Catastrophizing moderates the relationship between pain severity and depressive symptomatology among women with endometriosis.

The link between pain severity, depressive symptomatology and catastrophizing among women with endometriosis is still under-investigated. The aim of this study was to (i) evaluate differences in depressive symptomatology between women with and without endometriosis; (ii) investigate if pain severity is associated with depressive symptoms; and (iii) test if catastrophizing moderates the link between these two variables. A total of 172 women with a diagnosis of endometriosis and 62 healthy controls volunteered for this cross-sectional study. Depressive symptomatology, pain severity, and catastrophizing were assessed.Compared to healthy controls, women with endometriosis were more likely to score above the cutoff for depressive symptomatology, with 60.5% of the latter being classified as having a subthreshold depression or minor depression and 15.7% as having moderate or severe major depression. Pain severity was significantly associated with depressive symptoms even after controlling for several covariates. Finally, the moderation model suggested that among patients with endometriosis, the relationship between pain severity and depressive symptomatology depended on the level of catastrophizing, with this association being stronger for high levels of the moderator.Mental health practitioners working with women with endometriosis may consider those who report high levels of pain severity and of catastrophizing at high risk of depression and are advised to promote adaptive coping strategies among patients to foster a better adaptation to this chronic disease.

Going beyond the surface: a mixed-method exploration of infertility-related quality of life of women with endometriosis.

Literature about the impact of infertility and endometriosis on Quality of Life (QoL) is scarce and needs further investigation. Our aim was to deeply investigate the QoL of women with diagnoses of both endometriosis and infertility with failed Assisted Reproductive Treatments (ART). We conducted a concurrent mixed-method study composed of both quantitative and qualitative surveys. The quantitative survey included 22 women who completed the FertiQoL. The qualitative survey included 15 of them who provided written answers to open-ended questions aimed at deeply exploring their QoL. Data were initially analyzed separately and then combined in a meta-matrix. From the quantitative survey emerged that women at higher risk for low QoL were those who have experienced previous spontaneous miscarriages and that the domains of the FertiQoL related to fertility treatment (i.e. increased pain severity, disturbed daily life routine, and dissatisfaction with services) were the most critical. From the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of qualitative survey, narrations about the physical, relational, social, emotional-cognitive, and behavioural impact of the diseases emerged. Mixed findings showed that the QoL of this population was scarce and that different levels (the inner world, the behaviours, the relational context, and the environmental context) are strictly connected and interact between them in influencing QoL. Multi-level preventive or supportive programs (with specific attention to pain experience, coping strategies, quality of services and governmental support) are required for this population.

Psychological and cognitive factors implicated in pain experience in women with endometriosis.

Sixty women with a diagnosis of endometriosis (30 with low pain severity - LP; 30 with high pain severity - HP) were evaluated at study entry (T0) and after three months (T1). At T0 they were compared for different psychological dimensions to sixty-two age-paired healthy women (CG). HP group had significantly higher scores on depressive symptomatology, sexual distress, and catastrophizing than CG, and higher scores on worry traits than LP. Metacognitive beliefs predicted sexual distress at T1, over and above pain severity. Pain affects different domains of mental health in this population. Coping strategies, metacognitive beliefs, and worry traits may modulate pain experience and psychological distress.

Does cytoreductive surgery followed by adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy decrease the risk of recurrence and death in stage III endometrial cancer?

INTRODUCTION: The optimal postoperative adjuvant treatment for stage III endometrial cancer (EC) is controversial. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in stage III EC. METHODS: Data on 36 patients with stage III EC were reviewed. A review of the literature was performed. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 31 months (range 3-195). All patients underwent radical surgery with lymph nodes assessment in 29 (80.6%). The histologic specimen revealed 27 (75%) type I and 9 (25%) type II cancers staged IIIA, IIIB, IIIC1, and IIIC2 in 9 (25%), 3 (8.3%), 17 (47.2%), and 7 (19.5%) patients, respectively. At the end of surgery, 32 (88.9%) had no residual tumor. Eighteen (50%) patients were treated with CRT (50% with sandwich approach, 50% with concurrent chemotherapy [CT]), 4 (11.1%) patients received radiotherapy (RT), and 14 (38.9%) had multiagent CT. Four patients (11.1%) with a residual tumor larger than 1 centimeter after surgery died of disease. The 5-year median recurrent free survival (RFS) for CRT, RT, and CT was 69.1%, 37.5%, and 23.8%, respectively (p = 0.05); the 5-year OS for CRT, RT, and CT was 83%, 35.7%, and 25%, respectively (p = 0.023). Multivariate analyses showed residual tumor as independent predictor for recurrence and death. CRT showed a borderline significance on OS. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that optimal cytoreduction is the most significant prognostic factor and adjuvant CRT seems to be associated with a significant decreased risk of recurrence in stage III EC.

