No abstract available.
Breast Neoplasms/*drug therapy ; Consent Forms/*statistics & numerical data ; Endometrial Neoplasms/*chemically induced ; Female ; Humans ; Patient Education as Topic/*statistics & numerical data ; Tamoxifen/*adverse effects/*therapeutic use

Female pelvic tuberculosis is almost invariably secondary to disease elsewhere, usually in the lungs. It is difficult to diagnose pelvic tuberculosis, because it is often a disease with absent or few non-specific symptoms. Pelvic tuberculosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of all ovarian mass and pelvic malignancy. We report a case of retroperitoneal tuberculous lymphadenopathy that may be mistaken for pelvic malignancy, because of the nonspecific clinical features and radiologic findings. The diagnosis was made post-operatively by histopathology.
Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Lung ; Lymphatic Diseases* ; Retroperitoneal Space ; Tuberculosis

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate Topotecan-, Cisplatin- and Taxol-induced apoptosis in five human ovarian cell lines as a measure of chemosensitiviy and relationship between apoptosis and p53 and bcl-2 gene expression. METHODS: In this study, the author is presenting data on apoptosis induced by Topotecan, Cisplatin and Taxol in five ovarian cancer cell lines, and represent different levels of sensitivities to Topotecan, Cisplatin and Taxol. This study also includes the interaction of these chemotherapeutic agents on ovarian cancer cell lines with respect to the apoptosis and cytotoxicity assay as a quantitative measure of the efficiency of killing. Presence of the p53 and bcl-2 gene product were examined by western blotting. RESULTS: The five cell lines represent various sensitivities to Topotecan, Cisplatin, Taxol (LD50 range of Topotecan, 30~1000 ng/ml; Cisplatin, 3~10 microgram/ml, Taxol 5~1000 nm). SKOV-3 represent a resistant cell line which was 2~30 times resistant to Topotecan, 3 times resistant to Cisplatin, and 2~200 times resistant to Taxol when compared to others. Demonstration of apoptosis correlated with the sensitivity of the cell lines to Topotecan, Cisplatin and Taxol for SNU-840 and OVCAR-3. DNA fragmentation of OVCAR-3 was uniformly present when treated with Topotecan, Cisplatin and Taxol, 24 or 48 hours. When sequencing experimetns were performed with correlated with cytotoxicity assays, except in SNU-251 cells where no signigicant difference was observed in different interactions of Topotecan, Cisplatin and Taxol. Pretreatment with Topotecan, Cisplatin at a 24 hour interval resulted in enhanced cytotoxicity. Quantitation of the fragmented DNA correlated with that seen on gel electrophoresis. CONCLUSION: The study indicate that the ability to achieve significant cytotoxicity by Topotecan, Cisplatin and Taxol may be related to the induction of apoptosis rather than necrosis. However, outcome of these treatments depend on cellular and genetic characheristics.
Apoptosis* ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line* ; Cisplatin* ; DNA ; DNA Fragmentation ; Electrophoresis ; Genes, bcl-2 ; Homicide ; Humans ; Necrosis ; Ovarian Neoplasms* ; Paclitaxel* ; Topotecan*

Cervical incompetence is characterized by painless dilation and effacement of the cervix in the second trimester of pregnancy leading to premature rupture of membranes and preterm delivery. Various surgical and nonsurgical approaches have been advocated as treatment for incompetent cervix. The most widely used surgical methods are the Shirodkar and McDonald methods of cervical cerclage. Shirodkar method is more difficult to perform than the McDonald method, but it makes it possible for the cervix to return to more anatomically safe position. We experienced two cases of mild amniotic membrane bulging associated with incompetent cervix; one during 28(+4) weeks of pregnancy and the other during 25(+6) weeks of pregnancy. We were able to perform the emergency cervical cerclage with Shirodkar method by using the allis clamp on the edge of the incision site to traction the dilated and effaced cervix effectively, and were able to maintain the two cases of pregnancy. Both delivered healthy babies at term. So we report this case with a brief review of literature.
Amnion ; Cerclage, Cervical* ; Cervix Uteri ; Emergencies* ; Female ; Humans ; Membranes ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Rupture ; Traction ; Uterine Cervical Incompetence

Cervical incompetence is characterized by painless dilation and effacement of the cervix in the second trimester of pregnancy leading to premature rupture of membranes and preterm delivery. Various surgical and nonsurgical approaches have been advocated as treatment for incompetent cervix. The most widely used surgical methods are the Shirodkar and McDonald methods of cervical cerclage. Shirodkar method is more difficult to perform than the McDonald method, but it makes it possible for the cervix to return to more anatomically safe position. We experienced two cases of mild amniotic membrane bulging associated with incompetent cervix; one during 28(+4) weeks of pregnancy and the other during 25(+6) weeks of pregnancy. We were able to perform the emergency cervical cerclage with Shirodkar method by using the allis clamp on the edge of the incision site to traction the dilated and effaced cervix effectively, and were able to maintain the two cases of pregnancy. Both delivered healthy babies at term. So we report this case with a brief review of literature.
Amnion ; Cerclage, Cervical* ; Cervix Uteri ; Emergencies* ; Female ; Humans ; Membranes ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Rupture ; Traction ; Uterine Cervical Incompetence

The standard treatment for epithelial ovarian cancer is maximal cytoreductive surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can be considered as an alternative treatment strategy when unacceptable primary surgery, in terms of gross residual tumor remaining at the end of cytoreduction, is expected or in cases where poor general condition renders extensive cytoreductive surgery unsuitable. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy is ideal for epithelial ovarian cancer because its spread is mainly limited to the peritoneal cavity. Several randomized controlled trials have reported a survival gain with intraperitoneal chemotherapy. However, disadvantages such as port-related complications, abdominal pain, and neurotoxicity hinder its wide use. Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) after cytoreductive surgery has been suggested as an alternative treatment strategy for intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Ongoing clinical trials of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy will quantify clinical outcomes in the future, such as the survival benefit in epithelial ovarian cancer.
Abdominal Pain ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Drug Therapy* ; Neoplasm, Residual ; Ovarian Neoplasms* ; Peritoneal Cavity