Journal of Integrative Oncology

Objective: To determine whether Vitamin D serum levels are correlated with pelvic pain in patients with ovarian endometriomas.  

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Tertiary-care university hospital.

Patient(s): vitamin D serum levels were prospectively analyzed in 43 patients (group A, asymptomatic patients or patients with mild dysmenorrhea; group B, moderate dysmenorrhea and group C, severe dysmenorrhea and/or chronic pelvic pain and/or dyspareunia) who were diagnosed for cystic ovarian endometriosis to assess whether a correlation exists between Vitamin D serum levels and pelvic pain.

Intervention(s): Vitamin D serum levels determination.

Main outcome measure(s): Vitamin D serum levels and pelvic pain.

Result(s): From 43 patients, five cases were ultimately excluded because patients didn´t continuous). The mean (± SD) vitamin D serum levels in group A were 26,9 ± 04.17 pg/mL in group B were 16,2 ±1,4 pg/mL. and group C 10,4 pg/ml ± 2,4 pg/ml

Conclusion(s): Pain symptoms in ovarian endometriosis is correlated with vitamin –D serum levels.

It has been believed for years that cancer patients have not been referred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) because they have serious and potentially reversible acute illnesses. Fortunately, a variety of tests have shown that this is not the case. Today, the number of cancer patients in ICUs around the world is rising every year, and both longevity and quality of life are growing in the same way.

Recently, we showed that cancer cells devoid of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) refered to as ρ0 cells recover their tumour formation ability in syngeneic mice only after the acquisition of the host mtDNA.1 Thus, ρ0 cancer cells are unable to form tumour unless mitochondria with mtDNA are acquired from normal cells in the tumour microenvironment to reconstitute their respiratory function.2 Therefore, mtDNA and mitochondrial respiration is needed for tumorigenesis.

We explored the functional consequences of horizontal transfer of mitochondria, and found that pyrimidine biosynthesis, which is dependent on respiration-linked dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), is essential for overcoming cell-cycle arrest and hence for promotion of tumour formation3. DHODH is present and primed in mtDNA-devoid cells, and it is fully re-activated by complex III/IV respiration and coenzyme Q (CoQ) redox-cycling recovered as a consequence of mitochondrial transfer. Moreover, respiration recovery, which is necessary for tumour cell proliferation allowing for tumour formation and progression, is associated with efficient de novo pyrimidine synthesis. We propose that re-activation of DHODH, a rate-limiting enzyme in the de novo pyrimidine synthesis, is the key event for triggering tumour growth following horizontal transfer of mitochondria into mtDNA-compromised cancer cells and that it is intimately linked to mitochondrial respiration.

 We therefore propose that DHODH is the critical link between de novo pyrimidine synthesis and respiration. We conclude that the CIII/CIV-CoQ-DHODH axis is the major promoter of tumour formation, making DHODH a potential broad-spectrum target for cancer therapy.

Breast cancer makes up approximately 25% of all newly diagnosed cancers in women globally and is the second most common cancer in the world today. With the rates of newly diagnosed cancer cases, increasing globally and cancer being amongst the world???s leading cause of death, the question arises, what must the global community do to win the fight against cancer? In order to tackle the issue at hand, the field of oncology care is rapidly evolving with many organizations and institutions investing heavily in various advancing technologies and treatment modalities. With the availability of knowledge and information on different treatment modalities readily available online, many patients are well informed of the treatment options available. However, not all cancer centers are able to provide the most up to date treatment due to financial constraints and often times lack of expertise in niche treatment deliveries. Our industry has reached a point of inflection and the need for integrated collaboration across facilities is more important today than it has ever been. The issue for many facilities is the fear of loss of revenue to competing centers and the lack of ability to invest in the ever-evolving treatment modalities, which can lead to sub-optimal clinical outcomes for the patients. This presentation focuses on the need for integrated collaboration and the importance of working together across facilities as opposed to competing against one another. The discussion centers around three key areas are: (1) Understanding the various treatment modalities, (2) fostering an environment for each group of physicians and their specialties, and (3) building an integrated care network. The various successful models that have been implemented in order to ensure the best clinical outcomes for the patients, giving them access to the latest cutting edge treatment throughout the world will be a part of the presentation.

Ovarian carcinoma (OC) is one of the most difficult localizations, from the perception of early diagnostics, in malignant process.
The studies, we have been conducting since 2006 and data based on results of 1368 patients, have shown that dynamic monitoring of СА-125 possesses low
sensitivity (52,8 %) and specificity (64,2 %) when dealing with I-II stage of the disease