The SOCS-1 -1478CA/del functional polymorphism (rs33989964) is associated with gastric cancer but is unrelated to overall survival.

BACKGROUND: In vitro studies have shown that the functional - 1478CA > del polymorphism (rs33989964) of the suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 gene is associated with an altered trascriptional activity. Here, we sought to examine the potential association of this polymorphism with the risk of gastric cancer (GC) and to analyze its prognostic impact on overall survival (OS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study cohort consisted of 74 Turkish patients with GC and 52 healthy controls. Genotyping of the SOCS-1 -1478CA > del polymorphism was carried out using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. RESULTS: After allowance of age and sex, multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that the carriage of the del allele of the SOCS-1 -1478CA > del polymorphism was independently associated with an increased risk of GC (odds ratio = 6.78, 95% confidence interval = 3.24-10.99, P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed no significant differences in OS for patients harboring at least one del allele of rs33989964 compared with CA/CA homozygotes (log-rank test, P = 0.17). CONCLUSION: While the SOCS-1 -1478CA > del polymorphism is significantly associated with the risk of GC in the Turkish population, it does not affect OS.

Immunohistochemical expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-4 and prognosis in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE: The clinical value of HER4 - a cell surface receptor that belongs to the human epidermal growth factor receptor family - for predicting survival outcomes in patients with breast cancer remains controversial. Herein, we sought to investigate the prognostic significance of HER4 immunohistochemical expression with respect to progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in Turkish patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). METHODS: MBC patients (N=45; mean age=50.5±12.7 years) were consecutively enrolled between 2000 and 2006 in the Department of Oncology at the Uludag University Medical Center, Bursa, Turkey. Immunohistochemistry was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections. The predictive value of HER4 expression was investigated by multivariate analysis after allowance for potential confounders. RESULTS: The mean PFS in the study participants was 11.35 months (range:1-50), whereas the median OS was 22.18 months (range:1-76). The mean PFS in patients with a HER4 immunohistochemical score of 0, 1+, 2+, and 3+ was 11.0 ± 4.8, 11.3 ± 7.7, 11.7 ± 8.1, and 10.4 ± 7.4 months, respectively (p=0.99) . The mean OS in patients with a HER4 score of 0, 1+, 2+, and 3+ was 13.3 ± 6.8, 25.6 ± 10.8, 22.9 ± 10.7, and 13.5 ± 9.9, months, respectively (p=0.44). The results of multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that the presence of visceral metastases was the only independent prognostic factor for both OS (HR=3.01, 95% CI=1.56-3.99, p <0.01) and PFS (HR=2.91, 95% CI=1.51-3.78, p <0.01). CONCLUSION: HER4 immunohistochemical expression is not an independent predictor of OS and PFS in Turkish MBC patients.

Retrospective analysis of the microbiological spectrum of pneumonia in Turkish patients with lung cancer.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The spectrum of pulmonary infections in patients with lung cancer is wide, and tools for target-oriented infection control measures are necessary. In this retrospective study we report the microbiological spectrum of pneumonia (based on the results of sputum culture) in a case series of Turkish patients with lung malignancies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 2010 and 2011 a total of 119 patients (111 males and 8 females, mean age: 59.8 ±9.6 years) with lung cancer and pneumonia were identified at the Department of Medical Oncology of two Turkish Universities (Uludag University, Bursa and Cumhuriyet University, Sivas). Expectorated sputum samples were collected in sterile specimen containers and processed immediately in the hospital bacteriology laboratory. RESULTS: Of the 119 study patients, 92 (77.3%) had positive isolates from sputum cultures. The most frequent isolate from the sputum of lung cancer patients with pneumonia was Aspergillus fumigatus (n = 22), followed by Haemophilus influenzae (n = 13) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 12). The likelihood of having a positive Aspergillus fumigatus sputum culture was significantly and independently associated with febrile neutropaenia (OR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.17-3.68, p < 0.05) and the development of pneumonia within the first 10 days of chemotherapy initiation (OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.37-4.12, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that Aspergillus fumigatus was the most frequent isolate, but the high diversity of pathogens clearly challenges the empirical use of antimicrobial drugs.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy-induced changes in immunohistochemical expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2, and Ki-67 in patients with breast cancer.

