• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6035-6039
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• 2014

Background: Substantial evidence from epidemiological studies has suggested that increased levels of calcium may play a protective role against colorectal cancer (CRC). Given the vital role of calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the maintenance of calcium homeostasis, we explored whether the rs1801725 (A986S) variant located in exon 7 of the CaSR gene and the rs6256 variant located in exon 3 of PTH gene might be associated with CRC risk. Materials and Methods: In this study 860 subjects including 350 cases with CRC and 510 controls were enrolled and genotyped using PCR-RFLP methods. Results: We observed no significant difference in genotype or allele frequencies between the cases with CRC and controls for both CaSR and PTH genes either before or after adjustment for confounding factors including age, BMI, sex, smoking status, and family history of CRC. Furthermore, no evidence for effect modification of any association of rs1801725 and rs6256 variants and CRC by BMI, sex, or tumor site was observed. In addition, there was no significant difference in genotype and allele frequencies between the normal weight (BMI < $25kg/m^2$) cases and overweight/obese (BMI ${\geq}25kg/m^2$) cases for the two SNPs. Conclusions: These data indicated that the CaSR gene A986S variant is not a genetic contributor to CRC risk in the Iranian population. Furthermore, our results suggest for the first time that PTH gene variant does not affect CRC risk. Nonetheless, further studies with larger sample size are needed to validate these findings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.33-37
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• 2016

Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, including in Iran. Variations in its incidence rate among geographical areas are due to various contributing factors. Since there has been a lack of studies on this topic in our country, the present spatial analysis of skin cancer incidence in Iran in 2009 was conducted using data from the cancer registry system for the country. The reported incidences of the disease were standardized on the basis of the World Health Organization population and the direct method. Then the data were inserted into the GIS software, and finally, using the analysis of hot spots (Getis-Ord Gi), high-risk areas were drawn. Provinces that were 1.9 SD higher or lower than the national average were considered hot spots or cold spots, with significance at the level of 0.05. In 2009, a total of 9,964 cases of skin cancer occurred, 3,696 in women and 6,268 in men (standardized incidence rates of 15.8 and 22.6, respectively). The results of the study showed that in men and women, the disease demonstrated high incidence in the central provinces and desert regions. In women, Yazd Province and in men, Qom Province had significant hot spots (p <0.05). While Isfahan, Markazi, Tehran and Kurdistan provinces were expected to be hot spots, the differences from the national average were not significant at the 0.05 level. As well, the provinces of Sistan Va Baluchistan, Kerman, and Hormozgan were identified as cold or low-risk disease regions (p <0.05). The central provinces of the country due to hot weather conditions, more solar radiation, and closer vicinity to the central desert of Iran demonstrated higher incidence rates for skin cancer, so further epidemiological studies into the etiology and early detection are essential in these areas.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.53-57
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• 2016

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers. Due to demographic changes, it is predicted that the incidence of this cancer will increase. Variations of its incidence rate among geographical areas are due to various contributing factors. Since there have been a lack of studies on this topic in our country, the present assessment of spatial patterns of colorectal cancer incidence in Iran was performed. In this ecological study, the new cases of colon cancer were extracted from Cancer Registry Center report of the Health Deputy of Iran in 2009. The reported incidences of the disease were standardized on the basis of the World Health Organization population and the direct method. Then the data were inserted into the GIS software, and finally, using the analysis of hot spots (Getis-Ord Gi) high-risk areas were drawn. Provinces that are higher or lower than the national average (1.9 SD) were considered hot spots or cold spots, significant at the level of 0.05. A total of 6,210 cases of colorectal cancer were registered in Iran in 2009, of which 3,727 were in men and 2,783 in women (age-standardized rates of 11.3 and 10.9 per 100,000 population, respectively). The results showed that in central and northern Iran including Isfahan, Qom, Tehran, Qazvin and Mazandaran significant hot spots in men were present (p <0.05). In women also we have high incidence in northern and central states: Mazandaran province (p<0.01) and the province of Tehran (p<0.05) had higher incidences than the national average and were apparent as significant hot spots. Analysis of the spatial distribution of colorectal cancer showed significant differences between different areas pointing to the necessity for further epidemiological studies into the etiology and early detection.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1349-1361
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• 2009

