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Biomedical subjects

M Hechiche

Publications and source records attributed to M Hechiche.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

[Primary leiomyosarcoma of the small intestine in a child].

BACKGROUND: Leiomyosarcomas of the digestive tract are very rare in children. They must be differentiated from benign tumors (leiomyoma, schwannoma...) and from other malignant tumors, sometimes with the aid of immuno-histochemical study. CASE REPORT: A five-year old girl suffered from an abdominal mass associated with fever and alteration of the general condition. An ileal tumor, 8 cm in diameter, was resected. Histological and immunohistochemical studies (anti-vimentin antibodies, anti-actin antibodies and PS100) confirmed the diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma. Uncomplete adjuvant chemotherapy failed to prevent relapse of the tumor. CONCLUSION: This case confirms the bad prognosis of such a tumor.

Child, Preschool

[Invasive carcinoma of the cervix in young women in Tunisia].

A series of 133 patients, 35 years or less in age (mean: 31.8) presenting with a carcinoma of the cervix and treated at Salah Azaiz Institute from 1969 to 1989 was analysed and compared to a control group of patients older than 35 years (mean: 54). Neither clinical nor epidemiological particularities were found in the younger patients group, except an early sexual life and a high proportion of early stage tumours (33% versus 15.9% in the older women group). Overall survival of the younger women was dramatically worse than that of the older women: 40% and 50% at 5 years, 20% and 40% at 10 years, and 14% and 30% at 15 years, respectively. This difference is statistically significant in stage I-II patients. Young age, non-sterilization of the tumour after brachytherapy, and anemia, are associated with a poor prognosis.

Adult

[Ovarian hydatic cyst. 7 cases].

Seven cases with echinococcal infection of the ovary, including 3 on both sides, were collected at the Salah Azaiz Institute of Tunis during a period of 23 years. This localisation is rare, even in an endemic country. The aetiology and pathogenesis of this affection may give rise to many different clinical signs, problems with pre-operative diagnosis. It is important to follow up these cases after operation in order to sport recurrences. The objective of surgical treatment is to achieve cure of both the hydatic cyst of the ovary and the primitive cyst simultaneously. Following this treatment, two difficulties may arise: the first one is preoperative rupture of the cyst; the second concerns fertility in these young women after two-sided salpingo-oophorectomy. Finally, when a pelvic cyst is observed systematic hydatic serology must be performed.

Adult

[Breast angiosarcoma. Five case reports].

The authors report 5 cases of breast angiosarcoma collected in the Salah Azaiz Institute of Tunis, the only oncology center in this country, between 1969 and 1990. They enumerated 4,000 malignant breast tumors during this period; i.e. an incidence of 1.25%, higher than that in the world literature (0.4%). The mean age of patients was 44. Three were post-menopausal, and two were of childbearing age, one of whom was pregnant. This rare tumor is virtually limited to women. Affection is scarce, it affect's almost exclusively women. It generally present as a painless, ill-defined mass, without regional lymphadenopathy. The diagnosis of angiosarcoma is difficult since the histologic appearance is sometimes identical to that of a hemangioma. Hence the value of very thorough histologic examination of the entire operative specimen. Treatment is based upon mastectomy. The usefulness of adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy is uncertain. The prognosis remains gloomy despite early diagnosis and treatment. The authors attempt in this study to identify the various features of this serious and uncommon condition, based upon the rare published cases in the world literature.

Adult

[Struma ovarii. Three malignant cases and one benign case].

Four cases of struma ovarii were seen among 308 ovarian tumors removed surgically at the Salah Azaiz Institute, Tunis, Tunisia, between 1980 and 1989. This yields an occurrence rate of 1.3%, which is comparable to previously publishes rates (0.3% to 2%). One of the four tumors was malignant. Malignant transformation of struma ovarii is very rare (5% to 10%). The histologic diagnosis of malignancy is difficult, particularly in well-differentiated follicular forms. The prognosis is relatively favorable even in patients with metastases. Based on their personal experience and on a review of the literature, the authors discuss the diagnosis, management, and outcome of struma ovarii, in particular with malignant transformation.

Adult

[Granular cell tumors of the breast. Apropos of two cases].

Granular cell tumors of the breast are rare. The clinical presentation, the poor macroscopical delimitation and the infiltrating appearance of the tumor cells between the mammary lobules and within the adipose tissue may lead to a diagnosis of carcinoma, especially on frozen section. The authors present two cases of granular cell tumor of the breast occurring in two women aged 19 and 59 respectively. Before surgery, the diagnosis was that of a malignant tumor. In both cases, frozen section suggested the diagnosis of a granular cell tumor, which was confirmed by immunohistochemical study in one patient.

Adult

Inflammatory symptoms in breast cancer. Correlations with growth rate, clinicopathologic variables, and evolution.

Based on two pretreatment evaluations, doubling time (DT) was calculated in 75 cases of invasive breast cancer (BC). The cases studied were more or less equally distributed between three DT groups: fast-growing tumors (DT less than 90 days), intermediate cases (DT between 90 and 180 days), and slow-growing tumors (DT greater than 180 days. A correlation was found to exist between DT and patient age and, to an even greater extent, between DT and pathologic prognostic indicators such as histologic grading and nuclear grade. Inflammatory symptoms were not associated with DT, but were closely related to the size of the tumor and regional lymph node involvement. The date of detection of distant metastases depended heavily on the DT of the BC:BC with shorter DT = earlier metastatic spread. The presence of inflammatory signs was also decisive: within each DT category, inflammatory BC metastases were both more frequent and precocious.

Adult