Ulipristal Acetate Prior to Surgery for Endometriosis.

Selective progesterone receptor modulators may have a role in the treatment of endometriosis. The aim of this report is to review the effect of ulipristal acetate (UPA) on endometriosis lesions and symptoms in women treated prior to surgery. A pathology review of eutopic endometrium and endometriotic lesions was conducted by two gynecologic pathologists.

Metformin Abrogates Age-Associated Ovarian Fibrosis.

Purpose: The ovarian cancer risk factors of age and ovulation are curious because ovarian cancer incidence increases in postmenopausal women, long after ovulations have ceased. To determine how age and ovulation underlie ovarian cancer risk, we assessed the effects of these risk factors on the ovarian microenvironment.

Experimental Design: Aged C57/lcrfa mice (0-33 months old) were generated to assess the aged ovarian microenvironment.

Preeclampsia is a biomarker for vascular disease in both mother and child: the need for a medical alert system.

This paper reviews the literature pertaining to the impact of preeclampsia not only on the mother but particularly on the children. The review points to the higher blood pressure in children born to preeclamptic mothers compared to controls, their increased tendency to suffer strokes, the reduction in their cognitive ability, and their vulnerability to depression. Mechanisms that may induce these changes are emphasized, particularly the placental vascular insufficiency and the resulting hypoxic and proinflammatory environments in which the fetus develops.

Induction of a menopausal state alters the growth and histology of ovarian tumors in a mouse model of ovarian cancer.

Objective: Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed in women after menopause when the levels of the serum gonadotropins follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) are increased because of the depletion of growing follicles within the ovary. The ability of FSH and LH to modulate the disease has not been well studied owing to a lack of physiologically relevant models of ovarian cancer. In this study, 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) was used to deplete ovarian follicles and increase the levels of circulating FSH and LH in the tgCAG-LS-TAg mouse model of ovarian cancer.

17beta-estradiol accelerates tumor onset and decreases survival in a transgenic mouse model of ovarian cancer.

Epithelial ovarian cancer is thought to be derived from the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) but often goes undetected in the early stages, and as a result, the factors that contribute to its initiation and progression remain poorly understood. Epidemiological studies have suggested that the female steroid hormones are involved in ovarian carcinogenesis and that women who use hormone replacement therapy are at increased risk of developing the disease. A novel transgenic mouse model of ovarian cancer (tgCAG-LS-TAg) was developed to examine the role of the female reproductive steroid hormones [17beta-estradiol (E(2)) and progesterone (P(4))] on the initiation, progression, and pathology of ovarian cancer.

Conditional inactivation of Brca1, p53 and Rb in mouse ovaries results in the development of leiomyosarcomas.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is thought to arise in part from the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE); however, the molecular events underlying this transformation are poorly understood. Germline mutations in the BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene result in a significantly increased risk of developing EOC and a large proportion of sporadic EOCs display some sort of BRCA1 dysfunction. To generate a model in which Brca1-mediated transformation can be studied, we previously inactivated Brca1 alone in murine OSE, which resulted in an increased accumulation of premalignant changes, but no tumor formation.

Virilizing luteinized thecoma of the ovary in a 15-year-old female: a case report.

Background: Only 30% of luteinized thecomas are found in women under the age of 30, and they are typically benign. Only 11% of luteinized thecomas show clinical signs of androgen production. We present an unusual case of a 15-year-old female who presented with secondary amenorrhea and virilization and was subsequently diagnosed with a benign luteinized thecoma of the ovary.

Mullerian adenosarcoma of the cervix in a 10-year-old girl: case report and review of the literature.

Unlabelled: Müllerian adenosarcoma is a rare neoplasm usually found in postmenopausal women. It usually presents as a polypoid mass within the endometrium. It is a biphasic tumor, composed of a benign epithelial component and a malignant stromal component.

Cytologic features of benign solitary pulmonary nodules with radiologic correlation and diagnostic pitfalls: a report of six cases.

