Differences in Molecular Pathologic Characteristics of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma between Egyptian and Moroccan Patients

Introduction: Pancreatic cancer has not been well studied, especially in developing countries.Materials and Methods: We studied the variations in genetic mutations in pancreatic adenocarcinoma between Moroccan and Egyptian populations. The molecular pathology of ۳۰ tumors from a large hospital in Casablanca, Morocco were examined and compared with the findings of ۴۴ tumors from the Gharbiah Governate in Egypt. K-ras mutations in codons۱۲ and ۱۳ in addition to p۵۳ mutations in exons ۵-۸ were evaluated.Results: Overall, differences in the rates of K-ras mutations were not statistically significant (۴۸.۰۰ and ۳۴.۰۹%, respectively); however differences in rates of p۵۳ mutations were statistically significant with p۵۳ mutations more common in Moroccan tumors than in Egyptian tumors (۴۶.۶۷ and ۱۶.۲۸%, respectively). GTmutations of the K-ras gene were most commonly seen Egyptian tumors, whereas GAmutations were the most common type of mutations in Moroccan tumors. Logistic regression analysis showed that a p۵۳ mutation in any exon as well as a p۵۳ mutation in exon ۵ predicted the country of residence and those mutations occurred more frequently in Moroccan patients. Conclusion: Our study shows that differences exist within the Arab population in the molecular pathology of both the K-ras and p۵۳ genes. Further studies are necessary to clarify the differences in molecular pathways of pancreatic cancer in the Middle East and to investigate the role of environmental and/or genetic factors related to those pathways.