Detecting pathogenic mutations in 13/50 genes examined at comparable frequencies in hrHPV(+) and hrHPV(-) tumors suggest that genetic mechanisms of the two routes of VSCC pathogenesis may be similar, despite being initiated from different premalignant lesions. Importantly, our data provide a rationale for new anti-VSCC therapies targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Due to the significant risk for ovarian cancer in carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy is recommended after the patient has completed

Since first being identified in December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as an etiological agent behind Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), has caused three waves of a global pandemic, with a fourth in progress. Despite its high percentage of asymptomatic and low-symptomatic courses of illness, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has claimed a higher death toll than the SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV epidemics because of its high infectivity when compared to the other coronaviruses. High COVID-19 mortality is associated with age and other coexisting morbidities, as well as healthcare quality. According to several studies, pregnant women are at a higher risk of severe COVID-19 infection and adverse pregnancy outcomes (caesarean delivery, pre-term birth, low birth weight, preeclampsia, ICU admission, and need for mechanical ventilation). In our review of recent literature, we focused on the effects of COVID-19 in pregnant women, emphasizing the subcellular pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2. In this paper, we concentrate on the pathophysiology of sub-cellular changes in COVID-19 and endeavor to highlight the aspects that manifest in physiological pregnancy and potentially create a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and acute COVID-19 symptoms. Understanding how pregnancy-associated changes can cause a synergistic effect with COVID-19 may point us in the right direction for future prophylaxis and treatment for women undergoing COVID-19 during pregnancy.

The role of circulating microRNAs as a promising tool for diagnosing cancer and monitoring anticancer therapies has been widely studied in the past decades. To date, no suitable reference microRNAs for normalizing quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assays has been identified in vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia lesions and vulvar squamous cell carcinoma. The purpose of this study was to select appropriate references for gene expression studies in plasma of patients with these lesions. Expression levels of six microRNAs-hsa-miR-425-5p, hsa-miR-191-5p, hsa-miR-93-5p, hsa-miR-423-5p, hsa-miR-103a-3p, and hsa-miR-16-5p-were analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in plasma samples obtained from 17 patients with vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia lesion and 27 patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma. The expression stability of these candidate normalizers was assayed using geNorm algorithm. hsa-miR-93-5p was revealed as the most stably expressed reference in plasma samples of both vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia lesion and vulvar squamous cell carcinoma patients. The results pointed at hsa-miR-93-5p and hsa-miR-425-5p as microRNAs that retained the greatest robustness in plasma of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia lesion and vulvar squamous cell carcinoma patients, respectively. Our work is the first report on reference microRNA selection for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction applications in vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia lesion and vulvar squamous cell carcinoma. The candidate microRNA stability values for the two types of lesions are provided and might serve for normalization of the future novel microRNA biomarkers in these rare entities.

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