An organization for academic specialists: the time has come.

The Society for Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology was recently formed to meet the professional needs of general obstetrician-gynecologists (ob-gyns) in academic settings. Historically there has been little communication and poor networking among this group, largely as a result of lack of infrastructure. Until the Society for Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology, there has been no common venue to unite academic specialists nor a means to identify colleagues and develop professional relationships. The Society is creating avenues for communication and collaboration among general ob-gyn faculty across institutions. The Society for Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology is hosting national meetings, conducting workshops and webinars, and developing other media to promote research training, share administrative skills, and help members to become more effective educators. One major focus of the new organization is to provide resources to facilitate faculty development. Formation of the Society for Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology is particularly timely given that ob-gyns, without subspecialty fellowship training, have assumed major roles in academic departments. Their contribution to educational, scholarly, and clinical responsibilities is a significant benefit to the well-being of the departments of obstetrics and gynecology. In turn, the role of educator and scholar is of value to the general academic ob-gyn. The Society for Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology will help academic faculty and their institutions by filling current gaps in professional and career development, which should improve scholarship, enhance retention, and improve the ability for academic departments to fulfill their educational and clinical missions.

Management of hematocervix after loop electrosurgical excision procedure.

BACKGROUND: Management is not established for the uncommon complication of cervical stenosis secondary to a loop electrosurgical excision procedure resulting in a hematocervix. CASE: A premenopausal woman underwent an electrosurgical procedure performed without complications and subsequently developed amenorrhea. The patient was determined to have developed a hematocervix secondary to the electrosurgical procedure. Increasingly aggressive methods were attempted to drain the hematocervix, finally with successful drainage being accomplished with the use of a manual vacuum aspirator. A catheter was then used to maintain patency of the cervical canal as it re-epithelialized. CONCLUSION: Manual vacuum aspiration and placement of a catheter to allow for re-epithelialization is a successful strategy to deal with hematocervix caused by electrosurgical procedures.

Telomerase and human papillomavirus as diagnostic adjuncts for cervical dysplasia and carcinoma.

Telomerase and human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA were evaluated as potential markers of high-grade dysplasia in cervical cytological specimens. Cytology specimens were collected from patients at the time of colposcopic evaluation for management of a previous abnormal cytology test result. Telomerase activity was evaluated by the telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP), and HPV DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction with L1 consensus-sequence primers and filter hybridization genotyping. Telomerase was detected in 8 of 97 (8.2%) cases with normal cytology or benign cellular changes, in 7 of 98 (7.1%) cases of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), in 3 of 95 (3.2%) cases of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), and in 17 of 48 (35.4%) cases with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). High-risk HPVs were detected in 23 of 97 (23.7%) cases with normal/reactive cellular changes (RCC) cytology, in 28 of 98 (28.6%) cases of ASCUS, in 69 of 95 (72.6%) cases of LSIL, and in 35 of 48 (72.9%) cases of HSIL. Telomerase expression did not correlate with the detection of high-risk HPVs in any cytological diagnostic categories. Telomerase and HPV test results of cytological specimens were correlated with the histological diagnoses of concurrent cervical biopsy specimens. Telomerase showed a sensitivity of 29.9% and a specificity of 94.0% for biopsy-confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) II/III. In contrast, high-risk HPVs were detected in 70.1% of cases with underlying CIN II/III, with a specificity of 62.5%. A relatively high proportion of normal/RCC or ASCUS cases with telomerase-positive test results had underlying high-grade dysplasia on cervical biopsy. Thus, technical and practical limitations of the TRAP assay in cervical cytology specimens limit the practical application of telomerase as a diagnostic adjunct in cervical cytopathology.

Immunohistochemical localization of survivin in benign cervical mucosa, cervical dysplasia, and invasive squamous cell carcinoma.

Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) that is expressed in fetal development and in cancer Survivin expression in premalignant lesions remains undefined. We obtained 73 samples of cervical squamous tissue, including 31 normal, 17 low- and 15 high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs, HSILs), and 10 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs)from cone biopsy and hysterectomy specimens, and stained for survivin using an immunoperoxidase method. Nuclear staining was detected in normal mucosa, LSILs, and HSILs; staining intensity was greatest in cases with morphologic evidence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. In situ hybridization of serial sections demonstrated colocalization of HPV DNA and survivin. Cytoplasmic staining was observed in immature squamous metaplasia and in SCCs. Survivin expression in immature metaplastic squamous mucosa may reflect a rolefor survivin in normal squamous differentiation. However, the histologic correlation between nuclear staining and HPV infection suggests involvement of survivin in HPV-mediated disruption of normal cellular maturation.

Analysis of telomerase as a diagnostic biomarker of cervical dysplasia and carcinoma.

Telomerase expression is a potentially important marker of high-grade cervical dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The routine practice of cervical cytology is limited by problems of false negative diagnoses as well as by poor specificity for clinically significant lesions in patients with low-grade cytologic abnormalities. Telomerase is widely expressed in most SCCs as well as in a high proportion of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. Histochemical studies have confirmed that telomerase is expressed in the lower portions of normal or metaplastic squamous mucosa but that telomerase positive cells extend into the upper epithelial layers in cases of high-grade dysplasia. Since the cervical smear samples the uppermost cell layers of the cervical mucosa, but does not normally include cells derived from the lower layers of the squamous mucosa, the detection of telomerase in exfoliated cells of the cervical smear may have specificity for clinically significant lesions. The analysis of hTR, hTERT, and telomerase activity are complicated by a number of technical factors that may lead to either false negative or false positive test results. Thus, the practical application of telomerase analysis as a diagnostic adjunct for cervical cytopathology may depend on the development of more reliable and sensitive assay systems, possibly formatted for cytochemical applications.