Ritonavir blocks AKT signaling, activates apoptosis and inhibits migration and invasion in ovarian cancer cells.

Background: Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of mortality from gynecological malignancies, often undetectable in early stages. The difficulty of detecting the disease in its early stages and the propensity of ovarian cancer cells to develop resistance to known chemotherapeutic treatments dramatically decreases the 5-year survival rate. Chemotherapy with paclitaxel after surgery increases median survival only by 2 to 3 years in stage IV disease highlights the need for more effective drugs.

Second neoplasms in survivors of endometrial cancer: impact of radiation therapy.

Objective: To evaluate the association of radiotherapy to subsequent second cancers in endometrial carcinoma survivors.

Methods: Subjects with endometrial cancer as their first malignancy were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database from 1973 to 2004 and were divided into radiation (R) and No Radiation (NR) groups. Person years at risk (PYR), observed (O) and expected (E) counts and SIR (standardized incidence ratio) were determined.

Radiation-associated endometrial cancer.

Objective: To compare prognostic variables and survival of radiation-associated endometrial cancers with sporadic second endometrial cancers.

Methods: Patients with primary cancers of pelvic organs (urinary system, colorectal, cervix, vulva, and vagina) were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 1973 and 2005. Among these patients, those who received pelvic radiation and subsequently developed endometrial cancer formed the radiation-associated endometrial cancers cohort (cases), whereas those who did not receive pelvic radiation but subsequently developed endometrial cancer formed the sporadic second endometrial cancers cohort (controls).

A comparison of younger vs older women with vulvar cancer in the United States.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the prognostic variables and survival of younger (< 50 years) to that of older (> or = 50 years) women with vulvar cancer.

Study Design: Subjects with invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva were identified from the limited use Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program 1988-2005. Comparisons between younger and older women were accomplished with chi(2) and t-tests.

Carboplatin and paclitaxel adjuvant chemotherapy in primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the uterine corpus.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the uterine corpus (PNET) is rare and appears to have an aggressive clinical course. We report on a postmenopausal woman with optimal surgically cytoreduced advanced-stage PNET in which adjuvant combination chemotherapy with platinum and taxane agents was unsuccessful in extending her disease-free survival.

Prognostic significance of keratinization in squamous cell cancer of uterine cervix: a population based study.

Purpose: To determine the influence of keratinization on prognosis in squamous cell cancer (SCC) of the uterine cervix.

Methods: Patients with keratinized squamous cell carcinoma (KSCC) and non-keratinized squamous cell carcinoma (NKSCC) of the cervix were identified from the Limited Use SEER database from 1988 to 2004. A subgroup of patients who did not have radiation or surgery formed the basis to study the natural history of the disease.

Lymphadenectomy and ovarian preservation in low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma.

Objective: To report the impact on overall survival of lymphadenectomy and ovarian preservation in patients with endometrial stromal sarcoma.

Methods: Data were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program from 1988 to 2005. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to identify possible predictors for survival.

Image-guided percutaneous cryotherapy for the management of gynecologic cancer metastases.

Objective: To report the clinical response to image-guided percutaneous cryotherapy (IPC) for the palliative management of localized metastases in patients with gynecologic malignancies.

Methods: Institutional review board approval and patient consent were obtained. Gynecologic oncology patients were identified from our institution's cryotherapy database from August 2003 to August 2007.

A population-based analysis of 788 cases of yolk sac tumors: A comparison of males and females.

Yolk sac tumors (YST) are a rare and aggressive germ cell tumor. The objective of this study is to compare the patient characteristics and survival of YST in males and females. Demographic and clinicopathologic information were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program from 1973 to 2003.

The prevalence and prognostic impact of lymph node metastasis in malignant germ cell tumors of the ovary.

Background: The purpose of this study is to report the prevalence and prognostic importance of lymph node metastasis in malignant germ cell tumors of the ovary (OGCT).

