The Importance of Lumbar Lordosis During Laparoscopic Trocar Entry.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Investigating the effect of lumbar lordosis on the relationship between abdominal trocar entry points and major vascular structures. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Distances between the skin and the aorta and inferior vena cava at the trocar entry points, both at the umbilicus and 3 cm and 5 cm superior to the umbilicus, were measured at entry angles of 90 and 45 degrees in 101 abdominal computer tomography images. INTERVENTIONS: The relationship of these values with lumbar lordosis was investigated concerning menopausal status, body mass index (BMI), and parity differences. To assess the isolated effect of lumbar lordosis, a simulated 30-degree increase in the lordosis angle was applied to the patients' computed tomography images. The impact of this increased lumbar lordosis angle on the distances between the skin and major vessels was then evaluated at both the umbilical and supraumbilical trocar entry sites. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: In the tomographic images of all patients, the distances from the skin to vascular structures were measured at a 90-degree entry angle, resulting in measurements of 8.97 cm ± 2.81 at the umbilicus, 10.89 cm ± 3.02 at 3 cm above the umbilicus, and 11.36 cm ± 2.88 at 5 cm above the umbilicus. These distances exhibited significant differences between patients with BMI <30 and BMI ≥30, as well as between premenopausal and postmenopausal patients. However, at a 45-degree entry angle, vascular structures were observed in only a few patients during trocar projection, and no measurable values were determined. In the simulation, it was found that a 1-degree increase in lumbar lordosis angle resulted in a decrease of 0.272 mm ± 0.018 in the distance between the skin and vascular structures at the umbilicus, 0.425 mm ± 0.024 at 3 cm above the umbilicus, and 0.428 mm ± 0.024 at 5 cm above the umbilicus. CONCLUSION: An increase in the degree of lumbar lordosis reduces the distance between trocar entry points and major vascular structures. Along with other factors during Veress and trocar entry, lumbar lordosis should be carefully considered.

Factors associated with the involvement of lymph nodes in low-grade serous ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Evaluating nodal metastases in low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC) patients. METHODS: Women with LGSOC who had undergone primary cytoreductive surgery comprising systematic pelvic-paraaortic lymphadenectomy were included. Data were obtained retrospectively from 12 oncology centers. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-eight women with LGSOC who had undergone comprehensive surgical staging were included. Seventy-one (48.0%) patients had metastatic lymph nodes. Preoperative serum CA-125 levels of ≥170 U/ml (odds ratio [OR]: 3.84; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.22-12.07; p = 0.021) and presence of lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) (OR: 13.72; 95% CI: 3.36-55.93; p < 0.001) were independent predictors of nodal metastasis in LGSOC. Sixty (40.5%) patients were classified to have apparently limited disease to the ovary/ovaries. Twenty (33.3%) of them were upstaged after surgical staging. Twelve (20.0%) had metastatic lymph nodes. Presence of LVSI (OR: 12.96; 95% CI: 1.14-146.43; p = 0.038) and preoperative serum CA-125 of ≥180 U/ml (OR: 7.19; 95% CI: 1.35-38.12; p = 0.02) were independent predictors of lymph node metastases in apparent Stage Ⅰ disease. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians may consider to perform a reoperation comprising systematic lymphadenectomy in patients who had apparently limited disease to the ovary/ovaries and had not undergone lymphadenectomy initially. Reoperation may be considered particularly in patients whose preoperative serum CA-125 is ≥180 U/ml and/or whose pathological assessment reported the presence of LVSI.

