Infection by Epstein-Barr virus in Fes (Morocco). Prevalence and predictors of positivity in nasopharyngeal cancer

Epstein-Barr virus and Burkitt's lymphoma. Associations in Iraqi Kurdistan and twenty-two countries assessed in the International Incidence of Childhood Cancer

Background

Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) has worldwide variations in incidence that are related to the age of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. This study examined the age-specific incidence rate (ASIR) of BL and community EBV seropositivity in Iraqi Kurdistan and compared results with data from countries tabulated in the International Incidence of Childhood Cancer volume 3 (IICC-3).

Methods

The ASIR (95% confidence intervals) of BL in Sulaimani Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan were calculated for the years 2010–2020. Specimens from 515 outpatients were tested for IgG and IgM antibodies to EBV viral capsid antigen.

Results

In Sulaimani, 84% of BL occurred under 20 years of age, with an ASIR of 6.2 (4.7–7.7) per million children. This ASIR was not significantly different than that of Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Spain, or France. It was slightly higher than the ASIR of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany and markedly higher than for Asia and South Africa. In Africa and much of Asia, early childhood EBV exposure predominates, with nearly all children being infected by 5 years of age. In Sulaimani, just over 50% of children were EBV seropositive at 3 years old and 90% seropositivity was reached at 15 years of age. In Europe and North America, seropositivity is commonly delayed until adolescence or young adulthood and adult predominates over childhood BL.

Conclusion

In the Middle East, childhood BL is relatively common and adult BL is rare. In Sulaimani, EBV seropositivity increases progressively throughout childhood and reaches 92% at mid-adolescence. This may reflect the Mid East more widely. We suggest that the high childhood and low adult BL rates may be a regional effect of a pattern of EBV exposure intermediate between early childhood and adolescent and young adult infections.

Authorship Patterns in Cancer Genomics Publications Across Africa

PURPOSE

Authorship is a proxy indicator of research capacity. Understanding the research capacity is imperative for developing population-specific cancer control strategies. This is particularly apropos for African nations, where mortality from cancer is projected to surpass that from infectious disease and the populations are critically under-represented in cancer and genomics studies. Here, we present an analysis and discussion of the patterns of authorship in Africa as they pertain to cancer genomics research across African countries.

METHODS

PubMed metadata of relevant cancer genomics peer-reviewed publications on African populations, published between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 2019, were retrieved and analyzed for patterns of authorship affiliation using R packages, RISmed, and Pubmed.mineR.

RESULTS

The data showed that only 0.016% (n = 375) of cancer publications globally were on cancer genomics of African people. More than 50% of the first and last authors of these publications originated from the North African countries of Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, and Algeria. South Africa (13.6% and 12.7%) and Nigeria (2.2% and 1.9%) were the Sub-Saharan African countries most represented by first and last authorship positions, respectively. The United States contributed 12.6% of first and last authored papers, and nearly 50% of all African countries had no contributing author for the publications we reviewed.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights and brings awareness to the paucity of cancer genomics research on African populations and by African authors and identifies a need for concerted efforts to encourage and enable more research in Africa, needed for achieving global equity in cancer outcomes.

Virus-associated human cancers in Moroccan population: From epidemiology to prospective research

Eight human viruses have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as carcinogenic or probably carcinogenic for humans. Infection with high risk human papillomaviruses, hepatitis B and C viruses, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1), Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), Merkel cell polyomavirus and human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV1) alone or in combination with other agents are the main etiologic factors of many cancers. This review highlights some aspects of virus-associated human cancers, potentially responsible for >14,000 malignancies per year in Morocco. Given that not all individuals infected with these viruses develop cancer, somatic alterations, genetic predisposition, and lifestyle or environmental factors obviously play potentializing roles modulating viral activity. These viral, host genetic signatures and lifestyle interactions may represent a reservoir of biomarkers for early detection, prevention of cancer and rationale-based therapy.

Type 2 diabetes and postoperative pneumonia: An observational, population-based study using the Spanish Hospital Discharge Database, 2001-2015

Purpose

We analyzed temporal trends, demographic and clinical characteristics and hospital mortality rates of postoperative pneumonia among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in Spain from 2001 to 2015. We also compared the incidence, comorbidities and mortality between patients with and without T2DM suffering from postoperative pneumonia. Finally, we analyzed the factors involved in the prediction of in-hospital mortality among patients suffering postoperative pneumonia.

Methods

We used the Spanish National Hospital Discharge Database for the period 2001–2015. We analyzed patients aged 40 years or over who had been hospitalized for a surgical procedure and suffered pneumonia or ventilator-associated pneumonia during their hospital admission. We compared patients with and without T2DM. The main outcome measures were the type of surgical procedure, the presence of a comorbidity, the type of isolated pathogens, admission to the emergency room (ER) and in-hospital mortality (IHM).

Results

We selected 117,665 hospitalized patients who suffered postoperative pneumonia (16.9% with T2DM). After multivariable adjustment, T2DM patients had a 21% higher incidence of postoperative pneumonia than nondiabetic patients (IRR 1.21, 95% CI 1.03–1.42). The IHM was approximately 31% in both groups. Predictors of IHM included age, the presence of comorbidities, treatment with a pleural drainage tube, dialysis, blood transfusion, mechanical ventilation and admission to the ER. From 2001 to 2015, the IHM decreased significantly in both populations. Suffering from T2DM was not a predictor of IHM (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.96–1.03) in our investigation.

Conclusions

T2DM patients have a higher incidence of postoperative pneumonia than those without this disease. The IHM decreased from 2001 to 2015, regardless of T2DM status. T2DM did not predict a higher IHM after suffering from postoperative pneumonia.