Awareness of Infectious Disease Screening During Early Pregnancy and Knowledge About its Vertical Transmission in Japan: A Report from the Pregnant Women Health Initiative.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to clarify the accuracy of pregnant women's knowledge and understanding regarding infectious disease screening in early pregnancy and clarify the roles that should be played by health care providers in promoting the health of pregnant women and their children. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in 25 hospitals across Japan from May 2018 to September 2019. We compared the agreement rates regarding screening results for hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), syphilis, human T-cell leukemia virus-1 (HTLV-1), and cervical cytology in the medical records and understanding of their results by pregnant women. We then investigated whether participants had knowledge regarding the risk of mother-to child transmission in these diseases and factors associated with their knowledge. RESULTS: We enrolled 2,838 respondents in this study. The rates of agreement for HBV and cervical cancer screening related to human papillomavirus infection were "substantial," those for syphilis was "moderate," and those for HCV and HTLV-1 were "fair," according to the Kappa coefficient. The rate of knowledge regarding mother-to-child transmission of syphilis was highest (37.0%); this rate for the other items was approximately 30%. Increased knowledge was associated with higher educational level and higher annual income. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: Pregnant women in Japan had generally good levels of understanding regarding their results in early-pregnancy infectious disease screening. However, they had insufficient knowledge regarding mother-to-child transmission of these diseases. Health care providers should raise awareness in infectious disease prevention among pregnant women and the general public, providing appropriate measures and implementing effective perinatal checkups and follow-ups for infectious diseases.

Possible significance of degeneration and decreased expression of progesterone receptor in postmenopausal uterine leiomyoma.

BACKGROUND: The growth of uterine leiomyomas is dependent on the levels of sex steroid hormones, and they usually shrink after menopause. However, there are cases in which leiomyomas continue to grow and/or surgery is required after menopause. In addition to estrogen, progesterone has recently been implicated in leiomyoma enlargement, but its relevance to postmenopausal leiomyoma remains unknown. Therefore, we investigated whether hormone receptor expression is associated with postmenopausal leiomyoma enlargement and characterized pathological findings of postmenopausal leiomyoma, which have not been clarified yet. METHODS: Nine cases that required total hysterectomy for leiomyomas after menopause were examined. Surgeries were conducted because of pelvic pressure, pelvic pain, suspected malignancy, or growing leiomyoma. Six cases of leiomyomas being incidentally found during total hysterectomy for postmenopausal uterine prolapse, and six patients who underwent hysterectomy for leiomyomas before menopause, were examined as controls. We evaluated the expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor B, and progesterone receptor AB by immunohistochemical staining among the cases. We also analyzed the pathological findings of leiomyomas. RESULTS: In postmenopausal leiomyomas, the expression of progesterone receptor was higher than that in the adjacent myometrium. Compared with premenopausal leiomyomas, the expression of progesterone receptor decreased. Postmenopausal leiomyomas that required surgery did not show elevated sex steroid hormone receptor expression, compared with the leiomyomas that did not require surgery. The degeneration frequency of leiomyomas was 92% in the group that underwent surgery for postmenopausal leiomyomas, 65% in the group that underwent surgery for reasons other than the presence of leiomyomas after menopause, and 47% in the group operated for leiomyomas before menopause. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that sex steroid hormones are unlikely to be associated with the growth of leiomyomas after menopause. Since leiomyoma degeneration with increased extracellular matrix is likely to occur in postmenopausal women, the degeneration of leiomyomas may be the main mechanism for the growth of postmenopausal leiomyomas.

Analysis of uterine corporeal mesenchymal tumors occurring after menopause.

