Microbiota unbalance in relation to high-risk human papillomavirus cervical infection.

OBJECTIVES: To assess vaginal dysfunction using basic vaginal states and the presence of lactobacillary microbiota in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection with no squamous intra-epithelial lesions (SIL), with low-grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions (L-SIL), and with high-grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions (H-SIL) or squamous cell carcinoma compared with a control group (HPV-negative); to establish the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis, and trichomoniasis in the different age groups; and to characterize the species of lactobacilli according to the type of lesion. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out of patients who underwent clinical examination and collection of vaginal fornixes to study basic vaginal states and culture. Species identification of lactobacilli was performed by mass spectrometry. The results were analyzed using the χ2 and Fisher's tests; p<0.05 was considered significant. High-risk viral types were determined using a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction test. RESULTS: A total of 741 patients were analyzed and divided into three age groups: Group 1 aged 18-24 years (n=138), Group 2 aged 25-50 years (n=456), and Group 3 aged >50 years (n=147). All groups were further divided into an HPV-negative (control) group and an HPV-positive group without lesions, with L-SIL, or with H-SIL/squamous cell carcinoma. The prevalence of unbalanced basic vaginal states in patients with H-SIL/squamous cell carcinoma was 72.7% (p=0.03) in Group 1, 53.1% (p=0.05) in Group 2, and no cases of unbalance were detected in Group 3. The prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in women with H-SIL/squamous cell carcinoma in Group 1 was 54.5% and in Group 2 was 43.7%. Patients with H-SIL/squamous cell carcinoma had a prevalence of 21.4% of Lactobacillus crispatus, 42.9% of L. jensenii, and 14.3% of L. iners. CONCLUSIONS: A greater unbalance of vaginal microbiota was observed in patients with SIL, especially in those with H-SIL/squamous cell carcinoma. In this group, an increase in L. jensenii and L. iners compared with control was found. L. crispatus had a similar prevalence to the control group. It is important to characterize the lactobacilli species since the unbalance alters the vaginal microenvironment and acts as a co-factor in the persistence of HPV infection.

High sensitivity and specificity rates of cobas® HPV test as a primary screening test for cervical intraepithelial lesions in a real-world setting.

Cervical carcinoma (CC) is the fourth most common malignancy among women. Screening with Papanicolau smear is linked to a reduction in CC incidence rates when screening programs have been developed. However, this technique has several limitations, including moderate sensitivity rates for detection of cervical preneoplastic HPV-related lesions. In this real-world study, we proposed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity rates of cobas® test, which amplifies target DNA fragments by polymerase chain reaction and hybridization of nucleic acids for the detection of 14 HR-HPV types in a single analysis) used as primary screening test for CC and preneoplastic lesions in women aged 25-65 years in a large University Hospital in Buenos Aires. A total of 1044 patients were included in the sample (median age: 46 years); sensitivity and specificity rates for the HR-HPV test used as primary screening test were 98.66% (95% confidence interval [95CI]: 97.67-99.3%) and 87.15% (95CI: 84.93-89.15%), respectively. The positive predictive value was 88.47% (95CI: 86.54%-90.42%) and the negative predictive value was 98.48% (95CI: 97.75%-99.23%). The cobas® HR-HPV testing was highly sensitive and specific for the detection of CC and preneoplastic lesions in real practice.

[Metastasis of medullary thyroid carcinoma to the endometrium: A case report and review of the literature]. / Metástasis de carcinoma medular de tiroides en endometrio: reporte de un caso y revisión de la literatura.

Uterine metastases from extra pelvic tumors are rare; involvement of the uterus is usually by direct neoplastic extension from adjacent organs. We report the case of a 68-year-old woman with a history of total thyroidectomy. She presented with urinary incontinence associated with episodes of metrorrhagia. Ultrasound showed a thickened endometrium. A legrado was performed and the biopsy revealed a proliferation of neoplastic cells with oval nuclei, «salt and pepper¼ chromatin, evident nucleoli and a moderate amount of eosinophilic cytoplasm. These cells were positive for CKAE1 / AE3, TTF-1, CEA and calcitonin. The histological and immunohistochemical findings corresponded to a metástasis from a medullary thyroid carcinoma. Although metastatic tumors in the uterus are extremely rare, they may give rise to abnormal uterine bleeding and should be considered when the patient's history and the histological findings are not characteristic of a primary lesion.