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Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of the basal calcitonin (CTb) determination in the early postoperative period to predict the possible recurrence (persistence) of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC)., Material and Methods: A retrospective study of the treatment results in 194 patients with MTC (148 (76.3%) primary - group 1 and 46 (23.8%) recurrent - group 2) according to the levels of CTb in the first week after surgery and one year later. All groups were analyzed by staging, the level of preoperative and postoperative basal calcitonin 5 days and 1 year after the primary surgery., Findings: Among all patients, women prevailed - 144 (74.2%), the average age was (48.7±15.2), the average follow-up period was 67.5 months. Basal calcitonin was studied in patients of all groups in the preoperative and serially in the postoperative periods: 5 days and 1 year after the most radical surgical volumes. To test the hypothesis about the possibility of using CTb indicators in the early postoperative period, the degree of compliance with normal calcitonin indicators (≤18 pg/mL) was assessed by observation groups 5 days and 1 year after surgery., Conclusions: 1. The CTb value 5 days after surgery is no less a reliable marker of the result of surgical treatment of MTC than the currently recommended CTb measurement 2-3 months after surgery. 2. The technique is applicable for both primary and reoperations used for recurrent forms of medullary thyroid cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (©2023 Acta Endocrinologica (Buc).)

Thyroid nodules are common, occurring in 50-60% of healthy patients. Currently, there are no effective conservative treatment options for nodular goiter, and surgery can have limitations and potential complications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy, tolerability, and long-term results of using sclerotherapy and laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) to treat benign thyroid nodules. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 456 patients with benign nodular goiter who received LITT. The volume of the nodular goiter was measured at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-treatment, and a repeated fine needle aspiration (FNA) with the cytological examination was performed to verify the structure of the nodular goiter in the long term. The results showed that LITT was an effective method for treating nodular mass (nodules), as evidenced by a decrease in the volume of NG by 51-85% after 6-12 months. FNA results 2-3 years after LITT showed no thyrocytes, only connective tissue, indicating the efficacy of LITT for benign thyroid nodules. LITT is highly effective in most cases, often resulting in the disappearance or significant decrease in nodular formations., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (©2022 JOURNAL of MEDICINE and LIFE.)

We aimed to analyze the frequency of breast cancer relapses and their relationship with molecular and biological tumor characteristics. We studied 6,136 breast cancer patients, including 146 with relapses (Group 1) and 455 without relapses (Group 2). We divided the patients based on age, menstrual function, disease stage, histology form and grade, and molecular-biological subtype. The 5-year relapse-free rate for Group 1 was longer for Lum A and TN subtypes (60% and 40%, respectively) but shorter for Lum B and HER-2/neu-amplified subtypes (38% and 31%, respectively). Disease stage, tumor histology, and grade did not significantly affect relapse frequency in these patients. Relapses were more common in premenopausal patients and the Lum B subtype., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (©2022 JOURNAL of MEDICINE and LIFE.)

Laboratory diagnosis of primary hyperaldosteronism is based on determining blood levels of aldosterone, renin on request, potassium, and sodium. The results of these studies are significantly influenced by drugs, preparation for the study and blood collection methods, age, gender, and concomitant diseases. The work analyzes the factors influencing the results of the study of aldosterone and identifies the main ways of their exclusion at each stage of the diagnosis. Their neglecting is the determining factor in obtaining false results, diagnostic errors, the selection of ill-treatment tactics, and inadequate treatment. All these diagnostic problems are covered in a variety of ways in the review, which is based on the analysis of results of individual authors' research and practical and clinical recommendations from leading world endocrinological associations. Results of laboratory diagnostics of PHA depend on the influence of many factors. Among them, it is essential to use different medication drugs, the rules for preparing for the study, and the method of conducting it. In assessing the results of research, it is necessary to take into account not only the indicators of the level of aldosterone in the blood but also the features of the clinical course of the disease, its compliance to the drug therapy, age, and gender of the patients., (©Carol Davila University Press.)

The final stage of the diagnostic of primary hyperaldosteronism is to identify the causes of excessive secretion of aldosterone and determination of its variants. Based on the analysis of literature data, the diagnostic value, sensitivity and specificity of the methods of radiation diagnostics for primary hyperaldosteronism were assessed: ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, photon emission tomography, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, scintigraphy with iodine radiopharmaceuticals. The causes of false-positive and false-negative evaluations of changes in adrenal glands in the application of these diagnostics have been analyzed. There are many genetic and morphological studies when searching the literature data on the principles and methods of distinguishing the nosological forms of primary hyperaldosteronism based on the results of the aldosterone level estimation in the separated blood from the central veins of both adrenal glands or segmental veins of one gland with subsequent determination of the concentration gradient. It was noted that topical diagnostics and, especially, the determination of nosological forms of primary hyperaldosteronism are complex and expensive, but their results allow choosing an appropriate treatment approach for each particular case., (©Carol Davila University Press.)

The paper analyses results of serum cytokines and lymphocyte apoptosis study in patients with nodular goiter against the background of autoimmune thyroiditis (NGAIT) and thyroid adenoma (TA) based on the cell preparedness to apoptosis (content of lymphocytes carrying apoptosis marker - CD95+-receptor), the number of apoptotic lymphocytes (annexin V+-lymphocytes) and the content of proapoptotic tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6, as well as anti-inflammatory IL-4 cytokine in serum, considering the polymorphism of BCL-2 (rs17759659), CTLA-4 (rs231775) and APO-1÷FAS (rs2234767) genes. The results show that under the damaging action of peroxidation products in the thyroid structures, activation of Fas- and caspase-dependent mechanisms of influence on pro- and anti-apoptotic targets, the induced hyperproduction and release of TNF-α from thyroid-stimulated lymphocytes stimulate an additional synthesis of other pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6, as well as compensatory anti-inflammatory proteins including IL-4. There is a synchronized increase in secretion of the soluble form of TNF-α receptor (sTNFR), which prevents binding the corresponding cytokine to a specific membranous shedding of a number of receptors and separates the apoptotic signals. The above-mentioned changes associate with the polymorphic variants of BCL-2 (rs17759659), CTLA-4 (rs231775) genes and only for some figures, they are almost three times weaker with FAS (rs2234767).