Comparison of MRI and high-resolution transvaginal sonography for the local staging of cervical cancer.

PURPOSE: The aim of this prospective study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of transvaginal sonography (TVS) with that of MRI in the local staging of cervical cancer. METHODS: All consecutive patients diagnosed with invasive carcinoma of the cervix over a 3-year period underwent MRI of the pelvis and TVS according to a standardized protocol. RESULTS: In total, 46 patients were recruited to the study. We found a strong correlation between MRI and TVS in the assessment of tumor volume in both early-stage and advanced-stage disease (p < 0.0001). Both MRI and TVS had a sensitivity of 80%, a specificity of 50%, and a diagnostic accuracy of 63.6% for the detection of stromal invasion in early-stage disease. For the detection of parametrial invasion, we found sensitivity rates of 40% for MRI and 86% for TVS; specificity rates of 78.8% for MRI and 20% for TVS; and diagnostic accuracy rates of 89% for MRI and 78.7% for TVS. A matched-sample analysis revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between MRI and TVS in the assessment of stromal or parametrial invasion (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: TVS performed by a dedicated gynecologic radiologist is a feasible and economic imaging modality with a diagnostic accuracy comparable to that of MRI. It may be used as an adjunct to MRI for the local staging of invasive cervical cancer or to allow for rapid and confident triage of patients into operative and nonoperative categories for management in the gynecologic outpatient setting.

Robot-assisted hysterectomy compared to open and laparoscopic approaches: systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: To review the safety and effectiveness of robot-assisted hysterectomy compared to traditional open and conventional laparoscopic surgery, differentiating radical, simple total with node staging, and simple total hysterectomy. METHODS: Medline, Embase, the Cochrane library, and the Journal of Robotic Surgery were searched for controlled trials and observational studies with historic or concurrent controls. Data were pooled using random effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: Compared to open surgery, robot-assisted radical hysterectomy is associated with reduced hospital stay and blood transfusions. For simple total hysterectomy with node staging, robot-assisted surgery is associated with reduced hospital stay, complications, and blood transfusions compared to open surgery. Compared to conventional laparoscopic surgery, robot-assisted simple total hysterectomy with node staging is associated with complications and conversions. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to open surgery, robot-assisted hysterectomy offers benefits for reduced length of hospital stay and blood transfusions. The best evidence of improved outcomes is for simple total hysterectomy with node staging. Study quality was poor.

Robotic surgery in the management of cervical carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: To review the published literature concerning robotic surgery and its applications in the management of cervical carcinoma. METHODS: We electronically searched the MEDLINE from January 1990 until June 2010. We cross-examined article references to identify relevant articles not detected by the electronic search. RESULTS: The majority of the reported literature consisted of case series, case reports or retrospective comparisons. Twenty-one articles were included in this review covering the different surgical applications: (5) radical trachelectomy, (12) radical hysterectomy, (3) pelvic exenteration and one parametrectomy. CONCLUSION: Robotic surgery enabled more gynaecological oncologists to perform more complex procedures safely while maintaining the minimal access approach.

Repeated bouts of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise reduce airway reactivity in a murine asthma model.

We have reported that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise training attenuates airway inflammation in mice sensitized/challenged with ovalbumin (OVA). The current study determined the effects of repeated bouts of aerobic exercise at a moderate intensity on airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in these mice. Mice were sensitized/challenged with OVA or saline and exercised at a moderate intensity 3 times/week for 4 weeks. At protocol completion, mice were analyzed for changes in AHR via mechanical ventilation. Results show that exercise decreased total lung resistance 60% in OVA-treated mice as compared with controls; exercise also decreased airway smooth muscle (ASM) thickness. In contrast, exercise increased circulating epinephrine levels 3-fold in saline- and OVA-treated mice. Because epinephrine binds beta(2)-adrenergic receptors (AR), which facilitate bronchodilatation, the role of beta(2)-AR in exercise-mediated improvements in AHR was examined. Application of the beta(2)-AR antagonist butoxamine HCl blocked the effects of exercise on lung resistance in OVA-treated mice. In parallel, ASM cells were examined for changes in the protein expression of beta(2)-AR and G-protein receptor kinase-2 (GRK-2); GRK-2 promotes beta(2)-AR desensitization. Exercise had no effect on beta(2)-AR expression in ASM cells of OVA-treated mice; however, exercise decreased GRK-2 expression by 50% as compared with controls. Exercise also decreased prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production 5-fold, but had no effect on E prostanoid-1 (EP1) receptor expression within the lungs of OVA-treated mice; both PGE(2) and the EP1 receptor have been implicated in beta(2)-AR desensitization. Together, these data indicate that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise training attenuates AHR via a mechanism that involves beta(2)-AR.

Acute exercise decreases airway inflammation, but not responsiveness, in an allergic asthma model.

Previous studies have suggested that the asthmatic responses of airway inflammation, remodeling, and hyperresponsiveness (AHR) are interrelated; in this study, we used exercise to examine the nature of this interrelationship. Mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA); mice were then exercised via running on a motorized treadmill at a moderate intensity. Data indicate that, within the lungs of OVA-treated mice, exercise attenuated the production of inflammatory mediators, including chemokines KC, RANTES, and MCP-1 and IL-12p40/p80. Coordinately, OVA-treated and exercised mice displayed decreases in leukocyte infiltration, including eosinophils, as compared with sedentary controls. Results also show that a single bout of exercise significantly decreased phosphorylation of the NFkappaB p65 subunit, which regulates the gene expression of a wide variety of inflammatory mediators. In addition, OVA-treated and exercised mice exhibited decreases in the levels of Th2-derived cytokines IL-5 and IL-13 and the prostaglandin PGE(2), as compared with sedentary controls. In contrast, results show that a single bout of exercise had no effect on AHR in OVA-treated mice challenged with increasing doses of aerosolized methacholine (0-50 mg/ml) as compared with sedentary mice. Exercise also had no effect on epithelial cell hypertrophy, mucus production, or airway wall thickening in OVA-treated mice as compared with sedentary controls. These findings suggest that a single bout of aerobic exercise at a moderate intensity attenuates airway inflammation but not AHR or airway remodeling in OVA-treated mice. The implication of these findings for the interrelationship between airway inflammation, airway remodeling, and AHR is discussed.

Image guided biopsy in the management of cancer of the ovary.

When used in the context of multidisciplinary team discussion, image guided biopsy using ultrasound (US) or computed tomography (CT) guidance is of value in planning management of women with suspected ovarian cancer and peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) of uncertain aetiology. It is essential in women believed to have ovarian cancer but with poor performance status or with advanced disease believed beyond the scope of primary cytoreductive surgery for whom staging surgical pathology will not be obtained. It provides a site-specific primary tumour diagnosis in 93% of cases and it should replace diagnostic laparoscopy or laparotomy for this purpose. It allows provision of primary (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy based on a firm histological diagnosis. It is mandatory in women with a history of cancer whose metastases may mimic ovarian cancer (e.g. breast, GI tract, melanoma). More women with prior breast cancer who re-present with peritoneal cancer will have a new gynaecological primary than recurrence of their original primary tumour; the two options require radically different therapies. Finally it is a valuable problem solving tool in situations of diagnostic uncertainty, e.g. unusual imaging patterns of disease such as PC with bilateral solid ovarian masses or non-enlarged ovaries and with an unusual tumour marker profiles suggesting primary tumours outwith the ovary. The technique is simple, safe and effective and can be combined with palliative drainage of ascites at the same procedure.