OBJECTIVE: Because it is difficult to diagnose accurately whether uterine corporeal mesenchymal tumors are benign or malignant before surgery, an understanding of the characteristics of patients with uterine sarcomas occurring in the postmenopausal period is required. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the cases of women who underwent surgery for uterine mesenchymal tumors at our hospital. RESULTS: Among 487 operated cases, 447 tumors occurred in the premenopausal period and 40 occurred in the postmenopausal period. Uterine sarcomas were observed in 5 cases (1.1%) during the premenopausal period and in 11 cases (28%) during the postmenopausal period. Among the postmenopausal patients, age, age at menopause, body mass index (BMI), tumor size, incidence of abnormal vaginal bleeding, serum tumor marker levels (cancer antigen 125, carbohydrate antigen 19-9, and carcinoembryonic antigen), and serum lactate dehydrogenase values were not significantly different between patients with benign tumors and those with malignant tumors. On the other hand, the incidence to have abnormal signal on MRI was significantly higher in patients with malignant tumors than in patients with benign tumors. CONCLUSION: In our hospital, the incidence of malignant tumors in women with uterine corporeal mesenchymal tumors was much higher in postmenopausal patients than in premenopausal patients. Because it is generally not easy to diagnose uterine sarcomas before surgery, surgery should be positively considered when uterine sarcomas cannot be ruled out for patients in the postmenopausal period.

Does the extension of the type of hysterectomy contribute to the local control of endometrial cancer?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the necessity and sufficiency of different types of hysterectomy for the surgical treatment of endometrial cancer. METHODS: This was a multicenter collaborative study conducted by 11 institutions. Among patients with stage I-III endometrial cancer who underwent surgery as the initial treatment (only chemotherapy was provided if adjuvant therapy was needed) from 2001 to 2012, we retrospectively examined the type of hysterectomy, clinicopathological factors, recurrence rate over a maximum period of 5 years, and the site of recurrence. The local recurrence rate was examined by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Among 1335 patients, 982 (73.6%) underwent simple hysterectomy (SH) and 353 (26.4%) underwent modified radical hysterectomy (mRH) and were observed for a mean duration of 51.8 months. No significant difference was observed in the rate of local recurrence between the SH and mRH groups (p = 0.928). In multivariate analysis, clinicopathological factors independently associated with localized recurrence included postmenopausal status [hazard ratio (HR) 5.036, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.506-16.841, p = 0.009], with stages II (HR 3.337, 95% CI 1.701-6.547, p < 0.001) and III (HR 2.445, 95% CI 1.280-4.668, p = 0.007), vs stage I and histological type 2 (HR 1.610, 95% CI 0.938-2.762, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: For endometrial cancer patients requiring surgery, the selection of a more extensive type of hysterectomy did not reduce the rate of local recurrence. Therefore, there is little significance in performing mRH in such cases.

Proton beam therapy for recurrent ovarian carcinoma: A case report.

The efficacy and feasibility of proton beam therapy (PBT) for recurrent ovarian carcinoma had not been determined. Here we presented a case of recurrent ovarian carcinoma that was successfully treated with PBT. A 48-year-old woman who was diagnosed as left ovarian clear cell carcinoma underwent surgery without removal of two tumors. After achieving complete remission with postoperative chemotherapy, a recurrent tumor was found in the sigmoid colon, for which a colostomy was performed. Because second-line chemotherapy was not effective, PBT was selected; there were no complications, except for a transient low-grade fever. After 1 year of PBT, the tumor completely disappeared and the patient had been disease-free for over 8 years. PBT may be an effective and less invasive treatment modality for recurrent ovarian carcinoma.

Case of anti-Hu antibody-mediated encephalopathy associated with ovarian cancer.

The present report describes a case of anti-Hu antibody-mediated encephalopathy associated with ovarian cancer. The patient developed paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes (PNS) during the course of ovarian cancer and showed a symptom of jargon aphasia; diagnosis of PNS was made on the basis of serological and cerebrospinal examination, electroencephalogram (EEG), and magnetic resonance images. EEG initially indicated a condition of non-convulsive status epilepticus; however, levetiracetam administration facilitated complete recovery of this condition. Furthermore, immunotherapy and steroid therapy were very effective and significant improvement was achieved. PNS usually occur before the cancer is identified; however, the possibility of PNS should be considered when neurologic symptoms are noted during the course of oncologic diseases, including ovarian cancer.

