Ovarian failure due to cancer treatment and fertility preservation options

Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), commonly referred to premature ovarian failure, is defined as ovarian failure before the age of 40 years. It is the loss of ovarian function caused by a process directly affecting ovaries. Cancer therapy which includes surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy influence ovarian function, leading to premature menopause and loss of fertility. POI is idiopathic in most cases (74-90). The known causes, in addition to anticancer treatment, are other processes like chromosomal abnormalities, autoimmunity, and natural aging can result in secondary ovarian failure, which is detected by an increase in serum gonadotropin levels (FSH and LH). There are evident risks of POI in women treated for cancer. Those who receive anticancer treatments have an increased risk of developing POI. There by, anticancer drugs and radiation therapy are considered as the most common toxins of ovaries. Although cancer incidence rates in women less than 50 years old continue to increase during recent years, mortality rates are dramatically decreasing due to modern advances in treatment. Increasing numbers of survivors are now confronted with the long-term consequences of exposure to these treatments. The pool of primordial follicles in the ovary is fixed and any injury to the ovary can potentially reduce this ovarian reserve, effectively advancing the patient�s reproductive age, thus narrowing the window of reproductive opportunity. Ovarian failure occurs in a significant percentage of childhood cancer survivors and many of them will seek care for reproductive dysfunction. Nevertheless, Embryo cryopreservation, oocyte cryopreservation, ovary tissue cryopreservation, ovarian suppression and oophoro-pexy are some options to preserve fertility in these groups. As a result, having foreknowledge of potential treatment related ovarian failure will allow the physician to give a better counsel to patients and their family regarding the importance and timing of fertility preservation by giving an estimated window of fertility. The objectives of the current review are to report on the etiology of POF induced through cancer therapy. � 2016, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Uterine sarcoma diagnose and treatment: Review article

Uterine sarcomas comprise a group of rare tumors with different tumor biology, natural history and response to treatment, contain just 3-7 of total uterine malignancies and about 1 of all gynecologic cancers. Although they cause important part of women death due gynecologic cancers. These tumors have aggressive behavior and high recurrence rate, even when confined to the uterine corpus at the time of diagnosis. The most common of uterine sarcomas is leiomyosarcoma. The incidence of leiomyosarcoma is increased after age 50. Traditionally, carcinosarcomas were named as Malignant Mixed Mullerian tumor (MMMT), but in recent classification according to their pathologic structure and its behavior, these tumors are classified as carcinomas. The rare group of sarcomas is endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS), which occurres in younger women. In a medical studies search from 2000 to 2017, all kinds of uterine sarcomas, pathologic diagnostic methods, primary treatment and supportive treatment have been analyzed. Last histological classification is based on FIGO 2009 and WHO. According to such classification, sarcomas divided into three subtypes: leiomyosarcoma, endometrial stromal sarcoma and carcinosarcomas. Diagnosis of sarcoma before treatment and discrimination from benign myoma by current diagnostic methods is difficult. Preoperative endometrial sampling identifies only 25 of sarcomas. It may be the myometrial origin of tumor. Currently, MRI, ultrasound and PET scan may be used for the diagnosis of tumor. The gold standard of treatment is complete and intact resection of tumor considereing free margins. In advanced or recurrence disease, cytoreductive surgery followed by chemotherapy is the choice of treatment. If technically it is not possible or there are extra abdominal metastases, palliative chemotherapy should be considered. Combination of gemcitabine and docetaxel is an acceptable choice. Recent studies are going to approve the effective role for targeted agents with or without cytotoxic chemotherapy in these group of aggressive tumors. The only drug in this group has approval is pazopanib. However, it did not achieved acceptable responses in phase I, II studies. As regards of tumor biology and inappropriate response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, sarcoma have poor prognosis in all stages. © 2018, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Prophylactic chemotherapy with methotrexate leucovorin in high-risk hydatidiform mole

