Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality rate among gynecologic malignancies. The main treatment options are surgical removal of the tumor and chemotherapy. Cancer treatment has been revolutionized by immunotherapy, which has developed explosively over the past two decades. Clinical anticancer strategies used in immunotherapy include therapies based on the inhibition of PD-1, PD-L1 or CTLA-4. Despite encouraging results, a large proportion of cancer patients are resistant to these therapies or eventually develop resistance. It is important to perform research that will focus on immunotherapy based on other immune checkpoint inhibitors. The aim of the review was to analyze studies considering the expression of TIM-3 and LAG-3 in the ovarian cancer microenvironment and considering immunotherapy for ovarian cancer that includes antibodies directed against TIM-3 and LAG-3. As the data showed, the expression of the described immune checkpoints was shown in different ways. Higher TIM-3 expression was associated with a more advanced tumor stage. Both TIM-3 and LAG-3 were co-expressed with PD-1 in a large proportion of studies. The effect of LAG-3 expression on progression-free survival and/or overall survival is inconclusive and certainly requires further study. Co-expression of immune checkpoints prompts combination therapies using anti-LAG-3 or anti-TIM-3. Research on immune checkpoints, especially TIM-3 and LAG-3, should be further developed.
Lead and cadmium are non-essential and toxic heavy metals. Their presence and elevated levels can lead to many pathologies. They disrupt the antioxidant properties of many enzymes, consume the resources of antioxidant cells, and thus participate in the generation of oxidative stress, which may result in DNA damage. In addition, they have been found to be carcinogenic through their genotoxic properties. They have been shown to be present in various types of cancer, including cancer of the female reproductive system. Both metals have been recognized as metalloestrogens, which are important in hormone-related cancers. Participation in the oncogenesis of ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancer was analysed in detail, using the available research in this field. We emphasize their role as potential biomarkers in cancer risk and diagnosis as well as advancement of gynaecological malignancies.
Anxiety is described as a feeling of fear that appears in stressful or threatening situations. A terrorist attack is one such situation. The aim of this study was to assess anxiety levels among students using the STAI questionnaire. The study group consisted of 510 participants. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica software. Anxiety levels, correlations between STAI scores, and individual variables were assessed. Logit models were performed for the study variables. Higher levels of anxiety were found in females compared to males (p = 0.0000). The highest level of anxiety overall was found in year 1 students, the lowest in year 5 students (p = 0.0005). The highest level of anxiety overall was found in pharmacy students, the lowest in midwifery students. We concluded that there was a relatively strong relationship between anxiety and gender. Gender and fear of an armed attack on Poland had a significant impact on anxiety.
Uterus didelphys occurs as a result of abnormal fusion of the paramesonephric ducts and is characterized by complete duplication of uterine horns, cervix, and very often also the vagina or presence of longitudinal vaginal septum. Most women with a uterus didelphys are asymptomatic; some cases may coincide with dyspareunia or dysmenorrhea. The anomaly is associated with a higher risk of miscarriage, preterm labor, breech delivery, and decreased live births. We present the case of a 26-year-old woman (primigravida) who was known to have uterus didelphys. The diagnosis was made when the patient was 23 years old using ultrasound and hysteroscopy. The patient became pregnant after 18 months of efforts. The patient was referred to prenatal care in the 13th week of pregnancy with vaginal bleeding. In the 23rd week of pregnancy, gestation cholelithiasis was diagnosed. The pregnancy progressed without obstetric complications and the fetus developed normally. Due to the vaginal septum and fact that the patient felt stressed, the pregnancy was terminated at term by cesarean section. We concluded that uterus didelphys can be asymptomatic making an early diagnosis difficult. A pregnancy belongs to a high-risk group and more attention should be paid to this case. Cesarean section should be considered, especially in case of the presence of vaginal septum.
Background: Breast cancer continues to be a significant diagnostic and therapeutic problem. Mastectomy is still a frequently used treatment method, but its form is changing with progress in medicine. Methods: We have described important types of surgical treatments for breast cancer, such as modified radical mastectomy, breast-conserving surgery, contralateral prophylactic mastectomy, and robotic mastectomy. Breast reconstruction is also a very important element of treatment because it directly affects the mental state of patients after the procedure. We have also described types of breast reconstruction, such as implants, acellular dermal matrices, autologous reconstruction, robotic breast reconstruction, and fat grafting. Results: The aim of our study was to compare available types of surgical treatment for breast cancer and breast reconstruction to help tailor personalized treatment to patients.
Acne vulgaris is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease, which is considered one of the diseases of civilization due to the significant influence of environmental factors on the severity and frequency of these lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hormonal profile of patients before treatment and to assess selected hormonal parameters after treatment. Our first objective was to examine the correlation between the selected hormonal parameters and the severity of acne before treatment. Our second objective was to evaluate the impact of treatment with three therapies, as measured by the selected hormonal parameters and acne severity. Statistical calculations were performed using the R v.4.1.1 statistical calculation environment (IDE RStudio v. 1.4.1717) with a significance level for the statistical tests set at α = 0.05. The results showed that the women in the pre-treatment (T1) and control (C) groups had significant differences in testosterone, androstendione, FAI, SHBG, prolactin, ACTH, and cortisol concentrations. After treatment, there were still significant differences in testosterone, androstendione, FAI, and SHBG concentrations between the post-treatment (T2) and control groups. We concluded that testosterone, androstendione, and cortisol concentrations correlate with acne severity. Acne in adult women may be an important clinical marker of androgen excess syndrome and cannot be considered a transient symptom of puberty. The mainstay of acne treatment is contraceptive therapy (ethonylestradiol and drospirenone). In this study, we confirmed the effectiveness of three contraceptive-based treatments using hormonal parameters and acne severity.