Significance of postmenopausal uterine leiomyomas: Focus on variants.

AIM: To investigate the differences in leiomyoma pathophysiology by patient age at the time of surgery and the possible significance of postmenopausal uterine leiomyomas, particularly variants. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data from 471 patients who underwent surgery for uterine leiomyomas and evaluated their clinical data. RESULTS: Overall, 441 (93.4%) women were premenopausal and 30 (6.4%) were postmenopausal. There were no differences in the frequency of the coexistence of ovarian steroid-dependent diseases among age groups. Common histopathological features were observed in most cases despite menopausal status; however, the incidence of variants among postmenopausal patients was high compared to that among premenopausal women (23.3% [7/30] vs 3.2% [14/441], respectively). Among the variant leiomyomas in postmenopausal patients, lipoleiomyomas comprised six. CONCLUSION: Although progesterone is known to play a vital role in promoting leiomyoma growth, it reportedly performs dual actions and does not always stimulate leiomyoma growth. Our study may support the idea that the dual action of progesterone is the primary reason for the surgical treatment required for uterine leiomyomas in the postmenopausal period. We also found that lipoleiomyoma might be the most common uterine leiomyoma variant requiring surgical treatment among postmenopausal women. Thus, we must consider the diagnosis of uterine lipoleiomyoma in postmenopausal women with uterine leiomyomas.

A Review of Laparoscopic Para-aortic Lymphadenectomy for Early-stage Endometrial Cancer: Extraperitoneal Approach May Have the Advantage over Intraperitoneal Approach.

The importance of lymphadenectomy, including para-aortic nodes, for the accurate staging of endometrial cancer, is well established. Although the therapeutic role of lymph node resection in endometrial cancer is still under debate, some studies support its usefulness for survival benefit. To predict the necessity of lymphadenectomy, several preoperative scoring systems have been proposed as being effective. For endometrial cancer, there is a trend towards minimally invasive surgery, including para-aortic lymphadenectomy. For para-aortic lymphadenectomy, there are two different approaches: the extraperitoneal approach and the transperitoneal approach. The extraperitoneal approach has advantages over the transperitoneal approach in terms of better access to the left aortic nodes, no interference of the bowel, and possibly better options for obese or elderly patients. However, the extraperitoneal approach may have a longer learning curve than the transperitoneal approach. Robot-assisted extraperitoneal para-aortic lymphadenectomy is feasible and safe and may be suitable for patients irrespective of their baseline characteristics.

Comparison of quality of life after robotic-transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery and robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated quality of life (QOL) of patients who underwent total hysterectomy for benign uterine diseases using two surgical approaches: robotic-transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (R-vNOTES) and robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy (RALH). STUDY DESIGN: This single-center retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary academic setting and included 65 patients who underwent robotic-assisted hysterectomy for benign uterine diseases. Total hysterectomy was performed using R-vNOTES or RALH by the same gynecologist between December 2021 and June 2022. The primary outcome was a comparison of QOL over time and complete QOL recovery (postoperative QOL score/preoperative QOL score ≥ 1) by postoperative day 28 (POD28) in the R-vNOTES and RALH groups. QOL was examined using EQ-5D-5L in this study. The secondary outcome was a comparison of the surgical outcomes in the R-vNOTES and RALH groups. RESULTS: Complete QOL recovery was achieved by 62.7% in the R-vNOTES group and 7.3% in the RALH group at POD7 (p <.001) and by 100% in the R-vNOTES group and 56.1％ in the RALH group at POD28 (p <.001). In a multivariable model, patients who underwent R-vNOTES achieved higher complete QOL recovery at POD 28 [adjusted hazard ratio: 4.03, 95% confidence interval: 2.03-8.04]. There was no significant difference between the R-vNOTES and RALH groups in terms of operating time (p =.07), intraoperative blood loss (p =.35), uterus weight (p =.76), or postoperative complications (p =.71). CONCLUSION: The R-vNOTES approach for total hysterectomy for benign uterine diseases provided better complete QOL recovery by POD28 compared to the RALH approach. The surgical outcomes for R-vNOTES were equivalent to those for RALH, suggesting that R-vNOTES may provide a safe approach for robot-assisted hysterectomy.

