• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.16
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• pp.6697-6701
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• 2014

Background: In the etiology of cervical cancer not only HPV infection is important, but also other factors such as demographic influences andsexual and reproductive health attitudes, as well as others related to preventive measure usage (or non usage). The aim of this study was to examine factors associated with cervical dysplasia in asymptomatic women who were examined by routine cytology and cervical biopsy for early detection of cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: Socio-demographic and other characteristics were obtained from medical files of 85 examinees with pathologic cytologic findings (Pap test) and histopathologic (HP) findings after biopsy. Results: ccording to the Pap test result, a greater probability for development of cervical dysplasia was noted with examinees having a larger number of sexual partners (OR= 5.01, 95% CI 1.04-24.10), and those who are afraid of the Pap finding. Risk factors for development of cervical dysplasia according to the bioptic finding were early beginning with sexual activities, presence of any STD in personal medical history and fear of the Pap test finding. Conclusions: The only risk factor found to be important for both methods was fear of the Pap testing finding.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7393-7400
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• 2015

Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9, a key member of multifunctional family of zinc dependent endopeptidases has been found to be upregulated during inflammation and in some cancers. MMPs cleave extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and play critical roles in cellular apoptosis, angiogenesis, tumor growth and metastasis. Several genetic polymorphisms have been identified that show allele specific effects on MMP9 regulation and are associated with gastric cancer, the fourth most common malignancy in the world. Besides Helicobacter pylori infection, genetic predisposition is another documented risk factor for gastric carcinoma. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at position -1562C/T of MMP9 results in the modulation for binding of transcription factors to the MMP9 gene promoter and thereby causes differences in protein expression and enzymatic activity. MMP9 transcriptional regulation during gastric cancer development remains poorly known although several studies have demonstrated associations between MMP9 -1562 C/T polymorphism with different diseases. Knowledge on mechanisms of MMP9 upregulation during gastric cancer may provide new paradigm in diagnostics and therapeutics.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.2971-2974
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• 2015

TP53 is assumed to be a very important tumour suppressor gene, as illustrated by recent reports that have shown effects of its polymorphisms on breast cancer risk. Arg72Pro and PIN3(16bp duplication) polymorphisms are proposed to have an effective role in structural changes of p53 and have therefore attracted interest as a risk factor for breast cancer in different populations. The aim of this study was to examine and determine whether p53 codon 72 and PIN3 Ins16 bp may be associated with an increased risk for breast cancer in female patients from the northwest of Iran. Genotyping was performed by PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) method for a total of 100 women with breast cancer and 100 healthy women without any background of cancer, focusing on the TP53 Arg72Pro-16Del/Ins haplotypes and the combined genotypes. The results in this study established no statistical significant distinctions between the genotypes and a llele frequency were found for Arg72Pro and PIN3 Ins 16 bp polymorphisms between patients and controls.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.675-678
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• 2015

Background: There are several validated risk factors for breast cancer. However the legitimacy of elevated fasting blood glucose (FBG) is not well established. This study was designed to assess this parameter as a risk factor for breast cancer among pre- and post-menopausal women. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted at Department of Biochemistry, University of Karachi from June 2010 to August 2014. Simple random sampling technique was used to collect data of study subjects comprising 175 diagnosed breast cancer patients with positive histopathology from Breast Clinic, surgical unit-1, Civil Hospital, Karachi and 175 healthy controls from various screening programs. Blood samples were analyzed for FBG and serum insulin. Results: FBG, HOMA-IR, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly raised in breast cancer cases when compared to control subjects. Cases and controls were further categorized in to two groups using cutoff value of 110mg/dl to distinguish subjects into normal fasting glucose (<110mg/dl) and having impaired fasting glucose (${\geq}110-{\leq}125mg/dl$) or diabetes (${\geq}126mg/dl$). Odds ratios were found to be 1.57, 2.15 and 1.17 in overall, pre-menopausal and post-menopausal groups, respectively. (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: A statistically significant risk of breast cancer exists in women having elevated fasting blood glucose levels, corresponding to prediabetes and diabetes, among pre and postmenopausal ages, with comparatively greater effects in the premenopausal group.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.3391-3396
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• 2014

