Endometrial Pipelle Biopsy Computer-Aided Diagnosis: A Feasibility Study.

Endometrial biopsies are important in the diagnostic workup of women who present with abnormal uterine bleeding or hereditary risk of endometrial cancer. In general, approximately 10% of all endometrial biopsies demonstrate endometrial (pre)malignancy that requires specific treatment. As the diagnostic evaluation of mostly benign cases results in a substantial workload for pathologists, artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted preselection of biopsies could optimize the workflow. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of AI-assisted diagnosis for endometrial biopsies (endometrial Pipelle biopsy computer-aided diagnosis), trained on daily-practice whole-slide images instead of highly selected images. Endometrial biopsies were classified into 6 clinically relevant categories defined as follows: nonrepresentative, normal, nonneoplastic, hyperplasia without atypia, hyperplasia with atypia, and malignant. The agreement among 15 pathologists, within these classifications, was evaluated in 91 endometrial biopsies. Next, an algorithm (trained on a total of 2819 endometrial biopsies) rated the same 91 cases, and we compared its performance using the pathologist's classification as the reference standard. The interrater reliability among pathologists was moderate with a mean Cohen's kappa of 0.51, whereas for a binary classification into benign vs (pre)malignant, the agreement was substantial with a mean Cohen's kappa of 0.66. The AI algorithm performed slightly worse for the 6 categories with a moderate Cohen's kappa of 0.43 but was comparable for the binary classification with a substantial Cohen's kappa of 0.65. AI-assisted diagnosis of endometrial biopsies was demonstrated to be feasible in discriminating between benign and (pre)malignant endometrial tissues, even when trained on unselected cases. Endometrial premalignancies remain challenging for both pathologists and AI algorithms. Future steps to improve reliability of the diagnosis are needed to achieve a more refined AI-assisted diagnostic solution for endometrial biopsies that covers both premalignant and malignant diagnoses.

Does "One Size Fits All"? Rethinking FIGO Depth of Invasion Measurements in Vulvar Cancer.

Depth of invasion (DOI) is an important diagnostic parameter in patients with vulvar carcinoma, where a cutoff value of 1 mm largely determines the tumor stage and the need for groin surgery. DOI measurement should be reproducible and straightforward. In light of the new recommendation on how to measure DOI in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging system 2021, an exploratory study was conducted on the current practice of DOI measurement in vulvar cancer. In this study of 26 selected cases, 10 pathologists with high exposure to vulvar cancer cases in daily practice assessed both the conventional (FIGO 2009) and alternative (FIGO 2021) DOI methods for applicability and preference. In this set of cases, the DOI measurement according to FIGO 2009 was generally considered easier to apply than the measurement according to FIGO 2021, with applicability being rated as "easy to reasonable" in 76.9% versus 38.5% of cases, respectively ( P =0.005). The preferred method was FIGO 2009 or tumor thickness in 14 cases and FIGO 2021 in 6 cases. No invasion was preferred in 1 case. For the remaining 5 cases, half of the pathologists opted for the FIGO 2009 method and half for the FIGO 2021 method. Although the FIGO 2009 method proved to be more readily applicable in most of the cases studied, the method may differ for each case. There may not be a "one size fits all" solution for all cases of vulvar cancer.

Functional estrogen receptor signal transduction pathway activity and antihormonal therapy response in low-grade ovarian carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Advanced low-grade ovarian carcinoma (LGOC) is difficult to treat. In several studies, high estrogen receptor (ER) protein expression was observed in patients with LGOC, which suggests that antihormonal therapy (AHT) is a treatment option. However, only a subgroup of patients respond to AHT, and this response cannot be adequately predicted by currently used immunohistochemistry (IHC). A possible explanation is that IHC only takes the ligand, but not the activity, of the whole signal transduction pathway (STP) into account. Therefore, in this study, the authors assessed whether functional STP activity can be an alternative tool to predict response to AHT in LGOC. METHODS: Tumor tissue samples were obtained from patients with primary or recurrent LGOC who subsequently received AHT. Histoscores of ER and progesterone receptor (PR) were determined. In addition, STP activity of the ER STP and of six other STPs known to play a role in ovarian cancer was assessed and compared with the STP activity of healthy postmenopausal fallopian tube epithelium. RESULTS: Patients who had normal ER STP activity had a progression-free survival (PFS) of 16.1 months. This was significantly shorter in patients who had low and very high ER STP activity, with a median PFS of 6.0 and 2.1 months, respectively (p < .001). Unlike ER histoscores, PR histoscores were strongly correlated to the ER STP activity and thus to PFS. CONCLUSIONS: Aberrant low and very high functional ER STP activity and low PR histoscores in patients with LGOC indicate decreased response to AHT. ER IHC is not representative of functional ER STP activity and is not related to PFS.