Intraperitoneal Carboplatin for Ovarian Cancer - A Phase 2/3 Trial.

BACKGROUND: Intraperitoneal chemotherapy has been shown to be effective at reducing mortality for patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer but is not widely used in practice. METHODS: We performed the Intraperitoneal Therapy for Ovarian Cancer with Carboplatin (iPocc) trial as an open-label, international, multi-institutional, randomized phase 2/3 clinical trial in women with newly diagnosed epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent laparotomy or laparoscopy. All patients received intravenous paclitaxel (80 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 21-day cycle). In addition, patients in the control group received intravenous carboplatin (dose-dense intravenous paclitaxel plus intravenous carboplatin [dd-TCiv]), whereas patients in the experimental group received dose-dense intravenous paclitaxel plus intraperitoneal carboplatin (dd-TCip). The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary end points included overall survival, tumor response, treatment completion rate, and incidence of adverse events (AEs). RESULTS: Among 655 patients randomized to treatment, median (95% confidence interval [CI]) PFS was 20.7 (18.1 to 22.8) months for dd-TCiv (n=328) and 23.5 (20.5 to 26.9) months for dd-TCip (n=327; hazard ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.69 to 0.99; P=0.04). The PFS benefit with dd-TCip was consistent in patients with different baseline characteristics, stage, size of residual tumor, age, and performance status. The treatment completion rates were 68.3 and 59.9% in the dd-TCiv and dd-TCip groups, respectively. The incidence of intraperitoneal catheter-related AEs in the dd-TCip group was 10.1%; there were no such AEs in the dd-TCiv group. CONCLUSIONS: In the first-line treatment of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer, intraperitoneal carboplatin resulted in a modest prolongation of PFS when given with dose-dense weekly paclitaxel regardless of residual tumor size, with no impact on noncatheter-related toxicities. (Funded by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, and others; Japan Registry of Clinical Trials number, jRCTs031180141.)

A rare case of gestational ovarian choriocarcinoma coexistent with intrauterine pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To report the rare case of gestational primary ovarian choriocarcinoma coexistent with intrauterine pregnancy, successfully treated with surgery and systemic chemotherapy. We also describe the utility of short tandem repeat (STR) genotyping in the diagnosis of choriocarcinoma. CASE REPORT: A 38-year-old woman at 17 gestational weeks presented with an ovarian tumor rupture in the left ovary. Left salpingo-oophorectomy was performed and the patient was diagnosed with gestational ovarian choriocarcinoma via histopathology and STR genotyping. After artificial abortion, the patient underwent 8 cycles of chemotherapy. Abdominal hysterectomy was performed because of the presence of low levels of human chorionic gonadotropin and the tumor that developed behind the uterus. However, no viable choriocarcinoma cells were found in the residual tumor, suggesting that the patient achieved full remission. CONCLUSIONS: Early detection is crucial in treating choriocarcinomas; thus, clinicians should consider the possibility of choriocarcinoma at the presence of an ovarian tumor during pregnancy. Gestational and non-gestational choriocarcinomas differ in prognosis and sensitivity to chemotherapy due to their different etiologies. Therefore, STR genotyping may be beneficial in predicting the patient's prognosis or selecting the appropriate regimen.

An inconspicuous fallopian-tube carcinoma clinically manifested as a rectovaginal septal tumor: a pitfall for diagnosis and treatment.

