Preliminary assessment of results obtained by the Endoscope Department of Great Poland Cancer Centre, Poznań, in the framework of the Screening Programme for Early Diagnostics of Colon Cancer in years 2004-2005

BackgroundColonoscopy screening and polypectomy are one of the most effective ways to reduce the incidence of colon cancer. One of the best achievements in Poland is the Colorectal Screening Programme that was started in 2000.AimThe aim of our study is to present the results of the examination made by the Endoscope Department of Great Poland Cancer Centre in the framework of the Polish Screening Programme for early diagnosis of colon cancer in the years 2004 and 2005.Materials/MethodsWe admitted to the screening programme asymptomatic persons aged 50–65 years (main group), persons between 40 and 65 years old with familial history of colorectal cancer, and people aged 25–65 from HNPCC or FAP families.ResultsWe examined 1000 individuals. 982 total colonoscopies (98.2% effectiveness) were done, and finally 806 polyps were removed. Adenomas were found in 83 removed polyps (10%), including neoplastics lesions in 24 (28.9%) cases: tubulovillous adenomas in 15 (18.1%), villous adenomas in 5 (6.0%) and serrated adenomas in 4 (4.8%) cases. Two of the removed polyps (0.2%) were malignant. Summarized colorectal neoplasia was detected in 26 (2.6%) participants. We observed a 0.9% complication rate among all the participants.ConclusionsThe fundamental importance and consequence of early cancer detection and removal of premalignant adenomatous polyps has been shown to prevent death due to colorectal cancer and to reduce colorectal cancer incidence. Screening by colonoscopy with polypectomy can be an excellent and safe procedure with good levels of acceptability and high level yield for advanced colorectal neoplasia

Diagnostic hysteroscopy and the risk of malignant cells intraabdominal spread in women with endometrial cancer

Although hysteroscopy is currently the undisputed gold standard for the examination of the uterine cavity in women with suspected endometrial cancer, it remains controversial as a procedure that can enhance metastasis spread. Endometrial cancer cells may shed during hysteroscopy and be passively transported with fluid flow into the peritoneal cavity. The paper presents the review of current knowledge regarding the risk of neoplasm metastases in women who had diagnostic hysteroscopy and the conditions that have to be met for the procedure to be safe. We searched PubMed, Ovid, Medline and Scopus databases for data published in the years 1985–2017. The following browsing criteria, the “MeSH headings”: hysteroscopy, endometrial cancer, intraperitoneal or metastatic spread were used to find relevant papers. Based on the current data analysis we conclude that (1.) diagnostic hysteroscopy performed in women with endometrial cancer, especially in its early stages, is a very useful, efficient and safe diagnostic method and (2.) the distension media used for endoscopic procedures in the uterine cavity must be strictly controlled for relatively low pressures to prevent the increase in risk of endometrial cancer intraperitoneal spread

The outcome of magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity ultrasound for clinically symptomatic submucosal uterine fibroid performed accidentally in very early pregnancy : a case report

This is a report of an unintended application of MR-HIFU therapy of uterine fibroids (UFs) in a woman in early pregnancy and should be treated as the first description of such an event. A 37-year-old nullipara with confirmed UFs, who suffered from excessive uterine bleeding and dysmenorrhea, was qualified for MR-HIFU therapy to reduce UF-related symptoms. The procedure took place 2 months later. No complications occurred and the patient was discharged home in good overall condition. About 5 weeks after the procedure the patient was diagnosed with viable intrauterine pregnancy. Basing on early pregnancy ultrasound it was calculated that at the time of MR-HIFU procedure the patient was about 10 (þ/ 3 days) days after the conception. Later, the pregnancy was uncomplicated and she gave birth to a healthy neonate. Physical examinations did not reveal any abnormalities in her child. Symptoms associated with UFs significantly decreased after the therapy and pregnancy. Despite the fact that the pregnancy being subjected to MR-HIFU treatment had further uncomplicated course, the presented case indicates that counseling/management in women at reproductive age should be standardized to avoid unknown consequences of such unrecommended procedures for the fetus. According to current standards MR-HIFU procedures to treat UFs should never be performed without a negative pregnancy test