The present study was designed to analyze the relationship of dietary behavior change and nutrient intake status owing to a depression degree for 143 people over 65 years old living in Echeong and Hansan islands area, South Korea. The depression degree was classified into non depression, minor depression and depressive disorder groups using. The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale for 143 subjects. The results are as follows; the depression degree significantly made differences according to sex (p<.001), marital status (p<.05), self-related economic status (p<.001) and living expenses (p<.05). The stage of dietary behavior according to the depression degree was as follows; the non depression group was 57.6%, the minor group was 46.8% and the depressive disorder group was 27.1% of the subjects. The intake frequency of the cereal group (p<.05) and fruit group (p<.01) was significantly different among food group intake status owing to the depression degree. Mean adequacy ratio(MAR)[13], MAR[10], and MAR[4] of the depressive disorder group were significantly lower than that of the non depression and minor depression groups. Each average of MAR[13], MAR[10], and MAR[4] for the subjects were $0.68{\pm}0.2$, $0.67{\pm}0.2$, and $0.55{\pm}0.2$. Concerned about the nutrients over 1.0 index of nutritional quality(INQ) 8 nutrients of protein, Phosphorous, iron, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin $B_6$, niacin and vitamin C belonged to the non depression group. Additionally, 6 nutrients of protein, Phosphorous, iron, zinc, vitamin $B_6$ and niacin were included for minor depression and depressive disorder groups.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5011-5016
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• 2013

Background: Several epidemiological studies have shown associations between colorectal cancer (CRC) risk and type 2 diabetes and obesity. Any effects would be expected to be mediated through the insulin pathway. Therefore it is possible that variants of genes encoding components of the insulin pathway play roles in CRC susceptibility. In this study, we hypothesized that polymorphisms in the genes involving the insulin pathway are associated with risk of CRC. Materials and Methods: The associations of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IGF-I (rs6214), IGFBP-3 (rs3110697), INSR (rs1052371), and IRS2 (rs2289046) genes with the risk of CRC were evaluated using a case-control design with 167 CRC cases and 277 controls by the PCR-RFLP method. Results: Overall, we observed no significant difference in genotype and allele frequencies between the cases and controls for the IGF-I, IGFBP-3, INSR, IRS2 gene variants and CRC before or after adjusting for confounders (age, BMI, sex, and smoking status). However, we observed that the IRS2 (rs2289046) GG genotype compared with AA+AG genotypes has a protective effect for CRC in normal weight subjects (p=0.035, OR=0.259, 95%CI= 0.074-0.907). Conclusions: These findings do not support plausible associations between polymorphic variations in IGF-I, IGFBP-3, INSR, IRS2 genes and risk of CRC. However, the evidence for a link between the IRS2 (rs2289046) variant and risk of CRC dependent on the BMI of the subjects, requires confirmation in subsequent studies with greater sample size.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.428-436
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• 2003

Epidemiological studies have observed a negative association between increased consumption of green and yellow vegetables and cancer incidence. These vegetables contain carotenoids, which are reported to exhibit anticarcinogenic effects. Overexpression of ErbB2 and ErbB3 genes is a frequent event in several human cancers. The present study was performed to determine whether $\alpha$-carotene, $\beta$-carotene, lutein, or lycopene inhibits cell growth and to assess such an effect is related to changes in the levels of the ErbB receptor family and tile ErbB3 receptor signaling pathway in HT-29 cells. HT-29 cells were cultured in serum-free medium in the presence of various concentrations (0~100 $\mu$M) of the individual carotenoids. $\alpha$ -Carotene and lycopene significantly inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, whereas lutein slightly inhibited cell growth and $\beta$-carotene increased cell growth. Lycopene is more potent than $\alpha$ -carotene in inhibiting HT-29 cell growth. Lycopene inhibited DNA synthesis and induced apoptosis of HT-29 cells. The ErbB3 ligand heregulin (HRG) increased cell growth but did not prevent the lycopene-induced inhibition of cell growth. Lycopene decreased ErbB2 protein levels in a dose-dependent manner. Immunoprecipitation/Western blot studies revealed that lycopene inhibited HRG-induced phosphorylation of ErbB3, recruitment of the 985 regulatory subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) to the ErbB3 receptor, and phosphorylation of Akt. These results indicate that downregulation of ErbB2/ErbB3/PI3K/Akt signaling may be one of the mechanisms by which lycopene inhibits HT-29 cell pro-liferation and induces apoptosis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.437-443
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• 2003