Uterine papillary serous and clear cell carcinomas: Comparison of characteristics and clinical outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: To assess the rate of disease control and survival after adjuvant treatment in patients with uterine papillary serous (PSC) and clear cell carcinoma (CCC) and compare the results between these two subtypes. METHODS: The medical charts of 199 patients with de novo uterine PSC or CCC who underwent radiotherapy (RT) following surgery between 2001 and 2019 in three radiation oncology departments were retrospectively evaluated. Adjuvant treatment was decided by a multidisciplinary tumor board. All patients were planned to undergo adjuvant 4-6 cycles of chemotherapy with external beam RT (EBRT) and/or vaginal brachytherapy (VBT). RESULTS: Median age was 63 years for all, 64 years for PSC, and 59 years for CCC, respectively. Complete surgical staging was applied in 98% of patients. Histopathologic subtype was PSC in 142 (71%) and pure CCC in 57 (29%) patients, respectively. FIGO stage was I in 107 (54%), II in 35 (18%), and III in 57 (28%) patients, respectively. Lympho-vascular space invasion and positive peritoneal cytology (PPC) were present in 42% and 10% of patients, respectively. All patients but 23 (12%) underwent adjuvant chemotherapy. Median follow-up was 49.5 months for all patients, 43.9 months for patients with PSC, and 90.4 months for patients with CCC, respectively. During follow-up, 20 (10%) patients developed pelvic recurrence (PR) and 37 (19%) developed distant metastasis (DM). PSC subtype increased the PR and DM rates, although the latter not statistically significant. The 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival rate was 73% and 69% for all patients, 71% and 66% for patients with PSC, and 77% and 75% for patients with CCC, respectively. The difference was more prominent in patients with stage ≥ IB disease. In multivariate analysis, advanced age and PPC significantly decreased all survival rates. CONCLUSION: PSC has a worse prognosis than CCC with regard to pelvic and distant recurrence with a trend for decreased survival rates. Therefore, a more aggressive therapy is needed for patients with uterine PSC, particularly in patients with stage ≥ IB disease.

The safety of major gynaecologic cancer surgery without routine preoperative COVID-19 testing in the COVID-19 era: a multicentre, retrospective, case-control study.

Our goal was to address the safety of major gynaecologic cancer surgery without routine preoperative COVID-19 testing in the COVID-19 era. The databases of seven gynaecologic cancer centres were searched in order to identify all consecutive gynaecologic cancer patients undergoing major surgery between March 11, 2020 and May 15, 2020 for this retrospective, case-control study. The case group consisted of patients with histopathologically confirmed gynaecologic cancers, and each case was matched with two counterparts who had undergone primary surgery before the COVID-19 pandemic. The case and the control groups were compared in terms of length of hospital stay, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), intraoperative and postoperative complications.During the study period, 154 women with gynaecologic cancer undergoing major surgery were identified. Although the case group had more co-morbidities compared to the control group (103/154 vs. 178/308, respectively; p = .04), the median length of hospital stays, the rate of ICU admission, intraoperative complication rates and postoperative complication rates were similar in the two groups. Gynaecologic cancer surgery may be performed safely in the COVID-19 era with similar rates of ICU admission, intraoperative and postoperative complications compared to the patients operated before the COVID-19 pandemic.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? Many societies have announced their guidelines about the surgical management of gynaecologic cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, most of them are not evidence-based and mostly on expert opinions.What do the results of this study add? The main findings of this retrospective, case-control study indicate that the short-term (30 day) outcomes of gynaecologic cancer patients undergoing major surgery in the COVID-19 era are similar to those who had been operated before the COVID-19 pandemic. The length of hospital stays, the rates of admission to the ICU, intraoperative and postoperative complications were comparable between women undergoing major gynaecologic cancer surgery in the COVID-19 era and the women who had been operated before the pandemic.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? We can suggest that definitive surgery may be performed for gynaecologic cancer patients in the COVID-19 era if the resources permit and appropriate precautions such as social distancing, isolation and the use of personal protective equipment are taken.

