Longstanding survival without cancer progression in a patient affected by endometrial carcinoma treated primarily with leuprolide.

We report here a case of a patient affected by endometrial cancer and treated primarily with leuprolide, the surgical approach being unfeasible due to her compromised conditions. The therapy was continued for more than 6 years, and no progression of the disease was observed. During this period, some histological and immunohistochemical evaluations of the tumour (morphology, grading, proliferation and apoptotic index, E-cadherin expression) were performed.

Inhibitory effect of luteinising hormone-releasing hormone analogues on human endometrial cancer in vitro.

We studied the effects of luteinising hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist leuproreline (1 microM for 96 h) and LHRH antagonist cetrorelix on the cell growth of primary cultures from nine human endometrial cancers using the sulphorhodamine colorimetric test. Histological examinations and reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction amplification (RT-PCR) for LHRH receptors were also performed. The endometrial cancers examined had a medium to high degree of proliferative activity and a low degree of apoptotic power; furthermore, they expressed the LHRH receptor RNA variably, detectable in 71% of cases.

Differential inhibitory effects on human endometrial carcinoma cell growth of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogues.

In addition to its function as a key hormone in the regulation of the pituitary-gonadal axis, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) probably also affects various extrapituitary tissues. LHRH binding sites and in vitro antiproliferative effects of LHRH analogues have been reported in human endometrial cancer. The effects of the LHRH agonist leuproreline and LHRH antagonist antide were studied on the cell growth, DNA synthesis, and cell cycle distribution of the human endometrial cancer cell lines HEC-1A and HEC-1B by the sulforhodamine B (SRB) method, [3H]thymidine assay incorporation, and propidium iodide DNA staining, respectively.

[Zinc blood levels in 73 puerperal women. Correlation with obstetric and neonatal complications].

Background: Low plasma zinc concentrations in pregnant women have been associated with certain obstetric and foetal complications. However, there is no agreement in previous studies and mediterranean populations have not been extensively studied.

Methods: The plasmatic zinc was tested in 73 mothers, within 24 hours post-partum, in order to evaluate an association between plasmatic zinc and various obstetric and fetal complications.

Morphological and functional aspects of the endometrium of asymptomatic post-menopausal women: does the endometrium really age?

The morphological and functional aspects of the endometrium were investigated in 28 asymptomatic post-menopausal women to evaluate the ageing phenomenon of this tissue. Haematoxylin-eosin staining showed an atrophic endometrium in 12 cases and a hyperplastic endometrium in the other 16 cases. Masson's trichrome identified moderate fibrosis in all post-menopausal endometrial stroma.

CA125 in culture medium of preimplantation embryo.

The first stage of the implantation is the adhesion of the embryonic pole of the blastocyst to the decidua. Such a phenomenon has been demonstrated to be dependent on the presence of glycoproteic compounds, produced partly by the decidua and partly by the embryo. CA125 is an antigenic determinant associated to a glycoprotein expressed by various embryonic tissues.

I. Aging of the human endometrium: a basic morphological and immunohistochemical study.

Objective: To evaluate if human endometrium presents morphological variations suggestive of an age-related decline in endometrial receptivity.

Study Design: Peri-implantation endometrium of younger (<30 years of age: n = 13) and older (>40 years of age: n = 17) normally menstruating women was studied. Endometrial specimens were routinely fixed in buffered formalin and embedded in paraffin.

[Use of a GnRH analogue in the treatment of certain forms of endometrial hyperplasia associated with menometrorrhagia].

Hyperestrogenism is a powerful factor inducing the development of endometrial hyperplasia that in its turn may represent the first step in the natural history of endometrial carcinoma. During menopause it is possible to have a condition to relative hyperestrogenism induced by a residual hormonal activity and by aromatisation of androgens in the adipose tissue. Therapeutical approach in this pathology aims to control hyperplastic development of the endometrial mucosa and to exclude menometrorrhagia.

Detection of circulating immune complexes in gynecological malignancies.

Extensive studies have demonstrated that immune complexes represent an important affidable tumor marker with a significant value as diagnostic and prognostic indicator of malignant diseases. In this view, we have studied a group of 11 healthy donors and a group of 11 patients with gynecological malignancies, pre- and post-operatively. Blood samples stored at -30 degrees C were tested by a new competitive immunoenzymatic assay (C3bi test).