The Comparison of Pelvic Mass Score and Risk of Malignancy Index-3 in Discrimination of Benign and Malignant Adnexal Masses.

OBJECTIVES: Discrimination of benign and malignant adnexal masses is crucial for the follow-up and prognosis of the patient. Since each modality alone does not have enough sensitivity, the combination of all methods called multimodal screening is currently being used. In this study, we aimed to compare pelvic mass score (PMS) and the risk of malignancy index (RMI-3) scoring systems in determining the malignant potential of adnexal masses. METHODS: In this prospective observational study, 40 patients between the age of 15-79 who were diagnosed as an adnexal mass were included between March and October 2016. Patients were classified as benign (n=20) and malignant (n=20). The age, gravida, parity, findings of a pelvic examination, medical and family history, laboratory parameters, sonographic findings, histopathological results, PMS and RMI-3 scores of the patients were recorded. RESULTS: The mean age, CA-125 levels, Sassone scores and ultrasonography scores of patients were higher in malignant cases, whereas the resistance index was lower. Both RMI-3 and PMS scores were higher in the malignant group (1728.14±325.3 vs. 36.27±31.01, p<0.001 and 55.31±40.96 vs. 9.91±5.29, p<0.001, respectively). Receiver operating curve for the predictive value of PMS to diagnose malignancy was performed and a cut-off value of 14 was determined with the area under the curve (AUC) 0.955 (p<0.001). The sensitivity was 95%, specificity was 80%, positive and negative predictive values were 82.6% and 94.1%. Likewise, the discriminative value of RMI-3 to diagnose malignancy was evaluated by the ROC curve. AUC for RMI-3 was 0.930 with a sensitivity of 95%, the specificity of 75%, the positive predictive value of 79.1% and negative predictive value of 93.7% with a cut-off value of >53.2 (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Age, menopause status, tumor markers and sonographic parameters may be beneficial alone for determining malignancy, whereas the scoring systems integrating all the parameters are more powerful. According to our findings, PMS is more sensitive and more practical than the RMI-3 scoring system.

The relationship between maternal and umbilical cord adropin levels with the presence and severity of preeclampsia.

AIM: To investigate both maternal and umbilical cord adropin levels in patients with preeclampsia and the possible relations with its severity and perinatal outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, a total of 38 preeclamptic and 40 age-matched healthy pregnant women between January and June 2016 were included. Serum and cord adropin levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The maternal and umbilical cord adropin levels were significantly lower in the preeclamptic group compared to controls [71.19±22.21 vs. 100.76±27.02 ng/L and 92.39 (59.77:129.89) vs. 106.20 (74.42:208.02) ng/L, P<0.001, respectively]. While maternal adropin levels were significantly lower in the severe preeclampsia group as compared to the mild preeclamptic group [66.45 (21.49:98.02) vs. 76.17 (58.06:109.58), P=0.007], umbilical cord adropin levels did not differ between each group [91.32 (59.77:113.34) vs. 92.87 (63.12:129.89), P=0.750]. Maternal adropin level was negatively correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressures (r=-0.60, P<0.001 and r=-0.58, P<0.001, respectively) and positively correlated with platelet count (r=0.27, P=0.016). Moreover, umbilical cord adropin levels were weakly correlated with gestational age at delivery (r=0.28, P=0.012) and birth weight (r=0.28, P=0.014). CONCLUSION: The present study is the first to demonstrate a significant association between maternal and umbilical adropin levels and the presence and severity of preeclampsia. Adropin might be a useful parameter for predicting the presence and severity of preeclampsia.

The relationships between blood pressure, blood glucose, and bone mineral density in postmenopausal Turkish women.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and osteoporosis are important comorbidities commonly seen in postmenopausal women. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between blood pressure, blood glucose, and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal Turkish women. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 270 consecutive patients who were admitted to an outpatient clinic with vasomotor symptoms and/or at least 1 year of amenorrhea were included. The patients were categorized into three groups according to their blood pressure and metabolic status as follows: normotensive, hypertensive nondiabetics, and hypertensive diabetics. The T- and z-scores of the proximal femur and lumbar vertebrae were measured with the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry method to assess the BMD of the study groups. RESULTS: Lumbar vertebral T-scores (P<0.001), lumbar vertebral z-scores (P<0.003), and proximal femoral T-scores (P<0.001) were demonstrated to be significantly lower in the hypertensive diabetic group compared to the hypertensive nondiabetic and normotensive groups. Systolic blood pressure was significantly inversely correlated with lumbar vertebral T-scores (r=-0.382; P=0.001), lumbar vertebral z-scores (r=-0.290; P=0.001), and proximal femoral T-scores (r=-0.340; P=0.001). Moreover, diastolic blood pressure was significantly inversely correlated with lumbar vertebral T-scores (r=-0.318; P=0.001), lumbar vertebral z-scores (r=-0.340; P=0.001), and proximal femoral T-scores (r=-0.304; P=0.001). Hypertension (odds ratio [OR]: 2.541, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.46-3.48, P=0.003), diabetes mellitus (OR: 2.136, 95% CI: 1.254-3.678, P=0.006), and age (OR: 1.069, 95% CI: 1.007-1.163, P=0.022) were found to be significant independent predictors of osteopenia in a multivariate analysis, after adjusting for other risk parameters. CONCLUSION: The present study is the first to evaluate the relationships between blood pressure, blood glucose, and BMD in postmenopausal Turkish women. Moreover, both hypertension and diabetes were demonstrated as significant independent predictors of osteopenia in postmenopausal Turkish women. Clinicians should be aware of the high risk of developing osteopenia in diabetic hypertensive postmenopausal women.