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Abstract: Nasopharyngeal cancer [NPC] is one of the most common head and neck cancers. NPC differs significantly from other cancers in its etiology, epidemiology, clinical behavior, and treatment. Being highly radiosensitive, the standard treatment for NPC is radiotherapy. However, radioresistance hampers the success of treatment and may cause local recurrence and distant metastases in NPC patients. In this review, we discuss the updated protocols for NPC diagnosis and treatment based on recent literature with an emphasis on the mechanisms of radioresistance at the molecular level with a special focus on genetic and epigenetic events, affecting genes involved in xenobiotic detoxification and DNA repair. We also highlight the importance of some cellular and Epstein Barr viral miRNAs targeting specific DNA repair factors and consequently promoting NPC radioresistance. These molecular markers may serve as promising tools for diagnosis, prognosis, and radioresistance prediction to guide theranostics of patients with NPC in the future.

Guided by a national cancer plan (2010–19), Morocco made significant investments in improving breast cancer detection and treatment. A breast cancer pattern-of-care study was conducted to document the socio-demographic profiles of patients and tumour characteristics, measure delays in care, and assess the status of dissemination and impact of state-of-the-art management. The retrospective study conducted among 2120 breast cancer patients registered during 2008–17 at the two premier-most oncology centres (Centre Mohammed VI or CM-VI and Institut National d’Oncologie or INO) also measured temporal trends of the different variables. Median age (49 years) and other socio-demographic characteristics of the patients remained constant over time. A significant improvement in coverage of the state-financed health insurance scheme for indigent populations was observed over time. Median interval between onset of symptoms and first medical consultation was 6 months with a significant reduction over time. Information on staging and molecular profile were available for more than 90% and 80% of the patients respectively. Approximately 55% of the patients presented at stage I/II and proportion of triple-negative cancers was 16%; neither showing any appreciable temporal variation. Treatment information was available for more than 90% of the patients; 69% received surgery with chemotherapy and/or radiation. Treatment was tailored to stage and molecular profiles, though breast conservation therapy was offered to less than one-fifth. When compared using the EUSOMA quality indicators for breast cancer management, INO performed better than CM-VI. This was reflected in nearly 25% difference in 5-year disease-free survival for early-stage cancers between the centres., Highlights • Morocco achieved significant progress in quality of breast cancer care in last decade. • Access delay reduced significantly over time but was still high at median 6 months. • More than 80% breast cancer patients had complete molecular profiles. • Many gaps still exist in quality of treatment

Spiritual well-being and religious coping play an essential role in the process of cancer acceptance. The patient’s quality of life influences their spirituality and faith in God, and vice versa. The complex interaction of all these elements evolves dynamically throughout the patient’s illness. The evolution of the patient’s various emotional and spiritual states and level of hope fluctuates and reflects their biopsychosocial suffering. The patient’s caregivers, treatment received and relatives and friends are a vital source of keeping up hope. At an advanced stage of cancer, the often overlapping faith and spiritual well-being will determine the emotional outcome of the disease. In Islam, cancer does not mean failure but rather a liberation of the soul and an expression of divine love toward its followers.

Background: In lower middle-income countries, significant progress has been made in the treatment and management of cancers. However, the neuropsychiatric and mood disorders associated with these diseases are generally underestimated by the health system. The aim of this study is to assess both anxiety and depression disorders of Moroccan women with breast cancer and gynecological cancer (N=400) and further identify the predictive factors. Methods: Case–control study was conducted with a total sample of 800 individuals. Participants were selected from a regional epidemiological survey. Translated and validated Arabic versions of the following international scales were used: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Rosenberg's self-esteem scale (RSES), Body image scale (BIS) and Multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS). The predictive effect of these psychosocial factors for depression and anxiety was studied with hierarchical linear regressions. Results: Patients with breast and or gynecological cancer presented a high level of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Multivariate analysis revealed that breast and or gynecological cancer functions as an independent but not primary predictor of anxiety and depressive symptoms. High levels of anxiety and depression were positively associated with a high level of sleep disturbances and body image disturbances and negatively associated with a higher level of perceived social support and self-esteem. Conclusion: Among patients with breast and or gynecological cancer, social support and high self-esteem could help to improve anxiety-depressive symptoms related to this types of cancer. Keywords: Anxiety, depression, breast cancer, gynecological cancer, predictors.

Primary central nervous system tumors are dominated by glial tumors: they represent 2/3 of primary brain tumors. Their prognosis is linked to their degree of differentiation. Clinically glial tumors can be revealed by intracranial hypertension syndrome, neurological deficit or epileptic seizures. Brain nuclear resonance imaging is the best way to explore these tumors. Their infiltrating character, without well-defined margins explains the difficulty of loco-regional treatment. Surgery and radiotherapy are the 2 pillars of loco-regional treatment of high-grade glial tumors. Surgery can confirm the diagnosis: it consists of the largest possible resection while preserving brain functions.The extent of the resection appears to influence the survival of patients with high-grade glioma. Radiotherapy improves patient survival, especially after surgery. Irradiation of the entire brain does not improve survival and exposes people to more toxicity: the standard is localized irradiation at a dose of 60 Gy associated with chemotherapy based on temozolomide.

