Background: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a relatively common and heterogenous malignancy of different organs, such as the skin, esophagus, and lungs. Although most cases experience good survival with surgical methods, management of advanced types of the disease remains challenging. Several modalities, including different chemotherapy regimens and immunotherapies, have been investigated in this matter, among which Monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) are one of the most promising ones. Since the development of Mabs, they have been widely used to treat different diseases. Mabs have shown significant efficacy with high specificity along with acceptable safety, which makes them a favorable option in cancer therapy. In this article, we aimed to review the different aspects of using Mabs in SCC therapy.Recent Findings: We found that treating with different Mabs has shown excellent efficacy accompanied by acceptable safety in treating SCC of different organs. Therefore, Mabs are considered great options in the treatment of SCC, especially in advanced cases. Overall, two highly potent types of Mabs in SCC therapy are anti‐EGFR Mabs and checkpoint inhibitors, especially Cetuximab, Nimotuzumab, and PD‐1 inhibitors. Bevacizumab is also a promising option as adjuvant therapy to other modalities.Conclusion: Although some Mabs have shown promising outcomes in SCC therapy, their application as a part of cancer treatment depends on further investigations regarding cost‐effectiveness and predictors of response. FDA has approved several Mabs in SCC therapies, and Mabs may have a crucial role in this era in the near future, especially in treating head and neck and esophageal SCC and metastatic lung cancer.

A healthy diet is dominant in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. Inflammation is pivotal for CVD development. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the pro‐inflammatory diet and the CVD risk. This cross‐sectional study involved 10,138 Fasa adult cohort study participants. After excluding participants with missing data, the Energy‐Adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E‐DII) was calculated to assess the inflammatory potential of diet using the recorded Food Frequency Questionnaire. Framingham risk score (FRS) was used to predict the 10‐year risk of CVD. The association between E‐DII and high risk for CVD was investigated using multinominal regression. After exclusion, the mean age of studied individuals ( n = 10,030) was 48.6 ± 9.6 years, including 4522 men. Most participants were low risk (FRS <10%) for CVD (87.6%), while 2.7% of them were high risk (FRS ≥20%). The median FRS was 2.80 (1.70, 6.30). The E‐DII ranged from −4.22 to 4.49 (mean E‐DII = 0.880 ± 1.127). E‐DII was significantly associated with FRS. This result persisted after adjusting for confounding factors and in both genders. This study revealed that the pro‐inflammatory diet significantly increases the CVD risk. Consequently, reducing the inflammatory potential of diet should be considered an effective dietary intervention in CVD prevention.

Background: Vitamin D (Vit.D) has an important role in protecting COVID‐19 patients. This study investigated the changes in vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression and interleukin 6 levels in patients with COVID‐19.Materials and methods: 120 hospitalized patients and 120 healthy people participated in this study, both group adjusted by sex and age. Vit.D was measured with HPLC, the expression of VDR gene was done with Real‐time PCR, and IL‐6 was measured with ELISA assay.Results: Our findings showed no significant difference in the case of Vit.D (25‐OH‐D3) between the two studied groups, interestingly the expression of VDR was statistically lower in the patients with COVID‐19, p‐value = 0.003. VDR expression was lower in the patient with diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, significantly, p‐value = 0.002. The level of IL‐6 was statistically higher in the COVID‐19 group, p‐value = 0.003.Conclusion: Alongside the important role of 25‐OH‐D3 in COVID‐19 patients, the quality and quantity of the VDR expression and its role in the level of IL‐6 are the promising risk factors in the future. Further studies are needed to determine the factors increasing the expression level of VDR, especially in the patients with diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Background: Addiction increases the risk of different lifelong disorders. However, there are limited studies evaluating the effects of opioid use disorder (OUD) on thyroid function. The present study aimed to compare the thyroid function of individuals with and without OUD. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 700 eligible participants of the Persian Cohort of Fasa, Iran. Pregnant women and participants with false or missing data were excluded from the study. Remained participants were divided into case and control groups based on the recorded history of OUD. Frozen plasma samples of the cohort bank were used to determine the levels of T3, T4, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). The thyroid function was compared between the two groups using the Mann-Whitney test (P < 0.05). Results: The mean age of the final studied population (n = 648) was 54.0 ± 9.8 years, including 336 men (49.1%) and 197 participants with OUD (28.8%). The median levels of TSH, T4, and T3 were 2.91 ± 4.61, 9.26 ± 3.65, and 1.22 ± 0.49, respectively. The case group had significantly higher TSH (3.72 ± 6.2 vs. 2.58 ± 3.75, P < 0.001) and lower T4 (8 ± 3.6 vs. 9.8 ± 3.5, P < 0.001). Also, T3 was slightly lower in the case group (1.1 ± 0.5 vs. 1.3 ± 0.5; P = 0.369), although this association was only significant in female opium users (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The present findings revealed that OUD caused a reduction in T4 while increasing TSH. Therefore, OUD may lead to the development of primary hypothyroidism, which needs to be investigated in future studies.

: The novel coronavirus that swept the world into a pandemic in 2019 has affected many aspects of health care. COVID-19 has infected about 263 million people across the globe and led to the death of 5.2 million people. Its impact on various organs is still vague and requires further research. The increase in hospital visits and administrations has accordingly increased exposure and risk of obtaining the coronavirus. Patients previously hospitalized and being treated with immunosuppressants tend to be very susceptible to serious respiratory infections from the novel virus. Amongst the diseases that require hospitalization are ulcerative colitis and appendicitis. Hospitalization from such diseases inevitably increases the risk and exposure to COVID -19 infection. This study analyzed the management and procedures taken in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and appendicitis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, the effects of the pandemic on the pediatric ward and admitted children were also discussed and compared.

BACKGROUND: Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is a type of blood cancer that is more prevalent in children. Several treatment methods are available for ALL, including chemotherapy, upfront treatment regimens, and pediatric-inspired regimens for adults. Monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) are the novel Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved remedies for the relapsed/refractory (R/R) adult ALL. In this article, we aimed to review studies that investigated the efficacy and safety of Mabs on ALL. METHODS: We gathered studies through a complete search with all proper related keywords in ISI Web of Science, SID, Scopus, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and PubMed for English language publications up to 2020. RESULTS: The most commonly studied Mabs for ALL therapies are CD-19, CD-20, CD-22, and CD-52. The best results have been reported in the administration of blinatumomab, rituximab, ofatumumab, and inotuzumab with acceptable low side effects. CONCLUSION: Appling personalized approach for achieving higher efficacy is one of the most important aspects of treatment. Moreover, we recommend that the wide use of these Mabs depends on designing further cost-effectiveness trials in this field.