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Hyperandrogenism is a determining diagnostic factor for PCOS. If pregnancy is conceived, it is considered high-risk due to several potential complications, but the correlation between pre-pregnancy androgen levels and obstetric outcomes is poorly characterized. Objective: To determine if pre-pregnancy serum androgen concentrations and androgen indexes differed when certain obstetric and neonatal outcomes appeared in PCOS. Methods: A single-center, retrospective study was carried out. All patients were treated between 2012 and 2019. A total of 73 patients had all the endocrine and obstetric data available. Pre-pregnancy hormone levels (total testosterone-T, androstenedione-AD, DHEAS (dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate), SHBG (sex-hormone-binding globulin), and TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) were collected, and T/SHBG, AD/SHBG, DHEAS/SHBG, T/AD indexes were calculated and compared. Results: When miscarriage was present in the history, significantly elevated pre-pregnancy AD levels were observed. Higher pre-pregnancy AD level was noted in PCOS patients delivering female newborns as compared to males. Additionally, a higher T/AD ratio was associated with subsequent preterm delivery, but significance was lost after age adjustment. Maternal age at delivery had a significant negative correlation with pre-pregnancy DHEAS levels and DHEAS/SHBG ratio. Pre-pregnancy SHBG displayed a significant negative correlation, while pre-pregnancy androgen/SHBG ratios exhibited positive correlations with both birth weight and birth weight percentile. Conclusions: Based on our data, AD and the T/AD ratio emerge as distinctive factors in certain outcomes, implying a potential specific role of altered 17-β-HSD (17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase) enzyme activity, possibly influencing offspring outcomes. The pre-pregnancy T/SHBG ratio exhibits a potentially stronger correlation with fetal growth potential compared to SHBG alone. DHEAS and maternal age at delivery are strongly correlated in PCOS patients.

(1) Background: The mechanism of platinum resistance in ovarian cancer is not fully clarified, but the properly functioning DNA repair mechanism can counteract the effect of conventional anticancer treatment. The objective of our study was to evaluate the expression of an important DNA repair enzyme, the Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase (PARP) expression in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) tissues depending on BRCA status and to assess its relationship with platinum resistance. (2) Methods: Immunostaining to highlight PARP protein expression was performed using a rabbit polyclonal anti-PARP antibody. The intensity and distribution of immunostaining were assessed by light. Somatic BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers were identified with bidirectional sequencing of DNA from archived tumor tissue, if the test could not be performed due to technical reasons from tumor cells, the sequencing was done from peripheral blood cells to identify germline mutation carriers. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was generated for each semiquantitative group of PARP expression among chemotherapy-naive cases at the time of PARP immunohistochemistry. (3) Results: In the overall population, negative PARP immunohistochemistry predicted significant PFS (20.1 vs. 11.9 months, p = 0.001) and OS (49 vs. 114 months, p = 0.014) benefit. Genotype-stratified subgroup analysis in BRCA-negative cases confirmed the role of PARP positivity indicating an unfavorable prognosis in the entire population (relapsed 73.91% vs. 92%; OR: 4.06; p = 0.04). In the cases of the subgroup carrying the BRCA mutation, the presence of PARP expression was not associated with less favorable relapse rates, but with marginal significance for overall survival predicted a lower chance of survival (OS more than 32 months 72.73% vs. 35%; OR: 0.2; p = 0.05). (4) Conclusion: The BRCA wild type patients with strong expression of PARP enzymes before the first set of chemotherapy have a poor prognosis.