ABO/Rh Blood Group and Cervical Cancer Survival: Results from Our Own and Other Studies.

Cervical cancer is the most common genital cancer worldwide and is mainly caused by a persistent human papillomavirus infection. Well-known prognostic factors are age, histology, stage, stromal invasion, tumor size, and tumor grade. The relationship between the ABO and Rh system with cervical cancer has been studied since the 1950s, though without obtaining clear results.

Protein kinase B (Akt) blockade inhibits LH/hCG-mediated 17,20-lyase, but not 17α-hydroxylase activity of Cyp17a1 in mouse Leydig cell steroidogenesis.

Androgens are produced by adrenal and gonadal cells thanks to the action of specific enzymes. We investigated the role of protein kinase B (Akt) in the modulation of Δ4 steroidogenic enzymes' activity, in the mouse Leydig tumor cell line mLTC1. Cells were treated for 0-24 h with the 3 × 50% effective concentration of human luteinizing hormone (LH) and choriogonadotropin (hCG), in the presence and in the absence of the specific Akt inhibitor 3CAI.

Lipoleiomyomas of the Uterine Cervix: A New Series including the First Recurrent Case and the First Systematic Literature Review.

Uterine leiomyomas usually arise from the uterine body (95%), and rarely from the cervix (0.6%) or other urogenital sites. Lipoleiomyomas are benign, uncommon variants of leiomyomas (0.

LH increases the response to FSH in granulosa-lutein cells from sub/poor-responder patients in vitro.

Study Question: Does LH addition to FSH in vitro recover the human primary granulosa lutein cell (hGLC) sub/poor-response?

Summary Answer: A picomolar concentration of LH may recover the FSH-induced cAMP and progesterone production of hGLC from sub/poor-responder women.

What Is Known Already: Clinical studies suggested that FSH and LH co-treatment may be beneficial for the ovarian response of sub/poor-responders undergoing ovarian stimulation during ART.

Study Design, Size, Duration: hGLC samples from 286 anonymous women undergoing oocyte retrieval for ART were collected from October 2017 to February 2021.

Primary Vitreoretinal Lymphoma: Current Diagnostic Laboratory Tests and New Emerging Molecular Tools.

Primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL), a rare aggressive malignancy primarily involving the retina and/or the vitreous, is a major diagnostic challenge for clinicians (who commonly misdiagnose it as chronic uveitis) as well as for pathologists (for biological and technical reasons). Delays in diagnosis and treatment are responsible for visual impairments and life-threatening consequences, usually related to central nervous system involvement. The identification of lymphoma cells in vitreous fluid, obtained by vitrectomy, is required for diagnosis.

Which sperm parameter limits could really guide the clinical decision in assisted reproduction?

Background: The predictive role of sperm motility and morphology was recently detected in a large sample of more than 20000 assisted reproductive technology (ART) fresh cycles. However, the complete ART procedure consisted of both fresh and frozen-embryos transfers and only a comprehensive evaluation of the entire process could really confirm if these parameters really predict the ART success. The aim of the study was to evaluate which sperm parameter could predict the success of ART.

Cutaneous Involvement in Diseases with Plasma Cell Differentiation: Diagnostic Approach.

Neoplasms with plasma cell differentiation may occasionally involve the skin. Cutaneous lesions may represent the first sign of an underlying systemic plasma cell malignancy, such as multiple myeloma, or the skin itself may be the primary site of occurrence of a hematological tumor with plasma cell differentiation. Starting from examples encountered in our daily practice, we discussed the diagnostic approach pathologists and clinicians should use when faced with cutaneous lesions with plasma cell differentiation.

Semen cryopreservation in men undergoing cancer treatment: a ten-year study.

Background: The advancement of Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the improvement in sperm freezing made male fertility preservation widely available. This study aims to evaluate the impact of cancer diseases on semen parameters before cryopreservation and the reproductive outcomes of patients who have thawed their semen samples.

Methods: An observational, cohort study was conducted on cancer patients submitted to fertility preservation in AUSL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia between 2007 and 2018.

The (decision) tree of fertility: an innovative decision-making algorithm in assisted reproduction technique.

Purpose: Several mathematical models have been developed to estimate individualized chances of assisted reproduction techniques (ART) success, although with limited clinical application. Our study aimed to develop a decisional algorithm able to predict pregnancy and live birth rates after controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) phase, helping the physician to decide whether to perform oocytes pick-up continuing the ongoing ART path.