The ADENO study: ADenomyosis and its Effect on Neonatal and Obstetric outcomes: a retrospective population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Adenomyosis is a benign gynecologic condition arising from the uterine junctional zone. Recent studies suggest a relationship between adenomyosis and adverse obstetrical outcomes, but evidence remains conflicting. There is no large-scale study investigating obstetrical outcomes in women with adenomyosis using the gold standard of histopathologic diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of adverse obstetrical and neonatal outcomes in women with histopathologic adenomyosis and that of the general (Dutch) population. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective population-based study used 2 Dutch national databases (Perined, the perinatal registry, and the nationwide pathology databank [Pathologisch Anatomisch Landelijk Geautomiseerd Archief], from 1995 to 2018) to compare obstetrical outcomes in women before histopathologic adenomyosis diagnosis to the general Dutch population without registered histopathologic adenomyosis. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were calculated for adverse obstetrical outcomes. The outcomes were adjusted for maternal age, parity, ethnicity, year of registered birth, induction of labor, hypertensive disorders in previous pregnancies, multiple gestation, and low socioeconomic status. RESULTS: The pregnancy outcomes of 7925 women with histopathologic adenomyosis were compared with that of 4,615,803 women without registered adenomyosis. When adjusted for confounders, women with adenomyosis had adjusted odds ratios of 1.37 (95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.50) for hypertensive disorders, 1.37 (95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.51) for preeclampsia, 1.15 (95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.25) for small-for-gestational-age infants, 1.54 (95% confidence interval, 1.41-1.68) for emergency cesarean delivery, 1.24 (95% confidence interval, 1.12-1.37) for failure to progress, 1.29 (95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.48) for placental retention, and 1.23 (95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.38) for postpartum hemorrhage. No increased risk of HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count) syndrome, placental abruption, or operative vaginal delivery or need for oxytocin stimulation was found. CONCLUSION: Women with a histopathologic diagnosis of adenomyosis showed an increased prevalence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and small-for-gestational-age infants, failure to progress in labor, and placental retention compared with the general population in previous pregnancies. This suggests that uterine (contractile) function in labor and during pregnancy is impaired in women with adenomyosis.

Endometrial cancer prognosis in women with endometriosis and adenomyosis: A retrospective nationwide cohort study of 40 840 women.

We aim to compare endometrial cancer survival in women with or without histological proven endometriosis or adenomyosis. We identified all women with endometrial cancer between 1990 and 2015 from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR). Data were linked to the Dutch pathology database (PALGA) to select all women with histological proven endometriosis/adenomyosis. Overall survival was compared between women with endometrial cancer with or without endometriosis/adenomyosis. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis to estimate hazard ratios (HRs). We included 1701 women with endometrial cancer and endometriosis/adenomyosis, of whom 1236 (72.7%) women had adenomyosis, 320 (18.8%) had endometriosis and 145 (8.5%) had both. We compared these women to 39 139 women with endometrial cancer without endometriosis/adenomyosis. Women in the combined endometriosis/adenomyosis cohort were younger at endometrial cancer diagnosis, had earlier disease stage, more often had endometrioid endometrial cancer and low grade tumors. The 5-year survival rate in the combined endometriosis/adenomyosis cohort was 84.8% (95% CI 84.6-88.1) and 71.6% (95% CI 71.1-72.0) in the nonendometriosis/adenomyosis cohort. Univariable analysis resulted in a crude HR of 0.63 (95% CI 0.59-0.69). Significant confounding factors were age, stage, cancer subtype, histological grading, surgery and chemotherapy rate. Correction for these confounders resulted in a HR of 0.98 (95% CI 0.90-1.06). Including endometriosis/adenomyosis status as a categorical factor resulted in similar HRs. In conclusion, women with endometrial cancer and histologically proven endometriosis/adenomyosis have a better overall survival when compared to women with endometrial cancer without endometriosis/adenomyosis. This better survival was correlated to stage, grade, age and histological subtype, but not to the presence of endometriosis/adenomyosis.

Targeted RNA next generation sequencing analysis of cervical smears can predict the presence of hrHPV-induced cervical lesions.

