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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most frequent cancer of digestive tract tumors in Peru, with a high mortality rate of 17.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. A significant number of HCC cases in Peru do not follow the classic clinical epidemiology of the disease described in other parts of the world. Those patients present with a distinct transcriptome profile and a singular tumor process, suggesting a particular type of hepatocarcinogenesis in a portion of the Peruvian population. Our aim was to understand the clinical and biologic involvement of the epigenetic profile (methylation) and gene expression (transcriptome) of HCC in Peruvian patients.

En Perú, el carcinoma hepatocelular (CHC) ocupa el tercer lugar en incidencia entre los tumores del sistema digestivo, y tiene una alta tasa de mortalidad, 17.7 por 100,000 habitantes. La mayoría de los casos reportados no presentan la epidemiología clínica clásica del CHC observado en otras partes del mundo. Además, se ha identificado que estos pacientes presentan un perfil transcriptómico distinto y un proceso tumoral singular, sugiriendo un proceso particular de hepatocarcinogénesis en una fracción de la población peruana.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between the severity of Low Back Pain (LBP), as measured by the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire, and the single-leg stance test time in a population of individuals with documented LBP. SUBJECTS: Thirty-seven subjects, ranging from 18-69 years of age, were recruited from seven outpatient orthopedic clinics. There were 20 male and 17 female participants with a mean age of 42.2 years. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Prior to testing, a health questionnaire was administered to screen out individuals with medical problems that could potentially affect their balance. Subjects were then given the self-administered Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire. Following completion of the questionnaire, the subjects performed the single-leg stance test on a 5 x 2.5 ft laminated platform which had a 4 inch block of foam placed between the two marks for foot placement. The individuals were allowed a practice trial on each leg and, then, were timed on each leg with a stopwatch. ANALYSES: Means and standard deviations were assessed for the variables age, number of treatments received, Oswestry score, and single-leg stance time for trial 1 and 2. Correlation coefficients were calculated for Oswestry score/ single-leg stance time for both time trials. RESULTS: This study showed no statistically significant relationship or association between Oswestry score as a measure of LBP and single-leg stance time (r=-0.1, p=0.53 trial 1 and r=-0.14, p=0.40 trial 2). The subjects' age, gender, and number of physical therapy treatments received also showed no statistically significant relationship with single-leg stance time. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our study, the single-leg stance test should not be used as a clinical measurement tool to determine disability as measured by the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire., Syms J, Appleton S, Atkinson D, Blosser J, Hwang A, Kilgore C, Rehe S, Zambrano S. School of Allied Health Professions, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, [...]