Beste Atasoy

To determine the effects of two different radiation doses on sperm parameters and the role of testosterone treatment on rat spermatogenesis. The experimental animal study was conducted at Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey, from September 2012 to January 2013. Male Sprague Dawley 4-6 months old rats weighing 300-350g were randomely divided into 5 equal groups as control, low dose irradiation, testosterone administration following low dose irradiation, high dose irradiation, and testosterone administration following high dose irradiation. The animals were kept at a constant temperature in a room with 12h light and dark cycles. After the group-wise intervention, sperm concentration, testicular size, and histopathological examination of seminiferous tubules were noted. SPSS 10 was used for statistical analysis. The 40 rats in the study were divided in 5 groups of 8(20%) each. In low dose radiation, adverse effects were only temporarily observed with the return of almost normal testic...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of non-metastatic T4N0 nasopharyngeal cancer patients, and to compare them with other stage IVA subgroups of patients.PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 775 non-metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer patients, treated in four radiotherapy centers between 1990 and 2005, was undertaken. Among 197 stage IVA patients, 90 (11.6%) patients were staged as T4N0, 32 (4.1%) as T4N1, and 75 (9.7%) as T4N2. T4N0 patients constituted 40.8% of all T4 cases (median age 53 years; range 15 to 76 years). Cranial nerve involvement was detected in 59 (65.5%) of these cases.RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 38 months. There were only nine (10%) patients younger than 30 years of age with T4N0 tumors, for patients with diseases other than T4N0, 27.1% of the patients were under 30. Survival rates for five-year loco-regional progression free survival, distant failure free survival, and disease specific survival were 65.9%, 94%, and 71.4%, respectively. Distant failure free survival of T4N0 patients was more probable than for stage T4N1 (p=0.06) and T4N2 (p=0.008) patients.CONCLUSION: Non-metastatic T4N0 tumors have some distinct features, including a unimodal age distribution and a better distant failure free survival than the other subgroups of stage IVA. Therefore, it may be better to include T4N0 patients in stage III instead of stage IVA.

METHODS Sixty-four cancer centres/departments were invited to the study. Sixteen questions were designed to find out the general characteristics for evaluating and reporting acute and late toxicity in centres. The institutes' follow-up schedules and patients' general profiles that ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a specific diet, containing beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, L-glutamine and L-arginine (HMB/Glu/Arg), on chemoradiation-induced injuries of the rat gastrointestinal mucosa. Wistar albino rats were divided into 4 groups: control (n = 5); radiation (n = 14); 5-fluorouracil treatment (5-FU; n = 14); and radiation and 5-FU treatment (n = 14). Rats were fed either a standard diet or a specific diet (SpD) containing HMB/Glu/Arg supplementation for 7 days prior to radiation exposure and/or 5-FU treatment. The irradiated groups were exposed to an 1 Gy dose of 6 MV x rays delivered to the who-abdominal. The animals receiving 5-FU treatment were given a 100 mg/kg dose of the drug. In the radiation and 5-FU treatment group, the 5-FU was administered 30 min prior to irradiation. After irradiation and/or 5-FU treatment, feeding with either the standard rat diet or specific diet continued as before. All animals were sacrificed on day 4 after irradiation and 5-FU treatment. Data collected included microbiological, histological and immunohistochemical end points. We found that bacterial colony counts in the ceca and mesenteric lymph nodes of irradiated rats treated with 5-FU were significantly lower in the specific diet (SpD) group than in the standard diet group (P = 0.002-0.05). Morphometrically, gastric, duodenal and colonic mucosal injuries were less severe in the irradiated animals fed the specific diet, as well as the 5-FU-treated animals fed the specific diet, compared to the similarly treated standard diet groups. Apoptosis, measured by TUNEL, revealed significantly lower numbers of TUNEL positive cells in irradiated animals fed the specific diet, and irradiated animals treated with 5-FU and fed the specific diet compared to irradiated animals fed the standard diet, and irradiated animals treated with 5-FU and fed the standard diet. In the 5-Fu-treated and SpD group, the extent of apoptosis was significantly lower than that of the 5-Fu-treated and standard diet group in both the stomach and duodenum (P = 0.0001), but not in the colon. Apoptosis, measured by caspase 3 staining, was significantly less in all three organs of the SpD groups. In conclusion, these findings suggest that a diet supplemented with HMB/Glu/Arg may ameliorate the effect of radiation-induced gastrointestinal injury, coinciding with reduced bacterial growth.