BACKGROUND: Because most cervical cancers are caused by high-risk human papillomaviruses (hrHPVs), cervical cancer prevention programs increasingly employ hrHPV testing as a primary test. The high sensitivity of HPV tests is accompanied by low specificity, resulting in high rates of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Targeted circular probe-based RNA next generation sequencing (ciRNAseq) allows for the quantitative detection of RNAs of interest with high sequencing depth. Here, we examined the potential of ciRNAseq-testing on cervical scrapes to identify hrHPV-positive women at risk of having or developing high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). METHODS: We performed ciRNAseq on 610 cervical scrapes from the Dutch cervical cancer screening program to detect gene expression from 15 hrHPV genotypes and from 429 human genes. Differentially expressed hrHPV- and host genes in scrapes from women with outcome "no CIN" or "CIN2+" were identified and a model was built to distinguish these groups. RESULTS: Apart from increasing percentages of hrHPV oncogene expression from "no CIN" to high-grade cytology/histology, we identified genes involved in cell cycle regulation, tyrosine kinase signaling pathways, immune suppression, and DNA repair being expressed at significantly higher levels in scrapes with high-grade cytology and histology. Machine learning using random forest on all the expression data resulted in a model that detected 'no CIN' versus CIN2+ in an independent data set with sensitivity and specificity of respectively 85 ± 8% and 72 ± 13%. CONCLUSIONS: CiRNAseq on exfoliated cells in cervical scrapes measures hrHPV-(onco)gene expression and host gene expression in one single assay and in the process identifies HPV genotype. By combining these data and applying machine learning protocols, the risk of CIN can be calculated. Because ciRNAseq can be performed in high-throughput, making it cost-effective, it can be a promising screening technology to stratify women at risk of CIN2+. Further increasing specificity by model improvement in larger cohorts is warranted.

The Paget Trial: topical 5% imiquimod cream for noninvasive vulvar Paget disease.

BACKGROUND: Vulvar Paget disease is an extremely rare skin disorder, which is most common in postmenopausal women. Most vulvar Paget disease cases are noninvasive; however, it may be invasive or associated with an underlying vulvar or distant adenocarcinoma. The current treatment of choice for noninvasive vulvar Paget disease is wide local excision, which is challenging because of extensive intraepithelial spread and may cause severe morbidity. Recurrence rates are high, ranging from 15% to 70%, which emphasizes the need for new treatment options. Imiquimod, a topical immune response modifier, has been shown to be effective in a few studies and case reports, and is a promising new treatment modality. OBJECTIVE: To prospectively investigate the efficacy, safety, and effect on quality of life of a standardized treatment schedule with 5% imiquimod cream in patients with noninvasive vulvar Paget disease. STUDY DESIGN: The Paget Trial is a multicenter prospective observational clinical study including 7 tertiary referral hospitals in the Netherlands. A total of 24 patients with noninvasive vulvar Paget disease were treated with topical 5% imiquimod cream 3 times a week for 16 weeks. The primary efficacy outcome was the reduction in lesion size at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. Secondary outcomes were safety, clinical response after 1 year, and quality of life. Safety was assessed by evaluation of adverse events and tolerability of treatment. Quality of life was investigated with 3 questionnaires taken before, during, and after treatment. RESULTS: Data were available for 23 patients, 82.6% of whom responded to therapy. A complete response was reported in 12 patients (52.2%), and 7 patients (30.4%) had a partial response. A histologic complete response was observed in 10 of the 12 patients with a complete response. Patients experienced side effects such as fatigue (66.7%-70.9%) and headaches (16.7%-45.8%), and almost 80% needed painkillers during treatment. Eight patients (34.8%) adjusted the treatment protocol to 2 applications a week, and 3 patients (13.0%) stopped treatment because of side effects after 4 to 11 weeks. Treatment improved quality of life, whereas a slight, temporary negative impact was observed during treatment. Two patients with a complete response developed a recurrence within 1 year after treatment. Follow-up showed 6 patients with a noninvasive recurrence after a median of 31 months (14-46 months) after the end of treatment. CONCLUSION: Topical 5% imiquimod cream can be an effective and safe treatment alternative for noninvasive vulvar Paget disease, particularly when compared with treatment with surgical excision.

Diagnostic accuracy of mutational analysis along the Müllerian tract to detect ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Ovarian cancer is known for its poor prognosis, which is mainly due to the lack of early symptoms and adequate screening options. In this study we evaluated whether mutational analysis in cervicovaginal and endometrial samples could assist in the detection of ovarian cancer. METHODS: In this prospective multicenter study, we included patients surgically treated for either (suspicion of) ovarian cancer or for a benign gynecological condition (control group). A cervicovaginal self-sample, a Papanicolaou (Pap) smear, a pipelle endometrial biopsy, and the surgical specimen were analyzed for (potentially) pathogenic variants in eight genes (ARID1A, CTNNB1, KRAS, MTOR, PIK3CA, POLE, PTEN, and TP53) using single-molecule molecular inversion probes. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated to assess diagnostic accuracy. RESULTS: Based on surgical histology, our dataset comprised 29 patients with ovarian cancer and 32 controls. In 83% of the patients with ovarian cancer, somatic (potentially) pathogenic variants could be detected in the final surgical specimen, of which 71% included at least a TP53 variant. In 52% of the ovarian cancer patients, such variants could be detected in either the self-sample, Pap smear, or pipelle. The Pap smear yielded the highest diagnostic accuracy with 26% sensitivity (95% CI 10% to 48%). Overall diagnostic accuracy was low and was not improved when including TP53 variants only. CONCLUSIONS: Mutational analysis in cervicovaginal and endometrial samples has limited accuracy in the detection of ovarian cancer. Future research with cytologic samples analyzed on methylation status or the vaginal microbiome may be relevant.

