Uganda Cancer Institute
facilityKampala, Uganda
Research output, citation impact, and the most-cited recent papers from Uganda Cancer Institute (Uganda). Aggregated across the NobleBlocks index of 300M+ scholarly works.
Top-cited papers from Uganda Cancer Institute
Advanced Breast Cancer (ABC) comprises both locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) and metastatic breast cancer (MBC) [1.Cardoso F. Costa A. Norton L. ESO-ESMO 2nd International Consensus Guidelines for Advanced Breast Cancer (ABC2). Simultaneous publication in.Breast. 2014; 23: 489-502Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (252) Google Scholar]. Although treatable, MBC remains virtually an incurable disease with a median overall survival (OS) of ∼3 years and a 5-year survival of only ∼25% [2.Cardoso F. Spence D. Mertz S. et al.Global analysis of advanced/metastatic breast cancer: decade report (2005–2015).Breast. 2018; 39: 131-138Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (126) Google Scholar, 3.N Howlader, AM Noone, M Krapcho et al (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2013. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2013/, based on November 2015 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER web site, April 2016.Google Scholar]. The MBC Decade Report [2.Cardoso F. Spence D. Mertz S. et al.Global analysis of advanced/metastatic breast cancer: decade report (2005–2015).Breast. 2018; 39: 131-138Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (126) Google Scholar] shows that progress has been slow in terms of improved outcomes, quality of life (QoL), awareness and information regarding ABC. More recently, some studies seem to indicate an improvement in OS, mostly due to advances in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive L. survival in metastatic breast cancer Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus Google Scholar, et of on the of with metastatic breast PubMed Scopus Google Scholar, et and overall survival of with advanced breast the Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus Google Scholar]. 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The decade has an improvement in the of for of the the for the of breast cancer More and in to to a The of and the of data analysis to to the the to the and of of and of to the the of the for The International Consensus for in on November and the of for the of based on the and to in with the due to to The a and and of Breast Cancer of for International Cancer International and of of in the The the of of Cancer and with the of the Cancer and the for the The the and with the of of the and the of to et of Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus Google and for et of Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus Google Scholar] to for the the a of on the of based on data and the to for and on and of and the of to on with with a of the due to of in a to in the the the data to an in the of the The to of and the and on the and and to that only and a of the that and in of the of the for PubMed Scopus Google of of the and of with the that a of of and with and and studies and of the of to a for a on the 2 years of of for on on the 2 of for on disease metastatic disease with and of metastatic to and in the for a with with to for of the to for in the of for of and the a in on a to of of in the of an for with the of for with a of and in the of to the of of and the of with in a advanced breast of in with the of human epidermal growth factor of disease in a advanced breast of in with the of human epidermal growth factor of disease the to and the of a in the of with receptor ABC. in the for the of to an [1.Cardoso F. 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Liver cell dysplasia is defined as cellular enlargement, nuclear pleomorphism, and multinucleation of liver cells occurring in groups or occupying whole cirrhotic nodules. The prevalence, natural history, and relationship to the Australia or hepatitis-associated antigen (HAA) have been studied in 552 Ugandan African patients with normal, cirrhotic, and cancerous livers. Liver cell dysplasia was found in only two of 200 (1%) patients with normal livers, in three of 43 (6.9%) of patients with normal livers bearing primary liver cell carcinoma, 35 of 175 (20.3%) patients with cirrhosis, and 80 of 124 (64.5%) of patients with cirrhosis and primary liver cell carcinoma. Cirrhotic patients without dysplasia were, on average, ten years younger than those with dysplasia and the latter were on average six years younger than those with cirrhosis and carcinoma. Liver cell dysplasia occurred more frequently in males than in females. It was found in all but one instance in macronodular or mixed forms of cirrhosis only. There was a strong relationship between dysplasia and the presence of HAA in 104 patients that suggests a possible carcinogenic mechanism for the longincubation (serum or B) hepatitis virus in liver cell carcinoma. It is concluded that the presence of liver cell dysplasia identifies a group of patients with a high risk of liver cell carcinoma and that they should be followed up by serial alpha-fetoprotein estimations.
