Stereotaxic Interstitial Laser Therapy of Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Abstract: Coagulation leading to fibrosis of mammo-graphically detected breast cancers by interstitial laser therapy was tested as an alternative to surgical removal. Availability of computerized stereotaxic digital imaging allows the precise placement of laser and thermal needles into the target tumor and its controlled ablation by heat. The methodology of interstitial laser therapy (ILT), evolution of the subsequently removed tumors, and their histologic appearance are outlined.
Eight patients with mammographically well-defined tumors were selected. Definitive diagnosis and receptor evaluation were made on core biopsies. Under local anesthesia, stereotaxically guided diode laser energy at 5–10 w was delivered via a 400 xm fiber in a 19-gauge needle placed into the center of the tumor until the peripheral temperature exceeded 60°C. Patients experienced transient pain and pyrexia. Subsequent to ILT, seven invasive carcinomas were excised while one case of multiple papillomas was kept under surveillance. Histologic study revealed central necrosis but some peripheral residual tumor in the first five cases. In the last two, central necrosis surrounded by concentrically arranged, recognizable but severely injured, focally "windswept" and "ghostlike" tumor and granulation tissue were noted. The multiple papillomas showed radiologic shrinkage at 5 months and extensive fibrosis on needle biopsy.
ILT is an attractive new method of treating small, well-defined breast tumors and offers a potentially significant alternative to surgical removal; further exploration is warranted.     

Association between epstein barr virus and tongue squamous cell carcinoma in iranian patients

Detection of Epstein-Barr virus in oral squamous cell carcinoma suggests its involvement in the carcinogenesis of oral cavity. But, there are few studies on the incidence of EBV genome in squamous cell carcinomas at specific locations in the oral cavity like tongue and with different tumor progression. In this study the presence of EBV genome in tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma (TSCC) in Iranian patients were investigated. Accordingly, a total of 94 cases with TSCC were firstly analyzed for the presence of viral genome through Nested PCR. Patients were divided into different groups based on their gender and the size, nodal involvement, grade and stage of their tumor. Results showed the presence of EBV genome in 72.3% of TSCCs with no significant difference between two genders, although slightly higher in females. Interestingly, PCR products of EBV genome showed a statistically significant higher distribution in TSCCs at IVa stage (p = 0.04), while a considerable low involvement of EBV genome was seen in T1-sized tumors. The result of this study further emphasizes the role of EBV in oral SCCs – mainly at tongue. This is the first investigation to clarify the association between EBV genome and different tumor size and stage in TSCCs; however, more studies in different regions and larger populations should be performed to be able to draw a firmed conclusion.     

High rate of A2142G point mutation associated with clarithromycin resistance among Iranian Helicobacter pylori clinical isolates

This study aimed to investigate the clarithromycin resistance and its associated molecular mechanisms among Helicobacter pylori isolates from dyspeptic patients in Shiraz, Iran. From January to May 2014, 100 H. pylori strains were isolated from patients with gastroduodenal disorders. The resistance to clarithromycin was quantitatively evaluated, using Epsilometer (E‐test) method. Polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) was performed on all the isolates to detect A2143G and A2142G mutations in 23S rRNA gene. The H. pylori isolation rate was found to be 31.4%. E‐test showed that 20% of isolates were resistant to clarithromycin (MIC ≥ 1 mg/L). MIC of clarithromycin ranged between 0.016 and 24 mg/L. Findings of PCR‐RFLP showed that the A2142G was the most (90%) frequently point mutation, followed by the A2143G (10%). No statistically significant difference was found between H. pylori clarithromycin resistance point mutations and patients’ gender or age. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of high frequency of A2142G point mutation in Iran and probably in other regions of the world. Considering the increasing trend of H. pylori resistance to clarithromycin due to these mutations, it is crucial to investigate the new therapeutic approaches against H. pylori infection.     

Determination of florfenicol residue in rainbow trout muscles by HPLC in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari Province, Iran

Florfenicol residues in cultured rainbow trout muscles were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography with a regulatory surveillance purpose. A total of 40 randomly selected rainbow trout fish were collected to evaluate florfenicol residue. According to the results, concentrations of the antibiotic in fish muscle were in the range of 0.4–3.6 μg g^?1 (mean?=?0.8). The results show that 14 of 40 studied samples (35 %) contained florfenicol, and the concentration of florfenicol in five samples (12.5 %) was higher than maximum allowable level (1 mg kg^?1). The results of this study prove the hypothesis that fish farmers use this antibiotic in large scale.     

Segmentation of breast ultrasound images based on active contours using neutrosophic theory

Purpose

Ultrasound imaging is an effective approach for diagnosing breast cancer, but it is highly operator-dependent. Recent advances in computer-aided diagnosis have suggested that it can assist physicians in diagnosis. Definition of the region of interest before computer analysis is still needed. Since manual outlining of the tumor contour is tedious and time-consuming for a physician, developing an automatic segmentation method is important for clinical application.

Methods

The present paper represents a novel method to segment breast ultrasound images. It utilizes a combination of region-based active contour and neutrosophic theory to overcome the natural properties of ultrasound images including speckle noise and tissue-related textures. First, due to inherent speckle noise and low contrast of these images, we have utilized a non-local means filter and fuzzy logic method for denoising and image enhancement, respectively. This paper presents an improved weighted region-scalable active contour to segment breast ultrasound images using a new feature derived from neutrosophic theory.

Results

This method has been applied to 36 breast ultrasound images. It generates true-positive and false-positive results, and similarity of 95%, 6%, and 90%, respectively.

Conclusion

The purposed method indicates clear advantages over other conventional methods of active contour segmentation, i.e., region-scalable fitting energy and weighted region-scalable fitting energy.

     

An ultrasonographic investigation of deep neck flexor muscles cross-sectional area in forward and normal head posture

Background

As one of the most common work-related musculoskeletal disorders and postural deviations, forward head posture (FHP), is considered to lead to muscle imbalance.