Aim: Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia (GTN) is used to describe a group of malignant gestational tumors originating from the placenta. The chance of having malignant GTN is high in a high-risk molar pregnancy. The main aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using prophylactic chemotherapy in high-risk molar pregnancy to prevent malignant GTN. Method: In this case-control retrospective study, all patients with high-risk mole referred to Firoozgar and Akbarabadi Hospitals affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS) from 2003 to 2013 were divided into two groups of recipient and non-recipient of methotrexate prophylactic chemotherapy.Demographic information including age, parity, weight, serum �HCG before and after the intervention, level of liver function tests (LFT) and GTN were analyzed. Results: There were 102 patients with a mean age of 27.13 years (SD= 0.37), and 51 patients (50 ) received prophylactic Methotrexate (MTX), and others were the non-receivers. Finally, 23 patients (22.5) were inflicted with GTN, and 79 (77.5 ) did not. The average time of �HCG spontaneous remission between the groups were 2.5 (SD=1.33) and 3.2 (SD=1.21), for the recipient and non-recipient, respectively, which showed a significant difference (p). Conclusion: This study concludes that prophylactic chemotherapy with MTX and leucovorin may be capable of reducing GTN, which supports the prescription of MTX in high-risk mole, especially in countries with limited resources. The toxicity of methotrexate can be reduced with the addition of leucovorin. © 2020 Asian Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention

Pulmonary embolism in pregnancy with COVID-19 infection: A case report

Pregnant women in the third trimester are at the highest risk. Contracting COVID-19 increases the complications. Hence, it is critical for pregnant women, especially during the third trimester, with slightest COVID-19 symptoms to visit as soon as possible. Early diagnosis considerably contributes to saving both the mother and the fetus. © 2020 The Authors. Clinical Case Reports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Diagnostic accuracy of MRI in staging of cervical cancer

Background: Cervical cancer is the third most common gynecologic cancer in women worldwide. Cervical cancer has lower incidence and mortality rates than uterine corpus and ovarian cancer,as well as many other cancer sites. Unfortunately,in countries that do not have access to cervical cancer screening and prevention programs,cervical cancer remains the second most common type of cancer. Staging of the disease is made clinically. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for diagnosing the invasion of cancer to organs and staging of cervical cancer and the relationship between clinical and pathological findings and the sensitivity and specificity of the assay in cervical cancer. Methods: The study included records of 40 patients with cervical cancer that undergo surgery or Chemoradiation in Firoozgar University Hospital. In this study that made retrospectively,non-randomized,the MRI reports and clinical findings records and pathology results was discussed. The sensitivity and specificity of MRI for diagnosing the invasion to parameters,bladder,rectum,vagina,pelvic wall and it�s accuracy to determine tumor stage has been set. Results: A total of 40 patients with pathology information of cervical cancer was retrospectively reviewed in the study. The patients were 28-83 years old by mean age of 49.3 Pathology of cervical cancer in 80 of cases was SCC,15 adenocarcinoma and 5 melanoma. The sensitivity and specificity of MRI for diagnosing invasion of parameter was 76 and 88. The sensitivity of MRI in the detection of bladder invasion was 100 and specificity of 100. The sensitivity of MRI in the diagnosis of rectal invasion was 50 and specificity of 100. The sensitivity of MRI in the diagnosis of pelvic wall invasion was 100 and specificity of 86. Sensitivity in detecting invasion into the upper third of the vagina was 100. Conclusion: Overall,this study showed a good sensitivity and specificity for detecting invasion into the bladder,vagina,pelvic wall and parameters and good specificity for the diagnosis of rectal invasion and acceptable accuracy at 67.5 for detection of tumor stage by MRI show. © 2016,Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All Rights Reserved

Awareness and practice of cervical cancer and Pap smear testing in a teaching hospital in Tehran

