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Background: In Egypt, bladder cancer (BC) is the third common malignant tumor. The most important items of CSCs regulatory core are transcription factors like SOX2. The cell adhesion molecule CD44 has also been found as a cell surface marker with CSCs in multiple types of tumors, like BC. Aim: This study was conducted to detect the expression of SOX2 and CD44 and correlate their expression with the available pathological parameters. Materials and Methods: The study was done on 80 cases of BC (60 cases of transitional cell carcinoma, 17 cases of squamous cell carcinoma and three cases of adenocarcinoma), 20 specimens were collected by radical cystectomy and 60 specimens were collected by transurethral resection. The specimens were immunostained with SOX2 and CD44. Results: SOX2 was positive in 46 cases of urothelial carcinoma (76.7%), 11 cases of SCC (64.7%) and all adenocarcinoma cases. SOX2 immunostaining was significantly increased with muscular invasion, and high stage in urinary bladder carcinomas. CD44 was positive in 46/60 cases of urothelial carcinoma (76.7%) and all cases of squamous cell carcinoma. The basal cell layer of adjacent, apparently normal urothelium, was also expressed a positive reaction for CD44. There was significant inverse relation in statistics between CD44 and tumor grade. CD44 was also inversely correlated with muscle invasion. Conclusion: SOX2 overexpression could be used as a marker of poor progression in bladder carcinoma cases. It could be a target for an efficient therapeutic strategy of BC treatment, high grades and more liability for infiltration. BC is associated with low expression or complete loss of CD44 immune reactivity.

Introduction: Endometrial adenocarcinoma is characterized by a good prognosis. However, the disease response shows a significant heterogeneity. Treatment of endometrial cancer (EC) is still based on clinico-pathological parameters, which have limited role in risk stratification. There is a need for more determinant markers, such as L1 Cell Adhesion Molecule (L1CAM), to identify patients at higher risk of relapse and tailor a more convenient treatment. L1CAM has a capacity to enhance cell motility and promote tumor invasion in different malignancies. In Egypt, the incidence rate of EC is growing over time. Especially in Elgharbiah governorate (home of this study). L1CAM expression and Ki-67 was reported and compared with other clinico-pathological criteria. Method: Seventy-six female patients of endometrial carcinomas were involved in this prospective study. The patients were treated and followed up at Tanta University Hospitals in the period between January 2015 to April 2019. L1CAM expression and Ki-67 was detected by immuno-histochemical exam and compared with other clinico-pathological criteria. Survival was assessed and compared by Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test. Results: Positive L1CAM expression was detected in 17 patients (22.4%) and was significantly correlated with unfavorable prognostic factors such as higher stage and grade ( P= 0.021 and P =0.001 respectively), lympo-vascular invasion ( P <0.001), non-endometroid type ( P <0.027) and Ki-67 ( P= 0.003). Univariate analysis revealed that: positive L1CAM; higher tumor grade; high stage; and non-endometrioid type were significantly associated with shorter disease-free survival (DFS) but no significant correlation was detected between Ki-67 and DFS. In multivariate analysis, positive L1CAM remained statistically significant with DFS [P =0.045; 95%CI (1.028:11.17); HR=3.38]. Conclusion: Our study indicates that L1CAM expression and Ki-67 are significantly associated with poor tumor characteristics. L1CAM is significantly associated with shorter disease-free survival and may be a helpful tool as a part of a simple clinical molecular classification for EC.

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Background Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common disabling pelvic floor dysfunction, particularly among aging women. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with dynamic sequences has been proven reliable for detecting pelvic floor weaknesses, especially with multiple compartments defects. Since surgical and non-surgical management options exist, detailed imaging analysis and comprehension of the various surgical and non-surgical interventions are crucial for surgical planning and postoperative evaluation. However, patients often present with recurrent or new symptoms after surgery, where MR imaging is necessary to detect complications in this setting. We aimed to analyze MR images pre- and postoperative/intervention using the defect-specific approach aiming at better understanding of the underlying complication and/or the cause of recurrence. Results Thirty female patients with SUI were included in the study; 20 underwent surgery, 6 were treated by physiotherapy only, while 3 patients underwent both surgery and physiotherapy and 1 patient was treated conservatively. According to their clinical symptoms, patients with successful surgical/physiotherapy outcome were 18 cases (60%), while unsuccessful group comprised of 12 cases (40%) is classified as follows: persistent complaints subgroup 7 patients (23.3%), de novo complaint subgroup 2 patients (6.7%), while the complicated subgroup is comprised of 2 patients (6.7%) and the persistent/de novo complaints subgroup of the unsuccessful group is composed of 1 case (3.3%). They all underwent MRI of the pelvic floor with a standardized technique, pre- and postoperative/physiotherapy. Changes in level III endopelvic fascia defects between the pre- and postoperative/physiotherapy studies were statistically significant (p = 0.045). Urinary bladder and uterine descent were also found statistically significant between the pre- and postoperative/physiotherapy studies (p = 0.001 and p = 0.029, respectively). Comparing successful and unsuccessful groups pre- and postoperative/therapy, levator plate angle (LPA) was found statistically significant as well (p = 0.039 preoperative and p = 0.001 postoperative). Conclusions Analysis of the pre- and postoperative static and dynamic MRI sequences along with proper understanding of the preformed intervention can pinpoint the underlying pathology leading to the recurrent or de novo symptom and/or complications. The defect-specific approach can help determine the underlying pelvic floor defect by altering the MRI techniques tailored for each patient according to their complaint.