Clinicopathological and prognostic implications of EGFR mutations subtypes in Moroccan non-small cell lung cancer patients: A first report.

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a significant global health concern, with EGFR mutations playing a pivotal role in guiding treatment decisions. This prospective study investigated the prevalence and clinical implications of EGFR mutations in Moroccan NSCLC patients. METHODS: A cohort of 302 NSCLC patients was analyzed for EGFR mutations using multiple techniques. Demographic, clinical, and pathological characteristics were assessed, and overall survival (OS) outcomes were compared among different EGFR mutation subtypes. RESULTS: EGFR mutations were present in 23.5% of patients, with common mutations (81.69%) dominating. Common mutations showed strong associations with female gender and non-smoking status, while rare mutations were associated with a positive smoking history. Patients with EGFR mutations receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) had significantly improved OS compared to wild-type EGFR patients. Notably, patients with common EGFR mutations had the highest OS, while those with rare mutations had a shorter survival period, albeit not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the relevance of EGFR mutation status in NSCLC patients, particularly in therapeutic decision-making. The association between smoking history and rare mutations suggests the need for tailored approaches. The survival advantage for patients with common EGFR mutations underscores the significance of personalized treatment strategies.

RAS Mutations Predict Recurrence-Free Survival and Recurrence Patterns in Colon Cancer: A Unicenter Study in Morocco.

PURPOSE: To date, only a few studies have investigated the role of molecular alterations in cancer recurrence. This exploratory study aimed to evaluate the impact of molecular alterations on the time and site of recurrence in patients with stage I-IV CRC and to identify the risk factors predicting recurrence-free survival in colon cancer. METHODS: A total of 270 patients were retrospectively included. We assessed the full RAS status using Sanger and pyrosequencing. MSI status was determined by immunohistochemical analysis. Molecular alterations were correlated with recurrence timing (early or late), recurrence patterns, and recurrence-free survival. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. RESULTS: Of the 270 patients, 85 (31%) experienced recurrence, among whom 53% had mutant full RAS status, 48% had KRAS mutations, and 31.4% had KRAS p. G12V mutation subtype. Compared with those with late recurrence, patients with early recurrence were significantly older (P = 0.02) and more likely to have poorly differentiated tumors, a higher rate of positive lymph nodes, KRAS mutations, and especially KRAS p. G12V mutation variant. RAS mutation status, KRAS mutations, and rare mutations are more common in patients with lung cancer recurrence. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that differentiation, perineural invasion, full RAS mutation status, and KRAS codon 13 mutations were independent factors for recurrence-free survival in colon cancer. CONCLUSION: In this cohort, the timing and patterns of recurrence appeared to be associated with the patient's molecular profile. KRAS codon 12 mutations were the worst predictors of recurrence-free survival at all stages in our population.

Heterogeneous distribution of EGFR mutation in NSCLC: Case report.

Background: We herein report the case of a patient with advanced lung adenocarcinoma who presented a heterogeneous distribution of EGFR mutation. Case report: A 74-year-old Moroccan male former smoker was diagnosed with advanced lung adenocarcinoma, harboring S768I exon 20 substitution mutation confirmed by Real Time PCR and Pyrosequencing, but not detected by direct sequencing despite 70% of tumor cells. The present report describes a case of minor histologic intratumoral heterogeneity with heterogeneous distribution of EGFR mutation. Conclusion: Both sensitivity and specificity of molecular methods can provide evidence of intratumoral heterogeneity, which may explain the mismatch between the validation of oncology biomarkers and predicting therapeutic response to targeted therapy.

