Background: Breast cancer is the commonest type of malignancy worldwide and in Iraq. It is a serious disease that affects the general health and cause systemic changes that affect the physical and chemical properties of saliva leading to adverse effects on oral health. This study was conducted toassess the tumor marker CA15-3 and selected elements in saliva and their relation to oral health status among breast cancer patients compared to control group. Materials and Methods: The total sample consisted of 60 women aged 35-45 years. 30 women were newly diagnosed with breast cancer before taking any treatment and surgery (study group) and 30 women without clinical signs and symptoms of breast cancer as a control group. Dental caries was recorded using DMFS index of WHO1987, andperiodontal parameters which include plaque index (PlI), calculus index (CalI), gingival index (GI), and Ramfjod index for the loss of periodontal attachment (CAL) were recorded.Stimulated salivary samples were collected and salivary flow rate, salivary CA15-3 and selected elements were determined. Results: Caries experience (DMFS) was higher among the study group compared with the control group but the difference was statistically not significant.The mean values of plaque index, calculus index, gingival index and loss of attachment were higher among the study group than the control group with a highly significant difference(P<0.01). The concentrations of the tumor marker CA15-3 in saliva of breast cancer patients were highly significantly higher than that of the controls. The salivary flow rate was observed to be lower among study group compared to control group with a highly significant difference (P<0.01). Higher concentrations of salivary phosphorus, copper and total proteins were recorded among study group compared to control with statistically highly significant differences concerning phosphorus and copper. While salivary calcium and zinc were lower among study group compared to control group with statistically highly significant difference concerning zinc Conclusions: This study showed that the breast cancer patients had poor oral hygiene and higher rates of periodontal diseases and dental caries. In addition, the results of this study could support the concept that salivary concentrations of CA15–3 might serve to be used in the detection of breast cancer and/or the post-operative follow-up of patients under treatment for carcinoma of the breast.
Ureteric obstruction is rarely noted in cases of gastric cancer. Its involvement by distant metastasis from gastric adenocarcinoma without direct invasion is an exceptionally unusual occurrence. This is the story of a 58-year-old man who arrived at the emergency department with acute flank pain and fever. He was initially diagnosed with obstructive pyelonephritis after the discovery of a new onset, complete ureteric obstruction on the left side. Subsequent investigations and follow-up revealed the presence of gastric adenocarcinoma with possible ureteric metastasis bilaterally, flank pain and hydronephrosis were the first and only presentations of gastric cancer. The rarity of the condition and the unusual presentation encouraged us to r
... Show MoreBackground: Eucalyptus extracts and derivatives are natural substances with potent antimicrobial properties. This study investigated the in- vitro effects of non-nutritive sweeteners on the antifungal activity of alcoholic and aqueous Eucalyptus extracts against Candida albicans, a common oral pathogen. Materials and Method: Ten isolates of Candida albicans were isolated from dental students’ salivary samples. The alcoholic and aqueous extracts were prepared from fresh Eucalyptus leaves using maceration. The sensitivity of Candida albicans isolates to various concentrations of Eucalyptus extracts ranging from 50 to 250 (mg/mL) was evaluated via agar well diffusion method, while the agar streaking method was used to assess the minimum
... Show MoreRetainers have the potential to detrimentally impact periodontal health and contribute to tooth decay.
To investigate periodontal health and bacterial biofilm related to Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone (PEEK) fixed retainers as compared to Dead-soft coaxial fixed retainer (DSC).
A two-arm parallel groups single-centre randomized c
Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a typical microbial bio-polyester reserve material; known as “green plastics”, which produced under controlled conditions as intracellular products of the secondary metabolism of diverse gram-negative/positive bacteria and various extremophiles archaea. Although PHB has properties allowing being very attractive, it is too expensive to compete with conventional and non-biodegradable plastics. Feasibility of this research to evaluate the suitability of using a watermelon-derived media as an alternative substrate for PHB synthesis under stress conditions was examined. Results, include the most nutrients extraction, indicated that the watermelon seeds contain a high content of nutrients makes them a promisi
... 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: Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) is a general term that describe a wide variety of conditions that include myogenic pain, internalderangement, arthritic problem, ankylosis of the joint and growth disorders. The aims of study was to evaluate the value of 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging in assessment of articular disc position and configuration in patients with temporomandibular joint disorders and to evaluate the correlations of these MRI findings with the clinical signs and symptoms. Materials and methods: A total forty six (30 study and 16 control) participants aged between18 and 49 years, were examined according to Helkimo anamnestic index (questionnaire for anamnesis) and clinical dysfunction index scoring criteria
... Show MoreAnastatica hierochuntica L. is distributed throughout Arabain Peninsula, and elsewhere it is locally called "Kuffe Maryam" .All parts of the plant are used in folk medicine. This study amid to investigate the effect of aqueous extract of anastatica hierochunctica L. on the cancer cell lines AMN-3. Anti cancer activity of aqueous extract of anastatica hierochunctica L. showed anticancer activity against AMN-3 cell line for twelve concentrations (0.04, 0.09, 0.195, 0.39, 0.78, 1.56, 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, 100) mg/mL in comparison with negative control.
Anastatica hierochuntica L. is distributed throughout Arabain Peninsula, and elsewhere it is locally called "Kuffe Maryam" .All parts of the plant are used in folk medicine. This study amid to investigate the effect of aqueous extract of anastatica hierochunctica L. on the cancer cell lines AMN-3. Anti cancer activity of aqueous extract of anastatica hierochunctica L. showed anticancer activity against AMN-3 cell line for twelve concentrations (0.04, 0.09, 0.195, 0.39, 0.78, 1.56, 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, 100) mg/mL in comparison with negative control.
The study included the collection of 75 bronchial wash samples from patients suspected to have lung cancer. These samples were subjected to a diagnostic cytological study to detect the dominant type of lung cancer. It was noticed that 33 patients proved to have a lung cancer out of 75 (44%) of these, 19 cases (57.6%)were diagnosed having Squamus cell carcinoma,7cases (21.21%) showed Adenocarcinoma ,6 cases (18.18%) were having small cell carcinoma while only one case (3.03%)was large cell carcinoma .Nearly 70% of cases were correlated with smokers .Bacteria were isolated from 53 patients in which 33 isolates were associated with the cancer cases while 20 of them from non infected patients. By using different morphological ,biochemical test
... Show MoreDrug resistance is a hot topic issue in cancer research and therapy. Although cancer therapy including radiotherapy and anti‐cancer drugs can kill malignant cells within the tumor, cancer cells can develop a wide range of mechanisms to resist the toxic effects of anti‐cancer agents. Cancer cells may provide some mechanisms to resist oxidative stress and escape from apoptosis and attack by the immune system. Furthermore, cancer cells may resist senescence, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, necroptosis, and autophagic cell death by modulating several critical genes. The development of these mechanisms leads to resistance to anti‐cancer drugs and also radiotherapy. Resistance to therapy can increase mortal