Application of artificial intelligence techniques for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease diagnosis: A systematic review (2005-2023).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common liver disease with a rapidly growing incidence worldwide. For prognostication and therapeutic decisions, it is important to distinguish the pathological stages of NAFLD: steatosis, steatohepatitis, and liver fibrosis, which are definitively diagnosed on invasive biopsy. Non-invasive ultrasound (US) imaging, including US elastography technique, and clinical parameters can be used to diagnose and grade NAFLD and its complications. Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being harnessed for developing NAFLD diagnostic models based on clinical, biomarker, or imaging data. In this work, we systemically reviewed the literature for AI-enabled NAFLD diagnostic models based on US (including elastography) and clinical (including serological) data. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive search on Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed search engines for articles published between January 2005 and June 2023 related to AI models for NAFLD diagnosis based on US and/or clinical parameters using the following search terms: "non-alcoholic fatty liver disease", "non-alcoholic steatohepatitis", "deep learning", "machine learning", "artificial intelligence", "ultrasound imaging", "sonography", "clinical information". RESULTS: We reviewed 64 published models that used either US (including elastography) or clinical data input to detect the presence of NAFLD, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and/or fibrosis, and in some cases, the severity of steatosis, inflammation, and/or fibrosis as well. The performances of the published models were summarized, and stratified by data input and algorithms used, which could be broadly divided into machine and deep learning approaches. CONCLUSION: AI models based on US imaging and clinical data can reliably detect NAFLD and its complications, thereby reducing diagnostic costs and the need for invasive liver biopsy. The models offer advantages of efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility, and serve as virtual assistants for specialists to accelerate disease diagnosis and reduce treatment costs for patients and healthcare systems.

Designing a Predictive Model for Colorectal Neoplasia Diagnosis Based on Clinical and Laboratory Findings in Colonoscopy Candidate Patients.

BACKGROUND: Health authorities have expanded two strategies to diminish CRC-related influence: CR screening and improve diagnostic process in symptomatic patients. The aim of the current study is to design a predictive model to identify the most important risk factors that can efficiently predict patients who have high risk of colorectal neoplasia. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was constructed to include all patients who had positive test for FIT or had one or more risk factors for colorectal cancer based on the guidelines of detecting high-risk groups for colorectal cancer in Iran. Multivariable binary logistic regression model was constructed for prediction of colorectal neoplasia. We used sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and positive and negative likelihood ratio to check the accuracy. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test, chi-square test, and p value were used to determine the precision of model. RESULT: Following an AIC stepwise selection model, only nine potential variables, namely gender, watery diarrhea, IBD, abdominal pain, melena, body mass index, depression drug, anti-inflammatory drug, and age, were found to be a predictor of colorectal neoplasia. The best cut-point probability in the final model was 0.27 and results of sensitivity and specificity, based on maximizing these two criteria, were 66% and 62%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Overall, our model prediction was comparable with other risk prediction models for colorectal cancer. It had a modest discriminatory power to distinguish an individual's neoplasia colorectal risk.

Computed tomographic features of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia in three groups of Iranian patients: A single center study.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The pivotal role of chest computed tomographic (CT) to diagnosis and prognosis coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is still an open field to be explored. This study was conducted to assess the CT features in confirmed cases with COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospectively, initial chest CT data of 363 confirmed cases with COVID-19 were reviewed. All subjects were stratified into three groups based on patients' clinical outcomes; non-critical group (n=194), critical group (n=65), and death group (n=104). The detailed of CT findings were collected from patients' medical records and then evaluated for each group. In addition, multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze risk factors according to CT findings in three groups of patients with COVID-19. RESULTS: Compared with the non-critical group, mixed ground-glass opacities (GGO) and consolidation lesion, pleural effusion lesion, presence of diffuse opacity in cases, more than 2 lobes involved and opacity scores were significantly higher in the critical and death groups (P<0.05). Having more mixed GGO with consolidation, pleural effusion, lack of pure GGO, more diffuse opacity, involvement of more than 2 lobes and high opacity score identified as independent risk factors of critical and death groups. CONCLUSION: CT images of non-critical, critical and death groups with COVID-19 had definite characteristics. CT examination plays a vital role in managing the current COVID-19 outbreak, for early detection of COVID-19 pneumonia. In addition, initial CT findings may be useful to stratify patients, which have a potentially important utility in the current global medical situation.

