Bone mineral density in healthy female adolescents according to age, bone age and pubertal breast stage

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Densidade mineral óssea de adolescentes saudáveis do sexo feminino

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Densidade mineral óssea de adolescentes do sexo feminino e suas relaçoes com biomarcadores ósseos

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Relationship between chronological and bone ages and pubertal stage of breasts with bone biomarkers and bone mineral density in adolescents

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A soy-based product fermented by Enterococcus faecium and Lactobacillus helveticus inhibits the development of murine breast adenocarcinoma

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Development and characterization of a new bio-nanocomposite (bio-NCP) for diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer

Breast cancer is a public health problem throughout the world. Moreover, breast cancer cells have a great affinity for hydroxyapatite, leading to a high occurrence of bone metastasis. In this work we developed a bio-nanocomposite (bio-NCP) in order to use such affinity in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The bio-NCP consists of magnetic nanoparticles of Mn and Zn ferrite inside a polymeric coating (chitosan) modified with nanocrystals of apatite. The materials were characterized with synchrotron X-ray Powder Diffraction (XPD), Time-of-Flight Neutron Powder Diffraction (NPD), Fourier Transformed Infra-red Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and magnetic measurement with a Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS). We obtained ferrite nanoparticles with a high inversion degree of the spinel structure regarding the Fe and Mn, but with all the Zn in the A site. The coating of such nanoparticles with chitosan had no notable effects to the ferrite microstructure. In addition, the polymeric surface can be easily modified with apatite nanocrystals since the hydration of the bio-NCP during synthesis can be controlled. The resulting bio-NCP presents a spherical shape with a narrow size distribution and high magnetic response at room temperature and is a very promising material for early diagnosis of breast cancer and its treatment. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Polymorphisms of Lewis and Secretor genes are related to breast cancer and metastasis in axillary lymph nodes

ABH and Lewis antigen expression has been associated with cancer development and prognosis, tumor differentiation, and metastasis. Considering that invasive ductal breast carcinoma (IDC) presents multiple molecular alterations, the aim of the present study was to determine whether the polymorphism of ABO, Lewis, and Secretor genes, as well as ABO phenotyping, could be associated with tumor differentiation and lymph nodes metastasis. Seventy-six women with IDC and 78 healthy female blood donors were submitted to ABO phenotyping/genotyping and Lewis and Secretor genotyping. Phenotyping was performed by hemagglutination and genotyping by the polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers. ABO, Lewis, and Secretor genes were classified by individual single nucleotide polymorphism at sites 59, 1067, 202, and 314 of the Lewis gene, 428 of the Secretor gene, and 261 (O1 allele), 526 (O2 and B allele), and 703 (B allele). No association was found between breast cancer and ABO antigen expression (P = 0.9323) or genotype (P = 0.9356). Lewis-negative genotype was associated with IDC (P = 0.0126) but not with anatomoclinical parameters. Nonsecretor genotype was associated with axillary lymph node metastasis (P = 0.0149). In conclusion, Lewis and Secretor genotyping could be useful to predict respectively breast cancer susceptibility and axillary lymph nodes metastasis.

Absence of transforming growth factor-beta type II receptor is associated with poorer prognosis in HER2-negative breast tumours

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

CYTOGENETIC REPORT OF A MALE BREAST-CANCER

The cytogenetic findings on G-banding in an infiltrating ductal breast carcinoma in a 69-year-old man are reported. The main abnormalities observed were trisomy of chromosomes 8 and 9 and structural rearrangement in the long arm of chromosome 17 (add(17)(q25)). Our results confirm the trisomy of chromosome 8 in the characterization of the subtype of ductal breast carcinomas and demonstrate that chromosome 17, which is frequently involved in female breast cancers, is also responsible for the development or progression of primary breast cancers in males.

Glutathione transferase pi (GSTpi) expression in breast cancer: An immunohistochemical and molecular study

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Cytogenetic evaluation of 20 primary breast carcinomas

Chromosome analysis was performed on samples from 20 Brazilian patients with breast cancer. All the samples were from untreated patients who presented the clinical symptoms for months or years before surgical intervention. Six cases showed axillary lymph node metastases. Clonal chromosome abnormalities were detected in all cases. The numerical alterations most frequently observed involved the loss of chromosomes X, 19, 20, and 22 followed by gain of chromosomes 9 and 8. Among the structural anomalies observed, there was preferential involvement of chromosomes 11, 6, 1, 7, 3, and 12, supporting previous reports that these chromosomes may harbour genes of importance in the development of breast tumors. Two cases with a family history of breast cancer had in common total or partial trisomy 1.

