Enhancement of cisplatin-induced apoptosis by saffron in human lung cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin is a prevalent chemotherapeutic agent, and it has been used extensively to treat lung cancer. However, its clinical efficacy is hampered by its safety profile and dose-limiting toxicity. Saffron is a natural product that has shown significant anticancer effects. The combination treatment of saffron with chemotherapeutic agents has been considered a new strategy. METHODS: Herein, saffron extract as a natural anticancer substance was combined with cisplatin to assess their combined efficacy against tumor development in vitro. In A549 and QU-DB cell lines, the combined effect of the saffron extract with cisplatin led to a significant reduction in cell viability as compared to cisplatin alone. RESULTS: After 48 h incubation a considerable reduction in ROS levels in the QU-DB cell line upon treatment with cisplatin in the presence of saffron extract in comparison with cells treated with cisplatin alone. Furthermore, apoptosis increased significantly when in cells treated with cisplatin in combination with saffron extract compared to cisplatin alone. CONCLUSION: Our data establish that the combination of saffron extract as a natural anticancer substance with cisplatin leads to improved cell toxicity of cisplatin as an anticancer agent. Therefore, the saffron extract could be potentially used as an additive to enable a reduction in cisplatin dosages and its side effects.

Promoting Self-management and Patient Activation Through eHealth: Protocol for a Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Major advances in different cancer treatment modalities have been made, and people are now living longer with cancer. However, patients with cancer experience a range of physical and psychological symptoms during and beyond cancer treatment. New models of care are needed to combat this rising challenge. A growing body of evidence supports the effectiveness of eHealth interventions in the delivery of supportive care to people living with the complexities of chronic health conditions. However, reviews on the effects of eHealth interventions are scarce in the field of cancer-supportive care, particularly for interventions with the aim of empowering patients to manage cancer treatment-related symptoms. For this reason, this protocol has been developed to guide a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of eHealth interventions for supporting patients with cancer in managing cancer-related symptoms. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review with meta-analysis is conducted with the aim of identifying eHealth-based self-management intervention studies for adult patients with cancer and evaluating the efficacy of eHealth-based self-management tools and platforms in order to synthesize the empirical evidence on self-management and patient activation through eHealth. METHODS: A systematic review with meta-analysis and methodological critique of randomized controlled trials is conducted following Cochrane Collaboration methods. Multiple data sources are used to identify all potential research sources for inclusion in the systematic review: (1) electronic databases such as MEDLINE, (2) forward reference searching, and (3) gray literature. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for conducting the review were followed. The PICOS (Population, Interventions, Comparators, Outcomes, and Study Design) framework is used to identify relevant studies. RESULTS: The literature search yielded 10,202 publications. The title and abstract screening were completed in May 2022. Data will be summarized, and if possible, meta-analyses will be performed. It is expected to finalize this review by Winter 2023. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this systematic review will provide the latest data on leveraging eHealth interventions and offering effective and sustainable eHealth care, both of which have the potential to improve quality and efficiency in cancer-related symptoms. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO 325582; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=325582. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/38758.

Measurement of peripheral dose to the pelvic region and the associated risk for cancer development after breast intraoperative electron radiation therapy.

This study aimed to measure the received dose to the pelvic region of patients during breast intraoperative electron radiation therapy (IOERT). Furthermore, we compared the findings with those of external beam radiation therapy. Finally, secondary ovarian and uterus cancer risks following breast IOERT were estimated. In the current study, the received dose to the pelvic surface of 18 female patients during breast IOERT boosts were measured by thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD-100) chips. All patients were treated with 12 Gy given in a single fraction. To estimate the dose to the ovary and uterus of the patients, conversion coefficients for depth from the surface dose were obtained in a Rando phantom. Given the received dose to the pelvic region of the patients, secondary ovarian and uterus cancer risks following breast IOERT were estimated. The received doses to the ovary and uterus surface of the patients were 0.260 ± 0.155 mGy to 31.460 ± 6.020 mGy and 0.485 ± 0.122 mGy to 22.387 ± 15.476 mGy, respectively. Corresponding intra-pelvic (ovary and uterus) regional doses were 0.012 ± 0.007 mGy to 1.479 ± 0.283 mGy and 0.027 ± 0.001 mGy to 1.164 ± 0.805 mGy, respectively. Findings demonstrated that the ratio of the received dose by the pelvic surface to the regional dose during breast IOERT was much less than external beam radiation therapy. The mean of the secondary cancer risks for the ovary in 8 and 10 MeV electron beam energies were 135.722 ± 117.331 × 10-6 and 69.958 ± 28.072 × 10-6, and for the uterus were 17.342 ± 10.583 × 10-6 and 2.971 ± 3.604 × 10-6, respectively. According to our findings, the use of breast IOERT in pregnant patients can be considered as a safe radiotherapeutic technique, because the received dose to the fetus was lower than 50 mGy. Furthermore, IOERT can efficiently reduce the unnecessary dose to the pelvic region and lowers the risk of secondary ovarian and uterus cancer following breast irradiation.