RESUMO
PURPOSE: Individuals with gender dysphoria (GD) may request hormone therapy and various surgical operations to change their physical characteristics. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of two treatments, mastectomy and gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), on adults with GD who were assigned female at birth (GD AFAB). METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we gathered data from a total of 269 individuals in three groups: (a) untreated group (n = 121), (b) GAHT group (n = 84) who had been receiving treatment for at least 6 months, and (c) GAHT-MAST group (n = 64) who had been using GAHT for at least 6 months and had undergone mastectomy at least 3 months prior. All participants were asked to complete the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT), and the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire- Brief Form, Turkish Version (WHOQOL-BREF-Tr). RESULTS: We found that individuals in the untreated group had higher psychopathological symptoms and body uneasiness scores, and lower quality of life scores compared to both GAHT and GAHT-MAST groups. There was no difference in psychopathology between the GAHT-MAST group and the GAHT group, but body uneasiness scores were lower, and quality of life scores were higher in the GAHT-MAST group. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that individuals receiving GAHT improved mental health, body satisfaction, and overall quality of life. Combining mastectomy with GAHT may further enhance these benefits.
RESUMO
Insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins are cytoplasmic adaptors that transmit the signal from the IR and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor to effector proteins. Overexpression of IRS proteins has been indicated to be linked to cancer development. In addition to their expression profiles, studies have indicated that polymorphisms of IRS1 and IRS2 are also associated with the susceptibility to numerous cancer types. IRS1 Gly972Arg and IRS2 Gly1057Asp are the common variants of these genes. The present study aimed to determine the association of IRS1 Gly972Arg and IRS2 Gly1057Asp polymorphisms with gastric cancer development. The study included 100 patients with gastric cancer and 100 controls. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms were detected by real-time PCR using Taqman assays. The results suggested that in individuals with the IRS1 Gly/Arg genotype, the odds of having gastric cancer was increased by 7.891-fold (95% CI: 3.251-19.154, P<0.001) and in individuals with the IRS1 Arg/Arg genotype, it was increased by 22.716-fold (95% CI: 6.311-81.761, P<0.001) compared with those with the IRS1 Gly/Gly genotype. Although the IRS2 Gly1057Asp genotype analysis suggested that subjects with the Asp/Asp genotype had a 2,311-fold increased odds of having gastric cancer compared to those with the Gly/Gly genotype, the result was not statistically significant (95% CI: 0.800-6.678, P=0.122). The combined effects of the IRS1 and IRS2 variants on gastric cancer were also determined. The results suggested that individuals with Gly/Arg+Gly/Asp and Gly/Arg+Asp/Asp genotypes had a higher odds of having gastric cancer compared to individuals of the Gly/Gly+Gly/Gly genotype (P=0.001 and P=0.027, respectively). In conclusion, the present results suggested that the IRS1 Gly972Arg and IRS2 Gly1057Asp variations may be associated with an increased susceptibility to develop gastric cancer. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to support the present results and to explore the use of these variations as a biomarker for gastric cancer.