Advances in Etiopathological Role and Control of HPV in Cervical Cancer Oncogenesis

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a well-known oncovirus whose causal link in the occurrence and development of several cancers, such as cervical cancer (CC), has been well established. Indeed, numerous researches depicted the etiological role of HPV in CC pathogenesis in such a way as to develop efficient strategies, including early diagnoses and HPV vaccination, to mitigate HPV infection and CC occurrence. Despite the effectiveness of these strategies in preventing HPV infection, its persistence, and the progression to precancerous lesions and cancers, extensive work that could give a better understanding of other unknown factors favoring oncogenesis is much more needed. In this last decade, scarce or few but crucial and strategic studies have been carried out to improve and deepen our understanding of the etiopathological role of HPV in the progression towards the development of CC. In this review, we highlighted the recent findings on the pathological role of HPV in CC occurrence and the advances in novel adopted strategies to reduce HPV infection and prevent CC occurrence more effectively

Breast cancer: descriptive profile of 80 women attending breast cancer care in the Department of General and Digestive Surgery of CHU-YO

Introduction: Breast cancer is a common cause of death among women in Burkina Faso. The aim of this study was to determine a descriptive profile of 80 women and establish a description of risk factors associated with breast cancer in these women. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited women with breast cancer in Ouagadougou. Teaching Hospital Yalgado Ouedraogo in Burkina Faso from January 2015 to February 2016. We have collected data on socio-demographic characteristics, reproductive status, clinical information, treatment and molecular characteristics. Results: The average age of the study population was 48.2±12.4 years. Family history of breast cancer was reported in 18.75% of the studied participants against 16.25% family history for other types of cancer. Patients from urban areas represented 87.5% of our studied population with 58.75% of household, multiparous (55.0%), no aborts status (56.2%), post-menopausal women (53.75%), no oral contraception (63.75%), regular menstrual cycle (71.25%) and the prevalence of obesity was 12.5%. The clinical and molecular characteristics showed that left-sided breast cancer accounted for 51.25 %, high grade (II and III) represented 93.75 % of cases and the majority of tumors were infiltrating ductal carcinomas (93.75%) with stages III and IV accounted for 50.0%. Conclusion: This study described the distribution of risks factors in a population of breast cancer women. Although more research are needed to support these findings, a clear understanding of risk factors associated with breast cancer would contribute to significantly reduce breast cancer incidence and mortality in Burkina Faso

Carriage of Ser217Leu and Ala541Thr Variants of ELAC2 Gene and Risk Factors in Patients with Prostate Cancer in Burkina Faso

Background. Genetic factors are one of the significant contributors to prostate cancer (PCa) development, and hereditary prostate cancer 2 (HPC2) locus gene ELAC2 is considered a PCa susceptibility region. The HPC2/ELAC2 gene has been identified by linkage analysis in familial prostate cancer patients in the United States but has never been studied in Burkina Faso. The objective of the present study was to analyze the carriage of the C650T (Ser217Leu) and G1621A (Ala541Thr) mutations of the ELAC2 gene and the risk factors in prostate cancer patients in Burkina Faso. Methods. This case-control study included 76 participants, including 38 histologically confirmed prostate cancer cases and 38 healthy controls without prostate abnormalities. PCR combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was used to characterize the genotypes of the Ser217Leu and Ala541Thr polymorphisms of the ELAC2 gene. The correlations between the different genotypes and risk factors for prostate cancer were investigated. Results. The C650T mutation was present in 44.73% of prostate cancer cases and 47.37% of controls. The G1621A mutation was present in 26.32% of prostate cancer cases and 15.79% of controls. We did not detect an association between prostate cancer risk and the Ser217Leu (p=0.972) and Ala541Thr (p=0.267) variants of the ELAC2 gene. Also, the two ELAC2 SNPs did not correlate with clinical stage, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level at diagnosis, or the Gleason score on biopsies. However, we found that 100% of homozygous carriers of the T650 mutation have an A1621 mutation (p≤0.001). Conclusion. Ser217Leu and Ala541Thr polymorphisms of ELAC2, considered alone or in combination, are not associated with prostate cancer risk