Prognostic Impact of Tumor Budding on Moroccan Colon Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: Tumor budding is now emerging as one of the robust and promising histological factors that play an important role in colon cancer. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between tumor budding and tumor clinicopathological factors, tumor molecular signature, and patient survival for the first time in a Moroccan population. METHODS: We collected data of 100 patients operated from colon adenocarcinoma. Tumor budding was assessed on HES slides, according to the International Tumor Budding Consensus Conference 2016 recommendations. The expression of MMR proteins was performed by immunohistochemistry. KRAS and NRAS mutations testing was performed by Sanger sequencing and pyrosequencing. RESULTS: High tumor budding grade (BUD 3) was found to be significantly associated with adverse clinicopathological features including older age (P=0.03), presence of perineural invasion (P=0.02), presence of vascular invasion (P=0.05), distant metastases (P < 0.001), advanced TNM stage (P=0.001), the occurrence of relapse (P=0.04), and the high number of deceased cases (P=0.02). Interestingly, we found that tumors with high-grade tumor budding were more likely to be microsatellite stable (MSS) (P=0.005) and harbor more KRAS mutations (P=0.02). Tumors with high-grade tumor budding were strongly associated with KRAS G12D mutation (P=0.007). In all stages, high tumor budding was correlated with poorer overall survival (P=0.04) and decreased relapse-free survival with a difference close to significance ((P=0.09). We concluded that high tumor budding was strongly associated with unfavorable clinicopathological features and special molecular biomarkers and effectively affects the overall survival of CC patients. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings and the ITBCC group recommendations, tumor budding should be taken into account along with other clinicopathologic factors in the risk assessment of colorectal cancer.

Mutation status and prognostic value of KRAS and NRAS mutations in Moroccan colon cancer patients: A first report.

This study aimed to estimate the incidence of KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF mutations in the Moroccan population, and investigate the associations of KRAS and NRAS gene mutations with clinicopathological characteristics and their prognosis value. To achieve these objectives, we reviewed medical and pathology reports for 210 patients. RAS testing was investigated by Sanger sequencing and Pyrosequencing technology. BRAF (exon 15) status was analyzed by the Sanger method. The expression of MMR proteins was evaluated by Immunohistochemistry. KRAS and NRAS mutations were found in 36.7% and 2.9% of 210 patients, respectively. KRAS exon 2 mutations were identified in 76.5% of the cases. RAS-mutated colon cancers were significantly associated with female gender, presence of vascular invasion, classical adenocarcinoma, moderately differentiated tumors, advanced TNM stage III-IV, left colon site, higher incidence of distant metastases at the time of diagnostic, microsatellite stable phenotype, lower number of total lymph nodes, and higher means of positive lymph nodes and lymph node ratio. KRAS exon 2-mutated colon cancers, compared with KRAS wild-type colon cancers were associated with the same clinicopathological features of RAS-mutated colon cancers. NRAS-mutated patients were associated with lower total lymph node rate and the presence of positive lymph node. Rare RAS-mutated tumors, compared with wild-type tumors were more frequently moderately differentiated and associated with lower lymph node rate. We found that KRAS codon 13-mutated, tumors compared to codon 12-mutated tumors were significantly correlated with a higher death cases number, a lower rate of positive lymph, lower follow-up time, and poor overall survival. Our findings show that KRAS and NRAS mutations have distinct clinicopathological features. KRAS codon 13-mutated status was the worst predictor of prognosis at all stages in our population.

Implication of Microsatellite Instability Pathway in Outcome of Colon Cancer in Moroccan Population.

BACKGROUND: Tumors with microsatellite instability (MSI tumors) have distinct clinicopathological features. However, the relation between these tumor subtypes and survival in colon cancer remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the overall survival (OS) in patients with MSI phenotype, in FES population. METHODS: The expression of MMR proteins was evaluated by immunohistochemistry for 330 patients. BRAF, KRAS, and NRAS mutations were examined by Sanger sequencing and pyrosequencing methods. The association of MSI status with a patient's survival was assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. RESULTS: The mean age was 54.6 years (range of 19-90 years). The MSI status was found in 11.2% of our population. MSI tumors were significantly associated with male gender, younger patients, stage I-II, right localization, and a lower rate of lymph node and distant metastasis. The OS tends to be longer in MSI tumors than MSS tumors (109.71 versus 74.08), with a difference close to significance (P = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that MSI tumors have a particular clinicopathological features. The results of survival analysis indicate that the MSI status was not predictive of improved overall survival in our context with a lower statistical significance (P = 0.05) after multivariate analysis.

EGFR Amplification and IDH Mutations in Glioblastoma Patients of the Northeast of Morocco.

