Brachytherapy and surgery versus surgery alone for IB2 (FIGO 2018) cervical cancers: A FRANCOGYN study.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the management by first brachytherapy followed by radical hysterectomy (Wertheim type) compared to radical hysterectomy alone (Wertheim type) for the treatment of IB2 cervical cancer. METHODS: Data from women with histologically proven FIGO stage IB2 cervical cancer treated between April 1996 and December 2016 were retrospectively abstracted from twelve French institutions with prospectively maintained databases. RESULTS: Of the 211 patients with FIGO stage IB2 cervical cancer without lymph node involvement included, 136 had surgical treatment only and 75 had pelvic lymph node staging and brachytherapy followed by surgery. The surgery-only group had significantly more adjuvant treatment (29 vs. 3; p = 0.0002). A complete response was identified in 61 patients (81%) in the brachytherapy group. Postoperative complications were comparable (63,2% vs. 72%, p = 0,19) and consisted mainly of urinary (36vs. 27) and digestive (31 vs 22) complications and lymphoceles (4 vs. 1). Brachytherapy had no benefit in terms of progression-free survival (p = 0.14) or overall survival (p = 0.59). However, for tumors of between 20 and 30 mm, preoperative brachytherapy improved recurrence-free survival (p = 0.0095) but not overall survival (p = 0.41). This difference was not observed for larger tumors in terms of either recurrence-free survival (p = 0.55) or overall survival (p = 0.95). CONCLUSION: Our study found that preoperative brachytherapy had no benefit for stage IB2 cervical cancers in terms of recurrence-free survival or overall survival. For tumor sizes between 2 and 3 cm, brachytherapy improves progression-free survival mainly by reducing pelvic recurrences without improving overall survival.

Comparison of retroperitoneal and transperitoneal surgical routes in laparoscopic nodal staging for locally advanced cervical cancers (FIGO IB3-IVA).

BACKGROUND: This study compares morbidity and mortality associated with retroperitoneal and transperitoneal para-aortic lymphadenectomy (PAAL) for pretherapeutic nodal staging of locally advanced cervical cancers (FIGO IB3-IVA). METHODS: Pre-, per- and postoperative data of patients treated for locally advanced stage cervical cancer between 1999 and 2018 in 12 French referral centers (FRANCOGYN Study Group) were retrospectively collected. RESULTS: The study was conducted using a sample of 448 patients, of whom 223 (49,8%) underwent retroperitoneal (group 1) and 225 (50,2%) had transperitoneal PAAL (group 2). No differences were noted concerning clinical and histological characteristics between the two groups. Among these 448 patients, 23 (5,1%) had an intraoperative complication (9 (2,0%) in group 1 and 14 (3,1%) in group 2, p = 0.28) and 47 (10,5%) had a postoperative complication (22 (4,9%) in group 1 and 25 (5,6%) in group 2, p = 0.44), only one of which required revision surgery but the patient died. The length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in group 1 than in group 2 (3.97 versus 4.88 days, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in mortality between the two groups; 34 of 223 patients in group 1 (15.3%) and 40 of 225 patients in group 2 (15.6%) died (HR = 0.968, 95% CI [0.591-1.585]). There was no significant difference in recurrence-free or overall survival between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Retroperitoneal PAAL appears as a valuable and safety surgical route for nodal staging in locally advanced cervical cancer compared with standard transperitoneal PAAL.

Impact of the first lockdown for coronavirus 19 on breast cancer management in France: A multicentre survey.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the impact of lockdown for SARS-CoV-2 on breast cancer management via an online survey in a French multicentre setting. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a multicentre retrospective study, over the strict lockdown period from March 16th to May 11th, 2020 in metropolitan France. 20 centres were solicited, of which 12 responded to the survey. RESULTS: 50% of the centres increased their surgical activity, 33% decreased it and 17% did not change it during containment. Some centres had to cancel (17%) or postpone (33%) patient-requested interventions due to fear of SARS-CoV-2. Four and 6 centres (33% and 50%) respectively cancelled and postponed interventions for medical reasons. In the usual period, 83% of the centres perform their conservative surgeries on an outpatient basis, otherwise the length of hospital stay was 24 to 48 h. All the centres except one performed conservative surgery on an outpatient basis during the lockdown period, for which. 8% performed mastectomies on an outpatient basis during the usual period. During lockdown, 50% of the centres reduced their hospitalization duration (25% outpatient /25% early discharge on Day 1). CONCLUSION: This study explored possibilities for management during the first pandemic lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic required a total reorganization of the healthcare system, including the care pathways for cancer patients.