[Computed tomographic features of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia in three groups of Iranian patients: A single center study]. / Características en tomografía computarizada de la neumonía por coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) en tres grupos de pacientes iraníes: estudio de un solo centro.

Introduction and Objectives: The pivotal role of chest computed tomographic (CT) to diagnosis and prognosis coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is still an open field to be explored. This study was conducted to assess the CT features in confirmed cases with COVID-19. Materials and Methods: Retrospectively, initial chest CT data of 363 confirmed cases with COVID-19 were reviewed. All subjects were stratified into three groups based on patients' clinical outcomes; non-critical group (n=194), critical group (n=65), and death group (n=104). The detailed of CT findings were collected from patients' medical records and then evaluated for each group. In addition, multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze risk factors according to CT findings in three groups of patients with COVID-19. Results: Compared with the non-critical group, mixed ground-glass opacities (GGO) and consolidation lesion, pleural effusion lesion, presence of diffuse opacity in cases, more than 2 lobes involved and opacity scores were significantly higher in the critical and death groups (P<0.05). Having more mixed GGO with consolidation, pleural effusion, lack of pure GGO, more diffuse opacity, involvement of more than 2 lobes and high opacity score identified as independent risk factors of critical and death groups. Conclusion: CT images of non-critical, critical and death groups with COVID-19 had definite characteristics. CT examination plays a vital role in managing the current COVID-19 outbreak, for early detection of COVID-19 pneumonia. In addition, initial CT findings may be useful to stratify patients, which have a potentially important utility in the current global medical situation.

A 3'-untranslated region variant (rs2289046) of insulin receptor substrate 2 gene is associated with susceptibility to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

PURPOSE: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasing global health concern defined by excessive hepatic fat content in the absence of excessive alcohol consumption. Regarding the key role of insulin and insulin resistance in NAFLD, we investigated whether insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) and insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) gene variants were associated with NAFLD risk. METHODS: In this case-control study, 305 subjects including 151 cases with biopsy-proven NAFLD and 154 controls were enrolled. All the subjects were genotyped for IRS1 (rs1801278) and IRS2 (rs2289046) gene variants using PCR-RFLP method. RESULTS: Our findings showed that the IRS2 rs2289046 "GG+AG" genotype compared with "AA" genotype to be a marker of decreased NAFLD susceptibility and the difference remained significant even after adjustment for confounding factors including age, BMI, sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure (P=0.014; OR=0.50, 95%CI= 0.29-0.87). Furthermore, the IRS2 "G" allele was significantly underrepresented in the cases with NAFLD than controls (P=0.026 ; OR=0.62, 95%CI=0.41-0.94). However, no significant difference was found for IRS1 rs1801278 gene variant. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests, for the first time, that the IRS2 gene rs2289046 variant may play a role in NAFLD susceptibility. Nevertheless, this observation warrants further investigations in other populations.

Investigation of a common gene expression signature in gastrointestinal cancers using systems biology approaches.

According to GLOBOCAN 2012, the incidence and the mortality rate of colorectal, stomach and liver cancers are the highest among the total gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Here we aimed to find the common genes and pathways that are simultaneously deregulated in these three malignancies using systems biology approaches. Here we conducted a differential expression analysis on high-quality gene expression datasets of gastric cancer (GC), colorectal cancer (CRC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To address the inter gene correlations that were neglected in differential expression studies, we also applied differential co-expression analysis on the understudied datasets. The common significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) among the three cancers were used for further regulatory and PPI network construction. In parallel the regulatory roles of miRNAs and lncRNAs in the common DEGs were investigated. 23 common DEGs were detected between GC, CRC and HCC. Two cases of potential feed forward loops were identified in the constructed TF-target regulatory network, indicating the probable cross-talk between biological pathways. The result of a vulnerability test on the common PPI network resulted in the finding of three candidates, the simultaneous targeting of which will disintegrate the main parts of the network. The results of the differential co-expression study led to the identification of respectively 7 and 1 common differentially co-expressed pairs of genes between GC and CRC and between CRC and HCC. The results of the differential expression study introduced new common players in CRC, GC and HCC and provided better insights into the molecular characteristics of these GI malignancies. Moreover, we concluded that differential co-expression studies are an essential complement for differential expression studies that just take single differentially expressed genes into account.