To identify a high risk group of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who may benefit from preventive strategies in order to reduce the rate of brain metastasis. Two-hundred stage IIIA (47.5%) and IIIB (52.5%) NSCLC patients were analysed (median age 61 years, range 29-82). Pathological diagnosis consisted of 27% adenocarcinomas, 48.5% squamous cell carcinomas, and 24.5% non-small cell lung carcinomas. Brain metastasis rate was calculated and compared in relation to age, gender, stage, histology, chemotherapy and surgery. Median follow-up was 15 months (range 2-65), and the 2-year survival rate was 35%. Two-year incidence of brain metastasis was 23%. In univariate analysis, 32.9% of the patients younger than 60 years of age developed brain metastasis, in contrast to 15.3% of those older than 60 years (p=0.003). Brain was the first metastatic site in younger patients (44.4%) which was significantly higher than in the older age group (23%) (p=0.03). Adenocarcinoma had higher ri...

The objective of this study was to report on the quality of life of locally advanced rectal cancer patients that were treated with uracil-tegafur (UFT)/leucovorin (LV)-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Twenty-five patients were enrolled into this prospective study. Radiotherapy (50.4Gy) was given with concurrent UFT (300mg/m2/day) and LV (30mg/day). Turkish versions of EORTC-QLQC30 and EORTC QLQCR38 were applied at the beginning (HRQoL-1) and at the end (HRQoL-2) of chemoradiotherapy. Paired samples t-test was used to compare the difference of means for each scale between HRQoL1 and HRQoL2 and p values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Study compliance was 80.6%. From baseline to the end of chemoradiotherapy, the mean scores of dyspnea (p=0.006) diarrhea (p=0.005) and micturition (p=0.005) increased significantly. Chemotherapy side effects also increased at the end of therapy (p=0.07). Seventy-six percent (76%) of male patients replied to questions related to sex...

To evaluate the efficacy of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) for the treatment of brain metastases from non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and find out the prognostic factors for overall survival. Between February 1997 and August 2003 100 patients underwent treatment for 184 brain metastases from NSCLC, either for recurrence (n=49) or with a new diagnosis (n=51). Median age was 55 years and 77 patients were male. Seventy-eight of the patients received whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) prior to or after GKRS and 26 patients had surgical removal of the metastasis. Imaging and clinical status were monitored every 3 months following treatment. Kaplan-Meier survival curves, Cox proportional hazards regression for risk factor analysis were used. The median follow up after the procedure was 8 months and after the diagnosis 11 months. The median overall survival for all patients was 9 months from the date of GKRS and 14 months from the diagnosis of brain metastasis. Local tumor control was ach...

Nasopharyngeal presentation of Hodgkin's disease (HD) is an uncommon event with relatively favorable prognosis. It is predominantly seen in males and most papers are case reports. Here, we report an unusual case in a female patient with stage IA(E)HD treated by radiotherapy (RT), and achieving complete disease remission, lasting 26(+) months.

We have previously shown that human bladder tumor cell lines may be adapted to grow in the complete absence of serum or any other growth supplement and that this can be explained on the basis of autocrine stimulation. In the present study we have extended the number of cell lines that could be established as serum-free cultures and found this capacity to be correlated with tumor malignancy. We also used the receptor blocking monoclonal antibody, mAb 528, to study its effect on tumor cell growth. Inhibition was observed in all of seven bladder carcinoma cell lines tested. A similar effect was observed in two colon carcinoma cell lines but not in a melanoma line. The results show that the EGFR is involved in autocrine growth stimulation and that the acquirement of autonomous growth capacity is likely to be an important factor in the oncogenesis of bladder tumors.

To assess the side effects of cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). From 2001 through 2007, 34 (27 males; 7 females) patients received a median of 70 Gy curative radiotherapy (RT) with conventional fractionation. Twenty-one (62%) patients received induction chemotherapy (CT): 8 of them received 2 courses of cisplatin (75 mg/m(2), day 1) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (750 mg/m(2), days 1-5) every 3 weeks and 13 patients received 3 courses of cisplatin (75 mg/m(2), day 1) and docetaxel (75 mg/m(2), day 1) every 3 weeks. Concomitant cisplatin was administered either 40 mg/m(2) weekly (n=8) or 75-80 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks (n=26) during RT. Median Karnofsky performance status (KPS) prior to RT was 80 (range 70-90). Patient, disease and treatment-related factors were analysed in relation to termination of concurrent CT. Concurrent CT was administered to 13 (38.2%) patients without cisplatin termination, whereas 10 (29.4%) patients received 2 cycles of the 3-weekly schedule. Grade 3 oral mucositis (47.1%), grade 2-3 weight loss (44.2%) and grade 2 fatigue (44.1%) were the most frequently dose-limiting side effects during concurrent therapy. The rate of receiving cisplatin cycles as planned was 85% for patients with KPS >80, whilst it was 15% only for patients with KPS < or = 80 (p=0.006). None of the patients suffering of grade 2 fatigue could complete all cycles compared to 68% of patients with < grade 2 fatigue who completed all cycles (p <0.001). The severity of mucositis was significantly related to initial haemoglobin level (p=0.02) and weight loss during RT (p=0.04). Median follow-up was 20 months (range 5-65). Three-year locoregional relapse free (LRRFS), disease free (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 79.3%, 68.8% and 79.2%, respectively. Concurrent administration of CT during RT reveals better outcome but requires careful consideration for toxicity. Initial performance status prior to CRT might be a predictor for unplanned CT stopping due to side effects.

