Diagnostic and predictive accuracy of anti-mullerian hormone for ovarian function after chemotherapy in premenopausal women with early breast cancer

Purpose Accurate diagnosis and prediction of loss of ovarian function after chemotherapy for premenopausal women with early breast cancer (eBC) is important for future fertility and clinical decisions regarding the need for subsequent adjuvant ovarian suppression. We have investigated the value of anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) as serum biomarker for this. Methods AMH was measured in serial blood samples from 206 premenopausal women aged 40–45 years with eBC, before and at intervals after chemotherapy. The diagnostic accuracy of AMH for loss of ovarian function at 30 months after chemotherapy and the predictive value for that of AMH measurement at 6 months were analysed. Results Undetectable AMH showed a high diagnostic accuracy for absent ovarian function at 30 months with AUROC 0.89 (96% CI 0.84–0.94, P < 0.0001). PPV of undetectable AMH at 6 months for a menopausal estradiol level at 30 months was 0.77. In multivariate analysis age, pre-treatment AMH and FSH, and taxane treatment were significant predictors, and combined with AMH at 6 months, gave AUROC of 0.90 (95% CI 0.86–0.94), with PPV 0.79 for loss of ovarian function at 30 months. Validation by random forest models with 30% data retained gave similar results. Conclusions AMH is a reliable diagnostic test for lack of ovarian function after chemotherapy in women aged 40–45 with eBC. Early analysis of AMH after chemotherapy allows identification of women who will not recover ovarian function with good accuracy. These analyses will help inform treatment decisions regarding adjuvant endocrine therapy in women who were premenopausal before starting chemotherapy.

Medical management versus surgical management in fibroid uterus

Background: Uterine fibroids (leiomyomas) are most common tumours of the uterine smooth muscles, appear to increase in incidence with age during reproductive years, with a peak in incidence between 35 to 40 years. Signs and symptoms of uterine fibroids include heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding, pain and pregnancy complications. Current management strategies mainly involve surgical interventions, but choice of treatment is guided by patient’s age and desire to preserve fertility or avoid ‘radical’ surgery such as hysterectomy.Methods: It is the prospective observational study conducted in inpatients of department of OBGY at tertiary care hospital, admitted during the period of June 2019 to May 2021. Outcome measured in terms of relief of symptoms, decrease in size of fibroid, requiring subsequent surgery, quality of life, blood transfusion requirements, length of stay in hospital, successful pregnanciesResults: Of patients treated with ulipristal, 78.57% had improved quality of life, in patients treated with leuprolide, 57.14% showed improved quality of life, with mifepristone 80% patients showed improved quality of life and with LNG 100% patients responded to it. All patients treated surgically, showed relief of symptoms.Conclusions: Medical line of management is best for patients in younger age group, small size fibroid, desire for future fertility. Uterus sparing option like myomectomy is done in patients not responding to medical line of management and desire for future fertility. Hysterectomy is definitive line of management for patients with fibroid uterus.

A Warning Call for Fertility Preservation Methods for Women Undergoing Gonadotoxic Cancer Treatment

Malignant hematological conditions have recognized an increased incidence and require aggressive treatments. Targeted chemotherapy, accompanied or not by radiotherapy, raises the chance of defeating the disease, yet cancer protocols often associate long-term gonadal consequences, for instance, diminished or damaged ovarian reserve. The negative effect is directly proportional to the types, doses, time of administration of chemotherapy, and irradiation. Additionally, follicle damage depends on characteristics of the disease and patient, such as age, concomitant diseases, previous gynecological conditions, and ovarian reserve. Patients should be adequately informed when proceeding to gonadotoxic therapies; hence, fertility preservation should be eventually regarded as a first-intention procedure. This procedure is most beneficial when performed before the onset of cancer treatment, with the recommendation for embryos or oocytes’ cryopreservation. If not feasible or acceptable, several options can be available during or after the cancer treatment. Although not approved by medical practice, promising results after in vitro studies increase the chances of future patients to protect their fertility. This review aims to emphasize the mechanism of action and impact of chemotherapy, especially the one proven to be gonadotoxic, upon ovarian reserve and future fertility. Reduced fertility or infertility, as long-term consequences of chemotherapy and, particularly, following bone marrow transplantation, is often associated with a negative impact of recovery, social and personal life, as well as highly decreased quality of life.

