Optimal number of neoadjuvant chemotherapy cycles prior to interval debulking surgery in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of progression-free survival and overall survival.

Objective: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) represents a treatment option in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (AEOC) who are not good candidates for primary debulking surgery. Usually, 3 cycles of chemotherapy before surgery have been considered the best option for patient survival, although quite often some patients receive more than 3 cycles. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to identify the optimal number of NACT cycles reporting better survival in AEOC patients.

Microbiological Retention on PTFE versus Silk Suture: A Quantitative Pilot Study in Third Molar Surgery.

: Mandibular third molar (M3M) removal and management of postoperative complications represent a common matter of interest in oral and maxillofacial surgery. This potential quantitative study assessed the ability of two types of surgical sutures, Silk and polytetrafluoroethylene polymer (PTFE), to carry aerobic and anaerobic bacteria on wounds after mandibular third molar surgery, with a collection of the stitches at the suture removal and study in the laboratory on the basis of colony-forming units. This prospective quantitative study sampled a total of 10 consecutive healthy patients for mandibular third molar surgery at the Oral Surgery School, Dentistry and Dental Prosthodontics, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

Classification Systems of Endometrial Cancer: A Comparative Study about Old and New.

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological malignancy of the female reproductive organs. Historically it was divided into type I and type II, until 2013 when the Cancer Genome Atlas molecular classification was proposed. Here, we applied the different classification types on our endometrial cancer patient cohort in order to identify the most predictive one.

Role of Circulating miRNAs in Therapeutic Response in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: A Systematic Revision.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is one of the most lethal cancers worldwide, mostly due to nonspecific symptoms and a lack of screening tests, which, taken together, contribute to delayed diagnosis and treatment. The current clinical biomarker is serum CA-125, which allows the identification of most advanced primary and relapsed disease and correlates with disease burden; however, as well highlighted in the literature, CA-125 often lacks sensitivity and specificity, and is not helpful in monitoring chemotherapeutic response or in predicting the risk of relapse. Given that, the identification of novel biomarkers able to foster more precise medical approaches and the personalization of patient management represents an unmet clinical requirement.

Cervical cancer in pregnancy: Analysis of the literature and innovative approaches.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies diagnosed during pregnancy although, fortunately, it is a rare event. In majority of cases, the management of cervical cancer in pregnant women is not different from nonpregnant women and prognosis seems not compromised by pregnancy. The association between cancer and pregnancy appears to be a significant challenge for women and specialists and the decisions about therapy must be individualized and taken by a multidisciplinary team.

Electrochemotherapy pre-treatment in primary squamous vulvar cancer. Our preliminary experience.

Background And Objectives: Previous studies showed a local tumor control of 80% in patients with relapsed squamous cell vulvar cancer (V-SCC) treated with electrochemotherapy. These results encouraged electrochemotherapy use as neo-adjuvant treatment in V-SCC. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of electrochemotherapy in reducing tumor burden in V-SCC.

Conservative treatment of early endometrial cancer.

Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female genital tract in Europe and in the United States. Endometrial cancer has increased 21% in incidence since 2008, and the death rate has increased more than 100% over the past two decades. Approximately 15% of patients with endometrial cancer are pre-menopausal.

New insights in endometrial carcinogenesis.

Endometrial carcinoma is the most common cancer of the female genital tract in Europe and in the United States. Despite advances in defining the biology of endometrial carcinomas, there has been poor progress in determining markers that distinguish preinvasive endometrial proliferations. The aim of this review is to highlight the most recent studies regarding the molecular markers involved in endometrial adenocarcinoma pathogenesis and carcinogenesis.

New players in ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecologic cancer mortality worldwide. The aim of this review is to highlight the most recent studies regarding ovarian cancer pathogenesis and the new therapeutic approaches against this insidious disease. We focus on the relevance of some cell cycle genes, transcription factors, and microRNAs in the carcinogenesis of ovarian cancer as well as on a new hypothesis for therapy using histone deacetylase inhibitors.

HPV vaccines: state of the art.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in women worldwide and is frequent in relatively young women. In the last decades, its incidence has decreased following the implementation of screening programs, mainly in developed countries. Cervical screening programs, while successful if properly carried out, are difficult and expensive to implement, especially in developing countries.

