Tumor budding in cervical carcinoma: Associations with some clinical and pathological factors

Background: Tumor budding is recognized as an important independent prognostic factor in colorectal carcinoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the grade of tumor budding and association with other clinical and pathological features in patients with cervical carcinoma. Material and methods: We evaluated pathohistological data from 91 cervical carcinoma patients (mean age: 53.8 years) who underwent radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphatic dissection at the Oncology Institute of Vojvodina between January 2010 and December 2018. Tumor budding was evaluated in invasive front of the tumor. Based on the number of bud counts/10 high power field, three groups were formed: with no budding, with less than 15 buds, and with more than 15 buds. Results: Eighty (87.91%) of evaluated cervical carcinomas were squamous-cell type, while 12.09% were adenocarcinomas. All carcinomas were graded (HG1-HG3). Average diameter of the tumors was 25 mm (81.6% < 4 cm and 18.4% > 4 cm). Metastases in lymph nodes were present in 30 (32.9%) cases. Based on the number of bud counts/10 high power field there were 35.1% with no budding, 32.9% with less than 15 buds and 37.3% with more than 15 buds. There was a significant association between tumor budding grade and histological grade (p=0.04), as well as with tumor budding grade and the diameter of the tumor (p=0.04). Conclusion: As a quantitative measure of cancer cell dissociation, tumor budding is associated with poor prognosis in cervical carcinoma and should be considered as a prognostic factor.

Stromal scoring in advanced colon and rectal cancer: Stroma-rich tumors and their association with aggressive phenotypes

Background: Our aim was to explore relevance of the proportion between neoplastic cell component and tumor-associated stroma in order to assess its association with confirmed aggressive phenotypes of right/left colon and rectum cancers in a large series of patients. Methods: The quantification of stroma component was performed in patients diagnosed with colorectal adenocarcinoma who underwent surgical resection. The analyzed variables were age, gender, anatomical/pathological features, and tumor-stroma proportion. Tumor-stroma proportion was estimated based on slides used in routine pathology for determination of T status and was described as low, with a stromal percentage ?50% or high, with a stromal percentage >50%. The tumor-stroma proportion was estimated by two observers, and the inter-observer agreement was assessed. Results: The sample included 390 colorectal adenocarcinoma patients. Stroma-rich tumors were observed in 53.3% of cases. Well-differentiated tumors had the lowest stromal proportions (p = 0.028). Stroma-poor tumors showed less depth of invasion (p<0.001). High stromal content was observed in association with tumor budding, perineural, angiolymphatic, and lymph node involvement, and distant metastasis (p?0.001). Colorectal adenocarcinoma without lymph node or distant metastasis involvement had lower stromal proportion, while metastatic ones exhibited high stromal content (p <0.001). The inter-rater reliability (concordance) between the estimations of pathologists for tumor-stroma proportions was high (?=0.746). Conclusion: The tumorstroma proportion in colorectal adenocarcinoma was associated with adverse prognostic factors, reflecting the stage of the disease. Stroma-rich tumors showed a significant correlation with advancement of the disease and its aggressiveness. Due to its availability tumor-stroma proportion evaluation has high application potential and can complement current staging system for colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Late diagnosis of pheochromocytoma in pregnancy with poor fetal outcome

Pheochromocytomas are rare tumors producing catecholamines that could be a cause of secondary hypertension. On that basis, pheochromocytoma can occur as an extremely rare cause of hypertension in pregnancy and if diagnosed late can lead to adverse maternal-fetal outcome. In this case report we describe a case of pheochromocytoma affected pregnancy with poor fetal outcome. A 27-year-old pregnant woman was admitted for severe pre-eclampsia due to pre-gestational hypertension that was diagnosed during the first trimester. Due to high and uncontrolled maternal blood pressure and the worsened maternal-fetal condition after the admission induction of fetal lung maturity and emergency cesarean section were performed, but with poor fetal outcome. Later, an adrenal gland mass was identified using abdominal ultrasound and confirmed by computed tomography. After surgical adrenalectomy blood pressure of the patient was normalized. Pheochromocytoma should be considered as a possible cause of hypertensive disorder during pregnancy, particularly in cases of severe and unresponsive hypertension in order to provide for timely and appropriate treatment.

Special aspects of medical care for cancer patients during COVID-19 pandemic

The biggest challenge for the World Health Organization today is the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The current situation prompted major adjustments in the system of cancer care. In this review, we investigate the aspects of cancer treatment and care during the pandemic, since in this setting oncological services face challenges in determining the feasibility of anticancer treatments while minimizing the risk of infection. Cancer patients are at a higher risk from COVID-19 disease. Therefore, oncological community is discussing on the priorities for providing cancer therapies and care and at the same time minimizing the risk of infection.

Synovial sarcoma of the popliteal fossa

Soft tissue sarcomas are heterogeneous group of neoplasms making up to 1% of all malignant tumors in the adult population. The tumor generally appears on the extremities near large joints of middle-aged patients, especially in the popliteal fossa. Our patient presented in February 2014 due to a slowly enlarging, darker-colored swelling in the left popliteal fossa. Upon physical examination, a somewhat nodular, immobile, tender subcutaneous mass was observed. There was no locoregional lymphadenopathy. Patohistological findings showed a high-grade primary malignant mesenchymal tumor, biphasic synovial sarcoma type. The patient underwent surgery with wide surgical excision, followed by radiotherapy treatment. Magnetic resonance imagining follow up after one year revealed tumor recurrence. Neurovascular bundle involvement was detected, but without adjacent bone and muscular invasion and above-the-knee partial amputation of the left leg was performed. The intervention resulted in a remission of the neoplastic process and the patient was scheduled for regular check-ups. Broad surgical resection of the tumor with negative margins was the primary treatment in this case. Mutilating operations are necessary when anatomical structures around the tumor do not allow complete reintervention.

