From May to October 2012, a case-control study was conducted
at the surgery department of the Salah Azaiz Hospital of Tunis and
at the Cancer Center of Ariana Hospital (Tunisia).
Case subjects
were women suffering from breast cancer and hospitalized for a
mastectomy, tumourectomy (Salah Azaiz Hospital) or chemotherapy
treatment (Cancer Center of Ariana).
Patients diagnosed with either, invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) or ductal carcinoma in situ
(DCIS), were included in this study as it aims to investigate if there
is a correlation between zearalenone, its metabolites and breast
cancer, independently of the type or grade of cancer.