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Background The role strain is still high for women within Iranian families. This can be further compounded by diseases such as cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the functional status of women with cancer and its relationship with symptoms experienced by women during the period of the disease. Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out with 150 women with the cancer diagnosis who were referred to the Cancer Clinic of Shahid Ghazi Tabatabai Hospital in Tabriz, Iran. The Comprehensive Inventory of Functioning (CIF-CA) was used to evaluate their functional status. Result The mean total performance of participants was 3.06(± 0.51), and the range of mean variation scores was between 1.83 and 5. Regarding the housework dimension, women reported less function in all of activities while in the social dimension, participation in social and religious activities waned. In the dimension of personal activities, majority of women reported rest and sleep during the day. Conclusion Clinicians should explore the use of rehabilitation programmes to ensure that a holistic approach to care for women with cancer is given priority in order to improve the quality of life of these women and subsequently their roles in family and society.

Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are effective regulators of gene expression that play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC) and various other cancers. The high prevalence of aberrant miRNA expression in CRC suggests that they can be used as biomarkers and anticancer molecules for therapeutic purposes. There is evidence that microRNA-299-5p (miR-299-5p) is associated with vital cell processes (e.g. epithelial-mesenchymal transition, proliferation, and tumorigenicity) and its improper expression with tumorigenesis in many types of human cancer. This prospective study investigated the contribution of miR-299-5p to CRC tumorigenesis. Methods The real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to examine miR-299-5p expression levels prospectively in 40 sample pairs of CRC tissue and adjacent noncancerous tissue (>2 cm from cancer tissue). The ability of miR-299-5p to function as a tumor marker was also examined. Results The expression levels of miR-299-5p were significantly downregulated in the group of CRC samples compared with matched noncancerous tissue samples. No significant relationship was found between miR-299-5p expression levels and clinicopathological features. Receiver operating characteristic analysis gave an area under the curve of 71% for miR-299-5p with 68% sensitivity and 78% specificity (P=0.001). Conclusion The miRNA miR-299-5p may be considered as a tumor marker in CRC and could be of assistance as a potential predictive biomarker in the diagnosis of this cancer. Keywords Colorectal cancer, biomarker, microRNA, miR-299-5p Ann Gastroenterol 2017; 30 (3): 322-326

MicroRNAs, a class of gene expression regulatory non-coding RNAs, participate in the pathogenic mechanisms of gastric cancer which is one of the life-treating cancers. Due to its aberrant expression in some types of human cancer, miR-383 has the value of being investigated in relation to cancer treatment and diagnosis. MiR-383 is placed in intron of SGCZ, a protein-coding gene, which is subject to dysregulation in various diseases. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the contribution of miR-383 to intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma tumorigenesis. The expression level of miR-383 was investigated by qRT-PCR in pairs of tumorous and adjacent tumor-free tissues of 40 patients with gastric cancer during endoscopy. Also, the susceptibility of miR-383 as a tumor marker and the relationship between its aberrant expression and clinicopathological features were determined. qRT-PCR data showed that miR-383 was dysregulated during gastric tumorigenesis. MiR-383 was dramatically downregulated up to sevenfold in intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma compared with adjacent tumor-free tissues (P

Introduction Mature microRNAs (miRNAs) are a large class of gene regulators, regulating 60% of mammalian genes. A cluster of miRNAs is located at 14q32.31 chromosomal region; this cluster is associated with human malignancy. MiR-411 is located in chromosomal region 14q32.31 that contains many tumor suppressive microRNAs. This study is designed to investigate the expression of miR-411 in tissue samples of gastric adenocarcinoma compared with their normal compartments, as well as to study the association between miR-411 expression and clinicopathological parameters. Materials The present study included a total of 40 patients (28 males and 18 females) who suffered from gastric cancer between 2014 and 2015. Total RNA was extracted by Trizol solution, and miRNA expression level was examined by qRT-PCR. Results The results revealed that miR-411 was significantly downregulated in the patient group. Moreover, no relation was found between miR-411 expression and clinicopathological figures. Conclusion The results of the present study were consistent with previous reports indicating the downregulation of miR-411 in cancer tissues. The findings of this study may help better understand the molecular mechanism involved in gastric cancer tumorigenesis and confirm that miR-411 can be helpful in distinguishing between malignant and normal gastric cancer tissues.

