Objectives: Exosomes-microvesicles which are secreted by living cells-can be produced from different cell types and detected in various body fluids. They are the carriers of intercellular information which regulate tumor microenvironment and are considered to be involved in tumor progression and metastasis. Cancer cells can secrete more exosomes than healthy cells, and are expected to be potential tools for tumor diagnosis and treatment. Material and methods: In this report, we present the results of microparticle analysis in peripheral and uterine blood of patients with endometrial cancer. To the best of our knowledge, this study has been the first to report microvesicle status in peripheral and uterine blood samples. The aim of the study was to determine the amount of total (TF+), endothelial (CD144+) and monocytic (CD14+) microparticles. The counting of the selected microparticles in citrate plasma was performed using flow cytometry on the BD Canto II cytometer. Results: We found that the total amount of microparticles in cancer patients was much higher than in healthy controls. Moreover, microparticle count in uterine blood was higher than in peripheral blood of patients with endometrial cancer. We also demonstrated that the amount of microparticles correlates with the histologic grade and clinical stage of the tumor. Conclusions: The most interesting finding in this work was the high level of TF, CD144 and CD14 MPs in uterine blood samples. Thus we can consider the monocyte-macrophage-derived MPs as a candidate marker of endometrial cancer and maybe very critical part of the endometrial carcinogenesis.

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IntroductionPyruvate kinase in an enzyme that catalyzes the production of pyruvate and ATP as the final step of the glycolysis. Potential role of Pyruvate kinase in tumorigenesis was previously suggested, due to its altered activity in several tumors.Material and methodsThis study looks at M2 isozyme of pyruvate kinase activity (M2-PK) measured in peripheral and uterine blood plasma in various stages of endometrial cancer (EC) as well as in precancerous state of atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH). Measurements were performed using spectrophotometric method in citrate plasma samples from peripheral and uterine blood. Study group included 84 patients with endometrial cancer, 28 patients with atypical endometrial hyperplasia and 23 non-cancerous controls.ResultsPyruvate kinase activity in EC group was 3-fold higher than in control group both in peripheral and uterine blood samples. Pyruvate kinase activity was also 3-fold higher in uterine blood when compared to peripheral blood samples. We also found statistically significant correlation between FIGO staging and detected activity with the M2-PK activity being 2-fold higher for FIGO1 than for FIGO3. We also describe a paradox in which the M2-PK activity in patients with atypical endometrial hyperplasia is lower than M2-PK activity in control group in peripheral blood samples, but higher in uterine blood samples.ConclusionsThe measurement of citrate plasma pyruvate kinase metabolic activity varies greatly between samples collected from different sites and samples collected from patients with varied tumor staging. Further studies are needed in order to elucidate molecular pathways that are responsible for observed differences.

Znaczenie neoadiuwantowej chemioterapii w leczeniu zaawansowanego raka jajnika u chorych geriatrycznychThe role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the management of advanced ovarian cancer in geriatric patients