PD-L1 in gestational trophoblastic disease: an antibody evaluation.

INTRODUCTION: Treatment with antibodies directed against programed-cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a novel therapy for patients with gestational trophoblastic disease. Assessment of PD-L1 expression in tumor tissue is commonly used to identify patients who might benefit from anti-PD-L1 treatment. Multiple antibodies are available to detect PD-L1-expressing cells, and percentages of PD-L1-expressing cells in samples of patients with gestational trophoblastic disease indicated by these antibodies differ substantially. This raises the question which PD-L1 antibody best reflects PD-L1 expression to select patients for treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seven commercially available antibodies for PD-L1 staining (E1L3N, 73-10, 22C3, CAL10, SP142, 28-8, SP263) were validated on Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO) cells transfected with PD-L1, PD-L2, wildtype CHO cells and tonsil tissue. Next, four complete hydatidiform moles and four choriocarcinomas were stained. Samples were independently assessed by two pathologists. RESULTS: All seven antibodies showed membranous staining in the PD-L1-transfected CHO cells. E1L3N and 22C3 scored the highest percentages of PD-L1-positive cells (70%-90% and 60%-70%, respectively). E1L3N stained the cytoplasm of non-transfected CHO cells and was excluded from analysis. The remaining six antibodies predominantly stained syncytiotrophoblast cells of both complete hydatidiform moles and choriocarcinomas. The percentage of PD-L1-stained trophoblast cells and staining intensity varied substantially per used PD-L1 antibody and between complete hydatidiform moles and choriocarcinomas. Agreement between pathologists was best with 22C3 (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.94-0.96). CONCLUSIONS: Based on staining results of the CHO cells, gestational trophoblastic disease samples and intraclass correlation coefficient, 22C3 seems the most suitable for adequate detection of PD-L1-expressing trophoblast cells. All antibodies detected PD-L1-expressing cells in the gestational trophoblastic disease samples, though with great variability, hampering comparison of results between studies in this rare disease and emphasizing the need for uniformity in detecting PD-L1-expressing cells.

Adjunctive use of p16 immunohistochemistry for optimizing management of CIN lesions in a high-risk human papillomavirus-positive population.

INTRODUCTION: Immunostaining with p16INK4a (p16), a tumor-suppressor surrogate protein biomarker for high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) oncogenic activity, may complement standard hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) histology review, and provide more objective criteria to support the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) diagnosis. With this study we assessed the impact of p16 immunohistochemistry on CIN grading in an hrHPV-based screening setting. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this post-hoc analysis, 326 histology follow-up samples from a group of hrHPV-positive women were stained with p16 immunohistochemistry. All H&E samples were centrally revised. The pathologists reported their level of confidence in classifying the CIN lesion. RESULTS: Combining H&E and p16 staining resulted in a change of diagnosis in 27.3% (n = 89) of cases compared with the revised H&E samples, with a decrease of 34.5% (n = 18) in CIN1 and 22.7% (n = 15) in CIN2 classifications, and an increase of 18.3% (n = 19) in no CIN and 20.7% (n = 19) in CIN3 diagnoses. The level of confidence in CIN grading by the pathologist increased with adjunctive use of p16 immunohistochemistry to standard H&E. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that adjunctive use of p16 immunohistochemistry to H&E morphology reduces the number of CIN1 and CIN2 classifications with a proportional increase in no CIN and CIN3 diagnoses, compared with standard H&E-based CIN diagnosis alone. The pathologists felt more confident in classifying the material with H&E and p16 immunohistochemistry than by using H&E alone, particularly during assessment of small biopsies. Adjunctive use of p16 immunohistochemistry to standard H&E assessment of CIN would be valuable for the diagnostic accuracy, thereby optimizing CIN management and possibly decreasing overtreatment.

Establishment of the Dutch Nationwide, Interdisciplinary Infrastructure and Biobank for Fundamental and Translational Ovarian Cancer Research: Archipelago of Ovarian Cancer Research.