Methods: Demographic and clinicopathologic information were abstracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) from 1988 to 2004. Patients with a histologic diagnosis of OGCT after surgical resection were included.

The effects of combining docetaxel and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors on proliferation and apoptosis in epithelial ovarian cancer.

In-vitro studies have shown that taxanes can upregulate cellular cyclooxygenase-2 expression. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of the combination, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor and docetaxel, on epithelial ovarian cancer cells. Four epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines (MDAH-2774, SKOV3, OVCAR and CaOV-3) were treated with the specific cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor NS398 (10 or 100 mumol/l) and docetaxel (0.

The effects of the inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase on angiogenesis of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Objective: The release of nitric oxide by tumor cells, through the stimulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression, may play a critical role in ovarian cancer progression. In this study we have sought to determine the effects of inhibiting inducible nitric oxide synthase on angiogenesis that was induced by 2 ovarian cancer cell lines, SKOV and MDAH2774.

Study Design: Real-time polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay techniques were used to determine the expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase and vascular endothelial growth factor in the ovarian cancer cell lines in response to treatments with L-NAME, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, and SNAP, and nitric oxide donor.

A population-based study of racial and ethnic differences in survival among women with invasive cervical cancer: analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data.

Objective: The incidence of cervical cancer is higher in Hispanic than in non-Hispanic or African American women in the United States, but few studies have examined differences in survival between these groups. The objective of this study was to examine racial/ethnic differences in survival after diagnosis with invasive cervical cancer in a population-based sample of patients while adjusting for patient and tumor characteristics and treatment types.

Methods: We identified 7267 women (4431 non-Hispanic Caucasians, 1830 Hispanic Caucasians, and 1006 non-Hispanic African Americans) diagnosed with primary invasive cervical cancer from 1992 to 1996 (with follow-up through 2000) from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program.

Expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in advanced stage ovarian serous carcinoma: correlation with tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and survival.

Objective: Cyclo-oxygenase-2 seems to be involved at various steps in the processes of tumor progression. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between cyclo-oxygenase-2 expression and tumor proliferation, apoptosis and angiogenesis in patients with advanced stage high-grade ovarian carcinoma.

Study Design: Specimens from 118 patients with high-grade and advanced stage (III, IV) serous ovarian carcinoma were evaluated by immunohistochemistry for cyclo-oxygenase-2, Ki-67, vascular endothelial growth factor, and bcl-2 expression.

Survival of women diagnosed with malignant, mixed mullerian tumors of the ovary (OMMMT).

Objective: To analyze the survival of women with malignant, mixed mullerian tumors of the ovary (OMMMT) compared to women with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Methods: Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program on 14025 women diagnosed with primary invasive ovarian cancer between 1988 and 1997 were used for this analysis (382 had OMMMT). Differences in distribution of prognostic variables by histological type were compared using a chi-square test.

Expression of Cox-2, CD34, Bcl-2, and p53 and survival in patients with primary peritoneal serous carcinoma and primary ovarian serous carcinoma.

The objective of this study was to compare the immunohistochemical profile and clinical course of primary peritoneal serous carcinoma (PPC) and primary ovarian serous carcinoma (OSC). These entities are virtually indistinguishable morphologically, but their differential molecular and clinical features are incompletely characterized. Twenty-nine cases of high-grade, high-stage PPC and 96 cases of stage matched OSCs were compared.

The effect of cyclooxygenase-2 expression on tumor vascularity in advanced stage ovarian serous carcinoma.

Background: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) seems to be involved at various steps in the processes of malignant transformation and tumor progression. Investigations have shown that COX-2 overexpression is associated with increased proliferation, reduced apoptosis, and angiogenesis.

Methods: Specimens from 125 patients with high-grade, advanced-stage (Stage III-IV) serous ovarian carcinoma were evaluated by immunohistochemistry for COX-2, p53, bcl-2, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and Her-2/neu expression and for CD34-stained microvessel density (MVD).