Protein Complex of Fibrinogen Gamma Chain and Complement Factor H in Ovarian Cancer Patient Plasma.

Background: In the plasma of an advanced cancer patient, fibrinogen is sometimes increased with possible effects on red blood cells (RBCs).

Materials And Methods: The plasma fraction deteriorating osmotic resistance of RBCs was separated from a patient's plasma with advanced ovarian cancer by phenyl-sepharose column chromatography and analyzed with gel filtration chromatography.

Results: In the plasma fraction, we found a protein reactive against whole fibrinogen with a molecular weight higher than that of intact fibrinogen from a healthy volunteer.

Human Papillomavirus E6 Knockdown Restores Adenovirus Mediated-estrogen Response Element Linked p53 Gene Transfer in HeLa Cells.

The p53 gene is inactivated by the human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 protein in the majority of cervical cancers. Treatment of HeLa S3 cells with siRNA for HPV E6 permitted adenovirus-mediated transduction of a p53 gene linked to an upstream estrogen response element (ERE). Our previous study in non-siRNA treated HHUA cells, which are derived from an endometrial cancer and express estrogen receptor β, showed enhancing effects of an upstream ERE on adenovirus-mediated p53 gene transduction.

Potential diagnostic biomarkers: differential expression of LMP2/β1i and cyclin B1 in human uterine leiomyosarcoma.

Aims And Background: Whilst most uterine smooth muscle neoplasms are benign, uterine leiomyosarcoma (Ut-LMS) is extremely malignant with a high incidence of metastasis and recurrence. Gynecological tumors are often associated with female hormone secretion, but no strong link has been detected between human Ut-LMS and the hormonal environment. In fact, the risk factors for Ut-LMS are poorly understood.

Presentation of a Patient who Underwent Fertility-Sparing Surgeries for Contralateral Recurrence of Ovarian Immature Teratoma with Gliomatosis Peritonei.

We report a patient who has maintained a regular menstrual cycle despite undergoing cystectomy and chemotherapy for contralateral recurrence of ovarian immature teratoma with gliomatosis peritonei. We initially performed a fertility-sparing right salpingo-oophorectomy, omentectomy and peritoneal biopsy for immature teratoma with gliomatosis peritonei, with adjuvant chemotherapy; we performed a left ovarian cystectomy and peritoneal biopsy for mature cystic teratoma with gliomatosis peritonei 16 months after the first surgery, a fertility-sparing left ovarian cystectomy and peritoneal biopsy for contralateral recurrence of ovarian immature teratoma with gliomatosis peritonei 60 months after the first surgery, and a left ovarian cystectomy and peritoneal and external iliac lymph node biopsy for endometrial cyst with gliomatosis peritonei 71 months after first surgery. The peritoneal gliomatosis lesions gradually decreased through the 4 surgeries over 8 years.

Pathological findings in a case of failed uterine artery embolization for placenta previa.

The reported success rate of uterine artery embolization (UAE) for obstetrical hemorrhage is more than 90%. We experienced a case of failed UAE for postpartum hemorrhage, although an embolic particle was found pathologically in the uterine vessels without coagulation. A 42-year-old woman (gravida 7, para 2) with placenta previa had genital bleeding at 35 weeks of gestation, and cesarean section was performed.

Pregnancy complicated by cervical varix and low-lying placenta: a case report.

We present a case of cervical varix and low-lying placenta. A cesarean section was performed because of the risk of bleeding with vaginal delivery; hemostasis was achieved using z sutures at the bleeding points. After delivery, the cervical varix decreased dramatically in size.

Association of copper transporter expression with platinum resistance in epithelial ovarian cancer.

Background: Copper transporters (CTR) also regulate the cellular transport of platinum drugs, but their role in platinum resistance of ovarian cancer has not been elucidated.

Materials And Methods: CTR expression in ovarian cancer tissues resected from patients treated by platinum-based chemotherapy was evaluated immunohistochemically. CTR2 expression in ovarian cancer cells was inhibited by bathocuproine disulfonate, and the changes in cisplatin sensitivity were examined.