Abstract Thirty‐seven Ugandan Africans with Kaposi's sarcoma were studied prospectively and a clinical classification was devised based on the clinical presentation of the disease and the appearance of the cutaneous tumours. The disease could be sub‐classified into four major groups. The first consisted of patients with nodular disease which was associated with a relatively benign clinical course. Patients in the next two groups (florid and infiltrative) had more aggressive disease with extensive cutaneous lesions on one or more extremities, generally associated with involvement of adjacent bone. Cutaneous lesions in the florid group were exophytic tumours while in the infiltrative group deep lesions associated with dense fibrosis predominated, Finally, the lymph‐adenopathic variety occurred mainly in children where lymph‐node involvement was usually the sole manifestation, and in young adults where skin involvement was seen concomitantly. Differing histological patterns were found to correlate with the four clinical types of involvement.
Abstract Although generally curable with intensive chemotherapy in resource-rich settings, Burkitt lymphoma (BL) remains a deadly disease in older patients and in sub-Saharan Africa. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positivity is a feature in more than 90% of cases in malaria-endemic regions, and up to 30% elsewhere. However, the molecular features of BL have not been comprehensively evaluated when taking into account tumor EBV status or geographic origin. Through an integrative analysis of whole-genome and transcriptome data, we show a striking genome-wide increase in aberrant somatic hypermutation in EBV-positive tumors, supporting a link between EBV and activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AICDA) activity. In addition to identifying novel candidate BL genes such as SIN3A, USP7, and CHD8, we demonstrate that EBV-positive tumors had significantly fewer driver mutations, especially among genes with roles in apoptosis. We also found immunoglobulin variable region genes that were disproportionally used to encode clonal B-cell receptors (BCRs) in the tumors. These include IGHV4-34, known to produce autoreactive antibodies, and IGKV3-20, a feature described in other B-cell malignancies but not yet in BL. Our results suggest that tumor EBV status defines a specific BL phenotype irrespective of geographic origin, with particular molecular properties and distinct pathogenic mechanisms. The novel mutation patterns identified here imply rational use of DNA-damaging chemotherapy in some patients with BL and targeted agents such as the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib in others, whereas the importance of BCR signaling in BL strengthens the potential benefit of inhibitors for PI3K, Syk, and Src family kinases among these patients.
We report 100 cases of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in children under 15 years of age treated at the Uganda Cancer Institute in the 6-year period 1989-1994. The incidence of childhood KS has risen more than 40-fold in the era of AIDS, and 78% of 63 cases tested were seropositive for HIV-1. There were 63 boys and 37 girls. The median age was 4 years and the median age of onset was 33 months. Tumour distribution was lymphadenopathic and muco-cutaneous, with 2 major patterns: pattern I, oro-facial dominant (79%); and pattern II, inguinal-genital dominant (13%). A newly described herpes-like virus is implicated as the cause of KS (KSHV), and DNA sequences of this virus were present in all of 8 childhood cases tested. If KSHV is a direct cause of KS, this tumour distribution in children suggests mucosal routes of virus entry, possibly during birth or breast feeding. The dramatic increase of childhood KS implies that the prevalence of causative factors is rising in Uganda.
Streptozotocin was administered to 106 patients with advanced malignancies. Therapeutic responses were observed in Hodgkin's disease, 7/16, lymphocytic lymphoma, 3/11, Burkitt's lymphoma, 1/12, and acute lymphocytic leukemia, 1/5. Two of 7 patients with islet cell carcinoma, 1 insulin-secreting and 1 serotonin-secreting, responded, but 8 patients with malignant carcinoid tumors originating from the ileum failed to demonstrate a reduction in either urinary 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid or tumor mass. Additional evidence of drug activity was observed in 2 patients with melanoma and 1 of 8 cases with sarcoma. There was no apparent cross resistance between Streptozotocin, a methyl nitrosourea, and BCNU, a chloroethyl nitrosourea. Hematologic toxicity was observed in 9% of cases, whereas renal damage demonstrated in 28% was the principal treatment-limiting drug effect. Ten to twenty percent of each total dose is excreted in the urine with an intact N-nitroso group within 2 hours after administration. Recommended maximum doses based on results of these studies are 500 mg/m2 for 5 days or 1.5 g/m2/week in patients with normal renal function.
