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Background: Giant cell tumors (GCTs) are locally aggressive but rarely malignant bone neoplasms that uncommonly involve the skull. In this report, we describe a tumor of the sphenoid sinus. Case presentation: A 51-year-old female was presented with headache, and bilateral decreased visual acuity, CT scan, and brain MRI revealed an infra-sellar enhancing tumor expanding to the sellar and supra-sellar region which proved to be a GCT. the patient had received 03 months of preoperative denosumab-based treatment and imaging follow-up showed regression in size and morphology modifications of tumor tissue. Conclusion: This is one of few reports to describe the appearance of sphenoid bone GCT, and the first report to highlight the effects of short-term denosumab treatment in GCTb in such a location.

Sarcomas comprise a heterogenous group of malignancies, of more than 100 different entities, arising from mesenchymal tissue, and accounting for 1% of adult malignancies. Surgery, radiotherapy and systemic therapy constitute the therapeutic armamentarium against sarcomas, with surgical excision and conventional chemotherapy, remaining the mainstay of treatment for local and advanced disease, respectively. The prognosis for patients with metastatic disease is dismal and novel therapeutic approaches are urgently required to improve survival outcomes. Immunotherapy, is a rapidly evolving field in oncology, which has been successfully applied in multiple cancers to date. Immunomodulating antibodies, adoptive cellular therapy, cancer vaccines, and cytokines have been tested in patients with different types of sarcomas through clinical trials, pilot studies, retrospective and prospective studies. The results of these studies regarding the efficacy of different types of immunotherapies in sarcomas are conflicting, and the application of immunotherapy in daily clinical practice remains limited. Additional clinical studies are ongoing in an effort to delineate the role of immunotherapy in patients with specific sarcoma subtypes.

Background: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are a heterogeneous group of tumors. For adequate therapeutic management, an accurate diagnosis is necessary. In Morocco, the diagnosis is essentially based on the morphological and immunohistochemical study. Compared to other techniques, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is easier to develop and less expensive. This study aims to assess the feasibility and utility of implementing FISH technique to improve diagnostic accuracy and establish a good classification. Material and methods: This is a retrospective cohort study. 211 cases of mesenchymal tumors were included. Hematoxylin Eosin Safran (HES) staining was performed in all cases followed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). FISH was performed in all cases with suspected STS. The probes used were EWSR1, MDM2 and SS18. The performance of FISH and histopathological test were evaluated by the ROC curve method (receiver operating characteristic). We evaluated the concordance between FISH and real time PCR by Cohen test. Results: The real-time PCR technique showed good agreement with the FISH test by a Kappa coefficient of 60% (p = 0.035). FISH was able to confirm that it is more accurate (Youden’s Index = 91%) than histological/immunohistochemical analysis (Youden’s Index = 51%), as well as the positive predictive value was higher (100%) with an ROC curve finding a larger area under the curve of 0.953 (95% CI: 0.918–0.988), p = 0.000 which supports that FISH shows high performance to present an accurate final diagnosis. Conclusion: This is the first and the largest Moroccan series for the molecular diagnosis of STS by FISH. Our study shows that paraffin FISH is a sensitive and specific ancillary tool in the diagnosis of STS when used in the appropriate clinicopathological context.

Aggressive angiomyxoma is a rare benign and locally invasive mesenchymal tumor that is found most frequently in women at reproductive age. We report typical CT and MRI appearances of a 36-year old young woman with an aggressive angiomyxoma of the pelvis and perineum that was proved by ultrasound guided biopsy.This study describe the imaging features of theses tumors,wich may help to approch the diagnosis by their distinctive imaging with high signal intensity on T2-weighted image related to the myxomatous stroma and their characteristic of swirling or layering internal pattern after intravenous gadolinium contrast administration.We also review the CT and MRI features of this disease in the current literature.

