Differential Epigenetic Regulation in Uninfected and Tuberculosis-Human Immunodeficiency Virus Co-Infected Patients.

This study aimed to compare the degree of epigenetic modifications between a TB-HIV co-infected cohort and uninfected subjects. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues were retrieved from 45 TB-HIV co-infected and 45 control individuals. Real-time PCR was applied to compare the level of expression of genes involved in epigenetic regulation.

MicroRNA Expression Profile Separates Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Mode of Differentiation.

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a non-melanoma skin cancer with several risk factors including age and sun exposure. The degree of histological differentiation is considered an independent predictor of recurrence, metastasis, and survival. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that play an important role in regulating gene expression, culminating in the initiation and progression of multiple tumors.

Tumour Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) and immune composition in breast cancer patients from Kenya: Spatial distributions and associations with risk factors and tumour characteristics.

Background: The immune landscape of breast cancer (BC) in patients from Sub Saharan Africa is understudied. Our aims were to describe the distribution of Tumour Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) within the intratumoural stroma (sTILs) and the leading/invasive edge stroma (LE-TILs), and to evaluate TILs across BC subtypes with established risk factors and clinical characteristics in Kenyan women.

Methods: Visual quantification of sTILs and LE-TILs were performed on Haematoxylin and eosin -stained pathologically confirmed BC cases based on the International TIL working group guidelines.

The clinicopathological and microrna expression signature associated with lymphovascular invasion in squamous cell carcinoma: A basic descriptive study.

Background And Aims: Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) is an indicator of lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis in various cancers including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Despite being easily resectable and having little potential for LVI; SCC displays aggressive behavior and often results in the death of the patient. With this in mind, it may be useful to investigate the clinical, pathological, and microRNA expression profile associated with LVI in SCC.

Left-sided colorectal cancer distinct in indigenous African patients compared to other ethnic groups in South Africa.

Introduction: A large proportion of indigenous African (IA) colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in South Africa are young (< 50 years), with no unique histopathological or molecular characteristics. Anatomical site as well as microsatellite instability (MSI) status have shown to be associated with different clinicopathological and molecular features. This study aimed to ascertain key histopathological features in microsatellite stable (MSS) and low-frequency MSI (MSI-L) patients, to provide insight into the mechanism of the disease.

Breast cancer risk factors in relation to molecular subtypes in breast cancer patients from Kenya.

Background: Few studies have investigated risk factor heterogeneity by molecular subtypes in indigenous African populations where prevalence of traditional breast cancer (BC) risk factors, genetic background, and environmental exposures show marked differences compared to European ancestry populations.

Methods: We conducted a case-only analysis of 838 pathologically confirmed BC cases recruited from 5 groups of public, faith-based, and private institutions across Kenya between March 2012 to May 2015. Centralized pathology review and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for key markers (ER, PR, HER2, EGFR, CK5-6, and Ki67) was performed to define subtypes.

Determining protein biomarkers for DLBCL using FFPE tissues from HIV negative and HIV positive patients.

DLBCL is the most common lymphoma subtype occurring in older populations as well as in younger HIV infected patients. The current treatment options for DLBCL are effective for most patients yet the relapse rate is high. While many biomarkers for DLBCL exist, they are not in clinical use due to low sensitivity and specificity.