Surgery

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    Clinicopathological characteristics among South African women with breast cancer receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV
    Boitumelo Phakathi; Herbert Cubasch; Sarah Nietz; Caroline Dickens; Therese Dix-Peek; Maureen Joffe; A Neugut; J Jacobson; Raquel Duarte; Paul Ruff
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    Serum Metabolomic and Lipoprotein Profiling of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Patients of African Ancestry
    (MDPI, 2021) Elebo, Nnenna; Fru, Pascaline N.; Candy, Geoffrey; Nweke, Ekene
    Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal cancer with a characteristic dysregulated metabolism. Abnormal clinicopathological features linked to defective metabolic and inflammatory response pathways can induce PDAC development and progression. In this study, we investigated the metabolites and lipoproteins profiles of PDAC patients of African ancestry. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was conducted on serum obtained from consenting individuals (34 PDAC, 6 Chronic Pancreatitis, and 6 healthy participants). Seventy-five signals were quantified from each NMR spectrum. The Liposcale test was used for lipoprotein characterization. Spearman’s correlation and Kapan Meier tests were conducted for correlation and survival analyses, respectively. In our patient cohort, the results demonstrated that levels of metabolites involved in the glycolytic pathway increased with the tumour stage. Raised ethanol and 3-hydroxybutyrate were independently correlated with a shorter patient survival time, irrespective of tumour stage. Furthermore, increased levels of bilirubin resulted in an abnormal lipoprotein profile in PDAC patients. Additionally, we observed that the levels of a panel of metabolites (such as glucose and lactate) and lipoproteins correlated with those of inflammatory markers. Taken together, the metabolic phenotype can help distinguish PDAC severity and be used to predict patient survival and inform treatment intervention.
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    The challenges of managing breast cancer in the developing world- a perspective from sub- Saharan Africa
    (2014-05) Edge, J; Buccimazza, I; Cubasch, H; et al.
    Communicable diseases are the major cause of mortality in lower-income countries. Consequently, local and international resources are channelled mainly into addressing the impact of these conditions. HIV, however, is being successfully treated, people are living longer, and disease patterns are changing. As populations age, the incidence of cancer inevitably increases. The World Health Organization has predicted a dramatic increase in global cancer cases during the next 15 years, the majority of which will occur in low- and middle-income countries. Cancer treatment is expensive and complex and in the developing world 5% of global cancer funds are spent on 70% of cancer cases. This paper reviews the challenges of managing breast cancer in the developing world, using sub-Saharan Africa as a model.