Canine Detection of the Volatile Organic Compounds Related to Cervical Cancer Cells

The use of trained dogs for the detection of volatile biomarkers in biological samples has great potential to be used for non-invasive diagnosis and monitoring of several diseases such as cancer. It offers early, highly accurate detection with fast response times, non-invasive to patients and allows for repeated sampling. The aforementioned methods are useful as a portable technology to increase detection, screening, and monitoring coverage in populations at risk. In this sense, Cervical Cancer (CC) has become a public health concern of alarming proportions in many developing countries, particularly in low-income sectors and marginalized regions due to different factors that limit the coverage of screening methods and the acceptance rates of women attending their routine gynecological examination. As such, early detection is a crucial medical factor in improving not only their population’s quality of life but also its life expectancy. For the above, the great odor detection threshold exhibited by dogs is not unheard of and represents a potential opportunity to develop an affordable, accessible, and non-invasive method for detection of CC with high sensibility and specificity values

Medical Cost to Treat Cervical Cancer Patients at a Social Security Third Level Oncology Hospital in Mexico City

Background: Cervical Cancer (CC) is an important public health problem worldwide. In 2015, CC was the sixth leading cause of death for women aged 30-59 years in Mexico. Despite the importance of having high-quality and accurate estimates of CC treatment costs that can be used to effectively evaluate the impact of preventive programs, there is scarce information on this topic in Mexico. Objective: To estimate the treatment costs by stage diagnosis in patients with CC at a Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) oncology hospital in Mexico City. Methods: An observational retrospective study of the resources used to treat 346 women with CC was conducted. Medical charts were reviewed and relevant resource use information was extracted using a data collection instrument that was created based on treatment guidelines. Data were classified into nine cost categories to estimate the total cost per patient. Results: The mean age of patients in the study sample was 54.3 years (range: 41-67), and the average body mass index (BMI) was >26 kg/m2. Among the participants, 37% were smokers, 39% had diabetes, and 56% had hypertension. The medical cost for stages I-IV ranged from $4,738 to$6,058 USD, with an estimated average cost of $5,114 USD. Conclusion: Total treatment costs per patient are high, especially since they were estimated considering only 7.5 months of treatment. This is the first study to estimate the annual cost to treat CC in Mexico and to additionally document the resource pattern use, cost by stage of cancer, and the distribution by cost categories

Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells Derived from Cervical Cancer Promote M2 Macrophage Polarization

Macrophages with the M2 phenotype promote tumor development through the immunosuppression of antitumor immunity. We previously demonstrated the presence of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) in cervical cancer (CeCa-MSCs), suggesting an immune protective capacity in tumors, but to date, their effect in modulating macrophage polarization remains unknown. In this study, we compared the capacities of MSCs from normal cervix (NCx) and CeCa to promote M2 macrophage polarization in a coculture system. Our results demonstrated that CeCa-MSCs, in contrast to NCx-MSCs, significantly decreased M1 macrophage cell surface marker expression (HLA-DR, CD80, CD86) and increased M2 macrophage expression (CD14, CD163, CD206, Arg1) in cytokine-induced CD14+ monocytes toward M1- or M2-polarized macrophages. Interestingly, compared with NCx-MSCs, in M2 macrophages generated from CeCa-MSC cocultures, we observed an increase in the percentage of phagocytic cells, in the intracellular production of IL-10 and IDO, the capacity to decrease T cell proliferation and for the generation of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Tregs. Importantly, this capacity to promote M2 macrophage polarization was correlated with the intracellular expression of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and upregulation of IL-10 in CeCa-MSCs. Furthermore, the presence of M2 macrophages was correlated with the increased production of IL-10 and IL-1RA anti-inflammatory molecules. Our in vitro results indicate that CeCa-MSCs, in contrast to NCx-MSCs, display an increased M2-macrophage polarization potential and suggest a role of CeCa-MSCs in antitumor immunity