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IDA is common in Lebanese children and is associated with increased blood lead levels, lack of iron supplementation, and cultural dietary habits. Remedial measures such as iron fortification of commonly consumed food are needed on the national level. Lead exposure must be controlled and awareness must be raised about the potentially devastating consequences of combined iron deficiency and lead poisoning on young children.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections cause a significant proportion of cancers worldwide, predominantly squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the mucosas and skin. High-risk HPV types are associated with SCCs of the anogenital and oropharyngeal tract. HPV oncogene activities and the biology of SCCs have been intensely studied in laboratory models and humans. What remains largely unknown are host tissue and immune-related factors that determine an individual’s susceptibility to infection and/or carcinogenesis. Such susceptibility factors could serve to identify those at greatest risk and spark individually tailored HPV and SCC prevention efforts. Fanconi anemia (FA) is an inherited DNA repair disorder that is in part characterized by extreme susceptibility to SCCs. An increased prevalence of HPV has been reported in affected individuals, and molecular and functional connections between FA, SCC, and HPV were established in laboratory models. However, the presence of HPV in some human FA tumors is controversial, and the extent of the etiological connections remains to be established. Herein, we discuss cellular, immunological, and phenotypic features of FA, placed into the context of HPV pathogenesis. The goal is to highlight this orphan disease as a unique model system to uncover host genetic and molecular HPV features, as well as SCC susceptibility factors.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with significant morbidity, a decreased lifespan and a poor quality of life. While there is increasing evidence that hydroxyurea can improve the course of severe SCD, hematopoeitic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) remains the only curative option for SCD. Multicenter trials have shown that HSCT after myeloablative conditioning has excellent outcomes in children with SCD, with an overall survival ranging from 93 to 97% and an event-free survival between 82 and 86%. With better understanding of the course of SCD in adulthood, there has been increasing interest in making HSCT a viable intervention in adults. Nonetheless, older patients with severe disease have not been considered suitable candidates because of the higher risks associated with myeloablative conditioning. Recently, reduced-intensity regimens have been used in adults with good results, albeit in a small number of patients. The main limitation of HSCT in both adults and children with SCD remains the lack of availability of fully matched HLA sibling donors for patients meeting transplant criteria.