Background: Creating a new berberine liposome with high encapsulation efficiency and slow release formulation in the treatment of cancer is a new issue. Therefore, the aim of current study was to develop slow release berberine-containing nanoliposome for delivery to bone cancer cells Saos2. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, after synthesis nanoliposomal formulation, physical parameters, including size, zeta potential, and drug loading, in liposome were assessed using different techniques. Saos2 cell line was incubated in micro-plates containing Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) and FBS at 37˚C and 5% CO2. Cytotoxicity of nanoliposome was assessed using MTT assay. The release of drug from nanoliposome was assessed by dialysis method. P< 0.05 was assumed significant. Results: The size of drug-free nanoliposome and drug nanoliposome (berberine-nanoliposome) was 112.1 and 114.9 nm, respectively. The zeta potential of drug-free nanoliposome and drug- nanoliposome was –16.1 and –1.9 mv, respectively. There was no significant difference between control and drug-free nanoliposome groups regarding viability (p>0.05). The viability of cells in different concentration of nanoliposome containing berberines in Saos2 cell line was significantly higher than that in free berberines (p<0.05). The release of berberine at temperature 37 º C and pH 7.4 showed that approximately 47% of the drug was released in the first 12 hours of study and then the slow release of drug was continued. IC50 value of free berberine and berberine containing nanoliposome was 137.3 and 52.2 µg / ml, respectively. Conclusion: According to these findings, IC50 value of free berberine was 2.67 times more than berberine containing nanoliposome, indicating that nanoliposome containing berberine had more inhibition on growth of cancer cells than free berberine. In addition, the drug release was slow exposing the drug to the tumor for longer time at a lower dose and fewer injections, increasing the effect of the drug on cancer cells.

Background and Aim: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common malignant and invasive tumor of the brain. The relation between prognosis and survival of GBM patients with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) expression is challenging. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the prognosis and survival of patients with GBM and its relationship with EGFR expression. Materials and Methods: This single-arm cohort study was conducted on 70 patients with GBM during 2012-2018 in Shahid Rahnemoon and Mortaz hospitals. The immunohistochemistry technique was applied to paraffin blocks of brain tumors for examining EGFR expression. Other data were extracted from medical records. To determine the survival rate, the Kaplan–Meier curves were used. A chi-square test was used for the analysis of data. Statistically, p-value <0.05 was assumed significant. Results: The mean survival of patients with GBM was 22.3 ± 2.5 months (95% CI=17.41 - 27.10). In addition, 1, 2- and 5-year survival rates were 90%, 30% and 5%, respectively. The mean survival of patients with negative and positive EGFR was 27.4±7.3 and 20.6±2.4 months, respectively. Besides, 11.1% and 14.3% of patients in negative and positive EGFR groups were alive. There was no significant difference in patient’s survival in terms of EGFR expression (p=0.36). No significant difference was seen between the two groups (EGFR positive and negative groups), regarding the frequency of age, sex, tumor’s anatomical location, and place of living (p>0.05). Conclusion: Based on our study, it seems that the GBM tumor was associated with poor prognosis and a low survival rate. It was also found that the expression of the EGFR gene did not affect the survival rate of patients with GBM. Therefore, its use as a predictor factor for survival and prognosis is questionable.