Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the effects of long-term and short-term embryo culture to assess whether there is a correlation between culture duration and clinical outcomes. Methods: Embryos were divided into two study groups depending on whether their post-warming culture period was long-term (20–24 hours) or short-term (2–4 hours). Embryo morphology was analyzed with a time-lapse monitoring device to estimate the appropriate timing and parameters for evaluating embryos with high implantation potency in both groups. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust the confounding factors across groups. The grades of embryos and blastoceles, morphokinetic parameters, implantation rate, and ongoing pregnancy rate were compared. Results: No significant differences were observed in the implantation rate or ongoing pregnancy rate between the two groups (56.3% vs. 67.9%, p=0.182; 47.3% vs. 53.6%, p=0.513). After warming, there were more expanded and hatching/hatched blastocysts in the long-term culture group than in the short-term culture group, but there was no significant between-group difference in embryo grade. Regarding pregnancy outcomes, the completion of re-expansion was faster in women who became pregnant than in those who did not for both culture durations (long-term: 2.19±0.63 vs. 4.11±0.81 hours, p=0.003; short-term: 1.17±0.29 vs. 1.94±0.76 hours, p=0.018, respectively). Conclusion The outcomes of short-term culture and long-term culture were not significantly different in vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer. Regardless of the post-warming culture time, the degree of blastocyst re-expansion 3–4 hours after warming is an important marker for embryo selection.

Heterotopic pregnancy is rare event and the risk is increased with assisted reproductive technology procedures. Heterotopic cervical pregnancy is even more unusual. We report a rare case of heterotopic cervical pregnancy that was managed successfully. A 36-year-old women who conceived by IVF-ICSI was diagnosed with heterotopic cervical pregnancy. She visited the emergency room with vaginal bleeding at 5 weeks of gestation and underwent careful intracervical gestational sac reduction with forceps under abdominal guidance the next day. The postoperative course was uneventful and with regular check-ups, the intrauterine pregnancy (IUP) progressed unremarkably through 41 weeks with delivery of a healthy newborn. We reviewed a total of 37 cases of heterotopic pregnancy that have been reported in the English language literature. There have been many attempts to eliminate the cervical embryo while preserving the IUP, and complete cervical evacuation is important in order to avoid infection, bleeding, and premature birth.
Embryonic Structures ; Emergencies ; Female ; Gestational Sac ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Heterotopic ; Premature Birth ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted ; Surgical Instruments ; Uterine Hemorrhage

Endometrioid adenocarcinoma arising from endometriosis of the uterine cervix is rare in premenopausal woman. We describe here a patient with this condition and review the clinical and pathological features of these tumors. A 48-yr-old woman complaining of severe dysmenorrhea was referred for investigation of a pelvic mass. Total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were performed. Histological examination revealed an endometrioid adenocarcinoma directly adjacent to the endometriosis at the uterine cervix, with a transition observed between endometriosis and endometrioid adenocarcinoma. The patient was diagnosed as having endometrioid adenocarcinoma arising from endometriosis of the uterine cervix and underwent postoperative chemotherapy. Gynecologists and pathologists should be aware of the difficulties associated with a delay in diagnosis of endometrioid adenocarcinoma arising from endometriosis when the tumor presents as a benign looking endometrioma.
Carcinoma, Endometrioid/*diagnosis/etiology/pathology ; Cervix Uteri/*pathology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Endometrial Neoplasms/*diagnosis/etiology/pathology ; Endometriosis/complications/*diagnosis/pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Ovariectomy

