Accelerated Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Toxicity Induced by Radiotherapy in Breast Cancer.

The number of patients diagnosed with breast cancer and cardiovascular disease is continuously rising. Treatment options for breast cancer have greatly evolved, but radiotherapy (RT) still has a key role in it. Despite many advances in RT techniques, cardiotoxicity is one of the most important side effects.

Hyperglycosylated-hCG: Its Role in Trophoblast Invasion and Intrauterine Growth Restriction.

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is produced by the placenta and its roles have been studied for over a century, being the first known pregnancy-related protein. Although its main role is to stimulate the production of progesterone by corpus luteal cells, hCG does not represent just one biologically active molecule, but a group of at least five variants, produced by different cells and each with different functions. The hyperglycosylated variant of hCG (H-hCG) plays a key role in trophoblast invasion, placental development and fetal growth.

Ultrasound Patterns in the First Trimester Diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect, with a reported prevalence of 5-12 per 1000 live births. Very recently, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine published a guideline recommending the use of the four-chamber and the three-vessel and trachea views to screen for CHD in the first trimester of pregnancy. Our aim is to present abnormal image patterns that are seen in the four-chamber, three-vessel, and trachea views of the fetal heart in the first trimester and to describe their association with specific CHD types.

Pathological Examination of the Late Embryonic Heart Using the Same 4-chamber and 3-vessel Planes Used in Fetal Echocardiography.

Background/aim: The incidence of early pregnancy loss widely varies according to age, being considerably higher in older women. Severe congenital malformations play an important role in pregnancy loss, having a high risk of recurrence. Congenital heart defects are the most common congenital abnormalities, thus the diagnosis of such malformations in aborted embryos is important for establishing both a possible cause for pregnancy loss and for correctly counseling the parents.

Impact of histological subtype on the response to chemoradiation in locally advanced cervical cancer and the possible role of surgery.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women in developing countries, second only to breast cancer, with more than 450.000 new cases every year. Romania has the highest incidence of cervical cancer in Europe; more than four times the incidence found in Western Europe.

Umbilical cord lactate compared with pH as predictors of intrapartum asphyxia.

Despite advances in fetal monitoring during labor, one of the most critical causes of neonatal death and neurologic injuries remains intrapartum asphyxia. Umbilical cord gases can be used to detect acidosis and fetal distress. We conducted a retrospective, multicenter study to evaluate umbilical cord blood pH and lactate as a mean of evaluating the degree of intrapartum hypoxia and also to establish which of the two is more reliable in predicting morbidity in term neonates.

Operator experience impact on the evaluation of still images of a first trimester cardiac assessment protocol.

Objective: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect and represents the leading cause for mortality and morbidity in infants and young adults. Early fetal echocardiography is usually considered a highly specialized scan. The goal of this study is to evaluate the impact of operator's experience in assessing still images of the 4-chamber view and 3-vessels view and to evaluate the feasibility and the performance of a first trimester screening protocol for CHD.

The wide spectrum of ultrasound diagnosis of holoprosencephaly.

Aim: Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is the most common brain malformation. A wide spectrum of anatomical variants are characterized by a lack of midline separation of the cerebral hemispheres. The aim of this study was to assess the ultrasound diagnostic criteria for HPE.

Alobar holoprosencephaly associated with a rare chromosomal abnormality: Case report and literature review.

Rationale: Holoprosencephaly is a structural malformation of the brain that results from the complete or incomplete noncleavage of the forebrain of the embryo into 2 hemispheres. We report a severe case of alobar holoprosencephaly diagnosed at 38 weeks, associated with cebocephaly, microcephaly, and craniosynostosis.

Patient Concern: The main knowledge added by this case is the late ultrasound diagnosis and chromosomal analysis that revealed a very rare abnormality (45X/46,XX/47,XX) with mosaicism at chromosome 18.

Difficulties of clinical and histopathological diagnosis in advanced vulvar clear cell carcinoma.

Clear cell carcinoma (CCC) of the female genital tract usually arises in the ovary, endometrium, cervix and vagina. A rare site for CCC is the vulva, and moreover even rarer are the cases involving the Bartholin gland. A 54-year-old female was admitted for a 1.

Antenatal diagnosis and prognostic factors of aneurysmal malformation of the vein of Galen: A case report and literature review.

Rationale: Vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation (VGAM) is a rare complex malformation of the cerebral vascular system consisting of arteriovenous shunts between the vein of Galen and the cerebral arteries.

Patient Concerns: We present the case of a 31-year-old pregnant woman, para 1, gravida 1.

Diagnoses: At 26 weeks' gestation who was examined for an anechoic mass on the cerebral median midline with color and pulsed Doppler.

Good Prognosis Went Badly: Fulminant Evolution of a 29-Year-Old Patient with Verrucous Carcinoma of the Cervix.

Verrucous carcinoma (VC) is a very rare variant of squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, difficult to point out in histology because of its benign appearance. We present the case of a 29-year-old woman with a locally advanced cervical VC who underwent radiotherapy followed by radical hysterectomy. After local relapse and despite pelvic exenteration, her condition deteriorated.