According to the classical dualistic model introduced by Bokhman in 1983, endometrial cancer (EC) is divided into two basic types. The prototypical histological type for type I and type II of EC is endometrioid carcinoma and serous carcinoma, respectively. The traditional classification is based on clinical, endocrine and histopathological features, however, it sometimes does not reflect the full heterogeneity of EC. New molecular evidence, supported by clinical diversity of the cancer, indicates that the classical dualistic model is valid only to some extent. The review updates a mutational diversity of EC, introducing a new molecular classification of the tumour in regard to data presented by The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network (TGCA).

PurposeBrachytherapy (BT), due to rapid dose fall off and minor set-up errors, should be superior to external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for treatment of lesions in difficult locations like nose and earlobe. Evidences in this field are scarce. We describe computed tomography (CT) based surface mould BT for non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC), and compare its conformity, dose coverage, and tissue sparing ability to EBRT.Material and methodsWe describe procedure of preparation of surface mould applicator and dosimetry parameters of BT plans, which were implemented in 10 individuals with NMSC of nose and earlobe. We evaluated dose coverage by minimal dose to 90% of planning target volume (PTV) (D90), volumes of PTV receiving 90-150% of prescribed dose (PD) (VPTV90-150), conformal index for 90 and 100% of PD (COIN90, COIN100), dose homogeneity index (DHI), dose nonuniformity ratio (DNR), exposure of organs. Prospectively, we created CT-based photons and electrons plans. We compared conformity (COIN90, COIN100), dose coverage of PTV (D90, VPTV90, VPTV100), volumes of body receiving 10-90% of PD (V10-V90) of EBRT and BT plans.ResultsWe obtained mean BT-DHI = 0.76, BT-DNR = 0.23, EBRT-DHI = 1.26. We observed no significant differences in VPTV90 and D90 between BT and EBRT. Mean BT-VPTV100 (89.4%) was higher than EBRT-VPTV100 (71.2%). Both COIN90 (BT-COIN90 = 0.46 vs. EBRT-COIN90 = 0.21) and COIN100 (BT-COIN100 = 0.52 vs. EBRT-COIN100 = 0.26) were superior for BT plans. We observed more exposure of normal tissues for small doses in BT plans (V10, V20), for high doses in EBRT plans (V70, V90).ConclusionsComputed tmography-based surface mould brachytherapy for superficial lesions on irregular surfaces is a highly conformal method with good homogeneity. Brachytherapy is superior to EBRT in those locations in terms of conformity and normal tissue sparing ability in high doses.

No abstract

Endometrial cancer is one of the most common malignancies of the reproductive female tract, with endometrioid endometrial cancer being the most frequent type. Despite the relatively favourable prognosis in cases of endometrial cancer, there is a necessity to evaluate clinical and prognostic utility of new molecular markers. MiRNAs are small, non-coding RNA molecules that take part in RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Altered expression of miRNAs may be associated with cancer initiation, progression and metastatic capabilities. MiRNA-205 seems to be one of the key regulators of gene expression in endometrial cancer. In this study, we investigated clinical and prognostic role of miRNA-205 in endometrioid endometrial cancer. After total RNA extraction from 100 archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues, real-time quantitative RT-PCR was used to define miRNA-205 expression levels. The aim of the study was to evaluate miRNA-205 expression levels in regard to patients’ clinical and histopathological features, such as: survival rate, recurrence rate, staging, myometrial invasion, grading and lymph nodes involvement. Higher levels of miRNA-205 expression were observed in tumours with less than half of myometrial invasion and non-advanced cancers. Kaplan-Maier analysis revealed that higher levels of miRNA-205 were associated with better overall survival (p = 0,034). These results indicate potential clinical utility of miRNA-205 as a prognostic marker.

Expression levels of miRNA-200c might be associated with clinicopathological factors and survival in endometrioid endometrial cancer.