Distribution and phylogenetic analysis of Blastocystis sp. subtypes isolated from IBD patients and healthy individuals in Iran.

Blastocystis is a single-celled intestinal parasite commonly found in humans and a broad range of animals all over the world. In humans, its role in health and disease remains unsettled. The aim of our study was to investigate the distribution of Blastocystis and Blastocystis subtypes (ST) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and control subjects. A total of 71 stool samples were collected from IBD patients, 69 and 2 of whom had ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's Disease (CD), respectively. Moreover, 166 stool samples from healthy subjects were included as control samples. All stool samples were cultivated, and 550-bp fragments of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene was amplified from Blastocystis-positive cultures. All PCR-positive samples were sequenced. Blastocystis was observed in 9 (12.67%) and 35 (21.1%) IBD patients and healthy controls, respectively. There was no statistically significant correlation between IBD and presence of Blastocystis (P = 0.147). There was a statistically significant correlation between age and Blastocystis colonization in the IBD group (P < 0.05), but not among healthy controls. No significant correlation between gender and colonization was observed. ST1 and ST3 were obtained from 1 (12.5%) and 7 (87.5%) IBD patients, respectively, while in the healthy control group, subtypes 1, 2, and 3 were found in 14 (40%), 12 (34.28%), and 9 (25.72%), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed no variation in the distribution of subtypes nor intra-subtype genetic diversity between samples acquired from IBD patients and healthy controls. This study showed a trend towards a lower prevalence of Blastocystis in IBD patients than in control subjects. ST3 sequences isolated from IBD patients and control individuals did not appear to differ genetically.

The first study on opportunistic intestinal microsporidiosis in IBD patients receiving immunosuppressive medications in Iran.

Microsporida are known as opportunistic unicellular organisms and have recently been reclassified as fungi that have been frequently reported from patients with congenital and acquired immunity failure disorders, worldwide. However, use of immunosuppressive medications in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients significantly decreases overall immunity, and increases their susceptibility to opportunistic infections. Totally, 71 stool samples were collected from IBD patients consisted of 69 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and two Crohn's disease (CD) patients. All patients had taken immunosuppressive and/or immunomodulator drugs for at least 3 weeks. DNA was extracted from all stool samples and Nested PCR was performed using genus-specific primers based on small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene. Fisher's Exact Test was applied to evaluate statistical association between microsporidia infection and sex, age and types of IBD. Mean of age ± s.d., women and men percentage of the attended patients were 36·17 ± 11·93, 60·6%, and 39·4%, respectively. A 440-bp fragment of SSU rRNA gene attributed to Enterocytozoon bieneusi was amplified from 12·7% of IBD patients. No Encephalitozoon DNA was detected in the samples. No microsporidia-positive sample was found in CD patients. Fisher's Exact Test showed that there was no statistically significant correlation between intestinal microsporidiosis and age, sex, and IBD types with P values: 0·389, 1·00, and 1·00, respectively. This study has shown IBD patients undergoing immunosuppressive/immunomodulators medications, which may be susceptible to intestinal microsporida infection. E. bieneusi is the commonest intestinal microsporidan reported from IBD patients.

Association of diverse bacterial communities in human bile samples with biliary tract disorders: a survey using culture and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis methods.

Bacterial infection is considered a predisposing factor for disorders of the biliary tract. This study aimed to determine the diversity of bacterial communities in bile samples and their involvement in the occurrence of biliary tract diseases. A total of 102 bile samples were collected during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Characterization of bacteria was done using culture and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was determined based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines and identity of the nucleotide sequences of differentiated bands from the DGGE gels was determined based on GenBank data. In total, 41.2 % (42/102) of the patients showed bacterial infection in their bile samples. This infection was detected in 21 % (4/19), 45.4 % (5/11), 53.5 % (15/28), and 54.5 % (24/44) of patients with common bile duct stone, microlithiasis, malignancy, and gallbladder stone, respectively. Escherichia coli showed a significant association with gallstones. Polymicrobial infection was detected in 48 % of the patients. While results of the culture method established coexistence of biofilm-forming bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus spp., and Acinetobacter spp.) in different combinations, the presence of Capnocytophaga spp., Lactococcus spp., Bacillus spp., Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Enterobacter or Citrobacter spp., Morganella spp., Salmonella spp., and Helicobacter pylori was also characterized in these samples by the PCR-DGGE method. Multidrug resistance phenotypes (87.5 %) and resistance to third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins and quinolones were common in these strains, which could evolve through their selection by bile components. Ability for biofilm formation seems to be a need for polymicrobial infection in this organ.

