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IntroductionEsophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is a diagnostic method used in the investigation of upper gastrointestinal system diseases. A high level of anxiety of patients who undergo EGD increases the duration of the procedure and the sedation and analgesic requirements. Sedation is used to increase patient comfort and tolerance by reducing the anxiety and pain associated with endoscopic procedures.AimIn this study, the effect of anxiety scores on medication doses was investigated in patients who underwent EGD under sedation.Material and methodsA psychiatrist, an endoscopist and an anesthesiologist conducted a prospective observational study blindly to investigate the effect of pre-procedural (before EGD) anxiety level on medication doses for sedation. Patients were divided into two groups, with and without additional medication doses.ResultsThe study included 210 consecutive patients who underwent EGD under sedation. The average STAI-S score was 40.28 and the average STAI-T score was 40.18. There was no relationship between anxiety scores and gender (p = 0.058, p = 0.869). Statistically significant results were obtained for anxiety scores with additional sedation dosing (p < 0.05). It was observed that an additional dose of medication was affected by age, body mass index and anxiety scores (p < 0.005). Patients who were young, had a low body mass index and had high anxiety scores had significantly higher additional dose requirements.ConclusionsThe medications used for sedation during EGD may be inadequate or an additional dose of medication may be needed for patients who have higher anxiety scores, younger age, and lower body mass index.

In this study, we compared the levels of C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5), C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and EphrinA7 (EphA7) in patients with colorectal carcinoma and healthy controls in order to investigate the significance and usability of these potential biomarkers in early diagnosis of colorectal cancer. The study included 70 colorectal carcinoma patients and 40 healthy individuals. The CCR5, CCL5, PDGF, and EphA7 levels were measured using ELISA in blood samples. PDGF-BB, EphA7, CCR5, and CCL5 levels of the patients with colorectal carcinoma were significantly higher compared to the control group (p < 0.001 for each comparison). Our logistic regression analysis (the area under the curve was 0.958) supports the notion that PDGF-BB, EphA7, and CCL5 are potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of colon cancer. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were found to be 87.9%, 87.5%, 92.1%, and 81.4%, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the relationship between colorectal carcinoma and the four biomarkers CCL5, CCR5, PDGF, and EphA7. The significantly elevated levels of all these parameters in the patient group compared to the healthy controls indicate that they can be used for the early diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma.

Recent research focused on prolonged survival has suggested that carboxypeptidase A4 (CPA4) plays a role in both tumor microenvironment formation and distant metastasis in cancer. In some patients, serum and expression (mRNA) levels of CPA4 have been found to be correlated with the aggressiveness and progression of the disease. Accordingly, we conducted a first study to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic significance of CPA4 in the case of breast cancer (BC), the most common form of malignancy in women. The study included a total of 50 patients with BC and 20 healthy women as the control group. The participants’ serum CPA4 levels were determined by the ELISA test, and, for assessment of CPA4 mRNA, we used the PCR method. The serum CPA4 (p = 0.001) and CPA4 mRNA (p = 0.015) levels were found to be statistically significantly higher in the controls, compared to the patient group. When the results of patient group were statistically analyzed based on subgrouping by tumor characteristics, the measured CPA4 mRNA levels showed significant difference with respect to the molecular subtype (p = 0.006), pN status (p = 0.023), and pathological stage (p = 0.039), while the serum CPA4 measurements differed significantly in terms of pathological type only (p = 0.024). We conclude that CPA4 is diagnostically and prognostically not futile when used in combination with the other considerations and measurements in breast cancer.

Background:Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in Turkey and worldwide, and is ranked as the second-leading cause of death in women after lung cancer. Early diagnosis of breast cancer is possible, and breast cancer is included in cancer-screening programs in Turkey. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and behaviour of young women (older than 20 years of age) on breast self-examination and breast cancer screening methods, and to determine the effect of sociodemographic characteristics.Methods:A total of 489 patients were included in the study. The mean age of participants was 36.53 ± 11.22 years. 346 (70.8%) of the participants were married. The study was a cross-sectional, non-randomized study in public health. The participants in this study were women over 20 years old, who presented to Arnavutkoy State Hospital General surgery policlinic and Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Family Medicine policlinic.Results:The rate and duration of breastfeeding were higher among participants living in rural areas than those living in urban areas (p<0.001) The awareness of breast cancer increased as the level of education increased (p<0.001). Having a family history of a high incidence of breast cancer significantly increased the rate of breast self examination practice by 1.93 fold (p=0.016).Conclusion:Breast Cancer is a disease that can be treated 100 % with early diagnosis. Primary care physicians especially works in lower socioeconomic conditions have to tell the importance of early diagnosis of breast cancer, and properly explain breast self examination and other screening tools.