Breast cancer in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), hospital and population based statistics have shown that breast cancer has the highest crude frequency rate among Saudi women. The scarcity of reports about the disease in the KSA has been the impetus to this analysis about breast cancer in the eastem province of KSA. Data on female patients with invasive breast carcinoma seen at King Fahd Hospital of the University in the eastern province of KSA, were retrospectively reviewed. The analysis intended to examine the pattern of the disease and the outcome for patients. Between 1985 and 1995, 292 patients were identified. Their median age±SD (standard deviation) was 42±10.5 years. Most patients were younger than 50 years (78%) and were predominantly premenopausals (79%). Only 25 (9%) of patients had stage I cancer, whilst 130 (44%), 90 (30%), and 47 (16%) had stage II, III, and IV, respectively. Among patients with known axillary nodal status (242 patients), only 37% were node-negative whilst 32% and 31% had 1–3, and ≥4 positive nodes, respectively. Adjuvant chemotherapy and tamoxifen were commonly offered; nonetheless, other adjuvant modalities were rarely utilised. The median follow-up ±SD of all patients was 62.3±8.9 months: 152 patients (52%) were alive with no evidence of disease, 25 (9%) were alive with evidence of disease, and 115 (39%) were dead from breast cancer or its related complications. The median survival of the entire group was not obtained, but the 10-year projected survival was 55%. For stage I and II patients, 118 (76%) were alive with a projected 10-year actuarial survival of 64%. On the other hand, only 51 (57%) of patients with stage III disease were alive with a median survival of 41.5 months (95% Confidence interval (CI), 18.9 to 51.3). Patients with stage IV disease demonstrated a poor outcome with a median survival of 23.5 (95%, CI 12.2 to 31.4). Multivariate analyses were performed to explore the influence of independent variables on overall survival (OS) for patients with non-metastatic disease. Besides the expected adverse effect of disease progression, the favourable influence of adjuvant chemotherapy and tamoxifen prevailed. The amount of benefit gained from tamoxifen, however, was small. Similar analyses were undertaken to determine the influence of independent variables on progression-free survival (PFS). These analyses ascertained the adverse effects of advanced stage and the favourable impact of adjuvant chemotherapy. Breast cancer in the KSA has features that are distinctive from those of industrialised countries. Survival data, however, were comparable. The favourable influence of adjuvant chemotherapy was evident on both OS and PFS. Adjuvant tamoxifen, however, had little effect. Due to its infrequent use, the role of other adjuvant modalities could not be asserted.     

Purification of 2,5-anhydro-d-hexitol bis(phosphates) and identification of a major 1,4,6-tris(phosphate) contaminant by 31P-, 13C-, and 1H-N.M.R. spectroscopy

The reaction of two equivalents of diphenylchlorophosphate in cold pyridine with 2,5-anhydrohexitols has been assumed to result in only 1,6-bis(diphenylphosphate) products. However, by thin-layer, silica gel dry-column, and DEAE-Sephadex A-25 column chromatography, the products of this reaction have been shown to contain three major components; monophosphates (32 or 30%, by weight), 1,6-bis(phosphates) (40 or 56%), and 1,4,6-tris(phosphates) (28 or 14%): the former percentages for the product from 2,5-anhydro-d-mannitol (1) and the latter for the product from 2,5-anhydro-d-glucitol (10). The identity of each bis- and tris-(phosphate) of 1 or 10 was established by ³¹P- and ¹³C-n.m.r. spectroscopy. Acetylated bis- and tris-(diphenylphosphates) of 1 were also examined by ¹H-n.m.r. The significance of these findings on the interpretation of studies of the anomeric specificity of enzymes and on the specificity of the reagent diphenylchlorophosphate are discussed. The formation of only a 1,4,6-tris(phosphate) of 10 suggests that the 1,6-bis(diphenylphosphate) of 10 may undergo formation of a 1,3-cyclic phosphate triester by transesterification with elimination of phenol. A method for the determination of the number of cyclohexylammonium groups crystallizing with a sugar phosphate is proposed that simplifies the elemental analysis of this type of salt.     

Comprehensive Overview: The Effect of Using Different Solvents for Barley Extraction with Its Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Activity

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the world's oldest cereal crops. There is considerable interest in barley's potential usage in human diets. Barley is rich in bioactive metabolites such as high content of β-glucan, fiber, and vitamin E. It is also well-known as a rich source of phytochemical derivatives, namely, phenolic acids, flavonols, chalcones, flavones, proanthocyanidins, and flavanones. Phenolic compounds are recognized as excellent dietary materials with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This review was written to give an overview of the main components that are separated from barley using different solvents. Even though there were numerous biological activities for barely, the antioxidant, as well as the anti-inflammatory, are the main focus of this review.     

l-Arginine Pretreatment Enhances Drought Resistance of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) Plants by Increase in Polyamines Content

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - A significant reduction of fresh, dry biomass, shoot height, root length, succulent value, and leaf area were noticed as well as a significant accumulation of...