Abstract Background Moroccan incidence of cancer is increasing with the lengthening of life expectancy. Data regarding elderly Moroccan cancer patients are lacking. In the context of our project aiming to develop an adapted version of the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment CGA to the Moroccan population, we launched the first Moroccan multicenter transverse study to explore the characteristics of elderly Moroccan cancer patients. Methods The study was conducted in nine Moroccan medical oncology departments. Patients were enrolled over 4 months. Inclusion criteria were patients aged 65 years or over with verified solid cancer. The questionnaire included four sections: socio-demographic and economic data, clinical data, vulnerability and EORTC-QLQ C30. We explored the entire included population. Then, we compared the results according to age (65–70 years old and ≥ 71 years old) and sex. We also explored the correlation between G8 scores and the ability to practice religion as an indicator of fitness level. Results In total, 164 patients were enrolled. The mean age was 73.18 ± 6.01 years. The majority of patients were married, lived with their children and received their financial income from them. Fifteen percent of families asked to hide the diagnosis from the patient. Breast (23%), colorectal (15.9%) and lung (14%) cancers were the most frequent, and 83.5% had an abnormal G8. The majority of the patients were independent for basic daily activities. Female patients had poorer social and economic conditions. Abnormal G8 was correlated with religious practice and quality of life scores. Conclusion This is the first multicenter prospective study designed to collect data on the lifestyle and clinical profiles of elderly Moroccan cancer patients as an Arab and Muslim population. Our study shows that it is a well-cared-for population with strong social ties. However, there is deep economic vulnerability, especially among women, requiring urgent care. Religious practice is an important daily activity for our elderly patients and should be included in the Moroccan CGA.

Introduction: Burnout is an unwanted outcome of chronic occupational stressors. Oncology staff is expected to suffer from burnout more than other health-care professionals. The aim of this survey was to determine the prevalence of burnout among Moroccan oncologists and to determine potential causal factors. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study using an online self-administered questionnaire to oncologists in Morocco. We used the Maslach Burnout Inventory and additional questions exploring work and lifestyle factors. The questionnaire was sent in January 2018. Results: A total of 100 oncologists answered the questionnaire with predominance of women (75%), young participants (74%), and medical oncologists (60%). Eighty-five percent of the oncologists showed evidence of burnout. The rates of high scores of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low scores of personal accomplishment were, respectively, 57%, 44%, and 56%. In the univariate linear analysis, age younger than 35 years (p = 0.014), being in residency training (p = 0.004), not having extra professional activities (p = 0.009), having an experience less than 10 years (p = 0.02) and estimating vacation time as not adequate (p = 0.05) were all significantly associated with increased burnout scores. In the multivariate analysis, only age

Background: Lung cancer is a public health problem in Morocco. Multiple clinical practice guidelines recommend rapid evaluation of patients with suspected lung cancer. It is uncertain whether delays in diagnosis and management are correlated with outcomes. The objective of this study was to evaluate if these delays have any negative effect on outcomes. Methods: This retrospective study included 140 patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It was conducted at the Medical Oncology Department of Fez from January 2016 to December 2017. We have studied many wait times and considered that: wait time to consult (WTC) is the delay from the first symptom to initial consultation, wait time to diagnosis (WTD) is the delay from initial consultation to diagnosis, wait time to referral (WTR) is the delay from diagnosis to referral to the oncologist, and wait time to treatment (WTT) is the time from referral to treatment initiation. Our analysis used Kaplan–Meier method to estimate the overall survival (OS). To compare the OS between wait time categories, we used the logrank test. Results: The median age was 59.46 years. The sex ratio was 6 men for 1 woman. The most common histological subtype was adenocarcinoma (58.6% of cases). Eighty-two percent of patients were diagnosed at stage IV. The median WTC was 240 days (range, 15–280 days), WTD was 45 days (13–65), WTR was 54 days (13–63), and WTT was 32 days (12–40). The only factor that was associated with a long WTD was long distance (> 60 km) to the hospital (p = 0.05). We found that short WTC, WTD, and WTR had better OS: 12 versus 3 months (p < 0.0001), 12 versus 4 months (p < 0.0001), and 14 versus 5 months (p < 0.0001), respectively. We found no difference in OS between short and long WTT. Conclusion: In our study, patients with lung cancer experience significant delays from development of symptoms to first treatment initiation. We found a clear association between survival and short delays from initial symptoms to consultation, from consultation to diagnosis, and from diagnosis to referral to the department of oncology.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a potential curative disease at its localized stage, by the use of multimodal treatment including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. While the metastatic stage is considered incurable and is characterized by poor prognosis. Conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy in addition to cetuximab were the only available systemic treatment with limited efficacy and modest median overall survival barely crossing the 1 year limit. Immunotherapy with PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors has revolutionized the treatment of multiple cancers. Recently, Immunotherapy is being extensively explored in head and neck cancer and clinical trials have shown impressive results that allowed to immune check point inhibitors to be the new standard of care. In this article we tried to explain the rationale and mechanisms of targeting the immune system in head and neck carcinoma and to report the results from the phase III clinical trials that put the immunotherapy as a new standard of care for head and neck cancer.