OBJECTIVES: Ovarian cancer has the worst overall survival rate of all gynecologic malignancies. For the majority of patients, the 5-year overall survival rate of less than 50% has hardly improved over the last decades. To improve the outcome of patients with all subtypes of ovarian cancer, large-scale fundamental and translational research is needed. To accommodate these types of ovarian cancer research, we have established a Dutch nationwide, interdisciplinary infrastructure and biobank: the Archipelago of Ovarian Cancer Research (AOCR). The AOCR will facilitate fundamental and translational ovarian cancer research and enhance interdisciplinary, national, and international collaboration. DESIGN: The AOCR biobank is a prospective ovarian cancer biobank in which biomaterials are collected, processed, and stored in a uniform matter for future (genetic) scientific research. All 19 Dutch hospitals in which ovarian cancer surgery is performed participate and collaborate in the AOCR biobank. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Patients of 16 years and older with suspected or diagnosed ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer are recruited for participation. Patients who agree to participate give written informed consent for collection, storage, and issue of their biomaterials for future studies. After inclusion, different blood samples are taken at various predefined time points both before and during treatment. In case of a diagnostic paracentesis or biopsy, the residual biomaterials of these procedures are stored in the biobank. During surgery, primary tumor tissue and, if applicable, tissue from metastatic sites are collected and stored. From each patient, a representative histological hematoxylin and eosin stained slide is digitalized for research purposes, including reassessment by a panel of gynecologic pathologists. Clinical and pathological data are obtained on a per-study basis from Dutch registries. Research proposals for the issue of biomaterials and data are evaluated by both the Archipelago Scientific Committee and the Steering Committee. Researchers using the biomaterials from the AOCR biobank are encouraged to enrich the biobank with data and materials resulting from their analyses and experiments. LIMITATIONS: The implementation and first 4 years of collection are financed by an infrastructural grant from the Dutch Cancer Society. Therefore, the main limitation is that the costs for sustaining the biobank after the funding period will have to be covered. This coverage will come from incorporation of budget for biobanking in future grant applications and from fees from external researchers and commercial parties using the biomaterials stored in the AOCR biobank. Moreover, we will apply for grants aimed at sustaining and improving research infrastructures and biobanks. CONCLUSIONS: With the establishment of the Dutch nationwide, interdisciplinary Archipelago of Ovarian Cancer Research infrastructure and biobank, fundamental and translational research on ovarian cancer can be greatly improved. The ultimate aim of this infrastructure is that it will lead to improved diagnostics, treatment, and survival of patients with ovarian cancer.

Subamniotic Hemorrhage, a Possible New Presentation of Fetal and Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia.

BACKGROUND: Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) is a rare fetal disease in which maternal antibodies directed toward fetal human platelet antigens (HPA) are formed during pregnancy and cause fetal thrombocytopenia. The diagnosis FNAIT is suspected when a fetus or neonate presents with signs of bleeding. CASE: We describe a pregnancy complicated by a placental hematoma in the 20th week of gestation as the first manifestation of FNAIT. Further evaluation showed signs of germinal matrix hemorrhage and HPA-5b allo-antibodies. After the diagnosis, intravenous immunoglobulin was administered weekly and a healthy daughter was born at 37 weeks. Histopathological analysis revealed that the hematoma was caused by a subamniotic hemorrhage of fetal origin. CONCLUSION: A subamniotic hematoma appears to be the first manifestation of FNAIT.

Increased incidence of ovarian cancer in both endometriosis and adenomyosis.

OBJECTIVE: Assessing the association between endometriosis and/or adenomyosis and ovarian cancer. METHODS: We identified all women with histological proven endometriosis (51,544 women) and/or adenomyosis (85,015 women) from the Dutch pathology database (1990-2015) and matched with women with a benign dermal nevus (132,654 women). Histology results for ovarian cancer were retrieved. We estimated crude and age-adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRR) for ovarian cancer. RESULTS: We found 1017 (2.0%), 1284 (1.5%) and 471 (0.4%) ovarian cancer cases in the endometriosis, adenomyosis and nevus cohort, respectively. The age-adjusted IRRs were 19.75 (95% CI 16.70-23.35) in the endometriosis cohort and 5.93 (95% CI 4.91-7.16) in the adenomyosis cohort. The highest IRRs were found for endometrioid and clear cell ovarian cancer subtypes. Excluding the first year of follow-up did not result in a significant IRR for ovarian cancer overall but resulted in a statistically significant age-adjusted IRR of 3.92 (95% CI 2.19-7.01) for clear cell ovarian cancer and 2.39 (95% CI 1.28-4.45) for endometrioid ovarian cancer in the endometriosis cohort. Additionally, we found a statistically significant age-adjusted IRR of 2.51 (95% CI 1.29-4.90) for endometrioid ovarian cancer in the adenomyosis cohort. CONCLUSION: We found an increased ovarian cancer incidence in both histological proven endometriosis and adenomyosis. This increased incidence was largest for endometriosis. Excluding the first year of follow-up resulted in an increased incidence for endometrioid ovarian cancer in both cohorts and clear cell ovarian cancer in the endometriosis cohort. This study shows that gynecologist should also be aware of an increased ovarian cancer incidence in women with adenomyosis.

