HPV may have a role in the carcinogenesis of ovarian cancer. It is worth investigating this possible relation both in large case-control studies and in vitro models by using more sensitive techniques.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are frequently expressed in malignant tumors and play an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. The aim of this study was to evaluate role of serum MMP-2 and MMP-7 levels in patients with ovarian cancer. Serum levels of MMP-2 and MMP-7 were measured in 28 patients with ovarian carcinoma, 2 with borderline ovarian tumors, 10 with non-malignant gynecological disease and 30 healthy women by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Serum MMP-7 level was significantly (10.24+/-1.35 ng/ml) higher in the patients with ovarian malign tumors than healthy controls (3.29+/-1.64 ng/ml) (P<0.05). Postoperative levels of MMP-7 (7.68+/-1.17 ng/ml) were significantly lower in patients with malign ovarian tumors than those of preoperative level (10.24+/-1.35 ng/ml) (P<0.05). Serum MMP-2 levels were significantly lower in the patients with ovarian malign tumors (227.51+/-9.91 ng/ml) than those in the healthy controls (279.12+/-73 ng/ml) (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in serum levels of MMP-2 and MMP-7 in patients with benign ovarian disease when compared to healthy controls and patients with malignant disease (P>0.05). As a conclusion, MMP-7 can be a useful serum marker to show disease activity in malignant ovarian tumors.

This study examined the frequency of E-cadherin expression in endometrial biopsy or hysterectomy specimens from patients diagnosed with endometrial adenocarcinoma and in normal endometrial tissue specimens. E-cadherin expression was detected by immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibody to E-cadherin. Specimens were classified as positive when >or= 5% of the tumour cells showed staining for E-cadherin, irrespective of the pattern of staining. Twenty-three endometrioid carcinomas and nine non-endometrioid (four papillary serous and five clear cell) carcinomas were studied, along with 10 normal endometrial tissue specimens as controls. E-cadherin expression was significantly less frequent in non-endometrioid carcinomas compared with endometrioid carcinomas and controls. There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of E-cadherin expression between endometrioid carcinomas and controls. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that uterine non-endometrioid (papillary serous and clear cell) carcinomas were less likely to express E-cadherin compared with endometrioid carcinomas and normal endometrial tissue. This may help to explain the more aggressive behaviour of non-endometrioid carcinomas.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate and evaluate risk factors for lymph node metastases (LNM) in cases of endometrial cancer (EC). Materials and Methods: A retrospective single institution analysis of patients surgically staged for EC at Ankara Oncology Education and Research Hospital from 1996 to 2010 was performed. Roles of prognostic factors, such as age, histological type, grade, depth of myometrial invasion, cervical involvement, peritoneal cytology, and tumor size, in the prediction of LNM were evaluated. Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analysis were used to assess the effects of various factors on LNM. Results: LNM was observed in 22 out of 247 patients (8.9%) and was significantly more common in the presence of tumors of higher grade, deep myometrial invasion (DMI), cervical involvement, size >2cm, and with positive peritoneal cytology. Logistic regression analysis revealed that DMI remained the only independent risk factor for LNM. NPV, PPV, sensitivity, and specificity for satisfying LNM risk were 98.0, 19.5, 86.3, and 65.3%, respectively for DMI. Conclusions: The incidence of LNM is influenced independently by DMI. If data support a conclusion of DMI, LND should be seriously considered.

No abstract

In patients with EC, there is a significant difference between LR and HR groups for LNM and CSS rates. But this method of stratification is not adequate to separate them for deciding whether surgical staging is mandatory. Moreover, even most of the HR patients (163/184, 88.6%) are exposed to unnecessary LND. Perhaps they are not really HR and the HR definition needs to be revised.

ÖZAmaç: Vitronektin, çözünür epitelyal-cadherin (sE-cadherin) ve transforming büyüme faktörü-beta 1'i (TGF-β1) içeren ekstrasellüler matriks elemanları kanserin invazyonu ve metastazında anahtar rol oynamaktadır. Bu çalışmada endometriyal ve over kanserli hastalarda bu moleküllerin serum düzeylerinin klinik önemini belirlemek amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu çalışmada, 28 endometriyum kanseri hastası, 40 over kanseri hastası ve 41 sağlıklı kontrol grubuna ait serum vitronektin (VN), sE-cadherin ve TGF-β1 düzeyleri ELISA yöntemiyle ticari kitler kullanılarak ölçülmüştür. Bulgular: Total hasta grubunda, sağlıklı kontrollere kıyasla VN, sE-cadherin ve TGF-β1 düzeylerinde anlamlı bir farklılık bulunmuştur (sırasıyla p<0,01; p<0,01 ve p<0,05). Serum VN ve sE-cadherin düzeyleri hem endometriyal hem de over kanseri hastalarında kontrol grubuna kıyasla önemli ölçüde düşük bulunmuştur (p<0,01). Buna karşın, TGF-β1 düzeyleri, kontrol grubuna kıyasla over kanserinde anlamlı derecede yükselmiştir (p<0,01), ancak sağlıklı kontroller ile endometriyal kanserli hastalar arasında anlamlı bir fark bulunamamıştır. Sonuç: Çalışmamız serum VN ve sE-cadherin düzeylerinin, endometriyal ve over kanserlerinde yeni tanı yöntemleri sağlamak için aday hedefler olabileceğini ortaya koymaktadır. Anahtar kelimeler: Vitronektin, sE-cadherin, TGF-β1, endometriyal kanser, over kanseri Objectives: Extracellular matrix components, including vitronectin (VN), soluble epithelial-cadherin (sE-cadherin) and transforming growth factorbeta 1 (TGF-β1), play a key role in the invasion and metastasis of cancer. The objective of the study was to determine the clinical significance of serum levels of these molecules in patients with endometrial and ovarian cancers. Materials and Methods: Serum levels of VN, sE-cadherin and TGF-β1 in patients with endometrial (n=28) and ovarian cancers (n=40) and healthy controls (n=41) were measured by ELISA using commercial kits. Results: A significant difference was found in VN, sE-cadherin and TGF-β1 levels between patients and healthy controls (p<0.01, p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively). Serum VN and sE-cadherin levels were decreased significantly in both endometrial and ovarian cancer patients compared to controls (p<0.01, p<0.01, respectively). Conversely, TGF-β1 levels were increased significantly in patients with ovarian cancer as compared to controls (p<0.01). There was no significant difference between healthy controls and endometrial cancer patients. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study reveals that serum VN, sE-cadherin and TGF-β1 levels can be candidate targets for providing new diagnostic procedures in endometrial and ovarian cancers.

Positive peritoneal cytology has a significant effect on survival in endometrial cancer. Positive peritoneal cytology occurrence is influenced by myometrial invasion, cervical stromal invasion, tumor size, histologic type, and lymphatic metastasis.