Thyroid FNA cytology: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination in a Brazilian series.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic prompted changes in medical practice, with a reduction in cytopathology volumes and a relative increase in the malignancy rate during lockdown and the initial postlockdown period. To date, no study has evaluated the impact of these changes on the volume of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) or on the frequency of cases according to The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC) categories after vaccination.

Methods: Ultrasound-guided thyroid fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and ROSE assessments performed from January 2019 to May 2022 were evaluated retrospectively according to TBSRTC categories for three periods: prepandemic (period 1), from transmission to expansion (period 2), and after vaccination (period 3).

Molecular Classification of Thyroid Nodules with Indeterminate Cytology: Development and Validation of a Highly Sensitive and Specific New miRNA-Based Classifier Test Using Fine-Needle Aspiration Smear Slides.

Thyroid nodules can be identified in up to 68% of the population. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytopathology classifies 20%-30% of nodules as indeterminate, and these are often referred for surgery due to the risk of malignancy. However, histological postsurgical reports indicate that up to 84% of cases are benign, highlighting a high rate of unnecessary surgeries.

Genetic alterations detected by comparative genomic hybridization in BRCAX breast and ovarian cancers of Brazilian population.

Background: About 5-10% of breast/ovarian cancers are hereditary. However, for a large proportion of cases (around 50%), the genetic cause remains unknown. These cases are grouped in a separated BRCAX category.

Early Age at First Sexual Intercourse is Associated with Higher Prevalence of High-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (HSIL).

 To evaluate the association of age at first sexual intercourse with the results of the cervicovaginal cytology.  Observational analytical study about the prevalence of altered cervicovaginal cytology results in women aged between 18 and 34 years from a densely populated area in Brazil, during 10 years. The patients were stratified into 2 categories according to their age at first sexual intercourse (13-16 years and 17-24 years).

Cytological Criteria for Predicting the Luminal Phenotype of Breast Carcinoma.

Background: Specific cytological criteria for the luminal phenotype of breast carcinoma, despite it being the most common and having a better prognosis as well as targeted therapies under study, remain to be established. Using fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), we aimed to identify the luminal phenotype through the evaluation of cytological criteria recognized in routine practice.

Methods: We correlated 169 FNACs of breast carcinomas with their tissue specimens, classified into phenotypes by immunohistochemistry (applying tissue microarray technology) as luminal A, luminal B, HER2 overexpression, and triple negative.

[Frequency of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) for pregnant and non-pregnant women].

Purpose: To compare the frequency of an ASCUS Pap Smear result in pregnant and non-pregnant women, stratified by age group.

Methods: We analyzed the results of 1,336,180 cytopathologyc exams of Pap smears performed between 2000 and 2009 (ten years) with the purpose of screening for cervical carcinoma. Comparisons were made between pregnant and non-pregnant women, and the sample was stratified into three age groups (20-24, 25-29 and 30-34 years).

Usefulness of vaginal cytology tests in women with previous hysterectomy for benign diseases: assessment of 53,891 tests.

Objective: To assess the value of vaginal screening cytology after hysterectomy for benign disease.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used cytology audit data from 2,512,039 screening tests in the metropolitan region of Campinas from 2000 to 2012; the object was to compare the prevalence of abnormal tests in women who had undergone a hysterectomy for benign diseases (n=53,891) to that of women who had had no hysterectomy. Prevalence ratios (95% confidence intervals, 95% CI) were determined, and chi-square analysis, modified by the Cochrane-Armitage test for trend, was used to investigate the effects of age.

Fine needle aspiration cytology of lobular breast carcinoma and its variants.

Objective: To identify associations between cytological criteria in fine needle aspiration (FNA) specimens and histological subtypes of lobular breast carcinoma (classical and other types).

Study Design: FNA cytology and mastectomy specimens from 72 cases of invasive lobular breast carcinoma were consecutively retrieved from the files of the Amaral de Carvalho Hospital, Jaú-São Paulo, Brazil. All cases were reviewed regarding five cytological criteria: cellularity, cellular cohesion, presence of inflammation, nucleoli and nuclear atypia.

[Planned home births assisted by nurse midwives: maternal and neonatal transfers].

The objective of this explorative and descriptive study was to describe the rates and reasons for intrapartum transfers from home to hospital among women assisted by nurse midwives, and the outcomes of those deliveries. The sample consisted of eleven women giving birth and their newborns, from January 2005 to December 2009. Data was collected from the maternal and neonatal records and was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

[Outcomes of planned home birth assisted by nurses, from 2005 to 2009, in Florianópolis, Brazil].

A cross-sectional study was performed to analyze obstetric and neonatal results of planned home births assisted by obstetric nurses in the city of Florianópolis, Southern Brazil. Data collected from the medical records of 100 parturient women cared for between 2005 and 2009 indicated 11 hospital transfers, nine of which underwent a Cesarean section. The majority of women who had a home birth showed normal fetal heart beat (94.