Shorter CAG repeat in the AR gene is associated with atypical hyperplasia and breast carcinoma

Background: Previous reports into the role of [CAG]n repeat lengths in the androgen receptor (AR) gene indicate that these may play an important part in the development and progression of breast cancer, however, knowledge regarding benign breast lesions is limited. Patients and Methods: PCR-based GeneScan analysis was used to investigate the [CAG]n repeat length at exon 1 of the AR gene in 59 benign breast lesions (27 fibroadenomas, 18 atypical hyperplasias, and 14 hyperplasias without atypia) and 54 ductal breast carcinomas. Seventy-two cancer-free women were used as a control group. In addition, [CAG]n repeats were evaluated for the presence of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and microsatellite instability (MSI) in a subset of these samples (27 fibroadenomas, 14 hyperplasias without atypia and 22 breast carcinomas). Results: Shorter [CAG]n repeat lengths were strongly correlated with atypical hyperplasias (p=0.0209) and carcinomas (p<0.0001). LOH was found in 1/12 and 4/20 informative cases of hyperplasias without atypia and breast carcinomas, respectively. Three patients with breast carcinoma who had previously presented atypical hyperplasia showed a reduction in the [CAG]n repeat length in their carcinomas. Conclusion: Short [CAG]n repeat length (≤20) polymorphisms are strongly associated with breast carcinomas and atypical hyperplasias. Although non-significant, a subgroup of patients with breast carcinoma and genotype SS showed an association with parameters of worse outcome.

Association between breast-feeding practices and sucking habits: A cross-sectional study of children in their first year of life

In addition to providing nutrition and immunological protection, breast-feeding has positive effects on the development of the infant's oral cavity. The aim of the present study is to assess breast-feeding patterns and to analyze the influence of breast-feeding practices and maternal sociodemographic variables on the prevalence of non-nutritive sucking habits in a sample of Brazilian infants. This cross-sectional study was carried out in Southern Brazil. A random sample of 100 mothers of infants up to 12 months of age was interviewed during the National Vaccination Campaign Day. The prevalence and median duration of breast-feeding were assessed. Breast-feeding practice, the exposure factor, was categorized as exclusive breast-feeding, predominant breast-feeding, complementary breast-feeding, or weaning. Maternal sociodemographic variables included age, race, marital status, educational level, profession, and family income. The outcome investigated was the prevalence of sucking habits (pacifier use and thumb sucking). We used two-sample tests, the chi-square test and Fisher exact test0 for statistical analyses of the data. The study revealed that 75% of infants were being breast-fed. Pacifier use and thumb sucking were common in 55%. Bottle-feeding was prevalent in 74% of infants. Breast-feeding was negatively correlated with pacifier use and thumb sucking (OR = 0.11; 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.4). Bottle-feeding was strongly associated with weaning (p = 0.0003). Among the sociodemographic variables, only marital status showed a statistical association with sucking habits (p = 0.04). These findings suggest that breast-feeding can prevent the occurrence of sucking habits. Although we could not evaluate causality assessment, malocclusion prevention seems to be yet one more reason for promoting breast-feeding practices.

Relationship between cardiac autonomic regulation and auditory mechanisms: Importance for growth and development

The literature has already demonstrated that auditory stimulation with music influences the cardiovascular system. In this study, we performed a literature review in order to investigate the relationship between auditory mechanisms and cardiac autonomic regulation. The selected studies indicated that there is a strong correlation between noise intensity and vagal-sympathetic balance. Also, it was reported that music therapy improved heart rate variability in anthracycline-treated breast cancer patients. It was hypothesized that dopamine release in the striatal system induced by pleasure songs are involved in the cardiac autonomic regulation. Further studies are necessary to add new elements in the literature to improve new therapies to treat cardiovascular disorders.

Glutathione and glutathione peroxidase expression in breast cancer: An immunohistochemical and molecular study

The use of prognostic markers for breast cancer allows therapeutic strategies to be defined more efficiently. The expression of glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in tumor cells has been evaluated as a predictor of prognosis and response to cytotoxic treatments. Its immunoexpression was assessed in 63 women diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in a retrospective study. The results showed that high GSH expression was associated with tumors negative for the estrogen receptor (ER) (P<0.05), and GPX expression was associated with tumors negative for the progesterone receptor (PR) and patient mortality. Focusing on the 37 patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy/radiotherapy (Group I), high expression of GPX was associated with a high rate of patient mortality (P<0.05). The 19 patients who received only adjuvant chemotherapy (Group II) showed high expression of GSH in relation to metastasis (P<0.05). In addition, high levels of GPX expression were significantly associated with a shorter overall survival (P<0.05). To confirm this, the expression of precursor genes of GSH [glutamate cysteine ligase (GCLC) and glutathione synthetase (GSS)] and the GPX gene was analyzed using quantitative PCR in cultured neoplastic mammary cells treated with doxorubicin. Doxorubicin treatment was able to eliminate tumor cells without alterations in the gene expression of GSS, but led to underexpression of the GCLC and GPX genes. Our results suggest that high levels of GPX may be related to the development of resistance to chemotherapy in these tumors, response to treatment and the clinical course of the breast cancer patients.