Association of CagPAI integrity with severeness of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with gastritis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The Helicobacter pylori cag pathogenicity island (cagPAI) is involved in delivery of CagA effector protein and peptidoglycan into host cells and also in IL-8 induction in the human gastric tissue. Diversity of cagPAI may affect disease status and clinical outcome of the infected patients. Our study was aimed to investigate diversity of this island and its intactness in Iranian patients to investigate possible associations between cagPAI integrity and pathological changes of the infected tissue. MATERIAL/PATIENTS AND METHODS: Out of the 75 patients, H. pylori strains were obtained from 30 patients with severe active gastritis (SAG) (n=11), moderate chronic gastritis (CG) (n=14) and intestinal metaplasia/dysplasia (IM) (n=5). Intactness of the cagPAI was determined using 12 sets of primer pairs specific for functionally important loci of cagPAI by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: The cagPAI positive strains were significantly observed in patients with SAG (52.4%) in comparison to those presenting CG (33.3%) and IM (14.3%). In addition, the presence of intact cagPAI was 87.5% in H. pylori strains isolated from patients with SAG, which was higher than those obtained from patients with CG (12.5%) or IM (0%). A significant increase in the frequency of cagα-cagY and cagW-cagT segments, as exterior proteins of the CagPAI, was illustrated in strains from SAG patients compared with those from patients with CG. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these results strongly proposed an association between the severity of histopathological changes and intactness of cagPAI in the gastric tissue of patients infected with H. pylori.

A tale of two construct validation analysis: Rasch model and exploratory factor analysis approach for Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21) among Malaysian male workers.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims for construct validation using two approaches, i.e., exploratory factor analysis and Rasch Model. METHODS: A cross sectional of 313 male workers from multiple worksites had completed self-administered Malay translated version of Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire- R21. Data quality was assessed by misfit person criteria, dimensionality, summary statistic, item measure and rating (partial credit) scale followed by exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency reliability assessment. RESULTS: The dual approaches of construct validation analysis were complement to each other. Rasch analysis supported the theoretical constructs of three eating behaviour dimensions among respondents. In contrary to exploratory factor analysis, it did show presence of a newfound factor (∝=0.04) came up from the separation of the cognitive restrain and uncontrolled eating however, the correlation between the two respective sub-factors were fair (r=0.39) and weak (r= -0.08). Both analyses had detected three problematic items but those items were psychometrically fit for used for current study setting. The data had adequate psychometric properties. Cronbach's alpha for cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating were 0.66, 0.79 and 0.87 respectively. Rating scale quality was conformed to standard criteria. CONCLUSION: Malay version TFEQ-R21 with promising psychometric properties and valid measures for eating behaviour dimensions among male workers aged between 20 to 60 years old is now available. Further development should focus on the items in relation to Malaysian cultural adaptation before its use for daily practice in future setting.

A cross-cultural investigation of attachment style, catastrophizing, negative pain beliefs, and symptom severity in irritable bowel syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Little information exists regarding whether psychosocial variables in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) vary by geographic location. Adult attachment is an important psychological concept rooted in childhood relationship experience that has not been previously studied in IBS. Catastrophizing and negative pain beliefs have been described in IBS and may be affected by attachment. AIMS: In this cross-cultural study, we determined: (i) whether attachment differs between IBS patients and controls, (ii) whether geographic location has a significant effect on attachment style, catastrophizing and negative pain beliefs, and (iii) how all three variables correlate with IBS symptom severity. METHODS: 463 IBS patients, with moderate to severe symptom scores, and 192 healthy controls completed validated questionnaires about attachment, catastrophizing, negative pain beliefs and IBS-SSS in nine locations, USA (New York, Los Angeles), Mexico, Italy (Rome, Bari), Romania, Iran, India, and China. KEY RESULTS: Attachment anxiety and avoidance scores were significantly higher in IBS patients than in controls (p < 0.001). This was particularly true for the fearful-avoidant attachment category, especially in China and Romania. Path analysis showed that attachment anxiety and avoidance had indirect effects on IBS-SSS through catastrophizing (p < 0.0001) and negative pain beliefs (p = 0.005). All three psychosocial measures varied significantly depending on location. CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES: In the IBS population studied, attachment style was significantly different in IBS compared to a control population. Geographic differences in attachment, catastrophizing and negative pain beliefs were documented and their correlation with symptom severity and thus, research of psychosocial variables in IBS should take into account the location of the population studied.

