PhD defence S. (Shatavisha) Dasgupta

The majority of lesions affecting the vulva arise from its squamous epithelial lining. This dissertation addresses the pathological perspectives of benign, premalignant, and malignant squamous epithelial lesions of the vulva, with a particular focus on premalignant lesions. Premalignant lesions of the vulva, or, vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) are known to be at risk of progression to invasive cancer, i.e. vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC). The major proportion of VINs, known as differentiated VIN (dVIN), arises on the background of chronic vulvar dermatoses, and can progress rapidly to VSCC. Lesions diagnosed as dVIN on pathological examination are therefore treated by surgical excision. Evidently, accurate and reliable pathological diagnosis of dVIN is crucial for appropriate treatment.
Diagnosing dVIN, however, can be challenging for pathologists because the histological appearance of dVIN often mimics that of chronic vulvar dermatoses. To facilitate a reliable distinction of dVIN from its mimics, we aimed to identify specific histological features that could be reproducibly interpreted by pathologists from different practice settings. For difficult histological diagnoses, immunohistochemistry is most widely used by pathologists as an ancillary tool. Therefore, we also studied the immunohistochemical expression of p53, cytokeratins 13 and 17, MIB-1, and SRY-box2 in dVIN and vulvar dermatoses, and evaluated the potential of these markers as diagnostic aid for dVIN. In addition, with a view to identify novel biomarkers for vulvar (pre)malignancies of potential diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic interest, we analyzed publicly available gene expression datasets, and performed genome-wide methylation sequencing on VSCC and normal vulvar tissues.

The public defence will take place at the Senate Hall, 1st floor Erasmus Building, location campus Woudestein. The ceremony will begin exactly at 15.30 PM. In light of the solemn nature of the ceremony, we recommend that you do not take children under the age of 6 to the first part of the ceremony.