Cytopathic effects of human papillomavirus infection and the severity of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia : A frequency study.

Cytopathic effects related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection are more frequently found in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1; however, there are indications that at least half the histological diagnoses of CIN2 and CIN3 include koilocytosis areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of the cytological criteria suggestive of HPV infection in the cervical smears of women with a histological diagnosis of CIN. One hundred and sixty-two women with abnormal cervical smears and a diagnosis of CIN confirmed by histopathology were selected, including 46 cases of CIN 1, 42 of CIN 2 and 74 cases of CIN 3.

Immunohistochemical detection of factors related to cellular proliferation and apoptosis in radicular and dentigerous cysts.

Introduction: This study proposed to investigate aspects of cell proliferation and death in the epithelium of radicular (RCs) and dentigerous (DCs) cysts.

Methods: Serial sections of 17 RCs and 9 DCs were prepared for immunohistochemical detection of caspase-3, Bcl-2, and Ki-67 antigens.

Results: Caspase-3 was detected mainly in the suprabasal and superficial epithelial cells of RCs and DCs, whereas Ki-67 was detected predominantly in the basal layer.

Cytological criteria to predict basal phenotype of breast carcinomas.

Breast carcinoma is a heterogeneous disease. It can be classified into phenotypes based on the expression of certain proteins, with distinct differences in prognosis. The basal phenotype is associated with worse prognosis and it still remains without specific treatment.

[Breast cancer: new concepts in classification].

Breast cancer is the principal cause of death from cancer in women. Molecular studies of breast cancer, based in the identification of the molecular profiling techniques through cDNA microarray, had allowed defining at least five distinct sub-group: luminal A, luminal B, HER-2-overexpression, basal and 'normal' type breast-like. The technique of tissue microarrays (TMA), described for the first time in 1998, allows to study, in some samples of breast cancer, distinguished by differences in their gene expression patterns, which provide a distinctive molecular portrait for each tumor and the basis for and improved breast cancer molecular taxonomy.

Possible Relationship between Basal-Like Breast Carcinoma and Age.

SUMMARY: INTRODUCTION: Estrogen receptor expression is lower in breast carcinoma of women ≤45 years compared to women ≥65 years of age, which may imply a higher frequency of basal-like breast carcinomas in younger women. This study evaluated whether there is any difference in the frequency of basal-like phenotype and estrogen receptor (ER)-/HER2- invasive breast carcinomas between women of these 2 different age groups. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 151 women aged ≤45 years or ≥65 years with invasive breast carcinomas were evaluated using tissue microarray, and classified into the following phenotypes: luminal A (ER+/HER2-), luminal B (ER+/HER2+), HER2 overexpression (ER-/HER2+), and basal-like (ER-/HER2- and expressing at least 1 of the basal markers p63, CK5 and/or P-cadherin).

Tissue microarrays for testing basal biomarkers in familial breast cancer cases.

Context And Objective: The proteins p63, p-cadherin and CK5 are consistently expressed by the basal and myoepithelial cells of the breast, although their expression in sporadic and familial breast cancer cases has yet to be fully defined. The aim here was to study the basal immunoprofile of a breast cancer case series using tissue microarray technology.

Design And Setting: This was a cross-sectional study at Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil, and the Institute of Pathology and Molecular Immunology, Porto, Portugal.

DNA repair gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to familial breast cancer in a group of patients from Campinas, Brazil.

Several studies have reported that the genes involved in DNA repair and in the maintenance of genome integrity play a crucial role in protecting against mutations that lead to cancer. Epidemiologic evidence has shown that the inheritance of genetic variants at one or more loci results in a reduced DNA repair capacity and in an increased risk of cancer. Polymorphisms have been identified in several DNA repair genes, such as XRCC1, XPD, XRCC3, and RAD51, but the influence of specific genetic variants on repair phenotype and cancer risk has not yet been clarified.

Analysis of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in Brazilian breast cancer patients with positive family history.

Context And Objective: BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the two principal hereditary breast cancer susceptibility genes, and the prevalence of their mutations among Brazilian women is unknown. The objective was to detect BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in Brazilian patients with breast cancer, so as to establish genetic profiles.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study, in Centro de Atenção Integral à Saúde da Mulher, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil, and Institute of Pathology and Molecular Immunology, University of Porto, Portugal.

[Performance of cervical cytology with review by different observers and hybrid capture II in the diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grades 2 and 3].

Unlabelled: To evaluate the performance of initial cervical cytology and that collected at the reference service with a review conducted by different observers and techniques, as well as hybrid capture II, in the diagnosis of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), 105 women attended from August 2000 to June 2001 for preneoplastic atypia upon cervical cytology were included. A new cervical cytology and hybrid capture II for DNA-HPV were conducted in all the patients. Cervical biopsies were taken in 91 women.