Epithelial ovarian cancer: the role of cell cycle genes in the different histotypes.

Cancer is frequently considered to be a disease of the cell cycle; alterations in different families of cell cycle regulators cooperate in tumor development. Molecular analysis of human tumors has shown that cell cycle regulators are frequently mutated in human neoplasms, which underscores how important the maintenance of cell cycle commitment is in the prevention of human cancer. The regulatory pathways controlling cell cycle phases include several oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes which display a range of abnormalities with potential usefulness as markers of evolution or treatment response in epithelial ovarian cancer.

Does microcolposcopy protect patients with CIN and unsatisfactory colposcopy from the risk of incomplete excision of disease at the time of conization?

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of microcolposcopy in preventing incomplete electrosurgical excision at the endocervical cone margin in patients with CIN and unsatisfactory colposcopy.

Materials And Methods: Four-hundred and twenty-one patients were studied. Complete excision of disease at the endocervical margin was evaluated using multiple logistic regression analysis.

Multidisciplinary International Conference on Gynecologic Cancer, Bologna, Italy, June 8-12, 2005.

The first "Multidisciplinary International Conference on Gynecologic Cancer" which was held in Bologna on June 8-12, 2005, addressed some of the most crucial topics in gynecologic oncology, presented the latest achievements and, at the same time, designed the guidelines for future developments in the field. The scientific program was intended not only to share and compare views and ideas among gynecologists but also with oncologists and researchers in basic science. The scientific committee strongly believed in the "multidisciplinary approach" towards medicine and particularly towards patients.

pRb2/p130 and VEGF expression in endometrial carcinoma in relation to angiogenesis and histopathologic tumor grade.

Purpose: Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy. Established prognostic factors are histologic grade, depth of myometrial invasion, and extrauterine spread including retroperitoneal lymph node metastases. Tumorigenesis is a multistep process involving different genetic changes resulting in uncontrolled cellular proliferation, inhibition of apoptosis, and enhanced vascular proliferation among other events.

Prognostic value of pelvic lymphadenectomy in surgical treatment of apparent stage I endometrial cancer.

Background: The role of pelvic lymphadenectomy in early endometrial carcinoma is still being debated.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a total of 131 patients with FIGO stage I endometrial cancer undergoing surgery without (Group 1) or with (Group 2) pelvic lymphadenectomy. Kaplan-Meier and Cox analyses were used to calculate crude and adjusted survival rates.

Frequent loss of expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(Kip1) in estrogen-related Endometrial adenocarcinomas.

Purpose: p27(Kip1) is a member of the Cip1/Kip1 family of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors and is a potential tumor suppressor gene. Low levels of p27 are associated with poor prognosis in a variety of gynecological tumors, including breast, ovarian, and cervical carcinomas. The role of p27 in endometrial cancer remains controversial.

Decreased incidence of cervical cancer in medicare-eligible California women.

Objective: To determine if the incidence of invasive cervical cancer relative to carcinoma in situ decreased in Medicare-eligible women.

Methods: A retrospective cohort was amassed from the California Cancer Registry database. The hypothesis was prospectively specified.

Expression of cell-cycle-regulated proteins pRb2/p130, p107, p27(kip1), p53, mdm-2, and Ki-67 (MIB-1) in prostatic gland adenocarcinoma.

Purpose: The quest for prognostic molecular markers in prostatic carcinoma is still in progress. Many proteins have already been screened by immunohistochemistry with the aim to find the most reliable indicator of progressive disease. In this study, we evaluated the expression of pRb2/p130, p107, p27(kip1), p53, mdm-2, and Ki-67 (MIB-1) by immunohistochemistry in 24 prostate carcinomas compared with the paired expression of normal prostates.

Intrauterine progesterone treatment of early endometrial cancer.

Objective: Our purpose was to assess the feasibility of using a progesterone-containing intrauterine device (IUD) to treat presumed Federation Internationale Gynecologie et d'Obstetrique (FIGO) stage IA, grade 1 endometrioid cancer in women at high risk for perioperative complications.

Study Design: Candidates were women with American Society of Anesthesiologists class III or IV grade 1 endometrioid cancer and no imaging evidence of myometrial invasion. Subjects underwent hysteroscopy, curettage, and IUD placement, followed by endometrial biopsy every 3 months for 1 year.