Preoperative Serum Levels of PDGF-AB, PDGF-BB, TGF-α, EGF and ANG-2 in the Diagnosis of Endometrial Cancer.

(1) Background: It is relevant to find new diagnostic biomarkers for endometrial cancer. This study aimed to investigate whether PDGF-AB, PDGF-BB, TGF-α, EGF and ANG-2 could be considered new useful markers for diagnosis and survival of endometrial cancer. (2) Methods: A total of 93 women diagnosed with endometrial cancer (EC) and 66 patients with non-cancerous endometrial lesions (NCEL) were included in this study. (3) Results: Median serum levels of PDGF-AB, PDGF-BB, TGF-α, EGF and ANG-2 were significantly higher in the EC group compared to the NCEL group (for PDGF-AB, PDGF-BB, TGF-α and ANG-2, p = 0.0000; for EGF, p = 0.0186). The cut-off level of PDGF-AB was set at 127.69 pg/mL with a sensitivity of 87.1% and a specificity of 66.67% (AUC = 0.78, p < 0.000001). The cut-off level of PDGF-BB was set at 207.86 ng/L with a sensitivity of 82.8% and a specificity of 75.76% (AUC = 0.85, p < 0.000001). The cut-off level of TGF-α was set at 33.85 ng/L with a sensitivity of 82.8% and a specificity of 75.76% (AUC = 0.82, p < 0.000001). The cut-off level of EGF was set at 934.76 pg/mL with a sensitivity of 83.87% and a specificity of 28.79% (AUC = 0.61, p = 0.018472). The cut-off level of ANG-2 was set at 3120.68 pg/mL with a sensitivity of 72.04% and a specificity of 93.94% (AUC = 0.87, p < 0.000001). (4) Conlusion: It was concluded that all the proteins studied could be potential diagnostic markers in endometrial cancer.

Evaluation of Hormonal Factors in Acne Vulgaris and the Course of Acne Vulgaris Treatment with Contraceptive-Based Therapies in Young Adult Women.

Acne vulgaris is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease, which is considered one of the diseases of civilization due to the significant influence of environmental factors on the severity and frequency of these lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hormonal profile of patients before treatment and to assess selected hormonal parameters after treatment. Our first objective was to examine the correlation between the selected hormonal parameters and the severity of acne before treatment. Our second objective was to evaluate the impact of treatment with three therapies, as measured by the selected hormonal parameters and acne severity. Statistical calculations were performed using the R v.4.1.1 statistical calculation environment (IDE RStudio v. 1.4.1717) with a significance level for the statistical tests set at α = 0.05. The results showed that the women in the pre-treatment (T1) and control (C) groups had significant differences in testosterone, androstendione, FAI, SHBG, prolactin, ACTH, and cortisol concentrations. After treatment, there were still significant differences in testosterone, androstendione, FAI, and SHBG concentrations between the post-treatment (T2) and control groups. We concluded that testosterone, androstendione, and cortisol concentrations correlate with acne severity. Acne in adult women may be an important clinical marker of androgen excess syndrome and cannot be considered a transient symptom of puberty. The mainstay of acne treatment is contraceptive therapy (ethonylestradiol and drospirenone). In this study, we confirmed the effectiveness of three contraceptive-based treatments using hormonal parameters and acne severity.

The Role of TIM-3 and LAG-3 in the Microenvironment and Immunotherapy of Ovarian Cancer.

Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality rate among gynecologic malignancies. The main treatment options are surgical removal of the tumor and chemotherapy. Cancer treatment has been revolutionized by immunotherapy, which has developed explosively over the past two decades. Clinical anticancer strategies used in immunotherapy include therapies based on the inhibition of PD-1, PD-L1 or CTLA-4. Despite encouraging results, a large proportion of cancer patients are resistant to these therapies or eventually develop resistance. It is important to perform research that will focus on immunotherapy based on other immune checkpoint inhibitors. The aim of the review was to analyze studies considering the expression of TIM-3 and LAG-3 in the ovarian cancer microenvironment and considering immunotherapy for ovarian cancer that includes antibodies directed against TIM-3 and LAG-3. As the data showed, the expression of the described immune checkpoints was shown in different ways. Higher TIM-3 expression was associated with a more advanced tumor stage. Both TIM-3 and LAG-3 were co-expressed with PD-1 in a large proportion of studies. The effect of LAG-3 expression on progression-free survival and/or overall survival is inconclusive and certainly requires further study. Co-expression of immune checkpoints prompts combination therapies using anti-LAG-3 or anti-TIM-3. Research on immune checkpoints, especially TIM-3 and LAG-3, should be further developed.

The Impact of Uterus Didelphys on Fertility and Pregnancy.

Uterus didelphys occurs as a result of abnormal fusion of the paramesonephric ducts and is characterized by complete duplication of uterine horns, cervix, and very often also the vagina or presence of longitudinal vaginal septum. Most women with a uterus didelphys are asymptomatic; some cases may coincide with dyspareunia or dysmenorrhea. The anomaly is associated with a higher risk of miscarriage, preterm labor, breech delivery, and decreased live births. We present the case of a 26-year-old woman (primigravida) who was known to have uterus didelphys. The diagnosis was made when the patient was 23 years old using ultrasound and hysteroscopy. The patient became pregnant after 18 months of efforts. The patient was referred to prenatal care in the 13th week of pregnancy with vaginal bleeding. In the 23rd week of pregnancy, gestation cholelithiasis was diagnosed. The pregnancy progressed without obstetric complications and the fetus developed normally. Due to the vaginal septum and fact that the patient felt stressed, the pregnancy was terminated at term by cesarean section. We concluded that uterus didelphys can be asymptomatic making an early diagnosis difficult. A pregnancy belongs to a high-risk group and more attention should be paid to this case. Cesarean section should be considered, especially in case of the presence of vaginal septum.