New models to study vulvodynia: hyperinnervation and nociceptor sensitization in the female genital tract

Vulvodynia is a prevalent form of chronic pain, most com- monly affecting the vaginal vestibule （vestibulodynia） （Pukall et al., 2016）. Women with vulvodynia describe intense pain in response to light touch of the affected region, such that sexual function and other activities can be severely limited. Medical costs associated with vulvodynia are high, exceeding $21 billion annually in the United States （Xie et al., 2012）. The high level of direct medical costs has been linked to high treatment failure rates. Many women with the disorder consult multiple practitioners and undergo multiple courses of treatment with limited benefit.

Primary Malignant Amelanotic Melanoma in the Female Genital Tract:A Report of Six Cases and a Review of the Literature

OBJECTIVE To analyze the clinical characteristics,pathologic diagnosis,treatment and prognosis of amelanotic melanoma in the female genital tract(AMFGT).METHODS The medical records of 6 patients with AMFGT between 1991 and 2006 in our hospital were reviewed.RESULTS Of these cases,4 were preliminarily misdiagnosed as chorioepithelioma,sarcoma,adenocarcinoma or lymphoma.Two patients were determined to have AMFGT preoperatively after positive immunohistochemical staining for both S-100 protein and HMB-45.Specimens removed from all 6 cases were tested for immunohistochemical staining,as well as H&E histochemical stains.S-100 and vimentin were both positive in all patients,and HMB-45 was positive in 3 out of 5 patients.Four patients recurred(at 6,6,12 and 19 months) a er primary treatments.Three patients died(at 13,18 and 19 months) a er the initial diagnosis.CONCLUSION Because of an absence of pigmentation AMFGT is extremely difficult to diagnose.Combined immunohistochemical staining,such as the S-100 protein,HMB-45 and vimentin etc,is important in the evaluation of AMFGT.Correct diagnosis plays a crucial role in the treatment of this disease.

Preoperative Evaluation for Complex Female Genital Tract Malformation Using Three？dimensional Printing Technology

A 33-year-old woman, gravida 1, para 0, came to the hospital with the chief complaint of severe dysmenorrhea and infertility. Her menstrual cycle was regular, bleeding moderately for 3–5 days with an interval of 30 days. She was diagnosed with ectopic pregnancy and received the left salpingectomy in September 2014. Intraoperative exploration showed a slightly enlarged retroverted uterus with a wide fundus and a normal right fallopian tube. As a further examination of infertility, hysterosalpingography was done in January 2016, which showed a unicornuate uterus （left） with an obstructed unilateral fallopian tube. She was referred to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital in February 2016. Her basic body temperature showed biphasic pattern. The sperm test of her husband was normal. Physical examination indicated two vaginal orifices in the vestibule, with a vertical septate lying in between. The left lateral vaginal lumen could be easily expanded and speculated, and a normal cervix was seen at its top. In contrast, the cervix was unable to be seen through the right lateral vaginal lumen, which was narrow and difficult to be exposed or inspected. Pelvic ultrasound scan showed that the uterus was 4.7 cm ×6.0 cm × 3.6 cm in size, along with the Y-shaped endometrium of 0.8 cm in thickness, and a normal echo in the muscular layer. No abnormalities were found at the bilateral adnexa areas or pelvic cavity. Besides, the bilateral renal areas and ureters were found normal in the ultrasound scan as well.

HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS IN CONDYLOMA ACCUMINATA AND OTHER BENIGN LESIONS OF THE FEMALE GENITAL TRACT

PCR was used to detect (HPV) in condyloma accuminata (CA),pseudocondyloma whose cause is unclear,and the other benign lesions in female genital tract.The results showed that HPV prevalence rate in CA was 98.2%,type 6 was in 11 was 85.7%,

Clinicopathologic analysis of angiomyofibroblastoma of the female genital tract

To study the clinicopathologic features and immunoprofile of angiomyofibroblastoma (AMF) with emphasis on differential diagnosis Methods Seven vulvar, two vaginal and one perineal angiomyofibroblastomas were evaluated by light microscopy and immunohistochemistry The immunohistochemical studies were performed on paraffin embedded sections using the standard ABC method with a panel of antibodies Results Angiomyofibroblastoma predominantly occurred in middle aged women in the genital region, especially in the superficial area of the vulva Clinically, most of the tumors presented as slowly growing painless masses and were often diagnosed as Bartholin's gland cysts Histologically, the tumors were all well circumscribed and characterized by alternating hypocellular and hypercellular areas with abundant thin walled blood vessels The tumor cells were bland and spindle shaped or epithelioid and tended to concentrate around the vessels or cluster in small nests Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells expressed vimentin and estrogen receptor protein in all 10 cases and desmin in 9 cases Three cases showed weak or focal immunoreactivity to alpha smooth muscle actin and muscle specific actin All ten patients were treated by local excision Follow up showed a benign course with no signs of recurrence Conclusions Angiomyofibroblastoma is a distinctive neoplasm that has a propensity to occur in the female genital tract Recognition of this entity is important to avoid misdiagnosis with other vulvar angiomyxoid neoplasms