Background: The solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) is a common radiologic abnormality often detected incidentally. The majority of SPNs represent benign processes, including granulotmatous inflammation, bronchogenic cysts and hamartomata. However, a solitary nodule may also potentially represent an early stage of lung cancer or a metastasis.

Phase II evaluation of imatinib mesylate in the treatment of recurrent or persistent epithelial ovarian or primary peritoneal carcinoma: a Gynecologic Oncology Group Study.

Purpose: This phase II trial assessed the activity and tolerability of an oral dose of imatinib mesylate 400 mg twice daily in patients with recurrent or persistent epithelial ovarian or primary peritoneal carcinoma. The association between the expression of certain markers and clinical outcome was investigated.

Patients And Methods: Primary measure of clinical efficacy was progression-free survival (PFS) at 6 months.

Atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion: cytohistologic correlation study with diagnostic pitfalls.

Objective: In the current study, we explore the diagnostic parameters and pitfalls in the follow-up of 123 cases of Pap smears diagnosed as high-grade atypical squamous cells (ASC-H) at our institution.

Study Design: A computer database search was performed from the archives of the Ottawa Hospital Cytopathology Service for cases diagnosed with ASC-H between January 2003 and July 2005.

Results: Follow-up of the 123 cases of ASC-H showed high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) in 73 patients (59.

Assessment of two alternative sample transport and fixation methods in the microbiological diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis.

Background: The standard method for specimen collection and transport for microbiological diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis is an air-dried smear of vaginal secretions, promptly heat- or alcohol-fixed, Gram-stained and scored by Nugent's criteria.

Objective: TWO ALTERNATIVE METHODS ARE EVALUATED: sending a swab in transport medium to be smeared and Gram-stained in the laboratory two days later; and sending a smear of vaginal secretions sprayed with cytological fixative to the laboratory for Gram staining seven days later.

Methods: One hundred fifty-two women aged 18 years and older who attended a hospital colposcopy clinic or a community healthy sexuality clinic were studied.

Omental chemotherapy effects as a prognostic factor in ovarian cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and delayed primary surgical debulking.

Background: We sought to assess the prognostic significance of chemotherapy effect on upper abdominal metastatic disease.

Methods: Retrospective chart reviews were carried out from 1997 to 2005 to identify ovarian cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Pathologic examinations of resected omental and ovarian tumors for the presence of chemotherapy effect were performed.

Histopathologic assessment of chemotherapy effects in epithelial ovarian cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and delayed primary surgical debulking.

Objectives: To assess the prognostic significance of pathologic tumour response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: Retrospective chart reviews were carried out from 1997 to 2005 to identify ovarian cancer cases treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Pathologic assessments of the extent of: tumour necrosis, fibrosis, macrophage infiltration, and tumour induced inflammation were graded on an ordinal scale of 0 to 2 (none/minimal, moderate, extensive).

Characterization of intraperitoneal, orthotopic, and metastatic xenograft models of human ovarian cancer.

Improvement of ovarian cancer patient outcome requires well-characterized animal models in which to evaluate novel therapeutics. Xenograft models are frequently used, but with little discussion of disease histology. The objectives of this study were to inject 11 ovarian cancer cell lines intraperitoneally (ip), and a subset intrabursally (ib; orthotopic), into nude mice and to analyze the resulting pathologies.

Sustained suppression of Fas ligand expression in cisplatin-resistant human ovarian surface epithelial cancer cells.

Although cisplatin derivatives are first line chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of ovarian epithelial cancer, chemoresistance is a major therapeutic problem. Although the cytotoxic effect of these agents are believed to be mediated through the induction of apoptosis, the role of the Fas/FasL system in chemoresistance in human ovarian epithelial cancer is not fully understood. In the present study, we have used cultures of established cell lines of cisplatin-sensitive human ovarian epithelial tumours (OV2008 and A2780-s) and their resistant variants (C13* adn A2780-cp, respectively) to asses the role of Fas/FasL system in the chemo-responsiveness of ovarian cancer cell to cisplatin.

