Clinicopathologic features of early adenocarcinoma of the cervix initially managed with cervical conization.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinicopathologic features of microinvasive adenocarcinoma of the cervix in order to guide the management of patients with this disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of patients diagnosed with early invasive, 1 mm and 2 mm and 3 mm and 4 mm and

The role of laparoscopy in second-look evaluations for ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and safety of laparoscopic second-look operations in patients with ovarian cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients who have undergone laparoscopic second-look procedures for ovarian cancer at our institution. RESULTS: From July 1993 to December 1998, 150 patients underwent laparoscopic second-look operations. The mean age of patients was 53 years (range, 25-78 years). The majority of patients (87%) had Stage III or IV disease at initial surgery; the remainder were Stage II or unstaged. Eighty-two patients (54%) had had optimal cytoreduction at the time of their initial surgery. All patients had completed primary chemotherapy and were clinically disease-free based on imaging studies and CA-125 levels at the time of second look. Sixty-nine patients (46%) were found to have pathologically negative second looks; thus, the rate of positive second-look evaluations was 54%. The rate of conversion to laparotomy was 18/150 (12%). In 3 cases this was secondary to bowel injury; one patient sustained a bladder injury; the remainder of conversions to laparotomy were for secondary cytoreduction. There was only 1 case where the patient was found to have extensive adhesions and laparoscopy was abandoned. The overall rate of major complications was 2.7%. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, laparoscopy is a safe and accurate method of second-look assessment in patients with ovarian cancer. The incidence of complications is low, particularly in this group of patients, all of whom have undergone prior abdominal surgery. The rate of negative evaluations and the rate of recurrences in patients with negative second looks are equivalent to those described in studies of second-look assessment by laparotomy.

Clinicopathologic features of BRCA-linked and sporadic ovarian cancer.

CONTEXT: Most hereditary ovarian cancers are associated with germline mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2. Attempts to define the clinical significance of BRCA mutation status in ovarian cancer have produced conflicting results, especially regarding survival. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether hereditary ovarian cancers have distinct clinical and pathological features compared with sporadic (nonhereditary) ovarian cancers. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective cohort study of a consecutive series of 933 ovarian cancers diagnosed and treated at our institution, which is a comprehensive cancer center as designated by the National Cancer Institute, over a 12-year period (December 1986 to August 1998). PATIENTS: The study was restricted to patients of Jewish origin because of the ease of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genotyping in this ethnic group. From the 189 patients who identified themselves as Jewish, 88 hereditary cases were identified with the presence of a germline founder mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. The remaining 101 cases from the same series not associated with a BRCA mutation and 2 additional groups (Gynecologic Oncology Group protocols 52 and 111) with ovarian cancer from clinical trials (for the survival analysis) were included for comparison. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age at diagnosis, surgical stage, histologic cell type and grade, and surgical outcome; and response to chemotherapy and survival for advanced-stage (II and IV) cases. RESULTS: Hereditary cancers were rarely diagnosed before age 40 years and were common after age 60 years, with mean age at diagnosis being significantly younger for BRCA1- vs BRCA2-linked patients (54 vs 62 years; P=.04). Histology, grade, stage, and success of cytoreductive surgery were similar for hereditary and sporadic cases. The hereditary group had a longer disease-free interval following primary chemotherapy in comparison with the nonhereditary group, with a median time to recurrence of 14 months and 7 months, respectively (P<.001). Those with hereditary cancers had improved survival compared with the nonhereditary group (P=.004). For stage III cancers, BRCA mutation status was an independent prognostic variable (P=.03). CONCLUSIONS: Although BRCA-associated hereditary ovarian cancers in this population have surgical and pathological characteristics similar to those of sporadic cancers, advanced-stage hereditary cancer patients survive longer than nonhereditary cancer patients. Age penetrance is greater for BRCA1-linked than for BRCA2-linked cancers in this population.

Management and follow-up of patients with adenocarcinoma in situ of the uterine cervix.

Management of adenocarcinoma in situ (ACIS) of the uterine cervix is controversial and cervical conization has been proposed as conservative management in patients desirous of future fertility. The efficacy of conization as treatment for cervical ACIS is unproven, as is the ideal method of follow-up. The purpose of this study was to assess the adequacy of conization of the cervix as conservative management of ACIS, and to assess the ability to detect recurrent disease. Between January 1964 and August 1993, 28 patients with a diagnosis of ACIS made by cone biopsy were seen at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Initial management was as follows: total abdominal hysterectomy, 11 (39%); radical hysterectomy, 2 (7%); repeat conization, 6 (21%); and close follow-up, 9 (32%). Of the 8 patients with positive margins who underwent a repeat cone biopsy or hysterectomy, 3 had residual ACIS in the subsequent surgical specimen and 1 patient was diagnosed with invasive adenocarcinoma. Four of 10 (40%) patients with negative margins who underwent hysterectomy or repeat cone biopsy had residual ACIS. In addition, one patient whose cone margins were inevaluable was found to have invasive adenocarcinoma in a repeat conization specimen. Fifteen patients were managed conservatively with repeat conization of the cervix or close follow-up. Seven of 15 (47%) have had a recurrent glandular lesion detected after conization; 2 of these recurrences have been invasive adenocarcinoma. Since ACIS is not reliably diagnosed by cervical cytology and colposcopy, patients undergoing conservative management have been typically followed by endocervical curettage (ECC) in combination with Papanicolaou smear. In our series, the ECC was positive in only 43% of patients with glandular lesions prior to conization of the cervix. This retrospective study raises questions about the safety of therapeutic conization as conservative management of patients with ACIS of the uterine cervix and also highlights the potential inadequacy of following patients with Pap smears in combination with ECC.