IMPORTANCE: Although millions of transfusions are given annually worldwide, the effect of red blood cell (RBC) unit storage duration on oxygen delivery is uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To determine if longer-storage RBC units are not inferior to shorter-storage RBC units for tissue oxygenation as measured by reduction in blood lactate levels and improvement in cerebral tissue oxygen saturation among children with severe anemia. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Randomized noninferiority trial of 290 children (aged 6-60 months), most with malaria or sickle cell disease, presenting February 2013 through May 2015 to a university-affiliated national referral hospital in Kampala, Uganda, with a hemoglobin level of 5 g/dL or lower and a lactate level of 5 mmol/L or higher. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive RBC units stored 25 to 35 days (longer-storage group; n = 145) vs 1 to 10 days (shorter-storage group; n = 145). All units were leukoreduced prior to storage. All patients received 10 mL/kg of RBCs during hours 0 through 2 and, if indicated per protocol, an additional 10 mL/kg during hours 4 through 6. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with a lactate level of 3 mmol/L or lower at 8 hours using a margin of noninferiority equal to an absolute difference of 25%. Secondary measures included noninvasive cerebral tissue oxygen saturation during the first transfusion, clinical and laboratory changes up to 24 hours, and survival and health at 30 days after transfusion. Adverse events were monitored up to 24 hours. RESULTS: In the total population of 290 children, the mean (SD) presenting hemoglobin level was 3.7 g/dL (1.3) and mean lactate level was 9.3 mmol/L (3.4). Median (interquartile range) RBC unit storage was 8 days (7-9) for shorter storage vs 32 days (30-34) for longer storage without overlap. The proportion achieving the primary end point was 0.61 (95% CI, 0.52 to 0.69) in the longer-storage group vs 0.58 (95% CI, 0.49 to 0.66) in the shorter-storage group (between-group difference, 0.03 [95% CI, -0.07 to ∞], P < .001), meeting the prespecified margin of noninferiority. Mean lactate levels were not statistically different between the 2 groups at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 24 hours. Kaplan-Meier analysis and global nonlinear regression revealed no statistical difference in lactate reduction between the 2 groups. Clinical assessment, cerebral oxygen saturation, electrolyte abnormalities, adverse events, survival, and 30-day recovery were also not significantly different between the groups. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among children with lactic acidosis due to severe anemia, transfusion of longer-storage compared with shorter-storage RBC units did not result in inferior reduction of elevated blood lactate levels. These findings have relevance regarding the efficacy of stored RBC transfusion for patients with critical tissue hypoxia and lactic acidosis due to anemia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01586923.
In a Phase II clinical trial, 14 patients with histologically proven primary hepatocellular carcinoma were treated with adriamycin administered intravenously at a dose of 75 mg/m2 every 3 weeks. All 11 evaluable patients responded with 3 exhibiting complete tumor regression after two, three, and five courses of adriamycin respectively. The remission durations for these 3 were 3, 6, and 7 months, and their survivals were 8, 9, and 13 months, respectively. The median survival of the evaluable patients is 8 months (range 1-13 months). The side effects encountered included myelosuppression, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and alopecia. Adriamycin seems to be an effective agent in hepatocellular carcinoma. Further trials are underway to test its true efficacy both singly and in combination with other drugs in the management of this tumor.
Optimal treatment outcomes for breast cancer are dependent on a timely diagnosis followed by an organized, multidisciplinary approach to care. However, in many low- and middle-income countries, effective care management pathways can be difficult to follow because of financial constraints, a lack of resources, an insufficiently trained workforce, and/or poor infrastructure. On the basis of prior work by the Breast Health Global Initiative, this article proposes a phased implementation strategy for developing sustainable approaches to enhancing patient care in limited-resource settings by creating roadmaps that are individualized and adapted to the baseline environment. This strategy proposes that, after a situational analysis, implementation phases begin with bolstering palliative care capacity, especially in settings where a late-stage diagnosis is common. This is followed by strengthening the patient pathway, with consideration given to a dynamic balance between centralization of services into centers of excellence to achieve better quality and decentralization of services to increase patient access. The use of resource checklists ensures that comprehensive therapy or palliative care can be delivered safely and effectively. Episodic or continuous monitoring with established process and quality metrics facilitates ongoing assessment, which should drive continual process improvements. A series of case studies provides a snapshot of country experiences with enhancing patient care, including the implementation of national cancer control plans in Kenya, palliative care in Romania, the introduction of a 1-stop clinic for diagnosis in Brazil, the surgical management of breast cancer in India, and the establishment of a women's cancer center in Ghana.