MicroRNAs are non-coding RNAs that regulate the gene expression at post-transcriptional level. This futuristic study characterized the contribution of miR-1287 to the colorectal cancer (CRC) tumorigenesis. The real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction was used to examine miR-1287 expression levels, prospectively in 40 pairs of CRC tissue samples and adjacent noncancerous tissues (>2 cm from cancer tissue). No significant relationship was found between miR-1287 expression levels and clinicopathological features. Showing significant changes overall, MiR-1287 was significantly upregulated in the group of CRC samples compared with matched noncancerous tissue samples. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve also showed ROC area (AROC) of 34 % with 1.0 and 0.02 sensitivity and specificity, respectively. Expression of miR-1287, with a value of 0.34, P value = 1.98, and P > 0.05, revealed that this microRNA has a low sensitivity and specificity to be regarded as a tumor marker. With regard to recent increased rate of CRC in the world, the present study may be a contribution, though very small, in the diagnosis and consequently in the treatment of CRC patients.

Introduction: Studies show that some of the factors such as pain and psychological changes could decrease the quality of life of patients with cancer. The understanding of these factors can enhance the effectiveness and process of cancer treatment. Therefore this study was conducted to investigate the quality of life in women with cancer and its influencing factors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study which was carried out in the city of Tabriz in the northwestern part of Iran in 2016. The sample consisted of 150 women diagnosed with cancer. The EORTC QLQ-C30 (version 3) was used for evaluating the quality of life of the women. The collected data were analyzed in the SPSS ver. 13 using descriptive and inferential statistics. Also, t-test and ANOVA test were applied to investigate the correlation between the dimensions of quality of life and socio-demographic variables. P < 0.05 denoted as statistically significant. Results: The results showed that the quality of life in the function and symptoms dimensions were in acceptable levels. In the function dimension, the highest and lowest scores belonged to the cognitive and emotional domains, respectively. Also, those women who had the symptoms of insomnia and fatigue, and reported the pressure due to financial burden of cancer treatment had a significantly lower quality of life. A low score was reported in general health dimension. No statistically significant relationships were reported between the socio-demographic characteristics and the women’s quality of life and its dimensions. Conclusion: Since sleeplessness and fatigue reduce the quality of life in women with cancer, nursing interventions are required to relieve cancer-related symptoms. The financial burden of cancer treatment is high. Therefore, governmental and insurance agencies should help with the costs paid by the patients and prevent from reducing their quality of life.

The abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) plays a key role in colorectal cancer (CRC). The present study attempted to identify the potential miRNA biomarkers of CRC due to the important role of microRNAs within the DLK1-DIO3 genomic region, especially the role of mir-411-5p in other cancers. This prospective study characterized the contribution of mir-411-5p to CRC tumorigenesis. The Real-time quantitative reverse-transcription –polymerase chain reaction was used to examine miR-411-5p expression levels prospectively in 40 pairs of samples of CRC tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues (>2 cm from cancer tissue). Also, the relationship between miR-411-5p expression levels and clinicopathological characteristics was explored. The capability of miR-411-5p to function as a tumor marker in CRC was also examined. MiR-411-5p was significantly downregulated in a group of CRC samples compared with matched noncancerous tissues. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve also showed ROC area of 68% for miR-411-5p (P value=0.006) with 70% and 65% sensitivity and specificity, respectively. According to the survey results, miR-411-5p might be considered as a tumor marker in CRC and it might be a promising therapeutic option which may help prevent CRC.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are impressive regulators of gene expression that have a critical role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). With respect to the aberrant expression of miRNA-383 (miR-383) in some types of human malignancy, this prospective study characterized its contribution to CRC tumorigenesis. The real-time reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction was used to examine miR-383 expression levels prospectively in 40 sample pairs of CRC tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues (>2 cm from cancer tissue). No significant relationship was found between miR-383 expression levels and clinicopathological features. The ability of miR-383 to function as a tumor marker was also examined. Showing significant changes overall, miR-383 expression levels were significantly down regulated in the group of CRC samples compared with matched noncancerous tissue samples. A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve also showed ROC area of 70% for miR-383 with 68 and 75% sensitivity and specificity, respectively. Therefore, miR-383 can be considered as a tumor marker in CRC and help as a potential predictive biomarker in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs, containing about 22 nucleotides and having a pivotal function in various cellular processes. The oncogenic and tumor suppressor roles of miRNAs have been identified in cancers especially in gastric cancer, which is one of the most prevalent cancers. MiR-299-5p is located in the imprinted Dlk1-Dio3 region in chromosome 14q32. Aberrant expression of miR-299-5p was determined in solid and blood cancers. The current study was performed to assess the expression pattern of miR-299-5p in intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma and compare it with the normal adjacent counterparts. The expression level of miR-299-5p was investigated in forty fresh specimens which were obtained from gastric cancer patients during endoscopy. Moreover, the association of aberrant expression of miR-299-5p and clinicopathological features, as well as the susceptibility of miR-299-5p as a tumor marker, was determined. The result of qRT-PCR revealed the downregulation of miR-299-5p in intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma compared with adjacent tumor-free tissues (P