Nowadays, cancer is a huge public health challenge that needs for more advanced researches. Quality of life of patients with breast cancer is an important outcome. Data analyses are usually referred to female breast cancer studies and limited informations are available about male breast cancer. Our study is the first in our country to assess quality of life (QoL) in male patients affected by breast cancer. The purpose of this study is to investigate HRqol (health related quality of life) in male patients with breast cancer and clinico-pathological features at the university hospital of Casablanca, Morocco over a period of 6 years. This study involved 21 male subjects from 2012 to 2018. Required information were collected from the medical records of patients in the oncological center. We included demographic, clinical and pathological characteristics. HRqol was investigated using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer 30-Item QoL Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), version 3.0. Mean age of patients at enrollment was 67.3 years (SD=15.6, range=36-87 years), the average consultation delay was 17,7 months, the most common histologic finding was infiltrating ductal adenocarcinoma (20 patients, 95.3%). Progesterone and estrogen receptors were positives in 90.4% (19 patients) of cases, the most representative stage was stage III, the most common molecular phenotype was Luminal B (16 patients, 76.2%), modified radical mastectomy was the main surgical procedure. Adjuvant therapy was based on chemotherapy (100%), radiotherapy (76.2%), hormone therapy (90.5%). Ten patients (47.6%) had metastasis. A moderate overall quality of life was reported, with a mean of 50±21.73. The results showed a mean physical function score (54.60±27.85), positive emotional functioning (56.34±31.94) and good social functioning (75.39±17.96). In brief, regarding QOL in this population, it appears to be better than expected andQOL generally improves after treatment. As for prevention, public education should be oriented toward men at higher risk in order to reduce the time between onset of symptoms and consultation.

To date, several studies have reported that key cytokines in the inflammatory system have important roles in the pathogenesis of cancer, notably in lung cancer. The aim of this case-control study, conducted for the first time in Moroccan population, was to investigate and to analyze the association of the following inflammatory cytokine genes Interleukin (IL)-6, Interleukin (IL)-8, Interleukin (IL)-10, Interleukin (IL)-17, Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNFA), Macrophage migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) with lung cancer risk in our patients. Firstly, the mRNA expression was assessed by a quantitative real time PCR in the peripheral blood of lung cancer patients and healthy subjects. Secondly, polymorphisms in the genes encoding cytokines were assessed in 160 lung cancer patients and 150 healthy controls. Genotyping analysis was performed with a Real-Time polymerase chain reaction using TaqMan® genotyping assays on a 7500 FAST Real-Time PCR System and Restriction Fragment Length PolymorphismPCR. Our results revealed a significant difference in mRNA expression levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17 and TNFA genes in lung cancer patients compared to healthy subjects (P 0.05). Among the studied genes, we found a significant association between lung cancer risk in our patients and the following polymorphisms IL-6 (rs1800795, rs1800796), IL-8 (rs4075, rs2227306), IL-17F (rs763780, rs2397084) and MIF (rs755622). In conclusion, the results of our study suggest that IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17 and MIF cytokine genes may aggravate lung cancer risk in the Moroccan population. However, further investigations are required to confirm our findings.

Background As it is the case for all kinds of cancer; lung cancer is a multifactorial disease. The interaction between both Exposures to different carcinogens and individual genetic backgrounds modulate the disease risk. Cytochrome P450 family is one of the main enzymes involved in the metabolism of these carcinogens. Therefore, polymorphisms of genes encoding for the cyp450 enzymes can be responsible for the inter-individual differences in lung cancer susceptibility. In this study, we chose to focus on the Cyp2c19, as one of the crucial cyp450 enzymes associated with metabolism of a number of drugs and xenobiotics and its association with the lung cancer risk. Methods Peripheral blood from a total of 115 Moroccan patients diagnosed with lung cancer and 105 healthy subjects was collected. The genotyping of CYP2C19*2 and CYP2C19*3 polymorphisms was carried out using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technic. Results We found that the frequency of both CYP2C19*2 (GA+AA) genotype and CYP2C19*A allele were significantly more frequent in lung cancer patients than that in control subjects (24.3% vs 13.3%; p = 0.04 and 14.35% vs 7.15%; p = 0.01 respectively). We also found that the CYP2C19*3 A allele was only found in lung cancer patient with a frequency of 10% (p = 0.007). Consequently, the frequency of the CYP2C19*3 (GA + AA) genotype was also significantly more prevalent in lung cancer patients than that in controls (20% vs 0.00%; p = 0.005). We also found that smoking is associated to a higher lung cancer risk in participants carrying CYP2C19*3 or CYP2C19*2 GG genotypes (p Conclusion These findings indicate that the CYP2C19*2 and CYP2C19*3 polymorphisms are significantly associated with lung cancer in Moroccan population. In addition, that the coexistence of CYP2C19*3 with smoking increased lung cancer risk even more.