Impact of cytoreductive surgery on survival of patients with low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma: A multicentric study of Turkish Society of Gynecologic Oncology (TRSGO-OvCa-001).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze the factors affecting recurrence-free (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates of women diagnosed with low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC). METHODS: Databases from 13 participating centers in Turkey were searched retrospectively for women who had been treated for stage I-IV LGSOC between 1997 and 2018. RESULTS: Overall 191 eligible women were included. The median age at diagnosis was 49 years (range, 21-84 years). One hundred seventy-five (92%) patients underwent primary cytoreductive surgery. Complete and optimal cytoreduction was achieved in 148 (77.5%) and 33 (17.3%) patients, respectively. The median follow-up period was 44 months (range, 2-208 months). Multivariate analysis showed the presence of endometriosis (p = .012), lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) (p = .022), any residual disease (p = .023), and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage II-IV disease (p = .045) were negatively correlated with RFS while the only presence of residual disease (p = .002) and FIGO stage II-IV disease (p = .003) significantly decreased OS. CONCLUSIONS: The maximal surgical effort is warranted for complete cytoreduction as achieving no residual disease is the single most important variable affecting the survival of patients with LGSOC. The prognostic role of LVSI and endometriosis should be evaluated by further studies as both of these parameters significantly affected RFS.

Feasibility of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in ovarian cancer during COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions on patients who underwent cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for ovarian cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated ovarian cancer patients who underwent HIPEC following complete cytoreductive surgery performed during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in three different centers specializing in gynecological oncology. All patients who underwent cytoreduction plus HIPEC for a primary, interval, and recurrent surgery were evaluated. Primary outcomes was postoperative 30-day morbidity and mortality. The secondary outcome was infection of patient and/or related staff with COVID-19 during the perioperative or early postoperative period. RESULTS: We performed a total of 35 HIPEC procedures during the pandemic: 15 (42.9%) patients underwent primary/interval surgery, while 20 (57.1%) patients had recurrent disease. Grade 3-4 complications occurred in one patient (2.9%) (chronic renal failure), while mortality did not occur in any patient. Neither the patients nor related staff were infected with the coronavirus during the perioperative or early postoperative period. One patient, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia on postoperative day 80 died from the infection. Another patient died on postoperative day 85 due to progressive ovarian cancer, a disorder in vital functions, and organ failure. CONCLUSION: HIPEC during the COVID-19 pandemic seems a safe and feasible procedure, with acceptable morbidity and mortality rates. Careful selection of patients is important and precautions should be taken before the procedure.

Is the extent of lymphadenectomy a prognostic factor in International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage II endometrioid endometrial cancer?

AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of adequate lymph node dissection (LND) (≥10 pelvic lymph nodes (LNs) and ≥ 5 paraaortic LNs removed) in patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage II endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC). METHODS: A multicenter department database review was performed to identify patients who had been operated and diagnosed with stage II EEC at seven centers in Turkey retrospectively. Demographic, clinicopathological, and survival data were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: We identified 284 women with stage II EEC. There were 170 (59.9%) patients in the adequate lymph node dissection (LND) group and 114 (40.1%) in the inadequate LND group. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of the inadequate LND group was significantly lower than that of the adequate LND group (84.1% vs. 89.1%, respectively; p = 0.028). In multivariate analysis, presence of lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.39, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23-4.63; p = 0.009), age ≥ 60 (HR: 3.30, 95% CI: 1.65-6.57; p = 0.001], and absence of adjuvant therapy (HR: 2.74, 95% CI: 1.40-5.35; p = 0.003) remained as independent risk factors for decreased 5-year disease-free survival (DFS). Inadequate LND (HR: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.18-4.63; p < 0.001), age ≥ 60 (HR: 2.67, 95% CI: 1.25-5.72; p = 0.011), and absence of adjuvant therapy (HR: 4.95, 95% CI: 2.28-10.73; p < 0.001) were independent prognostic factors for decreased 5-year OS in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Adequate LND and adjuvant therapy were significant for the improvement of outcomes in FIGO stage II EEC patients. Furthermore, LVSI was associated with worse 5-year DFS rate in stage II EEC.

Accuracy of intra-operative frozen section in guiding surgical staging of endometrial cancer.