Epidemiological data suggest that lycopene has anticancer activities in humans. Insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR) is a transmembrane tyrosine kinase that mediates the biological actions of IGFs and may play an active role in cancer progression. Because our previous in vitro studies have indicated lycopene inhibits HT-29 cell growth, the aim of this study was to determine whether lycopene induces apoptotic cell death and the inhibitory effect of lycopene on HT-29 cell growth is related to changes in IGF-IR levels and the receptor's intracellular signalling pathways. HT-29 cells were incubated for 4 days in serum-free medium in the presence of 0, 25, 50, or 100 $\mu$M lycopene, and the DNA fragmentation assay was performed. Cells treated with lycopene produced a distinct oligonucleosomal ladder with different sizes of DNA fragments, a typical characteristic of cells undergoing apoptosis. HT-29 cells were cultured for 4 days in serum-free medium in the presence of 0~100 $\mu$M lycopene and IGF-I (10nM) was added for 0~60 minutes immediately prior to lysate preparations. Western blot analysis of total lysates revealed that lycopene decreased the levels of IRS-1, Akt, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and IGF-IR $\beta$-subunit, and increased the levels of the IGF-IR precursor dose dependently. Lycopene also decreased IGF-I-induced phosphorylation of IGF-IR$\beta$, IRS-1 and Akt, which were, at least in part, due to decreased expression of these proteins. These results suggest that lycopene induces apoptosis of HT-29 cells by inhibiting IGF-IR signaling thereby interfering with an IGF-II-driven autocrine growth loop, which is known to exist in this cell line.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.110-115
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• 2004

This study was undertaken to develop PCR primers for the simultaneous detection of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, using two species-specific reverse primers in combination with a single conserved forward primer. These primers target the variable and conserved regions of the 16S rDNA. The primer specificity was tested against (i) four F. nucleatum and three A. actinomycetemcomitans strains and (ii) seven representatives of the different species of oral bacteria. The primer sensitivity was determined by testing serial dilutions of the purified genomic DNA of F. nucleatum and A. actinomycetemcomitans. The data indicate that species-specific amplicons could be obtained for all the F. nucleatum and A. actinomycetemcomitans strains tested, which were not found in the seven other species. The multiplex PCR could detect as little as 4 fg of chromosomal DNA of F. nucleatum and A. actinomycetemcomitans simultaneously. These findings suggest that these PCR primers are highly sensitive and are suitable for applications in epidemiological studies, diagnosis, and monitoring F. nucleatum and A. actinomycetemcomitans after the treatment of periodontitis.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.289-294
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• 2010

Mandarin fish (SSOGARI: Korean name) has emerged as new aquaculture and aquarium fish among Korean native fish species. Unfortunately, this fish could not exempt from infectious agent invasion. As an epidemiological survey, high mortality of mandarin fish (Siniperca scherzeri) observed from a fish farm in Gyeongnam province of South Korea. The major macroscopic sign of the diseased fish was severe multifocal dermal ulceration. Histological observation revealed inflammation, necrosis and colonization of bacteria in various tissues. Seven bacterial isolates from the diseased fish were identified as Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida (typical A. salmonicida) using API 20E and 20NE system. However, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay using two different primers (AP and MIY) revealed that the bacterial strains were not typical A. salmonicida, but atypical A. salmonicida. This study demonstrates that PCR assay is a reliable method for the confirmation of atypical A. salmonicida in mandarin fish as compared to biochemical tests. Furthermore, this is the first account of extensive dermatitis in mandarin fish due to atypical A. salmonicida infection, which has high potential in aquaculture and aquarium fish among native fish species.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.299-305
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• 2015

Tapeworms of the genus Spirometra are pseudophyllidean cestodes endemic in Korea. At present, it is unclear which Spirometra species are responsible for causing human infections, and little information is available on the epidemiological profiles of Spirometra species infecting humans in Korea. Between 1979 and 2009, a total of 50 spargana from human patients and 2 adult specimens obtained from experimentally infected carnivorous animals were analyzed according to genetic and taxonomic criteria and classified as Spirometra erinaceieuropaei or Spirometra decipiens depending on the morphology. Morphologically, S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens are different in that the spirally coiled uterus in S. erinaceieuropaei has 5-7 complete coils, while in S. decipiens it has only 4.5 coils. In addition, there is a 9.3% (146/1,566) sequence different between S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens in the cox1 gene. Partial cox1 sequences (390 bp) from 35 Korean isolates showed 99.4% (388/390) similarity with the reference sequence of S. erinaceieuropaei from Korea (G1724; GenBank KJ599680) and an additional 15 Korean isolates revealed 99.2% (387/390) similarity with the reference sequences of S. decipiens from Korea (G1657; GenBank KJ599679). Based on morphologic and molecular databases, the estimated population ratio of S. erinaceieuropaei to S. decipiens was 35: 15. Our results indicate that both S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens found in Korea infect humans, with S. erinaceieuropaei being 2 times more prevalent than S. decipiens. This study is the first to report human sparganosis caused by S. decipiens in humans in Korea.