Clinical management of atypical polypoid adenomyoma of the uterus. A clinicopathological review of 29 cases.

Objective: The clinical management of atypical polypoid adenomyoma (APAM) of the uterus remains to be established. We collected APAM cases, reviewed the clinicopathological features, and discussed the clinical management.

Methods: Twenty-nine patients with APAM were identified by searching the tumor registry of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG).

Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin for platinum-resistant or refractory Müllerian carcinoma (epithelial ovarian carcinoma, primary carcinoma of Fallopian tube and peritoneal carcinoma): A single-institutional experience.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) in patients with Müllerian carcinoma treated at our hospital. Nineteen patients with platinum-resistant Müllerian carcinoma were treated with intravenous PLD 50 mg/m(2) every 4 weeks. Tumor response was assessed by MRI following every 2-3 cycles of treatment.

Outcomes of traditional prolapse surgery for pelvic organ prolapse repair at a single center.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of traditional surgical approaches to pelvic organ prolapse.

Methods: From January 20, 2000, to March 24, 2009, 182 patients underwent traditional prolapse surgery at Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan, after prolapse assessment by the pelvic organ prolapse quantification system. Incontinence, defined as more than 2 g of urine leaked in a 1-hour pad test; posterior urethrovesical angle, using chain cystography; and quality of life (QOL), using a face visual analog scale, were assessed 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively, and then annually for 2 more years, in the 167 patients who completed follow-up.

Expression of mitotic-arrest deficiency 2 predicts the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced uterine cervical cancer.

We previously reported satisfactory therapeutic results when using cisplatin-based cyclic balloon-occluded arterial infusion chemotherapy as neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), which enabled hysterectomy to be performed for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer. Mitotic arrest deficiency 2 (MAD2) is a key component of the mitotic spindle checkpoint pathway. The expression of MAD2 is associated with tumor progression and resistance to chemotherapy.

Extragastrointestinal stromal tumor originating from the vulva.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. They have gain-of-function mutations of the c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase gene and have been suggested to originate from the interstitial cells of Cajal. A small percentage of GISTs form extragastrointestinal masses.

Expression of the mitotic-arrest deficiency 2 is associated with chemotherapy resistance in ovarian serous adenocarcinoma.

Mitotic-arrest deficiency 2 (MAD2) is a key component of spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) function; SAC mediates spindle microtubule attachment to kinetochores on chromosomes and chromosomal segregation during mitosis. To determine whether MAD2 expression is associated with chemotherapy resistance in ovarian serous adenocarcinoma, we reviewed tumor samples from 41 cases of ovarian serous adenocarcinoma at Osaka City University Medical School Hospital (Osaka, Japan), 2000-2007. Of the 41 cases, 24 were recurrent and 17 were not recurrent.

Prediction of the shrinking rate of uterine leiomyoma nodules using needle biopsy specimens.

Objective: To determine correlations between shrinkage of uterine leiomyomas after treatment with GnRH agonists (GnRH-a) or menopause and expression levels of estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Design: Cohort study.

Setting: University teaching hospital.

Mitotic arrest deficiency 2 induces carcinogenesis in mucinous ovarian tumors.

Mitotic arrest deficiency 2 (MAD2) is a key component of the mitotic spindle checkpoint pathway. A compromised mitotic spindle checkpoint results in an abnormal number of chromosomes. This is referred to as chromosomal instability, and has been reported in most types of human cancer.

Potential role of LMP2 as an anti-oncogenic factor in human uterine leiomyosarcoma: morphological significance of calponin h1.

Uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a highly metastatic smooth muscle neoplasm for which calponin h1 is suspected to have a biological role as a tumor-suppressor. We earlier reported that LMP2-null mice spontaneously develop uterine LMS through malignant transformation of the myometrium, thus implicating this protein as an anti-tumorigenic candidate as well. In the present study, we show that LMP2 may negatively regulate LMS independently of its role in the proteasome.

Reference ranges for time-related analysis of ductus venosus flow velocity waveforms in singleton pregnancies.

