Is gynecomastia related to the disease characteristics and prognosis in testicular germ cell tumor patients?

PURPOSE

We aimed to assess the relationship between gynecomastia and tumor markers, histologic subtypes, and prognosis in patients with testicular germ cell tumors.

METHODS

This study included 73 testicular germ cell cancer patients with pretreatment chest, abdomen and pelvis computed tomography (CT) scans and tumor markers (β-human chorionic gonadotropin [β-hCG], lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], α-fetoprotein [AFP]). The volumetric analysis of the breast glandular tissue, the presence of gynecomastia and metastatic disease were determined using CT scans. Patients were classified according to the International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group (IGCCCG) prognostic classification. The association between gynecomastia, breast glandular tissue volume, tumor markers, metastatic disease, and disease prognosis were evaluated.

RESULTS

Thirty-four of the patients (46.6%) had gynecomastia. A breast volume cutoff value of 0.78 cm3 to diagnose gynecomastia led to 85% sensitivity and 95% specificity. Serum β-hCG level correlated with the breast glandular tissue volume weakly (r=0.242, P = 0.039). Gynecomastia was more common in patients with elevated β-hCG levels (P = 0.047), and was not associated with pulmonary, nonpulmonary distant, or nodal metastases (P = 0.378, P = 0.884, P = 0.333, respectively). No significant association was found between the disease prognosis and gynecomastia (P = 0.556).

CONCLUSION

Gynecomastia was common among testicular germ cell cancer patients with elevated β-hCG. However, it was not associated with metastatic disease and prognosis.

INVESTIGATION OF STAT5A, FSHR AND LHR GENE POLYMORPHISMS IN TURKISH INDIGENOUS CATTLE BREEDS (EAST ANATOLLAN RED, SOUTH ANATOLIAN RED, TURKISH GREY, ANATOLIAN BLACK AND ZAVOT)

The objective of this study was to examine the allelic and genotypic profiles of the Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 5A (STAT5A), Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptors (FSHR), and Luteinizing Hormone Receptor (LHR) genes in five indigenous cattle breeds in Turkey. For this purpose, a total of 329 cattle from East Anatolian Red (EAR), South Anatolian Red (SAR), Turkish Grey (TG), Anatolian Black (AB), and Zavot were genotyped using by PCR-RFLP method. A215 bp fragment of STAT5A, a 306bp fragment of FSHR, and a 303 bp fragment of LHR were amplified and digested with AvaI, AluI, and HhaI restriction enzymes, respectively. In this study two types of alleles C and Tfor STAT5A, C and G for FSHR and C and T for LHR were observed. The highest frequencies for STAT5A-C and STAT5A-T alleles were estimated for the Zavot and TG breeds (0.86) and the EAR breed (0.29), respectively. The highest frequency for FSHR-C and FSHR-G alleles was estimated for the Zavot breed (0.72) and the AB and SARbreeds (0.35), respectively. The highest frequency for LHR-C and LHR-T alleles was estimated for the EAR breed (0.75) and the AB breed (0.39), respectively. According to FT values, a small level of genetic diversity was found among five cattle breeds. The F(ST) value was calculated 0.019 between AB and Zavot. And, the value was significant (p < 0.001), while the other F(ST) values were not significant. According to the genetic distance values (Nei), the highest genetic distance was found between AB and TG while the smallest genetic distance was found between Zavot and TG. The chi-square test showed that the TG and Zavot breeds were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) for STAT5A gene; the EAR, SAR, TG, and Zavot breeds were in HWE for FSHR gene and the EAR, SAR, and TG breeds were in HWE for LHR gene. In conclusion, further investigation is required to determine the correlation of the FSHR and LHR genes with early puberty for the improvement of sexual precocity, and it is considered that the STAT5A gene may be used to improve the milk yield and milk yield traits of local cattle breeds, including those indigenous to Turkey.

Detection of bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (BLAD) in Turkish native and Holstein cattle

The purpose of this work was to study whether the bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (BLAD) allele is present in native cattle breeds and the Holstein breed in Turkey. Blood samples were obtained from 120 Holstein, 20 Brown Swiss, 20 Anatolian Black, 20 Turkish Grey, 20 South Anatolian Red and 20 East Anatolian Red cattle. The isolated DNA materials were multiplied in PCR using the primer developed by Kriegesmann et al. (1997). In order to determine the area of mutation in PCR products, the PCR products were digested with TaqI endonuclease enzyme. The resulting fragments were analysed on 2% agarose gel for the absence of a TaqI restriction site. It was found that two of the Holstein cattle (a bull and a cow) were heterozygote BLAD carriers. There was no homozygote BLAD animal. The BLAD allele was not found in the other breeds used in the study. The mutant BLAD allele frequency in the 120 Holstein cattle calculations was 0.0084.