A Deeper Look at Office Hysteroscopy in Asymptomatic Postmenopausal Patients: Indications and Outcomes of 822 Cases.

Study Objective: This study aims to assess the prevalence of malignancy and other endometrial pathologies in asymptomatic postmenopausal women referred for office hysteroscopy (OH), identify main referral indications, and assess their relationship with the risk of malignancy. Secondary objectives included evaluating the association between ultrasound variables and malignancy risk and assessing procedure validity, which encompasses duration, feasibility, and patient comfort during OH.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Emergency and prophylactic uterine artery embolization in gynecology and obstetrics - a retrospective analysis.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of emergency and prophylactic uterine artery embolization (UAE) in our clinical practice, including technical success, clinical success, and associated complications.

Patients And Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed 64 women who underwent emergency ( =18) and prophylactic ( = 46) UAE. Indications for emergency UAE included postpartum hemorrhage or severe hemorrhage during pregnancy termination, while prophylactic UAE was performed prior to surgical removal of retained products of conception (RPOC), delivery with abnormal placental implantation, or pregnancy termination (cervical pregnancy or fetal anomalies accompanied by abnormal placental implantation).

AKR1B1 as a Prognostic Biomarker of High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer.

Although aldo-keto reductases (AKRs) have been widely studied in cancer, no study to date has examined the roles of AKR family 1 members B1 (AKR1B1) and B10 (AKR1B10) in a large group of ovarian cancer patients. AKR1B1 and AKR1B10 play a significant role in inflammation and the metabolism of different chemotherapeutics as well as cell differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. Due to these functions, we examined the potential of AKR1B1 and AKR1B10 as tissue biomarkers.

AKR1C3 Is Associated with Better Survival of Patients with Endometrial Carcinomas.

The aldo-keto reductase (AKR) superfamily is gaining attention in cancer research. AKRs are involved in important biochemical processes and have crucial roles in carcinogenesis and chemoresistance. The enzyme AKR1C3 has many functions, which include production of prostaglandins, androgens and estrogens, and metabolism of different chemotherapeutics; AKR1C3 is thus implicated in the pathophysiology of different cancers.

Office hysteroscopy in removing retained products of conception - a highly successful approach with minimal complications.

Data of 101 patients with retained products of conception (RPOC), treated with office hysteroscopy (OH) from 2012 to 2015 at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana were analysed. Patients with >30 mm RPOC thickness or strong vascularisation on ultrasound (US) were excluded. Procedures were successfully completed in 94/101 (93%).

Presence and role of stem cells in ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecological malignancy. It is typically diagnosed at advanced stages of the disease, with metastatic sites disseminated widely within the abdominal cavity. Ovarian cancer treatment is challenging due to high disease recurrence and further complicated pursuant to acquired chemoresistance.

Cancer Stem Cell-Related Marker NANOG Expression in Ovarian Serous Tumors: A Clinicopathological Study of 159 Cases.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to assess cancer stem cell-related marker NANOG expression in ovarian serous tumors and to evaluate its prognostic significance in relation to ovarian serous carcinoma.

Methods: NANOG protein expression was immunohistochemically evaluated in the ovarian tissue microarrays of 20 patients with benign ovarian serous tumors, 30 patients with borderline ovarian serous tumors, and 109 patients with ovarian serous carcinomas, from which 106 were of high-grade and 3 of low-grade morphology Immunohistochemical reaction was scored according to signal intensity and the percentage of positive cells in tumor samples. Pursuant to our summation of signal intensity and positive cell occurrence, we divided our samples into 4 groups: NANOG-negative, NANOG-slightly positive, NANOG-moderately positive, and NANOG-strongly positive group.

Putative stem cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition revealed in sections of ovarian tumor in patients with serous ovarian carcinoma using immunohistochemistry for vimentin and pluripotency-related markers.

Background: The mechanism of aggressive character of ovarian cancer and unsuccessful treatment of women with this deadly disease has been recently explained by the theory of cancer stem cells (CSCs). It has been reported that ovarian carcinogenesis and progression of disease is associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT, a physiological cell process during embryonic development and later in life during regeneration, could, when induced in pathological condition, generate CSCs-like cells.

Small putative NANOG, SOX2, and SSEA-4-positive stem cells resembling very small embryonic-like stem cells in sections of ovarian tissue in patients with ovarian cancer.

Background: In previous studies it has been found that in cell cultures of human adult ovaries there is a population of small stem cells with diameters of 2-4 μm, which are present mainly in the ovarian surface epithelium and are comparable to very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) from bone marrow. These cells are not observed by histopathologists in the ovarian tissue due to their small size and unknown clinical significance. Because these cells express a degree of pluripotency, they might be involved in the manifestation of ovarian cancer.

Does hysteroscopic metroplasty for septate uterus represent a risk factor for adverse outcome during pregnancy and labor?

The aim of the study was to evaluate whether hysteroscopic metroplasty for septate uterus represents a risk factor of adverse outcome in pregnancy, during labor, and after delivery. This is a retrospective comparative study of obstetric complications of 99 patients who underwent hysteroscopic metroplasty in a 5-year period (study group) and 4155 women, who gave birth in the same hospital in the same period (control group). No difference in obstetric outcome (preterm labor, hemorrhage before and after delivery, mean weeks of gestation at delivery, mean birth weight, breech presentation, and cesarean section rate) between the two groups has been found.

No clinical relevance of the height of fundal indentation in subseptate or arcuate uterus: a prospective study.

The American Fertility Society has classified the arcuate uterus as a minor malformation with a benign clinical behaviour. The aim of this prospective study was to verify whether there is any scientific basis for this differentiation. Patients with at least one early miscarriage and a subseptate or arcuate uterus were admitted for hysteroscopic metroplasty.

Possible role of endometriosis in the aetiology of spontaneous miscarriage in patients with septate uterus.

A recent study found a significant correlation between endometriosis and non-obstructive forms of Müllerian anomalies. Other studies described an increased miscarriage rate in patients with endometriosis. This study assessed the effect of endometriosis on pregnancy outcome in a group of patients with endometriosis and septate uterus.