Glioblastomas are the most frequent and aggressive primary brain tumors which are expressing various evolutions, aggressiveness, and prognosis. Thus, the 2007 World Health Organization classification based solely on the histological criteria is no longer sufficient. It should be complemented by molecular analysis for a true histomolecular classification. The new 2016 WHO classification of tumors of the central nervous system uses molecular parameters in addition to histology to reclassify these tumors and reduce the interobserver variability. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of IDH mutations and EGFR amplifications in the population of the northeast region of Morocco and then to compare the results with other studies. Methods. IDH1 codon 132 and IDH2 codon 172 were directly sequenced and the amplification of exon 20 of EGFR gene was investigated by qPCR in 65 glioblastoma tumors diagnosed at the University Hospital of Fez between 2010 and 2014. Results. The R132H IDH1 mutation was observed in 8 of 65 tumor samples (12.31%). No mutation of IDH2 was detected. EGFR amplification was identified in 17 cases (26.15%). Conclusion. A systematic search of both histological and molecular markers should be requisite for a good diagnosis and a better management of glioblastomas.

Comparative study of the antihypertensive activity of Marrubium vulgare and of the dihydropyridine calcium antagonist amlodipine in spontaneously hypertensive rat.

Water extract of Marrubium vulgare is widely used as antihypertensive treatment in folk medicine. We have compared the effect of 10-week-long treatment with amlodipine or Marrubium water extract on systolic blood pressure (SBP), cardiovascular remodeling and vascular relaxation in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Both treatments produced similar decrease in SBP. Amlodipine treatment reduced left ventricle, aortic and mesenteric artery weight. Marrubium treatment had a significant antihypertrophic effect in aorta only. Relaxation to acetylcholine (ACh) of mesenteric artery was improved by Marrubium but not by amlodipine treatment. These results demonstrate that, in addition to its antihypertensive effect, Marrubium water extract improved the impaired endothelial function in SHR.

Marrubenol interacts with the phenylalkylamine binding site of the L-type calcium channel.

Marrubenol inhibits contraction of rat arteries by blocking L-type calcium (Ca(2+)) channels in smooth muscle cells, but its interaction with binding sites for calcium antagonists had never been investigated. Competition binding studies indicated that marrubenol was a weak inhibitor of 1,4-dihydropyridine binding in membranes isolated from rat intestinal smooth muscle but completely displaced specifically bound (-)-[(3)H]desmethoxyverapamil ([(3)H]D888) with an apparent K(i) value of 16 microM (95% confidence interval: 6.5-39.5 microM). As marrubenol inhibited the contraction evoked by KCl depolarization of intestinal smooth muscle half-maximally at a concentration of approximately 12 microM, interaction with the phenylalkylamine binding site seems to account for the inhibition of L-type Ca(2+) channels by marrubenol.

Characterisation of marrubenol, a diterpene extracted from Marrubium vulgare, as an L-type calcium channel blocker.

1. The objective of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of the relaxant activity of marrubenol, a diterpenoid extracted from Marrubium vulgare. In rat aorta, marrubenol was a more potent inhibitor of the contraction evoked by 100 mM KCl (IC50: 11.8+/-0.3 microM, maximum relaxation: 93+/-0.6%) than of the contraction evoked by noradrenaline (maximum relaxation: 30+/-1.5%). 2. In fura-2-loaded aorta, marrubenol simultaneously inhibited the Ca2+ signal and the contraction evoked by 100 mM KCl, and decreased the quenching rate of fura-2 fluorescence by Mn2+. 3. Patch-clamp data obtained in aortic smooth muscle cells (A7r5) indicated that marrubenol inhibited Ba2+ inward current in a voltage-dependent manner (KD: 8+/-2 and 40+/-6 microM at holding potentials of -50 and -100 mV, respectively). 4. These results showed that marrubenol inhibits smooth muscle contraction by blocking L-type calcium channels.

The vasorelaxant activity of marrubenol and marrubiin from Marrubium vulgare.

Crude extracts of the aerial parts of Marrubium vulgare show a potent in vitro inhibition of KCl-induced contraction of rat aorta. Bio-guided fractionations, spectroscopic analysis and chemical derivatization revealed the furanic labdane diterpenes marrubenol and marrubiin as the most active compounds.