The mediastinal malignant germ cells tumor represent less than 0.5% of thoracic tumors, although the mediastinum is one of the main extragonadic locations of these tumors. In the majority of cases, young people are those most affected. The prognosis of mediastinal malignant germ cells tumors is poor, especially non-seminomatous germ tumors. In this article, we report a rare case of a young 19-years-old patient treated for a mediastinal germ cell tumor of yolk sac. The patient presented a chest pain; the chest CT showed a right paramedian mediastinal mass with a pleural effusion associated with supraclavicular and cervical lymph nodes. Biopsy revealed a non-seminomatousgerm cell tumor of yolk sac. The exams showed elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), without any meaningful elevation of other serictumor markers. The patient received 4 cycles of chemotherapy based on etoposide, ifosfamide and platinum salts then a complete excision of the mass.

Le mésothéliome malin primitif de l´ovaire (MMPO) est une tumeur extrêmement rare qui peut se développer à partir des cellules mésothéliales. Cette néoplasie est causée principalement par une exposition à l´amiante ou à d´autres agents cancérigènes. Un bilan d´extension préopératoire comportant une tomodensitométrie, une imagerie par résonance magnétique et une tomographie par émission de positons est essentiel pour la stadification de la maladie. Le diagnostic positif anatomopathologique repose sur un panel immunohistochimique. Le MMPO reste une maladie exceptionnelle impliquant une stratégie thérapeutique multidisciplinaire, au sein de laquelle la chimiothérapie a permis d´améliorer la prise en charge et le pronostic de ces malades. Nous présentons dans cet article le cas d´une patiente ayant subi une chirurgie suboptimale, complétée par une chimiothérapie adjuvante, aboutissant à une réponse complète radiologique, avec une survie sans maladie de plus d´une année.

The world is facing the pandemic linked to COVID-19 virus infection that has rapidly spread worldwide, and severe complications have been reported to occur in around a third of patients. To date, there is no approved vaccine or specific therapy against COVID-19, but many trials are ongoing with some of them showing promising results. It has been shown recently that patients with cancer are at high risk of infection and they are more susceptible to develop severe events such as the necessity of invasive ventilation and death. Therefore, this crisis presents a real challenge for health systems especially in low- and middle-income countries where the health systems are already fragile such as African countries. In this article, we describe the epidemiological situation of the infection in Morocco and the different challenges in cancer centers in the era of COVID-19, in addition to various strategies that have been implemented to prevent and control the infection spread in oncological units in order to ensure the continuation of adequate cancer care.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by the absence of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). It accounts for 15%–20% of all breast cancers and is associated with an aggressive evolution and poor outcomes with the majority of recurrences and deaths occurring in the first 5 years. Chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment in the absence of effective targets, but the good understanding of immune tumor microenvironment, the identification of immune-related targets, and the role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in TNBC has allowed to develop promising immunotherapeutic strategies for this unique subset of breast cancer. Recently, immunotherapy is being extensively explored in TNBC and clinical trials have shown promising results. In this article, we tried to explain the rationale and mechanisms of targeting the immune system in TNBC, to report the results from recent clinical trials that put immunotherapy as a new standard of care in TNBC in addition to ongoing trials and future directions in the next decade.

