OBJECTIVE\nMETHODS\nRESULTS\nCONCLUSIONS\nThis study aimed to examine potential discriminatory characteristics of dermatoscopy and dynamic optical coherence tomography (D-OCT) on vulvar high-grade... Show moreOBJECTIVE\nMETHODS\nRESULTS\nCONCLUSIONS\nThis study aimed to examine potential discriminatory characteristics of dermatoscopy and dynamic optical coherence tomography (D-OCT) on vulvar high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (vHSIL) and lichen sclerosus (LS) compared with healthy vulvar skin.\nA prospective observational clinical trial was performed in 10 healthy volunteers, 5 vHSIL and 10 LS patients. Noninvasive imaging measurements using dermatoscopy and D-OCT were obtained at several time points, including lesional and nonlesional vulvar skin. Morphologic features of vHSIL and LS were compared with healthy controls. Epidermal thickness and blood flow were determined using D-OCT. Patients reported tolerability of each study procedure, including reference vulvar biopsies. The main outcome measures were feasibility and tolerability of imaging modalities, dermatoscopy and OCT characteristics, OCT epidermal thickness and D-OCT dermal blood flow.\nThe application of dermatoscopy and D-OCT is feasible and tolerable. In vHSIL, dermatoscopic warty structures were present. In LS, sclerotic areas and arborizing vessels were observed. Structural OCT in the vulvar area aligned with histology for hyperkeratosis and dermal-epidermal junction visualization. Currently, the OCT algorithm is unable to calculate the epidermal thickness of the uneven vulvar area. Dynamic optical coherence tomography showed statistically significant increased blood flow in LS patients (mean ± SD, 0.053 ± 0.029) to healthy controls (0.040 ± 0.012; p = .0024).\nThe application of dermatoscopy and D-OCT is feasible and tolerable in vHSIL and LS patients. Using dermatoscopy and D-OCT, the authors describe potential characteristics to aid differentiation of diseased from healthy vulvar skin, which could complement clinical assessments. Show less
Buters, T.P.; Hameeteman, P.W.; Jansen, I.M.E.; Hindevoort, F.C. van; Voorde, W. ten; Florencia, E.; ... ; Moerland, M. 2021
Aims Whereas intravenous administration of Toll-like receptor 4 ligand lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to human volunteers is frequently used in clinical pharmacology studies, systemic use of LPS has... Show moreAims Whereas intravenous administration of Toll-like receptor 4 ligand lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to human volunteers is frequently used in clinical pharmacology studies, systemic use of LPS has practical limitations. We aimed to characterize the intradermal LPS response in healthy volunteers, and as such qualify the method as local inflammation model for clinical pharmacology studies. Methods Eighteen healthy male volunteers received 2 or 4 intradermal 10 ng LPS injections and 1 saline injection on the forearms. The LPS response was evaluated by noninvasive (perfusion, skin temperature and erythema) and invasive assessments (cellular and cytokine responses) in skin biopsy and blister exudate. Results LPS elicited a visible response and returned to baseline at 48 hours. Erythema, perfusion and temperature were statistically significant (P < .0001) over a 24-hour time course compared to saline. The protein response was dominated by an acute interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor response followed by IL-1 beta, IL-10 and interferon-gamma. The cellular response consisted of an acute neutrophil influx followed by different monocyte subsets and dendritic cells. Discussion Intradermal LPS administration in humans causes an acute, localized and transient inflammatory reaction that is well-tolerated by healthy volunteers. This may be a valuable inflammation model for evaluating the pharmacological activity of anti-inflammatory investigational compounds in proof of pharmacology studies. Show less
Optimum risk stratification in early-stage endometrial cancer combines clinicopathologic factors and the molecular endometrial cancer classification defined by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). It is... Show moreOptimum risk stratification in early-stage endometrial cancer combines clinicopathologic factors and the molecular endometrial cancer classification defined by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). It is unclear whether analysis of intratumoral immune infiltrate improves this. We developed a machine-learning, image-based algorithm to quantify density of CD8(+) and CD103(+) immune cells in tumor epithelium and stroma in 695 stage I endometrioid endometrial cancers from the PORTEC-1 and -2 trials. The relationship between immune cell density and clinicopathologic/molecular factors was analyzed by hierarchical clustering and multiple regression. The prognostic value of immune infiltrate by cell type and location was analyzed by univariable and multivariable Cox regression, incorporating the molecular endometrial cancer classification. Tumor-infiltrating immune cell density varied substantially between cases, and more modestly by immune cell type and location. Clustering revealed three groups with high, intermediate, and low densities, with highly significant variation in the proportion of molecular endometrial cancer subgroups between them. Univariable analysis revealed intraepithelial CD8(+) cell density as the strongest predictor of endometrial cancer recurrence; multivariable analysis confirmed this was independent of pathologic factors and molecular subgroup. Exploratory analysis suggested this association was not uniform across molecular subgroups, but greatest in tumors with mutant p53 and absent in DNA mismatch repair-deficient cancers. Thus, this work identified that quantification of intraepithelial CD8thorn cells improved upon the prognostic utility of the molecular endometrial cancer classification in early-stage endometrial cancer. Show less
Spaans, V.M.; Mahendra, I.N.B.; Purwoto, G.; Trietsch, M.D.; Osse, M.; Haar, N. ter; ... ; Jordanova, E.S. 2018
