Patient outcomes and adherence to an enhanced recovery pathway for open gynecologic surgery: a 6-year single-center experience.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate compliance with an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol for open gynecologic surgery at a tertiary center and the relationship between levels of compliance and peri-operative outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted between November 2014 and December 2020. Two groups were defined based on compliance level (<80% vs ≥80%). The primary outcome was to analyze overall compliance since implementation of the ERAS protocol. The secondary endpoint was to assess the relationship between compliance and 30-day re-admission, length of stay, re-operation, opioid-free rates, and post-operative complications. We also assessed compliance with each ERAS element over three time periods (P1: 2014-2016, P2: 2017-2018, P3: 2019-2020), categorizing patients according to the date of surgery. Values were compared between P1 and P3. RESULTS: A total of 1879 patients were included. Overall compliance over the period of 6 years was 74% (95% CI 71.9% to 78.2%). Mean overall compliance increased from 69.7% to 75.8% between P1 and P3. Compliance with ERAS ≥80% was associated with lower Clavien-Dindo complication rates (grades III (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.33 to 0.93) and V (OR 0.08, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.60)), 30-day re-admission rates (OR 0.61; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.88), and length of stay (OR 0.59; 95% CI 0.47 to 0.75). No difference in opioid consumption was seen. Pre-operatively, there was increased adherence to counseling by 50% (p=0.01), optimization by 21% (p=0.02), and carbohydrate loading by 74% (p=0.02). Intra-operatively, compliance with use of short-acting anesthetics increased by 37% (p=0.01) and avoidance of abdominal drainage increased by 7% (p=0.04). Use of goal-directed fluid therapy decreased by 16% (p=0.04). Post-operatively, there was increased compliance with avoiding salt and water overload (8%, p=0.02) and multimodal analgesia (5%, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Over the time period of the study, overall compliance increased from 69.7% to 75.8%. Compliance (≥80%) with ERAS is associated with lower complication rates, fewer 30-day re-admissions, and shorter length of stay without impacting re-operation rates and post-operative opioid use.

Trends in Early-Stage Cervical Cancer Management in the US: A National Cancer Database Analysis.

The Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer (LACC) trial was published in 2018 and demonstrated that minimally invasive surgery (MIS) yields inferior survival outcomes in early-stage cervical cancer compared to open surgery. This study investigates how the results of the LACC trial have impacted the selection of the primary treatment modality and adjuvant radiation utilization in early-stage cervical cancer. Using the National Cancer Database (NCDB), we compared patients with stage IA2-IB1 cervical cancer before (1/2016-12/2017) and after (1/2019-12/2020) the LACC trial. A total of 7930 patients were included: 4609 before and 3321 after the LACC trial. There was a decline in MIS usage from 67% pre-LACC to 35% thereafter (p < 0.001). In both the pre- and post-LACC periods, patients undergoing radical MIS more frequently had small volume disease (pre-LACC tumors ≤ 2 cm, 48% MIS vs. 41% open, p = 0.023; post-LACC stage IA2, 22% vs. 15%, p = 0.002). Pre-LACC, MIS radical hysterectomy was associated with White race (82% vs. 77%, p = 0.001) and private insurance (63% vs. 54%, p = 0.004), while there was no difference in socioeconomic factors in the post-LACC period. Although the proportion of patients treated with primary chemoradiation remained stable, the post-LACC cohort had a younger median age (52.47 vs. 56.37, p = 0.005) and more microscopic disease cases (13% vs. 5.4%, p = 0.002). There was no difference in the rate of radiation after radical hysterectomy before and after the trial (26% vs. 24%, p = 0.3). Conclusions: Post-LACC, patients were less likely to undergo MIS but received adjuvant radiation at similar rates, and primary chemoradiation patients were younger and more likely to have microscopic disease.

No Racial Disparities Observed Using Point-of-Care Genetic Counseling and Testing for Endometrial and Ovarian Cancer in a Diverse Patient Population: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

We investigated genetic counseling and testing rates for patients with gynecologic malignancy at a tertiary care center with a large minority population. Our retrospective cohort included newly diagnosed epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, peritoneal, or endometrial cancer patients between January 2014 and June 2022. For endometrial cancer, 373 patients were identified. A total of 207 (55%) patients were screened using mismatch repair immunohistochemistry (MMR IHC). A total of 82 (40%) had MMR deficiencies on IHC. Of these, 63 (77%) received genetic counseling. A total of 62 (98%) underwent genetic testing, and ultimately, 7 (11%) were diagnosed with Lynch syndrome (LS). The overall rate of LS was 1.9%. MMR IHC testing increased steadily, reaching 100% in 2022. For ovarian cancer, 144 patients were identified. A total of 104 (72%) patients received genetic counseling, and 99 (95%) underwent genetic testing. Rates were not influenced by race, ethnicity, insurance type, or family history of cancer. They were significantly different by cancer stage (p < 0.01). The proportion of patients who received genetic counseling increased from 47% in 2015 to 100% in 2022 (p < 0.01). Most counseling was performed by a gynecologic oncologist (93%) as opposed to a genetic counselor (6.7%). Overall, 12 (8.3%) patients were BRCA+. High rates of counseling and testing were observed with few disparities.

Comparison of Minimally Invasive Surgery with Open Surgery for Type II Endometrial Cancer: An Analysis of the National Cancer Database.