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between metabolic syndrome and stress urinary incontinence. METHODS: Based form 362 case, the risk factors including the parameters of metabolic syndrome for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) were analyzed retrospectively: body mass index (BMI), hypertension, insulin resistance, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol. RESULTS: The risk for metabolic syndrome were associated positively with SUI. Women with the risks for metabolic syndrome had 2.503 times of the odds for SUI compared without the risks for metabolic syndrome (95% CI 1.28-4.87, p<0.001). The independent risk factors for SUI were BMI (OR 3.574 ; 95% CI 0.09-0.31, p<0.001) and insulin resistance (OR 2.563 ; 95% CI 0.04-0.31, p=0.011) by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that metabolic syndrome was the important factor of the stress urnary incontinence. And we confirmed the need for the treatment of metabolic disturbance and the prevention of metabolic syndrome aimed at correcting hormonal-metabolic disturbance in middle-aged and older women with SUI.
Body Mass Index ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Insulin Resistance ; Risk Factors ; Urinary Incontinence

Small cell carcinoma of ovary is extremely rare. This neoplasms compose predominantly or exclusively of small round cells with scant cytoplasm. There are two types of primary small cell carcinoma of ovary described in the literature : the hypercalcemic type and the pulmonary type. The first 11 patients with a primary ovarian small cell carcinoma of the pulmonary type were described by Eichorn et al. in 1992. The prognosis of this tumor is very poor and only limited data on the treatment of this tumor type are available. In the present case report, we describe a patient with the pulmonary type of small cell carcinoma associated with huge mucinous cystadenocarcinoma with a brief review of the concerned literatures.
Carcinoma, Small Cell ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; Cytoplasm ; Female ; Humans ; Mucins ; Ovary ; Prognosis

Massive perivillous fibrin deposition (MFD) is a rare condition characterized by heavy accumulation of fibrin in intervillous or perivillous spaces encasing villi throughout the placenta. This condition may cause varying degrees of placental insufficiency, leading to a significantly increased risk of intrauterine growth retardation, intrauterine death, and pre-term delivery. However, the objective criteria for the diagnosis of MFD have not been clearly established. We report a case of MFD associated with intrauterine growth retardation and preterm premature rupture of membranes.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the metabolic syndrome and the clinicopathologic prognostic factors of endometrial cancer results from 35 surgically staged patients and to find out those novel prognostic factors. METHODS: This study is based on 35 endometrial cancer patients. Difference of survival rate in the following histologic parameters and parameter of metabolic syndrome was analyzed: age, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, insulin resistance, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol, FIGO stage, tumor grade, myometrial invasion, cervical involvement, adnexal metastasis, and lympho-vascular space invasion (LVSI). Concerning lymph node involvement, the ratio of metastatic lymph node to dissected lymph node (metastatic ratio: MR) was calculated in total pelvic lymph node. MR was divided into less than 0.5 to more than 0.5. In each group, 5-year survival rate (5YSR) was analyzed and compared. RESULTS: The overall 5YSR for all 35 patients was 78.8%. The 5YSR for insulin resistance and normal insulin tolerance were 94.1%, 33.6% (p=0.009). LVSI, adnexal metastasis and MR of pelvic lymph node were independent prognostic factors for the endometrial cancer patients. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that there was a relationship between insulin resistance and endometrial cancer and we confirmed the need for the treatment of metabolic disturbance and the prevention of metabolic syndrome aimed at correcting hormonal-metabolic disturbance in endometrial cancer patients. The MR of pelvic lymph node is thought that one of the most important prognostic factor of the endometrial cancer.
Body Mass Index ; Endometrial Neoplasms* ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Survival Rate ; Triglycerides

