[Epidemiology of cancers in Niger, 1992 to 2009]. / Épidémiologie des cancers au Niger, 1992 à 2009.

The present study aims to determine the various epidemiological characteristics of cancers in Niger from 1992 to 2009. It is a retrospective and descriptive study led from the data of the National cancers Register of Niger country between 1992 and 2009. During that period, 7,031 cases of cancers were collected. The number of registered patients suffering from cancers significantly increased, from 186 cases in 1992 to 646 cases in 2009. The ascendancy was feminine with a sex-ratio of 1.40. The average age was of 43 ± 17.53 years. The majority of the patients (70.2%) lived from the Niamey area. The breast cancer (27.36%) was the most frequent feminine cancer, followed by the cervical cancer (13.41%) and ovary cancer (8.83%). The main localizations in the man were the liver (19%), the skin (8.04%) and the bladder (4.92%). Approximately 7% of the registered cases are due to the child's cancers. The cancer's diagnosis of confirmation represented 42%; the carcinomas constituted (27.03%) the most frequent histological type. The Burkitt lymphoma (15.1%) was the most histological entity met in the child.

Prognostic value of phosphorylated STAT3 in advanced rectal cancer: a study from 104 French patients included in the EORTC 22921 trial.

BACKGROUND: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) has been implicated as an oncogene in several neoplastic diseases. However, the biological effects of STAT3 have not been extensively studied in rectal carcinogenesis. AIMS: To evaluate STAT3 activation in advanced rectal cancers and its association with clinicopathological variables and prognosis. METHODS: Nuclear immunohistochemical expression of phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) was studied in 104 advanced rectal cancers (T3-T4). All patients were participating in the EORTC 22921 trial to assess whether preoperative chemoradiotherapy followed by postoperative chemotherapy improved overall and progression-free survival. RESULTS: Nuclear p-STAT3 expression was detected in 37.5% of rectal cancer patients. No correlation was observed between p-STAT3 and any clinicopathological variables tested. However, patients with tumours positive for p-STAT3 had significantly improved overall survival. CONCLUSION: These results highlight an unexpected role for nuclear p-STAT3 expression in advanced rectal cancers and need further investigation to clarify this finding.