Demirci U. | Tufan G. | Aktas B. | Balakan O. | Alacacioglu A. | Dane F. | Engin H.

Article | 2013 | Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology139 ( 5 ) , pp.829 - 835

Purposes: The overall prognosis for recurrent malignant glioma (MG) is extremely poor, and treatment options are limited. We evaluated our multicenter retrospective experience for patients with recurrent MG administering bevacizumab and irinotecan in combination therapy. Methods: A total of 115 patients with grade IV glial tumor (n = 93) and grade III glial tumor (n = 22) were retrospectively evaluated at 14 centers in Turkey. Primary objectives of the study were to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the bevacizumab and irinotecan as salvage treatment based on response to therapy, progression-free survival (PFS), 6 months of PFS, . . . overall survival (OS), and 6 months of OS (OS6). Results: Bevacizumab and irinotecan were performed as second line (79.1 %) and third line treatment (20.9 %). Median chemotherapy cycle was 6 (range 1-37), and median follow-up was 6 months (range 1-36 months). Objective response rate was 39.1 %. Six-month PFS and OS6 were 46.3 % and 67.5 %, respectively. Median PFS was 6 months (95 % CI 2.5-9.5) and 6 months (95 % CI 4.9-7.1) in the grade III and IV groups, respectively (p = 0.773). Median OS was 9 months (95 % CI 7.1-10.9) and 8 months (95 % CI 6.6-9.4) in the grade III and IV groups, respectively (p = 0.450). Serious toxicities were observed in 7.8 % of patients. Treatment-related toxic death was observed in 3 patients. There was no treatment related to central nervous system hemorrhage or other serious hemorrhages. Conclusions: Present study results were consistent with previous studies. In addition, we detected similar outcomes in grade III and IV glial tumors. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg Daha fazlası Daha az

Artaç M. | Çoşkun H.Ş. | Korkmaz L. | Koçer M. | Turhal N.S. | Engin H. | Dede İ.

Article | 2016 | Clinical Genitourinary Cancer14 ( 4 ) , pp.829 - 835

Survival outcomes of interferon-alfa and tyrosine kinase inhibitors for 104 cases of metastatic renal cell carcinoma were included in this study. First-line interferon-alfa treatment before tyrosine kinase inhibitors had an additive survival affect. Background We aimed to investigate the outcomes of interferon alfa and sequencing tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Patients and Methods This multicenter study assessing the efficacy of TKIs after interferon alfa therapy in the first-line setting in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Patients (n = 104) from 8 centers in Turkey . . ., who had been treated with interferon alfa in the first-line setting, were included in the study. Prognostic factors were evaluated for progression-free survival (PFS). Results The median age of the patients was 57 years. The median PFS of the patients treated with interferon alfa in the first-line was 3.6 months. A total of 61 patients received TKIs (sunitinib, n = 58; sorafenib, n = 3) after progression while on interferon alfa. The median PFS among the TKI-treated patients was 13.2 months. In the univariate analysis for interferon alfa treatment, neutrophil and hemoglobin level, platelet count, and Karnofsky performance status were the significant factors associated with PFS. In the univariate analysis for TKI treatment, neutrophil and hemoglobin levels were the significant factors for PFS. The median total PFS of the patients who had been treated with first-line interferon alfa and second-line TKIs was 24.9 months. Conclusion This study showed that first-line interferon alfa treatment before TKIs may improve the total PFS in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. © 2016 Elsevier Inc Daha fazlası Daha az

Engin H. | Bilir C. | Üstün H. | Gökmen A.