PURPOSE: The impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) on immunohistochemical markers in breast cancer specimens remains controversial. We designed the current study to investigate the potential changes in estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), HER2, and Ki-67 expression before and after NACT in a cohort of Turkish patients with breast cancer. METHODS: This research was designed as a prospective, observational study of 100 consecutive patients with breast cancer (mean age 47.8±11.4 years) who were scheduled to undergo anthracycline- and/or taxane-containing NACT before attempting cytoreductive surgery at the Department of Oncology of the Uludag University Medical Center, Bursa, Turkey. Immunohistochemistry was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens. RESULTS: Changes in immunohistochemical markers before and after NACT were only significant for HER-2 and Ki- 67. More specifically, the number of HER-2-positive specimens decreased from 21 before NACT to 8 after NACT (p<0.001). Similarly, the number of tumor samples positive for Ki-67 decreased significantly from 65 to 24 after NACT (p<0.001). Mean pre- and post-treatment tumor grades of differentiation before and after NACT were 2.56 ± 0.67 and 2.37±1.07, respectively (p<0.05). We did not find any significant associations between baseline ER, PR, HER2, and Ki-67 expression with both overall survival (OS) and disease- free survival (DFS). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that NACT reduces the expression of HER2 and Ki-67 in breast cancer specimens. The significance of NACT-induced changes in the immunohistochemical expression of HER2 and Ki-67 in patients with breast cancer should be further studied in future translational and clinical research.

Relationship between glycemic control, microalbuminuria and cognitive functions in elderly type 2 diabetic patients.

AIM: The prevalence of diabetes is increasing in elderly populations, and is thought to be an important risk factor for cognitive dysfunction in this age group. METHODS: The study included 104 patients aged over 60 years who were followed-up for type 2 diabetes for at least 6 months, in addition to 44 controls. Glycemic parameters, microangiopathic complications, microalbumin elimination, and the Standardized Mini Mental State Examination (SMMSE) scores were used as indicators of cognitive function. RESULTS: The SMMSE scores of diabetic patients were significantly lower than the control group (p < 0.05). The average SMMSE score for normoalbuminuric diabetic patients was 22.36 ± 4.66, compared with 22.61 ± 4.90 for the microalbuminuria patients (p = 0.84). A positive correlation was found between SMMSE scores and patients' hemoglobin values and education levels, whereas a negative correlation was noted between SMMSE scores and systolic and diastolic blood pressures and hemoglobin A1c levels (p < 0.05). Patients with diabetic neuropathy, a microvascular complication of diabetes, were found to have significantly lower SMMSE scores (p = 0.011). CONCLUSION: Elderly diabetic patients showed decreased cognitive function compared to volunteers. No relationship was established between microalbuminuria and cognitive functions, although diabetic neuropathy was found to be related to decreased cognitive function.

No association between the SOCS-1 -1478CA/del polymorphism and ulcerative colitis in Turkish subjects.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 is an essential regulator of many cytokine signaling pathways, including those upregulated in the inflamed colonic mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis. We sought to investigate whether the functional SOCS-1 -1478CA>del polymorphism is associated with UC susceptibility and its disease phenotype in a Turkish clinical sample. A total of 104 subjects were enrolled in a case-control study (52 UC cases and 52 controls). The SOCS-1 -1478CA>del polymorphism was genotyped using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The odds ratio of the del allele for UC relative to the CA allele was not significant (OR = 1.04, 95 % CI 0.59-1.82, P = 0.88). These results did not change after adjustment for age and sex in multivariable regression analysis (OR = 1.07, 95 % CI 0.42-1.69, P = 0.73). When the SOCS-1 -1478CA>del polymorphism was analyzed among UC patients according to continuous disease and non-continuous disease, the del allele was not associated with disease recurrence (OR = 1.56, 95 % CI 0.78-4.56, P = 0.83). Furthermore, when we divided UC patients into two groups according to a previous history of colectomy, we found no significant effect of the del allele (OR = 1.94, 95 % CI 0.55-5.61, P = 0.91). Taken together, these findings suggest that SOCS-1 -1478CA>del polymorphism does not contribute to UC susceptibility and its disease phenotype in Turkish subjects.