La dermatomyosite est une maladie systémique idiopathique, associant une double symptomatologie cutanée et musculaire. La maladie fait partie de dermatose paranéoplasique. L’association de la dermatomyosite à un cancer rectal est rarement décrite dans la littérature. Nous présentons un cas d’une patiente atteinte de dermatomyosite paranéoplasique associé à un adénocarcinome rectal métastatique, et qui a présenté une symptomatologie clinique typique d’une dermatomyosite paranéoplasique, confirmée par les autres examens complémentaire (taux de créatine phosphokinase (CPK) + EMG (électromyogramme) + biopsie cutanée). La patiente était mise sous chimiothérapie, mais après sa deuxième cure, la patiente a présenté une aggravation rapide de son état général, décédée en quelque jours dans un tableau de défaillance multi-viscérale. Notre objectif est d’illustrer le caractère agressif de la dermatomyosite paranéoplasique et de faire une mise au point des connaissances actuelles concernant la place de la chimiothérapie dans la dermatomyosite néoplasique.

Le dermatofibrosarcome de Darier et Ferrand (DFS) est une tumeur cutanée rare, caractérisé par son agressivité locale et son important potentiel aux récidives, dont le pronostic dépend essentiellement de la qualité de sa prise en charge. Une réponse complète avec des marges saines d'un DFS qui a été jugé initialement inopérable, après 1 an d'imatinib en situation néoadjuvante est rarement décrite dans littérature. Nous rapportons dans notre article, le cas d'une jeune patiente prise en charge au service d'oncologie médicale de Fès pour une DFS localement avancé présentant une réponse complète, afin d'évaluer la place de l'imatinib et des thérapies ciblées dans le traitement de DFS.

Les carcinomes neuroendocrines à petites cellules gynécologiques sont inhabituels, et ils ne représentent que 2% des tumeurs du col utérin. Compte tenu de leur rareté et de l'absence d'essais randomisés, la prise en charge diagnostique et thérapeutique de ces tumeurs est difficile et est essentiellement calquée sur celle des tumeurs neuroendocrines pulmonaires. A l'instar de ces dernières, et malgré un traitement multimodal, leur pronostic reste défavorable. Nous rapportons un nouveau cas de carcinome neuroendocrine du col à petites cellules et à travers les données de la littérature nous mettons le point sur les différents aspects de cette entité rare.

La localisation au niveau de la parotide des métastases du cancer du sein est très rare, quelques cas ont été rapportés dans la littérature. On rapporte le cas d'une patiente de 43 ans, qui a été traitée pour un cancer du sein droit, et qui a présenté deux ans après la fin du traitement une métastase au niveau de la parotide gauche, confirmée histologiquement.

Le sarcome épithélioide proximal d'origine pleural révélé par un épanchement pleural reste rare dans la littérature, nous rapportons le cas d'une jeune patiente, admise au service d'oncologie médicale pour prise en charge d'un sarcome épithélioide pleural proximal métastatique. A la fin du premier cycle de chimiothérapie, la patiente est décédée dans un tableau de détresse respiratoire aiguë. Notre observation illustre le caractère potentiellement trompeur et agressif du sarcome épithélioide présentant un piège clinique pouvant mettre en jeu le pronostic vital et dont le diagnostic positif est strictement anatomopathologique.

La dermatomyosite (DM) est une maladie inflammatoire d'origine inconnue qui se manifeste sous forme de myopathie associée à lésions cutanées typiques. L'association DM et cancer est fréquente (18 a 32% selon les séries). Décrite pour la première fois par Stertz en 1916 en association avec un cancer gastrique. Tous les types histologiques et toutes les localisations de cancers observés dans la population générale peuvent être associés à la DM. Son association avec le carcinome nasopharyngé (NPC) est peu décrite et de l'ordre d'un cas pour 1000 cas de cancer nasopharyngé. Nous rapportons une observation de dermatomyosite révélant un cancer du nasopharynx localement avance.

Les métastases pulmonaires du carcinome épidermoïde (CE) du col utérin sont rares. C'est un cancer à évolution locorégionale, rarement extra pelvienne, et qui est intimement lié à l'infection par HPV (humain papilloma virus). Nous rapportons un nouveau cas d'une patiente âgée de 40 ans, traitée pour CE du col utérin il y a 3 ans, traitées par RTH externe, curiethérapie et chirurgie et qui présente une récidive de sa maladie sous forme d'une masse pulmonaire isolée mimant un primitif pulmonaire. Le diagnostic a été posé par génotypage HPV sur le prélèvement biopsique de la masse pulmonaire. La patiente a été mise sous chimiothérapie type col utérin, avec une bonne réponse clinique et biologique.

