Schistosomiasis and the risk of bladder cancer in Alexandria, Egypt.

The relationship between history of schistosomiasis and bladder cancer risk was investigated using data from a case-control study conducted between January 1994 and July 1996 in Alexandria, Egypt. Cases were 190 subjects with incident, histologically confirmed invasive cancer of the bladder, and controls were 187 subjects admitted to hospital for acute, non-neoplastic, non-urinary tract conditions. Eighty-six cases (45%) vs 69 controls (37%) reported a history of urinary schistosomiasis. The corresponding multivariate odds ratio (OR) of bladder cancer -- after allowance for age, sex, education, smoking, other urinary infections and high-risk occupations -- was 1.72 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-2.9). The ORs were 0.22 (95% CI 0.1-0.4) for intestinal schistosomiasis and 0.32 (95% CI 0.1-1.9) for schistosomiasis of other types. The OR for urinary schistosomiasis was higher in subjects who were younger at first diagnosis (OR of 3.3 for <15 years) and in those with a long time since first diagnosis (OR of 3.0 for > or = 35 years). The ORs were 15.8 for male ever-smokers with a history of urinary schistosomiasis, compared with never-smokers without such a history, and 3.2 for men ever-infected with urinary Schistosoma haematobium and ever-employed in high-risk occupations, compared with those never-infected and with no high-risk occupational history. This study confirms that clinical history of urinary schistosomiasis is significantly, but modestly, associated with increased bladder cancer risk, explaining some 16% of bladder cancer cases in this Egyptian population

Utjecaj progesterona na toksičnost benzena u štakora

Benzene is a frequently used industrial solvent. Its toxic manifestations could be modified by sex hormones, but mechanisms of their action are poorly understood. We have examined the influence of progesterone on lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde), reduced glutathione (GSH), and cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) in the liver and kidneys of female rats. Progesterone applied to benzene-treated rats inhibited the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), but in ovariectomised benzene-treated rats it significantly increased GSH in the liver. No improvement in CYP2E1 activity was observed in progesterone treated rats. Our results evidence that progesterone changes benzene toxicity (generation of ROS, oxidative stress). However, the probable antioxidative effect of progesterone needs to be confirmed by further studies.Benzen se u industriji često rabi kao otapalo. Zna se da na njegovu toksičnost mogu utjecati spolni hormoni, ali su mehanizmi njihova djelovanja još uvijek slabo poznati. Ispitali smo utjecaj progesterona na peroksidaciju lipida (malondialdehida), pad razina glutationa te aktivnost citokroma P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) u jetri i bubrezima štakorica. Primjena progesterona u štakorica koje su prethodno primile benzen inhibirala je stvaranje reaktivnih molekula kisika (engl. reactive oxygen species, krat. ROS), ali je u štakorica s ovariektomijom koje su također primile benzen doveo do značajnoga rasta glutationa u jetri. U štakorica koje su primile progesteron nije zamijećena poboljšana aktivnost izoeznima CYP2E1. Naši rezultati potvrđuju da progesteron utječe na toksičnost benzena (stvaranje ROS-a i oksidativni stres). Međutim, tek u budućim istraživanjima valja potvrditi djeluje li progesteron antioksidativno

Chromosomal aberrations in benign and malignant Bilharzia-associated bladder lesions analyzed by comparative genomic hybridization

BACKGROUND: Bilharzia-associated bladder cancer (BAC) is a major health problem in countries where urinary schistosomiasis is endemic. Characterization of the genetic alterations in this cancer might enhance our understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of the disease but, in contrast to nonbilharzia bladder cancer, BAC has rarely been the object of such scrutiny. In the present study, we aimed to characterize chromosomal imbalances in benign and malignant post-bilharzial lesions, and to determine whether their unique etiology yields a distinct cytogenetic profile as compared to chemically induced bladder tumors. METHODS: DNAs from 20 archival paraffin-embedded post-bilharzial bladder lesions (6 benign and 14 malignant) obtained from Sudanese patients (12 males and 8 females) with a history of urinary bilharziasis were investigated for chromosomal imbalances using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). Subsequent FISH analysis with pericentromeric probes was performed on paraffin sections of the same cases to confirm the CGH results. RESULTS: Seven of the 20 lesions (6 carcinomas and one granuloma) showed chromosomal imbalances varying from 1 to 6 changes. The most common chromosomal imbalances detected were losses of 1p21-31, 8p21-pter, and 9p and gain of 19p material, seen in three cases each, including the benign lesion. CONCLUSION: Most of the detected imbalances have been repeatedly reported in non-bilharzial bladder carcinomas, suggesting that the cytogenetic profiles of chemical- and bilharzia-induced carcinomas are largely similar. However, loss of 9p seems to be more ubiquitous in BAC than in bladder cancer in industrialized countries

Frequency of lymphomas in Alexandria, Egypt

La Fondation Dosne-Thiers et la Société des Amis Mélomanes ont le plaisir de vous inviter, le mardi 7 juin à 19h, à la conférence tenue par Monsieur Jérôme Bastianelli qui aura pour sujet la recherche du succès de Georges Bizet, depuis sa Symphonie en ut, jusqu'à Carmen