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INTRODUCTION: PTEN controls upstream PI3K relatives, such as AKT. PTEN gene mutations have been documented to affect outcomes in main or distant malignancies, including breast cancer (BC). PTEN gene deletions are common in a variety of human cancers. A key factor in the response to this kind of therapy is genetic diversity. The purpose of this research is to determine whether a PTEN loss mutation influences a patient's propensity to not respond to trastuzumab (TRS) in cases of Her2+ BC. METHODS: Diwaniya Teaching Hospital's oncology ward provided 60 patients with Her2+ BC who had been on TRS for at least 12 months for this study. Patients were split in half using the RECIST criteria for evaluating responses to therapy in solid tumors: responders and non-responders. A PTEN polyclonal primary antibody was used for the detection of PTEN in breast tissue in the current study. RESULTS: This research employs a rating system based on eight specimens (26.67%) among non-responsive women who demonstrated PTEN loss compared with one specimen (3.33%) among responsive women. Statistically, PTEN loss varied significantly between the responsive and non-responsive groups. Loss of PTEN was also not linked to shifts in creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB), troponin T (TnT), or any other biomarker, or troponin I (Tn1) at baseline or after 12 months of TRS therapy. These results give us important information about how PTEN deletion mutations might work as a predictor for TRS response in women with Her2+ BC.
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OBJECTIVE: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of children. To fill the gap in data concerning this disease in Iraq, we investigated the socio-demographic and other risk factors related to asthma occurrence among primary school children. METHODS: A case control study was conducted in Baghdad, Iraq among primary school children aged 6-12 years, for the period between October 2000 and June 2002. Six hundred and forty-four children with asthma were investigated with a control group of 1618 children without asthma. Well-constructed standardized modified questionnaires of International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood were completed by the parents of the chosen children. RESULTS: From the studied risk factors, the following were found as significant risk factors for asthma development: crowding rate of > or = 5 (odds ratio [OR]=1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.1 - 2.4), lower educational level of parents, prematurity (OR=1.61, 95% CI=1.003-2.59), low birth weight (OR=2.41, 95% CI=1.87-3.09), family history of asthma whether father (OR=3.86, 95% CI=2.54-5.87), or mother (OR=8.27, 95% CI=5.21-13.15) or sibling (OR=4.33, 95% CI=3.24-5.8) and environmental exposure to tobacco smoking during pregnancy or currently from both parents. On the contrary, our study failed to detect significant association for the following factors: gender, residency, type of birth, breast feeding and duration. CONCLUSION: Crowding, low parental education, prematurity, low birth weight, family history of asthma and smoking are significant risk factors for asthma development among our primary school children. Efforts must be concentrated for hygienic environment, good antenatal care and quitting smoking habits in order to overcome this health problem.
