Extrauterine, Extragenital Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma in the Absence of Endometriosis: A Rare Entity

Isolated ureteral extrauterine endometrial stromal sarcoma: an unusual presentation

Extrauterine endometrial stromal sarcomas (EUESSs) are rare tumours occurring without primary uterine involvement. They are classified as primary or secondary, depending on uterine involvement by stromal sarcomas. A 56-year-old woman who earlier underwent bilateral modified radical mastectomy for adenocarcinoma and total abdominal hysterectomy for endometrial stromal sarcoma, followed by tamoxifen therapy, presented with left loin pain. On evaluation, she had a left renal calculus with hydroureteronephrosis. Before percutaneous nephrolithotripsy, ureteroscopy revealed a polypoidal mass that was diagnosed as EUESS. The mass arose primarily within the ureteral lumen, with periureteric tissue uninvolved. She underwent left radical nephroureterectomy with adjuvant hormonal treatment. This is probably the first case of EUESS arising de novo from within the ureteral lumen without endometriosis, to be reported in medical literature. Immunohistochemistry facilitates earlier diagnosis. Cytoreductive surgery is the definitive treatment and multidisciplinary approach helps in overall survival of the patient.

Expression and significance of autophagy genes LC3, Beclin1 and MMP-2 in endometriosis

Expression of autophagy-related proteins, microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) and Beclin1, and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) was investigated in serum and peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis (EM). The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression levels of MMP-2, LC3 and Beclin1 in endometrial tissues of EM patients and correlation of these genes with EM and their significance were evaluated. The serum, peritoneal fluid and endometrial tissues of 84 patients treated in The First Affiliated Hospital of Qiqihar Medical University (Qiqihar, China) from March 2016 to March 2017 were collected. The serum, peritoneal fluid and endometrial tissues of 42 EM patients were used as the experimental group, while those of 42 non-EM patients were used as the control group. The levels of LC3, Beclin1 and MMP-2 in serum and peritoneal fluid of EM patients and non-EM patients were quantitatively detected via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), followed by comparative analysis based on data in both groups. In addition, mRNA expression of LC3, Beclin1 and MMP-2 in the endometrium in both groups were detected via reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and differences in expression of these genes between the groups were analyzed and evaluated. Correlation of LC3, Beclin1 and MMP-2 with EM was explored. Results of ELISA showed that levels of LC3 and Beclin1 in the EM group were significantly lower than those in the control group, while levels of MMP-2 in serum and peritoneal fluid of the EM group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). Results of RT-qPCR revealed that mRNA expression of LC3 and Beclin1 in the endometrium of patients in the EM group were obviously decreased compared with those in the control group, while the expression of MMP-2 was high, and differences in expression were statistically significant (P<0.05). The expression of MMP-2 is high, and expression of LC3 and Beclin1 is low in serum, peritoneal fluid and endometrium of EM patients, and investigating the expression of MMP-2, LC3 and Beclin1 in EM is helpful to further clarify the pathogenesis of EM, and guide the clinical diagnosis and treatment.