Methods: This was an observational prospective study carried out at multiple centers. In total, 172 breast cancer patients were included. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue Questionnaire was used to measure QOL, while the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) was used to assess the severity of fatigue.
Results: The total average mean and standard deviation of QOL were 84.58±18.07 and 4.65±1.14 for BFI scores, respectively. A significant association between fatigue and QOL was found in linear and multiple regression analyses. The relationships between fatigue severity and cancer stage, chemotherapy dose delay, dose reduction, chemotherapy regimen, and ethnicity were determined using binary logistic regression analysis.
Conclusion: The findings of this study are believed to be useful for helping oncologists effectively evaluate, monitor, and treat fatigue related to QOL changes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from three formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples each of normal cervix, HPV-infected low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), high-grade SIL (HSIL) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Transcriptomic profiling by microarrays was conducted followed by downstream Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses.
RESULTS: We examined the difference in GOs enriched for each transition stage from normal cervix to LSIL, HSIL, and SCC, and found 307 genes to be differentially expressed. In the transition from normal cervix to LSIL, the extracellular matrix (ECM) genes were significantly downregulated. The MHC class II genes were significantly upregulated in the LSIL to HSIL transition. In the final transition from HSIL to SCC, the immunoglobulin heavy locus genes were significantly upregulated and the ECM pathway was implicated.
CONCLUSION: Deregulation of the immune-related genes including MHC II and immunoglobulin heavy chain genes were involved in the transitions from LSIL to HSIL and SCC, suggesting immune escape from host anti-tumour response. The extracellular matrix plays an important role during the early and late stages of cervical carcinogenesis.