Adenomatous polyposis coli gene large deletions in Iranian patients with familial adenomatous polyposis.

Context: Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is one type of hereditary colon cancer with a large number of precancerous polyps that initiation to growth in childhood and adolescent. Mutation in adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene is the cause of FAP. Aims: The aim of the current study was to standardize multiplex ligation probe amplification (MLPA) method in screening of APC large deletions for the first time in Iranian patients with FAP. Subjects and Methods: Deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted from 34 FAP patients by saluting out method. All patients were screened for APC large deletions whit MLPA and for the positive results, respective region was investigated by polymerase chain reaction sequencing. All genetic alterations were doubled checked in two separated rounds of MLPA. Results: The detection rate of large fragment deletions in APC was 5.8% (2/34). Both of the Iranian patients had deletion in the middle and the end of exon 15, however, comparing of clinical features between patient with the large deletion and patients without deletion did not show any significant difference in each variable including, age at diagnosis, signs of disease and poly type. Conclusions: It seems that exon 15 of APC gene is probably the hotspot region in Iranian FAP patients. Association of genotype/phenotype is well known in FAP patients, but in this study statistical analyses did not show a significant difference in each considerable factor between patients with and without large deletions. It seems better to consider MLPA as an initial step to screening APC mutations.

Celiac disease and dysfunctional uterine bleeding; the efficiency of gluten free diet.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between Celiac disease (CD) and unexplained dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB) in celiac women. The celiac patients were selected from women who were referred to celiac department. Controls were selected from those women without any signs of celiac disease and matched with age. Meanwhile, a trained physician was ready to explain the study, and then in case of their allowance, a questionnaire was completed by the physician. 24 % of celiac women reported a past history of at least one menstrual cycle disorder vs 10 % of controls reported these problems (p=0.038) and higher percentage of unexplained DUB has been observed in celiac women. All celiac patients were undertaking gluten free diet for at least 3 months and the celiac patients who reported the history of DUB were again interviewed for any signs of unexplained DUB. From 12 celiac women with DUB, 10 patients reported no more unexplained DUB after getting gluten-free diet (83.3 %). The occurrence of a significant correlation between CD and DUB suggests the possibility of considering CD as one of the potential causes of abnormal uterine bleeding. Therefore, celiac disease must be seriously considered in the screening of patients with reproductive disorders (Tab. 2,Ref. 23).

Epidemiology and histopathological features of esophageal cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Esophageal cancer is the 6th most common cause of cancer death in the world. During the past two decades some changes have occurred in histologic type and primary tumor location in some parts of the world but there is a little information about histopathological aspect of disease in Iran. The purpose of the present study was to clarify the features of histopathological of esophageal cancer in Iran. METHODS: This study designed as a cross sectional study. Data analysis was performed with descriptive and univariate methods. Information required for this study extracted from cancer registry forms. The cases were all patients who received a histopathological diagnosis of EC that were referred to this center from January 2003 to October 2008. RESULTS: A total of 264 EC cases were recruited in the study the lower third of the esophagus was the most frequent site of origin of these tumors. Squamus cell carcinoma was commonest histologic type of tumor. In 15.2% of cases tumor was metastasis to other organs. In 46.6% were in advanced stage at diagnosis. DISCUSSION: Based on result of present study, esophageal cancer in our country more presented in Squamus cell carcinoma histology type, in advanced stage. Since Squamus cell carcinoma have a poorer prognosis and given that these patients have vague symptomatology for approximately several months, therefore, early diagnosis and treatment led to better prognosis.