Sperm preparation： state-of-the-art--physiological aspects and application of advanced sperm preparation methods

For assisted reproduction technologies （ART）, numerous techniques were developed to isolate spermatozoa capable of fertilizing oocytes. While early methodologies only focused on isolating viable, motile spermatozoa, with progress of ART, particularly intracytoplasmic sperm injection （ICSI）, it became clear that these parameters are insufficient for the identification of the most suitable spermatozoon for fertilization. Conventional sperm preparation techniques, namely, swim-up, density gradient centrifugation and glass wool filtration, are not efficient enough to produce sperm populations free of DNA damage, because these techniques are not physiological and not modeled on the stringent sperm selection processes taking place in the female genital tract. These processes only allow one male germ cell out of tens of millions to fuse with the oocyte. Sites of sperm selection in the female genital tract are the cervix, uterus, uterotubal junction, oviduct, cumulus oophorus and the zona pellucida. Newer strategies of sperm preparation are founded oni （i） morphological assessment by means of＇motile sperm organelle morphological examination （MSOM E）＇; （ii） electrical charge; and （ili） molecular binding characteristics of the sperm cell. Whereas separation methods based on electrical charge take advantage of the sperm＇s adherence to a test tube surface or separate in an electrophoresis, molecular binding techniques use Annexin V or hyaluronic acid （HA） as substrates. Techniques in this category are magnet-activated cell sorting, Annexin V-activated glass wool filtration, flow cytometry and picked spermatozoa for ICSI （PICSI） from HA-coated dishes and HA-containing media. Future developments may include Raman microspectrometry, confocal light absorption and scattering spectroscopic microscopy and polarization microscopy.

Clinical Characteristics of Patients Who Underwent Surgery for Genital Tract Malformations at Peking Union Medical College Hospital across 31 Years

Background：Female genital malformations represent miscellaneous deviations from normal anatomy.This study aimed to explore the clinical characteristics of patients who underwent surgery for genital tract malformations at Peking Union Medical College Hospital （PUMCH） during a 31-year period.Methods：We retrospectively reviewed surgical cases of congenital malformation of the female genital tract at PUMCH for a 31-year period,analyzed the clinical characteristics of 1634 hospitalized patients,and investigated their general condition,diagnosis,and treatment process.Results：The average patient age was 27.6 ± 9.9 years.The average ages of patients who underwent surgery for uterine malformation and vaginal malformation were 31.9 ± 8.8 years and 24.7 ± 9.0 years,respectively;these ages differed significantly （P 〈 0.01）.Among patients with genital tract malformation,the percentages of vaginal malformation,uterine malformation,vulva malformation,cervical malformation,and other malformations were 43.9%,43.5%,7.4%,2.3%,and 2.8%,respectively.Among patients with uterine malformation,34.5% underwent surgery for the genital tract malformation,whereas in patients with vaginal malformation,the proportion is 70.6%;the difference between the two groups was statistically significant （P 〈 0.01）.The percentage of complications of the urinary system in patients with vaginal malformations was 10.2%,which was statistically significantly higher than that （5.3%） in patients with uterine malformations （P 〈 0.01）.Conclusions：Compared to patients with uterine malformations,patients with vaginal malformations displayed more severe clinical symptoms,a younger surgical age,and a greater need for attention,early diagnosis,and treatment.Patients with genital tract malformations,particularly vaginal malformations,tend to have more complications of the urinary system and other malformations than patients with uterine malformations.

Metastasis to a uterine leiomyoma originating from lung cancer: a case report

The uterus is an uncommon site of metastasis espe-cially from a primary lung adenocarcinoma. More fre-quently, extragenital primary tumours, including lung cancer, metastasize to the ovaries. In the literature, lung cancer metastasizing to the uterus is rare and has been reported to involve the endometrium and uterine serosa. Here, we report an unusual case of a 58-year-old woman who had a history of lung adenocarcinoma with subsequent metastasis to a single uterine fbroid only. The patient was known to have a long history of asymptomatic fibroids. In 2008, she was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma which was treated with pri-mary surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. Four years later, a routine abdominal computerised tomography scan showed an enlargement of the fibroid and she underwent a hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Pathology reported a lung adenocarci-noma metastatic to the uterine leiomyoma with a simi-lar morphology to the original pulmonary malignancy and this was confirmed with immunohistochemical staining. She had no evidence of metastatic disease elsewhere. The final diagnosis was metastasis of a primary lung adenocarcinoma confined to a uterine leiomyoma. Our patient also fulflled the criteria for a phenomenon called tumour-to-tumour metastasis in this case a primary malignancy having metastasized to a benign tumour. In conclusion, metastasis of a pri-mary lung cancer to the female reproductive tract has been documented, but clinicians should also be aware that metastasis to benign gynaecological tumours such as fbroids can also occur, especially in the setting of tumour-to-tumour metastasis. In addition, the clinical history and use of immunohistochemistry are invalu-able in reaching a diagnosis.