Thecoma associated with pregnancy: a case report.

Ovarian thecoma, which belongs to the group of sex-cord stromal tumors, is a relatively rare neoplasm. In this report we present a pregnant woman with a solid ovarian mass diagnosed during pregnancy and operated on at the 19th gestational week. At surgical exploration, torsion of the ovarian tumor was observed together with ascites and unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was performed. Pathological examination revealed a luteinized thecoma. After the surgery, the pregnancy continued uneventfully until term.

Correlation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and CEA with clinicopathological variables in colorectal cancer patients.

The aim of the presented study is to analyze VEGF levels and its correlation with the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with colorectal carcinoma. Thirty-three patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma and 10 healthy controls were evaluated by estimation of VEGF and CEA levels and correlation with clinicopathological features. The serum VEGF and CEA concentrations of colorectal patients were higher than the healthy controls (p<0.05). Patients in advanced stage had high levels of both markers but these differences were not statistically significant. There was a positive correlation between both markers and, tumor size and peritumoral vascular invasion (PVI) but when compared VEGF with CEA, VEGF had a stronger correlation. Diagnostic sensitivity of VEGF for colorectal carcinoma was higher than the sensitivity of CEA and combining both markers the sensitivity to predict colorectal carcinoma was higher than of each marker alone. Our study indicated that VEGF compared to CEA had a higher diagnostic sensitivity for colorectal carcinoma and might provide even additional information about tumor features.

Passive immunity of premature infants against measles during early infancy.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of transferred measles antibodies and seronegativity rates during early infancy in premature newborns whose mothers had infection-induced immunity. The premature group was composed of 22 and 35 newborns of gestational ages < 32 wk and > 32 wk, respectively, and the control group consisted of 28 term newborns. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies to measles virus. Mean cord blood relative values were significantly lower in both premature groups, < or = 32 wk (p < 0.0001) and > 32 wk (p < 0.001), when compared with term infants. No seronegative infant was found in the premature group at 2 mo of age. At 4 mo, the seronegativity rate was 27% for premature infants < or = 32 wk and 35% for those > 32 wk. At 6 mo, seronegativity increased to 86% and 74% for premature infants born at gestational ages < or = 32 wk and > 32 wk, respectively. Forty-six percent of the term infants became seronegative at that age. The differences between term infants and those in the two premature groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05 and p < 0.005). Premature infants, regardless of their prematurity degree, were thought to be more susceptible to measles infection than term ones at the age of 6 mo. Policies for their protection from measles infection are still to be investigated.