High Throughput Analysis Reveals Changes in Gut Microbiota and Specific Fecal Metabolomic Signature in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients.

There is mounting evidence for the emerging role of gut microbiota (GM) and its metabolites in profoundly impacting allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) and its subsequent complications, mainly infections and graft versus host-disease (GvHD). The present study was performed in order to investigate changes in GM composition and fecal metabolic signature between transplant patients ( = 15) and healthy controls ( = 18). The intestinal microbiota was characterized by NGS and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was employed to perform untargeted analysis of fecal metabolites.

Fecal Metabolic Profiling of Breast Cancer Patients during Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Reveals Potential Biomarkers.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common form of cancer among women worldwide. Despite the huge advancements in its treatment, the exact etiology of breast cancer still remains unresolved. There is an increasing interest in the role of the gut microbiome in modulating the anti-cancer therapeutic response.

Targeting Tumor Metabolism: A New Challenge to Improve Immunotherapy.

Currently, a marked number of clinical trials on cancer treatment have revealed the success of immunomodulatory therapies based on immune checkpoint inhibitors that activate tumor-specific T cells. However, the therapeutic efficacy of cancer immunotherapies is only restricted to a small fraction of patients. A deeper understanding of key mechanisms generating an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) remains a major challenge for more effective antitumor immunity.

[Molecular characterization of Lynch syndrome in Tunisia].

Background: High rates of early colorectal cancers (CRC) are observed in Tunisia suggesting genetic susceptibility. Nevertheless, up to now no molecular studies have been performed in the Tunisian population.

Aim: To evaluate the clinical and genetic characteristics of Tunisian families suspected of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) and to identify new tumoral markers for CRC susceptibility leading to distinguish patients with sporadic CRC from those with familial CRC, like HNPCC.

XRCC1 and hOGG1 genes and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in North African countries.

Although genetic susceptibility to nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has been recognized for a long time, little is known about the responsible genes. X-Ray repair cross-complementing protein 1 (XRCC1) and human 8-oxo-guanine glycosylase 1 (hOGG1) genes are involved in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair and were found associated with NPC risk in three Asian case-control studies. The objective of the present study was to test these genes in a sample from North Africa, one of the major NPC endemic regions in the world.

HPV types and variants among cervical cancer tumors in three regions of Tunisia.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among Tunisian women, and the incidence rates vary by region. Three Tunisian registries report age-standardized rates of 6.3/10(5) in the central region, 5.

Genome profiling of ERBB2-amplified breast cancers.

Background: Around 20% of breast cancers (BC) show ERBB2 gene amplification and overexpression of the ERBB2 tyrosine kinase receptor. They are associated with a poor prognosis but can benefit from targeted therapy. A better knowledge of these BCs, genomically and biologically heterogeneous, may help understand their behavior and design new therapeutic strategies.

[Penetrance of BRCA1 gene mutation and DNA mitochondrial in Tunisian breast cancer occurrence].

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the implication of BRCA1 gene and the mitochondrial micro satellite (situated between 303 and 315 positions) mutations in the occurrence of breast cancer in Tunisia.

Methods: Nine Tunisian patients with hereditary breast cancer have been analyzed. For each patient, total genomic DNA was extracted and used as a template for the amplification of 24 exons of the BRCA1 gene and an hyper variable mitochondrial region.

Phase 2 study of single-agent IV vinflunine as third-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer after failure of anthracycline-/taxane-based chemotherapy.

Objective: A multicenter, open-label, phase 2 study evaluated the efficacy and safety of intravenous vinflunine as third-line treatment in patients with progressing metastatic breast cancer (MBC) after failure of anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: Fifty-six patients with MBC, relapsing after receiving 2 previous treatments for advanced disease, including both anthracyclines and taxanes, received 320 mg/m(2) of vinflunine once every 3 weeks (median number of 2.5 cycles, range: 1-13).