Complications in modern hysteroscopic myomectomy

Uterine fibroids (UFs) are common benign tumors of the female genital tract, diagnosed in almost one-quarter of women of reproductive age. UFs may cause numerous clinical symptoms, including prolonged or heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic pressure symptoms, pain, infertility and others. Submucous fibroids arise from the muscular part of the uterus and pen­etrate into the uterine cavity. They are mostly managed with the use of hysteroscopic myomectomy (HM), which provides direct visualization from the transcervical approach. The sheer number of HM standards and techniques is reason enough to review the available literature about HM-related complications. HM is a safe and effective treatment in patients with the normal size of the uterus and with no more than a few UFs. The procedure should not be initiated without adequate preparation and diagnosis, using the best methods available

Paleoenvironmental conditions, source and maturation of Neogene organic matter from the siliciclastic deposits of the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin

The Orava-Nowy Targ Basin (ONTB) is an intramontane depression filled with Neogene and Quaternary deposits located at the junction of the Inner and Outer Carpathians. The Neogene infill of the basin consists mainly of siliciclastic rocks with very common lignite intercalations and is mostly of fluvial or lake origin. The organic matter molecular analysis of seventeen Neogene samples confirmed the terrigenous origin of organic matter with a predominance of higher plant input in most samples, based on the distribution of n-alkanes and steranes, as well as the presence of tri- and tetracyclic diterpenoids, and triterpenoids representing oleanane, ursane, lupane, chrysene and picene derivatives. High concentrations of compounds originating from both angiosperms and gymnosperms suggest the presence of mixed forests. Additionally, important input of mosses into the primary organic matter is indicated by the high concentration of n-C23 and presence of hop-17(21)-enes in most samples. A high Average Aromatic Ring and Conifer Wood Degradation Index >0.7 indicate high activity of bacteria and wood-degrading fungi in the sedimentary environment. There was no evidence of weathering and scarce signs of biodegradation were identified. All samples were subjected to water washing. Huminite reflectance and biomarker-based parameters, as well as the presence of unsaturated pentacyclic triterpenoids and steroids indicate an immature organic matter. A trend of decreasing maturation of sediments from east to the west was observed, as was a similarity of thermal maturity between the Podhale Synclinorium and the ONTB, although the latter seems to be coincidental. A thermal gradient value of 35 °C/km was assumed for calculating the maximum thickness of eroded strata, resulting in 1–1.6 km for the SE area and a maximum temperature of the deepest buried samples equal to 45–65 °C

Berry phase in open quantum systems: a quantum Langevin equation approach

The evolution of a two level system with a slowly varying Hamiltonian, modeled as s spin 1/2 in a slowly varying magnetic field, and interacting with a quantum environment, modeled as a bath of harmonic oscillators is analyzed using a quantum Langevin approach. This allows to easily obtain the dissipation time and the correction to the Berry phase in the case of an adiabatic cyclic evolution.Comment: 6 pages, no figures. Published versio

Non-invasive therapeutic use of High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) with 3 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging in women with symptomatic uterine fibroids

Benign uterine fibroids are common female genital tract tumors and if symptomatic often require extensive surgery. When tumors are multiple and large or unusually located, the operative treatment may lead to significant morbidity and compromise quality of life. Recovery period after surgical treatment may be complicated by patient’s medical condition and wound healing problems. Currently used other non-surgical treatment modalities usually provide only a temporal symptoms relief and may not be efficient in all affected women. In the last decade, minimally invasive treatment of uterine fibroids called Magnetic Resonance guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (MRI HIFU) was introduced. This technique uses thermal ablation simultaneously with MRI imaging of the mass and tissue temperature measurements during the procedure where a focused ultrasound beam is applied externally to destroy tumors located in the human body. Successful application of MRI HIFU has been recently described in patients with various malignancies, such as breast, prostate and hepatocellular cancers as well as soft tissue and bone tumors. This technique is innovative and has been proven to be safe and effective but there are several limitations for treatment. The article highlights the relative advantages and disadvantages of MRI guided HIFU in women with uterine fibroids. The authors also describe high-resolution MRI technique on 3T MRI, along with the approach to interpretation of HIFU results applied to uterine fibroids that has been experienced at one institution