Lack of prognostic significance of adiponectin immunohistochemical expression in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) - which lack the expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) - have no established markers that can be used for prognostic stratification. As adiponectin has been previously implicated in a more aggressive phenotype of primary breast cancer, we explored the relation between adiponectin immunohistochemical expression and prognosis in TNBCs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining for adiponectin was performed in 38 TNBC patients. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) served as the main outcome measures. RESULTS: Of the 38 TNBC patients, 18 (47%) had negative and 20 (53%) positive adiponectin immunohistochemical expression. We did not find any significant association between adiponectin immunohistochemical expression and the baseline characteristics. In addition, there were no associations between adiponectin immunohistochemical expression and prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Although our results suggest that adiponectin immunohistochemical expression is not of prognostic significance in TNBCs, further studies are warranted to determine the role of this adipokine in breast cancer biology.

Prognostic significance of human epidermal receptor (HER)- 3 immunohistochemical expression in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Previous reports have shown that human epidermal receptor (HER)-3 overexpression may be associated with poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer, but results have been conflicting. In this study, we sought to investigate the prognostic significance of HER-3 immunohistochemical expression in patients with metastatic breast cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed HER-3 immunohistochemical expression profiles in 45 paraffin-embedded specimens from patients who had been treated between 1996 and 2006 in the Department of Oncology of the Uludag University School of Medicine, Bursa, Turkey. Membranous or cytoplasmic dominant expression patterns of HER-3 were analyzed using the Rajkumar score and a cytoplasmic 4-point scoring system, respectively. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) served as the main outcome measures. RESULTS: The median PFS in the study participants was 9 months (interquartile range: 4.5-13 months), whereas the median OS was 20 months (interquartile range: 7.5-28 months). Categorization of the patient population according to HER-3 positive immunohistochemical expression did not reveal any statistically significant difference in terms of both PFS (p=0.70) and OS (p=0.81). The results of multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated that tumor size was the only independent predictor of PFS, whereas estrogen and progesterone receptor status was independently associated with OS. CONCLUSIONS: HER-3 immunohistochemical expression did not correlate with outcomes in Turkish patients with metastatic breast cancer. Although our results suggest that HER-3 expression in cancer specimens is not of prognostic significance, further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these results.

The SOCS-1 -1478CA/del polymorphism is not associated with colorectal cancer or age at onset in Turkish subjects.

BACKGROUND: Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 acts as a key regulator of many cytokine signaling pathways and its abnormal expression has been identified in several human malignancies, suggesting potential roles in carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate any association between the functional SOCS- 1 -1478CA>del polymorphism and colorectal cancer (CC) as well as age at onset in a Turkish clinical sample. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 122 subjects were enrolled in this case-control study (70 CC cases and 52 controls). The SOCS-1 -1478CA>del polymorphism was genotyped using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. RESULTS: The odds ratio of the del allele for CC relative to the CA allele was not significantly different between the groups (OR=0.71, 95% CI=0.41-1.22, p=0.27). This result did not change after adjustment for age and sex on multivariable regression analysis (OR=0.84, 95% CI=0.59-1.34, p=0.53). When the SOCS-1 -1478CA>del polymorphism was analyzed among CC patients in relation to the age at disease onset, we found no significant differences between subjects with the del/del, CA/del, and CA/CA genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study did not point towards a major role of the SOCS-1 -1478CA>del polymorphism in the pathogenesis of CC in Turkish subjects.