Immune cell composition in the endometrium of patients with a complete molar pregnancy: Effects on outcome.

OBJECTIVE: In 15% of patients with complete hydatidiform mole (CHM), disease progresses to post-molar gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) after curettage. Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are essential in overcoming disease in many tumors. Infiltrating lymphocyte composition and density may influence trophoblast regression and development of post-molar GTN. We analyzed immune cell composition and density in curettaged endometrium of patients with CHM which spontaneously regressed, and of patients with CHM which progressed to post-molar GTN. METHODS: Sixteen patients with CHM and spontaneous regression, and 16 patients with CHM which progressed to post-molar GTN were selected. Immune cell composition and density of natural killer (NK) cells, natural killer T (NKT)-like cells, Cytotoxic T cells, T-Regulatory and T-Helper cells, were determined by multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC). RESULTS: Curettaged endometrium of patients with CHM and spontaneous regression contained a slightly higher number of immune cells compared to patients with CHM which progressed to post-molar GTN. NKT-like cell density was significantly higher in patients with spontaneous regression compared to patients with CHM which progressed to post-molar GTN (483 ± 296 vs.295 ± 143 (mean ± SD), p = 0.03) respectively. NKT-like cell density in the spontaneous regression group was split in 'high' and 'low' (i.e. above and below the median number of NKT-like cells). In patients with high NKT-like cell density, hCG normalized earlier than in patients with low NKT-like cell density (9.5 weeks, (range 3.7-14) vs. 12.9 weeks, (range 8.6-17.9), p = 0.05). CONCLUSION: A high number of NKT-like cells in the endometrium of CHMs may contribute to spontaneous regression of molar trophoblast cells.

Ovarian cancer prognosis in women with endometriosis: a retrospective nationwide cohort study of 32,419 women.

BACKGROUND: Contradicting results regarding ovarian cancer prognosis in women with endometriosis have been reported in the literature. Owing to the small sample size of previous studies, larger studies are required to elucidate the role of endometriosis in ovarian cancer prognosis. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the survival rate in women with ovarian cancer with or without histologically proven endometriosis in a Dutch population-based cohort. STUDY DESIGN: All women with ovarian cancer diagnosed between 1990 and 2015 were identified from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. We linked these women with the Dutch nationwide registry of histopathology and cytopathology (Pathologisch-Anatomisch Landelijk Geautomatiseerd Archief) to identify all women with histologically proven endometriosis. We compared the prognosis of patients with ovarian cancer with and without histologically proven endometriosis. Primary outcome was the overall survival with subgroup analyses stratified by histologic ovarian cancer subtype and stage. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to estimate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: We included 32,419 patients with ovarian cancer, of whom 1979 (6.1%) had histologically proven endometriosis. The median age of histologic endometriosis diagnosis was 53 years (interquartile range, 46-62). Of all women with ovarian cancer and endometriosis, 81.2% received a diagnosis of synchronous endometriosis and ovarian cancer. The endometriosis cohort was younger at ovarian cancer diagnosis, had more favorable tumor characteristics, and more often had surgical treatment for ovarian cancer than the women without endometriosis. These variables were included in the multivariable model as confounders. Women with histologically proven endometriosis had a significantly better prognosis in both crude and adjusted analyses (hazard ratio, 0.46; 95% confidence interval, 0.43-0.49; P<.0005, and adjusted hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.83-0.95; P<.05, respectively). CONCLUSION: Women with ovarian cancer and histologically proven endometriosis had longer overall survival than women with ovarian cancer without endometriosis, even after adjustment for confounders. Future studies on ovarian cancer treatment and prognosis should consider stratifying by endometriosis status to elucidate its role. Furthermore, women diagnosed as having ovarian cancer and concurrent endometriosis should be explained the role of endometriosis in ovarian cancer survival.