Article | 2012 | Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention13 ( 1 ) , pp.131 - 133

Background: We aimed to investigate the relationship between blood groups and pancreatic cancer in a Turkish population in Western Blacksea region. Methods: This is a retrospective study. Zonguldak Karaelmas University outpatient oncology clinic records were screened for the period between 2004 and 2011. Results: The median age of patients were 56 (±16) and 132 of 633 study population had pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer patients had significantly higher rates of blood group A compared to controls (OR 1.8, 95%CI, p 0.005). Rates of blood group AB was significantly lower than the control group (OR 0.37, 95% CI, p 0.04). The media . . .n survival (IR) time in subjects having the blood groups A, B, AB and O were 7.0 (1-28), 7.0 (2-38), 10 (2-36) and 9.0 (2-48) months respectively; the blood group 0 had significantly higher overall survival (OS) compared to the non-0 groups (p 0.04). Conclusions: Pancreatic cancer patients had more common blood group A in our population. Moreover, blood group AB appeared to be a protective factor against pancreatic cancer in our population. Blood group 0 had a significantly longer survival compared to non-0, regardless of prognostic factors Daha fazlası Daha az

Bilir C. | Engin H.

Letter | 2013 | Cancer119 ( 19 ) , pp.131 - 133

[No abstract available]

Demirtas D. | Bilir C. | Demirtas A.O. | Engin H.

Article | 2017 | Clinical Cases in Mineral and Bone Metabolism14 ( 1 ) , pp.35 - 39

Introduction. There are controversial results in the risk of atrial fibrillation as well as arrhythmogenic potential of bisphosphonates. Method. 37 patients and 40 healthy controls were evaluated prospectively with regard to the cardiac side effects related to the use of zoledronic acid (ZA) and its effects on electrocardiography (ECG) parameters. Result. As the basal ECG results of the patients diagnosed with cancer compared with the control group, it was determined that QT maximum was significantly lower, QT minimum was significantly higher. However; it was determined that QT disp, P max, P min, and P disp values were not signific . . .antly different. There was no statistically significant difference in P max, P min, P disp, QT max, QT min, QT disp values of the ECG parameters measured from cancer patients, before and 60 minutes after ZA therapy. Conclusion. There were no significant alterations in ECG in the acute period, indicated that ZA had no arrhythmia potential in the early period in patients with no underlying cardiac disease. However: patients receiving ZA should be monitored more closely because of the risk of arrhythmia which may ensue due to hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia, or other chemotherapeutics Daha fazlası Daha az

Engin H. | Üstündag Y. | Tekin I.Ö. | Gökmen A. | Ertop S. | Ilikhan S.U.

Article | 2012 | European Cytokine Network23 ( 2 ) , pp.68 - 71

Background/Aim: despite the rapidly accumulating histopathological data reporting differences in the expression of members of the angiopoietin family on the surface of various normal and tumour cells, data for these growth factors in plasma from cancer patients, including colon cancer, are scarce. The aims of the present study were to measure the plasma concentrations of Ang-1, Ang-2 and Tie-2 in colon cancer patients, and to assess the correlation between the concentrations of these factors and the stage of the tumor. Patients and methods: the study cohort included 36 patients (18 male, 18 female) with colon cancer (mean age 52.6 ± . . . 15.0), and 36 sex- and agematched, healthy controls who were free of inflammatory, neoplastic, atherosclerotic and connective tissue disease, recruited from hospital staff and attendees at hospital for check-up. Concentrations of Ang-1, Ang-2 and Tie-2 were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results: concentrations of Ang-2 (median 3,188.0 pg/mL, min: 1,070.5-max: 5,765.5) and Tie-2 (median 22 ng/mL, min:12-max:46) were significantly higher in patients with colon cancer, while concentrations of Ang-1 were not statistically different between the groups. Furthermore, concentrations of Ang-2 (median 4,292.0 pg/mL, min: 3,090.0-max: 5,765.5) were found to be significantly higher in stage III patients compared to stage II patients, whereas no difference was found between the concentrations of Ang-1 and Tie-2 in different colon cancer stages. Conclusion: plasma concentrations of Ang-1, Ang-2 and Tie-2 may be valuable, additional, tumor markers in colon cancer that should be tested in further trials Daha fazlası Daha az

Bilir C. | Engin H. | Üstün H. | Üstündag Y.

