Objective: To examine the expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in type I and type II epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC) and its associations with outcomes. Methods: Records of 132 women with EOC were reviewed. Immunostaining of PD-L1 was performed with formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens. Expression of PD-L1 was classified into four categories (0; 1+; 2+; 3+) according to intensity of expression. Expression of PD-L1 ≥2+ was deemed to be high. Results: Of the 132 women, 75 (56.8%) and 57 (43.2%) women had type I and type II tumors, respectively. Approximately 70% of cases exhibited high PD-L1 expression. There was no significant difference in the rate of high PD-L1 expression between the two EOC types (65.3% versus 59.6%). In type I tumors, high PD-L1 expression was associated with more advanced stages (51.0% versus 34.6%), greater recurrence (46.9% versus 26.9%), and shorter median progression-free survival (27 months versus 62 months) than low expression. In type II tumors, there were no apparent differences between high and low expression of PD-L1 in terms of the percentage of advanced-stage tumors (82.6% versus 79.4%), recurrence (56.5% versus 58.8%), and median progression-free survival (21 months versus 24 months). Conclusion: high PD-L1 expression is associated with worse oncological outcomes in type I EOC. This finding emphasizes the merit of further studies to confirm this promising result and to determine the potential role of PD-L1 blockade therapy in type I EOC.

Background: Prurigo nodularis (PN) is a chronic pruritic skin disease which can greatly impact patients’ quality of life. Moreover, the pathogenesis remains unclear, making it a difficult-to-treat condition. Aims: To investigate the expression of interleukin-31 (IL-31) in serum and skin biopsy specimens of PN patients and healthy subjects and identify its possible correlation to disease severity and itch intensity. Methods: Patients with PN and healthy volunteers were recruited for the study. Expression levels of IL-31 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry. Baseline characteristics, disease activity, itch intensity, and related laboratory results were collected. Results: Forty-three PN patients and 31 healthy subjects participated in our study. The PN patients had significantly higher mean serum IL-31 levels than the healthy subjects (52.9 ± 18.2 versus 36.3 ± 10.7 pg/ml, p < 0.001). Epidermal and dermal PN lesions also exhibited significantly higher IL-31 expression compared with the healthy skin ( p < 0.001 and p = 0.01, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in serum or lesional expression of IL-31 by disease severity or itch intensity. Conclusion: Increased IL-31 expression in serum and PN lesions suggests that IL-31 has a potential role in the pathogenesis of PN.

No abstract

Spinal sparganosis of the cauda equina has been rarely reported. A 54-year-old man presented at the hospital after having experienced lower back pain for 10 months, progressive weakness and numbness of the left leg for 4 months, and urinary incontinence for 3 weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbosacral spine revealed a heterogeneous enhancing mass at the T12-S1 level. Spinal sparganosis was diagnosed by histological examination and molecular identification of the parasite in the tissue section. The patient was treated with a high dose of praziquantel because the parasitic mass was only partially removed and symptoms worsened following surgery.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic malignancy of plasma cell origin. Incidence of pleural effusion in multiple myeloma patients is approximately 6%. Myelomatous pleural effusions (MPE) are rare and occur in less than 1% of all MM cases. MPE is associated with advanced diseases, decreased survival time, and poor treatment response.In our case report, we describe a 59-year old man who presented with MPE at the initial diagnosis of MM. A diagnosis of MPE was reach through pleural fluid cytology and pleural tissue histology. The MPE had good response to initial dexamethasone without local therapy.