Hicham Benabdelkamel

Proteomic Profiling of Endometrial Cancer Tissues Reveals Differential Expression of Proteomes in Obese Versus Non-Obese Patients

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the leading gynecological malignancy worldwide. Obesity is reported to be associated with 50% of EC cases. Significant gaps remain in investigating specific molecular mechanisms behind the obesity-driven EC. Women diagnosed with EC undergoing total hysterectomy were recruited. Patients were divided into two groups: EC-obese with BMI > 29.9 kg/m2 (n = 10) and EC-Non-obese with BMI ≤ 29.9 kg/m2 (n = 10). Tumor tissues were subjected to label-free quantitative proteomic analysis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Differentially expressed proteins were identified and subjected to pathway enrichment and network analyses to characterize obesity-associated alterations. Proteomic profiling showed a significant dysregulation of 456 proteins: 171 upregulated and 285 downregulated. Proteins involved in endoplasmic reticulum quality control particularly endoplasmic reticulum lectin 1 (ERLEC1), were reduced. Conversely, EC-obese demonstrated upregulation of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), integrin-linked kinase (ILK), CTTNBP2 N-terminal-like protein (CTTNBP2NL), and lysyl oxidase homolog 1 (LOXL1), implicating activation of inflammatory pathways. Bioinformatic analysis showed downregulation of immune-related pathways, including neutrophil degranulation, complement activation in the EC-obese group. ROC analysis identified apolipoprotein(a), phospholipase B-like 1, CTTNBP2NL, and ILK as significant proteins that can differentiate between the obese and non-obese states. Our findings provide insights into obesity-associated proteomic changes in EC and highlight candidate proteins that can be used for molecular stratification after further validation.

Cervical Cancer and Human Papillomavirus Awareness among Women in Saudi Arabia

Background and Objectives: Cervical cancer (CC) is the eighth most common cancer among Saudi women of all ages. With limited national data, we aimed to evaluate the public awareness of cervical cancer, CC risk factors, HPV infection, and HPV vaccines in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: This was a survey-based cross-sectional study that encompassed 564 Saudi women over a period of a month. A self-administrated questionnaire was distributed through different social media platforms. Results: The collected data included sociodemographic variables and questions assessing awareness of CC, and the attitudes toward CC screening and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Most respondents were aware of CC (84.0%), although their primary source of information was the internet. However, only 45 females (8.0%) had a history of cervical screening. Furthermore, most females did not know that HPV was transmitted sexually (78.9%), or that it caused genital warts (81.7%) and CC (81.9%). Regarding the HPV vaccine, 100 females (17.7%) had heard about it, but only 11 (2.0%) took the vaccine, although more than half of the respondents (54.1%) were willing to take the vaccine after being informed about it. Conclusions: We noticed a remarkable lack of awareness among the respondents regarding HPV’s clinical implications; and the HPV vaccine, and its importance and availability. The main source of information for most of the Saudi women in this study was the internet, which may be an unreliable source, or provide misleading information that may delay screening or discourage vaccination. Thus, organized campaigns by the Ministry of Health or other health-advocating agencies, in addition to screening and vaccination programs, are strongly encouraged.