Anna Bogaczyk

Giant Ovarian Tumor

Giant ovarian tumors are rare, as most cases are diagnosed during routine gynecological check-ups or abdominal ultrasound examinations. They are a challenge for gynecologists and surgeons. Diagnosis in such patients is difficult due to the limitations of the medical apparatus. Perioperative management requires specialized anesthetic medical care and is associated with high mortality. The paper presents the case of a 23-year-old woman with a giant ovarian serous tumor, characterized by an enlargement of the abdominal circumference, periodic abdominal pain, irregular menstruation, and infertility. The patient attributed these nonspecific symptoms to obesity; therefore, she was hesitant to schedule a doctor’s appointment. The patient underwent laparotomy, and the cyst originating from the left ovary was removed along with part of the organ. An intraoperative examination was performed. After confirming the benign nature of the lesion, the operation was completed. In our work, we concentrated on the multidisciplinary care of the patient who required enhanced medical care from the internal medicine, cardiology, anesthesiology, rehabilitation medicine, and gynecology specialists. There were no hemodynamic changes in the heart during hospitalization. There were no significant early or late postoperative complications. In this case, we also paid attention to compression symptoms resulting from a giant ovarian tumor and the high risk of intraoperative complications resulting from its resection.

MiR-205-5p and MiR-222-3p as Potential Biomarkers of Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women in Europe. Its carcinogenesis is a complex process and requires further research. In our study, we focus on finding new and easy-to-diagnose markers for detecting endometrial cancer. For this purpose, we compared the levels of miR-21-5p, miR-205-5p, and miR-222-3p in endometrial cancer tissues with the levels of these miRs in the serum of patients using the dPCR method. Our study is preliminary and consists of comparing the changes in miRNA expression in serum to the changes in miRNA in tissue of patients with endometrial cancer. The study included 18 patients with EC and 19 patients undergoing surgery for pelvic organ prolapse or uterine fibroids as a control group without neoplastic lesions. Endometrial tissue and serum were collected from all patients. The analyses showed an increased expression of miR-205-5p in endometrial cancer tissue and decreased expression of miR-222-3p in tissue and serum samples. These results suggest that miR-205-5p and miR-222-3p may be potential endometrial cancer biomarkers. Only miR-222-3p confirmed its decreased expression in serum, making it a potential and easily accessible marker in the diagnosis of endometrial cancer. This pilot study requires further investigation in a larger group of patients. Its advantages include the possibility of a comparison between miRNA expression in tissue and serum, as well as conducting the study using dPCR.

The Role of miRNAs in the Development, Proliferation, and Progression of Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer is one of the most common cancers in developing and developed countries. Although the detection of this cancer is high at the early stages, there is still a lack of markers to monitor the disease, its recurrence, and metastasis. MiRNAs are in charge of the post-transcriptional regulation of genes responsible for the most important biological processes, which is why they are increasingly used as biomarkers in many types of cancer. Many studies have demonstrated the influence of miRNAs on the processes related to carcinogenesis. The characteristics of miRNA expression profiles in endometrial cancer will allow their use as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. This paper focuses on the discussion of selected miRNAs based on the literature and their role in the development of endometrial cancer.

Absolute Quantification of Selected microRNAs Expression in Endometrial Cancer by Digital PCR

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are involved in the process of carcinogenesis, including the development of endometrial cancer (EC). This study aimed to investigate the association between the expression of three miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-205-5p, and miR-222-3p) in endometrial cancer tissues. In addition, the stability of expression of SNORD48 and U6, which were initially planned to be used as reference miRNAs for normalization, was investigated. Endometrial tissue was obtained from 111 patients with EC during hysterectomy and from 19 patients undergoing surgery for uterine fibroids or pelvic organ prolapse as a control group without neoplastic changes. Our study was based on calculations made with a digital PCR method (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) to measure the absolute expression. In the endometrial cancer tissue, miR-205-5p was upregulated, while miR-222-3p and SNORD48 were downregulated compared to the control group. We detected statistically significant correlation of miR-205-5p, U6, and SNORD48 expression with different histological grades; the expression of miR-205-5p increases with the histopathological grade advancement (intraepithelial neoplasia- EIN = 1590, G1 = 3367.2, G2 = 8067 and G3 = 20,360), while U6 and SNORD expression decreases from EIN to G2 and increases again in the G3 grade (U6: EIN = 19,032, G1 = 16,482.4, G2 = 13,642.4, G3 = 133,008; SNORD48: EIN = 97,088, G1 = 59,520, G2 = 43,544, G3 = 227,200). Our study suggests that upregulation of miR-205-5p and downregulation of miR-222-3p and SNORD48 may influence development of endometrial cancer. Moreover, miR-205-5p, U6, and SNORD48 expression changes may be associated with progression of endometrial cancer. The results also indicate that SNORD48 and U6, commonly used as internal references, may influence endometrial cancer development and progression; therefore, they should not be used as references. However, it is important to note that further research is required to understand their role in endometrial cancer.