Survival analysis of breast cancer patients in northwest Iran.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer among Iranian women; however limited studies have been conducted to address survival rates. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to examine survival rates in Tabriz (Northwest of Iran) and compare with those of data reported from other cities and countries. METHODS: Survival rates were calculated for one, three, five, seven and ten years for 271 breast cancer patients referred to one university clinic during 1997-2008. RESULTS: Survival analysis demonstrated a lower survival rate compared to western countries. CONCLUSIONS: Survival rates for our patients are similar/better than other cities in Iran, but lower than certain European countries and the US. Further studies with a higher number of patients are now required.

Patterns of metastasis and survival in breast cancer patients: a preliminary study in an Iranian population.

Due to lack of sufficient data on characteristics of breast cancer patients and risk factors for developing metastasis in Iran this study was designed to understand clinical aspects impacting on survival. A cross-sectional study on breast cancer patients was conducted in an oncology clinic of the university hospital between 1995 and 2010. Data were retrieved from medical records and included age, menopausal status, tumor diameter, number of involved nodes, histopathological type, estrogen and progesterone receptor expression, c-erbB-2, primary and secondary metastasis sites, overall survival, disease free interval and type of chemotherapy protocol. The results were analyzed with SPSS 13 software.The mean age of the patients was 49.2 (27-89) years. The primary tumors were mainly ER positive (48%) and PR negative (49.3%). The status of lymph nodes dissected and examined in these patients was unknown in 19 patients (25.3%) while 18 patients (24%) had positive lymph nodes with no report on the number of involved nodes. All of the patients had received antracyclin based chemotherapy in an adjuvant or metastatic setting. Adjuvant hormonal therapy was administered to receptor positive patients. In average, overall survival after recurrence was 30 months (95%CI 24.605-35.325) for non-skeletal versus 42 months (95%CI 31.211-52.789) for skeletal metastasis (P= 0.002). The median survival was also greater for receptor positive patients; 39 months (95%CI 33.716-44.284) for PR+ versus 26 months (95%CI 19.210-32.790) for PR- (P=0.047) and 38 months (95%CI 32.908-43.092) for ER+ versus 27 months (95%CI 18.780-35.220) for ER- patients (P=0.016). No relation was found between site of first metastasis and hormone receptor, age, tumor diameter, DFI and menopausal status. Sites of metastasis were independent of age, size of the tumor, menopausal and hormone receptor status in this study. Overall survival provided significant relations with respect to receptor status and bone metastasis.

Usefulness of CD45 density in the diagnosis of B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorders.

BACKGROUND: Although many B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorders (BCLPDs) including B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) have characteristic clinical and biological features, the overlapping morphologic and immunophenotypic profiles of various BCLPDs, is still the main problem. AIM: Our aim was to evaluate the usefulness of CD45 expression in the immunological classification of BCLPDs. SETTING AND DESIGN: A prospective study was set in a university hospital to investigate the CD45 intensity, particularly in B-CLL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression of CD45 in 37 patients with BCLPD including typical B-CLL (Group I), atypical B-CLL and CLL/PLL (II), and hairy cell leukemia (HCL), B-prolymphocytic leukemia (B-PLL), and B-non Hodgkin's lymphoma (B-NHL) as non-CLL BCLPDs (III) and in eight healthy age matched controls (IV) was quantitatively compared by flow cytometric CD45/RALS gating strategy. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The mean, median, and peak channel scores of CD45 obtained for the four groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance test. A P value RESULTS: Lower CD45 density is associated highly with typical CLL and differences between typical CLL and other groups were significant (P< 0.001, 0.001, and 0.001). Non-CLL cases had significantly brighter CD45 expression than atypical CLL (P=0.014). No differences were found between normal lymphocytes and non-CLL BCLPD cases. CONCLUSIONS: CD45 is a useful marker, to discriminate the typical CLL from the non-CLL BCLPD and from atypical CLL.