Relationship between ascites volume and clinical outcomes in epithelial ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Ascites is a tumor microenvironment, ascites and massive ascites-induce compression could promote the progression of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC); however, the impact of ascites volume on clinical outcomes has not been studied extensively. We aimed to investigate the association between ascites volume and clinical outcomes especially platinum resistance in EOC. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated a total of 546 EOC patients with respect to the amount of ascites, clinicopathologic factors, and survival. Using the threshold of 1500 ml to classify patients into small- and large-volume ascites groups, we analyzed the correlation between ascites volume and clinicopathological factors, including platinum-free interval (PFI), and prognosis. RESULTS: Patients with large volume ascites were more likely to present with later stage disease, primary platinum-resistant (PPR) cancer, and suboptimal cytoreduction. Prolonged PFI was associated with decreased ascites volume. The large-volume ascites group showed worse progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). An increase in ascites volume was associated with an increased risk of disease recurrence (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.115, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.035-1.200) and death (HR = 1.213, 95% CI: 1.090-1.350). CONCLUSIONS: Ascites was an independent predictor of PFS and OS in EOC patients. A large volume of ascites predicated a shortened PFI, an increased incidence of PPR and suboptimal cytoreduction. Thus, the volume of ascites is a simply available clinical parameter, which could be used to evaluate the prognosis and platinum resistance of EOC patients early, it contributes to formulate individualized treatment plan and improve the outcome of EOC patients.

Prognostic Value of Ki-67 Index in Patients With Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma.

OBJECTIVE: The Ki-67 index is used to evaluate cell proliferation activity, which is related to tumor progression, metastasis, and prognosis. We aimed to explore the prognostic value of Ki-67 index in endometrial stromal sarcoma and to explore the optimal cut-off value of Ki-67 index for predicting recurrent endometrial stromal sarcoma. METHODS: A total of 82 patients with endometrial stromal sarcoma who were treated in our hospital were collected. Clinicopathological data of these patients were retrospectively analyzed. Ki-67 index was detected by the immunohistochemical method. Receiver operating characteristic curve and the Youden index were performed to determine the optimal cut-off value of Ki-67 index for predicting recurrent endometrial stromal sarcoma. The Cox regression was performed to analyze risk factors affecting prognosis of endometrial stromal sarcoma. The Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test were performed to analyze the survival of patients. RESULTS: The optimal cut-off value of Ki-67 index for predicting recurrent endometrial stromal sarcoma was 35%. The results of univariate analysis showed that high Ki-67 index (≥35%) was statistically significantly bound up with shorter progress free survival and overall survival. The results of multivariate analysis showed that Ki-67 index (P = 0.001) and ovarian preservation (P = 0.040) were independent prognostic factors of progress free survival. CONCLUSIONS: A Ki-67 index cut-off of 35% was optimal for predicting recurrent endometrial stromal sarcoma. Ki-67 index may be a useful prognostic marker in endometrial stromal sarcoma.

The prominent value of apparent diffusion coefficient in assessing high-risk factors and prognosis for patients with endometrial carcinoma before treatment.

BACKGROUND: To date, there are no consensus methods to evaluate the high-risk factors and prognosis for managing the personalized treatment schedule of patients with endometrial carcinoma (EC) before treatment. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is regarded as a kind of technique to assess heterogeneity of malignant tumor. PURPOSE: To explore the role of ADC value in assessing the high-risk factors and prognosis of EC. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was made on 185 patients with EC who underwent 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Mean ADC (mADC), minimum ADC (minADC), and maximum ADC (maxADC) were measured and compared in different groups. RESULTS: Among the 185 patients with EC, the mADC and maxADC values in those with high-risk factors (type 2, deep myometrial invasion, and lymph node metastasis) were significantly lower than in those without. According to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the areas under the curve (AUC) were significant for mADC, minADC, and maxADC predicting high-risk factors. Furthermore, the AUCs were significant for mADC and maxADC predicting lymph node metastasis but were not significant for minADC. Patients with lower mADC were associated with worse overall survival and disease-free survival; the opposite was true for patients with higher mADC. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that ADC values could be applied to assess the high-risk factors of EC before treatment and might significantly relate to the prognosis of EC. It might contribute to managing initial individualized treatment schedule and improve outcome in patients with EC.

Researches on the Correlation Between Estrogen and Progesterone Receptors Expression and Disease-Free Survival of Endometrial Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, 345 patients with endometrial carcinoma (EC) were selected to investigate the correlation between ER/PR status and the EC disease-free survival (DFS) rate. METHODS: The intensity and proportion of tumor cell expression of estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors (ER/PR) status of 345 postoperative tumor specimens in ECs were independently assessed semi-quantitatively by two pathologists using immunohistochemistry, the summed score ranged from 0 to 8 points was worked out by adding proportion score and intensity score based on the breast cancer hormone receptor immunohistochemical Allred scoring system. The association between DFS in ECs and ER/PR expression (intensity, proportion and summed score) was assessed using Cox regression analysis. Gene expression data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas research network (TCGA). RESULTS: According to inclusion criteria, 201 type I and 144 type II EC patients were enrolled in this study. In the univariate analysis of type I endometrial carcinoma, the intensity, proportion and summed score of ER/PR status were significantly correlated with DFS. After adjusting for factors known to significantly impact survival, the influence of ER/PR status on DFS is generally decreased but the correlation is still significant. In the univariate analysis of type II endometrial carcinoma, the intensity, proportion and summed score of ER/PR status were significantly correlated with DFS. After adjusting for factors known to significantly impact survival, the influence of ER status on DFS is generally decreased, but the correlation is still significant, the effect of PR expression on DFS is not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Higher ER/PR expression status was associated with better DFS in patients with type I endometrial cancer after adjusting for known factors that significantly affect survival. In patients with type II endometrial cancer, patients with positive ER expression were significantly associated with better DFS. However, the effect of PR expression on DFS was not statistically significant.