Female adnexal tumors of probable Wolffian origin (FATPWO) were first reported in 1973 and the disease is a rare clinical entity. They are often found in the leaves of the broad ligament, ovary and paravaginal tissue. We report a 40-year-old woman who presented with both adnexal masses filling the pelvic cavity which were hard and fixed on palpation, and the masses were radiologically diagnosed as both ovarian fibroma-thecomas on the CT scan. The left adnexal mass was surgically excised and pathologically proved to be fibroma, the left adnexal mass was excised and pathologically proved to be FATPWO.
Adult ; Broad Ligament ; Female* ; Fibroma ; Humans ; Ovary ; Palpation ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil plus cisplatin) on tumor cell morphology and apoptosis by analyzing the consecutive changes of apoptotic index (AI) and histology observed in the serially obtained cervical cancer tissues during the chemotherapy. METHODS: Cervical cancer tissues were obtained by punch biopsy just before starting the each cycle of neoadjuvant chemotherapy from five patients with locally advanced disease (stage IIb-IIIb), but previously untreated squamous cell carcinoma of uterine cervix. All patients were treated with three cycles of 5-fluorouracil (1,000 mg/m2 at day #1-5) and cisplatin (60 mg/m2 at day #1) at 3 weeks interval. All H & E stained cervical cancer tissue slides were scored for apoptotic index and observed for microscopic changes of tumor cells by a pathologist. RESULTS: After the first cycle of chemotherapy, AI was significantly increased (from 2 times to 8 times). And widespread injury to cytoplasm was observed and followed by karyorrhexis and karyolysis of nucleus of tumor cells. The size of tumor nests was reduced and it was also noted that fibrosis and infiltration of inflammatory cells were increased. The parts of tumor nests were replaced by mature squamous cells and the changes in nuclear morphologic features pointing in a more differentiated direction. But after the second cycle of chemotherapy, only one patient showed an increase in AI by 1.2 times over that after the first cycle of chemotherapy. The rest showed slight decreases in AI compared to that after the first cycle of chemotherapy. In addition, fewer microscopic morphologic changes of tumor cells induced by chemotherapy were observed after the second cycle of chemotherapy compared to those after the first cycle of chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: We found that AI hardly increased or rather decreased, and that microscopic changes of tumor cells were fewer after the second cycle of neoadjuvant chemotherapy compared to the situation after the first cycle of chemotherapy. Thus, we could deduce that chemoresistance might rapidly develop in cervical cancer cells after the first cycle of neoadjuvant chemotherapy using 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin. So we need to consider this problem when we treat the locally advanced cervical cancer patients with neoadjuvant chemotherapy using 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin.
Apoptosis ; Biopsy* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cervix Uteri ; Cisplatin* ; Cytoplasm ; Drug Therapy* ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Fluorouracil* ; Humans ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to establish a clinically applicable culture system by investigating the use of autologous cord blood plasma (ACBP) instead of fetal bovine serum (FBS) for the ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood (UCB) T-lymphocytes. METHODS: Fresh UCB mononuclear cell (MNC) fractions were isolated by Ficoll-Hypaque density centrifugation. The nonadherent MNC fractions were then cultured with the anti-CD3 antibody 5 microgram/mL plus IL-2 175 U/mL in the presence of 10% FBS, 10% ACBP or homologous cord blood plasma (HCBP). On day 8, proliferation rate, cell surface markers, cytotoxic assay of UCB T-lymphocytes according to the medium supplemented with FBS, ACBP or HCBP were evaluated. RESULTS: Proliferation studies demonstrated a significant increase in the proliferative ability of UCB T-lymphocytes incubated in anti- CD3 and IL-2 irrespective of the medium supplemented with FBS or ACBP. In the FBS supplemented medium, expressions of the activated T-lymphocytes were increased significantly after culture: CD3+CD8+, CD3+CD25+, CD3+CD38+, and CD45RO+ (p<0.05). Also in the ACBP supplemented medium, expressions of the activated T-lymphocytes were increased significantly after culture: CD3+ CD8+, CD3+CD25+, and CD45RO+ (p<0.05). In the HCBP supplemented medium, expressions of the activated T-lymphocytes were increased significantly after culture as in the ACBP: CD3+CD8+, CD3+CD25+, and CD45RO+ (p<0.05). Of the activated T-lymphocytes, increase of cytotoxic CD3+CD8+ cells increased significantly in the ACBP and HCBP groups compared to FBS group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings support the feasibility of ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood T-lymphocytes in the medium supplemented with autologous cord blood plasma, instead of fetal bovine serum, for future adoptive cellular immunotherapy.
Centrifugation ; Fetal Blood* ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive ; Interleukin-2 ; Plasma* ; T-Lymphocytes* ; Umbilical Cord*