Lee B Syler's research while affiliated with University of South Florida and other places

Objective This project aims to use our robust women's health patient data to analyze the correlation between cytology and high-risk human papillomavirus (Hr-HPV) testing, study the performance of Hr-HPV testing for detecting cytology lesions, and examine epidemiologic measures of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in the women's veteran population. Methods We collected patient data from 2014 to 2020 from our computerized patient record system. We performed HPV assays using the cobas® 4800 system (Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland). The cobas HPV assay detects HPV 16, HPV 18, and 12 other HPV types (31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 56, 58, 59, 66, and 68). We organized cytology results and Hr-HPV assays with Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Washington, USA) for analysis. Results A total of 9437 cervical specimens were co-tested. High-grade cytology lesions - high-grade intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) or higher and atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude HSIL (ASC-H) - were overwhelmingly positive for Hr-HPV (94.1% and 87.2%, respectively). Low-grade cytology lesions - low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion ((LSIL) and atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) - were positive for Hr-HPV in lower percentages (72.6% and 54.9%, respectively). Hr-HPV testing had a sensitivity of 91.3%, a specificity of 93.1%, a positive predictive value of 16.4%, and a negative predictive value of 99.8% for detecting high-grade cytology lesions. Hr-HPV testing had a lower performance for detecting low-grade cytology lesions. Ten cases had high-grade cytology and negative Hr-HPV test. Out of 10 such patients, nine showed no dysplasia (six) or low-grade dysplasia (three) on subsequent biopsy. Overall, 14.4% of tests were positive for Hr-HPV. The highest positive Hr-HPV test rates were in the third and eighth decades of life, 25.1% and 22.0%, respectively. However, the eighth decade consisted of a small sample of only 50 women. In women over 30 years of age with Hr-HPV infections, HPV types 16 and 18 were present in 11.7% and 6.4% of tests, respectively. Other HPV types were present in 82.3% of tests. Conclusions Hr-HPV testing has a high performance in detecting high-grade cytology lesions and a lower performance for detecting low-grade cytology lesions. However, studies show that LSIL rarely progresses to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or higher (CIN3+), suggesting minimal to no impact on cervical cancer screening. We believe our findings are in accordance with recent studies and affirm the guidelines that recommend primary Hr-HPV testing as the preferred screening method. The percentage of positive Hr-HPV tests and rates for age and HPV types 16 and 18 in our women’s veteran population suggest similar HPV prevalence to that of the general US population.

Objective: This project aims to use our robust women's health patient data to analyze the correlation between cytology and Hr-HPV testing, study performance of Hr-HPV testing for detecting cytology lesions, and examine epidemiologic measures of HPV infections in the women's veteran population. Methods: We collected patient data from 2014 to 2020 from our computerized patient record system. We performed HPV assays using the ROCHE 4800 system. The COBAS HPV assay detects HPV 16, HPV 18, and 12 other HPV types (31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 56, 58, 59, 66, and 68). We organized cytology results and Hr-HPV assays with Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel for analysis. Results: A total of 9437 cervical specimens were co-tested. High-grade cytology lesions (HSIL or higher and ASC-H) were overwhelmingly positive for Hr-HPV (94.1% and 87.2%, respectively). Low-grade cytology lesions (LSIL and ASC-US) were positive for Hr-HPV in lower percentages (72.6% and 54.9%, respectively). Hr-HPV testing had a sensitivity of 91.3%, a specificity of 93.1%, a positive predictive value of 16.4%, and a negative predictive value of 99.8% for detecting high-grade cytology lesions. Hr-HPV testing had a lower performance for detecting low-grade cytology lesions. Ten (10) cases had high-grade cytology and negative Hr-HPV test. Nine out of ten (9/10) of these patients showed no dysplasia (6) or low-grade dysplasia (3) on subsequent biopsy. Overall, 14.4% of tests were positive for Hr-HPV. The highest positive Hr-HPV test rates were in the second and eighth decades of life, 25.1% and 22.0%, respectively. In women over age 30, HPV types 16 and 18 were present in 11.7% and 6.4% of tests, respectively. Other HPV types were present in 82.3% of tests. Conclusions: Hr-HPV testing has high performance for detecting high-grade cytology lesions. We believe our findings are in accordance with recent studies and guidelines that recommend primary Hr-HPV testing as the preferred screening method. The percentage of positive Hr-HPV tests and rates for age and HPV types 16 and 18 in our women's veteran population suggest similar HPV prevalence to that of the general US population.

The coexistence of two separate malignancies in a patient is a rare occurrence. Even more infrequent is the coexistence of a hematologic malignancy and a solid tumor. However, the relationship between renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and plasma cell myeloma (PCM) has been reported in previous studies. These studies described synchronous cases of RCC and PCM and demonstrated that this situation occurs more frequently than expected by probability calculations. We present, what we believe to be, the first reported case of RCC directly and physically involved by PCM and, we review the literature on the association between these malignancies and explore possible mechanisms for their higher than expected association. In describing this case, emphasis is made to describe unique histologic findings that could further support a more direct and intimate association between these tumors.