Impact of hormonal biomarkers on response to hormonal therapy in advanced and recurrent endometrial cancer.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 20% of women with endometrial cancer have advanced-stage disease or suffer from a recurrence. For these women, prognosis is poor, and palliative treatment options include hormonal therapy and chemotherapy. Lack of predictive biomarkers and suboptimal use of existing markers for response to hormonal therapy have resulted in overall limited efficacy. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to improve the efficacy of hormonal therapy by relating immunohistochemical expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors and estrogen receptor pathway activity scores to response to hormonal therapy. STUDY DESIGN: Patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer and available biopsies taken before the start of hormonal therapy were identified in 16 centers within the European Network for Individualized Treatment in Endometrial Cancer and the Dutch Gynecologic Oncology Group. Tumor tissue was analyzed for estrogen and progesterone receptor expressions and estrogen receptor pathway activity using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction-based messenger RNA model to measure the activity of estrogen receptor-related target genes in tumor RNA. The primary endpoint was response rate defined as complete and partial response using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. The secondary endpoints were clinical benefit rate and progression-free survival. RESULTS: Pretreatment biopsies with sufficient endometrial cancer tissue and complete response evaluation were available in 81 of 105 eligible cases. Here, 22 of 81 patients (27.2%) with a response had estrogen and progesterone receptor expressions of >50%, resulting in a response rate of 32.3% (95% confidence interval, 20.9-43.7) for an estrogen receptor expression of >50% and 50.0% (95% confidence interval, 35.2-64.8) for a progesterone receptor expression of >50%. Clinical benefit rate was 56.9% for an estrogen receptor expression of >50% (95% confidence interval, 44.9-68.9) and 75.0% (95% confidence interval, 62.2-87.8) for a progesterone receptor expression of >50%. The application of the estrogen receptor pathway test to cases with a progesterone receptor expression of >50% resulted in a response rate of 57.6% (95% confidence interval, 42.1-73.1). After 2 years of follow-up, 34.3% of cases (95% confidence interval, 20-48) with a progesterone receptor expression of >50% and 35.8% of cases (95% confidence interval, 20-52) with an estrogen receptor pathway activity score of >15 had not progressed. CONCLUSION: The prediction of response to hormonal treatment in endometrial cancer improves substantially with a 50% cutoff level for progesterone receptor immunohistochemical expression and by applying a sequential test algorithm using progesterone receptor immunohistochemical expression and estrogen receptor pathway activity scores. However, results need to be validated in the prospective Prediction of Response to Hormonal Therapy in Advanced and Recurrent Endometrial Cancer (PROMOTE) study.

Ultrastaging methods of sentinel lymph nodes in endometrial cancer - a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Sentinel lymph node mapping has emerged as an alternative to lymphadenectomy in evaluating the lymph node status in endometrial cancer. Several pathological methods to examine the sentinel lymph node are applied internationally. The aim of this study was to determine the value of ultrastaging and to assess the ultrastaging method with the highest detection rate of metastases. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted. Inclusion criteria were: pathologically-confirmed endometrial cancer with sentinel lymph node mapping, report of the histological outcomes, metastases found by hematoxylin and eosin staining and metastases found by ultrastaging were separately mentioned, and description of the ultrastaging method. The primary outcome was the detection of metastases found by ultrastaging that were not detected by routine hematoxylin and eosin staining. The secondary outcome was the difference in detection rate of metastases between several ultrastaging methods. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Fifteen studies were selected, including 2259 patients. Sentinel lymph nodes were examined by routine hematoxylin and eosin staining. Subsequently, multiple ultrastaging methods were used, with differences in macroscopic slicing (bread-loaf/longitudinal), number of microscopic slides, and distance between slides, but all used immunohistochemistry. A positive sentinel lymph node was found in 14% of patients. In 37% of these, this was detected only by ultrastaging. Using more ultrastaging slides did not result in a higher detection rate. Bread-loaf slicing led to a higher detection rate compared with longitudinal slicing (mean detection rates 53% and 33%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Pathological ultrastaging after routine hematoxylin and eosin staining in endometrial cancer patients has led to an increased detection rate of sentinel lymph node metastases. Different ultrastaging methods are used, with a preference for bread-loaf slicing. However, due to the large heterogeneity of the studies, assessing which ultrastaging method has the highest detection rate of sentinel lymph node metastases was not possible.

Mutational analysis of cervical cytology improves diagnosis of endometrial cancer: A prospective multicentre cohort study.

Endometrial carcinoma (EC) is traditionally diagnosed by a histopathological assessment of an endometrial biopsy, leaving up to 30% of patients undiagnosed due to technical failure or an inadequate amount of tissue. The aim of the current study is to assess whether mutational analysis of cervical cytology or pipelle endometrial biopsies improves the diagnostic accuracy of traditional histopathological diagnosis of EC. This prospective multicentre cohort study included patients surgically treated for EC or a benign gynaecological condition (control group). A Pap brush sample, cervicovaginal self-sample, pipelle endometrial biopsy and surgical specimen of either the EC or normal endometrium were obtained. A targeted next-generation sequencing panel was used to analyse these samples for mutations in eight genes. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were calculated. Fifty-nine EC patients and 31 control patients were included. In these patients, traditional histopathological diagnosis by pipelle had a sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 100%. For EC patients, 97% of surgical specimens contained at least one mutation. Mutational analysis of Pap brush samples, self-samples and pipelle endometrial biopsies yielded a sensitivity of 78, 67 and 96% with a specificity of 97, 97 and 94%, respectively. Combining one of these three methods with histopathological pipelle endometrial biopsy evaluations yielded a sensitivity of 96, 93 and 96%, respectively. Our study has shown that mutational analysis of either cervical cytology or pipelle endometrial biopsies improves diagnosis of EC. Prospective validation will support implementation in clinical practice.