Article | 2012 | HealthMED6 ( 5 ) , pp.1863 - 1864

Background: Many drugs can cause acute pancreatitis, also this phenomenon rarely with chemotherapeutic compounds. Several reports of pancreatitis following the use of chemotherapy drugs but pancreatitis has not been reported with gemcitabine and cisplatin Case: A 68-year-old female diagnosed bone metastatic lung cancer. She was started on chemotherapy with a regimen of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC). On second day of the 1st dose of GC, patient was admitted to the hospital and subsequent workup revealed acute pancreatitis. Conclusions: This is the first case report of acute pancreatitis caused by gemcitabine-cisplatin regimen. When . . .a patient experience prolonged nausea and vomiting follwed to the chemothreapy regimen, acute pancreatitis come to mind to prevent fatal complications Daha fazlası Daha az

Bilir C. | Engin H. | Can M. | Temi Y.B. | Demirtas D.

Article | 2015 | Medical Oncology32 ( 3 ) , pp.1863 - 1864

We wanted to investigate the possible etiologic factors of cachexia. Forty-six patients diagnosed with cancer cachexia and 34 healthy controls were included in the study. Serum total testosterone, free testosterone, interleukin 1 (IL) alpha and beta, IL6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, orexin, galanin, neuropeptide Y, tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis and tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were investigated. There were 36 male and 10 female patients in the cachexia group, and 24 male and 10 female patients in the control group. Median overall survival (OS) o . . .f the cachexia group after the diagnosis of cachexia was 8 (1–25) months. There were statistically significant relationships between OS and BMI, serum CRP, TRAF-6, albumin, and LDH levels in the cachexia group. In addition to cachexia, serum CRP, testosterone, and TNF alpha levels were statistically significantly correlated with OS in refractory cachexia. TRAF-6 levels was significantly correlated with type of cancer (P = 0.02). Although cachexia presents with a multifactorial ethio-pathogenesis, few of them affect the OS. Our novel results were that serum CRP, albumin, LDH, and TRAF-6 levels have a higher association with OS in patients with cancer cachexia compared to the many other parameters. An ongoing cachexia also called refractory cachexia is a recent definition. This end-stage term of cancer duration may be predicted by decreasing serum testosterone and increasing serum TNF alpha levels, as well as serum CRP levels. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York Daha fazlası Daha az

Bilir C. | Engin H. | Karabag T. | Colak D.

Article | 2014 | Hippokratia18 ( 4 ) , pp.346 - 349

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effects of folinic acid and fluorouracil (bolus FUFA regimen) chemotherapy on right ventricle (RV) functions. Materials and Methods: Thirty-four gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients treated with antineoplastic drugs were included the study. All participants received FUFA chemotherapy protocol for colorectal, gastric and pancreatic cancer (i.e. fluorouracil 400-425 mg/m2 intravenous day 1-5 + folinic acid 20-25 mg/m2 intravenous day 1-5 every 28 days x6 cycles) with or without radiation therapy according to the cancer and patient status. All participants have undergone complete physical and l . . .aboratory examination and complete echocardiographic evaluation including detailed right ventricle functional evaluations before the onset of chemotherapy and 6 months after the start of treatment. Results: Mean RV thickness was 0.49 cm before chemotherapy and 0.62 cm at the end of the treatment (p=0.29). Mean tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) values were 2.08 ± 0.3 and 2.00 ± 0.39 cm, respectively (p=0.25). RV total ejection isovolumic (Tei) index related to the chemotherapy did not change significantly (0.24 and 0.29, respectively, p=0.07). Also we did not find significant chance in the RV end diastolic diameter, RV end systolic diameter, vena cava diameter on inspiration and expiration. Conclusion: Bolus FUFA regimen chemotherapy does not diminish the RV functions as assessed by TAPSE and RV Tei index in GI cancer patients. © 2014, Hippokratia General Hospital of Thessaloniki. All rights reserved Daha fazlası Daha az

Bilir C. | Engin H. | Can M. | Likhan S. | Demirtas D. | Kuzu F. | Bayraktaroglu T.

