The Assessment of Serum Apelin-12 Level in a Variety of Pulmonary Malignancies in Smokers.

BACKGROUND: Apelin has recently been considered as an adipokine secreted from visceral fat. Apelin and its receptor exist in many tissues including lung and play significant roles in many physiological and pathological activities. However, serum level of apelin-12 is unknown in smokers and in various types of lung malignancies. Therefore, the amount of this hormone in non-patient smokers and the correlation of apelin serum level with the types of lung cancer in smokers afflicted with lung cancer are evaluated in this study. METHODS: The amount of serum apelin-12 was measured in 63 patients (59 smokers and 4 non-smokers) with the variety of lung cancer and 61 age- and sex-matched controls (30 smokers and 31 non-smokers) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. FINDINGS: The amount of serum apelin-12 in non-patient smokers (2142.20 ± 843.61 ng/l) was significantly higher than healthy non-smokers (800.39 ± 336.01 ng/l, P < 0.05), and in the variety of lung malignancies, the amount of serum apelin-12 was 2205.54 ± 187.31 ng/l in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) which was a significant increase compared to 1088.00 ± 136.52 ng/l in adenocarcinoma, 797.25 ± 88.69 ng/l in small cell carcinoma, and 1000.37 ± 62.87 ng/l in other malignancies of lung. CONCLUSION: The meaningful increase in apelin-12 levels of non-patient smokers can be considered as a risk factor for outbreaking of lung SCC in these people. Therefore, apelin-12 may be considered as a target in controlling lung SCC.

Association of circulating omentin-1 level with lung cancer in smokers.

Background: Omentin has recently been considered as an adipokine secreted from visceral fat and is expressed in the lungs, heart, ovary etc. Various studies have shown that omentin may have an anti-inflammatory role in the inflammatory process and the amount of omentin alters in some cancers, such as colorectal, prostate and renal cells cancers, changes. The serum level of omentin, however, remains unknown in non-patient smokers and the smokers afflicted with lung cancer. Therefore, this study examines the serum levels of omentin in smokers suffering from lung cancer. Methods: The amount of serum omentin was measured in 45 patients with lung cancer and 61 age - and sex - matched controls (30 smokers and 31 non-smokers) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16, and oneway analysis of variance and Scheffe post hoc test were used to determine and compare the serum levels of omentin in different types of lung malignancies. Significance level was set at p≤0.05. Results: The amount of circulating omentin for healthy non-smokers and non-patient smokers was 3.55±0.57 ng/l and 5.43±1.95 ng/l, respectively (p<0.001). The serum level of omentin was 3.63±0.70 ng/l for smokers afflicted with cancer (p<0.001 compared with nonpatient smokers: 5.43±1.95). Conclusion: The meaningful decrease in omentin levels in smokers with lung cancer can be considered as a risk factor in smokers and can use as a significant factor in the prognosis of lung cancer in these people.

Estimation of survival rates in patients with lung cancer in west Azerbaijan, the northwest of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is a fatal malignancy with high mortality and short survival time. The aim of this study was to estimate survival rates of Iranian patients with lung cancer and its associate predictive factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted on 355 patients admitted to hospitals of West Azerbaijan in the year 2007. The patients were followed up by phone calls until the end of June 2014. The survival rate was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test for comparison. The Cox's proportional hazard model was used to investigate the effect of various variables on patient survival time, including age, sex, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance, smoking status, tumor type, tumor stage, treatment, metastasis, and blood hemoglobin concentration. RESULTS: Of the 355 patients under study, 240 died and 115 were censored. The mean and median survival time of patients was 13 and 4.8 months, respectively. According to the results of Kaplan-Meier method, 1, 2, and 3 years survival rates were 39%, 18%, and 0.07%, respectively. Based on Cox regression analysis, the risk of death was associated with ECOG group V (1.83, 95% CI: 1 CONCLUSIONS: The survival time of the patients with lung cancer is very short. While early diagnosis may improve the life expectancy effective treatment is not available.

Correlation between arterial blood gas analysis and outcome in patients with severe head trauma.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury is one of the major concerns of global public health, because it is the main cause of morbidity and mortality between young people. This study aimed to investigate the possible association between the parameters of arterial blood gas (ABG) and outcome of patients with severe head trauma. METHODS: In this prospective study, 70 patients with severe head trauma were studied in Urmia Imam Khomeini hospital during 18-month period of time. The parameters of ABG were documented within the 1st hour of admission, and their correlation was evaluated with Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and Glasgow outcome score (GOS). These parameters also were compared between expired and discharged patients. RESULTS: Seventy patients with severe head trauma including 60 males (85.7%) and 10 females (14.3%) with a mean age of 34.34±14.82 (range: 18-76) years were studied. The mortality rate during hospitalization was 38.6% (n=27). There was no significant correlation between the parameters of ABG and GCS score and GOS scores. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the survivors and non-survivors in terms of the mean value of ABG parameters (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: ABG at the time of admission is not a significant predictor of outcome in patients with severe head trauma.