Cognitive and Personality Factors Implicated in Pain Experience in Women With Endometriosis: A Mixed-Method Study.

OBJECTIVE: The impact of pain on quality of life and mental health of women with endometriosis is well known. However, the role that personality traits and coping strategies might have in influencing pain experience is still poorly understood and was the chief purpose of this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a mixed-method sequential explanatory study, composed of a quantitative survey followed by qualitative interviews. The first quantitative phase included 162 women with endometriosis who completed a battery of validated questionnaires. After statistical analysis, a semistructured qualitative interview has been developed and conducted with 6 of them, in order to help explain findings obtained in the first phase. Thereafter, both analyses were combined in a metamatrix. RESULTS: From the metamatrix, it emerged that acute pain experience, fear of its occurrence, its unpredictability, and control difficulties are the main concerns of women with endometriosis. Worry trait characteristics (ie, the need for control, anticipatory anxiety, intrusive worry thoughts) and maladaptive thoughts such as coping strategies (ie, self-blame, rumination, catastrophizing) were common in this sample and seem to indirectly affect pain experience. Indeed, the unsuccessful struggle in controlling pain reinforces negative thoughts/beliefs and feelings of powerlessness, leading, in turn, to psychological distress and higher pain experience. DISCUSSION: From the study emerged a model of onset and maintenance of acute pain in women with endometriosis. Findings have clinical implications for the medical team and psychologists.

Feasibility and surgical outcomes of conventional and robot-assisted laparoscopy for early-stage ovarian cancer: a retrospective, multicenter analysis.

PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the safety, adequacy and oncological outcomes of laparoscopic surgery (LS) and robot-assisted laparoscopic (RALS) approach for the treatment of early-stage ovarian cancer. METHODS: We performed a multicentric, retrospective cohort study, enrolling patients affected by early-stage ovarian cancer who underwent laparoscopic management for early-stage ovarian cancer between 2006 and 2014. Surgical, pathologic and oncologic outcome data were analyzed to compare LS and RALS performances for early-stage ovarian cancer management. RESULTS: 39 patients underwent laparoscopic staging for presumed stage I ovarian cancer: 23 underwent LS and 16 underwent RALS. The mean operative time was 281 ± 81 min (LS 288 ± 88 min; RALS 270 ± 72 min; p = 0.49). No conversion to laparotomy occurred, and one patient had intraoperative hemorrhage requiring blood transfusion. Four patients (10.2 %) experienced postoperative complications of grade 3 according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. The median hospital stay was 3 days (1-15); the differences were not statistically significant between two groups [LS = 4 (1-15); RALS = 3 (1-7); p = 0.43]. During a mean follow-up period of 19.4 months, tumor recurrence occurred in 3 patients: 2 (8.7 %) in the LS group and 1 (6.25 %) in the RALS group. Overall survival and disease-free survival for the entire cohort were 97.4 and 92.3 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: LS and RALS seem to be adequate and feasible for the treatment of early-stage ovarian cancer in terms of the surgical outcomes and oncological safety. Furthermore, in our experience, perioperative outcomes are comparable between LS and RALS making them an acceptable approach in selected patients.

Antenatally diagnosed congenital cystic adenomatoid malformations (CCAM): Research Review.

Prenatal identification of lung abnormalities has increased with prenatal surveillance. With the advent of improved antenatal imaging over the past ten years, the diagnosis, assessment and management of congenital cystic lung abnormalities have changed. These were once considered the exclusive domain of the surgeon, who had the authority to operate on all congenital cystic lung abnormalities regardless of size or clinical signs in order to avoid the risk of cancer and improve lung growth in even asymptomatic infants. Clinicians are reconsidering this approach in the light of the spontaneous improvement and possible resolution that occurs over months to years with many of these lesions, thinking about the opportunity to take a more conservative approach in many minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic infants in the early months of life. The risks of subsequent cancer are poorly understood and probably overstated. Many centers advocate surgery only in cases of symptomatic or significant lesions, although there is little consensus as to what constitutes a significant lesion.This article will review current knowledge (classification, pathogenesis, genetics, prenatal evaluation, clinical implications) on congenital cystic adenomatoid malformations (CCAM) and discuss management options for young children with these lung abnormalities.