Epigenetic changes as prognostic predictors in endometrial carcinomas.

Endometrial carcinoma is one of the most frequent gynecological malignancies of the female. The diagnostic and prognostic markers for the high-risk subgroups with unfavorable prognosis are under intense debate worldwide, and, therefore, the aim of this study was to identify new potential DNA methylation markers for the high-risk groups. We used the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip to analyze the DNA methylation pattern and investigated its association with clinicopathological features important for defining the high-risk (FIGO-grade 3) and low-risk (FIGO-grade 1) groups of patients with endometrial cancer (n = 31 and n = 39, respectively).

Determination of the most effective cooling temperature for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced alopecia.

Computer-controlled scalp cooling to prevent alopecia is currently available for patients undergoing chemo-therapy. Previous studies have suggested that the temperature should be <22°C at a depth of 1-2 mm in the scalp to prevent alopecia. However, the optimal pre-set temperature of the coolant medium to achieve this temperature requires further investigation.

External pelvic and vaginal irradiation versus vaginal irradiation alone as postoperative therapy in medium-risk endometrial carcinoma: a prospective, randomized study--quality-of-life analysis.

Background: A combination of vaginal brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy was compared with brachytherapy alone in medium-risk endometrial carcinomas. Quality-of-life analysis is an important part of a randomized study to find out the optimal adjuvant treatment for this group of patients.

Objective: To evaluate the value of adjuvant external beam pelvic radiotherapy in adjunct to vaginal brachytherapy in medium-risk endometrial carcinoma.