Molecular profiling identifies synchronous endometrial and ovarian cancers as metastatic endometrial cancer with favorable clinical outcome.

Synchronous primary endometrial and ovarian cancers (SEOs) represent 10% of all endometrial and ovarian cancers and are assumed to develop as independent entities. We investigated the clonal relationship between endometrial and ovarian carcinomas in a large cohort classified as SEOs or metastatic disease (MD). The molecular profiles were compared to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data to explore primary origin. Subsequently, the molecular profiles were correlated with clinical outcome. To this extent, a retrospective multicenter study was performed comparing patients with SEOs (n = 50), endometrial cancer with synchronous ovarian metastasis (n = 19) and ovarian cancer with synchronous endometrial metastasis (n = 20). Targeted next-generation sequencing was used, and a clonality index was calculated. Subsequently, cases were classified as POLE mutated, mismatch repair deficient (MMR-D), TP53-wild-type or TP53-mutated. In 92% of SEOs (46/50), the endometrial and concurrent ovarian carcinoma shared at least one somatic mutation, with a clonality index above 0.95, supporting a clonal origin. The SEO molecular profiles showed striking similarities with the TCGA endometrial carcinoma set. SEOs behaved distinctly different from metastatic disease, with a superior outcome compared to endometrial MD cases (p < 0.001) and ovarian MD cases (p < 0.001). Classification according to the TCGA identified four groups with different clinical outcomes. TP53 mutations and extra-utero-ovarian disease were independent predictors for poor clinical outcome. Concluding, SEOs were clonally related in an overwhelming majority of cases and showed a favorable prognosis. Their molecular profile implied a primary endometrial origin. TP53 mutation and extra-utero-ovarian disease were independent predictors for outcome, and may impact adjuvant systemic treatment planning.

Preoperative risk stratification in endometrial cancer (ENDORISK) by a Bayesian network model: A development and validation study.

BACKGROUND: Bayesian networks (BNs) are machine-learning-based computational models that visualize causal relationships and provide insight into the processes underlying disease progression, closely resembling clinical decision-making. Preoperative identification of patients at risk for lymph node metastasis (LNM) is challenging in endometrial cancer, and although several biomarkers are related to LNM, none of them are incorporated in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to develop and externally validate a preoperative BN to predict LNM and outcome in endometrial cancer patients. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Within the European Network for Individualized Treatment of Endometrial Cancer (ENITEC), we performed a retrospective multicenter cohort study including 763 patients, median age 65 years (interquartile range [IQR] 58-71), surgically treated for endometrial cancer between February 1995 and August 2013 at one of the 10 participating European hospitals. A BN was developed using score-based machine learning in addition to expert knowledge. Our main outcome measures were LNM and 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS). Preoperative clinical, histopathological, and molecular biomarkers were included in the network. External validation was performed using 2 prospective study cohorts: the Molecular Markers in Treatment in Endometrial Cancer (MoMaTEC) study cohort, including 446 Norwegian patients, median age 64 years (IQR 59-74), treated between May 2001 and 2010; and the PIpelle Prospective ENDOmetrial carcinoma (PIPENDO) study cohort, including 384 Dutch patients, median age 66 years (IQR 60-73), treated between September 2011 and December 2013. A BN called ENDORISK (preoperative risk stratification in endometrial cancer) was developed including the following predictors: preoperative tumor grade; immunohistochemical expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), p53, and L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM); cancer antigen 125 serum level; thrombocyte count; imaging results on lymphadenopathy; and cervical cytology. In the MoMaTEC cohort, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.76-0.88) for LNM and 0.82 (95% CI 0.77-0.87) for 5-year DSS. In the PIPENDO cohort, the AUC for 5-year DSS was 0.84 (95% CI 0.78-0.90). The network was well-calibrated. In the MoMaTEC cohort, 249 patients (55.8%) were classified with <5% risk of LNM, with a false-negative rate of 1.6%. A limitation of the study is the use of imputation to correct for missing predictor variables in the development cohort and the retrospective study design. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we illustrated how BNs can be used for individualizing clinical decision-making in oncology by incorporating easily accessible and multimodal biomarkers. The network shows the complex interactions underlying the carcinogenetic process of endometrial cancer by its graphical representation. A prospective feasibility study will be needed prior to implementation in the clinic.