Association between polymorphisms of the DNA repair gene RAD51 and ovarian cancer.

Genetic polymorphisms in the RAD51 gene may be associated with increased cancer risk. The aim of the present study was to evaluate associations between the risk of ovarian cancer and 135G>C (rs1801320) and 172G>T (rs1801321) polymorphisms in the RAD51 gene. We analysed the distribution of genotypes and frequency of alleles of the RAD51 polymorphisms in 210 women with ovarian cancer and 210 healthy controls. Both polymorphisms were genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (PCR-RFLP). In the present study only 135G>C polymorphism of the RAD51 gene was associated with ovarian cancer risk. The distribution of genotypes for 135G>C in ovarian cancer patients vs. controls was: 20% vs. 30% for G/G, 22% vs. 47% for G/C, and 58% vs. 23% for C/C genotype, respectively. We found evidence of an increased ovarian cancer risk in C/C homozygotes but not in heterozygotes. The 135C allele of RAD51 increased cancer risk. In the present work we demonstrated a significant positive association between the RAD51 135G>C polymorphism and ovarian carcinoma in Poland. However, this gene requires further understanding of its interaction with other genes involved in tumour development.

Comparison of one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) method and routine histological investigation for intraoperative detection of lymph node metastasis in Polish women with breast cancer.

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is a part of the staging procedure in breast cancer patients. Intraoperative molecular analysis for SLN metastases using the one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) method based on reverse-transcription loop-mediated amplification (RT-LAMP) has already been validated in breast cancer. In this study, we compare the intraoperative OSNA method to our routine histological investigation. To evaluate the performance of OSNA in comparison to histology, analysis of 74 SLN from 60 breast cancer patients was conducted with both methods. Of the 22 histologically positive samples, 14 were attributed to macrometastases (++) in the OSNA-CK19 assay and 8 to micrometastases (+). Two samples negative in histopathology were positive in the OSNA method (micrometastases +). Our results show that OSNA is an excellent method for the detection of metastases in lymph nodes and can be applied as an intraoperative diagnostic approach. Intraoperative molecular analysis for SLN metastases using the OSNA method reduces the number of admission days and duration of surgery. To our knowledge this is the first study referring to Polish women.

Difficulties in diagnosing and treating phyllodes tumor of the breast--case report.

A phyllodes tumor is a rare breast neoplasm, and in the majority of cases is benign. Its diagnosis is difficult because many characteristics of this neoplasm are also typical for other changes within the breast, especially for fibroadenoma. Palpable examination and imaging diagnostics are obviously very important in the process of establishing a diagnosis. However, histopathological examination is the most important one. Currently, the treatment process boils down to surgical removal of this tumor. It is essential to keep a sufficient margin of healthy tissues, which reduces the risk of local recurrence. In the described case the patient was admitted to hospital due to single tumors in both breasts. Mammosonography allowed us to pre-exclude changes of a malignant character. The right breast tumor was removed during mammotomy. Histopathological examination showed a phyllodes tumor, which is why the mass on the other side was removed surgically. In the period of an 18-month-observation no local recurrence was revealed.