Ki-67 expression in vulvar carcinoma. Preliminary results.

A proliferating cell nuclear antigen (Ki-67) expression was investigated in 73 cases of invasive vulvar cancer, to detect new diagnostic and prognostic factors. We individualized, like Hendriks (1994), two general patterns of reactivity: 1) diffused positivity in all tumoral tissue with a bad prognosis; 2) focal positivity, localized at the edge of tumoral aggregates. Moreover, within focal patterns, one group with positivity to MIB-l of 0.2-6% and another group of 7-9% with different prognoses (better in the first group). Histotype, lymph-nodal status, FIGO stage are strictly correlated with distribution of Ki-67; on the contrary, no correlation was found with grading and number of mitoses.

Endometrial adenocarcinoma and life expectancy in elderly women.

One hundred and six patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma, aged over 70 years, admitted to Gynaecologic Oncological department of Gynecology and Obstetrics Institute of Padua University, from 1/01/1974 to 31/12/1994, were studied. The life expectancy of these women was good, with a personalized abdominal or vaginal surgery, alone with or without lymphadenectomy, or, in advanced stages, associated with integrated therapies. In our case series an increasing frequency of this neoplasia in elderly women appears significant.

Urinary gonadotropin peptide: collection of specimens and cutoff levels.

A low-molecular-weight form of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), urinary gonadotropin peptide (UGP), has been isolated from the urine of pregnant women and of patients with cancer, mainly of gynecological origin. The clinical value of UGP measurement in gynecological diseases is under investigation but a preliminary study is necessary in order to ascertain whether there is a circadian rhythm in UGP production, to clarify the best way to express the results, and to establish the cutoff and decisional values. In our work we demonstrated a significant correlation between the UGP output and the UGP excretion normalized for urinary creatinine. A very significant agreement was even found in 24-hr urine collections and UGP concentration of a single morning specimen from the same patients. No evident circadian rhythm was found, although some patients presented morning levels of UGP higher than in other collections. UGP postmenopausal levels were higher than premenopausal. The cutoff level, adopting the 95.0 percentile, was 200 pmol/mol creatinine.

5-year survival of endometrial carcinoma in the experience of the Gynaecological Clinic of Padua University: quality of life.

We have considered 414 cases of endometrial carcinoma from 1963 to 1990, with particular attention to 5-year survival and quality of life. The results show an increase of survival rate and of patients always NED- rate, from the first decades (63-70) to the last period (81-90). Similarly, the percentage of patients treated just with surgical therapies increases too, showing the effectiveness of personalized therapeutical strategies.