Research Articles ( Radiobiology)

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    A multi-parameter approach for predicting prostate cancer
    (Cogent OA, 2017) Serafin, Antonio; Chinhengo, Angela; Fernandez, Pedro; Akudugu, John
    Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and its inhibitor (PAI-1) have shown to be of merit as biomarkers for a variety of cancers. The objective of this project was to assay for uPA and PAI-1 in prostate needle biopsy tissue from 217 patients using the FEMTELLE enzyme linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay, and to examine the robustness of PAI-1 as a candidate marker in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa), as previously identified in a different cohort of 111 patients. These results validate the assertion that PAI-1 levels of >4.5 ng mg−1 protein in prostate biopsies are indicative of prostate malignancy in elderly men, but further show that tissue from BPH patients in the 70–80 year age interval express significantly high levels of this marker. To address this anomaly, a malignancy index, derived from the concentrations of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), uPA, and PAI-1, and patient age is proposed. This simple index discriminates prostate tissue from BPH and PCa patients with concordance indices of 0.59 and 0.69 when tissues are taken as biopsy or transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), respectively. Corresponding indices for PSA as a predictor of prostate disease were 0.67 and 0.73. Further evaluation of the proposed malignancy index using specimens, such as venous blood, could prove valuable in the search for non-invasive predictive assays.
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    Towards establishing capacity for biological dosimetry at Ghana atomic energy commission
    (Medknow Publications, 2016) Achel, Daniel Gyingiri; Achoribo, Elom; Agbenyegah, Sandra; Adaboro, Rudolph M.; Donkor, Shadrack; Adu-Bobi, Nana A. K.; Agyekum, Akwasi A.; Akuamoa, Felicia; Tagoe, Samuel N.; Kyei, Kofi A.; Yarney, Joel; Serafin, Antonio; Akudugu, John M.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : The aim of this study was not only to obtain basic technical prerequisites for the establishment of capacity of biological dosimetry at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) but also to stimulate interest in biological dosimetry research in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa. Peripheral blood from four healthy donors was exposed to different doses (0–6 Gy) of gamma rays from a radiotherapy machine and lymphocytes were subsequently stimulated, cultured, and processed according to standard protocols for 48–50 h. Processed cells were analyzed for the frequencies of dicentric and centric ring chromosomes. Radiation dose delivered to the experimental model was verified using GafChromic® EBT films in parallel experiments. Basic technical prerequisites for the establishment of capacity of biological dosimetry in the GAEC have been realized and expertise in the dicentric chromosome assay consolidated. We successfully obtained preliminary cytogenetic data for a dose-response relationship of the irradiated blood lymphocytes. The data strongly indicate the existence of significant linear (α) and quadratic (β) components and are consistent with those published for the production of chromosome aberrations in comparable absorbed dose ranges.
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    The distinction between gastric ulceration and carcinoma of the stomach : value of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and the maximal acid output
    (Health & Medical Publishing Group, 1973) Bock, O. A. A.; Boyd, I. H.
    The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is not a reliable criterion for distinguishing between gastric ulceration and carcinoma of the stomach. If the maximal acid output (MAO) = 0 mEq/h, the lesion is, with few exceptions, a carcinoma. Combining the ESR and MAO did not provide a more reliable criterion for distinguishing between gastric ulcer and carcinoma of the stomach, than when MAO alone is taken into consideration.