Background: Vitamin D has been suggested as one of the critical factors for female reproductive health with protective activities against different cancers but there are conflicting facts regarding its role on breast cancer without any clear data on premenopausal cases. This study aimed to evaluate the role of vitamin D from dietary sources and sunlight exposure on the incidence of premenopausal breast cancer. Materials and Methods: We conducted a case control study on 60 newly diagnosed premenopausal breast cancer patients and 116 normal women who lived in Sabzevar and surrounding villages in Razavi, Khorasan, a rural and conservative area of Iran. Results: The mean concentrations of 25-OH vitamin D in cases and controls were $15.2{\pm}8.15$ vs $15.5{\pm}7/45ng/ml$, both well below normal values elsewhere. In fact 50% of analyzed individuals showed very severe or severe vitamin D deficiency and the rest (25%) were detected in suboptimal levels. Although the lack of vitamin D and calcium supplementation increased slightly the risk of premenopausal breast cancer (p=0.009, OR=1.115, CI 95%=1.049-1.187), higher prevalence of weekly egg consumption (86.66% vs 96.55%, p=0.023, OR=0.232, CI 95% 0.065-0.806) showed a slight protective role. The last but the most important risk factor was lack of sunlight exposure because the breast cancer patients had total body coverage from sun (p=0.007, OR=10.131, CI 98% 0.314-78.102). Conclusion: This study pointed out the role of vitamin D and other possible risk factors on the development and growth of breast tumors in this special geographical region. Although this study has revealed the interactions between hormonal and environmental factors in this province of Iran, understanding the deficiency pattern and its contribution to other lifestyle factors elsewhere is also necessary.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.245-252
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• 2016

Due to increasing incidence of breast cancer, recognition of risk factors has become increasingly important. Over the past few decades, among risk factors of this disease, stressful life events have attracted particular attention, but their relationship with breast cancer incidence and survival remains a mystery. This study aimed to examine the relationship between severe stressful life events and incidence and survival of women with breast cancer. In this case-control study, using a structured telephone interview with 355 women with breast cancer and also with 516 women with benign breast diseases who were matched in demographic characteristics, necessary information about the experience of major stressful events in the years before the diagnosis were collected. Data were analyzed using statistical methods of ${\chi}^2$, t, and Kaplan-Meier with a significance level of <0.05. Generally, in the case and control groups, there were no significant association between experience of stressful life events and incidence of breast cancer. Regarding associations between each of the events and incidence of breast cancer only "severe interpersonal problems with spouse" was significant. In the breast cancer group, even after controlling confounding variables, there was no significant association between major stressful events and disease-free survival, or overall 5-and 10-year survival. In this study, only "severe interpersonal problems with spouse" was confirmed as a risk factor. This result can be useful in developing preventive policies. More research regarding the interactive effects of psycho-social factors in the incidence and survival of breast cancer with stressful life events is recommended.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6299-6303
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• 2012

Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP3) has been identified as a putative tumor suppressor with multifunctional roles in the IGF axis. Recently, there have been a growing body of studies investigating the relation between the IGFBP3 A-202C polymorphism, circulating IGFBP3 and prostate cancer risk, but their outcomes varied leading to controversy. Hence, it is necessary to perform a meta-analysis covering all eligible studies to shed a light on the association of IGFBP3 A-202C and cancer risk. Finally, we included a total of 11 relevant articles between 2003 and 2010 covering 14 case-control studies including 9,238 cases and 8,741 controls for our analysis. Our results showed that A-202C was a marginal risk factor of prostate cancer (allele contrast: OR=1.08, 95% CI :1.01-1.16; dominant model: OR=1.11, 95% CI :1.01-1.22; heterozygote codominant model: OR=1.11, 95% CI :1.03-1.18; homozygote contrast: OR=1.19, 95% CI :1.03-1.37). Stratification analysis revealed that sample size and control source were two major heterogeneous meta-factors especially in the recessive model (source: Population-based control group :p=0.30,I2=16.7%, Hospital-based control group: p=0.20, I2=30.3%; sample size: Small: p=0.22,I2= 32.8%, Medium: p=0.09,I2=48%, Large p=0.60,I2=0.0%); However, contrary to previous findings, no significance was found in racial subgroups. No significant publication bias was found in our analysis. Considering the robustness of the results and the discrepancy among some studies, there might be some unsolved confounding factors, and further more critical large studies are needed for confirmation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7799-7803
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• 2014