Although malaria and Epstein-Barr (EBV) infection are recognized cofactors in the genesis of endemic Burkitt lymphoma (BL), their relative contribution is not understood. BL, the most common paediatric cancer in equatorial Africa, is a high-grade B cell lymphoma characterized by c-myc translocation. EBV is a ubiquitous B lymphotropic virus that persists in a latent state after primary infection, and in Africa, most children have sero-converted by 3 y of age. Malaria infection profoundly affects the B cell compartment, inducing polyclonal activation and hyper-gammaglobulinemia. We recently identified the cystein-rich inter-domain region 1alpha (CIDR1alpha) of the Plasmodium falciparum membrane protein 1 as a polyclonal B cell activator that preferentially activates the memory compartment, where EBV is known to persist. Here, we have addressed the mechanisms of interaction between CIDR1alpha and EBV in the context of B cells. We show that CIDR1alpha binds to the EBV-positive B cell line Akata and increases the number of cells switching to the viral lytic cycle as measured by green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression driven by a lytic promoter. The virus production in CIDR1alpha-exposed cultures was directly proportional to the number of GFP-positive Akata cells (lytic EBV) and to the increased expression of the EBV lytic promoter BZLF1. Furthermore, CIDR1alpha stimulated the production of EBV in peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived from healthy donors and children with BL. Our results suggest that P. falciparum antigens such as CIDR1alpha can directly induce EBV reactivation during malaria infection that may increase the risk of BL development for children living in malaria-endemic areas. To our knowledge, this is the first report to show that a microbial protein can drive a latently infected B cell into EBV replication.
Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in Uganda. Given the high prevalence of genital human papillomavirus infection, the current unavailability of radiotherapy, and the absence of a national cervical cancer prevention and control program, these deaths will likely increase. Efforts to organize an effective cervical cancer screening and treatment program will require adequate financial resources, the development of infrastructure, training needed manpower, and surveillance mechanisms of the targeted women. Screening with VIA (visual inspection with acetic acid) and HPV DNA testing on self-collected samples with processing at a specific site could, for the first time, make national, large-scale population-based screening feasible in Uganda. Combining screening efforts with timely treatment of all screen positives for HPV infection can prevent progression to invasive cervical cancer. To date, this is the most effective intervention in closing the current prevention gap. Training of health professionals, ongoing construction of new radiotherapy bunkers, and opening of regional centers are all geared towards improving cervical cancer care in Uganda. The Uganda Cancer Institute Bill establishes the Institute as a semi-autonomous agency mandated to undertake and coordinate the prevention and treatment of cancer. Its implementation will be a milestone in cervical cancer prevention and control. However, execution will require political will and an increase in domestic and international investment.
Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with rapidly increasing incidence rates reported in Uganda and Zimbabwe. However, the magnitude of these rising trends in premenopausal and postmenopausal women is unknown in most African countries. We used data from the African Cancer Registry Network on incident breast cancers in women from 11 population-based cancer registries in 10 countries representing each of the four SSA regions. We explored incidence changes among women before and after age 50 by calendar period and, where possible, generational effects in this unique sub-Saharan African cohort. Temporal trends revealed increasing incidence rates in all registries during the study period, except in Nairobi where rates stabilised during 2010 to 2014 after rapidly increasing from 2003 to 2010 (APC = 8.5 95%, CI: 3.0-14.2). The cumulative risk varied between and within regions, with the highest risks observed in Nairobi-Kenya, Mauritius and the Seychelles. There were similar or more rapidly increasing incidence rates in women aged 50+ compared to women <50 years in all registries except The Gambia. Birth cohort analyses revealed increases in the incidence rates in successive generations of women aged 45 and over in Harare-Zimbabwe and Kampala-Uganda. In conclusion, the incidence of BC is increasing rapidly in many parts of Africa; however, the magnitude of these changes differs. These results highlight the need for urgent actions across the cancer continuum from in-depth risk factor studies to provision of adequate therapy as well as the necessity of supporting the maintenance of good quality population-based cancer registration in Africa.
