranging from 24 to 83 years. Of the 448 cases of breast carcinoma, 44 (9.8%) cases were of score 0 by IHC, none of them (0%) showed HER2/neu gene amplification by CISH. 71(15.8%) cases were of score 1 by IHC, 15 (21.12%) of them showed HER2/neu gene amplification by CISH, all were of low amplification. There were 306 (68.3%) cases of score 2 by IHC, of which 102 (33.33%) cases showed HER2/neu gene amplification by CISH, with 79 (25.81%) of them with low amplification and 23 (7.51%) cases with high amplification, while only one case (0.32%) remained in equivocal category. In score 3, all the 27 (6.0%) cases showed gene amplification with 12 (44.44%) cases with low amplification and 15 (55.55) cases with high amplification with overall percentage of gene amplification in score 3 of 100%. There was a significant inverse relationship between hormone receptors (ER and PR) status and HER2/neu gene amplification. No significant relationship was found between the patient’s age and HER2/neu gene amplification.CONCLUSION: Although immunohistochemistry is a widely used, less expensive and reliable test, we strongly advice performance of chromogenic in situ hybridization in assessment of HER2/neu gene status in all cases diagnosed with breast carcinoma as significant number of cases that were reported as negative by immunohistochemistry showed positive amplification by chromogenic in situ hybridization and can get benefit from anti-HER2 targeted treatments.
This study focused on the expression and regulation of BRCA1 in breast cancer cell lines compared to normal breast. BRCA1 transcript levels were assessed by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in the cancer cell lines. Our data show overexpression of BRCA1 mRNA level in all the studied breast cancer cell lines: MCF-7, T47D, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 along with Jurkat, leukemia T-lymphocyte, the positive control, relative to normal breast tissue. To investigate whether a positive or negative correlation exists between BRCA1 and the transcription factor E2F6, three different si-RNA specific for E2F6 were used to transfect the normal and cancerous breast cell lines. Interestingly, strong negative relationship was found b
... Show MoreAmis: NAFLD is considered to be the most common cause of liver conditions worldwide. Also, it is a primary reason that leads to coronary artery diseases, limiting blood flow to the heart. Therefore, This study aimed to evaluate the serum level of Nesfatin-1 and its ability to indicate the prognosis of CAD in patients with NAFLD. Material & Methods: one-hundred eighty Individuals were enrolled in the study, including In both genders, blood was collected from each Individual and sent to the laboratory for biochemical tests. Findings: Data from the current study showed a significant increase in Nesfatin-1 in the CAD group and a significant decrease in Nesfatin-1 in the NAFLD group compared to the control group. In addition, there w
... Show MoreThis study was aimed to determine the mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in exon 3 and 7 of estrogen receptor beta (ESR2) gene in women with breast cancer from Iraq. Different samples (blood, fresh tissue with blood from same patient, and formalin fixed paraffin embedded, FFPE) were collected from women with breast cancer. Molecular analysis exon 3 and 7 in ESR2 has been studied by using PCR. It was found exon 3 and 7 in ESR2 were revealed as a single band with size 151 and 157 bp, respectively. There was no SNP in exon 3 has been identified. While three novel polymorphisms (ACT, AGG and GCA) were detected in exon 7, the type of those polymorphisms deletion for ACT and AGG while substitution polymorphism for GCA. From this
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The study aimed to establish the association of miR-153-3p expression with treatment response to IM in CML patients. Sixty CML patients were included and divided into two groups consistent with their response to treatment whether sensitive or resistant to IM. Ten healthy normal participants were enrolled as control group. RNA was extracted from serum to work out miR-153-3p expression utilizing real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The primers were supplied by Macrogen Inc. Twenty seven patients were sensitive to imatinib and 33 were resistant to imatinib. The ratio of male to female was 1.14:1. The bulk (58%) of patients were within the age range of 41-60 years. Weight and gender did not significantly diffe
... Show MoreBirds of prey (Raptors) are top predator avian species that many migrate annually through Mesopotamian marshes in southern Iraq toward their wintering grounds in Arabia and Africa, while others are breeding residents; however, information on their current status is scarce. From January 2016 to April 2019, a total of 20 field expeditions were conducted in the geographical zone of the Mesopotamian marshes, wetlands of international importance. The survey covered the Central Marshes, Al-Hammar and Hawizeh Marsh. One of the objectives of the field surveys is to list the raptors species that wintering and/or migrating through the Mesopotamian marshes and to understand their current spatial and temporal distribution. In the present study, a to
... Show MoreBackground: Breast cancer is the most common
malignancy affecting females worldwide. The association
of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with this cancer is a longstanding
interest to this field.
Aim: to investigate the presence of EBV in breast tumor
tissue in relation to age.
Patients and Methods: Paraffin-embedded tissue blocks
from 45 female patients with breast tumors (ranged in age
from 28 to 85 years) were retrieved. The cases were
grouped into two categories: group (A): included 30 cases
with breast carcinoma and group (B): included 15 cases
with benign breast diseases as a control group .The
expression of EBV protein was examined
immunohistochemically.
Results: Twelve (40%) of the 30 breast canc
The Growth Differentiation Factor -15 (GDF-15) is a member of the transforming growth factor β superfamily. İt represents an example of the stress response cytokines. It's mostly found in cardiac myocytes, adipocytes, macrophages, endothelial cells, and vascular endothelial cells, whether they're generated normally or not. GDF-15 levels have increased and are associated with cardiovascular risk. Aim of the study: To investigate the correlation between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) with the level of plasma GDF-15 in a group of hypertensive patients. Materials and methods: A case-control study involved 90 individuals, 60 hypertensive patients (36 on ACE inhibitors and 24 on ARBs)
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