OBJECTIVE: Prior studies comparing minimally invasive surgery with open surgery among patients with endometrial cancer have reported similar survival outcomes and improved perioperative outcomes with minimally invasive surgery (MIS). However, patients with Type II endometrial cancer were underrepresented in these studies. We sought to compare the overall survival and surgical outcomes between open surgery and MIS in a large cohort of women with Type II endometrial cancer. METHODS: Using data from the National Cancer Database, we identified a cohort of women who underwent hysterectomy for type II endometrial cancer (serous, clear cell, and carcinosarcoma) between January 2010 and December 2014. The primary outcome was a comparison of the overall survival for MIS with that for the open approach. The secondary outcomes included a comparison of the length of hospital stay, readmission within 30 days of discharge, and 30- and 90-day mortality. Outcomes were compared between the cohorts using the Mann-Whitney U test, Pearson's chi-square test, or Fisher's exact test. Multivariable logistic regression with inverse propensity weighting was used to determine clinical characteristics that were statistically significant predictors of outcomes. p values < 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: We identified 12,905 patients with Type II, Stage I-III endometrial cancer that underwent a hysterectomy. In total, 7123 of these women (55.2%) underwent MIS. The rate of MIS increased from 39% to 64% over four years. Women who underwent MIS were more often White, privately insured, older, and had a higher income. The laparotomy group had a higher rate of carcinosarcoma histology (30.9% vs. 23.6%, p < 0.001), stage III disease (38.4% vs. 27.4%, p < 0.001), and larger primary tumors (59 vs. 45 mm, p < 0.001). Lymph node dissection was more commonly performed in the MIS group (89.6% vs. 85.4%, p < 0.001). With regard to adjuvant therapy, subjection to postoperative radiation was more common in the MIS group (37% vs. 40.1%, p < 0.001), while chemotherapy was more common in the laparotomy group (37.6% vs. 33.9%, p < 0.001). The time interval between surgery and the initiation of chemotherapy was shorter in the MIS group (39 vs. 42 days, p < 0.001). According to the results of propensity-score-weighted analysis, MIS was associated with superior overall survival (101.7 vs. 86.7 months, p = 0.0003 determined using the long-rank test), which corresponded to a 10% decreased risk of all-cause mortality (HR 0.9; CI 0.857-0.954, p = 0.0002). The survival benefit was uniform across all three histology types and stages. MIS was associated with superior perioperative outcomes, including shorter length of stay (1 vs. 4 days, p < 0.001), lower 30-day readmission rates (2.5% vs. 5%), and lower 30- and 90-day postoperative mortality (0.5% vs. 1.3% and 1.5% vs. 3.6%, respectively; p < 0.001 for both). The increased adoption of MIS from 2010 to 2014 corresponds to a decrease in 90-day postoperative mortality (2.8% to 2.2%, r = -0.89; p = 0.04) and overall mortality (51% to 38%, r = -0.95; p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: In a large cohort of patients from the National Cancer Database, MIS was associated with improved overall survival and superior perioperative outcomes compared to open surgery among women with Type II endometrial cancer. A decrease in postoperative mortality and a shorter interval between surgery and the initiation of chemotherapy may contribute to the survival benefit of MIS. A racial and economic disparity in the surgical management of Type II endometrial cancer was identified, and further investigation is warranted to narrow this gap and improve patient outcomes.

Minimally invasive versus open surgery for women with stage 1A1 and stage 1A2 cervical cancer: A retrospective database cohort study.

Background: Recent studies comparing minimally invasive versus open radical hysterectomy in patients with early-stage cervical cancer have reported a worse overall survival with minimally invasive surgery (MIS). However, in the patients with microscopic disease, there was no survival difference and the optimal surgical approach for microscopic cervical cancer remains unclear. Methods: Using the National Cancer Database, we identified a cohort of women who underwent hysterectomy as the primary treatment for stage IA1/IA2 cervical cancer between January 2010 and December 2016. Using multivariable logistic regression, our primary outcome was to compare overall survival between the open and MIS groups. The data was stratified for simple and radical hysterectomies. Secondary endpoint was comparison of readmission rates and length of stay (LOS). Results: We identified 6230 patients with stage IA1 and IA2 cervical cancer that underwent hysterectomy as primary treatment. 4054 of these women (65%) underwent MIS. There was no difference in age, lympho-vascular invasion, number of lymph nodes retrieved and histology between the two groups. In the overall cohort, there was no difference in survival between the open and the MIS group (Hazard ratio for the open group 1.23; CI 0.92-1.63). Post-operative radiation therapy was more common in the open group (5.24% vs 4.09%, p value < 0.02). The mean LOS (1.35 days vs 3.08 days) was shorter in MIS group (p value < 0.0001). No difference was found in the readmission rates (60% for the MIS group vs 55% for the open group; p value 0.14). Conclusions: Our data suggest that MIS is associated with similar overall survival and shorter length of hospital stay compared to the open hysterectomy in women with stage IA cervical cancer. Based on this large data set, MIS appears to be a safe and effective surgical approach for women with stage IA1/IA2 cervical cancer.

Endometrial cancer recurrence in the sacrum and the Psoas: A case report and literature review.

Musculoskeletal metastasis of endometrial carcinoma is rare. Data regarding the management of metastatic disease to these sites is limited. We report a case of a 73-year-old woman who had surgery for endometrial adenocarcinoma (FIGO stage IB, Grade II) followed by vaginal cuff brachytherapy and one year later developed an isolated recurrence in the sacrum and iliopsoas muscle. She was treated with chemotherapy followed by whole pelvis radiation and a complete clinical response was achieved. At her last follow up, 12 months after the completion of the radiation, she had no clinical or radiologic evidence of disease.