Fertility of Cryptorchid Testis—An Unsolved Mistery

Cryptorchidism (undescended testis) is one of the most common diagnoses in the pediatric urologist office. Even in the modern era, there still are a lot of debates regarding the optimal time for surgery related to the expected results in relation with the testicular function, including fertility. The review below intends to clarify issues regarding the impact of cryptorchidism on testicular histology and function, semen analysis, the relation between hormonal and surgical treatment, future fertility, and paternity rate.

Clinical case of expectant tactics of scar pregnancy and childbirth in the III trimester

One of the rare complications of a previous cesarean section is pregnancy with implantation in the area of the postoperative scar. The literature describes isolated reports of this pathology, which relate to early pregnancy. The forecast and tactics of their management are debatable issues.This article presents a case of successful monitoring of pregnancy and childbirth of a patient with a combined pathology: the placenta in the area of the cesarean scar with its diastase and central placenta previa with the germination of the uterine wall.The 34-year-old pregnant woman (III pregnancy and II expected childbirth) during ultrasound examination central a placenta previa was diagnosed. It had ingrowth into the uterine wall creating defect of the cesarean scar. Informed about the possible risks, patient strongly insisted on prolonging the pregnancy. Since 23 weeks she was in an obstetric hospital for the possibility of urgent surgery. Within 37 weeks, a planned caesarean section was performed by bottom access with subsequent extirpation of the uterus. Literary data from different countries almost all describe the completion of cesarean scar pregnancy in the first and second trimesters. Due to the rarity, heterogeneity of groups and the lack of a single protocol for the management of this pathology, combined or modified approaches to treatment are more often used. Primary prevention should begin at the stage of preventing a high frequency of cesarean section, reviewing the indications for it and conducting a truly justified surgery. Preconceprion care should be mandatory when planning the next pregnancy. Great attention should be paid to the localization of the chorion in the protocol of the screening ultrasound examination of the first trimester if there is uterine scar. In the case of a cesarean scar pregnancy, we cannot recommend an expectant tactics at this stage. Any method that eliminates cesarean scar pregnancy, especially in the early term, will saving the body and future fertility, as well as reduces morbidity and mortality.

Unmet need for family planning and factors associated among women living with HIV in Oromia regional state, Ethiopia

Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of the unmet need and identifying factors associated with the unmet need among women of reproductive age living with HIV in Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. One critical component of both a full range of contraceptives and satisfying demand for family planning with HIV services all women living with HIV is the appropriate model for HIV therapy, HIV prevention, and care with family planning services in a resource-limiting area like Ethiopia. Methods Health facility-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among women living with HIV attending ART clinics in the special zone of, Oromia regional state, by simple random sampling was used to select 654 respondents. Both bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions analysis was used to identify at adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI in the final model. Result The study assessed the magnitude of demand for family planning among HIV-infected women and established that the demand was 630 (96.3%), of which 100 (16%) of women of reproductive age living with HIV had unmet needs for family planning while attending monthly ART clinic drug refilling and follow up. This study identified that factors found to be associated with met needs for family planning among women of reproductive age living with HIV attending ART/PMTC were discussions with healthcare providers (AOR = 4.33, 95% CI 2.56–7.32), previous pregnancy (AOR = 3.07, 95% CI 1.84–5.12); future fertility desire (AOR = 2.15, 95% CI 1.31–3.51); having sexual partners (AOR = 5.26, 95% CI 1.79–15.5) and the number of the sexual partner (one) (AOR = 7.24, 95% CI 1.82–28.74) were identified independent predictors of met needs for family planning. Conclusion The overall demand for family planning was 96% among the women living with HIV, and that 16% of women had an unmet need for family planning. The authors conducted a logistic regression and find various dependent variables that are associated with the met need for family planning services, such as having discussions with healthcare providers, having a partner and previous pregnancy; future fertility desire, the last pregnancy being intended. These results are interpreted to suggest that clear policy implications of family planning must be better integrated into ART clinics.