Background: Cervical cancer is known to be preventable because of long period of pre-invasive stage, availability of screening tools, and effective treatments for early invasive cervical lesions. Screening is main measures to prevent the disease and Pap smear is a screening strategy for cervical cancer. Current paper aimed to evaluate levels of awareness and practice regarding Pap smear screening among women aged between 20 to 65 years in Tehran (Iran). Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical study conducted in Tehran City of Iran in 2015 at Firoozgar Hospital. The research population included all married, widowed and divorced women aged 20-65 years. Data analysis was performed using the Pearson correlation and Student�s t-tests in SPSS, ver. 23 (Chicago, IL, USA). Results: Among 90 individuals who have fill questionnaire completely, 66.6 subjects had Pap smear tests. 40 of the individuals aged between 30 to 39 and the education level is distributed equally between Intermediate, Diploma and graduate and only 3 percent of them, continue their education to higher level. There was a significant relationship between the awareness of Pap smear and educational level (of both wives and husbands). The people who have graduate degree, have the best awareness. Working women revealed higher level of awareness about Pap smear. Shame and fear of taking the cancer were the most common reasons which lead to avoidance in doing the test by the women, while the most encouraging factors for performing the test were the information mostly provided by physicians and after that, the information provided by friends. Conclusion: The awareness of Pap smear test which was measured by weighting different questions in the questionnaire by experts, prove that the women aged above 39, have an average level of awareness of Pap smear test. Due to high prevalence of cervical cancer and prolonged pre invasive course, role of Pap smear for early diagnosis necessitate the use of proper and inexpensive instructional methods to increase awareness in women about cervical cancer and preventive strategies. © 2016, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

A COVID-19 pregnant patient with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: a case report

Background: Pregnancy seems to increase the risk of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) relapses and make the TTP more severe in any of the pregnancy trimesters, or even during the postpartum period. Case presentation: This study highlights details of treating a COVID-19 pregnant patient who survived. This 21-year addicted White woman was admitted at her 29th week and delivered a stillbirth. She was transferred to another hospital after showing signs of TTP, which was caused by a viral infection. Conclusion: This viral infection caused fever and dyspnea, and the patient was tested positive for COVID-19 infection. A chest computed tomography scan showed diffuse multiple bilateral consolidations and interlobar septal thickening. She stayed at the Intensive Care Unit for 20 days and treated with plasmapheresis. As far as we know, this is the first report of a TTP pregnant patient with COVID-19 infection. © 2021, The Author(s)

Epistatic interaction between adiponectin and survivin gene polymorphisms in endometrial carcinoma

Adiponectin appears to play an important role in the development and progression of several obesity-related malignancies. Also, overexpression of survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis protein, is associated with increased risk of cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between two polymorphisms in the adiponectin gene and endometrial cancer (EC) risk. We also investigated whether epistasis between surviving and adiponectin gene polymorphisms are associated with EC risk in an Iranian population.The samples comprised formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections obtained from the archive of the pathology department, Imam-Khomeini Hospital and Firouzgar hospital. After DNA extraction the genotyping was performed using PCR-RFLP technique.Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in adiponectin (rs1063539, rs2241766) and survivin (rs9904341) gene were evaluated in the study. The increased frequency of ADIPOQ rs1063539C allele (CC. +. CG genotype) was associated with decreased EC risk OR: 0.39(0.17-0.90). Survivin rs9904341C allele (CC. +. CG genotype) was associated with increased EC risk crude OR: 2.75(1.27-5.95), adjusted OR: 2.93(1.27-6.76). We observed an epistatic interaction between survivin rs9904341 CC. +. CG genotype and ADIPOQ rs1063539 GG genotype increasing the risk of EC compared to those with other genotypes OR: 4.86(1.88-12.54), P=0.001.Our findings indicate that adiponectin might have a modulatory effect on survivin role and function in EC, which requires further investigation. © 2014 Elsevier GmbH

Cervical cancer along with unknown cirrhosis: A misdiagnosed case

Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy in women worldwide. Vaginal bleeding and vaginal discharge are the most common symptoms. Although ascites has been reported in cases with cervical cancer, it is due to other causes such as ovarian metastasis. Case Presentation: A 78-year-old diabetic woman who presented with ascites and abdominopelvic mass was misdiagnosed with ovarian cancer and treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical hysterectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy. However, pathology confirmed locally advanced cervical cancer stage IV in this patient. She was discharged from the hospital three weeks after surgery with no serious complications. Discussion: Considering all signs and symptoms to reach a verdict would reduce such malpractices and consequently lead to select the best management and treatment. © 2015, Avicenna Research Institute. All rights reserved