Mig-7 expression and vasculogenic mimicry in malignant ovarian tumors

Objectives: To investigate the possible association of vasculogenic mimicry (VM), VE-cadherin and MIG-7 expression with clinicopathological features of women with malignant ovarian masses. Material and methods: VM was studied with the PAS reaction and VE-cadherin was assessed with immunohistochemistry in 108 women with malignant ovarian tumors. Additionally, quantitative expression of MIG-7 mRNA was performed in 52 ovarian cancers with qRT-PCR. Results: VM was found in 48/108 cases (44%), more often in higher FIGO stage tumors (83% cases; 40 vs. 8; p = 0.01). High expression of VE-cadherin was present in 37% of all ovarian masses. Ovarian tumors without VM more often expressed low levels of VE-cadherin than tumors where VM was found (37.6% vs.14.6%). No expression or very low expression of MIG-7 mRNA was found in all normal ovarian tissues and in 32 cancer samples. Median RQ of MIG-7 mRNA in tumor samples was higher than in normal ovarian tissue (RQ = 0.29 vs. RQ = 0.05, respectively; p < 0.005) and higher than in non-malignant ovarian masses (0.98 vs. 0.05 respectively; p = 0.03). Expression of MIG-7 mRNA was significantly correlated with VM (p = 0.039). In tumors with PAS-positive structures median RQ MIG-7 mRNA was higher than in tumors with PAS-negative findings (1.89 vs. 0.13 respectively). VE-cadherin expression was more frequently found in tumors where MIG-7 mRNA was present (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Vasculogenic mimicry exists in malignant ovarian tumors and advanced clinical stages of malignancy are accompanied by a high incidence of VM formation. MIG-7 mRNA and VE-cadherin expression may serve as additional molecular markers of VM in ovarian malignancies

Prognostic significance of TEM7 and nestin expression in women with advanced high grade serous ovarian cancer

Objectives: Tumor endothelial marker 7 (TEM7) and nestin have been proposed to be new candidates for neoangiogenesis assessment. Nestin is also cancer stem cells marker in various malignant tumors. AIMS. To investigate the expression of TEM7, nestin and nestin-related microvessel density (MVD) in high-grade serous ovarian cancer samples and to study their correlation with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) times. Material and methods: Tumor samples obtained from 70 women with FIGO IIIc/IV ovarian serous cancer were studied with immunohistochemistry. Results: Patients median age was 54 yrs (range: 29–72 years), 86% died of the disease with median OS = 28.5 months and median DFS = 10 months (3 years DFS = 19%; 5 years. DFS = 13.8%). High nestin expression was found in 16 (23%) patients with 3 years and 5 years OS of 14% and 0%. In low-nestin expression group OS and DFS were 42% and 25%, respectively. Median nestin-MVD (16, range:12–23) was not correlated with cancer cells nestin expression and with both DFS and OS. High TEM7 expression was found in 29 women (41%) of whom 21 (72%) died of the disease. A 5-year OS in these women was 27% as compared to 8% in low TEM7 expression group, but TEM7 presence had no association with nestin, nestin-MVD and both OS and DFS. Conclusions: Nestin as a marker of cancer stem cells may assist in the prediction of OS and DFS in women with high grade serous ovarian cancer. Nestin may also be considered a novel therapeutic target for antiangiogenic agents

Grammatical Case Based IS-A Relation Extraction with Boosting for Polish

Pattern-based methods of IS-A relation extraction rely heavily on so called Hearst patterns. These are ways of expressing instance enumerations of a class in natural language. While these lexico-syntactic patterns prove quite useful, they may not capture all taxonomical relations expressed in text. Therefore in this paper we describe a novel method of IS-A relation extraction from patterns, which uses morpho-syntactical annotations along with grammatical case of noun phrases that constitute entities participating in IS-A relation. We also describe a method for increasing the number of extracted relations that we call pseudo-subclass boosting which has potential application in any pattern-based relation extraction method. Experiments were conducted on a corpus of about 0.5 billion web documents in Polish language