Fertility Preservation: How to Preserve Ovarian Function in Children, Adolescents and Adults

Chemotherapy, pelvic radiotherapy and ovarian surgery have known gonadotoxic effects that can lead to endocrine dysfunction, cessation of ovarian endocrine activity and early depletion of the ovarian reserve, causing a risk for future fertility problems, even in children. Important determinants of this risk are the patient’s age and ovarian reserve, type of treatment and dose. When the risk of premature ovarian insufficiency is high, fertility preservation strategies must be offered to the patient. Furthermore, fertility preservation may sometimes be needed in conditions other than cancer, such as in non-malignant diseases or in patients seeking fertility preservation for personal reasons. Oocyte and/or embryo vitrification and ovarian tissue cryopreservation are the two methods currently endorsed by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, yielding encouraging results in terms of pregnancy and live birth rates. The choice of one technique above the other depends mostly on the age and pubertal status of the patient, and personal and medical circumstances. This review focuses on the available fertility preservation techniques, their appropriateness according to patient age and their efficacy in terms of pregnancy and live birth rates.

Arteriovenous Malformation of the Uterus: A Review and Update.

Arteriovenous malformation of the uterus (AVMU) is a very rare and uncommon condition, because it has been documented that less than 100 cases of AVMU have been reported in the literature. AVMU is potentially a life-threatening condition with regard to the fact that some cases of AVMU could manifest with profuse bleeding from the uterus via the vagina. AVMU could either be congenital AVMU which is less common or acquired AVMU with pregnancy noted to have a role to play in the pathogenesis of AVMUs. The true incidence of AVMU is stated to be difficult to ascertain in view of the fact that some cases of bleeding that have been caused by AVMU do tend to conservative, medical management and many of these AVMUs could remain undiagnosed. The most common manifestations of AVMUs tend to be abnormal uterine bleeding that could be episodic, intermittent, continuous, mild or torrential which could lead to severe anaemia or shock. Some AVMUs could be found incidentally based upon radiology imaging for a different condition. Other symptoms of AVMUs do include: Metrorrhagia; Menorrhagia; Bleeding following a miscarriage; Bleeding following dilatation and curettage; Bleeding subsequently after hysterectomy; Bleeding associated with trophoblastic disease; Bleeding following caesarean section; Post-partum haemorrhage; Intermittent vaginal bleeding; Continuous vaginal bleeding; Post-menopausal bleeding; Acute abdominal pain with hemoperitoneum; Pallor; Dizziness; Weakness; Drowsiness; Being unwell following delivery of a baby; Bleeding following therapeutic abortion; Tachycardia; Supra-pubic pain at times; hypotension. Diagnosis of AVMU tends to be made based upon radiology imaging with utilization of ultrasound scan / Doppler scan of the uterus and pelvis, Contrast Computed Tomography scan, and Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan, as well as by selective angiography which tends to be ensued by treatment with embolization of the feeding vessels to the AVMU. The treatment of AVMUs these days has ranged between conservative and medical management that includes hormones for small AVMUs, Hysterectomy, which tends to be a definitive treatment that removes the AVMU but does leave the individual not being able to maintain her future fertility, as well as selective angiography and super-selective embolization of the uterine arterial branches feeding the AVMU, which does tend to maintain the future fertility of the patients and which has the advantage of being undertaken under local anaesthesia. Questions that should be on the minds of clinicians include should doppler ultrasound scan of the uterus be undertaken with regard to all women who develop persistent vaginal bleeding pursuant to or during management of miscarriage, considering that there are very few interventional radiologists in many hospitals. This means that selective angiography plus super-selective embolization cannot be undertaken in district hospitals should all women who have suspected AVMU that have severe bleeding that may require surgical operation be referred to a tertiary hospital so that they could possibly benefit from the undertaking of selective angiography and embolization of their AVMUs instead of hysterectomy to enable them to maintain their future fertility? It is also important for clinicians to be made aware of the existence of AVMUs so that they could appreciate the risk factors as well as the clinical manifestations who should be suspected of possibly having AVMUs. Clinicians also need to learn about various conservative and expectant methods of treating AVMUs including hormonal treatment. Clinicians also need to appreciate the future implications for future fertility of women who have AVMUs. Possible treatment options that have not been utilized for the treatment of AVMUs include: (a) Radiology image-guided cryotherapy of AVMU, (b) Radiology image-guided radiofrequency ablation of AVMU, and (c) Radiology Image-guided Irreversible electroporation of AVMU. There is a global need for the training of more interventional radiologists all over the world including in the developing countries as well as some of the developed countries to that they can undertake embolization of AVMUs as well as they can provide various interventional radiology treatment options for various other conditions.