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Objective: The pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been reported to be useful as markers for prognostic factors and metastasis in several cancers. The aim of this study was to identify the predictor of lymph node (LN) metastasis by pretreatment NLR and PLR in patients with endometrial cancer. Methods: Medical charts of the patients with endometrial cancers that received primary surgery at our hospital between 2007 and 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. The cutoff value was calculated from the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. Clinicopathological parameters including inflammatory markers were evaluated for LN metastasis using multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: Among 197 patients enrolled in the study, LN metastasis was observed in 25 patients (13%). ROC curves demonstrated that the best cutoff value of NLR for predicting LN metastasis was 2.18 and that of PLR was 206. In univariate analysis, several pathological factors, NLR, and PLR were identified as predictors of LN metastasis. In multiple logistic regression analysis, lymphovascular invasion and NLR were found to be significantly correlated with LN metastasis (p = 0.002, 0.039). Conclusion: A higher pretreatment NLR was identified as a predictor of LN metastasis in endometrial cancers. Although further study is needed to confirm the results, NLR could be a candidate clinical marker for detection of LN metastasis.

A multiplex PCR assay was developed that enabled the simultaneous detection of DNA from 6 types of human herpes virus, HSV-1/2, VZV, EBV, CMV, HHV-6A/B, and HHV-7, using appropriate primer sets and conventional PCR techniques and instruments, with PCR products for each type of virus designed to be easily distinguishable by size. Electropherograms obtained from conventional agarose gels showed that, for each type, the observed number of base pairs corresponded to the intended product and that bands were easily distinguishable from each other. A minimum of 20 copies of viral DNA in a reaction was sufficient to confirm the existence of each of the 6 types of human herpes virus. Comparison of the data obtained from this method and the data obtained from conventional TaqMan PCR using clinical specimens from various sources showed consistent results. The multiplex PCR method reported here for the detection and differentiation of human herpes viruses did not require special equipment or techniques such as hybridization analysis and sequencing analysis and, therefore, enabled us to easily and rapidly detect and identify the 6 types of human herpes virus using conventional methods.

This study demonstrated that the routine rapid insertion of Bakri balloon tamponade during cesarean section significantly decreased intra- and postoperative hemorrhage and shortened the surgical duration in women with placenta previa.