The immuno-inhibitory checkpoint PD-L1, regulated by tumor cells and antigen-presenting cells (APCs), dampened the activation of T cells from the PD-1/PD-L1 axis. PD-L1-expressing APCs rather than tumor cells demonstrated the essential anti-tumor effects of anti-PD-L1 monotherapy in preclinical tumor models. Using the murine tumor model, we investigated whether anti-PD-L1 antibody increased the antigen-specific immune response and anti-tumor effects induced by the antigen-specific protein vaccine, as well as the possible mechanisms regarding activation of APCs. Anti-PD-L1 antibody combined with the PEK protein vaccine generated more potent E7-specific immunity (including the number and cytotoxic activity of E7-specific cytotoxic CD8⁺ T lymphocytes) and anti-tumor effects than protein vaccine alone. Anti-PD-L1 antibody enhanced the maturation of dendritic cells and the proportion of M1-like macrophages in tumor-draining lymph nodes and tumors in tumor-bearing mice treated with combinatorial therapy. PD-L1 blockade overturned the immunosuppressive status of the tumor microenvironment and then enhanced the E7 tumor-specific antigen-specific immunity and anti-tumor effects generated by an E7-specific protein vaccine through modulation of APCs in an E7-expressing small tumor model. Tumor-specific antigen (like HPV E7 antigen)-specific immunotherapy combined with APC-targeting modality by PD-L1 blockade has a high translational potential in E7-specific cancer therapy.

The objective of this article was to report the clinicopathological characteristics, treatment modalities, and outcomes of patients with clear cell carcinoma (CCC) of the abdominal wall. Medical records of six patients diagnosed with CCC of the abdominal wall between May 2003 and May 2018 at the National Taiwan University Hospital were reviewed. All patients had prior obstetric or gynecologic surgeries. The primary clinical presentation was enlarging abdominal masses at previous surgical scars. Four patients underwent initial/primary surgeries with/without adjuvant chemotherapy. One patient received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgical intervention and adjuvant chemotherapy, the other received chemotherapy and sequential radiotherapy without any surgical intervention. Two of four patients undergoing initial/primary surgeries had disease recurrence and the remaining two cases without initial surgery experienced disease progression during primary treatment. Inguinal lymph nodes were the most frequent sites of recurrence. In conclusion, previous obstetric or gynecologic surgery can be a risk factor for CCC of the abdominal wall. Complete resection of abdominal wall tumor and suspected intra-abdominal lesions with hysterectomy and bilateral inguinal lymph nodes dissection may be the primary treatment. Adjuvant chemotherapy would be considered for potential benefits. For patients without bilateral inguinal lymph nodes dissection, careful inguinal lymph node palpation during postoperative surveillance is necessary. More cases are still needed to elucidate the clinical management of this disease.

The Eucalyptus tree, belonging to the myrtle family, grows all over the world for its pharmaceutical and industrial benefits. In this article, we present a comparative analysis of the chemical composition of the hydrodistilled oils obtained from three different Eucalyptus species growing in Egypt viz. E. citriodora, E. camaldulensis, and E. ficifolia. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometric guided analysis resulted in the identification of a total of 20 metabolites in E. citriodora oil with citronellal (54.9%) and citronellol (25.4%) being the most dominant components. β-cymene (12.7%) and 1,8-cineole (11.7%) were the major volatile constituents identified in E. camaldulensis oil, while trans-β-ocimene (22.4%), 1,8-cineole (13.5%), and L-trans-pinocarveol (12.5%) were the dominating components in the oil of E. ficifolia. The essential oils of the studied species were evaluated for their in vitro anti-inflammatory, antiviral including anti-SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2), antibacterial, and antifungal activities. E. citriodora oil displayed the highest inhibitory activity on the release of the superoxide radical (32%) and elastase enzyme (31%) in human neutrophils, while E. ficifolia oil had enhancing effects on elastase. The latter showed significant antiviral effects against hepatitis A, herpes simplex, and coxsackie viruses with IC₅₀ values at 2.1, 2.5, and 5.6 μg/mL, respectively. Moderate antibacterial and antifungal activities were observed for Eucalyptus oils with Staphylococcus aureus being the most susceptible bacterial strain. E. ficifolia oil, similarly, displayed the best antibacterial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value at ca. 25 μg/mL (for S. aureus). On the contrary, E. camaldulensis oil was the most active against Candida albicans with an MIC value at 45 μg/mL. In silico studies were performed with a number of macromolecular drug targets for confirming the biological activities of the identified compounds and for interpreting their ADME (absorption-distribution-metabolism-elimination) parameters.

Background: We investigated the agreement and accuracy of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with postoperative pathological characteristics and stages of endometrial endometrioid carcinoma (EEC).Methods: We recruited 527 women with EEC who underwent staging surgery at a single medical institution. The preoperative MRI, stages, and clinical and pathological parameters, including myometrial invasion (MI), cervical invasion (CI), adnexal metastasis (AM), intra‐abdominal metastasis, and pelvic and/or para‐aortic nodal metastasis, were recorded and analyzed. The agreement and accuracy between the preoperative MRI findings and these parameters and stages were assessed.Results: The rate of the preoperative MRI‐based clinical stage matching the postoperative surgical stage was 85.2% in International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IA, 51.9% in stage IB, 35.5% in stage II, 5.3% in stage IIIA, 33.3% in stage IIIB, 28.6% in stage IIIC1, 64.3% in stage IIIC2, and 93.8% in stage IVB. The consistency between radiologists and pathologists was 80.5% for deep MI, 91.5% for cervical invasion, 92.2% for adnexal metastasis, 98.9% for intra‐abdominal metastasis, and 87.5% and 92.2% for pelvic and para‐aortic nodal metastases, respectively. The negative predictive value of intra‐abdominal metastasis was the highest with 99.8%.Conclusions: Preoperative MRI could be an excellent tool for routine preoperative assessment to predict pathological parameters and stages of EEC, especially in excluding intra‐abdominal metastatic disease.

Lu HY, et al. J Gynecol Oncol. 2020 Oct;32:e18. https://doi.org/10.3802/jgo.2021.32.e18