Background: Several studies have outlined biological differences between female and male breast cancer (MBC) and concluded that MBC should be considered as an entirely separate disease. Whether FOXM1 has any indication for prognosis in MBC patients remains unknown. We sought to examine the expression levels of FOXM1 in MBC and to identify the relationship between FOXM1 expression and patient survival. Patients and Methods: FOXM1 expression was evaluated in a total of 130 MBC specimens. Results: FOXM1 was overexpressed in 37% of the MBC samples. FOXM1 overexpression was significantly associated with tumor size (p = 0.045), histological grade (p = 0.048), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.012), Ki-67 proliferation index (p = 0.016), and molecular subtypes (p < 0.001). Multivariate analyses indicated that FOXM1 was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival in MBC patients (p < 0.001, hazard ratio = 0.69 (0.43-0.96)). Conclusions: Overexpression of FOXM1 was associated with well-established markers of poor prognosis; thus FOXM1 may represent a potential novel prognostic marker for MBC.
The β-galactoside-binding protein galectin-3 (gal-3) has pleitropic biological functions and has been implicated in cell growth, differentiation, adhesion, RNA processing, apoptosis, and malignant transformation. To investigate the pattern of inactivation of the gal-3 gene (LGALS3) in colorectal cancers (CRC), we studied a series of Tunisian patients with CRC to identify abnormal methylation in LGALS3 promoter using a methylation-specific PCR. We also examined the gal-3 gene expression by reverse transcription-PCR and the expression of gal-3 protein by immunohistochemistry. Analysis of DNA methylation in nonmucinous colorectal carcinomas expressing gal-3 protein showed an unmethylated profile of LGALS3 promoter, whereas gal-3 was aberrantly methylated in mucinous colorectal carcinomas. Complete loss of the gal-3 expression both at mRNA and the protein level was associated with the gal-3 methylation in the mucinous colorectal carcinomas. Our results show that methylation of the gal-3 promoter could be an important mechanism in the regulation of the expression of this gene in mucinous CRCs.
Lipoblastoma is a rare, benign tumor usually occurring in childhood. It is essentially localized in the extremities and trunk, with few cases reported in the neck. We report the case of a 2-year-old girl with a rapidly enlarging, painless neck mass. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a 3-cm mass in the right submandibular region. Review of literature, diagnostic methods, and genetics of lipomatous tumors are discussed. Complete surgical excision via a lateral cervical approach demonstrated a white soft tissue with an adherent ganglion. Histology and immunohistochemistry confirmed the diagnosis of lipoblastoma. Cervical lipoblastoma is rare, and typically asymptomatic, rarely causing nerve compression or airway obstruction. MRI can help identifying the lipomatous nature of the mass, but the findings can be inconsistent due to variable maturity of fat cells and the mesenchymal content of the tumor. Diagnosis is always based on pathological examination. Further chromosomal analysis is useful in differentiating lipoblastoma from liposarcoma. Complete surgical excision is the recommended treatment.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the expression of survivin and p16 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) in order to analyze their pathogenesis and prognostic significance in Tunisian patients. A total of 70 patients with LSCC collected at the Salah Azaiez Cancer Institute of Tunis were retrospectively evaluated. Expression of survivin and p16 was examined using immunohistochemistry, and the correlations with clinicopathological parameters, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were statistically evaluated. The positive expression of survivin and p16 were found in 58.6% and 51.43% of LSCC cases, respectively. The p16 expression was not associated with either clinical parameters or patient survival, whereas there was a strong correlation of survivin expression and lymph node metastases (P ¼ .002), alcohol consumption (P ¼ .024), and therapeutic protocol (with or without chemotherapy; P ¼ .001). Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that patients with LSCC having positive survivin expression have shorter OS (P ¼ .026) and shorter DFS (P ¼ .01) than those with negative expression. Positive survivin expression was also correlated with high recurrence rate (P ¼ .014). Therefore, survivin is a poor prognostic marker for LSCC but the therapeutic protocol remains, in multivariate study, the most decisive for the OS and DFS of our patients with P < .01. Our data indicated that, in Tunisian laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, survivin expression is associated with unfavorable outcomes and represents a predictor marker of recurrence and chemoresistance. However, p16 expression has no prognosis value.
Objectives: Tunisia is in the endemic area of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) based assays have been commonly used as standard markers for screening and monitoring the disease. So, it is very important to find novel factors for the early diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of this cancer. The aim of the study was to evaluate the expression of IGF-1R (Insulin Growth Factor Receptor 1), LMP 1 (Latent Membrane Protein 1) and EBERs (EBV encoded RNAs) in order to determine their correlation with clinicopathologic parameters and survival rates in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). We also looked for the relationship between these biomarkers. Methods: IGF-1R and LMP1 expression was performed by means of immunohistochemical method and EBERs were detected using in situ hybridization of paraffin embedded tumor tissues of 94 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and 45 non-cancerous nasopharyngeal mucosa samples. Results: Our findings demonstrated that IGF-1R was over expressed in 47.87% of NPC patients and only in 2.22% of controls. Positive LMP1 expression was detected in 56.38% of NPC patients and all NPC patients were positive for the EBV-encoded RNAs staining. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between IGF-1R expression and the tumor size ( P < .001). Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that NPC patients with a strong IGF-1R expression level have shorter median and 5-year Overall Survival than those with weak expression rates (100.15 vs 102.68 months, P = .08). In addition, median and 5-year Disease-Free Survival was significantly lower in the LMP1 positive NPC patients than in the LMP1 negative ones (53.38 vs 93.37 months, P = .03). Moreover, LMP1 expression correlated strongly with IGF-1R expression ( P = .018). The relationship between these two biomarkers could influence patient survival. Conclusion: IGF1-R and LMP1 could be valuable prognostic markers in Tunisian NPC patients.
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