Purpose: We aimed to study the inflammatory parameters of complete blood count in breast cancer cases. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study covered 178 breast cancer patients and 107 age and body mass index matched healthy women. Complete blood count parameters, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/ lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and MPV/platelet were analyzed. Results: The leukocyte, neutrophil and neutrophil/ lymphocyte ratio were higher in the patient group (p values 0.001, 0.0001 and 0.0001, respectively) while haemoglobin and hematocrit were higher in the control group (p=0.0001 for both). Logistic regression analysis showed that elevated neutrophils and platelet distribution width (PDW) (OR: 0.627, 95%CI: 0.508-0.774, p=0.001 and OR: 1.191 95%CI: 1.057-1.342 p=0.003) were independent variables for predicting breast cancer. The cutoff value for the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was 2.56. Conclusions: According to our study results, neutrophil levels as part of complete blood count may be used as an independent predictor of breast cancer risk.

OBJECTIVE:In this study, we aimed to compare the cardiovascular risk factors that might be associated with inflammation, atherosclerosis and metabolic syndrome between hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients.METHODS:Fifty hemodialysis and 50 peritoneal dialysis patients who had been receiving dialysis therapy for at least one year were included in the study. Venous blood samples were taken after 12 hours of fasting, and serum glucose, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and homocysteine levels were measured. The presence of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid artery was evaluated by carotid Doppler ultrasound. These data were analyzed by Student's t test, the chi-square test and the Mann-Whitney U test, as appropriate.RESULTS:No difference was found between the hemodialysis (n=50) and peritoneal dialysis (n=50) patient groups regarding mean age, gender distribution, body mass index or dialysis duration (p=0.269, 0.683, 0.426, and 0.052, respectively). LDL-cholesterol, fibrinogen and homocysteine levels were significantly higher in peritoneal dialysis patients (p=0.006, 0.001, and 0.002, respectively). In patients with diabetes mellitus (n=17) who were undergoing renal replacement therapy, LDL-cholesterol and fibrinogen levels were significantly higher than in patients without diabetes mellitus who were undergoing renal replacement therapy (p=0.001 and 0.004, respectively).CONCLUSION:In our study, cardiovascular risk factors (especially LDL-cholesterol) were more frequent in peritoneal dialysis patients than in hemodialysis patients.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent cause of cancer death in women throughout the world. Thus, it is necessary to establish sensitive screening, diagnosis and treatment methods for BC. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is an important cellular stress response protein that protects cells from apoptosis. Recent studies have shown that serum HSP70 levels may provide clinically important information in various types of cancer. HSP70 is also overexpressed in BC, which is known to be associated with cancer progression, apoptosis and cell proliferation. However, the serum level of HSP70 and its diagnostic and prognostic potential in BC have not been investigated yet. The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of serum HSP70 level as a diagnostic test and its predictive value in patients with BC. This prospective study consisted of 45 female patients diagnosed with BC and 16 healthy women who were matched for age and body mass index (BMI). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was used to measure the serum level of HSP70. The serum level of HSP70 was significantly higher in patients with BC than in the healthy control group (5.98 ± 2.05 vs. 1.49 ± 0.47 ng/ml, p = 0.001). HSP70 level > 2.41 ng/ml was the best cutoff value to predict BC (97.78% sensitivity and 93.75% specificity). This study shows that HSP70 can be used as an adjunct to other diagnostic tests for BC and may be helpful for identifying patients at increased risk of BC.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer type in women. Tumor markers have been widely used for assessing the treatment response and early diagnosis of recurrence. Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is expressed in ductal carcinoma of the breast tissue; however, its serum levels and their diagnostic and prognostic potential in breast cancer have not been investigated, which was therefore the aim of the present study. The serum levels of HE4 were determined in 36 breast cancer patients, 11 ovarian cancer patients and 16 healthy volunteers. The association between clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer and serum HE4 levels was investigated. A significant difference in the median serum levels of HE4 was identified between breast cancer patients, ovarian cancer patients and healthy volunteers (P=0.013). The cutoff value for the prediction of breast cancer was determined at >13.24 pmol/l for HE4, with a sensitivity of 61.11%, specificity of 68.75%, positive predictive value of 81.48%, negative predictive value of 44.0% and accuracy of 63.46%. Furthermore, a positive correlation between the serum levels of HE4 and cancer antigen 15-3 was determined (r=0.399, P=0.026). To the best of our knowledge, the present study was the first to determine the diagnostic value of serum HE4 for breast cancer. A significant elevation of serum HE4 levels in patients with breast cancer compared with that in healthy controls was identified. HE4 may serve as a novel biomarker for the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Bir palyatif bakım merkezinde yatan hastaların klinik özelliklerini incelemek ve uzun yatış süresi, hastaneden taburculuk durumu ile ilişkili faktörleri araştırmaktır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Kesitsel ve retrospektif bir çalışmadır. Palyatif bakım merkezinde 1 Ağustos 2015-30 Temmuz 2017 tarihleri arasında yatan hastaların dosyaları incelendi. Tüm hastaların demografik özellikleri, komorbid durumları, ilaç sayıları, yatış şikayetleri, ilk yatışındaki nutrisyon, bası yarası ve ağrı durumları değerlendirildi. Hastaların uzun yatış süresi (≥ 15 gün) ve taburculuk durumları (eve taburcu, ileri yoğun bakım merkezine sevk ve ölüm) ile ilişkili faktörler için değişkenler Spearman korelasyon testi ile analiz edildi. Bulgular: Çalışmaya alınan 319 hastanın (%55 Erkek, %45 Kadın) ortalama yaşı 71±15,8 ve ortalama yatış süresi 15,4±15,7 gündü. En sık üç komorbid hastalık malnütrisyon %59, malignite %44 ve enfeksiyon hastalığı %33 idi. En sık yatış şikayetleri oral alım bozukluğu %35, genel durum bozukluğu %19 ve ateş %17 idi. Uzun yatış süresi ile ilişkili pozitif faktörler ileri evre bası yarası (r=0,366; p<0,001), serebrovasküler hastalık (r=0,175; p=0,002), hipertansiyon (r=0,158; p=0,005) ve diabetes mellitusdur (r=0,129; p=0,021). Taburculuk durumu (ileri yoğun bakıma sevk ve/veya ölüm) ile ilişkili pozitif faktörler ise, malignite (r=0,234; p<0,001), opioid kullanımı (r=0,204; p<0,001), parenteral beslenme tipi (r=0,20; p<0,001) ve halsizlikyorgunluk semptomudur (r=0,115; p=0,041). Sonuç: İleri evre bası yarası hastanede yatış süresini uzatan en önemli faktördür. Hastaların taburculuk durumu için en etkili faktörler ise malignite, opioid kullanımı, parenteral beslenme tipi ve halsizlik-yorgunluk semptomunun varlığıdır.