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Lotic and lentic environments, including basins, throughout Kurdistan province, Iran, were surveyed for the presence of leeches from June 2009 until June 2010. In view of the geographical location of Iran, a very rich fauna of leeches should be expected. For each of the species collected, the new locality records are given, followed by the global pattern of distribution. In addition, taxonomic notes are provided for some species. In total seven species of leeches were found in this region. All species repeated in the present paper are new and found in the fresh water fauna of Kurdistan, Iran.

Abstract Background Next-generation sequencing produces high-throughput data, albeit with greater error and shorter reads than traditional Sanger sequencing methods. This complicates the detection of genomic variations, especially, small insertions and deletions. Findings Here we describe ParMap, a statistical algorithm for the identification of complex genetic variants, such as small insertion and deletions, using partially mapped reads in nextgen sequencing data. Conclusions We report ParMap's successful application to the mutation analysis of chromosome X exome-captured leukemia DNA samples.

The ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene has significant roles in DNA double-strand break repair, and homozygous deficiency in ATM is known to cause significant sensitivity to ionizing radiation. Multigene panel testing has increasingly identified patients with ATM variants raising the question if those patients with heterozygous ATM variants are at increased risk of radiation toxicity. We hypothesize that there will be no significant difference in toxicity between hypofractionated (Hypo-RT) or conventionally fractionated (CRT) radiation treatments after breast conserving surgery (BCS) or mastectomy in patients with heterozygous germline ATM pathogenic variants or variants of uncertain significance (VUS). Between 2004 and 2016, breast cancer patients treated with radiation were consented for peripheral blood sequencing (PBS). ATM variants detected by high-throughput PBS were designated benign, pathogenic, VUS, or with conflicting interpretations of pathogenicity using the ClinVar database. Variants designated benign or likely benign were excluded and those with conflicting interpretations of pathogenicity or variants of uncertain significance were classified as VUS. Toxicities were abstracted from medical records and were graded per Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v5. Additional clinicopathologic information was abstracted from the medical records. Fisher's exact test was used to compare Grade 2 or 3 acute skin toxicity among patients with pathogenic variants or VUS treated with Hypo-RT versus CRT. A total of 400 patients were sequenced. After excluding benign ATM variants, 23 were included in this analysis, 2 (8%) were pathogenic and 21 (91%) were VUS. Median tumor size was 1.5cm and median age at diagnosis was 54 years (range: 33–74). Among these patients 91% had invasive disease, 72% were ER+, and 39% received chemotherapy; 86% elected for BCS with 78% undergoing sentinel lymph node dissection. All patients received photon based external beam radiation, 10 (43%) were treated with Hypo-RT, 12 (52%) with CRT, one (4%) with accelerated partial breast irradiation, and 4 (17%) with nodal irradiation. Median follow up was 5.04 years. Grade 2 acute radiation dermatitis (ARD) was noted in 8 patients (34%) and grade 3 in 2 patients (8%). There was no difference in Grade 2 or 3 ARD between patients receiving Hypo-RT or CRT (P= 0.4). Late grade 2 fibrosis was recorded in 1 patient (4%) and there were no events of any late grade 3 toxicity. Contralateral breast cancer occurred in 2 patients (8%) at 6 months and 9 years after the initial diagnosis. Radiation treatment in patients with heterozygous ATM germline pathogenic or VUS appears well tolerated. In our study, there was no statistical difference in toxicity between Hypo-RT or CRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]