A cross-sectional study of ERG expression and the relationship with clinicopathological features of Prostate cancer in Southwestern Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death and the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in Uganda and most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The TMPRSS2-ERG fusion gene is the most common genetic alteration seen among prostate cancer patients. There are several contradicting reports about the association of ERG protein with poor prognosis, high PSA, and Gleason score. This study determined the prevalence of ERG expression and the relationship with PSA, Gleason score, and Age of prostate cancer patients in Southwestern Uganda. METHODS: We reviewed 130 archived prostate biopsy (needle and TURP) specimens from patients of age ≥ 50 years who had a histological diagnosis of prostate cancer. We obtained their biodata, and preoperative PSA, from the archived records. We did Immunohistochemistry (IHC) to determine the prevalence of ERG expression. RESULTS: The mean patient age in our study was 74.64 ± 10.19 years. Pre-operative PSA levels had been done for 79.2% of the participants. Most cancers (58.46%) were of high grade (grade group 3-5). ERG expression prevalence was 75.4% and its expression was independent of age, re-operative PSA, and Gleason score. CONCLUSION: There is a significantly higher prevalence of ERG expression in our study compared to what is reported in other African-based studies. The expression of the ERG is independent of age, Gleason score, and serum PSA levels. A high proportion of our prostate cancer has high-grade disease at the time of diagnosis.

High Expression of WT1 and Low Expression of p53 in Archived Blocks of Children with Wilms Tumor in South Western Uganda.

Purpose: The determination of the presence or absence of anaplasia in Wilms tumor is difficult sometimes creating diagnostic errors and is worsened by the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which causes cellular alterations that may mimic anaplasia. This study described the histological features of Wilms tumor and their association with WT1 and p53 expression in archived specimens in South Western Uganda. Patients and Methods: A series of 308 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks belonging to 85 children were retrospectively recruited in the only public Histopathology laboratory in South Western Uganda. Rabbit monoclonal Anti-Wilms tumor protein antibody [(CAN-R9) IHC-56-2] ab89901 and rabbit monoclonal Anti-p53 antibody [E26] ab32389 were used to assess the expression of WT1 and p53, respectively. The expression of WT1 and p53 were reported as proportions, Chi-square was also performed to assess for associations and statistical significance was considered when the p-value was less than 0.05. Results: The median age was 3.5 with an interquartile range of (2-6) years. Mixed histology was the most common at 35.29% (95% CI:25.77-46.14). Anaplasia was present in 5.88% (95% CI:2.44-13.52) of the specimens. p53 and WT1 expressions were 13.0% (95% CI:7.25-22.04), and 41.0% (95% CI: 31.11-52.04), respectively. Conclusion: Mixed-type histology is the most common histologic feature of Wilms tumor with high expression of WT1 and a low expression of p53 implying that these can be used routinely to confirm the diagnosis as well as anaplasia in South Western Uganda.

Primary Breast Burkitt Lymphoma. A Case Report of a 16-Year-Old Female with a Rapidly Growing Unilateral Breast Mass.

Introduction: Primary breast Burkitt lymphoma is extremely rare. Commonly endemic Burkitt lymphoma presents with abdominal, jaw, periorbital, or genitourinary mass. Case Presentation: We report a case of a 16-year-old girl with rapidly enlarging left breast swelling associated with evening fevers. This was later confirmed to be stage 1 primary breast Burkitt lymphoma involving the left breast. This represents the first described case of primary breast endemic Burkitt lymphoma in Uganda. She was started on chemotherapy and exhibited an impressive response to the drugs. Conclusion: This case raises awareness of rare sites for endemic Burkitt lymphoma in Uganda. Accurately diagnosing this case was of great importance since it determined the treatment modality (mastectomy or not) which would have an everlasting impact on her life.