Prevalence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes promoter hypermethylation in breast cancer tissue.

BACKGROUND: Recent advances in the treatment of breast cancer (BC) have been related to the personalization of therapy. The methylation status of the promoter regions of tumor suppressor genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 is supposed to be useful as a prognostic factor in BC patients. AIM: To investigate the frequency of hypermethylation in the promoter regions of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in tumor tissue of BC patients, and the relation of hypermethylation to the clinical course of the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Molecular genetic studies were performed on 50 BC tissue samples in order to determine the methylation status of the promoter regions of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. RESULTS: Hypermethylation of the BRCA1 promoter region was detected in 34% of BC cases, hypermethylation of the BRCA2 promoter region - in 50% of cases, and hypermethylation of the promoter region of both genes - in 20% of cases. A significant increase in the incidence of hypermethylation of the BRCA2 promoter region was found in the group of patients older than 56 years, mainly in patients with triple-negative breast cancer and without family history of BC. CONCLUSIONS: The high frequency of hypermethylation in the promoter regions of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, as well as their co-methylation in tumor tissue of BC patients has been detected.

Breast cancer immunohistochemical features in young women with BRCA 1/2 mutations.

UNLABELLED: Breast cancer among young women is a rare pathology. In most studies published so far, this patients group is not being analyzed separately. Particularities of this pathology require an additional examination of the immunohistochemical and molecular-genetic markers of the disease for development of the effective treatment protocols. The mutations of BRCA1/2 are the important factor impacting to the disease prognosis along the age of the patient. AIM: To compare the expression of prognostically meaningful immunohistochemical markers such as estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), HER-2, p53, Ki-67, in tumor cells of the female patients with breast cancer aged less than 36 depending on the presence of absence of mutations in CRCA1/2 genes. METHODS: Two hundred forty-eight patients aged less than 36 at the time of diagnosis of breast cancer were examined clinically. Expression of ER, PR HER-2, p53, Ki-67 was determined by indirect immunohistochemical method. mutations of BRCA1 (185delAG, o5382insC) and BRCA2(6174delT) genes were screened using multiplex PCR in 99 patients. RESULTS: Mutations of BRCA1/2 genes were found in 9.1% of patients. More aggressive clinical course of the disease was seen in mutations carriers, who had 3-years survival of only 55.6%. They did not demonstrated of ER, PR, and HER-2 in 88.0% of the cases. Whereas, patients without BRCA1/2 mutations did no express ER, PR, and HER-2 in only 42.0% of cases. There were no differences between patients with and without mutations in terms of tumor size, presence of metastases in lymph nodes, p53 and Ki-67 expression. CONCLUSION: Presence of BRCA1/2 genes mutations in young women is associated with more aggressiveness of the breast cancer (their 3-years survival is 25,5% less) and absence of the ER, PR, HER-2 receptors, which is unfavorable prognostic factor in terms of hormone therapy. These data should be taken into account at chemotherapy planning, especially in patients with early stages of the disease. There were no differences between patients with and without BRCA1/2 mutations in terms of tumor size, lymph nodes involvement, tumor histology, and p53 and Ki-67 proteins expression.

[Local hyperthermia by means of ballon-type electrodes in combined therapy of patients with locally spread cancer of the mouth mucosa and lower lip]. / Lokal'naia gipertermiia ballonchikovymi élektrodami v kombinirovannom lechenii mestnorasprostranennogo raka slizistoi obolochki rotovoi polosti i nizhnei guby.

Modification of the standard chemo- and radiotherapy with local hyperthermia gives evident positive results in treatment of patients with local cancer of tunica mucosa of mouth and lower lip. Since this area having uneven complex surface needs to develop radiofrequency emitting special applicators. We have used catheters with ballons filled with hypertonic solution as electrodes to adapt the mouth cavity. An electric field creating between these ballons and high surface adjustability makes this system come in useful.

[Clinical effectiveness of nadroparin calcium in the surgical treatment of breast cancer]. / Otsenka klinicheskoi éffektivnosti primeneniia nadroparina kal'tsiia pri khirurgicheskom lechenii raka molochnoi zhelezy.

The report deals with an assessment of frequency of fatal thromboembolic complications after surgery for breast cancer, in particular, frequency and severity of the side-effects of calcium nadroparin treatment as a component of surgical preparation. Considering the low incidence of thromboembolic complications in such patients and the side-effects of anti-coagulant therapy, it is suggested that decisions be made on a strictly individual basis under stringent clinical control.