Objectives: To investigate time intervals of ductus venosus (DV) flow velocity waveforms (FVW) in correlation to fetal heart rate and gestational age and to construct reference ranges for the second and third trimester. Furthermore, we investigate time intervals of FVW through the tricuspid valve.

Methods: Flow velocity waveforms of the DV and through the tricuspid valve were recorded in 135 normal singleton fetuses between 17 and 38 weeks' gestation.

Involvement of proteasome β1i subunit, LMP2, on development of uterin leiomyosarcma.

Background: Although the majority of smooth muscle neoplasms found in the uterus are benign, uterine leiomyosarcoma is extremely malignant, with high rates of recurrence and metastasis. The development of gynecologic tumors is often correlated with secretion of female hormone; however, the development of human uterine leiomyosarcoma is not substantially correlated with hormonal conditions, and the risk factors are unclearly understood. Importantly, a diagnostic-biomarker, which distinguishes malignant human uterine leiomyosarcoma from benign tumor leiomyoma is yet to be established.

Potential role of LMP2 as tumor-suppressor defines new targets for uterine leiomyosarcoma therapy.

Although the majority of smooth muscle neoplasms found in the uterus are benign, uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is extremely malignant, with high rates of recurrence and metastasis. We earlier reported that mice with a homozygous deficiency for LMP2, an interferon (IFN)-γ-inducible factor, spontaneously develop uterine LMS. The IFN-γ pathway is important for control of tumor growth and invasion and has been implicated in several cancers.

Maternal dietary patterns in pregnancy and fetal growth in Japan: the Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study.

Maternal nutritional status during pregnancy is an important determinant of fetal growth. Although the effects of several nutrients and foods have been well examined, little is known about the relationship of overall maternal diet in pregnancy to fetal growth, particularly in non-Western populations. We prospectively examined the relationship of maternal dietary patterns in pregnancy to neonatal anthropometric measurements at birth and risk of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth among 803 Japanese women with live-born, singleton, term deliveries.

An upstream estrogen response element linked to exogenous p53 tumor suppressor gene expression differentiates effects of the codon 72 polymorphism.

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of an upstream estrogen response element (ERE) on exogenous p53 tumor suppressor gene with a codon 72 polymorphism about which there have been controversial reports in relation to cancer risk. The p53 gene (bases 166-1143 from start codon) with the codon 72 polymorphism, inserted into the pIRES-hrGFP II plasmid with or without upstream ERE, were transfected into HHUA endometrial cancer cells expressing the estrogen receptor. The ERE-linked p53 gene with the proline variant at codon 72 showed lower transfection rates than the gene without ERE or with the arginine variant at codon 72.

Claudin-4: a potential therapeutic target in chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer.

Background: Claudin-4, a component of the tight junction, plays an important role in tumorigenesis and metastasis of ovarian cancer, but its role in platinum resistance has not been elucidated.

Materials And Methods: Claudin-4 expression in ovarian cancer cells was inhibited and the changes in cisplatin sensitivity were examined. Fluorescence-labeled cisplatin was used to examine whether inhibition of claudin-4 changed the cellular accumulation of cisplatin.

Outcomes of fertility-sparing surgery for stage I epithelial ovarian cancer: a proposal for patient selection.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess clinical outcomes and fertility in patients treated conservatively for unilateral stage I invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Patients And Methods: A multi-institutional retrospective investigation was undertaken to identify patients with unilateral stage I EOC treated with fertility-sparing surgery. Favorable histology was defined as grade 1 or grade 2 adenocarcinoma, excluding clear cell histology.

Uterine artery flow velocity waveforms during uterine contractions: differences between oxytocin-induced contractions and spontaneous labor contractions.

Aim: To clarify the effects on uterine arterial flow velocity waveforms of uterine contractions following oxytocin infusion and during spontaneous labor.

Methods: Uterine arterial flow velocity waveforms were obtained by pulsed Doppler methods from 22 women during an oxytocin challenge test (OCT), 26 women during oxytocin-induced labor, and 40 women during spontaneous labor. Mean resistance index (RI) for bilateral arteries was used for analyses.