PURPOSE: Surgery consists the main treatment of endometrial cancer; however, decision of lypmhadenectomy is controversial. Intra-operative frozen section (FS) is commonly used in guiding surgical staging; nevertheless, there are different reports regarding its adequacy and reliability. Aim of this study is to assess accuracy of FS in predicting paraffin section (PS) results in patients with endometrium cancer. METHODS: Data of 223 cases, who were operated for endometrial cancer at a tertiary hospital in 2012-2019, were analyzed retrospectively. Histological type, grade, tumor diameter, depth of myometrial invasion, and cervical and adnexal involvement in frozen and paraffin section were evaluated. Positive and negative predictive values and accuracy of frozen results in predicting paraffin results for each parameter was assessed. Statistical significance was taken as 0.05 in all tests. RESULTS: Accuracy of FS in predicting PS results were 76.23% for histology, 75.45% for grade, 85.31% for depth of myometrial invasion, and 95.45% for tumor diameter. Surgery, based on FS results, caused undertreatment in 4 patients, while metastatic lymph node ratios were found in only 35.3-50.0% of cases who had high risk parameters at FS. CONCLUSION: Our FS results have reasonable accuracy rates in predicting PS results, in comparison with the previous literature. However, even if the high risk parameters detected in FS predict PS accurately, absence of lymph node involvement in all cases with high risk parameters indicates that FS-based triage cannot prevent unnecessary lymphadenectomies.

Multi-institutional validation of the ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO consensus conference risk grouping in Turkish endometrial cancer patients treated with comprehensive surgical staging.

In this study, 683 patients with endometrial cancer (EC) after comprehensive surgical staging were classified into four risk groups as low (LR), intermediate (IR), high-intermediate (HIR) and high-risk (HR), according to the recent consensus risk grouping. Patients with disease confined to the uterus, ≥50% myometrial invasion (MI) and/or grade 3 histology were treated with vaginal brachytherapy (VBT). Patients with stage II disease, positive/close surgical margins or extra-uterine extension were treated with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT)±VBT. The median follow-up was 56 months. The overall survival (OS) was significantly different between LR and HR groups, and there was a trend between LR and HIR groups. Relapse-free survival (RFS) was significantly different between LR and HIR, LR and HR and IR and HR groups. There was no significant difference in OS and RFS rates between the HIR and HR groups. In HR patients, the OS and RFS rates were significantly higher in stage IB - grade 3 and stage II compared to stage III and non-endometrioid histology without any difference between the two uterine-confined stages and between stage III and non-endometrioid histology. The current risk grouping does not clearly discriminate the HIR and IR groups. In patients with comprehensive surgical staging, a further risk grouping is needed to distinguish the real HR group.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? The standard treatment for endometrial cancer (EC) is surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) and/or chemotherapy is recommended according to risk factors. The recent European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) and European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) guideline have introduced a new risk group. However, the risk grouping is still quite heterogeneous.What do the results of this study add? This study demonstrated that the current risk grouping recommended by ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO does not clearly discriminate the intermediate risk (IR) and high-intermediate risk (HIR) groups.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Based on the results of this study, a new risk grouping can be made to discriminate HIR and IR groups clearly in patients with comprehensive surgical staging.

What is the predictive value of preoperative CA 125 level on the survival rate of type 1 endometrial cancer?

Background/aim: To investigate the utility of preoperative serum cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) levels in type 1 endometrial carcinoma (EC) as a marker for determining poor prognostic factors and survival. Material and methods: All patients with endometrial cancer, who had been treated between 2012 and 2020, were retrospectively reviewed, and finally, 256 patients with type 1 endometrium carcinoma were included in the study. The relationship between the clinicopathological characteristics, CA 125 level, and survival rates were analyzed. The cut-off value for the preoperative serum CA 125 level was defined as 16 IU/L. Results: The median serum CA 125 levels were significantly higher in patients with deep myometrial invasion, lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular space invasion, cervical stromal and adnexal involvement, advanced stage, positive peritoneal cytology, recurrence, and adjuvant therapy requirement. Serum CA 125 cut-off values determined according to clinicopathologic factors ranged from 15.3 to 22.9 IU/L (sensitivity 61%­77%, specificity 52%­73%). The disease-specific survival rate was significantly higher in patients with CA 125 levels < 16 IU/L (P = 0.047). Conclusion: The data showed that choosing a lower threshold value for the CA 125 level (16 IU/L) instead of 35 IU/L, could be more useful in type 1 EC patients with negative prognostic factors.