Paraovarian cyst as the cause of uterine prolapse

Paraovarian cysts originate from the mesothelium and are presumed to be remnants of M?llerian or Wolffian ducts. In majority of cases they are found to be 10-80 mm in diameter and do not cause any symptoms. Paraovarian cysts can be found unexpectedly during an operation or on ultrasound examination performed for other reasons. They are most freequently discovered on ultrasound examination. However, due to the proximity of the ovary for which cystic formations are not rare, the diagnosis of these lesions can be a challenge. They are mostly asymptomatic and only large lesions (?20 cm in diameter) become symptomatic. Although these are mostly benign tumors, in rare cases they can become borderline or true malignancies. Most paraovarian cysts are found in the third and fourth decade of life. Paraovarian cyst complications include: compression of the surrounding structures of the pelvis minor and abdomen, pelvic pain, cyst torsion and rupture. Except for the already mensioned complications available literature has so far failed to show cases of uterine prolapse caused by an increase of intra-abdominal pressure due to the expansive growth of giant paraovarian cystic formation.

Use of hyperthermal heating and intraoperatively administered applicator for the treatment of local malignant tumors

This article describes a method for non-contact local hyperthermal heating of patient's tissue using inductive electromagnetic radiation. The aim of the study was a theoretical and experimental assessment of the thermal and electromagnetic parameters of the proposed method based on heating of intraoperatively administered, personal, tissue-replacing applicator using induction magnetic field. Theoretical estimates of the thermal and electromagnetic parameters of this method were performed based on heat conduction equations. An experimental study of the process was carried out using originally designed laboratory inverter and confirmed theoretical calculations.

A case of recurring spinal ependymoma in 37-years old man after surgery and adjuvant therapy

We present the case of a 39-years old man who underwent three surgeries because of spinal ependymoma located in cauda equina region. He presented at the Oncology Institute of Vojvodina for combined adjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy after the second surgery. An MRI examination performed after six cycles of therapy showed no signs of disease. 26 months later, a follow-up MRI showed recurrence of disease in the form of small drop metastasis. Six months later, the patient underwent the third surgery. The patient is currently receiving another cycle of radiotherapy, and is scheduled for additional cycles of chemotherapy. Ependymomas are the most common spinal cord malignancy in adults. The symptoms are nonspecific which often causes a delay in diagnosis. An MRI examination of the spine with contrast admission is the study of choice for detecting spinal cord masses. Surgery is the first-line therapy for ependymomas. Recurrence rate is associated with the extent of surgical resection, with en bloc and gross-total resection being associated with lower rates of disease recurrence. In children under 3 years, adjuvant chemotherapy is advocated, while older children and adults undergo adjuvant radiotherapy or combined chemo- and radiotherapy in cases of subtotal resection or tumor recurrence.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the cancer survivors’ unmet needs measure among gynecological cancer patients in Indonesia

Background: The number of gynecological cancer survivors in Indonesia is growing, yet little is recognized about their supportive care needs due to a lack of validated assessment to measure them. This study aimed to culturally adapt the Cancer survivors? unmet needs into Indonesian language and to test its validity and reliability for Indonesian gynecological cancer patients. Methods: We performed the translation and adaptation of the Cancer survivors? unmet needs based on Beaton?s cross-cultural adaptation process of self-report measure. We then evaluated the psychometric properties of Cancer survivors? unmet needs -Indonesian with 298 participants from three hospitals across Indonesia. Results: Five factors were extracted from Exploratory Factor Analysis with factor loading >0.4. Cancer survivors? unmet needs - Indonesian had negative correlations with The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30, indicating that the higher score of unmet needs resulted in the lower score of quality of life. The Cronbach?s ? coefficient for the Cancer survivors? unmet needs - Indonesian ranged from 0.75-0.95. Conclusions: The Cancer survivors? unmet needs - Indonesian version offers a valid and reliable scale for assessing supportive care needs among Indonesian gynecological cancer patients. The Cancer survivors? unmet needs-Indonesian could help clinicians to assess supportive care needs among Indonesian gynecological cancer patients. The low-resource countries such as Indonesia could use the evidence from the Cancer survivors? unmet needs assessment to develop the supportive care service in the clinical settings.

Epidemiological and pathological characteristics of post-surgical cases of invasive breast cancer among ethnicities of Iran in 2018: A single center cross-sectional study

Background: Present study aimed to investigate immunohistochemical parameters in post-surgical cases of invasive breast cancer. Methods: In this single center cross-sectional study we investigated ethnicity, familial history, type of cancer, stage of cancer, lymph node positivity, bilateral involvement, metastasis and immunohistochemical parameters (estrogen and progesterone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, as well as frequency of triple positive and triple negative patients merely based on immunohistochemical parameters). Results: Frequency of positive familial history was 27.42% (16.31-38.52%). Lymph node involvement was detected in 55.93% (43.26-68.60%) of the cases. Frequency of positive HER2 was 38.60% (25.96-51.23%). There were 17.54% (7.67-27.42%) of triple positive and 7.02% (0.39-13.65%) of triple negative cases. The most common stage at the time of diagnosis was stage 3 with 43.33% (30.79-55.87%) frequency. In Lur/Lak population higher frequency of positive HER2 cases was detected whereas in Mazani population frequency of positive HER2 cases was low (p=0.0291). Conclusions: These results could contribute to understanding of breast cancer patterns among different ethnicities. In order to draw clear conclusion future investigations have to be done in several health centers, for longer time periods and with larger number of patients.