Primary hepatoid carcinoma of the ovary (HCO) is a very rare type of high-grade invasive malignant ovarian tumor with hepatic differentiation and production of -fetoprotein (AFP). We describe a 78-year-old Moroccan woman who presented to our hospital with abdominal distension and purplish nodules infiltrating the para umbilical skin with weight loss and impairment of her performance status. Excisional biopsy of the para umbilical nodule revealed a cutaneous localization of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma and pelvic ultrasonography noted the presence of a tumoral right adnexal mass. The patient underwent an exploratory laparoscopy which found peritoneal carcinomatosis with pelvic adhesions allowing only a peritoneal biopsy. Diagnosis of primary hepatoid carcinoma of the ovary was established on the basis of classic histopathologic findings, immunohistochemical staining and marked elevation in serum of -fetoprotein more than the carbohydrate antigen 125. The patient received 3 cycles of chemotherapy based on Carboplatin and Paclitaxel with disease progression. No second line chemotherapy was given because of the drop of patient's performance status to 3. The patient died one month later.

The finding on imaging (computed tomography scan or magnetic resonance imaging) of synchronous malignant renal mass in patient with an active nonrenal malignancy without renal specific symptoms is not frequent and diagnostic evaluation can be challenging. We describe a 54-year-old Moroccan male former chronic smoker who presented to our hospital with dry cough and impairment of the performance status. The imaging found a tumor mass in the left upper lobe of the lung associated to mediastinal lymph node and a scanno-guided biopsy of this tumor showed a non small cell lung cancer. The radiological staging revealed a solitary renal mass in the right kidney. The patient received firstly two cycles of a lung cancer chemotherapy with a partial response in the lung and a stability of the renal mass. Consequently, he underwent a scanno-guided biopsy of this mass which confirmed a synchronous clear cell renal carcinoma. The patient got chemo radiotherapy for the lung cancer and then after that he got a partial nephrectomy. He is still under a good control with more than 2 years after the initial diagnosis.

Paratesticular embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a rare tumor arising from the mesenchymal tissues of the spermatic cord, epididymis, testis and testicular tunics. We report three cases of adult paratesticular RMS, two embryonic and one pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma. All the patients underwent diagnostic orchidectomy. The work up investigations revealed lung metastases. Chemotherapy with Ifosfamide and Doxorubicin was used in two cases, whereas Vincristin- Actinomycin D and Cyclophosphamide was received in one case. An objective partial response was reported in 2 cases, with complete response in one case. Paratesticular RMS is a rare and aggressive tumor. Because of the absence of protocols designed specifically for adult patients, it is necessary to follow therapeutic guidelines in pediatric protocols.

Metastatic tumors to paranasal sinuses are exclusively rare. In this paper, we report acase of breast carcinoma metastasizing to the right maxilla. The metastasis occurred 5 years after radical mastectomy and presented as a primary sinonasalmass. The diagnosis was confirmed with histopathologic andimmunohistochemical examination however the patient died before starting any specific treatment because of tumor bleeding.

Classic Kaposi’s sarcoma (CKS) is a subtype that traditionally occurs in elderly HIV-negative males of Mediterranean origin. Patients with CKS characteristically present with skin lesions in the distal extremities. Involvement of the viscera is uncommon but may occur in the late stages of the disease. Patients with extensive KS can be treated with systemic chemotherapy. A number of drugs approved for treatment of AIDS-associated KS, especially Paclitaxel, have activity against CKS after failure of prior therapy. We report a patient treated with weekly Paclitaxel, as initial chemotherapy, for CKS presenting with multiple visceral involvement and having a contraindication for Bleomycin. The patient had quasi-complete response after three months of chemotherapy suggesting that weekly Paclitaxel might be effective as a first-line therapy for classical type KS with visceral involvement.