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COAR Access Rights: metadata only accessPublisher: Dove Medical Press Ltd

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    Detection of Toxoplasma Gondii and High-Risk Human Papillomaviruses in FFPE Malignant and Benign Breast Lesions Using Real-Time Pcr
    (Dove Medical Press Ltd, 2025) Usluca, Selma; Bakir, Ayfer; Arikok, Ata Turker; Korkut, Gizem; Yagiz, Gulsah Ceylan; Alper, Murat
    Objective: Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among women. In recent years, it has been suggested that various pathogens such as Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and human papillomavirus (HPV) may play a potential role in the development of breast cancer. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of T. gondii and HPV infections in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples of breast cancer patients using real-time PCR. Methods: The study included 136 paraffin-embedded biopsy samples with w confirmed malignant breast tumor diagnosis and 50 breast tissue samples diagnosed as benign breast lesions, serving as controls. The presence of T. gondii DNA and high-, medium-, and low-risk HPV genotype DNAs were investigated using the real-time PCR method. First, deparaffinization was performed using xylene and alcohol, followed by DNA extraction and real-time PCR amplification. Results: The most common histopathological types of malignant breast carcinoma were invasive carcinoma (n=82; 60.3%), invasive lobular carcinoma (n=26; 19.1%), invasive ductal carcinoma (n=8; 5.9%), and mixed invasive carcinoma (n=8; 5.9%). According to the Modified Bloom-Richardson classification, 55.15% of malignant breast tumor samples were grade 2, 32.4% were grade 3, and 12.5% were grade 1. Real-time PCR analysis did not detect T. gondii DNA or HPV DNA in any of these samples. Conclusion: Our findings do not support a role of T. gondii and HPV in breast cancer development. To better understand the possible relationship between breast cancer and these pathogens, further studies with larger sample sizes, diverse diagnostic methods, and broder geographical coverage are necessary.
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    Citation - WoS: 20
    Laboratory and Imaging Evaluation of Cardiac Involvement in Patients With Post-Acute Covid-19
    (Dove Medical Press Ltd, 2021) Saricam, Ersin; Dursun, Ali Dogan; Sariyildiz, Gulcin Turkmen; Can, Nalan; Bozkurt, Engin; Gonullu, Ugur; Unlu, Mustafa
    Background: In the post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, many patients suffer from palpitations, effort-associated fatigue, and even sudden death. The mechanism of heart involvement in this syndrome is uncertain. The main purpose of the study was to identify possible cardiac involvement causes in patients with post-acute COVID-19 by using biomarkers such as NT-proBNP and nitric oxide (NO) and cardiac imaging modalities. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 105 participants were included according to the existence of symptoms, and 40 of these participants were asymptomatic patients. The ages of the participants ranged from 20 to 50 years. All patients were healthy before COVID-19. The symptoms were defined as palpitations and/or fatigue association with exercise in post-acute COVID-19 term. The comparison of the two groups was made by using biochemical parameters (NT-proBNP, Troponin I, NO) and imaging techniques (echocardiography, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and cardiac positron emission tomography (PET)). Results: The symptomatic patients had higher NT-proBNP levels compared with asymptomatic patients (132.30 +/- 35.15; 76.86 +/- 16.79, respectively; p < 0.001). Interestingly, the symptomatic patients had lower NO levels than asymptomatic patients (9.20 +/- 3.08; 16.15 +/- 6.02, respectively; p < 0.001). Echocardiography and CMR were normal. However, we found regional increased 18F-FDG uptake on cardiac PET to be compatible with myocardial fatigue. Conclusion: We found elevated NT-proNBP levels, low serum NO levels, and increased 18F-FDG uptake on cardiac PET in post-acute COVID syndrome. Cardiac PET could replace or be added to CMR for detecting subtle subacute/chronic myocarditis. The follow-up of patients with post-acute COVID-19 could target the possibility of risk of heart failure.