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Objective To clarify the frequency and risk factors of ovarian metastasis in women with endometrial cancer of endometrioid histology. Design Retrospective observational study. Setting University of the Ryukyus Japan 1990-2011. Population Eighty-eight women ≤45 years of age with endometrial cancer of only endometrioid histology. Methods Clinicopathological factors from the medical records were used. Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze predictive factors for ovarian metastasis. Main outcome measures Risk factors of ovarian malignancy. Results All women underwent total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and lymph node dissection. The median age was 39 years, and FIGO stage distributions were: stage I, 63 (71.6%) women; stage II, 14 (15.9%) women; and stage III, 11 (12.5%) women. Pathologically, ovarian metastasis was observed in four (4.5%) women. Only lymph node metastasis was a significant predictive factor for ovarian metastasis ( p = 0.0038), and deep myometrial invasion was the only significant factor ( p = 0.0085) for the prediction of lymph node metastasis. No ovarian malignancy was found in 72 women with invasion ≤50% myometrial depth and no enlargement of the ovaries. We observed ovarian metastasis in two (14.3%) of 14 women with deep myometrial invasion without ovarian tumor. Conclusion Ovarian preservation surgery might be considered in endometrial cancer of endometrioid histology with ≤50% myometrial depth invasion with no ovarian mass after taking into account family history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate a causal link between infection and preterm birth in women with a shortened cervix induced by prior laser conization. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the outcomes of 47 singleton pregnancies with a history of laser conization. Cervical length was measured between 17 and 23 weeks of gestation. Receiver-operating characteristic curves were used to determine the best cut-off point for the cervical length for predicting spontaneous preterm birth. We measured infectious markers in 12 women who had experienced preterm labor. Results: Nine women had had premature labors and three had had late abortions. The mean ± SD cervical length was 33.1 ± 9.1 mm. The optimal cut-off for predicting preterm delivery was 25 mm with a sensitivity and specificity of 75.0% and 97.1%, respectively. Concentrations of granulocyte elastase were positive in five of the six samples determined. The white blood cell count and C-reactive protein levels were elevated in four out of the six patients. Sixty-seven percent of the vaginal cultures were positive for bacteria. Chorioamnionitis was present in seven women. Conclusions: For the prediction of preterm birth in patients with a history of conization, it is helpful to look for signs of local infection when the cervical length is less than 25 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sphingolipids display a wide spectrum of biological activities, including cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. However, precise mechanisms by which these compounds exert anticancer or cancer-preventive effects are not known. In the present study, we evaluated the preventive efficacy of enriched dietary monoglucosylceramide 1-O-β-glucosyl- N-2′-hydroxyarachidoyl-4,8-sphingadienine (G1CM) on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced aberrant crypt foci (ACF) and β-catenin-accumulated crypt (BCAC) formation in F344 rats during initiation stage. We also examined whether G1CM affects cell proliferation and apoptosis in these lesions. Pure G1CM was isolated from rice bran. Forty-two rats were divided randomly into five experimental groups. Rats in groups 1–3 were given subcutaneous injections of DMH (40 mg/kg body weight) once a week for 2 weeks. One week before the first injection of DMH, rats in groups 2 and 3 were fed a diet containing 200 and 1000 p.p.m. G1CM, respectively, for 5 weeks. Rats in group 4 were fed a diet containing 1000 p.p.m. G1CM. Rats in group 5 were given the basal diet alone and served as untreated controls. The experiment was terminated 5 weeks after the start. Dietary G1CM at both doses (groups 2 and 3) significantly inhibited the induction of ACF and BCAC ( P < 0.001) when compared to group 1 treated with DMH alone. In groups 2 and 3, the proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling indices of epithelial cells in ACF and BCAC were also lower than in group 1 ( P < 0.0001 for ACF, P < 0.05 for BCAC). These results, that dietary G1CM has possible chemopreventive effects in the present short-term colon carcinogenesis bioassays, suggest that longer exposure may cause suppression of tumor development. ( Cancer Sci 2005; 96: 876–881) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We experienced an extremely rare tumor in the female urethral orifice in a 57-year-old Japanese woman. To our knowledge, only two cases of primary urethral carcinoid tumor have been reported. The previous reports of urethral carcinoid tumor were recognized in the male middle urethra and penile urethra. The present case was resected, and diagnosed as a carcinoid tumor by histological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural findings. The tumor cells were stained by chromogranin A, synaptophsin and neuron-specific enolase, and neurosecretory granules were confirmed with electron microscopy. The patient did not complain of any symptoms until 5 years after the resection of the tumor. Therefore, the case we describe here is the first known report of carcinoid tumor in the Japanese female urethra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]