Uganda offers a unique setting in which to study the effect of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) on cancer. HIV-1 is prevalent there, and cancers which are known to be HIV-associated, such as Kaposi's sarcoma and Burkitt's lymphoma, are endemic. Adults residing in Kampala, Uganda, presenting with cancer in city hospitals were interviewed and had an HIV test. Of the 302 adults recruited, 190 had cancers with a potentially infectious aetiology (cases). The remaining 112 adults with tumours not known to have an infectious aetiology formed the control group. In addition, 318 children who were also Kampala residents were recruited and tested for HIV: 128 with cancer (cases) and 190 with non-malignant conditions (controls). HIV seroprevalence was 24% in adult controls and 6% in childhood controls. The odds of HIV seropositivity among cases with specific cancers (other than Kaposi's sarcoma in adults) were compared with that among controls, using odds ratios (ORs), estimated with unconditional logistic regression. All ORs were adjusted for age (<5, 5-14, 15-19, 30-44, 45+) and sex and, in adults, also for the number of lifetime sexual partners (1 or 2, 3-9, 10+). In adults, HIV infection was associated with a significantly (p < 0.05) increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [OR = 6.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9-19.9, based on 21 cases] and conjunctival squamous-cell carcinoma (OR = 10.9, 95% CI 3.1-37.7, based on 22 cases) but not with cancer at other common sites, including liver and uterine cervix. In children, HIV infection was associated with a significantly increased risk of Kaposi's sarcoma (OR = 94.9, 95% CI 28.5-315.3, based on 36 cases) and Burkitt's lymphoma (OR = 7.5, 95% CI 2.8-20.1, based on 33 cases) but not with other cancers. The pattern of HIV-associated cancers in Uganda is broadly similar to that described elsewhere, but the relative frequency of specific cancers, such as conjunctival carcinoma, in HIV-infected people differs.
Between 1967 and 1977, 48 patients with Hodgkin's disease under 16-years-old were treated with MOPP chemotherapy alone at the Uganda Cancer Institute because radiotherapy facilities are not available. Thirty-eight percent had early stage disease (stages I-IIIA). Prolonged first remissions were achieved in 74% of 42 complete responders. Of 11 patients who relapsed, 5 had prolonged second remissions induced by MOPP. Three patients were lost to follow-up and 15 of the remaining 45 died: 12 of these from progressive Hodgkin's disease, 2 from unrelated causes and 1 from Burkitt's lymphoma after 4 months remission from Hodgkin's disease. Acturial survival for all patients is 67% (75% for stages I-IIIA and 60% for stages IIIB-IV). Treatment complications included Herpes zoster and gynaecomastia. The latter is probably related to gonadal dysfunction. All stages of childhood Hodgkin's disease can be successfully managed with MOPP chemotherapy alone.
As part of a larger investigation of cancer in Uganda, we conducted a case-control study of conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma in adults presenting at hospitals in Kampala. Participants were interviewed about social and lifestyle factors and had blood tested for antibodies to HIV, KSHV and HPV-16, -18 and -45. The odds of each factor among 60 people with conjunctival cancer was compared to that among 1214 controls with other cancer sites or types, using odds ratios, estimated with unconditional logistic regression. Conjunctival cancer was associated with HIV infection (OR 10.1, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 5.2-19.4; P<0.001), and was less common in those with a higher personal income (OR=0.4, 95% CI 0.3-0.7; P<0.001)[corrected]. The risk of conjunctival cancer increased with increasing time spent in cultivation and therefore in direct sunlight (chi2 trend=3.9, P=0.05), but decreased with decreasing age at leaving home (chi2 trend=3.9, P=0.05), perhaps reflecting less exposure to sunlight consequent to working in towns, although both results were of borderline statistical significance. To reduce confounding, sexual and reproductive variables were examined among HIV seropositive individuals only. Cases were more likely than controls to report that they had given or received gifts for sex (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.2-10.4; P=0.03), but this may have been a chance finding as no other sexual or reproductive variable was associated with conjunctival cancer, including the number of self-reported lifetime sexual partners (P=0.4). The seroprevalence of antibodies against HPV-18 and -45 was too low to make reliable conclusions. The presence of anti-HPV-16 antibodies was not significantly associated with squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva (OR 1.5, 95% CI 0.5-4.3; P=0.5) and nor were anti-KSHV antibodies (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.4-2.1; P=0.8). The 10-fold increased risk of conjunctival cancer in HIV infected individuals is similar to results from other studies. The role of other oncogenic viral infections is unclear.