RAB25 confers resistance to chemotherapy by altering mitochondrial apoptosis signaling in ovarian cancer cells.

Ovarian cancer remains one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related death in women. Many patients with ovarian cancer suffer from de novo or acquired resistance to chemotherapy. Here, we report that RAB25 suppresses chemotherapy-induced mitochondrial apoptosis signaling in ovarian cancer cell lines and primary ovarian cancer cells. RAB25 blocks chemotherapy-induced apoptosis upstream of mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization by either increasing antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins or decreasing proapoptotic BCL-2 proteins. In particular, BAX expression negatively correlates with RAB25 expression in ovarian cancer cells. BH3 profiling assays corroborated that RAB25 decreases mitochondrial cell death priming. Suppressing RAB25 by means of RNAi or RFP14 inhibitory hydrocarbon-stapled peptide sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to chemotherapy as well as RAB25-mediated proliferation, invasion and migration. Our data suggest that RAB25 is a potential therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.

Lumbosacral discitis as a rare complication of laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Sacrocolpopexy is considered to be the gold-standard procedure for apical compartment prolapse. However, complications such as sacral hemorrhage, small bowel obstruction, port site herniation, mesh erosion, mesh exposure, and occasionally discitis may occur. The aim of this study is to show laparoscopic treatment of L5-S1 discitis 3 months following laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy. METHODS: Two surgical interventions of a case with narrated video footage is presented. RESULTS: Laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy following hysterectomy in the first part and re-laparoscopy because of a diagnosis of discitis refractory to medical treatment, and removal of mesh along with anterior L5-S1 discectomy for curative debridement in the second part is demonstrated. CONCLUSION: Frequency of postoperative discitis has been increased by the widespread use of a laparoscopic approach. In order to reduce the complication rate, surgical technique allowing the needle to penetrate only the depth of the anterior longitudinal ligament and usage of monofilament suture for mesh attachment is recommended. In treatment, removal of the sacral mesh, and even extensive tissue debridement, may be necessary.

Comparison of survival outcomes in optimally and maximally cytoreduced stage IIIC ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma: Women with only peritoneal tumor burden versus women with both peritoneal and lymphogenous dissemination.

AIM: The aim of this study was to analyze the survival outcomes of stage IIIC ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) patients with both peritoneal and lymphatic dissemination (IP+/RP+) who had undergone maximal or optimal cytoreduction followed by intravenous carboplatin/paclitaxel chemotherapy compared to those women with stage IIIC ovarian HGSC with only peritoneal involvement (IP+/RP-) who were treated similarly. METHODS: We performed a retrospective, multicenter study with the participation of five gynecological cancer centers. First, the stage IIIC ovarian HGSC patients were classified into optimally or maximally debulked cohorts. Then, in each cohort, the patients were divided into two groups; the IP+/RP- group included those women with transcoelomic spreading outside the pelvis with no nodal disease, and the IP+/RP+ group included those patients with transcoelomic dissemination outside the pelvis in addition to a positive nodal status. The survival outcomes were compared between the two groups in each cohort. RESULTS: A total of 405 ovarian HGSC patients were analyzed. In the optimally debulked cohort (n = 257), the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) medians for the IP+/RP- group (n = 69) were 24 and 57 months, respectively, compared to 21 and 58 months, respectively, for the IP+/RP+ group (n = 188) (P = 0.78 and P = 0.40, respectively). In the maximally debulked cohort (n = 148), the PFS and OS medians for the IP+/RP- group (n = 55) were 35 and 63 months, respectively, compared to 25 and 51 months, respectively, for the IP+/RP+ group (n = 93) (P = 0.49 and P = 0.31, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicated no survival differences between the IP+/RP- and the IP+/RP+ groups.

