To prepare and evaluate an allopurinol mouth rinse for prophylaxis of fluorouracil-induced mucositis, 33 patients with malignant disorders, who were going to receive 5-fluorouracil containing chemotherapy, were enrolled in a placebo-controlled double-blinded randomized clinical trial. Allopurinol mouthwash (1 mg/ml) or placebo was administered 1, 2 and 3 h after chemotherapy and three consecutive nights. A questionnaire consisting of demographic parameters, medical status, quality of life survey and mucosal injury scoring table (based on World Health Organization scales for mucositis) was completed for each patient at Day 1, 3 and 7 after chemotherapy. In allopurinol group nine participants (60.0%) were female and in placebo group, 10 (66.7%) (P = 0.705). Mean ages were 56.9 +/- 10.3 and 49.5 +/- 13.8 years in allopurinol and placebo groups respectively (P = 0.107). The analysis showed that the higher education level and the use of dentures significantly reduced the occurrence of mucositis, and allopurinol mouth rinse (1 mg/ml) was ineffective in the prophylaxis of fluorouracil-induced mucositis.

The main goal of this study is to lay out the map of the soil radionuclide activity concentrations and the terrestrial outdoor gamma dose rates in the western Mazandaran Province of Iran, and to present an evaluation scheme. Mazandaran Province was selected due to its special geographical characteristics, high population density and the long terrestrial and aquatic borders with the neighbouring countries possessing nuclear facilities. A total of 54 topsoil samples were collected, ranging from the Nour to Ramsar regions, and were based on geological conditions, vegetation coverage and the sampling standards outlined by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The excess lifetime cancer risks (ELCRs) were evaluated and the coordinates of sampling locations were determined by the global positioning system. The average terrestrial outdoor gamma dose rate was 612.38 ± 3707.93 nGy h(-1), at 1 m above the ground. The annual effective gamma dose at the western part of Mazandaran Province was 750 μSv, and the ELCR was 0.26 × 10(-2). Soil samples were analysed by gamma spectrometry with a high-purity germanium detector. The average (226)Ra, (232)Th, (40)K and (137)Cs activities were 1188.50 ± 7838.40, 64.92 ± 162.26, 545.10 ± 139.42 and 10.41 ± 7.86 Bq kg(-1), respectively. The average soil radionuclide concentrations at the western part of Mazandaran Province were higher than the worldwide range. The excess lifetime risks of cancer and the annual effective gamma doses were also higher than the global average.

The electrophoretic pattern of serum proteins of 85 patients carrying different types of neoplasia and 85 matched healthy adults were comparatively studied by agarose gel electrophoresis, to find out if there is a specific protein pattern common to different types of cancer. Each protein fraction was analyzed quantitatively by densitometry. Multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed using SPSS software. When total protein and albumin were measured by colorimetric methods, cancer patients, compared to controls, had a decreased concentration of total protein (66.0+/-11.5 g/L vs. 76.4+/-6.8 g/L, p< or =0.0001) and of albumin (39.0+/-8.1 g/L vs. 46.0+/-4.3 g/L, p< or =0.0001). The electrophoretic data of serum proteins showed that the ratio of albumin to globulin (0.92+/-0.30 vs. 1.21+/-0.16, p< or =0.0001), percent of the fractions albumin (46.7+/-8.5% vs. 54.4+/-3.5%, p< or =0.0001) and beta-globulin (11.6+/-4.4% vs. 13.0+/-1.9%, p< or =0.001) were decreased and alpha(1)- (5.3+/-2.5% vs. 2.9+/-0.8%, p< or =0.0001), alpha(2)- (13.5+/-4.8% vs. 11.3+/-2.1%, p< or =0.0001) and gamma-globulins (23.0+/-7.7% vs. 18.3+/-3.1%, p< or =0.0001) were significantly increased in cancer patients relative to controls. Cancer patients also had higher counts of leukocytes (7.98+/-3.11, x10(9) cells/L vs. 6.33+/-1.68 x10(9) cells/L, p< or =0.0001) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (35.9+/-23.5 mm/h vs. 14.1+/-9.5 mm/h,p< / =0.0001). On the basis of univariate analysis, a protein profile out of the normal ranges was more prevalent in cancer patients than in controls. Analysis of the data using multiple logistic regression indicated that the prevalence of cancer was strongly associated with the serum proteins' profile, and alpha(1)-globulin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, total protein and the ratio of albumin to globulin were the best parameters to discriminate between malignant and healthy states. The area under the ROC curves were the same for most components of the serum proteins' profile at about 0.75+/-0.09, p< or =0.001. We conclude that the profile of serum proteins indicates high diagnostic values for discriminating between cancer patients and healthy individuals and may be useful as an adjunct diagnosis for detection of malignancy.

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