First genetic analysis in Tunisian familial adenomatous polyposis probands.

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is an autosomal dominant inherited disease characterized by the development of hundreds to thousands of adenomatous polyps in colon and rectum. The APC gene (adenomatous polyposis coli) is considered as the major mutated gene in FAP. It has been shown that biallelic germline mutations in the base-excision-repair gene MYH can be responsible for a recessive inheritance of adenomatous polyposis (AP).

Dietary risk factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Maghrebian countries.

North Africa is one of the major Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) endemic regions. Specific food items unique to this area were implicated to be associated with NPC risk, but results were inconsistent. Here we have performed a large-scale case-control study in the Maghrebian population from Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

Knowledge gained after a brief CME module on breast cancer diagnosis.

Background: In developing countries, continuing medical education (CME) is lacking and physicians' knowledge of cancer control may also be lacking.

Method: We evaluated knowledge of 144 primary care physicians in Egypt and 50 in Tunisia regarding breast cancer (BC) and inflammatory BC (IBC) in particular. We invited the physicians to pretesting, presentation of an educational module, and post-testing.

Inflammatory breast cancers in Tunisia and France show similar immunophenotypes.

Purpose: Inflammatory breast cancers (IBC) have specific immunophenotypic profiles as compared to non-inflammatory (non-IBC): combined differential expression of estrogen receptor, Ki67, E-cadherin, MUC1, and ERBB2 can be used as an IBC signature. It is thought that IBC occurs with a high frequency in Tunisia. The aim of this study is to evaluate this signature on a Tunisian series.

HLA class II polymorphism: protective or risk factors to breast cancer in Tunisia?

HLA system plays a key role in the tumor cells' escape from immune surveillance. Herein is the first report on the correlation of the susceptibility to breast cancer with HLA class II markers in Tunisia. Molecular typing of HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 loci was undertaken for 70 Tunisian female patients.

Islands inside an island: reproductive isolates on Jerba island.

Jerba Island, located in South Eastern Tunisia, is inhabited by four ethnic groups: Berbers, Arabs, sub-Saharans, and Jews. All live in distinct areas, although the Arabs are also distributed all over the island. The first Arab settlement was founded in the 7th century A.

Esthesioneuroblastoma metastatic to the breast in a young woman.

Background: Metastases to the breast are rare and can be missed without knowledge of the clinical history. We report an unusual breast metastasis originating in an olfactory neuroblastoma.

Case: A breast metastasis from esthesioneuroblastoma occurred in a 20-year-old woman 2 years after the onset of the disease.

[Preoperative concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy in cervix cancer: preliminary results].

This is a retrospective study of patients treated for cervix cancer staged IB2, IIA or IIB with bulky tumor (> 4cm). Treatment was concurrent radiotherapy (45Gy with 1,8Gy daily fraction) and chemotherapy (5 cycles of Platinum 40mg/m2/week). All patients underwent Brachytherapy (15Gy on the reference isodose according to Paris system) followed by surgery (radical abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy: Piver 3) Between October 1999 and December 2002, forty five patients were treated in this protocol.

Cervical cancer in Tunisia: an epidemiological, clinical and pathological study.

Background: This study was undertaken to determine epidemiological and pathological profile of cervical cancer in Tunisia.

Design Study: Registration and analysis of all cervical cancer newly diagnosed during the year 1994 (year of general census) based on review of all pathology laboratory files in the country with exclusion of previously diagnosed cases according to clinical data.

Results: During the year 1994, 216 new cases were registered among which 195 cases (89.

[Bioclinical correlations in bony metastases. Results of a prospective study. 60 cases].

Unlabelled: Our objective is to compare clinical and biological presentation of patients with bone metastatic disease.

Patients And Methods: We collected prospectively 60 patients (adults and children) with proven bone metastasis. Tumors are mainly breast cancer (25/60) or nasopharyngeal carcinoma (8/60).