Prognostic factors for maximally or optimally cytoreduced stage III nonserous epithelial ovarian carcinoma treated with carboplatin/paclitaxel chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors predictive of poor prognosis in women with stage III nonserous epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) who had undergone maximal or optimal primary cytoreductive surgery (CRS) followed by six cycles of intravenous carboplatin/paclitaxel chemotherapy. METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective department database review was performed to identify patients with stage III nonserous EOC who had undergone maximal or optimal primary CRS followed by six cycles of carboplatin/paclitaxel chemotherapy at seven gynecological oncology centers in Turkey. Demographic, clinicopathological and survival data were collected. RESULTS: A total of 218 women met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 64 (29.4%) patients had endometrioid, 61 (28%) had mucinous, 54 (24.8%) had clear-cell and 39 (17.9%) had mixed epithelial tumors. Fifty-five (25.2%) patients underwent maximal CRS, whereas 163 (74.8%) had optimal debulking. With a median follow-up of 31.5 months, the 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 34.8% and 44.2%, respectively. Bilaterality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.44, 95% CI 1.01-2.056; P = 0.04), age (HR 2.25, 95% CI 1.176-4.323; P = 0.014) and maximal cytoreduction (HR 0.34, 95% CI 0.202-0.58; P < 0.001) were found to be independent prognostic factors for PFS. However, age (HR 2.6, 95% CI 1.215-5.591; P = 0.014) and maximal cytoreduction (HR 0.31, 95% CI 0.166-0.615; P < 0.001) were defined as independent prognostic factors for OS. CONCLUSION: The extent of CRS seems to be the only modifiable prognostic factor associated with stage III nonserous EOC. Complete cytoreduction to no gross residual disease should be the main goal of management in these women.

Prognostic factors and patterns of recurrence in lymphovascular space invasion positive women with stage IIIC endometriod endometrial cancer.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic factors and patterns of failure in lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI)-positive women with stage IIIC endometrioid endometrial cancer (EC). METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective, department database review was performed to identify LVSI-positive patients with stage IIIC endometrioid EC at five gynecological oncology centers in Turkey. Demographic, clinicopathological and survival data were collected. RESULTS: We identified 172 LVSI-positive women with stage IIIC endometrioid EC during the study period; 75 (43.6%) were classified as Stage IIIC1 and 97 (56.4%) as Stage IIIC2 . The median age at diagnosis was 59 years, and the median duration of follow up was 34.5 months. The total number of recurrences was 46 (26.7%). We observed 14 (8.1%) locoregional recurrences, 12 (7.0%) retroperitoneal failures and 20 (11.6%) distant relapses. For the entire study cohort, 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 67.4%, while the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 75.1%. Grade 3 histology (hazard ratio [HR] 2.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.34-5.12; P = 0.005), cervical stromal invasion (HR 2.33, 95% CI 1.09-4.99; P = 0.028) and myometrial invasion (MMI) ≥50% (HR 4.0, 95% CI 1.16-13.69; P = 0.028) were found to be independent prognostic factors for decreased OS. CONCLUSION: Uterine factors such as grade 3 disease, cervical stromal invasion and deep MMI seem to be independently associated with decreased OS in LVSI-positive women with stage IIIC endometrioid EC. The high distant recurrence rate in this subgroup of patients warrants further studies in order to identify the most effective treatment strategy for those patients.

Is the presence of endometriosis associated with a survival benefit in pure ovarian clear cell carcinoma?

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to compare the prognoses of women with pure ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) arising from endometriosis to those of women with pure OCCC not arising from endometriosis treated in the same manner. METHODS: A dual-institutional, retrospective database review was performed to identify patients with pure OCCC who were treated with maximal or optimal cytoreductive surgery (CRS) followed by paclitaxel/carboplatin chemotherapy between January 2006 and December 2016. Patients were divided into two groups according to the detection of cancer arising in endometriosis or not, on the basis of pathological findings. Demographic, clinicopathological, and survival data were collected, and prognosis was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Ninety-three women who met the inclusion criteria were included. Of these patients, 48 (51.6%) were diagnosed with OCCC arising in endometriosis, while 45 (48.4%) had no concomitant endometriosis. OCCC arising in endometriosis was found more frequently in younger women and had a higher incidence of early stage disease when compared to OCCC patients without endometriosis. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of the patients with OCCC arising in endometriosis was found to be significantly longer than that of women who had OCCC without endometriosis (74.1 vs. 46.4%; p = 0.003). Although univariate analysis revealed the absence of endometriosis (p = 0.003) as a prognostic factor for decreased OS, the extent of CRS was identified as an independent prognostic factor for both recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio (HR) 8.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.15-24.38; p < 0.001) and OS (HR 11.7, 95% CI 3.68-33.71; p < 0.001) on multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that endometriosis per se does not seem to affect the prognosis of pure OCCC.

