The Impact of Covid-19 on Surgical Training and Outcomes: A Multicenter Experience (Greece and Romania).

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to health systems worldwide-in delivering care to patients and in maintaining training of their care providers. Surgical specialties have particularly struggled to maintain sufficient levels of training as we have seen significant reductions in the number of surgical beds, operating lists and redeployment of surgical staff to COVID-19 departments or Intensive Treatment Units.

Methods: Comparison of the number of surgical operations performed between January 1st 2019 and December 31st 2020 in 3 surgical departments in Romania (Craiova, Timisoara and Bucharest) and 1 surgical department in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Primary parahiatal hernias: A case report and review of the literature.

Background: Parahiatal hernias (PHHs) are rare occurring disease, with a reported incidence of 0.2%-0.35% in patients undergoing surgery for hiatal hernia.

Decreased sEng plasma levels in hypertensive patients with endothelial dysfunction under chronic treatment with Perindopril.

Endoglin is a transmembrane glycoprotein which plays an important role in maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis. One of its forms, soluble endoglin (sEng), a molecule with antiangiogenic properties, has been found overexpressed in patients suffering from hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus and hypertension, and is proposed as a marker of endothelial damage. Accordingly, we aimed to quantify the efficacy of various antihypertensive regimens on sEng levels, in hypertensive patients with endothelial dysfunction.

Ethinylestradiol and Levonorgestrel as Active Agents in Normal Skin, and Pathological Conditions Induced by UVB Exposure: In Vitro and In Ovo Assessments.

The link between melanoma development and the use of oral combined contraceptives is not fully elucidated, and the data concerning this issue are scarce and controversial. In the present study, we show that the components of oral contraceptives, ethinylestradiol (EE), levonorgestrel (LNG), and their combination (EE + LNG) ± UVB (ultraviolet B radiation) induced differential effects on healthy (human keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and primary epidermal melanocytes, and murine epidermis cells) and melanoma cells (human-A375 and murine-B164A5), as follows: (i) at low doses (1 µM), the hormones were devoid of significant toxicity on healthy cells, but in melanoma cells, they triggered cell death via apoptosis; (ii) higher doses (10 µM) were associated with cytotoxicity in all cells, the most affected being the melanoma cells; (iii) UVB irradiation proved to be toxic for all types of cells; (iv) UVB irradiation + hormonal stimulation led to a synergistic cytotoxicity in the case of human melanoma cells-A375 and improved viability rates of healthy and B164A5 cells. A weak irritant potential exerted by EE and EE + LNG (10 µM) was assessed by the means of a chick chorioallantoic membrane assay.

Evaluation of Vascular Proliferation in Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer.

Background: Angiogenesis plays a pivotal role in tumor development. Although microvessel density (MVD) is the most common method used for evaluation of angiogenesis, it has several limitations. Our aim was to evaluate MVD and microvessel proliferation (MVP) in a series of invasive breast carcinomas and analyze whether angiogenesis is influenced by the molecular phenotype of each tumor.

Molecular Portrait of the Normal Human Breast Tissue and Its Influence on Breast Carcinogenesis.

Normal human breast tissue consists of epithelial and nonepithelial cells with different molecular profiles and differentiation grades. This molecular heterogeneity is known to yield abnormal clones that may contribute to the development of breast carcinomas. Stem cells that are found in developing and mature breast tissue are either positive or negative for cytokeratin 19 depending on their subtype.

Pathological assessment of tumor biopsy specimen and surgical sentinel lymph node dissection in patients with melanoma.

Introduction: Actual trends of cutaneous malignant melanoma show a faster increase then other forms of cancer. Early detection and diagnosis, and accurate pathologic interpretation of the biopsy specimen is extremely important for the treatment and prognosis of clinically localized melanoma. The surgical approach to cutaneous melanoma patients with clinically uninvolved regional lymph nodes remains controversial.

Hormone receptors and HER2 expression in primary breast carcinoma and corresponding lymph node metastasis: do we need both?

Background: Scattered studies report on controversial results concerning evaluation of primary breast tumors and their matched lymph node metastases. Aim. To investigate the molecular profile of primary breast tumors and corresponding lymph node metastases (LNM) based on estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epiderma growth factor receptor-2 (HER2 protein).