We investigated the in vitro activity of voriconazole compared to those of fluconazole and itraconazole against 566 clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans from Africa (164) and the United States (402). Isolates were obtained from cerebrospinal fluid (362), blood (139), and miscellaneous sites (65). Voriconazole (MIC at which 90% of the isolates are inhibited [MIC90], 0.12 to 0.25 microg/ml) was more active than either itraconazole (MIC90, 0.5 microg/ml) or fluconazole (MIC90, 8.0 to 16 microg/ml) against both African and U. S. isolates. Isolates inhibited by >/=16 microg of fluconazole per ml were almost all (99%) inhibited by </=1 microg of voriconazole per ml. These results suggest that voriconazole may be useful in the treatment of cryptococcosis.
OBJECTIVE: To understand the role of stigma in the delay of cancer service engagement by women with breast cancer in Kampala, Uganda. BACKGROUND: Women in Sub-Saharan African countries are twice as likely to die from cancer as women in high-income countries, which is largely attributable to late diagnosis. While breast cancer-related stigma has been identified in Sub-Saharan Africa, limited research focuses on how stigma impacts the behavior of breast cancer patients in Uganda. METHODS: This qualitative study used a grounded theory approach to examine illness narratives from 20 breast cancer survivors in Uganda, gathered through semistructured interviews. RESULTS: Thematic analysis showed that perceived and internalized stigma associated with breast cancer influenced care engagement throughout illness, delaying engagement and inhibiting treatment completion. Women identified key factors for overcoming stigma including acceptance of diagnosis, social support, and understanding of breast cancer. CONCLUSION: The growing burden of mortality associated with breast cancer in Uganda can be mitigated by improving early detection and treatment engagement through interventions which account for key psychosocial barriers such as stigma.
A staging scheme for hepatocellular carcinoma was presented at an International Symposium on Liver Cancer in Kampala, Uganda in 1971. Historical, clinical, and laboratory aspects of that staging scheme were examined for prognostic significance in 72 untreated patients with this disease studied at the Uganda Cancer Institute. The median survival for the entire group was 1 month. The presence of a serum bilirubin concentration of greater than 2 mg/100 ml or weight loss greater than 25% of body weight were the poorest prognostic features. Other factors with prognostic significance were visible abdominal collateral circulation, ascites, tumor differentiation, and serum levels of alkaline phosphatase, SGOT, alpha fetoprotein, and proline hydroxylase. A modified staging scheme is presented which defines three prognostically different groups of Ugandan patients. It is hoped this staging scheme will serve as a stimulus for analysis of similar prognostic features in other populations of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
Burkitt lymphoma, a childhood tumor common in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, has been directly associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and indirectly with prevalence of malaria. We studied antibodies to both EBV and malaria in children diagnosed with this cancer in Uganda. We performed a case-control study of HIV-seronegative children (<or=15 years) admitted to hospital. Cases were diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma and controls with non-malignant conditions or non-lymphatic cancers. Interviews were conducted and serological samples collected and, when possible, tested for both EBV and malaria. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for Burkitt lymphoma were estimated using unconditional logistic regression adjusting for sex, age, residential district, household income and tribe. The mean age of cases was 7 years and 61% were male. Compared to controls, cases were more likely to be reported having received more frequent treatment for malaria in the past year (OR = 2.0; p = 0.001) and less likely to be living in a home where insecticides were used (OR = 0.2; p < 0.0001). Odds ratios for Burkitt lymphoma in children increased with increasing antibody levels against EBV (p < 0.0001) and malaria (p = 0.05). Findings were similar for children residing in districts close to the capital city and in remote areas. Cases were 5 times more likely than controls to have raised levels of both EBV and malaria antibodies (OR = 5.0; p = 0.003). Our findings suggest that EBV and malaria may act synergistically in the pathogenesis of childhood Burkitt lymphoma. Malaria prevention measures may also prevent this childhood cancer.
An evaluation of humoral and cellular immune mechanisms was performed on patients with Kaposi's sarcoma in Uganda. Antibody responses and immunoglobulin levels were normal in all patients studied. Nevertheless, a striking impairment in the delayed hypersensitivity response to dinitrochlorobenzene was noted in patients with the "malignant" type of tumour.