Poor Cervical Cancer Screening Attendance and False Negatives. A Call for Organized Screening

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe prior negative screening history and symptoms around the time of diagnosis of incident cervical cancer (CC) cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2010 within the Asturias public health system. Methods Records from 374 women diagnosed with CC between 2000 and 2010 from all public hospitals in Asturias were retrieved. Clinical information, FIGO stage and all previous cytological data were extracted from clinical and histopathological records. Proportional differences were assessed using chi-square tests. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Inter-observer agreement in cytology was checked by comparing concordance values using k-statistics. Results No prior screening history was recorded in 60.7% of CC cases and its absence increased with age and advanced stage. Advanced stage (e.g., >= II) at diagnosis was associated with age (> 50 years) and adenocarcinoma (ADC) compared to younger women and those with a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). False negative smears were identified in 27.1% of women with CC (ADC 52.6% vs. SCC 16.2%, p< 0.05). Conclusions Absence of prior screening history was common among CC cases. Organized actions to reduce "under screening"and the use of highly sensitive HPV-based tests could be useful strategies in reducing the burden of CC in Asturias

Genomic analyses of microdissected Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells: mutations in epigenetic regulators and p53 are frequent in refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma

This work was supported by grants from the Plan Nacional de I + D + I cofinanced by the ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), PI12/1832, the Spanish Association for Cancer Research (AECC), and Programas para Grupos de Investigación de la Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (Biomedicina 2017)

Identifying the most suitable endogenous control for determining gene expression in hearts from organ donors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) is a useful tool for assessing gene expression in different tissues, but the choice of adequate controls is critical to normalise the results, thereby avoiding differences and maximizing sensitivity and accuracy. So far, many genes have been used as a single reference gene, without having previously verified their value as controls. This practice can lead to incorrect conclusions and recent evidence indicates a need to use the geometric mean of data from several control genes. Here, we identified an appropriate set of genes to be used as an endogenous reference for quantifying gene expression in human heart tissue.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our findings indicate that out of ten commonly used reference genes (<it>GADPH, PPIA, ACTB, YWHAZ, RRN18S, B2M, UBC, TBP, RPLP and HPRT</it>), <it>PPIA</it>, <it>RPLP </it>and <it>GADPH </it>show the most stable gene transcription levels in left ventricle specimens obtained from organ donors, as assessed using geNorm and Normfinder software. The expression of <it>TBP </it>was found to be highly regulated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We propose the use of <it>PPIA</it>, <it>RPLP </it>and <it>GADPH </it>as reference genes for the accurate normalisation of qRT-PCR performed on heart tissue. <it>TBP </it>should not be used as a control in this type of tissue.</p

Emociones académicas: cuáles son y cómo se identifican

La creciente popularidad de la enseñanza híbrida, potenciada por la última pandemia, ha puesto la lupa sobre los sistemas de e-learning. Entre los aspectos a mejorar, estaría la detección de las emociones de los estudiantes, y la adaptación de la propuesta educativa con base en la información emocional. En este artículo se presenta una revisión de literatura en la que se busca identificar el conjunto de emociones que mayoritariamente se asocian con el proceso educativo, así como también, cómo podría llevarse adelante su identificación, y qué posibilidad concreta existe para entrenar sistemas de e-learning con emociones académicas.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informátic

Role of VHL, HIF1A and SDH on the expression of miR-210: Implications for tumoral pseudo-hypoxic fate

The hypoxia-inducible factor 1a (HIF-1a) and its microRNA target, miR-210, are candidate tumor-drivers of metabolic reprogramming in cancer. Neuroendocrine neoplasms such as paragangliomas (PGLs) are particularly appealing for understanding the cancer metabolic adjustments because of their associations with deregulations of metabolic enzymes, such as succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), and the von Hippel Lindau (VHL) gene involved in HIF-1α stabilization. However, the role of miR-210 in the pathogenesis of SDH-related tumors remains an unmet challenge. Herein is described an in vivo genetic analysis of the role of VHL, HIF1A and SDH on miR-210 by using knockout murine models, siRNA gene silencing, and analyses of human tumors. HIF-1a knockout abolished hypoxia-induced miR-210 expression in vivo but did not alter its constitutive expression in paraganglia. Normoxic miR-210 levels substantially increased by complete, but not partial, VHL silencing in paraganglia of knockout VHL-mice and by over-expression of p76del-mutated pVHL. Similarly, VHLmutated PGLs, not those with decreased VHL-gene/mRNA dosage, over-expressed miR-210 and accumulate HIF-1a in most tumor cells. Ablation of SDH activity in SDHD-null cell lines or reduction of the SDHD or SDHB protein levels elicited by siRNA-induced gene silencing did not induce miR-210 whereas the presence of SDH mutations in PGLs and tumor-derived cell lines was associated with mild increase of miR-210 and the presence of a heterogeneous, HIF-1a-positive and HIF-1a-negative, tumor cell population. Thus, activation of HIF-1a is likely an early event in VHLdefective PGLs directly linked to VHL mutations, but it is a late event favored but not directly triggered by SDHx mutations. This combined analysis provides insights into the mechanisms of HIF-1a/miR-210 regulation in normal and tumor tissues potentially useful for understanding the pathogenesis of cancer and other diseases sharing similar underpinnings.Instituto de Salud Carlos III FIS PI11/929Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Cáncer RD12/0036/0015 Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad y Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo RegionalFondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) (CIBERONC