We report an unusual metastasis of an inconspicuous fallopian-tube carcinoma to the rectovaginal septum in a 67-year-old woman. The 4-cm tumor of serous adenocarcinoma was identified in the rectovaginal space with intact vaginal and rectal mucosa. The patient underwent an abdominoperineal resection with adjacent rectum and the bilateral uterine annexes, which were macroscopically intact. Unexpectedly, invasive and intraepithelial serous adenocarcinoma in fallopian-tube fimbria was microscopically observed, suggesting that the fallopian fimbria was the origin of the rectovaginal septum tumor. The clonality of these two tumors was confirmed by the presence of an identical single nucleotide point mutation in TP53. The patient received six cycles of adjuvant paclitaxel and carboplatin combination chemotherapy. There was no sign of recurrence after 17 months of treatment. This case study demonstrates that the fallopian-tube carcinoma, which exhibited minimal growth in the primary site, has the potential to metastasize to the retroperitoneal space and suggests that the fallopian-tube fimbria must be closely examined in cases of adenocarcinoma of unknown origin.

Laparoscopic surgery for massive ovarian edema during pregnancy: A case report.

Massive ovarian edema (MOE) is a rare non-neoplastic clinicopathologic disease that is characterized by stromal edema and is caused by the partial or intermittent obstruction of venous and lymphatic drainage. The literature on MOE contains approximately 200 cases, but only 12 cases of MOE during pregnancy have been reported to date. We report a case of MOE at 22 weeks of gestation that was diagnosed preoperatively, and the patient underwent laparoscopic surgery. Accurate preoperative diagnosis of MOE is important because it enables the selection of a therapeutic option, such as fundamental surgery, including adnexectomy; conservative surgery, including the release of torsion and ovarian biopsy; and conservative treatment without surgery. MOE should be considered as a differential diagnosis for an enlarged ovary during pregnancy. Laparoscopic surgery may be a useful therapeutic option for MOE, especially during pregnancy.

Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy for Anterior Cervical Myoma: Possible Significance of Presurgical Assessment by Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Hysterectomy for large uterine anterior cervical myoma is a challenging surgical procedure. We summarize our experience in the management of large uterine anterior cervical myoma. Three patients underwent hysterectomy for uterine anterior cervical myoma with similar sizes and different positions treated by laparoscopic surgery. Total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) for cervical myoma is possible by performing ureterolysis and adopting retrograde hysterectomy. Because the position of myoma is important to determine the difficulty of TLH, we propose to measure the axis between the most caudal point of the myoma and external cervical os and pubococcygeal line as a possible useful method in objectively predicting the difficulty of TLH for large anterior cervical myoma.

Learning curve of laparoscopic extraperitoneal para-aortic lymphadenectomy for endometrial carcinoma: A cumulative sum analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Minimally invasive surgery including lymphadenectomy for endometrial cancer is widely standardized for the management of endometrial cancer in recent decades. However, the learning curve for laparoscopic para-aortic lymphadenectomy is poorly reported, specifically that for the extraperitoneal approach. METHODS: We examined the learning curve for laparoscopic extraperitoneal para-aortic lymphadenectomy by cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis by retrospectively analyzing 134 patients with early-stage endometrial cancer who had undergone laparoscopic extraperitoneal para-aortic lymphadenectomy, including the first case. Data on the surgical factors that improved and were statistically correlated with the number of procedures experienced were extracted and used to create CUSUM curves. RESULTS: The average time for para-aortic lymphadenectomy was 149.4 min to harvest an average of 65.3 para-aortic lymph nodes. Intra- and postoperative complications were observed in nine cases (6.7%). A switch to the transperitoneal approach was necessary in three cases (2.2%). The number of harvested para-aortic lymph nodes and the procedure time were strongly correlated with the number of procedures the patient underwent (p < 0.01). The CUSUM curve of the number of harvested para-aortic lymph nodes indicated an inflection point at the 51st case. The procedure time for para-aortic lymphadenectomy stabilized after the 59th case. CUSUM analysis of "unexpected events," including intra- and postoperative complications and switch to the transperitoneal approach, showed an improved incidence at 60 cases and later. CONCLUSION: Gaining proficiency in laparoscopic extraperitoneal thorough para-aortic lymphadenectomy is associated with a long learning curve of over 60 procedures. Careful management is required when introducing the procedure.