Effect of surgical staging on 539 patients with borderline ovarian tumors: a Turkish Gynecologic Oncology Group study.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to examine demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics and to determine the effects of primary surgery, surgical staging and the extensiveness of staging. METHODS: In a retrospective Turkish multicenter study, 539 patients, from 14 institutions, with borderline ovarian tumors were investigated. Some of the demographic, clinical and surgical characteristics of the cases were evaluated. The effects of type of surgery, surgical staging; complete or incomplete staging on survival rates were calculated by using Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The median age at diagnosis was 40 years (range 15-84) and 71.1% of patients were premenopausal. The most common histologic types were serous and mucinous. Majority of the staged cases were in Stage IA (73.5%). 242 patients underwent conservative surgery. Recurrence rates were significantly higher in conservative surgery group (8.3% vs. 3%). Of all patients in this study, 294 (54.5%) have undergone surgical staging procedures. Of the patients who underwent surgical staging, 228 (77.6%) had comprehensive staging including lymphadenectomy. Appendectomy was performed on 204 (37.8%) of the patients. The median follow-up time was 36 months (range 1-120 months). Five-year survival rate was 100% and median survival time was 120 months. Surgical staging, lymph node sampling or dissection and appendectomy didn't cause any difference on survival. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive surgical staging, lymph node sampling or dissection and appendectomy are not beneficial in borderline ovarian tumors surgical management.

Safety of laparoscopic surgery in the management of endometrioid endometrial cancer.

Background: Laparoscopic surgery has increasingly been preferred in recent years. However, data regarding the safety of laparoscopy in endometrial cancer are not sufficient. The aim of this study was to compare perioperative and oncologic outcomes of laparoscopic and laparotomic staging surgery in patients with endometrioid endometrial cancer and to evaluate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic surgery in this population. Methods: Data of 278 patients, who underwent surgical staging for endometrioid endometrial cancer at the gynecologic oncology department of a university hospital between 2012 and 2019, were analyzed retrospectively. Demographic, histopathologic, perioperative, and oncologic characteristics were compared between laparoscopy and laparotomy groups. A subgroup of patients with a body mass index (BMI) >30 was further evaluated. Results: Demographic and histopathologic characteristics were similar between the two groups, while laparoscopic surgery was seen to be significantly superior in terms of perioperative outcomes. The number of removed and metastatic lymph nodes was significantly higher in the laparotomy group; however, this difference did not affect the oncologic outcomes, including recurrence and survival rates, and the two groups had similar results in this aspect. The outcomes of the subgroup with BMI >30 were also in accordance with the whole population. Intraoperative complications in laparoscopy were managed successfully. Conclusions: Laparoscopic surgery appears to be advantageous over laparotomy, and depending on the surgical experience, it may be performed safely for surgical staging of endometrioid endometrial cancer.

Ghrelin and obestatin expression in serous ovarian tumours.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate ghrelin and obestatin expression in serous ovarian tumours. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Preparations of deparaffinized blocks obtained from the pathology archives of a total of 47 previously diagnosed cases of benign serous tumour (n = 20), borderline serous tumour (n = 7) and malignant serous tumour (n = 20) were subjected to immunohistochemical examination to find out ghrelin and obestatin expressions. RESULTS: Mean ghrelin expressions decreased significantly in the benign group, relative to the malignant group (p < 0.05), while there was no significant change in mean obestatin expression. It was established that rates of preparations with moderate and severe ghrelin and obestatin expression displayed a significant increase from benign to malignant ones (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The fact that rates of preparations with severe expression correlated with an increase in malignancy suggests that ghrelin and obestatin may be effective in the malignant transformation in at least some cases.