Assessment of diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer cases at two cancer centers in E gypt and T unisia

The diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer ( IBC ) is largely clinical and therefore inherently somewhat subjective. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnosis of IBC at two centers in N orth A frica where a higher proportion of breast cancer is diagnosed as IBC than in the U nited S tates ( U . S .). Physicians prospectively enrolled suspected IBC cases at the National Cancer Institute ( NCI ) –  C airo, E gypt, and the I nstitut S alah A zaiz ( ISA ), T unisia, recorded extent and duration of signs/symptoms of IBC on standardized forms, and took digital photographs of the breast. After second‐level review at study hospitals, photographs and clinical information for confirmed IBC cases were reviewed by two U . S . oncologists. We calculated percent agreement between study hospital and U . S . oncologist diagnoses. Among cases confirmed by at least one U . S . oncologist, we calculated median extent and duration of signs and S pearman correlations. At least one U . S . oncologist confirmed the IBC diagnosis for 69% (39/50) of cases with photographs at the NCI ‐ C airo and 88% (21/24) of cases at the ISA . All confirmed cases had at least one sign of IBC (erythema, edema, peau d'orange) that covered at least one‐third of the breast. The median duration of signs ranged from 1 to 3 months; extent and duration of signs were not statistically significantly correlated. From the above‐mentioned outcomes, it can be concluded that the diagnosis of a substantial proportion of IBC cases is unambiguous, but a subset is difficult to distinguish from other types of locally advanced breast cancer. Among confirmed cases, the extent of signs was not related to delay in diagnosis. The diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer ( IBC ) is largely clinical and therefore inherently somewhat subjective. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the diagnosis of IBC at two centers in N orth A frica, where a higher proportion of breast cancer is diagnosed as IBC than in the U nited S tates ( U.S. ). The diagnosis of a substantial proportion of IBC cases at the study centers was unambiguous, but a subset was difficult to distinguish from other types of locally advanced breast cancer.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97479/1/cam448.pd

Multiple Primary Cancers in North Tunisia, 2000 - 2009

Aim: to evaluate and report the frequency, epidemiologic and antaomo -clinical features of patients who developed MPM from the data of North Tunisia Cancer Registry, during the period 2000-2009.Materials and methods: From a population of 53757 new patients of the North Tunisia National Cancer Registry database presenting new cases of cancers during the period 2000-2009 in North Tunisia, we collected and analyzed those with MPMTs. We used for MPMT the international IARC diagnosis criteria are published in ICD-O Third Edition. Results:  In the 53757 new cancer cases registered from 2000-2009, we collected 528 cases (1.0%) of MPM. Mean age at diagnosis of the 1st cancer was 61 years (22-99) and sex-ratio at  1.08 (275M/253F) while mean age at the 2nd cancer diagnosis was 62 years(29 to 99). Among the 528 cases, the most frequent 1st cancer site was breast in females (147 pts, 58.1%) and urinary tract for males (56 patients, 20.4%). In the 528 MPM cases, 321 (60.8%) were synchronous and 207 cases (39.2%) were metachronous tumors. The median time from 1st to 2nd cancer was 1.98 months (range 0-140). The most associated 1st-2nd cancer sites were breast in 110 patients (43.3%) in females and for males’ urinary tract -prostate cancers (45 patients, 16.3%). Conclusions: The coexistence of a synchronous or metachronous MPM is possible and have to be considered during pretreatment evaluation. A close follow-up should be recommended to detect second malignancies in patients treated for a 1st cancer.Keywords: Multiple primary malignancies , clinical features , North Tunisi

Assessment of diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer cases at two cancer centers in Egypt and Tunisia

The diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is largely clinical and therefore inherently somewhat subjective. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnosis of IBC at two centers in North Africa where a higher proportion of breast cancer is diagnosed as IBC than in the United States (U.S.). Physicians prospectively enrolled suspected IBC cases at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) – Cairo, Egypt, and the Institut Salah Azaiz (ISA), Tunisia, recorded extent and duration of signs/symptoms of IBC on standardized forms, and took digital photographs of the breast. After second-level review at study hospitals, photographs and clinical information for confirmed IBC cases were reviewed by two U.S. oncologists. We calculated percent agreement between study hospital and U.S. oncologist diagnoses. Among cases confirmed by at least one U.S. oncologist, we calculated median extent and duration of signs and Spearman correlations. At least one U.S. oncologist confirmed the IBC diagnosis for 69% (39/50) of cases with photographs at the NCI-Cairo and 88% (21/24) of cases at the ISA. All confirmed cases had at least one sign of IBC (erythema, edema, peau d’orange) that covered at least one-third of the breast. The median duration of signs ranged from 1 to 3 months; extent and duration of signs were not statistically significantly correlated. From the above-mentioned outcomes, it can be concluded that the diagnosis of a substantial proportion of IBC cases is unambiguous, but a subset is difficult to distinguish from other types of locally advanced breast cancer. Among confirmed cases, the extent of signs was not related to delay in diagnosis

Joint effect of smoking and NQO1 C609T polymorphism on undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk in a North African population.

International audienceBACKGROUND:Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has a higher incidence in North Africa than in most parts of the world. In addition to environmental factors such as Epstein-Barr virus infection and chemical carcinogen exposure, genetic susceptibility has been reported to play a key role in the development of NPC. NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1 is a cytosolic enzyme that protects cells from oxidative damage. A C to T transition at position 609 in the NQO1 gene (OMIM: 125860) has been shown to alter the enzymatic activity of the enzyme and has been associated with increased risk to several cancers. This study investigates for the first time the effect of this polymorphism on NPC susceptibility in a North African population.METHODS:The NQO1 C609T polymorphism was genotyped using PCR-RFLP in 392 NPC cases and 365 controls from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.RESULTS:The allele frequencies and distributions of genotypes did not differ between cases and controls (p > 0.05). When stratifying according to smoking status, we observed two-fold higher NPC risk in ever-smokers carrying the CT or TT genotype. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that there was a significant interaction between T allele and smoking status (OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.20-3.19; interaction p = 0.007).CONCLUSION:In this North African population, the functional NQO1 polymorphism was associated with a significantly higher risk of NPC among smokers and did not affect the risk among nonsmokers

Additional file 1: Table S1. of No association between TGF-β1 polymorphisms and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a large North African case-control study

Association of TGF-β1 gene polymorphisms with TNM stage. (DOCX 21 kb