Pregnant women with SLE are at high risk of fetal loss and spontaneous abortion. Pregnancy does not cause life-threatening manifestations of the disease. Thus, for a better outcome of lupus pregnancy, it is essential to control disease activity and to achieve clinical remission.

The morphological evaluation of cytological specimens from body cavity fluids presents difficulties in the differential diagnosis between benign reactive mesothelial (RM) cells and adenocarcinoma (AC) or malignant mesothelioma (MM). The aim of our study was to investigate whether a panel of five different antibodies can offer reliable markers in the differential diagnosis of RM, AC, and MM in serous effusions. A total of 134 cytological specimens of serous effusions from 80 ACs, 50 RMs, and 4 MMs, previously stained with Papanicolaou stain, were selected retrospectively from our files and stained with anti-human mesothelial cell (HBME-1), calretinin, epithelial specific antigen (MOC-31), Ber-EP4, and BG8. Statistical significance was found with HBME-1, calretinin, MOC-31, anti-human epithelial antigen (Ber-EP4), and blood group related antigen (BG8) when comparing AC vs. any type of mesothelial proliferation (MM or RM). The sensitivity of HBME-1 and calretinin for mesothelial cells was 98 and 100%, respectively, and the specificity was 71 and 80%, respectively. Both antibodies stained reactive mesothelial as well as MM cells, with calretinin showing a stronger intensity of immunostaining. The sensitivity of the stain for AC was 86.25% for MOC-31, 77.5% for Ber-EP4, and 67.5% for BG8, and, when combined, the sensitivity was 100%. Our data suggest that immunocytochemical studies performed on Papanicolaou-stained cytological smears with HBME-1, calretinin, MOC-31, Ber-EP4, and BG8 proved to be useful in the differentiation between metastatic AC and mesothelial proliferation. Probably, calretinin is a more preferred marker for mesothelial cells as evidenced by a more intense staining reaction.

No abstract

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) has currently been considered as molecular target for the treatment of human metabolic disorders. PPAR-γ has also been implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of several types of cancer, being associated with cell differentiation, growth and apoptosis. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of PPAR-γ expression in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). PPAR-γ protein expression was assessed immunohistochemically in tumoral samples of 67 NSCLC patients and was statistically analyzed in relation to clinicopathological parameters, proliferation and apoptosis related molecules and patients' survival. Positive PPAR-γ expression was prominent in 30 (45 %) out of 67 NSCLC cases. PPAR-γ positivity was more frequently observed in squamous cell lung carcinoma cases compared to lung adenocarcinoma ones (p = 0.048). PPAR-γ positivity was significantly associated with bcl-2 positivity (p = 0.016) and borderline with c-myc positivity (p = 0.052), whereas non associations with grade of differentiation, TNM stage, Ki-67, p53, bax proteins' expression and patients' survival were noted. In the subgroup of squamous cell lung carcinoma cases, PPAR-γ positivity was significantly associated with tumor size (p = 0.038), while in lung adenocarcinoma ones with histopathological grade of differentiation (p = 0.026). The present study supported evidence for possible participation of PPAR-γ in the biological mechanisms underlying the carcinogenic evolution of the lung. Although the survival prediction using PPAR-γ expression as a marker seems uncertain, the observed correlation with apoptosis related proteins reinforces the potential utility of PPAR-γ ligands as cell cycle modulators in future therapeutic approaches in lung cancer.

FLG and POSTN expression may be downregulated and upregulated, respectively, in the esophageal mucosa of patients with active EoE, and these changes may be restored with treatment in a significant percentage of cases.

Diagnosis of a clinical entity like pregnancy associated breast cancer (PABC) is as demanding and challenging as its rarity. Increasing incidence and controversy that exists in the literature upon prognosis, tumor aggressiveness and underlying mechanisms, highlight the importance of optimizing the diagnostic strategy in women with PABC. Adjustment of standard approach for breast cancer by modifying management methods and options plays key role in decision making. Knowledge of diagnostic modalities and their limitations, in accordance with awareness of physiologic hormone-induced changes of pregnancy and lactation, is the fundamental method of diagnosis in PABC. Thorough triple assessment (history/clinical examination, imaging and cytology/histology) enforces healthcare providers with all essential tools to avoid detrimental delay in diagnosis and to confront with their own hesitation to take action due to limited experience of the disease.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of HPV in a gynecological population attending outpatient clinics using two new molecular tests.The Amplicor HPV test and the Linear Array HPV Genotyping test (LA) were used for the detection of HPV DNA in 320 women. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify independent prognostic factors of HPV positivity.The agreement between the two methods in terms of their qualitative results was 89.3% (kappa: 0.63). Based on the LA results, the overall prevalence of HPV DNA was 49.1% (95% CI: 43.5%, 54.7%). The prevalence of high-risk HPV types was 30.3%. The predominant types were HPV-6 (24.8%) and HPV-16 (20.4%). Among women with normal cytology, the prevalence of HPV was much higher in those presenting other findings, such as inflammation, than those without other abnormal findings (49.5% vs. 31.5%). On the basis of multivariate analysis, the risk of HPV infection was higher among women with multiple sexual partners (>3 vs. 1: OR=3.1, 95% CI: (1.5, 7.2)), Pap smear findings (low/high-grade lesions vs. negative: OR=2.8, 95% CI: (1.2, 6.5)), the presence of warts (yes vs. no: OR=3.0, 95% CI: (1.5, 6.3)) and no history of child birth (no vs. yes: OR=2.6, 95% CI: (1.0, 6.7)). Younger age was an additional risk factor for HPV infection with carcinogenic genotypes (OR for 1-year increase =0.93, 95% CI: (0.89, 0.98)).

Ovarian carcinoma is a lethal disease and a main cause of morbidity and mortality among gynecological malignancies. Metastatic ovarian carcinoma to the axillary node is an exceptionally infrequent pathological entity. We report a case of ovarian carcinoma, which presented with axillary lymph node metastasis and review the previously documented cases. A 63-year-old woman with a medical history of stage IIIb ovarian carcinoma was admitted to our hospital complaining of a mass in her right axilla. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy was performed. Cytological examination revealed a poorly differentiated carcinoma with immunocytochemical features consistent with metastatic ovarian carcinoma. This case illustrates a rare presentation of ovarian carcinoma and underlines the need to consider it in the differential diagnosis of axillary lesions.