Publications by authors named "Eleftherios P Samartzis"

Endometriosis is a disease affecting approximately 10% of reproductive age women. Loss of the tumor suppressor gene AT-rich interactive domain-containing protein 1A (ARID1A) occurs in some endometriosis cases. Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC-6) is an enzyme with implication in several diseases including different cancer types and immunological disorders, where it is involved in protein trafficking and degradation, cell shape, and migration.

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G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) has been found to be an important key regulator in the homeostasis of sex hormone-dependent human cells. The aim of this study was to compare the expression of GPER, estrogen receptor alpha (ER-α), estrogen receptor beta (ER-β) and progesterone receptor (PR) in adenomyosis, eutopic endometrium from the same patients, and eutopic endometrium from patients without adenomyosis. Immunohistochemical analysis of GPER, ER-α, ER-β and PR was performed to assess the expression levels on samples of hysterectomies using tissue microarrays.

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Objectives: Assessing urgency in ectopic pregnancies (ECP) remains controversial since the disorder covers a large clinical spectrum. Severe conditions such as acute abdomen or hemodynamic instability are mostly related to intra-abdominal blood loss diagnosed as free fluid (FF) on transvaginal sonography (TVS). The aims of the current study were to investigate the value of FF and to assess other potentially predictive parameters for judging urgency.

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Background: Endometriosis, the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus, is a common clinical entity between women of reproductive age, with a prevalence of about 10%. Due to the variety of endometriosis-associated symptoms, a great variety of treatments have been implemented. The aim of this review is to give an overview on therapeutical approaches of eight national and international widely used guidelines.

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Article Synopsis
  • This phase I study aimed to assess the safety and effectiveness of gedatolisib, a PI3K/mTORC1/2 dual inhibitor, when used alongside carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with advanced solid tumors who had received up to two prior treatments.
  • Seventeen patients participated, primarily with ovarian (10 clear cell ovarian cancer) and other cancers, with a median treatment history of one previous chemotherapy cycle; the recommended dose for further trials was established to be gedatolisib 110 mg.
  • The treatment appeared tolerable, with a 65% overall response rate, notably higher (80%) in patients with clear cell ovarian cancer, although side effects like neutropenia and
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Introduction: Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition, affecting mainly women of reproductive age. Leptin is a regulator of food intake and energy expenditure, posing pleiotropic actions, and regulating immunity and fertility. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature regarding leptin concentrations in biological fluids and tissues of women with endometriosis, and to investigate and propose a possible role of leptin in the pathophysiology of endometriosis.

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Purpose:  To define the predictive value of morphological types (MTs) and further criteria in diagnosing ectopic pregnancy (ECP) by transvaginal sonography (TVS) prior to operative confirmation and treatment.

Materials And Methods:  Retrospective cohort analysis of 321 consecutive patients with suspected ECP who were advised to undergo operation.

Results:  ECP was investigated by TVS in all 321 patients.

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Vaccines, cytokines, and adoptive cellular therapies (ACT) represent immuno-therapeutic modalities with great development potential, and they are currently approved for the treatment of a limited number of advanced malignancies. The most up-to-date knowledge on the regulation of the anti-cancer immune response has recently led to the development and approval of inhibitors of immune checkpoints, which have produced unprecedented clinical activity in several hard to treat solid malignancies. However, severe adverse events (AEs) represent a limitation to the use of these drugs.

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Malignant ovarian germ cell tumours (MOGCTs) are rare. Unlike epithelial ovarian cancer, MOGCTs typically occur in girls and young women. Fertility-sparing surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy remain the standard of care, providing high chance of cure at all stages.

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Endometriosis is a benign gynecologic condition affecting up to one woman out of ten of reproductive age. It is defined by the presence of endometrial-like tissue in localizations outside of the uterine cavity. It often causes symptoms such as chronic pain, most frequently associated with the menstrual cycle, and infertility, but may also be oligo- or asymptomatic.

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Newly diagnosed high grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients are treated with radical surgery followed by adjuvant platinum and taxane combination chemotherapy. In EOC patients where upfront surgery is contraindicated for medical reasons (e.g.

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Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality among women, potentially due to ineffectiveness of screening tests for early detection. Patients typically present with advanced disease at diagnosis, whereas, up to 80% relapse and the estimated median progression-free survival (PFS) is approximately 12-18 months. Increased knowledge on the molecular biology of EOC resulted in the development of several targeted therapies, including poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors.