Endometrioid adenocarcinoma of the uterus with a minimal deviation invasive pattern.

Aims: Minimal deviation adenocarcinoma of endometrioid type is a rare pathological entity. We describe a variant of typical endometrioid adenocarcinoma associated with minimal deviation adenocarcinoma of endometrioid type.

Methods And Results: One 'pilot' case of minimal deviation adenocarcinoma of endometrioid type associated with typical endometrioid adenocarcinoma was encountered at our institution in 2001.

Detailed account of confounding factors in interpretation of FTIR spectra of exfoliated cervical cells.

The confounding variables that can potentially lead to a misinterpretation of FTIR spectroscopy of exfoliated cervical cells is described. A detailed account of the spectral effects of the following variables in FTIR spectroscopic screening of exfoliated cervical cells is presented: polymorphs; Cell degradation; and impurities such as endocervical columnar cells, metaplastic cells, cervical mucus, red cells, and debris. The interpretation of the spectra of exfoliated cervical cells must be done with subtraction analysis, which includes these factors.

Human ovarian cancer and cisplatin resistance: possible role of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins.

The inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) constitutes a family of highly conserved apoptosis suppressor proteins that were originally identified in baculoviruses. Although IAP homologs have recently been demonstrated to suppress apoptosis in mammalian cells, their expression and role in human ovarian epithelial cancer and chemotherapy resistance are unknown. In the present study we used cisplatin-sensitive and -resistant human ovarian surface epithelial (hOSE) cancer cell lines and adenoviral antisense and sense complementary DNA expression to examine the role of IAP in the regulation of apoptosis in human ovarian cancer cells and chemoresistance.

Lack of expression of c-KIT in ovarian cancers is associated with poor prognosis.

The c-KIT protooncogene encodes a tyrosine kinase receptor, KIT, that is expressed in many normal and cancerous tissues. In this study, we have examined the expression of c-KIT and its ligand, stem cell factor (SCF), in human epithelial ovarian tumors, in normal ovaries and in cultured ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). Cultured cells, normal tissues and tumors were analyzed by Northern and Western blot analyses, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry.

The efficacy of loop electrosurgical excision procedure as compared to cold-knife cone biopsy in patients with unsatisfactory colposcopy.

Objectives: Our aim was to determine whether the loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) is as efficacious as cone biopsy in patients with cervical dysplasia and unsatisfactory colposcopy.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-four patients with unsatisfactory coiposcopic findings underwent a LEEP procedure for the treatment of their cervical dysplasia. These patients were compared to 41 patients who had a cold-knife cone biopsy for the same indication.

Regional activation of L-type voltage-sensitive calcium channels in experimental thiamine deficiency.

During pyrithiamine-induced thiamine deficiency (PTD), specific regions of the brain develop histological damage. The basis of this selective vulnerability is unknown but the mechanism may involve a glutamate-mediated excitotoxic process in affected structures, leading to alterations in membrane potential and disturbances in calcium homeostasis. In this study, we have examined the volume of distribution of [3H]nimodipine, an L-type voltage-sensitive calcium channel (VSCC) antagonist, in the brain of the PTD rat.

Classification of 1H MR spectra of biopsies from untreated and recurrent ovarian cancer using linear discriminant analysis.

Proton (1H) magnetic resonance (MR) spectra of ex vivo biopsy samples of ovarian cancers provided biochemical information that was used to discriminate cancer from normal ovarian tissue. Possible differences present in intrinsically resistant tumors or changes in biochemistry after the induction of resistance were identified. Using multivariate techniques, in particular linear discriminant analysis (LDA), ovarian cancer was distinguished from normal ovarian tissue with a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 95% and an accuracy of 98%.