Since uterine cervical cancer is regarded as a radiosensive tumor, ionizing radiation is the most frequently used treatment modality against the disease. Although the crucial end‑point is radiation‑induced cell death, the tumors are not equally sensitive to radiation. Determining the criteria that may be used to predict tumor radiosensitivity is of importance; however, little success has been achieved thus far. In radioresistant cases the therapeutic strategy should be changed, thereby avoiding ineffective or unnecessary treatment. Furthermore, identification of the underlying molecular processes leading to radioresistance may lead to novel radiosensitising strategies. Cervical smears were obtained from seven patients with locally advanced cervical cancer following each radiotherapy, and the radiation‑induced damage of cancer tissue was examined by routine cytology. Since the formation of DNA double‑strand breaks is considered critical for the cytocidal effect of radiation therapy, the molecular changes of the neoplastic cells were also assessed by laser scanning cytometry (LSC). Radiation‑induced morphological changes of cancer cells were evident at a dose of 7.2 Gy, whereas increased DNA content (or DNA index) was observed prior to the onset of morphological changes. Molecular change was detected earlier than the morphological change of the irradiated cancer cells, indicating the feasibility of LSC in predicting the radiosensitivity of cervical cancer tissue.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there have already been over 26 million people being infected and it is expected that the pandemic will not end in near future. Not only the daily activities and lifestyles of individuals have been affected, the medical practice has also been modified to cope with this emergency catastrophe. In particular, the cancer services have faced an unprecedented challenge. While the services may have been cut by the national authorities or hospitals due to shortage of manpower and resources, the medical need of cancer patients has increased. Cancer patients who are receiving active treatment may develop various kinds of complications especially immunosuppression from chemotherapy, and they and their carers will need additional protection against COVID-19. Besides, there is also evidence that cancer patients are more prone to deteriorate from COVID-19 if they contract the viral infection. Therefore, it is crucial to establish guidelines so that healthcare providers can triage their resources to take care of the most needed patients, reduce less important hospitalization and visit, and to avoid potential complications from treatment. The Asia and Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AOFOG) hereby issued this opinion statement on the management of gynecological cancer patients during the COVID-19.
Abstract Objective : Preoperative CT or MRI findings were compared with the results of staging laparotomy to evaluate the accuracy of CT or MRI for detecting pelvic and para‐aortic lymph‐node metastases. Methods : In evaluating CTs in 95 ovarian carcinomas, we examined plain and contrast images made in 1‐ to 1.5‐cm‐thick slices from the pubis to the xiphoid process. Lymph nodes 1.5 cm or larger were considered to be positive. MRIs of 60 uterine corpus carcinomas utilized T 1 ‐weighted contrast, T 2 ‐weighted, and short‐ inversion time inversion‐recovery (STIR) images. Results : CT had a sensitivity of 60.9% and a specificity of 93.1%. The positive and negative predictive values were 73.7% and 88.2%, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of CT for detecting para‐aortic lymph‐node metastases exceeded that for pelvic node metastases. The results of MRI indicated that the T 1 ‐weighted image and STIR image were the most accurate in identifying metastatic nodes. Conclusions : These results indicate that the most practical approach might be to search for enlarged lymph nodes by CT, and to follow‐up with MRI when CT scans are questionable.
Abstract Background Persistent infection of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 causes cervical cancer. To better understand immune responses to the prophylactic vaccine, HPV 16/18 L1 virus-like particles (HPV-VLPs), we investigated B cell epitopes of HPV16 L1-derived peptides. Methods Sera from mice immunized with HPV-16/18 L1 VLPs were analyzed for their IgG titers against 10 different HPV16 L1-derived peptides (20-mer) that contain human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-class I A-2, A-24 and class II DR. Results One 20-mer peptide at positions 300 to 319 was identified as a common B cell epitope in both Balb/c (H-2 d ) and C57BL/6 (H-2 b ) mice. Mapping analysis showed that the 10-amino-acid sequence at positions 304to 313 was an immunogenic portion. It is of note that the binding capability of this 10-mer peptide to the HLA-A2 and HLA-A24 molecules was confirmed by the HLA class I stabilization assay. In addition, one unique 20-mer was determined as a B cell epitope in each strain. Conclusions These results might provide new information for better understanding of immune responses to HPV 16 L1.
