Polycystic ovarian morphology in adolescents with regular menstrual cycles is associated with elevated anti-Mullerian hormone.

BACKGROUND: The significance of polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) during adolescence is not clear. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between PCOM and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), inhibin B, testosterone and insulin levels in healthy girls during the second decade of life. We also determined whether AMH could be used as a surrogate marker of PCOM during adolescence. METHODS: Seventy-four non-obese adolescents (age range: 13.5-19.75 years old) with regular menstrual cycles participated in this study. Transabdominal ultrasound and blood samples were obtained during the follicular phase. RESULTS: PCOM was present in 33.8% of the subjects. Girls with PCOM had higher AMH levels than girls without PCOM (72.5 ± 6.1 versus 33.4 ± 2.6 pmol/l; P < 0.0001) and lower FSH levels (5.4 ± 0.3 versus 6.2 ± 0.2 mUI/ml; P < 0.036). Similar levels of inhibin B, androgens and LH were observed in girls with and without PCOM. PCOM prevalence and AMH levels were not associated with age (P = 0.745 and 0.2, respectively) or BMI-SDS (P = 0.951 and 0.096, respectively). AMH levels positively correlated with the of 2-5 mm follicle number. AMH levels ≥ 60.15 pmol/l had a sensitivity and specificity of 64.0 and 89.8%, respectively, to diagnose PCOM (area under the curve = 0.873). CONCLUSIONS: These data confirm that PCOM in healthy non-hyperandrogenic girls with regular menstrual cycles is prevalent and is not associated with hyperandrogenism. The elevated AMH and lower FSH levels observed in healthy girls with regular menses and PCOM suggest that this ovarian pattern is secondary to a larger number of 2-5 mm follicles. An elevated AMH level is suggestive of the presence of PCOM during adolescence.

Endometrial cancer in polyps: a clinical study of 27 cases.

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION: To review risk factors, clinical presentation, diagnostic methods, and histopathologic findings in 27 cases of endometrial cancer in polyps. METHODS: A descriptive, retrospective study of 204 consecutive patients with endometrial carcinoma who were diagnosed at our institution between June 1998 to June 2001. Endometrial cancer arising in polyps occurred in 27 patients (13.2%) and accounted for 1.8% of 1492 endometrial polyps diagnosed during this period. RESULTS: Patients had a mean age of 62 years. All except one woman were postmenopausal. Three breast cancer patients were currently given tamoxifen. Metrorrhagia was the presenting symptom in 74% of cases, although 22% of patients were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. Ultrasonography performed in 22 patients showed images compatible with an endometrial polyp in 50% of cases, myoma in 5%, and inconclusive findings in 45%. The median endometrial thickness was 11 mm (range 4-33 mm). Diagnosis was made by aspiration-biopsy in 13 patients and by hysteroscopic endometrial sampling in 13 (in one patient endometrial carcinoma was incidentally found in the surgical specimen). All patients were in FIGO Stage IA. Endometrioid carcinoma was found in 81.5% of cases. Retroperitoneal metastases were not found in 25 patients undergoing pelvic lymphadenectomy, nor neoplastic growth in the specimens of six polypeptomies performed during hysteroscopy. All patients are free of relapse after a mean follow-up of 30 months. CONCLUSIONS: Postmenopausal women with endometrial polyps diagnosed by ultrasonography should undergo directed biopsies under hysteroscopic vision. The present series confirms the good prognosis of endometrial cancer in polyps.