A case of uterine carcinosarcoma which was strongly suspected to have metastases to the psoas and gluteus muscles.

Metastasis to the skeletal muscles is uncommon. We report a case which was strongly suspected to have psoas and gluteus muscle metastases from uterine carcinosarcoma. A 68-year-old woman (gravida, 2; para, 0) underwent retroperitoneal endoscopic paraaortic lymphadenectomy, laparoscopic modified radical hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy for uterine carcinosarcoma, suspected to be stage IB. Metastasis to one right pelvic lymph node was observed. Ascites fluid cytology was negative. Postoperative pathological examination revealed stage IIIC1 (pT1bN1M0) disease. Five cycles of chemotherapy with paclitaxel + carboplatin were performed. 10 months after chemotherapy, serum cancer antigen-125 level was elevated. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a 3-cm tumor of the left psoas muscle and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a tumor of the left gluteus maximus muscle. These lesions showed fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in positron emission tomography-CT. Because we considered the tumors were metastases of uterine carcinosarcoma, we recommended her chemotherapy. However, after one cycle of chemotherapy, the patient underwent immunotherapy elsewhere with immune checkpoint inhibitors. 5 months after the recurrence, she was alive.

Safety of total laparoscopic modified radical hysterectomy with or without lymphadenectomy for endometrial cancer.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: In order to reduce the risk of vaginal recurrence, we have chosen total laparoscopic modified radical hysterectomy instead of extrafascial hysterectomy in the treatment of endometrial cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the safety of this method. DESIGN: Retrospective study of gynecological patients. SETTING: Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan. PATIENTS: Forty-nine patients who underwent total laparoscopic modified radical hysterectomy for the treatment of endometrial cancer at our hospital between December 2011 and September 2015. INTERVENTIONS: Total laparoscopic modified radical hysterectomy + bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (n = 20), total laparoscopic modified radical hysterectomy + bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy + pelvic lymphadenectomy (n = 18), or total laparoscopic modified radical hysterectomy + bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy + pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy (n = 11). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The surgical outcomes were analyzed and compared to previous reports. The median operative time was 204 minutes (range, 99-504 minutes) and the median intraoperative blood loss was 150 mL (range, 0-680 mL). No patients needed a blood transfusion, conversion to laparotomy, or reoperation. Intra- and postoperative complications were observed in three patients and nine patients, respectively. The amount of blood loss and the incidence of complications in our study were almost identical to previous reports of laparoscopic hysterectomy. The operative time in our study was equivalent to previous reports of total laparoscopic modified radical hysterectomy. CONCLUSION: Total laparoscopic modified radical hysterectomy is safe and feasible for the treatment of early stage endometrial cancer. This procedure can be an alternative to total laparoscopic hysterectomy, especially when the uterus must be removed completely.

Hyperthyroidism due to struma ovarii: Diagnostic pitfalls and preventing thyroid storm.

We report struma ovarii in a case that had hyperthyroidism and was treated with laparoscopic tumor resection. A 40-year-old Japanese woman presented with tachycardia, finger tremor, and weight loss. Although blood examination showed hyperthyroidism, test results for thyroid stimulating hormone receptor antibody and thyroid stimulating antibody were negative, and thyroid scintigraphy showed no abnormal findings. Because she was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor, and whole-body scintigraphy showed that iodine uptake was detected in the pelvic space, we diagnosed her with an ovarian tumor, which caused excessive thyroid hormone secretion. After controlling the thyroid hormone level, we resected the ovarian tumor laparoscopically. The thyroid hormone level was within the normal range postoperatively without any medications. Based on our experience, physicians need to remember that ovarian tumors can cause hyperthyroidism. Controlling the thyroid hormone level preoperatively by using antithyroid drugs and performing minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery is considered useful for preventing thyroid storm.