Background: To determine the imprinting status of the IGF2 in Chinese patients with primary lung cancer and to analyze the clinical significance of the loss of imprinting (LOI) of IGF2. Materials and Methods: PCRRFLP and RT-PCR-RFLP were carried out to select heterozygous cases for the ApaI polymorphism within exon 9 of the IGF2 gene and further analyze IGF2 LOI in 64 lung cancer patients, respectively. Results: Of 64 lung cancer patients, 31 were heterozygous for IGF2. The positive rates of IGF2 LOI of lung cancer foci, matched paracancer tissues, and normal lung tissues were 77.4% (24/31), 61.3% (19/31), and 29.0% (9/31), respectively. The LOI differences for IGF2 among the three groups were statistically significant (${\chi}^2=15.267$, p=0.000), and the LOI frequency of IGF2 in normal lung tissue was significantly lower than that in lung cancer foci and paracancer tissues (${\chi}^2=14.577$, p=0.000; ${\chi}^2=6.513$, p=0.011). No statistical difference was observed between the lung tumor group and the matched paracancer group (${\chi}^2=1.897$, p=0.168). The prevalence of advanced clinical stages (${\chi}^2=2.379$; p=0.017) and lymph node metastasis (${\chi}^2=5.552$; p=0.018) was significantly higher for LOI-positive paracancer tissues than for LOI-negative paracancer tissues. Conclusions: IGF2 LOI is highly frequent in Chinese primary lung cancer patients, especially those with increased risk of lymph node metastasis and advanced clinical stages. IGF2 LOI may be an early epigenetic event in human lung carcinogenesis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5621-5626
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• 2014

N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) is a polymorphic enzyme that plays an important role in the metabolism of various potential carcinogens. In recent years, a number of studies have been carried out to investigate the relationship between the rs1799930 and rs1799931 polymorphism in NAT2 and cancer risk in multiple populations for different types of cancer. However, the results were not consistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to further explore the relationship between NAT2 polymorphism and the risk of cancer. A total of 21 studies involving 15, 450 subjects for rs1799930 and 13, 011 subjects for rs1799931 were included in this meta-analysis. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess strength of associations. We also evaluated the publication bias and performed a sensitivity analysis. Overall, our results showed an apparent significant association between the NAT2 rs1799930 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility in Asians (GA vs. GG: OR=1.22, 95% CI=1.03-1.45; dominant model: OR=1.22, 95% CI=1.03-1.43) and population-based controls (GA vs. GG: OR=1.10, 95% CI=1.01-1.19; dominant model: OR=1.09, 95% CI=1.01-1.18). In contrast, a significant association was observed between the NAT2 rs1799931 G>A polymorphism and decreased cancer susceptibility in overall meta-analysis (AA vs. GG: OR=0.55, 95% CI=0.33-0.93; GA vs. GG: OR=1.00, 95% CI=0.88-1.14; dominant model: OR=0.97, 95% CI=0.86-1.10; recessive model: OR=0.56, 95% CI=0.34-0.94) and the Asian group (AA vs. GG: OR=0.50, 95% CI=0.26-0.94; recessive model, OR=0.50, 95% CI=0.27-0.94). We found that the NAT2 rs1799930 may be a risk factor, while the NAT2 rs1799931 polymorphism is associated with a decreased risk of cancer and is likely a protective factor against cancer development.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2675-2679
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• 2012

Introduction: Annually a considerable number of people die because of breast cancer, a common disease among women also in Iran. Identifying risk factors and susceptible people can lead to prevention or at least early diagnosis. Among susceptibility risks, 5-10% of patients have a family history predisposing factor which can influence the risk of incidence among the family. Having a registry program can be a more practical way to screen high risk families for preventive planning. Method: Based on inclusion criteria, a questionnaire was prepared and after a pilot study on a small number of patients, actual data were collected on 400 patients and processed in SPSS 16.0. Results: Totally, 28.2%of the patients were younger than 40 years old and 36.8% had the included criteria for familial breast cancer (FBC). 102 patient's samples could be compared for receptor presentation. Similar to other studies, the number of triple negative breast cancers increased as the age decreased. Conclusion: The high percentage of patients with FBC among 400 cases in this study demonstrates that in order to design an infrastructural diagnostic protocol and screening of patients with FBC, a precise survey related to frequency and founder mutations of FBC is needed nationwide.