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The Notch signalling pathway is involved in the new vessel formation process by regulating tip and stalk cells, which are key cells in the sprout formation. This process is essential in both normal ovary and cancer angiogenesis and is regulated by Notch-VEGF crosstalk. Furthermore, Notch has been linked in ovary with stem cell maintenance and epithelial mesenchymal transition processes.

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Pelvic Inflammatory Disease - Synergies between Family Practices and Gynaecological Specialised Assessment The 'pelvic inflammatory disease' (PID) describes an ascending inflammation of the upper female genital tract, beginning with a local cervicitis and proceeding to endometritis and adnexitis. It is a common clinical picture with rising numbers in recent years, and it occurs both in gynaecological and general practice. The symptoms are often unspecific, discrete or althogehter lacking.

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Background: Endometriosis is one of the most common benign gynecological diseases with an occurrence approximately 10% in reproductive age. Endometriosis has been proposed as a possible precursor of certain ovarian carcinomas such as clear cell and endometrioid ovarian carcinomas. In addition to this pathogenic link, the association with other gynecological tumors and breast cancer has been studied on an epidemiological basis in several studies.

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Background: Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases of reproductive age, with a prevalence of 5-10% and grave consequences for quality of life and fertility. Vitamin D (vit D), a classic regulator of plasma calcium concentration and skeleton mineralization, is also an effective modulator of the immune system. Several studies suggest that immunologic properties attributed to vit D along with vit D receptor (VDR) expression in reproductive tissues may be involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

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Aim: To evaluate the frequency of loss of mediator of DNA damage checkpoint protein 1 (MDC1) protein expression in endometrial cancer (EC) and to determine whether loss of MDC1 is associated with certain clinicopathological parameters.

Materials And Methods: MDC1 expression was examined in 426 samples of EC. The nuclear immunoreactivity of the protein was defined as: negative, weak, moderate and strong.

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Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), especially the gelatinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis by enabling invasion. Doxycycline is a well-tolerated antibiotic and a potent MMP-inhibitor in subantimicrobial doses.

Methods: Gelatin zymography and activity assays were used to detect latent and active MMP-2 and -9 in cell culture supernatants of immortalized epithelial (12Z) and two isolates of primary endometriotic stromal cells treated with doxycycline.

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Purpose: Comparison of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with intraoperative findings in patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) by means of the ENZIAN score.

Methods: This retrospective two-center study includes 63 patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis, who underwent surgery between 2012 and 2016 at both the University Hospital of Zurich and the Cantonal Hospital of Schaffhausen. Inclusion criteria were a preoperative pelvic MRI and intraoperative or bioptic confirmation of DIE.

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Background: Endometrioid adenocarcinoma of the uterus and ovarian endometrioid carcinoma share many morphological and molecular features. Differentiation between simultaneous primary carcinomas and ovarian metastases of an endometrial cancer may be very challenging but is essential for prognostic and therapeutic considerations.

Case Presentation: In the present case study of a 33 year-old patient we used targeted amplicon next-generation re-sequencing for clarifying the origin of synchronous endometrioid cancer of the corpus uteri and the left ovary.

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Background: BRCA1/2-deficient ovarian carcinomas are recognized as target for Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins are involved in homologous recombination repair of double-strand DNA breaks. The relevance of other homologous recombination repair proteins, e.

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Purpose: To determine if models of ovarian clear cell carcinomas (OCCCs) harbouring defects in homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair of double strand breaks (DSBs) are sensitive to cisplatin and/or PARP inhibition.

Experimental Design: The HR status of 12 OCCC cell lines was determined using RAD51/γH2AX foci formation assays. Sensitivity to cisplatin and the PARP inhibitor BMN-673 was correlated with HR status.

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Endometriosis, a painful disorder associated with infertility, is estimated to occur in approximately 7-10% of reproductive age women. Although endometriosis is considered as an estrogen-dependent disease, the role of estrogen metabolites via receptor-independent mechanisms has not yet been comprehensively clarified. In the present study, growth studies were performed comparing the effect of estradiol (E2), estrogen metabolites, that is, 2-hydroxyestradiol (2-OHE2) and 2-methoxyestradiol (2-ME), as well as estrogen-receptor-independent mechanisms using the estrogen receptor antagonist fulvestrant, on cell proliferation of endometriotic cells.

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Background: Acrokeratosis paraneoplastica is a rare paraneoplastic phenomenon associated with upper aerodigestive tract carcinomas, usually manifesting as psoriasiform keratosis over the acral sites. It is primarily seen in white males above the age of 40 years. Here we report a case of paraneoplastic acrokeratosis in a woman with serous ovarian cancer.

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