Retrospective evaluation of clinical and pathological features, as well as diagnostic and treatment protocols of primary vaginal malignancy.

OBJECTIVES: Our study aimed to determine the epidemiological characteristics and diagnostic and treatment protocols of primary vaginal carcinoma. Also, we compared the clinical and pathological features of primary vaginal carcinoma which intersect with cervical and vulvar carcinomas. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixteen patients with primary vaginal carcinoma, admitted to the Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Izmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital between January 1983 and December 2012, were evaluated retrospectively. FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) Surgical staging was performed. The SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) program was used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: The histological distribution of the 16 patients with primary vaginal carcinoma was as follows: 9 patients (56.3%) with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 5 (31.3%) with rhabdomyosarcoma, and 2 (12.5%) with adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSION: The stage of the disease was found the be the main factor affecting the survival.

Assessment of clinicopathological features, evaluation of treatment, and prognosis of clear cell and serous papillary endometrial carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate and compare the clinical and pathological features, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) and clear-cell carcinoma (CC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-four patients who were operated on for UPSC and CC carcinoma at the Izmir Tepecik Research and Teaching Hospital, between January 1983 and December 2014, were included. Patients were evaluated for the following factors: age, gravidity, parity, preoperative CA-125, tumor size, myometrial and lymphovascular invasion, lymph node tumor metastasis, presence of atypical cells in peritoneal cytology, pathology results, operation types, whether or not they received postoperative adjuvant therapy, prognosis, and death rate. RESULTS: The stage of the disease was the main factor affecting disease-free and the overall survival. Cisplatin-based chemotherapy was partially effective in patients with postoperative recurrence, while postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy proved to be more effective in preventing relapse. CONCLUSION: The studied parameters generally were concordant with the literature but, due to the relatively small sample size, more comprehensive and multicenter studies are needed to generate valid results.

Can platelet count and mean platelet volume during the first trimester of pregnancy predict preterm premature rupture of membranes?

AIM: The aim of our study was to evaluate the values of platelet count and mean platelet volume (MPV) obtained from maternal serum during the first trimester to predict subsequent preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The records of 318 women with PPROM and 384 healthy controls in a single center between 2009 and 2013 were retrospectively evaluated. Platelet count and MPV values between 7 and 14 weeks of gestation were compared. Receiver-operator curve analysis was performed to identify the optimal platelet count and MPV cut-off levels predicting PPROM. RESULTS: Compared with controls, women with PPROM had significantly increased levels of platelet count and significantly decreased levels of MPV in the first trimester (P < 0.001). The area under the receiver-operator curve was 0.642 for MPV and 0.579 for platelet count. The cut-off values of MPV ≤ 8.6 fL and platelet count ≥216 × 10(3) /µL predicted PPROM with a sensitivity of 58% and 65% and specificity of 62% and 44%, respectively. CONCLUSION: MPV can be used as a more efficient predictor for an early diagnosis of PPROM than platelet count. However, further research combining other markers is needed to increase the efficiency of prediction.