Methods: A single-center retrospective analysis of real-world data was carried out including all fresh ART cycles performed in 1998-2020.

What Do We Have to Know about PD-L1 Expression in Prostate Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review. Part 1: Focus on Immunohistochemical Results with Discussion of Pre-Analytical and Interpretation Variables.

Immunotherapy targeting the PD-1-PD-L1 axis yielded good results in treating different immunologically ''hot'' tumors. A phase II study revealed good therapeutic activity of pembrolizumab in selected prostatic carcinoma (PC)-patients. We performed a systematic literature review (PRISMA guidelines), which analyzes the immunohistochemical expression of PD-L1 in human PC samples and highlights the pre-analytical and interpretation variables.

What Do We Have to Know about PD-L1 Expression in Prostate Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review. Part 3: PD-L1, Intracellular Signaling Pathways and Tumor Microenvironment.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) includes immune (T, B, NK, dendritic), stromal, mesenchymal, endothelial, adipocytic cells, extracellular matrix, and cytokines/chemokines/soluble factors regulating various intracellular signaling pathways (ISP) in tumor cells. TME influences the survival/progression of prostate cancer (PC), enabling tumor cell immune-evasion also through the activation of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis. We have performed a systematic literature review according to the PRISMA guidelines, to investigate how the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway is influenced by TME and ISPs.

What Do We Have to Know about PD-L1 Expression in Prostate Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review. Part 5: Epigenetic Regulation of PD-L1.

Epigenetic alterations (including DNA methylation or miRNAs) influence oncogene/oncosuppressor gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. Prostate cancer (PC) displays a complex genetic and epigenetic regulation of cell-growth pathways and tumor progression. We performed a systematic literature review (following PRISMA guidelines) focused on the epigenetic regulation of PD-L1 expression in PC.

A Customized Tool of Incident Reporting for the Detection of Nonconformances at a Single IVF Center: Development, Application, and Efficacy.

In IVF centers, risk assessment applies to complex processes potentially accounting for adverse events and reactions that undergo well-established legislative oversight, and nonconformances (NCs), that lack of established tracking systems. NCs account for an integral part of the quality management system, so that their documentation is important. The study evaluated the performance of a customized tool for incident reporting (IR) to track and characterize NCs in a public IVF center.

Improvement of sperm morphology after surgical varicocele repair.

Background: A causative relationship between varicocele and impairment of semen quality has been largely investigated in the context of male infertility, although its clinical benefit remains controversial.

Objective: To investigate the effect of varicocele correction on detailed morphologic microscopic semen parameters in a large homogeneous cohort of patients and to evaluate which factors could predict semen improvement after the surgical treatment.

Materials And Methods: An observational, retrospective cohort study was carried out including all patients undergoing surgical treatment for varicocele from September 2011 to March 2020 in the same clinical centre.

Membrane Estrogen Receptor (GPER) and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Receptor (FSHR) Heteromeric Complexes Promote Human Ovarian Follicle Survival.

Classically, follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR)-driven cAMP-mediated signaling boosts human ovarian follicle growth and oocyte maturation. However, contradicting data suggest a different view on physiological significance of FSHR-mediated cAMP signaling. We found that the G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) heteromerizes with FSHR, reprogramming cAMP/death signals into proliferative stimuli fundamental for sustaining oocyte survival.

Two human menopausal gonadotrophin (hMG) preparations display different early signaling in vitro.

Commercial hMG drugs are marketed for the treatment of infertility and consist of highly purified hormones acting on receptors expressed in target gonadal cells. Menopur® and Meriofert® are combined preparation of FSH and hCG and are compared in vitro herein. To this purpose, the molecular composition of the two drugs was analyzed by immunoassay.

β-arrestin 2 Is a Prognostic Factor for Survival of Ovarian Cancer Patients Upregulating Cell Proliferation.

Establishing reliable prognostic factors as well as specific targets for new therapeutic approaches is an urgent requirement in advanced ovarian cancer. For several tumor entities, the ubiquitously spread scaffold protein β-arrestin 2, a multifunctional scaffold protein regulating signal transduction and internalization of activated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), has been considered with rising interest for carcinogenesis. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the prognostic impact of β-arrestin 2 and its functional role in ovarian cancer.