Impact on Prognosis of the Surgical Route, Laparoscopy or Laparotomy, for the Surgical Staging of Early Stage Ovarian Cancer-A Study from the FRANCOGYN Group.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: according to the latest ESMO-ESGO recommendations, laparotomy is the standard surgical approach to treat and stage patients with presumed early stage epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). A few studies have investigated the efficacy and the safety of laparoscopy for the staging of early stage EOC, and this question is still in the center of debates. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) benefits of the minimally invasive surgery (MIS) have still to be specified. The aim of this multicenter and retrospective study is to assess the survival outcomes of laparoscopic staging in comparison with laparotomic staging for patients presenting with an early stage EOC. METHODS: data of patients with early stage EOC (FIGO I-IIA) who underwent primary surgery between 2000 and 2018 were extracted from the FRANCOGYN database. OS and RFS of these two groups, constituted according to the surgical route, were compared using Log rank test. RESULTS: of the 144 patients included, 107 patients underwent laparotomy and 37 underwent laparoscopy for a staging purpose. The median follow-up was 36.0 months (18.0 to 58.0). For the laparoscopy and the laparotomy group, the median follow-up period was 24 (11.0 to 50.0) and 42.0 (24.0 to 66.0) months, respectively, (p < 0.001). Tumor recurrence occurred in 33 (23%) patients: 2 (5.4%) in the laparoscopy group and 31 (29%) in the laparotomy group (p = 0.08). The OS rate at 5 years was 97.3% after laparoscopy and 79.8% after laparotomy (p = 0.19). CONCLUSIONS: there is no difference associated with the laparoscopic approach for the staging of early stage EOC on RFS and OS in comparison with laparotomy. MIS may be proposed as a safe and adequate alternative to laparotomy when performed by well-trained surgeons.

ROBOT-ASSISTED ABDOMINAL LAPAROSCOPIC RADICAL TRACHELECTOMY FOR EARLY STAGE CERVICAL CANCER :Case report with surgical intervention.

BACKGROUND: Vaginal radical trachelectomy to preserve fertility in women with early stage cervical cancer was first described by Dargent in 1994. Nowadays, robot-assisted abdominal laparoscopic radical is a new alternative. We want to share our first experience of robot-assisted radical trachelectomy. TECHNIQUE: We report the case of a 28 years-old women with an early stage cervical cancer (1B1) and has a wish for preserved fertility (no anterior pregnancy). She undergoes a robot-assisted laparoscopic radical trachelectomy. We divide the technique into 10 surgical steps. EXPERIENCE: The duration of the surgery was : 4H30 with a bleeding < 100cc. The post operative period was simple without complications. Since the intervention, we perform 3 more robot-assisted radical trachelectomy. None of them have a complication during the surgery and the post operative period was simple. CONCLUSION: Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical trachelectomy is a safe and acurate technique. We want to share our recent experience by sharing this video. The surgeon in our hospipal are used to pratic robot-assisted laparoscopic. However, it was our first robot-assisted laparoscopic radical trachelectomy. Thus we would like to demonstrate the feasibility and the reproducibility of this technique.

Assessment of the quality of life of gynecologic surgeons: A national survey in France.

INTRODUCTION: Well-being and quality of life (QoL) in the workplace have become a priority in all professions. Both academic studies and the media seek to assess how physicians feel. Nonetheless, few studies have focused on the specific situation of surgeons in terms of their work/life balance and their satisfaction at work. These observations led us to conduct a survey to describe these factors among gynecologic surgeons, as a function of their lifestyles and professional practices. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This self-administered cross-sectional survey was distributed by email to the gynecologic surgeons currently practicing in France, both those who do and do not continue to cover on-call obstetrics duty. This analysis compared responses by gender. RESULTS: Between February and June 2019, we collected 253 responses: 105 from women and 148 from men. In all, 59.6% of the surgeons reported working from 50 to 75 h weekly, and 23.7% considered their workload very high and difficult to manage. Indeed, 32.4% reported they had already experienced an episode of burnout. At the same time, 51.8% of the women but only 18.2% of the men reported they had previously experienced discrimination in the workplace. The women felt they received less recognition by their peers than their male colleagues. They held fewer management and other posts of responsibility. They were notably less satisfied with their salaries. Overall, 73.5% of the surgeons would make the same career choice, if they could do it over again. CONCLUSION: This assessment of gynecologic surgeons shows marked gender differences in the impact of workload on the time they have for themselves, their family, and their friends. Given the diseases it deals with, this profession is stressful and can involve notable psychological repercussions. The burnout rate is high, consistent with the literature. Despite their desire for some changes, the response by three quarters of the respondents that they would choose the same career path if they had it to do over again is evidence of professional satisfaction.

Aggressive angiomyxoma of the perineal region.

Aggressive angiomyxoma is a rare tumour that frequently involves the perineal region with a high risk of local recurrence. This is a case report of a 24-year-old female patient with a genital prolapse. We performed a surgical treatment. Histological examination found an aggressive angiomyxoma. The tumour recurred 1 year after surgery. Long-term follow-up is necessary.

Vacuum-assisted closure therapy in the management of patients undergoing vulvectomy.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether systematic postoperative VAC therapy could improve vulvectomy healing. STUDY DESIGN: We reviewed medical data from 54 women who underwent in the period of March 2006 to December 2009 radical vulvectomy or wide local vulvectomy with defect volume >40cm(3). Patients were divided into two groups according to immediate postoperative care. Patients treated with systematic vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy immediately after surgery were included in the "VAC group" while patients receiving conventional care (CC) were included in the "CC group". RESULTS: The characteristics of the VAC group (n=30) and CC group (n=24) were similar and there were no significant differences in operative data, histological results or oncologic follow-up. The median length of use of VAC was 11 days after surgery (6-38). The length of hospital stay for patients in the VAC group and CC group was 17.8 (±8.7) and 18.4 days (±9.9) (p=0.8) respectively. The lengths of complete healing were 44.4 (±18.4) vs. 60.2 (±28.7) days (p=0.0175) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In our study we proved that using VAC dressing immediately after vulvectomy (at least 6cm×7cm) for 11 days reduces the total length of cicatrization by approximately 16 days.