Cervical cancer is the major cause of death in women of reproductive age in parts of the developing world. Thanks to the effectiveness of national screening programs, the incidence and mortality rates for cervical cancer have declined dramatically in developed countries. According to many researchers, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has an important role in the development of cervical neoplasm. The effects of HPV infection on the oncogenesis of cervical carcinoma can be explained to a large degree by the regulation and function of the two viral oncogenes, E6 and E7. About 25 of >80 types infect the genital tract. HPV types are stratified into low, intermediate- and high-risk categories. Today, vaccines are available against many serious human pathogens. It is accepted worldwide that cervical carcinoma is a consequence of infection with HPV viruses. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that vaccine that prevents infection will reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. Virus-like particles are empty viral capsids, and are the leading candidate vaccines for the treatment or prevention of cervical cancer in humans. The HPV type 16 (HPV16) L1 virus-like particle vaccines have been shown to be generally well tolerated and they generate high levels of antibodies against HPV16. Since approximately 50% of cervical cancers are associated with HPV16 infection, the administration of this type of vaccine to young women could reduce the incidence of HPV16 infection, which is related to cervical dysplasia and cervical neoplasm. Vaccination against HPV infection could reduce the risk of infection and, most importantly, decrease the incidence of cervical cancer. A vaccine for cervical cancer is not a dream in the far future, it is happening today.

BACKGROUND: Superficially invasive neoplasias of the uterine cervix are a matter of controversy in terms of their definition, prognostic factors and selection of treatment to minimize the risk of recurrences. METHODS: Forty-three women with invasive cervical carcinoma, operated from 1993 to 2003, were postoperatively staged as IA cervical carcinoma. There were 28 patients who were submitted to class III radical hysterectomy, 9 patients to class II hysterectomy, 2 patients to class I hysterectomy, and 2 patients to abdominal trachelectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection. Mean age of patients was 44 years (range, 27-64 years). RESULTS: Twenty-three patients (56.1%) were stage with IA1 and 18 (43.9%) with stage IA2 disease according to the 1995 FIGO classification. Tumor histology revealed squamous cell carcinoma in 38 (92.6%) cases, adenocarcinoma in 2 (4.8%) cases and glassy cell carcinoma in 1 (2.4%). The average number of examined lymph nodes was 17.4 (2-53). Lymphovascular space invasion was identified in 3 patients. None of the 41 patients had metastasis to the pelvic lymph nodes or developed recurrence of disease. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that patients with cervical cancer stage IA1 have an extremely low risk of pelvic lymph node metastasis and an excellent prognosis, so nonradical management that excludes pelvic lymph node dissection could be as effective as radical surgery in these patients. Stage IA2 invasive squamous carcinoma of the cervix should be treated with radical hysterectomy with lymph node dissection considering the presence of risk factors. The treatment should be individualized and based on an exhaustive pathological evaluation of an adequate cone biopsy specimen

Advancing age, the major risk factor for development of ovarian carcinoma is, of course, unalterable. We investigated 4 patients medium age 17.3 years, with epithelial ovarian carcinoma. Pelvic masses found in women of reproductive age, must also be evaluated preoperatively to determine the probability of malignancy.

A rare case of ovarian cancer with Eaton-Lambert syndrome is reported. A 50-year-old woman was admitted to the gynecologic department, complaining of weakness and pain in her arms and shoulders. Physical therapy resulted in partial improvement. Treatment of paraneoplastic syndrome markedly improves the quality of life of cancer patients. Patients presenting with this syndrome should undergo a careful evaluation for the presence of an occult malignancy.

Postmenopausal vaginal bleeding (PMB) is the leading symptom of endometrial cancer. More than 70% of patients with endometrial cancer are postmenopausal. Despite PMB as a leading symptom in diagnosis of endometrial cancer, PMB could be caused by some benign processes in endometrium such as hyperplasia and focal endometrial disease, such as a polyp. The golden standard for histological evaluation of the endometrium is curettage. Transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) and measurement of endometrium thickness is also one of the favored methods in the last decade. Sonographic imaging of the endometrium can be extremely helpful, because endometrial cancer is nearly always associated with thickening and heterogeneity of the endometrium except in case of atrophy-associated adenocarcinoma of the endometrium, which is not associated with thickening. Hysteroscopy found place as a favored method in diagnosis of focal endometrial lesions. Saline infusion sonohysterography (SIS) is a relatively new imaging procedure. The SIS will show whether the endometrium is diffusely thickened, in which case curettage would be the next step, or focally thickened, in which case hysteroscopy with biopsy would be the next step. Combination of some diagnostic procedures, such as TVS, SIS, hysteroscopy, endometrial biopsy and curettage, should decrease false positive and false negative results which may affect the correct diagnosis and treatment