... Beste M. ATASOY 1 , Zerrin ÖZGEN 2 , Özlem YÜKSEK KANTAŞ 3 , Birsen DEMİREL 4 , Atınç AKSU 5 , Faysal DANE 6 , M. Kemal KUŞÇU 7 , İlknur ALSAN ÇETİN 1 , Roman ... Aile, arkadaş, özel kişi desteğini belirlemek üzere dört maddeden oluşan üç alt ölçeği vardır. ...

Objective: In this study, we report our neoadjuvant/definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) experience in locally advanced esophageal cancer patients. Patients and Methods: A total of 15 patients were retrospectively evaluated. Histological diagnosis were as follows: ...

METHODS Sixty-four cancer centres/departments were invited to the study. Sixteen questions were designed to find out the general characteristics for evaluating and reporting acute and late toxicity in centres. The institutes' follow-up schedules and patients' general profiles that ...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the treatment results and tumor and patient characteristics in patients with resectable locally advanced rectum cancer (LARC) who were treated with preoperative chemoradiation. METHODS: T3/T4 rectal adenocarcinoma patients (n=50) were ...

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Abstract:  The objective of this study was to examine the potential radioprotective properties of pharmacological doses of melatonin on corpus cavernosum and bladder tissues of whole-body irradiated (IR) rats. A total of 32 male Sprague–Dawley rats were exposed to irradiation performed with a LINAC which produced 6 MV photons at a focus 100 cm distant from the skin. Under ketamine anesthesia, each rat received a single whole-body dose of 800 cGy. Immediately before and after IR, rats were treated with either saline or melatonin (20 and 10 mg/kg, i.p.) and decapitated at 12 hr after exposure to irradiation. Another group of rats was followed for 72 hr after IR, where melatonin injections were repeated once daily. Tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), an index of lipid peroxidation, and glutathione (GSH), a key antioxidant, were estimated in corpus cavernosum and urinary bladder. Tissues were also examined microscopically. The results demonstrate that both 12 and 72 hr following IR, tissue levels of MDA were elevated (P < 0.001), while GSH levels were reduced (P < 0.01) in both tissues. On the other hand, melatonin reversed these changes significantly (P < 0.05–0.01), concomitant with the improvement in histological appearances. Our results show that whole-body irradiation causes oxidative damage in the tissues of the genitourinary system. As melatonin administration reversed oxidative organ injury, as assessed by biochemical and histopathological findings, it is suggested that supplementing cancer patients with adjuvant therapy of melatonin may have some benefit for successful radiotherapy.

The current standard therapy for newly diagnosed glioblastoma is multimodal, comprising surgical resection plus radiotherapy and concurrent temozolomide, then adjuvant temozolomide for 6 months. This has been shown to provide survival benefits; however, the prognosis for these patients remains poor, and most relapse. The objective of this prospective Phase II study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of protracted, dose-dense temozolomide therapy (100 mg/m2 for 21 consecutive days of a 28-day cycle) in patients with recurrent glioblastoma or grade 3 gliomas who had previously received standard therapy. Of the 25 patients included (median age 50 years), 20 were evaluable for radiologic response. Two patients had partial responses and 10 had stable disease (60% overall clinical benefit); 8 patients (40%) progressed after the first treatment cycle. Five patients were not assessed for radiologic response due to early clinical progression but were included in the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) analyses. The median follow-up time was 7 months (range, 1–14 months). The median PFS was 3 months (95% confidence interval, CI, 1.8–4.2) and the median OS was 7 months (95% CI 5.1–8.9). The 6-month PFS rate (primary endpoint) was 17.3% (95% CI 1.7–32.2) and the 1-year OS rate was 12% (95% CI −1–25). This regimen was well tolerated. The most frequent adverse event was lymphopenia (grade 3–4 in 20 patients); no opportunistic infections were reported. Treatment was discontinued due to toxicity in 2 patients (grade 4 hepatic toxicity and thrombocytopenia). These data suggest that protracted, dose-dense temozolomide had modest activity with manageable toxicity in patients with recurrent high-grade glioma previously treated with temozolomide.