Genetic variability of Blastocystis sp. isolated from symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals in Iran.

Blastocystis is an unusual enteric protozoan parasite of humans and many animals whose pathogenic potential is still controversial. To increase the understanding of the molecular epidemiology of this emerging parasite and due to its potential impact on public health, its subtypes (STs) in Iranian symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals were determined. A total of 100 Blastocystis isolates by microscopy and culture methods were obtained. DNA was extracted from the positive culture isolates, and the Blastocystis subtypes were identified using seven subtype-specific sequenced-tagged site (STS) primers. Four subtypes, ST3 as dominant (53 %), followed by ST1 (48 %), ST5 (33 %), and ST2 (7 %) were identified. In this study, ST1 in gastrointestinal patients compared to asymptomatic individuals was significantly dominant (p = 0.001). From 33 (33 %) mixed subtype infections, ST1, 3 (14 %) was significantly related to GI symptoms (p = 0.045), and eight mixed infections with three different STs, which are under reported, were also identified.

Molecular identification of animal isolates of Echinococcus granulosus from Iran using four mitochondrial genes.

Mitochondrial genes have more power than nuclear genes in reconstructing phylogenetic relationships among closely related species because of their faster sequence evolution. The aim of this study was to use the complete or near-complete sequences from three mitochondrial genes (cox1, nad1 and atp6) and partial sequences of the 12S rRNA gene to infer relationships among isolates of Echinococcus granulosus from Iran. Two hundred and twenty-nine isolates of E. granulosus were collected from cattle, camels, sheep, buffalo and goats from different geographical areas. Most individuals were found to possess the G1 genotype but some of the camel samples belonged to the G6 genotype. Newly designed primers for cox1, nad1 and atp6 genes amplified bands of 1830, 708 and 1157 bp for the G1 genotype and 1856, 705, 1054 bp for the G6 genotype, respectively. The result of this survey showed that atp6 and nad1 genes are good molecular markers for identifying E. granulosus isolates from a range of hosts in Iran.

Clinical and histological indicators of proximal and distal gastric cancer in eight provinces of Iran.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Gastric cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide. In this study the clinical and histological features of gastric cancer in the cardia and distal stomach were evaluated. METHOD: Proximal and distal gastric cancer diagnosed and treated in eight provinces of Iran from 2010-2011 were reviewed in all collected cases. The age standardized incident rates were calculated and tumor location and histological type were recorded. RESULTS: The age-standardized incidence rate for the eight centers was 40.6 per 100,000 populations per year with an upper and lower range of 22.1 and 102.4 per 100,000 population per year. Thirty four percent of the tumors were located in the cardia, 3% in fundus, and 63% in the distal stomach. In 7 provinces the prevalence of distal tumors was significantly greater than proximal tumors (p=0.006). A significant relationship was observed between diffuse form of gastric cancer and distal gastric tumors (p=0.007) and between poor tumor differentiation and distal gastric tumors (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: the result of this study shows that distal gastric cancer is more common than proximal gastric cancer in Iran.

Family History as a Risk for Upper Gastrointestinal Tract Cancer: A Case Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Although, family history of cancer is an important risk factor for upper gastrointestinal cancers development, but limited information is available on the upper gastrointestinal cancers associated with family history in Iran. The purpose of this study was to define upper gastrointestinal cancers risk associated with family history of cancer. METHODS: This study was conducted as a case control study. A total number of 1,010 cases of upper gastrointestinal cancer and 1,010 healthy controls were recruited. For family history of cancer, questions were asked about any malignant tumor in first and second degree relatives. Adjusted odds ratio estimates for the association family history and upper gastrointestinal cancers risk and corresponding 95% confidence intervals were obtained. RESULTS: A family history of any malignant tumor in relatives was associated with 1.3 fold increased risks of upper gastrointestinal cancers. A first-degree family history of esophageal and gastric cancer was significantly associated with upper gastrointestinal cancers development, with an adjusted OR of 4.7(CI 95%: 2.6-8.4). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that risk for upper gastrointestinal cancers increases among individuals with family history of cancer. Therefore, appropriate screening strategies especially in relatives of patients should be considered to prevent and control of disease.