Article | 2015 | Oncology Letters9 ( 6 ) , pp.2819 - 2824

Obesity appears to be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (BC) and an inferior oncological outcome at the time of diagnosis, with poor outcomes most prominent in cases of triple-negative BC (TNBC). The present study analyzed serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) and TNF receptor associated factor-6 (TRAF) protein expression levels in 48 patients with non-metastatic BC and 26 obese control patients (without BC). The mean age of the cohort was 52.5 years (range, 35-78 years) and the patients had a median body mass index of 33.5 kg/m2 (range, 30-47 kg/m2). In the study population, 27.1% . . . of BC patients were triple negative and 70.8% were hormone receptor (HR)-positive. Median serum TRAF6 expression was 0.90 ng/ml (range, 0.55-1.53 ng/ml) in the 13 TNBC patients and 0.63 ng/ml (range, 0.49-1.22 ng/ml) in the 35 HR-positive BC patients; thus, TRAF6 expression was significantly higher in the TNBC patients compared with the obese control group (0.90 vs. 0.73 ng/ml; P=0.033). Furthermore, median serum TRAF6 expression levels were significantly higher in HR-negative patients compared with HR-positive patients (0.83 vs. 0.62 ng/ml; P=0.002). The present study demonstrated that serum TRAF6 expression levels were increased in TNBC and HR-negative patients with non-metastatic BC compared with HR- and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive cases or the obese healthy control group. Therefore, elevated TRAF6 expression may be a poor prognostic factor in non-metastatic BC. In addition, we propose that progesterone (PR) negativity may be a more useful poor prognosis factor than estrogen receptor (ER) negativity, as TRAF6 expression levels were higher in the PR-negative patients compared with the ER-negative patients. © 2015, Spandidos Publications. All Rights Reserved Daha fazlası Daha az

Ünal Tilki S. | Engin H. | Gökmen A. | Bilir C. | Üstündag Y.

Article | 2013 | Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences43 ( 2 ) , pp.194 - 198

Aim: Thrombomodulin (TM) and endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) are 2 transmembrane proteins that are thought to play an important role in cancer. We aimed to discover whether these 2 proteins are prognostic indicators in colorectal cancer. Materials and methods: Plasma TM and EPCR levels were measured using the ELISA method in 50 patients in different tumor stages that had been recently diagnosed with colorectal cancer and in a healthy control group of 50 people. Results: In colorectal cancer patients, higher plasma TM (21.3 ± 22.8 ng/mL, 13.2 ± 16.2 ng/mL, P = 0.010) and plasma EPCR levels (149.9 ± 79.6, 113.3 ± 49.3, P = 0.007 . . .) were determined compared to the control group. No statistically significant relationship was present between plasma TM, EPCR levels and tumor stage, tumor localization, tumor differentiation, lymphovascular invasion state, microvascular thrombus existence, and thrombosis progression (P > 0.05). Conclusion: We think that these 2 proteins are released into plasma as an indicator of endothelial dysfunction and can play a role in pathogenesis and biology of colorectal cancer. © TÜBİTAK Daha fazlası Daha az

Engin H. | Bilir C. | Tekin I.O.

Article | 2013 | Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention14 ( 12 ) , pp.7645 - 7649

Background: Immune functions and their relation to prognosis in breast cancer patients have become areas of great interest in recent years. Correlations between survival outcomes and peripheral blood flow cytometry parameters are therefore of interest. Here we focused on patients with non-metastatic breast cancer (BC). Materials and Methods: A total of 29 patients with pathological confirmed breast carcinoma and flow cytometry data were assessed for overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS). Results: The median age of the patients was 54 years (range, 29-83). Multivariate analysis revealed that OS was significantly a . . .ssociated with absolute cytotoxic T cell count (95%CI, coef 2.26, p=0.035), tumor size (95%CI, coef -14.5, p 0.004), chemotherapy (95%CI, coef 12.9, p 0.0001), MFI of CD4 (95%CI, coef -5.1, P 0.04), MFI of HLA DR (95%CI, coef -5.9, p 0.008) and tumor grade (95%CI, coef -13, P 0.049) with R-Sq(adj)=67%. Similar findings were obtained for PFS. Conclusions: OS and PFS were significantly associated with tumor grade, tumor size, chemotherapy, MFI of CD4, HLA DR and absolute cytotoxic T cell count. The study revealed that MFI of basic CD markers and absolute cytotoxic T cell number may be a prognostic factors in women with non-metastatic BC Daha fazlası Daha az